Night (with Guest Narrator Luna!)
Night
____________________________________________________________________
I have lived for a very long time, and in that long time I have seen many, many terrors and many, many wonders. However, when you are meant to live forever, such things tend to lose their luster. You tend to become rather detached from the lives and challenges of mortals as well. Perhaps that is why my sister takes it upon herself to have a relationship with her students that is more than simply that of a teacher and pupil, and perhaps that is why I became so cold and distant in the years leading up to my...
My detachment hardened me, and my constant exposure to the raw, dangerous emotions of dreams only intensified my clear emotional instability. Even now, as I try and reintegrate myself into Equestrian society, I find it troubling how little I care for the worries of ponies when there are no nightmares plaguing them in their sleep. Even Celestia has noticed this trait in me, and is trying to cure me of it: the talk she gave me after I had missed our dear niece's wedding made me late to lower the moon that evening. I am trying, though, to understand the emotions of mortals. I am trying to connect with them, find some similarities I may have with them; "make some friends," my sister asks of me. I have been successful in the past, most notably with young Twilight Sparkle, who has been helping me by introducing me to her own friends. The world I have returned to is much kinder than the one I left behind when It took me a millennium ago. I have my subjects, who adore my night and I unconditionally, as though I had never before done anything to harm them; I have my sister, who has apologized countless times for my crimes and continues to do so years after my return; I have friends, real friends, who all know me as "Luna" instead of "Your Highness" or "Princess" or "Lady of the Night."
Yet I can connect with none of them the way I do with the young dragon crying in front of me. He's pressed his head into the ground—I can recognize from the aura radiating off of him that he is having an emotional breakdown. I am reminded of myself, when I first learned of the damage Nightmare had done when It used me. I remember the resentment I felt towards myself, and I see the same self-hatred reflected in the way Spike moves. That is to say, he does not so much move as claw—at the floor, at the rubble next to him, at himself. Strangled noises come from his throat; they sound like those of an animal reaching the end of a very painful death. There's a small pool underneath his face, the result of the tears he's shed. Inconsolable; that's how he looks. Inconsolable. And for the first time in an eternity, I can truly sympathize with the pain of another creature.
"Spike," I finally say, hoping that simply saying his name might console him somehow. The drake does nothing to acknowledge me beyond hissing in my general direction. He continues to cry and snarl at something, everything, nothing. When he finally goes silent, I try again:
"Spike." I wish to be gentle; I know how delicate this situation is. I wait for him to take several more deep breaths, and he finally lifts his head up to glare at me. His face is wet with tears and spit, and his wondrous green eyes are dim and bloodshot.
"What?" he croaks. His voice is full of painful emotion, and though he cannot see it, there are rapid bursts of aura leaping off of him and consuming parts of the world around us. Already, there are holes burning through the stone floor he'd pressed his head into. Stones sitting near him are dissolving into dream dust, as is the memory of him underneath the stones.
"Please," I ask, "don't hurt yourself. You must calm down."
He spits at me, "Why shouldn't I hurt myself?" He stands up and takes a step forward. "Why shouldn't I hurt you? It's in my nature, isn't it?" His bloodshot eyes scream out at me with madness; I fear that Spike may not be all together anymore.
"Spike, what I showed you was not you. You did not hurt anypony, and you did not destroy anything, except perhaps the outfit you were wearing."
