A Unicorn's Requiemby CaramelSwirlsChaptersChapter 1: Effects of MagicChapter 2: The Quiet GameChapter 3: The Misfortunate Visit to the DoctorChapter 4: The Nightmares...?Chapter 1: Effects of MagicChapter 1: The Effects of Magic “Spike! I’m home!” I called to my best friend in the whole wide world as I walked into my house. Spike dropped the dish he was washing into the sink and ran up to greet me. “Hey Twi! I was just finishing up my list of chores,” Spike said enthusiastically. “Good, then afterwards you can help me with my research,” I smiled at the thought of researching with my dear friend. “Ooh! What are you researching today?” Spike inquired like the curious dragon he is. I debated whether to elongate his suspense or not, when I finally decided to tell him the exciting news. “Well, remember how I kept trying to turn apples into oranges but just kept getting distracted? Well, I finally got it!” I said joyously at my triumph. Spike’s face lit up in excitement and a grin forced its way onto his face, “Wow Twilight! That’s amazing! I told you you were the greatest pony at using magic!” His bright, cheerful face gave me such delight. I always loved seeing how happy my achievements make him. “So, I’ve decided now that I’ve mastered changing fruit, I’d try to work on changing ponies and animals. But, I would hate to hurt anypony using it; therefore, we need to research more about transformation spells involving ponies and animals. Can you please finish your chores soon, Spike, so we can get to researching?” “Of course I can Twi! Anything for you,” Spike exclaimed and ran off to finish the rest of his chores. I smiled at all the hope and energy in him and I rushed off upstairs to start my exciting new research. I walked up to the first of many massive rows of bookcases and began using my magic to quickly scan through several books before Spike trotted up the stairs, exclaiming that his chores were finished. After congratulating him on finishing so quickly, he began helping me look through my books. A few minutes later, I heard him start making noises to grab my attention. “Yes, Spike?” I asked. “Twi! Look what I found!” He jumped up and down excitedly pointing to a section in a book. I began reading the section to find it spoke of the transformation of ponies. Apparently, many great unicorns have been able to transform ponies into rabbits, apples, unicorns into earth ponies and vice versa. It was fascinating to see all the things these great unicorns could do. “See! If these unicorns can do it, I know you can Twi! You’re the best magic user in all of Equestria!” Spike, once again, acted as my cheerleader, boosting my confidence and being the great friend he always has been to me. “You really think so Spike?” I gave him a huge hug and encouraged him to follow me to Fluttershy’s house. We ran all the way to Fluttershy’s house hoping to borrow some of her woodland creatures for an experiment. We got to her house and knocked on the door a few times until Fluttershy appeared at the door. “Oh, hi Twilight. What brings you all the way out here?” The shy little pony asked. “I was wondering if any of your friends would let me try out my magic on them. I promise they will be okay and that no harm will come to them. I cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” I said and then stared her down with a huge, begging smile, hoping that she would say yes. “Well…O-Okay Twilight…I guess it’s fine…I mean as long as they are okay with it…Just don’t hurt them,” Fluttershy said uneasily. I would have felt badly for asking an uncomfortable question, but I knew they would be okay. We followed Fluttershy down the front steps and into the edge of a huge forest to find Fluttershy’s mini-friends. The birds were perched on their branches singing a tune, the squirrels were running and chasing each other as if they were playing tag, and the butterflies were flying towards the flowers that were sporadically placed along the edge of the forest. When Fluttershy, Spike, and I walked up towards them they all ran towards her in excitement. I could see they love they have for her radiating off their faces. With that in mind, it was no wonder all the animals jumped at a chance to help me when Fluttershy asked. I picked out one cute, little squirrel to help me and I asked him to stand ten feet away from me. “Now…Just be careful Twilight…Okay?” Fluttershy reminded me. “Don’t worry Fluttershy. Everything will be okay,” I reassured her. I got a firm stance on the ground and looked back to see Fluttershy crouching in fear with her eyes closed. I shook my head with a smile at her silliness. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused really intensely on my magic. My horn began glowing purple and squirrel became encompassed in the glow as well. His body starting moving around sporadically and finally, it transformed into a beautiful, brown horse. “I did it!” I yelled in glee. “Good job Twi! I knew you could do it!” Spike said. Fluttershy lifted her head and slowly turned over to see what happened. When she saw her friends were okay, she let out a huge sigh of relief. “G-Good job Twilight,” Fluttershy said meekly. “Now to change you back little squirrelly. Or should I say horsey?” I let out a small laugh and stood awkwardly for a moment because no one else found it funny. I got into position once more and concentrated all my magic onto the mouse. Pfft! “Huh?” I asked. My magic had shorted out. “I guess…I just didn’t do it right…I’ll try again. Don’t worry Fluttershy. I’ll fix him,” I reassured her. After one more failed attempt, I changed the horse back into a squirrel and sighed in relief. I was actually scared I wasn’t powerful enough to change him back. I figured I just needed more research so I thanked Fluttershy and her friends and Spike and I headed back towards my house. By the time we reached the front of my treelike house, we ran into Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. “Hey everypony! Guess what Twilight just did!” Spike screamed out. “Hey! What did Twilight just do?” Applejack asked. “Twilight just turned a mouse into a horse and back! It was the coolest thing ever!” He screamed out as I looked away modestly. “It wasn’t that big of a deal Spike…I mean, I did mess up a few times so I still need some more practice…” I meekly said wanting the praise to stop as I didn’t deserve it. “Oh Twilight, stop being so modest. I’m sure you did great,” Applejack said as everyone else nodded in agreement. “Yeah Twilight! You’re just so amazingly awesome at magic! I just know you did amazing! I wanna see! I wanna seeeee!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed while bouncing in circles. “I don’t know guys…” I uneasily said. I wasn’t sure I could do it again and I really didn’t want to take the risks. I would hate to hurt anypony. “Come on darling. I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” Rarity said. “Yeah Twi! I’ll even let you transform me! I’m that confident you will do fine!” Spike announced. “Are you sure that’s a good idea Spike…I mean you saw what happened…” I tried to sway him away from the idea but it clearly wasn’t working. “Yeah Twi. All that happened was you’re magic went pfft. If it doesn’t work, that’s all that would happen. But I know you and I doubt that would happen again! You’re just amazing at magic!” Spike tried being as persuasive as possible. “I…I guess I can…I mean if you’re really that confident in me…” I bit my lip trying to say. Spike stood in front of me, posing for his transformation, while rambling on about how he wants to be a big, muscular grown-up dragon. I took my stance and I felt my legs trembling. I kept telling myself to calm down and that I can’t mess up. Focus Twilight. You got this. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slowly. I concentrated all my magic on Spike. He glowed purple, and I could see his body making the same sporadic movements as the mouse. See Twilight you’re doing just fine. Relax. Everything will be okay. My peeked open my eye to see Spike moving a little more sporadic but I figured I was just seeing things. I looked at all my friends and saw their faces. They were in awe waiting for my magic. I couldn’t quit now and I couldn’t let them down. I closed my eye again and continued concentrating on Spike. Suddenly, I heard Spike grunting around, making odd noises. Keep concentrating Twilight. That’s probably just him transforming. “Twilight! Stop!” I heard Rarity scream. “Huh?” I lost all focus as my magic stopped and I opened my eyes. As soon as I opened them, I heard a loud popping noise, and covered my eyes from the spray of red liquid going everywhere. After the liquid stopped spraying, I opened my eyes and gasped in horror. My face grimaced and I could already feel my eyes getting wet. My heart raced rapidly as I sprinted up to Spike and began pumping his chest, hoping to keep his heart beating. I could feel the blood pumping through my body as the fear of reality began filling me to the core, robbing me of my breath. Applejack walked over and placed her hoof on my shoulder after noticing his stomach opened wide as if he exploded, "Twilight...I think he's..." "No!" I rudely cut her off as the tears welled up in my eyes, “No! No he isn’t! I can save him! I promise…” “Oh Twilight…” Applejack said, hugging me. Rarity and Pinkie Pie walked over and gave me huge hugs as well. My tears finally flooded my eyes and streamed down my face as I desperately tried to think of anything I could do to help him. My mind raced at a million miles a second trying to process the entire situation and racking my brain for a solution-any solution. I tried every spell in the book, and my heart shattered more with each failure. I could feel the stingy in my heart over him. The largest chunk of me was gone and the hole in my heart couldn't have been more painful. I tried holding back my tears yet every attempt ending in more crying. The tears wouldn't stop and I gasped loudly trying to breathe. Suddenly, I felt his pulse stop and my world shattered completely. All the colors in Ponyville seemed to melt away and turn into a dreary, lifeless, landscape. My world turned bleak and colorless. “No…No…This can’t be…I couldn’t have…This didn’t happen…” I began stammering and rambling on. I kept spitting out words and fragments of sentences. My brain just couldn't think of anything to say or do. “Sh…It’s okay Twilight. It’s not your fault. Accidents happen,” Applejack began soothing me, trying to calm the persistent waterfall of tears falling out of my eyes. I finally nuzzled the side of his neck, making a comfortable spot on his chest for me. I rested my head down on what was left of his chest and held him close as I did the only thing there was left to do--weep the tragic loss of my dearest friend until the world grew darker and I fell into the black abyss in my mind. Chapter 2: The Quiet GameChapter 2: The Quiet Game I opened my eyes to a bright, gorgeous morning. The suns rays were shining in through my window, allowing me to bask in its beauty. I sat up in bed and stretched. I let out a nice, big yawn as I prepared for another great day. I smiled as I heard the birds chirping as I moved my legs off the side of the bed. Oddly enough, I had quite a bit of energy this morning and I seemed to sleep like a baby last night despite my peculiar dream. I smiled at how silly Spike would find my dream when I tell him about it. I glanced over to see the sleeping face of my baby dragon, Spike. A huge smile grew on my face. He looked so cute. I pondered over what he was dreaming about for several minutes before I saw him start tossing about slightly in his sleep. After he stopped moving, I pushed the rustled blanket over his shoulder to keep him warm. I let another soft, caring smile escape my lips as I headed downstairs to make breakfast for the two of us. I got the flour, eggs, and milk out to make some delicious pancakes. For a moment I frowned at the fact that I didn’t have any gems for Spike. But, the fact that he loves pancakes regardless cheered me up again. I couldn’t wait to see the excitement on his face when he sees I prepared breakfast for him this morning. I cooked the pancakes in the pan and flipped them over onto two different plates. When I picked up the plates and turned around to set them at the table, I found Spike already sitting down. “Oh my Celestia!” I jumped in surprise. “Don’t do that to me Spike! You scared me! I didn’t hear you come down the stairs. You were as quiet as Owlowiscious.” Silence hung in the air as he sat there in his chair staring blankly at the wall. “Well, that’s alright Spike…No need to apologize or anything,” I let out an awkward laugh. “Well, I made us some pancakes for breakfast. Oh! You wouldn’t believe the strange dream I had! I had the craziest dream that I tried performing a transformation spell on you and you exploded and died! I was so heartbroken but that’s crazy, right? Obviously…I mean….You are sitting in front of me,” I let out a few more chuckles before his lack of responses really dug into me. “Well…Okay then…” I couldn’t help but wonder why Spike was so silent. He wouldn’t even eat his food; he just stared straight at the wall. I pushed his plate of food closer to him several times throughout the course of the meal as the silence encompassed the room. I couldn’t bring myself to break the silence, yet after my dream last night it didn’t matter because I was far too happy to have him in my life. After I finished eating my breakfast, I gave up on waiting for Spike to eat and took his plate and threw out his food. I was terribly concerned at the fact that he had no appetite, the exact opposite of how he always was. I went upstairs into my massive library and began scanning books one by one looking for a cause. After several hours of intense research, thousands of books scanned, and no information found, I was out of options except for taking Spike to see Zecora. Spike! Oh my gosh! I hadn’t heard from him this whole time I hope he’s okay! I ran quickly down the stairs to find him following behind me. “Oh, Spike you did it again! Were you behind me the whole time? You silly dragon,” My whole face smiled at seeing him. “Anyway, Spike we’re going outside are you ready?” I didn’t wait for his response before leading him out the door and through the city of Ponyville, on the way to Zecora’s house. The door to my beautiful tree-shaped house shut behind me just as an orange pony came galloping within my view. Applejack stopped short when she saw me and in a very awkward yet caring voice said, “Hey Twi…How ya’ feeling?” I cocked my head to the side, “Me? I’m fine. Better than fine actually it’s a beautiful day! Spike here, on the other hand, isn’t feeling so hot. He’s not eating or speaking…I’m headed over to Zecora’s right now actually to see if she knows what’s wrong. You wanna come?” “Spike? What? Twilight what in heaven’s name are you talking about? Don’t you remember what happened yesterday?” Her face cringed and she seemed horrified to ask. “Yesterday? Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I? I had a great day hanging out with my best friend Spike like always!” I said matter-of-factly while pointing at Spike. How could she be so rude? I thought Applejack was nicer than that. She really started to infuriate me. “Twilight! Spike DIED yesterday! You want proof? We’re having a funeral for him tomorrow at noon. We knew you wouldn’t be feeling up to plannin’ one so we did it for ya’. He needs a proper burial to be put to rest. Twi…I know it’s hard to accept what happened, but you can’t go around pretending he’s still here.” “Applejack! How could you say something like that!” I gasped loudly. “Especially with Spike standing right here. That’s a cruel joke! Rainbow Dash wouldn’t even play a prank like that…I can’t believe you would do something like that…” I looked her dead in the eyes for a moment so she could see how serious I was. When she saw my eyes she gasped and had a horrific expression on her face as if she’d just seen a ghost, “Twi…Did you sleep okay last night?” “Ye-yeah…Of course I did? Um…What does that have to do with anything?” “Your eyes…Twi…I think you need to lie down for a while. You need rest. You seem sick…Just…Go home and come to the funeral tomorrow…It’ll help ease the pain,” Applejack backed up and turned away as if terrified of me. “My eyes? What is she talking about my eyes?” I started making an array of interesting faces at the air in a frantic tone. “Do you see anything wrong with my eyes?” Yet again, Spike ceased to answer so I decided to walked back into my house and look in a mirror all the while ranting to Spike, “The nerve of some ponies! How could she say such cruel things about you Spike?” Tears welled up in my eyes. I walked into the bathroom and found the cute, little, purple-rimmed mirror hanging above the sink. I leaned my face closer to the mirror to better examine my face. My face had turned a pale purple as if I were very ill. My eyes were pried open wide and no matter how hard I tried to squeeze them shut, it wouldn’t happen. My dark, endless pupils encompassed half my eyes and staring in them