//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Dawning Reality // by WordSPark37 //------------------------------// CHAPTER 8 His mind was blank. He refused to believe what had just happened. He wasn´t even sure what had actually happened. When he saw the two of them there together, huddled close to each other, his mind went blank. He remembered saying something, then the colt said something, and afterwards all he could recall was a scream, a flash, and running away. He groaned audibly, not minding the growl that escaped him involuntarily. He was roaming smack-dab in the middle of Ponyville, in the middle of the night, with a dangerous appearance. His turbulent state of mind had activated his instinctive defense mechanism, and his scales appeared sharper, his claws clicked against the uneven cobblestone streets. A spark flickered and danced in the back of his throat, ready to turn his breath into a life-consuming emerald flame in the blink of an eye. His pupils were dilated immensely and his ears perked up, sensing everything around him, like an early warning system, ready to sound the alarm and launch a preemptive strike against any potential enemies. If anypony had been around, they would've no doubt have run for their lives, claiming there was a bloodthirsty dragon on the prowl in the middle of the town square. His appearance notwithstanding, Spike continued his stalk among the shadows, looking for nothing and nowhere in particular, simply a sanctuary for his heart and mind, even a temporary one. Despite everything being impeccably clear in his eyes, his thoughts whirled about withing, fighting for space with his emotions, clouding his judgement, and unwilling to let him think clearly for even a second. He walked past the Cakes' shop and then past Rarity's boutique. Ignoring his own home, he continued past Ponyville's entrance and kept on walking. Beneath the critical gaze of the moon and her companions, he simply kept walking… ******************T****************** “What in the hay just happened?!” A frightened Applejack exclaimed, standing upright on her hind legs to try and catch a glimpse of the epicenter of the wave of ponies that occupied the space where they´d last seen both Spike and Rarity. Everypony, including the actors who’d been left speechless and ignored upon the stage, had made their way to the scene of the crime, clearly trying to find out just what exactly had happened. Twilight simply stood in place, her mind unthinking, useless. Useless. Her hooves suddenly took a mind of their own, and they raced off towards the mob, her mind racing behind her, closely followed by her friends. Rainbow flew overhead and was the first to arrive. Had Twilight bothered to look up at her, she would´ve seen Dash put her hooves to her mouth, and freeze in shock, somehow hovering overhead. The other four, however, did look up, and exchanged worried glances. For Dash to show any sign of worry was extremely rare, and it only occurred in the worst cases, like when Equestria was on the brink of destruction, or she´d misplaced her Wonderbolts´ tickets. Twilight muscled through the crowd, using her magic to help ease her way through, parting the ponies much to their discomfort. She´d receive plenty of complaints later on, but she didn't have time to worry about that. Right now, at that precise moment, all that mattered was finding out what had happened. And wishing Spike would be alright. Twilight arrived at the scene, where next to a splotch of scorched grass and the remains of a burnt picnic blanket, lay a unicorn, his silver mane and coat now soot black, making noises and moaning, seemingly in great pain. "What happened?" somepony asked him; Twilight didn't bother to check who it had been. With great effort, the colt, who Twilight quickly realized must have been no other than Topline, tried to prop himself up on one of his front hooves, and gave a wheezing cough. "Wha-What happened?" He asked incredulously, as if surprised that anypony would ask such a thing, "A beastly dragon attacked me and my dat-... Rarity. Where is Rarity? Is she alright? Has anypony seen Rarity?!" On any other occasion, Twilight might have gagged at his unconvincing performance, and reprimanded him for taking such a situation lightly. The others surely would've agreed thinking that sort of nonsense belonged onstage, not below it. However, her ind was caught on his first statement. Beastly Dragon? Attacked? No. It couldn't be. Not Spike. How dare he? Her horn began to glow, and everypony, her friend included, took a step back as Topline was suddenly caught in an abnormal purple glow. "How dare you..." Twilight said, lifting the frightened unicorn several feet above the earth, and bringing him face to face with herself. Everyone fell quiet, and even the crickets seemed to have stopped just to listen to Twilight, who spoke in a barely audible whisper, anger seeping through her tone nonetheless. “A beastly dragon? Spike attack you? How dare you accuse Spike of such a thing! He’d never do such a thing! ” “Never do such a thing?” Topline asked, somehow the only pony around not utterly intimidated by the infuriated purple unicorn, who was now dangerously close to enveloping them all in flames. “Just take a look around!” Despite Twilight’s inner voice, which kept telling her to ignore this spoiled colt, to punish him for insulting her best friend and causing a scene, Twilight looked. And it did not look good. Claw marks were clearly visible on the grass, and there were even a few pieces of dry grass still burning bright red, quickly dying out, as were Twilight’s hopes that Spike was innocent. “Now can you let me go?” Topline whined, and Twilight obliged, cutting off her magic and letting him drop to the floor, adding to his new collection of marks and bruises on his coat. She paid him no mind, and soon several ponies huddles around him to care for his wounds and take him