A Dragon's Detour

by Nrdygrl

In the Shadows

Chapter Eleven

“In the Shadows”

Spike couldn’t even focus during art class. His painting ended up very sloppy. Another nice teacher, Miss Pastel was still patient with him, as it was the first day. Misty, (to his ultimate disgust) was put next to him. He began to notice she was really good at painting. He was a bit confused at what she was painting, exactly. It looked like a giant tear, but it was blue in some parts and black or gray in others. He stared at it for a few moments until she said,
“Enjoying the view?” And she smirked. Spike raised an eyebrow at her.
“I was just looking at your painting.”
“Sure you were…” she said winking at him. Spike wanted to throw up.
“I wasn’t staring at you!” he said in disgust.
“I’m just messing with you,” she replied. “Would you take a chill pill?!” Misty sighed and moved the brush over the canvas again.
“Why is the tear black?” Spike asked curiously. She raised her eyebrows and gave him a ‘it’s none of your business’ look. Then he realized the question was stupid. The girl was a goth. Why wouldn’t the tear be black?!
“Well…maybe if you didn’t wear so much makeup…” Spike started to say until Miss Pastel hushed him.
This was the last class of the day and Spike had a massive headache after everything he learned. Fractions….Equestrian history….plant structures….nouns….disgusting lunch….letter….Princess Celestia….Comatose….eat it….before Treasure Seekers find it……mixing colors together just makes brown in the end…..Misty….barf….bell….the end….homework….dorms….SLEEP! Everything ran together. Next was homework, and he had a LOT of it! He dreaded tomorrow, too, because instead of art it was gym class. Spike knew all too well there was no Twilight for him to ride on to catch up to the others. However, this was the least of his worries. He had to talk to Sparky more about this Comatose.
When dinner came, Spike’s head was about to explode. He entered the cafeteria again, the room was just spinning. He couldn’t find Sparky anywhere. He didn’t care if Misty was there or not, because he despised her. He walked with his tray of food through the room, looking for a place to sit and hoping he could break out of his daze. All of a sudden, he bumped into someone.
“Hey! Watch it!” came a deep, growling voice from above him. Spike looked up to see a very big dragon who was wearing a sports jacket. He looked like a bully…that was certain. He glared down at Spike and crossed his arms.
“Oh, hey…sorry there, bro,” said Spike trying not to look terrified. “It’s been one of those days, you know? So…we’re cool, right?” The older dragon glared at him again and huffed. His icy breath sent shivers down Spike’s spine.
“You cross me again, pipsqueak, and I’ll turn you into a popsicle!” Just then, there came a voice from behind him.
“Hey, Blizzard! Chill, okay?” Crystal smiled at him and crossed her arms. “Spike’s cool. Go easy on him, okay?” She flipped her hair a little. The bully growled a little and stormed away. Crystal smiled at Spike.
“Hey, Spike, sorry about him. He’s my ex-boyfriend. He thinks he’s pretty tough, but I still keep him in line.”
“Oh,” said Spike nodding. Based upon what Sparky and Misty said about Crystal, as well as the photo she was in, he wasn’t sure if he should be talking to her or not. However, she did save him from getting potentially beaten up by a bully. She smiled sweetly at him and flipped her hair again. Spike couldn’t help but check her out. She was wearing a pretty pink shirt and skirt and just enough makeup to make her beautiful eyes pop out. As he was admiring her beauty, he jumped when a familiar low voice sounded right behind him.
“What are you doing?!” Spike whirled around and looked right into Misty’s eyes. She was glaring at him fiercely. She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at Crystal. “Why are you talking to HER?! Don’t you have a brain?!” She said it loud enough for Crystal herself to hear.
“Would you just leave me alone for two minutes of the day?!” Spike said with clenched teeth. “I know what I’m doing!” Misty rolled her eyes.
“If I were you…I wouldn’t even think of associating with….”
“Well, you aren’t me! ARE you?!” said Spike gruffly. Misty huffed and gave a warning glance to Crystal. She left, to Spike’s relief. He turned back to Crystal.
“Well…isn’t she nice?” said Crystal looking down and sighing.
“I’m sorry…” said Spike looking down too.
“Hey, it’s not your fault!” said Crystal smiling. “Some dragons are just judgmental.” She approached him, reached out and touched his arm. “Listen, Spike,” she whispered, leaning close to him. He blushed severely. “I think your friends have created a false rumor about me….or just think and don’t confront me about it. They think I was talking to ‘shady characters’, right? Well…those are some of my and Blizzard’s friends! How do they know me and my parents were talking to the others in the alleyway to get out of the way of those walking by? Eyes can be deceiving and these things are not always what they seem. I just want you to know you can trust me, Spike!” Spike smiled and nodded.
“I think I believe you,” he said. “Misty and Sparky are just being paranoid or something. I don’t think you would do something bad.” Crystal smiled brightly.
“Thank you, Spike! I think you’re so sweet. Well…I had a quick dinner and now I better get back to the girl’s dorm and get started on by homework, but I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Y-yeah….I’ll…see you, Crystal,” said Spike weakly. Hearts started filling his eyes again as he watched her walk gracefully away.

