The Origin Chronicles Vol. 2

by SmokeShadow95

Ch.24 Redemption

The Anti-Spike lifted one foot and then the next. He slowly made his way forward and toward the ponies. They had caused him more than enough trouble and he was fed up. He was going to end this mockery they called a battle himself. And so he stepped forward to face them. With each step he picked up a little speed until he was at a near sprint. His echoing roars carried along with the his anger and fury. It was clear to all the ponies. True Darkness was coming, and now was the time to fight.

Eight ponies stood tall, ready to fight for not only Spike, not only the the ponies of the Dark army that were once their friends, but also all of Equestria. They watched as the Anti-Spike started moving for them, gaining speed as he went. He was not going for a magical fight. He intended on using sheer brute force to beat them into submission. That was not going to work. Every other pony, Dark or not had gotten back from the area. This was not their battle anymore.

The Anti-Spike approached them at a full speed and raised a mighty fist. He reeled back his arm and thrust it forward with incredible force. He roared as he attacked them. Without a seconds thought both Luna and Twilight launched themselves up. They flew up and each poured magic into barrier. This shield, a screen of light shimmered into being before their eyes. The Anti-Spike's mighty fist crashed into, the impact sounding off and echoing with the winds. His fist slid down, but did not penetrate the barrier. He growled and set up for another hit.

Twilight teleported down below. “Flake, after this attack we need you to freeze him.”

“I don't know if I can, Twilight,” Flake answered with some caution. She didn't want to let them down.

“But, you made a humongous snowstorm back at the fortress,” Pinkie Pie said.

“I can make a snowstorm and even point it in the right direction,” Flake said, “But I don't know if I can keep it focused on just one spot. I ain't ever done that before.”

Twilight put her head down touched her horn to flakes. “I believe in you Flake, and so does Spike. Remember, this is for him.”

With that said Twilight blinked out of existence and reappeared next to Luna just as the Anti-Spike was landing another incredible, land shattering blow. They managed to block this one as well, but it was putting strain on them. Now it was up to Flake. She had to slow him down.

Flake charged up with all the magic power she had. Her horn glowed and shined brightly as her power was coursing through her. She stepped forward and thrust her horn to the skies. She closed her eyes tightly and concentrated. A few precious seconds of dead silence followed. Nothing made a sound, as if the entire world was put on mute. And then they heard it.

A low, whistle carried along on the winds. It blew through the battlefield like a cold winter breeze. The more Flake concentrated the more the breeze came, becoming a harsh winter wind and dropping the temperature down sharply. Everypony could see their breath and several of them were huddling together for warmth. The ice farmers seemed to rather enjoy it, or at least were not bothered by it.

“I- it is r- r- really c- cold all of the s- s- sudden,” Pinkie Pie stammered out through clattering teeth.

“Just bear with it, Pinkie,” Applejack said as she held her hat onto her head.

They all watched as a shadow drifted above them. Dark clouds, just like the last time she did this. They came at her call, from all directions dark clouds formed and blanketed the sky casting the battlefield into a shadow.

Flake's eyes snapped open suddenly. The clouds opened up like a burst dam. Snow poured forth falling like a constant blizzard had been raging withing them and Flake had unleashed it upon them. Her horn shone even more brightly as she groaned with effort. Beads of sweat rolled of her brow, quickly froze, and then fell to the ground to shatter. The blizzard fell upon them, but Flake was on it. The ponies felt the sting of the winter winds as they whistled by them, and watched as those very same winds shaped the blizzard around the Anti-Spike. A virtual funnel of the harshest winter has to offer was whirling around him.

“Ah don't believe it,” Applejack said, “I mean, I knew she could do it but to actually see it.”

“I know what you mean, Applejack,” Rarity said, “Remind me never to make this little filly angry, or even annoyed.”

“What is this?”

Spike looked up from his chains, “I told you. Ponies are a constant surprise. Even young, little fillies like Flake.”

The Anti-Spike roared in his fury.

Behind the winter walls of the blizzard only a dark shape could be seen. The Anti-Spike wasn't moving very fast, but a light was growing. Inside the swirling blizzard that surrounded him a light was growing brightly from somewhere, and the flames burst forth from the top. The flames tore open the clouds and Flake could barely maintain her spell. The flames faded away and through a momentary lapse in concentration the ponies could see a pair of red eyes staring at them. And a light grew once again.

Applejack leaped and tackled the young Flake away as the torrent of dragon fire burst forth from the Anti-Spike and nearly roasted them all. With Flake's spell broken the harsh winter effects faded back to whence they came. Flake was panting heavily and could barely stand. Each breath was feat in and of itself. But she was not going to fall unconscious. She was going to see this through to the end.

