//------------------------------// // Ch.2 Enter Madness // Story: The Origin Chronicles Vol. 2 // by SmokeShadow95 //------------------------------// Spike did as he always did the next couple of days after the anniversary celebration. He mustered up what little energy he had left after all the time and went home. He lifted his clawed feet one by one and trudged to his house. He slowly made his way to the home he had constructed for himself on the edge of the Everfree Forest. It was not a very big building, but it was a simple building. It was made of large stones held together by cement. The roof was simply common shingles. Over the years Spike had made some improvements. It was not much but it was home to him. As he got to his front door he was stopped by a familiar voice. Great. He needed sleep and some pony needed help. Why did this always happen to him? He turned to see Fluttershy fluttering nearby. She looked worried. She always did, but this time was different. “What's wrong, Fluttershy,” Spike asked. “Ooohh, I don't know,” She said, “It's Mr. Bear. He was supposed to be here an hour ago for the weekly picnic but I haven't seen him yet.” “Still not seeing the problem,” Spike said with a yawn. “Well, you see-I mean- If you want to,” Fluttershy stammered, “If you don't mind. He lives in there.” She gestured with a hoof to the Everfree Forest behind Spike's house. “Fluttershy,” Spike said, “You have been in the Everfree Forest before. Why don't you go and see why he has not come to your picnic?” “Oh, I would, but” She started to say, “There are monsters in there. They moved in after you went on your last adventure.” Fluttershy was already worried. Now at her own mention of monsters she started to shake a little. She landed and was now shaking with all four hooves on the ground. She did not seem to notice a shadow drift slowly over them. “What kind of monsters,” Spike asked. All the sudden Spike was blinded by a flash of sunlight. It seemed that the drifting shadow had gone away. And he knew why. It was not any drifting shadow. It was a cloud. And the only reason for a cloud to suddenly go away was a Pegasus pony. And he knew who. Rainbow Dash came flying down as fast as she could, as she always did, and landed right next to the two of them. Fluttershy was so caught up in her own thoughts and worries that she didn't even notice the extra pony there. Rainbow Dash saw this and capitalized on it. She walked up and got right behind her. “So what's goin' on,” She asked. Fluttershy was not expecting to see or hear from Dash. So when she came down and started speaking it took her by surprise, to say the least. She jumped high enough to get some serious airtime even if she was not a Pegasus. And when she came back down to the ground she curled up on the ground and covered herself with her hooves. Rainbow dash was nearly on her back laughing so hard. She got back to her hooves and used one to wipe a tear from her eye. “Never gets old,” She said with one last laugh. “What are you doing here Rainbow Dash,” Spike asked, “I couldn't help but overhear you guys talking. So, you planning on going into the Everfree Forest. Didn't Fluttershy tell you? There are monsters in there,” Dash said half mockingly. “What kind of monsters,” Spike asked again. “You know, the normal stuff. You got the manticores, hydras, pony-eating plants,” Dash said, “But then you have the not normal stuff. Ponies are saying that there are new monsters in the Everfree. Bigger and badder than anything before. They say these new monsters are crazy and can't be reasoned with. So, you sure you still want to go in there?” “The only thing I am sure about is that I want to go and get some sleep,” Spike said, “But Fluttershy's picnic is missing a guest so I have to go and find him first.” “Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you,” She said ecstatically. She popped up and gave Spike a big hug. Dash managed to pry her off so Spike could get moving. Spike opened his door and went inside for just a moment. He came back out with a small bundle in hand. When the two ponies eyed it he showed it to them. It was just a small bundle of gems. He devoured them quickly. He would need the energy if he ran into these supposed monsters. Then he turned and left for the Forest. “Are you absolutely sure you want to go in there,” Rainbow Dash asked worriedly. “Why, are you offering to come with me,” Spike replied. “No, no,” Dash said, “I have to stay here and comfort Fluttershy. I'm sure you'll be fine.” That was just like Rainbow Dash. Worried, and she will never admit it. But now Spike was on another adventure. At least this one was close to home. Right in his backyard, so to speak, and he was doing this for a friend. He knew how Fluttershy cared for the animals around Ponyville. If he didn't do this then she would have probably gone in herself. He couldn't let her do