Darkness was a common starting place for Princess Luna whenever she entered dreamland. From the darkness, she’d be able to find a particular dreamer and help them with their fears or anxiety. Tonight was no different.
Luna walked at a casual pace through the empty void. Her hooves echoed against an unseen stone floor. She looked around only to find nothing but darkness. She bit the inside of her cheek.
“Hello?” she called. “I’m Princess Luna, protector of dreams, is there anyone there?” Her voice echoed in the void. She sighed and continued her trek. Perhaps there isn’t anyone who’s troubled tonight. Perhaps there’s psychic residue left over from another’s nightmare. Luna squinted her eyes. A great distance away from her was a bright purple dot with hints of green at its top. The dot seemed to be standing in front of a reflective surface. As Luna got closer and closer, more details became clear. The reflective surface was a tall rectangular mirror and in front of it was a purple baby dragon that Luna was very familiar with. Luna stopped a few feet away from the dragon as he grabbed the mirror’s edge. What’s haunting you this night, Spike?
Spike spun the mirror. The darkness around them quickly disappeared and was replaced by a simple bedroom. The walls were oak with shelves of books lined up against it. A queen sized bed with a starry pattern sat against a wall and in front of it was a small basket with a blanket inside. The mirror stopped spinning and both Spike and Luna looked at it. Instead of Spike’s ordinary reflection in it, there was a taller older version of the little dragon. The reflection stood twice as tall as him and muscles bulged from under his scales. The fins along his head and spine were sharpened. The reflection was smirking and flexing.
“Looking good, Spike!” the reflection cheered. “Looking real good!” It kissed a bicep before winking at Spike. Luna giggled at the sight. Spike however, stared at the reflection with disgust in his eyes and a closed fist. He clenched his teeth.
“No,” he said raising his fist. “No I’m not.” Spike punched through the mirror. It shattered and the scenery followed suit. Luna hopped around pieces of the falling scenery. The last shard of the mirror touched the ground. Spike sighed. “It’s all wrong.” New fragments of mirror formed in the empty frame as the scenery rebuilt itself.
Instead of being in the simplistic bedroom, Spike and Luna stood in a perfectly round room with lavender paint on the walls. A four poster bed sat by the door with a red floral pattern blanket covering it. Around the mirror were a number of mannequins and a work desk with a sewing machine on top of it. Once the mirror repaired itself, another taller version of Spike was in the mirror. Rather than being muscular, the reflection had an hour glass figure wearing a black dress. The dress was styled like a cocktail dress but with a single loose sleeve over the reflection’s right arm. Over its left bicep was a silver armlet shaped like a spring. At the ends of the spring were arrows pointing in opposite directions. The reflection was wearing false curled eye lashes and gold eyeliner had been applied around the eyes. Lipstick matching the eyeliner was on the reflection’s lips which were curled up into a smile. The fins were rounded and parted slightly to the left. The claws had gold hoof polish painted at the end of them. While the reflection marveled at itself, a white unicorn with a curled purple mane appeared behind it.
“You look beautiful, Spike,” the unicorn said.
“I couldn’t have done it without your help,” the reflection said in a melodic female voice. “Thank you, Rarity.”
“Don’t thank me just yet.” The reflection of Rarity lit up her horn. A fire shaped emerald on a golden chain was brought in front of the reflection. It gasped as Rarity put it around its neck. “What do you think?”
“I love it!” The reflection scooped Rarity up in a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! It’s perfect! I couldn’t be happier!”
Spike trembled. “I wish I could say the same,” he said. “And it’s still wrong.” He kicked the mirror and again it shattered, the scenery following close behind. Spike and Luna were left back in the darkness with only the mirror’s frame and multiple fragments on the pseudo ground. In each fragment was a piece of the former reflections. Some of them held the hyper masculine Spike while the others had the hyper feminine Spike. Spike knelt down, picking up various pieces. He fit them into the frame one after another. Luna watched the baby dragon work in silence. She frowned as he got higher and higher up the frame. That must have haunted you for years. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can help you. Spike placed the last piece in the center of the mirror. He stepped back to admire his work. Though fractured, the new reflection had a perfect balance of both of the former reflections.
Spike smiled, and the reflection did the same. He reached out with his hand to touch the mirror he had created. As soon as his fingers touched it, the mirror shattered once more. The frame had broken and fell with the mirror shards. As all of the pieces fell, they slowly crumbled into silver sand. Spike’s eyes widened.
“No,” he whispered. “No, no, no!” He grabbed onto the sand, much of it sinking through his fingers. Tears started forming in his eyes. “It was right.” Spike fell to his knees, a pile of sand falling from both of his hands. “It was finally right.” Tears freely flowed down his cheeks.
Luna immediately rushed behind Spike. She wrapped her forelegs around him, his eyes widening in surprise.
“What?” He turned around. “P-princess Luna?”
“It’s okay, Spike,” she cooed. “It’s okay.” Spike, at a loss for words, closed his eyes and continued crying. “How long?”
“Too long.”
“Does anypony know?” Spike shook his head. Luna tightened her hug. “There’s nothing I can do or say. Unfortunately it’s all on your shoulders. But, if you need a friend, I’m always there for you. Okay?”
“Okay,” Spike mumbled. He opened his eyes. Instead of being in darkness he was lying in his basket with the covers over him. His pillow felt wet and so did his cheeks. Spike wiped the last of his tears away and slowly climbed out of his covers.