Hello again. Today we will be covering chapters 4,5,and 6 of Spread of Darkness. This is probably the best part of the story. Unfortunately, the next part is where things really go downhill. It’s all thanks to a certain OC. You’ll see.

I found another story that I will be doing.  It’s called ‘The Wedding is Off!’ by xd77. You are going to love this story. What if Twilight’s friends never forgave her friends for turning on her in the Canterlot Wedding? Ah, but it gets better. Everyone in the world decides to punish the other members of the Mane 6, Celestia, and Shining Armor for what they did. Cadance leaves Shining, Celestia gets beaten up by a mob, Fluttershy’s animals abandon her, Rainbow Dash is banned from the Wonderbolts, and more! All for not siding with Twilight when she accused Fake!Cadance. It’s so over the top it’s hysterical. I am so looking forward to doing that one.

I also decided which story I am going to do next after Spread of Darkness. It’s going to be Kingdom of Monsters by hielispace. After that, I am probably going to go with Equus is Dying by Silver Nightshade. Then, well I will decide when I get there. You never know. I might find another good story to do.You’ll see. Anyway, on with the fic! Special thanks to Dark Angel AW for helping me edit this.

If anyone is interesting in editing Doctor and Ditzy’s Science Theater, please PM me on my fimfiction account. It would be so nice to actually have an editor! Then you all don’t have to deal with my downright embarrassing grammar and spelling!

If you have a fanfic recommendation, comments, or criticisms please leave a comment or PM me at my fimfiction account or my blog on Tumblr. Please NO clop or fanfiction with extreme violence. I am not going to do those. I want to do a more family friendly series and it is going to be relatively clean. Besides everyone else does them. Okay, I might do one for a special occasion. But otherwise no clop or extreme gore fics. Ok, enough rambling. On with the fic!

Special thanks to The Grimm Reaper for letting me do his story. You are awesome!

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Doctor and Ditzy’s Science Theater

by Rixizu

Episode 18 - Part 1

The school bell went off and Cheerilee waved her class goodbye. “Don’t forget your five page essay on Haysses is due tomorrow!”

        The fillies and colt ran out the classroom to play, do homework, or just hangout with their friends. The Cutie Mark left the classroom discussing the sleepover at Rarity’s they were going to have tonight.

        “I can’t wait.” Scootaloo proclaimed. “Monster Movie Night is on!”

        “I wonder what they’r goin’ to show this time.” Applebloom asked.

        “I hope it is one with mummies. They’re the coolest!” Scootaloo jumped up and down enthusiastically.

        “I want one with vampires!” Sweetie Belle said grinning. Vampires are her favorite. This got a groan from the other Crusaders.

        “Really?” Applebloom rolled her eyes.

        “What’s wrong with vampires?” Sweetie asked defensively.

        “Ugh, they are so overdone.” Scootaloo said disgusted.

        “Yea’ they’re so overdun it’s just plain ridiculous!”

        “Are not!” Sweetie Belle shot back.

        “Nopony cares about vampires anymore. Zombies are where it is at.” Scootaloo proclaimed.

        “Zombies are just a less cool version of vampires!” Sweetie Belle replied haughtily.

        “Are not!” This time Scootaloo shot back.

        “What’s cool bout zombies is that they keep comin’. Kill one, and they’ll be ten to take its place!” Apple Bloom explained. Sweetie Belle just rolled her eyes.

        “Boring. All they do is shuffling around. Vampires, they have style and class.”

        “Yeah, when they glitter in sunlight.” Scootaloo smirked triumphantly.

        “They aren’t really vampires and you know it!” Sweetie Belle shouted angrily.

        “They call themselves vampires.” Scootaloo argued coolly.

        “They don’t count!” Sweetie Belle shouted. This certain book always was a touchy subject to the little filly.  “Real vampires are dark and cunning creatures that dwell in the darkness and prey on the living! See. Totally different.”

“Whatever.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I really hope they don’t show what they did last time. The Crusaders shuttered. It was this terrible movie old movie about a killer eye.

“Huh? Quick hide!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. The Crusaders jumped into a nearby bush.

“What is it?” Scootaloo whispered.

“Look who it is.” Apple Bloom pointed and the rest of the Crusader turned to look. Coming in their direction was Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Dinky. It looked like they were having an energetic conversation. They were laughing and even Dinky was smiling. She was the middle of a conversation with Diamond Tiara while Silver Spoon listened on in the background.

