Twilight tossed and turned in bed unable to even get a hint of falling asleep. The past few weeks were much the same. Her sleeping habits were becoming more erratic than ever before as nightmares plagued her constantly. She knew that Princess Luna would have come to help her during such times but they would come quick and caused her to wake before anything could be done. However, it wasn't entirely true that she wanted to fall asleep. Tonight, she didn't want to fall asleep due to a nightmare she had the night Spike woke up.

More specifically, it pertained to what she encountered while delving into his memories. The force she had encountered and the feeling of pure terror once the pair of crimson eyes had found her was indescribable. It felt close to when she faced down Tirek in a fight for all of Equestria. Though there was a difference between the feeling then and the one now. Back then she felt they still stood a chance against him and she was right. The one she felt now told her that there'd be nothing any of them could do against such a thing as the one she'd encountered.

She threw the sheets off as she went to get a glass of water from the kitchen. Twilight rarely walked the halls of the castle at night in favor of turning in early or sleeping wherever she was studying. She made a note to commission some lanterns to be installed as some of the hallways were covered in pitch darkness where there were no windows available to shine in the moonlight. The soft violet glow coming off the magic from the tip of her horn was all that kept such darkness at bay.

Her steps echoed on the floor louder than usual only to be swallowed as she continued down the darkened path. It wasn't until she reached the stairs that she found some form of light as the floor below had windows to let the moon shine it's soothing light inside. As she passed by the moon she stopped to admire the view the castle provided of Luna's sky. Her quiet contemplation was cut short as a grunt echoed through the corridor from one of the many rooms. She quietly walked towards the source to find light shining through the cracks of the doorway and a shadow going back and forth.

She cast a spell to silence any noise she might have made and cast another on the door to peer inside. The room was one of the many studies she had prepared in case of research emergencies with bookcases lining the walls and a large table with chairs in the middle. There was a lamp on the table illuminating the room but it wasn't done by natural fire at all. It held inside a green flame that was owned by only one of the castle's residents. As she turned her head she saw Spike's figure staring at a picture of her and him only younger.

He didn't move and simply stared at the picture as if waiting for something to happen only to find nothing did. It was a few minutes before he limped to the table and sat down simply staring at the flame as he moved to grab something the lantern itself was hiding. As he set it down Twilight saw it was merely a small hourglass. As the last bits of sand ran past the opening to the bottom he flipped it over instantly never taking his eyes off of the flame.

"What are you doing up Twilight?" his said sternly without moving.

Twilight took a step back at the sudden acknowledgment of her presence. She didn't know whether or not he was being serious or just guessing so she decided to keep quiet. As a minute passed she watched him get up and make his way towards the door stopping in front of it and staring right where her eyes were located. He moved his head as she moved and as he reached for the handle she dropped the spell and knocked.

"Spike?" she asked as she opened the door to find him back in the seat.

"Twilight? What's wrong? Can't sleep?" the concern in his voice felt genuine yet, what she saw using the spell seemed to make her instincts scream out to run.

"Y-yea. I was just getting a glass of water and saw the light. What're you doing up so late?"

"I was just cleaning. I may be hurt but that doesn't mean I can neglect my chores."

"Spike, forget about the chores. You need to rest and recover first and foremost."

"Nonsense, Twilight. I feel fine despite the obvious." he pointed towards the leg still in a cast. "Besides, with how much I've slept I need to walk around for a bit. Not to mention the chores piled up while I was gone." he took a moment to look her in the eyes which caused her sense of danger to flare momentarily. "Did you even clean anything while I was gone?"

"No, I guess I was too preoccupied at the time." She looked away and made her way to the table to sit down only for Spike to blew some smoke towards her which caused her to put a shield up instantly.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a confused look

Twilight opened her eyes and saw that the smoke had gone and in it's place was a glass of water that sat silently in front of her. "S-sorry, I guess I'm just a bit jumpy due to everything that's been going on. Where did you get the water?" she held it in her hooves and stared at it for a moment. She looked up to see Spike staring at her once more with the same look he'd give her when they sat down to eat. She started to sweat but gave him a smile before drinking the contents of the glass.

"I got it here with my fire. It's how I usually transport things anyways and it's far too late to go all the way downstairs for it." he breathed a small jet of flames towards the now empty glass and smoke enveloped it then disappeared beyond the open doorway. "Is that all you needed or is there anything else I can get you?"

"N-no. That was all. Thank you, Spike." Twilight got up to leave and stopped partially out the door as she heard him speak once more.

"Anything for you."

She turned and nodded once more with a smile and teleported when she was far enough away from the doorway back to her room. She jumped in bed and covered herself with the blankets as she cast a shield spell on the entryways of the room. Sleep never came as she sat in the middle of her bed looking between the door and the window expecting something to eventually burst it's way inside.

Author's Note

Alright, so I understand this is a shorter chapter for this story than usual but, please bear with me as I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. The next couple of chapters will be some of the lengthiest I've ever tried to do as I'm continuing this story in a way that'll make it worth to read.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique below as any critique helps me as a writer. A like is always appreciated and have a great day!