_____________________________________

Later that night, Spike sat on his bunk, finishing up the last of his homework with Sparky.
“What do you think of this last one?” asked Spike curiously.
“That one’s tricky,” said the red dragon. “But I think the answer is 24.” Spike shrugged.
“24 it is!” he said marking it on his paper. He slammed the book shut and sighed. “Finally done!”
“Ugh…that was brutal, man!” said Sparky stretching. “So…I heard you talked to Crystal today.”
“I’m sure Misty told you…” said Spike rolling his eyes.
“Oh, yeah,” said the red dragon raising his eyebrows. “She was on the warpath big time!”
“I don’t get her,” said Spike. “She acts all buddy-buddy with me one minute and then starts yelling at me the next.”
“You have to understand the way her mind works, Spike,” said Sparky sighing. “She’s just trying to protect you. If that means yelling at you, then that’s what she’ll do. Trust me, I’ve had to live with her for like…eight years now. I know her.”
“What happened to you guys’s parents?” Spike asked carefully. Sparky looked down and sighed.
“Misty hates it being mentioned and doesn’t want me to talk about it.”
“I don’t care what she says,” said Spike crossing his arms. “You shouldn’t either. You should be able to decide whether to share it or not.” Sparky shrugged.
“If I did, she’d never forgive me,” he said sighing. “She’d be heartbroken. Spike, she’s a water dragon and I’m a fire dragon….and it’s a wonder we’ve been friends this long. But I really do care about her. She and I have been through so much, and she really depends on me, because I’ve all she’s got now. If I betray her, she’ll feel as if she’s lost me too, okay? Another thing, you do not want to see her cry. I’ve seen it many a time and it’s not a pretty sight. She feels so much, Spike. You have no idea what she goes through every day. I handle it better than she does, but she….” He shook his head sadly.
“Is that why she’s all weird and gothic?” asked Spike curiously. Sparky nodded.
“And now we’re inseparable,” the red dragon said sighing. “Though, sometimes I wish we could just go our separate ways…you know?” Spike looked down sadly.
“Oh…yeah…” he said sighing.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Sparky asked.
“Just….” said Spike shrugging. “For me it’s the opposite. I want to stay with my best friend Twilight, but….what if she really will be better off without me? What if it is really time for me to move on? Did Princess Celestia really intend for me to leave Twi for good?”
“She didn’t really say,” said Sparky. All I know is what she wrote in the note and what she said to us when she gave us the letter to deliver to you. She didn’t say anything about that. You’d have to ask her yourself to know.” Spike snapped his fingers. He had completely forgotten he could’ve used magic fire and sent her a note himself this whole time! He pulled a piece of paper out of his notebook and grabbed a pen.
“Hey, do you want the top bunk?” Sparky asked him. “I tested it out and I think I’d rather be on the bottom now.”
“Sure,” said Spike. He unzipped his suitcase and grabbed a random gem from it. He popped it in his mouth, shoved his suitcase at the foot of the bottom bunk and climbed onto it, pen and paper in hand. A dark figure appeared in the doorway. It was Mr. Tangent telling them it was ‘Lights Out’ (10:00). (He was responsible for the boy dragons and Head Mistress Haldana was responsible for the girl dragons.) Spike was a bit annoyed that he had to try and write a letter to the princess in the dark. However, he was right next to a window, where Luna’s moon glowed brightly. He wrote carefully and quietly until it was finished. He then paused to read it over as best he could.

Dear Princess Celestia,
Your two loyal servants Sparky and Misty delivered your message to me. I must say, right now, I feel very confused. I would like to know for sure if you ever really intended for me to leave Twilight for good. I’m really not sure if I can take this challenge you put before me. If I possibly can, I will find the Comatose for you, but I hope you will understand if I just can’t be here any longer. For now, I need to wait and see what I need to do.
~Spike

Satisfied, he eased the window open gently and blew the letter into the night air with a misty puff of green flames. He wrapped the blankets over him and rested his head down on the pillow. After only a couple minutes, he felt a burp approaching rapidly. He sat up and let out a very loud, very sudden belch that made the entire dorm room, at first silent, erupt in laughter. Spike blushed, even though it was too dark to see it. He felt the scroll collapse on his lap. After the room quieted down, he opened the scroll and squinted to read it.

