//------------------------------// // Giant Bear Attacks and Revelations // Story: I'm a loli?!? // by aterriblewriter //------------------------------// The rest of the day was spent with Alice behind the wheel. It was pretty exciting, watching her explore the town and have some fun, god knew how much she needed it. The griffon showed her face at the market, us catching a glimpse of her stealing an apple from an unsuspecting stall owner with her tail. We did help prevent Fluttershy from bumping into the griffon, Flutters a little preoccupied with leading a small group of baby ducks through town. Though, the griffon did bump into us and roar in our face before angrily strutting off. I suppose she was lucky that my tentacles were still exhausted from my little flight earlier today, I'm pretty sure that they would've thrown her across the town. After that was over and done with, Alice hung out around the weird bakery place, Pinkie hooking her up with some free shakes and cupcakes. After about an hour, maybe three different kinds of shakes later, Pinkie set up some decorations for a party, her finishing once Alice blinked. Rainbow showed up and spoke to her friend, then the two of them set up some pranks. It wasn't long until everyone showed up at the party, the griffon being the last one to show up. Twilight took a seat next to Alice and pulled out a book on some kind of magical study, the weird arcane symbol on the cover being my only clue. It was a pretty funny show we had got, the griffon setting off all the pranks in one go, the bird getting more and more flustered, until Rainbow admitted to something, I'm pretty sure it was about setting the pranks. The griffon went ballistic, yelling various things at everyone, most of the stuff was directed at Rainbow, before flying out the door, only Alice and I catching the sight of some tears trailing down her face as she left. We were a little surprised at how quickly everyone recovered from it, them all laughing and partying within a few moments of her leaving. Concerned about the griffon, we left the place to search for her. It took us a little bit, but we eventually found her on the edge of the town, sobbing as she sat down near a tree on a hill. Slowly, Alice approached the griffon and tried to wrap an arm around her in an attempt to console the emotional bird. The crying stopped, for a moment, until she wrapped her arms tightly around our body, crying even louder and yelling various thing at Alice. This went on for a few minutes, the crying slowly dying down as Alice hummed and rubbed the griffon’s back. After that, she finally realized what she was doing, her face becoming red as she backed away. After listening to some growling in our direction, Alice smiled and mimicked locking our mouth and throwing away the key, the griffon giving us a thankful smirk and playfully punching our shoulder. And that's how the rest of the day went, Alice hanging out with the griffon until she left, giving us a purple feather from her head before she flew off. The next day, I woke up early and took the ‘wheel’ from Alice as she slept. With a smile, I went to my closet and chose a new outfit, deciding on Menma’s dress from Anohana, frowning that I still couldn't find anything non-cosplay in my closet. After doing my morning routine, I whipped up some breakfast for Ash and I, deciding on something simple and easy: a pan of cinnamon and maple oatmeal. I quickly started to eat my food and fed the two monsters, waiting for Ash to get up. She eventually stumbled into the kitchen and threw her head into the bowl, slowly and tiredly lapping it up with her tongue. She groaned as she ate. “-Oh, mmmmmnnn, that hits the spot!-” I hear her yell. “-Thanks, Dakota!-” I gently smile at her and get up, finished with my food, placing my bowl in the sink and leaving the room. Stopping at the front door, I turn around. “Hmmm…. What were the words for ‘going out?’” I scratch my chin, and furrow my brows. “Oh, I think it's this….. “-I go ouf!-” …. Did I get it right?” I yelled my broken Equish in the direction of my kitchen. “-Good job!-” I heard Ash yell in response, the happiness in her voice pretty obvious. “-Thanks for telling me, I'll clean this up! Go have fun!-” I heard ‘go’ and ‘fun’, taking that as confirmation that she got what I said. I left and went for town square, hoping I could find something to do on this nice summer day. Alice woke up as I walked, telling me about her dream involving rainbows and candy. Needless to say, it was one of those dreams that was heaven to a kid would absolutely adore. “Yeah, after that, I rode this weird purple drag- hey, what's that?” Alice asked, directing my attention to the blue pony with a silver mane setting up a stage by the big town hall like building. “Huh, she's pretty.” The pony was wearing a large cliché wizard's hat and cape, stars decorating the articles of clothing. Her horn was glowing as she set up the stage, a large carriage parked next to it as she levitated the parts together. She blinked and turned towards me, her eyes going wide as she took in my appearance. “-The Great and Powerful Trixie finds it pleasing that the otherworldly creature has taken an interest in my production.