“I suppose you were right, young one,” The Anti-Spike said. “The little brat's power was a surprise, but still I overcame it.”

“You got past the spell of a filly. Big deal. Not exactly something brag about,” Spike said, “After all, there are still two Princess's out there. And Luna has some things she needs to work out.”

“Just stay where you are and watch. I will end this by corrupting that dear sweet Princess of yours.”

“Queen,” Spike said, “She is a princess of Equestria, but she will always be my queen. Where do you think you got the idea for Ebony?”

The Anti-Spike growled and walked away from Spike. Spike snickered and smiled. It was all going as he wanted it to. That stupid ooze gut didn't have a clue as to what he had done, and what he was doing even now. All he had to do was keep up the ruse.

“You are very non original, you know that?” Spike yelled out, “You just steal other peoples ideas and use 'em. Are you even listening? Can you hear me?”

Spike felt the sharp pain as more shocks jolted his body. “Yep. Guess he heard me.”

The Anti-Spike slammed a fist into the ground. The ponies scrambled to get away from it. Where he was going for power before he was not anymore. His attacks were coming faster and faster now, and the ponies were barely able to escape them. When the Anti-Spike spotted one pony who was just cowering all by herself he smiled and aimed his fist there.

“Fluttershy, run!”

Ponies were screaming at her, saying all kinds of things but she didn't hear any it. All she could hear was the pounding of her own heart in her chest. She was terrified. She was always terrified but this was different. This was Spike, and he was attacking them. Amidst all the ponies talking to her she heard the sounds of something coming, she saw the shadow of danger looming over her. She looked up to see a large scaled fist come crashing down at her. Her screams carried on through the air as the fist impacted.

“NO!” Rainbow Dash cried out, “Fluttershy!”

“No, it can't be,” Rarity said.

The dust around the area of impact settled and they all saw as Fluttershy cowered under the mighty fist. Her face was all wrapped up in her tail and she was shaking terribly. Dash quickly flew by and scooped her up. As they wondered how she survived their eyes were drawn back the area and to the being blocking the Anti-Spike's fist. With a mighty grunt of his own, he forced the fist back.

“Not today,” Discord said very seriously. He didn't do any fancy tricks. He didn't pull out any of his chaos shenanigans. He stared up at the Anti-Spike. With each step Discord took toward him he grew in size until he evenly matched the dragon.

“You will not harm her,” He said, still as serious as before. For the ponies watching it was quite unsettling to see the spirit of chaos this calm and collected and serious.

“The others, they came here for Spike, and that is okay. I did not. Don't get me wrong, Spike is a great guy, but his love his here for him. I came here for my own love,” He said, “So, when you try to harm her or any of her friends I am left with only one option. To fight for them.”

The Anti-Spike glared at Discord as he wound up a punch. He threw it with all his might, but the Anti-Spike easily deflected it. He slapped it away with one hand and responded with a heavy hit from the other. Discord could do little as the hit collided with his face. He could do very little, except something no one expected.

The hit slammed into Discord, and he broke apart. A shock wave carried through all of Discords body, from the tip of his horns to the end of his tail. His entire form shifted and moved like a school of fish almost. And then he broke apart. Thousands of tiny, smaller versions of Discord exploded out onto the Anti-Spike. They crawled all over him and scampered over to his backside only to reform the larger Discord with his arms holding the Anti-Spike back.

“Did you really expect me to play fair,” Discord said, “I am still the Lord of Chaos, and I fight for Fluttershy. You cannot win!”

The Anti-Spike struggled in Discord's hold, but Discord was able to get a snap of his fingers off. Where he stood before now stood a secondary version of him. This one had on a pair of boxing shorts and the gloves to match. With a word he started hammering the Anti-Spike with some powerful blows. Discord may not have been playing fair, but he was still taking this much more seriously than anything else. He was not playing with his mind, or tricking him into doing something. He was physically attacking him with everything he had. He landed a straight on hit so hard the Discord holding the Anti-Spike faltered. The Anti-Spike took the opportunity and slammed his elbow up, connecting with Discord's jaw, and lashing his tail out to slam the boxer back. He stepped away from the Discords and glanced over at the ponies. He saw the girls huddling around the still shaking Fluttershy.

“So that is the pony you fight for?” The Anti-Spike made a lazy gesture at her. “You should not have announced it so, Lord of Chaos.”

“You stay away from her!”

