Only Just A Dream

by Desert Nocturne

Four

Edwin was shaking badly. His heart was racing madly and his adrenaline-fueled energy was dissipating rapidly. He fell to one knee, his whole body aching horribly. His ribs were especially painful, paining him with every motion. He also felt strangely weak, as though he had not eaten all day. During the fight, time had appeared to run slower than normal. Edwin realized now that he had probably been reacting and moving faster than normal. The energy toll his efforts had extracted was significant; his body needed nourishment. He almost laughed, an action that would likely have been catastrophic to his injured ribs, as he thought of how similar he felt now in Spike's body as he had felt in his own. I'm completely exhausted all over again.

He gritted his teeth and came back to his feet, looking toward Rarity. She, too, was shaking and tears were streaming silently down her face. Walking gingerly, he made his way to her side. She looked at him with an odd, almost fearful look in her eyes. “Why did you do it?” she asked.

Edwin froze momentarily, wondering what she was talking about. Did she expect me to just take off and leave her to her death? Then he realized she was probably shocked about the death of the injured wolf. “He was mortally wounded. Killing him was the humane thing to do,” he said evenly.

Her eyes widened. “How can you speak so casually about taking the life of another creature?!”

Edwin raised an eyebrow. “I'm not. Look, Rarity, violence is not something that comes naturally to me. I did it because it was the right thing to do.” He was starting to get a bit annoyed at having to defend himself after essentially saving her life. Patience was not one of his virtues. “Now let me see your back. Those wounds look pretty nasty.” He spoke carefully, not wanting a confrontation on his actions while they were both injured. If there was a time for debate, it would have to be later.

She eyed him coolly for a moment before folding her legs and lowering herself so he could examine her injuries. He winced as he saw her back. There were numerous lacerations ranging from nicks to a few that would probably need stitching. The puncture wounds where the wolf had bitten her looked especially nasty. I wonder if magic could be used here to accelerate healing. I don't recall seeing any disabled or scarred ponies in the show.

“Well Rarity, I doubt that you feel all that great right now but I think you'll be okay. The bleeding is already slowing but you may need some sutures to properly close some of these wounds, they will just need to be disinfected first.”

“Thank you Spike, but how about yourself? How badly are you hurt?” Her look of coldness had departed, replaced with concern.

Edwin spat out a mouthful of blood (perfect timing...) and ran his tongue over his teeth, feeling the notable gap where the wolf had hit him. “It looks like I'm out a few teeth and I think I have some broken ribs.” He looked down at himself quickly. There were a couple of scratches that had managed to penetrate his scales, but they did not bear mentioning. He looked at Rarity again. She was on her feet again and her shuddering was slowing. He continued, “I think I'll be okay as well. It hurts to breathe too deeply but that's to be expected. Just give me a minute to find my teeth.” He almost laughed again but restrained himself. His ribs really did hurt. I sound like I've lost my dentures or something.

Satisfied that she would be okay for the time being, he turned at began looking for his teeth. After a few minutes of hunting, he had located four teeth scattered on the far side of the clearing. That wolf must have really decked me, he thought as he spat out another mouthful of blood. The bleeding was thankfully slowing. “Rarity, are you ready to get moving again? We probably shouldn't hang around here any longer than we have to.”

“Of course, darling. Zecora's hut is only a quarter mile away. We should be there in no time at all!”

Edwin looked at her for a moment, grinning slightly in spite of himself. Her optimistic attitude was in stark contrast to what he was used to on Earth. “Okay then,” he said looking around for anything they might have forgotten. He stopped when he saw the wagon of sapphires. Wow...

“Oh don't be ridiculous darling! We can come back for those later,” she said in an exasperated tone. “Now get moving young dragon! We need to get those teeth fixed right away!”

He almost could have hugged her. The last thing he wanted to do at the moment was lug a heavy wagon. They started across the remaining distance, both of the moving gingerly. Edwin was wondering how he had come into this world. This is clearly not a dream. My dreams are not usually painful, or if they are, the pain is not chronic like this. He was thinking of a few nightmares where he had been awakened by shock of pain. In the past if I've felt pain in a dream, I've woken up. I can only conclude that I am either having some kind of extended hallucination or I am actually here. He sighed in frustration. He had enjoyed the show, but he was far from the ideal candidate for a land such as this. Still, for the moment he decided to assume the latter and try and make the best of it.

“Spike, you're awfully quiet over there.” Rarity was looking at Edwin with a worried expression.

“I'm alright Rarity. I'm just a bit shocked about what happened.” It was a only a half-truth; he wondered if he should tell her that he was not technically Spike. I wonder what actually happened to Spike. When I fell asleep on Earth, I could have sworn I heard Spike's voice saying something. He stopped. He had remembered something that had happened before he had woken up in Spike's body. He had heard Spike tell Rarity to run, then he had felt himself pulled. Right before he had 'awoken' he had opened his eyes to see himself in some type of void with Spike on a rapid collision course with him. Does that mean that Spike is in my body on Earth, or did my body get pulled here to Equestria? How did we switch bodies anyway? Magic?

