//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: Close The Case // by The Rainbow Blunderbolt //------------------------------// Chapter Four “Spike…” The small dragon twitched helplessly as the intruding finger poked him on his sensitive nose relentlessly and mercilessly. He grumbled and turned over onto his other side, eager to get back to his dream about Rarity’s luscious white backside that was just itching to… “Spike…” There it was again. Spike growled as he tried to will whatever was making it away with only his mind. No matter how impossible that idea was, he could care less about that and more about how much more sleep he could get. If only the stupid finger would go away and leave him in peace once again. With sloppy tired movements, he grasped the closet edge of his blanket that he could find and pulled it over him so that he could almost be mistaken for a caterpillar just getting ready to crawl out of its glittering cocoon. But, unlike said caterpillar, he was for from ready to get out of this comfortable shell. “Spike! For dragon’s sake, get your butt up!” Unfortunately for him, he soon found himself flung from the rocky terrain onto some more, only this time it wasn’t comfortable in the least, and the blanket he had so treasured in the night was nowhere to be found. His eyes flew open and his head spun around wildly, looking for the vile perpetrator who could have been so cruel to have taken his beloved bed-rag, but the only being other than himself that he found was Garble. His wild look of surprise was replaced by a disappointed frown. Of all the things to wake up to, it had to be this teenage dirt bag holding his blanket, he thought in annoyance. “Jeez, Spike, I’ve been trying to get you up for, like, an hour now,” Garble told him irritably, his claws on his broad waist and his snout marred by an obvious frown. “You sure are a heavy sleeper.” “Sorry,” Spike apologized half-heartedly, rubbing his eyes over and over again. “I was just having a really good dream…” "Well you can tell me about it later, squirt,” Garble replied. He took a gentle hold on Spike’s head and lifted him into a standing position, much to Spike’s surprise and displeasure. “Right now, we need to get going. If we want to make it to that mountain before…unpleasant things happen, then we need to hurry up and get going.” Already the dragon was pulling on him, trying to move both of them out of the cave when Spike wasn’t at all ready. Why was he in such a hurry? What unpleasant things was he going on about? What was going on around here? As much as he would like to get this whole thing over with as quickly as possible, he didn’t see the rush in everything like Garble did. He had to admit, however, that things were getting pretty shifty, but he just couldn’t figure out why. “What things?” he asked impatiently, not willing to let Garble drag him around like a ragdoll just yet. “Garble, what in the wide world of Equestria are you talking about?” Unexpectedly, the larger dragon let go of him and whirled around to face him. His eyes were like liquid flame that sent a shiver down Spike’s spine. Suddenly, Spike felt like there were more eyes, watching him from every possible angle there was. He felt exposed and vulnerable, like something was ready to pounce on him at any moment without an ounce of mercy. Spike was sure that this feeling was fear, but how could a look, one measly look, invoke all of these feelings from depths of his body that he didn’t even know existed? “It’s better to not know that right now, Spike,” Garble told him, his tone of voice chilling. “Trust me, you’ll find out soon enough, but it would only distract you from what you’re doing.” Somehow, he found that he would much rather be oblivious to everything that was happening in the dragon empire right now, lest he wanted to end up like… He let out an audible gulp, nodded, and then followed Garble outside the cave without another word. The blanket had been quickly packed with all of his other stuff and was now hunched onto his back haphazardly. Although it didn’t feel at all comfortable, his companion had insisted that they get moving as soon as possible, to avoid…traffic, Garble had told him. Spike had been quick to agree. Before they knew it they were on their way once again. It was quieter than Spike had expected, but that was just fine for him. The only thing was that everything just seemed to be too quiet, especially for dragon territory. Usually there was always some strange growling sound in the distance caused by some creature that he could never quite make out, but this…this was silence. Not even a bird seemed to be out and about. It unnerved him, and he was trying not to let it show. “Hey, Spike? Are you okay?” Garble asked from beside him. Unfortunately for him, Garble had indeed seen his unease, and was now calling him out on it. Spike sighed. That certainly wasn’t something that he wanted, but there was really nothing that he could do about it either. He figured that the best route for him now was to just roll along with it so it would be over with all the more quickly. If there was one thing he wasn’t all that eager to do, it was sharing his feelings with a teenage dragon that he had known for about three days. “Why is it so quiet?” Spike asked. Garble looked up at the sky, an unreadable expression on