-” She said after a little bit, smiling arrogantly. “-Though, Trixie recommends that you wait until she finishes setting up her stage……-” She hummed in thought, eyeing my hands. “-Unless, you would like to assist Trixie in this matter.-” I blinked at what she said, hearing a certain word repeated at, or near, the beginning of whatever she says. Walking towards where she was gesturing with her hoof, I took a closer look at the stage and was a little shocked. I was no carpenter, but I could tell that this thing wasn't up to code, it looking like it was made of rotted wood. “Hey, girls….” I spoke out loud, all four tentacles slithering out of my dress and ‘looking’ at me, the wizard's mouth opening up in shock. “Could ya give her some magical assistance?” I ask them, feeling Crystal send determination down her connection. The single tentacle shot out and burrowed into the ground, a glowing rune filled circle surrounded the stage as I felt something drain out of me. There was a big flash and the stage transformed into a fancy one with large red curtains and a back room. Crystal retracted and sent a feeling of pride at her work, me giving her a scratch on the side and turned back to the unicorn. I almost laughed at the look on her face, she looked like her brain short circuited. “-Trixie thinks she may have underestimated your abilities….-” She said, sounding out of breath. I gave her a big smile, waving a hand at the stage. “Go on, give it a good look over!” She gave me a thankful expression and nodded, gesturing for me to follow her. “-Alright, come on. Trixie supposes she could give you a behind-the-scenes pass for what you did.-” I followed her into her carriage thing, me not really having anything better to do. This thing looked more like a mobile home on the inside, a bed and a small kitchen sitting right next to each other. The pony’s horn glowing as a small paper slip flew over to me, the thing looking homemade. Taking a closer look, there was a crudely drawn pony taking down a strange bear creature, the pony bearing a small resemblance to the one who gave me it. I deadpanned at her, not impressed at the paper she gave me. Deciding to help her out, I point my tentacles over to the pile of homemade posters and had them magically give them a touch up, the picture on them turning into an epic battle between the pony and the bear thing that could've been drawn by an expert artist. The pony blinked at my work and quickly wrapped her hooves around me, thanking me profusely. “-Oh, thank you! Trixie hasn’t had the bits to afford to get good posters. It is very hard to do a magic show when there are other know-it-all unicorns at the show, explaining how Trixie did her act, ruining the whole thing. At least Trixie gets paid enough to get food……. Er, forget that Trixie said such a thing!-” She yelled, embarrassed. I frowned as she talked to me, noticing that she seemed to think I could understand her. It took a little bit, but I got her to get it that I couldn't get what she was saying, confusing me a little that she almost looked relieved that I couldn't. Not taking no as an answer, I helped her set up her show, my job being setting up the posters around town while she rigged the stage with her equipment. After that was done, the pony and I stood on the stage and waited for a small gathering of ponies to appear. It didn't take long for the crowd to gather, some of the other ponies from my class making up a portion of the group, a curious looking Spoon hanging near the back with some saddlebags. I gave them a wave as the magician went behind the curtains, probably to prepare for the show. I hopped off the stage and joining Spoon in the crowd, her greeting me with a nuzzle on my face and a note thrust into my hands. (I will be teaching you how to speak some Equish later today, so please stay with me. P-------------date------------ P.S. Nice dress….) I blink and blush at the writing, a little surprised that she had improved so quickly and not used to be complimented while wearing a dress.  Doing a double check on the hastily scratched out sentence near the end of the paper, the only word I could make out was ‘date.’ “She really has fallen for you!” Alice cooed, making my face turn even more red. “If I were going to chose a person from here to go out with, it would be her. Just look at her, she has the cute glasses thing going on!” “But, what about Spike?” I shook my head. “Never mind, we need to get to speaking Equish before I can even start thinking about relationships with anyone.” “Awww, you're no fun.” “Life's no fun, just look at the situation we're in, it's enough to give me a headache thinking about it!” I smiled at Spoon and looked back at the stage, the unicorn now walking out and smiling arrogantly at the crowd. “-Ladies and gentlecolts, are all you ready to see the magical feats of the Great and Powerful Trixie?