The air was stale and still, hanging over the group of ponies like a blanket. Even though to others it was one of the brightest, most relaxing days Ponyville had received in months, to them, it was a time of despair.
“We’ll never forget how much he meant to us.” Twilight recited her eulogy as best as she could, fighting back her emotions. The muffled sobs of her friends did nothing to help hold back the tears that trickled down her cheeks.
“He… he always found a way to brighten my day, no matter what the situation was. Always loving, helpful, and consistently amusing…” Twilight paused and gave a pained smile, remembering the times they shared. “He always found a way to smile. Even if we insisted… he never burdened us with his issues, no matter how heavy they were and helped whenever we needed.”
She sighed, exhaling the evidence of her sadness. She took a quick glance at the black casket that encased her little brother.
“While he…” Twilight choked on her words. “While he might not have been a pony, he was closer to us than any other. A dragon with a heart of gold and one I am happy to call family. Here lies…” The tears were now streaming down her face.
“...Spike. Rest in peace, my dear brother.” She croaked as her voice wavered. Spike’s funeral was about to conclude. The royal guards played soft music on their trumpets as the they lowered the casket into the ground. The soft sobs of Spike’s friends and family grew, some melting down more than others. Shining Armor walked towards his sister in order to console her.
“It’s going to be okay,” he reassured, tears forming in his eyes as well. “You gotta hang in there.”
“I’m trying, brother,” Twilight’s voice wavered as she sucked in a deep breath. “This is too heavy though. If only I could have figured out what was wrong with him earlier! If only I was…”
Choking completely, she pressed her hooves into the ground, clenching her teeth. Small spurts of tears began to patter onto the ground like raindrops.
“Twilight, please. I know this is hard for you. It’s… it’s actually hard on me too.” Shining Armor briefly exhaled, looking glumly towards the ground. “But you have to chin up and move on. It’s what he would have wanted.”
“What he would have wanted?” Twilight’s face contorted into a pained frown. “What he would have wanted? You want to know what he would have wanted more than anything? To not have died because of a stupid rupture!”
“There was nothing you could have done. You can’t blame yourself for this.”
Twilight watched the casket being lowered into the ground. The soft melodic trumpets did nothing to ease her pain. It only made the lump in her throat even more unmanageable.
“I’ll stay and offer support for you. Is that what you want?”
Twilight shook her head, her attention glued to the gravestone.
“Twilight, I think it would be best if you had somepony there to help you through this. I don’t want to leave you alone and depressed.”
Despite his best efforts, Twilight refused Shining Armor once more. The conversation ceased, and the focus turned onto the sinking casket. There was not a single smiling face; everypony’s moods made the sunny day cloudy and dreary. The loss tore at everyone’s heart, but none more than Twilight.
“I think you should go home,” Shining Armor suggested. “You need some time away from this.”
“Fine,” was all Twilight could manage to force out. She turned and slowly walked away. Her legs were hesitant to move; they were shaky and weak. She had to force herself every inch of the way, wiping the tears that were blinding her. Maybe a little rest would help put her mind at ease.
***
Dry coughs filled the library, waking Twilight from her nap. Leaning up from her bed, she noticed Spike cradling his stomach, writhing around in agony.
“Spike, are you okay?” she asked, concerned about how heavy the cough was. He looked up at her and smiled widely.
“Yes, I’m fine. You know, just a little cough.” His voice was scratchier than normal. He turned away and coughed, noticeably hurting him everytime he did so.
“You don’t sound fine,” Twilight pressed. She raised an eyebrow when she saw that Spike was sweating profusely. “You also don’t look too good.”
“Trust me, Twi, I’m…” Spike hacked in between his sentence with Twilight glaring at him. “Look, I’m going to be okay. Just a little fever, probably. Though, since I’m sick…” A devious smirk formed on his sickly face. “Since I am kind of sick, I could go for some soup, cocoa, and a few extra gems.”
Twilight sighed and shook her head, chuckling softly. Same old Spike, even when he’s sick.
