Phase II
"In order to revitalize the Crystal Empire, a Crystal Fair could be held." Twilight declared before an exhausted looking Cadance. The mare looked absolutely sleep deprived, the bags under her eyes made Spike feel uneasily tired, he wished she could rest, but he knew her magic was the only thing keeping them all safe.
"It's a celebration that was used to-" Twilight quoted the book, "'renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so they could protect it from harm'. It was a tradition established by the first queen."
'We have queens? Since when?'
"My friends and I could put it together. Everything we need to know is in the book!" Twilight said hopefully.
Shining agreed, a small vestage of hope finally being found, he looked at the Cadance and grimaced, seeing his wife dozing off from her throne.
She wouldn't last much longer.
"C'mon Spike, we've got a Crystal Fair to put together." The lavender mare declared, closing the book. Spike went after her, his face contorted in thought.
He got it, he really did. Good will and the spirit of love and kindness being powerful forces that could change the world, but it just didn't sit right that they were going to waste time trying to 'revitalize the ponies' of the empire, rather than prepare to fight off Sombra's fell shadow. Love and hope weren't going to fall the encroaching darkness that was only held back by a dwindling shield, what they should be doing is finding some kind of magic that could be used to fight the shadow and destroy it.
'Yea, because that worked out so well for Shining Armor, didn't it?'
The drake groaned from annoyance. The voice had a point, he felt bad for the pony, his horn had been tainted by some kind of black crystal protrusions, rendering his magic entirely useless.
Still though, it just didn't seem pragmatic to leave all of their lives in the hooves of a book that promised fair tale, deus ex machina solutions. How Twilight was so sure it would work was beyond him. He'd brought his concerns to her, but Twilight said that it was their only hope of defeating Sombra and saving the empire.
Spike was in full disagreement, but followed her anyway. Twilight was smarter than he was on matters like these, so he'd deffer to her judgement.
The two walked into a cristiline room to find the rest of Twilight's friends standing around a small table with varying face expressions. Pinkie looked hopeful, Applejack and Rarity looked annoyed and Fluttershy looked exhausted. Twilight explained her plan and the optimistic outcome she hoped for, all ponies present agreed to assist her in her plan. All save for Applejack, who's thought process lined up with Spike's own in questioning the Crystal Fair's effectiveness.
"Ah'm sorry, Sugarcube. It's jes', Ah think we should be lookin' more fer a way o' fighin' back, stead o' throwin a shin dig fer everypony."
'THANK YOU!'
Twilight gave her the same argument she'd given Spike, silencing the cow pony's protests. Fact of the matter was that neither of the two knew enough to say that Twilight was wrong. With reluctance, Applejack conformed to the rest and agreed to assist in the set up efforts. As they read through the traditions of the Crystal Fair, each mare found a role to play.
Rarity, who'd kept mainly to herself, would handle banner making and other cloth related decorations, Fluttershy would oversee the animals, Pinkie to tend to the miscellaneous merry making, and AJ would see to the proper food preparations.
While the girls held council, the drake's good eye began to droop from boredom and he excused himself. He wondered out of the room and kept a good distance away in case one of them came out, but close enough to hear them if they called. He found a small chair and took a seat.
Sparing a glance to make sure nopony was looking, the drake took out his cross bow and bolts.
He'd received no small amount of flack when the girls had realized he'd been carrying the weapon on the train with them. Twilight being particularly vocal about the laws against such things, but Spike wasn't about to leave himself defenseless. His mother and them could suck eggs and deal with it.
He counted three bolts left and seven dragon scales.
'Got any ideas on how to make them stick?'
He didn't, fact was that no matter how Spike attached the scales, there was no way they'd stick once the force of the release sent the projectile flying. Not unless he connected it to the tip, but that would throw off the trajectory substantially. He might as well be throwing the scales themselves at that point.
Pondering his options, Spike found each less suitable than the last. He could try and cut one of the scales into a sliver and attach it like that, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn't shatter, and even if it didn't, did it need to be the whole scale in order to be effective? Would it's lesser quantity be a factor?
Looking down at the scales in his hand, the drake sighed and clenched them into a fist. Even if he wasn't able to use them offensively, he could still hold magical invulnerability if they were in his grasp. Maybe he could give a few of them to his friends? Not Twilight, since it would render her own magic nul, but maybe the non magic users? Sombra's magic wouldn't affect them if they held a scale, but that would deplete his own offensive capabilities, and with the plan the others were so bent on implementing, something told him he'd need every scale he could get.
"Hey Spike?" The drake looked up and saw Shining Armor looking down at him. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure." The stallion nodded and took a seat opposite him, his eyes looking down at drake's clenched fist. "How's your horn?"
Shining sighed. "Annoying, I can't stand not being able to use magic." He looked up at the protruding crystals on his forehead and frowned. "Anyways, I saw what you did back there, how did you hurt the shadow?"
