Author's Note

Big thanks again to AstralFlare42 for his OC Shade Fang, who has quite the role to play ahead.

Looking forward to sharing.

Episode 78: The Beginning of the End

There were barely any guards. As Spike pursued Diamondback, aided by diamond dog Shiva and his friend Swift, Spike’s heart hammered at just how few guards stood in their path on the way to Grogar’s lair.

Evidently, Diamondback seemed to feel the same: Spike and Swift found her just outside the last border to Grogar’s home base. The diamond dog Myst was with her… and Echidna’s Bell was clasped in Diamondback’s diamond-covered arms.

“Ah, Spike,” Diamondback whispered. “Welcome. I suppose it’s fitting you should be here, though it does deny me the chance to show your pony friends what good this Bell can do.”

“It won’t be able to do any good if Grogar gets it from you,” Spike said, looking around worriedly. “We need to go back. This plan isn’t going to work.”

“Don’t be so cynical, darling,” Diamondback whispered, a dangerously familiar light in her eyes. “I found a scroll all about the Bell’s power while you were busy basking in your family’s love.” She revealed said scroll. “According to the research of Twilight Sparkle, Star Swirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever, Echidna’s Bell was designed to take the magic of any and every creature, so as to allow easier experimentation on the combination and hybridization of various forms of magic.” Diamondback scoffed. “Of course, there was an alternative method they used, but if Star Wing was here, I imagine she’d say you’re too young to hear that.”

Spike looked down, the joke only reminding him of where Star Wing actually was: unconscious in the physical realm, while her mind and Luna’s battled the very beast that had turned Luna into Nightmare Moon. Luna’s body had not changed, nor had Star’s, but it still left Spike worrying about what they would do if Star or Luna never awoke.

He was broken out of his thoughts as Diamondback lifted his chin. “We can save her,” she promised. “We can save everyone. We can end this war before it even begins.”

Spike glanced at Grogar’s home base. “By using the Bell on Grogar himself?”

Diamondback smiled broadly. “I always knew you were a smart one.” She kissed the top of his head before eagerly turning to the home base. “Our own dark counterparts work for Grogar. All we have to do is wait for them to leave, come back in their place, get close to Grogar, and then use the Bell on him.”

“That’ll be easier than you think,” Myst agreed. “Grogar wants Pyrite to find the Bell. You can easily walk in and say that you’re completing her mission.”

“One problem with that,” Spike pointed out. “Grogar mutated Thorn, and who’s to say he didn’t do the same to Pyrite.”

“I’ve got a plan for that as well,” Diamondback replied, motioning to Myst. “Show him what you’ve got, Myst dear.”

Myst dug her way down under the earth, creating a tunnel for Spike to follow. Underneath, he found costumes; suits of armor that would make him look exactly like Thorn, mutations and all.

“Put it on fast,” Myst said, “I didn’t see Thorn or Pyrite out there, but they could still come back at any moment. If you guys are going to do this, you need to do it now.”

Spike still hesitated as he reached for the armor. “Diamondback,” he said, “There’s so much that can go wrong…”

“And so much that can go right if we can pull it off,” Diamondback insisted. “We can get our powers back, Spike. We can defeat Grogar; ensure that the ponies don’t have to fear war and suffering.” She drew close. “Twilight will be safer because of the sacrifice and risk you’re making today.”

Spike’s muscles relaxed. He remembered how Twilight had hugged him. How she and Shining had called him their baby brother. The Sibling Supreme. The memory made his cheeks warm, but it also connected to another memory: what he had told Diamondback when she had been locked in the grip of Greed.

“Equestria isn’t ours to have, it’s ours to protect.”

He was Sibling Supreme, but that wasn’t just some title to flaunt around. It meant responsibility. Duty. He should guard his family just like he promised to guard Equestria.

His resolve strengthened, he put on the armor, Diamondback doing the same. Swift hesitantly came up to them.

“Should I… uh…” Swift looked down, and Spike put a hand on his feathery shoulder before he could continue.

“Head back,” Spike asked. “Let Twilight and the others know what we did.”

Swift’s feathers fluffed up under Spike’s hand. “W-What if they try to follow you?” he asked. “M-Mount a rescue or something?”

Spike winced; while he didn’t doubt Twilight’s capabilities, he didn’t want to risk her running straight into danger. “Stall as long as you can before telling,” Spike replied. “Hopefully, by the time you do tell, we’ll be on our way back with our powers and Grogar beaten. If not…”

He hesitated, but Diamondback stepped between them. “Enough of this negativity,” she insisted. “We’ve got Myst on our side. Worse comes to worse, we can dive down into the earth with her. But it’s not going to come to that.” She grinned hopefully. “We can get our powers back in just an hour or so. I can almost taste the power returning. We’ve made it this far: we just need to push a little more.”

Nodding, Spike pat Swift’s shoulder. “We’ll see you soon, buddy.”

