S P Y N B L C K B L D D R E A M
The two purple dragons lounged in the pool of magma, its light the only illumination in the cavern. Around them, countless ponies waited on them. Some sharpened their claws, some cleaned their scales, and some climbed into their mouths, happy to be dragon food.
And, unlike the last time she had entered this strange double-dream, the eyes of the dreamers, both dragons, snapped towards Luna immediately.
They were lucid.
Luna realized that she was in the worst kind of dream, a nightmare that the dreamer loves to dream. With how strong Sparkle and Thorn were in mind, it meant that this dream was dangerous to Luna... Or as much as one could be for a goddess in her own domain.
"Spy in BLACKBLOOD. Dream," Luna said, her mental body tense and ready.
The walls seemed to fade and soften slightly, the imaginary ponies relaxed, and the dreamers sighed in relief. "Oh, thank the maker, you got it," the larger, female dragon said. Despite her size, she still had Sparkle's voice.
"I told you," Thorn said.
The cavern faded until it was little more than a red and brown background. The imaginary ponies faded away. Sparkle stepped up and out of the pool, which vanished as she left. The mare lumbered closer to the night princess. By the time she had reached her, Sparkle stood at her normal proportions compared to Luna. However, Luna notes that the dragon-like appearance Sparkle sported did not fade.
“Indeed. I was rather enraged by your inflammatory letter until my sister noticed the code within,” Luna said. “You plan to spy for us, yes?”
Sparkle nodded. “I’ve already gathered a little information for you.” The scene shifted. A unicorn mare and a pegasus stallion appeared, constructed with as much detail as Sparkle and Thorn could recall. The healthy pegasus was white coated, with blood red eyes, bat wings, and fangs. The unicorn was a tall, plump mare, with a cream colored coat and a pale pink mane and tail. The pegasus bore a deck of cards as his cutie mark, while the unicorn bore the ursa major constellation on her flanks. Within both, two bright souls burned backwards.”
“Odd,” Luna commented. “You remember their souls in detail. Most users of soul sight do not use it frequently enough to accurately imagine a soul in a dream.”
The lavender dragoness blushed. “I’ve never been able to turn it off.”
“I see,” Luna said. “Unusual.”
Sparkle continued her briefing. “These are Card Gambit and Mama Bear, two members of Dusk. That’s what we’ve been calling BLACKBLOOD, by the way.
“Here’s what I know about them. Card Gambit is a power-hungry stallion, who is used to answering to nopony but himself. However, since he became a vampire, he answers to Mama Bear. I think she has something she’s using to influence him, because in my past dealings with him, he was willing to foalnap a Royal Guard - my brother - to get me to do what he wanted,” Sparkle said.
“And what was it he wanted?” Luna asked.
“That’s not his first body,” Sparkle replied, waving a claw at the memory. “That’s his dead son’s. And although he can’t use it, he is knowledgeable in Dark magic. That brings me to Mama Bear.
“When I spoke to her yesterday, she introduced herself to me as the leader of Dusk. However, I don’t think the pony I was looking at was the one I was speaking to.”
Luna commanded, “Explain.”
“Look closely at her soul and move your head.” Luna did as instructed. At first she saw nothing, but when she tried again, she saw a faint flicker of something. “See it?”
“Yes, but I do not know what it is.”
“Neither do I, Princess Luna, but I have my suspicions. I think that Mama Bear is being controlled, possibly even possessed, by another pony. We might have a hydra hunt on our hooves if that is the case,” Sparkle said. “I also have a suspicion on how she gained power so quickly and how she unified the covens, but I have so little evidence yet that I wouldn’t want you to focus on wrong details.”
Luna nodded, “That is wise, Sparkle. What else can you tell me, that is based in fact?”
“Nothing of significance, yet,” Sparkle replied. “I’ll need time.”
“Of course. Now, how about you? What do they expect of you?”