Spike opened his claw to reveal the dull purple scales in his grasp, explaining their anti-magical properties. Shining looked contemplative for a moment, regarding the tools. His eyes trailed over to the crossbow bolts in the dragons lap and he nodded in understanding. "If I could use my magic, I might be able to carve out the bolt tip so you could work the scale in."
"That would make this a lot easier." Spike chuckled mirthlessly. "You think this'll work? The Crystal fair, I mean."
Bitting his lip, Shining shrugged. Fact of the matter was, there wasn't any certainty here one way or the other. He wanted to trust in his sister's judgement that the revitalization of the crystal ponies would help, but he too had his doubts. Seemed he and Applejack weren't the only skeptics about the power of love, and Shining was almost married to its personification.
Gently picking out a single scale, Spike offered it to his uncle. "Here."
Shining regarded the offering than looked at Spike questioningly.
"You can't use magic anyway, and if things go badly, you'll still have some way to protect yourself and Cadance." The drake explained, a small hope forming in his mind. Smiling, Shining stepped forward and accepted the scale. Spike had hoped that, in coming into contact with it, the spell used to seal the pony's magical powers would be broken. Though, the crystals in his horn were still very much intact. So the scales wouldn't break the magic of Sombra? That troubled Spike greatly, he hoped that it was only for pre-existing magical conditions.
"If the Fair does fail, what do you think we should do?" Shining asked.
Spike had been thinking about that for a while. During his time in the library, reading over the books, he'd found one book in particular about foul beasts. Unknown to the others, he'd spent a good hour looking through it, trying to find anything he could on fell shadows. Unfortunatly, they were so rare that no studies or research could be conducted. All he could find in their reference was that they came from beings so powerful in life that death, true death, was almost impossible, so long as their will and magical prowess survived.
This lead him to conclude that either a psychological assault to break his will, or destroy him with an anti-magical artifact. He didn't know much of Sombra, certainly no psychological weaknesses that he could exploit, but he did have anti-magic scales. Only seven -six now that Shining had one- and he couldn't see any way to use them. The scales did hurt the fell shadow, but it didn't disperse him upon contact. Perhaps prolonged exposure would work? After all, if something could be hurt, it could be killed, right?
"That's not a bad plan, actually." Shining praised, causing the dragon to blush a little. Still, it was a long shot at best. The shadow had a gas like form that could bend and twist around solid objects at will. It did seem to need constant contact with the ground though, maybe that could be used against it?
The two spent the better part of half an hour bouncing ideas back and forth before Shining took his leave to see to his soon to be wife.
At the mention of her name, Spike gaped. "Shining!" he called, halting the pony for a moment. "I almost forgot, while you have the scale on you, do not touch Cadance. If you do, her magic will be cut off and the barrier will fall."
The stallion's eyes shot wide and he gave his word to be careful.
"Good morning, Mr. Macintosh." Said a particularly cheerful solar guard. A stallion who's smile had no place near any of the guard's stoic and unblinking faces.
"Mornin'." Mac replied with a yawn.
"Princess Luna sends her compliments, and has informed me that you will have one hour before the ponies you've requested arrive." Said the pony. An hour was a good amount of time, it would only take him thirty minutes to get to the train station. Plus... it also gave him time to think over a dream he'd just had.
The apple pony thanked the guard stallion for his efforts and asked if he could write up a few letters for him. The pony nodded and retrieved a unicorn writer, meeting Macintosh in the castle dining room. Mac told her what to write down, and ensured that three copies of the document were made. It wasn't a necessity to his plan, but it was a contingency, just in case.
"Is there anything else?" The writer asked.
The stallion asked to see the paper and read it, re-read it and re-read it again, making sure the message was as clear as possible, scanning for anything that could be better worded or misconstrued. "Yea, actualleh." He smiled apologetically. "Ah need ta go n' talk to a friend real quick, mind keepin' that on standby fer me?"
The mare nodded and said she'd be in the castle library, waiting for him to come and speak with here when he was ready. With that, the stallion walked out of the dinning hall and made way for the dungeons.
Sin's eye twitched, his muscles straining from constant effort of stress and relaxation. He'd been wrestling with the Alicorn's influence for the better part of two and a half hours or so. Gaining little bits of ground here and there, but still having quite a ways to go. She spoke to him, asking why he'd placed so much effort into fighting the madness she offered, still disguising her voice as that of the Critic, but he didn't listen. All the Federalsit could focus on was Hurricane and the rest of the Trotski leaders, his will and thirst for revenge driving him to take back what was his.
Tensing his leg so hard it began to cramp, Sin flinched and gritted his teeth. He felt a few of his cavities flare from the preassure, but the pain was nothing compared to the head ache that he had. At least his legs weren't moving outside of his control anymore. Whenever he'd feel the Alicorn's influence demand something of his body, he diverted all attention to that area and willed it to stay in place. The effort was maddening, but he was still strong enough to maintain control.
'Why do you resist? Why do you care?'