Discord ran a full sprint at him. He got halfway there before falling, crumbling into nothing but dirt. He fell to the earth below and left the Anti-Spike wondering what he was doing. What was coming next?

The ground shook slightly. It was unlike any of the shaking he had felt before. It was not a normal tremor, or rumble. No, this could only be one thing. Something was in the ground and it was coming for him. He knew he was right as the ground right next to him tore open. Dirt, dust, and debris filled the air as a massive figure of Discord made of earth rose up. It wasted no time before slamming into the Anti-Spike and forcing him back. He dug his claws into the ground, but that wasn't helping him at all. The Anti-Spike pounded on the back of the earthen Discord but it was no use. He unleashed a breath of the dragon's fire at him, and it did little if anything at all to slow him. When he did finally stop he raised a hand and it was immediately subdued.

“What?!”

He looked over his shoulder and realized where he was. The ice, the lake. Another Discord emerged, made from ice and water. It held back his hands, his tail. He struggled with the two of them for any leverage he could get, but it was useless. This Discord may the Spirit of Chaos, but he was serious now. And the Anti-Spike was in serious trouble.

“How do I stop him?”

Spike's head hug low and he didn't even raise it. “You can't.”

“There must be a way! Speak, young one!”

“You threatened the only pony Discord ever truly cared about. The first and only being Discord loves above all else,” Spike said. “You signed your own death with that.”

“I don't believe you.”

“Look to the skies, and see that I speak the truth.”

The Anti-Spike turned his eyes to the skies, just as Spike had said. What he saw actually caused a twinge of fear to spark in his very depths. The clouds, they were moving. The clouds Flake had summoned up were moving on their own. The Anti-Spike, as well all the ponies present watched yet another Discord formed from the very sky itself. He was far bigger than the other two, as only the top half of him was formed. The sky Discord raised an immensely large hand and locked onto the Anti-Spike. It was time to end this.

Storms raged on within the clouds in the skies. Even after Discord formed himself in them the storms still raged on. He collected these storms and fueled them further. The lighting flashed and arced and bounced from cloud to cloud. With one throw the sky itself hurled its fury at the Anti-Spike. The bolt of lightning, bigger and brighter than anything ever before struck down with all the fury the sky could bring and all the power Discord could muster. The bolt disintegrated the earthen Discord and the watery one just fell back to the ice as the bolt crashed down.

The real Discord appeared with a flash in between him and the ponies. “You have power. There is no denying that. But did you really think you could beat me with just some silly, sticky black muck? I have an entire realm of chaos at my disposal! Perhaps you would like to see it.”

The Anti-Spike could barely stand. He had a split second before the lightning bolt hit him to do something. The earthen Discord shattered and the Anti-Spike was able to throw up a small ooze shield to protect himself. It lasted a grand total of three and a half seconds before disintegrated just like the earthen one. And now he watched as Discord raised his hands to sky. The clouds were back to normal, but they were moving again. They parted and showed everyone the true realm of Discord. Not his home, mind you, but some other dark corner that even he didn't like to visit.

“STOP!”

The word shattered the air as everyone stopped whatever the were doing. Discord stopped and looked over. He knew that voice. He knew it all too well. He looked over and saw Fluttershy standing in front of the others. She was looking at him, and crying.

“Discord, stop,” She said, “You can stop now. You don't have to do this.”

Discord looked up at the hole in the sky and he looked back at Fluttershy. What had he done? He knew. He had to keep her safe. He had to make sure Fluttershy wasn't hurt, and he was determined to do it. But was this the way?

“Discord, you're better than this,” Fluttershy said.

She was right. Discord looked at Fluttershy and then turned his eyes back to the hole in the sky. He pulled the fabric of reality back together and shut it tightly. He took a moment to collect himself and stepped toward Fluttershy. He felt kind of ashamed of his actions. He wanted to keep her safe, but he really did take it a little to far.

“I'm sorry, Fluttershy,” He said earnestly, “I just wanted to keep you safe.”

“I know, Discord. I know,” Fluttershy said as she wiped a few tears away.

The Anti-Spike had regained himself enough by this point. He smiled wickedly as he sprang forward and unleashed a blast of ooze at the unsuspecting pony with the pink mane. His evil laugh rang out as the ooze flew through the air. Only too, late did anypony realize what had happened. The world around her turned to slow motion. Fluttershy turned her head to see it coming. Ooze, black and vile was coming right for her. It was going to corrupt her. Ponies from all around her raced to get to her, but it was like they were moving in place. They shouted at her, but she heard nothing but the pounding in her chest. Her own fear was drowning out anything and everything else. The ooze was getting closer now, and closer. Fluttershy was frozen in place. She was done for, until a dark shape put itself in her path.