-” She yelled out at the crowd as fireworks shot into the air, everyone cheering as she made her horn flare. Thirty minutes later. “Huh, she's pretty good.” “Yeah, the part where she made the rope snake was pretty cool.” We watched the show for a while, agreeing that this unicorn was pretty good at what she did. Spoon leaned against me as we watched, her contently sighing every so often as I scratched her ears in response. I blinked as the show was interrupted by Rainbow, her saying something that made the magician glare at her. “-Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience. Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?-” She arrogantly asks, making me blink at the emphasized neigh at one of the words she said. I took a look around, spotting Twilight and her friends off to my left, most of them appearing to not like the magician, except for Twilight. Gesturing for Spoon to follow, I walk over and join them, Spike greeting me with a hug the moment I got close. “-Oh, good morning, Dakota! You should've been with me earlier, Twi learned this new spell that gave me a fancy moustache.-” He excitedly told me, still holding an embarrassed me in his arms. I politely coughed, making him release me and cause his face to flush pink. Spoon huffed from behind me, giving us a jealous pout. Rarity giggled at my situation, me giving her an unamused glare and a sparking tentacle pointed in her direction, making her shut up. Applejack smiled and nodded in my direction. “-Good mornin’, Dakota.-” Rainbow gained our attention again, sounding like a certain griffon I know. “-So, "Great and Powerful Trixie". What makes you think you're so awesome, anyway?-” The magician scoffed. “-Heh, why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to vanquish the dreaded Ursa major!-” She boasted as her fireworks shot out, everyone around me gasping in awe, except for Twilight, Rainbow, and I. I heard two colts talking over the crowd and looked at them, blinking in shock at their appearance. It looked like what would happen if Stretch and Fatso from Casper were nerdier, younger and ponified. If I had to guess their names, taking the clues from their marks, it would be Snail and Scissors. “-What?-” Scissors asked in awe. “-No way!-” Snail agreed with his friend. The magician chuckled, sounding smug. “-When all hope was lost, the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to, but the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in, and with her awesome magic, vanquished the ursa major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!-” “-That settles it.-” Scissors said. “-Trixie truly is the most talented, the most magical, the most awesome unicorn in ponyville!-” “-No, in all of Equestria!-” Scissors corrected. Spike glared at the two and yelled at them, a purple glow turning his mouth into a zipper mid rant. He looked at Twilight and glared at her, trying to unzip his mouth. The magician laughed again and looked at the duo. “-It's true, my little admirers. Trixie is most certainly the best in ponyville.-” Everything went silent, causing me to blink in surprise, I could hear the cliché cricket noise from the various cartoons I have seen. She frowned and looked out over the crowd, before giving everyone a challenging smirk. “-Don't believe the Great and Powerful Trixie? Well then, I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians. Anything you can do, I can do better. Any takers? Anyone? Hmm? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?-” She announced, more fireworks shooting out. I watched as all of Twilight’s friends challenged the magician one by one, all of them being taken down by some amusing magic trick. I was polite enough to wait until I was sure Rarity was gone before I broke down laughing at her green mane, not caring that I looked like a jerk doing so. I guess Spike said something stupid and had everyone’s attention directed at Twilight, the poor girl stuttering out a lame sounding excuse before running off, Spike running after her and yelling his goodbye in my direction. The rest of the show ended without much hassle, everyone absolutely enjoying her tricks. “You know, it was kind of rude to laugh at them.”  “Hey, it's called karma. They called out the magician on her boasting, which is basically her job by the way, only to be humiliated by her in front of an audience. Yeah, they may be friends with me, but it doesn't mean I can't laugh at what kind of trouble bites them in the rear.” Some time later Those two colts were still hanging around the magician, being her little followers and giving her things she asked for. The unicorn looked like she liked being worshipped by the two, the arrogant expression on her face telling me all I needed to know. “-Ehem!