C̴h̴a̴p̷t̷e̴r̵ ̴2̶5̶:̷ ̶F̷i̵n̵a̵l̸e̶
Spike stumbled as he took another step back.
"You're not Pinkie Pie..." he mumbled, shakily pointing at her as he kept on trying to keep his distance. "Y-you're that thing that was trying to be her... you're not her."
Pinkie giggled, before her expression shifted from its supposedly friendly, bubbly appearance, to a snarky smile.
"I am now, Spike..." She began to approach him, the feeling she gave off that felt like Pinkie quickly fading away. "You should have known that the moment your friend had nopony left to help her, she was going to be found sooner or later. It's even better that I was the one to find her. I wouldn't have to worry about some brainless fool outright killing her instead of preventing her from escaping, and then bringing her to me."
Spike was confused, and "Pinkie" could instantly tell.
"Right..." she chuckled. "I guess I never really gave you the 'full picture' on how exactly everything was supposed to work. Well... I might as well fill you in on it. You see, Pinkie was just as vulnerable to the darkness as anyone else, obviously, and I've made it clear that her being corrupted is the key to me replacing her. However, in order for me to become flesh and her to become darkness, I specifically had to be the one to make physical contact with her, whether she was a survivor like you or a victim like the others. That way, my body could learn from and replicate every cell and genetic, even if from the slightest draw of blood. After that, well... there just simply can't be two of us. As my process carries on, the darkness would proceed to eat away and replace her cells until she was reduced to a fleshless figure of darkness like I was before. You get rid of the darkness, you get rid of something that was once her, and I take her place."
"And... so P-Pinkie's..."
"Duh! Look at me! It didn't even take that much effort at all to get rid of her. All I had to do while she was down was to simply infect her and spread some of the darkness that made up my body into hers... preferably her bloodstream for quicker results. She really did try to get away when I turned my hoof into a blade and slashed her. I didn't get her as deep as I wanted to, but... it sure got the job done. And now... poor little Spike is left with nothing."
The fake Pinkie got closer, standing tall above him, giving him a scowl that the original Pinkie was never capable of giving. Her tone and continuous formal wording was even more unlike Pinkie's, being far more sinister and demeaning.
"You lost Chrysalis. You lost your friends. You lost the Princesses. You lost Twilight..." she mocked. "I will admit, a round of applause to you for making it this far, but... you've been outnumbered before you even realized what was happening."
Spike's claws slipped. And that's when he realized that the fake Pinkie had backed him all the way to the edge of the floating island they were on. If he backed up any further, he would be sent on a plummet to whatever remained down below. He looked straight into the fake Pinkie's gaze again and gulped.
"It's over, Spike!" the mimicking mare proclaimed. "Accept what Equestria has become, and let the darkness consume you."
Spike felt his breathing begin to quicken, but he quickly took a deep breath to suppress himself from panicking. Even if it was time to give up, he wasn't going to go down easy, even if he was afraid. Clenching his claws in rage, he spat a spray of flames into the fake Pinkie's face, causing her to scream in rage.
He got up and began to flee, when someone suddenly sprung out from the trees, landing right in front of him. Once again Spike fell on his backside.
Pinkie Pie... the real one... stood over him, clumps of the darkness that varied in size scattered throughout her body. Her unhinged jaw extended as she stalked closer, tiny droplets of darkness falling onto the soil from her body. That wasn't the biggest thing to note, however. What Spike saw, something that reignited a tinge of hope within' his body, was Pinkie's left eye. The eye was not blank... the iris and pupil remained, glaring at Spike as though Pinkie was begging for help.
She was still in there.
The fake Pinkie recovered, scowling aloud. Her glare shot in Spike and Pinkie's direction, and Spike got a good look at her face.
The flames took their toll. Bits of "skin" peeled away, revealing the seemingly void-like darkness underneath, with only bits of genuine blood leaking out of the wounds, even then mixed with darkness as well.
She snarled, but then cackled.
"S̸h̸e̵ ̶w̵i̸l̶l̵ f̸a̴l̵l̴…̸" she hissed. " T̶h̵e̸y̶ ̵w̴i̸l̷l̵ ̵a̸l̸l̸ ̶ f̵a̶l̷l̴!̸”
Like it was a sort of instinct, Spike instantly prioritized the goal of setting Pinkie free.