The ooze blast flew on a collision course for Fluttershy, whose fear froze her in place. Nobody could help her. Nopony could get there in time. Even Discord with all his power could only watch his love get blasted by the vile substance. That is, until Luna stepped up.

Luna placed herself right in the path of the ooze. It soared through the air like a missile right at her. She stood in front of Fluttershy. She stood there, and the ooze hit. However, it didn't hit Luna. It was more like the ooze struck some sort of invisible wall right in front of Luna. Even she seemed surprised. The Anti-Spike shot off a couple more only to see the same thing happen. Luna took this chance to approach the evil being.

“I want Spike back,” She called out to him.

“Come and get him,” The Anti-Spike shouted back.

“She doesn't have to!”

The Anti-Spike was torn away from staring down Luna. The next thing he knew he was staring at Spike. He still hung from his chains, but something was different. Something about the way Spike was. He just seemed changed somehow, but the Anti-Spike couldn't figure out what it was.

“You really are stupid, you know that.”

“What? You dare to insult me? You are the one in chains,” The Anti-Spike snarled.

“You think these chains bind me here? You think you have control?” Spike's body shot forward. He seemed to glow with power and the Anti-Spike noticed the scar on his chest, just above his heart seemed to pulse. “The ooze already marks my soul!” Spike shouted at as an image of an angry Smoke Shadow pulsed from Spike before fading away.

Spike's hand reached up and he wrapped his fingers around the chains. He roared as he yanked down on the chains. The entire state of the Darkness in which they were shook violently. Spike yanked again and the Darkness shook once more. One more time. Spike yanked on his chains, and the energy sphere shattered before him. The chains broke and he could move freely for the first time in what felt like centuries. He stretched his body out and flexed what he could.

“How is this possible?” The Anti-Spike asked as he cowered before the real Spike. He didn't wait for an answer, though. He scrambled to his feet and disappeared into the darkness. He took full control of the body and set to attack Luna.

Luna watched as the Anti-Spike shook slightly. She still kept to her approach, though. He shook once more and then he stopped moving all together. A moment of nothing passed on by and then he full on charged Luna. He moved like he was mad and lashed out at her quickly and violently.

His claws swung at her, but she dashed back to avoid them. She had to quickly dart from side to side and to the back in order to avoid his quick slashes. He moved fast. Much faster than Luna could have predicted. She had time only to dodge. She was unable to use her magic. As his attacks became ever faster and harder still she was finding that she had even less time to dodge.

“Yes! Your queen is mine!” The words echoed through the darkness around Spike. It sounded as if they came from every direction all at once. Spike stood firm as the Darkness shuddered under the words of the Anti-Spike. Spike remained calmed and raised his arm up. A chain appeared around his arm, wrapping around his wrist and shooting off into the Darkness. Spike repeated the process with the other arm. The chains, teeming with magic and glowing with green energy held fast in Spike's hands.

“No, she isn't,” Spike said to to himself. “She doesn't belong to anybody.”

Spike saw as a large right hand was about to slash Luna to ribbons. He roared with effort and pulled hard on the right chain. He stepped back, taking the chain with him. In the outside world, the claw, at the last second, was forced away by some unseen force and missed Luna by inches. The claws were planted in the ground inches away from Luna's body. When the Anti-Spike tried to attack with the left claw, Spike pulled back on the left chain. The claw barely even made it to Luna. It swiped through her mane and pulled back close to his chest. The Anti-Spike tried one last thing. He moved the tail into position to strike out at Luna like an arrow from a bow. Spike took his foot forward and traced a wide semicircle that glowed with green magic. In the outside world the Anti-Spike lost his balance and fell to the ground in a pathetic heap of scales and rage and Darkness.

“Spike,” Luna called out, “I know you're in there. Please, I have come to get you back. Please, if you can hear me give me a sign.”

“It doesn't matter why she is here, or how much she cares for you,” The Anti-Spike said as he appeared next to Spike. The chains evaporated and Spike turned to face his dark counterpart. For the first time they stood on equal terms. They looked at each, eye to eye, dragon to dragon.

“You can't win,” Spike stated.

“You all keep saying that, and yet here I am.” The Anti-Spike lunged at Spike with claws at the ready. He slashed at Spike, but his scales brushed off the attack like it was nothing. The Anti-Spike tried again and again to attack, but his claws did nothing.

“Spike,” Luna called out as a single tear fell from her eyes, “Please, come back to me.”

“I have a promise to keep,” Spike said. “We will continue this in a moment.”

