Chapter 2: An Awakening within slumber
So much time has passed ever since the first day. And what a first day it was… encountering girls that were supposedly the focus of a made up legend by the school populous, being forced to make a fool of himself in the front of the school, and discovering a mysterious place beyond a mysterious door. It could easily exhaust anyone. After single handily defeating a large beast, spike had collapsed, not being able to fight against the mysterious pressure any longer.
"Awaken young one, your walk down this road has only just begun…." Spoke a mysterious voice inside spike's unconsciousness.
When he opened his eyes he shot upward and breathed deeply for air. "Oh man… what a weird…. Dream….?" As spike had looked around, he saw that he was in some sort of ruined field. There was no sign of life anywhere, nothing surrounded him but ruined and fractured earth with what seemed to be the remains of a wild fire still burning into the ground.
"Oh great… where am I now….?" Spike questioned as he looked around. As he took a few steps forward, the mysterious voice began to speak again.
"O who has been granted the means to walk across the hidden realms, arise now and realize the power."
"The power to protect or destroy.."
"The will to save or vanquish…"
"The means to preserve or burn."
"With your heart as your mirror, step forward into the dying flames and choose what that mirror reflects."
"But be cautious…., A heart is but a simple thing to sway."
"Act hastily, and the reflection of your heart can change."
"Weather the change is for better or worse is uncertain."
"Only you can decide what this change brings…, now step forward, and embrace your destiny…." The voice spoke.
After that sentence, the voice disappeared. Soon after, a door appeared on the far side of fractured earth. It looked to be a simple door that you'd see just about anywhere. Although despite that, it was an obvious that there was an ominous aura coming from the door.
"Embrace my destiny? But this isn't what I planned, Why was I chosen? why couldn't anyone else be selected for this? Why me?" Spike questioned.
He stood there, waiting for an answer. But the voice did not respond.
"Why me…?" Spike asked again silently as he looked at the door that was still waiting to be opened.
With a deep breath, spike had begun walking towards the mysterious door. As he slowly came closer, the once dying ember had begun to grow as if they were gaining life again. The closer spike got to the door, the brighter the flames burned.
Although fearful of being burned alive, he continued to walk towards the door. When he finally reached the door, it was nearly covered in flames already. Spike hesitantly reached for the doorknob. But he was surprised when his arm was set ablaze when he touched the flames. He had opened the door and walked through while the flames engulf the rest of the area.
The next thing he knew, spike was standing in the center of a large paint-stained glass platform. On the bottom left of the platform was a picture of a green, wingless dragon at play with other mysterious beasts in a large field.
But on the top right was a picture of a malevolent purple dragon. Its eyes filled with anger and hatred, burning everything in sight to mere ashes.
"Great… where am I now…?" spike questioned. But he had little time to think as something immediately began to surge through him. " Gah…. What's…. happening..?" Spike struggled as something was forcibly pouring into him.
As he planted his feet to keep himself from collapsing again, a bright light had begun to shine from his body. After a while, it finally stopped.
"What was that…?" As spike began to regain his composure, the mysterious voice had once again appeared.
"The ability to Invoke your thoughts into power…, in the right conditions, this ability can be both a great assist or a great hindrance.
"You and this power share the same life now, be sure to mend both of them with care… but be warned, there are dark beings that are drawn to this power…" the voice spoke as something began crawling out of the mist.
Three wolves like creatures began to surround spike. But everything saves for their eyes were shrouded in darkness. "What are those things….?" Spike questioned as he took a step back.
"There are beings who seek to claim the hidden realm and the mysterious power for their own, eroding and corrupting their use."
"There are those who have long since lost their ability to dream, and are forced to wander in the unknown realms for eternity as creatures born from the bane of their destruction..."
"To protect yourself and the hidden realm, you must learn to invoke your power, focus your psyche on a single attack and crush the darkness that surrounds you."
"Focus my Psyche? Invoke my power? What do you…?" spike tried to ask. But he was cut short as one of the shadow wolves had lunged at him.
"GAH!" as spike had attempted to dodge, a single word had entered his mind.
"Fire…" as soon as the thought entered his mind; he moved his arm forward as a small magic circle appeared in front of it. Out of the magic circle shot a single fire ball, making short work of the first of the first enemy.
"What the…. Did i… do that…?" Spike questioned as he was in awe of his new power. But he had no time to gawk as the two wolves had followed right after the first. Repeated the same process as before, spike was able to invoke the ability once again and destroyed the last two mysterious beasts.
"That looks like… that was the last of them…" Spike breathed… suddenly out of breath. "But… why do I feel... so tired…?"
"Your new power is a great weapon, but it's not without its consequences…, if you overuse your ability, your mind and body will be greatly exhausted, and if used improperly, you could very well damage not only yourself… but those around you…" the voice spoke as the platform below spike had suddenly shattered into pieces.
But spike did not fall immediately; instead he slowly floated down as if he was swimming in water. As he continued to slowly descend, another paint stained platform came into view. But the imagery was slightly different from the first.
Like before, there were two dragons.
One breathing a ferocious fire and one happily playing in a field, but there was something very different about the image
On the bottom, the dragon that seemed to be at play was playing with the remains of its victims that were either burned alive or slowly torn to shreds by the beasts rending claws. With blood still on its nails, the painting showed it happily rolling around in the bones of the fallen.
On the top left of the platform was a dark purple dragon like before, but not with eyes filled with malevolence and destruction, but sadness and anger. Behind the dragon were the spirits of its fallen kin. Its fire turned not against the innocent, but those who wore the guise of an ally.
"What the… everything is topsy turvy, isn't it supposed to be the happy dragon that's the good guy?" Spike questioned in a panic.
