Prime

Blurred images spun into a revolving spiral of darkness, a vortex of cavernous depth swirling beneath him.  A thick layer of frigid ice suddenly seized and engulfed his thoughts, shrouding all semblance of rationality in a cloak of freezing misperception.  Behind the glacial veil of confusion, his mind lay deep in the recesses of his subconscious, struggling to pierce through the frost-bound barrier surrounding his mentality.  He fought to regain control, putting every ounce of effort into breaking the boundary.  Suddenly, everything became pitch black.  Then, his eyes shot open, a gasp escaping his lips.

He lifted himself up off of the ground, feeling the slick icy floor beneath him as he did.  He noticed the small, delicate claw touching the floor and connecting to his arm.  Was it his own?  He stood up, examining his features.  He was young again, roughly around the age that he was when he was living with... the thought left his stomach clenched in a knot, the memories rushing back once again.  He looked up, observing his surroundings.  His vision was understandable now, although what he saw was not quite normal.  The supposedly incorporeal walls of frost around him had materialized into tangible, existing matter.  He walked up, touching the barrier with the palm of his hand.

What kind of --

Without warning, the icy enclosure around him began to melt.  He jumped back, widening his stance defensively in an attempt to display some sort of aggression.  However, his infantile form was about as menacing as a kitten, so the pose's intended result was slightly less than successful.  When the last of the chamber finally trickled to the floor, he was blasted with bright, golden rays of warmth and luminosity.  He shielded his eyes from the lustrous streaks of yellow and orange.  When he peaked a glance under his forearm, his shoulders dropped, arms falling to his sides.  There, in front of him, stood an image he never thought he would see again.

It was her.

"I told you that you would see us again."  Her voice washed over him with an unseen miasma of joy, happiness, and serene warmth.  From behind her appeared five distinct shapes he had nearly forgotten, seeming at first as mere silhouettes, obscure and mysterious against the bright golden light shining behind her. "Spike," she beckoned, "It's almost time."

There were no words he could place into a sentence that would express what he felt now.  He was flooded with a wave of disbelief.  After all this time... could it be?  No, he thought, that's impossible.  However, as she slowly approached him, the figures behind her moved closer as well, their visages becoming clearer and more apparent, and the part of his rational mind that protested was dismissed.

"It's been a long time." she said, stopping short.  Her mane was a brilliant lavender, with that same familiar pink streak.  She appeared to be almost gleaming with a sort of radiant youth, her light violet coat vibrant and clean.

"Twilight?"

She smiled warmly before replying.  "Yes.  It is me, Spike."  She paused, allowing him a second to process.  "I have brought the others as well."  Glancing sideways, she turned her head to face the mysterious shapes.  When she turned back, she smiled again.  "We have missed you, Spike."

He stood, still dumbfounded at the sight of her.  Every part of him screamed to move forward and embrace her, but he feared that by doing so, whatever was happening would end, and he would be left alone once again.  So many years spent wishing he could go back, wishing he could see the pony in front of him again.  So long had he waited.  He was not going to allow himself to lose this moment.

As if she had read his mind, she ushered him forward, beaming softly.  "It's okay, Spike.  Nothing will happen.  We have been granted this allotment with you to reconcile, and to convey a message.  However, the latter may wait.  The essence of time has slowed to allow this meeting."  She squinted, as if holding back tears.  "But in the meantime," she reached out her front leg, "come and give me a hug."

He took his first step cautiously, afraid of the possibility that this experience would simply dissipate before him.  When he felt the warm cobblestone beneath his foot, he froze with apprehension.  A pulse of relief caused him to take another step, which soon turned into a run, which very quickly escalated to a sprint.  Every bit of desire that he had ever felt to see her again filled his body as he ran toward the mare.

He jumped, feeling the rush of air through his thin scales.  When he knocked into her at full speed, they both toppled over.  His entire being flooded with emotion as he lay on her stomach, closing his eyes and smelling her sweet lavender fur.  She laughed as he lay there, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"What's up, kiddo'?" asked another familiar voice; it sounded stronger, more audible, and yet gentle.  Spike looked up to see none other than the Element of Loyalty.  Her bright cyan coat glistened with the multi-spectral mane she was sporting, her dazzling amethyst eyes staring at him as he lay atop Twilight's stomach.  The others were now standing above them, wide grins spread across their soft, young faces.

"R-Rainbow Dash... is that really you?"

"The one and only," she repeated her old saying softly.  Spike looked to the others, going counterclockwise in observing the long-missed and near-forgotten faces.

"Fluttershy?"

She spread her grin a little.  "Hello, Spike."

"Applejack?"

The orange mare tipped her hat.  "Howdy there, Spike."

As he said each of their names, memories flashed back in rapid succession, bringing a mix of exhilaration, happiness, fear, and anxiety to his heart.  He stopped at one of them, her coat a glistening white and her violet mane in a curl at the end.  He didn't say anything, but merely smiled widely at her.  She returned the gesture, nodding in response.  He turned back to Twilight.

"Is this really happening?"

"Spike." she said, "I assure you that every single last second of this will be as real as you make of it.  Your future depends on what you witness while we have this time together, so I would listen closely if I were you.  You remember all of those times I would pace the floor in the library?"  He shook his head. "Good," she said, "because I need you to think as hard as I was when I was pacing that floor.  Spike... this is your final test.  I trust that you can do it, though.  I have faith in you."

Applejack bent down to whisper something in Twilight's ear.  Twilight simply nodded her head a couple of times, giving regular uh-huh's.  After Applejack leaned back up, they looked at each other, giving a final shake of their heads.  AJ resumed her position in the circle, and there was a sudden rush of cold.

