//------------------------------// // Dreamscape // Story: Obligations // by ArgonMatrix //------------------------------// The morning Sun cast its intrusive light across the bedroom in bright lances. As one of the sunbeams landed on his face, Spike could only resist waking up for so long. His eyes opened slowly, but he reflexively snapped them shut as the glare from the window attacked him. He still had a headache from all the events of yesterday and he just wanted to be away from the world for a little bit longer. But the world stops for no one, and he eventually managed to pull himself from his tiny bed, groggily rubbing his eyes. Casting a sidelong glance at the other bed in the room—one which dwarfed his own—revealed that it was empty and seemingly untouched, just as it had been the night previous. The little dragon frowned. “Maybe I was too rough on her,” he considered. “I didn’t even give her a chance to talk, let alone explain anything.” But as soon as his conscience began to get the best of him, a sharp memory cut into his mind, showing him Twilight’s note and making him recall all the feelings that came along with it. He clutched at his head as the aching intensified. “I don’t know what to think,” he groaned. Turning his attention to the bedroom door, Spike took a deep, resigned breath and trudged towards it. “I have a feeling this is gonna be a long day.” He reached for the doorknob and cautiously swung the door open... ...and he shot backwards to the wall when he saw what was on the other side. Space. That wasn’t quite the word for it, but it was the most appropriate thing to think. It was an imposing black void dotted with tiny pinpricks of light which added a sort of ethereal beauty to the scene. Every so often Spike could see a wisp of green, purple, or blue light swirl by only to vanish into the oblivion. His mind couldn’t fully process what he was seeing. What had once been the library he knew like the back of his hand was now an impossible painting of the universe. It encapsulated all of his emotions and he didn’t know whether to respect of fear the void. “Spike?” The sudden voice snapped him back to the moment. He whipped his head in every direction, looking for the source of the voice. It wasn’t until his eyes fell back upon the entryway where he saw a lavender unicorn standing out in the void, smiling sheepishly in his direction. He did a double take to make sure that he was seeing things right. None of this was helping with his headache. “T-twilight? What’s...” “It’s okay Spike, don’t be scared. I promise it’s safe.” Clearly she had anticipated his shock. Despite her reassuring words, Spike didn’t budge from his spot against the wall. Whether it was out of his residual spite for the mare beckoning him or just out of his sheer fear of the imposing scene, he couldn’t be sure. “Here, I’ll ease you into it.” With that, Twilight blinked her eyes shut and vanished like a shadow, blending with the backdrop. Before Spike could react, the walls of the room began to deteriorate along with the contents they shelved. He scuttled towards the center of the room where he became paralyzed as he saw the void beginning to overtake the space around him. The ceiling flew off into one of the hundreds of light specks, the last of the walls crumbled to nothing, and the edges of the floor drew towards him slowly. There was nothing the vulnerable reptile could do but watch in a combination of terror and awe as the last of his comfortable chamber disappeared beneath his feet, leaving him alone in the scene. It was an odd sensation. There seemed to be a floor beneath him since he was still standing, but there was nothing visibly supporting him. Looking around, he felt like he could go anywhere without bound. No motion could be seen other than the constantly fading luminescent ghosts. Assessing himself, he found that he was completely safe and unharmed, but he had no idea where he was or how this was happening, so shock was still the main thing that gripped his mind. Something gently nudged his shoulder and her spun on a dime to see what it was. He saw the same purple pony who had been in the doorway earlier, now standing right next to him and grinning at him, hesitantly but endearingly. “What’s going on?,” was the only thing that made sense for Spike to ask. “This is called a Dreamscape,” Twilight answered, motioning to the area which encapsulated them. “It’s the product of a spell I created. It’s a world where we have complete control over what happens. We can go anywhere we want, leave whenever we want, and make anything at all happen, just by thinking about it. Pretty much like a lucid dream.” Spike scanned his eyes all around, seeing the strange world differently after having heard all this. “So, this place isn’t real?” “Oh no, it’s very