Chapter 8: The Duelists
Opening Comments: Chapter 8 is upon us. This chapter starts the events that will inevitably bring this story to a close. If you've been waiting for answers and/or action, it starts here. I consider the event at the end of this chapter to be "big", so hopefully those of you who have been waiting for something "big" to happen will think so, too.
It had been four days since the party, and two days since Rainbow Dash had slept. Her concentration was shot, her track performance almost non-existent, and her attitude abysmal, but it was the only way to avoid the hallucinations. If she slept, she had the pony dreams. If she had the pony dreams, she saw elements of them everywhere she went. When the incident had first occurred at Spike's party, she had written it off as an odd phenomena. Now she didn't know what to think of it. All she knew was that she could not sleep. She mentally re-affirmed this fact as she chugged yet another energy drink on her way to her locker. Her friends had already beaten her there.
"...and then I said, oatmeal? Are you crazy?" Pinkie was saying as Dash approached the group. As soon as Pinkie saw her she ran over and threw her arms around Dash's shoulders. "Good morning Dashie! You're running late today!"
Dash gave a small laugh and shrugged out of Pinkie's embrace. "Y-yeah, I guess I am," Rainbow Dash replied with another laugh. "You're energetic, as always." In her sleep-deprived state, Dash found that she had little tolerance for Pinkie's hyper antics. She had to fight to keep her composure; after all, it wasn't Pinkie Pie's fault that she hadn't slept for two days. Dash glanced around at her friends, trying to find something to talk about. After a moment, she noticed that two people were missing. "Hey, where are Twilight and Spike?" she quickly asked.
Rarity spoke up first. "Twilight had to drop off some extracurricular work before homeroom, and Spike, being her ever loyal bodyguard, went with her." She paused for a second and then continued, "Of course, that was about ten minutes ago. Now they're right behind you."
Dash turned to look behind her, and sure enough there were Twilight and Spike approaching the group. She began to greet them, but before the words could leave her lips Spike cut her off by saying, "Holy crap, what happened to your face?" From the corner of her eye Dash caught Rarity covering her face with her hand.
"Well, we weren't saying anything about that in an attempt to be respectful, but now that Spike has so graciously blurted out what we were all thinking..." Rarity allowed her sentence to trail off as she eyballed Dash.
"W-what do you mean? Nothing's wrong," Dash stammered. "I've just been... you know... putting in a lot of practice at the track, what with the meet coming up and all." She could feel her friends eyes boring into her, as if they were weighing her words for truth. Before anyone could comment, though, the morning bell rung and spared her any further inquisition. After quickly stashing her bag in her locker, Dash grabbed her books and bolted into the classroom, leaving her friends to follow in her wake.
She entered the classroom and took her seat, fighting the urge to lay her head down on the desk. Caffeine could only sustain her for so long, and she was reaching her limit. If this kept up, she wouldn't be able to run in the upcoming track meet for which she had worked so hard. You've gotta pull it together Dash, you just gotta... she thought to herself as her eyes fell closed and her head bobbed forward. A tap on her shoulder sent her jolting upright. "I wasn't asleep, I promise! Look I'm wide awake!" she shouted, drawing the entire class' attention. She blushed and sheepishly turned to see Spike standing behind her, his eyes wide with shock.
"For the record, I don't really care if you sleep in class or not," he commented. "I just wanted to tell you that my friend Warrel finally got my GameStation 3 to me, and I also picked up a copy of Soul Render 4. Twilight said you like fighting games, so I figured I'd ask if you wanted to help me break it in after school."
Despite his attempts to act casual, Dash could tell that Spike was trying to read her for any signs of what was troubling her. Play it cool she told herself. "S-sure, I'll take you on! You'll be sorry when I kick your butt, though," she replied, puffing her chest out with false confidence. The gesture seemed to amuse Spike, who chuckled before returning to his own seat. Good, if you have something to do you won't want to fall asleep she thought. For now, though, she had to get through the school day. That was the real challenge.
"..ash? Dash? Rainbow Dash!"
Dash felt a hand shaking her shoulder and snapped her head around. Twilight stood behind her, a perplexed look plastered on her face. "Are... you okay?" her friend asked after a moment.
It took a moment for Rainbow Dash's brain to take everything in. She was standing at her locker with the door open. How long have I been here? she wondered. Then another, more horrifying thought crossed her mind. "Twilight, was I asleep?" she blurted out, turning to fully look at her friend.