his face. “I don’t know. Dragons are usually up by now. Maybe we’re just…I don’t know, off the map?” Spike wasn’t exactly amused by the answer. Garble seemed to pick this up quickly. “Look, I don’t know,” Garble sighed in exasperation. “I’ve never heard it so quiet either, okay? It’s…kind of creepy. But, I’m guessing that it has something to do with…” “Them, yeah, I got it,” Spike cut in. “But what’s with this whole conspiracy going on? If I can even call it that. And why aren’t you telling me anything, anyway? You know this whole thing would go a lot quicker if you just told me what was going on instead of keeping me in the dark like this. Maybe I could even help.” The words seemed to slip out on their own, not even registering in his mind before he said them. If Garble agreed to that, then what had he gotten himself into? All he wanted to do was go home, and now there was a possibility that might not happen for a while. “You would really help us?” Garble looked surprised, shocked even, and Spike couldn’t seem to imagine why. Then, he cleared his throat and his stern gaze returned in an instant. “But, then again I’m not sure that a squirt like you can really do anything about what’s happening here. And don’t you want to get back to Pony-center, or whatever the heck it’s called?” “Pony-VILLE,” Spike corrected, putting emphasis on the last syllable, hoping to get it through the dragon’s thick skull after so many Celestia-damned times. He hesitated after that. If he was being brutally honest with himself, he had no idea what he wanted to do. Whether he wanted to help these dragons, or get back to his friends, his family, his home. The choice was much too unclear for him at the moment, and he didn’t particularly want to get used to this feeling. With another quick look at the dragon he simply answered, “Maybe.” “Maybe?” It seemed like that answer wasn’t exactly the best choice for the dragon unfortunately. With a resigned sigh, Garble gazed pleadingly at his young companion. “Look, squirt, we need all the help we can get, and if you’re willing to try…well…another pair of claws is always a good thing, I guess. Even if it comes from some softy like you.” Spikes cheeks burned. Why was it that Spike felt so awkward right now, so hot and uncomfortable that he just wanted to run away from it all? Wasn’t he over his fear of this strange land now that Garble was here? Or maybe he just felt like he would be abandoning his friends if he did this, and surely he couldn’t do that, not when they were in such a time of need. Right? Could it be something else? That was something he wanted to figure out at night in a cool, damp cave, where no prying eyes would be on him, choking him for every answer he could come up with. “Can we just keep going?” he asked, frowning. “We still have a long way to go, and I want to go before anything else finds us first.” Without waiting to see if Garble had followed him, he had started walking along the trail that led to the large mountain that was still so far away in the distance. He began to feel displeased by how much disappointment he felt whenever he saw just how far he had to go. Quickly, he let the feeling go as he heard heavy footsteps walking up behind him. “Okay, fine,” Garble replied, sighing heavily as he uttered his reply. “Just think about it, okay?” Spike didn’t reply. “Please?” “Okay, okay, I said I would try, didn’t I? Let’s just stop talking and go!” The morning was filled with nothing more than birds chirping, strange dragons roaring in the distance, and a very awkward silence between the two adolescent companions. Spike kept his head forward, not quite willing to turn his head slightly to the right to let Garble give him a strange look of uncertainty; the look that both of them usually had when they gave each other the time of day. Even that, however, was rare. Now, he just wasn’t willing. It didn’t seem to be much of a problem for Garble, who seemed kind of relieved to have the sudden silence between them. Spike just felt awkward, and he involuntarily envied Garble for his ability to tune out any unwanted arguments. So, gripping his small pack of belongings, he looked around instead, being too obviously careful to not look anywhere in Garble’s direction, with the exception of just over his head. Unfortunately, this only made it all the more awkward as Garble always seemed to be looking in his direction, and Spike couldn’t seem to keep his embarrassment from showing. More times than he should have, Spike thought about turning around and leaving Garble to fend for himself, for him to forget that this had ever happened and get on with his life back in Ponyville, but he knew that he wouldn’t allow himself to do that. Still, it seemed so tempting, like an itch that he just couldn’t scratch, so to speak, and oh how he wanted to scratch it. Spike mumbled something to himself that even he couldn’t seem to catch. Everything was just going wrong, and there was nothing to take his mind off it. No excitement, no nothing. There wasn’t even a bird flying about overhead. It was like the universe was trying to make the two adolescent dragons work together. Spike swore that… Wait… Garbles hand was pushing him back, and the larger body was moving in front of him. Spike felt his throat constrict in nervousness, and his eyes widened unmercifully. Maybe