“Fine, but don’t take advantage of this,” Twilight responded.
“Oh please.” Spike waved his hand at her. “When have I ever taken advantage of a situation that would guarantee me more gems and cocoa before?” He chuckled, coughing in between his laughs. Twilight rolled her eyes, walking out of the bedroom and down the stairs. The dry coughs grew louder and harsher. Twilight could have also sworn he was groaning as well
She frowned on her way downstairs. She didn’t know what was wrong with Spike, but whatever it was, it wasn’t a common cold. Still, she didn’t have too much to go on, so starting with natural filling remedies would have to work.
Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed a pan, filling it with warm water, and set it over the stove.
“Well, while that’s boiling, I need to figure out what’s wrong with Spike,” Twilight stated to herself. Walking towards the living room, she levitated a book from the middle shelf and placed it on the table.
“Okay, this should do.” She opened Everything You Need to Know About Dragons and skimmed through the index. Her hooves tracked the words she was looking for: sicknesses, cold, illnesses, diseases. Anything that would help her.
"So, the most common dragon illness is influenza. Signs of dragon influenza may include sweating, coughing, sneezing, nasal congestion, and weak, dim flames. The illness might sound harsher to most ponies, but because a dragon’s immune system is stronger than ponies, it’s just another case of a common cold. It sickness will last at the most only five days.” Twilight exhaled, giggling in relief. “So, this isn’t as big as a problem as I thought it would be. That’s good.” She closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. “Still, I should monitor him to make sure he doesn’t get worse.”
Twilight trotted back upstairs, hearing audible groans from her room.
“Spike, your food should be ready in a bit. How are you feeling right-” She froze once she entered, noticing Spike rocking on the floor, clutching his stomach.
“Spike, what’s wrong?” Twilight inquired. “How bad is your stomach hurting?”
“It’s… not hurting much.” Spike shifted his eyes suspiciously, rolling on the floor. “I’m just really, really hungry. What does a dragon have to do to get some food around here at a reasonable time?”
Twilight was not convinced. Even Spike’s smirks looked pained and forced; there was something more to this that Spike wasn’t letting on.
“Spike, this isn’t funny anymore. I need you to tell me what’s wrong with you.”
“Twilight, I’m fi-” Before he could finish his denial, he covered his mouth and started hacking. Spurts of blood began to spatter on the ground, leaking through Spike’s claws.
“Spike?” Twilight hyperventilated, seeing the blood drip from his mouth. Within moments, he flopped to the ground. There was no cringing or writhing in pain; nothing that would show any sign of life. He was still.
“Spike!” Twilight shook his body, praying he would react. But there was nothing; nothing but a cold body surrounded in crimson. “Oh please, hold on! I’m going to find help, just please! Please don’t leave me!”
***
“Please… Please don’t leave.”
Twilight woke up in a cold sweat. She leaned off the side of her bed, looking at the empty basket that used to belong to Spike. Tears began to well in her eyes once again.
“If only I could have gotten you help sooner.” Her voice weakened with every word she uttered. She curled into a ball and weeped softly onto her covers.
“It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.” Constantly and rhythmically, she harassed herself with guilt, rocking as she did so. Her self inflicting words were halted by a knock on the door. Twilight sluggishly rolled off the bed, slowly walking downstairs and into the empty and silent living room. When Twilight opened the door, the dimly smiling Rarity greeted her.
“Why, good afternoon, Twilight,” she hummed weakly.
“Implying there’s anything good about it.”
Rarity frowned slightly at Twilight’s tone, but quickly returned to her former expression.
“Anyway, do you want anything?”
“Actually I do! Is Spike here? He’s supposed to go gem hunting with me today.”
Twilight’s lips quivered. Just the name sent her spiraling down in depression. “Rarity, he’s gone.”
“Gone where? He’s usually eager to go with me. Does he have an occupation with something else? I can wait until then if that’s the case.”