“I know right! The first anime of Scientist with Metal Arm, Leg, and Brother was so much better than the second one.” The Crusaders overheard.

“It was just too childish.” Dinky nodded.

“Right, I can’t believe ponies can’t see that. The first anime was so much more emotional and deep!” Diamond Tiara replied.

“Diamond Tiara likes anime?!” Sweetie Belle said aghast. She really didn’t like the fact that Diamond Tiara likes something she likes too.

“They seem to think that, because it’s closer to the manga, it suddenly makes it better.” Dinky pointed out.  

Diamond Tiara gave out a small laugh. “Like it’s half as good as the manga.”

“At least the first anime didn’t give Fiery Mustang a horrible mustache!” Diamond Tiara and Dinky laughed at this.  

“Are you sure you can’t come over? I’m going to marathon Peach.“ Diamond Tiara asked.

“Sorry, but I have something to do tonight.” Dinky said mournfully.

“Oh well.” Diamond Tiara shrugged.

“You could always ask Silver Spoon.”  Dinky suggested.

“You know that not my scene.” Silver Spoon said pointedly.

“Oh well.” Diamond Tiara reassured.

“How about tomorrow?” Dinky asked.

“Fine, that works.” Diamond Tiara nodded. “I have these sweet figures I want to show you.”

The Crusaders watched as Dinky waved her friends goodbye. “Can you believe that?” Scootaloo said angrily.

“Yeah! Brotherhood is so much better than the first anime!” Sweetie Belle proclaimed.

Scootaloo facehoofed. “No, I mean about Dinky being so buddy-buddy with Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara!”

“Oh, right.” Sweetie Belle said sheepishly.

“It’s gonna be like Babs all over again!” Apple Bloom proclaimed. The crusaders quaked in horror at the bad memories.

“Yeah, like think of all the evil things she’s gonna do!” Scootaloo said in horror. She imagined Dinky inventing an uncoolness ray with her super geniusness and using it on Rainbow Dash! It turned her into a carbon copy of Rarity and she didn’t even have wings! She shuddered at the thought of her idol saying “Darling”.

“I don’t know. Dinky doesn’t seem the type.” Sweetie just couldn’t picture Dinky being all evil like Scootaloo suggested.

“It’s true Dinky ain’t bad, but when Diamond Tiara gets through with her she’ll be completely different!”

“I suppose you're right.” Sweetie relented. “So, what should we do about it?”

“We should tell big sis about it!” Apple Bloom beamed. “She’ll nip the problem in the bud this time!”

“But, uh, doesn’t she have to bully us first?” Scootaloo pointed out. “We can’t report her for something she has done yet!”

“Oh, right.” Apple Bloom said crestfallen.

“I got it!” Scootaloo said triumphantly. “We should tell Dinky what bad news Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are!”

“Would that work?” Apple Bloom wondered. “She ain’t the biggest fan of ours.”

“Yeah, she seems to avoid us and scowls whenever we get near her.” Sweetie Belle pointed out gloomily.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat in silence with no idea how to tackle this problem. After a few minutes Sweetie Belle finally spoke. “The only thing we can do is watch and act if she starts getting mean!”

The other Crusaders nodded and looked crestfallen. Scootaloo brighten up. “So what do you think we should try to get our Cutie Marks today? I was thinking extreme sports!”

“That’s a great idea!” Apple Bloom cheered. “Maybe we could try scootering down a mountain!”

“I think I know this perfect cliff we can go off of!” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“That’s awesome!” Scootaloo jumped up and down in excitement. “I’ll get my scooter!”

“Cutie Mark Crusader Extreme Sporters YAY!” The three fillies cheered and rushed off to their newest crusading adventure.

The Doctor was reclining in a chair drinking tea in the main meeting room. He was reading the ‘Of Mice and Ponies’. It was the book that Ditzy gave him for Hearth’s Warming. He just finished reading it for the second time. It was pretty much the exact same tale that he recalled from the human world. It always astounded the Doctor how much this Earth paralleled the one he loved back in his home universe.

“Poor Lennie, or in this case Strong Hoof. “ The Doctor sighed. “You just wanted a peaceful life.” He flipped the last page, read it, and set the book on the table.

He spent some time quiet just thinking to himself. The book put him in a solemn mood. He just sat there drinking his tea. His thoughts wandered for some time. Eventually he got back to the note and the computer chip he got a week ago from his future self. It puzzled him. He thought over the details over and over again. He wondered why his future self would interfere like that and not give him much to work with.