Dear Spike,
When I sent you to this new school, I only ever intended for you to find the Comatose. No, my little dragon, I never expected for you to leave your very best friend, Twilight Sparkle forever! I apologize I had to deceive you in the very first letter when I said you’d be re-assigned. I had to find a logical way to get you to the school without Twilight and the others staying there with you for a long amount of time. I understand you feel confused and lost, Spike, but I chose you alone to complete this mission, because I know you can do it. However, I understand if you choose not to. I can only hope then, that Sparky and Misty can find a way to destroy the Comatose and stop these Treasure Seekers. I await your response, but please do something for me first: get some rest and have a good day tomorrow, my faithful little dragon.
~Princess Celestia

Spike set the scroll down and sighed. He was so glad for this, however, it didn’t change the fact that Twilight probably still wanted him gone, and she didn’t even know what was really going on. He couldn’t help but gaze out the window at Luna’s moon and wondered if Twilight was looking at it too.

________________________________

Twilight stared at the ceiling in sheer misery. She hadn’t slept at all yet. The branches of her tree-house swayed in the breeze and scrapped the windows. She hardly noticed this. There was something else keeping her awake, but she didn’t quite know what it was. She made her horn glow to see the alarm clock next to her. It was 4:08 in the morning. She let out a moan and struggled to her feet. She walked with heavy steps downstairs. The steps kept on creaking with her weight. At last, Twilight entered the downstairs part of the tree-house and looked around. Owlowiscious stared at her and cocked his head. She sighed and gazed into the library. Why was it so quiet? Something was missing….Spike was missing.
“Why?” she looked at the owl who was staring at her with concern. “Why can’t I sleep, Owlowiscious? I should be able too! It’s so quiet! For once it’s quiet! There’s….no…snoring…no…” she felt her throat start to close up as she choked over her words with tears filling her eyes. She never once thought she’d miss the snoring night after night. She bit her lip hard. No! No tears! She couldn’t! No! Twilight fought her emotions hard, but it was too much. They spilled over hard. Out came the tears, pouring out of her eyes like a waterfall of pain. Her body gave way to all the anxiety she felt that was crushing her heart. Her knees fell out from under her and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. All Owlowiscious could do was fly over and stand near her, as the only comfort she had at this point. She whimpered softly as the wave of exhaustion mixed with grief overwhelmed her down to the pit of her soul. The tears she cried cradled all the guilt….the shame…the sorrow and regret, every feeling that rotted her stomach to its core. She cried out loudly in agony, almost in anger at herself for letting him go! How could she?! She should’ve begged him to stay….should’ve proved to him how she needed him….tell him how much she really loved him, even thought she didn’t act like it sometimes. She begged for time to rewind itself. She wanted to start over! It killed her to know there was no going back now. He was gone and may never return. It was killing her!