that. Spike made his way through the Everfree Forest with some manner of ease. He had grown quite accustomed to it. Living next to it for three years can have that effect. Him and Zecora have also spent some time together in there. She was curious about Spike's new magic, and his mission to find these dragon magic artifacts. She helped him in creating a system of translation for the dragon artifacts he brought back. It became somewhat of a hobby for her while Spike was away helping the Princess's of Equestria. A huge, unexpected roaring cut through Spike's thought. It was loud enough shake the leaves from the trees and send the pebbles skittering all over the ground. It was shocking enough to drive the tiredness right out of Spike. He was awake and alert. Spike rubbed his eyes as another roar shook the air. By the sound of it whatever was making that roar was close. Much to close for comfort. His only choice was to go and find out what it was. Sometimes he hated his job. He did not have to go far to find the source of the roar. It was just beyond the treeline. It was moving around the entrance of a small cave that it looked much to big to even enter. When Spike got there he could not tell what it was. It looked like it might have been a bear, at one point. But this beast was way too big and way to mean. Spike would have never thought that it was a bear. . . until it turned around. As it turned out it was a bear, but not just any bear. It was the very same Mr. Bear that Fluttershy had been waiting for. Spike could not believe his eyes. This bear was tearing up the forest, tossing around logs like they were mere sticks and toppling trees like they were saplings. “Awesome,” Spike said with no excitement whatsoever, “Nothing is ever easy.” He approached the clear area in front of the cave with caution. He was not sure what happened to this bear, but he was sure it wasn't good. The closer he got the more it seemed the bear was aware of him. When he reached the cave the bear came up to him with a growl and a snarl. “Hey, you're late for a very important date,” Spike said. The bear did not respond. He just glared at Spike with his glowing, red and black eyes. It was only now that Spike saw a series of small, pointy spikes coming out from the bear's body. Now he was stealing Spike's spikes. As if the bear could sense Spike's dislike it acted. A reared back on it's hind legs to show its size. It came back down and followed up with a truly thunderous roar right in Spike's face. Spike wiped the spit from his face after the bear was done. The bear itself seemed somewhat confused. Now was usually the time ponies ran screaming and hollering with their manes and tail standing on end. As for Spike, he didn't even flinch. Instead he responded with a roar of his own. He took a deep breath in before releasing it. He leaned in for a deep and lasting roar. It was not a Grand Thunderroar, but it plenty thunderous. By the time he was done the bear had bounded back and somehow squeezed himself into the cave. Awesome. Now all Spike had to do was to go and tell Fluttershy that one of her best animal friends is terrifying, violent, raging monster. Yeah, that was going to end well. Twilight flew over to the edge of the Everfree Forest, near Fluttershy's house. All the girls and Spike were waiting for her there. All of them except Fluttershy. She was nowhere to be seen. But she could be plenty heard. Twilight landed rather gracefully and automatically another wail could be heard coming from Fluttershy's house. Twilight almost had to cover her hears as the wail sounded off. It nearly took the roof of Fluttershy's own house. And Twilight could swear she saw a puddle coming from under the door. “What in Celestia's name is going on here,” She asked. “Go on Spike. Tell her,” Rainbow Dash said. “Spike, what happened,” Twilight asked seriously. “Fluttershy asked to me find her bear friend,” Spike said, “And I did.” “Somehow, I don't think that is the end of that story,” Twilight responded. “Well, when I found the bear it was not interested in being friends with Fluttershy or anypony else,” Spike explained, “He was more interested in being a big, mad, roaring beast. I told Fluttershy as much. ” “What's wrong with you Spike,” Applejack asked worriedly, “You aren't acting like yer right normal self.” “Sorry. I have not slept in almost three days,” Spike told her. “I did that once,” Pinkie Pie said with her usual excitement, “But I didn't sleep for two weeks! After the third Tuesday, the talking and floating cupcake that was following me around told me to get some sleep, so I did.” “And when did this happen,” Rainbow Dash asked. “Just now,” Pinkie said as she faceplanted the ground with her tail high in the air. “I really don't know how you do it,” Rarity said, “I know I would die if anypony saw me without my required beauty sleep.” “Alrighty then,” Applejack