My attempt to be humorous is in vain. Spike snarls at me and takes another step in my direction. "Really? Well, that's fantastic. What a relief! I'm sure all those ponies who were just attacked will love hearing that!" He puts his claws around his mouth in a calling gesture and yells at something far away: "Hey, guys! Don't worry, that wasn't me, the dragon that was actually at the Expo and walking around and breaking dishes, who destroyed the Canterlot Castle. It was some other dragon who just happened to look exactly like a bigger version of me that did all that. He must have moved at insanely fast speeds and swapped me out for him so he could terrorize you all for a minute or two before switching himself out with me again so I could take the blame for him!" He lowers his claws and glares at me again. "That sounds like a completely legitimate story, especially since I've never done anything like that before, say, in a smaller town, on my birthday. Tell me, did your sister come up with that while she was stopping me, no, sorry, that dragon, from hurting anypony else? Because it sure sounds like something she would pull out of her fat—"
"Enough!!" I let my magic flare out, and Spike is thrown down to the floor. I stand over him and hold him down as I speak: "We can discuss what will happen to you should you return to your world, and I can and will help you in any way I can, Spike. But we shall do so as civilized beings, not like children having a temper tantrum! Do I make myself clear?" My magic calms as I do, releasing Spike from its grip. Breathing heavily, he sits up and glares at me. He takes a moment, then, instead of answering me, asks:
"Can you kill me?" The expression in his eyes is black like ink.
"Yes," I answer, knowing full-well what he is going to say next.
Spike lifts his arms out to his sides and says, in a voice deep and full of maddening pain, "Will you kill me?"
"No."
Unmoving, still gazing, he repeats, "Kill me."
"No."
"Please."
"Get up."
He does not. "Only if you kill me when I do."
"Get up, you pathetic creature! Now!"
I am sick of this. I let him know that with the rush of energy that bursts from me, and after another moment of glaring, he stands up and puts his arms at his sides. The black look is still in his eyes.
"So," he says, looking almost bored, "what happens now? Are you going to wake me up?"
I shake my head. "Not until you understand that what has happened is not your fault."
"How do I believe that?" he asks in a deadpan tone. "Am I supposed to agree with you when you tell me that all those ponies are hurt, that a huge part of Canterlot Castle is destroyed, that it's all because of a dragon that rampaged in the Fashion Expo being held that evening, but that it wasn't me? How can you say, 'It's okay, Spike, you can just go back to sorting books on library shelves, don't you worry your little head about any of it,' and think that I'd just nod my head like a dog and forget that it happened?" The more he speaks, the more his voice betrays him; anger and sadness, building and boiling inside of him. "How can that be okay? How would I ever get away with this, Luna? I destroyed... There were... And Rarity..." He's becoming delirious again. I watch him sink to the ground for the second time. He holds the sides of his head with his hands and begins to shake with fresh sobs.
Around us, reality churns.
I want to help him, but there is nothing I can do for him the way he is now. I have to return him to a stable emotional state before I can assist him properly. So, using some advice my sister has given to me many times over the course of my life, I step over to the kneeling dragon and give him a hug.
The churning slows, then stops.
"Please stop crying, Spike," I request. Something flutters in me; I recognize it as compassion. I hug him tighter, shutting my eyes as I do so, and suddenly I feel warmer inside. The warmth spreads to him, or at least it feels as though it does, and he slowly wraps his arms around me, returning my gesture of kindness. I open my eyes to find that a bright, colorful aura has surrounded; the source of the warmth that we are feeling, no doubt. I am not used to this, and some of what I feel is unrecognizable to me. Spike's sobbing against my shoulder fades away. He is silent for a minute before lifting his face up and looking at me. The colors of the emotion drifting off of us reflect in his scales and his eyes, painting him as though he were a canvas. He is glowing with all the colors of the world.
For the first time in more than a millennium, the beauty of the dream world amazes me into silence.
Spike must be seeing me the way I see him as well, for his eyes widen with amazement and his jaw slackens slightly. I cannot break my gaze away from him as the warmth surrounding us grows and tightens. I feel closer to him than I've felt to anything in an immeasurably long time; perhaps too close. I can feel his claws digging gently into the fur on my back, the scales of his leg rubbing against my hoof, his breath drifting across the gap between his lips and mine. Something else, something new and even warmer than what floats around us now, pours first into my gut and then out through my skin. From the corner of my eye, I see it seep into the emotional stew that we are in, its rosy glow reflecting in Spike's eyes in the loveliest way, and it's only as Spike leans his head towards me and I feel how hot his breath is that I realize—
"WAIT!"
