Everyone listening stared in shock. "What?" Twilight gasped out finally. "Spike was...possessed by the Emperor Ing?"
"Yeah," Spike sighed, looking away. "I was..."
Samus put her hand on his shoulder. "Spike, for the last time, it wasn't your fault-"
"Yes it was!" Spike barked out. "Every time I ate an Ing, they tried to possess me, and I was barely able to fight it off each time...and when the Emperor Ing infused itself into me, the residuals from all previous Ing I'd eaten surged out to meet him, overwhelming me! If I hadn't been eating everything in sight, I would have been able to fight off the Emperor Ing, and we wouldn't have had to fight! None of that would have happened!"
Samus was silent for a time, at a loss for words as everyone stared.
"You had no way of knowing that, young warrior," Luna spoke up. "You couldn't have known that the corruptive darkness you consumed would be cumulative. And even if not, this Emperor Ing was a powerful, ruthless being...much like the inner dragon you could just barely control at that time. For all you know, he would have overwhelmed you even without the aid of his soldiers remnants in your systems."
"And if you'd resisted him longer, Samus might not have had time to beat you and get you both out of Dark Aether before the planet went boom!" Pinkie Pie pointed out. "She said the planet was gonna blow in 20 minutes. That's not a lot of time to fight a super powered giant dark dragon and get to an escape portal."
"That's a valid point," Samus indicated. "Even with the Ing you'd eaten, it took two minutes for the Emperor to fully transform and control you, and ten minutes to fight you."
Spike listened to their words - and the hugs the other ponies had started giving him - and managed a smile. "Logic doesn't make the guilt go away," he pointed out.
"Preach it," Luna and Discord both muttered under their breaths, getting surprise hugs from Celestia and Fluttershy respectively.
"So...we know you won and saved him, since he's here," Scootaloo pointed out. "So how'd you do it?"
Chuckling, Samus picked up her mug for some more juice to wet her mouth. "Well..."
Samus staggered backward as Spike's body transformed, expanding until it was even bigger than it had been when he'd fought Ridley back on Tallon IV. His scales darkened from purple to black, and the green of his underbelly turned as red as his eyes had become. Spikes sprouted along his back, arms, legs, and tail. The armor darkened as well, mimicking his color scheme as it grew with him.
As he rose up, Samus quickly scanned what he had become.
Recording to Logbook
Dark Spike
Spike has become possessed by the Emperor Ing, which has put him through a Darkling transformation. His draconic nature is now unleashed full force, making him an extreme threat. Capable of firing intense blasts of flame and darkness from his mouth. His claws are now sharp enough to punch through ship hull plating, and his strength exceeds any capacity to accurately measure.His body generates an aura of dark energy 30x as intense as that of Dark Aether's atmosphere, extending one foot around his body. This aura will rapidly eat through the Light Suit's defensive energy fields, and then the alloy of the armor itself. Avoid direct contact if at all possible.
No vulnerable points detected. Dark Spike is able to reenergize himself from the Phazon in the area and the atmosphere of Dark Aether...or by consuming one of the lesser Ing that will come at his summons.
Deep scans indicate that, while the possession is complete, the residue of the Emperor Ing is not fully anchored in Dark Spike. Theoretically, a strong enough burst of Light Energy could potentially force the Emperor Ing to evacuate its host, freeing Spike from his control.
Then that's a plan, Samus thought silently, leaping to the side as Spike's tail lashed out at her, the now bladed tip nearly cutting her in half. Now, how am I supposed to get enough Light Energy into him to push the Emperor Ing out? She set her suit to calculations.
Eventually, her on board computer beeped. Required Light Energy infusion calculated. Approximately 12 Sunbursts fired simultaneously will suffice.
"Dammit!" Samus snarled. Even with every upgrade she could scavenge, she only had 250 Light Ammo, only enough for 8 Sunbursts before she was out of ammo. Her momentary distraction was enough for Spike to catch her off guard with a blast of dark energy from his mouth, slamming her back into the Phazon that edged the chamber. She struggled out, checking the damage.
450 units of energy depleted.
She swore under her breath. That was nearly a third of her total energy shielding. Can't keep trying and hoping, she thought to herself. Gotta go for broke. Seeing that Dark Spike was taking a moment to laugh at her helplessness, she called up her suit settings.
