//------------------------------//
// Abstracticum 
// Story: Daydreamers 
// by Tropical Octave 
//------------------------------//

	Spike the defeated dragon breathed heavily atop what he now recognized as a bunk-bed, the feint sounds of soft playing music buzzing throughout his head. Still unable to open his eyes, he remembered the voices from earlier and raised his left arm. "H-hello? Is anypony there?" He said weakly, coughing twice afterwards. "Hello?"

A moment after his attempt at recognition, the sound of plates could be heard clattering. "Hey Caesar! I think he's waking up!" The female jolted. 

"It's about damn time. After a night of sleeping in our cot, he'd better be alive." The raspy male said semi-seriously, folding what Spike presumed to be a newspaper.

"Oh stop it, Caesar! I'm sure the last thing our guest needs is to feel unwelcome," The female said soothingly, trotting to Spike's side. She brushed his scales gently and shook him like a wee lil' foal. "It's okay little guy, you're safe now. I think you were having a nightmare yesterday, but it's alright now. Whatever Nocturn did to you, I'm sure it was for a good reason. The mistress never does anything without taking the repercussions into the equation,"

The male scoffed. "I agree. You must've been sent here for doing something she hadn't expected. The only thing Nocturn hates more than a plan not falling together is a ripple...and you must've been one heck of a ripple to warrant being sent to Abstracticum."

Rubbing his eyes, Spike finally managed to sit up in what he considered (At the time) the comfiest bed in Equestria. However, just as he was going to open his eyes, he could feel a magical tug keeping them closed. "Hey, what's going on? What's happening to me?" He said drearily, still a little drowsy from yesterdays incident. "Why can't I open my eyes?"

The female sucked through her teeth briskly. "Well, before you open your eyes, I'm going to warn you. We ponies of Abstracticum aren't what you're typically used to..."

"What do you mean 'what I'm used to'? Y-you aren't z-zombies, r-right?" Spike asked questioningly.

The male chuckled lightly. "Seems your imagination is up to speed, ehh? But fortunately for us, no. We aren't zombie ponies. Just a little...different, is all." He said nonchalantly. "I'm sure you won't mind."

Spike's mind was put at ease through the confirmation that his rescuers were in fact not zombies, but was still wracked with possibilities. "Alright, I suppose I can trust you. After all, I'm still alive thanks to you guys." He stated gloomily. 

"I wouldn't go that far..." The male whispered to himself. "But anyway, who are we to keep your eyes closed? Go on, Cass. Let him go."

"Alright, I'm letting go of your eyelids now. Just try to stay calm, okay?" The female said wearily to the still magically-bound Spike. "We've got some gems for you to eat, but only if you keep quiet."

"Cassy, please. He's not a dog. Now, let him go." The male said firmly, yet gently. 

Spike couldn't help but think through the whole ordeal how odd the ponies beside him were. If they were anywhere near as strange looking as they were sounding, he figured his cold blooded heart might just give out. At the male's request, he felt the light pressure of his eyelids subside. Then, after a deep breath, he opened his eyes for the first time in two days. And boy, a sight it was. "GOOD GRACES! WHAT IN EQUESTRIA ARE YOU TWO!!??!!" He shouted, nearly feinting on the spot.

The male snickered before nudging the female in the stomach. "I told you he'd react this way. Now, that'll be twenty ecto, my sweet." He said in a cocky tone, however the snarky remark was barely audible over the panicked shrieks of their purple house-guest. "Guess the title still holds strong then, ehh?"

The female, who at first raised a forehoof to slap, was overcome with a fit of panic and couldn't follow through. "Oh shut up, Caesar! He's throwing a fit! I really thought he'd be able to handle us..." She said sadly, facehoofing. "Maybe we should've let him only open one eye."

In the middle of the bickering, Spike hadn't ceased to stop his yelling/pointing tirade. Losing hold on his sanity quicker than Twilight at a book burning, he tried to make out the features of his 'saviors' before losing consciousness. The smaller of the two (Also the one he presumed to be the male) was looking down at him with belittled amusement. From a distance, Spike imagined somepony would mistake him for a changeling. But, upon closer inspection, they would be sorely mistaken. With an almost amorphous ebony-tinted coat, you could practically see through him. On the other hoof, the second face looked upon him with a hint of panic in her eyes. Her honey-glaze coat, thankfully, had a definite shape. The only thing that was noticeably different about her was that she was at least double the size of the common earth pony. 

With a fervent mix of horror and amazement, Spike feared for the worst. "I'm going to die, aren't I? I'm actually going to die." He uttered grimly, bringing his talons to his face. "Although I have to admit, being trapped in psycho-dream-fantasy world was pretty far down on the 'Weird Ways To Go' list." He said with a chuckle. Looking up from his legs to the bickering 'ponies', he sighed deeply before getting out of the no-longer comfortable cot. Taking a deep breath, he needed to get their attention. "HEY! Can you two stop fighting!? I think I'm going to pass out, and the yelling isn't helping much."

