Caesar closed the large wooden doors as quietly as he could before turning to face the worried-looking Spike. "Kid, I'm sorry you had to see that, I truly am. It's just my dear Cassy gets awfully emotional at times and can't control herself. Down here in Abstracticum, we rarely see anything-- or anypony outside of our co-workers and the Overseer. To my wife, you're a breath of fresh air," The amorphous pegasus said sincerely, coughing several times afterwards. "You understand, right?"
Spike nodded twice at the statement, still slightly shaken from the previous exchange of emotion. "It's no problem, Caesar, really. In fact, your wife's not nearly as emotional as some of the ponies I know," He stated with a light chuckle, looking from the near-invisible Caesar to take in his surroundings. From what he could tell, the two of them were standing in what looked like an office room. "Hey, Caesar, I thought you said you were going to take me outside? From the looks of it, we're going to be filing tax returns."
"Hey, it's not my fault we have to pass through my office first, now is it?" Caesar said with a lick of sarcasm. "Now, if you'd follow me to the actual door," He said before yet another fit of coughs. Walking towards another, much larger wooden door, he beckoned for Spike to follow. "Well, come on now. Abstracticum isn't going to present itself on a silver platter you know," The pegasus said with bemused worry. "And please, whatever happens, you have to stay at my side. If anypony else saw you...well, let's try to think positive thoughts, ehh?"
The purple dragon's jaw physically dropped at the statement. "Are you serious? W-what do you mean by that? And how could I possibly hide with you, you're practically invisible!" Spike questioned/shouted/complained, all the while pointing an accusing talon at his companion. "Isn't there anything you can do to help me be, oh I don't know, more unnoticeable?"
Caesar brought his hoof from the door to his chin as he looked around the room briefly. "Hmm...I can see your point. Now, this may sound a little left-field, but I'm positive this may help you and your...visible problem." He said shortly, sizing up the small dragon.
Spike's mind raced for what felt like the hundredth time that day, wracked with possibilities. Turning his head away momentarily, he said a silent prayer under his breath. "Dear princess Celestia, if you're listening, hear me now. Please spare my frail heart from having to do something I'll regret, your ever faithful scribe, Spike..." One quick hail-Luna later, he looked back to Caesar who, now smiling, rested a hoof on his shoulder.
"Don't worry lad, the last thing I'm going to make you do is commit some sort of heinous act of witchcraft, that's what the Dae-- ahh, never mind. But back to your little predicament. I have good new, and bad news...Pick your poison." Caesar said slyly, his face switching between a smile and a frown between coughs.
After a slight face-twitch, Spike gulped and raised his left claws. "I'd like the good news first, please." He said with a stutter. "And I'd appreciate that you break the bad news as nicely as possible, thanks." And proceeded to scratch the back of his head.
"You asked for it. The good news is that you'll be almost completely invisible if you follow my instructions. The bad news is, well, the instructions." Caesar said between coughs.
"...And the instruction are?" The curious Spike asked, twiddling his claws as he did so.
Caesar closed his eyes and breathed deeply, filling his lungs before staring Spike dead in the eyes. "You'll have to Daydream."
Spike's face cringed at Caesar's words and, with slight exhale, looked up curiously. "Beg your pardon?"
"I imagined you'd show some degree of confusion, so let's take this from the top; I'm going to put a spell on you that will 'Put you to sleep'." Caesar said, slightly accentuating the sleeping part. "Now, before thoughts of 'How will that help at all!?' start crossing your mind, I'm going to explain this as simply as I can, okay?"
Spike nodded, biting his lower lip. "I'm a-all ears." He stated with worry dripping in his voice.
"Glad to hear it," Caesar said, taking a sigh of relief before continuing. "Now, when the spell takes hold, you're physical body will remain here, in the office...However, your mind will be able to walk and talk as you would normally. How this is possible? Well, to be honest, I'm not totally sure myself. Outside of mind-heist operations, me and Cass try to stay out of Daydream for...various reasons. For one, it gives my wife bad stomach pains," Caesar said frustratingly, now going off on a tangent. "If it wasn't for the god-damned night regent and her day-forsaken rules, we'd be able to live a normal life! But no, that'd be too easy...instead, we have to listen to every little whim she and the Overseer can come up with!" Caesar shouted, his amorphous coat beginning to stir in a way similar to gamma radiation. "You know what, Spike? I'm glad you're going to take that witch down a peg! She's had it coming a long, long time, and quite frankly the time has come for a change in pace down here!"