"The role of ally and enemy is also something that can change. In one instance, an ally could be your greatest enemy. In another… your enemy could be a hidden ally. If you carve your path, seeing with eyes only of black and white, much suffering awaits you and those around you, yet if you choose to remain blind to the truth, you risk losing sight of what's important and falling from your path"
"So an ally could be an enemy and an enemy could be an ally? How am I supposed to know which is which?" Spike questioned "This is for you to decide, only you can decide who is friend or foe." The voice answered
"Of course…" spike groaned. But he was caught off guard as the platform began to burn once again. "AAH! Fire again?!" Spike yelled. The fire had started from the corners of the platform and started spreading to the center.
He had tried to avoid the flames, but he found himself unable to move from the center. "I… I can't move!" Spike panicked as he tried to pull his feet off the ground. But they would not budge. It was not long before the fire had reached him and started crawling up his body.
"Dang it… this feeling again…." Spike wheezed as the embers began to suffocate hm.
"It is time you awakened now, but remember these words… your heart is like a mirror, and it's reflection can change on a whim, be careful on what reflection your heart gives and what it attracts.." the voice spoke as spike's body began to fade into the flames. "It's… so bright… can't….. Breath…" Spike whispered before the flames obscured his vision of the strange hall. Seconds later… he lost consciousness…
(Chs Infirmary…) "March 2nd, Wednesday... 8:05am"
When spike came too, he found himself lying in another bed in a different room.
"Ugh… my… my head…" spike groaned as he began to open his eyes."
"Well, look who's finally awake?" asked button mash. When spike had opened his eyes, he found himself on a different bed in a different room. "W-where am i..? What happened, what was that place….?" Spike questioned.
"Easy there, you're in the school infirmary, I brought you here when you passed out." Button mash explained. "Agh… my head is killing me… what was that place… and why is something like that inside a statue?"
"I don't suppose there's any chance of convincing you it was just a dream..?" he asked. "Not likely…" Spike responded with a blank face.
"Figures… just as well, I told the principal and vice principal about your accident, they'd like to see you in your office, but I don't think you'd be able to go there in your current condition…."
"What do you mean…?" Spike questioned. "Well… I haven't seen a rule about it anywhere, but I'm pretty sure they don't want you walking into their office in boxer shorts…" Button mash explained.
It took only a second for spike to realize that he never got his pajama's back from that cat. With fear stricken on his face, he slowly removed the bed sheet covering his legs. Unfortunately his worst fear was accurate; he was still in his boxer shorts.
"Crap!" spike yelped as he sprung out of bed. "Why would you enter a mysterious door in your underwear anyway? Button mash questioned.
"Well… A cat… stole my pants…." Spike chuckled nervously. But his friend only stared at him in disbelief. "A cat stole your pants…?, really?" Button mash questioned. "I'm serious, when I was getting ready for bed, a black cat somehow got in my room and stole my pants, I followed it back to the statue and it went into that weird door." Spike explained. "You followed it to the door?" button mash asked, lifting his head from the rotating chair.
"Yeah, it went inside so I chased after it, so I opened the door and ended up in that weird world…, and then you know the rest…" Spike sighed as he held his head, still aching from the experience
"How would a cat know how to get into a place like that…..?" Button mash muttered.
"What was that?" Spike asked. "It's nothing, the point is you need to get a new pair of pants so you can meet the principal… there's just one problem…."
"What kind of problem…?" spike asked as he headed for the infirmary entrance. He had stopped and looked out the door window, only to see that students were traversing through the halls.
"Yeah… you were out cold for a long time, it's already 8 in the morning, so school's already started, if you want to get back to that dorm without anyone seeing you, you'll have to maneuver your way out of the school and back to that dorm." Button mash explained with a straight face.
"HOW COME YOU DIDN'T JUST TAKE ME BACK TO THE DORM?!" Spike questioned. "I could have done that, but then we couldn't be sure if you were going to survive after coming out of there, I'm not a doctor ya know." Button mash stated with a smirk. Spike looked ready to blow a fuse from frustration. "Anyway, I got to get back to class myself, me and sweetie bell have the next one together, but why don't you use the bed sheets as some sort of cloak? Button mash suggested as he made his way for the door.
"I'm not a ninja you know; I just can't disappear and reappear from sight!" Spike shouted. But button mash didn't seem to hear him. "Good luck man." Button mash waved good bye before leaving out the door, leaving spike standing there in the infirmary alone. "Some friend…." Spike muttered as he tried to think of a way out of the school. There were no windows to the outside in the infirmary so that wasn't an option. He had looked towards the white bed sheet he just used along with an empty card board box.
"I don't have a lot of options here….it's better than nothing I guess..." Spike had taken the white sheets off the bed and tossed it over him, wearing the sheets like the cloak.
"Ok, Just avoid being sighted by anyone and make it… all the way back…. To the dorm.. Pass the soccer field….simple..." spike hung his head in depression. The weight of the situation was staggering. Eventually he finally came out of the infirmary door. He had looked left to right to make sure no one was looking in the current direction. He had stayed close to the lockers as he slowly made his way across the hall. Though as he came around the corner, he saw two students conversing with each other
"Crud… just move quietly…." Spike whispered as he tried to sneak past the two female students. But as he got directly behind them, one of them had noticed his presence. As the girl had turned around, all she saw was a yellow card board box.
"Is something wrong?" the first girl asked. "No, though I could have sworn someone was behind me." The girl thought as she approached the cardboard box.
"Please don't open it, please don't open it, please don't open it…" spike whispered as he closed his eyes, hoping she'd leave well enough alone.
"Ah you're probably just imagining things; now tell me more about this new crush of yours." Said the other girl, diverting the nosey student's attention away from the hiding spike
"Well, I heard that he's known through internet media as the waifu stealer..." the nosey girl began. As soon as her attention was away from him, spike quickly scurried past them. After evading numerous noisy students and dodging close encounters, spike had eventually made it to the back of the school. All that was left was to traverse pass the soccer field. The only problem was that Sunset shimmer and rainbow dash were occupying it at the time.
