To say that Spike saw nothing would be incorrect. In fact, Spike did see something and a lot of it. The little dragon had a clear view of miles and miles of darkness. All around him, he was surrounded by a dense black cloud. His senses seemed to be dysfunctional and he struggled to breathe. Spike couldn’t move his limbs, but his mind raced in an attempt to make sense of the situation.
Suddenly, two glowing orbs shot out of the darkness. They stopped only inches in front of Spike’s eyes and stayed there for a while. Then, the first layer of the orbs began to peel back, revealing two blood-red eyes. Spike felt like the eyes were staring into his soul until they closed once again and disappeared. Spike then felt himself falling. Spike fell further and further through the darkness until finally the world reappeared around him. Taking in his new surroundings, Spike was surprised to find that he was back at the library he called a home.
“Spike!” called a familiar voice from right behind him. The loud tone caused the dragon to jump in the air and land back down with a thud. Looking up from the ground, Spike could see the angry image of his best friend, Twilight Sparkle, glaring down at him.
“Spike!” she called again. “What are you doing here!?”
“What do you mean Twi,” asked the drake. “Weren’t we just at that Crystal...”
“This is not a time for your silly games, Spike! I thought I told you to get out of here!”
“W...what do you mean?”
“Oh, please. You can’t possibly be stupid enough to forget what I just told you.”
“But I just got here! Only a minute ago we were in Sombra’s Castle!”
“Will you just give it a rest. You’ve been here the whole time while I told you I wanted you gone!”
“G...gone?”
“Yes, Spike, gone. Anywhere but here and away from me.”
“But, Twi!?”
“But nothing! What don’t you get about this!? I’m sending you away?”
“Why!? What have I ever done to you?”
“You can’t be serious. What haven’t you done to me? You’ve been nothing but a pain your entire life. I’ve had to constantly clean up after you and make sure you don’t do anything stupid! The only reason I took you with me to Ponyville is because I thought you would give me some space. But there you were, constantly intruding on my friends and I. Do you know how annoying you’re really been, Spike? You’re lucky I’m just kicking you out now.”
“Twilight....How could you say that?”
“Because it’s the truth! Now, I’m going to say this one more time! Get out of my house and get out of my life!”
“Twilight, noooooooo!”
Spike finally woke up from his nightmare, the chilling scene still playing in his mind. The whelp was covered in sweat and his small body shivered under his blankets. Spike took some time to recover from his shock. He rolled over in his bed and buried his face into his pillow.
“Wow,” Spike thought. “That dream again. I know it was just a scene created by Sombra’s dark magic, but it always seems so real.”
Now that he was fully awake, Spike began to hear the glorious sounds of a fresh morning. Birds chirped in the distance, young fillies and colts played below, and Spike could hear the sound of hoofsteps leaving the castle.
“Wait,” Spike wondered. “Hoofsteps leaving the castle?”
Instantly, the young dragon was out of bed and striping down the hall. Spike maneuvered the passageways of the Castle of Friendship, being careful not crash into anything. Even Rainbow Dash would have been impressed at the way Spike skidded through the doors, slid down staircases, and rolled under and over tables. After leaping down a final set of stairs, Spike made it to the ground floor and rushed outside. There he saw Twilight walking away.
“Twilight!” he called. “Where are you going!?”
Twilight Sparkle, who was surprised by hearing her friend’s voice, turned around to face him.
“Spike! I though you were still asleep.”
“I was, but then I heard you leave the castle. Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving.”
“I’m sorry, Spike,” she said, nuzzling him. “But Princess Luna visited me in my dreams. She said there was an urgent matter that I needed to investigate in Canterlot. She told me to be on my way as soon as I woke up. Plus, I thought you deserved to sleep in a little.”
“Oh, well in that case, have a good time in Canterlot.”
“Thanks,” Twilight grinned, wrapping Spike in a hug. “I promise not to be gone to long. Oh, and before I go, in the main kitchen there is a book on exploring. I want you to deliver it to the Cutie Mark Crusaders when you’ve got the time, okay?”
“Sure thing, Twi. That seems like the perfect job for your number one assistant.”
“Yes it does,” Twilight chuckled. “Now, I’ve really got to get going.”
“Understood,” Spike replied, giving a salute.
Twilight chuckled one more time and continued to make her exit. As she walked away, she gave Spike a wave with her hoof. Spike gladly returned the wave, then walked back inside to look for the book he was supposed to deliver.
Spike whistled to himself as he made his way through the streets of Ponyville. He carried a large book in his arms, but did not struggle in the least to carry it. Years of working for a librarian had familiarized the drake with carrying heavy objects. As he passed throughout the town, every so often he would see some pony he knew. Spike either waved or gave a quick ‘hello’ before continuing on his path.
Soon enough, Spike made it to the edge of Ponyville, where Sweet Apple Acres lied beyond. Instantly, he was met by a cool breeze and the smell of crisp apples reached his nose, making his mouth water.
“As always,” Spike thought to himself. “I’m going to need a snack after coming here.”
Spike walked through the gates that signified that farm’s entrance and made his way to the west field. This, he knew, was where the CMC’s clubhouse was located. Before long, he heard the sound of apples crashing to the ground and immediately turned his head. That’s when he saw his friend Applejack working on her weekly apple bucking.