“Pinkie, you have to fight it!” he encouraged. “You can’t give up now! You’re so close! You have the gems!”
That final sentence was enough to make the darkness on Pinkie’s body fizzle with rage. Pinkie’s body rippled and tensed as her neck twisted far in one way, and then far another, groans escaping her throat with every movement. It was clear that it was desperate to take her, and it was even clearer that Pinkie was giving it her all to break out.
Unfortunately she couldn’t resist lashing out at Spike, leaping at him while bringing her hoof down. He got out of the way before her hoof hit the ground hard, but the fake Pinkie then slid right in front of him when he stood.
“ N̸o̶w̸h̶e̶r̷e̴ ̴ le̸f̸t̸ ̷t̶o̴ r̷u̷n̸,̵ ̵D̸r̷a̸g̴o̸n̵.̶!” she snarled.
“PINKIE!” Spike urgently shrieked as he backed away. “YOUR FRIENDS! YOUR HOME! EQUESTRIA! REMEMBER THEM! FIGHT BACK FOR THEM!”
Pinkie’s body appeared to shrivel as she lowered her head, her entire body shaking horribly.
“ Y̸o̷u̷’r̶e̵ t̸o̵o̷ ̶l̸a̷t̶e̸…̸”
Spike proceeded to try and gather up the strength to again attack the fake Pinkie with fire, but in a sudden swift movement, she gave a sharp uppercut to the stomach, and then instantly swatted him to the ground with a quick motion of her hoof. Spike's hand remained on his cheek as he rolled to face the fake Pinkie. He looked into her eyes, which were far more distorted and less pony-like. She glanced at the foreleg she swatted Spike with, realization apparent through her expressions as curiosity became a grin. She then bit the skin on her forehoof and tore it off like a long glove, revealing the forehoof-shaped cluster of darkness underneath. The rips on the skin up her foreleg fizzled as if it struggled to grow back, linked with Pinkie's struggle for control that kept her out of battle.
The fake Pinkie didn't care. She raised her hoof up high, ready to extend, swoop, and strike Spike hard. Spike couldn’t breathe fire at her… the blow he took to the stomach was still in recovery.
“L̷-̴l̷-̸l̵e̵a̶v̶e̴…̷” the real Pinkie stuttered. “L̵e̷a̶v̸e̶…̷ ̵h̵-̷him… ALONE!”
Suddenly, Pinkie leapt into the air, bouncing off the ground with her tail. Her fast descent ended with her landing beside the fake Pinkie, instantly spinning around and giving a powerful kick. Though not as powerful as Applejack’s, it took down the fake Pinkie with ease.
“Pinkie!” Spike exclaimed in a wash of joy.
Pinkie smiled, proudly and with confidence. Although small globs of the darkness were scattered throughout her body, one of her eyes now remained blank, and her missing arm now replaced with a new one made entirely of the darkness, she had clearly managed to take advantage of the little consciousness she had left to regain control in her desperation to save Spike and finish what they started. As if her last-minute return was enough, it appeared as though her surge of energy returned, pushing away the drainage in motivation due to all the physical and emotional pain she’s been put through. Spike wasn't sure if it was because of the influence of the darkness, or Pinkie simply being the wild card she always was, but it didn't matter anymore. She was back, and she was ready to fight.
A low growl rumbled from the fake Pinkie's throat as she stomped back on her hooves once more. Her growl came to a pause when she discovered the skin on her body withering away as her body regressed back to just a darkness-made figure. She began to snarl in rage, bringing all focus to Spike and Pinkie’s rage. Tendrils sprouted from her back as she got in position to charge. The last survivors, meanwhile, got in position to continue fighting. As weakened as they were, they were never going to stay down… they had to do whatever it takes, no matter how much injuries and obstacles get brought their way.
The fake Pinkie, having been completely reduced to the state she was in back at the Dragon lands, charged.
Spike and Pinkie braced themselves.
But then something unexpected happened. Directly in the figure’s path, there opened a rift, which the creature instantly began to plummet into, only managing to catch herself with one hoof dangerously close to the rim.