-” I turned back to Spoon, wincing at the glare she was giving me. She started teaching me how to speak Equish when the show ended, us taking seats at outside the nearby Restaurant. I did quickly learn that she was a strict teacher, only being lenient when I hit the bigger words and they came out mangled in my attempts to enunciate them. “-Sorry…-” I muttered, the word scratching my throat. She smiled at my use of Equish, pleased that I am learning, even if it is slow. “-It's fine.-” I smiled back and pointed at the magician, wanting to learn her name. “-Name?-” She gave the magician a look, frowning a little. “-Trixie, her name is Trixie.-” “-Trixie say her name a lot.-” She looked like she was going to laugh. “-That she does.-” It wasn't too much longer until Spoon was found and dragged away by Tiara, the rich pony not giving her a chance to talk, going on and on about, “-Something she had to see.-” I stared confusedly in the direction they had gone, wondering about if I should go or not. “-Hey, Trixie's otherworldly friend!-” I looked over at Trixie, the pony waving me over. I took another look back at the direction Spoon and Tiara went, shaking my head before going over to the magician. Her two lackeys gave me jealous looks, a little annoyed that she addressed me directly. “-Thank you for all that you have done, Trixie hasn't been nearly as successful in the other towns.-” She thanked me, the duo giving her a look. “-Hey, what about Hoofington?-” Snail asked. “-Yeah, you have to be popular over there.-”     “-Er! Yes, Trixie is popular there. She just had to leave when the ursa was driven back to the Everfree.-” She hurriedly explained, sounding more like a lie in my opinion. They both smiled at her, passing a smoothie over to her. “-Here’s your smoothie, like you asked, extra hay.-” Scissors told her, stars in his eyes. “-Mmmm, hay.-” Snail repeated, sounding like he was a certain yellow man with a love for pink doughnuts. I clear my throat, gaining their attention. “-Can now speak little. Nice meet you, Trixie.-” I manage to croak out, every word scratching my throat. “-Trixie is happy to hear that.-” She said with a smile. “-Now, what is your name? Trixie doesn't believe she asked.-” The duo answered for me. “-Her name's Dakota!-” Scissors explained. “-She’s part of our class!-” Snail added. I frowned at them and looked back at Trixie, a little upset that I couldn't explain by myself. Trixie laughed and levitated me to her side, whispering into my ear. “-Trixie thinks you are smarter than these two idiots anyways.-” I almost laughed, whispering something back. “-Me too. Learn quick.-” She let me go, giving the two knuckleheads a look. “-Go on, Trixie is far too tired of performing feats beyond imagination, begone until morning.-” The two groaned and walked away. Unbeknownst to us, they both had a little conversation with Spike around the corner….. Even more time later. I hung out with Trixie for a while, us becoming quick friends. She asked if I could teach her a few tricks, me responding with getting each tentacle to do some stuff. I couldn't properly explain each thing they had done, but Trixie attempted to copy it anyway. Crystal’s tricks seemed more nature based, making plants grow around us while stone formed around the miniature garden. There was even a small display of alchemy coming from that tentacle,  magicking up a small transmutation circle next to us and making a dirt replica of Trixie, vines making up the mane and tail. Sylphid’s magic seemed to be centered around wind and light, the first move being a cerulean sphere of glowing wind, the thing writhing and bending the light around it. Sylphid kept it on the tip of herself, just long enough for Trixie to examine it, before firing it off into the sky, the thing exploding like a firework once it hit a cloud. The second move had her shoot out and wrap around a cloud, the thing turning black as she drug it over. I suppose she wanted to mess with Trixie a little, the cloud turning into a shadow form of her, the thing giving her a smug look and waving. Trixie blinked and backed away from it, turning pale at the sight of it. She calmed down when it faded away, the wind carrying away chunks of it as it vaporized. “-Trixie thinks that she has seen enough….-” She gave a few attempts at copying the moves, being successful at all of them on her third try. Trixie laughed at her cloud clone, the thing mimicking her every movement. She had even colored it the same, it looking like an exact copy of herself. I smiled and noticed the idiot duo trying to sneak around town, going in the direction of the forest, making me frown and start to follow them. I yelled back at Trixie. “-Got go, see you later! Have fun with magic!