Because fuck you, that's why.
It was the first response he'd given after waking up from his nap, the Alicorn of Insanity was silent for a moment.
'I come to offer you release, to expel your stress and suffering of this world, why do you deny yourself the peace you so rightly deserve?'
Sin felt his right foreleg beginning to act up and diverted his will, tuning out the question for a moment.
Why? Because I've got shit to do, and that involves me remaining firmly sane.
The voice chuckled, his tone both sad and amused. 'Sane? You believe yourself sane? Since when? You've never been within your right mind, why try to start now?'
Another forced movement came, this time in his neck. The will was stronger than before, making the pony sweat with effort to resist the spirit's influence.
Because I want to... and I don't like you, you're kind of a bitch.
That got things going a little faster in terms of involuntary action. Sin's mouth sucked in his inner cheek and chomped down for all it was worth. The stallion was too late to react and felt the blood begin to pool in his mouth. He spit in digust and began hacking, draining the substance as best he could while holding back the urge to vomit.
'Don't you DARE refer to me as that again!'
Sin spit out a few more mouthfuls of blood and allowed himself to chuckle, he kept the looming mania well in check, but tinted it with a dark amusement.
Problem?
The "critic" mocked him, stating that he had no arguments to maintain his sanity. She chorteled how his beloved had abandoned him, siting and standing by as he was taken away. How his friend, Macintosh, watched helplessly, obeying Sin's request to allow himself to be taken into custody. That, plus his life was over, no matter how short a time he'd spend in prison, everything he'd worked for would be for nothing now. He would most likely not be welcome back at the mill, certainly not welcomed back at city hall, and that didn't even count for all that would happen to him in prison.
Sin had to admit, the 'critics' words hit him hard. It hurt knowing that everything he'd been working for for the past few months was a waste of effort. He'd gain nothing from it, no matter how much he was entitled for all of his hard work and sacrifice. All of that work, all of that planning, all of the relationships he'd built with his friends...
His anger swelled and he reluctantly swallowed the blood in his mouth. The Alicorn's words wouldn't lead him to dispair this time, he channeled the raw emotion into anger and determination, using it to farther his will and dominance.
"You're right about one thing, my life is over." Sin admitted, spitting out a small bit of blood and saliva. "But you've made a mistake in one assumption."
'Oh?'
I don't plan on going to prison.
'Oh? Because I've seen your thoughts, and you have no plans of escape.'
That was true, but he knew an opportunity of some sort would present itself.
As if on cue, the doors to the dungeon opened and a pair of clopping hooves descended the staircase. Sin readied himself, unsure if it was a guard coming for him, another inmate or Celestia. He hoped beyond hope it wasn't Uppity.
To his surprise, it was none other than Big Macintosh. The pony's eyes were tired but focused, focused in a way that Sin had never seen before. It inspired him, though.
"Hey." The apple pony said solemnly.
"Sup?"
A moment of silence passed, each waiting for the other to speak.
"Listen, Sin. Ah want ya ta know tha' Ah'm doin' what ya asked." Macintosh said. "Ah've learned a lot 'bout communism, n' Ah think Ah might have a plan 'bout how tah deal with the protests."
Sin quirked a brow, genuinely surprised and interested. He'd never heard Mac come up with a plan before, a supportive idea or two, yea, but not a plan. And to have it done for a situation this massive? The Federalist had to admit, he was impressed.
The catch, though, was that Mac needed a little more information on the Trotski, and what they planned to accomplish and how. The pony was informed that Sin had been sent to quell their initial compound and had more information on them than any imperial agent.
Sin mustered his will and began sifting through his memories, extending far more effort than he should have needed to recall. He told Mac everything he remembered. That the Trotski were reactionary ponies who wanted to return to the rule of the tribes with their respective figures of authority heading each tribe.
There were some more details, but the 'Critic' was making his already strained control over his mind even more foggy.
"Y'all righ' partner?"
The Federalist nodded, dismissing his behavior as a sever head ache. There was no point telling Mac about the Alicorn of Insanity, what were the chances the pony would believe him anyways? No, this was something Sin would handle on his own. Like how he used to handle everything else before...
"Honestly though, Mac, I'd advise you to go home."
The red pony tilted his head, giving Sin a look.
It was from a bitter place, but Sin didn't see the point in Macintosh wasting his time with this. If the worst came about, there would be some clashes, maybe a riot than Crown would call down the hammer and crush the protesters. They didn't have the numbers, nor the ideology to garner the needed public support in order for the nation to turn either Communist or follow the Trotski.
"Go home, dude." Sin turned away. "Go home to your, hopefully soon to be, wife. She's with child, correct? That foal will need his or her father around. No point in risking your life here against a pseudo-rebellion that has no chance of succeeding."
Sin couldn't see the bewildered look upon his friend's face, but he knew it was there.
"Are y'all serious righ' now?"