“They want enhancements, similar to what you requested of me, except with no ethical limits. They want every last drop of power I can give them, in exchange for research and training opportunities so that I may increase my own power. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started requesting zombies and ghouls to bolster their ranks. Mama Bear and Card both said that Dusk was about obtaining power for its members. Although they made it sound like socioeconomic power, some of their requests are decidedly warlike.”
“That fits with the actions we have spotted that we can attribute to them,” Luna confirmed. “How do you plan on dealing with these requests?”
“Simple - I do it, even if I don’t want to,” Sparkle answered, surprising herself with how much that last part sounded like a lie to her ears. “If I try to overtly sabotage their efforts or refuse to do as they command, they’ll get suspicious. I can, however, place weaknesses in their enhancements that I can teach you how to exploit, or how to perform a superior version of the enhancements yourself on the Red Platoon.”
Luna thought for a moment. “Can you plant a time-triggered delay in them? Something that will cripple their fighters all at once, once you have gotten to safety?”
“That I can do. It will take time to implement, and they’ll grow stronger all the while until I can knock the foundation out from under them.”
The dream around them rippled. “You’re falling from the dream realm. I shall make this quick, then. Consider that plan B for now. Implement it when you can, but work on delaying them and supplying us with information whenever possible.”
“I will, your highness.”
“Good. Rest well, Sparkle.” Luna looked over at the younger dragon, who had been sitting quietly on the side. “And you too, Thorn. Farewell.”
Luna raised her wings. With a mighty flap, she lifted off the dream’s ground and passed through the membrane separating it from the rest of the dream realm.
“You know you’re still a dragon, right?” Thorn asked.
“I am? Hmm...”
“It looks good on you,” he said. “Ambition makes you look pretty.”
“Thanks, Thorn,” Sparkle said, enjoying the compliment.
“You should stop suppressing us,” Thorn said. He raised an eyebrow, not knowing where that had come from. Yet, it felt like the right thing to say. “We know who we are. Let us out, for once.”
“But...”
“Our mask has been slipping for days now. Go ahead, cast it aside. Twilight isn’t here. And besides, being true to what we are doesn’t mean being evil. It means being whole.”
Sparkle awoke to find that Thorn had crawled into bed with her. Or maybe she had crawled into bed with him? Identity was such an odd thing, Sparkle thought.
A tendril of an idea grasped the link between them. Feeling the gate that kept their minds partitioned, the thought pushed it open just a crack. The dreams of the still sleeping drake filtered into her mind.
She pushed the link open more. Sparkle could feel the silk sheets against her scales, and Thorn could feel the warmth of his mother through his fur.
They pushed the link almost completely open. Sparkle and Thorn blurred. There were two of them, yes, but which was Sparkle and which was Thorn was unclear. They could feel both bodies, but couldn’t tell who was more prominent in each. But it didn’t matter either way.
The link opened completely. Once again, he was completely alone in his head. She was neither the mother, nor the son, and he liked it that way. She still hadn’t decided on a name for himself when she was like this, or a gender to identify himself as.
Both bodies climbed out of bed. He looked at herself through both sets of eyes. Looking down at both of his forms, she eventually settled on a name, one ten years in the making.
Sparkrovitar.
The dragon-pony amalgamation thought the name suited himself. But then she thought about his gender.
‘Let’s be male. My oldest self is female, so why not give the new one a try?’ Sparkrovitar decided.
Identity settled, the dragony walked into the kitchen. Whatever it had been about that dream that had inspired one of his aspects to open the link so far, he was rather thankful he had done so. It felt like a weight off his shoulders, both sets.
He looked down at the breakfast he had prepared himself, and then chuckled. Plucking the gems off of one plate, he sat down across from himself and thought. It was easier than the last time she had done this, when his aspects were ten. Maybe being more developed had cleared his head.