-” I didn't hear what she said, I was already running at this point, chasing after the two. Eventually, I caught up with them on the outskirts of the forest. They both gave me a worried look before running in, seeming to know where they were going. I sighed and followed them in, not wanting these two idiots to be eaten by whatever lives in there. I stayed close behind the two, growing more worried as the sun slowly went down. Maybe forty five minutes of wandering through a creepy forest later, we came upon a large cave, the duo went into the cave, ignoring every horror movie rule ever made. I, being smart enough to say no to going inside of dark caves in the middle of creepy forests, left them to their devices. It wasn't long until I heard them scream and see them run out of the cave. I frowned and ran after them, hearing the roaring behind me wasn't inspiring any confidence that they had woke up a nice animal. The duo was pretty fast when they are terrified, me losing them pretty quickly in the foliage. The thundering steps behind me were the only thing keeping me running, me eventually getting back to town as the steps got closer. I ran aimlessly through the town, screaming that something big was coming, eventually finding my way back to Trixie’s mobile home. The thing was already there, it being a large bear made of stars, its paw slamming down on the home like it was a toy. Trixie screamed and backed away from the monster, it making its way over to her and licking its lips like she looked tasty. Alice and I panicked as the monster got close to a cornered Trixie, her terrified screaming causing me to act without thinking…… I got its attention. “Hey! You oversized teddy bear!” I yelled, it looking at me with a furious glare. “Yeah, that's you! Come and get me!” “Well….. What now?” I thought as it chased me, eventually coming to a dead end. “God dammit…..” “My only regret is that I didn't eat any of the cakes down at the bakery.” “Really? That is your only regret?” “Alright…. It's not kissing Spoon when I had the chance.” “You know, if we live through this somehow, I might let you do that.” The beast turned the corner, growling as it spotted me. It raised its paw and swung down at me, the last thing I felt was the feeling of a small house forcing me into the ground….. Third person. The ursa slowly lifted its paw, seeming pleased that Dakota was face down and motionless on the ground. It growled and moved to eat the unconscious being, its maw opening up, beads of saliva dripping down next to its body. “Hey!” The sudden yell, made the ursa groan in annoyance, it turning to look at the source. There was a purple unicorn standing at the entrance of the ally, its horn glowing brightly. Its eyes caught sight of her friend lying motionless on the ground, gasping in shock. “Dakota!” Suddenly, there was laughing. This wasn't the kind of happy laughing, no, this was the kind of laughing you'd get from an insane asylum patient, broken and unhinged from reality. There was a thick black fog emanating from the body of the creature on the ground, it quickly covering the town and making it hard to see anything, Twilight feeling a familiar cold feeling envelop her horn. The creature slowly got up, movements jerky and unfocused. It wasn't long until the two watching realized that the creature was the one laughing, its eyes covered by its long hair. The laughing slowly stopped, turning into creepy giggles. “Where, hehe, is my dolly?” It asked in a double toned voice, looking up at the ursa with a wide smile. “Would you like to be my new dolly?” With open arms, it looked at the ursa with an almost motherly smile. The ursa growled at the pest in front of it, giving the crazy being a solid swat into the side of the building, it slamming into the wall with a laugh. Twilight screamed, seeing her friend being hit by the ursa. Suddenly, the crazy laughter pierced through the noise, an explosion of smoky magic coming from the destroyed wall. “You are adorable, thinking you have a choice…..” A voice echoed through the hole, a taller being walking out of the rubble. She was taller than Dakota, about the size of Celestia if you put them next to each other. The dress she was wearing transformed before them in a blaze of black fire, it turning into a tattered black and red maid's dress. Her eyes were black pools of darkness, her stitched together mouth turned upwards into a sadistic smile. “Let's take this somewhere else, I have my tools here.” She laughed, all four tentacles tearing open the air in front of her, a black void opening up and starting to suck in the ursa. “Oh, it's alright….. You don't have to be afraid, I'm just going to gut you and turn you into one of my dolls.” She chuckled darkly, jumping behind the ursa and kicking it into the rift. “Have a nice trip! I'll be there soon!” Turning around, she gave Twilight a pleased smile. “Great, there's going to be two dolls!” The girl cheered, a tentacle shooting out. “This is going to be sooo fu-gah!” The tentacle stopped short, the girl grabbing her head with both arms, her eyes turning back into shocked looking blue orbs. “No…” She started to scream in pain, feeling her head trying to split open as the two personas fought for control. Dakota slowly started to back away, getting closer and closer to the dark portal she had opened. Twilight bravely got to her side, trying to push her away from it, only to be batted away by a