Swift smiled at them both. “Take care, you two.”

With that, he turned and snuck back away from Grogar’s base. Part of Spike wished he could go with.

But with Diamondback determined and his power waiting just inside, Spike took a breath, gripped Diamondback’s hand, and delved down towards Grogar’s base.

Unaware that another pair of darker dragons were still watching.

“We never did get to know fully what the darker version of Swift would’ve been like, did we?” Pyrite mused. “What do you think we could’ve named him?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Thorn replied, glaring at Swift. “We should probably stop him from going back.”

“No. Let him go.” Chrysalis whispered, standing by their side. “When he reveals what they did, it will cause panic and fear. Which will only be magnified when they discover that their plan failed.”

The plan almost failed before they could even get close to Grogar.

As Diamondback and Spike delved into Grogar’s base, Spike’s breath hitched at just how many monsters and creatures Grogar had on his side.

Spike remembered how most of the griffons had gone to the overlord’s side. He even remembered how Cerberus had been responsible for Tirek and Chrysalis getting loose. But he hadn’t accounted for hydras, crag-o-diles… his heart gave a lurch as he saw several minotaurs, comparing ax blades and abs with grunts of approval.

Diamondback kept going, pulling Spike along with one hand while keeping the Bell concealed under her other arm. But then they had to pass by the dragons.

“Thorn!” Shade called, having been looking over several different glowing gems before walking over to Spike. “It appears your mission ended sooner than expected.”

Spike froze as the dark dragon stormed over to him. “Y-Yes sir!” Spike asked, remembering how Thorn’s loyalty to Shade had been his own undoing.

Shade nodded before continuing. “I have an assignment for you. That dragoness that helped us get the griffons on our side? Sunny? She has been trying to upstage me. I need you to rough her up a bit.”

Spike could feel his breath hitching up again; he may look like Thorn, but he had none of his powers. And while Sunny definitely didn’t deserve to be remembered as Swift’s mother, she definitely was out of Spike’s league even with powers.

Spike resisted breathing a sigh of relief when Diamondback shifted her hand to his shoulder. “You’re going to need to wait a moment, milord; your bodyguard is needed elsewhere.”

Shade growled as he glared at the dragoness. “Be careful how you speak to me, Pyrite. I will not tolerate any insubordination.”

“Have caution how you speak, ‘my lord’,” Diamondback growled, revealing Grogar’s Bell. “I imagine Lord Grogar will not be pleased to discover the delivery of this artifact was delayed.”

Shade’s eyes widened incredulously. “You found the Master’s Bell?”

“And I could not have found it without Thorn’s help,” Diamondback declared. “He saved my life, now I will ensure he gets rewarded for it. I’m sure he won’t save the life of a parasite twice… will you?”

Spike hesitated again. What would Thorn say? He seemed pure evil at first glance, but he was also incredibly loyal. Clearing his throat, Spike privately hoped against hope that he got Thorn right: “Y-Yeah. You are my sister, Pyrite, but you have your uses as well. Both are good reasons to… well…”

Shade rubbed his chin as he looked at Spike with suspicion.

Spike’s heart hammered. How could he have so little of an idea how his own dark counterpart worked?

Diamondback herself tensed. Her claws gripped the Bell tighter.

Just as it looked like she was about to bash Shade over the head with the Bell… Grogar’s voice emanated.

“Your servant has something for me, Lord Shade Fang.”

“Oh, uh… yes, my Lord,” Shade said with a bit of fear. “Him and Pyrite both.”

“Let them pass; let them bring this gift to me.”

“As you wish, Emperor Grogar.”

As Shade got out of their way, Spike and Diamondback beheld Grogar himself, standing tall on a pedestal. His yellow and red eyes scanned the two, almost like he could see under their armor. His lips curled in a horrible smile.

“My Beloved’s Bell…” he mused. “At last.” He stepped off his pedestal, the ground quaking as he moved.

Diamondback and Spike exchanged a glance, before Diamondback hesitantly moved forward, kneeling down to present the Bell. “As I promised, milord,” Diamondback said.

“You did…” Grogar’s grin bared his teeth, like an angry timber wolf. “...Or Pyrite did?”

Spike’s heart stopped completely. Diamondback herself went pale under her armor.

Grogar laughed; a horrible, rumbling cackle like a maniacal witch that had been turned into Flutterguy. “Your loss of power has clearly slowed your mind, young Diamondback. I can feel the aura and energy of every living being. It was what allowed me and my beloved Echidna to create our many children and experiments. The only reason you two still live is because you have my Bell.”

“Indeed,” Diamondback said, some of her old confidence returning. “More importantly, we know how to use it.” She pumped her arms and rang the bell, sending a flash of dark and orange magic at the giant ram.

It hit him square in the chest… and fizzled out entirely.

Diamondback’s already pale scales turned a dead gray of hopelessness. Spike himself fell to his knees. “O-Oh, no…” he whimpered.