-Arm Cannon Settings
-Power Beam
-Light Beam
-Dark Beam
-Annihilator Beam
[X]Charge Beam
-Charge Combo
-Disable Charge Limiter? [X]Yes [ ]No
Warning: Overcharging can result in damage to Arm Cannon, Suit, and person! Confirm Disable?
[X]Yes [ ]No...Charge Limiter Disabled. Overcharge Combos available.
With the systems changed, she switched to her Light Beam and began to charge. Dark Spike renewed his assault, but she managed to evade most of the attacks as she charged her weapon.
Three minutes into the charge - when her suit started giving her warning signs about the likely damage she would take from discharging it - Dark Spike roared, summoning several Warrior and Hunter Ing to back him up. The added assault proved even more difficult for Samus to evade, and she took several bad hits as she continued to charge her weapon. Thankfully, the Ing were single minded in their attack, and they couldn't survive in the Phazon around the edges of the chamber, which Samus was quite happy to lead them into.
When her suit alerted her to there being ten minutes left until the planet exploded, she received another alert from her arm cannon.
Overcharge at Maximum. Super Sunburst will use 250 Light Ammo and 255 missiles.
Warning: Chance of damaging Arm Cannon 250%
Warning: Chance of damaging suit 150%
Warning: Chance of internal injuries 99%
Warning: Chance of death from firing 50%
"I'm only going to get one shot then," she muttered under her breath, ducking around the Ing as she charged Dark Spike. He lashed at her with claws and tail, but she was able to leap just as he opened his mouth to hit her with fire. "Get out of my son!" she roared, shoving her Arm Cannon down the beast's throat and releasing, firing the blast. She let out a scream of pain as the recoil from the massive burst of light energy sent her flying back against the wall to sink into Phazon. She was barely able to roll out of it, her body screaming in agony.
As she lay there, gasping for breath against the pain in her body, her suit gave her a report of the damages.
Arm Cannon Destroyed.
Light Suit damaged beyond repair.
All Energy Tanks damaged beyond repair.
Seven cracked ribs, one broken rib.
All bones in right arm broken. Bones in right hand shattered.
Rebooting Suit defaults in attempt to stabilize life signs...
Reboot successful.
Varia Suit Online.
Morph Ball Online.
Morph Ball Bombs Online.
Power Beam Online but unavailable. Replace Arm Cannon at next opportunity.
Charge Beam Online but unavailable.
Energy Transfer Module undamaged.
All other systems lost. Suit has engaged paralytic functions on right arm to prevent further damage.
"Well, that fucking sucks," Samus gasped out, coughing and staring at the red stain on the inside of her face plate. "Great..."
Warning: Dark Aether atmosphere draining suit energy rapidly. Locate safe zone immediately.
So this is how it ends... Samus thought to herself. Suddenly, light surrounded her.
Safe Zone entered.
"What?" Samus asked, looking up in shock.
Standing above her was Spike...but he had changed again. His overall body shape and size was the same as Dark Spike, but his coloration was white and gold, with his eyes glowing white. At the end of each spike on his back and shoulders was a Luminoth crystal, growing from his flesh, making his entire body generate a safe zone.
Samus could only stare as her suit scanned him.
Updated to Logbook
Light Spike
With the Emperor Ing purged from Spike's body, he has absorbed and metabolized the massive surge of Light Energy, taking it into his body. Crystals have grown from his body with properties identical to Luminoth Crystals, generating a safe zone from his entire body. He appears to have complete control of himself, though his vocal chords are presently non-functional. His breath now has properties of the Annihilator Beam, being a mix of Light and Dark Energy, while also being compatible with Phazon energies if absorbed.
Samus could only stare in amazement as Spike gently lifted her onto his back before blasting the floor apart beneath them, spreading six feathery wings to slow his fall to the ground.
Everyone listening was staring in awe. "Wow..." Celestia finally said, the first to break the silence.
"Yeah," Spike muttered, scratching the back of his head. "It was pretty impressive...I guess."
"Can...can ya still take that form?" Applejack asked curiously.
