Dream Stalker

Spike awoke to a scroll bursting out of his mouth. Twilight must have let him sleep in, or Celestia had sent a letter as soon as she finished raising the sun. When he looked up r found that Twilight's bed was empty meaning he'd have to drag himself out of bed in order to find her. If Celestia had sent a letter this early it had to have been something really important.

Spike checked for the gem that he'd carefully tucked away in his bed, wondering just what the purpose of the gem was. He couldn't imagine someone making something just so that someone would be able to see into a dream, although Luna did pop into his mind as soon as he had that thought. Luna was known for appearing in dreams, so maybe if he were to ask her about it he would be able to get some answers. Luna seemed to be the only pony that Spike could think of that would know anything about the gem. Twilight had never mentioned any enchanted gems that could let a pony see into someone's dreams, but that could also have been because Spike wasn't always paying attention while Twilight was going on about magical artifacts that she had read about. It wasn't exactly something that Spike had ever had an interest in before now.

After tucking his blanket over his bed to keep the gem out of sight, he grabbed the scroll that was sitting on the ground and pushed himself to get out of bed and slowly got to his feet. Spike stretched, a groan leaving his mouth before he started walking towards the door and heading down the stairs. He spotted Twilight looking over a pile of books stacked on the floor, mumbling to herself about something that he couldn't quite make out.

"Hey Twilight, Celestia sent a letter," Spike hopped off of the last stair and made his way over towards Twilight. She was standing next to the pile of books that she had stood next to while he was in Rarity's dream just a few hours earlier. Spike quickly pushed the thought of Rarity out of his mind and focused on the important task at hand. Reading the letter he'd been sent to Twilight.

"Really? Why would she send a letter so early in the morning?" Twilight had a puzzled look on her face for a moment, then turned her head to glance toward Spike. "What's it say?"

Spike carefully unrolled the parchment, clearing his throat as he did so. His eyes trailed over the words before he started reading what Celestia had sent.

"My dearest Twilight, I have some urgent news. Please come and see me and Luna in Canterlot as soon as you can." Spike had a puzzled look on his face. Was that it? He turned the scroll over only to find blank parchment staring back at him.

"Is that all it says?" Twilight stepped over to him, glancing down at the letter.

"There's nothing else written on here. What do you think she wants to see you about?" Spike wondered for a moment if Celestia or Luna already knew about the gem. Did they know that he had it? What would happen if they found out that he was the one that dug it up and brought it back with him? Surely there wasn't anything wrong with having the gem, right? "It doesn't say anything about what to bring or if any of our friends should come with us either."

"That's odd," Twilight glanced back to the stack of books again, her horn lighting up with a vibrant shade of pink that soon enveloped the books, lifting them up off of the ground. "We should get headed out there soon then. Could you pack a bag or two and meet me back down here? I need to get these books put away."

Spike nodded, turning to head back up the stairs. He was able to keep a calm look on his face as he had read the letter, though as soon as he was out of Twilight's line of sight he was chewing on his claws. What if the gem was never supposed to be found? What if he got sent to moon? It took him a few minutes to calm down, trying to think about this logically. There was no way that Celestia could know that Spike had found the gem, right? And even if they knew the gem had been taken, how would they know it was him that took it. And besides, Spike didn't even know if the gem as the reason that Twilight was being called up to Canterlot to meet with the princesses. It was most likely an odd coincidence that something was urgent enough to send a two sentence letter as soon as the sun was put up into the sky.

Spike shook his head, trying to focus on the task at hand. He needed to pack some of Twilight's things so they could make an early train to Canterlot to see Celestia as soon as possible. He dug around under Twilight's bed until his claws reached a bag, then stood back up and began grabbing a few things to put inside it. A bottle of ink, some quills, the book she had been reading the night before, and a roll of parchment that she had been taking notes on. Spike set that bag down, then his eyes glanced over towards the place on his bed where he had hidden the gem.

Spike knew that nobody was going to be coming up into Twilight's room while they were gone, but that didn't make him feel any better about leaving the gem alone in here while they would be miles away in Canterlot. maybe it would be best if he could take it with him. He hurried back over to Twilight's bed, grabbing a second bag and hurrying over to his bed. Carefully, Spike peeled back the blankets and picked up the gem, carefully holding it in the palm of his hand. He was going to keep a close eye on the gem, no matter what. He placed the gem down on his blanket, wrapping it up tightly and then stuffed his blanket into the bag. Surely it would be the most safe if the gem was with him while he was in Canterlot with Twilight. Or at least, he hoped that it would be the most safe that way.

With a last glance around the room, Spike gathered up the two bags and headed down to watch Twilght place the last book on the shelf. She turned her head to look towards him as he stepped off of the last stair, taking a few steps over to the door.

"Did you pack a few extra quills?" Twilight would ask Spike this every time they left somewhere after he had forgotten to pack a spare one time they had left to visit the Crystal Empire. Spike nodded in response.

The train ride to Canterlot was uneventful, the time passing by quickly. Spike had curled up on his seat and slept the whole way there, wanting to catch up on the sleep he had missed the night before while he was in his friend's dreams. He didn't have the energy to keep worrying about if the gem was safe or not.

When the train arrived in the Canterlot station, he got woken up by Twilight lightly nudging his shoulder with one of her hooves. His eyes blinked open slowly, his hands reaching up to rub the sleep from his eyes as he sat up. "We're here already?"

"Yes, Spike. You slept the whole the way here," Twilight smiled at him as they made their way off of the train, glancing around for their bags once on the platform.

Spike spotted them first, hurrying over to them quickly and grabbing both of them, earning a quizzical look from Twilight. "Are you in a rush?"

Spike realized that he needed to just act normal. There wasn't anything wrong with having a gem in his bag, even ones that were enchanted with odd magic. Or he hoped so, at least. His cheeks were flushed as he walked alongside Twilight as they headed towards the castle. "I just figured it would be best to hurry if Celestia wanted to see us. The letter sounded like it was really important to get there as soon as we could."

There wasn't much to talk about as the pair headed towards the castle. Spike couldn't help but notice that he spotted more guards around the streets than normal. Something had to be going on, and he hoped that he would get to hear what it was with Twilight once they got to meet with the princess.

As they reached the castle doors, Spike felt his mouth drying up. He needed to act calm. Spike had nothing to worry about. He hoped that he had nothing to worry about. The guards glanced towards them as they got closer, waiting until the two were only a few feet away from the door to open them. Spike held his breath as he walked inside with Twilight, catching himself before he jumped at the sound of the doors slamming shut behind him.