Twilight seemed to pull back slightly, as if she were afraid of being hurt. "No, you were just kind of... standing there staring into your locker. I guess you could have been sleeping with your eyes open." Twilight replied slowly. "Is everything okay? You've been acting really weird lately."
Dash didn't immediately reply. Her eyes began to dart around to the few people still left in the hallway. No hooves, no horse ears, no weird little tattoo thingies... alright, I'm good she thought to herself before finally returning her attention to the conversation. "Yeah, I'm fine, never felt better!" she lied. "Hey, where's Spike? He's due for a butt-kicking on Soul Render!"
As if in response, Spike stumbled around the corner of the hallway, with a large number of books stacked precariously in his arms. "Did you really have to make him carry all of those himself?" Dash asked incredulously, as she silently celebrated the change of subject. Twilight sighed in response.
"He insisted that I let him carry all of them. 'Oh, I'm here to protect and assist you! Let me get those!'" Twilight said in a mocking tone.
Rainbow Dash smiled mischievously and patted Twilight on the shoulder. "It's okay Twi, you don't have to hide the fact that you like it. After all, it's not often that you have a guy doting over you."
Twilight's face flushed red as she retorted with, "I do not!" Dash simply burst into laughter as Spike, who was oblivious to the whole exchange, finally made his way to them and managed to set the books down. Dash watched silently as Twilight started to pick through the books, dividing them into two separate stacks. One stack she lifted and placed in her locker; the other was divided between her and Spike.
After that business was settled, her friends began to walk away from her. When he realized that she wasn't following them, Spike turned his head and hollered, "What, are you chickening out of our match?"
Dash snapped fully back into consciousness, laughed, and said, "Heck no! You're going down!" as she rushed to catch up to them.
"Oh that was a cheap shot!" Dash shouted as Spike backed her character into a corner before executing a special move. She watched her health gauge drop to just a sliver, which Spike happily stripped away with a simple weak kick. The game announcer happily declared his character the winner before beginning a replay of the match.
"What happened Dash? I thought you were going to kick my butt," Spike goaded as he stood up and walked over to his mini fridge and extracted a soda. Technically students weren't supposed to have fridges, microwaves, and the like in the dorm rooms, but technically he wasn't in a dorm room. He withdrew a second can and tossed it to Dash, who barely managed to catch it. "Alright Dash, something's not right. You have the best reflexes of anyone I've ever seen, and yet you almost got bonked in the head with that can. What's wrong? And don't feed me that 'nothing, I'm fine' crap, either."
Dash sighed and sat the can on the small, low sitting table in front of her. "Spike, I'm serious, I'm f-" she stopped when she noticed the evil glare he was giving her. With another sigh she hung her head and began to explain everything-what she had seen at the party, what she had been dreaming, and what she would see after waking up. It embarrassed her to admit it, but it also felt good to finally get some of the stress off of her shoulders. To her surprise, Spike didn't seem to be overly shocked about the whole situation. He didn't try to speak until she had finished her story.
"So basically, if you could sleep without dreaming then it wouldn't be a problem, right?" he finally said after she was done. She nodded her agreement, which set Spike to digging through one of his desk drawers. After a moment he pulled out a small bag of what appeared to be small leaves and offered it to her. "That's a herbal remedy that I found online a while ago. You simply boil them and then drink the result. It represses your REM cycles, which is where you dreaming occurs. It's fairly effective, too. Granted, you won't get as restful a sleep as you're used to, but it's still better than no sleep."
Dash stared at the small bag curiously for a moment. Several questions popped into her mind, such as why Spike would ever have a need for this, and if he was sure it was really safe. She ultimately decided to keep her mouth shut, though, for fear of offending him. Instead she just thanked him and excused herself so that she could finally try to get some sleep. As she was about to walk out the door, though, Spike stopped her.
"Is everything okay?" Dash asked, her hand resting on the door knob.
"Yeah, it's fine, but you told me your secret, so I figured I should tell you mine," Spike said. He was looking at his feet and rubbing his hands together nervously. Dash couldn't help but want to know, despite her exhaustion. After a moment's hesitation he began to speak again. "I'm... going to ask Rarity to go out with me."