The blanket freezes and shatters; Spike jumps when I yell, falling onto his back. I push myself away from him, terrified and embarrassed at what has almost happened. As I cover my mouth and try to force my emotions back down, Spike sits up again and rubs his head, his own having already completely dissipated. He is lucky; it takes me several painfully long moments to rid myself of the glow that had so captivated us a minute before.
Spike groans, "Jeez, Luna, what—" His eyes shoot open, no longer glowing with the spectrum of emotion from earlier. "Oh crap! Luna, what in your sister's name was that?" He looks up at me, hoping for an answer.
I clear my throat, hoping that my blush is not noticeable to the young drake. "That," I tell him, "was the result of an overflow of emotion." My blush has not yet gone from my cheeks, so I try coughing again (Celestia told me that works). "We were overcome by our feelings towards—" Oh dear Sister, what am I saying? "Er, perhaps I should phrase that better—"
"I'd like it if you would," Spike deadpans. I thank my stars that he has not noticed my unbecoming behavior.
"Yes, of course," I say, regaining control of myself as quickly and as calmly as I can. "Simply put, what happened is exactly what I warned you of: raw emotion. You, in your... damaged state, let your emotions leak out." Yes. He let them leak out. "You'll notice that we aren't where we were before."
Spike looks around; I cannot help but smirk at the look of surprise on his face when he sees that I am right. My smirk disappears, however, when he asks:
"Why are we in your bedroom?"
His question is not illogical; for a reason that I would like very much not to disclose to Spike, we've been transported from the destroyed hallway of Spike's damaged memory to my private quarters on the other side of the palace. How Spike recognizes them, I do not know, though the recurring motif of the moon painted on the far wall and sewn into the sheets of the bed may be what has convinced him.
"Ah," I say, thinking very quickly of a different reason for us to be here. "I think that, after the scene you've just destroyed, it would be nice to be in a place that you find comfortable." I move over to the conjured bed and sit on it. "I couldn't help but choose somewhere a little more familiar to me." To convince him, I giggle a little. Celestia says that it's an effective tool for a mare to have; for what, she did not specify. Fortunately, Spike appears to believe my fib, and gets up again.
"What do you mean 'destroy?'" he asks.
"Simple," I reply, happy to see that the conversation is getting back on track and that Spike is stable once more (for now). "You let your emotions seep out of you, and they tore apart the world around us. You were very emotionally unstable, which is why I had to console you. Oh, and I apologize for calling you 'pathetic.'" Confound it; I cannot be rid of this blush!
Spike sighs and shakes his head. "It's fine, Princess."
"Please," I insist, "call me Luna."
"...Fine. Luna, tell me this:"—he turns to me with a worried look in his eyes—"what's going to happen to me, when I get back to Ponyville?"
I put a hoof on his chest and smile. "Spike, I assure you, when you get back, my sister, and no doubt your own, will do everything in their power to make sure that you are not harmed. I will as well, and under my wing, nothing will happen to you. I promise." To stress my point, I stretch my wing out and hug him with it. I'm getting much better at this than I had previously thought.
Or perhaps not, as Spike lowers his head and slowly shakes it. He pinches the space between his eyes and says, "No. I don't want that."
He is refusing my help? "Wh-What?"
"I don't want nothing to happen, Luna." He sits down on the bed next to me. "I don't want to walk away from this the way I did on my birthday. This isn't like that. I can't have you or your sister just sign some documents, make some apologies, and promise that everything will be okay from now on. I... I need to pay for this, in some way."
"Spike, you're being ridiculous! You aren't responsible for-"
"Yes I am, Luna!" he shouts, gripping the bed tightly with his claws. Reality around him warps for a moment as he continues, "I was the one who lost control. Even if I wasn't actually in control when I..." His face twists, as though he may be sick. "...murdered those ponies, I was the one who let him out! Again!" He bent his head down towards the floor and mumbled in addition, "I didn't even have to take anything this time..."