“No, Rarity. I mean he’s no longer with-”
“You know, I’ve had this strange dream while I was taking one of my beauty rests. We were all at a funeral, burying someone dear to us. Turns out that this someone was our precious Spikey Wikey. Now, isn’t that a crazy dream? To think something so horrid would happen to him!”
Rarity’s eyes twitched slightly and ears flopped. It was clear to Twilight then exactly what was going on.
“Rarity, that wasn’t a dream. He’s really dead.”
Rarity’s eyes widened in upset. “What?”
“Look, please don’t make me repeat it. It’s hard for me to believe as well, but I don’t want to-”
Suddenly, a hoof collided with Twilight’s face, leaving a red print on her face. Rarity had a deep scowl on her face.
“What was that for?” Twilight shouted, rubbing her sore cheeks.
“You know exactly what that was for!” Rarity scoffed. “How dare you make up such a horrible joke! That kind of thing is not funny, Twilight, and I don’t appreciate that kind of tasteless humor.”
“Humor? You think I would joke about this?” Twilight yelled in defense. “I would never-”
“Look, if he’s busy, or you just don’t want me to see him now, all you had to do was say so,” Rarity harumphed. “But next time, keep your sick jokes to yourself!” She turned away and walked back to her boutique. Her walk was ungraceful and shaky, obviously distraught about something.
Although Twilight would have killed to give Rarity a piece of her mind, she didn’t have the energy to do so, nor did she want to. She closed her library door and slowly walked towards the living room couch. She layed on it and closed her eyes, muttering more words to herself.
“Sorry. I’m so sorry.”
***
Twilight paced around the waiting room, sweat beading down her face. Her friends all watched in concern.
“What could be wrong with him?” Twilight asked herself. “He was fine just the other day; what could have gone wrong?”
Her friends tried to console her, though it didn’t do much to raise her spirits much. The wait for the condition on Spike was becoming unbearable. Twilight tapped her hoof on the floor, looking at the clock expectantly. After what seemed like an eternity, the hospital doors finally opened.
“Miss Twilight Sparkle?” the doctor called out. Twilight’s ears perked, trotting close to him for any sort of news.
“Doctor, what’s wrong with him?”
The doctor sighed and looked somberly at Twilight. “I think it would be best for us to talk privately. You’re not going to like what you’re about to hear.”
The last sliver of hope that Twilight had was now gone. She followed the doctor into his office, and sat down. The doctor brought a hoof to his chin, exhaling heavily. “Well, I can either give it to you straight or try to ease you into it. Whichever one works for you.”
Twilight gulped, legs shaky from fear. “G-Go ahead and just say it.”
“Very well then. We ran some internal test on the dragon and well… how should I put this, I’m not sure there is much more we can do for him.”
Twilight grabbed at her chest, her heartbeat nearly gone. “What?” Her voice cracked, lips wavering from the news.
“He had a ruptured flame sack. From the looks of it, it was swollen for a long time, and continued until it finally couldn’t contain itself and burst. Probably from bacterial infection, or overuse of his it, if I had to guess.”
“O-Overuse?” When the doctor nodded, it was then that Twilight’s felt a sharp pain in her chest. Was she the cause of his fatal end?
“I’m sorry, Miss Twilight. I would love to help him, but the only way we could have possibly saved his life is if we had a dragon donate a flame sack to replace his. However, without it, a dragon’s body grows cold very quickly, and practically shuts down. We can always try to keep him breathing for as long as we can, but I’m afraid there is only so much time he has left.”
Tears flowed down her face like a rushing river. This was it; her number one assistant was going to leave her. And the last thing she would remember him ever try to say was “I’m fine”.
“If you would like to see him one more time, then I’ll be happy to take you to him. Other than that, there’s nothing more we can do for him.”
Twilight weakly nodded. With a heavy heart, the doctor led her to the patient. The noises around Twilight went mute; she payed no attention to anything others were saying. It could have been sighs of relief or upsetting sobs of despair. The only thing she could hear was that one word, assaulting her mind over and over again:
“Overuse.”