Nobody could see what lied beyond the rift underneath. It seemed as though the Pinkie-figure didn’t want to know either, struggling to climb out so she could attack once more.
It was a battle the figure ended up losing. She lost her grip and fell deep into the rift, her distorted screams that resembled nothing like Pinkie’s echoing before they went silent.
The rift closed.
Spike and Pinkie found themselves staring at each other, both of them sharing the same mutual feeling… the confusion over the event that just transpired, the desire for answers, and the knowledge that the other wouldn’t be able to answer.
A voice cut off their thinking and gave them the answer they needed.
“It is quite a convenient thing that I was even able to get out…” it mumbled. “If I was mere seconds too late, I doubt anyone else would still be around in what’s left of this world.”
Spike and Pinkie faced the source of the voice. Spike’s jaw just about dropped, and yet another bothersome question proceeded to lurk.
“Discord!” Pinkie cheered with a leap.
Discord, once witnessed by Spike to have apparently been lost to the darkness, stood before them. Although he had a slight smile formed on the corners of his mouth, a noticeable lack of his normal fun attitude was present, replaced by the strong desire to fulfill the same goals that the survivors all had.
All it took was for one glance at Spike to make Discord realize that the dragon has inquiries. And he readied himself for when he has to answer.
“D-Discord-“ Spike stuttered. “It-it’s great that you’re back! Really, it is, but… I saw you corrupted like the rest of them! You were there!”
Discord let out a short sigh. “I suppose I should explain myself. After all, if I was here the whole time, then why have I made no efforts to help save Equestria from… this darkness that’s trying to consume it.”
He snapped his talons and a globe conjured above them, behind instantly consumed by black ooze resembling the darkness.
“Well here’s the reason why…” Discord continued. “I would have been here to help, had I not dealt with a fight of my own before being trapped in my own realm!”
“But-…” Spike started. “I saw you with my own eyes! You were corrupted!”
A burst of light drew the attention of the trio, and a rare sight came upon Spike and Pinkie… the sight of a snarl on Discord’s face.
“That wasn’t me you saw…” he growled.
The cause of the burst of light was none other than… Discord… the corrupted one that Spike had seen earlier. He advanced closer to the group, his empty gaze scanning the three of them.
“Ooh! So is it like one of your clones getting corrupted?” Pinkie asked. “What a twist!”
“No-… I wish it were so” Discord answered, the genuine bitterness in his voice feeling like the strangest thing to ever come from him.
The Corrupted Discord began to laugh, before his body began to undergo change. His long, slim figure shortened as he bent down to stand on all fours. His different-animal arms all changed into matching hooves. His face got less distorted and more larger, his horns undergoing the same treatment as his limbs by changing into matching horns.
Familiarity struck Spike as he saw the transformation near its end. He had never seen this beings face in the flesh before, but he has seen it plenty of times in plenty of books that Twilight had, those same books where he’s heard this wicked creatures name.
The transformation settled down, and the full identity of the figure came into light. A cornflower blue ram, staring at them with piercing yellow eyes and a massive yellow-toothed grin. Tentacles made of the darkness stuck out of his back, ready to pierce whoever was in his way.
“Grogar…” Spike whispered.
Pinkie took in a massive gasp.
Discord snapped his talons, but all it brought was sparks, causing him to groan and repeatedly try again in increasing urgency. His horns both glowing a bright yellow, Grogar’s approach to them began, with him taking slow steps while small bits of the darkness on his body continued to shift and move. His smile was huge, but it strangely felt more normal compared to nearly everyone else that the survivors had encountered.
Pinkie gave Discord a glance. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to get rid of him!…” Discord replied with urgency. “But for some reason, it’s not working!”
When Discord snapped again, trying something else, a rift opened underneath Grogar, only for Grogar’s horns to get even brighter, causing the rift to glow bright yellow and snap back shut. The darkness fizzled on his body more than ever when his horns ignited, as if it gave his magic a far greater boost with its power. When his horns dimmed, the darkness on his body calmed down.
”It’s like he’s countering my efforts to get rid of him-“ Discord mumbled. “…With the darkness playing a key role in that ability…”
“Get back!” Spike exclaimed.
