Chapters Author's Note
I wanted to play around with some of the Animus touched objects in the Wings of Fire series, specifically Dreamvisitors, and figured Spike would be the perfect candidate. I won't be including anything else from the books besides Dreamvisitors, so there aren't going to be any spoilers for the series.
1
"Spike! There are some gems over here once you're done digging all those up!"
Spike's green ears twitched as Rarity's voice reached them, his hands hovering over the dirt that he had been about to push to the side. He should hurry, it was taking him longer than usual to get all the gems from this pocket of dirt.
His nose pressed into the soil, inhaling deeply to see if he could tell how much further the gem was and how much longer he had to keep digging. Spike was getting closer, but was now starting to pick up on a second scent on top of the sickly sweet aroma that gems usually had. It smelled bitter, though he wasn't able to place exactly where he was recognizing it from. His hands dug deeper, tossing a decent sized green gem into the wagon that he was pulling for Rarity. He leaned his head forward and sniffed at the dirt again, then frowned as the bitter scent remained. Surely there had to be something there, or else the dirt wouldn't be smelling like that.
His head lifted to glance over towards Rarity, watching her walk around with her horn to the ground as she searched for more gems. Surely she wouldn't notice him digging for something that might not be a gem. His claws were soon back to raking the dirt away from the hole that had been made, his curiosity pushing him forward to find out where the smell was coming from. And once Spike reached it, he knew that he had been right to keep digging.
Spike had found a blue gem, and it was one of the most beautiful gemstones he'd ever laid his eyes on. Its cobalt blue hue sparkled in the light, almost begging him to devour it. His mouth was watering as he reached for it, tongue lolling out of his mouth as his claws drew closer. However, as soon as the gem was in his claws, Spike hesitated. This gem felt wrong. He couldn't quite tell why, but itdidn't feel like a normal gem. Spike brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply, his snout immediately crinkling up. He had found what bitter scent was coming from, and while it still had the sweet smell that other gems had, it was muffled by something.
The dragon's gaze shifted over to Rarity as he lowered his hand that was holding the gem, a thought popping into his head. Maybe he could keep the gem for himself and try to figure out why the gem felt so off. Slowly, he raised the gem back up to his face, his mouth opening slowly. He placed the gem under his tongue, where it would stay until he was back in the library and alone.
It wasn't until sunset that Rarity would call it a day and Spike could finally take the cart full of gems back to Rarity's boutique where she could handle the rest. The blue gem was still in Spike's mouth, and the sweet taste of the gem was making him produce more saliva than he was happy with, but it was easy enough to manage. He was worried that Rarity would notice and tell him to spit the gem out and give it to her, but she didn't. As Spike said his goodbyes to Rarity, he didn't try to make any excuses to stay as long as he could, his mind preoccupied with the blue gem pressing against his teeth to stay.
Spike hurried home, the only thing keeping him from sprinting the whole way there was the worry that is he started panting he might swallow the gem. He didn't want to hold the gem in his hand either, not ready to let anypony else know that he had this. Spike wanted a chance to try and figure out something on his own with no help from Twilight, or anypony else for that matter. As he got back to the library, he would say a brief hello to Twilight as he headed up the stairs to the room that the two shared. He knew that Twilight would be heading up for bed soon, as there wasn't much else that she had to do around the library for the day.
Spike curled up in his bed, tugging a blanket up over his head and covering his body completely before he reached into his mouth and pulled the gem out of it. He wasn't sure what to make of this now that he was back in his bed and staring at this gem. Maybe it really was just a normal gem and there was nothing out of the ordinary about it, but then what could possibly be causing it to smell so different than any other gem he'd seen before? Was there something inside of it? Spike wasn't sure he was ready to bite into this thing and test that theory out just yet. It didn't taste too different from other blue gems, so surely whatever was different with it must be inside of it.