said, “Gettin' back to Fluttershy and the bear. Speakin' of, where is the bear now?” “In a cave,” Spike said with a big yawn. “Well, get your scaly butt over there and bring it back,” Dash said. “In case you did not hear me the first time. The bear is mad, as in crazy and violent. You want me to bring it here? Just one question: Who is going to be rebuilding Ponyville after Twilight helps the bear,” Spike replied with attitude. “Me,” Twilight exclaimed, “This is your mess. Why can't you clean it up?” “Because I am about to join Pinkie Pie,” Spike said. He crashed into the ground next to his pink friend. She was now curled up on her belly and snoring adorably. Twilight was already in the middle of a busy day she had had scheduled for a month now, as was her way. As much as the call of a friend in need was important to her, this was starting to get annoying. But she made up her mind. She charged up her horn and blasted Spike without warning. He immediately sprang back to his feet, twitching slightly. A small purple jolt arced from scale to scale for a few moments. He felt as if he had just slept for a whole week. He felt great! He saw Twilight pointed with a hoof to the Everfree Forest. “Bear. Now,” She said seriously. He turned around on his heel and ran off into the Everfree. What he did not notice as he left was Pinkie Pie. His tail flicked her way as he turned. The scales on his tail barely brushed against her coat, but that was enough. One second she was there, body and all. The next second the only thing there was the dust in her shape. Spike disappeared into the trees and then a moment later Pinkie Pie landed. The girls stood in a circle where Pinkie Pie was. A shadow got bigger and bigger and then she was there. Pinkie fell from the sky like a pink comet. She landed flank first. Her tail hit first and acted like a spring, bouncing her back up and putting her on her head. The others looked on with horror, but she just looked up and smiled with a squee. While Pinkie was falling from the sky, Spike was off getting the bear. He still wasn't sure what spell Twilight had cast on him, but he could feel the tiredness coming back with a vengeance. It was okay. He had an idea. He quickly found his way back to the bear cave. The bear was still there. It was not in the cave anymore. It got back to the tearing down trees and tossing logs that it was doing before. At least the bear didn't roam. One thing was going good for him. He went up to the bear and placed a hand on it's prickly hide. He sent a small current through his scales. Not enough to do any damage, but just enough to be a major annoyance. That was one thing he knew a lot about. The last remnants of Twilight's spell also jumped to the bear, perking it up and annoying it even more. Spike came sprinting through the Everfree as fast as his clawed feet could carry him through the hazardous environment. The bear was closing in close behind him. He scrunched up his tail to keep the bear from biting the tip off. When he glanced back all he saw was red eyes and many, many teeth. He started screaming and ran faster. That was all he could do. Applejack had gone in to comfort Fluttershy. Whatever she was doing seemed to be working. The wailing and crying had gone down quite a bit. Twilight and the rest of the girls were still outside waiting for Spike. They could hear him before they could see him. They were just standing and talking when they heard it. A long, drawn out scream that was too loud and too deep to be a pony. It could have only come from Spike. And the roar that followed could only have been from the bear. Fluttershy and Applejack came rushing out when they heard it as well. By the time all six were out there Spike came crashing through the trees. He was still screaming his head off. His tail was practically wrapped around him. Spike saw Fluttershy standing outside and motioned to Twilight to get her inside. She did not understand. The frantic waving of his hands from one side to the other was not very specific. She couldn't tell what he was doing until she followed his hand and saw Fluttershy. Now she understood, but it was too late. The trees behind Spike parted. The air became still. The darkness of the Everfree gave way to two glowing red eyes. A roar shook the air, the trees, and the ponies. Spike was screaming, Fluttershy was screaming, Pinkie Pie started screaming. Twilight raised the earth around the bear to create four walls. Spike got to them and started panting. “Spike, what is that thing,” Twilight asked, terrified. “You wanted the bear,” Spike panted, “There it is.” “Are you saying that that is Mr. Bear,” Fluttershy asked, “No. No, it can't be!” She flew off to confront the bear or something. She did not get far as Applejack held her tail in her mouth. With her strength Fluttershy was not going anywhere, no matter how much she tried. Twilight magically