A small laugh could be heard coming from Grogar as the darkness on his left eye parted to reveal what was underneath. It was his normal eye, but what really drew attention was the pupil that could be seen in the glowing eye.
That’s when curiosity took place from inside Spike’s mind. “Is he-… Is he conscious?…”
Grogar’s slow approach instantly developed into a barreling charge.
“Well if I can’t get rid of him then I suppose it’s time for plan B…” Discord grumbled.
The draconequus snapped his talons yet again, and this time, something finally happened. Three giant pigs with wings appeared from under the three survivors, a pig per-survivor, and they instantly flew off at a rapid speed, leaving Grogar behind. None of them checked to see if he was giving chase, nor did they bother to.
“Is he why you were gone this entire time?!” Pinkie asked, her voice caught in a shriek.
As they flew through the sky, Discord proceeded with explaining his story. “He attempted to attack me in the Chaos Realm knowing I kept watch of his Bewitching Bell there-“
“You didn’t take it back to Everhoof?!” Spike shrieked.
Discord paused, appearing to look back with his usual look of regret from whenever he’s made a mistake. “…As I was saying, he tried taking the bell back and almost succeeded, though before he could use it on me, I was able to quickly dispose of it and send it to some other world or time period. He then left me to be trapped in the Chaos Realm by the Darkness, proceeding to pose as me for whatever reasons he had. Unfortunately for him, however, I fought back with enough force to eventually be able to get out! Conveniently right as you two needed me…”
“We could have used you earlier!” Spike barked.
“Well, it’s not like I chose to be trapped!” Discord spat back..
A loud roar brought the bickering to a halt. From the distance, the four-headed Hydra was rapidly approaching.
“We gotta go, we gotta go!” Pinkie panicked. “GAH! We’re done for!”
“No we are not!” Discord exclaimed in a rare case of genuine determination.
“I hope you’re right!” Spike shouted.
The Hydra got closer as each second passed by, and doubt in Discord grew rapidly. With the size the Hydra was and the fact it was all the Alicorns aside from Twilight fused into one, the odds of defeating or even escaping the Hydra felt slim. They got lucky before but who’d say they’d get lucky again?
A gargle rumbled, sourced from Flurry Heart’s distorted head as she prepared to be the first to attack. The darkness drooled out of her gaping mouth as she readied herself to spew it at the survivors.
Discord raised his talons and gave a quick snap as Flurry commenced her attack. Giant cards manifested into existence and formed a wall in the Hydra’s path, blocking the attack against the survivors. Spike and Pinkie cheered, but the celebration was cut short when the Hydra smashed its way through the wall.
The Cadance head was next, her warped expression filled with gleeful malice as her horn lit up. She proceeded to shoot massive projectiles of darkness, and all three pigs the survivors rode on swerved and dodged to avoid getting hit. Spike clung onto his pig, screams leaving his throat raw as he tried to stay on.
Cadance was clearly far more persistent than Flurry, but that didn’t stop Discord from leading them to a nearby site of floating islands snapping his talons to proceed with yet another method of defense. From behinds a floating island, a massive pan swung their way and struck the Hydra in two of its heads, with one being Flurry’s and the other being Cadance. Sickening cracks were heard as the two heads went limp, before recovering and snapping back into place, their faces more distorted and even angrier than before.
Both of the Hydra’s leading heads, Celestia and Luna, both took charge in the next attack, this time combining their attacks into one. Both of their throats gargled and pooled with the horrifying darkness, while at the same time, both of their horns were surrounded simultaneously with bright ignited magic, and the dark corruptive ooze.
“We’re not going to get out of this one!” Pinkie squealed.
Discord looked around, hoping to try another method that would this time shake off the Hydra to buy them time. He looked at the path ahead and saw a cluster of floating islands far down below. His eyebrows rose and a literal lightbulb flashed above his head.
“Brace yourselves!” Discord warned. “Things are going to take quite a nosedive!”
“What-what’s that supposed to mean?!” Spike called out.
Pinkie looked behind her and watched in horror as the Two Sisters’ heads continued to charge their attack, which appeared more inescapable with every passing second.
“Uh, Discord, they’re going to attack! Do something!” Pinkie wailed.