"Ok... if I can just sneak past here without making so much as a sound, I should be safe…" Spike thought as he quickly ducked into a bush and began moving.
Meanwhile Sunset and Rd continued their game. The score was currently 5 sunset shimmer and 12 Rainbow.
"Hey rainbow... Don't you think that kid we met the other day seemed a bit suspicious?" Sunset asked as Rd was juggling the ball on her knees.
"Who? You mean that guy named spike emer or something? He seemed like a good kid." Said Rd
"Maybe, but he was hanging around the statue when I first saw him, he says he saw a door on the statue, but I didn't see any door." Sunset explained.
"So what, you think he might be someone else who wants to use magic to take over the world or something?" Rainbow asked "I'm not sure… on one hand he may be telling the truth and he's just seeing something I can't see, or maybe he's just using the role as a new kid as some sort of disguise." Sunset pondered.
"Aw you worry too much, if you keep worrying about every little detail, you won't be able to focus on the big stuff!" Rd said as she had kicked the soccer ball. It went to fast for Sunset to stop it so it flew past her. Rainbow was expecting it to go clean in the goal. But the force of the soccer ball was too much for the net to handle. The soccer ball tore straight through the goal net and went straight for what seemed like a moving bush. "Almost there… just a little farther and…" Spike thought as he was only inches away from the path leading back to the dormitory.
But before he could get any closer, he stopped as he heard something approaching him fast. As he slowly turned around to see what was approaching him, he could only see what seemed like a heat seeking sphere before it made impact with his face. "OW!" Spike yelped as he opened eyes, only to see a round red mark covering most of his face.
"What the... a soccer ball?" Spike questioned as he picked up the ball. "Speak of the devil, how's it going spike? Rd greeted.
As soon as he heard her voice, spike had quickly ducked back in the bushes. "Sorry about that ball hitting your face, I guess I don't know my own strength sometimes." Rainbow apologized.
"Ugh… so that was you…? D-don't worry about it, anyway I should get going." Spike said as he tried to leave the area. "Wait Mr. emerarudo..." Said sunset shimmer
"Huh..? What is it?" spike questioned. "Tell me, do you know anything about a place called equestria" Sunset questioned.
But spike was at a loss…
"Equestria, is that from some kind of children's book? Sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about…" Spike quickly replied.
"I'm being serious here, do you...? Or do you not... Know anything about equestria or our friends there…?" Sunset questioned with a serious expression.
"Look… I don't know what your deal is… but I have no clue about this equestria you keep talking about…" Spike replied again.
Sunset took a moment to stare into Spike eye's to see if he was lying. But it took little time to see that he was indeed telling the truth.
"You're… telling the truth…"
"Of course I am, now if you'll excuse me…" Spike said as he tried to run off. But sunset stopped him again.
"Wait Mr. emerarudo.., I apologize, I was a little suspicious of you, the way you were checking out that statue… I thought you might have been someone trying to bring harm to our school like the last few times… but I guess I was wrong..."
("Just because I was around a statue? what kind of…") spike thought.
He was slightly annoyed that he was thought of an enemy so quickly; though the statue must have been of some importance. If there was a door to that strange world in the statue, then who knows what other secrets were lying behind it. While he was still in thought, he turned back to sunset that was still waiting for some kind of response.
"Tch… Don't worry about it; all's forgiven; now I really got to go…" Spike repeated as he tried to move away from the two. "What's the rush? You seem real eager to get somewhere… mind sharing why?" Asked Rd
"Sorry, can't tell ya, bye…" Spike said as he tried to move. But when he moved forward, he had tripped on a rock and fell out of the bush he was hiding in, revealing his embarrassing boxers.
"Are those… Polka dotted… eggs…." Rainbow snickered, trying not to explode. But she couldn't even hold back her enjoyment and burst with laughter.
Sunset wasn't holding up well either as her eyes were already watering.
"And there goes my dignity…" Spike groaned
The embarrassment hitting him like a brick… or in this case a soccer ball to the face "No they... They really suit you spike…" Sunset snickered. Trying hard not to break into a fit
"Smile for the camera." Rainbow Dash smiled as she took out her camera phone
"Hey!" spike had quickly covered his embarrassing undergarment with the bush before the picture could be taken. "This is not meant for the public eye thank you!" Spike had rushed off with his face practically a tomato by now.
"Hey come back, it's a good look for you!" Rainbow called out as she and sunset ran after him.
Eventually, spike did make it back to the dorm and got a different pair of pants. Later that day, he had arrived at the principal's office with a sour expression.
(Princapal's office.)
Spike stood in a corner of the room with his back to the wall and his face still red from earlier. Button mash had already arrived at the office a minute later.
"What's eating you?" Asked button mash "I don't want to talk about it…" Spike frowned. "Ok then…" there was a short awkward silence in the room before celestia came in along with another woman. She was a bit shorter then celestia, but still fairly tall." She had light blue skin and dark blue hair. She wore a light purple shirt with a white collared dress shirt underneath with a blue crescent moon on the front of the collar, Dark purple pants with grey heels.
Taking one look into the woman's eyes, spike felt a judgmental air about her. He felt like he was supposed to be kneeling in front of her on the very spot, but he wasn't sure why.
"Mr. Emerarudo, Mr. Mash, I'm glad you could make it." The mysterious woman greeted as she had took a seat. "From what I hear you've only started here not but a day ago, and already things have gotten exciting for you."
"Um, that's right, and please forgive me if I'm being rude but... Who are you…?" Spike asked politely as he bowed his head. "Right, we haven't met yet have we, I am vice Principal Luna, sister to the school's principal." The woman explained.