The Anti-Spike cried out in anger as Spike walked out of the Darkness. He walked toward the images of Luna that were displayed before him. Luna watched as the Anti-Spike's body lurched up and clawed his chest. Light was pouring forth from within. Luna saw as her Luna's Grace floated up and shot toward the body. It roared out as the Grace touched the scales on its chest and a beam of light erupted outward. The body stopped moving as Spike emerged from the light. He stepped toward Luna with a smile on his face.

“Spike,” She said under her breath. She couldn't believe it. She raced up and threw herself in his arms. She wrapped her hooves around him. It really was him. She knew it, she could tell. Every scale, every scar, every breath he took made it the real Spike. The rest of them raced up and they all crowded around to hug their long lost friend.

“You think this is over?”

All eyes turned back to see the Anti-Spike. He had shrunk, but was pulling himself together. The ooze was slowly starting to lose shape, though. As if without Spike within its grasp it could not longer stay in the proper form. Unfortunately, it wasn't going fast enough. The Anti-Spike stood up and thrust his hand out towards his legions. Dozens of ponies shook and shuddered as the Darkness was forcefully drawn out of them and returned to the source. The Anti-Spike grew a bit and looked back at Spike.

“It is time for us to end this,” He said.

“Agreed,” Spike said.

“Alright, Spike,” Flake said, “We are with you.”

“No,” Spike said, “You have done more than enough. This is my fight to finish.”

There was no arguing with him as he stepped up to face his enemy. They wanted to protest. Many of the ponies complained and whined. Luna wasn't one of them. She just smiled and watched as the one she loved went off to fight.

“Why don't you go with him, Luna,” Twilight asked.

“You heard what he said, Twilight. This is his fight to finish.”

Spike stepped up to the Darkness. The first thing he did was unleash a blast of intense dragons fire breath at the Anti-Spike. The flames danced dangerously and burned their way over to him. The Anti-Spike ran, staying just ahead of the flames as Spike turned to keep with him. He was forced to stop so he didn't torch his friends. The Anti-Spike leaped up at the last second and came down at Spike. He dashed back quickly, and countered even faster.

He skidded to a stop and lashed out with the tip of his tail. The Anti-Spike evaded and Spike dashed forward. He lunged and slashed up with sharp claws, but the Anti-Spike caught his wrist. He came up with a swift knee to the ribs that Spike caught in his own claws. Spike surprised the Anti-Spike by grabbing the wrist of the arm that held his own wrist. He already had hold of the leg and displayed a surprising show of sheer strength. He lifted up, groaning with effort. The Anti-Spike was lifted off he ground and held above Spike's head. He reached out with his free hand and placed it on Spike's shoulder. He lashed out with his tail to get free and got enough leverage to yank himself out of the hold. He squirmed over Spike and used his back to propel himself away.

“I must admit that lift was surprising,” His words dripped like venom from the vile face that still held Spike's features. “But I know all your tricks, dragon. How will you win?”

“Easy,” Spike said, “I just won't use my tricks. I'll have to use my friends.”

What? The Anti-Spike didn't really understand what he meant until Spike cast his next spell. One he saw it he realized what he meant, and he really didn't like it. Not one bit.

“Lunar Phases,” Spike called out. His eyes flared up as he went Mystik. On either side of him appeared another version of himself. To his right stood the Bruiser. He had no wings and was a bot shorter, but had limbs the size of tree trunks. He had strength enough to physically relocate all of Ponyville to a new zip code. To Spike's left stood the Speedster. Tall, slender, with wings long and wide. They flared out with grace as he took off to the skies. His speed could only be matched by Rainbow Dash.

Oh, just great. This was the attack that took out Ebony Thorn, his Dark Queen. He blinked and they were gone. The Speedster took off skyward, and Spike himself had disappeared. If the Anti-Spike had to guess, he was hiding behind the oncoming train of scales and muscles that was about to crash into him. He barely had time to react as fists came at him fast. The Bruiser was big and strong, but his attacks were well controlled. The only way he was going to get past him was take one hit and turn it against him. That was exactly what he did. He grabbed a right jab with his hands and took the following hit to the stomach that came not a second later. But he had a grip on him and that was all he needed. With one hand still on the arm he reached out and grabbed the Bruiser by the face. With one move he flung him over his shoulder and tossed him away. He bounced one and rolled the rest of the distance.