"Spike, you did not murder anypony! Anypony who died that night—"
"—died because of me!" he finishes, smacking himself in the chest. "Even if I didn't literally rip their heads off, there are some ponies who'll never see their loved ones again because they ended up crushed by others trying to escape me!"
My wing flutters against his spines. "They were accidents, Spike. It was bad luck..."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"It means that you aren't at fault for—"
"Don't say it," he growls, flashing his fangs. "Just. Don't."
Oh, why can't he accept that I'm trying to help him? "Spike, I understand that you're—"
"No, Luna!" he yells. "You don't understand what I just saw! You saw a monster rampage around a castle for two minutes. What I saw?" He shakes his head, glaring at me with wide emerald eyes. "That was much worse. I watched myself break a promise I made years ago, the last time this happened. I promised that I would never lose control of myself that way again, for the sake of everypony that I loved and cared for. How can you possibly understand what it feels like to see that you've caused so much pain and destruction, all because you didn't have the self-control to stop it from happening?"
How dare he.
From deep down, I feel It bubble up again. There is the all-too familiar feeling of oil slicking over my body, and for a flash It surfaces again; a flash is all I need.
"Who do you think you're speaking to?"
The effect is instantaneous: Spike's eyes widen and stay wide, even after I put It away and return to normal. His jaw slackens; his mouth opens and shuts, and opens and shuts; then he turns away and stares at a spot on the floor in front of him. There is silence—complete silence. Only in sleep can one experience this. I've seen many a pony go mad, trapped in a coma, unable to make a sound and faced with this most absolute quiet. Like the emotions earlier, it blankets me. I let it; I have no intention to say more to Spike, not yet. The quiet covers me; I shut my eyes, and for a while I'm nowhere.
Finally, when I feel the silence truly begin to sink in, Spike speaks:
"That was a dumb thing to say..."
Gently, I return to the world and turn my gaze to the purple dragon beside me. I can see that, even though his comment is immature and lighthearted, he is truly sorry. So I say, "Yes. Just a little bit," and I smile, because I've been told that it's good to be lighthearted in times of trouble.
Spike looks at me and says, "So, then. You think that this is just like you and Nightmare Moon? Because you seem to have much more control over it now."
I shake my head. "No, Spike. What I showed you was an image; the appearance of Nightmare Moon. That, I will always be able to do, and I will always change into her when I am in a deep enough rage. It is a permanent reminder of my moment of weakness, when I allowed myself to lose control to the darker forces that were within me."
Spike lets out a puff of smoke through his nostrils. "Yeah, well, my darker forces are probably going to get me lynched. Once those ponies know I'm still alive..."
I move closer to him and put a hoof on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "Spike, please understand that you are not going to be killed for what has happened. As is with Equestrian law, your case will be explained, and—"
"A court case?" Spike asks, pushing away my hoof and giving me an incredulous stare. "There's going to be a court case?"
I nod. "There was one to determine my fate. Why wouldn't there be one for you?"
Spike blinks a few times, then looks down at his feet again. "I just..." he mutters, "wasn't expecting that. Do you think... that they'll sentence me to death?"
I don't mean to laugh, but I can't hold it back completely. A bark escapes me, and through the hoof I put over my mouth I say, "There's no death penalty in Equestria, Spike. We don't sentence ponies to death."
He gestures to himself. "You're not talking to a pony, Luna."
I smile again; this is becoming increasingly easy for me. "Spike, I do not think that you will be killed for your mistake if I was not for mine." I give him a wink (another helpful trick my sister taught me), and joke, "Having my sister on your side will probably help you as well."
Spike frowns; he doesn't seem to understand my joke. "I don't think abusing her power to put me above Equestrian law will be very good for Celestia."
I sigh; I had hoped to put him in better spirits. Oh well. I say, "I don't think divine intervention from my sister will be necessary. The ponies of Equestria are kind, understanding creatures. They will not be cruel to you."
Spike snorts. "That's a bit too hard to believe. In case you weren't watching my memories with me, somepony tackled me the moment I stepped into the kitchen in your palace."
