A Waking Dragonby BlackWidowerChaptersChapter Two - A Thousand WordsChapter Three - Too ShyChapter Four - Alligator TearsChapter Five - Scorched AcresChapter Six - The Other SideChapter Seven - HeartChapter Eight - A Bridge Too FarChapter One - The Pink StoneChapter Two - A Thousand WordsIt had been happening for over a week. Every time he went to bed, Spike would wake in a different world. In one world, his girlfriend, Rarity, survived the dragon attack that claimed the life of his best friend: Twilight. In the other world, Rarity died and Twilight survived. Only one pony knew about Spike's situation. The only one Spike could trust not to take offence or judge him for it. She told him that the other world was just a dream that his mind created to help him cope with the loss. While that might be true, the problem was, from Spike's perspective, the dream could have easily been the world she occupied. They both felt real, almost too real. He never went to sleep. He just kept on waking up. It was during moments like these, walking quietly with his girlfriend down the streets of Ponyville, that Spike thought about his situation. What if one of these worlds was just a dream? What if somepony he loved really was gone forever? What if the dream ended? What if he never saw one of these two mares again? The thought made him a little sick, and a little scared. The streets were very busy that morning, almost crowded. So it took Rarity and Spike a while to reach the Boutique as they tried to negotiate their way through the herd. When they finally arrived, Rarity quickly trotted over to the dais on the right side of the room where a book was sitting. As Spike joined her, it levitated in the air as she began flipping through it. As the pages were turning Spike could tell she was looking for something specific. "AH!" she said, settling on a page. As the book moved in Spike's direction. He grabbed it and took a good look at what he saw. He recognized it instantly, it was one of the sketches Sweetie Belle was insistent on finishing. But something was different about it. Unfortunately, he couldn't identify it exactly. "Well, what do you think?" Rarity asked. "Don't hold back! I want an honest opinion." Spike tried to imagine the dress completed. It was a long, flowing, light blue gown with ribbons tied along the waist, and the forelegs were made of some type of lace. As he tried to picture it, he ended up imagining the most beautiful mare in the world wearing it: Rarity. But unfortunately, he couldn't see it working. On a lark he imagined some of his other friends in the dress, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight. It would work a lot better on one of them. "I like it," he said. "Really?" she asked. "You're not just saying that?" "Well, it depends on who's wearing it. I mean...um..." he didn't know how to continue without triggering a spark of jealousy from his beloved. "Well, the colour would clash with my mane, I know that," she said, saving the young dragon. "Right! That's just what I was going say," Spike said with a smile. He quickly started flipping through the book and eventually one particular dress caught his attention. Primarily because it had a big 'X' through it. "Rarity, what's this?" he asked. She looked at the page and said, "Oh, um...that's...it's nothing." She quickly took the book away from him and ripped out the page. "Rarity," Spike said. As she started walking away with the book. "It's nothing alright!" Rarity screamed. Spike couldn't tell if he should keep pressing the issue, or not. 'Why exactly would she destroy her work like that?' he wanted to ask. Instead he asked, "can I finish looking at the book?" It floated behind Rarity, and Spike grabbed it out of the air. "Thanks," he said cautiously. Spike then placed the book back on the dais, and started flipping again. A few seconds later, he could hear Rarity walk up behind him, right before she started nuzzling him from behind. "I was going to make it for Twilight," Rarity explained. "Her birthday would have been next month." Spike could feel some moisture on her cheek as it brushed up against his head. No further words were necessary, so none were said. Spike kept flipping through the book, trying to memorize as much as he could, but he noticed that there wasn't much difference between the drawings he was looking at, and the ones he saw in the other world. Eventually, Spike started feeling Rarity's breath on his ear. Her tongue reached out and started licking it, and Spike reacted with a shudder and a gasp. "R-Rarity," he said, voice trembling. At this point, her hooves were wrapped around the young dragon, and her lips around his ear. "MMM?" she said. "Wha-what're you doing?" "Please, Spike...I need this." "Bu-but I thought you said-" "-I changed my mind." Spike was confused, to say the least; but his mind wouldn't let him think about why this was happening, just that it was. He turned around and gave Rarity a kiss, their tongues danced around each other; and as Rarity's horn started glowing, the window blinds lowered. The Ponyville Library used to be a very quiet place, but since it fell under new ownership, that had changed. You hit rock bottom and everypony knows it But does anypony care you got there? The music was echoing through the walls, as a young, bespectacled, green unicorn stallion was standing in the middle of the library's main sitting room. In front of him, were a pile of books, sitting on the main table, as he looked at each one, a golden glow surrounded it, and it flew onto a shelf. Though some books didn't make it to the shelves, and were set aside on a special pile. Admit to yourself that everything's a problem But when it comes down what do you care? Behind him, the library's front door opened, as a young purple dragon walked in. He could see his new guardian, Doctor Cerebral Comet, sorting through the unsorted books, and noticed that the unicorn did not even notice Spike enter the room. "Losiiiin' Coltifornia...." Comet said in an out-of-tune voice. Spike lowered his eyelids, and slammed the door, startling the stallion. Comet turned around and looked at the young dragon. "Oh, hi Spike!" "Can you turn down the music?!" Spike asked. Sometimes it's too much! You want to get right out of your mind. "OH!" his horn glowed as the volume decreased. "What's up? How'd it go?" he said once the music went quiet. "How'd what go?" Comet paused for a second, "whatever you went out to do." Spike paused for another second, "it went well." Comet could tell something was off. He tapped his teeth as he thought of what to do. "Hey, Spike," he said. "Remember when I said you can talk to me about anything? Offer's still on the table." "Yeah, I know, it's your job." "Cynical much?" He said with a smile. "I'm just saying, considering what you just did, you should be happy and you look upset." Spike's eye's went wide. "How'd you!?" He looked around anxiously. "Who told you!?" "No one Spike, I'm just really good at reading ponies." "I'm not a pony." "Close enough," Comet said cheekily. "Your spines are messed up, you have a flushed look, and I can see some sweat stains on you, which is weird considering dragons don't have sweat glands." Spike's expression suddenly turned guilty. "Hey, Spike, nothing wrong with getting laid," Comet said, in an effort to get Spike to relax. "I-I know!" the young dragon said. "It's just..." "Come on, to the kitchen! We have coffee!" Comet led the way. Spike followed the unicorn and as they entered the room, he noticed it was empty, and asked the obvious question. "We the only ones here?" "Yeah," Comet answered. "Shining said he had to do a few things, but he didn't go into detail, and I doubt he wanted to." "Oh," Spike wondered exactly what Twilight's brother was up to, but Comet interrupted his train of thought. "So!" he said as he got a few cups. "What's on your mind?" As Comet was getting the coffee ready, Spike started talking. "It's not like it was our first time," he explained. "That was a month ago, we had only been dating for about a week." Comet arrived with two mugs of hot coffee. "Okay," he said, a bit concerned. "But immediately after that, Rarity said it was a one-time thing and she wanted to start over, and take things slow, which I was fine with!" "So, she changed her mind?" Comet asked, stirring some sugar into his cup. "I guess." Spike took a sip of his coffee. He liked his black. "It's just," he continued. "It feels odd. Twilight dies, and suddenly she wants to jump-start our relationship!? I don't..." Comet took a swig of coffee before answering. "Well, Spike, maybe you're right. Perhaps it is related." "Doesn't that seem odd to you?" The unicorn paused for a second. "Everything seems odd to me. But different ponies grieve in different ways," he explained. "Everyone has their own coping mechanisms. For Rarity, she might be merely trying to distract herself." "So I'm a distraction," Spike said, not too impressed. He actually felt a bit used. "Maybe...or, she's trying to remind herself of the good things in life...like you." That made Spike feel a little better. He smiled and took another sip of his coffee. "But I have no way of knowing for sure. I'd have to talk to her, I think she's been avoiding. But even if I did I wouldn't be able to tell you." Spike was perplexed. "You wouldn't?" Comet shook his head in response. "Doctor-patient confidentiality. Can't tell anypony anything about any of my patients-which now includes you!" he added with a smile. "It's the only way I can do my job, I have to be an expert secret-keeper. Which can be pretty frustrating at times." "AH!" Spike responded, before taking another sip of coffee. "Well, that's good, at least I know you won't tell everypony in town." "Yep," Comet said with pride and a smile. "Which means if there is anything else you want to tell me, anything at all, I can guarantee no one else would know, you can trust me implicitly." "Good!" Comet paused for a second before continuing. "Is there anything else?" "Nope," Spike lied, and Comet knew it. The young dragon averted his gaze. The doctor sighed. "Well, I gotta finish with the books," he said as he carried his drink into the next room. Spike chugged the rest of the hot beverage and followed the unicorn. As Spike entered, he saw Comet at the centre of the room, looking at a few books. "Okay, I have no idea where these go," the unicorn said, placing the books on a pile and levitating the whole thing in between the two. Spike walked up and grabbed one of the books. "I think they all go upstairs." Comet was looking at Spike before he said, "OH," and turned his gaze towards the stairs, and quickly proceeded up them, with books and coffee in tow. Spike followed him, carrying one of the books. "You know," he said, "I can take care of that." "No, it's fine, I got nothing else to do, and I like staying busy," Comet quickly explained. "You sure? I mean it is my job." As he got to the top of the stairs, Comet replied, "Relax Spike I'm not trying to usurp your position." "Usu..." "Take by force." "AH!" Spike noticed the music was much louder up here, and more interestingly, a different song was playing. Nopony's going to help you You've just gotta stand up alone Dig in your hooves and see how it looks To raise a little Tar of your own! As Comet looked around, he realized something. "Actually, maybe you should take over," he said with a sheepish grin. Spike smiled as he took all the books from him, placing the whole pile on the floor. "I'm going to the bedroom, I kinda want to redecorate," Comet explained. "Really?" Spike said. "Yeah, just move a few things around, no big deal," Comet said as he trotted up another set of stairs, arriving in the Library's sleeping area, that overlooked the room where Spike was currently filing books. Spike absorbed himself into his work as he heard furniture moving. There weren't many books to take care of, only around a dozen. So he was able to make quick work of it. Once Spike was done, he decided to see what exactly Comet was up to. As he arrived in the main sleeping area, he saw Comet had already moved the bed closer to the window, and was nudging it back and forth with his magic. A little to the left...a little to the right...a little to the left again...a slight turn to the right. Proud of his work, Comet turned around, and suddenly reared up and neighed in shock, at the appearance of the young dragon before him. "Hey," Spike said with a wave. "Don't do that!" "Don't do what?" Comet lowered his head until it was inches from Spike's. "Sneak up on me like that," he explained. "Oh...sorry," the dragon said, a bit confused. Comet sighed and turned his attention to the big dresser that used to be next to the bed. Levitating it in a golden glow, he started moving it to the other side of the room, next to the bed's new location. As he was moving the dresser, Spike noticed, on the ground, a photo frame, lying face down. "So I was thinking about it," Comet was explaining as Spike walked to the frame, "and I don't think that basket can be too comfortable. I mean, you're a dragon, not a cat. You think about getting a new bed?" Spike went to grab the frame, and took a good look at it. The frame was made of silver and was quite ornate, but that wasn't what really caught Spike's attention. The photo in the centre was one that Spike wasn't sure if he'd ever seen before. He could easily recognise the young purple unicorn in the middle with her forelegs wrapped around the two colts standing on either side of her, with a big grin on her face, Twilight Sparkle. It confused him, because he always thought Twilight was always the type to never bother with friends, until she moved to Ponyville that is. But that wasn't the only thing that confused the young dragon, because to Twilight's left was a grey pegasus with a dishevelled red mane; and to her right...a green unicorn who was wearing glasses with thick black frames, and his greenish blue mane was cut into what Spike could only describe as a mushroom cut. "Spike?" Even though his glasses were simpler and more conservative wire-frames, and his manecut less nerdy, there was no mistaking it. The unicorn in the photo was the same unicorn that was now trying to get his attention. "SPIKE!" "Yeah?" the dragon replied, looking up from the photo. "What are you looking at," the stallion asked. Spike didn't try to hide it, he quickly turned the frame around so Comet could look at it. The unicorn was dumbfounded. "She...she kept it?" "It was under the dresser, I noticed it when you moved the thing." Comet's rump hit the floor, and the frame levitated towards him. "It-it must have slid under there when the vanity tipped over." At this moment, Spike noticed a tear rolling down the unicorn's face. The music on the phonograph suddenly changed. Ninety miles outside Chicolgo Can't stop trottin', I don't know why So many questions, I need an answer Two years later you're still on my mind "I can't believe she kept it," Comet's voice cracked just a bit, as he was staring straight at the photo. "I didn't know Twilight had any friends when she was young." Comet looked up. "Really?" Who holds the stars up in the sky? Is true love just once in a lifetime? "How'd you two know each other?" "W-we went to the same school, we-" Comet said, before he began wiping his eyes. "Damn it." "So, you asked her to play and-" "I don't know, I think she came to me actually," he continued to wipe his eyes, the tears refusing to stop. Someday we'll know If love can move a mountain "I always had a hard time making friends, so when I arrived at her school, she was the first to try and..." Comet choked up. Someday we'll know Why the sky is blue "...and when Phosphorus arrived in the middle of the term, we just jumped on him." Someday we'll know Why I wasn't meant for you Comet pointed toward the picture. "This photo, this...was taken at Port Coltrain. Tiny little village, Phozzy's family had a cottage there." Despite the tears running down his face, Comet managed to get a smile out. "That was a great summer. We spent it together, the three of us were practically joined at the hips, it was..." Does anybody know the way to Atlantis? Or what the wind says when she cries? Spike was speechless, he didn't understand how Twilight never told him about this. Perhaps it just never came up. "Then we went to the Summer Sun Celebration and...I have no idea what happened." The smile had disappeared from Comet's face. "All I know is, she just suddenly stopped hanging out with us after that. I didn't understand...still don't." Spike did. He always knew Twilight started prioritizing her studies above all else at one particular Summer Sun Celebration. What he didn't know was: it meant two young colts were left in the dust. Someday we'll know Why Cannon loved Mareiah "Damn it, why is this happening!?" Comet said, almost freaking out. "I should be over her, it shouldn't bother me this much, it's been over a decade!" Tears were still running down the stallion's face. He simply couldn't stop them. "Damn it...I guess you never forget your first." One day I'll go Dancing on the moon "Your first friend?" Spike asked "No..." Someday you'll know That I was the one for you "...your first crush." I bought a ticket to the end of the rainbow I watch the stars crash in the sea "I never told her..." If I could ask Her just one question "...I never got the chance..." Why aren't you here with me, tonight? "...and now she's gone!!" At this moment, Spike saw his guardian have a complete breakdown. Curling up in the fetal position, with the photo in his hooves, Comet began bawling, as if all his pain came crashing down all at once. "DAMN IT! I SUCK AT EVERYTHING!" he bellowed. "I can't do this! Why did she send me here!? Why did I agree to it!? I knew this was a bad idea, and then I had to be reminded of it!" Spike was dumbfounded. He simply didn't know what to do, this was completely new territory for him. "THAT BITCH!" Comet screamed. The dragon was shocked at that. Thinking he was talking about Twilight...but... "She could have sent anypony and she sends the one shrink who's emotionally involved. She must be insane!" Then he realized it wasn't Twilight. As the song wound down, the entire room was flooded with complete silence. Apparently it was the last song on the record, Spike determined. He walked over to the elder unicorn, who was still on the floor, sobbing, and placed his claw on the stallion's head. Comet responded by quickly grabbing Spike in a hug and dropping the photo. "AH!" the young dragon yelled. But he didn't try to fight it. If this is what Comet needed, he had no problem with it. Spike returned the hug. It wasn't long before the tears wore down and Comet released Spike. Then between sniffs and with a shaky voice he said, "w-where's my coffee?" On the vanity only a few feet from the boys, a white mug was sitting, it's contents already cooled off. It levitated towards Comet, who grabbed it in his hooves. "So...um," he said nervously. "Tell me about her." Spike was confused. "About Twilight?" He asked. "Yeah, I assume she changed a bit since I knew her." Comet wiped some more tears from his eyes and said, "Oh damn, this is stupid. It was so long ago, why am I still bothered by this? What in Tartarus is wrong with me?" "You tell me, you're the shrink!" Comet laughed at this. "I'm the shrink who needs a shrink." He looked out the nearby window and said, "looks like I need to write a letter or two to Lord Inkblot." He turned back to Spike and asked again, "Anyway, tell me about Twilight." The young dragon was happy to oblige. "Well, I knew her since I was just a little hatchling..." A loaf of bread was placed on the counter, as a purple claw started slicing it with a bread knife. It was several hours later, and Spike was making lunch. For Comet, a Knight's-spur and Apple sandwich; and a simple plate of gems for himself. His gems were good enough that he didn't need to package them with anything. As he was slicing up the apple, a knock came at the front door. Spike placed the knife down and was about to go answer it, when he heard a familiar voice go, "I got it!" Spike went to see what was happening anyway. He didn't even expect Comet to be down from the living area, much less answering the door. As he turned the corner, Comet opened the door, and standing there was a very familiar face. "Darling! You look terrible!" Rarity said. She wasn't kidding, his eyes were still bloodshot; and his mane was a disaster, normally he brushed it. Also, his glasses went AWOL. Comet was a mess. "Nice to see you too, Rarity," he said. "Spike's in the kitchen." "Um...actually, I just wanted to ask, have you seen Fluttershy?" Her boyfriend made himself known at this point. "Wasn't she at your spa date?" "No, that's what's odd. She never misses our weekly get together, and I don't see why she would today." Comet spoke up, "well, doesn't she hate crowds? I mean there was your group, plus Princess Cadance, maybe she just got scared and decided to ditch." "Never bothered her in the past," Spike explained. Comet paused for a second, a pensive look on his face. "Well!" he said, suddenly smiling. "Let's go find her!" "Really?" Rarity said, confused. "Now?" Spike said, perplexed. "Yep! Missing pony, she must be found!" he then proceeded up the stairs. "Just one minute, I need to find a hairbrush, and my glasses! I know they're somewhere!" Comet's favourite music, Losing Colti- California, Raise a Little Tar(tarus) Hell, and Someday We'll Know, originally written by Patrick Pentland of Sloan, Brian Smith and Ra McGuire of Trooper, and Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals, respectively. Chapter Three - Too ShyRarity was quite nervous as she trotted with the two boys on their way to Fluttershy's cottage. She didn't know Cerebral Comet that well, but she did know she should. Not only was this stallion her boyfriend's new Guardian ad Draco, he was likely going to stay in town indefinitely, and might need to make a few friends. There were plenty of suspicions that Comet was sent to replace Twilight. Which was certainly a disturbing thought to the young unicorn. It meant the Princess actually thought Twilight was replaceable. To think any of them could be easily replaced gave her chills. The silence was nearly killing the mare, so she decided to break it the only way she knew how. "So, Comet, how'd you get this assignment?" She asked bluntly. The psychologist looked at the fashionista, smiled and sighed. "I'll tell you when I figure that out. Best guess the princess asked Lord Inkblot who his best student was, and instead they sent me." He had a bit of a laugh at that before continuing. "All I know is, I got a letter from Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, requesting my presence, where she offered me the Ponyville assignment, and you do not deny a request from the Princess." Rarity just nodded in comprehension as the three continued on. The forest just outside Ponyville was buzzing with life. As birds fitted from tree to tree Rarity's thoughts began drifting. It had been a little over two weeks since the attack, when she became a local hero, and lost her best friend. Her heart was still aching from those events, and she was pretty sure she would never truly get over it. But she couldn't let anypony know. After all, a true lady never lets her emotions get the better of her. Rarity became so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice that the group had already arrived at Fluttershy's cottage: A small, humble little abode. As they approached the home, Rarity noticed something amiss, but she just couldn't place her hoof on it. "She's probably just sleeping or something," Comet said as he walked up the pathway. He gave a quick rap, rap, rap on the wooden door, and they all expected some type of noise in response. So when they heard only silence, the stallion followed up with another rap, rap, rap. No response. With gritted teeth he looked around and trotted over to his right. Stopping at the nearest window, Comet placed his foreleg against it, to block the light, as he looked inside. "Doesn't look like anypony's home," he said. Pushing himself away from the glass, the stallion looked around for some clues, before getting back to his hooves and continuing to circle the cottage. Rarity's curiosity was peaked. She looked through the window and saw absolutely nothing within. She found it odd, but wasn't sure why. As she pushed herself from the window, she began to think, gently tapping on the glass. Then, a loud gasp came from the mare, grabbing the attention of both Comet and Spike. "What's wrong!?" the young dragon asked. "This place is completely deserted!!" She responded in shock. Spike suddenly spun around his eyes darting about. "Oh," he said in realization Comet was confused. "Is that significant?" "This is Fluttershy's house, she spends all day and night with all sorts of little creatures, but they're nowhere to be seen!" Rarity explained, slightly frantic. Comet paused before quickly continuing his trek around the cottage. Before Rarity and Spike could follow, he appeared on the other side and said "Well, you're right, completely deserted." As he approached the front door, the knob glowed as it jiggled just a bit, before Comet knocked once again. "FLUTTERSHY!!!" he yelled in desperation. Jiggling the handle once again, he turned to Rarity. "Is there a key or something?" "Aside," Rarity said as she trotted up next to the young stallion. Pointing her horn towards the keyhole, she could hear the pins in the lock slide out of the way, one by one, until...CLICK! She opened the door with a flourish! "Okay, you have to teach me that," Comet said before he quickly entered the small cottage, followed by Rarity and Spike. "Fluttershy!?" he yelled again. Rarity took the next move, quickly proceeding up the stairs to her friend's bedroom. "Fluttershy?" she called out. The room was also deserted. She quickly trotted back down to the main floor and shook her head. "Where could she be?" Comet asked rhetorically. "Maybe she's doing some shopping," offered Spike. "But all the animals would still be here," his girlfriend rebutted. As he led the others out, Comet began explaining their next move, "alright, you two know her better than I do so-GLAH!" The moment he stepped out the front door, he was knocked down by a small white blur. As Rarity and Spike rushed outside, they immediately saw the culprit: A familiar little white rabbit was stomping on the green stallion's head. Comet tried to grab the tiny assailant with his forehooves, but the rabbit continually dodged his counter attacks. Spike quickly decided he needed to end this. "ANGEL!" He yelled. The bunny ceased his attack as he turned to look at the young dragon. Excited to see a familiar face, he spread his arms wide in greeting before quickly hopping towards him. "Why were you attacking Comet like that!?" The rabbit gestured toward the door. Rarity quickly understood. "Oh, we were just trying to find Fluttershy, is she here?" Angel vigorously shook his head before hopping away, past a confused Cerebral Comet, before looking behind him, and waving the others to follow. "Go Spike," Rarity said. "Comet and I will catch up." As Spike ran after the little bunny, Rarity trotted towards the injured unicorn, helping him to his hooves. "You all right, darling?" "Bit dizzy," Comet explained rubbing his horn. "Man, that little guy can pack a punch." "You okay to walk?" He turned his attention toward Spike, who was standing at the edge of the Everfree forest, waving at them. "Yeah, let's go." As Spike followed Angel deeper into the Everfree Forest, he became more confused, and more worried. After all, she didn't do anything like this in the other world. In fact, she seemed to take Rarity's death unusually well. Why was she reacting so differently to Twilight's death? Though, it could be completely unrelated. Suddenly, the young rabbit stopped dead in his tracks, very confused, his head swinging back and forth, as if he lost something...which he likely did. "Something wrong Angel?" Spike asked the little bunny. Angel looked at the dragon, before putting his paw to his chin in contemplation. Then, a quick sniff of the air later, he darted off to Spike's left...off the beaten path. Spike hesitated for a minute. He didn't want to lose his friends. Comet's mind was racing. He heard rumours of the Everfree forest. A dangerous labyrinth, populated with all sorts of creatures, each one more hostile than the last. He could only hope that they would find the yellow pegasus in one piece. As the two unicorns trotted quickly along the path, they were hoping they'd spot Spike and Angel eventually, because at that moment, the two were out of sight. With nothing to do but walk, Comet thought he should make conversation, and considering they were alone, he knew the perfect topic. "So, Rarity, how are things?" "Huh?" The unicorn said, a bit distracted. "Uh...things are...fine." "Okay..." He wasn't sure if this was the best time, but he also wasn't sure if he'd get the opportunity again. So Comet decided to just bite the arrow and ask. "Look, Rarity, have you been avoiding me?" "I'm sorry?" she was quite perplexed by the stallion's question. "I thought we were supposed to have a little chat at some point, but every time I try to talk to you, you say it's a bad time or run off to do something else, so I'm sorry if I'm being a bit blunt." "I've just been really busy." "I'm sure, the problem is, I haven't been." As the two continued to trot on Rarity began to avoid Comet's gaze. "My best friend just died, can't you give me time to mourn in peace?" Comet started to respond in the most comforting voice he could manage, "I know Rarity, that's...CRAP!" Just then, Comet ran off ahead of the mare, she saw him pause further down the path and look at her. "Come on!" He yelled right before disappearing into the tree-line. "Uh oh." Rarity quickly ran after them. The Everfree Forest was very dense. Almost impossible to navigate unless one remained on the path. So, Spike's current situation left him a bit worried, because right then, he had no idea where he was, or where he would have to go to get back to Ponyville. He was lost, and relying on the navigational skills of a little white rabbit who was much faster and smaller than him, and could easily lose the dragon, even if he didn't want to. "Angel, slow down," Spike yelled, hoping the young rabbit could hear him. As he followed the little guy through the forest, his mind was focused only on the task at hand. Eventually the dragon noticed the forest start to thin out. Slowing his pace just a bit, after he noticed Angel doing the same, Spike started looking around, trying to see if he could spot his yellow friend, but found no sign of anypony. Angel had stopped running, and was now just as confused as he was earlier. "Where is she?" Spike asked the little bunny rabbit. Angel merely turned to look at Spike, and simply shrugged his shoulders. Just then, the young dragon heard movement coming up behind him. Quickly turning around, he saw the two unicorns who accompanied him: Rarity and Cerebral Comet. "Well?" Comet asked, hopeful. Spike was about to answer, when he heard more movement coming from the opposite direction. Once again, spinning around, he could see, half-hidden behind a fallen white poplar, a familiar yellow face...Fluttershy. No one moved for several seconds. "Fluttershy!" Rarity shouted in excitement, as she trotted over to her best friend. A relationship that one might not think existed any more, as the young pegasus immediately ducked behind the tree, causing the unicorn to stop dead in her tracks. Shocked, she looked back at Comet for assistance. Of course, he had an elegant solution. He trotted up next to Rarity, and quickly sat down. The mare also sat down, as they were joined by their dragon companion. Then, in a very quiet voice, just loud enough to reach the tree their friend was hiding behind, he said, "Fluttershy?" The timid pegasus peeked an eye just past the tree trunk. "It's me...Doctor Cerebral Comet...we met at-...we met yesterday...remember?" Just then, they trio heard a very soft voice go, "he...hello." Progress. Cerebral rolled with it. Taking a step forward, he continued. "We just came to see if you were all right." Rarity followed suit. "We didn't see you at the spa this morning for our weekly get-together. I was worried." Fluttershy sunk behind the tree a bit more. "I...I'm sorry." The psychologist reacted quickly. "Don't move," he whispered to Rarity before continuing his conversation. "What have you been up to today, Fluttershy?" he asked with a smile. "Oh...nothing..." she responded quietly. "So...what brings you to the Everfree forest?" "...Um...I just...wanted to...um..." Comet trotted a bit closer as Fluttershy continued. Neither Spike nor Rarity could hear her anymore, but it seemed as if the doctor could. "Oh...I see," he said, very quietly. Barely loud enough for his companions to hear. As she continued speaking, Comet responded. "But Fluttershy, they do care about you." Spike and Rarity leaned forward, to try to capture a bit of what the young pegasus was saying, but they didn't dare move one inch more than needed. "Are you sure?" Comet's tone was getting slightly desperate. "Do you mind if I come by tomorrow? For a few minutes? ...Well-that's fine-it's just...we want to make sure you're okay...that's all. You like tea don't you? ...Great!" He ended with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow." As Fluttershy disappeared into the forest, Comet turned to face the others. "Well, that could have gone better." Angel vigorously kicked his leg, angrily. "I know!" Comet said to the little rabbit. "But what do you expect, I'm not a miracle worker." "What happened?" Rarity asked, quite worried. Comet pushed his glasses up his nose, as he explained Fluttershy's condition. "She's become a hermit." "What!?" They were both quite shocked. "Why-why is she doing this!?" Spike asked, panicking. "What about the animals!?" "She's taken them with her, and do I really need to tell you why?" Comet looked back over his shoulder in contemplation. "I've read about cases like this. Ponies becoming reclusive in response to the death of a friend or loved one...but I never thought I'd see it first-hoof." He looked back at his companions. "This is completely new to me. We got to get out of here." He started looking around, trying to find the way home. Another kick from Angel got the stallion's attention once again. "Lead the way little guy." As the trio exited the Everfree forest, they continued to discuss the situation. "It just doesn't seem like she'd be the type to do something like this," Rarity explained, slightly distressed. "I'm more perplexed by the fact that it took so long for her to actually react," Spike said, simply confused. "She was