Discord’s eyes extended as if they had a mind of their own and looked behind him, allowing him to get a good look at the Hydra’s impending attack. His eyes then shortened back into place, and he couldn’t help but suppress a sly smirk.
Spike and Pinkie, however, lacked Discord’s confidence, both of them simultaneously crying out his name. “DISCORD!”
The Two Sisters unleashed their attack, and in an instant, all three flying pigs dove straight down. Spike and Pinkie clung onto their pigs for dear life, screaming even after their throats felt horribly raw, until two floating lion paws courtesy of Discord appeared and covered their mouths to silence them. The pigs soared into the cluster of islands and they all hovered underneath the largest one, staying hidden.
The sound of the Hydra's flapping wings echoed throughout the void-like sky, appearing faint, before getting louder. Spike had expected to panic, his stomach twisting and his covered breathing being too fast to comprehend. But to his surprise, he felt none of those things. Could it have been the shock that he had gained from the twisted flight, and his body was too shaken to react? Or has he been made impervious to impending danger due to all that the infected had put him through?
Drips of the darkness could be seen nearby when the loud flaps were at an all-time high. But then, they faded. And although it took what felt lasted an eternity, nobody moved a muscle until there was only silence and the odd ambient noise left by the void.
Discord gave a signal, prompting the pigs to all cautiously fly out from hiding. Discord scanned his surroundings, and moments later the survivors had calmed down to the point where they too searched their surroundings.
“Phew…” Pinkie panted. “I think we’re sa-“
She was cut off when something flew right past the group, slashing Pinkie’s pig deep and causing it to vanish from thin air, sending her on a brief fall that was cut off courtesy of Discord saving her and setting her behind him on his pig.
“It’s the Hybrid!” Spike cried.
The Hybrid had returned, ready to take over as the next deadly opponent. The blank faces present on the beast’s body continued to be unsettling, and Discord was suddenly still, giving a solemn look to one of those faces. Spike and Pinkie didn’t even need to question what was going on. Discord’s melancholy gazed was locked onto the Fluttershy face, which could just barely be seen on the Hybrid’s front left leg.
Spike got ready to call out Discord’s name in an effort to snap him out of the heartbreaking sight. But fortunately as it turned out, he didn’t need to. Just as the Hybrid delivered a sudden blow, Discord retaliated, blocking the attack with a giant cookie before swatting the creature away with a massive fly swatter. Seizing the opportunity the three flew off at a quick speed, the Hybrid already having recovered and giving chase while it fizzled with instability.
For the most part, this chase was no different than the last one. In spite of the Hybrid being smaller than the Hydra, it was still a heavily dangerous and formidable opponent, and Discord could take an easy guess that it wasn’t going to be easy to fool this time either. It continued crying out to them either through distorted screams, or the voices of the taken friends and foes in efforts to get inside the survivors’ heads. They all still fought back with strong resistance, and even attempted their own attacks on the Hybrid before it took a shot (though said attempts were with no success).
“We’re never going to get to the structure as long as we’re being chased!” Spike hollered.
“Exactly!” Discord exclaimed.
“Huh?! Waddya mean?!” Pinkie asked.
Discord didn’t answer. Instead he kept guiding and protecting the group as the Hybrid got even closer, beginning to close in. The distorted laugh of Chrysalis echoed, every row of teeth moving as if each had a life of its own.
They neared another cluster of floating islands and Discord gave Spike a glance.
“Do your best, Spike!” he exclaimed. “Shower the fiend’s eyes with fire!”
Spike coughed. “I can’t! I’ve been doing this all night! It’s going to give out! My chest hurts!”
Discord snapped his talons, teleporting Spike right into his arms, an extra set of arms sprouting from his body and holding onto his pig. Twisting his back to face the Hybrid and aiming Spike at its way, Discord took a moment for his focus to zero in on the Hybrid. With a tug of Spike's tail, a wave of flames were unleashed at the beast, causing it to screech and get disoriented. Discord took quick action and snapped his talons, causing the survivors and pigs to vanish. The flames vanished and the Hybrid recovered... only to ram right into a large rock that impaled it directly through the chest. The Hybrid shrieked, its body distorting and fizzling uncontrollably, before bursting apart, the Hybrid and all those involved unfusing back into seven corrupted victims, all plummeting down below. Chrysalis flew down, advancing closer to Tirek and Cozy, her jaw unhinging like a snake. Tendrils launched out and wrapped around Tirek and Cozy before pulling them towards her, forcing the two corrupted villains to fuse with Chrysalis once more, while the four friends of Twilight Sparkle continued their plummet down below.