The Microchip was a dud. It was burnt out. It was a curious thing to give him. Part of him was glad he wasn’t given anything that would actually help him escape. That would be too easy. The question was how could he use his microchip to his advantage? He suspected that he would know when the time was right.

The note was equally useless and everything in it seemed pointless. He already suspected that everything was not as it seemed. He already suspected that Dinky was not the mastermind and already had a good hypothesis of her motives. Hearts and Hooves Day should confirm it. Why exactly still eluded him. This Star Shot, what was her motive though? Where they the same as Dinky’s or something else? He doubted it. His gut told him that something more was going on here.

“Not as it seems.” He repeated in his head. A thought suddenly struck him and he gave himself a mental slap on the head for not thinking of it sooner. What if the note was telling him that he still was on the wrong track? It was trying to say that he hasn’t even scratched the surface of what was going on here. It was trying to tell him his assumption and theories are based on lies and trickery. He was sure of it. It was certainly a rather roundabout way to tell him. He suspected it was written in such a cryptic way to annoy him. It was just like him to do that.

“What if…what if my assumption that this whole ordeal is about me is incorrect? That is what I naturally assumed because that is how it usually is, but what if it is about Ditzy all along?” The Doctor wondered. “Why would Star Shot or whoever she is working for want Ditzy here?”

The Doctor sighed. He needed more facts. He decided to wait and listen. He was going to wait until he had more data before making any hypothesis. He thanked his future self for reminding him to not jump to conclusions. It was such an amateurish thing for him to do. He was getting sloppy. All this free time was dulling him. He should really find a way to occupy himself instead of lying around and reading all day. He thought that maybe he should take up exercise. Not his first choice by any stretch of the imagination, but it would do. Painting doesn’t sound like such a bad idea either. Michelangelo and Marelangelo always told him he had a talent for it.

The Doctor looked at the clock. He had 20 minutes until the experiment starts. He sat back in the chair and waited. Ten minutes later Pinkie and Ditzy entered.

“Hiya Timey!” Greeted Pinkie with the nickname he never understood. It was true he first used the alias Time Turner when he first met her, but he had no idea why she made a nickname based off of that. At least it was better than Doc.

“Hey.” Ditzy waved. It looked like she just got out of the shower.

“Whatcha been up to?” Pinkie asked.

The Doctor shrugged. “Not much really. You?”

“I just did some exercising.” Ditzy replied.

“You should have seen her! That filly can move!” Pinkie piped in.

“Next time, maybe I could join you.” The Doctor stated.

Ditzy blinked. “Really? You’re getting off your lazy bum for once?”

The Doctor looked a little annoyed. “Well, yes. I thought it might do me some good.”

“Oooo oooo! We should have a race!” Pinkie suggested.

The Doctor smiled. ‘Sounds fun.”

“Sure, though you might have an advantage.” Ditzy gestured to her temporarily human body.

“I won’t be so sure.” The Doctor responded. “You have an advantage in short distances due to the fact that you have fewer legs to start moving.”

“Really?” Ditzy tilted her head.

“Yeah, you have less legs to start up!” Pinkie  interjected. “Imagine if you had ten or sixteen legs or something! You would never get anywhere!”

“Huh.” Ditzy replied. “We can do it after the experiment.” Pinkie bounced in excitement.

“Hello my little test subjects.” The trio heard from the computer screen Dinky used to talk to them. Doctor noticed that Dinky sounded happier than usual. She usually sounded more businesslike.

“Oh hey.” Ditzy said simply. All the previous enthusiasm seemed to drain out of her.

“Hello Dinky!” Pinkie said happily. “Maybe you should join us for our race too!”

“Yes, it would be nice to see you for one.” The Doctor grinned. “I don’t know why you are taking such pains to disguise yourself.”

“Oh she’s just shy.” Pinkie explained.

“Afraid you’ll be recognized?” The Doctor asked.

“No, you have never seen me before.” Dinky replied. “My identity is of no importance.”

“Then why take such great pains to hide it?” The Doctor pointed out. “It seems to me, that you won’t so carefully hide every aspect of yourself without a good reason.”

“Maybe she has a deformed face and a hunchback?” Ditzy suggested.

Dinky didn’t say anything for a few moments. “No Ditzy. As I was saying it isn’t important. Anyway it is time for the experiment.” As the Doctor expected, she change the subject as a quick way to get out of topics she didn’t like. He didn’t mind however, she unintentionally gave him some useful hints.