tentacle. Twilight frowned, worried for her friend, before running off. It took a few minutes, the dark persona taking control of Dakota and pleasantly smiling. “Heh, looks like I won't be getting two…...” She shrugged, sounding pretty excited. “Whatever, I'm going to get a teddy bear.” Then she jumped into the rift, it closing behind her silently….. With Twilight. She had ran in the direction of her treehouse, the only thought in her head was to get the doll, its magic matching what Dakota displayed. The town was silent as she ran, the dark smoke permeating the streets adding to the creepiness. It wasn't long until she ran into Trixie, the scared mare shaking as she looked around, searching for any sign of Dakota being alive. “Have you seen Dakota? She saved Trixie’s life from the ursa major.” She worried, looking around at the smoke. “Oh, curse this smoke! Where did this even come from!? There is nothing burning here!” Twilight frowned and ran past her, Trixie huffing in annoyance at the lack of answer and following close behind her. They both got to the house in a few minutes, Trixie following confusedly as Twilight went towards the basement, the mare too engrossed in her thoughts to notice Trixie following. Spike was there, having hid in the basement when the ursa was sighted. “Twilight?” He asked, breaking Twilight out of her reverie. “Weren’t you going to take care of the ursa major?..... And why is that showoff here?” “Hey, Trixie is here to find out what's going on, and your friend here seems to have an idea. Also, Trixie is not a showoff….. Mostly.” As the two argued, Twilight levitated a container out from a nearby shelf, a small stream of black smoke flowing out from the top. Looking closer, there was a small handmade doll inside, the things stitched mouth wide open in a smile as it spewed out the smoke. Twilight and Trixie grimaced, the strange magic hitting them hard. After some thought, Twilight pulled out the doll, the thing spewing out even more smoke once it was out. The magic pulsed from the doll, smoke forming into a small ring in response, a portal opening up inside the ring. “Spike?” “Yeah?” “I need you to send a letter.” Spike dug around and pulled out a scroll and a quill, ready to write down anything. “Ready.” The letter was quickly wrote and sent, it explaining what was going on and asking for help. They quickly got a response from Celestia, her telling them to stay put and that both she and her sister will be there in a little bit. “Did all that really happen?” Spike asked, worried for Dakota. “I'm afraid so, Spike.” Twilight shuddered, remembering that crazy look that Dakota gave her. “Look on the bright side, the ursa isn't a problem anymore, and Dakota's okay.” Spike said with some optimism. “And……she even hesitated when she was about to attack you, that says enough about whether or not she is still friendly.” Trixie huffed in frustration, gaining their attention. “Trixie would like an explanation.” She said with a raised eyebrow. “You know Celestia personally and there's a strange portal in the middle of the room, Trixie believes it would be the very least you could do.” “Oh, why are you here?” Spike sneered. “Didn't you say earlier that you banished an ursa major? Go on then, if you did it once, you can do it again.” Trixie looked away, her face turning red in embarrassment. “Trixie…. May not have done some of the things she said, they were all made up to make more ponies come to the show.” “You liar….” Spike muttered, turning away to look at the portal. “So, Twi, you said this thing might lead to where Dakota is?” Twilight hummed in thought, her horn lighting up as she examined the mysterious void’s magic. “It's the best idea I have, this sort of magic is unique.” Without warning, Spike jumped into the portal, the thing rippling like it was made of water before disappearing…… Meanwhile…..  Bear screams echoed throughout the ruins of the rundown mansion, maniacal laughter accompanying them. On the outside of the building, a portal opened up in the garden and spat out a familiar dragon, the little guy landing onto a dead rose bush. Eventually, he climbed out of the bush, taking in his surroundings with some curiosity. He flinched at the loud pained roar coming from the building, the sound cutting off abruptly with a loud wet noise. Mustering up more courage, he entered the backdoor and started to search the place. He used his nose to find his way through the dark building, following any scent that was close to Dakota's. The search took him to the basement, the scent getting stronger at a few of the doors down there. The first door he found had some other scents mingled together, the most prominent one was similar to the hospital’s smell. He opened the door and almost threw up at what he saw. The room had probably been used as an operating room at one point, a blood soaked operating table sitting in the center of the room and a small table covered with bloody tools and a jar filled with small black things sitting next