"Hm, things seemed to have... calmed down today..."
But contrary to both of their thoughts, two pairs of eyes flashed a brief glance outwards to the window, then they flickered back. The frantic shrieks and yells of anger that echoed eerily outside in the dull midday light, none having gone home yet out of both spite and fear, even in the midst of last night's rainstorm. And of course, without anyone on duty to clear and control the danged weather, it reigned free on it's own. But that was one of the least of their worries.
Same chaos as usual. It reminded one of them of someone, and she swallowed back a growing lump in her throat with the burning hot of tea. Or... whatever this was she'd brewed together.
Food was also low this season, and fruit in particular, since so many crops had either been destroyed in war, or just forgotten, and withered and died, leaving crisp little remains of what never made it to a hungry family's diner plate. But yet another thing on the bottom of the list of concerns.
"Well... it's certainly, um... calmer, than usual..." As if to tease, a sudden booming rang through the ground, vibrating even the tea in the cup, and scattering those outside for just a brief moment, until everything had settled again, and shots were exchanged.
"Er..." Fluttershy started, holding a breath. "Well-"
"Nope, It's definitely calmer." Spike had smirked, leaning back into his bed across from the mare's. "Remember Ivy?"
The pegasus shuddered at the memory. She certainly did remember the older mare, and her two hunters that held by close to her sides. She'd had a few bad experiences in the past, but the events of a few nights ago had certainly taken a turn for the worse.
"Unfortunately..." she sighed, poking through the curtains, "I'm sure the whole situation could have been avoided, too, if we had Twilight here to put her back in place."
Suddenly, as if she had uttered a curse, she gasped, raising a hoof to her muzzle. "I-I mean, I just wish... well, we had more... more..."
"Company? Support?"
"Something like that..."
"Huh... Me too." The dragon huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in a sense of defeat. It often got too quiet-- especially with only Fluttershy around, who barely uttered a word, or never started a conversation. She was always so reserved, especially when they were younger, but things only seemed to change for the worst.
Even now, as she pressed her face solemnly against the glass, silence fell over the house again, in a matter of seconds. Sometimes Spike had wished there was at least some happy chatter they would start up to drown out the noises outside. They were never pleasant ones.
"Yeah, well... I'm gonna go outside. Check up on the... barrier or something." The bed creaked as the dragon had forced himself off the bed, stretching with a forced yawn. "Think you should get some rest? It's getting late..."
"But... it's just barely past noon!"
"Well, it's, uh, pretty late for me! Later--" Without a moment to spare, the door swung open just as it shut. Fluttershy groaned, placing her head between her hooves, waiting for the dragon to return. But there'd been nothing but silence following after.
Pretty soon, she'd fallen asleep, and had more pleasant dreams again, of her adventures in the glittering woods, teaming with life of gracious animals, bright green leaves sprouting from the ground, and the bark of trees. And her friends following close behind, glancing around in awe-- even Rarity, who'd gasped at the bright patch of dandelions, making remarks of their fluffy white taraxacum and the gentle butterflies that flittered around, in search for sweet nectar.
She hadn't seen butterflies like these in such a long time; they were all just so dull now, and never really as pleasing to the eye as the brightly colored ones had been, even in her imagination. They were always duller and fainter than she was sure they used to be..
Which reminded her of--
"Sweet Luna--" Fluttershy gasped, blinking awake, "The butterflies!" She shoved herself off the bed, and scrambled back up without haste to head out the door.
Spike sighed, reminiscing as he stalked through the darker part of town from behind the clearing to reach his destination. He'd taken the long was, of course, but completely purposeful. It was noticeably quieter back there, than out in the open, where he could pick up every sound and smell, of screams, and metallic smells like fresh blood. But he shook his head to clear the fog in his mind, and focused on listening to the crunching under his claws.
Crunch.
Crackle.
It hadn't been too long before he caught sight of the light, wavering blue that had seemed to call out to anyone with it's graceful white and blue. It looked more like water, as Spike had grown closer, like a soft stream that had the sunlight sparkling over it. And now that it came to mind, he didn't really see many ponds like this before. But of course, this was no body of water.
This was the Barrier.
The dragon had neared before he even noticed he was only a few feet away, and flinched back at the slight stinging sensation that ran up his scales that suddenly made it feel so much less friendly.
Clasping his hands together in uncertainty, he sighed, "Well... here I am."
...
Nothing.
Honest to Equestria, he'd never really decided what he would do once he got there. After all, there wasn't much to be done on days like these. Only Fluttershy guarded this barrier, the warriors and soldiers at war, nurses nursed and tended to the injured and sick. Even Ditzy delivered bread, and sometimes a drink or two, to the houses in the farther town, every few nights or so.
Spike, he didn't really do much anything except go out and report on 'findings' to the older mare who even took care of him whenever Twilight had gone. Every few months she'd take off all of a sudden and leave in search for help, not returning until the end of the year, if they were lucky. She'd come back, bring some food that'd last a few weeks more, and leave again when the autumn came. She was never really there for the wonderful food they received during harvest season. Only during the months where all the crops and plants were dead. And leave again in the summer or spring once the fruit grew back.
Spike snarled to himself, sifting through the dirt with a hand, while the other was a clenched fist. He understood the mare's reasoning for disappearing so often, but this had been the longest. As she'd left, she almost seemed hesitant leaving, staying well into the winter season, until the bitter truth that their supply had been running lower than ever had snapped her back into reality, as she finally left, right before Hearth's Warming last year.
And now it was late summer all over again. And Twilight had yet to return, like she always had, coming back home with a solemn look as no 'help' followed after her, even though she carried baskets of food that would end up on plates that night.
The white-birch bark of the staff revealed itself, finally, and Spike grasped it slowly, watching the dirt fall off the sides, and the crystal tip as he removed it from hiding. He chuckled bitterly, images of the tiny bits of crystal they hung over the fireplace, hoping Twilight would stay for Holiday dinner. Remembering her leave with a bad taste in her mouth, as she trotted out into the blizzard and heavy snow that'd been stained dark red, and stood out under moonlight.
The crunching of snow under her hooves growing fainter.
Crunch,
Crunch,
The sound made him sick to his stomach....
CRUNCH
CRUNCH
CRUNCH
Wait...
"SPIKE!" That hadn't been Twilight's voice, had it? "SPIIIKE!"
Suddenly snapping back into reality, he glanced down at the staff in his hands curiously.
"Are... you supposed to make me start hearing things? Hm, magic's weird."
"SPIKE, THE STAFF!"
Glancing up quickly, he could see a growing form in the distance, under the shadowy trees that draped over one another. Fluttershy.
With a new feeling of panic, Spike dropped his shoulders, holding the staff upright and planting it into the ground. Of course, the fun of outdoors was officially over.
"It's okay, I'm not gonna break it!" He waved both arms to gather her attention, only waving the staff in his right hand caused something to spark, that quickly caught his attention.
A deep black shade crept down the bark as the color split into three flittering forms that surrounded him, Spike frozen in fear, dropping the staff. Which only seemed to make things worse.
"AGH! WHAT IN--"
Not a moment too soon, as Fluttershy had skidded to a stop, three black-and-white butterflies had clung to the dragon, who was now flailing around in a panic, as it seemed blood was drawn from beneath his scales, and the harmless insects that refused to detach.
"GET THEM OFF ME!" Fluttershy winced at the sudden cry, as she hesitantly sprung forwards to grab the staff in her maw, and began swinging wildly at the creatures that continued to injure her friend. Her responsibility.
And soon, her pain.