She was led into the patient’s room. The lifeless Spike was barely breathing through a tube, his heart rate barely going on the monitor. Twilight walked towards the bed, leaning her hoof on the edge of it.
“Spike?” There was no answer, no movement. The salty tears began to taint the white sheets covering Spike. “If you can hear me, I just want to say, I’m sorry.”
Twilight felt something cold touch her hooves. Spike’s claw weakly touched her, making her feel worse. His heartbeat became weaker, and slower. It was only a matter of time, and the only thing Twilight could bring herself to say was:
“I’m sorry.”
***
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Twilight was curled up on her couch, repeating the same thing over and over for hours. The soft sunset beamed through her window, followed by a loud knock on the door, snapping her out of her trance. Twilight got back up to answer whoever was rapidly knocking. She opened the door to see the concerned Rarity prancing at her steps.
“Twilight! This is urgent!” Rarity wailed, grabbing at Twilight dramatically. “I can’t find my Spikey Wikey anywhere!”
Twilight grew more and more agitated at Rarity’s actions. “Rarity…”
“Is he here? I’m so worried about him! I haven’t been able to see him all day.”
“He’s not here,” Twilight responded coldly.
“Oh? Well, do you know where he is? I would think his caretaker would know where he is.”
Twilight had about enough of Rarity’s denial. As much as it was going to hurt her, she needed to see the truth.
“You know what, I do know where he is,” Twilight replied, causing Rarity’s eyes to light up.
“Oh good! Could you tell me where he is?”
Twilight walked past Rarity, much to her confusion. “How about you follow me so I can show you.”
Twilight led Rarity to the answer for her question. They both remained silent throughout the walk. Rarity grew nervous, curious to where Twilight could be leading her. They left the streets of Ponyville and walked towards the grassy fields near the Everfree. The two continued onwards, walking past multiple tombstones.
“Um, Twilight, I’m all for taking shortcuts, but why are we walking through a cemetery to look for Spike?”
Twilight sighed and turned towards Rarity. She didn’t take note of it before, but Rarity could see how little Twilight had tended to her appearance recently. Her hair and mane was unkempt, and her eyes were completely bloodshot. Worse of all, there were hints of depravity about her.
“Oh, we’re not walking through a cemetery,” Twilight began, her voice much harsher in tone than normal. “We’re walking in it.”
Rarity’s eyebrows raised. Something didn’t sit right about the situation. After a nerve-racking walk, Twilight stopped in front of a circular gravestone. Her pause raised some concerns for Rarity.
“Why are we stopping?” Rarity asked, stepping back from the grave. “We still need to find Spike.”
“Well, here he is.” Twilight pointed at the tombstone. Engraved in it was “Spike the Dragon: Cherished Friend to Equestria. R.I.P.” Rarity’s eyes began to well, though she tried to keep her composure.
“That… well, that could be any Spike,” Rarity denied, sticking her nose towards the air.
“What other Spike do you know would be an honored dragon to Equestria?” Twilight walked towards Rarity, trying to get her to see the truth.
“Small world?” Rarity looked away, fighting back the tears threatening to break out.
“It’s not that small.”
“Yeah, but when you take into account that we have come across a group of dragons before, you could easily say that we might have…”
“RARITY! That’s enough!” Twilight pushed Rarity towards the tombstone, forcing her to look directly at the text. “This isn’t a game. I’m not lying. This is Spike! Our Spike! He’s dead, Rarity, and that’s that!”
Sounds of whimpering force their way out of Rarity’s mouth, her mascara leaking down and ruining her face. “But, he was so healthy and lively just days ago. There’s no way he could have fallen so ill since. This isn’t real! This is just some sick joke, and it’s not-”
“I wish this was a joke, Rarity.” Twilight frowned. Rarity’s sobbing and tears started a chain reaction with Twilight. “But it’s true. He’s not coming back to us.”