real. It’s just that it doesn’t follow the rules of our world since it’s a world solely composed of magic. We can see, hear, taste, smell, touch, and think just like normal, so it is, by definition, a reality. It’s just a reality that will cease to exist once the spell ends.” Spike thought about it for a minute. “I think I get it, but... why are we here?” Twilight frowned and averted her gaze. “Spike, I really want to make it up to you for missing your birthday. I know that I really hurt your feelings, and for that I’m truly sorry. I would never intentionally hurt you. Never.” Spike didn’t reply. He just stared off into the distance, focusing his gaze on a distant spot of light. His eyes teared up slightly at the memory of the previous day’s events, but he stayed calm. “... I know there’s nothing I can do or say that’ll make you forgive me, but I want to at least try to fix this.” Spike twiddled his thumbs. “I dunno Twilight...” “Please, Spike. At least let me try something. I don’t want this rift to separate us, and I really think this’ll help both of us.” A defeated sigh escaped from the dragon. “She deserves a chance.” He didn’t turn to look at her as he replied, “Okay...” Twilight beamed a tiny bit. “Thanks Spike. And remember that you’re free to leave this place whenever you want if you don’t like what’s going on. All you have to do is think about leaving and the spell will stop.” With that, Twilight closed her eyes and focused just the way she had when the bedroom had disappeared earlier. Instead of things fading away, however, this time something began to materialize around the duo. First a plush, red carpet spread beneath their feet, forming into a wide rectangle which they stood in the center of. An ornate gold and red couch apparated behind Spike and a dark mahogany coffee table grew from the ground behind Twilight. Next, walls began to rise at the edges of the carpet. They bore modest brown wallpaper with thin, sparkling gold stripes every few inches. A door which matched the coffee table chiseled itself into one wall as lanterns began jutting from all the others, filling the room with a dim, soothing yellow glow. A wood paneled ceiling had taken form at some point, and from it a chandelier of shimmering crystals hung directly above their heads. As a final touch, an unobtrusive stone fireplace formed and lit next to them, watching them with its warm, humbling gaze. The entire scene felt comfortable, safe, and familiar. Spike couldn’t seem to pinpoint it but, for some reason, he recognized the room. It was as though he was seeing it for the first time in eons, his memory of it shrouded in the fogs of time. He brushed his claw along the velvet couch behind him, and looked around in wonderment. “C’mon Spike.” Twilight’s voice drew the dragon’s numb gaze in her direction. He hadn’t even noticed, but she had lay down on her side next to the fireplace, a large beige blanket covering her lower half. Suddenly his memory flashed and he saw a familiar, heartwarming sepia photograph. Realization struck and he couldn’t help but smile. Twilight returned his expression, and their two souls seemed to connect firmly at that moment. Spike quietly waddled over and joined his friend under the blanket. “How’d you know?” “You didn’t think I would forget something so memorable, did you?” The unicorn conjured up a familiar photograph and gazed longingly at it. “We spent that whole day together. Princess Celestia even gave me the day off from my studies so we could be together. I wanted to make you happy, and the only things that seemed to make you happy back then were sleeping and being close to me.” She giggled lightly. “Not much has changed, has it?” The photograph vanished and the two snuggled closer together, smiling all the while. A long silence took hold, punctuated by the crackling of the fire next to them. Yet despite the blissful warmth of the scene, a dull awkwardness still hung in the air. They both knew that there were still words to be said, and Twilight was the first to break the ice. “Spike?” “Yeah?” “I want you to know how much I love you, and how much I care about you. Way back in Canterlot, when Shining Armor left home, you were the only real friend I had. Whenever I needed help with anything or got sad, you were there to help and cheer me up. I can’t even imagine how much different... how much worse my life would’ve been if I didn’t have you by my side all these years.” Spike said nothing, he just listened attentively. “I’ve never had a friend like you, and I don’t think I ever will have another friend like you. We’ve been through so much together, and I’ll never forget everything that you’ve done for me. You always know exactly what to say and how to help me, and you’ve never once given up on me even when I’m on the verge of