***
Discord, Spike, and Pinkie all appeared on the cold hard ground of a floating island, inside a cave; the flying pigs they rode on no longer existent. Spike squirmed his way out of Discord's arms, landing on his knees.
"Hang on..." he coughed. "I... I need a minute..."
Pinkie gasped. It was more contained than some of her other gasps in the past, but it was still enough to gather Spike's attention. He turned around, and he stopped where he stood.
"We're here," said Discord.
In front of the survivors stood a structure that, although not seen in the flesh, had been seen on pages not that long ago. The very structure designed to save Equestria and cast away the darkness stood before them. Above the structure was a hole leading back to the outside world, the white glow from the void filling the area with light. At first Spike, felt relief and excitement, knowing that Equestria would finally be free. But then he had questions.
"Wait..." he realized. "You couldn't have just brought us here right away instead of letting us be chased?!"
"Well, the only thing smarter than going there right away was luring some of the most dangerous entities the opposite direction with the added bonus of defeating and/or stalling them," Discord replied.
Spike was about to speak, but then stopped. Discord had a point. Even if they were going to be found eventually, they very likely bought themselves extra time. That didn't mean they could stall though... anyone could be nearby, ready to catch them.
"Quick, let's get those jewels where they go and then Discord can activate the thing!" exclaimed Spike.
Pinkie quickly pulled the large ruby out from her mane. "I'm on it! Hi-ya!"
With one big kick, Pinkie kicked the ruby in the direction of the contraption, the ruby spinning in the air before precisely landing in its designated holder. She reached in for the emerald as Spike served as a scout and stared out the hole above the contraption, not trusting the idea that they were finally safe.
Pinkie kicked the emerald into its place. “That’s two!”
“Hurry!” Spike urged on. “We’re so close!”
With no response, Pinkie took the diamond out next, leapt in the air while spinning, and flung the diamond to its rightful spot. She and Spike cheered, and Spike’s distrust of the situation instantly eased up.
As Pinkie reached for the bloodstone, Discord shuddered, and an instant sensation of dread washed over him. Spike and Pinkie failed to notice, the excitement over saving the world having now completely distracted them from the rapidly approaching threat. Discord, however, took instant focus as Grogar was approaching from down the cave, having made his way into view. Quickly Discord summoned a crossbow with a pie at the end of the arrow, and quickly shot it in Grogar’s path, finally catching Pinkie and Spike’s attention. Unfortunate they were already too late, as Grogar had shot past Discord and at the bloodstone, successfully hitting it and knocking it out of its place.
Discord quickly reloaded more pies, but Grogar had disappeared, having teleported to Spike and Pinkie. With magic, Grogar snatched Spike by the tail and tossed him to the wall, the impact sending him the unfortunate and painful reminder on the worsening condition of his wings. Spike let out a yelp, but before Grogar could get to him, Pinkie leapt in between the two and kicked Grogar in the face.
Enraged, Grogar prepared his horns for another far deadlier attack, but Discord took the chance he had and summoned himself a rope (along with a cowboy hat). Quickly he lassoed Grogar’s hind legs and yanked him his way, before snapping his talons yet again, manifesting bars that kept him and Grogar separate from Spike and Pinkie.
“Discord!” Pinkie cried out.
“I can handle him!” Discord shouted back. “Finish what you started!”
“Quick! We have to get the bloodstone!” exclaimed Spike.
Grogar’s horns began to glow as he let out a horribly distorted laugh, but right before he could teleport, Discord quickly attacked, this time swinging a punch at Grogar while wearing a massive padded glove. The impact sent Grogar back, but he landed on his hooves, and charged.