“B-But how?” Rarity leaned into the tomb, choking at the thought of her precious Spikey Wikey being buried under such an ugly thing. “And why?”
“I killed him,” Twilight replied. “I was the one who took his life. I shouldn’t have worked him so hard, making him send all those letters with no breaks. Yeah, it was my fault.” Something inside Twilight finally snapped. She no longer was crying; there was no emotion. Nothing but a dead, cold heart. “And I’m responsible for the aftermath.”
“W-What?” Rarity’s voice was still shaky, but it was stable enough to understand the strange nature of Twilight’s words.
“Sorry Rarity, but I have to go,” Twilight dully responded, trotting away from the grave. “There are many… reports that need to be documented before my time.”
“Y-Your time?”
Twilight stopped in her tracks, and looked back at Rarity. Her eyes were dilated, and dead looking. It wasn’t like Rarity was even talking to Twilight anymore. “Goodbye, Rarity,” was all she would say before walking away from the cemetery.
Rarity remained by the tombstone, tears still rushing down her face. But even with the evidence in front of her, she still tried to delude herself into thinking it wasn’t real.
“This is probably just some messed-up dream. That has to be it!” Her eyes twitched and her hooves quivered. “In a few hours, I’ll just wake up in a cold sweat and have a nice laugh about this. Ha ha!” Her fake attempts at laughter came off as more of pained cries of sadness. “It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not…”
She couldn’t do it to herself anymore. The lying wasn’t helping; the denial wasn’t making it any easier. She had to come to terms with it.
“Oh, Spikey! Why?” Her tears were not her typical high pitched cries. They were tears of pain and sorrow she had built up for a couple of days. No matter how hard she tried to avoid it, no matter what she did to deny it, the truth came crashing down, and it cut her like a sword through the chest.
Her sorrow was interrupted by rustling noises coming from the graveyard. She swiftly turned her head in each direction, looking for the source.
“Hello?” she weakly called out. There was no answer, but the rustling continued. She followed the sound of dry grass, just as an excuse to keep away from the tombstone that was tormenting her.
“Hello?” The crunchy sounds rapidly picked up in pace. Rarity saw two shadows rushing away from her, chasing after them out of curiosity.
“Hey, wait!” Rarity gave chase, lighting up her horn in hope to see the two strange creatures. The shadows remained in her sights, but were fast enough to stay out of her distance. That was, until one tripped over itself and tumbled on the ground, giving Rarity enough time to see what it was. She cringed and stepped back, seeing the black creature with holes in it writhe around, flapping it’s bug like wings to try to regain his composure.
“A changeling!” Rarity cried out.
“Wait, no!” The changeling held its hooves out, pleading her not to scream. “It’s okay! We’re not here for anything!”
“Lies!” Rarity pointed her horn towards it, causing the changeling to flutter in panic. “Now tell me why you are here! I am not in the mood for you right now!”
The whole thing was a bluff. Rarity knew her magic wasn’t strong enough to do anything to the changeling, but it didn’t know that.
“Okay, okay!” it cried out. “I’ll tell you, just don’t kill me!” The changeling scooted back towards a tree and began spilling information. “We didn’t have much luck working with live beings, so we decided to disguise ourselves as the dead ones?”
“We?”
“Yeah, me and my partner. He’s hiding somewhere over there in the bushes.”
Rarity turned her horn towards the bushes, finding the tip of a changeling’s jagged horn. It groaned, coming out of hiding and into plain sight.
“Why did you rat us out?” it yelled at the other changeling. “You were supposed to die honorably!”
“Says the changeling that hid in the bushes!” the other rebuttled. “And what is honorable about leaving me to die?”
“Um, listen...” The two forgot about Rarity entirely and began arguing amongst themselves. Rarity didn’t have the time nor patience to deal with it, so she shot a white, threatening bolt of magic at them, causing the two to yip in fear.
“Listen, I’m not going to kill you,” Rarity assured, “but I do need you to clarify something for me. Can you do that without going at each other’s throats?”