"You sly dog!" Dash responded. "I thought I caught you checking her out a few times! Well, good for you!" She didn't have the heart to tell him about Rarity's comment the other day. With a good luck wish Dash walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Spike watched the door closed, then walked over and locked it before returning to his desk. He pulled a spiral notebook from one of the drawers and placed it on the desk top. Inside, he had an equal number of pages tabbed for each one of the girls. He opened to the Rainbow Dash section, where he already had 'Inexplicable increase in speed' and 'Hallucinations at party' scribbled down. Below those, he added:
Dreams of ponies, with images carrying over into the conscious world. I gave her a sleep aid. Deterioration may be occurring faster than previously assumed.
He sat back and stared at the page for a moment, lost completely in thought. I may need to request permission to execute our plans earlier than expected. A knock at the door brought him back to reality. "Who is it?" he called.
"It's Twilight. I'm here to help you with Physics, like you asked."
Spike quickly stashed his notebook in its hiding spot before crossing the room and unlocking the door. His pondering would just have to wait for now.
"So, how has that herbal treatment been working for you, Rainbow Dash?" Spike asked as the seven friends sat down to lunch. It had been two days since he had given her the medicine, and she was looking considerably better. Still, he wanted to hear it from her mouth.
"I feel great!" Dash exclaimed, pumping her fists into the air. "Whatever was in that stuff you gave me worked great. It tasted horrible, though." She stuck her tongue out to feign disgust.
The rest of the group looked at the two with perplexed stares; understandable, since they had not been included in Dash's confession. When Twilight inevitably questioned them, Spike quickly responded with, "Well, Dash was telling me that she was having trouble falling asleep thanks to the stress from the upcoming meet, so I gave her a herbal remedy for relaxation. I went through a phase a few years ago where I obsessed over herbal remedies and such, so I tend to keep a few of the more useful ones on hand." He shot Dash a quick wink as if to say 'you're secret's safe with me'. Twilight seemed to be satisfied with explanation, for she returned her attention to her chicken salad sandwich and whatever book she had brought with her.
Spike was glad for the easy diversion. While he was truly concerned with Rainbow Dash's situation, there was something else he needed to do that he was much more concerned with. Now that he knew Dash was doing fine, he could focus his attention on his own interests. He kept stealing glances at Rarity from across the table, trying to gauge her mood. She seemed to be fairly content, which put him at ease for what he was planning. He watched the clock with nervous eyes, never before so anxious for lunch to end so that he could get through his afternoon classes. His own thoughts began to consume him, until he heard Twilight begin to speak next to him.
"Oh, Rarity, I wanted to ask if you're free this Saturday," Twilight stated, looking up from her book.
"This Saturday? Well, I didn't have anything planned. Why do you ask?"
"I need to have my highlights touched up," Twilight commented, pulling at her hair to indicate the shades of pink and dark purple running through her hair. "They're starting to grow out and fade."
Rarity clasped her hands together and rested her chin on them, her eyes searching Twilight up and down. "Well now, this is a pleasant surprise. I had to fight with you for weeks before you'd let me put those in, and then I had to harass you to maintain them. I guess all my hard work has finally won you over."
Twilight's face flushed slightly red. She looked away from Rarity's studious gaze. "Y-yeah, something like that," she replied. "So will you take care of it for me?"
"Of course! Design may be my calling, but cosmetology is my passion! How does Saturday evening at five sound?"
"That will be just fine," Twilight confirmed as she went back to silently reading her book.
The rest of the lunch period passed with the typical high school chatter. When the end-of-lunch bell rang, the group re-arranged the desks into their proper positions and then dispersed to their specialized afternoon courses. Spike could feel his stomach knotting up with a combination of excitement and tension. Now he just had to get to the end of the day.
After school
Spike stood by the lockers, nervously checking the time every couple of seconds. He had arranged to have Rainbow Dash escort Twilight back to her dorm so that he would be free to do what he needed. While it was a clear violation of his duties as a bodyguard, he felt that he could trust Dash to at least do that much. Besides, Shame on the Night would be stupid to attempt any sort of attack in broad daylight. That was how he justified it to himself, anyway.
Time felt like it was standing still. Students filed by him, extracting their belongings from their lockers and leaving for the day, never giving him a second thought. He started to wonder if he had somehow been too slow, if he had missed her...until he saw her round the corner.
Rarity was walking by herself, her books and binder clasped under her arm. He rushed over to her. "Hey, Rarity, let me help you with those." She seemed to be surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Spike? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Twilight?"
"I have Rainbow Dash keeping an eye on her for me," he explained as he took Rarity's books from her. The two of them walked silently back to the lockers, where Rarity began to input the combination into the lock.
"Say, Rarity, there's something... I want to ask you," Spike began, his heart pounding so hard he feared it might burst through his chest.