Spike wasn't sure how long he had been staring at the gem for, but by the time he popped his head out of the blanket again the room was dark and the sound of Twilight's deep breathing was the only thing that he could hear. He must have spaced out if he had been under the blankets long enough for Twilight yo come upstairs and fall asleep. It had probably been two hours, and yet he still had no idea what was wrong with this gem. Growling softly in frustration, Spike pressed his hand that was holding the gem against his forehead, letting out a slow sigh. What would Twilight do if she was the one trying to decipher this gem?
The room around Spike began to shift away from him. A yelp of alarm left his mouth as he turned his head around quickly, the gem falling onto the blanket that was still covering the rest of his body. As soon at the gem was off of his forehead, the room had stabilized back into the bedroom that he was used to seeing. Was he just imagining things? His left hand patted around on the blanket to find the gem, his head turning towards Twilight. It looked like she was still sleeping, so once again he picked up the gem and pressed it to his forehead, only for the room to stay still this time. The corners of his lip twitched downwards, confused as to why nothing was changing. He knew that Twilight wouldn't give up after one failed attempt.
The room blurred around him, but he was closing his eyes to concentrate on trying to feel what was different about the gem. When Spike opened his eyes again, a bewildered expression found its way onto his face. This wasn't the bedroom. Spike was in the Everfree Forest, and he could hear Twilight crying out for help from a little ways away.
"Twilight? Where are you?" Spike hurriedly stood up, running over towards the sound of Twilight's voice, pushing past vines that were in his way. When Spike found Twilight, his eyes widened in horror.
Twilight's body was bound tightly by black vines, preventing her from moving more than in inch in any direction. Even as she struggled, the vines only tightened around her, and two tendrils inched their way slowly closer to her flank and face. Her panicked expression mirrored Spike's as he rushed forward, reaching out for the vine that was aiming for her mouth, only for his hand to go right through it. A the vine shoved its way into Twilight's mouth, Spike's vision began to blur. He blinked a few times, shaking his head and trying to see clearly again. His vision darkened, and as he looked around he found that he was now sitting up in his bed again, the gem still pressed against his forehead.
As Spike pulled the gem away from his forehead, he heard Twilight whimper in her sleep on the bed a few feet away from him. She was squirming around under the blankets, almost as if she was having a bad dream.
Spike's body froze.
Twilight was having a nightmare, and he was pretty sure he got to see part of it.
Spike pulled the gem away from his forehead, his eyes following the glittering gem as his claws closed delicately around it. Twilight was waking up, he recognized the sounds that were characteristic of the mare when her dreams had gone sour. His teeth clenched, realizing that if he really did just see into Twilight's dream that doing something like that was a huge invasion of privacy. Worse that reading her private journal, Spike was seeing directly into an image that the brain was creating. Spike could see into the deepest parts of a pony's mind.
"Spike? Are you asleep?" there was a familiar quiver in Twilight's voice, and Spike could visualize the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
He hesitated before answering her, pushing the blankets off of himself. "Yeah, I'm awake," his voice was soft. The floor made a soft creak as he stood up out of his bed, the gem clenched tightly in his hand. He didn't say anything else as he headed to the door, squinting his eyes to see in the dark. Giving Twilight some privacy while the two of them both processed what they had just seen would be for the best.
As Spike stepped out onto the stairs that lead up to the bedroom he let the door close quietly behind him. The thoughts in his head were jumbled, almost too many for him to be able to process any of them. His legs carried him down the stairs and to the library, where he began pacing in a big circle around the room, figuring that moving might help him calm down just a little.
Had he really visited Twilight's dream? It seemed possible, Spike knew that Luna was able to travel into people's dreams, so being able to do the same thing without having magic yourself didn't seem like too far of a stretch. That raised even more questions in Spike's mind as he continued around the library. If this was an enchanted gem, what was it doing just out buried where he had gone hunting for gems dozens of times before, and why did he find it there this time? Why didn't anybody else find it. A heavy sigh slipped from his lips, and he stopped pacing to sit down and lean against a wall.