The two nodded nervously. Rarity took a deep breath and began to ask her question. “By disguising as the dead ones, what exactly do you mean?”
“Well, what we mean is that we could shapeshift into the pony, and use its body to get around town.”
“Use the body?”
“You wouldn’t believe how desperate ponies can get when it comes to seeing their loved ones alive again.” The changelings began to cackle, until they saw Rarity’s bemused face, cringing slightly. “B-but we aren’t going to do it anymore, I swear!”
Rarity looked down on them in slight disgust and curiosity. These were the scum of the earth; shapeshifters that could turn into anything their hearts desired.
And it gave her a twisted thought.
“Do your changing capabilities also involve dragons?” Rarity inquired.
“Well, anything really. Why?”
Rarity mulled over the possibilities. Her mind began to race. This is wrong, so very very wrong. You should not be thinking about this. You should never consider working with a changeling for such a selfish reason!
And then she thought of something else. Something that would help ease her mind of her thought. But it’s not selfish to help a friend. This is just for Twilight as much as it is for me! Yeah! She needs Spike more than I need him. Yes, this will be useful to get Twilight back on her hooves!
“Um, boys, I have a proposition for you.” The changelings perked up, looking expectantly at her. “I want you all to do something for me.”
Their yellow eyes followed hers, curious about what her demands would be.
“I want one of you to turn into a good friend of mine that recently… passed,” she replied. “You will be allowed to roam around without anypony noticing you, as long as you stay that way until the day you die.”
“That’s kind of demanding,” one of the changelings pointed out. “Though, that’s not a bad thing on our part. And who is this friend of yours?”
“Spike,” Rarity squeaked out. “He was the kindest, most helpful gentledrake I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. And now he’s… he’s..” She choked on her words, tears threatening to leak out once again. She wiped her eyes and regained her composure. “Anyway, I want you to imitate him perfectly. No flaw nor personality left out. I nee… well, a friend of mine needs this.”
The changelings looked at each other and smirked. Their luck was starting to look up.
“Well, I don’t have a problem doing that for you, since you seem to need it so much,” one of the changelings stated, regaining control of the situation.
“Remember, it’s for a friend. Not for me,” Rarity corrected.
“Right. Anyway, we’d love to, it’s just that…”
“Just what?”
The other changeling trotted behind Rarity, smiling deviously. “Well, we can’t go back with one of us missing, otherwise the queen will be very angry. In order for one of us to stay with the ponies, we need to bring back a host. Do you have any in mind?”
“I don’t know about you, but I have an idea of who could serve as the host.” The changeling shape shifted into Rarity, smiling widely as he looked at the disturbed mare. She stepped back from the imposter, breathing heavily.
“You… want me to be a host?” She knew there would be demands, but nothing of that nature.
“Well, it depends on how much this your friend needs this.”
Rarity tapped her hooves together. This was a little much for something she was doing for Twilight. Still, she did look dead when she saw her last. Who knows how well Twilight was operating without her number one assistant
“Are you sure you can replicate him perfectly?” The two changelings nodded. There was no going back; Rarity had to do it. It was something that needed to be done. For Twilight’s sake and only her sake.
“Very well then,” she replied. “As long as you do as I wish, I’ll be your host.”
“Great!” one of the changelings shouted in excitement. “So, where is this dragon’s grave?”
“What?”
“We need to dig him up to see how he looks. How else are we going to replicate him?”
“Not like that, you aren’t!” Rarity exclaimed. “That’s disrespectful to the poor dear! I refuse to let you dig his grave!” Other than the offensive part, there were other reasons she didn’t want the body to be dug up. If she was to be subjected to the truth, she might completely break down.
“So, how are we supposed to turn into this Spike character if we don’t have a body?” one of the changelings asked.
“I’ll just get you a picture,” Rarity suggested. “He’s really close to us, so it won’t be too hard to find a picture of him.”