"No idea. Haven't tried since. And...I'd rather not unless I have to."
"Given what happened next, understandable," Samus agreed. As all eyes turned to her once more, she continued the story.
As Spike landed gently as a feather, he turned to force his way through the rest of Dark Aether to the nearest portal, only to find his path blocked by a rapidly growing wall of Phazon. Turning, both he and Samus caught sight of Dark Samus...but it had changed. Its body was now a translucent blue, though still the same shape. Inside, however, the nucleus of Metroid Prime was plainly visible, having reshaped itself to resemble Samus somewhat.
As it lunged forward to attack, Spike lunged in first, seizing hold of the creature and slamming it to the ground. Spreading his wings, he began circling the area, dragging Dark Samus against the wall behind him.
As he continued to use massive brute force against the creature, Samus couldn't help but wonder, Is this what it's like from Ridley's perspective when he's fighting me?
"Seriously?" Spike asked sardonically.
"Perspective only, not personality," Samus was quick to point out as the listeners giggled.
After a time and heavy damage received, Dark Samus released a wave of Phazon, breaking free of Spike's grip as it proceeded to attack with waves and rains of Phazon energy. Samus' scans revealed that in this form, Dark Samus was only vulnerable to Phazon based weaponry.
Spike, however, was way ahead of her. Taking a huge mouthful of Phazon from the wall, he chewed for a time before exhaling a blast of pure Phazon energy, tearing Dark Samus apart on the molecular level.
In the aftermath of the battle, Samus checked her readouts. "Spike!" she shouted. "Two minutes until the planet explodes!"
As Spike turned to flee, an endless wave of Ing swarmed in, blocking his path from all sides and above, all plainly seeking to destroy Samus and release the planetary energy, which would stop the planetary collapse.
However, the destruction of Dark Samus had caused an unexpected reaction. A wall of Phazon had collapsed, revealing an active portal to Aether. However, the hordes of Ing were between them and the portal.
"We'll make it Spike," Samus whispered reassuringly. "We've got...sixty seconds. Plenty of time. Plenty of time..."
Spike, however, apparently had other ideas. He obviously knew he couldn't clear a path and make it to the portal in sixty seconds. Lifting Samus off his back, he tore one of the crystal formations from his back and used his breath weapon on it, supercharging it. He then handed it to Samus, sticking it in her left hand.
Morph Ball triggered.
"What-" Samus was unable to say anymore as she was forced into Morph Ball, the crystal inside with her, surrounding her in the supercharged safe zone. Before Samus could react, Spike had hurled her like a missile through the portal. The last thing she heard was Spike releasing his breath attack.
When Samus unrolled from Morph Ball on the other side, actually caught by U-Mos, the first thing she saw was the portal she just came through exploding. "What happened?" she asked.
"Someone destroyed the portal from the other side," U-Mos explained.
"But Spike's still over there!" Samus shouted, clutching the crystal.
U-Mos stared impassively, the very air around him palpable with the force of sudden grief. "Then he has chosen to die for our world..."
It's body was now a translucent blue
1. Its.
No Spike, don't go into the light.
"But you died!"
"I got better."
This is the part where I would normally cry out "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
But... we all know he survived...
I like that I still panic slightly when I read that last line.
The overcharged Sunburst was an awesome scene.
eating (or eatin')
Crap, that has got to be a horrible experience for poor Samus, with both the worrying and the battered body she is going to have to endured for a long time to come. Even considering the advancement of their medical technologies, it is going to be a while before she will be heal. As for Spike, can't wait to find out how he got out alive and well...
Nevermind, 6455185 got it.
He looks fine though.
spike you better not be a ghost/magic-robot thingy or I'll be disappointed.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Um, we know he survived, we just don't know how.
I feel like this would be the time where Ridley would show up and almost beat Samus senseless but right before he kills her Spike comes charging through a self made portal and be all like, "Screw you, you're not killing my mom!!!"
But from what it sounds like Spike's not going to be that badass and instead Samus is more likely to find a way back to the Dark World and find Spike barely hanging on to life by a thread... maybe the alliance finds a way to open the portal in a lab and she goes back through that way...