probably just putting up a strong front, and it just gave in," Comet explained. Spike wasn't done. "There's gotta be something more to this." "Well, she was always pretty sensitive, right? Maybe witnessing the death of her best friend caused her to snap. If that's the case the fact that she managed to hold it in for so long is amazing." A spark went off in Spike's head. "But she didn't witness Twilight's death! Twilight died instantly." Spike suddenly got quiet. "She was lucky that way." "...no...but Fluttershy was the first to find her body," Rarity said, bluntly. "Yeah, well considering...wait." Comet was suddenly confused. He stopped dead in his tracks. "What do you mean 'lucky'?" Spike stopped as well, as did Rarity who stopped to look at her boyfriend. The dragon was caught. He wasn't sure he wanted to explain. He certainly couldn't explain to Rarity. He could only hope- "Rarity," Comet said, getting the unicorn's attention. "Why don't you go on ahead, we'll catch up." She was hesitant, "But-" "Rarity...please." Comet smiled, urging her to leave them alone. The mare responded by trotting over to the dragon and saying, "I'll see you later my sweet." She quickly gave him a kiss before trotting off. As Spike watched his girlfriend leave, the therapist came up behind him. "Now, look, Spike," he explained. "You don't have to tell me but-" "I've been having weird dreams!" he blurted out as quickly as he could, before he could change his mind. Comet was surprised, "O-okay...um..." The dragon quickly turned around to face the stallion, but kept his gaze down. "Where Twilight's still alive." Comet smiled and said, "Spike, it's perfectly natural to dream about what you wish was-" "-and Rarity's dead." Comet was taken aback by this. "Oh...um...well..." "-and I can't tell the difference." This merely confused the young psychologist. "I'm sorry; What?" Spike locked eyes with him before continuing. "It doesn't feel like a dream." "It doesn't...wait...Spike." Comet shuffled his hooves and readjusted his glasses before asking the most crucial question. "Are you awake right now, or asleep?" Spike hesitated for a minute before answering. "I don't know." "...Oh...okay then...this is new." Chapter Four - Alligator TearsIn the main kitchen of Sugarcube Corner, a young earth pony was carefully covering a cake with bright pink icing. After she smoothed out the top, she stepped back to look over her work, spatula still in mouth. Before her were three cakes, each a different colour. They would all ready for decorating once the icing was allowed to set for a few minutes. Pinkie Pie trotted over to the kitchen sink, dropped the spatula within, and quickly washed her hooves. With time to kill, and left alone in charge of the shop, she didn't have much to do. There were no customers, as she could see once she walked to the front of the store, but there were two little foals who were sleeping upstairs. She trotted to the upper level to check on them, making sure they didn't get into any mischief. Quietly proceeding down the hallway, she looked in their room to see their crib empty. This, however, did not worry her. "Another game of hide and seek, huh?" she said slyly to no one in particular. Walking over to the toy chest, she opened it quickly, and found within, nopony. As she closed the chest, Pinkie started looking around the room until her eyes landed on her next target. The closet door opened rapidly, but before Pinkie had the chance to analyse what was within, a sudden tremble hit the building. Noticing the closet was empty, she closed the door and headed straight for the window. Several ponies were on the ground, looking up at her, or more specifically, at something behind her. She tried to crane her neck around to see what the commotion was about, but it didn't take long for it to come to her. A large green dragon quickly flew into her field of vision, as the building shook again, accompanied by the sound of bricks and mortar breaking apart and falling down. In a panic Pinkie pulled her head back inside and began her search for the twins. "Pound!" she screamed. "Pumpkin! The game is over! Come out! We need to leave! NOW!" The building shook again as Pinkie ran out into the hall. Several doors were locked, so she couldn't get in. She could only hope the twins couldn't get in either. Suddenly the building shook again, at a most inopportune time, as Pinkie was standing a bit too close to the stairs. She lost her balance, a hoof slipped, she tumbled, rolling down to the storefront of Sugarcube Corner. Dazed and in pain, she opened her eyes to see a mass of colour before her. Her gaze shifted up and her focus came back as she heard a very familiar voice. "Pinkie!" Spike screamed in panic. "Are you all right!?" He helped the pink earth pony to her hooves as her vision returned in full, and she could see her rescuers: Twilight Sparkle, local librarian; her assistant, Spike, the purple baby dragon; and his marefriend, Rarity. "Darling, we have to get out of here! Now!" Rarity explained. "What are you still doing here!?" "The twins! They're still here and I can't find them!" Pinkie said, still panicky. Twilight quickly came up with a plan. "Alright, we'll split up and look for them. Rarity, you and I will check out the east side of the building; Spike, you and Pinkie go to the west side." "Yes ma'am!" Spike responded with a salute. Pinkie barely had time to think as the two unicorns headed off to one side of the building and Spike led her in the opposite direction. She had no idea where the two of them were going. East? West? Which side was which? What was happening!? The two found themselves in the main kitchen. Pinkie looked at the three cakes on the table, and realized she should probably get them out of there. "Pinkie!" Spike said, bringing the young earth pony out of her daze. The twins! "Check all the cupboards," Pinkie ordered as the building shook again. "They're both very good at hiding." As the rumbling and tumbling of debris settled down, Spike heard a noise from one of the cupboards: A small tinging sound. He quickly ran to the source, throwing open the cupboard to find within, a young pegasus colt, smiling, with his forelegs raised outward. "POUND!" Spike yelled, getting Pinkie's attention. Spike pulled him out and ran towards the young earth pony. "Oh, Pound Cake! We-" Pinkie was suddenly interrupted by movement from behind her. Her tail was twitching aggressively. The building shook again. Followed by a crunching sound, and as the group looked up, they could see the ceiling start to give. Pinkie thought fast. Grabbing the two boys in front of her, she dove under the giant oak table, just as the entire building collapsed around them. Dust filled the entire area, blocking Pinkie's view. She coughed as some of it got into her lungs. She tried to remember if they every removed that asbestos around the water pipes. As the dust settled, Pinkie's vision began to clear. Tears filled her eyes, washing the debris away. She could hear the dragon outside, roaring in victory, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness they found themselves in. She looked down, and saw in her hooves, a very scared Pound Cake, curled up into a little ball, shivering. Next to him, Spike was a lot more limp, and Pinkie noticed, he was faring a lot worse. She could feel a wetness rolling onto her hooves, and feared the worst. Gently laying Pound to the floor, she took a good look at the young dragon, and noticed a redness staining her foreleg. Across the back of Spike's head was a gash, oozing red. Pinkie was frightened. What did she do? He was fine just seconds ago. The rest of them made it in without a scratch. She started retracing her movements: Perhaps during the dive Spike hit his head on the table. It was hard and sturdy, which is why the earth pony knew it wouldn't collapse under the weight of the building. But that also meant hitting oneself on it meant a heavy injury, which is something she learned many times in the past. Thankfully, Pinkie was a regular Pony Scout. Reaching into her mane, she pulled out a roll of gauze, and wrapped Spike's head tightly, several times to stop, or at least slow, the bleeding. As she tied the bandage off, Pinkie noticed her young charge begin to move. He slowly started looking around, before quickly moving to the edge of their shelter, to try to move some of the debris... futilely. "Pound!" He stopped to look at his foalsitter. Pinkie held her hooves out, and said, "Come here." He ignored her and tried to move a big chunk of concrete. She crawled over to the foal, and grabbed him in her hooves. "We'll just have to wait until the rescue ponies dig us out. Shouldn't be long." Pinkie was lying on her side, under the massive table, with an unconscious dragon in her hooves. She had no idea how much time had passed. Minutes? Hours? Who knew? All she knew for certain, was that Spike was getting worse. The bandage around his head was soaked, and needed to be changed. He also hadn't moved since they ended up under the table. Did he have a cracked skull? Did he fall into a coma? Would he ever wake again? Was it her fault? Tears began to run down her face as she feared the worst. She could only hope Rarity and Twilight made it out okay, because if not... Suddenly, Pinkie could hear some movement above...a shifting of something...The Rescue Ponies!!! "HELP!!!" she screamed with all her might! "Pinkie!?" A familiar voice came. "Rainbow Dash!?" "Hold on, we're coming!" She could hear the shifting continue as debris was moved. "Is anypony with you!?" Rainbow asked. "Just Pound and Spike! He's hurt bad!" "Who!?" "What!?" "Who's hurt bad!?" "Oh, Spike! Hurry up!" "Move it!!" It wasn't long before some nearby debris was moved out of the way, revealing a hole where the bright sunlight burst in. A yellow mare with an azure mane stuck her head in. "Hey!" she said, before pulling out. "We found them!" Pinkie could hear her scream. "Pinkie, send Spike up!" The young earth pony quickly obliged. Grabbing the dragon and trying to lead his limp form up the hole. He was quickly pulled away. Next was Pound Cake, who flew out as quickly as his little wings could carry him. Pinkie then tried to crawl through the hole. Emerging on the other side, she was quickly grabbed by the yellow pegasus she met earlier, and carried away from the debris. Still dazed, Pinkie was lowered to the ground. She could see dozens, maybe even hundreds, of onlookers, milling about behind a line of yellow tape. She could see a team of medics tending to Spike and Pound, as Rainbow quickly rushed over to her, her hooves stained in what she assumed was Spike's blood. "Pinkie!" the cyan pegasus exclaimed. The pink earth pony was the first to speak. "Where's Twilight and Rarity!?" "I was about to ask you that," Rainbow said, her worry palpable. "Oh no...oh no no no no no no no no-" "PINKIE!" She was snapped out of her daze. "Where did you last see them?" Pinkie looked up and tried to reply, "uh...they said they were...um...oh..." "Pinkie! Calm down...just think. Where did they go?" She said as calmly as possible. Pinkie slowly breathed as she tried to remember. Closing her eyes, it wasn't long before it came to her. "The east side!" she exclaimed. "Great!" Rainbow said, quickly flying off. "WAIT!" Rainbow stopped and turned around. "We were on the west side right?" "Yeah," Rainbow said, smiling. "We'll find them Pinkie." "OH! And Pumpkin Cake!" Rainbow nodded and said, "we'll find them Pinkie." She flew off as Pinkie trotted toward the medical tent. Once the pink mare arrived, she saw a familiar face helping her dragon friend. "Is he gonna be okay?" she asked Zecora. "Please, have no doubt," the zebra explained. "It won't be long before he's up and about." As Zecora attended to the dragon's wound. Pinkie noticed four figures approach her. "Pinkie!" Applejack exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're safe." She wrapped her hooves around the pink pony. "Did they find my sister?" said a young unicorn next to her, tears welling up in her eyes. Pinkie replied hesitantly, "I...I don't..." Just then, a single noise grabbed everypony's attention. It was the single noise that changed everything. The single noise of a yellow pegasus mare screaming in horror. Screaming in horror at what she uncovered, and what was now laying before her eyes. "AHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Pinkie screamed, jolting awake. As her breathing began to calm down, a rusting next to her grabbed her attention. Turning to look, Pinkie saw an orange pony wake next to her. "Pinkie...another dream?" She asked. "Y-yes..." she replied timidly. Applejack sat up and hugged her best friend. "It's okay Pinkie, it's over now." Tears began welling up in the pink pony's eyes. "It still happened!" Applejack just hugged her a bit tighter, and let the young mare cry. She tried to hold back the tears, and it wasn't long before the torrent started to ebb. "I'm sorry," she said, rolling out of bed and out of her friend's grasp. "I-I-I-I-I-I'm gonna-I'm just-I'm a little hungry." She explained between sobs. "I'm gonna get some food." The farmpony watched her friend leave before she could say a word. There wasn't much to do, so she settled into bed once again, still worried about her pink friend. Pinkie slowly made her way through her best friend's house. She still didn't consider it her home, even though she'd been staying there for nearly three weeks, because she still expected to move back into Sugarcube Corner once it was rebuilt. As she proceeded down the corridor, her flat mane brushed across the floor. A sharp contrast to her usual puffy and curly mane. It had been like this since the day of the attack, when Sugarcube Corner was demolished and one of her best friends died. Having absolutely no joy in her heart; she felt nothing but fear, pain, guilt, and hopelessness. Once Pinkie reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw a light coming from the kitchen. Curious, she made her way toward the light, and saw a familiar red stallion, sitting at the kitchen table, eating a sandwich. "Mornin' Pinkie," Big Macintosh said, greeting the young mare. "Wha...is it morning?" He nodded sagely. "I assume that was you screamin'." "Di-did I wake you?" He slowly shook his head. "Um..." "Wanna bite?" He asked, raising his sandwich. "N-no thanks," she said. "I'm...not hungry." Pinkie trotted over to the table and folded her hooves, burying her face within. "Are you all right?" he asked simply. She shook her head. "Wanna talk about it." A mumbling came from the earth pony. "Pardon?" She slowly raised her head to look at the stallion before her. "It's my fault," she said, with tears in her eyes. Big Mac dropped his sandwich. "No it's not," he said simply. "Yes it is. If I kept a closer eye on the twins...she'd..." He quickly walked around the table and looked Pinkie dead in the eye, surprising the young mare. "It's not your fault." Pinkie just stared at Big Mac, in silence, waiting to see if he would continue. When he said nothing, she opened her mouth to explain how he was wrong. But the workhorse continued. "You didn't know that would happen, you didn't know the dragon would attack, you didn't know anypony would get hurt, and you did everything you could to save them all." Pinkie slowly lowered her head and the two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, until Pinkie finally spoke once again. "I heard from the Cakes earlier today...or I guess it would be yesterday now." Macintosh didn't say a word. He just sat and listened. "They said Pumpkin is a cat tonic." The stallion was confused at this statement. "Catatonic?" he tried to help clarify. "Oh...yeah," she continued. "I read some books in Twilight's library; they mentioned this kinda thing; and after what she saw... What if she becomes a sociopath? She'll never know pain...she'll never know sadness...but she'll never know joy, excitement, love." The tears started flowing down her cheeks once again. "She'll never know love Big Mac!" She fell forward, resting in his forelegs. "She'll never know looooove!" As they sat there, in each other's hooves, silence fell once again. They rested in their sorrow, until Macintosh decided to open his mouth to try to ease her fears. But his words were interrupted by a noise, A loud noise, outside. A noise Pinkie found very familiar. The two released each other and ran straight towards the sound, to the window that faced the orchard. "No," Big Macintosh said simply. Before running straight for the door and out into the night air. Pinkie followed him. As they exited the building, they found the night was illuminated by an orange glow. A very bad orange glow. Shocked at the scene before him, Big Mac couldn't say anything. He could only join his friend, in sorrow. The sun shone on Spike's small basket as the young dragon laid on his back, having just woken up a matter of minutes ago. He held his right claw up in the air and stared at the ring that adorned it, dominated by a pink stone. As he saw the ring catch the sunlight, he contemplated what happened earlier, as he slept. He had to know. Was any of it true? Was what he learned about Twilight's past, real? What about that photo? Was Cerebral Comet most certainly a real pony, or could he simply be a figment of his imagination? So far the past of both worlds seemed to be identical. Would today be the day he found an inconsistency? He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to find out. Spike craned his head to look at the clock on the dresser. Realizing he should have gotten up much sooner than now, he arced his back with a moan, and rolled out of bed. Standing up, his eyes slowly fell on the giant dresser that sat next to Twilight's bed. He walked over to it and crouched down to look under it. Sure enough, he saw a very familiar photo frame. Spike reached under the dresser and pulled it out. He looked at the back of the frame, just stared at it for several seconds, and thought the same thing over and over. 'If this photo is different, that means I really did lose somepony that day.' He took a deep breath, and flipped the frame over. Quickly releasing his breath with a laugh, he could see the photo was identical to the one in the other world. Twilight in the middle, with her two coltfriends on either side, in a silver frame. Eventually, his smile faded, as he realized that it actually proved nothing. This photo just proved an inconsistency hasn't appeared yet. Spike looked around, unsure of what to do. With the photo still in hand, he proceeded down the stairs to the library's lower levels. As soon as he reached the main floor, he noticed something unusual. Twilight, his best friend, sitting there, staring off into space, doing nothing. "Twilight?" he said. She didn't move. "Twilight!" he repeated, a little louder. She turned her attention to the young dragon. "Oh, morning Spike," she said, getting to her hooves. "How'd you sleep?" "Uh...fine." Her attention turned to the object in Spike's claw. "What is that?" she asked. "Oh," he looked at it as he walked over to Twilight. "I found it underneath your dresser. Who is this?" Twilight levitated the frame toward her and looked at it. "Oh my...that's me." "Well, I know that." She giggled a bit, before looking at the photo again. "Those were my friends in elementary school: Phosphorus and Cerebral Comet...I told you about them. Didn't I?" Spike shrugged, unsure. The gears in the young unicorn's head began turning as she bit her lower lip, slightly. "Spike," she finally said. "Take a letter." Her scaly assistant pulled out a scroll and quill from behind his back. Always prepared for any contingency. "To Dusty Tome, Administrator of the Canterlot Archives. I am looking for any information you can send me on two colts who originally hailed from Canterlot-" Her dictation was then interrupted by a sudden and frantic knock at the front door. "Twilight!" a familiar voice came. "Twilight, open up!" She quickly trotted to the front door and opened it. Floating in the air was the local chief weathermare, Rainbow Dash, and she was frantic. "Twilight! Something terrible happened!" "What!? Where!?" "Sweet Apple Acres! Come on!" Rainbow flew away before the unicorn could ask any more questions. "SPIKE!" The purple unicorn exclaimed. He wasted no time as he jumped on her back and Twilight galloped off, as fast as her hooves would take her. Chapter Five - Scorched AcresTwilight bolted from the library, her horn pulling the door closed behind her. As she ran straight toward Applejack's farm, her thoughts were racing. What went wrong? Was it another attack? A landslide? Did somepony die...again? Spike was clinging to her neck for dear life, as worry overtook the young unicorn. Eventually, the two arrived near Sweet Apple Acres, and Twilight slowed to a crawl. On both sides of the path, where there were once dozens of Apple Trees, now stood nothing but tall black pillars. The fence that once ran along either side of the long dirt road was now nowhere to be seen, and the ground was covered in ashes. Twilight was speechless. There were no words to say. No words she could say. As far as she could see, there wasn't a single survivor, the entire orchard was incinerated. Her best friend's business and livelihood was destroyed, overnight. Why was she here? What could she do? Spike jumped off Twilight's back and started running further down the path. Leaving the unicorn to deal with her shock. He could see in the distance, a single survivor, the farmhouse that dominated the centre of the property. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Sitting on the front porch, was an orange mare with a long, messy mane, and a dead eyed look. "Applejack?" Spike said cautiously as he approached the front stairs. No response. As he stood there, looking for some sign of life in the earth pony, he could hear a flutter of wings behind him. Quickly turning around, he spotted a yellow pegasus mare approach him. "How is she?" Fluttershy asked in a hushed voice. "I don't know, I just got here," he replied. The pegasus took a deep breath and walked straight up the stairs, to her best friend. "Applejack?" she said, hesitantly. "Are you alright?" The farmpony reacted quickly. "Am I alright!?" She screamed. "Am I Alright!?" Fluttershy cowered into a tiny ball. "I just lost my farm! My livelihood! What do you think!? Do you think I'm alright!?" Spike quickly ran up to Fluttershy and hugged her. "Applejack," he said, looking at the orange mare. "It'll be alright, we'll fix this." The earth pony was incensed. "No it won't Spike. You can't fix this, nopony can. It'll take at least five years to regrow all those trees, and by then, we'll be done. There's no way for us to survive this." Fluttershy loosened herself from Spike's grip as he continued, "Maybe there's a spell we can-" "No," Spike's guardian trotted up behind them. "No there isn't. There's not a single spell that can affect plants...at least not the way we'd need them to." Applejack's face fell. Another stake driven. Silence descended on the front porch, as they let the reality sink in. "I'm sure the insurance will cover the damages, Applejack," Twilight continued. "It's not the end of the world." She didn't respond. "You do have insurance right?" Applejack snapped. "Of course I do! But there's no amount of money that can bring back the farm, Twilight!" No one spoke for several seconds. "No matter what I do," she continued. "No apple will bloom here ever again." Spike looked up. "Where's Apple Bloom?" Applejack looked up at the dragon before her. "I...I don't...oh my, did I even see her today? I...I can't remember." She stood up and screamed, "APPLE BLOOM!!!" "Calm down Applejack," Twilight said as she approached the panicked pony. "Spike, go find Apple Bloom." The young dragon quickly saluted. "Yes ma'am!" As he took off, the yellow pegasus flew after him. "I'm sure she's alright, Applejack," Twilight said, embracing her friend. Tears started streaming down the earth pony's face. "I hope so, Twi...I hope..." She broke down in her friend's hooves. Fluttershy and Spike walked through the ruined orchard. The slowly rising sun painted the sky an eerie shade of orange, intensified by the black pillars surrounding them, and the yellow grass beneath them. Walking through Sweet Apple Acres this day, felt like walking through the pits of Tartarus. Death and destruction surrounded them. Fluttershy tried to take her mind off it the only way she knew how. "So...um...how are you doing, Spike?" She asked the young dragon. Spike looked down, unsure of what to say. "I'm doing fine...I guess." The yellow mare nodded sagely. "How's Rarity?" He paused for a second. Fluttershy always had an odd way of breaching this subject. But she was always very sensitive and discrete to his situation. She was also the one who helped him understand what was really happening. She was there when he woke from his coma. His memories were fuzzy for a few days there. Fluttershy helped him, she was the only pony constantly there...in this world. "Things are...odd." Fluttershy caught up to the young dragon and asked him a question she already knew the answer to. "Would you like to talk about it?" Spike took a moment before continuing. "I told you about Cerebral Comet right?" She nodded. "Well, turns out he knew Twilight when they were both foals." "Is that what he said?" "Yeah, there was a photo of them with a pegasus named Phosphorus," Spike explained. "Apparently they were all friends in elementary school, and around the time she first witnessed Celestia raising the sun, she just stopped talking to them. I found the photo here and showed Twilight, and she pretty much confirmed everything Comet said." Fluttershy knew the possible ramifications of that. "She probably told you before and you carried it into your dream." "Yeah...maybe. I also told him about...this." "This?" "Yeah, this," Spike explained, frantically gesturing around him. "Oh, I see...and what did he say?" "He said you're the dream." Fluttershy chuckled as if she expected this, while slowing down to a stop. "Spike." The young dragon turned to look at her. "This is real. All of this is real. Rarity..." she paused to collect her emotions, before taking a deep breath. "Rarity's dead," she said, voice shaky. "Twilight's alive, and the sooner you accept that the easier your life will be. You do know that don't you?" Spike was about to open his mouth to answer, before turning around, and silently walking away. His pegasus friend followed. Apple Bloom's eyes were wide, and moist. The shock and sorrow of what she saw before her was too much for words. "Apple Bloom," came a voice behind her. "Apple Bloom!" The young earth pony did not move, nor did she acknowledge any voice, anywhere, until an orange hoof landed on her shoulder. She spun her head to see the new arrival. "Are you okay Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo asked. She turned back and said, "It's gone Scoots, it's all gone, all that hard work...gone." Before them stood a very large and charred husk of a tree, within which sat the blackened, charred, almost completely collapsed remnants of the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse. Scootaloo walked up to what little remained. But the moment she stepped on the burnt ramp, the entire thing immediately collapsed into blackened charcoal. "Apple Bloom!" Another voice behind them. The orange filly turned to see a yellow mare following a young dragon. Apple Bloom didn't turn around. "Apple Bloom," Spike continued. "Are you alright?" "I'm fine," she responded, in a deadpan voice. Not moving, and barely acknowledging their presence. "Oh, my," Fluttershy said, looking over the remains of the treehouse. She quickly flew over to the wreckage. "It's all gone." Turning to look at the grieving earth pony, she quickly flew over and grabbed her tightly. "I'm so sorry Apple Bloom." "Why!?" the yellow filly replied, pushing the mare away. "Did you do this!?" "What? No." The pegasus was shocked at this outburst. "Is this your fault!? "No." "Then why are you sorry!? Huh Fluttershy!? Why are you sorry!?" Just then, Apple Bloom broke down. Her legs collapsing under her own weight as she buried her head under her hooves, and all anyone else heard was frantic sobbing. "Is she alright?" Spike heard a voice whisper in his ear. He turned his head and for a second there, thought he saw somepony else, but he quickly realized, her manestyle was different, and her coat was a bit lighter. It was amazing how much Sweetie Belle looked like her sister. "I hope so," the young dragon responded. She trotted over to her best friend and leaned down to talk to her, quietly. "Apple Bloom, it's okay, we'll help you get through this." The young filly reached up and grabbed her unicorn friend, continuing to cry. "What are we gonna do!?" she screamed between sobs. Sweetie Belle stayed silent. "We're gonna need a new meeting place," said the orange pegasus. "Well," the young unicorn said, pensively. "There's always Carousel." Apple Bloom's tears let up as she looked at her friend. "What?" "Carousel Boutique! It could be our new headquarters!" She declared with a smile. "That's a great idea Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo declared, hopping over to her friends. "Wait, wait, wait!" Spike interjected. "I thought we were going to continue Rarity's business. Sell and make dresses." "There's plenty of room in the back Spike, it's a big store." He brought a claw to his chin, and failed to come up with a rebuttal. "So," Apple Bloom spoke up, looking at the white unicorn with bloodshot eyes. "We can meet there instead?" Sweetie nodded. "APPLE BLOOM!" A voice came from above. A young grey pegasus colt descended from the sky, landing directly in front of the former treehouse, he was followed closely by an older rainbow-maned mare. "Rumble!" Apple Bloom screamed, releasing Sweetie Belle and running straight towards the colt. They embraced as Rainbow Dash suddenly released an awkward smile. "Spike!" she said, trotting over to the young dragon. "Everything alright?" "Yeah, we're all fine," he said. "We're...um..." Rainbow followed everyone's gaze to the two foals behind her, who were passionately making out. "Uh..." Rainbow said, getting Rumble's attention, who broke the kiss. "Uh...wow, that was fast," the grey colt said with a smile. "Not that I'm complaining." "Hmmm...yeah, Apple Bloom, we should have a talk later." "Don't you ruin this!" "I just lost the farm!" Apple Bloom screamed. "I can kiss my boyfriend all I want." Sweetie Belle leaned towards Spike and whispered, "they've been dating for less than a week and he's already her boyfriend!?" The dragon merely shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you didn't lose the entire farm!" Everyone in attendance looked at him. "What do you mean, Rumble?