to the hospital. Twilight’s mind was blank, and she simply walked away slowly, her friends following with their eyes, and soon their hooves. Twilight tried to ignore everything, but between the many mixed murmurings of the ponies nearby, she made out quite a few that stuck in her mind, and would later plague her for years to come. “That dragon’s always been a menace!” “It was only a matter of time before something like this happened!” “This poor bloke was lucky to end up with only a few bruises! He could've very well been a midnight snack for the monster!” All Twilight could do to avoid bursting into hysterics, or simply explode with emotions, was walk away, through the park path, leading to nowhere I particular. Just blank. “Twilight…?” Twilight froze, almost at the edge of the park, looking directly at Ponyville just hoofsteps ahead. The flag atop city hall could be seen just ahead, behind some smaller shops and houses. She suddenly realized she must’ve been walking for a good 10 minutes straight. “Twilight.” The voice spoke again, this time a bit louder. Twilight turned around to face her friends, who’d followed her in silence, concern clearly showing in their faces. Applejack stepped forward and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Go and find Rarity, you need to find out just what exactly happened back there.” No matter how hard she tried, her eyes could no longer hold off the tears that began streaming down her face. “But… What about Spike…?” “We’ll find Spike, and bring him back safe and sound, don’t y’all worry.” Applejack said, a forced, little smile on her face. Despite the worry clearly reflected on AJ’s face, Twilight felt just a dash of hope. Applejack wouldn’t lie, and if she said she’d bring back Spike safe and sound, there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that she’d make good her promise. “Al-Alright,” Twilight said, and putting on a brave smile of hope, she vanished, teleporting to Rarity’s Boutique, where she’d surely have taken shelter by now. ******************A****************** Applejack shook her head and tapped the ground with a nervous hoof, feeling woozy from Twilight’s sudden magical exit. She’d have to remind her one day, yet again, not to do that while standing so close to her. It made her insides feel all sorts of funny. Although maybe it wasn’t the spell that caused that nauseous feeling deep within. She turned to face her four remaining friends, all sharing the same somber expression, and each no doubt thinking the same think. “We’ve gotta split up and look for Spike. He can’t have…” “I’m on it!!!” Pinkie jumped to attention, somehow with a rather excited attitude, and AJ just couldn’t help but wonder where she got the strength to keep her spirits so bright and hopeful all the time. She’d make sure to ask her someday. It might come in handy for the rough times surely ahead. With a flash of pink, pinkie was gone, Celestia knew where. AJ simply shook her head again, fighting off the incoming headache, and spoke up once again. “He can’t have gotten very far. Rainbow,” At this, Dash perked her ears up and looked at her with an intense stare. AJ noticed the tears beginning to form on her lower eyelid, but for her friend’s sake, chose to ignore them. “Fly overhead and see if you can spot Spike from the air. If you find him, come find us, understood?” Rainbow nodded, but before she could take off, AJ stepped on her tail, anchoring her to the ground. Before she could protest, she told her, “Do NOT try and approach him alone. We don’t know how he may react if he sees us…” Rainbow nodded slowly once again, and with a barely audible sniffle, disguised by the sound of her liftoff, took off as quickly as Pinkie had disappeared. “Applejack…?” AJ turned towards the origin of that soft whisper, and saw quite possibly the most pitiful sight she’d ever seen. They were all in a state of shock, but it seemed as though Fluttershy might suffer a heart attack in any minute. Her expression was the culmination of all the fears and nightmares they all were hoping would stay mere acts of their imagination. Tears flowed freely, with no foolish pride keeping them away. AJ admired that about her; Fluttershy cared immensely about her friends. “AJ… Do you think…? Do you think Spike really did…?” “Ah don’t know… But just in case, you never know how a dragon’s gonna react.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened in terror, and Applejack knew exactly what she was thinking. She may not have been the most educated pony, but she certainly knew that any critter that’d tasted blood, would always long for blood. ******************S****************** Spike curled up in a ball, as he used to do whenever he felt vulnerable, and cried. The rage and anger had gone, his vision and mind were now impeccably clear, and all that was left was the guilt and regret of what he had done. No matter the inciting incident, no matter his intentions, everything had gone horribly wrong. Worse, even, the his worst-case scenario. There was only one way out. His claws dug deep into the ground, leaving permanent scars beneath the hollow old tree he used to shelter himself from the outside world. It was his secret place. The old, dead oak served as more than simply a hideout, it had served as his safe haven ever since his maturity and growth had started creating difficult or awkward situations in Ponyville. And this was as difficult a situation as he’d ever been in. Spike knew he had no choice, and for that he mentally whipped himself, curling up tighter, trying to disappear completely. He’d ruined his relationship with Rarity permanently, and everypony in Ponyville would now surely fear or even hate him. They’d call the guard, and he’d be locked up in Celestia’s dungeons for sure. There was no turning back. His plan was already in motion. He’d just have to make one last stop before leaving, but it would be dangerous, and