_________________________________

Celestia’s morning sun shone through the window. Spike opened his eyes slowly and sat up. Mr. Tangent had come into the dorm loudly and yelled at the dragon boys to wake up and that it was already 6:35. Breakfast was being served at 7:00. Spike hopped down from the top bunk, pulled his school outfit out of his suitcase, and put it on. Immediately, he rushed to the boy’s bathroom to brush his teeth. He thought it was very nice the staff provided three meals a day, even if one had to pay for it. He wasn’t worried, for Twilight had given him a generous amount of money to spend. After getting ready, Spike and Sparky were sitting at a table having breakfast together.
“At least these eggs are cooked okay,” said Sparky as he chewed.
“Yeah,” said Spike nodding. “But I think some eggshell got in mine.”
“Hey? Do you think we could switch and I could sleep on the top?” the red dragon asked. Spike chuckled.
“I thought you didn’t like the top! Make up your mind, man!” he said rolling his eyes.
“Sorry,” said Sparky sheepishly. “I just didn’t sleep very well last night. I kept having a bad dream.”
“What was it about?” asked Spike nonchalantly. Sparky looked to the side and frowned.
“Nothing…” he replied shrugging. “It’s just….always the same. But…it’s stupid, don’t worry about it.” Spike raised his eyebrows.
“Hey, man, it’s okay. You can tell me!”
“No…” said Sparky fidgeting a little bit. “I’d rather not. It’s…..I’ll just deal with it on my own.”
“It’s like…what you’re afraid of, isn’t it?” said Spike, trying to figure it out himself. Sparky nodded slowly.
“Please…can we just stop talking about this now?” he asked politely. Spike nodded. Next thing he knew, Misty was next to him. He just about jumped a mile high. Even his bones practically left his body at the sight of her!
“Hey! You stay away from Crystal, you hear me?! I told you we can’t trust her, but you won’t listen to me!”
“Maybe if you weren’t so creepy and mean to me, I wouldn’t have such an issue with you!” said Spike, glaring at her. “Besides, I really think we can trust her!”
“Why is that?” said Misty raising her eyebrows at him. As he was thinking of a response, her mouth fell open. “You have a CRUSH on her, don’t you?!” Spike blushed a little.
“She’s very nice and just happens to be very pretty,” said Spike glaring even more at Misty. “She told me that she and her family were talking to some friends in an alleyway to stay off the sidewalk! That’s all it was, Misty! She knows you’ve jumped to conclusions!”
“Okay…look…for all we know the teachers could be in on this scheme! We should only trust each other, NOT any other kids or grown-up dragons in this place,” said Misty crossing her arms.
“You’re just paranoid,” said Spike rolling his eyes. All of a sudden, the lights started flickering on and off again. This time, it sounded like an ongoing power surge throughout the cafeteria. Once again, Mr. Tangent apologized for the electric malfunctions, and once again, he and the other teachers scrambled around trying to fix it.
“Okay…” said Sparky. “I fear it’s not just faulty wiring now. Look, you can see the lights on the stoves in the kitchen keep turning on and off. This mean everything plugged in is surging. I think IT is responsible.”
“The Comatose?” asked Spike curiously.
“Shh! Not so loud,” said Misty. Spike glared at her.
“Yes,” said Sparky nodding. “That’s what we were referring to yesterday. In theory, the Comatose awakes when it senses movement. So, maybe the vibrations travel into the ground and it will awake certain times of the day when there are a lot of vibrations and lets out large amounts of energy. We think this is what’s causing these electrical problems. I mean, when you think about it, this room is the one that uses the most electricity to run all these stoves. So…this would be the most vulnerable place for a surge.” Spike gazed at his friend in amazement. “Yeah…they don’t call me Sparky for nothing,” he said smirking. “Fire…electricity…all that stuff, I’m good with.”
“Cool…” said Spike nodding. “That makes sense.” Soon, the power surge stopped abruptly as it did before.
The rest of the day was just as boring as the previous first day. Everything was another big blur. Nothing really eventful happened, accept for another power surge during science class. Spike noticed the microscopes and the projector used for the lecture were turning on and off. He thought it to be very amusing that Mrs. Argon couldn’t really explain what was happening. She looked like she was going to explode, because she was so upset that she couldn’t solve the problem. Of course, another power surge happened again at lunch like the day before. Spike, Sparky, and Misty didn’t really discuss the Comatose at lunch, for Misty feared others could be listening in on their conversations. When gym class came, Spike was actually a bit relieved. Even though he hated playing dodge ball (and got quite a few bruises,) it was nice to get up and do something other than sit.
Spike didn’t really want to put his school outfit back on after getting all sweaty in gym. When dinnertime came, he didn’t come, for he felt that the gems he brought would suffice. Instead, he walked down the corridor until he came to the washer and dryer area. It looked like a mini Laundromat, except he didn’t have to pay for it. He had to admit, the school was nice. The dorm area was sort of like a small hotel. The staff served three meals a day, gave him a fair place to sleep, had a place to wash clothes, showers, and even a game room with a pool table and a juice bar. There was only one drawback, this was one of the lowest floors in the building and the hard, cold floors made the whole area look a little creepy. To Spike, it looked especially creepy, for some of the lights had blown in the room and it was a bit shadowy and eerie.
The purple dragon sighed and approached one of the washers. He put his outfit inside and started it up. He crossed his arms and waited. He looked up at the ceiling. There was one light bulb still barely glowing. It was eerie, but he thought he was fortunate to have the luxuries like light bulbs here. Looking down, he could see his own gloomy shadow lurking over the concrete floor like a black snake. The creaking of the washer as it ran was the only sound. The rest was silence….a cold silence that was too unnatural. Spike slowly turned his head and looked behind him and around him. The room was empty. He was the only one there! Everyone else was at dinner. What could he be so worried about? The shadows. Was there a presence lurking in the shadows? He gulped a little and a knot started to form in his stomach. His heart rate slowly increased. Someone was watching him. He could feel it. He held his breath for quite a while to listen…to try and hear breathing coming from elsewhere. It was too quiet! For a while, he forgot to breathe. He turned around in every direction, peering into the darkness to see if he could make out a figure, letting his breath out slowly and as silently as he could. In this moment, he wasn’t sure what he could do. Should he run for the door and find Sparky or Misty to help him? Then, he had a thought. He shouldn’t be scared of this dragon, (if there even was another dragon here). He glared at the shadows in the room.
“Hey!” he called. “I know you’re there! Come out, now! I’m not scared of you!” After this, he paused and waited. No response. No movement. Silence. This made his heart beat faster. He swallowed hard and walked slowly into the center of the room. “Who are you?!” he demanded angrily, trying to prevent his voice from trembling. No response. No movement. Silence. Breathing! Behind him! Spike felt his heart beat the fastest it could beat. He felt the presence creeping up on him from behind and thought he should try to either turn around and send a blast of fire at the crepe’s face or make a break for the door! However, he could not do either. In a split second, a large strong hand grabbed his arm and squeezed it hard, and Spike felt something cold and shiny touch his neck. It was a knife! He felt the fear running through him, his stomach twisting, and his heart beating the fastest it could in the horror of the moment.
“Stay away from this Comatose Conspiracy,” said a low, growling voice. Spike didn’t know who the voice belonged to, but the guy was not letting him turn his head in any direction. He kept the knife stiffly under his neck.
“What…” said Spike, feeling his throat close up in fear. “What do you want with me?” He heard a growl in response. This guttural growl sounded like it shook all the machines in the room. It boomed like thunder.
“Stay away from it…” said the voice, very close to Spike’s ear now. “…this is a warning, gem dragon.” Slowly, Spike saw the knife move away from him.