"Spike, you must have faith. There are always exceptions that prove the rule. Always. There are ponies who are not as idealistic as those from Ponyville, true, but you must know that there are plenty more who are. The world has learned to forgive, Spike; it's a lesson my sister has been teaching since Discord was first defeated." I rest my wing over his shoulder again. "I want you to promise me that you'll stop worrying, Spike. Don't let this make your last days in Dragonsville unenjoyable. You can't be dragged down by this, please."
Spike snorts again. "Luna, I don't think you realize what you're asking me to do..."
"I am asking you to forgive yourself for everything that's happened. I understand that you will have some trouble doing so completely without making some amends, but at the moment it is impossible for you to do that. So, while you are unable to make peace with everypony else, I want you to make peace with yourself."
He looks up at me when I take his hand in my hoof. I let my smile reassure him once more.
"Please Spike," I request, "do this for me."
The drake looks down at my hoof, then back up at my visage. I can tell by the glint in his eyes that he is deep in thought; another long pause passes before he finally answers me:
"Okay, Luna." He nods, smiling gently. "I think I can try that." He hugs me; and once more, I feel raw emotion bubbling from within both of us. I let the bedroom dissolve around us, and Spike's memories return, in the form of a scene that I suspect our embrace has reminded him of. I pull away from him, and he looks over at the pair of embracing creatures at the edge of the balcony we now reside on. His smile vanishes as the dragon and pony kiss. The pony, a mare with a coat that rivals my sister's in brightness, drops a glass that had been held in her magical grip. It shatters on the ground, but neither she nor the dragon give it any mind. Sitting next to me, Spike sighs, and leans back against the chair that he's now seated in. He smiles returns as he relishes the relived memory. I see some of the rosy color from earlier wisp off his shining purple scales.
"In three, two, one..." he says slowly, his eyes still on the embracing pair. I turn my attention to them just in time to watch the mare push the drake away. The drake now looks worried, and even a little frightened. The two begin to talk, and as their voices rise, the Spike sitting beside me shakes his head and covers his ears. His smile has vanished.
"No..." he mutters, and suddenly I cannot hear what the mare and the drake are saying anymore. I turn to Spike again, and offer my hoof again. Spike opens his eyes and stares at it, but ultimately ignores it and turns back to the arguing couple, still muted by his request. I see the longing look in his eyes as he keeps them fixed on the mare, who is trying in vain to talk to the dragon. He is backing away from her, a look of sickening anger growing on his face. As the drake makes his way to the balcony doors, Spike mutters, "Idiot..." and puts a claw to his forehead. He continues to watch the mare as she sinks to the floor of the balcony. Even as the memory ends, and she freezes and blurs, he stares at her, looking tired and sad. I cannot stand to see him like this.
"She still loves you," I tell him. "I spoke with her once, just before the Expo began. She opened up to me, told me that she believed she could trust me with her true feelings." I smile, remembering the moment (without letting the scene around us change), and add, "She was the first pony to ever call me their own 'friend.' Besides your sister, of course."
Spike doesn't look away from the blurry mare. In a low voice, he says, "I really wish I hadn't done that." He sighs. "All of this happened because I couldn't deal with her thinking my teeth were weird." A chuckle escapes him, and he buries his face in his hands. "And then she wanted to wait until after the Expo, and I thought she wanted that because she didn't want to be seen with me that way." He looks back up at the blurred form of his love. "I must have put her through so much pain, that night I stormed off. She'd never love me now."
"You're wrong," I say. The drake turns to me, and I shrug. "There's nothing more to it than that, Spike. You're simply wrong. Rarity still loves you. In fact, I'm certain that, no matter how much you don't want it, she'll always love you, just as you will always love her."
Spike opens his mouth, then shuts it again. I giggle once more, and say, "Trust me, I know what emotions you're feeling right now. I've felt them with you, these past few days." I try nudging him (another one of Tia's social tips) and add, "There's no point in dwelling on an issue that you can't actually do anything about just yet, Spike, so I would advise you to leave it for another day. Perhaps one you spend in your own world?"