catastrophe.” “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you for how much you’ve helped me grow in my life, Spike, but I just want you to know that I appreciate it. I really, really do. You’re more important to me than any book or project could ever be, and there’s no replacement for something that valuable. You really are like family to me and I don’t ever want to lose what we have. I don’t ever want to make you feel like I don’t appreciate you... or love you.” Spike shifted beneath the blanket. Twilight’s voice was growing noticeably sadder. “What you said last night... about me not caring about you or your happiness... none of it’s true. Seeing how much hurt there was in your eyes yesterday made me hurt just as much, and I hated myself more than ever when you told me how you felt. I failed you yesterday, Spike, and I can’t change that. Just like how this memory we’re in right now will always make us happy, the memories of what happened yesterday will always make us sad. The most important thing to realize, though, is that I never meant to hurt you. I would never intentionally do anything to jeopardize your happiness or our friendship, because there’s nothing that matters to me more than those two things.” Spike sniffled. “Nothing?” “Nothing.” The innocent little dragon wiped a forearm at his eye, and frowned. “Then what happened?” “What do you mean?” “If you really mean all those things you said... then why weren’t you there yesterday? Why didn’t you show up and just left me that terrible note instead?” Twilight took a small, thoughtful moment of silence. “...I forgot.” Spike stared at her incredulously. “You forgot?” She nodded, frowning. “But... how?” Twilight thought for a second before answering. “Have you noticed that I’ve been waking up earlier than usual for the past few months?” “How could I not? You’re not usually one to break a schedule.” Spike’s frown deepened as he considered what he’d just said. “I know. It’s because I’ve been so on edge ever since I sent out my spell thesis all those months ago.” Sudden puzzlement filled Spike’s expression. “Spell thesis?” “I was keeping it a secret since I wanted to surprise everypony. You know how much I’ve always wanted to make a difference in magical history, and this spell thesis was my chance to do that. I sent it in to Canterlot University three months ago and it’s been in the back of my mind ever since, making me constantly nervous. I didn’t know how long it would take for them to get back to me, and I couldn’t stop worrying about whether or not they would like it or if they’d just pass it off as nothing; you know how paranoid I can get when I’m worried about things. Because of that, it was hard to focus on anything else and little things kept slipping my mind. Turns out it just happened to make one big thing slip my mind too.” Spike considered her explanation for a bit. “I guess that makes sense.” “But that still doesn’t excuse anything. My obligations to my friends should always be top priority, regardless of whatever else tempts me to say otherwise. But even I can’t be the perfect prioritizer all the time. I let my own selfish desires get in the way of what really mattered, and that caused me to hurt the friend I care about most of all. I’m sorry Spike. I’m so, so sorry.” It took Spike a minute to get over his emotions. When he finally did, he grinned and replied, “Why do you always have to learn lessons the hard way?” Twilight chuckled softly and then took him into a warm embrace, one which he happily returned. They stayed frozen in their timeless, loving embrace for what could’ve been years. Neither of them wanted to let the moment end as the warmth of the room fueled their emotions, keeping the two best friends safe with each other. When the hug finally came to an end, Spike looked up at the purple unicorn, one last question nagging at his mind. “What about that note?” Twilight giggled timidly. “That was just poor word choice on my part. I didn’t mean to diminish the value of your day, I just wanted to tell you that I was gonna be gone all day since I got called up to Canterlot University to finalize the publication of my spell.” At this, Spike beamed. “They’re gonna publish your spell?! Twilight that’s fantastic! When do I get to see it?! What book is it gonna be in? What—” A lavender hoof had been placed over his mouth, silencing him. “Shh,” Twilight told him soothingly, “We can talk about all that later. For now, let’s just forget everything else and enjoy our time here. Just you, and me.” Spike smiled the warmest smile he could manage and snuggled in even closer to his friend. They rekindled their quiet embrace, closed their eyes, and fell into a deep, friendly slumber. The logs of the fireplace burned brightly at their side, never dimming, never breaking, never dying.