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, the west field's perfectly fine," he explained. "Yeah, my brother told be all about it." Apple Bloom released him from her grip as he began explaining to everyone. "He was managing a small sprinkle over the park when his team saw the attack, so they rushed over, scared the thing off with a few dozen or so lightning bolts, and put out the fire with their rain clouds, they weren't able to save the entire farm, but still, west field's good." Everyone stared at him. Rumble scratched his head. "You know he tells it better." "Wait, attack!?" Spike interjected, a sudden realization hitting him. "Hold on! How did all this happen? I mean I know a simple fire wouldn't have spread this fast, so...what attacked?" Rainbow quickly spoke up before anyone else could. "Uh...well...Spike...you see...it was...um...it...it was a dragon." Both Sweetie Belle and Spike's eyes went wide. "What?" they asked in unison. "Again!?" asked the young unicorn. Rainbow simply nodded. "Rainbow." Spike asked, "What did it look like?" She suddenly got a lot more nervous. "Spike...it...it's not important--it--" "RAINBOW!" Whatever patience Spike had, was gone now. "What...did...he...look...like?" Rainbow stood up straight and spoke in the most matter-of-fact voice she could. "He was green," she said. Spike was silent. "We don't know if it was the same one...but...it might have been." "Oh, my..." Sweetie said, as she allowed this new information to sink in. "Spike it--" Rainbow started saying before the young dragon turned around and started walking away. "Spike, where are you going!? SPIKE!" He spun around and said, with eyes as cold as steel, "I'm gonna track down that dragon, and I'm going to kill him! Even if it's the last thing I do, he's gonna pay! For everything!" "I'm coming with you!" Sweetie said, running after the young dragon. "Me too!" said Apple Bloom, following suit. "Wait for me!" cried Rumble. The three remaining pegasi stood there, watching the four walk off. "We should probably go with them," Scootaloo said. "Yeah," Rainbow replied. "Fluttershy? You--" She looked at her yellow friend, and saw tears going down her face. Fluttershy turned to her best friend and said, with a slight tremor in her voice, "We should go with them." Chapter Six - The Other Side"Spike! Stop and think about this!" Rainbow Dash screamed. "How're ya even gonna find him!?" "I don't know yet." "And you're gonna kill him?" "Yes." "Spike, you don't want to do this." "Yes I do." "What would Rarity think?" He stopped in his tracks and spun around. Spike gave a look that frightened the young pegasus. A look she never expected. "He killed her... Rainbow," the dragon spoke in a cold tone. "Killed... her..." "I know." "You expect me to let that slide?" Rainbow righted herself. "And what makes you think he won't kill you first?" Sweetie Belle staggered. "Ki-kill us?" "Oh, yeah, I'm out," Rumble stated from above. Spike shot him a look. "Well, I'm not." He turned back to Rainbow. "And I'm willing to take that risk." "But Spike-" "-and look who's talking! The one who kicked a dragon in the face is suddenly so worried!? What happened to-" Rainbow snapped. "I don't want to lose another friend!" she screamed, tears boiling in her eyes. At that moment, the black and brittle remnants that hung above them began to crackle. Spike looked up and saw the tree destabilize, as the single branch that hung above him, fell. Spike's eyes snapped open. His breathing was rapid, but it didn't take long for him to calm down once he realized where he was. He shifted the ring on his right claw, adorned with a blue gemstone. Spike stretched his back and slowly eased himself out of his basket. Across from him, he could see Comet's bed, empty. Through the window, the sun was just inching over the horizon. It was the beginning of a new day in this world. He quickly proceeded down the stairs, and walked down to the main library floor. He found the building curiously quiet, and vacant. Something was not right. He detected a flutter of movement out of the corner of his eye. At one of the reading alcoves, consisting of a cushioned bench in front of a large window. A form shifted, wrapped tightly in a brown blanket. It was pony-sized, but covered up so well that Spike could not identify it. He walked toward the form, which suddenly rolled over. Rarity's face peeked through the cover. Spike found himself flying towards his lover, who quickly grabbed him tightly in both hooves. He hesitated, confused as to this turn of events. Her sobbing echoed in his ear. He returned the hug. The door creeped open behind him. "Spike, welcome to the land of the living," said Comet, as he trotted in. Rarity released her boyfriend, and Spike saw his guardian, followed by Shining Armor and his wife, Cadance. All three of them were slightly dishevelled. "How is it?" the young mare asked. "Don't worry about that now, Rarity," Shining explained. "Just concentrate on feeling better." "What happened?" Spike asked. "Uh... well... um..." Comet scratched the back of his neck. "Carousel was attacked." His eyes went wide. "By what?" he asked, thinking he knew the answer. "No one knows," Cadance explained, as she polished her light blue spectacles. "We talked to a few eye-witnesses, but the reports are mixed." Her glasses returned to their proper position. "Which is why I think I might know exactly what it was." Comet said as he trotted away. "What?" "Yeah, I think I might know too," Shining stated, hanging his head. "Great," the shrink said. "But first, I need coffee." He entered the kitchen, and everyone else followed. The group of five sat at the kitchen table. Cadance poured the sugar dish into her cup, and stirred it with a spoon. Comet's head lay on the table, he stared at the coffee cup. Shining Armor shuffled nervously, and was the one to break the silence. "So, Comet, what do you think it was." The stallion sat up straight, brought the cup to his lips and started chugging. A few seconds later, it was down, and he exhaled dramatically. "Well!" he said, raising his hoof. "Let's look at the facts. They said the creature was bright, and appeared to be on fire." "Yeah," Cadance responded. "Half the building was burnt to a crisp, so that's not too surprising. Now, they said it moved like a blur. But thanks to the brightness of the flame, no one could get a good look." "...Oh... Kay?" "Now, even if they could barely see it, most ponies would still be able to identify a creature, by name, if they saw it, right?" "Sure." "Unless..." Cadance thought for a second. "They never heard of it." "Ding ding. Which narrows it down. Now I, personally, can only think of one creature obscure enough, that fits that incredibly general description. And it's a... three, two, one-" "Qilin," Shining and Comet announced simultaneously. "Oh..." Cadance said. "Dammit, how could I have forgotten about that?" "Lot on your mind?" "I'm sorry," Rarity interjected. "But what is a... Qilin?" "Cadance?" The princess explained with a sigh, "A Qilin is a tall reptilian pony with a mastery over fire. Their population is very small, they're very aggressive, and a bit xenophobic, though there are exceptions." "Ambassador Dorin," Comet stated. "Yeah." "Who is Ambassador Dorin?" Rarity asked. "He's the Neighponese Ambassador to Equestria," Comet explained. "Nice guy, but he's the exception." "What do you mean, 'a mastery over fire'?" Spike asked. "They can shoot fire from their flesh." His eyes widened. "It's not important," Shining explained. "We have to go after it." "It's probably long gone by now," Comet rebutted. "And if it isn't? It could attack again." "Then we should prepare, but going after it probably isn't the best idea." Shining started to raise his voice. "You think we should just let it get away?" "Yes." "I'm not debating this with you-" "Why?" The captain froze. "What?" "Why do you want to go after it?" He hesitated. "Um... it attacked Rarity's store, and-" "You think it might be connected to the attack on Sugarcube Corner." The two stared at each other. "Of course not," Shining replied. Comet paused for a second before continuing. "Shining-" "We should at least try to track it down," he interjected. "No direct conflict?" The prince shook his head. "Can't argue with that," the doctor said as he got to his hooves. Cadance exhaled in relief. Spike and Rarity looked at each other in confusion. "You're coming?" Shining asked. "I don't think I have a choice," the green unicorn responded, rubbing his mane. "Yoohoo!" A voice came from the main foyer. Comet trotted out, and everypony followed. He quickly greeted the guest. "Hey Pinkie," Comet said. "OO! Rarity!" the curly-haired mare yelled as she grabbed her friend. "I'm so sorry about your home!" She released the hug. "Are you alright?" "I'm feeling much better, Pinkie Pie. Thank you." She smiled, a mile wide. "So, Pinkie Pie," Comet interjected. "What brings you here so early in the morning?" She turned and stared at him. "Right! Um... sorry Pinkie we're gonna have to reschedule. Something came up." "You're gonna go after the thing that attacked Rarity's home?" He stared at her for several seconds. "How'd you-wait, nevermind, I don't want to know." "Can I come?" "Uh..." Comet said, in hesitation. "It could get dangerous Pinkie," Shining explained. "Are you sure?" "You do know I'm coming right?" Cadance asked. The two stallions turned to look at her. "Alright," Shining said. Comet snapped his head back to the soldier. "What!?" he asked, incredulous. "I know better than to argue with her." "I'm coming too," Rarity said. "I want to see this thing with my own eyes." "Me too," Spike said. "Great!" Comet said, his sarcasm palpable. "Fantastic, we're all going to get ourselves killed, fun times." "Do we even know where to start?" the dragon asked. "Well, my back left hoof started itching," Pinkie explained. "So it probably went to the south-west corner of Whitetail Wood." "Fine!" He cried refusing to question the mare. "Let's get some supplies and go!" He trotted back into the kitchen, followed closely by Pinkie and Shining Armor. "Princess," Rarity whispered. Cadance held back. "Yes?" "What was going on between Shining Armor and Cerebral Comet?" "He's a member of the Royal Corps of Psychotherapists. He has the authority to detain us if he thinks we're acting irrationally or putting ourselves in unnecessary danger. Among other things." "Another question," Spike said, holding up a claw. "When did this happen?" "You mean the attack?" He nodded. "Early last night, why?" "Why didn't anypony wake me?" He whispered in anger. "Comet said he tried, but you were 'dead to the world.'" "I told him it wasn't that important," Rarity explained. "You needed your rest." "Okay," Spike continued. "Another question: What happened to your contacts?" Cadance adjusted her glasses. "I don't know, I think I lost them," she responded nervously. He crossed his arms, and shook his head. "This is gonna be a weird day." "So, how exactly could a Qilin do that much damage!?" Spike asked incredulously, as the group walked away from the ruins of the Boutique, entering Whitetail Wood. "They're incredibly fast, incredibly strong, can leap very high, and their skin is on fire," Comet explained. "Take a guess!" "So this thing is dangerous?" asked Applejack. "Seriously?" "Who cares!?" Rainbow screamed. "We can take him!" "We're not 'taking' anypony," Comet explained, staring up at the pegasus. "This is strictly a reconnaissance mission, we're going to find him, and direct the cavalry to 'take him' if we need to." Rainbow crossed her hooves in protest. "Pshh. Come on! He attacked our friend! Let's do this now!" "YEAH!" A voice came from a nearby bush. "Apple Bloom!" screamed the earth pony. "What are you doing!?" The young filly peaked out of the shrubbery. "I wanted to come with you." "Go home!" "Awww... Come on Applejack, let me come with. I can help!" "Now!" The yellow earth pony continued to sulk. Rarity interjected. "Apple Bloom, why don't you go play with your friends?" "Sweetie Belle's on a date with Rumble, and Scootaloo... Actually, I haven't seen her all day." "Psst..." Everyone quickly turned their eyes in the direction of the noise. They only saw trees. "Scootaloo!?" Shining Armor said. He trotted toward a tree. "You're really good at that." "Thanks!" she said, emerging from a patch of bark on the tree. "GAH!" Rainbow screamed. Clutching her chest, and fainting. The young pegasus was covered in what appeared to be some type of paint. She blended in with the forest so easily nopony noticed. "What are you doing here!?" screamed Applejack. "Well, I was going to follow you to find the dragon without you noticing." "Qilin," Comet said. "Well, I don't care," Applejack said, incensed. "Go home. Both of you. This is too dangerous for you two." "You know," the shrink explained. "They'll probably follow us anyway. Might be better to just let them come, that way we can keep track of them." Applejack sighed, "Fine." "Great!" Scootaloo screamed. "Where're we going!?" "No idea!" Comet said with a smile. "Oh, just follow me!" Pinkie said, trotting away. "Follow her." As everypony left, Rainbow Dash slowly came to. She looked down the path, and saw her friends leaving. "Hey, wait for me!" She screamed. Flying off. The journey was a long one for the large group. The sun was already halfway up the sky, and was slowly creeping ever higher to its peak. Pinkie Pie took the lead followed closely by Princess Cadance, and Applejack. Rainbow Dash and Cerebral Comet were right behind them. Shining Armor took up the rear, ensuring the group's safety. And directly in front of him, were Spike, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Rarity. Together, talking. "You're seriously worried?" Rarity asked. "Well, I'm not worried," Scootaloo explained. "It's just... we never hang out anymore." "Just because Sweetie Belle found love, does not mean she's no longer your friend." "Well, we know that," Apple Bloom explained, a bit insulted by the suggestion. "Well, eventually, I'm sure you'll find things will go back to the way they always were." Scootaloo turned to Spike. "What's it like anyway?" "What?" "You know... it..." Spike's face turned beet red. "...love..." "OH! Um... it's hard to explain..." Rarity gave him a soft smile. "So, Rarity," said Cerebral Comet as he slowed his pace to join them. "I've been meaning to ask you something." "Yes?" She replied, quite curious. "I assume you'll need a place to stay, while your house is being rebuilt." "Possibly." "Well, the Library's open, if you want." "Oh, well I don't want to impose." "No imposition at all," he replied. "Now, Spike, a word?" The two of them slowed their pace, separating from the others. "What is it?" the dragon asked. "We... uh... never got to really talk about... what you told me yesterday." Spike just looked at him. "The dreams." The other world. "Oh... right..." he replied. "We got time now." Spike hesitated. "Uh... now?" "Can you just tell me what you dreamed about last night?" "Uh... well..." he lowered his voice. "I woke up, and... Twilight... told me Sweet Apple Acres was attacked by a dragon." "Dragon?" "The entire orchard was burnt to a crisp." "I see." "Then Rainbow told me the dragon was green." "Green?" "Yeah." "Does that mean anything to you?" "It was the same dragon that attacked Sugarcube Corner." Comet stopped in his tracks. Shining stopped next to him as the shrink put a hoof to his chin. "Interesting," the green stallion mused. He hurried his pace to catch up. "We'll talk about this later, Spike." The dragon followed his guardian. Shining raised an eyebrow and picked up his pace, once again. Chapter Seven - HeartCerebral Comet never saw himself as a hero, or a spy, or a guardian. He was never one to jump into anything like some kind of action hero. He was an intellectual, that was all. Not a stallion of might, but one of thought. So his current position perplexed him to no end. Crawling on the ground, his belly sliding over the dirt and debris of the forest; following behind one of his patents as she led himself, Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor and his young dragon charge, Spike, to the lair of a dangerous creature from foreign lands. He knew his assignment in Ponyville would be bizarre, but this was reaching new heights. Cadance, Rarity, Applejack, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo held their position further back. Once Pinkie Pie said they were near their target, Shining insisted the others wait while he scouted ahead with the earth pony. Rainbow refused to leave them; Comet had an obligation to watch the unicorn prince, and ensure he didn't do anything stupid; and Spike argued his presence by breathing fire. So, as such, the five had to keep a low profile, and remain completely silent, as they navigated through the vegetation. Which wasn't easy given their numbers. "How much further?" Rainbow whined in as low a tone as she could manage. "My forelegs are killing me." Pinkie Pie put her nose to the pegasus' face before answering. "Not far," she whispered. "Not far at all." She then spun in the dirt and continued on her way. "Ugh," the weathermare explained. "It feels like we've been crawling like this for hours." Comet interjected, "Oh, it's not that bad." She stopped, and craned her head around. "What?" "What?" he asked, puzzled. "Why do you say that?" He froze, and his face started to get slightly redder. "No reason," he responded. "Uh... huh..." Rainbow was skeptical. "What are you two doing?" Spike asked from behind the two ponies. Their conversation held everyone up. "Can we go?" "After you," Rainbow said, squeezing to the right. Comet crawled past the multicoloured mare as they continued on their journey. The procession moved through the dirt, and it wasn't long before Pinkie came to a stop in front of a thick, leafy bush. She stuck her head inside, confusing her companions. Popping back out, she had a large smile on her face. No words were needed as Comet joined her. Their three associates snuck into the bush as well. Looking through their leafy surroundings, they could clearly see a large grassy clearing. Sitting in the middle was a charred pile of coal, but what stood out to Comet the most was a series of stones, which sat in front of a dark and damp cave. The stones appeared to be arranged in a pattern, but it was unrecognisable from the angle they stood at. Comet wanted to get out to take a closer look, but he wasn't sure if it was safe. His fears were confirmed as a loud cry emanated from the heavens. The group looked up as a bright orange phoenix descended from the clouds. It perched elegantly on a nearby tree branch. "It can't see us right?" Rainbow asked. "I hope not," Shining responded. Slowly, a shifting of movement came from the cave, as a blue pony emerged. Except, it wasn't a race of pony that most would recognise. He had two horns coming out the back of his head, and his tail was similar to a monkey's, straight, long, and hairless. In fact, this pony had no hair whatsoever. No mane, or fur. Instead, it was covered in bright blue scales. Most of those present found the sight to be foreign and mysterious, but two of them had actually seen a creature like this before. It was very familiar... a little too familiar. "Oh, no," Comet whispered. "I don't believe this," Shining responded. "What?" Rainbow asked. "What is it?" The doctor explained, "Remember when we said there were exceptions to qilin xenophobia?" "No." He paused for a second. "Right, you weren't there. Well, there is, Ambassador Dorin, the Neighponese Ambassador to Equestria." "Is that him!?" Rainbow asked. "No," Shining responded. "But I kinda wish it was." "That's Perahitsu," Comet explained. "The ambassador's son." He receded further into the bush. "You know, I met that kid once before. I thought he was just anti-social." "Let's not jump to conclusions, Shining." "Jump to conclusions!?" "Just because we found a qilin, doesn't mean it's the same qilin." "Oh, come on." "Shining-" "Are you guys listening to this?" Spike interjected. The two stallions pricked up their ears. "Ze cah kleh ko!" "Eeekee koko klack kun." The conversation between the phoenix and the qilin, was complete gibberish to the crowd. "What is it?" Pinkie asked. "I'm not sure," Shining said. Cerebral Comet shook his head. "I think it's Toranin. Or, at least it's damn similar." "Toranin... that's the language of the dragons." "Well, one of them." "You can speak dragon?" Rainbow asked. "Learned a bit of it in college," the shrink explained. "Well that's great!" Spike whispered. "I don't know a lick of it." "Don't get too excited, I failed the course." He angled his ears to receive the conversation. Trying to pick up as much as he could. Comet shook his head. "I thought I'd remember something from that class, but..." he explained. "Try harder..." the prince replied. He made another attempt. "Something about... failure and... I don't know... mentions a predecessor... next stage... I don't know, I'm just guessing. I think they're speaking an obscure dialect, or at least one I've never heard of." "Come on!" Rainbow Dash said. "Figure it out! This may be our only chance, you have to do something!" She violently stomped the ground and nearby trees gave a slight tremor, releasing a few leaves. The forest was eerily silent. "Maybe they didn't notice," the pegasus said in desperation. But only Spike and Pinkie were watching the events on the other side of that bush. So, only Spike and Pinkie saw the two suspects had turned to face them, and were currently encased in bright white flames of rage. "They did," Pinkie explained. returning to her normal speaking voice. "RUN!" But it was too late, as a beam of white flame shot toward the spies. Neither Scootaloo nor Apple Bloom liked waiting. It was torture to the young fillies. As so often happens to children, they find every moment to be incredibly precious. So they want to make the most of them. Waiting, as they did, was an insufferable experience. They could have trotted all the way back home, but that would have been even more insipid. Especially since Scootaloo left her scooter behind. Their restless hooves trotted up and down the path. Driving Rarity insane. "Could you two stand still for more than two seconds!?" she asked through gritted teeth. "Come on!" Scootaloo cried. "Can't we do something!? Why do we have to wait all the way over here!?" "Because, it's too dangerous," Applejack explained. "We don't know what that thing's capable of, and I'm not going to risk-" SCREEEE!! The sound resonated through the forest. "What was that?" the orange mare asked. "Sounds like a phoenix," Rarity responded. "An angry phoenix," Princess Cadance explained. Suddenly, a soft tremor resonated through the ground. The princess jumped from her reclining position, and flew in the direction of the sound. "Alright," Applejack explained. "We're gonna-" She never got to explain her plan, because she was the only other pony in the area. She could see her former companions, including her baby sister, run toward the noise. "Darn it!" she cried, chasing the ponies. When Pinkie first saw Perahitsu, she could not understand how such a small pony could cause so much damage. She saw the remains of Carousel Boutique. Half of it was turned to rubble, the other was turned to ashes. How could one pony, even one with fire powers, do that!? She now understood. The qilin's body was ablaze in white-hot flame. The vegetation around him was blackened from the heat. His speed was unparalleled. From his initial position, and in the time it took Pinkie Pie to blink, he was already on top of the group. And his strength... Several nearby trees snapped in half as charged through them. He could also fly. And Pinkie knew, the only reason she was alive, was because of Shining Armor's reaction time, and shield spell. It encased the group in a bright red bubble, protecting them from the creature's wrath. Cracks began to form in the barrier, and it took all of Shining's strength to repair the damage before it accumulated. Even Comet tried to help, but for some reason his repairs weren't very effective. It wasn't long before he started a more practical approach, throwing stones outside the barrier toward the assailant. "We can't do this forever!" the shrink cried, sending a large rock across the clearing. A glowing white form dodged the projectile, before flying toward the group, and impacting the shield, sending out another series of cracks. "You got a better plan!?" the guard replied. Spike huddled next to the earth pony, watching the two unicorns argue and bicker. Rainbow Dash had already flown off, to divide their attackers. Her plan worked, and the phoenix and pegasus fought in the air above, as the qilin engaged those on the ground. The shield was impacted again. "This isn't working!" Comet explained, sending another stone flying. "We need a distraction!" "We used our distraction!" Shining replied. "She flew after that damn bird!" "HEY!" A voice screamed from the other side of the clearing. "Wouldn't you rather an easier meal!?" The qilin stopped a foot from the shield, and spun around to face the orange pegasus. Comet wasn't sure if it was bravery or stupidity, but he did know one thing. Perahitsu was distracted. "Drop the shield," he whispered as his horn began to glow. The moment the bubble dissipated, a single blast shot from the shrink's horn, hitting their assailant square in the gut. He dropped to the ground, and collapsed as his flame faded away. "What was that!?" Scootaloo asked, as she ran across the clearing. "Sedation spell," Comet explained between breaths. "Where'd you learn that!?" Shining responded. "We occasionally have to deal with dangerous patients," he said remarkably calmly. "However I don't- ...oh sh-" He brushed the filly behind him as the qilin tried to get to his hooves. Then, he slipped and fell. The group watched as Perahitsu managed to slowly stand on shaky legs. His stance was wide, and his eyes boiled with hatred. Rarity and Cadance emerged from the other side of the clearing. And off to his left, the doctor noticed a yellow filly slide down a tall tree. "Looks like you're surrounded," Comet said, between heavy breaths. "I guess we can finally talk." "Go to Tartarus," the beast growled. "You'll all pay for this." "I don't think so," Shining explained. "You attacked us." "It's what we do to spies," he said through gritted teeth. "What are you doing so far from Canterlot?" Comet asked. "That's none of your concern." "Actually, I think it is, since a qilin attacked a building in Ponyville just last night." "And so you assume it was me!?" "You're right. That is an unjust assumption. Except for the fact that you attacked a member of the royal family." "I know who he is," the qilin explained. "And I know who his relations are." Shining's sword was suddenly unsheathed, and poised, inches from his opponent's face. "What, exactly, is that supposed to mean." "I only mean to give my condolences... for your loss." Comet noticed the smile on his face. "You're not telling us something." He turned to the doctor. "Prove it." "Speak!" Cadance screamed, approaching him from behind. "Or we'll have your father deal with you." The grin faltered just enough for Comet to notice. "Oh, I'm sure," he said. "But first, you'd have to survive!" His scales started to glow once again. But Comet was ready, once again hitting him with a burst of magic. The qilin collapsed to the ground. Shining's sword remained poised over the unconscious assailant. "Shining," the doctor said. "Put that away." "He's behind this," the prince explained. "He's a part of this." "You don't know that-" "-I know enough." He put a hoof on the warrior's shoulder. "Yeah, maybe." His other hoof rested on the sword, trying to manually lower it. "But it doesn't matter. We're better off keeping him alive. There are a lot of questions he could answer." A pair of hooves landed a few feet away. "Hey, you got him!" Rainbow said. "Better than me." "What happened!?" Spike asked. "It out flew me!" she explained, scratching her head. "I didn't know phoenixes were that fast." "So it's probably going to tell its masters," Shining theorized. "What makes you think it has any?" Comet asked. "What's going on?" the pegasus asked. "I'm not sure," the dragon replied. "Shining, come on," the shrink continued. "This wouldn't do any good." He slowly lowered his sword to the ground, and as it clattered, he quickly turned away. "That's good," he explained. "You see, Shining, it-" Metal scraped across the ground. The sword rose high in the air, and was forced straight through the scales of the young qilin. Red oozed over bright blue, and the creatures eyes snapped open. He began to choke and cough on his own blood. As he felt the life drain out of him, his head was turned, and he was forced to look in the purple eyes of the one who killed him. Cadance's face was cold, and unnerving, as she took the young pony's life. No one moved. No one spoke. And no one even breathed, as his last moments ticked away. Under his breath, Spike commented. "Crap." Twilight held a damp cloth to Spike's head. He'd been out cold for nearly twenty minutes, which worried the young unicorn. However, she didn't have the nerve to wake him. But as his eyes fluttered open, a wave of relief washed over her. So great that part of her thought he'd just come back from the dead. She held back her emotions and released but a smile. "Hey, Spike," she said. "How're you feeling?" The dragon cringed as he grabbed his head tightly. "Not good... How long was I out?" "Twenty minutes," Rainbow explained, as she trotted in his field of view. "Are you alright?" His eyes swept the room, and he quickly realized where he was; the farmhouse at Sweet Apple Acres, lying on Applejack's couch. "Yeah," he tried to sit up, when a burst of pain hit once again. "Don't try to get up, Spike," Twilight explained, pushing him down with her hoof. "You got a nasty knock on the head. You should relax." "No, no," the dragon objected. "If we don't do something he'll be gone!" "There's no point, little guy." Rainbow Dash explained. "We have no idea where he went!" "Rainbow, don't encourage him," the unicorn replied. "Spike, you can't start blindly searching for revenge!" "We can't let him get away with this," Spike rebutted, rubbing his head. Twilight leaned in close. "You don't even know if it's the same dragon." He remained silent. "Does it matter?" Rainbow asked. Spike and Twilight nearly snapped their necks turning to look at the pegasus, shocked at her reaction. "What!?" they asked, incredulously. "Oh come on, Twilight!" she replied. "That thing just destroyed Applejack's farm! You wanna let that slide!?" The unicorn responded, "Revenge isn't the answer, Rainbow." "It's not about revenge! It's about... um... protecting Ponyville!" "No it's not, you want revenge!" "Well, maybe I do!" she said, poking her friend in the chest. "And I don't see why you don't. Maybe you don't care about your friends." The unicorn gave a look that would've given a windigo the chills. She pushed Rainbow's hoof away with a wave of her foreleg. "Just because I don't want to run around like a crazy pony, searching for something that might be long gone, does not mean I don't care about Applejack... or Rarity." She poked the pegasus in the chest. "And let me be clear, there's not a day goes by that I don't think about tearing that dragon's heart out with my bare hooves. So don't you dare tell me I don't care about my friends." Rainbow was frozen. "You're right..." she responded. "I... I'm sorry." Twilight turned back to her patient. "But if we don't know where he is, there's no point." "There's plenty of forest in the area, we could start-" "Are you not listening!?" She snapped at her friend. "Which one!? There's no way we could possibly know where he went!" "That doesn't mean we should do nothing," Spike interjected, rubbing his head. Twilight released a dejected sigh. It was the only response she could think of, since nothing else felt appropriate. As the unicorn tried to organize her thoughts, a rapping came from the door. She opened it from across the room, and standing on the threshold were two pegasi, one yellow, one black. "What's up ladies!?" Thunderlane asked. "And Spike..." Fluttershy trotted into the room, and dropped a basket of apples on the coffee table. "Are you feeling okay, Spike?" she asked. "Do you need anything?" "No, I'm fine," he said, jumping off the couch. "Absolutely fine, no need to be concerned, I'm fine." "You sure little guy?" Rainbow asked, skeptically. "Yep!" He explained, straightening his posture. "Never felt better." "So, Rainbow," Thunderlane said, interjecting. "We need to talk." "What is it?" the weathermare asked. "Uh, we should probably talk about this outside." "No, what is it?" "Um... well..." He started scratching at his head. "We think we know where the dragon went." Everypony's head snapped in his direction. "What?" Rainbow asked. "Where!?" "Well, um... Daisy said she saw a dragon early this morning, before sunrise. He was flying in from the north, straight toward Whitetail Wood." As Rainbow and Twilight processed this information, Spike simply asked, "Whitetail Wood?" He nodded. "But..." Twilight pondered. "If he was coming from the north, it couldn't have been the same dragon." "Unless," Rainbow explained. "When he made his getaway, he didn't go straight to his hideout. He flew around a bit to try to throw us off." She clopped her hooves together. "Clever boy." She turned to the stallion. "What did he look like?" "Well, um... it was dark," he explained. "but... uh... green." Twilight released a sigh of dejection. "We still wouldn't know where to look," she explained. "Whitetail Wood is pretty big." "The southwest corner," Spike interjected. "He's in the southwest corner, there's a cave over there he could be hiding in." "Why do you think that?" He paused for a second and scratched his head. "I don't know, just an idea." "So, it's as good a place as any to start," Rainbow suggested. "Well, if we're doing this, we'll have to make sure we're well prepared," Twilight explained. "No, you won't. I'm going alone." Chapter Eight - A Bridge Too Far"Rainbow, you're not going alone!" Twilight exclaimed. "Yes, I am." The two ponies were already outside, Twilight following closely behind her friend, trying to convince her to stop. "It's foolish and reckless!" Rainbow turned around and approached her friend. "I don't want to see you get hurt," she responded quietly, head hung low. "And I don't want to see you get hurt either." The pegasus sighed deeply, and smiled. "Fine," she said. Twilight smiled in kind. "Hey, wait up!" a voice screamed. The two turned to see a small purple figure running down the path, followed closely by their much more recognisable friend, Fluttershy. Spike was nearly out of breath by the time he approached them, and declared, "I'm coming with you." They quickly shared a glance before Rainbow said, "Uh... I don't think so, Spike." "But, I need to show you where the cave is." "I think we can find it on our own." "I don't know," the librarian explained. "Whitetail Wood is pretty big." "Twilight..." the weathermare responded through gritted teeth. "Rainbow, he can help." Still unsure, she looked at her other friend. "You too, Fluttershy?" she asked. The pegasus nodded. She slid a hoof through her mane in frustration. "Alright," she said. "Let's go." The quartet began their journey, all while being watched by a single cyan iris, peeking around a burnt-out husk. Pinkie Pie trotted away from the scene, her head hung low. A blackened and broken plank was thrown into a large wooden cart. Just another on the slowly growing pile. There wasn't much to do in the aftermath of the attack, and there wasn't much anypony wanted to do. But doing nothing had always annoyed Apple Bloom. She hated doing nothing; especially today, on the day she lost everything. All she wanted to do was distract her mind. So she cleaned. She cleaned up the remains of the clubhouse she spent many days fixing, and decorating, and cleaning. It felt like losing somepony she knew, somepony close to her. It felt like losing a child. She tried to clear the thoughts from her head, but they kept returning. They kept coming back in full force. Partly because some of the debris looked familiar, triggering memories of days gone past. A husk of an album, the pages burnt to a crisp. A collection of blackened heart-shaped paper, falling apart as she touched them. The blackened fragments of a ceramic vase, shattered from the heat. As Apple Bloom lifted a charred rainbow wig, she knew this couldn't go on. She needed something new, something to distract her from her distraction. As she looked over the remnants, a figure entered her field of vision. Rumble's brother, Thunderlane, approached at a moderate pace. Another piece of timber landed on the pile. "This is gonna take all day," the young colt commented. Apple Bloom remained silent. His elder brother looked over the wreckage. "Thunderlane!" Rumble exclaimed, finally noticing the stallion. "What are you doing here?" "I was gonna ask you the same thing," he responded. "I'm comforting my girlfriend!" the colt declared. "Who?" his brother asked with genuine confusion. He pointed to the centre of the rubble, where Apple Bloom stood. The weathercolt raised an eyebrow. "You've only been on two dates." "I know right?" Rumble said with a proud smile. He put a hoof to his nose. "We need to have a talk." Scootaloo threw some more debris on the pile. "What are you doing out here anyway?" she asked. "Don't have to sound so suspicious. Actually, Fluttershy told me to come over to keep an eye on you kids. Somepony has to." "Why not her?" "Oh, she took off with Spike, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash. I think they're gonna track down that dragon." "What?" Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom zoomed over. "What!? Where!?" "Whitetail Wood; and no, you can't go with 'em." The filly pouted. "Why aren't you with them?" Rumble asked pointedly. "Well, I wasn't really in the mood to get killed by a dragon this week." "But you're fine with the four of them getting killed?" Thunderlane scrunched up his face. "What kinda question is that!? Of course I'm not, but it's not like I can stop them, I'm not married to any of them!" "Oh, you mean that wedding with Spike was annulled?" He leaned in close. "You're really irritating, you know that?" As the two siblings argued, far outside their line of sight, a young unicorn slowly slunk away. Once she was sure she wouldn't be spotted, she bolted as quickly as her little legs could carry her, straight in the direction of Whitetail Wood. As the quartet hit the edge of Whitetail Wood, Twilight found her pace start to lag. Her companions passed her, and stopped, out of concern. "Twilight?" Rainbow asked. "Are you alright?" The unicorn knocked herself out of a daze. "Huh? Yeah, I'm... I'm fine, it's just... last time we saw this dragon, it didn't end well." Unease washed over the group. "Come on," Rainbow said. Twilight quickened her pace and followed. "So, Spike," she said, looking down at the young dragon. "You know where we're going?" His eyes scanned the path, as he tried to retrace his steps. "Yeah, I think so." She laughed slightly. "You'd think you've been down here before." "I was, last night." "What?" Twilight asked. "You were?" "Uh..." He stopped suddenly. "No, but it... it sorta feels like it." The group picked up their pace again. Fluttershy's unease went unnoticed. Sweetie Belle had to cross through the town to reach her destination, which was an opportunity she decided to take advantage of. Bursting through the doors of Carousel Boutique, she quickly decided to search for her special collection of books. Magic books she borrowed from the library. She was only beginning her studies on the mystic arts, but now she knew she would have to start on the accelerated program. There was a spell she spotted earlier in the week. It was simple and efficient, and exactly what she needed. She just had to find it. The pile was exactly where she left it, in the middle of the main showroom. Shoving books aside, she quickly found what she was looking for. Flipping through the pages, she found the entry even faster. She studied the page, to refresh her memory, then galloped off to the backroom. At her late sister's designing desk, she pulled open a drawer, and quickly found a large rolled-up sheet of paper. Unfurling it on the ground, she knew she found it: a map of the Ponyville area. Her horn began to glow a bright green, and she ran it over the map, slowly and methodically; specifically, over Whitetail Wood. It wasn't long before she stopped over a point in the southwest corner. Satisfaction hit her face, and she galloped out once again, to the pile of books in the showroom. She scanned the mess she made, and quickly grabbed one of the books she knocked aside. Flipping through it, she eventually found her prize. Sweetie Belle was not exactly sure if this would work. There was much risk, due to how little experience she had. But it was a risk she was willing to take. With all the concentration she could muster, her horn began to shine once again, brighter and brighter. Until, in a flash of light, the store disappeared around her, suddenly replaced by the tall trees of Whitetail Wood. A grin appeared on her face; she was bursting with excitement. It worked! Now, she just had to find her friend, Spike. A shuffling noise suddenly came from behind her. In a panic, Sweetie Belle dashed behind a tree, hiding her from view. The trees were bent, and bushes were crushed, as a large green dragon forced its way through the vegetation. The unicorn suddenly realized, she found the wrong dragon. As Spike led the team through the forest, he realized that every tree, every bush, was exactly as he remembered it. Which was something he found quite bizarre. The dragon was certain he'd never been down this path before... at least, in this world. To see it look exactly as it was in the world with Rarity, that was strange. Confirmation that this was the dream? Or his mind playing tricks, correcting his memories of the dream to conform to reality? How could he know? He couldn't. "Spike?" a soft voice echoed in his ear. His head turned to see Fluttershy trotting alongside him. Their friends trailed several feet behind, chatting, discussing. "Oh, hey," he replied. "What's up?" "I just wanted to know, how do you know where we're going?" Spike was slightly at ease. Would Fluttershy chastise him for using the dream in such a way? Doubtful, but it still worried him. "It was the dream," he explained. "A qilin attacked Carousel Boutique; we traced him to the same cave." As they walked along the path, the dragon's nervousness increased. "It may be completely unconnected, but I thought-" "It's smart," the mare responded. "What?" "If the dragon's hiding in a cave, and there's a cave in the area, your subconscious probably knew that, and made the connection," she explained. "But I didn't know there was a cave in the area-" "Maybe you did, but you forgot." As they continued on the path, Spike's mind rolled back, and he asked himself a simple question: have I been here before? "But... I have one question," the young mare asked. Spike opened his mouth to respond. A crash sounded in the distance. The quartet stopped. A loud roar. They ran. Sweetie Belle ran. Ran as fast as her legs could carry her. It was only a matter of seconds ago that she messed up. A single sneeze, so simple, so innocent, blew her cover. She ran, dodging trees, leaping over debris, as her pursuer strode through them, destroying everything he touched. A flash of light ahead. Four familiar faces skidding to a stop. "Sweetie Belle!?" Twilight cried. "RUUUUUUN!!!" the filly screamed, zooming past them. She skidded to a stop and spun around, when she noticed they weren't complying. The four of them looked up at the dragon, who began to slow his approach. "ERAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he roared, the wind nearly blowing the ponies back. "You leave my friend's sister alone!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she flew straight toward the dragon's head, missing by a foot, but managing to catch the beast's attention. The other three ran toward the rescuee. "Sweetie Belle," Spike began. "What are you doing here!?" She quickly and frantically explained. "I was looking for you, but I found him, then he saw me and he got angry." The familiar sound of a burning fire roared from behind them. Their heads snapped to look. Rainbow Dash expertly dodged a bright orange flame. "Fluttershy, get her out of here," Twilight ordered. "Not a problem!" the pegasus responded, slightly panicked. "Now, as for him..." Twilight suddenly released a bright purple blast of magic, in the direction of the dragon's head. It missed him by metres, but managed to catch his attention. "Hey, ugly!" the unicorn screamed. "Why don't you pick on somepony at your level, you flightless bastard!" "That's your best trash talk?" Spike whispered. "It sounded better in my head," she responded through gritted teeth. The dragon roared again, and incinerated the spot the two were standing on. A burst of light flashed behind the dragon. "That the best you got?" Twilight asked. He growled, as his frustration grew. A sudden impact hit the dragon's head from behind, and a multi-coloured blur flew through his field of vision. He screamed once again, in anger and disdain. Rainbow dodged another burst of flame. She had to keep flying. She had to distract and anger the creature, just long enough... just long enough... Twilight's horn started to glow. Her plan was not simple. Dragons had a very high magical resistance. It only weakened if... "Hey! Dragon! Your mother's an iguana!!!" she screamed. He swung at the unicorn with his tail, and she quickly dodged the attack, as her assistant dove behind a tree. Twilight knew, she could feel it. Now she just needed a clean shot. Rainbow flew up to the beast, and bonked him on the top of his head, before flying away. He looked up. A point of bright, radiant energy shot from the tip of her horn, hitting the creature at the bottom of his jaw. The dragon was suddenly taken aback. He suddenly started choking, as if a noose was around his throat. He collapsed on the ground, convulsing as he tried to cough up the obstruction. He wrapped his claws around his throat, almost out of instinct. Twilight trotted up to his face. Anger boiled inside her. A sudden flash of magic, and he found himself able to breathe again, but otherwise paralyzed. "Tell me what you were doing at Sweet Apple Acres last night," she said. The fear and anger in the beast's eyes was slowly replaced by arrogance. And the scowl on his face was replaced by a smile. "Sweet Apple Who?" "Don't play dumb with us!" Rainbow screamed. "We know you were there! Why'd you destroy Applejack's farm!?" "It does not matter. You cannot stop us." Twilight responded, "for a dragon who's been successfully incapacitated, you seem pretty cocky." He chuckled in a laugh Spike found very familiar. The stereotypical laugh of some evil mastermind, often seen in films. To see it in real life, the young dragon found very bizarre. "My life does not matter, only the order. And nopony can stop us. Not even her." "Who's 'her'?" Twilight asked. "And what order?" Rainbow interjected. Then, whatever patience the pegasus had quickly died. "What fucking order!?" She screamed, grabbing the dragon around his snout. His eyes began to roll, his mouth began to water. He started to choke once again, but it was not a magical illusion Twilight created. It was the real deal. "No... NO!!!" This was not what the unicorn wanted. "What's going on!?" Rainbow asked, releasing her grip on the beast. "What's happening!?" Sweetie Belle inquired from behind the group. His eyes had already stopped moving. His convulsions had ceased. Twilight knew what this meant. "He... he just killed himself," she explained, her hooves collapsing underneath her. "What?" "Why!?" "I... I don't know." "Um... Twilight," Rainbow interjected. "This isn't a good thing, is it?" She kept her eyes on the corpse, and responded, "No, no it's not... It should have been, but it's not." "Um..." Fluttershy said, creeping up behind them. "So, what do we do now?" The unicorn stood up, and simply said, "We need to find that cave." Spike's eyes snapped open. He sprang up in his bed, and a bright green flame shot from his mouth, materializing into a scroll, and landing on the floor. Without another thought, he threw the covers aside and flew out of his bed, faster than he'd ever done before. Running to the nearest bookshelf, Spike started grabbing books, flipping through them, and throwing them to the side. It was so strange. None of it made any sense. What was 'the order'? A vague and unusual question, but one he needed an answer to. They had so little information, only what they found in the cave, which amounted to a few letters. Not much to go on, since they were written in a different language. While Twilight determined it was Toranin, she didn't know a word of Toranin. It was such an obscure language. But Spike needed more information... here, in the other world. If only for confirmation. The most identifiable reference point was still in his head. It was all he had to go on. He searched his scales for quill and parchment, but found nothing. His eyes caught sight of a black marker. He grabbed it and ran to the nearest stretch of blank wall. He drew a giant circle, with a slash proceeding straight through, from upper left to bottom right. From the centre of the circle, he drew another line to the upper right. Finally, Spike drew a jagged line in the bottom left hemisphere, parallel to the first line. In the damp cave, lying on the floor, Twilight saw three pieces of green wax. Their colour clearly matched the residue left on the envelopes. Using her arcane skills, she magicked them together, and could clearly see a single symbol embossed within. It was all he had to go on. "Spike?" Comet slowly awoke, a hoof rubbing an eye. "What's going on?" "Oh, um..." Spike was conflicted. "I'm just-" "Something happened in your dream didn't it?" "Uh... yeah," he responded hesitantly. "Can it wait till I had my coffee?" "Uh... sure." He flopped down on the mattress. But then, Comet noticed something. He eased back up. "What in the name of Tartarus did you draw on the wall?" he asked. Spike turned to look at his masterpiece. "I... I saw it in my dream," he explained. The unicorn trotted up to his charge, and the drawing. "Could use a bit more colour," he quipped. A knock came at the bedroom door. The two of them turned around, and saw Shining Armor peeking in. "Hey, guys, I..." He froze in place. "What are you...?" Without another word, the stallion trotted in, and made a beeline for the drawing. "Why is that on your wall?" he asked, with tones of surprise and confusion. "Uh... Spike just drew it." "Yeah, I had a strange dream." The soldier remained frozen. "Is something wrong?" Comet asked. "Yeah..." he replied. The two civilians shared a look. "Did any mail come in?" Shining asked, without looking away from the emblem. "Oh, yeah," Spike said, finally remembering the letter that woke him. The dragon ran to the parchment that lay on the ground. Unfurling the first few inches, he confirmed the addressee, and held it out for Shining Armor. Without a word, the soldier walked toward the bedroom door, only for Comet to stop him. "Wait, Shining," he said. "What is this thing?" "It's nothing." "No, it's not." Shining Armor stopped at the door, and let his thoughts settle. Turning around, he spoke quickly. "It's the emblem used by a cult known as the Order of the Flame." He started to leave. "And?" Comet said. Shining Armor froze. "We think they were behind Twilight's death," he said before closing the door behind him. The boys shared a look of shock and horror. Author's Note The author would like to personally thank Periphery for all his help in preparing this chapter for publication. Chapter One - The Pink StoneThe morning sun rose, shining upon Ponyville. Beams of light came through the windows of the living quarters at Ponyville Library. Slowly moving across the floor until they landed on a small basket in the middle of the room, containing a small purple dragon named Spike. The light woke him, and as he stirred in his bed, opening his eyes to the world, a question ran through his head, on one wall, he saw the answer indicated on a wall calendar. It was Saturday, and the day before, Friday, was crossed out. But he could still read what was well-marked in Friday's square: "Rarity's Funeral" He stood, yawned and stretched his arms wide, recovering from a long night's sleep. He looked over at the dresser at one end of the room, and noticed a gold ring sitting on top of it. Getting out of his bed, he walked over, and examined the ring, it was exactly as he last left it, tiny fragments of the original gemstone were still lodged inside, but most of it had already fallen out. It didn't matter, he had a plan for this ring. He proceeded down the stairs to the library's main sitting room. As he entered, he heard a voice from the kitchen, which was through a nearby door. "Spike!?" A purple unicorn mare entered the room, and looked at the young dragon, "I made breakfast if you want any." "Um...in a minute Twilight," Spike said to his best friend. "I gotta take care of something." As she proceeded back into the kitchen, Spike went straight to a bookshelf on the other end of the room. In the foreign language section, he spotted a book on jewellery repair. It was misfiled, likely by one of the library's patrons. He grabbed it and proceeded down to the library's basement. There wasn't much light in the basement, but a small window high up at the top provided just enough for him to take in his surroundings. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he found a simple torch hanging on the wall that he quickly lit with his dragon breath, so he could see a lot better. He then made a beeline straight to the workbench at one end of the basement, dropping both the ring, and book right on top. He then proceeded to a simple green chest at the other end of the room. Opening it, he saw it was full of gemstones of various colours, which made his mouth water. But he wasn't here to eat, he was here on a mission. He grabbed a pink stone, closed the chest and ran back to the bench, placing the torch in a stand. He quickly flipped the book to the page he needed, instructions on how to set a gemstone. Taking a cloth that was kept down there, he placed the ring into a vice that was bolted to the bench, placing the cloth in between the ring and vice, so it wouldn't get damaged. He then took a big bite out of the pink gemstone, chewing and swallowing. He continued to eat it until it was about the right size. Holding it up to the ring, he saw it was just a little too big, and wasn't the right shape. He continued to take small bites out of the gemstone until it would fit the ring. Eventually, the stone was ready. He reached into one of the drawers on the bench, pulling out a small hooked tool, which he used to clear out what was left of the old stone, before getting to work placing the new stone in. Eventually, the new ring was complete. Originally a gift from his girlfriend, it would now remind him of what he had, not what he lost. The thought made him smile. He slid the ring onto his right hand, extinguished the torch, and quickly ran back upstairs. Once he arrived in the library's kitchen, he could see Twilight, sitting at the table, idly stirring a bowl of cereal. Across from her, another bowl sat, obviously for Spike. "Well," Spike said. "At least now I know why you said, 'made breakfast,' instead of 'cooked breakfast.'" That managed to get a chuckle out of Twilight. Spike was in the basement for a while, so the fact that Twilight's bowl was full, made Spike realize something was wrong. But he didn't need to ask what it was, because he already knew. Spike sat on the stool, and dug right in. Twilight looked up at Spike, and smiled. He smiled back and, after swallowing what was in his mouth, asked, "You doing okay?" "I'm fine," she lied. "I guess I'm just not hungry." Spike was concerned, but he couldn't think of what to say. He wished there was something he could say that would make everything all better. But there wasn't. Rarity was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Well, that wasn't exactly true...but...well, he knew Twilight too well to think that would work. Twilight looked up from her bowl and noticed Spike's ring. "Did...did you change the stone in that ring?" Spike stopped eating, and looked at the unicorn. He then looked at his ring. "Oh, yeah, since the old stone broke I figured I should replace it." "It's a different colour," she said. "Yeah?" Spike said, a bit perplexed. "You didn't like the old one?" "Um...no, it's not that," he said. "I just couldn't find a green stone to replace it." Twilight was skeptical, after all he could have just waited until he found a green stone, but she decided to let it go. Spike had his reasons, she just had to accept it. Perhaps a green stone would remind him too much of her. But if that was true, why wear the ring at all? It wasn't important. She had other things to discuss. "So, um...I hear Rarity left Carousel Boutique to Sweetie Belle." Spike paused as another spoonful of cereal was about to enter his mouth. "Really?" he said, a bit perplexed. "Mmmhm, I'm not sure what they're going to do with it, but I doubt Sweetie Belle can run the store on her own...or make clothes to populate it." Spike began worrying about the consequences of this. They might sell it, and they couldn't do that! It would tarnish her memory! He had to meet with Rarity's parents. Try to convince them to keep it open. Spike quickly polished off the rest of his cereal. "I got to go!" Spike said, as he began running out of the kitchen. "Spike!" Twilight yelled, stopping the young dragon. He turned around and looked at his friend. "What are you going to do?" "...I figure they might try to sell it, I'm going to convince them to keep it open," Spike explained. "Why?" Spike paused for a second before answering. "I'll see you later, Twilight," he ran out the door. The streets of Ponyville weren't very busy that morning. Most ponies were still waking up. Which meant Fluttershy didn't have to try very hard to spot a particular young dragon as he left his house. The yellow pegasus had just finished her morning chores, which included feeding all the animals in her care, and cleaning up any messes in her cottage, and was flying over Ponyville when she spotted Spike. She landed a few feet behind him and caught up to the young dragon. "Spike?" she said, in a very quiet voice. The dragon turned and greeted his friend, "Oh, hey Fluttershy. What brings you into town?" "OH! I was going to meet up with Rainbow Dash, when I saw you and decided to say 'hello,'" Fluttershy lied. "AH!" Spike said in realization. "Where are you going?" Fluttershy asked with genuine curiosity "Oh, did you know that Rarity left Carousel Boutique to Sweetie Belle?" Fluttershy thought for a second. "Um...no...why?" "I'm worried her parents might make her sell it!" Fluttershy was suddenly very concerned. "Um...Spike...why is that a problem?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. "Because I know Rarity wouldn't want that," he explained. "In fact, there are probably a few of her designs that never got made. Think of how terrible it would be if they died with her!?" "Spike," she explained. "They probably weren't finished either." "Well that's easy to fix," he said, slyly, giving her a wink. Fluttershy sighed and looked at her friend, "Spike-" "Look! Fluttershy, I know you don't believe me, but I have to at least try!" Her concern didn't fade, but she realized he was going to do this either way, and he might need some help. "Well, in that case, you should know they're already at Carousel Boutique." "What?" She nodded, "I saw them when I flew over." "Great!" He exclaimed, as he took off in the opposite direction. "OH!" said Fluttershy, "Wait for me!" Carousel Boutique was nearly empty that day, as the former owner's family was examining everything within. It was still as pristine as it was the day Rarity died, since no one bothered visiting it until today. One of the many rooms within contained several rolls of fabric, a half-dozen dress forms, sewing machine, and other equipment used for making and designing clothes. But all that was ignored by Sweetie Belle. She was lying down in the middle of what Rarity called her 'inspiration room,' flipping through a book filled with drawings of clothes. All signed by Rarity. She wasn't sure if any of them had been made before, in fact most of them, she didn't recognize. It was possible that this work was part of Rarity's to-do list. It was terrible that she never got the chance to actually make them. It was at this moment, Sweetie Belle heard some noise coming down the hallway. Closing the book, she proceeded down the hall to find out what all the ruckus was about. In the middle of the main showroom, she saw her mother, a pink unicorn named Diamond Ring, hugging a familiar purple dragon. "Spike!" Sweetie Belle yelled as she ran toward her friend. Diamond Ring got out-of-the-way as her daughter tackled the young dragon. "GAH!" Spike reacted as his friend pinned him to the ground. "Hey, Sweetie Belle," he said to the young unicorn currently on top of him. "What's up?" "I am!" she said cheekily. "I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome." "I just missed you!" she said as she nuzzled the little guy. "That's all!" "You saw me yesterday!" "I know!" Sweetie Belle had a huge smile on her face as she stepped off him. "Um..." went a soft voice to Sweetie Belle's left. She didn't notice until that moment that Fluttershy was standing next to her. Sweetie Belle jumped. "AH!" she screamed and fell on her back. "Fluttershy! I didn't see you there!" Sweetie went right back to smiling. Spike got back to his feet and helped Sweetie to her hooves. "So, you little ragamuffin," Diamond Ring said, to Spike, who hated that nickname. "What brings you here?" "Oh, not much, just talked to Twilight this morning." Turning to Sweetie Belle, he continued, "she said Rarity left this place to you." Sweetie just looked at Spike wide-eyed. There was an awkward silence as they waited for him to continue. "...and I was just wondering what you were planning to do with it." "Funny you should ask," came a voice from the other side of the room. No one noticed Sweetie Belle's father, a white earth pony named Field Goal, enter the room. "I was just thinking about that." As he walked towards the foursome. Spike got very nervous. "Since it technically belongs to Sweetie Belle, she should benefit," Field Goal explained. "So...we should sell it and put the money in her college fund!" "NO!!!" Spike and Sweetie Belle exclaimed. If Fluttershy didn't know any better, she would have thought they rehearsed that. "I mean..." Spike tried to explain, before saying, "NO!" "We can't sell this place, all of Rarity's work is here!" "Well, it won't go away, Pumpkin," her father explained. "We'll sell them so other ponies can enjoy them, just like Rarity would have done." "But...but...but that's not all!" Sweetie said before zooming off into the back room. Spike thought things would be a bit more difficult. He thought he would have to explain, but the truth was, he had nothing...or at least, nothing that wouldn't make him sound completely insane. So Spike was quite happy to see Sweetie make the argument for him. It was a few seconds later when she arrived back in the room, with a book in her mouth. Dropping it open and flipping to a page with a drawing of a very elegant dress on it, she pointed at it and said simply. "See! I've never seen any dress like this. I think she was planning to make it, but never got the chance." "Sweetie Belle," her mother explained. "Maybe this was a dress she didn't want to make. Maybe it was supposed to be on the scrap pile." "No," came a sweet voice from behind them. Fluttershy explained, "that was supposed to be part of her next collection, but..." "See!" Sweetie said, with a mix of pride and desperation. "But, Sweetie Belle," her father said. "What would you do with this anyway?" "I'd make it and sell it," the young unicorn explained. "This shouldn't stay stuck in a book like this. It should be worn by ponies all across Equestria!" "But be realistic," he explained. "You're still a little foal, you're still in school, you can't run a dress shoppe all on your own!" "But...but..." Spike noticed tears in the young filly's eyes, as she said, very quietly, "it's all that's left of her." Spike was pretty sure he was the only one who heard her say that, and it broke his heart, even more than it already was. Then, he suddenly had an idea on how to help her, and he didn't like it. "She doesn't need to," the young dragon said. "I can help!" "WHAT!?" said every pony in the room. "We can run this place together," he explained, moving to stand next to Sweetie Belle. "Finishing Rarity's designs and selling them off." "But Spike," Diamond explained. "Do either of you know how to sew?" They looked at each other, suddenly very worried. Spike looked across to his yellow friend. "No," he explained. "But Fluttershy does." "What?" Fluttershy said. "You can teach us how to sew!" Fluttershy wanted to say 'no' but Spike's pleading eyes made her say, "yes, yes I can." She then moved to stand next to the two, not quite sure of what she was getting into, but knowing Spike needed as much support as she could provide. The two older ponies looked at each other, unsure of what to do. As Spike arrived back at the Library a few hours later, he was quickly greeted by his best friend, Twilight, who was reading in the middle of the room. "Hey, Spike! How'd it go!?" she asked her young assistant. Spike did not look to happy when he entered, but nonetheless, he turned to face the unicorn and, with a smile, said, "You're looking at the new co-owner of Carousel Boutique!" "WHAT!?" Twilight was shocked at this new revelation. "How'd that happen!?" "I'm still not sure, and I somehow roped Fluttershy into it," he explained. "Spike!" she said, a bit angry. "Why'd you do that!?" "Well, she didn't object." "That's not the point!" Twilight explained. "Do you even know how to design clothes!?" "Well, no...but Rarity left a lot of sketches behind, and I can learn." "Spike it's not that simple." "Well, maybe not!" he explained. "But I can at least try!" "Spike!" "Twilight!" Spike explained, holding up a claw. "Don't worry about it. It'll all be fine." "Spike," Twilight continued, much calmer now. "Does this mean you quit?" Spike suddenly remembered he was also Twilight's assistant. "OH!!" He said, "um...don't worry, I'll stay on top of my chores, it won't be a problem." Twilight just looked at him and said, "Don't worry about it Spike. If this is something you really want to do, I'm not going to put any extra pressure on-OOOF!" Spike leaped up and grabbed her neck in a hug. "Thank you!" Spike said. Twilight was surprised by this, "alright, Spike it's alright...you can let go now." But he didn't. He continued to hug the mare, and said simply, "I love you, Twilight." Twilight was a bit confused. "I love you too, Spike." Spike let go, and quickly walked toward the kitchen trying to hide the tears in his eyes. "I'm going to make lunch." The morning sun rose, shining upon Ponyville. Beams of light came through the windows of the living quarters at Ponyville Library. Slowly moving across the floor until they landed on a small basket in the middle of the room, containing a small purple dragon named Spike. The light woke him, and as he stirred in his bed, opening his eyes to the world, a question ran through his head, on one wall, he saw the answer indicated on a wall calendar. It was Saturday, and the day before, Friday, was crossed out. But he could still read what was well-marked in Friday's square: "Twilight's Funeral" He stood, yawned and stretched his arms wide, recovering from a long night's sleep. He looked at his right hand, and noticed the gold ring he fixed the night before. The ring was dominated by a blue stone, a stone he chose to remind him of what he had, not what he lost. Spike got out of bed and proceeded down the stairs to the library’s main sitting room. As he entered, he heard a voice from the kitchen, which was through a nearby door. "Spike!?" A green unicorn stallion with glasses entered the room, and looked at the young dragon, "I made breakfast if you want any." "Yeah, sure," Spike said, as he followed Cerebral Comet into the kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table were two ponies he knew very well: Shining Armour, Twilight's brother; and Princess Cadance, his wife. "Good morning, Spike," Shining greeted the young dragon. "Yeah," Spike replied, "Morning." In front of them were two plates, with stacks of pancakes. The Princess had her mouth full, so she could only nod in Spike's direction. Spike grabbed a stool, and placed it in front of the table just as Comet gave Spike a plate. Six pancakes in the middle of the table were then stabbed by a glowing blue fork, and loaded onto Cadance's plate. She then levitated a jar of maple syrup and poured it onto her plate. Spike then stabbed a few pancakes himself, placed them onto his plate and waited for Cadance to finish with the syrup. "So, Spike," Shining said, trying to make conversation. "How are you doing?" He merely shrugged as Cadance finished with the syrup. Spike grabbed it before she managed to place it on the table, and poured just enough syrup to cover the pancakes. As he started to cut up his food, he asked a simple question. "So, where are you're parents?" "They left last night," Shining responded. "Right!" Spike said, "I forgot." "Yeah, I guess they didn't want to stick around." At this moment, Comet walked over, with a pan in a golden glow, and tipped three pancakes onto the plate in the middle. "Well, I'm out of batter," he said as the pan floated to the sink. He loaded his plate and sat down opposite Spike and in between the happy couple. "These are good," Cadance said, pointing to her plate with her fork before loading it with some more pancake. "Where'd you get the recipe?" Comet was about to pour some syrup onto his pancakes, when he answered, "Oh, it was in a recipe book I found. This place is well stocked I gotta tell ya." "She always tried," Spike said, as he took another bite. Silence fell on the group for a minute as they continued eating. Eventually a knock came at the door, and Comet quickly got up to go answer it. A few seconds later, the trio heard Comet scream, "HEY!" from the next room. Eventually, they learned who it was at the door as both Comet and a white unicorn named Rarity entered the kitchen. "Good morning everyone." "Good morning, Rarity," Cadance said. "Morning, Rarity," said Shining. Spike gave her a proper greeting though. He said, "Good Morning," as he got up, and walked toward his girlfriend, giving her a big kiss. "So, what brings you here this early." "You mean besides you, of course," she said with a smile. "I came to invite Princess Cadance to join me and the girls at the spa!" "The spa?" she asked, with a mouthful of pancake. "Yes, well, we haven't gone in a few weeks, and this week has been especially stressful," everyone knew why, "so we're all going to go and relax, get the full treatment." Cadance smiled, swallowed, and said, "sounds lovely." "Fantastic, we'll meet at 10:30, at the Aloe Vera Day Spa, it's just down the road." "I'll be sure to be there." "Great! See you all later," she said as she made her exit. But Spike had other plans, "Um, Rarity," he said, following her out. "Yes, what is it Spike?" she said, stopping in the middle of the main sitting room. "I was just...um..." this was very difficult, he had to phrase it in a way that wouldn't raise suspicions. "I was just wondering how business was doing." "It's going well," she said. "Why do you ask?" "Oh, just...um...just curious," he said. Spike needed some very specific information. But it would be hard to get if he wasn't careful. "What about, future plans? I was just wondering what the future held for Carousel." Rarity was getting suspicious, he could tell. "Spike, you've never been interested in my work before." Spike needed to grease the wheels. "That's not true," he said. "I've always been interested, especially when you're wearing 'em," he finished with a smile. Rarity blushed. "Besides, shouldn't I at least try to share the same interests as my girlfriend?" "Well, I do have a new fashion line, and...actually, I would like a second set of eyes. Get a male perspective. Interested?" Spike hit the jackpot! "Great, I'll come with you right now! Just one second." He ran back into the kitchen and quickly polished off his plate of food, before saying, "I'll see you later, Comet," and running off again. He had to get this information, because he made a commitment to Sweetie Belle that they would manage Carousel Boutique together, and he would help her finish Rarity's designs, and he knew the best way to do that was to look at Rarity's completed designs in another world. The world he was in now. So, when he went to sleep that night, and went to the other world, the one without his beloved, he would tell Sweetie Belle exactly how to finish it. This was Spike's plan, to ensure no pony, in any world, would ever forget about his love. He could only hope it wouldn't blow up in his face.
