A Gingerbread House made of Webs
Spike's fist hammered against the door of the Carousel Boutique.
Rain continued to pour down upon Ponyville, devolving the once hard, beaten down soil road into a dark and disgusting slush. The sky was blackened by clouds, blinding the small settlement from whatever light Luna's moon could provide. Lightning cracked through the cloud's surface, shedding a fraction of light before being consumed by the night once again. Silence reigned over the town. Spike stood on the purple welcome mat, his scales shaking as the cold winds attacked any part of him not protected by his drenched cloak. His nostrils flared, filling with moisture and old, partially rotting wood.
Spike's fist hammered against the door of the Carousel Boutique.
"Come on! Open up, open up, open up!" Spike hissed through chattering teeth, the claw that wasn't jackhammering away at the old wooden door trying in vain to hold his cloak's hood down from the increasing wind. His scales were freezing, droplets of rain dripping down from his hand while his cloak whirled in harsh, unpredictable patterns in rhythm with the wind. Spike licked his lips as the claw he knocked with went down once again to his side, the drake's eyes fixated onto the window just above the Boutique's rotting door frame. Any second the light would come on, she'd open the door and let him in.
Seconds passed, which turned to minutes. The hammering echoed out once more through the dead streets and twisting alleyways of Ponyville. Why wasn't she coming to the door? Why wasn't Sweetie Belle? What, could they just not hear him? He was pretty sure he was waking up at least a quarter of the town with the racket he was making. He gave one last pound, smashing his fist against the wood. He recoiled his hand, holding it in his other as it throbbed, nerves screaming out in agony. He breathed slowly and leaned against the door, a small overhang giving him some cover from the rain.
He was stressed, that had to be it. Maybe he should ask Twilight for a lighter workload tomorrow. Rarity just invited him over. Why would she then not answer the door for Celestia's sake? That didn't make sense.
"... Maybe it's a prank?" Spike thought to himself, his throbbing claw now wedged in his armpit to keep it warm. He leaned back, his eyes baggy with built-up gunk at the corner of his eyes. His back pushed against the door and, went even further. The door let out a long groan as it's rusty hinges opened at a snail's pace. Spike turned quickly, looking inside only to see pitch black. He looked at the hand in his armpit before cocking a brow. Did he break the lock? It was too dark to tell, but he sure wasn't going to wait around in the cold and rain to inspect it. With a sigh, Spike licked his lips once again before he entered Rarity's home, closing the door as best he could behind him.
Darkness. Only darkness met Spike's eyes as the door closed fully. His head snapped in all directions, yet once again he saw no light. Not even a single silhouette. He moved forward but then quickly stepped back with a yelp, his shin having made contact with the leg of a desk. Rubbing his now sore leg, the drake sighed as he still attempted to figure out the strange predicament he had found himself in. Maybe something happened to her after she called him over, like an intruder or something worse. Oh, where was she?!
He took another step, this time to his left and thankfully it was clear of any furniture. He continued on, at a slow pace with his one free hand moved forward to protect him from anything he would bump into. He feet clicked against the marble floor, coating it in fresh prints of muck which he could not see. He shambled about, blind. But, he continued onwards still with the hope of finding a light switch of some kind.
“It… It should be here, somewhere I think,” He thought to himself as he shuffled even further into the darkness. He could have been in the middle of the studio or even at the state, he wouldn’t have known. Then, his hand made contact with something. The wall, perfect! Now all he had to do was follow it, then finally he’d be able to see where he was going and not feel like a rat in a dark maze. He sighed with relief, using the wall to walk towards his right with the loud clashing of rain against glass being his only company. He walked, for what felt like hours until he felt some press up against his right side. He reached up, it was the stage, it had to be. He followed it. The large curve of the stage’s width, the heads of nails used to hold decoration to the stage causing his fingers to go up as they went over them.
It was only when he reached the other side and continued to follow the wall that he eventually found himself with no wall left to ride. Just air. Spike began to breathe at a faster rate, not sure what to do. His knees buckled, his plan ruined. What was he to do now? The wall was gone! His fingers wiggled, a cold sweat dripping down his already rain covered back. Then he felt it, suddenly. Something, in fact, many different things were walking beneath him, rubbing against his feet. He looked down as if the darkness would just disappear and allow him to see. He reached towards the wall, bringing his foot down only to hear an echoing crunch. He brought his other leg forward, thankfully his foot only meeting the ground reached his ears.
He found it, the light switch with some effort and without a second thought he flipped it. He let a smile spread across his face as he saw the dark white paint of the wall. He brought his hand to his chest, only now realizing how much his heart was throbbing. He took a minute, simply breathing out and in before his thoughts returned to Rarity. He could find her now, confront her. He turned around, to make his way up the stairs but froze immediately upon seeing the sight before him. From the end of the stairs, across the studio and entering the kitchen was a line that had to be at least a foot in width, completely consisting of spiders. He looked down even further, seeing the remains of the one he had stepped on getting away.