The Anti-Spike turned to have a fireball thrown in his face. It was weak, meant only to distract and conceal. Spike had thrown it. He bounced another in his palm before throwing it. The Anti-Spike took this one in his own palm. When he lowered it the first thing he saw was the Speedster racing down at him. He dived down from the skies and tried a kick that the Anti-Spike easily evaded. Speedster landed on the ground and immediately lashed out with a fury of kicks. The Anti-Spike couldn't keep up with the speed and the last roundhouse kick collided with the side of his head with the force of a comet.

“That is for tormenting my mind for all that time,” He called out.

As the Speedster launched back up into the skies the Anti-Spike could hardly register a thing. He heard what that thing said and lunged out to grab it. He got lucky and found himself with his claws around the Speedster's ankle. He yanked down and swung as he felt the slight tremor of footsteps behind him. He swung the Speedster's body and it collided with the Bruiser. They both crashed together with a lot of force and ended up in a heap on top of one another.

“Is that all you've got, dragon?!” Anti-Spike shouted out, more of a challenge than an actual question. A challenge Spike was more than ready to take on.

“Definitely not.” The Anti-Spike heard from behind him. The Speedster was running at him and leaped up, but did not attack. The Anti-Spike stepped back to avoid any incoming attacks and that put him off balance. He quickly realized the Speedster was just another distraction as the tremendous footsteps started up again. He had no time to react as the Bruiser came up. The only thing he could do was throw up his arms in some kind of defense.

“That is for attacking my friends,” He yelled as he barreled over the Anti-Spike and took a stance next to Spike himself.

The Anti-Spike pushed himself up from the ground and spit out the dirt he was forced to eat. With some shaking limbs he managed to get back up from the hard hits he took. He looked up just in time to see that the real Spike was running at him. Not nearly as fast as the Speedster and not nearly as big as the Bruiser. What did he have left? The answer came as he fired a dozen magic blasts at him and they simply bounced his magical barrier. He took a page from Twilight's many books and actually teleported the short distance to the Anti-Spike. He came up right under his chin and nailed him with a magic infused strike to the jaw as he rose up. Spike took the precious few seconds while he was stunned and leaped on him. He dug his claws into the oozed scales and planted his hand on either side of the Anti-Spike's face.

“And this is for taking me away from Luna,” Spike whispered to him.

He took a deep breath and looked like he was about to breath another burst of dragons fire breath, but he wasn't. Applejack saw what he was doing. He had done the same thing to her. Spike looked back down and he breathed out this most brilliant light that washed over the Anti-Spike. Where it burned away the corruption in Applejack it was just hurting the Anti-Spike. For a few moments Spike stayed there and then he retracted his claws and used his body to propel himself off. He used his wings to glide farther away and stood with the Bruiser. The Speedster came and stood with them. They glowed and then disappeared, turning into energy and returning to Spike himself.

“I WILL NOT LOSE!” The Anti-Spike yelled out, “Come to me, my Darkness!”

He raised his hands up and once again more and more of the ponies of his Dark army squirmed and writhed as he forcefully took away their Dark power for himself. Where he was starting to fall apart before the new Darkness patches were keeping him together. The Anti-Spike didn't grow anymore, but the power he took recharged him. He smiled wickedly and glared over at Spike. It was time for round two, and he was ready.

“What will you do now, dragon?” The Anti-Spike called out, “Whose tricks will you use this time?”

“Why don't you come and find out?”

The Anti-Spike growled and snarled as he charged for Spike. Spike did nothing as he reached behind him and materialized several belts. He slung one over each shoulder and clipped one around his waist. It didn't take long for him to know exactly what was on those belts. Spike put them on and tore off two of the small objects that hung from them. Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich were bouncing up and down like little fillies and Flake was smiling because she was a little filly.

“PARTY POPPERS!”

Spike called out the name as he tossed the two party grenades out at the charging Anti-Spike. One by one he tore the Party Poppers off the belts and tossed them. Never once did he get a direct hit, but he came very close with more than one throw. The Anti-Spike was more determined than Spike thought, however. Even as confetti showered down around him, making it hard to see Spike and breathing a danger he ran forward. Even as streamers fought to tangle around his arms and legs he tore through them and pushed forward. Before too long he was closing in on Spike and Spike was running low on Party Poppers. Scratch that, he was out of Party Poppers. He only had one thing left. Spike reached quickly threw off the belts and reached behind him. He pulled out one last thing the had been waiting to use. Now was the best time to use it. He pulled it out just as the Anti-Spike was on him. He raised up his claws and was ready to strike when Spike shoved what he pulled out from behind him into his chest. Spike pushed with all his might and even landed a punch to his face that sent the Anti-Spike back. He stayed on his feet the whole time, and when he looked down he saw that he was holding a box. It was just a simple, plain pink box with a design of balloons on the lid. He looked up to see Spike holding a string with ring on the end of it.