"Yes, what is it?" Rarity asked, matter-of-factly, as she began to take her belongings from Spike and stuff them into her backpack.
"Well, you see, how do I put this..." he trailed off for a moment, unsure of how to continue. This was a new experience for him, after all. Finally, completely frustrated with himself, he quickly blurted out, "Rarity, will you be my girlfriend?"
Everything seemed to freeze around him. The look on Rarity's face was clearly one of surprise, and it seemed that she didn't quite know what to say. An eternity seemed to pass, the two of them simply staring at each other, before she finally replied with, "I'm sorry Spike, but no."
Spike began to jump up and down. "Yes! I knew you'd say that! I promise I won't let you-wait, did you say 'no'?"
Rarity sighed and closed her locker door. "I'm sorry, Spike, but yes. You're a nice guy, but you're just not my type." She reached out a comforting hand, but he pulled away.
"No, it's alright, you don't need to apologize. It's not like you did anything wrong, after all." He kept his gaze locked on his feet; he just couldn't bring himself to look up at her. "Anyway, I should probably get back to Twilight. I've shirked my duties long enough." He could feel the tears beginning to well up behind his eyes. Rarity couldn't see him cry; he at least needed to have that shred of pride remain with him. Without giving her a chance to say anything else, he took off down the hallway.
The cool air hit him full on as he burst through the school doors, but it didn't seem to faze him. At this point, the tears were beginning to flow down his cheeks. Why did I even try? I haven't even known her that long he thought to himself. Besides, it's not like I'd get to see her anymore after this is all said and done. Those thoughts didn't help to stem the sadness that was boiling over inside of him, though. He turned his face downward in an attempt to keep his fellow students from seeing his tears. It felt like an eternity had passed before he finally reached the library doors. He paused for a moment to collect himself, drying his eyes on the sleeve of his blazer. Get ahold of yourself, Spike. Crying over this is ridiculous! Be a man for crying out loud! he mentally berated himself. When he finally managed to collect himself, he entered the library and found Twilight hard at work organizing the books. Rainbow Dash was helping her, but it was obvious that she wasn't enjoying it. Spike tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey Dash, thanks for helping me out. You can head out now; I can take it from here."
Dash looked at him silently for a moment, as though she were studying him. Finally, she said, "Are you okay, Spike? Your eyes look a little red."
Spike gave a forced laugh and shrugged. "I guess it's just the autumn chill getting to me. I'm fine, I swear. Hey, why don't you come over for another round of Soul Render on Saturday?"
"Sure thing," she replied, setting down the book she had been holding. As she walked past him she said, in a voice only loud enough for him to hear, "Maybe then you'll be honest with me."
Spike watched her leave, and then turned to see Twilight descending the bookcase ladder. "She's right, your eyes do look bad. Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" She too began to study him, though her gaze was much more intent. He knew that Twilight wasn't as easy to fool as Dash, so he quickly set himself to organizing the books on the book cart.
"Everything's fine. Seriously. Now let's get this over with so I can play vid-I mean, study."
*** Saturday
"Come on, again?" Dash yelled as Spike's character delivered its finishing blow. The character turned its back to the screen and bent over, making rude gestures at its back side. "That's so messed up," she muttered. Spike rolled with laughter.
"I thought you said you were good at fighting games," he teased, exiting the game back to the character selection screen.
Dash shrugged her shoulders. Once upon a time she had been good at fighting games, but she hadn't had a lot of play time ever since she started seriously focusing on running. It appeared that her gaming skills had gotten rusty. Well, testing her ability to mash multi-colored buttons wasn't exactly why she was here, anyway. She sat her controller down on the low sitting table in front of her. "Alright Spike, spill it. I already knew you were asking Rarity out the other day, and you haven't said anything else about it since. The two of you aren't acting all lovey-dovey; in fact, it looked like you were avoiding looking at her at all. I may not be the smartest girl in school, but I can pick up on something that obvious. Still, I'd rather hear the truth from you."
Her straightforward approach seemed to catch Spike off guard. He stared at her, mouth opening and closing as he tried and failed to utter some form of protest. Finally, he sank back against the side of his bed, defeated. "Yeah, you're right, she turned me down. It hurt, too. It hurt like hell. I'm not really sure why, either. It's not like we knew each other very well. Hell, my attraction to her was mostly physical." He shook his head and drew his knees up to his chest. "I'm so screwed up."