Spike jumped, his back slamming into the wall in an attempt to get as far away from the conga line of arachnids as he could. He couldn't ask why Spiders were endlessly crossing the studio's floor from upstairs. He couldn't even think. The only thing he could do was watch, his entire body shuddering in shock and fright. But as he looked at them, for how long he didn't know. He saw that they didn't pay him any attention, even when he had stepped on one of their own they just continued to walk in their march to the unknown. With great effort he managed to stop himself from shuddering further, taking a step to his side and towards the staircase. He had to find where Rarity was, where these spiders were coming from.
He moved at a slow pace, taking a step between every five to ten seconds. As he moved closer to the staircase, his mouth shut closed, breathing only through his nose. The spiders never seemed to notice him or acknowledge him in any way. With a wordless thanks to Celestia, Spike continued on until he made it to the stairs. The sound of what must have been more than a thousand spiders walking down the stairs and across the marble floor echoed in the Drake's mind. The endless tappings in rapid succession. Spike looked from the bottom of the stairs to the top, the recent memory of those spiders moving past him in the dark. He knew he had to get up. He knew what he had to do.
He brought his foot down on the first step, an audible crunch sounding out from beneath while the feeling of several pairs of legs began to climb his foot to move past the obstacle. He grabbed the first of the many legs holding the armrest high. Eyes closed shut as his other foot soon rose as well. He kept them shut until the crunch came again, his eyes shooting open with his teeth bared as the spiders continued to climb over him. He let out a gasp as he felt one that had climbed higher than the rest, scuttling across the back of his knee. When it got to his thigh, he slapped it off of him out of instinct, causing it to smash into the wall and slide down, a small trail of goo following the now dead creature.
His eyes squinted, nearly closing shut once again as his spine tingled. Why weren't they attacking him? He couldn't answer that. All he could do was continue onward, one agonizingly loud crunch at a time. He took in a breath, an idea coming to him. If they weren't going to attack him, he could just rush up the stairs. Anything to not have their legs all over him. He looked at the top, the stairs black with the number of spiders crawling along its surface. He shook, lips quivering in disgust. He suddenly bolted from his current position, his legs smashing into the wood, again and again, the contact of his foot against wood only just muffling the several crunches that came with each step.
He gritted his teeth with every step along the way, his mind screaming for every second his legs had been in overdrive to get to the top. He only stopped when he no longer felt the poking against his skin. He looked down, nearly letting out a gasp as he saw his feet were no longer covered in tiny black legs. He simply looked down at them, still feeling the spiders even though they weren't there anymore. He shuddered, then turned around. They were coming from Rarity's room. The door hung from its hinges, the door frame bent, the drywall nearly shattered in a circular formation. All the while the spiders continued to pour out from the room, down the stairs.
Spike turned and his feet moved. his ears ringed with the constant movement of the swarm next to him, but he kept on. Each step was met with the creaking of wood, rotted over the years the boutique had stood there. Harsher winds and rain reached his ears, peering inside to see that the window was open. It was Rarity's room, with light being absent. He reached forward and he began to search the wall for a switch. Once on, he stepped inside while avoiding the mass of spiders. The room was trashed, cabinets broken, the door to the walk-in closet busted in. The bed was covered in web, from the frame to the ground just around it. Every inch was coated in white.
Spike quickly closed his nose with his fingers as the stench finally struck him, almost knocking him back against the wall with the amount of power in it. There was some kind of lump or, sack atop the bed held down by the webbing. There was a long split down the side, the bottom part now lying limply against the mattress. Near infinite amount of spiders crawled out of the opening, finding their way to the ground and out the door. Spike stepped further into the room, the floor cold from the wind, with it being wet from the rain just by the window itself. Spike made his way to the window, looking out and seeing that, the Spiders had left the house, heading towards the far end of town. Towards the Everfree.
"R-rarity? Is that you?" Came a voice from outside the room, Spike freezing on the spot. His muscles tensed as he slowly turned around. It was coming from just outside the door.
Spike didn't say anything, not until his mind put the pieces together. It was Sweetie Belle, her voice was soft, hesitant. Like she didn't want to see her sister. Spike didn't know what to think as he exited the room, hearing the filly again.
"I-is that you Rarity? You're scaring me!"
Finally, Spike's mouth opened. "Sweetie, it's me. Spike... Where's Rarity?"
Silence was his answer, he continued to walk, the carpet muffling his once loud steps to nothing. He was then answered.
"I, I don't know. W-why are you here?" She asked, her voice squeaking at the end of her question.