"I..I see, nice to meet you vice Principal Luna." Spike smiled nervously as he tried his best to stay on his feet. "Now, let's skip straight to the point, Mr. Mash here said that something strange happened last night, would you please explain to us what happened and what you saw?" P. Luna asked "Well… I'll try at least, but you'll probably think I'm crazy…"
Spike had given an explanation of what transpired during his first night.
"After that I just… collapsed.., next thing I know I'm in the school infirmary." Spike explained.
He looked at the Principle and her sister curious to what their reaction would be.
"So he can see them too, then it's as you said, he's another one who…." Luna trailed off.
"Another one…? What do you mean another one?" Spike questioned "Mr. Emerarudo, judging from what you've described, you may be something we call a Magi. "A… ,Magi…? What's that?" Spike questioned.
"Before I go into that, let me ask you this, during your short time here, have you ever seen anything strange besides the doors here?" Luna asked. Spike had thought and had remembered something strange happening on the first day.
"Well… During the unexpected party yesterday.., I could have just been dizzy from the spinning, but I could have sworn I saw that Pinkie girl grow ears right in front of me. Her hair became ridiculously long and a pink aura emitted from her…" Spike explained. "I see, so you've seen what happens when one of them expressed their talents, that is the result of the magic in this world." Celestia explained.
"Were on the magic subject again? I thought magic was only used for incredibly complicated or simple tricks, how is someone growing ears and long hair are related to magic." Spike questioned. "I see were going to have to start from the very beginning, please take a seat, this might take a while." Said Luna
"You see, Chs wasn't always the center of anomalies like these, it was your typical average high school before everything started." Luna began.
"Chs back in the day was your ordinary school, no fear of the world ending, no worrying about entities from another universe invading our way of life, Canterlot was peaceful for a long time… at least until magic found its way into our world."
"Are you sure you're not just reciting a work of fiction or something?" Spike questioned. Still a bit skeptical. "I wish it was as easy as signing it off as fiction, but we were there to witness the events with our own eyes, trying to deny it now would just be shutting our eyes from the truth." Luna stated.
"I… I see..." Spike muttered
"Getting back to the topic, the magic anomalies started occurring when sunset shimmer and twilight appeared in our school." Said Celestia. "Appeared? You say that as if they came from another world." Spike joked
But Celestia, Luna and button mash gave him a blank stare. "Y…you're serious? They came from another world? How is that possible…?" spike questioned.
"Were not entirely sure ourselves, but we do know that with them, along came the magic, I'm sure you've heard… 'stories' about how sunset was in the past.." Luna frowned "Yeah I heard she turned into a real demon at the fall formal… but I thought that was only exaggeration… you mean she turned into a for real demon…?" Spike questioned with disbelief
"You got it… you see the crown that was given to the princess of the fall formal, wasn't really 'our' crown." Said button mash "That crown belonged to the princess of friendship twilight sparkle. "Princess of friendship…? Please tell me you're at least making that up…" Spike groaned. But Button mash simply shook his head.
"Ugh… Continue…" Spike sighed "You see, that crown wasn't just for decoration, that thing held crazy amounts of magic power in it, and it seemed like it wasn't picky about bestowing power on its wearer." Button mash explained "You remember how I said 'in a sense, she ruled the school with an iron fist'?"
"Yeah…?"
"Well, she did, she was a real bully and did whatever it took to get what she wanted, even if it meant breaking others apart, for multiple years she was princess of the fall formal, and she ran unopposed.."
"Really? She didn't seem like the bullying type… I guess the word doesn't spread as fast in Manehattan.
"We've done everything we could to stop word of these events from getting outside of canterlot, it was only to our luck that no one had ever thought about recording these events..." Added Celestia
"So with… 'Princess Twilight's crown' she turned into a winged demon and tried to take over the world, how did they stop her?" Spike questioned.
"Well, the other 5 of the 6 beauties were disbanded because of Sunset's evil doing, so twilight brought them back together, and eventually they stopped her with… the power of friendship…" Button mash grimaced from saying the phrase.
"….power … of friendship…?" Spike questioned, feeling embarrassed from just saying the phrase. "Believe it or not, that's how they did it. When they came together and defended one another, they all pony'd up and released her from the evil magic." Button mash explained.
"You mean when they grew those ears and hair extensions?" Spike questioned.
"Yep… it seems to happen every time they display their natural talent, Such as pinkie's happiness or Rarity's generosity. They pretty much nuked her with one heck of a rainbow blast… how she survived I'm not entirely sure… but after that, she repented for her crimes and joined their group as their 7th."
"So what does this exactly have to do what's happening now?" Spike questioned.
"Well... in short, the barrier that closes our world from magic is slowly falling apart." Said Celestia.
"Falling… apart?" asked spike. "You see ever since that first incident, magic anomalies have been occurring more and more often."
"Not too long after the incident with Ms. Shimmer, a group of girls called the dazzling were sirens disguised as students; they hypnotized the students into turning against one another and fed off their negativity and anguish." Said luna "And let me guess, the main 7 were the only ones not affected by this? Asked spike
"Unfortunately that's not the case, they were just as easily tricked into turning against one another just as the rest of the students, and even we regrettably fell under their spell..." Luna sighed, a bit embarrassed
"If it weren't for Ms. Shimmer bringing them back together, they would have easily had all of chs under control, and then the city and who knows what would happen." Spoke celestia
"The anomaly seemed to only expand as the girls transformed whenever they played their instruments." Said Luna
"Whenever they played their instruments?" I bet that made for some battle of the bands…"
"This was the second time they brought their magic of friendship flourished, they defeated the sirens and freed the students…, but it was also the second time that whatever barrier that was between our world and this magic was tampered with."
"Already two times…. Are they any kind of repercussions when this happens?" Spike asked. "That just might be the case… for the third time an anomaly occurred was but a month before your arrival to this school."