He turned his head sharply. Rarity had approached him to give a comforting nuzzle. He held up his hand, eyes narrowing slightly. He was not a person who typically enjoyed physical contact, especially from complete strangers. Rarity checked abruptly, looking askance at him, then seemed to decide that his behavior was another symptom of shock. “Come on Spike, we're almost there,” she said gently.

“Right. Sorry Rarity,” he said, apologizing for both stopping and his aloofness. He began walking again. He would have to think on how to handle this later.

****

Spike slowly came to a sitting position. He was in utter misery. His love was possibly maimed or killed by wolves, his body had possibly met the same fate, and now he was trapped in an alien form that looked bizarre to his own eyes and probably even worse to the ponies. Still, the few minutes that had passed since the guards had thrown him none too gently into this cell had served to allow Spike to calm down slightly. In his own way, Spike actually had a lot of wisdom. Every now and then, he would surprise Twilight with aphorisms or bits of knowledge that she had not considered. More than once, he had acted as the voice of reason to Twilight's studious fervor. Now, he allowed himself to reflect on his situation practically, knowing that panicking would not help.

I think that I've somehow switched bodies with this creature. Therefore there was at least someone there to fight alongside Rarity if for no other reason than self-preservation. Also, I think Twilight mentioned once that timber wolves are easily frightened. He gasped and face-palmed. Noise would have scared them off and fire certainly would have! What was I thinking? He took a moment to imagine himself single-handedly frightening off the pack, earning Rarity's praise and affection. He smiled at the thought, feeling his face muscles work in ways he was not used to. That brought him back to himself in a hurry. He began to examine his new (hopefully temporary) body.

He did not have the luxury of a mirror, but by running his hands over his face he discovered that this creature did not have a snout like he use to, rather his new nose and mouth were two separate features. The skin around much of his face felt prickly with coarse hairs and his eyes felt smaller than normal. On top of his head was a shortly cropped mane that ended abruptly at the nape of his neck. Gone was the ridge of spikes that ran down his spine. I'm probably a mammal now judging by the amount hair on my head alone. It figures, I finally get the beginnings of a beard and it's not even in my own body!

Continuing his examination, he stood and looked down at himself. Like before, he was standing on two legs, but at a height well over twice that of his original body. He was wearing several layers of garments over most of his body, and he was wearing shoes as well. His build was much leaner than before, yet he also felt heavy and unsteady on his feet. I don't have a tail! How can this creature balance at all? He looked at his hands and flexed them a few times. He noticed that he now had an extra finger on each hand. He wiggled his toes inside his shoes; the same was true of them.

He took a deep, calming breath. This body is similar in some ways to my own, but I'm definitely not a reptile anymore. I don't recall ever seeing or hearing about a creature like this. He was mildly curious about the species of his new body, but his pragmatism took control again. Now, where am I?

The cell he was in was nondescript, but he thought he had recognized the room he had made his initial appearance in. There was a deep familiarity with that room, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He sat back down and closed his eyes as he scoured his earliest memories. According to Twilight, he had been hatched by her magic during the entrance exam for her magical education. His earliest memories, however, were of the dragon nursery, surrounded by those few dragon eggs that were under the care of the Royal Pony Sisters. He opened his eyes. The dragon nursery! That must have been where I appeared. He remembered seeing the alcoves as he skidded across the floor. So I must be in the dungeon at Canterlot castle.

Spike felt more in control of himself than before. He looked around the dungeon. It was small; crime was not much of a problem in Canterlot. Posted near the exit were two pegasus guards. They were unlike any he had seen before. The were gray, with tufted ears, slitted yellow eyes, and had a bat-like pair of wings and a similar tail. He stared at them, momentarily stunned, as he frantically tried to understand their presence. I've never seen guards like that before!

Before he could get too flustered, an image suddenly shot through his mind. It was of the inside of Zecora's hut. Rarity was there, along with Zecora, and she appeared to be alright although she was wearing numerous bandages. Rarity! Thank Celestia! They were huddled close together, deep in conversation. They kept shooting worried glances in his direction. As quickly as it had appeared, the vision was gone. Spike blinked, getting his bearings again. What was that? It was like I was back in my own body for a moment.

He examined his situation again. Rarity was apparently safe, but he was being held inside the dual prison of this body and the Canterlot dungeon. Another creature was similarly trapped in his own body and was currently with Zecora and Rarity. Things could be worse. At least Rarity is okay. I'm sure once Twilight hears about this she'll find a way to get me back in my body. Right now I need to try and contact her. As he was gathering his courage to speak to the bat-like guards, the door to the dungeon burst open.

Standing at the door was Princess Celestia of Equestria in all her regal glory. She looked more angry than Spike had ever seen her before, her eyes blazing and her face set in a grim expression. Behind her stood what was ostensibly Princess Luna. To Spike she looked taller and more menacing than she had during the one time he had seen her previously, albeit at a distance. In fact, she looked a lot like her previous incarnation of Nightmare Moon. Spike fell to the ground in a deep bow. How much more can one dragon take?

Comments

[linch_lord666]

nice

[IraqLobstah]

371861
Argument is old, finished
and you have no right to start it up again.
Please don't

Cheers
~iraqlobstah

[Red Bomber]

Oh boy I wonder if these guys can learn some psychic connection and talk to each other in their mind.