At that, Spike chuckles, a sound that is marvelous compared to how he had been sounding (was it only?) minutes ago. He grins and lets the scene on the balcony fade away, until we are left sitting in a white void with nothing existing in it but the chairs we are using. He turns to me and asks, "Speaking of which, how am I gonna get back? Do I just vanish out of Dragonsville, or am I gonna, like, gradually fade or something?"
Excellent; we can move on to the important business. I get up from my seat and begin walking. Spike follows me, and our chairs vanish as the world begins to form into a new memory. This time, we appear in the halls of the Canterlot Castle, on a path that I know will lead to the place we must go. As we walk, I speak:
"I am glad our conversation has finally come to this. Your departure from Dragonsville, should you choose to leave and return to your world, will involve a bit of a ritual."
"How so?"
We reach a door that does not exist in the actual Canterlot Castle, and I push it open with a pulse of my horn. Behind it resides a small room made of cobblestone. In its center is a wooden pedestal, and covering the walls of the room are countless shelves, in turn covered in chests and vials and tomes and mystical, dream-world things. The shelves themselves stretch into infinity, up and up into a dark, unlit part of the impossible room. Spike and I step inside; the door dissolves behind us as it shuts.
"You remember where you first appeared in the other world, correct?" I ask, moving to the shelves at the far end of the room. I spread my wings and begin flying upwards.
"Uh... Yeah. It was a clearing, just outside the Everfree Forest, next to a pasture."
I reach the row I need to find and spot the small chest immediately; sapphires and pearls glimmer on its dark oaken surface.
"Excellent." I take it in my hooves and begin my descent. "Do you know the exact spot you were in when you appeared?"
Spike's answer is slow. "Kind of... I was on the side of a road, and there was, like, an indentation of my body when I got up. I might have been there a while."
"Ah, yes, I remember. You were brought there in your sleep." How else could you be brought here? I almost add. I land, holding the chest in my magic. I move over to the wooden pedestal in the center of the room, where Spike already is. He eyes the chest as I set it down on the pedestal.
"You will be able to return to your world when my time spell wears off, which should be in seven days."
Spike looks at me oddly. "Wait. Seven days? But, the Summer Sun Celebration was only yesterday, and that was only five days after I'd arrived..." He seems to be doing some sort of mathematical equation. He mumbles to himself, "So, the sixth... no, the seventh day was this morning, with Twilight, and then there was breakfast, and then Rarity and I... but how long were we... and if we were, then that means..." His eyes widen, and he puts a hand to his forehead. "Uh-oh."
"Spike?"
He looks at me, and seems to remember where he is. "Oh. Uh, it's nothing. I just... lost track of time." He looks over at the chest. "So, uh, why did you bring this chest down?"
I decide to leave well enough alone and continue. "Inside of this chest," I say, "is an artifact that will serve as a way of telling you when it is time for you to choose." I concentrate my magic, and the lock sealing the chest clicks. With another pulse of magic, the top of the chest swings open, revealing a large spherical gemstone. My gemstone.
"Spike, this is a Moonstone," I explain, lifting the precious artifact out of the chest. "It is a manifestation of my power, sealed within a pearl that was grown under the light of my moon for an entire year."
Spike, mesmerized by my stone's beauty, blinks at the mention of its formation. "An entire year under the moonlight? How?"
I smile and say, "The gem was constantly moved, by a very special pony." I stare into my gem and think about its caretaker, and how much I cared for him. "It was his life's work, ripening the stone for its destiny."
"Who moved it?"
I smile, keeping my eyes fixed on the orb. I can almost see him in it.
I tell Spike, quietly, "His name was Artemis." Even quieter: "He was my son."
He does not answer back immediately; I expected as much. When he does, he seems to have left the subject alone, in exchange for one more comfortable:
"...So, uh, how does it work?"