Dash felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. She knew that this was most likely going to happen-Rarity had flat out said that Spike wasn't her type, after all. Even with that knowledge, though, she had chosen to stay silent so as not to interfere. As a result, Spike was upset and his friendship with Rarity had become awkward. This is your fault she told herself. "Say, Spike, have you ever tried asking a girl out prior to that?" She finally asked.
"No, this was the first time. Sure, I saw some cute girls at the shows we used to play, but I never really felt compelled to pursue them. I guess you could say Rarity was my first crush." He laughed, though at what Dash could only guess.
"Well, there's your answer, then. It has you so upset because it's a new emotion. You can't expect to handle it like a champ." She reached out and playfully punched him on the arm. "Buck up! The right lady is out there somewhere!" That seemed to bring a smile to Spike's face. He opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he was going to say was cut off by a knock at the door.
"Spike, are you almost done? We have to be at Rarity's in an hour," Twilight said through the door.
Well, isn't that awkward Dash thought to herself. She rose to her feet and walked over to the door, opening it and quickly stepping out. She closed it behind her.
"Dash? Oh, that's right, you and Spike were playing that game again," she commented. She was dressed nicer than Dash was accustomed too. Dressed in a long-sleeved purple tunic and jeans, Twilight looked more like she was going on a dinner date than to a hair appointment. What was extra surprising was that she was wearing her glasses. They were half moon and set in a black frame.
"Someone's dolling herself up today," Dash commented.
Twilight looked down at herself, as if she was surprised that Dash was talking about her. She looked back up and shrugged. "W-well, you know, Rarity is always berating me about not taking care of my appearance, so I thought I should make an effort." She cleared her throat and continued, "Anyway, do you know if Spike is ready, or if he was planning to change before leaving?
The mention of them leaving snapped Dash's attention back to the situation at hand. She laid a hand on Twilight's shoulder and looked at her seriously. "Listen Twilight, it's really not right for you to drag Spike to Rarity's house. I don't know if you know this, but Spike has a crush on-"
"Yes, yes, I know, Spike has a crush on-" Twilight started to say.
"Rarity," Rainbow Dash finished over top of her.
"Rarity. Right. Wait, what? Rarity?" Twilight looked completely flabbergasted at the thought. "Where did you hear that from? I mean, she doesn't even match his type. He said he likes girls with glasses who are straightforward!"
Dash shrugged her shoulders. "Rarity does wear reading glasses, in case you haven't noticed. And she's not exactly shy about hiding her personality," she began to explain. Then something clicked in her mind. "Wait a minute. Twilight, are you... are you jealous?" Dash began to grin widely as the thought played through her mind. Twilight began to blush.
"What? Jealous? No, of course not! You know I don't have time for trivial thoughts of dating and crushes!" she blurted out, turning to look away from her inquisitor. "Anyway, why should that stop him from going to her place?"
Rainbow Dash sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to be able to tease Twilight. "Well, he asked her out, and she rejected him. That's why he looked so upset the other day. You can't tell him I told you this, but I just thought that this could lead to an uncomfortable situation, so I figured it was best if I said something."
Twilight sighed and began to rub her temples. Dash could only guess what was going through her mind at that moment. "Well it's too late for me to cancel now. Rarity would never let me hear the end of it. And there's no way Spike will let me leave the campus without him." She paused for a moment, clearly deep in thought. Then her face lit up with obvious realization. "Of course! Rarity's family is filthy rich! They put a bowling lane in their basement! He can just do that while we're there. That way he'll never have to see Rarity!"
The idea made sense on a basic level, but Dash couldn't help but feel that it somehow wasn't fair to Spike. Still, she got the feeling that nothing she said could stop this whole thing from going forward. After all, Twilight was right: Rarity was a stickler for keeping appointments, and she tended to lecture like a doting mother whenever one of them broke an appointment. She just prayed that things wouldn't be too awkward. "I guess that will have to do. Just try to make sure he's not too uncomfortable, okay?" Dash patted her friend on the shoulder. "I'll see you guys later."
An hour later Spike and Twilight were standing in the main hall of Rarity's home. This was Spike's first time here, and he couldn't help but be amazed at the sheer size of the place. "This has nothing on the royal palace, but for a civilian home, this is huge," he commented. Rarity's butler seemed to be greatly amused by Spike's comment. The old man covered his mouth with a gloved hand and chuckled.
"Well then, if you are ready I shall lead you both to Ms. Rarity," the butler finally stated, gesturing towards the double staircase near the back of the room.