Although I can see the Chozo spirits pulling a 'Deus Ex' and being like, "Here Samus! A new Arm Cannon with a Heal Beam feature to use on Spike when you find him! But be careful, it only has enough charge for one shot!"
ANCSKJNCS:DM"LSNLAKCN"LKCS 'lKV'AK DVL'NDVKANDINS'DVNpkvnsldnsiLLKSNLKVNS
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! SPIKE!! Y U B A GOOD GUY???
So Spike became strong enough tear hole through dimensions............ ok.
Huh. So, apparently this Equestria's Dragons are like saiyans. Nearly killed, but they get better. Because we know Spike survived, but we don't know how.
"He's dead."
"NOOO-"
"And now he isn't!"
"-OOOOOOOOOO-Oh hey."
Oh, SHIT!
BEST LINE EVER. That is all.
However I wonder exactly what Discord is feeling guilty for. Assuming you go with the previous path and have the returned pony/dragon/Nightmare arrive BEFORE Tirek's attack, Discord hasn't committed his betrayal and thus doesn't actually feel guilty for a damn thing, at least for Canon Discord. If Spike has returned AFTER Triek's assault, that will be a bit sad. I would LOVE to see what "Mr. I Eat Magic" does when Samus sticks an Arm Cannon in his face and tells him to fuck off or she will destroy his sorry ass and feed him to a dragon, while Spike grins behind her.
6455909
They're in the Crystal Castle. That was established several chapters back.
6455909 they are in Twi's castle so after terik
6455952 Sadness... Ah well, there is always Duality. That one hasn't had the centaur show up yet. It will be amusing what he does given the MASSIVE advance of pony tech. Though if he really was smart as he seems to be in canon, or smarter, he would go "Fuck it, I'm out." and just leave that shit alone. When ponies are fielding STARCRUISERS, its time to find a new job other than "Singular Invader." It's rather hard being a one man army when the other side can vaporize you from orbit with a button press.
Plot Twist! Spike's a ghost!
Yep...
Spike... You didn't know.
She has you there.
Scary thing when PINKIE makes a point.
She's right, that leaves 8, not including whatever time it may have taken you to recover.
Heh.
Oh dear...
That's not good.
Shit...
Well that's not fair at all.
That could work.
Shit.
Oh dear, that's, got to hurt.
Oh dear.
Clever woman.
Oh shit. Let's just hope she manages to land on that 1% chance for the internal injuries and that other 50% chance for death.
Oh dear.
Well that sucks. Let's just hope she can get to a safe spot.
What the?
What?
Whoah...
Quite.
Oh?
Oh?
Oh fan-f*cking-tastic!
Perspective wise? Probably.
Good thing there's a shitton of the stuff around.
Let's see you heal from THAT!
OK, you just need to blast those Ing to pieces and get to Aether and we are good.
What?
That works. Wait, what about Spike? Yes, he survives, but, yeah.
You know, it's a sign of a good writer how despite the fact that we KNOW he gets better, that this still hits hard.
6456371
I gotta say, I love it when you comment on my works.
So often I put so much into a chapter and I'm eager to see everyone react to it...but more often than not, one thing overshadows all else, often not the thing I want getting all the attention.
When you comment, however, I know I'll see your reaction to everything. Makes me happy.
6456404
Well, glad to be of service, I mostly do these things for fun, but if it makes someone else happy, even better. That, and I've always been a big fan of the Metroid series, even if I've only played the 2D ones, damned Super Metroid Ridley and his Beer Lava... so, when i saw this, crossed with MLP, written by YOU, and Spike, a dragon was being raised by the Intergalactic Queen of Badassery, how could I resist?
6456410
Thanks.
If they're to your interest, think you could do this on any other of my Adopted Displaced stories (pony characters raised by fictional ones) that catch your interest?
You can find them all here.
6456412
I have, Merc with a Moth, Nopony I'd Rather Be Than Me, Heart of the Dragon General, probably a few others that slip my mind.
6456414
Well...
I'd especially like your comment on the latest chapter of "The Sparkle in His Eye", if you've been reading that one.
6456429
The Sparkle In His Eye, what's that a crossover with?
6456431
Ratchet and Clank.
6456469
Ah, I have absolutely NO clue what it's about, I know literally nothing about it, so, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much as I don't know the world Twi is IN, sorry.