to it. Spike gulped and searched the room, more specifically the jar on the table. The things inside seemed to move in response as he got near, trying to get close to him and plinking against the glass. He frowned, noticing that they looked like smaller versions of Dakota’s tentacles. “Maybe they get bigger?” He thought out loud, lifting up the jar. “At times like this, I wish I had a satchel, then I could carry more….. Maybe I'll get Rarity to make me one later, when this is done.” With some hesitation, he blew some fire on the jar, the thing turning into smoke and sent towards Celestia. “She'll probably know what to do with this.” Sparing one more glance around the room, he left, going to the door opposite of the room he was in. This room was full of various drawings taped to the walls, most of them depicting a being similar to Dakota. It was a gangly thing, the most disturbing thing about it was the fact that it didn't have a face. Spike shuddered and continued his search in the room, looking through the desk with the strange device on it. He found a journal in one of the drawers, the thing full of drawings and notes in another language, even a rough design of the keyhole in Dakota’s back. He quickly sent it to Celestia and looked at the device on the desk, his eyes settling on the softly glowing button on the box next to it. Shrugging, he pushed it, the device lighting up and a slowly filling bar appearing on it. When the bar filled, the screen showed a being like Dakota standing in the operating room. It was wearing a labcoat and looked pretty old, a crazy look in his brown eyes, it pacing back and forth like it was worried about something, the screen going black after a few minutes. Next, the screen showed a different room, the doctor guy throwing a little girl into a cage. The cage next to her had an emaciated male with brown hair and broken glasses on his face, a calm smile on his face as he tried to calm the panicking girl. The screen went dark again. When the screen lit up again, Spike gasped. The male was out of the cage, now wearing the lab coat the doctor was wearing, a pleased smile on his face as he sneered at the girl. She now had one familiar tentacle coming out of her bandage covered back, a look of disbelief on her face as she stared at him. Spike glared at the male’s figure on the screen, every word coming out of its mouth only making spike hate him more. “-G-Give i-it b-back…-” The girl stuttered, an almost broken expression on her face. The male laughed, looking thoroughly amused at what she said. “-Give it back? I don't think so, mine is already gone. I wonder if the both of you will be alright in there? Ha ha! Thanks for the new body!-” He laughed as he walked to the door, stopping for a moment to say one last thing. “-Don't worry…. I have special plans for the both of you.-” The screen went back again…. The screen lit up again, now showing the operating room again. Now the little girl looked exactly like Dakota, her unconscious form strapped face down on the table as the muttering male worked on her. From the angle, Spike couldn't see what he was doing, only catching glimpses of the device being embedded into his victim.   “-Just… A little…. Bit… More….-” The man muttered, before backing away. “-Ah, there. The failsafe is done, don't have to worry about her killing me now. Heh, she'll need me to keep her active.-” Dakota twitched, a wisp of smoke coming out of her back, causing the doctor to groan in annoyance. “-Dammit….-” For the last time, the screen went dark and lit up. It showed Dakota standing in a new room, all four tentacles splayed out on the floor as they came out of the back of her tattered maid dress. She was sitting at a desk, humming creepily as she worked on a doll, the thing looking like the one that made the portal. This went on for a little bit, until a door opened and the doctor walked in. “-Honey? What are you working on?-” He asked with false kindness, a frown on his face. Dakota kept humming, not giving any indication that she heard him. The doctor growled and moved to grab her shoulder. “-Hey! I asked you some-gah!-” A tentacle speared through his shoulder and lifted him up, a second one wrapping around his throat. Dakota didn't even move, still working on the doll. Finally, she spoke, her voice double toned. “-You know…. After some thought about what to do, even taking into account that thing you put in me, even after trying to erase us, even after taking my damn body, we came to a conclusion….. We actually are thankful.-” She giggled, turning to look at the man. Spike gasped at what he saw. Dakota's eyes were pitch black, crude stitching keeping her mouth in an evil grin. “-These things are the best thing you have done for us…..-” She stroked a tentacle, almost purring at the thought. “-Thanks to your laziness, we learned some new….tricks while we tended to your needs.-” She smiled at the struggling man, almost excited to get her revenge. “-I'm gonna break you….