The duo immediately drew a cease fire, sharing a glare at the flustered Spike. The female was the first to speak. "Oh, dear. I'm so sorry! I knew we should've worn the masks..." She said sadly, her brow furrowing. 

"Cassy, please. The last thing we needed to do is put our guest through more mental turmoil. I for one am glad he's looking at us in our true forms. Besides, he'd have to get used to seeing Abstracticum in its true colors in one way or another." The small, raspy male said sternly. Taking steps towards Spike, he smiled genuinely as he extended an amorphous forehoof. "The name's Caesar. Welcome to Abstracticum." 

Spike looked confusingly from his own claws to the hoof of Caesar, but after a moment of thought, decided that this surely wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen today. He grasped the hoof firmly, and with a smile. "Spike. Spike Sparkle, but Spike'll do." He said smoothly.

After three solid shakes, they broke the union. "It's a pleasure. The fine piece of flank to my right is my lovely wife, Cassy. She's the one who saved your life."

Cassy slapped Caesar upside the head, nearly knocking him to the floor. "Oh stop it, you! You're making me blush!" She said in a sheepish tone. With his eyes closed, Spike couldn't help but compare her voice with that of Fluttershy's own angelic tone. But, like apples to oranges, her physical frame betrayed it.

The dragon couldn't help but smile innocently. "Thank you, Cassy. I'm grateful for the save and all, really. But..." Spike managed stretch, scratching behind his head. "There's this one thing..."

Caesar raised his head to comment, but was pushed to the floor again by his wife. In a fit of emotion, she grabbed Spike by his shoulders and lifted him to her chest. "Oh sweetie, if there's anything I can do to help you, please. Just name it." She cooed, brushing his spikes with a hoof.

Between the crushing bear-hug and the thought of premature death, Spike collected his thoughts. Caesar and Cassy were definitely ponies (No mater how bizarre looking) who seemed to know something. After his ordeal with Nocturn, the one thing Spike truly cared for was getting back home. The thing is, he had no idea how. "Caesar, can I ask you something?" He said upon his release, falling to the rugged floors with a thud. "It's about...what did you say this place is again?"

"Abstracticum, my dear boy. The home of nightmares, daydreams, and everything in between. Fortunately for you, Cass and I are of the nicer brand of denizens." Caesar stated kindly, waving Spike to his side. "Come, little dragon. I feel the only way you can truly know our realm...is to see it for yourself." The see-through pegasus said with a smirk.

Cassy looked from Spike's curious face to her husband's with a confused glare. "But Caesar! If he goes outside, someone will see for sure! Shouldn't we just, of I don't know, let him rest a little longer?" She said frantically. Her new-found friend was a the forefront of her mind, and she wanted him to be safe...in her arms, to be specific. "What if the Overseer--"

The giantess was shushed by a purple set of talons. "Please...Cassy, is it? I appreciate your concern, but if I'm going to be here in...Abstracticum, I think taking a look around would be the best course of action." Spike said as reassuringly as possible. Noticing tears beginning to form in Cassy's eyes, he wrapped his arms around her warmly. "Please, ma'am. I don't belong here, and the only way I'll be able to get back to my friends and family is to see where I am. Okay?"

The golden mare smiled, frowned, then smiled again. "I...I'm sorry. I hadn't imagined how strong a little dragon such as yourself would be. I mean, I know how big and tough your species can get, but I n-never imagined how serious the younglings a-are," The large yet frail Cass said in a somber tone, still fighting back tears. "And if this is what you see fit, by all means, I'm not one to hold you back," Turning her head to the left, she nodded at her silent husband. "You two play nice then." And brushed the dragon in the direction of the Caesar.

Feeling a heavy lump in his throat, Spike looked high up at the face of his savior with his best fake smile. His feelings of gratitude were genuine, but his life-long family were at risk and nothing was going to prevent him from saving them. He waved a set of claws at Cassy before walking to Caesar's side and over to large metal door.

Before the two walked out, the amorphous pegasus stallion looked down at Spike discerningly. "You know, you handled that quite well for a kid. I'm not sure if even I could walk away from something so casually." He stated in his most comforting tone of voice, now resting a see-through hoof on his Spike's shoulder. "It takes a cool head to manage one's self so appropriately," And with those words, he coughed twice and removed the hoof. "Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's go see the quarry. Stick with me, and we'll both be home for dinner, okay?"

Spike nodded once, donning a poker face as he did so. "Shall we?"

Caesar smirked slightly at his diligence. "We shall." And pushed the door open to the Abstracticum memory mines's living quarter.

See How Screwed You Really Are...