No reply, Sin could feel the tension building between the two building. He knew Macintosh was going to be angry, but he also didn't want one of the few trustworthy individuals in his life to suffer life or limb in whatever fool hearty endevor he had planned. Things were going to get bloody, and Sin didn't want his friend in the middle of it.
"Alrigh' then why'd you come up? If'n it's so dangerous." His words were calmer than Sin expected, but that wasn't of any real consiquence.
"Because, I don't have anyone relying on me." Sin turned. "I don't have a family who wants me to come home every day, I don't have a son or daughter on the way, I don't have anything. I came here to help save the integraty of the Celestia and Luna. If I die, it wouldn't be near as painful as if you had died."
"BULL SHIT!" Mac bellowed, his patience already spent. "Y'all have friend who care 'bout you. Wha' 'bout Uppity? Huh!? Er Spike, er Shade, er me?!"
Sin had to stop himself from laughing, if only Macintosh knew... Still though, he didn't know the reason for Uppity's betrayal, and as much as he wanted her too to pay, he'd rather leave that to himself and get the full story before ruining her life.
"You're my friends, but.. you're not my family."
Mac looked like he'd been slapped. His mouth and eyes wide open.
"You have a family who loves you, who needs you. If you die, there's no replacing you. There is no stallion who could fill your shoes as far as Annabelle's concerned. Even I can see that, and as for your unborn child? Who could be a better father?"
"Me? You and Spike would get over it after a few weeks, Uppity too, find a new stallion and move on. Shade would just as likely laugh as he would cry over my death, being frank. Besides," Sin paused, giving the pony a hard look. "What do you think your granny would say if her only grandson died while a mare bore his child?"
"Buck you, Sin." Mac seethed. "Ya know damn well not ta bring that up."
His voice was a low, warning growl, but Sin's mind wasn't right. There was a better, softer way to go about this, but he couldn't find it. He was in too deep now to back out.
"Mac, I want you to think about this. I know you're devoted to Equestria, I get that. I suppose I can even empathize a little, but you shouldn't risk your life against a cause destined to fail anyways." The pony turned his head away. "Believe me, it can come down to life and death. You saw the protesters at the train station, they're just looking for an excuse to become violent. And... I want better for you, and your family."
"Buck you, SIN!" Mac yelled, his voice dripping with emotion.
Steeling his resolve, the Federalist stayed silent. He did feel genuinely sad and hurt for the words he was hearing. Mac never cursed at anyone, that was the first time he'd ever been insulted by the humble pony before. Though, his mind wasn't clear enough for logical reason of that magnitude. His best bet was to appeal to Mac's emotions and stop him from wasting his time, or at worst, his life. What he'd say next would hurt both him and Macintosh both, but Sin had to know he tried everything he could to save the pony from a pointless potential death.
"You're one of the finest stallion's I've ever met, Big Macintosh. Moral, just, courageous, loyal and honest to a fault. I would hate to see you leave this earth because you were too stupid to see what you have in front of you."
The words were cruel but the concept was worse. He wanted Macintosh to hate him a little, make the severing process easier when he finally made his escape. He didn't want Mac to feel this way, but he also wanted the apple pony to move on in life without him. Same with Spike, and to a certain degree, Uppity. He'd escape, he had no plans on going to prison, but he'd never see any of them again. He'd be a fugative from the Equestrian Law, hunted, hated and loathed as an enemy of the empire.
And Sin knew that Ponyville would be the first place they'd look for him.
The Federalist meant every word of praise he'd given the stallion. Mac had his faults, like any other, but it was his morals and sense of honor that made him one of the most appealing friends Sin ever had. He was a good stallion, one the libertarian knew he could trust completely, and that made the pain of his words even worse.
The farmer was the reason Sin believed that the world had any decency left in it. Mandylion, for all of Sin's praise of him, was a manipulative bastard, even to those he loved. Big Macintosh was not, he was meek, humble, honest, and gracious in his own way. The kind of stallion Sin wanted to be if things had turned out better for him.
He'd never said anything before, but he really did look up to the larger stallion.
Wordlessly, Mac began walking away, his clopping hoofsteps echoing oppressively in Sin's brain, making his body tremble with emotions barely contained.
Silently, Sin bid Big Macintosh a final good bye.
"So how are the preparations going?" Asked Shining Armor, continually bumping Cadance with a hoof to keep the dozing mare awake.
Twilight grimaced. The fair's preparations were going splendidly, all things considered. The crystal ponies were much more lively since it had started, they'd become more lively, their once depressed and meloncholy attitude switching to jovial and upbeat. Everything looked like it was making progress, but there was a problem.
Something called the "Crystal Heart" was needed to complete the Ceremony.
While out trying to encourage the ponies to indulge the fair, Applejack had spoken with numerous ponies around the grounds. One of the ponies asked about the heart, claiming it's presence was significant to the empire's protection. Twilight had carved a heart shaped crystal for the affair, seeing as how the book also claimed it's necessity, but was unaware that it was actually an artifact irreplaceable.