Grogar’s laugh was greater and more terrible than before. It echoed around the room… until Spike realized it was backed by the cruel laughter of several more villains. Everyone in the room cackled, whooped and cheered at their complete failure of an attack.

“Did you seriously think that Echidna’s Bell could be used against her Beloved?” Grogar demanded. “Her magic - her very soul - sleeps within that Bell. You could no more hurt me with that than you could turn the sky red.” Grogar laughed once more before giving them a grin. “Still, you two have shown great courage; being willing to enter my domain and make such a blatant attack against me. I need soldiers with such mettle.”

Despite his heart still refusing to beat properly, Spike stood tall. “Thorn and I have one thing in common,” he claimed. “We both serve only one Lord. Or in my case… only one Princess.”

Grogar’s grin didn’t fade. “And yet you are here, when she probably warned you against using my Bell.”

Spike felt his posture falter, but Diamondback stood tall.

“One who follows blindly cannot help as much as one with agency,” Diamondback said grandly. “You may have defenses against your Bell, Lord Grogar… but how many of your forces share these defenses?”

As a hush fell over the crowd at those words, Diamondback lunged. The bell once again rang, and a beam of it’s energy launched towards Shade.

Shade could only stand in shock; he knew he would not be able to dodge in time. Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

“MY LORD!” Thorn yelled, leaping from the crowd and putting himself between his lord and Diamondback. The Bell crashed into the dragon’s body, the black and orange magic coiled around him like a python.

“THORN, NOOOO!” Shade screamed, watching his apprentice being drained dry.

Spike’s jaw dropped as Thorn wailed in agony… then dropped to the ground. Little more than a stick with Spike’s scale wrapped around it.

Shade held the stick - all that was left of his protege - as tears fell from his face. He glared at Diamondback with enough rage to ripple the air around him. “I’M GOING TO TEAR YOU APART!”

Before Shade could attack, however, Diamondback whirled, and rang the bell again. This time, it was directed at Spike.

“Dee?!” Spike yelped, as the black and orange magic coiled around him.

But Spike didn’t feel the weakness of magic leaving. Instead, he felt himself grow stronger. His muscles bulged, returning him to his taller form. His throat grew warm, as he felt his fire return. And in seconds, he stood tall and proud again, restored to full power.

Shade turned his fury to the young drake. “WAS THIS YOUR PLAN? KILL YOUR BETTER SO YOU COULD TAKE HIS POWER FOR YOURSELF?!”

“I, uh…” Spike backed up, terrified at Shade’s rage. He turned to Diamondback, but the elder dragoness had set her sights on Pyrite. Her counterpart yelped and turned tail, scrambling back into the crowd.

Diamondback rushed to chase her, but the forces of Grogar closed ranks around her. Undeterred, Diamondback rang the bell, and screams emanated as magic was drained.

A roar of outrage shook the building, and Spike spun as Grogar charged into the fray.

Spike lunged to try and meet him, but the ram’s horns slammed into his body. Even at full power, Spike was sent flying, crashing clean through the building and landing with a THUD that would’ve broken every bone in his body were it not for Thorn’s magic.

Spike struggled to his feet, catching sight of Diamondback valiantly battling to stay away from Grogar.

Spike tried to run to her side, but Grogar’s attack had sent him clean over the rest of his forces. And as Spike tried to engage them in battle, even with full power, they forced him back and away from Diamondback, slowly surrounding him as he held no method of taking their magic.

Spike punched, kicked, flapped his wings and lashed his tail. But for every enemy that fell, ten more took their place.

“SPIKE!” Diamondback screamed over the horde. “GO! USE YOUR TELEPORTATION FIRE!”

“I CAN’T LEAVE YOU!” Spike insisted, punching away a dragon, only for a changeling to leap out and bite his arm. “HOW DO WE EVEN KNOW THORN HAD THAT POWER?”

“GO!” Diamondback insisted, as Grogar blasted at her with a beam that she barely managed to deflect with the bell.

“DB!” Spike screamed.

But her response was lost as Shade leaped from the crowd and tackled Spike to the ground. The dark dragon furiously wailed on Spike, to the point that he began to bleed and bruise from all the punches.

Spike tried to crawl away, but enemies closed in on him from all sides, keeping him locked in as Shade beat him. He couldn’t see Myst or any of DB’s Diamond Dogs, and DB herself was too far away.

Spike whimpered as he managed to roll to his chest, Shade continuing to rain blows down on his back and head. He may have had his power back, but he still felt just as powerless as when he never had it.

“DB,” he whispered, as he reluctantly called upon the same fire that had once allowed Twilight and Celestia to send messages back and forth to each other. “I’m sorry.”

Just before Shade could finish him off, Spike bucked him off and spewed out a torrent of white and green flames, burning the ground around him. Grogar’s forces leaped back as Spike’s body was consumed by his own flames, and he felt himself rushing through space and time.

Returning to the one he never should have left.