“FIRE IN THE HOLE!” Pinkie Pie shouted as loud as she could. They dived for cover as the box exploded with the super compressed party inside. It was so much more powerful than the Party Poppers he was throwing before. The Anti-Spike just found them to be annoying more than anything else, but this. This was pure party destruction.

The Anti-Spike lay in middle of a pile of party supplies in a daze. A cake came from somewhere and splatted all over his face. He was absolutely covered in confetti and several streamers tugged at his extremities. He couldn't believe that a simple party could do so much damage. Spike did warn him about the pink one. If only he listened.

He managed to get up again as Spike ran for him. He wasn't that far away, but Spike set in a full sprint. He made it about five steps before he fell into the earth below. The only thing left was a Spike shaped hole where he disappeared.

“Ooh, now he is doing me,” Discord said with glee.

He was right. Spike was now using his tricks, but the Anti-Spike remembered this one. He immediately blasted the earth all around him with dragons fire breath, scorching it to nothing but black. But Spike wasn't just copying what the others did. He was putting his own spin on it. The Anti-Spike breathed heavily after scorching the earth around him. He panted heavily and then felt a tug at his ankles. He looked down to see two miniature Spikes clawing at his ankles. They smiled and giggled as they clawed their way up his body. He would throw one off and it would crumbled into dust and dirt but another one would just take its place.

“ENOUGH,” He yelled out as his body exploded with ooze thorns. They protruded from every part of him and pierced each and every one of the mini Spike's little bodies. They all turned to dust and fell. This time it was the real Spike who rose up from the ground.

“It will take more than parlor tricks to defeat me,” The Anti-Spike said.

“HEY!” Discord exclaimed, “Why I oughta. . .”

“I guess you're right,” Spike said, “Maybe you need to cool down again.”

Spike's eyes were glowing with Mystik power and he knew how to use it. His powers over elemental magic were strong, but ice and water were his weakest. If only there were a pony who knew a little something about that kind of magic. Flake beamed like the ice itself as Spike called down the powers of winter.

Once again the temperature all around them dropped. The cold winds of the harsh winter kicked up and blew the falling snow all around. It wasn't as directed as Flake's but it was coming. Ine formed under their feet. They both had to use their toe claws to keep from slipping and sliding all over the place. In each of his hands Spike held a small ice crystal. He threw them out and the embedded themselves into the ice. The Anti-Spike watched as they grew into the ice spires that the ice farmers were dealing with earlier. It didn't bother him as he charged forward. He extended his claws further and got ready.

Each spire grew up to seven feet tall and had several smaller branches growing of it. The Anti-Spike ran through these spire fields and dodged and evaded as he went. It didn't even matter to him even if he did get struck by one of the fast growing spires. He swiped outward with his claws. He cut branches from spires wherever he stepped. He cut down spire after spire as he ran, but there were still more growing. On top of that Spike was blasting the harsh winds through the spires. The biting winds were already cold and now they were filled with the shrapnel of dozens of broken spires. However, much to Spike's surprise he made it through. He was by no means unscathed, but he made it.

He came crashing out through a couple of tall spires and clawed at Spike quickly. Spike stepped back as the claws dug into the ground. The Anti-Spike didn't stop there, though. He kept it going as he flipped upward and planted is feet onto Spike and pushed him back. He finished the movement back on his feet and with a left fist aimed right for Spike. The thunderous hit connected with tremendous force. Now it was Spike who was forced to get back up.

“You cannot defeat me, dragon,” The Anti-Spike said, “I have been here for eons, I will stay for eons more. My power is dark and endless.”

With that said he called back the rest of the Dark power from his Dark army. Before it was just a small amount at a time. Now it well over two legions worth of power he called upon. He brought it all out of their tormented bodies and all to himself. All that power coursed through him and he couldn't be happier. His body changed and shifted as he absorbed all that power.

“You want power,” Spike said as he got back up, “Take mine!”

Spike groaned into a full on roar. It shook the very heavens, it echoed throughout the universe. Spike changed too. His eyes glowed with Mystik power, but that was just green. When he used soul magic they were green with a white circle. But now as he brought up all his power, every bit of it, his eyes flashed from green to the white circle to being all white. He roared out with a mix of pain and effort. Through sheer force of will he kept it up.

Every scale of his body was glowing from power. Every scale shone from the light of the power within him. Light was coming from Spike like never before. He locked eyes on the Anti-Spike, who had coalesced back into a form similar to his own. Spike ran forth and reached out with his claws.