Meanwhile, Spike and Pinkie Pie had made their way to behind the structure where the bloodstone rested on the ground, thankfully without a scratch. Pinkie picked up the bloodstone, ready to put it back into its spot and get Discords attention.
The darkness was making its way into the space, oozing in from the hole above and crawling along the cave top. Spike gasped. They were running out of time. Quickly, Pinkie grabbed the bloodstone and threw it back to where it was meant to go, the bloodstone fortunately landing exactly as intended.
The battle between Discord and Grogar momentarily seemed tied, but that all came to an end when Grogar kept so much of Discord’s attention that, by the time Discord realized something was happening, it was too late. He had found himself impaled from behind by a portion of the darkness that had entered the cave, and already, it was spreading throughout his body. Discord proceeded to channel all his magic to stay conscious, but even then it couldn’t prevent the darkness spreading throughout his body and to his limbs from inside, making sure that he couldn’t move. For the first time since he could remember, Discord felt severe pain. Grogar just stood and stared, laughing as one of his pupils once again could be seen. This laugh didn’t feel mindless or reused for intimidation. To Discord, it felt genuine, as if Grogar maybe was in control the entire time.
Both Spike and Pinkie witnessed what had happened, and they both shrieked. “DISCORD!!!”
Grogar began storming their way, trying to get through the bars to attack the final survivors. But before he could, Discord used what remained of his rapidly deteriorating strength to teleport Grogar and himself away.
The ground rumbled vigorously, and all of a sudden, the cave walls crumbled away and into the void, leaving behind only the structure and the ground Spike and Pinkie stood on. The duo avoided the falling bits of darkness, feeling as though they were increasingly getting cornered.
The sky felt no longer existent, now only replaced by void. Massive stalks of the darkness were all strung around the void, appearing endless, with them extending to as far as I can see. Multiple faces of ponies and creatures stuck out from the darkness, staring out to the unknown.
Spike then noticed the stalks and strings of darkness, all slowly moving in the same direction, all slowly getting closer as if they had a source. Pinkie noticed too, a quiet “wait a minute” escaping from her lips.
The stalks turned out to be tentacles that appeared infinite, all of them attached to none other than Twilight Sparkle. Spike and Pinkie both shrank back. Although she was far away, she was clearly an even larger size than when they last encountered each other, and even with what little they could see of her, she was also more horrifically deformed. In spite of appearance, the scariest thing continued to be the massive endless tendrils that came out of her back and contained multiple corrupted Equestrians, said tendrils being the only things that held up her body, which appeared simultaneously dormant yet at the same time active.
“S̶p̴i̷k̶e̶…̸”̶
Upon hearing Twilight’s voice, Spike stopped. All he started to hear was ringing. He felt as though Twilight stared directly at him. Was she doing what she could to try and call for help? Or did she want to lure him and Pinkie to her?
As much as he hated to think about it, he knew it was only the latter.
”̷C̵o̶m̸e̷ ̸h̷o̵m̷e̷.̶”̷
The sound of someone teleporting behind them could be heard, and a searing pain suddenly shot through Spike’s torso, and his eyes focused on the blade-shaped blob of darkness that had impaled through his abdomen. He looked at Pinkie. The same had happened to her. Spike heard the sinister laugh of Grogar. Discord teleporting away with the corrupted tyrant wasn’t enough to keep him away. Spike felt his consciousness slip away, and he desperately tried to hold on.
From underneath, the sound of the Hydra roaring shook the ground.
Spike’s vision was fading. He felt himself get hoisted up by Grogar, and tossed into the contraption, while Pinkie was tossed off the floating island entirely, sent on a fall below like last time. Grogar stood in front of him. In spite of that, Spike couldn’t help but keep his focus on Twilight, who remained where she was. It was only until Grogar finally spoke that Spike gave him his attention.