“Hey, Applejack!” Spike called. “I see you’re getting a head start on your farm work.”
The orange mare looked up in surprise, but smiled warmly once she saw who it was.
“Howdy, Spike!” She greeted. “What can I do ya for?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m actually here to give the Cutie Mark Crusaders this book.” Spike then lifted up the large piece of literature, emphasizing what he had just said.
“That book of yers looks might heavy. Need any help carrying it?”
“Thanks, Applejack, but I think I got it. Anyways, have a nice day!”
“You too, sugarcube!”
Spike then continued his way through the farm, taking in the sights of the apple trees that seemed to continue on forever. However, this was not actually the case. The rows of trees came to an abrupt end as Spike reached a vast clearing. Up ahead, he could see the Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse.
As Spike approached, he began to grow more and more confused. Whenever he visited them, the CMC were always making some sort of loud noise, either from fighting or crusading. However, this time it was dead quiet. Spike thought that without the sounds of three young fillies, their clubhouse looked quite creepy. Even thought the CMC had renovated it, the treehouse was old and some parts of it were not as structurally sound. The eery silence only added to the chilling scene and Spike wished he could leave as soon as possible.
Eventually, he decided to leave the book in the clubhouse and be on his way. Spike grasped the book with his tail, so he his claws were free to climb the ladder. Once he reached the top of the ladder, Spike unhinged the latch to open the door to the clubhouse. Climbing inside, he still could not shake the creepy feeling inside of him.
“Oh well,” he thought. “At least I can go soon.”
Spike walked to a corner of the clubhouse and placed the book down. Looking around, he could see that the CMC, in fact, were focused on getting cutie marks for exploring. Drawings of the three fillies in exploring gear were attached to the walls and a pile of exploring gear was thrown into the middle of the room.
“I wonder where those three are?” Spike stated aloud. As if to answer his question the sound of giggling came from below the clubhouse. Looking out the window, Spike saw Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle walking away.
“Hey!” he called. “I’ve got that book on exploring you wanted!”
Unfortunately, the three fillies didn’t here him and continued to walk away.
“That’s funny,” Spike thought. “With the direction their going in, it almost looks like they’re headed for the.....oh crap.”
Spike’s ears drooped down and his eyes opened wide with shock. The young dragon dove for the clubhouse door and slid down the ladder. Forgetting to close the door, Spike rushed towards the CMC, desperately trying to catch up to them.
“Girls!” he screamed. “You can’t go that way! Don’t you know that your heading towards the Everfree forrest!?”
Spike sprinted in the hopes of catching up to the three endangered fillies. However, as Spike looked around, he could not find them anywhere.
“Darn it. They must have gotten further that I thought.”
Spike doubled his efforts and climbed made his way to a large hill. He scrambled up said hill, his ming racing with worry. This hill marked the end of Sweet Apple Acres and below it wan none other than....Spike gasped as reached the top of the hill. Down below, he saw the CMC about to enter the Everfree Forrest.
“Hey, what are you girls doing. You have to sto.......” Spike was cut off as his foot smashed against a rock and the whelp was sen flying through the air. He began to roll down the hill, hitting every possible branch and rock along the way. Finally, he came to a stop at the bottom, where he took a second to hold back a scream of pain. Standing up, he saw that he had been too late and that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had already entered the forrest.
“Well,” Spike gulped. “I guess I’m going to have to go in after them.”
Slowly, he trudged into the Everfree, looking around for any signs of danger. However, this being the Everfree forrest, signs of danger was seemingly all he saw. Spike jumped in fright every time he heard even the smallest of sounds. Growls came from deep inside the forrest, bird calls sounded like ear piercing screams, and the occasional sounds of a creature walking plagued Spike’s mind.
“Maybe I should tun back,” he whispered to himself. “I could go get Applejack to help.” Spike then frowned as another thought crossed his mind. “But if I take too long it might already be too late for the CMC.” Spike sighed as he continued to creep through the forrest. Suddenly, Spike tripped on a large object and tumbled to the ground. A loud scream reached his ears and he was forced to cover them with his claws.Looking back at what he tripped on, Spike realized it was the terrified forms of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Girls!” he cried. “Don’t worry, it’s me, Spike.”
Looking up, Apple Bloom that Spike was really there.
“Spike,” she whimpered. “How did ya find us?”
“I was at your clubhouse delivering a book when I saw you enter the forrest. What were you possibly thinking!?”
“We’re sorry,” Sweetie Belle sobbed. “We just thought that if we waited too long, we wouldn’t be able to get our exploring cutie marks.”
“Of course you did,” Spike sighed. “Anyways, we need to get you back to the farm before anything bad happens.”
Looking back at the CMC, Spike was surprised to find that they were not answering him. Instead, they were huddled together, shaking uncontrollably. Their eyes seemed to be focused on something behind him.
“Come on!” Spike demanded. “We need to get moving!”
The three fillies still did not respond verbally, but Scootaloo eventually stuck her hoof out, pointing to the unknown danger. Turning around, Spike himself began to shake. The only thing Spike was able to see was a pair of very familiar glowing red eyes glaring at him from within the darkness.