“Today we will be reading….” Ditzy interrupted Dinky.

“The Spread of Darkness by The Grimm Reaper chapters four, five, and six right? Come one. Let’s get this over with.” Ditzy said impatiently.

“Yes, that’s right.” Dinky sounded a bit taken aback. “Enjoy.” Dinky gave out an evil laugh as the experiment alarm went off. The Doctor, Ditzy, and Pinkie rushed to the theater.

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Chapter 4: Descent Into Darkness

        “Prepare to fire!” called the Gryphon Commander. He led an entire battalion of his kind to Baltimare where they were in the process of taking Horse Shoe Bay. Things were going well. Those ponies were weak.

Pinkie: Who knew that surfer dudes can’t defeat an army!?

Unicorns proved ineffective against the soldiers he commanded that were of Lieutenancy or above.

Ditzy: Throw.bricks.in.their.face.

This Commander brandished steel armour polished to near perfection.

Doctor: (Soldier) The enemy is beating us back! What should we do!?

Pinkie: (Commander) Shut it! I’m polishing. Bug me some other time.

Doctor: (Soldier) B-but the enemy is almost on top….

Pinkie: (Commander) Didn’t you hear me? Get out of here maggot or you will clean this entire base with your tongue!

It wasn’t stylish like pony armour with jewels encrusted within, those were considered structural weaknesses.

Ditzy: Um, I’m pretty sure ponies don’t actually do that.

Pinkie: At least it better than their last idea to create solid gold armor.

Over his back rested a long light blade, which he had yet to draw.

Pinkie: He was out of pencils.

Doctor: (Sword) Draw me like one of your Griffon swords.

        His forces advanced over the city like a tidal wave and were killing ponies from left to right, the orders commanded as such.

Doctor: Sounds like an incredibly inefficient way of killing someone.

Ditzy: (Soldier) Uh, sir. Won’t it be simpler and easier to just kill them where they stand?

Doctor: (Commander) I don’t make the rules soldier. Kill them from the left side to the right like ordered.

He stood on the jibboom of the sail ship as it made way toward the bay.

Pinkie: (Commander) I’m king of the world!

Despite the easy take-over that his forces were supplying, swarms of gryphons flew overhead to join in the fight with those on land.

Doctor: Right, in case those sea shells start mobilizing against you!

Ditzy: Ah, the common Griffon tactic of throwing  giganto numbers at their target regardless of how much sense it makes.

Doctor: Apparently the Griffons think they are playing infinite troop mode.

        “Commander Reave, Pony reinforcements are on their way. ETA is thirty minutes.” said one of the ship’s crew.

Pinkie: (Commander) ETA? I love the game!

        “Send teams three and four to flank the ponies from the sides. Then send six to dive them. We should have control of Baltimare in five minutes.

Ditzy: So, is their some strategic value in taking this city or what? I don’t understand why they are putting so much effort in taking a pretty much defenceless city.

Doctor: It’s because they are evil! Logic and battle tactics be dammed.

Pinkie: It’s like Risk! You take one place at a time!

I’ll let you do the math and tell me how much time that will give us to prepare for the reinforcements.”

Doctor: (Soldier) The answer is 3.5 pi minutes sir.

Pinkie: (Reave) Prepare the tacos! They must be pretty hungry!

Reave replied, turning his head to the crewman. The right side of his beak was scarred, like he’d been in a skirmish with a Timberwolf.

Pinkie: He actually got in when he fell down the stairs as a colt.

His right eye was foggy, indicating he was blind on that side.

Ditzy: It made him a command target for pranks.

        “Yes, Commander.” The gryphon flew back onto the ship to relay the command given to them. Meanwhile, Reave looked back at the country and squinted as he hoped to make out a very specific face.

Doctor: Photo Finish?

Ditzy: Fleur Dis Lee?

Pinkie: Twilight’s mom?

Doctor and Ditzy: (Look at Pinkie)

Pinkie: What?

        “Gilda…” he sighed.

Ditzy: (Reave) Why can’t you be the murderous psychopath your mom was?

        Gilda awoke with a start. She’d had a nightmare, quite common these days.

Ditzy: Well, I suppose Luna has been busy with the war.

She turned to the happily dreaming Rainbow Dash and sighed.

PInkie: (Gilda bitter) I bet she’s having a dream with cake in it!