6456474
Ah. I guess that's true. Pity.
6456483
If it helps, I did do this also for Fortresshy (Both) and Batmare Beyond.
6456485
Yes, it did help.
6456489
OK then.
HHMMMMM, Tats, have you ever played Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom???? Because there's a scene near the end of the game that is almost exactly what happened with the Ing Spike ate over the course of the game.
Got to admit, knowing Spike survived kind of killed most of the suspense for me until you had him get trapped in Dark Aether. Samus's quest to rescue him is pretty much DLC we'll get to experience for the first time with no possible spoilers on the internet!!!
6455909 I'd love to see it to....
6456502
No, I haven't.
And...not quite.
6456502 (If you want the TL;DR version, skip to the bottom.) We'll probably get to see SOME completely original content, because with all the success this story is generating, who wouldn't want to write some more? After we get through the (modified) retelling of Corruption, we'll probably get a sequel of... Something. Be it Other M, or something else. Honestly? I'd LOVE to see Other M through this. Of course, I'd like to see something along the lines of some baddy getting blown into so many pieces he'd have to be glued back together in Hell, I am also alright with it just ending. Well, that's not entirely true. Tat will obviously finish this story up to and finish Corruption, but what he does next is unknown. If he ends it, I won't be happy, per se, but I will be understanding that he needs to work on other projects. I would PAY MONEY for him to write something like the Canterlot Invasion, or Tirek. I would pay LOTS of money for him to Hybridize the Ing and Mun, or Metroid Prime and Mun. And I mean lots of money. Alas, Tat never seems to sequel very much, so it is doubtful it will continue after Corruption.
TL;DR: I want to see more as well, but it is uncertain what we will get in the future.
6455035
6457259
You mean Fusion. That's the last game in the Metroid Timeline, and I established that Samus is wearing her Fusion Power Suit.
Also, what's the Mun?
6457620 Sorry about that. Mun is what I call Luna. 'Mun' means 'Moon'. I also call Tia 'Sol', which means sun. And, I never played Fusion. Still. Will this be continued?
6457657
The Flashback sequence will go all the way through Fusion, and there will be some events being set up in the background for post flashback.
6457686 Post flashback... Does that mean we WILL get original content (not that this isn't) with typical Metroid shenanigans?
6457689
Not necessarily Metroid shenanigans...
6457722 FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC! You WILL continue this, you marvelous bastard you! Oh man oh man oh man!
*ahem*
ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN, FOTHERMUCKERS!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!
6456410 Given you love of Metroid I suggest This written by Flammenwerfer, This Interlude written by Tatsurou here, and This sequel to the first fic linked. I hadn't even heard of Metriod Equis until I saw a recommendation for it, from Tat if I recall, and I loved it.
6456502 Sadly the author 6455952 has other plans. That being said I've put those together and LOVE what I believe is coming, so it's all good. However I will recommend Metriod Equis as well. You wont get to see Spike potentially eat anything that remotely annoys him, but Samus' portrayal is extraordinary and it blends the two series better than even this story does, at least IMO. Though in Tat's defense, we've yet to see all the details, whereas Metriod Equis is complete. Also the core concept behind the stories are radically different, so I don't so much see it as a flaw in Tatsurou's work as much as I just like Flammenwerfer's more.
6457964
Since my knowledge of the Prime series is rather limited, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much, sorry.
6457981 Actually, that's not an issue. The only major thing specifically from the Prime series that has any kind of impact at all is the Phazon substance. Metroid Prime, Dark Samus, and all the rest are footnotes. You could call Phazon anything else and it wouldn't change the story in the slightest. All that matters about it is that it's dangerous as fuck because it destroys everything it doesn't horrifically mutate. The Federation, having picked up that a space rock containing the substance just impacted a planet, sends in the "Expert/Badass/One Woman Army" known as Samus Aran to investigate. Begin Mission.
6458081
Fair enough I suppose.
6455035 24.media.tumblr.com/c204aa959568c8adf0b8c0d2bb39c85a/tumblr_m9r0otZ2aK1qbdumgo4_r2_250.gif
So that's what happened to Spike
He'll live.
6459707 where is that from?