Of course AJ said they'd had it, under the impression they did, buuuuuut no. No, no they did not.
Though, it did give Spike hope that the fair wasn't a waste of time after all. The heart being used for the protection of the empire was exactly the kind of thing he wanted to hear about. It just took the cheer of the fair to get the ponies to remember, that and it w
"Do we know where it is?" Cadance yawned, fighting to keep her eyes open. Twilight shook her head.
"But don't worry, we'll find it. Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity will see to the crystal fair and keep the ponies happy. Spike and I will figure out where the heart is and bring it back."
Cadance smiled and dozed off for a moment, the blue sky outside flickering with a blackened and snow filled reality a few times as her magic waned. She stood with a gasp and the spell once again stabilized.
She wouldn't last much longer.
"Twilight hurry!" Shining pleaded, leaning on his wife to be. "I don't know how long she'll be able to keep this up."
"Right!"
The two ran out of the room and made way for the main throne. Spike wasn't sure why, though. The two had been searching the castle proper for the past two hours, the throne room being the first place they looked. It was large, but open. There weren't too many places to hide anything there.
According to the empire's residents, Sombra had claimed to have hidden the crystals where nopony would ever find them. Wouldn't the palace be the first place somepony would think to look? Of course, that was the beauty of it, too. Hide the heart where one would least suspect.
They looked around once again and Twilight began pacing, her face contorted in a thoughtful expression. Spike looked out the window and saw the sky flash black again. It had been happening with more frequency and the instability lasting longer and longer each time. The drake gripped the crossbow that hung from his shoulder in one hand, and the dragon scales in the other, trying to find comfort there in.
"Twilight, it's not in here, we need to look somwhere else!" He said, a sense of dread and urgency beginning to overcome him.
The librarian shook her head, convinced that the heart was here somewhere. They'd overlooked something, something important. Her eyes trailed to the throne and lingered for a moment. Her eyes shot wide in realization. "THAT'S IT!" She cried. Concentrating, her horn began to glow, though to Spike's horror, it wasn't her typical lavender aura, but a black one that slowly gave way to a bunch of sickly green and purple erutptions.
Suddenly, her horn discharged the spell and hit a single crystal that sit at the throne's top. The crystal returned the spell and began to hit the floor, pealing away the crystal floor to reveal a blackened, stone staircase that spiraled downwards. Hope filled the drake and he ran over to see where the staircase lead. It amazed him how deep it was, he couldn't even see the bottom!
"Geeze" he thought out loud. The sky flickered again and the two shot down the staircase, hoping beyond hope that the heart was below. Nothing was down there though, nothing but a single door.
Twilight used her magic to open it, but the door... moved away from her.
"What the?" She asked, the door came to stop and she repeated the spell, only to have the door, once again, scurry around the wall and away from her.
'Well, that's... new.'
Growing frustrated, the unicorn summoned the same spell that put Spike on edge from before and shot the door with it. The crystal at the top of the door frame to be exact. Suddenly the door opened revealing... nothing. Nothing but stone behind it.
Spike took a step closer and scratched the top of his head. "What?"
'What do you mean "what?", dude the door moved around! You saw the stone it was sitting in front of a second ago. Did you really think it would open and reveal anything else?'
Well... yea! It's a hidden door! There's no reason there should be nothing down here! Why would Sombra go through all of this trouble to make a door that didn't lead anywhere?
'To throw off anyone looking to find the Crystal heart?'
"No, I didn't know if I failed the test I wouldn't be your student anymore!" Twilight said from him, her voice beyond distraught.
Spike turned and felt ice shoot up his spine. Her eyes, they were red and green with purple smoke emitting from them. "Twilight?" He asked, the mare didn't respond, her sickly eyes looking intently at the empty doorway. She began speaking again, blathering frantically, apologizing to someone and pleading not to be left alone or without direction.
'It's a trap!'
"TWILIGHT!" Spike yelled, placing his hands on the mare's shoulder and breaking her from her trance. She gasped and trembled, her eyes flowing with tears. Next thing Spike knew, Twilight had embraced him in a bone crushing hug, sobbing uncontrolably. "Twilight, are you okay?"
"Oh Spike..." She sobbed. The drake felt something soft hit the ground beside him but was too preoccupied by his mother to care. He gently rubbed her back, telling her that everything was fine. She told him what she saw, that Celestia had abandoned her, that he'd left her and said some of the most horrible things, that each of her friends had turned their backs on her again, just like at the wedding, declairing her a terrible pony who deserved to be alone.
The thought made the dragon's temper flare, she was just starting to let the scars of her lost friendship heal, that was the last thing she needed to see.
"C'mon Twi, let's get out of here."
The mare, to his surprise refused to leave, convinced the door held the answers they sought.
"Are you crazy? That door's nothing but trouble?" He said.