Twilight raised her hand and shook her head. "That won't be necessary. I know where Rarity does her hair work at. Could you please show Spike to the bowling lane, though? I don't think he really wants to sit around and listen to girl talk."
"Of course, madam," the butler replied, bowing to Twilight before gesturing for Spike to follow him. Spike watched as Twilight headed up the staircase and out of sight. The idea of leaving Twilight alone for so long unnerved him; but then again, what could really happen to her here? The butler cleared his throat and spoke. "May I show you the way, sir?"
Spike's attention snapped back to the situation at hand, and he nodded in response to the question. The butler lead him behind the double staircase to a door set in the back wall of the mansion. The old man opened the door to reveal a long, twisting staircase, which he lead Spike down. Despite his service in the royal palace-which was much more grand than even this home-Spike couldn't help but be amazed at what he was seeing. At the bottom of the steps was a long hallway, stretching away in either directions. The hallway was lined with doors on either side, with large paintings in between. Spike didn't recognize the small signature in the corners of the paintings, but painter had been stellar, whoever he or she may have been. The figures in the paintings almost seemed like they could jump out of the canvas at any moment. It was awe-inspiring and unsettling at the same time. He felt a shiver go down his spine. Suddenly, without warning, the spell was broken by the butler's voice.
"Here we are, sir," he said with a low bow, indicating a door to his left. He opened the door as he explained, "This is the bowling lane. You shall find all of the equipment you need inside-ah, it appears the younger mistress is already here. Well, I suppose you shall have some company, then."
Spike entered the room and immediately saw to whom the butler had been referring. A young girl, no older than ten, was already using the lane, rolling gutter ball after gutter ball. He turned to ask the butler who the girl was, but the old man had already disappeared. Well that's strange he thought to himself. The old man hadn't so much as made a sound as he left. Or perhaps Spike had just been too preoccupied. It made little difference either way, he realized, so he simply closed the door behind him and approached the girl. "Um... hey there... mind if I join you?" he asked. She didn't seem to hear him over the sound of yet another ball crashing into the lane and rolling into the gutter, so he tapped her on the shoulder.
The girl let out a loud shriek and turned, her small hand balled into a fist aimed right at his stomach. Spike threw his hand down reflexively and grabbed her wrist. He stopped himself from following through with the rest of the maneuver. "Calm down, I'm friends with your sister. One of her other friends, Twilight-I'm sure you know Twilight," he paused and the girl nodded, "okay, well, Twilight's getting her hair highlighted, and they sent me down here to entertain myself in the meantime. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm just here to have fun." She lowered her head and stared at her shoes.
"Um... I'm sorry 'bout that," she said softly. "You just scared me. My name's Sarah, but my mom calls me 'Sweetie Belle'."
Spike couldn't help but laugh at her sudden change in character. That inevitably drew a disgruntled look from Sarah. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized. "I'm Spike. Would you like some company while you bowl?"
Sarah's eyes widened as Spike mentioned his name. "Oh, so you're the guy whose heart my sister broke!"
The muscles in Spike's face tightened in embarrassment. He could feel his face beginning to get hot. "So Rarity um... made it a point to talk about that, huh?" he asked, as rage started to mingle with embarrassment.
With a shake of her head Sarah replied, "Oh no, Rarity would never do that. I uh... peeked... at her diary."
There was a part of Spike that wanted to remain mad. After all, this girl had inadvertently violated his privacy. Despite that, though, there was something about the puppy dog eyes she was giving him that seemed to disarm him. Well, that's typical little sister stuff anyway, right? he rationalized. Yeah, that was right. Little sisters read their big sisters' diaries. That's all there was to it. He sighed and, without really thinking, patted her on the head. "Just don't go telling all of your friends about that. I'd like to reserve some of my dignity."
Sarah nodded vigorously. "So do you want to bowl with me? We have shoes over there," she pointed to a small rack of shoes in the corner. "It's just like a normal bowling alley, only with one lane."
Spike approached the rack and searched it until he finally found his size. He slipped his tennis shoes off and slipped the bowling shoes on. "So, I couldn't help but notice that you're not much of a bowler," he commented. That made the young girl blush. "I'm not exactly a champion myself, but I can at least help you keep it out of the gutter." Sarah nodded in response.
He walked over to her and placed a ball in her hand, then lined himself up behind her. He grabbed her hand and showed her how to line up her swing with the arrows on the floor, and how to time her release of the ball. On her next try, Sarah managed to knock down half of the pins. And so went Spike's evening.