made me feel like I was going to fall in and never come back. The white sclera in my eyes were now a bright, bloodshot color. Red veins were popped all throughout my eyes as if I hadn’t slept in weeks. “See Spike! I’m just fine! I don’t see anything wrong with my eyes!” The tears began welling up in my eyes again, this time heavily burning my eyes. “How could she say such cruel things to me Spike? You’re here and you’re alive.” I looked in the mirror to see my pupils twitch slightly larger in size. It made me feel as if they’d encompass me like this terrible feeling in my chest. My heart ached and throbbed. You’re not dead Spike…You’re right here. I knelt down to be eye level with Spike. You’re right here…Right here in my arms. I threw my arms around him yet my arms went right through him as he turned into a puff of smoke. No! Spike! You’re still here! I promise! This didn’t just happen! I collapsed on the floor in tears. I began sobbing profusely. My cries grew louder with each gasp for breath. I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Huh?” I whipped my head, which was now moist from my tears, around to see Spike with his arms wide open. His eyes were no longer so rigid as he closed them to smile wide. “SPIKE!” I screamed and tackled him with a hug onto the floor. “See…I knew you were here…I knew you were still alive. I knew it all along…” "Don't worry Twilight...I would never leave you," Spike gave a spine chilling laugh as he put his arms around me. I began rocking him back and forth in the fetal position on the floor until the world around me grew fuzzy for a while and I rocked us into my peaceful, blissful, darkness. Chapter 3: The Misfortunate Visit to the DoctorChapter 3: The Misfortunate Visit to the Doctor Running… Panting… Sweating… The next thing I knew my body was encompassed with fear as I sprinted through the forest. I whipped my head behind to find nopony behind me. My eyes welled up with tears as I looked forward again to find Spike pulling my arm through the forest. “Spike! Where are we going? What happened?” I screamed. His face was full of worry and I could sense all his emotion in my body. He seemed as if he were crying. “Spike! What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I screamed hoping he was okay. I begged to see his cheerful face again. “Spike!” I screamed so loud the crows in the trees flew away. The whole world stopped around me and all that was left was Spike and I. The forest disappeared out of focus and all I could see were his painful eyes speaking to me. Silently pleading for my help. He needed me and I needed to help him no matter the price. Just seeing his sorrow numbed my whole body so all I could feel was the painful throbbing of my heart. “Spike…What’s wrong…?” I collapsed onto the grass, panting and wheezing from the rigorous exercise. His eyes stared blankly at me a moment as I clutched onto my chest in a futile attempt to suppress the pain. “Oh, Twilight. We got to keep moving or she’ll find us. She’ll take me away from you! She’s a non-believer!” Spike said anxiously, trying to suppress the tears. “Who…?” I silently whispered as images of the whole ordeal flashed quickly in my mind. The past few moments began replaying in my mind like a movie. Stop. Rewind. Replay. There I was…Trudging along through the woods—Spike’s seemingly lifeless body in my arms. Tears stained my purple face as I tried to continue onward. “Just a little but longer Spike…Hang in there buddy. I know someone who can fix you right up…” A slight smile snuck its way onto my face severely contrasting with my painfully saddened eyes. I trudged along the forest terrain until I reached a straw shack in the middle of the forest. “Look buddy, we’ve made it… You’ll be all better soon enough. I told you I’d never let anything happen to you…” I knocked on the door. My knees gave out beneath my weight as the door slowly opened in front of me. “Oh, a pony I see! What, perhaps, would bring you to me?” The most peculiar creature opened the door before me. The light shined on her foreign black and white striped body, giving her an angelic look. She was most certainly meant to be my guardian angel. Her golden bangles glistened and I wept at the joy of seeing her. “Oh, Zecora! You must help me! Spike is extremely ill! He hardly spoke all day. He wouldn’t even eat the delicious pancakes I made him this morning. All he did all day was stare out into the abyss. It’s as if he’s in a trace. Yet, no one in ponyville will believe me! And worst of all, I can’t find anything like this in any of my magic books,” I pleaded to the magical zebra, begging on my knees for her help. “Oh,Twilight my dear. How pale you appear. Come in, come in. You are so thin! Lie down! Rest that frown!” Zecora motioned me into her home and sat me down on her couch. She quickly moved to her teapot and made me a cup of herbal tea. She then draped a blanket around my shoulders and sat across the table from me. “Now about this friend you love. Where is this Spike you speak of?” Zecora inquired. “Huh? What do you mean, ‘where is he?’ He’s right here…” I replied pointing towards Spike, who precariously placed beside me on the couch. “What do you speak of my dear? For I see no one here,” Zecora said. I gasped, “Not you too Zecora! He’s right here! Why won’t anyone stop this foolish game! He’s severely sick! If he doesn’t get help right away he might…Might…” I broke down as tears profusely streamed my face at the thought of even losing him. Zecora stared at me peculiarly as her face shone. “ I see your plight. I know of a thing that should work quite right.” Zecora got up out of her seat and walked over to a huge black pot full of some mysterious green liquid. I carefully watched her as she put in some foreign ingredients I had never seen in all my years of magic. She stirred them together and after a few moments, she poured the precarious liquid into a cup and handed it to me. “If Spike drinks this…Will he be okay?” I skeptically asked, smelling the liquid in fear it was poison. “Oh, no my child. It is not vile. Drink up! Drink the whole cup!” Zecora happily announced. “Wait…Me? You want…Me…To drink…This? But…But what about Spike!? He’s the sick one! Not me!” My breaths grew shorter as my heart raced. My body began shaking rapidly at this strange accusation. “Hush my child. Don’t be so wild. Spike will be cured. You should be reassured,” Zecora said in a motherly tone as if speaking to an infant. “Twilight…Don’t listen to her. How could she possibly cure me if YOU’RE the one taking the medicine? Don’t fall for her fancy tricks. She’s against you like everypony else. She’s feeding into their lies and trying to tear us apart,” Spike tried persuading me. “You’re right…That makes no sense…” I replied. Zecora looked at me querulously, “Twilight—“ “No! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” I screamed. I was irate with anger. How could she try to fool me? How could she and everypony else in Ponyville be so against me being friends with Spike? Why did they all of a sudden change? Zecora stood up and began walking towards me. “Twilight don’t let her touch you! She obviously tried to poison you with that disgusting green drink! Everyone’s just jealous of our friendship! Prove to me I am you’re best friend! Prove them wrong! Prove that I’m still alive and well! Defend you’re best friend!” Spike urged me. Zecora put her hoof on my shoulder and I slapped it away, the teacup falling and shattering onto the floor in a million pieces. “You lying whore! How dare you try to poison me! That’s right! I know all about you’re plan! Spike told me the whole thing! How dare you think you could get away with murder!” I screamed over the now cowering zebra. The tears flooding down her horrified face made me burst out into maniacal laughter. I felt my pupils grow huge as Spike voice grew louder and louder, ringing in my head. My furry was raised to the roof as I heard my voice echo in the meek little shack. I saw Zecora frantically search the room trying to grab something. “She’s trying to get more of her crazy voodoo witchcraft! Twilight stop her! You must kill her or she will kill you!” Spike screamed. My breath grew heavy and my heart began racing out of my chest. The sound of it’s beating grew so loud, it was the only thing I could hear. You can do this Twilight. Do it to save yourself—Do it to save Spike! I quickly scanned the room to see Zecora crawling towards a wooden totem pole. I stomped on her hoof, crushing it beneath my weight and snatched the totem pole from her grasp. I lifted it up and began