Chapter Two - A Thousand WordsIt had been happening for over a week. Every time he went to bed, Spike would wake in a different world. In one world, his girlfriend, Rarity, survived the dragon attack that claimed the life of his best friend: Twilight. In the other world, Rarity died and Twilight survived. Only one pony knew about Spike's situation. The only one Spike could trust not to take offence or judge him for it. She told him that the other world was just a dream that his mind created to help him cope with the loss. While that might be true, the problem was, from Spike's perspective, the dream could have easily been the world she occupied. They both felt real, almost too real. He never went to sleep. He just kept on waking up. It was during moments like these, walking quietly with his girlfriend down the streets of Ponyville, that Spike thought about his situation. What if one of these worlds was just a dream? What if somepony he loved really was gone forever? What if the dream ended? What if he never saw one of these two mares again? The thought made him a little sick, and a little scared. The streets were very busy that morning, almost crowded. So it took Rarity and Spike a while to reach the Boutique as they tried to negotiate their way through the herd. When they finally arrived, Rarity quickly trotted over to the dais on the right side of the room where a book was sitting. As Spike joined her, it levitated in the air as she began flipping through it. As the pages were turning Spike could tell she was looking for something specific. "AH!" she said, settling on a page. As the book moved in Spike's direction. He grabbed it and took a good look at what he saw. He recognized it instantly, it was one of the sketches Sweetie Belle was insistent on finishing. But something was different about it. Unfortunately, he couldn't identify it exactly. "Well, what do you think?" Rarity asked. "Don't hold back! I want an honest opinion." Spike tried to imagine the dress completed. It was a long, flowing, light blue gown with ribbons tied along the waist, and the forelegs were made of some type of lace. As he tried to picture it, he ended up imagining the most beautiful mare in the world wearing it: Rarity. But unfortunately, he couldn't see it working. On a lark he imagined some of his other friends in the dress, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight. It would work a lot better on one of them. "I like it," he said. "Really?" she asked. "You're not just saying that?" "Well, it depends on who's wearing it. I mean...um..." he didn't know how to continue without triggering a spark of jealousy from his beloved. "Well, the colour would clash with my mane, I know that," she said, saving the young dragon. "Right! That's just what I was going say," Spike said with a smile. He quickly started flipping through the book and eventually one particular dress caught his attention. Primarily because it had a big 'X' through it. "Rarity, what's this?" he asked. She looked at the page and said, "Oh, um...that's...it's nothing." She quickly took the book away from him and ripped out the page. "Rarity," Spike said. As she started walking away with the book. "It's nothing alright!" Rarity screamed. Spike couldn't tell if he should keep pressing the issue, or not. 'Why exactly would she destroy her work like that?' he wanted to ask. Instead he asked, "can I finish looking at the book?" It floated behind Rarity, and Spike grabbed it out of the air. "Thanks," he said cautiously. Spike then placed the book back on the dais, and started flipping again. A few seconds later, he could hear Rarity walk up behind him, right before she started nuzzling him from behind. "I was going to make it for Twilight," Rarity explained. "Her birthday would have been next month." Spike could feel some moisture on her cheek as it brushed up against his head. No further words were necessary, so none were said. Spike kept flipping through the book, trying to memorize as much as he could, but he noticed that there wasn't much difference between the drawings he was looking at, and the ones he saw in the other world. Eventually, Spike started feeling Rarity's breath on his ear. Her tongue reached out and started licking it, and Spike reacted with a shudder and a gasp. "R-Rarity," he said, voice trembling. At this point, her hooves were wrapped around the young dragon, and her lips around his ear. "MMM?" she said. "Wha-what're you doing?" "Please, Spike...I need this." "Bu-but I thought you said-" "-I changed my mind." Spike was confused, to say the least; but his mind wouldn't let him think about why this was happening, just that it was. He turned around and gave Rarity a kiss, their tongues danced around each other; and as Rarity's horn started glowing, the window blinds lowered. The Ponyville Library used to be a very quiet place, but since it fell under new ownership, that had changed. You hit rock bottom and everypony knows it But does anypony care you got there? The music was echoing through the walls, as a young, bespectacled, green unicorn stallion was standing in the middle of the library's main sitting room. In front of him, were a pile of books, sitting on the main table, as he looked at each one, a golden glow surrounded it, and it flew onto a shelf. Though some books didn't make it to the shelves, and were set aside on a special pile. Admit to yourself that everything's a problem But when it comes down what do you care? Behind him, the library's front door opened, as a young purple dragon walked in. He could see his new guardian, Doctor Cerebral Comet, sorting through the unsorted books, and noticed that the unicorn did not even notice Spike enter the room. "Losiiiin' Coltifornia...." Comet said in an out-of-tune voice. Spike lowered his eyelids, and slammed the door, startling the stallion. Comet turned around and looked at the young dragon. "Oh, hi Spike!" "Can you turn down the music?!" Spike asked. Sometimes it's too much! You want to get right out of your mind. "OH!" his horn glowed as the volume decreased. "What's up? How'd it go?" he said once the music went quiet. "How'd what go?" Comet paused for a second, "whatever you went out to do." Spike paused for another second, "it went well." Comet could tell something was off. He tapped his teeth as he thought of what to do. "Hey, Spike," he said. "Remember when I said you can talk to me about anything? Offer's still on the table." "Yeah, I know, it's your job." "Cynical much?" He said with a smile. "I'm just saying, considering what you just did, you should be happy and you look upset." Spike's eye's went wide. "How'd you!?" He looked around anxiously. "Who told you!?" "No one Spike, I'm just really good at reading ponies." "I'm not a pony." "Close enough," Comet said cheekily. "Your spines are messed up, you have a flushed look, and I can see some sweat stains on you, which is weird considering dragons don't have sweat glands." Spike's expression suddenly turned guilty. "Hey, Spike, nothing wrong with getting laid," Comet said, in an effort to get Spike to relax. "I-I know!" the young dragon said. "It's just..." "Come on, to the kitchen! We have coffee!" Comet led the way. Spike followed the unicorn and as they entered the room, he noticed it was empty, and asked the obvious question. "We the only ones here?" "Yeah," Comet answered. "Shining said he had to do a few things, but he didn't go into detail, and I doubt he wanted to." "Oh," Spike wondered exactly what Twilight's brother was up to, but Comet interrupted his train of thought. "So!" he said as he got a few cups. "What's on your mind?" As Comet was getting the coffee ready, Spike started talking. "It's not like it was our first time," he explained. "That was a month ago, we had only been dating for about a week." Comet arrived with two mugs of hot coffee. "Okay," he said, a bit concerned. "But immediately after that, Rarity said it was a one-time thing and she wanted to start over, and take things slow, which I was fine with!" "So, she changed her mind?" Comet asked, stirring some sugar into his cup. "I guess." Spike took a sip of his coffee. He liked his black. "It's just," he continued. "It feels odd. Twilight dies, and suddenly she wants to jump-start our relationship!? I don't..." Comet took a swig of coffee before answering. "Well, Spike, maybe you're right. Perhaps it is related." "Doesn't that seem odd to you?" The unicorn paused for a second. "Everything seems odd to me. But different ponies grieve in different ways," he explained. "Everyone has their own coping mechanisms. For Rarity, she might be merely trying to distract herself." "So I'm a distraction," Spike said, not too impressed. He actually felt a bit used. "Maybe...or, she's trying to remind herself of the good things in life...like you." That made Spike feel a little better. He smiled and took another sip of his coffee. "But I have no way of knowing for sure. I'd have to talk to her, I think she's been avoiding. But even if I did I wouldn't be able to tell you." Spike was perplexed. "You wouldn't?" Comet shook his head in response. "Doctor-patient confidentiality. Can't tell anypony anything about any of my patients-which now includes you!" he added with a smile. "It's the only way I can do my job, I have to be an expert secret-keeper. Which can be pretty frustrating at times." "AH!" Spike responded, before taking another sip of coffee. "Well, that's good, at least I know you won't tell everypony in town." "Yep," Comet said with pride and a smile. "Which means if there is anything else you want to tell me, anything at all, I can guarantee no one else would know, you can trust me implicitly." "Good!" Comet paused for a second before continuing. "Is there anything else?" "Nope," Spike lied, and Comet knew it. The young dragon averted his gaze. The doctor sighed. "Well, I gotta finish with the books," he said as he carried his drink into the next room. Spike chugged the rest of the hot beverage and followed the unicorn. As Spike entered, he saw Comet at the centre of the room, looking at a few books. "Okay, I have no idea where these go," the unicorn said, placing the books on a pile and levitating the whole thing in between the two. Spike walked up and grabbed one of the books. "I think they all go upstairs." Comet was looking at Spike before he said, "OH," and turned his gaze towards the stairs, and quickly proceeded up them, with books and coffee in tow. Spike followed him, carrying one of the books. "You know," he said, "I can take care of that." "No, it's fine, I got nothing else to do, and I like staying busy," Comet quickly explained. "You sure? I mean it is my job." As he got to the top of the stairs, Comet replied, "Relax Spike I'm not trying to usurp your position." "Usu..." "Take by force." "AH!" Spike noticed the music was much louder up here, and more interestingly, a different song was playing. Nopony's going to help you You've just gotta stand up alone Dig in your hooves and see how it looks To raise a little Tar of your own! As Comet looked around, he realized something. "Actually, maybe you should take over," he said with a sheepish grin. Spike smiled as he took all the books from him, placing the whole pile on the floor. "I'm going to the bedroom, I kinda want to redecorate," Comet explained. "Really?" Spike said. "Yeah, just move a few things around, no big deal," Comet said as he trotted up another set of stairs, arriving in the Library's sleeping area, that overlooked the room where Spike was currently filing books. Spike absorbed himself into his work as he heard furniture moving. There weren't many books to take care of, only around a dozen. So he was able to make quick work of it. Once Spike was done, he decided to see what exactly Comet was up to. As he arrived in the main sleeping area, he saw Comet had already moved the bed closer to the window, and was nudging it back and forth with his magic. A little to the left...a little to the right...a little to the left again...a slight turn to the right. Proud of his work, Comet turned around, and suddenly reared up and neighed in shock, at the appearance of the young dragon before him. "Hey," Spike said with a wave. "Don't do that!" "Don't do what?" Comet lowered his head until it was inches from Spike's. "Sneak up on me like that," he explained. "Oh...sorry," the dragon said, a bit confused. Comet sighed and turned his attention to the big dresser that used to be next to the bed. Levitating it in a golden glow, he started moving it to the other side of the room, next to the bed's new location. As he was moving the dresser, Spike noticed, on the ground, a photo frame, lying face down. "So I was thinking about it," Comet was explaining as Spike walked to the frame, "and I don't think that basket can be too comfortable. I mean, you're a dragon, not a cat. You think about getting a new bed?" Spike went to grab the frame, and took a good look at it. The frame was made of silver and was quite ornate, but that wasn't what really caught Spike's attention. The photo in the centre was one that Spike wasn't sure if he'd ever seen before. He could easily recognise the young purple unicorn in the middle with her forelegs wrapped around the two colts standing on either side of her, with a big grin on her face, Twilight Sparkle. It confused him, because he always thought Twilight was always the type to never bother with friends, until she moved to Ponyville that is. But that wasn't the only thing that confused the young dragon, because to Twilight's left was a grey pegasus with a dishevelled red mane; and to her right...a green unicorn who was wearing glasses with thick black frames, and his greenish blue mane was cut into what Spike could only describe as a mushroom cut. "Spike?" Even though his glasses were simpler and more conservative wire-frames, and his manecut less nerdy, there was no mistaking it. The unicorn in the photo was the same unicorn that was now trying to get his attention. "SPIKE!" "Yeah?" the dragon replied, looking up from the photo. "What are you looking at," the stallion asked. Spike didn't try to hide it, he quickly turned the frame around so Comet could look at it. The unicorn was dumbfounded. "She...she kept it?" "It was under the dresser, I noticed it when you moved the thing." Comet's rump hit the floor, and the frame levitated towards him. "It-it must have slid under there when the vanity tipped over." At this moment, Spike noticed a tear rolling down the unicorn's face. The music on the phonograph suddenly changed. Ninety miles outside Chicolgo Can't stop trottin', I don't know why So many questions, I need an answer Two years later you're still on my mind "I can't believe she kept it," Comet's voice cracked just a bit, as he was staring straight at the photo. "I didn't know Twilight had any friends when she was young." Comet looked up. "Really?" Who holds the stars up in the sky? Is true love just once in a lifetime? "How'd you two know each other?" "W-we went to the same school, we-" Comet said, before he began wiping his eyes. "Damn it." "So, you asked her to play and-" "I don't know, I think she came to me actually," he continued to wipe his eyes, the tears refusing to stop. Someday we'll know If love can move a mountain "I always had a hard time making friends, so when I arrived at her school, she was the first to try and..." Comet choked up. Someday we'll know Why the sky is blue "...and when Phosphorus arrived in the middle of the term, we just jumped on him." Someday we'll know Why I wasn't meant for you Comet pointed toward the picture. "This photo, this...was taken at Port Coltrain. Tiny little village, Phozzy's family had a cottage there." Despite the tears running down his face, Comet managed to get a smile out. "That was a great summer. We spent it together, the three of us were practically joined at the hips, it was..." Does anybody know the way to Atlantis? Or what the wind says when she cries? Spike was speechless, he didn't understand how Twilight never told him about this. Perhaps it just never came up. "Then we went to the Summer Sun Celebration and...I have no idea what happened." The smile had disappeared from Comet's face. "All I know is, she just suddenly stopped hanging out with us after that. I didn't understand...still don't." Spike did. He always knew Twilight started prioritizing her studies above all else at one particular Summer Sun Celebration. What he didn't know was: it meant two young colts were left in the dust. Someday we'll know Why Cannon loved Mareiah "Damn it, why is this happening!?" Comet said, almost freaking out. "I should be over her, it shouldn't bother me this much, it's been over a decade!" Tears were still running down the stallion's face. He simply couldn't stop them. "Damn it...I guess you never forget your first." One day I'll go Dancing on the moon "Your first friend?" Spike asked "No..." Someday you'll know That I was the one for you "...your first crush." I bought a ticket to the end of the rainbow I watch the stars crash in the sea "I never told her..." If I could ask Her just one question "...I never got the chance..." Why aren't you here with me, tonight? "...and now she's gone!!" At this moment, Spike saw his guardian have a complete breakdown. Curling up in the fetal position, with the photo in his hooves, Comet began bawling, as if all his pain came crashing down all at once. "DAMN IT! I SUCK AT EVERYTHING!" he bellowed. "I can't do this! Why did she send me here!? Why did I agree to it!? I knew this was a bad idea, and then I had to be reminded of it!" Spike was dumbfounded. He simply didn't know what to do, this was completely new territory for him. "THAT BITCH!" Comet screamed. The dragon was shocked at that. Thinking he was talking about Twilight...but... "She could have sent anypony and she sends the one shrink who's emotionally involved. She must be insane!" Then he realized it wasn't Twilight. As the song wound down, the entire room was flooded with complete silence. Apparently it was the last song on the record, Spike determined. He walked over to the elder unicorn, who was still on the floor, sobbing, and placed his claw on the stallion's head. Comet responded by quickly grabbing Spike in a hug and dropping the photo. "AH!" the young dragon yelled. But he didn't try to fight it. If this is what Comet needed, he had no problem with it. Spike returned the hug. It wasn't long before the tears wore down and Comet released Spike. Then between sniffs and with a shaky voice he said, "w-where's my coffee?" On the vanity only a few feet from the boys, a white mug was sitting, it's contents already cooled off. It levitated towards Comet, who grabbed it in his hooves. "So...um," he said nervously. "Tell me about her." Spike was confused. "About Twilight?" He asked. "Yeah, I assume she changed a bit since I knew her." Comet wiped some more tears from his eyes and said, "Oh damn, this is stupid. It was so long ago, why am I still bothered by this? What in Tartarus is wrong with me?" "You tell me, you're the shrink!" Comet laughed at this. "I'm the shrink who needs a shrink." He looked out the nearby window and said, "looks like I need to write a letter or two to Lord Inkblot." He turned back to Spike and asked again, "Anyway, tell me about Twilight." The young dragon was happy to oblige. "Well, I knew her since I was just a little hatchling..." A loaf of bread was placed on the counter, as a purple claw started slicing it with a bread knife. It was several hours later, and Spike was making lunch. For Comet, a Knight's-spur and Apple sandwich; and a simple plate of gems for himself. His gems were good enough that he didn't need to package them with anything. As he was slicing up the apple, a knock came at the front door. Spike placed the knife down and was about to go answer it, when he heard a familiar voice go, "I got it!" Spike went to see what was happening anyway. He didn't even expect Comet to be down from the living area, much less answering the door. As he turned the corner, Comet opened the door, and standing there was a very familiar face. "Darling! You look terrible!" Rarity said. She wasn't kidding, his eyes were still bloodshot; and his mane was a disaster, normally he brushed it. Also, his glasses went AWOL. Comet was a mess. "Nice to see you too, Rarity," he said. "Spike's in the kitchen." "Um...actually, I just wanted to ask, have you seen Fluttershy?" Her boyfriend made himself known at this point. "Wasn't she at your spa date?" "No, that's what's odd. She never misses our weekly get together, and I don't see why she would today." Comet spoke up, "well, doesn't she hate crowds? I mean there was your group, plus Princess Cadance, maybe she just got scared and decided to ditch." "Never bothered her in the past," Spike explained. Comet paused for a second, a pensive look on his face. "Well!" he said, suddenly smiling. "Let's go find her!" "Really?" Rarity said, confused. "Now?" Spike said, perplexed. "Yep! Missing pony, she must be found!" he then proceeded up the stairs. "Just one minute, I need to find a hairbrush, and my glasses! I know they're somewhere!" Comet's favourite music, Losing Colti- California, Raise a Little Tar(tarus) Hell, and Someday We'll Know, originally written by Patrick Pentland of Sloan, Brian Smith and Ra McGuire of Trooper, and Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals, respectively.
Chapter Three - Too ShyRarity was quite nervous as she trotted with the two boys on their way to Fluttershy's cottage. She didn't know Cerebral Comet that well, but she did know she should. Not only was this stallion her boyfriend's new Guardian ad Draco, he was likely going to stay in town indefinitely, and might need to make a few friends. There were plenty of suspicions that Comet was sent to replace Twilight. Which was certainly a disturbing thought to the young unicorn. It meant the Princess actually thought Twilight was replaceable. To think any of them could be easily replaced gave her chills. The silence was nearly killing the mare, so she decided to break it the only way she knew how. "So, Comet, how'd you get this assignment?" She asked bluntly. The psychologist looked at the fashionista, smiled and sighed. "I'll tell you when I figure that out. Best guess the princess asked Lord Inkblot who his best student was, and instead they sent me." He had a bit of a laugh at that before continuing. "All I know is, I got a letter from Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, requesting my presence, where she offered me the Ponyville assignment, and you do not deny a request from the Princess." Rarity just nodded in comprehension as the three continued on. The forest just outside Ponyville was buzzing with life. As birds fitted from tree to tree Rarity's thoughts began drifting. It had been a little over two weeks since the attack, when she became a local hero, and lost her best friend. Her heart was still aching from those events, and she was pretty sure she would never truly get over it. But she couldn't let anypony know. After all, a true lady never lets her emotions get the better of her. Rarity became so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice that the group had already arrived at Fluttershy's cottage: A small, humble little abode. As they approached the home, Rarity noticed something amiss, but she just couldn't place her hoof on it. "She's probably just sleeping or something," Comet said as he walked up the pathway. He gave a quick rap, rap, rap on the wooden door, and they all expected some type of noise in response. So when they heard only silence, the stallion followed up with another rap, rap, rap. No response. With gritted teeth he looked around and trotted over to his right. Stopping at the nearest window, Comet placed his foreleg against it, to block the light, as he looked inside. "Doesn't look like anypony's home," he said. Pushing himself away from the glass, the stallion looked around for some clues, before getting back to his hooves and continuing to circle the cottage. Rarity's curiosity was peaked. She looked through the window and saw absolutely nothing within. She found it odd, but wasn't sure why. As she pushed herself from the window, she began to think, gently tapping on the glass. Then, a loud gasp came from the mare, grabbing the attention of both Comet and Spike. "What's wrong!?" the young dragon asked. "This place is completely deserted!!" She responded in shock. Spike suddenly spun around his eyes darting about. "Oh," he said in realization Comet was confused. "Is that significant?" "This is Fluttershy's house, she spends all day and night with all sorts of little creatures, but they're nowhere to be seen!" Rarity explained, slightly frantic. Comet paused before quickly continuing his trek around the cottage. Before Rarity and Spike could follow, he appeared on the other side and said "Well, you're right, completely deserted." As he approached the front door, the knob glowed as it jiggled just a bit, before Comet knocked once again. "FLUTTERSHY!!!" he yelled in desperation. Jiggling the handle once again, he turned to Rarity. "Is there a key or something?" "Aside," Rarity said as she trotted up next to the young stallion. Pointing her horn towards the keyhole, she could hear the pins in the lock slide out of the way, one by one, until...CLICK! She opened the door with a flourish! "Okay, you have to teach me that," Comet said before he quickly entered the small cottage, followed by Rarity and Spike. "Fluttershy!?" he yelled again. Rarity took the next move, quickly proceeding up the stairs to her friend's bedroom. "Fluttershy?" she called out. The room was also deserted. She quickly trotted back down to the main floor and shook her head. "Where could she be?" Comet asked rhetorically. "Maybe she's doing some shopping," offered Spike. "But all the animals would still be here," his girlfriend rebutted. As he led the others out, Comet began explaining their next move, "alright, you two know her better than I do so-GLAH!" The moment he stepped out the front door, he was knocked down by a small white blur. As Rarity and Spike rushed outside, they immediately saw the culprit: A familiar little white rabbit was stomping on the green stallion's head. Comet tried to grab the tiny assailant with his forehooves, but the rabbit continually dodged his counter attacks. Spike quickly decided he needed to end this. "ANGEL!" He yelled. The bunny ceased his attack as he turned to look at the young dragon. Excited to see a familiar face, he spread his arms wide in greeting before quickly hopping towards him. "Why were you attacking Comet like that!?" The rabbit gestured toward the door. Rarity quickly understood. "Oh, we were just trying to find Fluttershy, is she here?" Angel vigorously shook his head before hopping away, past a confused Cerebral Comet, before looking behind him, and waving the others to follow. "Go Spike," Rarity said. "Comet and I will catch up." As Spike ran after the little bunny, Rarity trotted towards the injured unicorn, helping him to his hooves. "You all right, darling?" "Bit dizzy," Comet explained rubbing his horn. "Man, that little guy can pack a punch." "You okay to walk?" He turned his attention toward Spike, who was standing at the edge of the Everfree forest, waving at them. "Yeah, let's go." As Spike followed Angel deeper into the Everfree Forest, he became more confused, and more worried. After all, she didn't do anything like this in the other world. In fact, she seemed to take Rarity's death unusually well. Why was she reacting so differently to Twilight's death? Though, it could be completely unrelated. Suddenly, the young rabbit stopped dead in his tracks, very confused, his head swinging back and forth, as if he lost something...which he likely did. "Something wrong Angel?" Spike asked the little bunny. Angel looked at the dragon, before putting his paw to his chin in contemplation. Then, a quick sniff of the air later, he darted off to Spike's left...off the beaten path. Spike hesitated for a minute. He didn't want to lose his friends. Comet's mind was racing. He heard rumours of the Everfree forest. A dangerous labyrinth, populated with all sorts of creatures, each one more hostile than the last. He could only hope that they would find the yellow pegasus in one piece. As the two unicorns trotted quickly along the path, they were hoping they'd spot Spike and Angel eventually, because at that moment, the two were out of sight. With nothing to do but walk, Comet thought he should make conversation, and considering they were alone, he knew the perfect topic. "So, Rarity, how are things?" "Huh?" The unicorn said, a bit distracted. "Uh...things are...fine." "Okay..." He wasn't sure if this was the best time, but he also wasn't sure if he'd get the opportunity again. So Comet decided to just bite the arrow and ask. "Look, Rarity, have you been avoiding me?" "I'm sorry?" she was quite perplexed by the stallion's question. "I thought we were supposed to have a little chat at some point, but every time I try to talk to you, you say it's a bad time or run off to do something else, so I'm sorry if I'm being a bit blunt." "I've just been really busy." "I'm sure, the problem is, I haven't been." As the two continued to trot on Rarity began to avoid Comet's gaze. "My best friend just died, can't you give me time to mourn in peace?" Comet started to respond in the most comforting voice he could manage, "I know Rarity, that's...CRAP!" Just then, Comet ran off ahead of the mare, she saw him pause further down the path and look at her. "Come on!" He yelled right before disappearing into the tree-line. "Uh oh." Rarity quickly ran after them. The Everfree Forest was very dense. Almost impossible to navigate unless one remained on the path. So, Spike's current situation left him a bit worried, because right then, he had no idea where he was, or where he would have to go to get back to Ponyville. He was lost, and relying on the navigational skills of a little white rabbit who was much faster and smaller than him, and could easily lose the dragon, even if he didn't want to. "Angel, slow down," Spike yelled, hoping the young rabbit could hear him. As he followed the little guy through the forest, his mind was focused only on the task at hand. Eventually the dragon noticed the forest start to thin out. Slowing his pace just a bit, after he noticed Angel doing the same, Spike started looking around, trying to see if he could spot his yellow friend, but found no sign of anypony. Angel had stopped running, and was now just as confused as he was earlier. "Where is she?" Spike asked the little bunny rabbit. Angel merely turned to look at Spike, and simply shrugged his shoulders. Just then, the young dragon heard movement coming up behind him. Quickly turning around, he saw the two unicorns who accompanied him: Rarity and Cerebral Comet. "Well?" Comet asked, hopeful. Spike was about to answer, when he heard more movement coming from the opposite direction. Once again, spinning around, he could see, half-hidden behind a fallen white poplar, a familiar yellow face...Fluttershy. No one moved for several seconds. "Fluttershy!" Rarity shouted in excitement, as she trotted over to her best friend. A relationship that one might not think existed any more, as the young pegasus immediately ducked behind the tree, causing the unicorn to stop dead in her tracks. Shocked, she looked back at Comet for assistance. Of course, he had an elegant solution. He trotted up next to Rarity, and quickly sat down. The mare also sat down, as they were joined by their dragon companion. Then, in a very quiet voice, just loud enough to reach the tree their friend was hiding behind, he said, "Fluttershy?" The timid pegasus peeked an eye just past the tree trunk. "It's me...Doctor Cerebral Comet...we met at-...we met yesterday...remember?" Just then, they trio heard a very soft voice go, "he...hello." Progress. Cerebral rolled with it. Taking a step forward, he continued. "We just came to see if you were all right." Rarity followed suit. "We didn't see you at the spa this morning for our weekly get-together. I was worried." Fluttershy sunk behind the tree a bit more. "I...I'm sorry." The psychologist reacted quickly. "Don't move," he whispered to Rarity before continuing his conversation. "What have you been up to today, Fluttershy?" he asked with a smile. "Oh...nothing..." she responded quietly. "So...what brings you to the Everfree forest?" "...Um...I just...wanted to...um..." Comet trotted a bit closer as Fluttershy continued. Neither Spike nor Rarity could hear her anymore, but it seemed as if the doctor could. "Oh...I see," he said, very quietly. Barely loud enough for his companions to hear. As she continued speaking, Comet responded. "But Fluttershy, they do care about you." Spike and Rarity leaned forward, to try to capture a bit of what the young pegasus was saying, but they didn't dare move one inch more than needed. "Are you sure?" Comet's tone was getting slightly desperate. "Do you mind if I come by tomorrow? For a few minutes? ...Well-that's fine-it's just...we want to make sure you're okay...that's all. You like tea don't you? ...Great!" He ended with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow." As Fluttershy disappeared into the forest, Comet turned to face the others. "Well, that could have gone better." Angel vigorously kicked his leg, angrily. "I know!" Comet said to the little rabbit. "But what do you expect, I'm not a miracle worker." "What happened?" Rarity asked, quite worried. Comet pushed his glasses up his nose, as he explained Fluttershy's condition. "She's become a hermit." "What!?" They were both quite shocked. "Why-why is she doing this!?" Spike asked, panicking. "What about the animals!?" "She's taken them with her, and do I really need to tell you why?" Comet looked back over his shoulder in contemplation. "I've read about cases like this. Ponies becoming reclusive in response to the death of a friend or loved one...but I never thought I'd see it first-hoof." He looked back at his companions. "This is completely new to me. We got to get out of here." He started looking around, trying to find the way home. Another kick from Angel got the stallion's attention once again. "Lead the way little guy." As the trio exited the Everfree forest, they continued to discuss the situation. "It just doesn't seem like she'd be the type to do something like this," Rarity explained, slightly distressed. "I'm more perplexed by the fact that it took so long for her to actually react," Spike said, simply confused. "She was probably just putting up a strong front, and it just gave in," Comet explained. Spike wasn't done. "There's gotta be something more to this." "Well, she was always pretty sensitive, right? Maybe witnessing the death of her best friend caused her to snap. If that's the case the fact that she managed to hold it in for so long is amazing." A spark went off in Spike's head. "But she didn't witness Twilight's death! Twilight died instantly." Spike suddenly got quiet. "She was lucky that way." "...no...but Fluttershy was the first to find her body," Rarity said, bluntly. "Yeah, well considering...wait." Comet was suddenly confused. He stopped dead in his tracks. "What do you mean 'lucky'?" Spike stopped as well, as did Rarity who stopped to look at her boyfriend. The dragon was caught. He wasn't sure he wanted to explain. He certainly couldn't explain to Rarity. He could only hope- "Rarity," Comet said, getting the unicorn's attention. "Why don't you go on ahead, we'll catch up." She was hesitant, "But-" "Rarity...please." Comet smiled, urging her to leave them alone. The mare responded by trotting over to the dragon and saying, "I'll see you later my sweet." She quickly gave him a kiss before trotting off. As Spike watched his girlfriend leave, the therapist came up behind him. "Now, look, Spike," he explained. "You don't have to tell me but-" "I've been having weird dreams!" he blurted out as quickly as he could, before he could change his mind. Comet was surprised, "O-okay...um..." The dragon quickly turned around to face the stallion, but kept his gaze down. "Where Twilight's still alive." Comet smiled and said, "Spike, it's perfectly natural to dream about what you wish was-" "-and Rarity's dead." Comet was taken aback by this. "Oh...um...well..." "-and I can't tell the difference." This merely confused the young psychologist. "I'm sorry; What?" Spike locked eyes with him before continuing. "It doesn't feel like a dream." "It doesn't...wait...Spike." Comet shuffled his hooves and readjusted his glasses before asking the most crucial question. "Are you awake right now, or asleep?" Spike hesitated for a minute before answering. "I don't know." "...Oh...okay then...this is new."