"Honestly, Twilight, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised when you willingly asked me to touch up your highlights," Rarity commented as she pulled the highlighted chunks of Twilight's hair through the small holes in the highlighting cap. "I usually have to hound you endlessly to keep up with them."
Twilight didn't respond. Instead, she glanced around the small room, which had been set up with all of the equipment of a hair salon. Unlike most people, who had to make concessions when pursuing their passions, Rarity was able to go all out. It must be nice to have so much money Twilight thought, a pang of jealousy shooting through her. She mentally shook off the feeling; after all, Rarity hadn't done anything wrong.
From the corner of her eye, Twilight looked over at the other barber chair in the room. It was empty, and she couldn't help but feel that something was missing. "Hey Rarity, where's Fluttershy? You two are usually attached at the hip on the weekends," Twilight asked off-handedly.
"Hm? Oh, didn't I tell you? She's with her mother again this weekend. Apparently she's had a lot of business in the area lately." Rarity slid a small hook through one of the holes in the cap and pulled it back through, bringing with it a chunk of Twilight's hair. "It's a shame, too. We could have had a girls' beauty night."
Twilight chuckled at the thought. Once upon a time it would have seemed like a huge waste of time, but now the idea was almost tempting, even if it did mean she'd have to be away from her studies for an entire night. "I can't imagine Spike being too happy with that," she finally stated with a smile.
The mention of Spike's name seemed to pique Rarity's interest. "Speaking of Spike, where is he? The boy usually follows you like a loyal puppy. It's weird not seeing him here." She paused to set down her hook and retrieve the bowl of dye that was sitting on the small bench in front of the chair. She continued while mixing the dye around with a brush. "Granted, I'm almost relieved that he isn't here. That could have been... shall we say awkward?"
That comment snapped Twilight's mind back to her earlier conversation with Rainbow Dash. She felt an unfamiliar feeling surge through her. "Actually, he is here. He's using your bowling lane," Twilight commented. Somewhere deep inside she felt a sick satisfaction at the uncomfortable look that shot across Rarity's face. A heavy silence settled in the room for a moment before Twilight continued. "Rainbow Dash told me everything. So why did you turn him down, if you don't mind me asking?"
Rarity had begun rubbing the dye onto Twilight's hair when the question was asked. Twilight felt her friend's hand come to a complete halt. "That's quite the personal question, Twilight, but I guess there's no point in hiding it." Rarity paused, and for a moment Twilight wondered if she was reneging on her decision. Finally, she said, "It's just that Spike's not really my type. Besides, I wouldn't feel right taking him away from you, even if he was."
Pure frustration set into Twilight, and before she could stop herself she had thrown her arms in the air, completely startling Rarity. "First Dash, and now you. Why does everyone insist that I have a thing for Spike?" At her side Rarity began to chuckle. "What's so funny?"
"When did I ever say you had a 'thing' for him, Twilight? It's painfully obvious that you do, though. I can't believe you're so oblivious to your own emotions. I mean, we've all noticed you paying more attention to your appearance lately." Rarity placed her dye on the bench and shook her head. "You need to be more honest with yourself. I turned Spike down, but eventually someone will swoop him up. I hope you learn to be more honest with yourself before that happens."
Twilight felt the heat rushing to her face. She had never bothered with romance before-when had she ever had the time? Maybe they're right about your feelings. You're different around him she thought to herself. The thought settled on her brain like an oversized bird settling on a thin branch. Her head began to hurt. At some point Rarity began to work on her hair again, but Twilight wasn't really sure when. The rest of their evening passed in silence.
"Wow, it sure got chilly," Twilight commented, hunkering down in her coat. Cooler weather was to be expected since autumn was well underway, but that night's weather was practically frigid. She was starting to regret the refusal of a limo ride back to the dorms, but she had a ritual that she tended to stick to after her hair sessions, and she was determined to abide by it. It probably wouldn't hurt to spend some time alone with Spike, either, given everything that's happened she had told herself. So here they were, huddled in their coats as they traversed Perryville's main drag.
"You're right about that," Spike replied through chattering teeth. His face was hidden beneath the hood of his black coat.
They walked in silence after that. Twilight wanted to talk more, but the cold just made it so hard to concentrate on anything. Still, she felt bad. Spike had recently been heartbroken, yet she had dragged him to the home of the very girl who broke his heart. Even worse was the fact that she felt some sense of satisfaction at knowing he was turned down, because it meant that she still had a chance. She'd tried to continue denying her feelings, but after being confronted by both Rarity and Rainbow Dash, she finally gave up on that front. If she couldn't fool the people around her, then there was no point in trying to fool herself.