put some bars in one of the stone walls. It was not much more than a very small windows with bars. The bear wouldn't stop roaring from behind the walls. Spike called for it to shut up to no effect. “I can't believe that bear is Fluttershy's friend,” Twilight said, “What has happened to it?” “I got it,” Spike said quickly, “When I went back there to get it I sensed something I didn't before. Probably because I wasn't nearly as tired as I was before. Thanks again Twilight. Anyway, I sensed a latent trace of magical energy. . . that I didn't . . . before.” He started off speaking really fast but his words got slower and slurred as he went on. Also thanks to Twilight. Her energizing spell worked wonders, but Spike's incredibly fast metabolism burned through it before long. He looked as if he was about to pass out then and there before the bear roared again. It slammed into the stone wall and nearly demolished it. The noise, which was right next to Spike, was enough to jolt him awake. “Be quiet,” He said with annoyance. He held out a hand and released a small jolt of electricity that. The bear twitched and fell on its back. Every hair was on end and it was unconscious. He seemed very proud of himself. The rest of them did not feel as good about it. Fluttershy was utterly stunned. She was stuck in a state of shock. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was slightly open, her wings were tucked tightly against her side. All four hooves were locked in place on the ground, and when she fell to her side not a single thing moved. It was like she was a doll. Spike felt kinda bad when he saw Fluttershy like that. He decided he needed to do something about it. So he put one of the stone walls back in the ground and went up to the bear with Twilight and Applejack. Pinkie Pie stayed behind to play dress up with u Flutterdoll. Rarity would be providing the dresses. Anyway, Spike knelt down next to the beast and placed a hand on the neck. He felt a surge of power rush from the beast to him. He immediately yanked his hand back and stepped away. He turned his back on the others and unleashed a small roar into the open sky. He fell to his knees and slammed his fist into the ground. Again, and again. For just a moment he did this, and when he was done he was panting and much more serious. He closed in on Twilight and Applejack and got right in their faces. “Twilight,” He said quite seriously, “Either cure this thing, or destroy it.” “Spike, how can you say such a thing,” Twilight asked, “What happened just now?” “When I touched that thing, I felt something,” He replied, “I have only felt it once before. The Black Ooze, The same cold fear that the ooze gave off is in that bear.” “That ain't possible,” Applejack said, “You destroyed all that stuff when you blew up Galeek nice and good three years ago. But ain't all, is it?” “I destroyed Galeek. You got that right,” Spike said, “Without him to give the ooze power I assumed it would just go back to being harmless ooze. I guess I was wrong. And now, when I touched that bear. I felt more than fear. An overwhelming sense of burning anger and hatred poured into me along with the cold fear. It nearly drove me mad and I merely touched it! For only a moment!” “Well, can't you cure it, Spike,” Applejack asked, “You have more experience with the ooze than any of us.” “No, Applejack, he can't,” Twilight answered, “His experience with ooze is destruction and then dust and debris. He has never cured ooze before. And nothing like this. This -this is Madness.” “Maybe, but we have to do something,” Spike said, “And I have an idea. I have the Amulet of the Dark King. Luna gave it to me after- uh- a while ago. I can use it to draw the ooze and the darkness out of the bear.” “Can you even do that Spike,” Twilight asked, “Maybe we should get Celestia to help. She is the Princess of the Day.” “No time,” Spike said as he conjured the Amulet into his palm, “Applejack, tell the others what I'm doing please. Twilight, stay and help me?” “Like I am going to let you do this all alone,” Twilight said with a smile, “It is just like you said. We were all there when you defeated Galeek. We are all here for you now.” Spike and Twilight Spike smiled, but pulled a sneaky trick on his friends. As soon as Applejack was out of the stone cell he threw the downed wall up again, cutting her off from him and Twilight. To his surprise Twilight did not protest. They locked eyes for a moment and shared the same thought. If this did not work, or if they had to do something even worse it was not something they wanted the rest of them seeing. And so they began. Twilight started. She charged her horn as much as she could before releasing the spell. It was not a spell she had ever gotten to use before. She had never had a reason to up to this point. But now was the perfect time. It was the most potent and powerful spell of purification