"Spike." Twilight started.  He suddenly felt as if a tight knot had wrapped itself around his stomach as a noose settled on the inside of his throat.  He knew her tone... and he did not like it.  "I love you very much."  No, not now!  "I'm sorry I had to leave you all of those years ago, but I'm confident that we will be seeing each other again before long."  No!  "And remember," she placed a hoof on his heart, "I am always with you... in here."  NO!!  She tapped his chest gently.  "It's time for us to go, Spike."  He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs as he jumped off of her stomach.

"No, Twilight!  You can't... you can't just leave me alone again!"  More tears began to flow.  "I don't want you to go!"

"Spike," she said as she rolled over onto her stomach to stand up, "You were never alone."  And with that, she brought her head up to his forehead, giving it a kiss that nearly caused him to melt.  The tears continued flowing as she delivered the gift of her soft lips on his head.  She pet him on his young, dull, crest as she lifted herself up.

The other five mares moved back into their original positions, smiling warmly at him as they prepared to leave.  Twilight backed away from him to join the others, and the golden light behind them began to glow with greater intensity.

"Oh, and Spike," she began, "Take a note:  The words of Friendship are kind and many, and will help to show you the way along the path of courage.  The symbols and actions of Friendship are shown in the memories of those who are taught them, and will shine brighter than any star as they light the way through whatever darkness may come.  And finally, the true meaning of Friendship..."  The light began to grow brighter and brighter, causing Spike to lift his arm in front of his eyes once again. "The true meaning of Friendship... is that in its presence, Harmony will prevail, and the sacrifices you make... will never be forgotten."  The light finally reached a peak point of luminosity, blocking any and all view of their surroundings.  "Good-bye for now, Spike."

"Twilight, wait!" he screamed, but his words were nothing but a mere whisper as the ground fell out from beneath him, and once again into the spiraling chasm of darkness.  The last thing he heard was but an echo, a faded statement of obscurity...

"May the Prime guide you, Spike."

*****

His mind went blank for a moment, before violently snapping back to reality.  A thunderous clap erupted throughout the cave as he hit his gigantic head on the ceiling.  A frigid, cold wind was circulating through it.  He raised a claw to rub his pounding cranium, all the while desperately searching for a reasonable explanation to the events he had just witnessed.  His breathing was heavy, and he suddenly realized that he had tears streaming down his snout.

He quickly wiped them off, realizing that it had all just been a dream.  Some dream, he thought to himself.  From outside of the cave, bright orange light cascaded off of walls of crystal and stalactites, reflecting the brilliant sunkist beams throughout the interior.  He got up, feeling his great joints aching as he stretched them out.  He walked to the frame of the entrance, examining the source of glowing radiance.

He observed the expansive, rolling hills of the valley before him.  Around him lie the mountains... a place he's always felt true comfort in.  However, his focus was not of the mountains, but of the features on the horizon.  Beyond the hills and the curving plateau lie a brilliant, magnificent, swirling twilight.  For a second, there was a glint of purple, and then, in a flash, it was gone.

***

That night, Spike stood in the entryway of the cave, arms crossed, a stern look on his face.  He contemplated what could have occurred earlier that day, and came to a fork in the road rather than a straight answer.  He remembered the "event" as clear and vivid... not like a dream, where it seemed like there was no definitive point to anything.  He could still feel the cobblestone beneath his feet, the warm rays shining on him... the smell of Twilight's fur... her voice.  All of these things he could envision so clearly now.  It was paradise to him with the knowledge that he gotten the chance to see all of his friends again, rather than waiting the rest of his life trying to remember the faces of the past, of those who raised him.

Feeling an ache in his heart, he thought back to when Twilight had said that he was never alone.  Even though he still felt abandoned, he found comfort in her words, in the possible fact that he had just seen the ponies he spent so many years wishing he could go back to.  He had heard them speak to him.  He wished it had lasted an eternity, like the rest of his desolate life.

He longed for the clarity of his youth, when things still made sense to him.  Now, none of it was as facile as it once was, always having some sort of disorienting pattern behind matters that were once simple and manageable.  He just wished that everything would stand still and wait for him to recognize it, but as he grew older, so did time fly faster and faster, until months turned into hours, and hours into seconds.  The world as he knew it was more confusing than ever, and all he wanted to do was return... return to a life of simplicity, of clarity... of Friendship.

He shuddered as the cold air nipped at his lungs with each breath, a frigid breeze making a feeble swipe at his legs.  His scales shone against the bright glow of the moon, twinkling like polished metal.  His emerald-green eyes held a certain desperation, a longing that couldn't be fulfilled.  Although he knew that there were still many years to come for him, he wished that it could all just end, that the suffering would come to a halt, and his pain would finally cease to trouble him any longer.

It was on angst and lonely nights like these, which were not such a rare occasion for him, that he would go flying.  The light of the night sky and the peaceful feeling accompanying it had such been etched into his heart now.  It listened, it bode, and it soothed him in his losses.  Ever since he had been young, when he really needed it, it was the melody of the moonlight that comforted him best.

He spread his wings to their maximum length, stretching the old joints and ligaments.  His amethyst scales reflected even more crystalline light now.  With a concussive beat of his wings that shook the very earth around him, he took off into flight.  He reached higher and higher into the frigid northern sky until he found a comfortable air pocket on which to travel.  Just then, the stars erupted in a magnificent display of light.

This far north into the hemisphere, one would assume that this was a somewhat common sight.  However, Spike had only seen this brilliant phenomenon very few times.  As his eyes drifted through the scenery surrounding him, with the mountains below and the lights above, his memory flashed back to a time... one too long ago... a time of Friendship.

*****