The librarian was of a different mind, claiming that she had a gut feeling about it. Rolling his eyes, the dragon turned to look at the open piece of wood again, he waited for Twilight to do something, but nothing happened. He turned and found Twilight had disappeared!
"Twilight?" he called, his voice echoing off of the stone cavern around him. He was alone. "Twilight, where did you go?!" He bellowed, feeling the dread from before creeping up again.
He turned around and... found himself in the Ponyville market district. He recoiled in shock and turned around, looking for anypony or anything. Yet there was nothing to be seen and nothing to be heard. Not even the sound insects, just ear shattering silence. Now utterly bewildered and terrified the dragon rubbed his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him.
When he opened them, he found Twilight standing infront of him, she was facing away from him, and stood stock still. "You're your own dragon now, right?" he heard her say in icy tones. "So why are you looking for me? I thought you could take care of yourself."
"He can." Spike looked to his right and found Sin, also looking away from him. "But he chooses not to, deep down, he's still just a scared little baby."
"No I'm not." The baby dragon said, his words full of hurt and sadness. Why were they saying these things? Twilight knew he loved her...
"Then why are ya wearin' a diaper?"
Spike turned around and saw Big Macintosh, also turned away. he looked down to find he was, infact, wearing a pair of white, waste containment undergarments. What was worse was that he was a great deal shorter and pudgier than he remembered. He lifted his claws to find them small and dull, like that of a dragon baby. Not the kid dragon he was, but a full on infant.
"Because he's a baby..." Sin declared. "A baby looking for his mommy."
"Ah guess so."
"Pathetic"
"Weak."
"Alone."
"Cry baby."
The words continued to come from all three of them, words that cut the drake deep and hurt him on a level he'd never before experienced. Spike covered his ears, arguing that he wasn't weak or a baby, but it was pointless. He was a baby, and he could feel the warm trail of tears flowing down his cheeks from crying.
A wicked chuckle came from all around him and the trio began to chant "cry baby" over and over, their cruel enjoyment in his suffering fuling his sense of betrayal and pain.
Unable to take anymore, Spike ran in the only direction he was free to do so. He wanted to cry, he wanted to bawl like the infant he was, what did he do to deserve this? He was a baby, but that didn't mean he deserved such heartless words.
He ran and ran until he couldn't run anymore, his short and stubby legs taking him barely any distance at all. Stopping to catch his breath, Spike rubbed the tears from his eyes and looked up to find himself standing right in front of the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight poked her head out the window and gave him an evil smirk. "Baby come home?"
The question didn't even have time to register before a gigantic, clawed, lilac foot slammed down, crushing the library in one swift motion. His heart pounding a mile a minute, Spike trembled and made use of the diaper as he looked up to find... himself. It was the body he had when he'd gone on his rampage through Ponyville. His neck was much longer, and more slender, his body gigantic, and face ugly as sin. The difference was that his eyes weren't green and white, but red and green with a small trail of purple smoke flowing from the side.
It roared, breaking the smaller dragon from his trance. His panic sent the dragon running, running for his life away from the giant monstrosity behind him.
Why was this happening? What the hay was going on?
He felt the ground shake as his pursuer took a step.
No, no, no, no!
"TWILIGHT! SIN! MACINTOSH!" The infant drake cried, feeling another rumble of the ground, this one much closer. "Somepony, anypony, help me!" He tripped, stumbling to the ground with a painful omph. Struggling to catch his breath, Spike felt sick to his stomach as dark shadow blocked out the sun above him.
He turned his attention up just in time to scream before the giant clawed foot that destroyed the library offered his skull the same fate. In a final act of defiance to his death, Spike pushed himself up and made a mad dash out of the way, his tail inches from being pinched between the unforgiving cobble stone ground, and an even more unforgiving mass of dragon foot.
He took shelter behind a building and threw up. He'd almost died, he almost bucking died! Nopony was there, nopony was coming to help or save him. He was alone, alone with a giant dragon who was bent on killing him.
Shivering, infant dragon sat down and waited, hoping the leviathan would lose interest.
"Still running?"
His blood froze and the drake looked down the alleyway. Another pair of glowing red and green eyes appeared from the shadows, walking foward. Dread surpassing that of the giant dragon swirled in Spike's belly as the figure entered the light. It was him, but... his form before. When he ha'd aged under Sin.
It crawled on all fours, skulking to him ever so slowly, teasing his sense of fear and horror with it's slow pace. "You can't run from this, you can't run from who you truly are."
"No..." Spike whispered, stepping back from the encroaching beast. "No, I- I'm not like you!"
The teen dragon halted his advance, looking at the infant with mild curiosity. "Aren't I?" He reached up a claw to his face and slowly, methodically, sunk his claws into his left eye. The sounds were exaggerated, the sounds of squashing and tearing made Spike want to vomit, seeing it did.