mercilessly bludgeoning her to death. Her shrill screams could be heard throughout the forest as her blood began painting the walls. The limbs contorted and began sticking out at unimaginatively grotesque angles. I could feel the fear and pain in her eyes as I coldly stared her down. It appeared every last bone in her body was broken yet, I could still hear her managing to breathe. Taking advantage of her weakened, defenseless state, I dragged her helpless, beaten body across the room and outside. I grabbed a shovel and began digging a deep hole into the ground. Her eyes just stared at me, awaiting her inevitable demise. “Wow Twilly! Who would’ve thought you had it in you. I’m so proud. Now I never have to leave you,” Spike exclaimed while giving me a huge hug. I hugged him back and caressed his spikes for a few moments as I enjoyed the bliss of being able to continue my friendship with him. I went back to digging and after some time, I had a large enough hole to fit her body. I could still somehow manage to hear her breathing and glared over at her. Her eyelids flickered, not being able to fully close as I saw her eyes roll into the back of her head. “Twi-,” I heard the malicious zebra plead. I leaned over and pinched her face with my hoof. “What? What could you possible want you disgusting, pathetic excuse for life—you filthy scum of the earth? I hope you suffer. I hope you suffer a lot for the heinous sins you committed,” I told her. I threw her head onto the ground as a pool of blood poured out. I dragged her limp body across the grass and threw it into the hole like a ragdoll. I then began shoveling dirt over her still conscious body. Her breathes grew shorter and shorter—her whines quieter and quieter as more dirt toppled onto her. I heard her cough and choke on the dirt I shoveled into her mouth and once the entire hole was covered, I collapsed laughing in relief. “Oh, Spike! I did it! I did it for us!” I screamed in laughter. “Oh, Twilly! What are you doing? We have to go! She might still be after us!” Spike shouted. “Who? I already killed the wench!” I quizzically inquired. “So? With her voodoo magic you never know! Plus, if anyone were to come back they’d know for sure it was you!” Spike yelled. Spike grabbed my hoof and began running in fear. Flash! I warped back to reality. “Twilight! We have to go back to Ponyville! We’ll be safe there,” Spike said, grabbing my hoof once more and leading me towards the sunset and into Ponyville. Chapter 4: The Nightmares...?Chapter 4: The Nightmares...? I awoke to a bright new day. Spike lied in his bed sleeping the morning away. I stretched my arms into the air. I got up out of bed and saw the bright glare of the sun peak through the curtains. I opened the curtains wide in order to soak up the gorgeous rays of sunlight. To my dismay, the world outside was blood red everywhere. “Spike…What’s going on?” I asked half confused, half still asleep. I turned around to find him absent from his bed. “SPIKE!?” The shock instantly knocked me out of my hazy state-of-mind. I sprinted over to his bed and began turning everything over looking him. Then I noticed the lump in his bed. “Whew…Spike…You were just under the bed you silly dragon. Come out here,” I reassuringly said to him. A smile grew wide on my face as I lifted the bed up. “AH!!!!!!!!” I screamed. “Thought you could get rid of me? It’s not so easy, as you can see. How dare you? You filthy piece of poo,” The black and white creature said. Her eyes grew redder than the sun outside and she sprang up at me like a rabbit. “AHHHHH!!!!!” CRASH! I nearly fell out of bed screaming. I drowsily opened my eyes and rubbed my head where I had crashed. I guess it was just a dream. Whew! That’s a relief… Zecora isn’t here. She won’t attack me. I took a brief pause and began walking over to Spike’s bed to find him nuzzled up to his pillow. I gently shook his shoulder and sleepily he moved about. “Wakey, wakey, eggs, and bakey!” I said gleefully. He began to rise from his deep slumber, “Oh, Spike. You wouldn’t believe the most preposterous dream I had!” I saw him open his eyes, entranced, waiting for me to continue my story, “Well, I woke up and I looked outside to see everything was blood red. I went to your bed to look for you and when I lifted the covers Zecora attacked me!” I laughed off the nightmare realizing how silly it was now that I was awake. Zecora was far too peaceful to attack somepony. “Isn’t that silly Spike? Zecora would never attack me.” Spike’s eyes turned a deep red as he began hissing. “Spike…? Are you okay…? Calm down, it was just a dream…” I stammered. “Oh, Twilight, you insolent fool. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one,” Spike hit himself in the head. “Zecora is dead you moron! Don’t you remember any of that? You are really pathetic. You can’t accept anything at all…” “Spike…What are you saying? And why are you being so mean…I would never kill anypony.” Spike shook his head as if suddenly he has a realization, “Oh, Twilly, I’m sorry. I’m just a little grumpy this morning is all. But don’t you remember? Zecora tried to take me away from you and kept calling me all these mean names. She hurt my feelings and you saved me so we could be together. But, Twilly, you made a serious mistake,” Spike said in the most innocent voice ever. I gave Spike a queer look and after a few moments I remembered the gruesome murder. I remembered it as if I was just a mere pawn watching the entire scene play past me. The images haunted me, yet I could still not register that it truly was me who killed Zecora. To my eyes, all I could see was red. All I could feel was some suffocating sensation, as if my soul was being squeezed tightly. “Oh, yes Spike! I remember now! Silly me! But, even with her dead, what is the problem? She definitely can’t attack me now!” I smiled at the reassurance. “Uhm…Twilly…Did you burry the body…? I cocked my head to one side, “No. There was no time. Why?” “Well, uhm, because, LOOK!” Spike pointed to behind me. All I saw was Zecora lunging at me. I screamed, grabbed Spike in my arms, and jumped haphazardly to the side. “Wha—What’s going on?” I screamed. Zecora vanished into smoke as the vapors spread around the room. “Twilly, we have to burry her body! Otherwise her soul can still attack us,” Spike yelled. I felt so stupid for having left her body all alone, on the dirty floor, of her hut, to be alone…The more I thought about it, the colder I grew inside. My body covered itself with goose bumps and I shivered. How could I strand anypony to be so alone…Being alone is a fate worse than death. It’s torture. . Suddenly the horrifying image of seeing Spike’s body exploded all over Ponyville popped into my mind. I shook the image out of my head. That one was actually just a dream. Yeah. Just a dream… Spike appeared to have noticed my odd expression for he looked at me weird, “You okay, Twilly?” “Me? I’m fine! Just still a little disoriented from this whole ordeal. But I’m fine. Let’s go give Zecora a proper burial so she can leave us alone to be happy together.” I turned around to start walking towards the door. As I did, I saw the most horrifically evil smile perched on his face. I doubled back to look again but nothing remained except his beautifully innocent smile. We both headed out the door. “I reckon, if it wasn’t the gal I was looking for. How ya holding up Twilight?” I almost bumped into the orange pony. “Oh, hey Applejack…I’m as fine as ever…” I shyly said while trying to hide my grueling death stare. “Hey, don’t worry everything will be alright. It wasn’t your fault Twilight,” She patted me on my back. “Look, I came by to apologize if I hurt your feelings yesterday. Everything was still too fresh. But I just wanted to let you know, the funeral is tomorrow morning at 11. It’d be nice if you could come. I think it’d be good for your health. You’d get a nice closure.” “Yeah, yeah… Sounds great,” I wasn’t even half-listening to her incessant chatter. “Really?” She sounded eerily surprised. “In that case, I’ll just pick you up for the funeral tomorrow. I’ll be here at 10.” “Mhm…” “I’ll see you then,” Finally she turned to walk away, “Oh, and Twilight, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to contact any of us. We’re all here to help. Please, take care.” As she turned away I saw the horrific scowl in Spike’s eyes as they turned crimson red. “Spike, calm down. Let’s go. We need to get Zecora.” He let out a growl. I went to grab his hand, yet my hoof fell through into thin air. I saw the smoke bleed out into the air and we went off, back into the depths of the woods to return to the scene of the crime like the criminals we were.