Claws of light passed through the ooze and dug into the Anti-Spike. He screamed in pain she Spike's other hand of claws dug into him as well. Spike looked him in the eyes and breathed in a great breath. When he breathed out again he was breathing forth a blast of the purest magical energy that any of them had ever seen or felt. Twilight and Luna were keenly aware of how powerful it was. They were a bit more sensitive to magic than the others. Spike breathed this pure energy onto the Anti-Spike, who just absorbed it. It took him a moment to gather the strength but when he did he grabbed a hold of Spike and threw him back. Spike skid across the ground and lay still for a moment. Luna raced over to him, and helped him to his feet.

“Spike, are you alright my love,” She asked. He wearily lifted his head and she saw that his eyes were normal. He was not Mystik anymore. He was not anything. “Spike, what did you do?”

“What have you done to me, dragon?!”

Spike didn't answer as his gaze fell on the Anti-Spike. It writhed and twisted as the power flowed through it. His form shifted and changed into horrid shapes and terrible things as the power coursed through him. He screamed as the light of Spike's power could be seen. It was inside of him, and seemed to still be fighting with the Darkness. The power itself was too much. Way to much. Anti-Spike couldn't handle it. His new tangled form reached for his head and he roared out in agonizing pain.

“I gave you everything you ever wanted,” Spike said, “All my power is now yours. Let's see if you can handle it any better than I did.”

Anti-Spike cried out as the agony of the battle raging within him tore him apart. He screamed as his form could no longer contain the power. He searched out for something, anything that could help him release this power.

“Ain't gonna happen,” Flake said as she ran up and took control of the ice fields. The spires rose up and moved over to him. All them pierced through his form to keep him in his place. The ice itself moved up and spread through the spires to freeze him where he stood.

Twilight flew up and pushed him back with her magic. She easily dodged his lazy swipes at her and continued her barrage. Discord manifested a large lasso for Applejack, who expertly wrangled it around the Anti-Spike. Her and many of them pulled back so as to keep the form from moving. They succeeded, and before long it screamed out one last scream.

A last, longing scream burst forth from the Anti-Spike. It bellowed out for the heavens to hear as a flame from somewhere deep within him burn. His ooze form slowly burned, and turned to sludge. It sank down as the flames burst forth from its body and consumed it. The last of the form shrieked and howled before falling silent as the flames ate away at the last of it.

“Is it really gone?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don't know,” Applejack said, “Ah reckon only Spike could answer that fer certain.”

“I can,” Spike said as he walked up with Luna. She was supporting him as he could barely stand on his two feet. “It is gone. For good. There will be no more ooze, no more Madness, and definitely no more Darkness. I promise.”

“Spike,” Twilight said, “I trust you. You know that, but how can you make that promise.”

“Balance, Twilight,” Spike replied, “It is all about balance. As long as I had my dragon magic, I was a powerful force for good and so there had to be and equally evil force to maintain the balance.”

“But if that thing is gone,” Rarity said, her mind making the connections, “Does that mean that your magic-”

“Gone as well,” Spike said, “I sacrificed it. That was the only way to defeat it. Now I am back to being just the same old Princess Assistance Dragon that I was before.”

“Nuh uh, no you're not,” Pinkie said as she hopped to Spike with a measuring tape, “You are officially three and three quarters inches shorter than you were before you got oozed. And that makes you only two feet nine inches taller than when you fist became the PAD.”

“Thanks for the information, Pinkie,” Luna said with laugh.

“No problemo,” Pinkie replied as she bounced back.

“So what happens now?” Flake asked.

“We go home, Flake,” Spike said as he looked at all the ponies around, “And I guess we take them with us.”

Author's Note:

Just the epilogue left now. To those who have made it this far I want to say thanks for reading, and to ask you to please drop a comment on the story. What you liked or didn't like. I'm sure you know what I mean. Please and thanks.

Comments

[Harmonious]

it really sucked that Spike lost all his magic. magic Spike is the best.
but I have really enjoyed reading this, and the fact it has my OTP SpikexLuna, makes me love it even more. can't wait to see how it all comes to a close.

[Eclipse_filer]

6319333 Well, this was an interesting story for superman spike.But one thing that bugged me a bit was "end it".The line just felt over used after awhile, but I was reading 2-3 chapters at a time. Other then that, the party ploppers are the best non-lethal grenade ever! But seriously, I'm going miss the OCs in this series.Who knows maybe be some other evil may come up and spike might need to get his powers back.

[Love able chaos]

Well Spike you done Bleached yourself.