• Published 16th Sep 2019
  • 4,118 Views, 70 Comments

I'm sorry, Twilight - the7Saviors



Spike is changing, and I don't know what to do. I want to help him, but I don't exactly know what's wrong... and what's more, I think I might be the one that needs help soon...

  • ...
11
 70
 4,118

"Hey... Twilight?"

"...I've been having some really weird dreams lately."

I set the large mug of coffee I'd been nursing for the last five minutes down on the dining room table and look down at Spike, my brows furrowed in concern and curiosity. I see him fidgeting under my bemused gaze, not looking me in the eye, and that makes me worry all the more. Somehow I can tell this isn't going to be a good start to the day ahead, and something in the back of my mind tells me things may only get worse.

Ignoring that little niggling voice in my head, I address the uneasy drake, my face serious but my tone light and encouraging.

"Oh? What kind of dreams?" I ask, "are they keeping you up at night?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Spike replies, shaking his head. He makes odd gestures with his claws as he speaks, as though he's trying to grasp something intangible, "it's just... it... it's hard to explain. They haven't been keeping me up, but..."

He trails off and lets out a small groan of irritation, or perhaps embarrassment judging by the slight blush in his scaly cheeks.

"But what?" I press, my worried frown fading ever so slightly at the sight. I shift in my chair, turning to fully face the baby dragon, "what is it, Spike? If it's something you'd rather anypony else not know, then—"

"Nonono, that's not it either," Spike interjects. He raises his claws to his temples, rubbing them softly for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh, "it's just... the dreams seem so... eerie when I'm having them, but when I think about actually telling you about them, it just seems silly."

"Well, why don't I be the judge of that?" I reply, my frown now fully replaced with a reassuring smile, "what's on your mind, Spike?"

He looks at me for a long moment, as if trying to decide whether or not I'm serious. The moment passes and he lets out another sigh and shrugs before walking over to the opposite side of the table where the other seat is. I watch him patiently as he scrambles up onto the chair, taking the opportunity to sip more of my rapidly cooling coffee. I frown at the pitch-black liquid sloshing around in the mug for a second or two, then my horn lights up with a simple thermal-based spell and I smile in satisfaction as I see steam rise from the mug once again. It's as I decide to take another sip that Spike speaks again, and what he says throws me off enough to make me stop mid-sip.

"A cat," he states simply.

I blink at him in response and gently set the mug back down.

"A... cat?" I repeat, incredibly unsure of where this is going.

"A cat," he confirms with a solemn nod, "every single night for the past week or so, I've had this dream where I'm standing inside the doorway of the Golden Oak Library. When I look behind me, there's no door, just complete darkness... and absolute silence."

He shivers at the memory and I feel my heart skip a beat for some reason.

"I call your name," he continues in a somewhat subdued voice, "I start searching for you, but I can't find you anywhere. I can't find anypony, the library is just... empty and quiet," his frown deepens and his gaze lowers to the table in front of him, "then I go upstairs... and that's where I see it."

"The cat?" I surmise, my voice lowering to match Spike's.

He nods once and his face suddenly scrunches up in thought. I would've found it adorable had I not suddenly found myself feeling as uneasy as the little dragon looked when he first approached me.

"He's... it's lying in my bed, watching me as I come into the bedroom," he says, giving another little shudder, "...like it's been waiting for me to show up."

"What does it look like?" I ask, uncertain of whether or not I really want to know, "can you remember?"

"That's just it," he replies with a shake of his head, "the cat itself, that's what's hard to explain. It's like... I know it's a cat, but that's all I know. Nothing else about it makes any sense."

"How do you mean?" I push, still uneasy, but terribly curious, "what about it doesn't make sense?"

"I don't know! Everything!" Spike cries throwing his arms up in exasperation, "I look at it, and my brain says 'that's a cat', but my eyes... my eyes have no clue! It's freaky, Twilight!"

"Alright, I understand, Spike," I say, raising my hooves in placation, "I won't ask you to try and explain the unexplainable."

"No, I'm sorry, Twi," Spike replies with another weary sigh, "this whole thing's got me messed up and I just wanna know what it all means."

"It's okay, Spike," I assure him with another reassuring smile, "maybe we can figure it out together. If not, we can always ask Luna to look into the matter, so there's no need to worry so much, okay?" My words seem to mollify the baby dragon for the most part and I motion for him to continue, "now what happens next?"

"Well... once I'm in the room, it starts talking to me," he pauses and fidgets a bit in his seat. His face scrunches up again and he slowly resumes his explanation a few seconds later, "the things it says... when I first started having these dreams I couldn't understand it at all. It just made... sounds," he looks up at me—he looks past me as he tries to remember, his eyes going slightly cloudy in the process, "they weren't normal cat sounds either. It was like... a bunch of different feral creatures growling and screeching and screaming in my head all at once."

"That... doesn't sound pleasant," I reply, trying and failing to imagine the sound.

I start to realize the more I hear about this 'cat', the less I want to know. I've heard of recurring nightmares, and have even had a few in the past, but this? This doesn't sound normal; It doesn't feel normal. Nevertheless, and despite my own growing apprehension, Spike continues, trying to suppress yet another shudder as he speaks.

"It definitely wasn't pleasant, and it still isn't really," he says. Then his expression becomes uncomfortable and he begins to fidget once again, "it actually did scare me enough to wake me up when I first heard it, but... I think I'm beginning to understand it—at least a little bit. That's kinda why I decided to tell you about it now."

I suddenly have an almost overwhelming urge to end the conversation here and now. I don't want to hear anymore, and that itself worries and confuses me. Thinking on what I've heard so far, the dream certainly sounds unsettling, but it shouldn't have been any scarier than a mild nightmare. Despite this, that same niggling voice from earlier is telling me that this isn't something I want to concern myself with.

I'm hit with a sharp pang of guilt at the thought and forcefully try to shove that strange urge down. It doesn't matter how I feel about what's being said, Spike is troubled and I chose to hear him out at the very least. At this point, I'm not sure what I can do other than speak to Luna or refer to a few books I have on the subject of dreams and the possible symbolism therein, but I swallow my unease and press on, asking questions I really don't want to ask.

"It spoke to you again last night," I surmise, "and I'm guessing you understood what it said?"

Another silent nod from Spike.

"And..." I swallow, suddenly finding my throat dry, "and what did it say?"

Spike looks at me then—really looks at me, and there's something in his eyes that I don't like. There's something in those draconic jade irises that I want to hide from. There's something almost accusatory in his gaze, and seeing this, my worry and confusion only grow. Another moment passes and he looks back down at the table and rubs an arm nervously as he answers, his words more hesitant than before.

"It was sort of hard to make out, but the cat... it told me that you were hiding something from me," he looks back up at me with a small frown, "from all of us... from everypony."

Author's Note:

A short(ish) fic I started writing in a flash of inspiration (right now I'm taking whatever I can get). Unlike The Terror Below Hayseed Manor, I'm posting this one chapter at a time. I'm also experimenting with writing in the present tense, and I actually like this format. I find that it actually helps things flow a bit more smoothly. I'll probably write this way a bit more often in the future.

Also story takes place in an unspecified time before Twilight becomes an alicorn, which means the Golden Oak Library is still around.