Chapter 1: Effects of MagicChapter 1: The Effects of Magic “Spike! I’m home!” I called to my best friend in the whole wide world as I walked into my house. Spike dropped the dish he was washing into the sink and ran up to greet me. “Hey Twi! I was just finishing up my list of chores,” Spike said enthusiastically. “Good, then afterwards you can help me with my research,” I smiled at the thought of researching with my dear friend. “Ooh! What are you researching today?” Spike inquired like the curious dragon he is. I debated whether to elongate his suspense or not, when I finally decided to tell him the exciting news. “Well, remember how I kept trying to turn apples into oranges but just kept getting distracted? Well, I finally got it!” I said joyously at my triumph. Spike’s face lit up in excitement and a grin forced its way onto his face, “Wow Twilight! That’s amazing! I told you you were the greatest pony at using magic!” His bright, cheerful face gave me such delight. I always loved seeing how happy my achievements make him. “So, I’ve decided now that I’ve mastered changing fruit, I’d try to work on changing ponies and animals. But, I would hate to hurt anypony using it; therefore, we need to research more about transformation spells involving ponies and animals. Can you please finish your chores soon, Spike, so we can get to researching?” “Of course I can Twi! Anything for you,” Spike exclaimed and ran off to finish the rest of his chores. I smiled at all the hope and energy in him and I rushed off upstairs to start my exciting new research. I walked up to the first of many massive rows of bookcases and began using my magic to quickly scan through several books before Spike trotted up the stairs, exclaiming that his chores were finished. After congratulating him on finishing so quickly, he began helping me look through my books. A few minutes later, I heard him start making noises to grab my attention. “Yes, Spike?” I asked. “Twi! Look what I found!” He jumped up and down excitedly pointing to a section in a book. I began reading the section to find it spoke of the transformation of ponies. Apparently, many great unicorns have been able to transform ponies into rabbits, apples, unicorns into earth ponies and vice versa. It was fascinating to see all the things these great unicorns could do. “See! If these unicorns can do it, I know you can Twi! You’re the best magic user in all of Equestria!” Spike, once again, acted as my cheerleader, boosting my confidence and being the great friend he always has been to me. “You really think so Spike?” I gave him a huge hug and encouraged him to follow me to Fluttershy’s house. We ran all the way to Fluttershy’s house hoping to borrow some of her woodland creatures for an experiment. We got to her house and knocked on the door a few times until Fluttershy appeared at the door. “Oh, hi Twilight. What brings you all the way out here?” The shy little pony asked. “I was wondering if any of your friends would let me try out my magic on them. I promise they will be okay and that no harm will come to them. I cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” I said and then stared her down with a huge, begging smile, hoping that she would say yes. “Well…O-Okay Twilight…I guess it’s fine…I mean as long as they are okay with it…Just don’t hurt them,” Fluttershy said uneasily. I would have felt badly for asking an uncomfortable question, but I knew they would be okay. We followed Fluttershy down the front steps and into the edge of a huge forest to find Fluttershy’s mini-friends. The birds were perched on their branches singing a tune, the squirrels were running and chasing each other as if they were playing tag, and the butterflies were flying towards the flowers that were sporadically placed along the edge of the forest. When Fluttershy, Spike, and I walked up towards them they all ran towards her in excitement. I could see they love they have for her radiating off their faces. With that in mind, it was no wonder all the animals jumped at a chance to help me when Fluttershy asked. I picked out one cute, little squirrel to help me and I asked him to stand ten feet away from me. “Now…Just be careful Twilight…Okay?” Fluttershy reminded me. “Don’t worry Fluttershy. Everything will be okay,” I reassured her. I got a firm stance on the ground and looked back to see Fluttershy crouching in fear with her eyes closed. I shook my head with a smile at her silliness. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused really intensely on my magic. My horn began glowing purple and squirrel became encompassed in the glow as well. His body starting moving around sporadically and finally, it transformed into a beautiful, brown horse. “I did it!” I yelled in glee. “Good job Twi! I knew you could do it!” Spike said. Fluttershy lifted her head and slowly turned over to see what happened. When she saw her friends were okay, she let out a huge sigh of relief. “G-Good job Twilight,” Fluttershy said meekly. “Now to change you back little squirrelly. Or should I say horsey?” I let out a small laugh and stood awkwardly for a moment because no one else found it funny. I got into position once more and concentrated all my magic onto the mouse. Pfft! “Huh?” I asked. My magic had shorted out. “I guess…I just didn’t do it right…I’ll try again. Don’t worry Fluttershy. I’ll fix him,” I reassured her. After one more failed attempt, I changed the horse back into a squirrel and sighed in relief. I was actually scared I wasn’t powerful enough to change him back. I figured I just needed more research so I thanked Fluttershy and her friends and Spike and I headed back towards my house. By the time we reached the front of my treelike house, we ran into Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. “Hey everypony! Guess what Twilight just did!” Spike screamed out. “Hey! What did Twilight just do?” Applejack asked. “Twilight just turned a mouse into a horse and back! It was the coolest thing ever!” He screamed out as I looked away modestly. “It wasn’t that big of a deal Spike…I mean, I did mess up a few times so I still need some more practice…” I meekly said wanting the praise to stop as I didn’t deserve it. “Oh Twilight, stop being so modest. I’m sure you did great,” Applejack said as everyone else nodded in agreement. “Yeah Twilight! You’re just so amazingly awesome at magic! I just know you did amazing! I wanna see! I wanna seeeee!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed while bouncing in circles. “I don’t know guys…” I uneasily said. I wasn’t sure I could do it again and I really didn’t want to take the risks. I would hate to hurt anypony. “Come on darling. I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” Rarity said. “Yeah Twi! I’ll even let you transform me! I’m that confident you will do fine!” Spike announced. “Are you sure that’s a good idea Spike…I mean you saw what happened…” I tried to sway him away from the idea but it clearly wasn’t working. “Yeah Twi. All that happened was you’re magic went pfft. If it doesn’t work, that’s all that would happen. But I know you and I doubt that would happen again! You’re just amazing at magic!” Spike tried being as persuasive as possible. “I…I guess I can…I mean if you’re really that confident in me…” I bit my lip trying to say. Spike stood in front of me, posing for his transformation, while rambling on about how he wants to be a big, muscular grown-up dragon. I took my stance and I felt my legs trembling. I kept telling myself to calm down and that I can’t mess up. Focus Twilight. You got this. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slowly. I concentrated all my magic on Spike. He glowed purple, and I could see his body making the same sporadic movements as the mouse. See Twilight you’re doing just fine. Relax. Everything will be okay. My peeked open my eye to see Spike moving a little more sporadic but I figured I was just seeing things. I looked at all my friends and saw their faces. They were in awe waiting for my magic. I couldn’t quit now and I couldn’t let them down. I closed my eye again and continued concentrating on Spike. Suddenly, I heard Spike grunting around, making odd noises. Keep concentrating Twilight. That’s probably just him transforming. “Twilight! Stop!” I heard Rarity scream. “Huh?” I lost all focus as my magic stopped and I opened my eyes. As soon as I opened them, I heard a loud popping noise, and covered my eyes from the spray of red liquid going everywhere. After the liquid stopped spraying, I opened my eyes and gasped in horror. My face grimaced and I could already feel my eyes getting wet. My heart raced rapidly as I sprinted up to Spike and began pumping his chest, hoping to keep his heart beating. I could feel the blood pumping through my body as the fear of reality began filling me to the core, robbing me of my breath. Applejack walked over and placed her hoof on my shoulder after noticing his stomach opened wide as if he exploded, "Twilight...I think he's..." "No!" I rudely cut her off as the tears welled up in my eyes, “No! No he isn’t! I can save him! I promise…” “Oh Twilight…” Applejack said, hugging me. Rarity and Pinkie Pie walked over and gave me huge hugs as well. My tears finally flooded my eyes and streamed down my face as I desperately tried to think of anything I could do to help him. My mind raced at a million miles a second trying to process the entire situation and racking my brain for a solution-any solution. I tried every spell in the book, and my heart shattered more with each failure. I could feel the stingy in my heart over him. The largest chunk of me was gone and the hole in my heart couldn't have been more painful. I tried holding back my tears yet every attempt ending in more crying. The tears wouldn't stop and I gasped loudly trying to breathe. Suddenly, I felt his pulse stop and my world shattered completely. All the colors in Ponyville seemed to melt away and turn into a dreary, lifeless, landscape. My world turned bleak and colorless. “No…No…This can’t be…I couldn’t have…This didn’t happen…” I began stammering and rambling on. I kept spitting out words and fragments of sentences. My brain just couldn't think of anything to say or do. “Sh…It’s okay Twilight. It’s not your fault. Accidents happen,” Applejack began soothing me, trying to calm the persistent waterfall of tears falling out of my eyes. I finally nuzzled the side of his neck, making a comfortable spot on his chest for me. I rested my head down on what was left of his chest and held him close as I did the only thing there was left to do--weep the tragic loss of my dearest friend until the world grew darker and I fell into the black abyss in my mind.
Chapter 2: The Quiet GameChapter 2: The Quiet Game I opened my eyes to a bright, gorgeous morning. The suns rays were shining in through my window, allowing me to bask in its beauty. I sat up in bed and stretched. I let out a nice, big yawn as I prepared for another great day. I smiled as I heard the birds chirping as I moved my legs off the side of the bed. Oddly enough, I had quite a bit of energy this morning and I seemed to sleep like a baby last night despite my peculiar dream. I smiled at how silly Spike would find my dream when I tell him about it. I glanced over to see the sleeping face of my baby dragon, Spike. A huge smile grew on my face. He looked so cute. I pondered over what he was dreaming about for several minutes before I saw him start tossing about slightly in his sleep. After he stopped moving, I pushed the rustled blanket over his shoulder to keep him warm. I let another soft, caring smile escape my lips as I headed downstairs to make breakfast for the two of us. I got the flour, eggs, and milk out to make some delicious pancakes. For a moment I frowned at the fact that I didn’t have any gems for Spike. But, the fact that he loves pancakes regardless cheered me up again. I couldn’t wait to see the excitement on his face when he sees I prepared breakfast for him this morning. I cooked the pancakes in the pan and flipped them over onto two different plates. When I picked up the plates and turned around to set them at the table, I found Spike already sitting down. “Oh my Celestia!” I jumped in surprise. “Don’t do that to me Spike! You scared me! I didn’t hear you come down the stairs. You were as quiet as Owlowiscious.” Silence hung in the air as he sat there in his chair staring blankly at the wall. “Well, that’s alright Spike…No need to apologize or anything,” I let out an awkward laugh. “Well, I made us some pancakes for breakfast. Oh! You wouldn’t believe the strange dream I had! I had the craziest dream that I tried performing a transformation spell on you and you exploded and died! I was so heartbroken but that’s crazy, right? Obviously…I mean….You are sitting in front of me,” I let out a few more chuckles before his lack of responses really dug into me. “Well…Okay then…” I couldn’t help but wonder why Spike was so silent. He wouldn’t even eat his food; he just stared straight at the wall. I pushed his plate of food closer to him several times throughout the course of the meal as the silence encompassed the room. I couldn’t bring myself to break the silence, yet after my dream last night it didn’t matter because I was far too happy to have him in my life. After I finished eating my breakfast, I gave up on waiting for Spike to eat and took his plate and threw out his food. I was terribly concerned at the fact that he had no appetite, the exact opposite of how he always was. I went upstairs into my massive library and began scanning books one by one looking for a cause. After several hours of intense research, thousands of books scanned, and no information found, I was out of options except for taking Spike to see Zecora. Spike! Oh my gosh! I hadn’t heard from him this whole time I hope he’s okay! I ran quickly down the stairs to find him following behind me. “Oh, Spike you did it again! Were you behind me the whole time? You silly dragon,” My whole face smiled at seeing him. “Anyway, Spike we’re going outside are you ready?” I didn’t wait for his response before leading him out the door and through the city of Ponyville, on the way to Zecora’s house. The door to my beautiful tree-shaped house shut behind me just as an orange pony came galloping within my view. Applejack stopped short when she saw me and in a very awkward yet caring voice said, “Hey Twi…How ya’ feeling?” I cocked my head to the side, “Me? I’m fine. Better than fine actually it’s a beautiful day! Spike here, on the other hand, isn’t feeling so hot. He’s not eating or speaking…I’m headed over to Zecora’s right now actually to see if she knows what’s wrong. You wanna come?” “Spike? What? Twilight what in heaven’s name are you talking about? Don’t you remember what happened yesterday?” Her face cringed and she seemed horrified to ask. “Yesterday? Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I? I had a great day hanging out with my best friend Spike like always!” I said matter-of-factly while pointing at Spike. How could she be so rude? I thought Applejack was nicer than that. She really started to infuriate me. “Twilight! Spike DIED yesterday! You want proof? We’re having a funeral for him tomorrow at noon. We knew you wouldn’t be feeling up to plannin’ one so we did it for ya’. He needs a proper burial to be put to rest. Twi…I know it’s hard to accept what happened, but you can’t go around pretending he’s still here.” “Applejack! How could you say something like that!” I gasped loudly. “Especially with Spike standing right here. That’s a cruel joke! Rainbow Dash wouldn’t even play a prank like that…I can’t believe you would do something like that…” I looked her dead in the eyes for a moment so she could see how serious I was. When she saw my eyes she gasped and had a horrific expression on her face as if she’d just seen a ghost, “Twi…Did you sleep okay last night?” “Ye-yeah…Of course I did? Um…What does that have to do with anything?” “Your eyes…Twi…I think you need to lie down for a while. You need rest. You seem sick…Just…Go home and come to the funeral tomorrow…It’ll help ease the pain,” Applejack backed up and turned away as if terrified of me. “My eyes? What is she talking about my eyes?” I started making an array of interesting faces at the air in a frantic tone. “Do you see anything wrong with my eyes?” Yet again, Spike ceased to answer so I decided to walked back into my house and look in a mirror all the while ranting to Spike, “The nerve of some ponies! How could she say such cruel things about you Spike?” Tears welled up in my eyes. I walked into the bathroom and found the cute, little, purple-rimmed mirror hanging above the sink. I leaned my face closer to the mirror to better examine my face. My face had turned a pale purple as if I were very ill. My eyes were pried open wide and no matter how hard I tried to squeeze them shut, it wouldn’t happen. My dark, endless pupils encompassed half my eyes and staring in them made me feel like I was going to fall in and never come back. The white sclera in my eyes