All of a sudden, the thug abruptly let go of his arm and shouted a little. Spike whirled around to see Misty tackling the guy. She kicked and punched him as if he were a punching bag. She pulled the knife out from his grip and held it to his throat. The jet black thug sighed and put his hands up to surrender. He slowly backed toward the door. “I see…” he said, glaring at her with piercing yellow eyes. “Just so you know…if you say anything…they’ll never believe you…and if you go after the Comatose, I won’t hold back next time.” He turned and disappeared out of the room with a boom that sounded again like thunder. Misty sighed and looked over at Spike. Spike stared back at her with wide eyes. He had no idea she was so strong! At this point, he was actually glad to see her!
“You okay?” she asked him. She was out of breath.
“Yeah…” Spike replied taking deep breaths. “Thank you! For a moment there….I thought….I was….going…to….die….” He looked at her and his eyes grew wider when he realized how close he was to possibly dying. This was a lot darker than he ever imagined. “He almost killed me!” he shouted at her hysterically. “How do you THINK I am?!” He put his hands on his head and swallowed hard. He was about to cry, for his fear of what might’ve been. Misty didn’t say anything, but walked over to him.
“It’s okay now,” she said calmly after a few moments. “Just calm down. This is why Sparky and I are here. We’re here to protect you, Spike. I understand how dangerous and hard this is for you. These Treasure Seekers are ruthless and bloodthirsty. They will do anything to get what they want, even if it means to kill. But, Spike…I just want you to know right now…I am NOT going to let that happen. You are my and Sparky’s responsibly now….and friend. I personally will do anything to protect you, even if you call it ‘being creepy and mean’. I’m just showing that I care and that I know the mission at hand. Now do you understand?” She crossed her arms and looked at him intently. He didn’t know she was so brave either! If she hadn’t said those things to him, he knew he would’ve packed his bags right then and there.
“You saved my life…” he said in amazement.
“And I’ll do it again!” said Misty raising her eyebrows. “Even if it means to yell at you and follow you everywhere!” Just then Spike realized something.
“Wait….you were following me down here?!”
“You think I just happened to show up just in time?” said Misty chuckling a little. Spike sighed but couldn’t help but smile a little. What could he do?
Now, he knew there was no turning back. He was already in this adventure, and he had to finish it with his newfound friends, even though it was dangerous and a lot darker than he thought. He had to be there! He had to follow the detour! And deep down he knew it was either the craziest or bravest thing he had ever decided. Later that evening, Spike grabbed a notebook and pen and wrote a letter to the princess, containing the only words he could think of.

Dear Princess Celestia,
I’m in.
~Spike

TO BE CONTINUED…

Comments

[Nrdygrl]

626266

Lol! I seriously didn't even know that was from anything when I wrote that. Never even seen those movies. That happens to me a lot and I'm like..."ehehe...oops...?"