Sparkrovitar’s Sparkle body picked up a sausage, something Thorn would normally eat, and popped it into his mouth. He understood why there was a taboo on eating meat, especially since earth ponies couldn’t digest it at all, but between his draconic nature and his unicorn ancestry, the fatty meat on his tongue was too good to resist.
Sparkle’s memories intersected with Thorn’s. Sparkrovitar could feel the block Sparkle had placed on Thorn, and the blocks she had placed on herself. They felt disgusting.
So he tore them off.
His single heartbeat slowed and his blood pressure dropped. Sparkrovitar felt like he was going to melt into his seat with pleasure. Why, oh why, had he not done this earlier? Only now could he see the self-destruction Sparkle had been placing on them.
Emotions suddenly welled up in his hearts. The fused personality put a hoof and a claw up to his heads. Memories belonging to only part of him began to resurface, but as they were processed by a personality larger and more complex than those that had formed the memories, they began to take on new meanings. To Sparkrovitar, it was like seeing himself in third person and first person at the same time, more powerful than any identity ritual.
He stood, the rest of his breakfast forgotten. Sparkle scooped up Thorn in Sparkrovitar’s magic and placed him on her back. He dashed out of his apartment as fast as he could and sprinted for the street. The moment they were outside, Thorn’s body erupted in size and, without losing speed, he wrapped his claws around Sparkle and took to the skies.
Sparkrovitar knew that he had a few hours before he had to go to meet the stupid vampires of Dusk. He could feel the greed in his hearts, and knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he would consume everything they could give him, and then would consume the vampires of Dusk themselves. He hungered, and he would get what he wanted.
Sparkle, the actual personality, stepped down onto the ground, heart much lighter than when she had woken up thanks to her impromptu moment of self-discovery. She swore she would stay fused like that any chance she got, but for now, she had ponies to deal with.
Ugh.
“That was really fun, mom!” Thorn said as he shrank back down. “We should do that again!”
“Yes, definitely,” a very mellow Sparkle affirmed. “I learned so much about us.”
He snorted. “Yeah. And I totally knew you were only doing this spying thing for yourself.”
“Well, Shiny and Cadance will be safer if I do this, and so will the ponies they protect. And I'm doing this for you, too,” Sparkle insisted.
“Bitch, I am you,” Thorn quipped. Sparkle whacked him playfully in the back of his head with her metal hoof. It didn’t even hurt him, but he still got the message. “Fine, fine. I won’t call you a bitch again. Except on Tuesdays.” Sparkle glared at him. “Fine, every other Tuesday. No, but seriously, good for you. Do what you want and don’t worry about anypony else. It was kind of painful watching you mess with our heads.”
“Mmm, yes. You’re right, Thorn,” Sparkle answered. “Hey, next time, let’s have Sparkrovitar massage himself.”
Bone hard hooves pounding his back, dexterous claws rubbing his shoulders and flanks, Thorn could totally see himself enjoying that. “Ohh yeah! Hey...” Thorn paused, blushing. “If Sparkrovitar got too excited, is that incest or masturbation?” asked the ten-year-old dragon.
“CHANGING THE SUBJECT!” Sparkle yelled. “So, how about those clouds?”
Thorn looked up at the cloudless sky. “Smooth.”
“Is this the right place?” Sparkle asked.
“That’s what the directions say. I’d wager it is,” Thorn replied, looking between the paper and the building it described. The office building before them seemed ordinary enough, bathed in the orange light of sunset like every other building in Canterlot.
“Alright. I can’t wait to get started.” Sparkle pushed the door open and flared her magic, as per the directions on the letter. Thorn followed suit, flaring his own as he followed behind. Their signature hooded cloaks seemed to billow slightly, though it may have only been a trick of the light.
The reaction they got was immediate and strong. The small office erupted into a flurry of paper and ponies. Normally, Sparkle would avoid doing something like that, as it drew too much attention to herself. Shining Armor had described the feel of the full brunt of her magic as “the feeling of hooks burrowing into your skin and ripping you apart, the feeling of teeth biting at you, and the feeling of your age catching up to you, except not quite as painful as any of that.”