His stomach now empty, the drake could barely keep focus or consciousness. Spike didn't wanna look back, he didn't want to be here any more, he didn't know how much more of this he could take, but something compelled him to, despite his sanity's protest. He chanced another glance at his teen doppelganger and, to his horror, found the dragon had halted his act, waiting for Spike to turn his attention back before finishing his work.
POP
The teen drake removed the his own eye ball, pulling it until the nerve cord that connected it to his brain was tense. His expression never changed from amusement, there was no trace of pain or even discomfort as the older dragon continued to pull and rip the nerve cord out completely.
It was the most horrific thing Spike had ever seen in his life.
"There, is that better?"
Spike turned away and began to run again, but his teenage self was in front of him once again, this time wearing the eye patch over his freshly gouged eye, leaning back against the alley wall with his arms folded. "Do you acknowledge me now?" It asked, smiling as blood seeped from the eye patch.
The infant drake couldn't answer, too traumatized to even think about anything other than the horror he'd just seen.
His psychological assault complete, the teen's mouth began to foam, his remaining eye shrinking to a wild and ferral pin prick. "Aknowledge me. Acknowledge the beast inside."
"SPIKE!"
In what could only be described as a break from reality, Spike fell face first onto a cold stone ground. He could hear Twilight, calling out to him, asking if he was okay.
'Dude, are you okay? What happened, what did you see?'
Spike didn't reply, he didn't want to know what he saw. All he knew was that curling up and crying sounded like something he wanted to do. Twilight took him in her legs and held the drake as he wept. He clung to her, taking her for all the comfort she was worth.
It was night time now, Sin had gained a lot of ground in his mind. He still had to battle the Alicorn of Insanity at every turn, she made sure he earned every last bit of himself, but he was making progress. Enough to not have the urge to laugh at everything at least.
Macintosh coming down didn't help with his emotional repression, but as much as he didn't want to care, he did. He didn't want Macintosh missing him when he was gone, the apple pony deserved that much.
The doors to the dungeon opened and a pair of hoof steps echoed through the hall. Sin felt himself grow nervous.
"Well, well, well. I had to see it to believe it." Said a darker green earth pony as he walked infront of the bars of Sin's cell. Behind him, Uppity followed, looking just as miserable and ashamed as the last time he saw her.
"Oh how I've waited for this." Sickle declared smugly, looking at Uppity than back at Sin. "Bet ya didn't think you'd end up here, did you, lap dog? And it's because of your old lady at that!"
Sin felt his muscles tense as he looked at the orange unicorn.
"Sin, I- I..." Her words trailed off as she looked away.
Any hope Sin had of her not being involved died then and there. It was official and confirmed, Uppity had betrayed his trust and himself.
"So," Sin said lowly, keeping himself calm. "Come to gloat?"
Sickle nodded and Sin laid back in his bed, motioning the stallion to proceed. Sickle quirked a brow, asking what he was doing.
"You came to gloat, so go ahead." He shrugged apathetically.
"WHAT?! No! No, you're in the dungeon! You've been betrayed by your own mare, who I will have by the way!" He said, Sin could sense the desperation in his voice, the stallion wanted a reaction, he wanted Sin to be hurt and angry, but the Federalist wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"Yea, I'm aware." He replied, as if pointing out the obvious. "Look, can you just gloat and leave? I've had a long day." He said with a dismissive yawn, urking the communist ever more.
His taunting worked, sending Sickle into a rage-filled tirade about how his life was over, about how he was going to kill him here and now and make it look like Celestia's doing.
"Oh?" Sin asked, feining an amused smirk. "You're going to kill me?"
Sickle smirked and nodded.
To this, Sin allowed himself a small chuckle. "Yea, okay. I'd like to see that."
Sickle began to shake with rage. He fumbled and pulled out a crossbow, Sin's crossbow. He loaded a bolt and aimed it at the pony, that was enough to wipe Sin's smirk from his face.
"Oh yea, that's what I wanted to see." Sickle cooed. "Any last words?"
Summoning his courage, Sin pushed himself out of bed, walked right up to the bow and pressed his forehead against the bolt tip, his smirk returning full force into a maniacal grin. "You think I'm afraid of death?"
That set the earth pony on edge, not that it mattered, his hoof wasn't even on the trigger mechanism. Actually, the trigger mechanism wasn't even attached to the bow.
Sickle pushed the bow forward, the bolt digging into Sin's forehead. The stallion laughed cruelly and walked back to his bed, laying down and relaxing casually.
"Why isn't it working?" The communist demanded
"Because, I took the trigger mechanism away." Sin answered casually. "I haven't used that thing in months, figured I'd make it harmless to anyone who didn't know how it worked."
"YOU BITCH!" Sickle cried, thowing the contraption at Uppity and hitting her in the chest. "I told you to make sure it worked!"
Sin chuckled again to hide his desire to beat the pony senseless. She may have been treacherous and manipulative, but dammit if he didn't still have feelings for her.
"STOP LAUGHING! OR I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Yea, yea, yea. You'll kill me, end my life, blah blah blah. Broken record, I swear." Sin said non nonchalantly.
