The days passed, the hole left behind by Tom’s dying was obvious in the faces of nearly everypony in town. Applejack and her family had set up their stall in the centre of town, and their best selling product was “Tom’s blend.” Either out of respect or out of actual enjoyment I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed that everywhere I went, everyone was drinking the golden liquid.
No one had seen Twilight for quite a while now. She hadn’t seemed to have come out of the library since the night of the funeral. I couldn’t help but feel slightly at fault, I had lost my temper and set out to upset her with my angry words. Now she didn’t seem to want anything to do with anyone. If that wasn’t bad enough I knew that the only person who would help me find out the meaning of my dreams would be the purple unicorn.
The dreams wouldn’t stop, each and every night it was that same dark blue cloud filled with stars. The longer I went, the more I believed it to be memory and not fantasy. If it had been, nightmare moon’s magic then that meant it hadn’t been an accident. Tom had been killed. I sat in my living room, staring at the picture of the two of us at the gala. Why? Why would that dark Alicorn want to kill Tom? Unless... it had been me she wanted to kill. In that case it was my fault Tom was dead. All these thoughts raced through my mind faster than a sonic rain boom.
There was a soft knock at the door, I looked up. From where I was sitting I could look out of the window and onto the front doorstep, or at least the top half of the door was in view. There didn’t seem to be anyone there, had I imagined it? This house made all kinds of noises these days, maybe it had been a pipe expanding or something. ‘knock-knock’ that was definitely the door...
“Uhhhh Rainbow Dash, you in there? I uhhhh I need to talk to you... about Twilight.” It was spike! I jumped from the sofa and wrenched open the door a little too enthusiastically, the dragon was surprised and stumbled back slightly.
“Uhmmm hey Rainbow... Do you think we could talk?” The dragon looked deflated, his green spikes seemed to droop and his purple scales had seemed to have lost their sheen.
“Sure Spike, come in.” I moved to the side and let Spike in. He really was getting bigger, I couldn’t understand how I hadn’t spotted him outside the door.
The dragon came into the large living room, he looked around the room. The poor little guy looked slightly lost. “Uhh Spike? You ok?” The dragon seemed to snap out of his train of thought.
“Uhh yeah, sorry.” He walked over to the sofa and sat down, he held his hands in front of him and twiddled his thumbs thoughtfully, and a frown was beginning to crease across his forehead. “I-It’s Twilight... she... she seems to be struggling with... something. Maybe I shouldn’t have come!” He jumped back off the sofa and started towards the door, but he stopped again. I’d never seen the little dragon so frazzled.
“Come on Spike, what’s up? You can tell me.” I was sure I knew what Twilight had been “Struggling” with, but I wanted to hear it from her assistant before I took any action. The dragon looked up at me smiling slightly out of embarrassment.
“Well, the night of Toms... you know, she was pretty upset. I was in bed, but I kinda woke up when you and Twilight started shouting.” He rubbed the spines of the back of his neck. “I kinda guessed what it was about and everything, and to be honest I even think I’m on your side but...” It was obviously hard to say it. “She barely comes out of her room, and when she does it’s only for some food. Then she just takes it back upstairs with her. I thought about sending a letter to the Princess but I thought I’d ask for your help first.”
I felt slightly confused, “My help? Why my help?” at that question Spike blushed slightly.
“Well, not only are you the only other pony going through what she is but... you’re also the only pony I know who’s too stubborn to give up trying to help her...” I couldn’t help but smile at that. My friend –both the one in this house, and the one in the library- needed me. How could I refuse.
“Ok, Spike. Just let me clean up a little, then we can go. I just need to think about what I’m going to do. Don’t really want to go putting my hoof in my mouth again.” The dragon chuckled and sat down patiently.
I swiped up the cushions strewn across the floor and flung them back onto their sofa’s, it was more ‘rearranging’ than tidying. As I took an empty plate out and into the kitchen, I heard the Spike let out a thoughtful “Huh...” I twisted my head around the corner to look at him. He was stood on the sofa’s armrest looking at a picture, it was of me and the girls at the gala. In fact it was the same gala that the picture of me and Tom had been taken.
“’Sup spike?” the dragon turned to me with a bemused smile.
“I didn’t know Tom had met Princess Luna at the gala.” WHAT!
The plate fell to the floor with a smash as I dropped it and ran to the framed picture. Spike was so startled he fell off the arm and hit the floor with an almost comical flump. I stared into the small image, my face half reflected in the glass. There we all where, Twilight in the centre, with me and Applejack on either side of her, Rarity and Fluttershy stood to the side of AJ and Pinkie stood to my side. But in the corner. Just over pinkies shoulder. There they were. Tom was talking animatedly to a Pony with wings and a horn, her coat was a very dark shade of blue. And her mane seemed to flow behind her.
I was stunned, I hadn’t even known Tom was in this picture, in fact I had been sure he wasn’t. What is it in the man’s face? He’s talking flamboyantly as always, but what is that look on his face? Concern? Despair?...Fear?
“Uhhh Rainbow? Are you ok? Whats the matt”- I bolted from the room, ducking my head under the dragon’s legs and hoisting him onto my back. I ran to the library, my wings itched to fly and so I unfurled them but even with all my thought behind the action, I couldn’t bring myself to flap them. Pathetic, a Pegasus who couldn’t even bring herself to flap her wings! I furled them back in tight to my sides and continued to the library.