that she knew. It was written by Starswirl the Bearded himself. She hoped that it would help loosen the Madness enough for Spike to draw it out. The spell wrapped around the entire bear and pierced down, deep into the very soul of the animal. Meanwhile, Spike was focusing and concentrating all his energy into the Amulet. When he was done he growled and threw his hands apart. The Amulet hovered between them. The bottom point of the amulet hovered above the bear's heart. That one point and both of Spike's created a funnel shape. Just as with Smoke Shadow all those years ago the Amulet began to spin. Slow at first, very slow. But then it sped up. As the Madness began to seep up and out of the bear. It was a slow and grueling process. Spike had to use all the concentration in every fiber of his being to keep the Madness from escaping his magical grip and taking over some pony. Twilight was doing the same to keep the purification spell going this long. At what seemed to be forever later Spike started to snarl and growl from the strain of it all. At this point the Amulet was spinning at high speeds and only getting faster. More and more and more of the dark, mist like Madness was coming out from the bear. Twilight's spell had long since drained her. Now, since the bear had woken, she was focusing her efforts on keeping the bear still and docile while Spike worked his magic, literally. Fortunately, it was not much longer. The spikes all over the bear shrunk and disappeared. It slowly went back to the normal size of a bear. The fur on the bear went back to it's usual brown color. All was good. Almost. Spike ended his spell as the last of the Madness entered the Amulet of the Dark King. However, when the amulet slowed down and dropped into Spike's waiting hand something unexpected happened. The dark black gem that made up the centerpiece cracked. It was a loud sharp sound that Spike would not soon forget. And then it cracked again. Once more, and then the whole gem shattered. Uncountable tiny black gem shards exploded out and rained down to the ground. Spike stared at the empty socket in the Amulet for a moment before sending it back to his house. Twilight lowered the walls and they saw their friends again. Friends Applejack's hind legs were barely outside the wall of the stone cell when the wall went up right behind her. A second sooner and she would have lost more than a few hairs from her tail. A few seconds sooner and some dragon would be sleeping for a lot longer than a week. She was not going to bother hooting and hollering through the wall. She knew it wasn't gonna do any good. So she went to her other friends. Not even Celestia herself could have predicted what she saw. Fluttershy was still standing stock still, stuck like a frozen pony on display as an ice sculpture. Pinkie Pie was right beside her, putting a whole mess of silly hats on her. And then there was Rarity, who was trying to match an equally silly dress to the silly hat. Apparently they had already gone through several outfits, because Rainbow Dash was on the ground, laughing her wings off. The fact that she was on the ground was enough to get Applejack's attention. “What in the hay is goin' on here,” She said as she approached them. “Since Fluttershy isn't moving I decided to play dress up,” Pinkie Pie said, “Rarity provided the dresses, and I got the funny hats. Hehe. Fun fun fun!” “Yeah, Applejack. Lighten up,” Dash said as she tried to breath, “Come on. You gotta admit this is pretty funny.” “Yes, Applejack, dearest,” Rarity said, “You must admit that Fluttershy is simply gorgeous. And I did have one dress that I wanted her to try on, but I just haven't gotten around to it with the whole Anniversary thing.” Applejack looked between her friends and then her eyes turned to Fluttershy. She looked absolutely ridiculous. Applejack could not believe how ridiculous she looked. Pinkie had placed a truly stunning hat on her. It was an oversized top hat that barely fit her head. It was a fuzzy, light blue thing with a fuzzy black ring near the base. There were pink spots covering the hat in the pattern of leopard print. Rarity had paired this truly outrageous hat with an oversized blue coat, also fuzzy. Where did she even get one of those? She had slipped the sleeves over Flutterdoll's unmoving hooves. The coat did not have any leopard print pink spots on it. No, instead it had just a simple pink border, also fuzzy. There was a fuzz theme Applejack noticed. Rarity even found fuzzy blue boots for Fluttershy. She looked away from Flutterdoll and looked between Rarity and Pinkie Pie. They were staring at her like they wanted her approval. Instead she walked over to Pinkie's box of silly hats and pulled something out, not showing anypony what. Then she walked over to Flutterdoll and and put them on her. “There,” She said,” Now that's an outfit.” Applejack's placed a