        “Lucky.” she muttered, sliding off of the bed they shared.

Pinkie: Alright! A slumber party!

She looked for Scootaloo but remembered she’d spent the night with her ‘crusader’ friends. The term ‘dweeb’ entered her mind as she thought of the name of their group, but she was hardly one to judge.

Ditzy: That hasn’t stopped you before.

She rubbed the side of her face, gently scratching an itch at the base of her beak. She made her way out of the room and set for the kitchen. Nightmares always made her thirsty.

Doctor: Particularly the ones where she was drowning.

She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. With precision, she unscrewed the lid and chugged the contents down.

All: (Cheer and clap)

Ditzy: (Whistles)

Pinkie: Way to go!

She was very thirsty.

        “Dad…” she sighed.

        “You don’t talk much about your family, do you?” a voice spoke in the darkness, causing Gilda to jump and trip up.

Doctor: Cue comedic pratfall sound effect.

Pinkie: And the screaming cat sound!

She searched around for the owner of the voice. Spike emerged with his arms crossed and a brow raised.

Pinkie: (Spike) Who were you expecting? Santa Hooves?

        “Yeah, well neither does Dash. I don’t see you dweebs asking her about her old folks.” Spike offered his hand which Gilda took aggressively.

Doctor: (Spike whiny) Ow, you’re hurting me!

        “We pretty much got the idea of Dash immediately after meeting her. Runaway, right?” he asked. Gilda nodded.

Ditzy: Um, Rainbow has always been pretty open about her parents actually.

        “Yeah, that’s Dash. I guess that’s me too. But I’m not as tough as she is.

Ditzy: (Gilda) I don’t eat nails for breakfast.

Doctor: (Spike) I’ve never understood that.

I always went back to my old man. Not this time though. Now I’m stuck with renegades.”

Ditzy: (Gilda) I knew I should have gone Paragon.

        Spike listened to Gilda’s words with a sympathetic ear.

Ditzy: While thinking of Twilight’s flank.

        “Where did I leave my violin?” he asked as he knelt down to her level and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Ditzy: Spike’s a giant?

Doctor: Oh, right. The last story did establish that. Sort of.

Pinkie: Maybe Gilda shrunk?

        “You say you’re stuck here with us, but do you think you’d have had the chance to pursue your relationship with Rainbow Dash after the war?” he asked. Gilda drew back a bit.

Pinkie: (Spike) Dash loves the military type.

        “And why couldn’t I?” Spike raised two fingers.

All: Claws.

        “One, after the war, the tension between your two species would… complicate things.

Doctor: So...what?

Ditzy: Well, I suppose ponies might start thinking of Griffons as genocidal lunatics.

Two, this is war. People die every day and who’s to say either one of you would survive?

Doctor: You’re a real ray of sunshine.

I don’t doubt your abilities,

Pinkie: (Spike) But your air combos could use some work.

but remember that while you’re both fast, you’re not invincible.”

Ditzy: (Spike) They don’t have that powerup on this map.

He rose back to his full height

Ditzy: And hit the ceiling.

and walked away, leaving Gilda to her drink.

        “Perhaps instead of considering it a prison,

Doctor: (Spike) We refer to it as a reformatory.

you can think of it as a one way ticket to Runnersville.

Pinkie: (Spike) Sorry we don’t offer refunds. All purchases are final.

You said you always went back, well like you also said; not this time.”

        Gilda watched as Spike seemed to disappear in the shadows.

Pinkie: It’s too bad the effect was wasted because of how loud he was.

Ditzy: (Spike) Ow! Who put that bucket there!?

Even the sound of his feet clacking against the stone ground ceased and she wondered if he was waiting for another sleepless being to emerge so he could scare the hell out of them too.

Pinkie: If you can’t use dark powers for pranks, what use are they?

She looked down to the drink in her talon and sighed.

Doctor: She really hated mineral water.

Spike wasn’t wrong. She was with the one she desired. Though war brought their two species further apart, it brought her and Dash closer together. The silver lining in the dark cloud.

Ditzy: A perfect metaphor for this fic!

        Shining Armour led the reinforcements to Baltimare, but as he arrived, he’d discovered the city completely devoid of any pony life.

Doctor: Remember, the Griffons are evil.

Ditzy: Okay, the portrayal of Griffons is starting to get offensive.

Gryphons had taken the city. Knowing a confrontation to be pointless, he made to order the retreat, but the battalion had been spotted easily.