The changelings both nodded their heads and spread their wings, fluttering in the air. “Very well then. We’ll meet at the Everfree Forest for you. Please do hurry; our queen is not the most patient, and the transformation will be quite tedious.” With the agreements met, the changelings flew off to the Everfree to wait for Rarity.
Now all that was needed was an up-to-date photo, and she knew exactly where to get one.
***
Rarity galloped back to the library. She needed to get this done as soon as possible. She walked towards the library door to knock. However, the door creaked open instead, inviting her in.
“That’s odd,” Rarity said to herself. “Normally Twilight would make sure this door was closed and locked around this time of night. It’s unlike her to be so unattentive.”
Regardless of how strange it actually was, she walked in the library, instantly noticing Twilight sitting on the floor.
“Twilight?”
She didn’t respond. She was too focused on the ticking clock on the wall.
“7:15, take a letter, Spike.” Twilight rocked back and forth, chanting down the time like a ritual. “Fifty letters down, seven-hundred and twenty more to go.”
Rarity felt chills run down her spine. She didn’t dare walk any closer to her, but still tried to call out to her.
“Hey, Twilight, why are you on the-”
“Shhhhh.” Twilight pointed her hoof at Rarity, slowly shifting it towards the clock. “It’s ticking.”
“Um, yeah. I can see that, Twilight,” Rarity replied nervously.
“Every tick counts, Rarity. This is important to me.” Twilight watched the clock. The ambient silence with nothing but the clock ticking disturbed Rarity highly. “7:16, letter received. Fifty-three down, six-hundred and twenty-five to go.”
“Twilight, what are you doing?”
“Each letter taken and received is a flame he wasted,” Twilight replied, eyes peeled on the clock. “Each flame accelerated his death, each flame led to his demise. Did you know that at least two hundred of these letters aren’t even friendship reports? I just was shooting the breeze.” She slurred her words, swaying side-to-side.
“W-Well, you can’t blame yourself for everything,” Rarity shakily responded, stepping towards the bookshelf for the photo album.
“I can’t, can I? The letters say otherwise. The unnecessary, strenuous letters. Must have been hard for him, though it was easy for me to kill him, apparently.”
Rarity shivered at her friend’s disposition. She needed Spike more than she thought; she practically had gone mental.
“Right. I’ll leave you to… whatever it is you’re doing. All I need is an up-to-date picture of Spike.”
“The most recent one I have should be on the table, Rarity,” Twilight soullessly said. “It’s a really nice picture, taken about two weeks ago.”
Rarity walked towards the table and lifted the photo with her magic. It was Spike smiling and grabbing Twilight’s neck, who in turn pushed her hoof against his head while grinning. It brought a sincere smile to Rarity’s face.
“You wanna know something funny about this picture?” The warm moment suddenly died down with Twilight’s horribly creepy voice. “It was taken approximately twenty minutes before I requested him to make a letter. Even in a nice moment like that, I find a way to kill my assistant.”
Twilight chuckled softly, causing Rarity more concern. “Twilight, you need to get some rest. This isn’t healthy.”
“But what if I miss a report? What if I go to sleep, and I can’t jot down the exact the time in which the report was sent? I would have to start all over again. I need to get these reports internalized as soon as possible.”
“But why?”
Twilight ignored Rarity and continued staring at the clock. “Tick, tock, goes the clock. Only so many hours in a day, but yet I have time for letters. A lot of letters. 7:20, take a letter, Spike. Fifty-one letters down, seven-hundred and nineteen to go. Soon, Spike. I’ll reach the final report very soon.”
Rarity cringed at her last words. Final report. There was more than one clock ticking at this point. Rarity needed to get this done and fast.
“Please, just sit tight, Twilight,” Rarity responded. “I’ll be back soon.”
Twilight waved her hoof at Rarity. “Bye bye, friend. Tick, tock…”
Rarity couldn’t be around that. One of her closest friends was spiralling down the road to madness. It was that moment that made her think that maybe being a changeling host wasn’t such a bad thing; at least she wouldn’t have to witness her friend suffer so much.