"T-That early…? I'm glad I wasn't here for this…" Spike muttered under his breath.
"The anomaly happened during the Friendship games, where our school usually competes against our rival crystal prep." Celestia explained "Compete? Are Chs And Cp enemies?" He questioned
"Well we were enemies, but that was only because they were under the influence of their rather harsh principal. "
"This was the time when a 2nd twilight had appeared, but she was wearing a crystal prep uniform." Said Luna
"A second twilight; you mean there's two of her?" spike questioned
"Well technically yes, the twilight from this world came from crystal prep, and with that ominous device of hers, she could steal and release magic." Luna explained. "Steal and release? You mean she could just drain magic? What kind of materials would you even use to make that sort of thing?" Spike questioned.
"Were not sure, but we've had some students keep a close eye on her just in case something like last time happens again…" Said celestia
"So…what happened last time? You said she could steal magic, but what happened when she released it?" Asked spike "Well, the small shards of magic that escaped the device tore open doorways to what seemed to be another world."
"The more magic she stored, the easier it was for magic to escape, and as it did, it put multiple students in danger, not only that, but when the twilight from our world released the magic she had stored, she turned into a monster much like sunset was when she dawned the magical crown."
"Even twilight turned into a monster…?" Spike asked a bit surprised
"It seems even she wasn't strong enough to resist the evil magic's lure, after her transformation, she began tearing hole's into another world all over the school campus."
"Am I to assume that this 'barrier' took a big hit when this happened?" Spike questioned. "That's right, with so many tears, it's become all but fragile, it would have completely shattered if not for Sunset taking on the other 5's elements and stopping her rampage before things got any worse…" said luna
"The problem was well resolved, and this twilight had become a fellow wonder colt, but that didn't stop the magic from flowing." Said celestia
"So from what your telling me, this 'barrier' has taken 3 beatings so far, not to be rude but… what exactly does this have to do with what's going on now…?"
"Right…, please follow me. Luna spoke as she had moved towards the book case behind them. When she brought up her index finger, a light blue orb of energy appeared on her finger. As she drew an imaginary circle, a magic circle with a sign of a crescent moon had appeared in the middle.
"Open!" Luna commanded, causing the book case to vanish into thin air and revealing a large white and blue pair of double doors.
"Woah! What the heck is that?!" Spike exclaimed as he practically jumped out of his seat.
"This is but one entrance to the realm of dreams, and judging by your reaction, it seems like you can see the door in front of you." Said Luna
"It'd be pretty hard to miss a door like that…" Spike commented.
"Everyone follow me inside, and please close the door behind you." Luna said as she entered the door along with her sister.
"You should probably brace yourself before you go in; the pressure in there is probably as heavy as that other place." Said button mash
"Uh... Right…" spike took a deep breath before he had followed button mash inside the mysterious door.
Beyond the door was a space with no ground, yet it could be walk on. No clear sign of oxygen, yet it was still possible to breathe. Although it felt like spike was walking on solid ground, to him, it looked like he was walking on stars.
Among the mysterious room were windows, showing different canterlot students and citizens. Some of them weren't even from canterlot
"Where… are we?" Spike asked as he gazed at the area. "This is the realm of dreams... The windows you are seeing now are just the dreams of those who currently slumber." Luna explained
"These are… their dreams?" Spike asked as he continued to look around.
"A number of dreams can be viewed within this space; this is how we make sure the dreams everyone have are peaceful ones, but lately, nightmares have been invading people's dreams." Luna sighed as she walked further into the mysterious realm. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess these aren't your typical everyday nightmares?" Asked spike
"Correct, originally, nightmares only happen when people's fears are brought to the surface when they sleep, and even then the nightmares rarely occur."
"So what makes the nightmares that are invading now different from a regular nightmare?" Asked spike
"Were not sure how, but someone is forcibly dragging victim's worse fear to the surface and shaping their dream into a nightmare, and if the nightmares are allowed to continue… the end result is somewhat heartbreaking…" Luna grimaced.
"Spike, before you passed out inside that world, do you remember what was happening around you?" Button mash questioned. "Y-yeah… the life was being sucked away, the pressure of the area was horrifying, and the sky was breaking into small pieces, it was like that world was falling apart."
"And that's exactly what happens when these kinds of nightmares continue to manifest.., they continue to tear one's dream apart, tearing away at every last bit until nothing but the core remains.. " Luna explained.
"The... Core…?" spike asked, not quite understanding what it was
"In every dream, there is a core, the only thing that stands between a nightmare and a dream's annihilation…"
"we've seen it only a few times, but we know that the core is the last light of hope for the victim, so far it's the only means of reconstructing the dream to its original state. " Celestia explained
"And… what happens when a nightmare reaches the core?" Spike hesitantly asked.
"If they reach the dream's core, and devour it, then their ability to dream is lost and it can never reconstruct to its original state…"
"The victim is trapped forever in an endless sleep, No dreams and no nightmares, just… asleep, trapped in a limbo devoid of anything…" Luna frowned
A heavy silence filled the air for a good while. "Man….that's….i just don't know…" spike was speechless. "The gravity of the situation is heavy I know, and if action is not taken, we could all be lost in an endless slumber…" Said Luna
"We could all be the next victims of these nightmares, but we can also prevent them, with your help, we may just be able to stop this." Spoke celestia
"My help… what can I do…?"
"Remember when I was fighting that creature that was a nightmare and you had totally one shot it with some sort of fire attack, after that, the world stopped falling apart." Said button mash
"That's right… I can still remember my throat feeling like a furnace.., so it wasn't just my imagination…" Spike sighed.
"You're one of very few who can invoke this power, the power to traverse through dreams and fight against the nightmares that threaten them."