were now a bright, bloodshot color. Red veins were popped all throughout my eyes as if I hadn’t slept in weeks. “See Spike! I’m just fine! I don’t see anything wrong with my eyes!” The tears began welling up in my eyes again, this time heavily burning my eyes. “How could she say such cruel things to me Spike? You’re here and you’re alive.” I looked in the mirror to see my pupils twitch slightly larger in size. It made me feel as if they’d encompass me like this terrible feeling in my chest. My heart ached and throbbed. You’re not dead Spike…You’re right here. I knelt down to be eye level with Spike. You’re right here…Right here in my arms. I threw my arms around him yet my arms went right through him as he turned into a puff of smoke. No! Spike! You’re still here! I promise! This didn’t just happen! I collapsed on the floor in tears. I began sobbing profusely. My cries grew louder with each gasp for breath. I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Huh?” I whipped my head, which was now moist from my tears, around to see Spike with his arms wide open. His eyes were no longer so rigid as he closed them to smile wide. “SPIKE!” I screamed and tackled him with a hug onto the floor. “See…I knew you were here…I knew you were still alive. I knew it all along…” "Don't worry Twilight...I would never leave you," Spike gave a spine chilling laugh as he put his arms around me. I began rocking him back and forth in the fetal position on the floor until the world around me grew fuzzy for a while and I rocked us into my peaceful, blissful, darkness.
Chapter 3: The Misfortunate Visit to the DoctorChapter 3: The Misfortunate Visit to the Doctor Running… Panting… Sweating… The next thing I knew my body was encompassed with fear as I sprinted through the forest. I whipped my head behind to find nopony behind me. My eyes welled up with tears as I looked forward again to find Spike pulling my arm through the forest. “Spike! Where are we going? What happened?” I screamed. His face was full of worry and I could sense all his emotion in my body. He seemed as if he were crying. “Spike! What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I screamed hoping he was okay. I begged to see his cheerful face again. “Spike!” I screamed so loud the crows in the trees flew away. The whole world stopped around me and all that was left was Spike and I. The forest disappeared out of focus and all I could see were his painful eyes speaking to me. Silently pleading for my help. He needed me and I needed to help him no matter the price. Just seeing his sorrow numbed my whole body so all I could feel was the painful throbbing of my heart. “Spike…What’s wrong…?” I collapsed onto the grass, panting and wheezing from the rigorous exercise. His eyes stared blankly at me a moment as I clutched onto my chest in a futile attempt to suppress the pain. “Oh, Twilight. We got to keep moving or she’ll find us. She’ll take me away from you! She’s a non-believer!” Spike said anxiously, trying to suppress the tears. “Who…?” I silently whispered as images of the whole ordeal flashed quickly in my mind. The past few moments began replaying in my mind like a movie. Stop. Rewind. Replay. There I was…Trudging along through the woods—Spike’s seemingly lifeless body in my arms. Tears stained my purple face as I tried to continue onward. “Just a little but longer Spike…Hang in there buddy. I know someone who can fix you right up…” A slight smile snuck its way onto my face severely contrasting with my painfully saddened eyes. I trudged along the forest terrain until I reached a straw shack in the middle of the forest. “Look buddy, we’ve made it… You’ll be all better soon enough. I told you I’d never let anything happen to you…” I knocked on the door. My knees gave out beneath my weight as the door slowly opened in front of me. “Oh, a pony I see! What, perhaps, would bring you to me?” The most peculiar creature opened the door before me. The light shined on her foreign black and white striped body, giving her an angelic look. She was most certainly meant to be my guardian angel. Her golden bangles glistened and I wept at the joy of seeing her. “Oh, Zecora! You must help me! Spike is extremely ill! He hardly spoke all day. He wouldn’t even eat the delicious pancakes I made him this morning. All he did all day was stare out into the abyss. It’s as if he’s in a trace. Yet, no one in ponyville will believe me! And worst of all, I can’t find anything like this in any of my magic books,” I pleaded to the magical zebra, begging on my knees for her help. “Oh,Twilight my dear. How pale you appear. Come in, come in. You are so thin! Lie down! Rest that frown!” Zecora motioned me into her home and sat me down on her couch. She quickly moved to her teapot and made me a cup of herbal tea. She then draped a blanket around my shoulders and sat across the table from me. “Now about this friend you love. Where is this Spike you speak of?” Zecora inquired. “Huh? What do you mean, ‘where is he?’ He’s right here…” I replied pointing towards Spike, who precariously placed beside me on the couch. “What do you speak of my dear? For I see no one here,” Zecora said. I gasped, “Not you too Zecora! He’s right here! Why won’t anyone stop this foolish game! He’s severely sick! If he doesn’t get help right away he might…Might…” I broke down as tears profusely streamed my face at the thought of even losing him. Zecora stared at me peculiarly as her face shone. “ I see your plight. I know of a thing that should work quite right.” Zecora got up out of her seat and walked over to a huge black pot full of some mysterious green liquid. I carefully watched her as she put in some foreign ingredients I had never seen in all my years of magic. She stirred them together and after a few moments, she poured the precarious liquid into a cup and handed it to me. “If Spike drinks this…Will he be okay?” I skeptically asked, smelling the liquid in fear it was poison. “Oh, no my child. It is not vile. Drink up! Drink the whole cup!” Zecora happily announced. “Wait…Me? You want…Me…To drink…This? But…But what about Spike!? He’s the sick one! Not me!” My breaths grew shorter as my heart raced. My body began shaking rapidly at this strange accusation. “Hush my child. Don’t be so wild. Spike will be cured. You should be reassured,” Zecora said in a motherly tone as if speaking to an infant. “Twilight…Don’t listen to her. How could she possibly cure me if YOU’RE the one taking the medicine? Don’t fall for her fancy tricks. She’s against you like everypony else. She’s feeding into their lies and trying to tear us apart,” Spike tried persuading me. “You’re right…That makes no sense…” I replied. Zecora looked at me querulously, “Twilight—“ “No! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” I screamed. I was irate with anger. How could she try to fool me? How could she and everypony else in Ponyville be so against me being friends with Spike? Why did they all of a sudden change? Zecora stood up and began walking towards me. “Twilight don’t let her touch you! She obviously tried to poison you with that disgusting green drink! Everyone’s just jealous of our friendship! Prove to me I am you’re best friend! Prove them wrong! Prove that I’m still alive and well! Defend you’re best friend!” Spike urged me. Zecora put her hoof on my shoulder and I slapped it away, the teacup falling and shattering onto the floor in a million pieces. “You lying whore! How dare you try to poison me! That’s right! I know all about you’re plan! Spike told me the whole thing! How dare you think you could get away with murder!” I screamed over the now cowering zebra. The tears flooding down her horrified face made me burst out into maniacal laughter. I felt my pupils grow huge as Spike voice grew louder and louder, ringing in my head. My furry was raised to the roof as I heard my voice echo in the meek little shack. I saw Zecora frantically search the room trying to grab something. “She’s trying to get more of her crazy voodoo witchcraft! Twilight stop her! You must kill her or she will kill you!” Spike screamed. My breath grew heavy and my heart began racing out of my chest. The sound of it’s beating grew so loud, it was the only thing I could hear. You can do this Twilight. Do it to save yourself—Do it to save Spike! I quickly scanned the room to see Zecora crawling towards a wooden totem pole. I stomped on her hoof, crushing it beneath my weight and snatched the totem pole from her grasp. I lifted it up and began mercilessly bludgeoning her to death. Her shrill screams could be heard throughout the