“̸D̶i̸d̶ ̴y̵o̴u̸ ̴r̶e̷a̸l̸l̶y̷ ̸t̷h̶i̸n̶k̶ ̴t̴h̶a̸t̶ ̵a̸ ̴l̷i̶t̷t̷l̶e̶ ̵d̶r̶a̴g̸o̸n̵ ̷l̶i̵k̵e̷ ̶y̷o̴u̶ ̶c̶o̵u̴l̷d̸ ̸s̷a̷v̵e̸ ̵E̷q̸u̶e̸s̵t̴r̶i̵a̷ ̸f̵r̴o̶m̸ ̵t̶h̶e̴ ̷e̶n̶d̴?̴”̴ Grogar hissed, allowing Spike to hear his voice for the first time. “̷T̶h̴e̸ ̸d̴a̴r̸k̴n̷e̸s̵s̶ ̸i̵s̷n̴’̷t̵ ̸j̵u̵s̵t̴ ̸a̴n̶ ̵i̴m̸v̶a̴s̵i̸o̸n̶.̴ ̸I̷t̶’̴s̶ ̶t̸h̶e̶ ̶e̴n̶d̵ ̵o̶f̴ ̵a̵l̵l̵ ̸t̵h̸i̶n̴g̸s̸.̴”̷
Spike breathed heavily as he tried standing up, only to fall flat on his face. Although he resisted the darkness more than he thought, he felt as though he would be taken over at any given second. But he didn’t even know why he was trying. He wanted to give up. He lost everything. He got back Pinkie and Discord, only to lose them both. There was nobody whose magic could be used to power the structure. Was there really anybody left who could power the structure?
Before Spike finally gave in, a sharp moment of realization crossed his mind. There was someone left.
It was himself. If his fire breath could send letters to Princess Celestia… maybe it could power the contraption after all.
He didn’t truly know. But he had only a few seconds left to even try.
Within’ a matter of seconds, Spike rolled onto his back and inhaled, powering through the pain that shrouded his entire body. He then let out only a small burst of fire that managed to get close to the bloodstone before instantly thinning away into the air, only a few tips of the flame making contact with the bloodstone.
Grogar snarled and teleported away, allowing for the Hydra to crash through the island underneath, completely destroying it and sending Spike and the structure on a seemingly endless fall.
Although Spike resisted longer than he thought, he knew he couldn’t fight back like Chrysalis could. With the last of his strength being taken away, Spike’s mind was overtaken by the darkness, the last thing he saw being the somehow intact contraption glowing, the colors of the glowing gems blinding him before all that came after was nothing.
***
Spike opened his eyes and found that he stood on nothing. He simply floated in an empty black void.
“Did… did I lose?” he pondered out loud. “Is-is this what it’s like to be like them?”
“Spike…”
Spike turned. Twilight flew to him, no longer a massive horrific entity, but rather the normal would-be Princess of Equestria that he loved. Spike couldn’t help but tear up as he quickly made his way to her and hugged her.
“I’m so sorry Twilight…” he apologized in tears. “I tried to save Equestria… I tried to save you… but… I failed.”
Spike let go of Twilight and he slowly hovered away from her. All she did was continue giving him her calm smile.
“Spike… it’s okay…” she said. “Now you get to experience the joys… the joys of being one with the darkness. Even if momentarily.”
“W-what?” The dragon stuttered.
Twilight giggled, closing her eyes and holding a hoof over her mouth. When she opened her eyes again, one was blank white and glowing, while the other was pitch black, the magenta eye making its return. Twilight’s smile grew, her teeth also appearing far more uncanny.
Spike gasped. Then he looked at his claws, his vision began going white as he found himself fading away and distorting. What was happening to him? Was he fully becoming immersed into the darkness, and this was only a limbo he’d be trapped in until he woke up? Or was this something else?
Twilight hovered higher above spike, and body began growing and twisting, returning to its most recent form just before Spike blacked out.
Spike couldn’t attack. He was in too much of a panic as he felt everything around him break and fade. Soon he couldn’t even see Twilight anymore. But he could hear her now garbled voice as it spoke, seeming like it was right next to him.
“̶S̶e̸e̵ ̷y̶o̶u̵ ̴r̷e̷a̶l̵ ̸s̵o̴o̸n̴…̷”̴
Spike’s vision went completely white, before then going completely black, and Spike felt everything… sight, feeling, all of it… fade once more.
Then Spike opened his eyes, his sight being met with the night sky above him.
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Did we win or lose?
I'm not sure if we won or lost... but I'll be honest, this was incredible.
Did they fail? Is this the ending?
Holy Heck… well worth the wait!