Well, it certainly set off the crowd in here. There were two or three vampires hissing at her, a werewolf that had willingly transformed and was growling at her, and a changeling that had dropped its guise and chittered and hissed defensively.
In the midst of their flare, they had almost missed the subtle wave of magic that had passed over them as they entered. Almost.
“Impressive,” a voice said, as its owner trotted up to the necromancer and the dracolich. He was a large earth pony in his mid-forties, half a head taller than Sparkle and well muscled. His eyes glinted like moonlight, and his soul shined like mercury.
Sparkle nodded at the werewolf. “I try.”
“Mama Bear will see you. Come,” he commanded. The stallion turned and walked towards a door in the back.
Sparkle made to follow him, and licked her lips as she looked at his muscled hindquarters. Thorn groaned. “Mom, I know we thought about it as Sparkrovitar, and I know I joked about it, but please don’t. I don’t want to see that now.”
“Ah... Right.” She frowned. Wasn’t one of those mental alterations she’d done on her mind years ago a libido suppressant? And there was the one she’d placed on Thorn to stop him from obsessing over Rarity?
Well, it looked like her body wanted to make up for lost time. That could get annoying fast. And then there was the can of worms named Rarity, and Thorn’s claws made excellent can-openers.
Sparkle pushed the thought aside and weaved around a pony in a suit. Stepping into the elevator - a very rare contraption, she noted - she stood as close to the stallion as she could without being creepy. “What’s your name?”
His eyes darted down to her before resuming staring at the wall. “Riding Hood.”
The elevator dinged open, revealing a luxurious, high-ceilinged room. As if waiting there for Sparkle and Thorn, Mama Bear sat in a chair nearby, watching the elevator and waiting for it to open. Beside her stood a young looking colt, though his vampire soul suggested that he could be much older. "Sparkle, how wonderful to see you," Mama Bear said cheerfully.
"Hello, Mama Bear. It's good to see you again as well," Sparkle said. "Allow me to introduce my son, Thornecrovitar."
"Ponies call me Thorn," he added.
Mama Bear pointed to a chair across from her. "Please, have a seat. I would offer you a seat as well, Thorn, had I known you were coming. Silly me."
That didn't bother them, though. Sparkle sat down and Thorn climbed atop her head, a spot comfortable for both of them.
Mama Bear smiled. "That works. You know, I was curious about you, Thorn. Everypony knows of you, but very few know who or what you are. Might I ask you to tell me about yourself?"
"I'm a dracolich, who enjoys the taste of pony souls and pony flesh. I also love my mom, my family, and comic books. Mess with what I love, and I'll eat you... And that's about it. I'm a simple guy. Oh, and I can play the drums," said the little drake.
"Marvelous! Simply marvelous! Sparkle, you have an interesting boy there," Mama Bear said. "I am sure you will love working for me. In fact, you will love everything about working for Dusk." Here, she smiled even wider. "I'll let Riding Hood show you to your new laboratory. There, you will find a list of projects we would like you to complete. There is no fixed deadline for each, but speed is of the essence. They are sorted by priority. Take a moment to read it over as you get settled in. Kätzchen will be by later to get a list of supplies you need from you, and to show you around."
Sparkle had been puzzling over something she had picked up on regarding Mama Bear's voice, and it finally clicked into place. 'Gotcha.'
"Sounds great!" Sparkle said, surprising herself with how genuine her enthusiasm was.
"Fantastic. You'll be a great ally for Dusk, you'll see. And I'm sure we'll be a great ally for you," Mama Bear said. "Riding? Show her to the lab."
Riding Hood nodded, gesturing for them to follow. Sparkle and Thorn complied. And as Sparkle walked, Thorn committed everything he could to memory.
'In the end, I'm going to make sure that Mom and I are the real winners,' the unholy abomination sitting on Sparkle's back thought.