Spike tilted his head down to look at the had that was holding the gem. He got into Twilight's dream after he put the gem on his forehead, so maybe that was how the gem worked. He closed his eyes and pressed the gem against his forehead again, trying to clear his mind. Maybe Luna could help him figure out what the gem is enchanted by to make him be able to see in dreams. He opened his eyes, almost expecting Luna to be there, but his eyes opened to the same dark library that he sees every day.
A huff of frustration left his lips as he tilted his head back to press against the wall, not sure why he couldn't get to Luna. Maybe Spike had fallen asleep too and just had a bad dream at the same time as Twilight. He should have just gone over to Rarity when she called and said she had found more gems. He wasn't sure why he even went through the trouble of keeping a gem hidden from her in the first place. He was sure that Rarity would have loved to use this gem, he knew how much she loved the color.
The sound of hushed murmurs filled Spike's ears as he sat there. Thinking that Twilight must have come downstairs, Spike's eyes had shot open and he quickly got to his feet, only to get a few side eyes from a couple of well dressed ponies in return. A confused look was on his face as he took in his surroundings, his eyes scanning over everything in sight. It looked familiar, like this was something that he had seen before.
The crowd fell silent as the lights in the room dimmed, and the ground almost seemed to open up in front of them, a catwalk rising up from the floor and in the center of the crowd. This looked just like one of the fashion shows that Rarity had walked in, and his expression was a mix between apprehension and excitement. Was he in Rarity's dream? Spike looked around, but he couldn't spot Rarity. A few more minutes of silence passed until the sound of hooves walking on a hard surface reached his ears.
His ears twitched, his head reflexively tilting towards the sound, his gaze following soon after, and the sight that was awaiting him made his stomach erupt into butterflies. It was Rarity, but not in a way that Spike had ever seen her.
A red ball gag was fastened around the mare's head, thick strings of drool dripping down from her lips and getting caught in her coat or dripping down onto the floor. Her face was flushed a bright pink, at first glance Spike wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or arousal. Her hooves slowly moved forward, carrying her along the catwalk. Her eyes scanned the crowd, her brows furrowing as he saw the stallions in the crowd beginning to lean back and stroke their cocks as she walked by. Only, they were silent. The only sounds in the room were Rarity's hooves on the catwalk, sounding like thunder in the weighted silence.
As Rarity drew closer to Spike, he felt like felt was getting dizzy. She looked as beautiful as ever, even with drool spilling from her mouth as she struggled to swallow it and stop it from making a bigger mess on her face. The sight was mesmerizing. While Spike was able to resist the urge to touch himself, he felt his cock beginning to stir in its sheathe, threatening to poke out at any moment.
Rarity walked past Spike, her eyes meeting his and nearly tripping in shock. She clearly hadn't been expecting to see the dragon in this dream, yet there he was sitting in the front row, and Spike hadn't expected Rarity to be able to see him.
Spike closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he had pulled the gem away from his forehead, the image of Rarity on the runway seared into his mind. If this gem really was allowing him to see into the dreams of the people he thought of, he would be able to see the deepest parts of their minds, and things that Spike wouldn't ever have the chance to be told otherwise. Tearing his gaze away from the gem in his hand, he saw that the sun was starting to rise. Maybe he wasn't able to reach Luna since she hadn't been dreaming like Twilight and Rarity.
With a slow sigh Spike would get up and head back up the stairs, figuring that he should hurry up and get to sleep. His eyelids felt heavy as he slipped into the bedroom quietly, eyeing Twilight's sleeping form on her bed. The dragon curled up on his bed, carefully tucking the gem out of sight. With the sun rising, ponies would be waking up, and there wouldn't be any chance for Spike to get to see any of them. As he drifted off to sleep, his head was swimming with the possibilities of what he could do with this gem. He just had to make sure he kept it well hidden.
How strange.