pair of sunglasses on Flutterdoll. They were five sizes too big for anypony, so it made sense as to why Pinkie Pie had them. The fact that they were also bright blue made it all even better. They all took one last look at Flutterdoll and started rolling on the ground laughing. “What is going on here,” Twilight asked the three laughing ponies. “Flutterdoll,” Rainbow Dash said between a fit a laughter. Twilight took one look at Fluttershy and could see what Dash had meant. It was pretty obvious. Only her friends would play dress up with a real life pony, and another of her friends at that. She placed a hoof on her face and sighed. Just another day in Ponyville. Twilight decided it was best to just move on past the whole Flutterdoll thing. She walked to her ridiculously dressed Pegasus friend. With a gentleness in her voice that only Fluttershy herself could match Twilight gave her the good news. “Fluttershy,” She said, “The bear is okay.” The next instant filled the air with joy. Fluttershy woke up from her doll like state. Slowly, she came back to normal. Or at least what passed for normal in Ponyville. Her eyes lost the glazed over, staring far away look. She blinked a couple times and looked around. She swallowed a few times before speaking. She tried to stretch her wings out, but found them weighed down by something. . .fuzzy? “What is this,” She asked as she looked herself over, “What am I wearing? And why?” “Well, you see dear,” Rarity said, more than a little flustered, “It's like this. . . In the state you were in. . .” Rarity could not get the words out. Fluttershy was looked right at her, but Rarity herself could not look at her. A pony of high quality like herself caught playing dress up with a doll - even if it was another pony- was more than a little embarrassing. As Fluttershy's waiting gaze bore deeper and deeper into Rarity's own eyes she collapsed into a dramatic wreck. “I admit it! Me and Pinkie Pie were playing dress up with you,” She screamed, “You were so still and gorgeous, I just had to try some of my dresses and I got carried away with Pinkie's antics. I'm so sorry!” “It's okay,” Fluttershy said, “But I do have one question.” “Oh. No need to worry darling,” Rarity said, “That is fake fur. It was all the rage when I was a filly and it has just been collecting dust in my basement. When Pinkie put that silly little hat on you I thought I might bring it out for a laugh.” Fluttershy looked over herself once again. Other than having her wings pinned to he sides, the whole outfit was rather comfortable, even if was fake fur. She trotted over to the nearby pond and and gazed at her reflection in the still surface of the water. She stood there for a few moments before another reflection joined hers. “You aren't mad at me, are you,” Rarity asked. “No, of course not,” Fluttershy said with a smile, “I look absolutely ridiculous in this outfit, though.” “Not a problem. I can fix that,” Rarity said happily. With a quick flash of her horn and flick of her head the fuzzy, blue clothing was gone and done for. She smiled at Fluttershy as they both walked back to the rest of the ponies. Mr. Bear was there to greet Fluttershy when she got back. Fluttershy was most excited to see him well again. She slammed into Twilight with a big hug that nearly strangled her. All the while saying thank you after thank you. She did the same to Spike. She flew up to his level and gave him a big hug. But when she let go of Spike she was shocked by what happened. Her hooves left his scales and for a second everything was normal. And then Spike fell. He just fell. No warning, no 'Timber!' cry, no nothing. He landed in a slump at the base of a tree. “Oh dear,” Fluttershy exclaimed, “What have I done?!” “Relax, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “You didn't do this. Spike is just sleeping. He needs to catch up on about three or four days worth by now.” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief and flew over to Mr. Bear. She talked to him for a few moments and then turned back to her friends. Apparently, he did not remember anything from the past week. The last thing he remembered was making plans with Fluttershy for a picnic. Then it all went dark. Soon after the friends decided it was time they all got back their lives. That was enough excitement – or in some cases, play time – for one day. As they all headed in different directions they all stopped. All eyes returned the sleeping dragon next to Fluttershy's house. “What should we do about him,” Rarity asked the group. “Give him a pointy hat and call him an ornament,” Rainbow Dash answered. “Should we move him,” Applejack asked, ignoring Rainbow Dash. “If you can,” Dash said to her, “He was really heavy three years ago, and now he's got even more muscle and few more inches added to him.” “He can stay right where he is,” Fluttershy said, “I'll look after him.”