"Like button mash here, you are what we could describe a magi. A being that is able to use a different type of magic, the kind of magic that is connected to your psyche and can be powerful based on your level of focus…" Luna explained.
"A power connected to my psyche… where have I heard that before….?" Spike questioned. it only took him a moment to remember that weird place he appeared in just after he blacked out for the first time.
"You see, from what we've read magi basically have the ability to use powerful spells, these powerful beings and were believed to rage their battles on countless hidden plains. The spells they used were so powerful they could be used to create miracles... but in the wrong hands they can also be used to bring about great catastrophes…" Luna explained. " though the knowledge of how to obtain such power was believed to be just a myth, that is until now…" Added Celestia
"But why are we able to use magic in the first place? And how are we even standing here in the first place..? and why do these 'nightmares' even exist….?" Spike had suddenly stopped as he recalled what Celestia spoke of earlier.
"This world's invisible barrier…" spike spoke
"That's correct… we believe this is but part of the results of the anomalies effects… why it chose to affect us, were still not entirely sure… there are still things about this realm we still don't know… but we know without a doubt that we must protect the dreams of the innocent. But we'll need your help to do it." Spoke celestia
"M-My help…?" what can I do…?" Spike questioned. "Don't be so modest Mr. emerarudo, Mr. mash already told us how you disposed of a nightmare single handedly, you obviously have potential." Praised celestia
"You see... We've made a group of magi who can walk among the dream realm and expel these 'nightmares... our group's name is Dream walkers…"
"Dream… walkers…?" Spike asked.
"Yes, those who have the power to see the doors leading into multiple dream realms and invoke their magic to protect the dying dreams, we have only few members, and most of them are still taking care of problems in other locations at the moment. And with the rate of nightmares slowly growing, it won't be long before were outmatched…." Celestia explained
"So for the sake of the dreams that are in danger, falling apart and disappearing right now, we ask you to join us to stop this crisis." Luna asked as she extended her hand.
Spike was taken aback of what the so called vice principal was asking of him. He was being asked to take on a life threatening responsibility, and it would make much sense to lend a hand. But… he was having doubts about this proposition…
"I… I don't know…, I mean.. I don't very much like the idea of people losing their dreams…" spike began before he grew a grim expression on his face. But I don't much like the idea of others viewing people's dreams either…."
"What exactly do you mean?" Questioned Luna "Dreams are supposed to be special right? Something that's someone's alone, something that only they can see, a special reality created by their own design."
" With that being said, the thought of people who can freely watch people's dreams like a free movie with unlimited showings… having the 'power' to tamper with them freely, I'm sorry, but the idea doesn't really sit right with me." Spoke spike.
"Before you make the decision Mr. Emerarudo, let me ask you this, do you think Button mash here asked for this power himself?" Luna questioned with a stern tone. "Um… well did you?" Asked spike
"Nope, thing came out of nowhere, the first time I saw a door I thought my eyes were just going bad from playing games all the time, luckily that wasn't the case." Button mash joked
"I...I see…." Spike muttered. "And do you think I had asked to receive such a heavy responsibility on my shoulders? Because of this ability, I must stay close to the school to make sure that no one abuses the entrance here, if knowledge of this place got into the wrong hands, the casualties would be unthinkable."
"I…I didn't know…" Spike sighed.
"Listen Mr. Emerarudo, I will not stop you if you choose to refuse the invitation to join, but remember this fact, having the power to act and choosing not to is the same as leaving the defenseless to fend for themselves…" Luna stated with harsh words. "Tch…" Spike wanted to reply, but he couldn't. The words the vice principal spoke were all too true.
"Geez Vice prince, no need to be harsh on the guy, this is probably a lot to take in for a new comer you know." Said button mash
"Hmm, maybe it was a bit much…" Said Luna
"No… you're right… "Spike spoke up.
"It's true; the idea in intruding in other people's dreams doesn't sit well with me, but choosing not to help if I could; it would just be selfish…"
"So I'll join, I'll help protect everyone's dreams." Spike spoke with determination
"I'm glad to hear it, with that settled; you'll need to learn to properly invoke your magic..." Spoke Luna
With a wave of her hand, the windows showing people's dreams had vanished. For now we'll only be covering your basic magic, Celestia, Mr. Mash…" Luna spoke turning to the two.
With a simple nod, both of them had slowly backed away from where Luna and spike stood. "Um… why are they backing up..?" Spike questioned. But as he turned his attention back to Luna, a faint aura was emitting from her body.
In a split second, she had summoned a Dark black scythe with a crescent blade in her right hand. "V-Vice Principal Luna? What are you doing?! Spike questioned
"If you are going to assist us in our fight, you must first learn to invoke your abilities at will, so prepare yourself." Luna stated as she had slowly raised her blade. "W..wait a second, wait a second I'm not ready!" Spike flailed
But Luna had proceeded to move forward without hesitation. Luna had dashed forward aiming for an attack. "Crap!" Spike yelled as he tripped as he was trying to back away. Luckily he was able to avoid Luna's first strike, only sacrificing a few locks of hair in the process.
"Geez… that was too close…." Spike shook furiously.
"You have to invoke your magic on your own, your mana stream should have been unlocked the first time you defeated a nightmare, use the power of your mana stream and release your power!" Luna commanded as she swung her scythe downward. "Yikes!" spike had quickly scrambled off the ground, just barley avoiding the vice principal's next strike.
"You won't save anything if you keep running away!" Luna stated annoyed as she continued to chase the moss haired teen through the mysterious plane. "Mana stream? I don't know what you're talking about!" Spike yelled as he continued to dodge her swings.