Luna hadn't felt that same surge of being pushed out of a dream in centuries. The process of someone waking up in the middle of the dream usually felt like gentle waves pushing at her body, edging her out of their subconscious until the link that she made was severed and she would find herself back in her own body and out of someone else's dream. What she just felt was familiar, though placing exactly where it was from was another story. She could tell that whatever had pushed her out of Twilight's dream had been some form of magic. Luna's brows furrowed as she tried to place exactly why that surge of magic had been so familiar to her.
Luna's hooves were thundering down the hallway as soon as the connection had clicked in her mind. A dreamvisitior. A shudder traveled through her wings as she rushed past guards who seemed to be taken aback by the tall mare barreling down the hallway in their direction. Luna paid no attention to them, instead veering to the left and running out to exit the castle and out to the gardens. Her chest expanded and shrunk quickly, her breathing rapid as she slowed her pace once the doors closed behind her.
The Canterlot gardens were a place that Luna was finding herself going to with increasing frequency over the last few months. They provided a quick getaway from other ponies, and that was even more the case in the middle of the night. Aside from a few guards who sometimes walked around the perimeter, the gardens were empty save for the animals that resided in the trees and bushes. The breeze and fresh air were fairly reliable in calming Luna down when her mind was racing as fast as it was now.
Someone had found a dreamvisitor, she was sure of that now. And Luna had no idea who had it, or how she was supposed to be able to find it. She knew that she had to find it. If magic like that got into the wrong hands, they would be able to use it to find weaknesses in anyone who they'd met or even seen, so long as they knew the name whose dreams they were trying to invade. How was she even supposed to begin looking? She couldn't just put up posters advertising that she was looking for a star shaped gem, anyone could buy a gem and carve it into the proper shape. Luna needed to think about this in a way that would be productive to finding the dreamvisitor, and make sure it would never be allowed to fall into the wrong hands, if it wasn't already.
Luna adjusted her wings and turned back towards the castle, having paced around the gardens long enough to regain her composure. She would give a small smile towards one of the guards standing inside the door as she turned towards a hallway that would lead her to her sister's bedroom. As much as she new Celestia didn't like to be woken in the middle of the night, Luna felt that this was something that couldn't stand to wait until the morning. As Luna made it to the door of Celestia's bedroom, she glanced to the guards who stood on either side of the door.
"I need to speak to my sister," Luna was hoping that they'd let her in without needing her to specify exactly why she needed into the room. It was very hit or miss when it came to the guards. Half of them still thought that Luna was going to turn into Nightmare Moon at any moment and try to kill Celestia, but at least they tried to act civil towards her while on duty. Luna had seen into all of their dreams, she knew that they all feared her. Tonight she was lucky, breathing out a soft sigh as they stepped to the side to allow her entrance into Celestia's room, and she was quick to enter, listening to the door click shut behind her before making her way over to the bed her sister was sleeping on.
"Tia," Luna spoke softly, a hoof reaching out to lightly nudge Celestia's shoulder, gently trying to wake the sleeping princess. "Tia, wake up. I need to talk to you."
Celestia's eyes squinted in her sleep, almost like she didn't want to be pulled out of her dream just yet. Another few nudges from Luna would speed up the process however, and her eyes blinked open in the darkness of the room. "Luna, it's late."
"I know. But this is important," she help her breath for a moment before saying the nest sentence in a rush. "Someone found the dreamvisitor that I lost."
Silence filled the room as Celestia processed what Luna had just said. "And you're sure it's the dreamvisitor? Maybe someone just woke up in a strange way."
"No, it couldn't be. I know what it feels like when someone with a dreamvisitor enters a dream that I'm in. Someone was in Twilight's dream, and we need to figure out who that was and where they are." Luna took a step back from the bed and glanced towards the door. "I'm not sure what we should do."
Celestia closed her eyes, taking a moment to think a few things over. "I'll send a letter out to Twilight in the morning. I think it's best that she knows what happening before anyone else."
"Thank you. I'll let you sleep now." Luna made her way out of the room, not glancing at the guards as she walked back to her bedroom. She could only hope that the dreamvisitor hadn't found its way into bad hands. She felt that the peace of Equestria could be at stake if it wasn't.
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.