there was nothing to worry about, Spike thought to himself optimistically, trying so hard to stay calm. There was probably just something in the way, or another attempt to get spike to help out with something that he couldn’t possible hope to understand. “I think something’s following us.” Spike heard himself squeak something at a level only akin to Fluttershy. Was this why Garble was so quiet the whole time, and not just because he was humoring Spike? “Are…are you sure?” Spike gulped, nervously, clutching his pack even tighter. He took a deep breath, scrambling to calm his frayed nerves, but with no noticeable luck. “I’m pretty sure,” Garble replied, taking his hand off Spike at last. “But I don’t think it realizes we know it’s there now. If we just keep walking normally, I don’t think we’ll have a problem with it.” “I have a problem with it!” Spike squeaked out, biting his scaly lip. “Look, I don’t think that it’s the best thing in the world either, but we have to keep moving,” Garble urged, pushing him forward. “There’s no telling what that thing is, and I don’t really want to find out. If you want to, go ahead, but…” “Okay, okay!” Spike sighed, rolling his eyes. He shakily moved his feet forward down the path once again, trying to act as if nothing had happened. But, he noticed that he was sticking very close to Garble’s side. For what, he wondered? A sense of security, perhaps? Companionship? It was more likely to be the first one, since there was no way he was going to act friendly now, not with the ever-looming danger that just happened to be behind them. “Let’s just get moving before…whatever it is that’s following us catches up.” Garble didn’t put up much of a fight as he and Spike trekked onwards, this time at a considerably faster pace than just a few minutes ago. Although Spike should have been used to this kind of thing by now, considering what he had been doing these past few days, the little dragon couldn’t keep the growing anxiety from making a home in the center of his chest. Slowly, he glanced up at Garble. Surprisingly, it looked like the two were in the same boat. That was odd, Spike thought to himself. Usually it was Garble who was the calm steady one of the two, never bothering to show how he was really feeling to Spike. Not that Spike minded. In all actuality, he was glad that he wasn’t the only one on this trip who actually had feelings. Maybe dragons weren’t as fearless as he had once thought. With that thought in mind, he raised his head a little bit higher, feeling as though his pride (and perhaps his head) was higher than the trees flanking either side of them. Though, he knew that it was going to be a little while longer until he was actually that tall. Other than the feeling of dread that he was so desperately trying to put behind him, it was a rather quiet day, with nothing much as a cricket chirping in the distance to bother them. How could it get any better than this? Perhaps he shouldn’t answer that. It wasn’t like he wanted to anyways. Besides, not talking wasn’t the best of things he could think of doing. He tried to keep himself busy, since it didn’t look like Garble wanted to have a conversation with him. Spike thought of Twilight, he thought of Rainbow Dash, he thought of home, he thought of why he was here in the first place. If that wasn’t enough, then he could always think of what was following him, and what would most likely happen if they stopped. And if that didn’t keep him motivated, then he wasn’t sure what would. After a while of walking, his feet began to get tired, and he swore that his pack became about ten pounds heavier. He rolled narrowed eyes up towards Garble, hoping to see a look that gave away how tired the elder dragon was, but there was no such thing, as usual. "Garble?” he began, making sure to keep his voice fairly quiet. “Can we take a break for a few minutes? I think we’re far enough ahead of it now.” The elder dragon looked at Spike suspiciously, but said nothing otherwise. Somehow, though, Spike could sense that he wasn’t happy. Another surprise was that Spike was almost expecting that. He was used to Garble’s attitude by now, which was most likely a good thing. Garble looked behind them quickly, then back to Spike. He grimaced. “Well…you could be right. I don’t think it would hurt us too much if we found a spot to sit for the night.” He looked up at the ever-pinking sky with scrutinizing eyes, judging every detail that there was. “But in the morning we have to move fast. If the thing hasn’t already slit out throats while we were sleeping.” Spike gulped. “Well, you never know,” he said sheepishly. “It could be friendly.” “Around here? Nothing’s friendly,” Garble laughed. “You learn after a while that this is a dragon-eat-dragon world, and that it’s survival of the fittest around here.” He looked back behind them nervously. “And I have a feeling that thing behind us is much fitter than us.” Spike found himself agreeing with him whole-heartedly. The two slowly walked off the path, keeping an eye out for something that would provide them with a good shelter for the night, one that would also keep them well-hidden as well. Unless, of course, the thing had already found them and was just waiting for the right time to strike. Spike shuddered as he thought about it. Since when had this become a game of