"Listen Mr. Emerarudo, You should have access to your own mana stream now, it's like a second blood stream, your body can do things now it couldn't before, try using it now to use a 'guard' spell to block my sister's attack." Celestia advised
"And exactly how am I supposed to do that?!" Spike questioned as he barely avoided a horizontal slash from Luna's scythe. "You just got to think it man!, this kind of magic is tied to your thoughts, but if you don't focus it you'll only exhaust yourself, you've got to focus man!" Yelled button mash
"Kind of hard to do that with there's the slight chance I'll lose my head!" spike exclaimed
But the moment he was distracted, Luna seized the opportunity and struck spike with the bottom of the pole of her scythe, although even that was enough to send him flying across the mysterious room
"A-ACK!' After hitting the ground, spike dragged across the ground for a good few yards before finally coming to a stop. "Ouch… that's going to hurt in the morning." Button mash grimaced
"Argh... ow…, ouch... That was not pleasant…." Spike groaned as he forced himself on his feet. "You were able to enter a battle with a nightmare and come out alive; I acknowledge that… however…." Luna began as she raised one hand, surrounding it with an ominous dark blue aura. "If you cannot fend off this next attack, you can consider this test failed…."
"Sister, your being to excessive again, Stop this now before you seriously wound him!" Celestia demanded. But Luna had ignored her sister's words.
As the light forming in her hand only grew brighter, she had whispered something under her breath. "Lunar pulse…." From her hand, she released a purple crescent shape shockwave that flew across the ground.
As the attack came closer, spike took the time to take a deep breath.
"So… I can block this attack if I just focus right…?" Spike asked himself nervously
With little time to think, spike closed his eyes and focused on the idea of protection. "Ok… focus on guarding, focus on guarding… focus on guarding." Spike thought repeatedly as he could feel the attack closing in on him in mere seconds.
Eventually, a light green shield had finally appeared before spike. "Woah.. i.. did that…?" Spike asked as he was in awe at the power he discovered. But he had no time to gawk. A second after the shield appeared, Luna's attack had finally reached him. As soon as the attack hit his shield, spike could already feel its impact. "GAh!, if I couldn't raise this shield, she'd have probably killed me with that strike…" Spike grimaced as he did his best to hold on to his shield.
"Alright man!, ya did it, you actually survived!" button mash cheered "He may have been able to block her attack once, but his trials are far from over…" said celestia as she continued to watch the fight
Luna's attack had eventually ceased and the shockwave vanished. "I see, so you've been able to invoke it after all, it's good… but not enough…" Luna said as she raised her scythe once again.
"What? But I thought you said I'd pass if I blocked your attack!" Spike complained.
"I recall no such thing, what I did say was that if you could not block the attack, you could consider the test failed, you would have likely not survived that attack if you didn't guard when you did…" Luna explained
"So you mean I could have…. Expired…?" Spike questioned, clenching his throat with a look of fear. "That would have been the likely outcome yes, but you didn't so congratulations, but this is far from over, you won't win every battle by defending, you'll have to fight back with force." Luna explained
"If it requires focus just to guard against attacks…then maybe to use attacks…." spike thought to himself as he stood on his feet with renewed determination.
"I take it you're ready to begin the next phase?" Luna questioned. Spike only replied with a nod as he braced himself for another onslaught.
"Very well, here I come!" Luna had once again charged spike aiming to cleave him in twain. Although still flailing a bit, spike had begun avoiding Luna swings more effectively. Although Luna was using fairly predictable movements
"An attack… I wonder if I can produce the same attack like last time…." Spike thought as he remembered the first time he used an attack, back then he incinerated the creature, but it left him completely exhausted. But his thoughts were interrupted as Luna was able to attack him.
She only grazed his arm with her blade, But even then the attack felt like a thousand needles stabbing his right arm at once. "AAAAGHH!" just standing up began to feel like a trial for spike.
"Vice principal luna… she's fighting… as if she's trying to kill…." Spike breathed as he clenched his arm. "I got to end this now…"
As Luna had begun charging at spike again, he had clenched his chest as he began to focus again. As thoughts of an aggressive attack flowed into his mind, an ominous heat began to fill his lungs once again.
"This…. This heat…. I remember….." spike thought as a green aura began to emit from his body. "What...?" Luna questioned as she halted her assault for only a second. But the moment she stopped, spike's eyes shot open with a flash of green.
"That light…." button mash gazed. Remembering what was coming next, button mash knew it was best to get to a safe distance "Uh principal celestia, I think it'd be best if we get to a safe distance!" Button mash had grabbed the principal's arm and pulled her away from the area.
"Wait… what's going on..?" Celestia questioned. But she received no immediate answer. As the fire welled up to much to contain once again, spike only spoke two words. "Emerald Torrent!" with a simple utter of its name, spike released a torrent of emerald green flames. With little time to react, Luna encased herself in a dark blue orb, shielding her from the fire.
The flames continued to spew for a good minute before they finally stopped. As the aura surrounding spike disappeared, like last time, he was at the brink of exhaustion.
"H…How… Do you like that…... huh…?' spike questioned as he saw the mysterious floating orb. "You got to be kidding me…." Spike said as he fell to his left knee.
"It's a shame, it seems as though your attack failed…" Luna spoke as the orb protecting her disappeared.
"Dang.., does this mean….. I failed….?" Asked spike "No…, quite the contrary, had I not defended against whatever that was…." Luna simply trailed off and shook her head. "Matters for another time, consider the test passed Mr. Emerarudo, congratulations." Luna smiled as she helped spike get back on his feet.
"Heh…. Awesome…" Spike grinned, while still out of breath. "That attack… it was far too strong for a novice to learn… what was that….?" Luna thought
But before he could ask spike any questions, Button mash and Celestia had returned to the area.
"That was awesome! I never seen anyone light anything up like that since shi-" celestia had quickly hushed button mash before he went on.