Doctor: (Shining) How many times do i have to tell you to not play the bugle horn until I say so!

        “Alright, defend yourselves! I want spears and Shields over our heads, Unicorns covering the outer ring. We’re going to do it old style!” he said.

Doctor: (Soldier) When tactics were right. In my day we had proper tactics that got things done right! None of the fancy junk that’s done today! I doubt youngins have any idea how defend themselves from hordes of Griffons nowadays!

Every pony in his command complied and began to make a dome around the group like a giant turtle shell.

Pinkie: (Eager) Are they going to start rolling around?

The unicorns erected barriers around the shell to reinforce it.

Doctor: That’s going to last about two seconds.

Ditzy: Won’t it make more sense to cover it with spikes or something sharp instead?

As the skirmish began, the guards were hit with a wave of beaks and talons.

Pinkie: The Griffons tore them off and threw them at them.!

 Shining was pushed against his fellow soldiers, their bodies being crushed by the sheer force of their attackers.

Ditzy: (Shining) So….does anypony know how to teleport?

He thought he might have made a difference, might have somehow managed to save some civilians, somepony. But he was losing more soldiers to the enemy, something he scarcely did.

Ditzy: Sorry Shining. Only Spike can do anything in this fic!

        “Twiley…” he groaned as his body was beginning to break under the pressure of his comrades who had grown scared under the pressure, both emotional and physical.

        Twilight awoke with a piercing scream. She knew it wasn’t a dream, but magical observation.

Ditzy: She can do that now apparently.

Pinkie: How convenient!

Spike was in the room like a bolt of lightning. He held her hoof in his hand and squeezed it tightly, trying to distract her from the dream. She’d awoken with darkness pouring out of her eyes along with tears.

Pinkie: She’s sprung a leak!

        “Twilight, what is it?” Spike asked, hearing the others entering the room out of concern.

        “Shining Armour… he’s losing the battle in…Baltimare. Spike!” she leaned over to her dragon and squeezed him tightly.

Ditzy: (Spike) It was probably nothing. Let’s bang to get you mind off of him!

Doctor: (Twilight) But I’m really worried for him!

Ditzy: (Spike) I’ll do...the thing.

Doctor: (Twilight) I'm ready and raring to go!

        “Baltimare, that’s not far from the forest.” Cadence said, beginning to worry for her husband.

Doctor: Isn’t that past Dodge Junction?

Pinkie: Yeah, that’s miles miles miles miles away from Ponyville!

        “Are you kidding? You’ve got mountains in your way and Rambling Rock Ridge to deal with. We wouldn’t get there in time to help them.” Dash began.

Doctor: Thank you. A real fact.

Ditzy: Why do they just suddenly believe the dream to be true?

Twilight ignored their comments and began to force magic into her horn.

Pinkie: (Twilight) Get in there right now!

Spike said nothing as he released her and pulled Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Gilda and Big Mac towards him and Twilight.

        “The rest of you stay here.” he ordered. Before the other ponies could protest, Twilight had forced herself and the others to teleport to Baltimare,

Doctor: Only to end up in Baltimore by mistake.

leaving Rarity, Fluttershy and the others behind to await the news. Cadence broke down at that instant, worried for her husband and sister in-law.

Doctor: They forgot their toothbrushes and toiletries.

        “Don’t worry none, Princess. Twilight’s got Spike, and Mr. Armour’s got mah sister, brother and Twilight and Spike to protect him.” Applebloom said, patting Cadence’s leg tenderly.

Doctor: (Apple Bloom) He probably hasn’t been torn limb from limb by bloodthirst Griffons.

        “Thank you, Applebloom. You’re right; nothing will stop them. I just have to wait for Shining to return. Fluttershy can heal him so he can return to duty better than ever.”

Doctor: (Fluttershy) Um, I’m not a, um, pony doctor. I only treat animal. You should, um, really a get a professional.

        The group had broken up

Pinkie: Dang B.B.B.F.F. was my favorite band!

and Shining was running on three legs. One of his hooves had been broken and he was brandishing a spear in his teeth. He felt Death’s door knocking and he could have sworn he’d seen a tall Stallion like himself just standing on the horizon, waiting for him to reach the end of his life.

Ditzy: Oh hey Death! Would you like to go out for some curry later?

He knew it was death himself waiting for he could see the same Stallion everywhere he looked, moving like the Slendermane legend.

All: Never heard of it.