hide-and-go-seek, only much more deadly? Maybe it should be called hide-and-go-kill. The little dragon shook his head as he tried to get those thoughts out of his head. Now wasn’t the time to be questioning what horrible creature was stalking them, now was the time to concentrate on finding somewhere to sleep. But everywhere he looked, it was either trees, bushes, or more trees. Maybe some rocks here and there, but nothing that could provide them with anything worth-while, unfortunately. Even worse for them, it was getting rather late, and that meant it was getting dark. Pretty soon it would be difficult to see his claw in front of his face, and then surely they would be… “Over here!” Garble’s husky excited whisper broke through his shield of woe as he felt a large hand grab him and pull him to the side. Spike barely had time to react and keep his tight hold of his things in his claws, but somehow he managed, and he let Garble drag him for Celestia knew how long until he was thrown onto a hard rocky surface. He grunted and saw Garble moving some vines over the entrance of the large cave that they were apparently now in, and realized that they were now locked away in some magnificent hiding spot that Garble had miraculously found. “I think this is good,” Garble said to him as soon as he sat down beside his small companion. “From what I got, I don’t think that anything that could have been on our tail can find this; we covered our tracks pretty decently.” “That’s good, now can I go to sleep? I’m tired,” he complained, already collapsing onto his side and curling his tail around himself. Garble mumbled something that Spike couldn’t pick up if he tried, not that he wanted to anyways. Spike closed his eyes and let his body relax with particular ease. His mind followed, and soon, all he could feel was a dark black shadow coming over him, and taking him into the realm of sweet unconsciousness where dreamland awaited him so faithfully. All around him was fire. Everything was burning. He could hear screams from all around him, animals flying past him into the thick brush of the forest. But from what, he asked himself? He kept spinning and swirling, looking for the source, but always coming up empty-handed. It was frustrating to say the least, but something kept pushing him to look. Always looking, always searching, always coming up with nothing. Every one of his instincts told him that he needed to get away, that he needed to run as fast as his legs could carry him away from the flames that were about to lick his body with their fiery embrace. How could he do that, though, when he needed to find it? But what was it? What was it that he was looking for, he wondered. He searched and searched, racking his brain looking for detail, but he could not find the answer. The flames were starting to close in all around him, and the screams began to get louder, and they became…blood-curdling. It was like the dead being awakened from eternal sleep, one that they wanted to stay in. His breathing grew rapid until he thought his little heart was going to shoot out from his chest. Spike’s claws curled around up his ear fins, trying to block out the horrible sound. It hurt, and he wasn’t able to get away from it. For one instant, he stopped his desperate searching to try and find an exit instead. There was none, only flames, only the orange wall of flames drawing ever closer. And he swore that above all the flames and screams, he heard another voice, someone he swore he knew, screaming as well. Screaming words that he knew he should be able to understand, but couldn’t. He began to open his mouth to speak back, but doing so only worsened his condition, and he quickly covered it again. His vision was getting watery because of the smoke, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking that he saw a flash of…rainbow? A portion of the flames opened up and he saw a scene that he was unlikely to ever forget. It was Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, that he was sure of. The two pegasi were standing in front of a huge red dragon that was opening its mouth. Even from where he was standing and from how blurry his vision was becoming, he could clearly see the fire that was shooting out of the dragon’s mouth. “Fluttershy!” he heard Rainbow Dash scream. “MOVE!” The other pegasus didn’t do anything. Spike wasn’t even sure that she heard. But even so, he found himself staring at Fluttershy so intensely that he began to believe that if he looked hard enough, maybe he could will her to move. But that wasn’t what happened. Rainbow Dash screamed again for Fluttershy to get out of the way before her wings flared open, and she was already moving before Spike could register it. As the fire came closer, Rainbow Dash pushed her friend out of the way just as the flames connected with her. Spike fell to the floor as he heard the scream that came from her mouth next. His legs collapsed as he saw the flames finally stop after a good minute, and the burnt body crumpled to the floor. Fluttershy rushed over, screaming Rainbow Dash’s name over and over again, shaking the pegasus blindly. Spike was about to run over to help them, when his eyes connected with the dragons. Time froze. The piercing red orbs glared into his. And he didn’t even see the flames coming towards him until they touched his body.