"Anyway, it seems as though you've passed this trial… but whatever what you used just now seemed to have drained you quite a bit…" Said celestia
"Well, the first time I used it, I did collapse soon after, but the pressure most have gotten to me." Said spike "Even so, I'd ask if you'd not use that kind of power too often, not only does your weakened state put you at risk.., but you may very well end up hurting people in the crossfire…" Luna added
"R-right… I'll try to be more careful from now on…" Spike bowed as he apologized
had simply nodded and as she turned to her sister. "Oh and Luna?" she began
"What is it?" Luna questioned. In a short second, Celestia delivered a harsh blow to her sister's head. Leaving a lump with a marking of a sun on the top
"OW! What was the meaning of that?!" Luna questioned. "The meaning is that you've nearly killed a new recruit, AGAIN!" Celestia yelled.
"How many times do I have to tell you, not everyone is built for combat on the first day, if you end up breaking them before we even begin, we'll be at a worse position then we already are." Celestia lectured.
"Fine fine.., your right, perhaps I was… a tad harsh with the new recruit, I'll try to be gentler in the future..." Said Luna as she rubbed her bruise
"That's all I'm asking of you…, now you're probably exhausted from today, I doubt you'll be able to attend class in this condition, so feel free to return to your room to rest for now."
"No school? Best news I've heard all day!" Spike smiled as he was all but ready to march out of the mysterious area. But he had stopped as he remembered something important.
"Wait a minute, I've been meaning to ask, how exactly is this supposed to help me with my other problem? I came to this school because along with other special ingredients, I needed the special daikon radish that grows in this town." Said spike
"Ah yes, that. We'll get on that as soon as we can, for now you should return to your room and rest…" said celestia
"Hmm, if you say so…." Spike spoke with uncertainty as he headed for the exit.
"Hey, can I get the day off too?, I think I really pulled something during social studies.." Button mash asked with a smile.
Celestia and Luna were not amused…. "Button mash, you may return to class as scheduled…"said celestia with a stern tone
"W..What?! But that's not fair; can't you give a kid a break..?" Button mash begged. "Sorry pal, but Karma is a cruel woman, you should know this by now..." Spike grinned slyly.
"Karma? I don't know what she wants with me, I've done nothing wrong." Button mash replied "y-Your kidding right….?" Spike questioned with a strained grin.
Later that night, spike was preparing for bed once again, this time with his pajama pants on. He was currently watching Hey Arnold on Teen nick.
"Man, who'd have pegged Ronda to have a thing for the chubby kids…,?" Spike asked as he saw Ronda dragged Harold into a swan boat with her.
But his cartoons were interrupted with a familiar sound.
*meow….*
"Hmm, did I hear something…?" spike put the television on mute to make sure he heard something. Soon enough, the sound repeated.
*Meow….*
"It can't be…." Spike had walked from his bed to the windows. He had removed the curtain and saw the same cat that led him to the strange door in the first place, sitting on the outside window sill "You again... Why are you here?" Spike questioned in an irritated tone.
But the cat only repeated it's sound… *meow…* "I don't know why you're here, but I've already had enough trouble today, so scram." Spike spoke harshly as he closed the curtains.
But as he tried to walk back to his bed, the cat repeated its sound in a pleading tone. *Meooowwwwww….* *Meooowwwwww….*
It didn't seem like the beast would stop until spike gave in. it seemed like he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.
"Fine… I'll let you in…." spike groaned as he opened the window to let the stray cat inside.
*Meow!* the cat squeaked happily. "Ugh... how'd you get to my room in the first place..?, come to think of it… how'd you get on the outside of that window… this room is on the 3rd floor of this place…" spike questioned as he looked outside.
But the cat only cocked is head as if it didn't understand the question. "Forget it… I guess you're probably looking for some food huh?" spike had searched the fridge for anything that might be suitable for a cat. But he barely had any supplies in the fridge at all. It was then he realized that the only places he's been to for the following days were the school and the dorm.
"Note to self, go grocery shopping after school tomorrow." The only thing that was left in the fridge was some left over caramel cake from the party on the first day. "Sorry pal, all I got is some left over cake." Spike said as he placed the plate in front of the cat.
The stray beast had eyed the desert before licking it once. But that was all it took to make the cat's hair stand on end. Sparkles had shined in its eyes before it began to devour the cake. "I probably shouldn't be giving animals sweets, but one piece shouldn't hurt right…?" Spike smiled as he watched the cat finish off the desert.
*Meeeooowwww* the cat cheered happily
"Glad you like it, maybe you can go bother pinkie pie now." Said Spike as he climbed back into bed
But as he tried to tuck himself under his covers, the cat had begun to speak.
"Do you have the courage to fight against the nightmares?" the feline questioned with a female voice. "D…Did you just…nah that couldn't be…" Spike laughed nervously. "Everyone is so scared of nightmares, they shy away from them, shutting their eyes from their worst fears." the cat continued
"W-what…?" spike questioned. Not understanding where the beast was going with this.
"So many of these lazy dreamers don't even realize that by facing your nightmares, you become strong, so strong that nightmares fear you, so many shy away from this…. But not you…" The cat said as it turned to spike.
"huh…?" spike asked again. "You've faced your nightmare time and again, and you only become stronger because you don't shy away from it, you stare into its eyes…, what will you do, when the ultimate nightmare appears? Will you shy away from it, or will you stare into its eyes like before…?" The cat questioned.
Spike had rubbed his eyes trying to process what was going on.
"W-what do you know about nightmares….?' Spike questioned. But the cat only cocked its head as if it didn't understand the question.
"Hey... Say something… can't you talk?!" Spike asked. But the cat again, cocked its head as if it didn't understand the question.
"Ugh… maybe I should call it a night… it's too early to deal with this…" Spike groaned as he plopped on his mattress and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The mysterious cat had made itself comfortable before making itself a place on the mattress for it to sleep.
End of Chapter 2..