The four-foot five dragon visibly shuddered at the outburst Caesar had dumped on him. From the start, he'd done nothing more than comment on his wife's courteousness and how not to worry, and now he was literally shimmering with rage. The feeling deep down in his stomach was, needless to say, terrified at the pegasus-shaped mass of anger before him, but back in his mind, he realized something; Nocturn had been enslaving these ponies, much like king Sombra and the crystal empire. The very thought of enslavement struck a chord in Spike's heartstrings, filling him with a feeling of rebellion against the dark force that had tried to corrupt him. "Caesar, stop." Spike said flatly, holding his left claws to the pegasus's chest.
Not a moment later, the fire in Caesar's eyes faded as he looked into Spike's own. "Praise the creator, I'm sorry son. I never meant to put words of anger and violence in your head, it's just that whenever I think about--" He started saying, but was quickly silenced by Spike's own claws on his shoulder.
"That's just it, Caesar. I know how it's like to feel...betrayed. If anything, I'd only like to help you, your wife, or anypony else willing to get something going down here. The thing is, I don't know exactly what's happening." Spike said philosophically, staring straight into the eyes of the stallion.
Caesar could only frown, shaking his head as his shimmering form began to settle. "Son, I'm going to tell you this one time only, so listen up," Caesar said Solemnly before coughing twice, clearing his throat. A moment later, he closed his eyes and began to sing,
"Here in the darkness that we lay,
Depression heavy in its weigh,
And how my body aches to leave,
To sing its final eulogy,
My sons I love you evermore,
And though the road beckons once more,
I see the damage that I've done,
In search for redemption,
But I am just a broken man,
Whose souls cries out to understand,
How the madness shatters me,
Upon the stage on bended knee,
I scream out loud at skies above,
That answer mute bereft in love,
I struggle not to fall from grace,
Or sing the hymns of my disgrace...
We Build Cathedrals to our pain,
Establish monuments to attain,
Freedom from all of the scars and the sins,
Lest we drown in the darkness within..."
And after a moment later, he reopened his eyes and sighed deeply. "You might not have understood the full meaning behind those words, but let me explain; Down here in Abstracticum, every pony here gets what they've deserved. Each and every one of us have come to accept our role in history...even if it's nothing more than a solitary breath on the all-maker's wind. We're content with our punis--," Caesar said hotly, bringing a hoof to his chin. "No...this isn't a punishment. It's a position. The only thing separating us from the common Equestrian is our... unnatural disposition," He finished, once more laying his left forehoof on Spike's shoulder. "Don't think for a second that we're the ones needing to be saved, in fact, it's the exact opposite. You're the one Nocturn sent here, no doubtedly against your will I take it?"
Spike nodded his head 'Yes'.
"I would imagine. But listen to me close now," The pegasus said sternly, kneeling down so he could talk at Spike's level. "Me and my wife are going to get you out of here. The mere fact that Nocturn tried to dump you down here is a sign that you have a stronger mind than she originally thought, and she's afraid. Now, I'm not sure what exactly you said or did to be sent here, but I guarantee you, you won't be for long if you listen. If you're willing to put your life on the line, my wife and I can at least try to send you back to your friends, but only if you do just that. The journey would be hard fought, and we may need to gather the support of the others, but I'm sure if you're willing to try, we can get you home and, most importantly, the soon-to-be torn Equestria."
Throughout Caesar's entire speech, Spike couldn't help but feel crushed under the weight of the burden he was now undertaking. The mere fact that a simple trip out the door has turned into a world-changing confrontation shook Spike to the bones...There was a good reason he was content with having Twilight make all the hard decisions. For he himself to be forced into the spotlight, it was (To say the least) unnerving. "I'm sorry, Caesar, but this is all moving too fast for me. I walked through that wooden door thinking I'd be looking at the sky from a doorstep, but here we are, talking about me starting a possible revolution? No offense, but I don't think I'm in the position to start an uprising. I'm only a...baby, dragon," The young drake said, gulping at his words. "Heck, half the time I can barely handle myself without one of the others having to bail me out. I think I might need to see what I'm up against first...or at least get a chance to rest my head..." He with sorrow in his voice before raising his left talons to his forehead.