"Rarity called the Castle and asked me to come over. She said it was important." Spike reached Sweetie's door, which creaked as it opened. Sweetie lay in her bed, huddled in her large blankets. Rain battered her window, the curtains closed. The only light in the room was a lamp beside the filly's bed, the large shade around it worn from age. "Did she not tell you?"
She shook her head. "N-no, she didn't. I... I haven't seen her outside her room at all since at least six p.m," she admitted. Her eyes were wet, her cheeks soiled with damp trails of tears. "All I've heard were," she stopped, breathing in and out at a quick rate as the memories returned. "All I've heard were the sounds."
"Sounds?" Spike asked, tilting his head he walked closer to the bed, the lamp lighting his face for her to see him better. "I don't understand, what sounds?"
"I don't know," she answered, looking down as she remembered. "Just, the sounds of cracking, slow ripping and tearing. It went on for minutes, then an hour and then longer still." She clenched her eyes shut. "I don't know what it was, but then I heard something burst, and then Rarity's door opened. I heard wood creaking and something pointy walking across the ground. Whatever it was, it was big..." She sniffed.
Spike's eyes narrowed as he listened. What she was saying, it didn't make any sense. Was there something wrong with Rarity? Why wouldn't she tell the others? Tell him? He looked at Sweetie, the scared look in her eyes. Could that sack, the spiders be connected with Rarity? He looked to the floor, his eyes darting from one direction to the next as he attempted to think of some rational explanation. He looked up. "Did Rarity buy anything or, get something unusual lately?" He asked.
Sweetie sniffed, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. "Well, during our trip to Canterlot, she bought a ring for her horn from a Unicorn mare with green eyes. I don't think Rarity noticed but, I could have sworn they glowed a bit when she looked at me."
"But, wasn't that trip to Canterlot a month ago? I haven't seen her ever wear such a ring."
"I know," Sweetie said. "She wears it, when she thinks she's alone." The filly sat up, looking spike dead in the eyes. "I've seen her when she has it on. She just, sits in a corner and talks to herself in gibberish or some language I don't know."
"Alright, alright. Just, stay here. When I leave, lock the door," Spike said, reaching over and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll look for her, see if I can find out what in Tartarus is going on. Is that alright?"
She nodded, her quivering lips slowly turning into a smile. "O-okay, I can do that."
Spike left the room, closing it behind him. As he walked he soon heard the door click, which meant he was alone now. He stared at the floor, his eyes widening. The spiders, they were gone. He rushed towards the stairs, his mouth agape as they too were no longer infested with Spiders. The lights downstairs. They weren't on anymore. But the kitchen light was, like a haven surrounded by darkness. From the light it gave off, he slowly made his way across. The spiders weren't there either. He stepped into the kitchen, the window was covered in so much rain and dust it was almost impossible to see out of it. But, just faintly on the outside there was a small green dot. It flickered like a flame for just a brief moment and then vanished.
Spike turned his head, the back door slammed open, the wind howling as it pushed its way inside. Spike rushed for it, only to lose balance when his feet made contact with the rain that covered the tiled floor. He fell, his side landing on the edge of the door before it descended down into a few steps. He let out a yell, panting as he tried to get up but had difficulty. He felt so cold, so wet as his bare scales were smothered by the storm. He finally managed to sit up, his eye twitching with his hand clutching his side. So much pain was going through him, his eyes pinpricks. He stood forward and then suddenly stopped. His eyes locked onto the white Unicorn which had urged him to come over in the first place.
He felt, calm. The pain still rushed through his nerves and when he took a step down into the outside proper he discovered he now had a limp. But he couldn't find the nerve to speak in front of her. Those eyes, once a rich blue now bright green and glowing bore into him. He limped closer, seeing the ring at the base of her horn. It was in the shape of a web, with an eye in the center. He continued to stare, not even noticing when her horn lit up, the same green as her eyes. The door slammed shut but Spike just stared, to him there was nothing else to do. It was then, after the two were now alone with no way back inside, she spoke.
"Spike. My dear, Spikey wikey," she started, her voice so calming, the thunder and rain now nothing more but mere white noise to the Drake. "Come, into the grotto with me." She turned her head towards the forest, her mane hanging off of her, completely ruined by the storm. "Come into the grotto with me, Spike. My dear," she repeated, slowly turning before she would collapse, vanishing into a smaller swarm of spiders which scurried towards their siblings. Spike watched them leave, the storm's rage coming back to his ears in full force. He turned his head to the door, the kitchen light now off. He looked back towards the forest, his heart thumping as a thought passed through his mind.
He... Wanted to follow them. Needed to.
Author's Note
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I hope to continue it whenever I can. Constructive criticism is very appreciated.