As hoped, Sickle pulled out a the key to his cell and began fumbling to get it into the lock, promising pain and misery once he was inside. Sin sat up and patiently waited for the pony to enter, fighting to keep his anticipation in check. This was it, this was his chance.
Finally, the door opened and Sickle charged in, his hoof aimed directly at Sin's head. The Federalist unleashed his aura, dodging the pony and putting him off his guard even farther. The oaken pony had always kept his use of the aura to a minimum, making it's influence subtle and uncertain. This was the first time he'd ever used it to it's fullest effect, and the results were immediate.
Sickle, already hot headed, was impossibly easy to anticipate and react for. Growing before an attack, ducking before a kick. Even in his injured state, Sin found the assassination attempt utter child's play.
That was until a lucky strike landed on Sin's cheek, sending the pony's goggles from his face and clanking onto the ground, the pony following right after.
"HA!" Sickle declaired through labored breaths. "Got you, mother bucker!"
A small chuckling put the stallion's sense of victory on hold. Sin slowly began to raise, his face turned away. "Tell me something, Sickle. Do you want to see your brother again?"
"Eventually." Sickle breathed stepping forward to finish the job. "But I'll be sending you to let him know I avenged him."
In a flash, Sickle haulted as Sin turned to face him, muzzle to muzzle. His once icy blue eye now turquoise, crazed and serpentine. "I don't think so."
A new level of tha aura Sin had never before experienced flowed through his mind. Powerful, much more powerful than he ever thought possible. He wasn't sure how, but it was enhanced. He could feel his emotions in an organized chaos that flowed through his limbs, doing his conscious bidding. His eyes never left Sickles, but the pony began to back up, fear taking a tight hold of his body. Sin marched forward with him, pushing him back into the bars and making the stallion shrink down to his haunches.
For all of the power Sin was displaying, he could still feel more within his chest. He leaned down, watching as the stallion's eyes began involuntarily shifting in rapid movements. "I think. He paused, forcing every last bit of his energy out, wanting to crush his antagonists very soul. "It's time for a family reunion."
Sickle gasped and clutched at his chest. Sin stood back and watched as the pony clutched his chest, trying to get to his heart. Sin wasn't sure, but it looked like the earth pony was having a heart attack.
With one last confused and terrified expression, Sickle began to go still before finally dying.
The room was quiet, and Sin looked at the door to his cell, it was open and he was finally going to be free. Through out all of his actions, he found the will of the Alicorn to be... non-existent. He felt in control of his emotions again.
"Sin..."
He charged forth and pinned Uppity against the stone walls, his hoof firmly in her neck. His anger threatend to spill over, but he had to know. He needed to know why she did it.
"Sin, please..." she begged, fruitlessly trying to push his foreg off of her throat. "Th- they were goi- going to kill my brother!"
Her wheezing was just audible enough for him to make out and the Federalsit dropped her in a heap. As Uppity lay on her side, gasping for breath and massaging her neck, Sin wondered over to his crossbow and picked it up, as well as the few bolts attached to it's side. Her story was fine enough so far, but if she had anything to gain other than that...
He pointed his crossbow at her and demanded a full explination for her actions. Uppity gave it, spilling her guts in their entirety. She told him everything, about the letters, about the plan to have him arrested at Canterlot, how they were planning on using his arrest and death to gain sympathy, everything.
"Why didn't you tell me?" The Federalist asked.
Uppity sniffeled, "Th- they were going to ki-"
"I KNOW THAT!" He yelled, silencing her. "I want to know why you didn't tell me. We could have done something together! We could have figured this out! We could have made a plan! If worse came to worst, I'd have gladly given myself up. Willingly! For you!" Tears pulled in his eyes. "I'd have given up alot for you, Uppity. Dammit mare, I loved you!"
He slammed his crossbow hoof down in frustration, making the mare wince. "I loved you, but you couldn't trust me enough to tell me about this problem..." He shook his head. It was a defeating feeling, but at least he'd found out the reason for what she'd done. If nothing else, he could find closure in that, at least.
Sighing with nothing but the sounds of Uppity's constant sniffling, Sin tried to think about what he needed to do next. He'd need to leave this place, that was for sure, but that would be difficult, considering the beefed up security. He looked back at Sickle and a new thought came to mind.
"Uppity." He called, his voice calm and calculating. "You said that they wanted me dead, right? That once I was dead, they'd let your brother go?"
It took her a moment, but she eventually nodded in the affirmative.
Sin walked back into the cell and grabbed his goggles. He slammed them down onto the floor, giving the right lens a good crack. Once satisfied with that, he lifted the goggles up to his head and covered them in a little bit of his already drying blood.
Uppity looked up to find Sin offering her the lenses.
"I want you to take these to the Trotski." It was as good as evidence as they would get. From this moment on, as far as the Trotski, communists, princesses, government, and his friends were concerned: Sin von Islander was dead.