Chapter Four - Alligator TearsIn the main kitchen of Sugarcube Corner, a young earth pony was carefully covering a cake with bright pink icing. After she smoothed out the top, she stepped back to look over her work, spatula still in mouth. Before her were three cakes, each a different colour. They would all ready for decorating once the icing was allowed to set for a few minutes. Pinkie Pie trotted over to the kitchen sink, dropped the spatula within, and quickly washed her hooves. With time to kill, and left alone in charge of the shop, she didn't have much to do. There were no customers, as she could see once she walked to the front of the store, but there were two little foals who were sleeping upstairs. She trotted to the upper level to check on them, making sure they didn't get into any mischief. Quietly proceeding down the hallway, she looked in their room to see their crib empty. This, however, did not worry her. "Another game of hide and seek, huh?" she said slyly to no one in particular. Walking over to the toy chest, she opened it quickly, and found within, nopony. As she closed the chest, Pinkie started looking around the room until her eyes landed on her next target. The closet door opened rapidly, but before Pinkie had the chance to analyse what was within, a sudden tremble hit the building. Noticing the closet was empty, she closed the door and headed straight for the window. Several ponies were on the ground, looking up at her, or more specifically, at something behind her. She tried to crane her neck around to see what the commotion was about, but it didn't take long for it to come to her. A large green dragon quickly flew into her field of vision, as the building shook again, accompanied by the sound of bricks and mortar breaking apart and falling down. In a panic Pinkie pulled her head back inside and began her search for the twins. "Pound!" she screamed. "Pumpkin! The game is over! Come out! We need to leave! NOW!" The building shook again as Pinkie ran out into the hall. Several doors were locked, so she couldn't get in. She could only hope the twins couldn't get in either. Suddenly the building shook again, at a most inopportune time, as Pinkie was standing a bit too close to the stairs. She lost her balance, a hoof slipped, she tumbled, rolling down to the storefront of Sugarcube Corner. Dazed and in pain, she opened her eyes to see a mass of colour before her. Her gaze shifted up and her focus came back as she heard a very familiar voice. "Pinkie!" Spike screamed in panic. "Are you all right!?" He helped the pink earth pony to her hooves as her vision returned in full, and she could see her rescuers: Twilight Sparkle, local librarian; her assistant, Spike, the purple baby dragon; and his marefriend, Rarity. "Darling, we have to get out of here! Now!" Rarity explained. "What are you still doing here!?" "The twins! They're still here and I can't find them!" Pinkie said, still panicky. Twilight quickly came up with a plan. "Alright, we'll split up and look for them. Rarity, you and I will check out the east side of the building; Spike, you and Pinkie go to the west side." "Yes ma'am!" Spike responded with a salute. Pinkie barely had time to think as the two unicorns headed off to one side of the building and Spike led her in the opposite direction. She had no idea where the two of them were going. East? West? Which side was which? What was happening!? The two found themselves in the main kitchen. Pinkie looked at the three cakes on the table, and realized she should probably get them out of there. "Pinkie!" Spike said, bringing the young earth pony out of her daze. The twins! "Check all the cupboards," Pinkie ordered as the building shook again. "They're both very good at hiding." As the rumbling and tumbling of debris settled down, Spike heard a noise from one of the cupboards: A small tinging sound. He quickly ran to the source, throwing open the cupboard to find within, a young pegasus colt, smiling, with his forelegs raised outward. "POUND!" Spike yelled, getting Pinkie's attention. Spike pulled him out and ran towards the young earth pony. "Oh, Pound Cake! We-" Pinkie was suddenly interrupted by movement from behind her. Her tail was twitching aggressively. The building shook again. Followed by a crunching sound, and as the group looked up, they could see the ceiling start to give. Pinkie thought fast. Grabbing the two boys in front of her, she dove under the giant oak table, just as the entire building collapsed around them. Dust filled the entire area, blocking Pinkie's view. She coughed as some of it got into her lungs. She tried to remember if they every removed that asbestos around the water pipes. As the dust settled, Pinkie's vision began to clear. Tears filled her eyes, washing the debris away. She could hear the dragon outside, roaring in victory, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness they found themselves in. She looked down, and saw in her hooves, a very scared Pound Cake, curled up into a little ball, shivering. Next to him, Spike was a lot more limp, and Pinkie noticed, he was faring a lot worse. She could feel a wetness rolling onto her hooves, and feared the worst. Gently laying Pound to the floor, she took a good look at the young dragon, and noticed a redness staining her foreleg. Across the back of Spike's head was a gash, oozing red. Pinkie was frightened. What did she do? He was fine just seconds ago. The rest of them made it in without a scratch. She started retracing her movements: Perhaps during the dive Spike hit his head on the table. It was hard and sturdy, which is why the earth pony knew it wouldn't collapse under the weight of the building. But that also meant hitting oneself on it meant a heavy injury, which is something she learned many times in the past. Thankfully, Pinkie was a regular Pony Scout. Reaching into her mane, she pulled out a roll of gauze, and wrapped Spike's head tightly, several times to stop, or at least slow, the bleeding. As she tied the bandage off, Pinkie noticed her young charge begin to move. He slowly started looking around, before quickly moving to the edge of their shelter, to try to move some of the debris... futilely. "Pound!" He stopped to look at his foalsitter. Pinkie held her hooves out, and said, "Come here." He ignored her and tried to move a big chunk of concrete. She crawled over to the foal, and grabbed him in her hooves. "We'll just have to wait until the rescue ponies dig us out. Shouldn't be long." Pinkie was lying on her side, under the massive table, with an unconscious dragon in her hooves. She had no idea how much time had passed. Minutes? Hours? Who knew? All she knew for certain, was that Spike was getting worse. The bandage around his head was soaked, and needed to be changed. He also hadn't moved since they ended up under the table. Did he have a cracked skull? Did he fall into a coma? Would he ever wake again? Was it her fault? Tears began to run down her face as she feared the worst. She could only hope Rarity and Twilight made it out okay, because if not... Suddenly, Pinkie could hear some movement above...a shifting of something...The Rescue Ponies!!! "HELP!!!" she screamed with all her might! "Pinkie!?" A familiar voice came. "Rainbow Dash!?" "Hold on, we're coming!" She could hear the shifting continue as debris was moved. "Is anypony with you!?" Rainbow asked. "Just Pound and Spike! He's hurt bad!" "Who!?" "What!?" "Who's hurt bad!?" "Oh, Spike! Hurry up!" "Move it!!" It wasn't long before some nearby debris was moved out of the way, revealing a hole where the bright sunlight burst in. A yellow mare with an azure mane stuck her head in. "Hey!" she said, before pulling out. "We found them!" Pinkie could hear her scream. "Pinkie, send Spike up!" The young earth pony quickly obliged. Grabbing the dragon and trying to lead his limp form up the hole. He was quickly pulled away. Next was Pound Cake, who flew out as quickly as his little wings could carry him. Pinkie then tried to crawl through the hole. Emerging on the other side, she was quickly grabbed by the yellow pegasus she met earlier, and carried away from the debris. Still dazed, Pinkie was lowered to the ground. She could see dozens, maybe even hundreds, of onlookers, milling about behind a line of yellow tape. She could see a team of medics tending to Spike and Pound, as Rainbow quickly rushed over to her, her hooves stained in what she assumed was Spike's blood. "Pinkie!" the cyan pegasus exclaimed. The pink earth pony was the first to speak. "Where's Twilight and Rarity!?" "I was about to ask you that," Rainbow said, her worry palpable. "Oh no...oh no no no no no no no no-" "PINKIE!" She was snapped out of her daze. "Where did you last see them?" Pinkie looked up and tried to reply, "uh...they said they were...um...oh..." "Pinkie! Calm down...just think. Where did they go?" She said as calmly as possible. Pinkie slowly breathed as she tried to remember. Closing her eyes, it wasn't long before it came to her. "The east side!" she exclaimed. "Great!" Rainbow said, quickly flying off. "WAIT!" Rainbow stopped and turned around. "We were on the west side right?" "Yeah," Rainbow said, smiling. "We'll find them Pinkie." "OH! And Pumpkin Cake!" Rainbow nodded and said, "we'll find them Pinkie." She flew off as Pinkie trotted toward the medical tent. Once the pink mare arrived, she saw a familiar face helping her dragon friend. "Is he gonna be okay?" she asked Zecora. "Please, have no doubt," the zebra explained. "It won't be long before he's up and about." As Zecora attended to the dragon's wound. Pinkie noticed four figures approach her. "Pinkie!" Applejack exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're safe." She wrapped her hooves around the pink pony. "Did they find my sister?" said a young unicorn next to her, tears welling up in her eyes. Pinkie replied hesitantly, "I...I don't..." Just then, a single noise grabbed everypony's attention. It was the single noise that changed everything. The single noise of a yellow pegasus mare screaming in horror. Screaming in horror at what she uncovered, and what was now laying before her eyes. "AHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Pinkie screamed, jolting awake. As her breathing began to calm down, a rusting next to her grabbed her attention. Turning to look, Pinkie saw an orange pony wake next to her. "Pinkie...another dream?" She asked. "Y-yes..." she replied timidly. Applejack sat up and hugged her best friend. "It's okay Pinkie, it's over now." Tears began welling up in the pink pony's eyes. "It still happened!" Applejack just hugged her a bit tighter, and let the young mare cry. She tried to hold back the tears, and it wasn't long before the torrent started to ebb. "I'm sorry," she said, rolling out of bed and out of her friend's grasp. "I-I-I-I-I-I'm gonna-I'm just-I'm a little hungry." She explained between sobs. "I'm gonna get some food." The farmpony watched her friend leave before she could say a word. There wasn't much to do, so she settled into bed once again, still worried about her pink friend. Pinkie slowly made her way through her best friend's house. She still didn't consider it her home, even though she'd been staying there for nearly three weeks, because she still expected to move back into Sugarcube Corner once it was rebuilt. As she proceeded down the corridor, her flat mane brushed across the floor. A sharp contrast to her usual puffy and curly mane. It had been like this since the day of the attack, when Sugarcube Corner was demolished and one of her best friends died. Having absolutely no joy in her heart; she felt nothing but fear, pain, guilt, and hopelessness. Once Pinkie reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw a light coming from the kitchen. Curious, she made her way toward the light, and saw a familiar red stallion, sitting at the kitchen table, eating a sandwich. "Mornin' Pinkie," Big Macintosh said, greeting the young mare. "Wha...is it morning?" He nodded sagely. "I assume that was you screamin'." "Di-did I wake you?" He slowly shook his head. "Um..." "Wanna bite?" He asked, raising his sandwich. "N-no thanks," she said. "I'm...not hungry." Pinkie trotted over to the table and folded her hooves, burying her face within. "Are you all right?" he asked simply. She shook her head. "Wanna talk about it." A mumbling came from the earth pony. "Pardon?" She slowly raised her head to look at the stallion before her. "It's my fault," she said, with tears in her eyes. Big Mac dropped his sandwich. "No it's not," he said simply. "Yes it is. If I kept a closer eye on the twins...she'd..." He quickly walked around the table and looked Pinkie dead in the eye, surprising the young mare. "It's not your fault." Pinkie just stared at Big Mac, in silence, waiting to see if he would continue. When he said nothing, she opened her mouth to explain how he was wrong. But the workhorse continued. "You didn't know that would happen, you didn't know the dragon would attack, you didn't know anypony would get hurt, and you did everything you could to save them all." Pinkie slowly lowered her head and the two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, until Pinkie finally spoke once again. "I heard from the Cakes earlier today...or I guess it would be yesterday now." Macintosh didn't say a word. He just sat and listened. "They said Pumpkin is a cat tonic." The stallion was confused at this statement. "Catatonic?" he tried to help clarify. "Oh...yeah," she continued. "I read some books in Twilight's library; they mentioned this kinda thing; and after what she saw... What if she becomes a sociopath? She'll never know pain...she'll never know sadness...but she'll never know joy, excitement, love." The tears started flowing down her cheeks once again. "She'll never know love Big Mac!" She fell forward, resting in his forelegs. "She'll never know looooove!" As they sat there, in each other's hooves, silence fell once again. They rested in their sorrow, until Macintosh decided to open his mouth to try to ease her fears. But his words were interrupted by a noise, A loud noise, outside. A noise Pinkie found very familiar. The two released each other and ran straight towards the sound, to the window that faced the orchard. "No," Big Macintosh said simply. Before running straight for the door and out into the night air. Pinkie followed him. As they exited the building, they found the night was illuminated by an orange glow. A very bad orange glow. Shocked at the scene before him, Big Mac couldn't say anything. He could only join his friend, in sorrow. The sun shone on Spike's small basket as the young dragon laid on his back, having just woken up a matter of minutes ago. He held his right claw up in the air and stared at the ring that adorned it, dominated by a pink stone. As he saw the ring catch the sunlight, he contemplated what happened earlier, as he slept. He had to know. Was any of it true? Was what he learned about Twilight's past, real? What about that photo? Was Cerebral Comet most certainly a real pony, or could he simply be a figment of his imagination? So far the past of both worlds seemed to be identical. Would today be the day he found an inconsistency? He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to find out. Spike craned his head to look at the clock on the dresser. Realizing he should have gotten up much sooner than now, he arced his back with a moan, and rolled out of bed. Standing up, his eyes slowly fell on the giant dresser that sat next to Twilight's bed. He walked over to it and crouched down to look under it. Sure enough, he saw a very familiar photo frame. Spike reached under the dresser and pulled it out. He looked at the back of the frame, just stared at it for several seconds, and thought the same thing over and over. 'If this photo is different, that means I really did lose somepony that day.' He took a deep breath, and flipped the frame over. Quickly releasing his breath with a laugh, he could see the photo was identical to the one in the other world. Twilight in the middle, with her two coltfriends on either side, in a silver frame. Eventually, his smile faded, as he realized that it actually proved nothing. This photo just proved an inconsistency hasn't appeared yet. Spike looked around, unsure of what to do. With the photo still in hand, he proceeded down the stairs to the library's lower levels. As soon as he reached the main floor, he noticed something unusual. Twilight, his best friend, sitting there, staring off into space, doing nothing. "Twilight?" he said. She didn't move. "Twilight!" he repeated, a little louder. She turned her attention to the young dragon. "Oh, morning Spike," she said, getting to her hooves. "How'd you sleep?" "Uh...fine." Her attention turned to the object in Spike's claw. "What is that?" she asked. "Oh," he looked at it as he walked over to Twilight. "I found it underneath your dresser. Who is this?" Twilight levitated the frame toward her and looked at it. "Oh my...that's me." "Well, I know that." She giggled a bit, before looking at the photo again. "Those were my friends in elementary school: Phosphorus and Cerebral Comet...I told you about them. Didn't I?" Spike shrugged, unsure. The gears in the young unicorn's head began turning as she bit her lower lip, slightly. "Spike," she finally said. "Take a letter." Her scaly assistant pulled out a scroll and quill from behind his back. Always prepared for any contingency. "To Dusty Tome, Administrator of the Canterlot Archives. I am looking for any information you can send me on two colts who originally hailed from Canterlot-" Her dictation was then interrupted by a sudden and frantic knock at the front door. "Twilight!" a familiar voice came. "Twilight, open up!" She quickly trotted to the front door and opened it. Floating in the air was the local chief weathermare, Rainbow Dash, and she was frantic. "Twilight! Something terrible happened!" "What!? Where!?" "Sweet Apple Acres! Come on!" Rainbow flew away before the unicorn could ask any more questions. "SPIKE!" The purple unicorn exclaimed. He wasted no time as he jumped on her back and Twilight galloped off, as fast as her hooves would take her.
Chapter Five - Scorched AcresTwilight bolted from the library, her horn pulling the door closed behind her. As she ran straight toward Applejack's farm, her thoughts were racing. What went wrong? Was it another attack? A landslide? Did somepony die...again? Spike was clinging to her neck for dear life, as worry overtook the young unicorn. Eventually, the two arrived near Sweet Apple Acres, and Twilight slowed to a crawl. On both sides of the path, where there were once dozens of Apple Trees, now stood nothing but tall black pillars. The fence that once ran along either side of the long dirt road was now nowhere to be seen, and the ground was covered in ashes. Twilight was speechless. There were no words to say. No words she could say. As far as she could see, there wasn't a single survivor, the entire orchard was incinerated. Her best friend's business and livelihood was destroyed, overnight. Why was she here? What could she do? Spike jumped off Twilight's back and started running further down the path. Leaving the unicorn to deal with her shock. He could see in the distance, a single survivor, the farmhouse that dominated the centre of the property. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Sitting on the front porch, was an orange mare with a long, messy mane, and a dead eyed look. "Applejack?" Spike said cautiously as he approached the front stairs. No response. As he stood there, looking for some sign of life in the earth pony, he could hear a flutter of wings behind him. Quickly turning around, he spotted a yellow pegasus mare approach him. "How is she?" Fluttershy asked in a hushed voice. "I don't know, I just got here," he replied. The pegasus took a deep breath and walked straight up the stairs, to her best friend. "Applejack?" she said, hesitantly. "Are you alright?" The farmpony reacted quickly. "Am I alright!?" She screamed. "Am I Alright!?" Fluttershy cowered into a tiny ball. "I just lost my farm! My livelihood! What do you think!? Do you think I'm alright!?" Spike quickly ran up to Fluttershy and hugged her. "Applejack," he said, looking at the orange mare. "It'll be alright, we'll fix this." The earth pony was incensed. "No it won't Spike. You can't fix this, nopony can. It'll take at least five years to regrow all those trees, and by then, we'll be done. There's no way for us to survive this." Fluttershy loosened herself from Spike's grip as he continued, "Maybe there's a spell we can-" "No," Spike's guardian trotted up behind them. "No there isn't. There's not a single spell that can affect plants...at least not the way we'd need them to." Applejack's face fell. Another stake driven. Silence descended on the front porch, as they let the reality sink in. "I'm sure the insurance will cover the damages, Applejack," Twilight continued. "It's not the end of the world." She didn't respond. "You do have insurance right?" Applejack snapped. "Of course I do! But there's no amount of money that can bring back the farm, Twilight!" No one spoke for several seconds. "No matter what I do," she continued. "No apple will bloom here ever again." Spike looked up. "Where's Apple Bloom?" Applejack looked up at the dragon before her. "I...I don't...oh my, did I even see her today? I...I can't remember." She stood up and screamed, "APPLE BLOOM!!!" "Calm down Applejack," Twilight said as she approached the panicked pony. "Spike, go find Apple Bloom." The young dragon quickly saluted. "Yes ma'am!" As he took off, the yellow pegasus flew after him. "I'm sure she's alright, Applejack," Twilight said, embracing her friend. Tears started streaming down the earth pony's face. "I hope so, Twi...I hope..." She broke down in her friend's hooves. Fluttershy and Spike walked through the ruined orchard. The slowly rising sun painted the sky an eerie shade of orange, intensified by the black pillars surrounding them, and the yellow grass beneath them. Walking through Sweet Apple Acres this day, felt like walking through the pits of Tartarus. Death and destruction surrounded them. Fluttershy tried to take her mind off it the only way she knew how. "So...um...how are you doing, Spike?" She asked the young dragon. Spike looked down, unsure of what to say. "I'm doing fine...I guess." The yellow mare nodded sagely. "How's Rarity?" He paused for a second. Fluttershy always had an odd way of breaching this subject. But she was always very sensitive and discrete to his situation. She was also the one who helped him understand what was really happening. She was there when he woke from his coma. His memories were fuzzy for a few days there. Fluttershy helped him, she was the only pony constantly there...in this world. "Things are...odd." Fluttershy caught up to the young dragon and asked him a question she already knew the answer to. "Would you like to talk about it?" Spike took a moment before continuing. "I told you about Cerebral Comet right?" She nodded. "Well, turns out he knew Twilight when they were both foals." "Is that what he said?" "Yeah, there was a photo of them with a pegasus named Phosphorus," Spike explained. "Apparently they were all friends in elementary school, and around the time she first witnessed Celestia raising the sun, she just stopped talking to them. I found the photo here and showed Twilight, and she pretty much confirmed everything Comet said." Fluttershy knew the possible ramifications of that. "She probably told you before and you carried it into your dream." "Yeah...maybe. I also told him about...this." "This?" "Yeah, this," Spike explained, frantically gesturing around him. "Oh, I see...and what did he say?" "He said you're the dream." Fluttershy chuckled as if she expected this, while slowing down to a stop. "Spike." The young dragon turned to look at her. "This is real. All of this is real. Rarity..." she paused to collect her emotions, before taking a deep breath. "Rarity's dead," she said, voice shaky. "Twilight's alive, and the sooner you accept that the easier your life will be. You do know that don't you?" Spike was about to open his mouth to answer, before turning around, and silently walking away. His pegasus friend followed. Apple Bloom's eyes were wide, and moist. The shock and sorrow of what she saw before her was too much for words. "Apple Bloom," came a voice behind her. "Apple Bloom!" The young earth pony did not move, nor did she acknowledge any voice, anywhere, until an orange hoof landed on her shoulder. She spun her head to see the new arrival. "Are you okay Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo asked. She turned back and said, "It's gone Scoots, it's all gone, all that hard work...gone." Before them stood a very large and charred husk of a tree, within which sat the blackened, charred, almost completely collapsed remnants of the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse. Scootaloo walked up to what little remained. But the moment she stepped on the burnt ramp, the entire thing immediately collapsed into blackened charcoal. "Apple Bloom!" Another voice behind them. The orange filly turned to see a yellow mare following a young dragon. Apple Bloom didn't turn around. "Apple Bloom," Spike continued. "Are you alright?" "I'm fine," she responded, in a deadpan voice. Not moving, and barely acknowledging their presence. "Oh, my," Fluttershy said, looking over the remains of the treehouse. She quickly flew over to the wreckage. "It's all gone." Turning to look at the grieving earth pony, she quickly flew over and grabbed her tightly. "I'm so sorry Apple Bloom." "Why!?" the yellow filly replied, pushing the mare away. "Did you do this!?" "What? No." The pegasus was shocked at this outburst. "Is this your fault!? "No." "Then why are you sorry!? Huh Fluttershy!? Why are you sorry!?" Just then, Apple Bloom broke down. Her legs collapsing under her own weight as she buried her head under her hooves, and all anyone else heard was frantic sobbing. "Is she alright?" Spike heard a voice whisper in his ear. He turned his head and for a second there, thought he saw somepony else, but he quickly realized, her manestyle was different, and her coat was a bit lighter. It was amazing how much Sweetie Belle looked like her sister. "I hope so," the young dragon responded. She trotted over to her best friend and leaned down to talk to her, quietly. "Apple Bloom, it's okay, we'll help you get through this." The young filly reached up and grabbed her unicorn friend, continuing to cry. "What are we gonna do!?" she screamed between sobs. Sweetie Belle stayed silent. "We're gonna need a new meeting place," said the orange pegasus. "Well," the young unicorn said, pensively. "There's always Carousel." Apple Bloom's tears let up as she looked at her friend. "What?" "Carousel Boutique! It could be our new headquarters!" She declared with a smile. "That's a great idea Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo declared, hopping over to her friends. "Wait, wait, wait!" Spike interjected. "I thought we were going to continue Rarity's business. Sell and make dresses." "There's plenty of room in the back Spike, it's a big store." He brought a claw to his chin, and failed to come up with a rebuttal. "So," Apple Bloom spoke up, looking at the white unicorn with bloodshot eyes. "We can meet there instead?" Sweetie nodded. "APPLE BLOOM!" A voice came from above. A young grey pegasus colt descended from the sky, landing directly in front of the former treehouse, he was followed closely by an older rainbow-maned mare. "Rumble!" Apple Bloom screamed, releasing Sweetie Belle and running straight towards the colt. They embraced as Rainbow Dash suddenly released an awkward smile. "Spike!" she said, trotting over to the young dragon. "Everything alright?" "Yeah, we're all fine," he said. "We're...um..." Rainbow followed everyone's gaze to the two foals behind her, who were passionately making out. "Uh..." Rainbow said, getting Rumble's attention, who broke the kiss. "Uh...wow, that was fast," the grey colt said with a smile. "Not that I'm complaining." "Hmmm...yeah, Apple Bloom, we should have a talk later." "Don't you ruin this!" "I just lost the farm!" Apple Bloom screamed. "I can kiss my boyfriend all I want." Sweetie Belle leaned towards Spike and whispered, "they've been dating for less than a week and he's already her boyfriend!?" The dragon merely shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you didn't lose the entire farm!" Everyone in attendance looked at him. "What do you mean, Rumble?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, the west field's perfectly fine," he explained. "Yeah, my brother told be all about it." Apple Bloom released him from her grip as he began explaining to everyone. "He was managing a small sprinkle over the park when his team saw the attack, so they rushed over, scared the thing off with a few dozen or so lightning bolts, and put out the fire with their rain clouds, they weren't able to save the entire farm, but still, west field's good." Everyone stared at him. Rumble scratched his head. "You know he tells it better." "Wait, attack!?" Spike interjected, a sudden realization hitting him. "Hold on! How did all this happen? I mean I know a simple fire wouldn't have spread this fast, so...what attacked?" Rainbow quickly spoke up before anyone else could. "Uh...well...Spike...you see...it was...um...it...it was a dragon." Both Sweetie Belle and Spike's eyes went wide. "What?" they asked in unison. "Again!?" asked the young unicorn. Rainbow simply nodded. "Rainbow." Spike asked, "What did it look like?" She suddenly got a lot more nervous. "Spike...it...it's not important--it--" "RAINBOW!" Whatever patience Spike had, was gone now. "What...did...he...look...like?" Rainbow stood up straight and spoke in the most matter-of-fact voice she could. "He was green," she said. Spike was silent. "We don't know if it was the same one...but...it might have been." "Oh, my..." Sweetie said, as she allowed this new information to sink in. "Spike it--" Rainbow started saying before the young dragon turned around and started walking away. "Spike, where are you going!? SPIKE!" He spun around and said, with eyes as cold as steel, "I'm gonna track down that dragon, and I'm going to kill him! Even if it's the last thing I do, he's gonna pay! For everything!" "I'm coming with you!" Sweetie said, running after the young dragon. "Me too!" said Apple Bloom, following suit. "Wait for me!" cried Rumble. The three remaining pegasi stood there, watching the four walk off. "We should probably go with them," Scootaloo said. "Yeah," Rainbow replied. "Fluttershy? You--" She looked at her yellow friend, and saw tears going down her face. Fluttershy turned to her best friend and said, with a slight tremor in her voice, "We should go with them."