forest as her blood began painting the walls. The limbs contorted and began sticking out at unimaginatively grotesque angles. I could feel the fear and pain in her eyes as I coldly stared her down. It appeared every last bone in her body was broken yet, I could still hear her managing to breathe. Taking advantage of her weakened, defenseless state, I dragged her helpless, beaten body across the room and outside. I grabbed a shovel and began digging a deep hole into the ground. Her eyes just stared at me, awaiting her inevitable demise. “Wow Twilly! Who would’ve thought you had it in you. I’m so proud. Now I never have to leave you,” Spike exclaimed while giving me a huge hug. I hugged him back and caressed his spikes for a few moments as I enjoyed the bliss of being able to continue my friendship with him. I went back to digging and after some time, I had a large enough hole to fit her body. I could still somehow manage to hear her breathing and glared over at her. Her eyelids flickered, not being able to fully close as I saw her eyes roll into the back of her head. “Twi-,” I heard the malicious zebra plead. I leaned over and pinched her face with my hoof. “What? What could you possible want you disgusting, pathetic excuse for life—you filthy scum of the earth? I hope you suffer. I hope you suffer a lot for the heinous sins you committed,” I told her. I threw her head onto the ground as a pool of blood poured out. I dragged her limp body across the grass and threw it into the hole like a ragdoll. I then began shoveling dirt over her still conscious body. Her breathes grew shorter and shorter—her whines quieter and quieter as more dirt toppled onto her. I heard her cough and choke on the dirt I shoveled into her mouth and once the entire hole was covered, I collapsed laughing in relief. “Oh, Spike! I did it! I did it for us!” I screamed in laughter. “Oh, Twilly! What are you doing? We have to go! She might still be after us!” Spike shouted. “Who? I already killed the wench!” I quizzically inquired. “So? With her voodoo magic you never know! Plus, if anyone were to come back they’d know for sure it was you!” Spike yelled. Spike grabbed my hoof and began running in fear. Flash! I warped back to reality. “Twilight! We have to go back to Ponyville! We’ll be safe there,” Spike said, grabbing my hoof once more and leading me towards the sunset and into Ponyville.
Chapter 4: The Nightmares...?Chapter 4: The Nightmares...? I awoke to a bright new day. Spike lied in his bed sleeping the morning away. I stretched my arms into the air. I got up out of bed and saw the bright glare of the sun peak through the curtains. I opened the curtains wide in order to soak up the gorgeous rays of sunlight. To my dismay, the world outside was blood red everywhere. “Spike…What’s going on?” I asked half confused, half still asleep. I turned around to find him absent from his bed. “SPIKE!?” The shock instantly knocked me out of my hazy state-of-mind. I sprinted over to his bed and began turning everything over looking him. Then I noticed the lump in his bed. “Whew…Spike…You were just under the bed you silly dragon. Come out here,” I reassuringly said to him. A smile grew wide on my face as I lifted the bed up. “AH!!!!!!!!” I screamed. “Thought you could get rid of me? It’s not so easy, as you can see. How dare you? You filthy piece of poo,” The black and white creature said. Her eyes grew redder than the sun outside and she sprang up at me like a rabbit. “AHHHHH!!!!!” CRASH! I nearly fell out of bed screaming. I drowsily opened my eyes and rubbed my head where I had crashed. I guess it was just a dream. Whew! That’s a relief… Zecora isn’t here. She won’t attack me. I took a brief pause and began walking over to Spike’s bed to find him nuzzled up to his pillow. I gently shook his shoulder and sleepily he moved about. “Wakey, wakey, eggs, and bakey!” I said gleefully. He began to rise from his deep slumber, “Oh, Spike. You wouldn’t believe the most preposterous dream I had!” I saw him open his eyes, entranced, waiting for me to continue my story, “Well, I woke up and I looked outside to see everything was blood red. I went to your bed to look for you and when I lifted the covers Zecora attacked me!” I laughed off the nightmare realizing how silly it was now that I was awake. Zecora was far too peaceful to attack somepony. “Isn’t that silly Spike? Zecora would never attack me.” Spike’s eyes turned a deep red as he began hissing. “Spike…? Are you okay…? Calm down, it was just a dream…” I stammered. “Oh, Twilight, you insolent fool. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one,” Spike hit himself in the head. “Zecora is dead you moron! Don’t you remember any of that? You are really pathetic. You can’t accept anything at all…” “Spike…What are you saying? And why are you being so mean…I would never kill anypony.” Spike shook his head as if suddenly he has a realization, “Oh, Twilly, I’m sorry. I’m just a little grumpy this morning is all. But don’t you remember? Zecora tried to take me away from you and kept calling me all these mean names. She hurt my feelings and you saved me so we could be together. But, Twilly, you made a serious mistake,” Spike said in the most innocent voice ever. I gave Spike a queer look and after a few moments I remembered the gruesome murder. I remembered it as if I was just a mere pawn watching the entire scene play past me. The images haunted me, yet I could still not register that it truly was me who killed Zecora. To my eyes, all I could see was red. All I could feel was some suffocating sensation, as if my soul was being squeezed tightly. “Oh, yes Spike! I remember now! Silly me! But, even with her dead, what is the problem? She definitely can’t attack me now!” I smiled at the reassurance. “Uhm…Twilly…Did you burry the body…? I cocked my head to one side, “No. There was no time. Why?” “Well, uhm, because, LOOK!” Spike pointed to behind me. All I saw was Zecora lunging at me. I screamed, grabbed Spike in my arms, and jumped haphazardly to the side. “Wha—What’s going on?” I screamed. Zecora vanished into smoke as the vapors spread around the room. “Twilly, we have to burry her body! Otherwise her soul can still attack us,” Spike yelled. I felt so stupid for having left her body all alone, on the dirty floor, of her hut, to be alone…The more I thought about it, the colder I grew inside. My body covered itself with goose bumps and I shivered. How could I strand anypony to be so alone…Being alone is a fate worse than death. It’s torture. . Suddenly the horrifying image of seeing Spike’s body exploded all over Ponyville popped into my mind. I shook the image out of my head. That one was actually just a dream. Yeah. Just a dream… Spike appeared to have noticed my odd expression for he looked at me weird, “You okay, Twilly?” “Me? I’m fine! Just still a little disoriented from this whole ordeal. But I’m fine. Let’s go give Zecora a proper burial so she can leave us alone to be happy together.” I turned around to start walking towards the door. As I did, I saw the most horrifically evil smile perched on his face. I doubled back to look again but nothing remained except his beautifully innocent smile. We both headed out the door. “I reckon, if it wasn’t the gal I was looking for. How ya holding up Twilight?” I almost bumped into the orange pony. “Oh, hey Applejack…I’m as fine as ever…” I shyly said while trying to hide my grueling death stare. “Hey, don’t worry everything will be alright. It wasn’t your fault Twilight,” She patted me on my back. “Look, I came by to apologize if I hurt your feelings yesterday. Everything was still too fresh. But I just wanted to let you know, the funeral is tomorrow morning at 11. It’d be nice if you could come. I think it’d be good for your health. You’d get a nice closure.” “Yeah, yeah… Sounds great,” I wasn’t even half-listening to her incessant chatter. “Really?” She sounded eerily surprised. “In that case, I’ll just pick you up for the funeral tomorrow. I’ll be here at 10.” “Mhm…” “I’ll see you then,” Finally she turned to walk away, “Oh, and Twilight, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to contact any of us. We’re all here to help. Please, take care.” As she turned away I saw the horrific scowl in Spike’s eyes as they turned crimson red. “Spike, calm down. Let’s go. We need to get Zecora.” He let out a growl. I went to grab his hand, yet my hoof fell through into thin air. I saw the smoke bleed out into the air and we went off, back into the depths of the woods to return to the scene of the crime like the criminals we were.