***
“Sweet Celestia, what’s taking her so long?” the single changeling groaned. “I don’t have the patience for this!”
“Well, you better have the patience,” the other replied, reclining on the park of a tree. “We aren’t normally offered a willing victim. She’ll show up, if she’s desperate enough.”
“Whatever you say.”
The two sat and waited impatiently for Rarity’s arrival, bored out of their minds. The changeling on the tree looked into the horizon and saw her dash towards the Everfree, causing him to smile widely.
“Well, here she comes right now!” The changelings got to their feet and waited for the mare to gallop towards them.
“So, you have the picture?”
“Does this photograph floating above you answer your question?” Rarity answered, lowering it down for the changeling. The two analyzed the picture before setting it on the ground.
“Good. Now we can get started.” the changeling said.
Rarity sighed lightly and walked towards the changelings. “You two better know what you’re doing.”
“Oh trust me, this comes natural to us.” One of them chuckled. “Just relax and kick up your hooves. It’ll be over relatively soon.”
Rarity laid on the ground close to the tree, allowing the changelings to do their work. She closed her eyes, hoping that would relieve her. This thought was ruined by the burns and sizzling on her body. Her eyes opened wide, noticing the changelings caking her body in yellow secretion.
“W-What is this stuff?” she cried out, flailing her arms in despair. The changelings had her pinned, refusing to let her escape. “Okay, I change my mind, I don’t want to… AAAGH!”
The burns were intense, and yet her skin remained intact. Her lower body was engulfed in the sticky, painful fluids, hardening around her like a cocoon.
“Please… stop!” Rarity didn’t have the energy to move anymore. All she could do was cry out in agony and fear.
“Rarity, it’s going to be okay.”
When she looked towards the voice, her jaws dropped in shock. Standing before her was the spitting image of...
“Spike?”
“The one and only,” he replied, smiling widely for her. “I just wanted to tell you, that I appreciate the sacrifice you made to bring me back. This must have been very hard for you.”
“T-This isn’t for me, Spike,” she replied, small tears of satisfaction and peace dripping down her face. She no longer took notice of the other changeling wrapping her in a cocoon. “I’m doing this for Twilight. She needs you, more than I do.”
“Oh?”
Rarity’s eyes lost their irises. Nothing but the milky white was left. “Please, look after Twilight, for me. This was all for her.”
Spike nodded and grinned. “I’ll do just that, my lady.”
It had been so long since she heard Spike call her that. Her eye began to glow yellow, similar to the changelings before her. She was past the point of caring. She had finally received what she wanted. And it was proof for her.
Spike wasn’t dead, and it was a horrible dream she would soon wake up from.
“Spike, I…” She lost her ability to speak, leaving the sentence unheard. The changelings then resumed their work and wrapped what was left of her in the sticky substance, smiling triumphantly.
“Well played, Spike,” the changeling complimented, causing the other to bow. “I don’t know what I would have done if she kept whining and kicking.”
“No problem. Anything to save us from the queen's wrath.”
The changeling waited for the cocoon to harden before lifting it and splaying it on his back. “So, now that you’re supposed to infiltrate as Spike, are you going to pay this Twilight character a visit?”
Spike grabbed the bottom of his chin and began to chuckle. “Actually, I want to wait it out and find out exactly why Twilight needed me. It’ll make this situation a little more fun.”
“So, you’re not keeping your promise then?”
The changeling shook his head.
“Wow, Rarity would not like the sound of that.” he looked up at the cocoon and cackled lightly. “Then again, there isn’t much left of that Rarity in here, is there?”
The changeling who would impersonate Spike gave his changeling brethren one last smile before walking towards Ponyville. Rarity would never know about his deceit, or his neglect to look after Twilight. But there was no one else to blame but herself. She was too wrapped up in the idea of getting Spike back; she did everything in her power to deny his death, and paid the price to achieve her goals.
Author's Note
The first of four stories specifically for October. Hope you enjoyed.