Chapter Six - The Other Side"Spike! Stop and think about this!" Rainbow Dash screamed. "How're ya even gonna find him!?" "I don't know yet." "And you're gonna kill him?" "Yes." "Spike, you don't want to do this." "Yes I do." "What would Rarity think?" He stopped in his tracks and spun around. Spike gave a look that frightened the young pegasus. A look she never expected. "He killed her... Rainbow," the dragon spoke in a cold tone. "Killed... her..." "I know." "You expect me to let that slide?" Rainbow righted herself. "And what makes you think he won't kill you first?" Sweetie Belle staggered. "Ki-kill us?" "Oh, yeah, I'm out," Rumble stated from above. Spike shot him a look. "Well, I'm not." He turned back to Rainbow. "And I'm willing to take that risk." "But Spike-" "-and look who's talking! The one who kicked a dragon in the face is suddenly so worried!? What happened to-" Rainbow snapped. "I don't want to lose another friend!" she screamed, tears boiling in her eyes. At that moment, the black and brittle remnants that hung above them began to crackle. Spike looked up and saw the tree destabilize, as the single branch that hung above him, fell. Spike's eyes snapped open. His breathing was rapid, but it didn't take long for him to calm down once he realized where he was. He shifted the ring on his right claw, adorned with a blue gemstone. Spike stretched his back and slowly eased himself out of his basket. Across from him, he could see Comet's bed, empty. Through the window, the sun was just inching over the horizon. It was the beginning of a new day in this world. He quickly proceeded down the stairs, and walked down to the main library floor. He found the building curiously quiet, and vacant. Something was not right. He detected a flutter of movement out of the corner of his eye. At one of the reading alcoves, consisting of a cushioned bench in front of a large window. A form shifted, wrapped tightly in a brown blanket. It was pony-sized, but covered up so well that Spike could not identify it. He walked toward the form, which suddenly rolled over. Rarity's face peeked through the cover. Spike found himself flying towards his lover, who quickly grabbed him tightly in both hooves. He hesitated, confused as to this turn of events. Her sobbing echoed in his ear. He returned the hug. The door creeped open behind him. "Spike, welcome to the land of the living," said Comet, as he trotted in. Rarity released her boyfriend, and Spike saw his guardian, followed by Shining Armor and his wife, Cadance. All three of them were slightly dishevelled. "How is it?" the young mare asked. "Don't worry about that now, Rarity," Shining explained. "Just concentrate on feeling better." "What happened?" Spike asked. "Uh... well... um..." Comet scratched the back of his neck. "Carousel was attacked." His eyes went wide. "By what?" he asked, thinking he knew the answer. "No one knows," Cadance explained, as she polished her light blue spectacles. "We talked to a few eye-witnesses, but the reports are mixed." Her glasses returned to their proper position. "Which is why I think I might know exactly what it was." Comet said as he trotted away. "What?" "Yeah, I think I might know too," Shining stated, hanging his head. "Great," the shrink said. "But first, I need coffee." He entered the kitchen, and everyone else followed. The group of five sat at the kitchen table. Cadance poured the sugar dish into her cup, and stirred it with a spoon. Comet's head lay on the table, he stared at the coffee cup. Shining Armor shuffled nervously, and was the one to break the silence. "So, Comet, what do you think it was." The stallion sat up straight, brought the cup to his lips and started chugging. A few seconds later, it was down, and he exhaled dramatically. "Well!" he said, raising his hoof. "Let's look at the facts. They said the creature was bright, and appeared to be on fire." "Yeah," Cadance responded. "Half the building was burnt to a crisp, so that's not too surprising. Now, they said it moved like a blur. But thanks to the brightness of the flame, no one could get a good look." "...Oh... Kay?" "Now, even if they could barely see it, most ponies would still be able to identify a creature, by name, if they saw it, right?" "Sure." "Unless..." Cadance thought for a second. "They never heard of it." "Ding ding. Which narrows it down. Now I, personally, can only think of one creature obscure enough, that fits that incredibly general description. And it's a... three, two, one-" "Qilin," Shining and Comet announced simultaneously. "Oh..." Cadance said. "Dammit, how could I have forgotten about that?" "Lot on your mind?" "I'm sorry," Rarity interjected. "But what is a... Qilin?" "Cadance?" The princess explained with a sigh, "A Qilin is a tall reptilian pony with a mastery over fire. Their population is very small, they're very aggressive, and a bit xenophobic, though there are exceptions." "Ambassador Dorin," Comet stated. "Yeah." "Who is Ambassador Dorin?" Rarity asked. "He's the Neighponese Ambassador to Equestria," Comet explained. "Nice guy, but he's the exception." "What do you mean, 'a mastery over fire'?" Spike asked. "They can shoot fire from their flesh." His eyes widened. "It's not important," Shining explained. "We have to go after it." "It's probably long gone by now," Comet rebutted. "And if it isn't? It could attack again." "Then we should prepare, but going after it probably isn't the best idea." Shining started to raise his voice. "You think we should just let it get away?" "Yes." "I'm not debating this with you-" "Why?" The captain froze. "What?" "Why do you want to go after it?" He hesitated. "Um... it attacked Rarity's store, and-" "You think it might be connected to the attack on Sugarcube Corner." The two stared at each other. "Of course not," Shining replied. Comet paused for a second before continuing. "Shining-" "We should at least try to track it down," he interjected. "No direct conflict?" The prince shook his head. "Can't argue with that," the doctor said as he got to his hooves. Cadance exhaled in relief. Spike and Rarity looked at each other in confusion. "You're coming?" Shining asked. "I don't think I have a choice," the green unicorn responded, rubbing his mane. "Yoohoo!" A voice came from the main foyer. Comet trotted out, and everypony followed. He quickly greeted the guest. "Hey Pinkie," Comet said. "OO! Rarity!" the curly-haired mare yelled as she grabbed her friend. "I'm so sorry about your home!" She released the hug. "Are you alright?" "I'm feeling much better, Pinkie Pie. Thank you." She smiled, a mile wide. "So, Pinkie Pie," Comet interjected. "What brings you here so early in the morning?" She turned and stared at him. "Right! Um... sorry Pinkie we're gonna have to reschedule. Something came up." "You're gonna go after the thing that attacked Rarity's home?" He stared at her for several seconds. "How'd you-wait, nevermind, I don't want to know." "Can I come?" "Uh..." Comet said, in hesitation. "It could get dangerous Pinkie," Shining explained. "Are you sure?" "You do know I'm coming right?" Cadance asked. The two stallions turned to look at her. "Alright," Shining said. Comet snapped his head back to the soldier. "What!?" he asked, incredulous. "I know better than to argue with her." "I'm coming too," Rarity said. "I want to see this thing with my own eyes." "Me too," Spike said. "Great!" Comet said, his sarcasm palpable. "Fantastic, we're all going to get ourselves killed, fun times." "Do we even know where to start?" the dragon asked. "Well, my back left hoof started itching," Pinkie explained. "So it probably went to the south-west corner of Whitetail Wood." "Fine!" He cried refusing to question the mare. "Let's get some supplies and go!" He trotted back into the kitchen, followed closely by Pinkie and Shining Armor. "Princess," Rarity whispered. Cadance held back. "Yes?" "What was going on between Shining Armor and Cerebral Comet?" "He's a member of the Royal Corps of Psychotherapists. He has the authority to detain us if he thinks we're acting irrationally or putting ourselves in unnecessary danger. Among other things." "Another question," Spike said, holding up a claw. "When did this happen?" "You mean the attack?" He nodded. "Early last night, why?" "Why didn't anypony wake me?" He whispered in anger. "Comet said he tried, but you were 'dead to the world.'" "I told him it wasn't that important," Rarity explained. "You needed your rest." "Okay," Spike continued. "Another question: What happened to your contacts?" Cadance adjusted her glasses. "I don't know, I think I lost them," she responded nervously. He crossed his arms, and shook his head. "This is gonna be a weird day." "So, how exactly could a Qilin do that much damage!?" Spike asked incredulously, as the group walked away from the ruins of the Boutique, entering Whitetail Wood. "They're incredibly fast, incredibly strong, can leap very high, and their skin is on fire," Comet explained. "Take a guess!" "So this thing is dangerous?" asked Applejack. "Seriously?" "Who cares!?" Rainbow screamed. "We can take him!" "We're not 'taking' anypony," Comet explained, staring up at the pegasus. "This is strictly a reconnaissance mission, we're going to find him, and direct the cavalry to 'take him' if we need to." Rainbow crossed her hooves in protest. "Pshh. Come on! He attacked our friend! Let's do this now!" "YEAH!" A voice came from a nearby bush. "Apple Bloom!" screamed the earth pony. "What are you doing!?" The young filly peaked out of the shrubbery. "I wanted to come with you." "Go home!" "Awww... Come on Applejack, let me come with. I can help!" "Now!" The yellow earth pony continued to sulk. Rarity interjected. "Apple Bloom, why don't you go play with your friends?" "Sweetie Belle's on a date with Rumble, and Scootaloo... Actually, I haven't seen her all day." "Psst..." Everyone quickly turned their eyes in the direction of the noise. They only saw trees. "Scootaloo!?" Shining Armor said. He trotted toward a tree. "You're really good at that." "Thanks!" she said, emerging from a patch of bark on the tree. "GAH!" Rainbow screamed. Clutching her chest, and fainting. The young pegasus was covered in what appeared to be some type of paint. She blended in with the forest so easily nopony noticed. "What are you doing here!?" screamed Applejack. "Well, I was going to follow you to find the dragon without you noticing." "Qilin," Comet said. "Well, I don't care," Applejack said, incensed. "Go home. Both of you. This is too dangerous for you two." "You know," the shrink explained. "They'll probably follow us anyway. Might be better to just let them come, that way we can keep track of them." Applejack sighed, "Fine." "Great!" Scootaloo screamed. "Where're we going!?" "No idea!" Comet said with a smile. "Oh, just follow me!" Pinkie said, trotting away. "Follow her." As everypony left, Rainbow Dash slowly came to. She looked down the path, and saw her friends leaving. "Hey, wait for me!" She screamed. Flying off. The journey was a long one for the large group. The sun was already halfway up the sky, and was slowly creeping ever higher to its peak. Pinkie Pie took the lead followed closely by Princess Cadance, and Applejack. Rainbow Dash and Cerebral Comet were right behind them. Shining Armor took up the rear, ensuring the group's safety. And directly in front of him, were Spike, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Rarity. Together, talking. "You're seriously worried?" Rarity asked. "Well, I'm not worried," Scootaloo explained. "It's just... we never hang out anymore." "Just because Sweetie Belle found love, does not mean she's no longer your friend." "Well, we know that," Apple Bloom explained, a bit insulted by the suggestion. "Well, eventually, I'm sure you'll find things will go back to the way they always were." Scootaloo turned to Spike. "What's it like anyway?" "What?" "You know... it..." Spike's face turned beet red. "...love..." "OH! Um... it's hard to explain..." Rarity gave him a soft smile. "So, Rarity," said Cerebral Comet as he slowed his pace to join them. "I've been meaning to ask you something." "Yes?" She replied, quite curious. "I assume you'll need a place to stay, while your house is being rebuilt." "Possibly." "Well, the Library's open, if you want." "Oh, well I don't want to impose." "No imposition at all," he replied. "Now, Spike, a word?" The two of them slowed their pace, separating from the others. "What is it?" the dragon asked. "We... uh... never got to really talk about... what you told me yesterday." Spike just looked at him. "The dreams." The other world. "Oh... right..." he replied. "We got time now." Spike hesitated. "Uh... now?" "Can you just tell me what you dreamed about last night?" "Uh... well..." he lowered his voice. "I woke up, and... Twilight... told me Sweet Apple Acres was attacked by a dragon." "Dragon?" "The entire orchard was burnt to a crisp." "I see." "Then Rainbow told me the dragon was green." "Green?" "Yeah." "Does that mean anything to you?" "It was the same dragon that attacked Sugarcube Corner." Comet stopped in his tracks. Shining stopped next to him as the shrink put a hoof to his chin. "Interesting," the green stallion mused. He hurried his pace to catch up. "We'll talk about this later, Spike." The dragon followed his guardian. Shining raised an eyebrow and picked up his pace, once again.
Chapter Seven - HeartCerebral Comet never saw himself as a hero, or a spy, or a guardian. He was never one to jump into anything like some kind of action hero. He was an intellectual, that was all. Not a stallion of might, but one of thought. So his current position perplexed him to no end. Crawling on the ground, his belly sliding over the dirt and debris of the forest; following behind one of his patents as she led himself, Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor and his young dragon charge, Spike, to the lair of a dangerous creature from foreign lands. He knew his assignment in Ponyville would be bizarre, but this was reaching new heights. Cadance, Rarity, Applejack, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo held their position further back. Once Pinkie Pie said they were near their target, Shining insisted the others wait while he scouted ahead with the earth pony. Rainbow refused to leave them; Comet had an obligation to watch the unicorn prince, and ensure he didn't do anything stupid; and Spike argued his presence by breathing fire. So, as such, the five had to keep a low profile, and remain completely silent, as they navigated through the vegetation. Which wasn't easy given their numbers. "How much further?" Rainbow whined in as low a tone as she could manage. "My forelegs are killing me." Pinkie Pie put her nose to the pegasus' face before answering. "Not far," she whispered. "Not far at all." She then spun in the dirt and continued on her way. "Ugh," the weathermare explained. "It feels like we've been crawling like this for hours." Comet interjected, "Oh, it's not that bad." She stopped, and craned her head around. "What?" "What?" he asked, puzzled. "Why do you say that?" He froze, and his face started to get slightly redder. "No reason," he responded. "Uh... huh..." Rainbow was skeptical. "What are you two doing?" Spike asked from behind the two ponies. Their conversation held everyone up. "Can we go?" "After you," Rainbow said, squeezing to the right. Comet crawled past the multicoloured mare as they continued on their journey. The procession moved through the dirt, and it wasn't long before Pinkie came to a stop in front of a thick, leafy bush. She stuck her head inside, confusing her companions. Popping back out, she had a large smile on her face. No words were needed as Comet joined her. Their three associates snuck into the bush as well. Looking through their leafy surroundings, they could clearly see a large grassy clearing. Sitting in the middle was a charred pile of coal, but what stood out to Comet the most was a series of stones, which sat in front of a dark and damp cave. The stones appeared to be arranged in a pattern, but it was unrecognisable from the angle they stood at. Comet wanted to get out to take a closer look, but he wasn't sure if it was safe. His fears were confirmed as a loud cry emanated from the heavens. The group looked up as a bright orange phoenix descended from the clouds. It perched elegantly on a nearby tree branch. "It can't see us right?" Rainbow asked. "I hope not," Shining responded. Slowly, a shifting of movement came from the cave, as a blue pony emerged. Except, it wasn't a race of pony that most would recognise. He had two horns coming out the back of his head, and his tail was similar to a monkey's, straight, long, and hairless. In fact, this pony had no hair whatsoever. No mane, or fur. Instead, it was covered in bright blue scales. Most of those present found the sight to be foreign and mysterious, but two of them had actually seen a creature like this before. It was very familiar... a little too familiar. "Oh, no," Comet whispered. "I don't believe this," Shining responded. "What?" Rainbow asked. "What is it?" The doctor explained, "Remember when we said there were exceptions to qilin xenophobia?" "No." He paused for a second. "Right, you weren't there. Well, there is, Ambassador Dorin, the Neighponese Ambassador to Equestria." "Is that him!?" Rainbow asked. "No," Shining responded. "But I kinda wish it was." "That's Perahitsu," Comet explained. "The ambassador's son." He receded further into the bush. "You know, I met that kid once before. I thought he was just anti-social." "Let's not jump to conclusions, Shining." "Jump to conclusions!?" "Just because we found a qilin, doesn't mean it's the same qilin." "Oh, come on." "Shining-" "Are you guys listening to this?" Spike interjected. The two stallions pricked up their ears. "Ze cah kleh ko!" "Eeekee koko klack kun." The conversation between the phoenix and the qilin, was complete gibberish to the crowd. "What is it?" Pinkie asked. "I'm not sure," Shining said. Cerebral Comet shook his head. "I think it's Toranin. Or, at least it's damn similar." "Toranin... that's the language of the dragons." "Well, one of them." "You can speak dragon?" Rainbow asked. "Learned a bit of it in college," the shrink explained. "Well that's great!" Spike whispered. "I don't know a lick of it." "Don't get too excited, I failed the course." He angled his ears to receive the conversation. Trying to pick up as much as he could. Comet shook his head. "I thought I'd remember something from that class, but..." he explained. "Try harder..." the prince replied. He made another attempt. "Something about... failure and... I don't know... mentions a predecessor... next stage... I don't know, I'm just guessing. I think they're speaking an obscure dialect, or at least one I've never heard of." "Come on!" Rainbow Dash said. "Figure it out! This may be our only chance, you have to do something!" She violently stomped the ground and nearby trees gave a slight tremor, releasing a few leaves. The forest was eerily silent. "Maybe they didn't notice," the pegasus said in desperation. But only Spike and Pinkie were watching the events on the other side of that bush. So, only Spike and Pinkie saw the two suspects had turned to face them, and were currently encased in bright white flames of rage. "They did," Pinkie explained. returning to her normal speaking voice. "RUN!" But it was too late, as a beam of white flame shot toward the spies. Neither Scootaloo nor Apple Bloom liked waiting. It was torture to the young fillies. As so often happens to children, they find every moment to be incredibly precious. So they want to make the most of them. Waiting, as they did, was an insufferable experience. They could have trotted all the way back home, but that would have been even more insipid. Especially since Scootaloo left her scooter behind. Their restless hooves trotted up and down the path. Driving Rarity insane. "Could you two stand still for more than two seconds!?" she asked through gritted teeth. "Come on!" Scootaloo cried. "Can't we do something!? Why do we have to wait all the way over here!?" "Because, it's too dangerous," Applejack explained. "We don't know what that thing's capable of, and I'm not going to risk-" SCREEEE!! The sound resonated through the forest. "What was that?" the orange mare asked. "Sounds like a phoenix," Rarity responded. "An angry phoenix," Princess Cadance explained. Suddenly, a soft tremor resonated through the ground. The princess jumped from her reclining position, and flew in the direction of the sound. "Alright," Applejack explained. "We're gonna-" She never got to explain her plan, because she was the only other pony in the area. She could see her former companions, including her baby sister, run toward the noise. "Darn it!" she cried, chasing the ponies. When Pinkie first saw Perahitsu, she could not understand how such a small pony could cause so much damage. She saw the remains of Carousel Boutique. Half of it was turned to rubble, the other was turned to ashes. How could one pony, even one with fire powers, do that!? She now understood. The qilin's body was ablaze in white-hot flame. The vegetation around him was blackened from the heat. His speed was unparalleled. From his initial position, and in the time it took Pinkie Pie to blink, he was already on top of the group. And his strength... Several nearby trees snapped in half as charged through them. He could also fly. And Pinkie knew, the only reason she was alive, was because of Shining Armor's reaction time, and shield spell. It encased the group in a bright red bubble, protecting them from the creature's wrath. Cracks began to form in the barrier, and it took all of Shining's strength to repair the damage before it accumulated. Even Comet tried to help, but for some reason his repairs weren't very effective. It wasn't long before he started a more practical approach, throwing stones outside the barrier toward the assailant. "We can't do this forever!" the shrink cried, sending a large rock across the clearing. A glowing white form dodged the projectile, before flying toward the group, and impacting the shield, sending out another series of cracks. "You got a better plan!?" the guard replied. Spike huddled next to the earth pony, watching the two unicorns argue and bicker. Rainbow Dash had already flown off, to divide their attackers. Her plan worked, and the phoenix and pegasus fought in the air above, as the qilin engaged those on the ground. The shield was impacted again. "This isn't working!" Comet explained, sending another stone flying. "We need a distraction!" "We used our distraction!" Shining replied. "She flew after that damn bird!" "HEY!" A voice screamed from the other side of the clearing. "Wouldn't you rather an easier meal!?" The qilin stopped a foot from the shield, and spun around to face the orange pegasus. Comet wasn't sure if it was bravery or stupidity, but he did know one thing. Perahitsu was distracted. "Drop the shield," he whispered as his horn began to glow. The moment the bubble dissipated, a single blast shot from the shrink's horn, hitting their assailant square in the gut. He dropped to the ground, and collapsed as his flame faded away. "What was that!?" Scootaloo asked, as she ran across the clearing. "Sedation spell," Comet explained between breaths. "Where'd you learn that!?" Shining responded. "We occasionally have to deal with dangerous patients," he said remarkably calmly. "However I don't- ...oh sh-" He brushed the filly behind him as the qilin tried to get to his hooves. Then, he slipped and fell. The group watched as Perahitsu managed to slowly stand on shaky legs. His stance was wide, and his eyes boiled with hatred. Rarity and Cadance emerged from the other side of the clearing. And off to his left, the doctor noticed a yellow filly slide down a tall tree. "Looks like you're surrounded," Comet said, between heavy breaths. "I guess we can finally talk." "Go to Tartarus," the beast growled. "You'll all pay for this." "I don't think so," Shining explained. "You attacked us." "It's what we do to spies," he said through gritted teeth. "What are you doing so far from Canterlot?" Comet asked. "That's none of your concern." "Actually, I think it is, since a qilin attacked a building in Ponyville just last night." "And so you assume it was me!?" "You're right. That is an unjust assumption. Except for the fact that you attacked a member of the royal family." "I know who he is," the qilin explained. "And I know who his relations are." Shining's sword was suddenly unsheathed, and poised, inches from his opponent's face. "What, exactly, is that supposed to mean." "I only mean to give my condolences... for your loss." Comet noticed the smile on his face. "You're not telling us something." He turned to the doctor. "Prove it." "Speak!" Cadance screamed, approaching him from behind. "Or we'll have your father deal with you." The grin faltered just enough for Comet to notice. "Oh, I'm sure," he said. "But first, you'd have to survive!" His scales started to glow once again. But Comet was ready, once again hitting him with a burst of magic. The qilin collapsed to the ground. Shining's sword remained poised over the unconscious assailant. "Shining," the doctor said. "Put that away." "He's behind this," the prince explained. "He's a part of this." "You don't know that-" "-I know enough." He put a hoof on the warrior's shoulder. "Yeah, maybe." His other hoof rested on the sword, trying to manually lower it. "But it doesn't matter. We're better off keeping him alive. There are a lot of questions he could answer." A pair of hooves landed a few feet away. "Hey, you got him!" Rainbow said. "Better than me." "What happened!?" Spike asked. "It out flew me!" she explained, scratching her head. "I didn't know phoenixes were that fast." "So it's probably going to tell its masters," Shining theorized. "What makes you think it has any?" Comet asked. "What's going on?" the pegasus asked. "I'm not sure," the dragon replied. "Shining, come on," the shrink continued. "This wouldn't do any good." He slowly lowered his sword to the ground, and as it clattered, he quickly turned away. "That's good," he explained. "You see, Shining, it-" Metal scraped across the ground. The sword rose high in the air, and was forced straight through the scales of the young qilin. Red oozed over bright blue, and the creatures eyes snapped open. He began to choke and cough on his own blood. As he felt the life drain out of him, his head was turned, and he was forced to look in the purple eyes of the one who killed him. Cadance's face was cold, and unnerving, as she took the young pony's life. No one moved. No one spoke. And no one even breathed, as his last moments ticked away. Under his breath, Spike commented. "Crap." Twilight held a damp cloth to Spike's head. He'd been out cold for nearly twenty minutes, which worried the young unicorn. However, she didn't have the nerve to wake him. But as his eyes fluttered open, a wave of relief washed over her. So great that part of her thought he'd just come back from the dead. She held back her emotions and released but a smile. "Hey, Spike," she said. "How're you feeling?" The dragon cringed as he grabbed his head tightly. "Not good... How long was I out?" "Twenty minutes," Rainbow explained, as she trotted in his field of view. "Are you alright?" His eyes swept the room, and he quickly realized where he was; the farmhouse at Sweet Apple Acres, lying on Applejack's couch. "Yeah," he tried to sit up, when a burst of pain hit once again. "Don't try to get up, Spike," Twilight explained, pushing him down with her hoof. "You got a nasty knock on the head. You should relax." "No, no," the dragon objected. "If we don't do something he'll be gone!" "There's no point, little guy." Rainbow Dash explained. "We have no idea where he went!" "Rainbow, don't encourage him," the unicorn replied. "Spike, you can't start blindly searching for revenge!" "We can't let him get away with this," Spike rebutted, rubbing his head. Twilight leaned in close. "You don't even know if it's the same dragon." He remained silent. "Does it matter?" Rainbow asked. Spike and Twilight nearly snapped their necks turning to look at the pegasus, shocked at her reaction. "What!?" they asked, incredulously. "Oh come on, Twilight!" she replied. "That thing just destroyed Applejack's farm! You wanna let that slide!?" The unicorn responded, "Revenge isn't the answer, Rainbow." "It's not about revenge! It's about... um... protecting Ponyville!" "No it's not, you want revenge!" "Well, maybe I do!" she said, poking her friend in the chest. "And I don't see why you don't. Maybe you don't care about your friends." The unicorn gave a look that would've given a windigo the chills. She pushed Rainbow's hoof away with a wave of her foreleg. "Just because I don't want to run around like a crazy pony, searching for something that might be long gone, does not mean I don't care about Applejack... or Rarity." She poked the pegasus in the chest. "And let me be clear, there's not a day goes by that I don't think about tearing that dragon's heart out with my bare hooves. So don't you dare tell me I don't care about my friends." Rainbow was frozen. "You're right..." she responded. "I... I'm sorry." Twilight turned back to her patient. "But if we don't know where he is, there's no point." "There's plenty of forest in the area, we could start-" "Are you not listening!?" She snapped at her friend. "Which one!? There's no way we could possibly know where he went!" "That doesn't mean we should do nothing," Spike interjected, rubbing his head. Twilight released a dejected sigh. It was the only response she could think of, since nothing else felt appropriate. As the unicorn tried to organize her thoughts, a rapping came from the door. She opened it from across the room, and standing on the threshold were two pegasi, one yellow, one black. "What's up ladies!?" Thunderlane asked. "And Spike..." Fluttershy trotted into the room, and dropped a basket of apples on the coffee table. "Are you feeling okay, Spike?" she asked. "Do you need anything?" "No, I'm fine," he said, jumping off the couch. "Absolutely fine, no need to be concerned, I'm fine." "You sure little guy?" Rainbow asked, skeptically. "Yep!" He explained, straightening his posture. "Never felt better." "So, Rainbow," Thunderlane said, interjecting. "We need to talk." "What is it?" the weathermare asked. "Uh, we should probably talk about this outside." "No, what is it?" "Um... well..." He started scratching at his head. "We think we know where the dragon went." Everypony's head snapped in his direction. "What?" Rainbow asked. "Where!?" "Well, um... Daisy said she saw a dragon early this morning, before sunrise. He was flying in from the north, straight toward Whitetail Wood." As Rainbow and Twilight processed this information, Spike simply asked, "Whitetail Wood?" He nodded. "But..." Twilight pondered. "If he was coming from the north, it couldn't have been the same dragon." "Unless," Rainbow explained. "When he made his getaway, he didn't go straight to his hideout. He flew around a bit to try to throw us off." She clopped her hooves together. "Clever boy." She turned to the stallion. "What did he look like?" "Well, um... it was dark," he explained. "but... uh... green." Twilight released a sigh of dejection. "We still wouldn't know where to look," she explained. "Whitetail Wood is pretty big." "The southwest corner," Spike interjected. "He's in the southwest corner, there's a cave over there he could be hiding in." "Why do you think that?" He paused for a second and scratched his head. "I don't know, just an idea." "So, it's as good a place as any to start," Rainbow suggested. "Well, if we're doing this, we'll have to make sure we're well prepared," Twilight explained. "No, you won't. I'm going alone."