I cradle the orb like a firstborn child. "As my time spell wears off, magical energy that I'm taking from this stone will begin replenishing. By the time the spell completely cancels out, the stone will be filled with energy once more, and it will be required that it return to a place where can be kept safe. That place is here, in my dream world, in our universe. When it is with you, it will begin blinking to signal that it wants to go home."
Spike stares with wonder at the stone. "It holds your energy?"
I nod. "The stone is a... contingency plan of mine. Should it ever become necessary, the Moonstone will distribute its stored power to me, giving me the strength to do... anything necessary."
I notice that Spike's eyes flicker to me for an instant and ignore it, continuing: "However, I doubt that I will need it for anything that drastic any time soon. For now, let it serve as a warning sign to you. The stone will slowly grow whiter and whiter, until it is as pure white as, say, fair Rarity's coat. When it reaches that color, it will begin to warm up. That is your signal to return to where you came into the other world and wait for the Moonstone to completely charge. Then, when it begins blinking, you will have a small window of opportunity in which to return to the world you've left behind. Simply place the stone in the spot you appeared at, and the magical residue left behind by your wish will be recognized and exploited by the stone, so that it may open a portal that can take you home. All it will need is a bit of the world you wish to travel to."
"So, what, I yank out a loose scale and toss it in?"
"I left you with something that I'm sure will do just fine." I let him think for a moment, and the answer appears in his brightened eyes before it leaves his lips.
"Your little slip of parchment?"
I smile. "Indeed."
Spike looks back to the Moonstone. "So, is this going to appear somewhere in Dragonsville?"
I nod, and gesture for him to take the stone. He does so, and the moment his hands touch the gem it explodes into a glowing white fireball in his claws. Spike yells, but does not let go as the Moonstone glows brighter and brighter. There is a momentary feeling of suction; my mane drifts towards the orb briefly. Then, the glow subsides, and Spike is left holding it as before. He stares at it with wide eyes, and takes a moment to speak again:
"Luna?"
"Mm?"
"What was that?"
I smile. "That was the stone's way of crossing over to the waking world. When you took it in your claws, you gave it a path to follow, and it appeared in your arms as you slept. When you awaken, it will be waiting for you. Keep it safe."
Spike's gaze breaks away from the stone and snaps to me. "What?" he barks.
Perhaps he did not hear me correctly. "The Moonstone is now with you in the waking world, Spike—"
"As in, it appeared in my arms in a flash of magic white light?"
He interrupted me! How rude! "Well, I suppose, yes—"
"Oh no." He stares at the stone in absolute terror. "Oh no," he repeats, moments before the entire world begins to shake violently. Spike holds the Moonstone tightly as he is thrown around by the tremors. He slams into one of the shelves and grunts. I find myself gripping the sides of the wooden pedestal as the world begins to crumble.
"Spike!" I manage to yell, though the rumbling is making it difficult to do so.
"Luna!" the dragon responds. "I think I'm being woken up! I can feel the sheets of the bed I'm in!" I look over to him, and I find I can see through him. The stone is vanishing with him.
"Who in the world is waking you up?" I ask. As if to answer me, a voice booms from around us, all-encompassing and, in all truthfulness, terribly frightening:
"Emerald!"
"I wasn't sleeping alone tonight!" Spike shouts. "The Rarity from Dragonsville was in bed with me! She must have seen the Moonstone appear in my hands!" The more he speaks, the harder it becomes to hear him. I can now see more of the shelf he is leaning against than I can see him. The voice from everywhere calls out again, practically knocking me unconscious with its power:
"Emerald, wake up! Please wake up!"
Spike's words finally connect in my head, and I realize why he is being awakened so abruptly. I watch as he gives me one last smile and, with no better ideas for saying goodbye, waves. I try to wave back, but I have to keep my grip on the pedestal tight to keep from being thrown to the floor. As he finally vanishes, the quaking stops, almost as if it had never occurred. Still gripping the pedestal tightly, I think back to how close I've come to being torn apart by dreams this night. I feel lucky to have only had to deal with Spike's rude awakening for so long. Briefly, I consider the emotional blanket and rosy color from our earlier moment together, but I quickly shake off these thoughts. I don't have time for them, and there's no point in holding on to them, anyway. He has enough things to worry about; he doesn't need to add me to that pile.