he couldn’t risk being seen by anypony, especially not Twilight. She’d refuse to let him go, try to convin-… “Spike!” A hushed whisper broke through his troubled thoughts, and he lifted his head up in surprise, managing to cut a rather large chunk of wood from above him with the sharp scales atop his head. Rubbing his head, he carefully took a half-step outside, and looked around for the source of the voice. Still, the forest remained silent and still, unmoving in the night, yet somehow, he was sure he’d heard a whisper. “In here!” Came the same voice again, this time from behind him. He turned abruptly around only to come face to face with a beaming pink ball of fur that pulled him into an airtight embrace. “I found you!” Pinkie said through her mane, somehow managing to hug him tighter. He couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, although it came out more like a small cough, complete with a puff of black smoke. After several warm seconds, Pinkie released him, and sat back on her haunches, looking at him with a strange expression, something between happiness and worry. It just didn’t look right on her, and he once again hated himself for having brought all of this pain and anguish upon them all. Spike tried to hold back the tears, but there really was no need. He was all cried out for the day. All that left him with was an aching heart and a troubled mind. “Spike,” Pinkie spoke softly, breaking the silence with a warm, caring voice that lit up a tiny spark of hope deep within him. It was just something about her, she could make the end of the world seem like a fun day out fishing. “Spike, what are you doing?” The question caught Spike off-guard. He was expecting something more like, “Let’s go back” or “What happened back there?!” “I…” Spike mumbled incoherently, until finding the words, urged on by Pinkie’s innocent stare. “I’m leaving.” ******************R****************** What had just happened? Rarity lay curled up between her silk sheets, longing for their tender, loving touch. However, no comfort came from them, and they seemed as cold as the night had become. She simply didn`t know what to think anymore. Not about Spike, nor Topline, nor love… Not even life. It all seemed to empty now. Was she really finished? Was her fragile shell finally broken? Her emotions had seemed to escape from the cracks in her hard outer shell, and now that even that shell was breaking, her mind was blank. She couldn’t even remember the last few hours, nor what had happened that was so awful that she’d felt her heart torn to shreds. Rarity simply lay on her bed, staring at the fading Prench décor on her walls through thick tears. As one of them trickled past her muzzle, she buried her head in her lace pillows and allowed them to absorb the rest of her sorrows. Time meant nothing now, and she couldn’t be sure just exactly how much time had actually passed before she felt a knocking below on the front door of her boutique. She ignored it, pretended it was just another figment of her imagination. Of course, it wasn’t. Soon the knocking returned, this time louder. And again. And the following knock was accompanied by a shout. Rarity thought it might have been her name. She ignored it still. She couldn’t face to see anypony, not for years. She’d spend the following decade cooped up in her home, not leaving for anything. A flash of blinding light, and a woozy feeling from within quickly made her change her mind, and acknowledge the disturbance. She lifted her face from her pillows and came face to face with Twilight, who had materialized just inches away from her mattress. She noticed there were tears in her eyes, and she bit her quivering lower lip in a childish fashion. Rarity might have laughed, had she not been dong the exact same thing. “Twilight, wha…?” “What happened?” Twilight asked, her tone firm, but betraying a surging sob from deep within. Rarity simply froze in place, not knowing how to respond. She quite honestly didn’t know what to say. Twilight wouldn’t take silence as any kind of response, and once again insisted. “What happened Rarity? What happened back there? What did Spike do?” Rarity maintained her gargoyle-like state, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging, words and emotions trying to escape, but finding no appropriate exit. Twilight’s eyes bore into the depths of her soul, anger mixed with worry and sadness, the most dangerous combination in a unicorn. Rarity wanted nothing more than to set her mind at ease. To tell her best friends that nothing had happened, that it was all a misunderstanding. But her memory of the event was hazy at best, and she wasn’t one to lie so bluntly. However, one thing did come back, slowly at first, but then like a deep, resounding echo that beat along with heart, and accompanied it with every painful beat in her chest. “Spike…? He said… He said he… Loved me…” A/N: I know I left many of you hanging on to dear life on that last chapter, and that my absence is inexcusable (Unless you count life as an excuse), but now, I'm planning to redeem myself through this new and improved version of Dawning Reality! It's still the same first few chapters, but I've now planned it out with much more than just a romance plot, focusing mainly on Spike as he faces his own harsh reality, and the romance, which of course, also plays an important part in this, is not as defined as it used to be (Meaning, yes, it may not end a Sparity after all, or it might... You'll soon see just how many different endings this could possibly turn out to have). And so, without further ado, I welcome you once again, and ask that you join me on this journey through Spike's own struggles to find himself, as I struggle to find a decent ending to this tale! Very special mention to SocraticBrony for all his help, and despite him being humble, it was mainly thanks to him that I once again took up FIMFiction once again.