Chapter Eight - A Bridge Too Far"Rainbow, you're not going alone!" Twilight exclaimed. "Yes, I am." The two ponies were already outside, Twilight following closely behind her friend, trying to convince her to stop. "It's foolish and reckless!" Rainbow turned around and approached her friend. "I don't want to see you get hurt," she responded quietly, head hung low. "And I don't want to see you get hurt either." The pegasus sighed deeply, and smiled. "Fine," she said. Twilight smiled in kind. "Hey, wait up!" a voice screamed. The two turned to see a small purple figure running down the path, followed closely by their much more recognisable friend, Fluttershy. Spike was nearly out of breath by the time he approached them, and declared, "I'm coming with you." They quickly shared a glance before Rainbow said, "Uh... I don't think so, Spike." "But, I need to show you where the cave is." "I think we can find it on our own." "I don't know," the librarian explained. "Whitetail Wood is pretty big." "Twilight..." the weathermare responded through gritted teeth. "Rainbow, he can help." Still unsure, she looked at her other friend. "You too, Fluttershy?" she asked. The pegasus nodded. She slid a hoof through her mane in frustration. "Alright," she said. "Let's go." The quartet began their journey, all while being watched by a single cyan iris, peeking around a burnt-out husk. Pinkie Pie trotted away from the scene, her head hung low. A blackened and broken plank was thrown into a large wooden cart. Just another on the slowly growing pile. There wasn't much to do in the aftermath of the attack, and there wasn't much anypony wanted to do. But doing nothing had always annoyed Apple Bloom. She hated doing nothing; especially today, on the day she lost everything. All she wanted to do was distract her mind. So she cleaned. She cleaned up the remains of the clubhouse she spent many days fixing, and decorating, and cleaning. It felt like losing somepony she knew, somepony close to her. It felt like losing a child. She tried to clear the thoughts from her head, but they kept returning. They kept coming back in full force. Partly because some of the debris looked familiar, triggering memories of days gone past. A husk of an album, the pages burnt to a crisp. A collection of blackened heart-shaped paper, falling apart as she touched them. The blackened fragments of a ceramic vase, shattered from the heat. As Apple Bloom lifted a charred rainbow wig, she knew this couldn't go on. She needed something new, something to distract her from her distraction. As she looked over the remnants, a figure entered her field of vision. Rumble's brother, Thunderlane, approached at a moderate pace. Another piece of timber landed on the pile. "This is gonna take all day," the young colt commented. Apple Bloom remained silent. His elder brother looked over the wreckage. "Thunderlane!" Rumble exclaimed, finally noticing the stallion. "What are you doing here?" "I was gonna ask you the same thing," he responded. "I'm comforting my girlfriend!" the colt declared. "Who?" his brother asked with genuine confusion. He pointed to the centre of the rubble, where Apple Bloom stood. The weathercolt raised an eyebrow. "You've only been on two dates." "I know right?" Rumble said with a proud smile. He put a hoof to his nose. "We need to have a talk." Scootaloo threw some more debris on the pile. "What are you doing out here anyway?" she asked. "Don't have to sound so suspicious. Actually, Fluttershy told me to come over to keep an eye on you kids. Somepony has to." "Why not her?" "Oh, she took off with Spike, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash. I think they're gonna track down that dragon." "What?" Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom zoomed over. "What!? Where!?" "Whitetail Wood; and no, you can't go with 'em." The filly pouted. "Why aren't you with them?" Rumble asked pointedly. "Well, I wasn't really in the mood to get killed by a dragon this week." "But you're fine with the four of them getting killed?" Thunderlane scrunched up his face. "What kinda question is that!? Of course I'm not, but it's not like I can stop them, I'm not married to any of them!" "Oh, you mean that wedding with Spike was annulled?" He leaned in close. "You're really irritating, you know that?" As the two siblings argued, far outside their line of sight, a young unicorn slowly slunk away. Once she was sure she wouldn't be spotted, she bolted as quickly as her little legs could carry her, straight in the direction of Whitetail Wood. As the quartet hit the edge of Whitetail Wood, Twilight found her pace start to lag. Her companions passed her, and stopped, out of concern. "Twilight?" Rainbow asked. "Are you alright?" The unicorn knocked herself out of a daze. "Huh? Yeah, I'm... I'm fine, it's just... last time we saw this dragon, it didn't end well." Unease washed over the group. "Come on," Rainbow said. Twilight quickened her pace and followed. "So, Spike," she said, looking down at the young dragon. "You know where we're going?" His eyes scanned the path, as he tried to retrace his steps. "Yeah, I think so." She laughed slightly. "You'd think you've been down here before." "I was, last night." "What?" Twilight asked. "You were?" "Uh..." He stopped suddenly. "No, but it... it sorta feels like it." The group picked up their pace again. Fluttershy's unease went unnoticed. Sweetie Belle had to cross through the town to reach her destination, which was an opportunity she decided to take advantage of. Bursting through the doors of Carousel Boutique, she quickly decided to search for her special collection of books. Magic books she borrowed from the library. She was only beginning her studies on the mystic arts, but now she knew she would have to start on the accelerated program. There was a spell she spotted earlier in the week. It was simple and efficient, and exactly what she needed. She just had to find it. The pile was exactly where she left it, in the middle of the main showroom. Shoving books aside, she quickly found what she was looking for. Flipping through the pages, she found the entry even faster. She studied the page, to refresh her memory, then galloped off to the backroom. At her late sister's designing desk, she pulled open a drawer, and quickly found a large rolled-up sheet of paper. Unfurling it on the ground, she knew she found it: a map of the Ponyville area. Her horn began to glow a bright green, and she ran it over the map, slowly and methodically; specifically, over Whitetail Wood. It wasn't long before she stopped over a point in the southwest corner. Satisfaction hit her face, and she galloped out once again, to the pile of books in the showroom. She scanned the mess she made, and quickly grabbed one of the books she knocked aside. Flipping through it, she eventually found her prize. Sweetie Belle was not exactly sure if this would work. There was much risk, due to how little experience she had. But it was a risk she was willing to take. With all the concentration she could muster, her horn began to shine once again, brighter and brighter. Until, in a flash of light, the store disappeared around her, suddenly replaced by the tall trees of Whitetail Wood. A grin appeared on her face; she was bursting with excitement. It worked! Now, she just had to find her friend, Spike. A shuffling noise suddenly came from behind her. In a panic, Sweetie Belle dashed behind a tree, hiding her from view. The trees were bent, and bushes were crushed, as a large green dragon forced its way through the vegetation. The unicorn suddenly realized, she found the wrong dragon. As Spike led the team through the forest, he realized that every tree, every bush, was exactly as he remembered it. Which was something he found quite bizarre. The dragon was certain he'd never been down this path before... at least, in this world. To see it look exactly as it was in the world with Rarity, that was strange. Confirmation that this was the dream? Or his mind playing tricks, correcting his memories of the dream to conform to reality? How could he know? He couldn't. "Spike?" a soft voice echoed in his ear. His head turned to see Fluttershy trotting alongside him. Their friends trailed several feet behind, chatting, discussing. "Oh, hey," he replied. "What's up?" "I just wanted to know, how do you know where we're going?" Spike was slightly at ease. Would Fluttershy chastise him for using the dream in such a way? Doubtful, but it still worried him. "It was the dream," he explained. "A qilin attacked Carousel Boutique; we traced him to the same cave." As they walked along the path, the dragon's nervousness increased. "It may be completely unconnected, but I thought-" "It's smart," the mare responded. "What?" "If the dragon's hiding in a cave, and there's a cave in the area, your subconscious probably knew that, and made the connection," she explained. "But I didn't know there was a cave in the area-" "Maybe you did, but you forgot." As they continued on the path, Spike's mind rolled back, and he asked himself a simple question: have I been here before? "But... I have one question," the young mare asked. Spike opened his mouth to respond. A crash sounded in the distance. The quartet stopped. A loud roar. They ran. Sweetie Belle ran. Ran as fast as her legs could carry her. It was only a matter of seconds ago that she messed up. A single sneeze, so simple, so innocent, blew her cover. She ran, dodging trees, leaping over debris, as her pursuer strode through them, destroying everything he touched. A flash of light ahead. Four familiar faces skidding to a stop. "Sweetie Belle!?" Twilight cried. "RUUUUUUN!!!" the filly screamed, zooming past them. She skidded to a stop and spun around, when she noticed they weren't complying. The four of them looked up at the dragon, who began to slow his approach. "ERAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he roared, the wind nearly blowing the ponies back. "You leave my friend's sister alone!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she flew straight toward the dragon's head, missing by a foot, but managing to catch the beast's attention. The other three ran toward the rescuee. "Sweetie Belle," Spike began. "What are you doing here!?" She quickly and frantically explained. "I was looking for you, but I found him, then he saw me and he got angry." The familiar sound of a burning fire roared from behind them. Their heads snapped to look. Rainbow Dash expertly dodged a bright orange flame. "Fluttershy, get her out of here," Twilight ordered. "Not a problem!" the pegasus responded, slightly panicked. "Now, as for him..." Twilight suddenly released a bright purple blast of magic, in the direction of the dragon's head. It missed him by metres, but managed to catch his attention. "Hey, ugly!" the unicorn screamed. "Why don't you pick on somepony at your level, you flightless bastard!" "That's your best trash talk?" Spike whispered. "It sounded better in my head," she responded through gritted teeth. The dragon roared again, and incinerated the spot the two were standing on. A burst of light flashed behind the dragon. "That the best you got?" Twilight asked. He growled, as his frustration grew. A sudden impact hit the dragon's head from behind, and a multi-coloured blur flew through his field of vision. He screamed once again, in anger and disdain. Rainbow dodged another burst of flame. She had to keep flying. She had to distract and anger the creature, just long enough... just long enough... Twilight's horn started to glow. Her plan was not simple. Dragons had a very high magical resistance. It only weakened if... "Hey! Dragon! Your mother's an iguana!!!" she screamed. He swung at the unicorn with his tail, and she quickly dodged the attack, as her assistant dove behind a tree. Twilight knew, she could feel it. Now she just needed a clean shot. Rainbow flew up to the beast, and bonked him on the top of his head, before flying away. He looked up. A point of bright, radiant energy shot from the tip of her horn, hitting the creature at the bottom of his jaw. The dragon was suddenly taken aback. He suddenly started choking, as if a noose was around his throat. He collapsed on the ground, convulsing as he tried to cough up the obstruction. He wrapped his claws around his throat, almost out of instinct. Twilight trotted up to his face. Anger boiled inside her. A sudden flash of magic, and he found himself able to breathe again, but otherwise paralyzed. "Tell me what you were doing at Sweet Apple Acres last night," she said. The fear and anger in the beast's eyes was slowly replaced by arrogance. And the scowl on his face was replaced by a smile. "Sweet Apple Who?" "Don't play dumb with us!" Rainbow screamed. "We know you were there! Why'd you destroy Applejack's farm!?" "It does not matter. You cannot stop us." Twilight responded, "for a dragon who's been successfully incapacitated, you seem pretty cocky." He chuckled in a laugh Spike found very familiar. The stereotypical laugh of some evil mastermind, often seen in films. To see it in real life, the young dragon found very bizarre. "My life does not matter, only the order. And nopony can stop us. Not even her." "Who's 'her'?" Twilight asked. "And what order?" Rainbow interjected. Then, whatever patience the pegasus had quickly died. "What fucking order!?" She screamed, grabbing the dragon around his snout. His eyes began to roll, his mouth began to water. He started to choke once again, but it was not a magical illusion Twilight created. It was the real deal. "No... NO!!!" This was not what the unicorn wanted. "What's going on!?" Rainbow asked, releasing her grip on the beast. "What's happening!?" Sweetie Belle inquired from behind the group. His eyes had already stopped moving. His convulsions had ceased. Twilight knew what this meant. "He... he just killed himself," she explained, her hooves collapsing underneath her. "What?" "Why!?" "I... I don't know." "Um... Twilight," Rainbow interjected. "This isn't a good thing, is it?" She kept her eyes on the corpse, and responded, "No, no it's not... It should have been, but it's not." "Um..." Fluttershy said, creeping up behind them. "So, what do we do now?" The unicorn stood up, and simply said, "We need to find that cave." Spike's eyes snapped open. He sprang up in his bed, and a bright green flame shot from his mouth, materializing into a scroll, and landing on the floor. Without another thought, he threw the covers aside and flew out of his bed, faster than he'd ever done before. Running to the nearest bookshelf, Spike started grabbing books, flipping through them, and throwing them to the side. It was so strange. None of it made any sense. What was 'the order'? A vague and unusual question, but one he needed an answer to. They had so little information, only what they found in the cave, which amounted to a few letters. Not much to go on, since they were written in a different language. While Twilight determined it was Toranin, she didn't know a word of Toranin. It was such an obscure language. But Spike needed more information... here, in the other world. If only for confirmation. The most identifiable reference point was still in his head. It was all he had to go on. He searched his scales for quill and parchment, but found nothing. His eyes caught sight of a black marker. He grabbed it and ran to the nearest stretch of blank wall. He drew a giant circle, with a slash proceeding straight through, from upper left to bottom right. From the centre of the circle, he drew another line to the upper right. Finally, Spike drew a jagged line in the bottom left hemisphere, parallel to the first line. In the damp cave, lying on the floor, Twilight saw three pieces of green wax. Their colour clearly matched the residue left on the envelopes. Using her arcane skills, she magicked them together, and could clearly see a single symbol embossed within. It was all he had to go on. "Spike?" Comet slowly awoke, a hoof rubbing an eye. "What's going on?" "Oh, um..." Spike was conflicted. "I'm just-" "Something happened in your dream didn't it?" "Uh... yeah," he responded hesitantly. "Can it wait till I had my coffee?" "Uh... sure." He flopped down on the mattress. But then, Comet noticed something. He eased back up. "What in the name of Tartarus did you draw on the wall?" he asked. Spike turned to look at his masterpiece. "I... I saw it in my dream," he explained. The unicorn trotted up to his charge, and the drawing. "Could use a bit more colour," he quipped. A knock came at the bedroom door. The two of them turned around, and saw Shining Armor peeking in. "Hey, guys, I..." He froze in place. "What are you...?" Without another word, the stallion trotted in, and made a beeline for the drawing. "Why is that on your wall?" he asked, with tones of surprise and confusion. "Uh... Spike just drew it." "Yeah, I had a strange dream." The soldier remained frozen. "Is something wrong?" Comet asked. "Yeah..." he replied. The two civilians shared a look. "Did any mail come in?" Shining asked, without looking away from the emblem. "Oh, yeah," Spike said, finally remembering the letter that woke him. The dragon ran to the parchment that lay on the ground. Unfurling the first few inches, he confirmed the addressee, and held it out for Shining Armor. Without a word, the soldier walked toward the bedroom door, only for Comet to stop him. "Wait, Shining," he said. "What is this thing?" "It's nothing." "No, it's not." Shining Armor stopped at the door, and let his thoughts settle. Turning around, he spoke quickly. "It's the emblem used by a cult known as the Order of the Flame." He started to leave. "And?" Comet said. Shining Armor froze. "We think they were behind Twilight's death," he said before closing the door behind him. The boys shared a look of shock and horror. Author's Note The author would like to personally thank Periphery for all his help in preparing this chapter for publication.
Chapter One - The Pink StoneThe morning sun rose, shining upon Ponyville. Beams of light came through the windows of the living quarters at Ponyville Library. Slowly moving across the floor until they landed on a small basket in the middle of the room, containing a small purple dragon named Spike. The light woke him, and as he stirred in his bed, opening his eyes to the world, a question ran through his head, on one wall, he saw the answer indicated on a wall calendar. It was Saturday, and the day before, Friday, was crossed out. But he could still read what was well-marked in Friday's square: "Rarity's Funeral" He stood, yawned and stretched his arms wide, recovering from a long night's sleep. He looked over at the dresser at one end of the room, and noticed a gold ring sitting on top of it. Getting out of his bed, he walked over, and examined the ring, it was exactly as he last left it, tiny fragments of the original gemstone were still lodged inside, but most of it had already fallen out. It didn't matter, he had a plan for this ring. He proceeded down the stairs to the library's main sitting room. As he entered, he heard a voice from the kitchen, which was through a nearby door. "Spike!?" A purple unicorn mare entered the room, and looked at the young dragon, "I made breakfast if you want any." "Um...in a minute Twilight," Spike said to his best friend. "I gotta take care of something." As she proceeded back into the kitchen, Spike went straight to a bookshelf on the other end of the room. In the foreign language section, he spotted a book on jewellery repair. It was misfiled, likely by one of the library's patrons. He grabbed it and proceeded down to the library's basement. There wasn't much light in the basement, but a small window high up at the top provided just enough for him to take in his surroundings. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he found a simple torch hanging on the wall that he quickly lit with his dragon breath, so he could see a lot better. He then made a beeline straight to the workbench at one end of the basement, dropping both the ring, and book right on top. He then proceeded to a simple green chest at the other end of the room. Opening it, he saw it was full of gemstones of various colours, which made his mouth water. But he wasn't here to eat, he was here on a mission. He grabbed a pink stone, closed the chest and ran back to the bench, placing the torch in a stand. He quickly flipped the book to the page he needed, instructions on how to set a gemstone. Taking a cloth that was kept down there, he placed the ring into a vice that was bolted to the bench, placing the cloth in between the ring and vice, so it wouldn't get damaged. He then took a big bite out of the pink gemstone, chewing and swallowing. He continued to eat it until it was about the right size. Holding it up to the ring, he saw it was just a little too big, and wasn't the right shape. He continued to take small bites out of the gemstone until it would fit the ring. Eventually, the stone was ready. He reached into one of the drawers on the bench, pulling out a small hooked tool, which he used to clear out what was left of the old stone, before getting to work placing the new stone in. Eventually, the new ring was complete. Originally a gift from his girlfriend, it would now remind him of what he had, not what he lost. The thought made him smile. He slid the ring onto his right hand, extinguished the torch, and quickly ran back upstairs. Once he arrived in the library's kitchen, he could see Twilight, sitting at the table, idly stirring a bowl of cereal. Across from her, another bowl sat, obviously for Spike. "Well," Spike said. "At least now I know why you said, 'made breakfast,' instead of 'cooked breakfast.'" That managed to get a chuckle out of Twilight. Spike was in the basement for a while, so the fact that Twilight's bowl was full, made Spike realize something was wrong. But he didn't need to ask what it was, because he already knew. Spike sat on the stool, and dug right in. Twilight looked up at Spike, and smiled. He smiled back and, after swallowing what was in his mouth, asked, "You doing okay?" "I'm fine," she lied. "I guess I'm just not hungry." Spike was concerned, but he couldn't think of what to say. He wished there was something he could say that would make everything all better. But there wasn't. Rarity was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Well, that wasn't exactly true...but...well, he knew Twilight too well to think that would work. Twilight looked up from her bowl and noticed Spike's ring. "Did...did you change the stone in that ring?" Spike stopped eating, and looked at the unicorn. He then looked at his ring. "Oh, yeah, since the old stone broke I figured I should replace it." "It's a different colour," she said. "Yeah?" Spike said, a bit perplexed. "You didn't like the old one?" "Um...no, it's not that," he said. "I just couldn't find a green stone to replace it." Twilight was skeptical, after all he could have just waited until he found a green stone, but she decided to let it go. Spike had his reasons, she just had to accept it. Perhaps a green stone would remind him too much of her. But if that was true, why wear the ring at all? It wasn't important. She had other things to discuss. "So, um...I hear Rarity left Carousel Boutique to Sweetie Belle." Spike paused as another spoonful of cereal was about to enter his mouth. "Really?" he said, a bit perplexed. "Mmmhm, I'm not sure what they're going to do with it, but I doubt Sweetie Belle can run the store on her own...or make clothes to populate it." Spike began worrying about the consequences of this. They might sell it, and they couldn't do that! It would tarnish her memory! He had to meet with Rarity's parents. Try to convince them to keep it open. Spike quickly polished off the rest of his cereal. "I got to go!" Spike said, as he began running out of the kitchen. "Spike!" Twilight yelled, stopping the young dragon. He turned around and looked at his friend. "What are you going to do?" "...I figure they might try to sell it, I'm going to convince them to keep it open," Spike explained. "Why?" Spike paused for a second before answering. "I'll see you later, Twilight," he ran out the door. The streets of Ponyville weren't very busy that morning. Most ponies were still waking up. Which meant Fluttershy didn't have to try very hard to spot a particular young dragon as he left his house. The yellow pegasus had just finished her morning chores, which included feeding all the animals in her care, and cleaning up any messes in her cottage, and was flying over Ponyville when she spotted Spike. She landed a few feet behind him and caught up to the young dragon. "Spike?" she said, in a very quiet voice. The dragon turned and greeted his friend, "Oh, hey Fluttershy. What brings you into town?" "OH! I was going to meet up with Rainbow Dash, when I saw you and decided to say 'hello,'" Fluttershy lied. "AH!" Spike said in realization. "Where are you going?" Fluttershy asked with genuine curiosity "Oh, did you know that Rarity left Carousel Boutique to Sweetie Belle?" Fluttershy thought for a second. "Um...no...why?" "I'm worried her parents might make her sell it!" Fluttershy was suddenly very concerned. "Um...Spike...why is that a problem?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. "Because I know Rarity wouldn't want that," he explained. "In fact, there are probably a few of her designs that never got made. Think of how terrible it would be if they died with her!?" "Spike," she explained. "They probably weren't finished either." "Well that's easy to fix," he said, slyly, giving her a wink. Fluttershy sighed and looked at her friend, "Spike-" "Look! Fluttershy, I know you don't believe me, but I have to at least try!" Her concern didn't fade, but she realized he was going to do this either way, and he might need some help. "Well, in that case, you should know they're already at Carousel Boutique." "What?" She nodded, "I saw them when I flew over." "Great!" He exclaimed, as he took off in the opposite direction. "OH!" said Fluttershy, "Wait for me!" Carousel Boutique was nearly empty that day, as the former owner's family was examining everything within. It was still as pristine as it was the day Rarity died, since no one bothered visiting it until today. One of the many rooms within contained several rolls of fabric, a half-dozen dress forms, sewing machine, and other equipment used for making and designing clothes. But all that was ignored by Sweetie Belle. She was lying down in the middle of what Rarity called her 'inspiration room,' flipping through a book filled with drawings of clothes. All signed by Rarity. She wasn't sure if any of them had been made before, in fact most of them, she didn't recognize. It was possible that this work was part of Rarity's to-do list. It was terrible that she never got the chance to actually make them. It was at this moment, Sweetie Belle heard some noise coming down the hallway. Closing the book, she proceeded down the hall to find out what all the ruckus was about. In the middle of the main showroom, she saw her mother, a pink unicorn named Diamond Ring, hugging a familiar purple dragon. "Spike!" Sweetie Belle yelled as she ran toward her friend. Diamond Ring got out-of-the-way as her daughter tackled the young dragon. "GAH!" Spike reacted as his friend pinned him to the ground. "Hey, Sweetie Belle," he said to the young unicorn currently on top of him. "What's up?" "I am!" she said cheekily. "I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome." "I just missed you!" she said as she nuzzled the little guy. "That's all!" "You saw me yesterday!" "I know!" Sweetie Belle had a huge smile on her face as she stepped off him. "Um..." went a soft voice to Sweetie Belle's left. She didn't notice until that moment that Fluttershy was standing next to her. Sweetie Belle jumped. "AH!" she screamed and fell on her back. "Fluttershy! I didn't see you there!" Sweetie went right back to smiling. Spike got back to his feet and helped Sweetie to her hooves. "So, you little ragamuffin," Diamond Ring said, to Spike, who hated that nickname. "What brings you here?" "Oh, not much, just talked to Twilight this morning." Turning to Sweetie Belle, he continued, "she said Rarity left this place to you." Sweetie just looked at Spike wide-eyed. There was an awkward silence as they waited for him to continue. "...and I was just wondering what you were planning to do with it." "Funny you should ask," came a voice from the other side of the room. No one noticed Sweetie Belle's father, a white earth pony named Field Goal, enter the room. "I was just thinking about that." As he walked towards the foursome. Spike got very nervous. "Since it technically belongs to Sweetie Belle, she should benefit," Field Goal explained. "So...we should sell it and put the money in her college fund!" "NO!!!" Spike and Sweetie Belle exclaimed. If Fluttershy didn't know any better, she would have thought they rehearsed that. "I mean..." Spike tried to explain, before saying, "NO!" "We can't sell this place, all of Rarity's work is here!" "Well, it won't go away, Pumpkin," her father explained. "We'll sell them so other ponies can enjoy them, just like Rarity would have done." "But...but...but that's not all!" Sweetie said before zooming off into the back room. Spike thought things would be a bit more difficult. He thought he would have to explain, but the truth was, he had nothing...or at least, nothing that wouldn't make him sound completely insane. So Spike was quite happy to see Sweetie make the argument for him. It was a few seconds later when she arrived back in the room, with a book in her mouth. Dropping it open and flipping to a page with a drawing of a very elegant dress on it, she pointed at it and said simply. "See! I've never seen any dress like this. I think she was planning to make it, but never got the chance." "Sweetie Belle," her mother explained. "Maybe this was a dress she didn't want to make. Maybe it was supposed to be on the scrap pile." "No," came a sweet voice from behind them. Fluttershy explained, "that was supposed to be part of her next collection, but..." "See!" Sweetie said, with a mix of pride and desperation. "But, Sweetie Belle," her father said. "What would you do with this anyway?" "I'd make it and sell it," the young unicorn explained. "This shouldn't stay stuck in a book like this. It should be worn by ponies all across Equestria!" "But be realistic," he explained. "You're still a little foal, you're still in school, you can't run a dress shoppe all on your own!" "But...but..." Spike noticed tears in the young filly's eyes, as she said, very quietly, "it's all that's left of her." Spike was pretty sure he was the only one who heard her say that, and it broke his heart, even more than it already was. Then, he suddenly had an idea on how to help her, and he didn't like it. "She doesn't need to," the young dragon said. "I can help!" "WHAT!?" said every pony in the room. "We can run this place together," he explained, moving to stand next to Sweetie Belle. "Finishing Rarity's designs and selling them off." "But Spike," Diamond explained. "Do either of you know how to sew?" They looked at each other, suddenly very worried. Spike looked across to his yellow friend. "No," he explained. "But Fluttershy does." "What?" Fluttershy said. "You can teach us how to sew!" Fluttershy wanted to say 'no' but Spike's pleading eyes made her say, "yes, yes I can." She then moved to stand next to the two, not quite sure of what she was getting into, but knowing Spike needed as much support as she could provide. The two older ponies looked at each other, unsure of what to do. As Spike arrived back at the Library a few hours later, he was quickly greeted by his best friend, Twilight, who was reading in the middle of the room. "Hey, Spike! How'd it go!?" she asked her young assistant. Spike did not look to happy when he entered, but nonetheless, he turned to face the unicorn and, with a smile, said, "You're looking at the new co-owner of Carousel Boutique!" "WHAT!?" Twilight was shocked at this new revelation. "How'd that happen!?" "I'm still not sure, and I somehow roped Fluttershy into it," he explained. "Spike!" she said, a bit angry. "Why'd you do that!?" "Well, she didn't object." "That's not the point!" Twilight explained. "Do you even know how to design clothes!?" "Well, no...but Rarity left a lot of sketches behind, and I can learn." "Spike it's not that simple." "Well, maybe not!" he explained. "But I can at least try!" "Spike!" "Twilight!" Spike explained, holding up a claw. "Don't worry about it. It'll all be fine." "Spike," Twilight continued, much calmer now. "Does this mean you quit?" Spike suddenly remembered he was also Twilight's assistant. "OH!!" He said, "um...don't worry, I'll stay on top of my chores, it won't be a problem." Twilight just looked at him and said, "Don't worry about it Spike. If this is something you really want to do, I'm not going to put any extra pressure on-OOOF!" Spike leaped up and grabbed her neck in a hug. "Thank you!" Spike said. Twilight was surprised by this, "alright, Spike it's alright...you can let go now." But he didn't. He continued to hug the mare, and said simply, "I love you, Twilight." Twilight was a bit confused. "I love you too, Spike." Spike let go, and quickly walked toward the kitchen trying to hide the tears in his eyes. "I'm going to make lunch." The morning sun rose, shining upon Ponyville. Beams of light came through the windows of the living quarters at Ponyville Library. Slowly moving across the floor until they landed on a small basket in the middle of the room, containing a small purple dragon named Spike. The light woke him, and as he stirred in his bed, opening his eyes to the world, a question ran through his head, on one wall, he saw the answer indicated on a wall calendar. It was Saturday, and the day before, Friday, was crossed out. But he could still read what was well-marked in Friday's square: "Twilight's Funeral" He stood, yawned and stretched his arms wide, recovering from a long night's sleep. He looked at his right hand, and noticed the gold ring he fixed the night before. The ring was dominated by a blue stone, a stone he chose to remind him of what he had, not what he lost. Spike got out of bed and proceeded down the stairs to the library’s main sitting room. As he entered, he heard a voice from the kitchen, which was through a nearby door. "Spike!?" A green unicorn stallion with glasses entered the room, and looked at the young dragon, "I made breakfast if you want any." "Yeah, sure," Spike said, as he followed Cerebral Comet into the kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table were two ponies he knew very well: Shining Armour, Twilight's brother; and Princess Cadance, his wife. "Good morning, Spike," Shining greeted the young dragon. "Yeah," Spike replied, "Morning." In front of them were two plates, with stacks of pancakes. The Princess had her mouth full, so she could only nod in Spike's direction. Spike grabbed a stool, and placed it in front of the table just as Comet gave Spike a plate. Six pancakes in the middle of the table were then stabbed by a glowing blue fork, and loaded onto Cadance's plate. She then levitated a jar of maple syrup and poured it onto her plate. Spike then stabbed a few pancakes himself, placed them onto his plate and waited for Cadance to finish with the syrup. "So, Spike," Shining said, trying to make conversation. "How are you doing?" He merely shrugged as Cadance finished with the syrup. Spike grabbed it before she managed to place it on the table, and poured just enough syrup to cover the pancakes. As he started to cut up his food, he asked a simple question. "So, where are you're parents?" "They left last night," Shining responded. "Right!" Spike said, "I forgot." "Yeah, I guess they didn't want to stick around." At this moment, Comet walked over, with a pan in a golden glow, and tipped three pancakes onto the plate in the middle. "Well, I'm out of batter," he said as the pan floated to the sink. He loaded his plate and sat down opposite Spike and in between the happy couple. "These are good," Cadance said, pointing to her plate with her fork before loading it with some more pancake. "Where'd you get the recipe?" Comet was about to pour some syrup onto his pancakes, when he answered, "Oh, it was in a recipe book I found. This place is well stocked I gotta tell ya." "She always tried," Spike said, as he took another bite. Silence fell on the group for a minute as they continued eating. Eventually a knock came at the door, and Comet quickly got up to go answer it. A few seconds later, the trio heard Comet scream, "HEY!" from the next room. Eventually, they learned who it was at the door as both Comet and a white unicorn named Rarity entered the kitchen. "Good morning everyone." "Good morning, Rarity," Cadance said. "Morning, Rarity," said Shining. Spike gave her a proper greeting though. He said, "Good Morning," as he got up, and walked toward his girlfriend, giving her a big kiss. "So, what brings you here this early." "You mean besides you, of course," she said with a smile. "I came to invite Princess Cadance to join me and the girls at the spa!" "The spa?" she asked, with a mouthful of pancake. "Yes, well, we haven't gone in a few weeks, and this week has been especially stressful," everyone knew why, "so we're all going to go and relax, get the full treatment." Cadance smiled, swallowed, and said, "sounds lovely." "Fantastic, we'll meet at 10:30, at the Aloe Vera Day Spa, it's just down the road." "I'll be sure to be there." "Great! See you all later," she said as she made her exit. But Spike had other plans, "Um, Rarity," he said, following her out. "Yes, what is it Spike?" she said, stopping in the middle of the main sitting room. "I was just...um..." this was very difficult, he had to phrase it in a way that wouldn't raise suspicions. "I was just wondering how business was doing." "It's going well," she said. "Why do you ask?" "Oh, just...um...just curious," he said. Spike needed some very specific information. But it would be hard to get if he wasn't careful. "What about, future plans? I was just wondering what the future held for Carousel." Rarity was getting suspicious, he could tell. "Spike, you've never been interested in my work before." Spike needed to grease the wheels. "That's not true," he said. "I've always been interested, especially when you're wearing 'em," he finished with a smile. Rarity blushed. "Besides, shouldn't I at least try to share the same interests as my girlfriend?" "Well, I do have a new fashion line, and...actually, I would like a second set of eyes. Get a male perspective. Interested?" Spike hit the jackpot! "Great, I'll come with you right now! Just one second." He ran back into the kitchen and quickly polished off his plate of food, before saying, "I'll see you later, Comet," and running off again. He had to get this information, because he made a commitment to Sweetie Belle that they would manage Carousel Boutique together, and he would help her finish Rarity's designs, and he knew the best way to do that was to look at Rarity's completed designs in another world. The world he was in now. So, when he went to sleep that night, and went to the other world, the one without his beloved, he would tell Sweetie Belle exactly how to finish it. This was Spike's plan, to ensure no pony, in any world, would ever forget about his love. He could only hope it wouldn't blow up in his face.