I return to all four hooves and dust myself off. Then I go over to the chest that held the Moonstone, which has been thrown to the ground, and pick it up with my magic. Returning it to its spot on the shelf, I can't help but wonder what it must have looked like to whomever was watching Spike sleep, to see the Moonstone suddenly appear.
"Oh Spike," I whisper, to no pony who is anywhere here. "Please, be alright."
____________________________________________________________________
I'm leaving Luna and moving back to my world and one moment there's the shelf room and I'm hitting my head on the back of one of them and the stone's in my hands and radiating warmth and then I'm sliding down a tube a thin tube and there's shouting in my ear and it's getting louder and louder and louder and the hard cobblestone floor gets softer and softer and suddenly they're sheets and I'm awake and back in Rarity's room with my body bunched up under the bed sheets. I'm still holding the Moonstone, and Rarity's sitting in bed with the sheets drawn up around her. She looks scared, and rightfully so—I'm pretty sure she just watched the Moonstone appear in my hands in a magical burst of light. So that's my wake-up call.
"E-Emerald?" she asks, pointing at the still-warm gem. "That thing, it—it just appeared in your hands."
I momentarily ignore her and turn over in bed, looking out the window. To my relief, there are still signs of the sun in the sky, though not for much longer. Looking closer, I can just make out the form of a pink dragon standing in the street that the window gets a perfect view of. If I didn't know exactly who that was and why they'd have a reason to do anything as crazy-looking as what they're doing right now, I might have passed off their pointing directly at my face from where they're standing and mouthing the same word over and over again as me being paranoid. Except that's totally Pinkie Pie out there telling me to tell Rarity the truth, and I Pinkie Pie Promised I would; so what can I do but turn to Rarity and say:
"I know. And, honey, I've got to tell you something. Right now."
Stats
Page generated in 0.021 seconds
Total duration
760 users online
616,975 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Make Spike hold Moonstone?
Spike is now holding Moonstone.
What's this? The story is evolving! Congratulation, Rising Action has become a Climax!
3684115
Hmmmm... Luna's son? And the Moonstone? Sounds like someone has quite a few bits of world building... with this... why do I think that Two Week is just part of a bigger story?
Good to see that Spike is finally manning up.
the meta of the story is really well done here,
also, luna's son?
Some interesting interaction between Luna and Spike (Also teasing of Spike/Luna, you teasing tease, you).
I don't know how this is going to end now... I was so sure, but this chapter certainly adds a number of things into the mix I had not expected. Excellent work.
Good, magic artifact holds proof for story.
But oh no, the heart break!
Poor other Spike, unless of course he actualy gets dragin Rarity.
well i liked this chapter because I really want Spike to end up with pony Rarity
Dang! I wanted them to swap places
Both Spikes have a few friends in the world yet still the rest of the world does not seem so welcoming ...
Good story so far but if everything in Equestria is gonna move forward anyway what was the point of freezing time for 2 weeks? Give him a glimpse of a world where everydragon accepts him then make him go back to Equestria where only a few kinda/sorta accept him?
Just started reading this story, and I sped right through! You've got a great command of dialogue and description, and a good mindset for writing as Spike. :) This is a great take on the parallel universes story, and I can't wait to see where it goes as it hits a climax! Thanks a ton for writing.
This story is really really beautiful. I love how you developed Spike here and I hope he chooses to go home. I´m glad I found this literal gem.
And Luna has actually frozen time for their entire freaking world for two weeks.
Wow...
That powergames her more than most fanfics do even with Discord.
Then 5 years later, a similar concept happened with Tangled
static.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/8/87/The_gem_within_the_Opal.png/revision/latest?cb=20180703191120