-” She whispered into his ear, the camera barely catching what she said. “-Like a Kit-Kat bar…... Ha ha ha ha!-” The insane laughter continued as she tore the man apart, Spike looking away in disgust. He quickly left the room, having seen enough. Giggling echoed from behind, causing Spike to jump in fear. Walking out of the shadows, Dakota smiled at Spike her eyes still as black as when he saw in the video. She held a new doll in her arms, this looking like the ursa that attacked town. It was still pretty large, a blank smile stitched onto its face. “-Did you come for my dollies?-” She asked, looking completely detached from reality. Spike frowned and approached her, a tentacle whipping by his face once he got close. “This isn't you! Please, try to remember!” He yelled desperately, getting closer to her. The tentacles kept trying to hurt him as he got closer, the futile attempts to impale him ending with a tentacle bouncing off his scales. He wrapped her in his arms once he got close enough, the sudden hug causing everything to go silent. Dakota pushed him away and grabbed her head, screaming in pain as she fell to the ground and writhed in pain, the teddy bear falling next to her. A black smoke flowed around both Spike and Dakota, them both vanishing from the mansion in a few moments…..   Back with Twilight. “That crazy drake….” Trixie muttered, looking at where the portal was. Celestia and Luna had appeared shortly after Spike jumped in the portal, the both of them teleporting into the basement. Celestia was trying to calm down a hysterical Twilight, the poor mare fearing the worst. Luna was examining the doll, feeling the familiar magic for any clues to where Spike went. Suddenly, a jar appeared in front of Celestia, the princess catching the thing with her magic. “Hmm?” She blinked at what was in it, before smiling. “I think I have an idea where Spike is.” Twilight almost broke her neck, her head turning so quickly. “Where?! Where is he?!” Celestia held the jar out for Twilight. “He sent this over. Does the contents of this container look familiar?” “They are…..?” She gasped in realization. “More of Dakota’s tentacles!” “Yes, Twilight. And that means……” Celestia trailed off, knowing that her student would connect the dots. “He is where Dakota was, when she got those surgeries…..” Another flash of smoke, a journal appearing in front of Celestia. “And then there's another.” She took a quick glance through it, frowning at all the notes in Dakota’s language. The frown deepened when she found diagrams of the windup mechanism in Dakota, various parts sketched out in detail. “I think he is sending anything he could find connected to her past.” A few moments later, the portal opened up again, the thing dropping Spike and Dakota onto the floor with a strange ursa plush before disappearing. Spike groaned and got up, quickly dashing to her side. “Come on, please. It's all over now.” He whispered comfortingly into her ear. Back to Dakota's POV. My body was aching, a coppery taste in my mouth. Someone was whispering into my ear, my body feeling all fluttery inside as he spoke. I almost frowned at the feeling. “Wait…. It's a dude?” I think groggily, slowly opening my eyes. “What happened? Did I die?” I was greeted with the sight of a worried Spike, the poor guy gained some bruises on his face. I looked around, seeing Celestia and Twilight giving me some thoughtful looks. Luna smiled and walked up to me, saying something I couldn't catch. Trixie quickly joined Spike, worried for her new friend. “-Are you alright?-” I frowned, trying to remember what happened after the bear hit me. “-What hap? No can remem?-” I ask, looking at everyone. Spike shared a look with Twilight, before smiling at me. “-You were knocked out by the ursa and I drug you over here to recover.-” He explained with a laugh. “-You just rolled out of bed. Come on, let's get you back over there.-” I was too exhausted to notice anything wrong, nodding dumbly and shakily getting up to follow him. He led me over to a bed, I think it was his, and I collapsed into it, falling asleep in seconds. Back to 3rd person. “She’s asleep?” “Yep, using all that magic drained her pretty badly.” Knock knock knock! Twilight sighed. “Just what we need, visitors.” Twilight quickly went back upstairs and opened the door, being greeted by a panicking Ash. “Twilight, have you seen Dakota?!” Ash asked, eyes wide. “I haven't seen her anywhere!” “Ash, she is he-” Twilight was cut off by Ash’s rambling. “Ash!” Still rambling. “Ash, please!” Rambling intensifies. “ASH!” Twilight yelled, finally shutting the panicking pegasus up. “She is here, come on.” Ash pouted and stared at her. “Why didn't ya say so?”      Twilight sighed and led Ash to the basement, explaining things as they went. When they both got to the basement, Ash almost rushed to cuddle the sleeping form of Dakota. “Ash, I'm  glad to see that you're alright.” Celestia smiled, before giving Ash a stern glare. “Any reasons why Dakota was out when the ursa was attacking?” Ash gulped.