Caesar's brow furrowed at his words, but not a moment later he relaxed. "I...see." He said calmly, looking from the oaken floor to his hooves. A second later he trotted over to an office chair and sat himself down, starting to read from a large black book.
Spike cocked an eyebrow as the amorphous pegasus seated himself. "Caesar, what are you doing?" He asked, taking steps in the now-exhausted looking Caesar. "Did...did I do something wrong? Was it something I said? If it's about me not wanting to throw myself to the wolves, I'm sorry but--"
"Hush, boy. Can't you see I'm reading?" Caesar interjected, holding a hoof in the direction of Spike as he continued to flip through pages.
The confused dragon could only cross his arms. "Well, you don't have to be so snarky about it..." He said with a touch of aggravation in his voice.
"You're starting to sound like my wife, young one. But please, can't you just have a look around for a moment?" Caesar chimed, flipping several more pages with his wings. "Maybe pick up a book to preoccupy yourself?"
Taking the advice of the pegasus, Spike begrudgingly plodded over to the nearest shelf and picked up the first book he saw, "The Ponynomicon? What in Equestria is this?" He asked, grasping the binding. A heartbeat later, a near-invisible wing slapped the book from Spike's claws. "Hey, what was that for?" The dragon asked, his theoretical jimmies now rustled.
"Pick another one." Was the only response from Caesar, still paging through the black book.
Spike sighed and looked towards the shelf coolly. "Sheesh, if you insist..." And after a brief skim of the bindings, Spike rested his eyes on a white & gold colored biography titled 'The Sum of All Fears'. Cocking an eyebrow, he pulled the tome from the mahogany bookshelf and opened to the first page with curiosity. "To my daughter, Nightingale. May the world spare you from its pain." Spike looked from the passage to Caesar. Noting the pegasus's reluctance to look from the book, he seated himself on one of the comfier looking couches and began reading quietly to himself. "Chapter One: The Heretic's Brand..."
After a solid hour of reading, Spike could take no more of The Sum. Rubbing his eyes, he dog-eared the page and returned the tome to its spot on the shelf and turned his head back to the desk Caesar had last been seated. Much to the dragon's surprise, the amorphous pegasus had vanished. "Caesar?" He asked aloud, scanning the room for any sign of him. "Caesar, are you still here? Because this isn't funny at all." Spike gulped, a lump beginning to take form in his stomach. "Please, I don't think my heart can take any more of this--"
Then like a gust on the wind, the door opened and Caesar stood tall at the doorway, two saddlebags brimming with what seemed to be spices. "Honey, I'm home," He chimed, closing the door behind him with a hindleg. "What'd I miss?"
Spike breathed a sigh of relief as he trotted over to Caesar, taking one of of the bags into his own arms. "Oh thank Celestia, I thought you'd evaporated for a second. What happened when I was reading?"
"I paged through one of my old journals about Abstracticum and her secrets, and I found out-- You know, let's talk about this over lunch. I bought some gems," He stated, stretching his muzzle into the other saddlebag. Withdrawing a flawless looking sapphire, he edged it onto the table. "You do eat gems, right?"
Spike moved his left claws over his stomach, the muscle audibly groaning at the sight of the delectable looking stone. Realizing he'd not eaten in practically two days, he began salivating as he reached tentatively towards the tantalizing treat...only to have his talons slapped away. "Blargh, what was that for!?" He shouted a little too loudly, a low fire singing the insides of his eyeballs.
Caesar laughed heartily, coughed fiercely, then wiped a tear from his eye. "Easy lad, in this household, we eat in the dining room...together. Come, we'll talk more about your predicament over some Spiddal Stick, ehh?"
Eyes still locked tightly on the sapphire, Spike licked his lips as he slowly nodded yes.
"Great to hear it. Besides, the outside can wait for us to have dinner. Like a wise pony once said, 'Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow?'"
Eat Your Veggies, Talk a Little, and...Wait, WHAT?!? [Coming Soon!]