Shining tripped on the body of one of his fallen comrades and skidded along the ground. His broken hoof bobbed up and down as he slid along, giving him great stings of pain with every movement the thing made. He stopped on his back and looked up. Gryphons stood over him, as did death himself, looking over with impartial eyes at him. He expected Death to be black,

Pinkie: (Death) Black is so out of season!

but this Stallion was grey, almost white with a blonde mane and golden eyes like a dragon’s.

Ditzy: Shouldn’t he be a skeleton?

He watched Death as a spear came down on him.

Pinkie: (Shining) Uh, a little help here?

Time slowed down for the guard captain and he watched as Death broke eye contact and looked ahead of himself. He cracked a smile before vanishing like a wisp of smoke. Time resumed

Ditzy: Soshite, toki wa ugokidasu!

and Shining felt the spear enter his chest. He cried out as he saw the gryphon that had impaled him get thrown back by some strange magical force. But magic didn’t work on these gryphons. He thought.

Pinkie: Yeah, what’s with that?

Ditzy: It works if a Mary Sue is doing it.

Pinkie: Oooooooo.

The others abandoned their prey and looked in the same direction Death had before they too were felled.

        Moments passed before somepony entered his field of vision. He was relieved to see his younger sister standing by him, but something was wrong.

Doctor: (Shining) Did you get a haircut?

She didn’t look like his Twiley.

Pinkie: (Shining) Hmmm. I don’t remember her having scales.

She was dark and corrupted, like King Sombra. He hadn’t seen Twilight in a year, but the changes were so drastic. She looked like a monster.

Pinkie: She even had tentacles! 

Her friends seemed somewhat corrupted themselves, as though continued exposure to her had darkened their hearts and perceptions on the realities of Equestria.

Ditzy: They starting writing emo poetry about it.

        “Shining!” Twilight exclaimed. With her magic, she forced the spear out of her brother’s chest and pressed against the open wound.

Doctor: No! You are suppose to leave it in! You will only cause more damage and increase the bleeding!

Tears began to strew down her face as she felt her brother’s life fading away.

Ditzy: Couldn’t they just bring him back to life with the spell Twilight used?

        Spike made his way to her and looked at the scene. Thoughts began to enter his mind. They weren’t like the average thoughts he was used to.

Pinkie: Why I am thinking about fire hydrants at a time like this? They haven’t nothing to do with anything!

They were simple, primal at best.

Doctor: (Spike) Uh, Spike hungry. Spike use club on purple one and make her mate.

Twilight was crying. Shining Armour was dying. One caused the other. So what caused the one? Gryphons. Gryphons were to blame. “They made her cry.”

Doctor: (Slow clap)

Ditzy: You figured it out! Good for you Spike!

Pinkie: (Sniffs) They grow up so fast.

        Spike’s body worked of its own accord.

Pinkie: It started jazzercising!

He could feel the anger welling up inside him as though he were about to be sick. He shook his head, growling. This caused a headache and be gripped his head as cessation of movement failed to relieve his pain. He couldn’t help but move in order to try and lessen the pain, but whatever he moved began to burn like a fire in his body. He looked around, his eyes resting on the gryphons. The instant he made eye contact, his mind snapped and he fell into a state of undiluted rage.

Ditzy: It’s a waste of rage if you don’t add water to it.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his scales opened up like flaps. A dense black smoke escaped from his body and surrounded him.

Pinkie: (Spike) Ugh, what did I eat last night to cause that?!

It spread to engulf Twilight and Shining Armour, creating a visual barrier to protect them from the oncoming gryphons.

Pinkie: Uh, won’t that be useless with the antimagic whatever?

Ditzy: Mary Sue powers remember?

Pinkie: Oh, right. Duh.

        Spike’s eyes glowed from within the darkness and from the looks of things he was staring daggers at the enemies that had caused Twilight’s tears. He left the smoky barrier and revealed himself to all. His body was slicked with a black tar-like surface that seemed to act as a physical manifestation of his self.

Doctor: It had the side effect of making him slip all over the place.

He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. And with a flex of his great muscles, he cried in agony and rage.

Doctor: The headache was getting worse.

Author's Note: Just to clarify, I tried to describe Spike's dark tar-like surface as best I could. My goal was to compare it to Venom from Spider Man 3.

Ditzy: That crappy movie nopony likes?

Next Chapter: Episode 18 - The Spread of Darkness - Chapter 05 Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 34 Minutes