She tried to think back to her past to see if she had ever felt like this before-if she'd ever struggled with anything as much as she was struggling with this. There was that time when I just couldn't grasp the concept of Bell's Theorem... but that's when I was seven. I doubt that's the same she thought to herself. No, as far back as she could remember she had never held any sort of romantic interest. This was new ground she was treading on. No, it was more like she was walking on the edge of a cliff, and one wrong move would send her stumbling off the side. The problem was that she didn't know the right decision. Silence continued to hang between Spike and herself, broken only by the sound of the occasional passing car. Finally, after several more moments, she decided that nothing good would come from simply remaining silent.
"Hey Spike," she began, "I'm sorry for dragging you to Rarity's tonight. I um... I know about the situation between you two. I shouldn't have made you go, given the circumstances."
Spike's head snapped around, eyes wide and face red with embarrassment. "You know?" he said incredulously. Then, as suddenly as he snapped, he began to laugh. It was empty of any mirth, though. "Of course you know. Even Rarity's sister knows. I guess I'm a laughing stock to all of you girls now."
Twilight shook her head. "No, Spike, you're not a laughing stock. Dash was concerned about the situation, so she brought it to my attention. Even Rarity scolded me for bringing you there. We care about you, Spike, despite what you may be thinking. We all really care about you, especially m-" the word stuck in her throat, and she couldn't seem to get it out. She sighed and finished with, "Trust me, we all care about you." Whether or not her words actually had any effect on Spike she couldn't tell; he was staring at the ground, his face obscured by his hood. Good job making the situation more awkward, Twilight.
She looked away from Spike to take in their surroundings. If she was right, they should be getting close to their destination... yes, there was the telltale green and white sign of her favorite coffee shop. While she didn't make a habit out of drinking coffee, she did enjoy the occasional cup, and it was a mandatory treat whenever she had Rarity work on her hair. Something about a fresh look and a nice cup of coffee just seemed to go together. Without thinking, she grabbed Spike by his wrist and began to pull him towards the coffee shop. He began to protest, but she cut him off with, "Just trust me. This is the perfect pick-me-up." She felt his resistance drop, and could only assume he was willing to at least give her method a chance. It may not be much, but it was the best she could do for now.
They reached the crosswalk with ten seconds left. The numbers continued to count down next to a flashing hand; they reached the other side with two seconds to spare. Past a few more shops and around the corner, and they were there. Twilight could see that the shop was still busy via the large windows; not surprising, considering the shop stayed open late, and therefore was a favored spot for college students to do some late night work/studying, not to mention all of the adults who came for their caffeine fix before hitting the town for the night. She remembered how hesitant she had initially been to try the coffee here, and now she was practically addicted. Well, we're all allowed some guilty pleasures.
Twilight led Spike through the shop's door. Overhead, a small bell jingled to signal their entry. Unsurprisingly, there was a line at the counter, so the two friends filed into the back and began examining the menu. "Have you ever been to one of these places before?" Twilight asked. Spike nodded beside her.
"Yeah, once or twice. They're a fairly big company. I usually just grabbed a muffin or something, though. Coffee's good and all, but it doesn't really give me much energy. I much prefer a Mad Bull energy drink for that," he paused as if he was considering what to say next. "Still, a hot coffee does sound nice on a cold night like this." He sounded fine, but Twilight couldn't tell if it was genuine or forced. At least he was talking to her, though.
"I'd recommend the Pumpkin Spice if you haven't tried it before. It's really good," she suggested, trying to keep the conversation going. Again, Spike nodded.
"Alright, maybe I will. You know, I never took you for a coffee person, Twilight."
Twilight began to respond, but was cut off by an unknown voice from behind them. "Twiligh'? Twiligh' Sparkle?" She turned to see a grizzled looking man in a long coat. He was tall and thin, with dark stubble covering his cheeks and chin. His hair was cropped close to his head. There was something sinister about the look in his gray eyes. She wasn't sure whether to reply or not, but Spike seemed to make the decision for her.
"I don't think it's any of your business who she is, sir. We're just here for some coffee. I'd suggest you leave us alone." The usual light-hearted tone was gone from Spike's voice, replaced with something resembling authority. It didn't seem to put off the stranger, though, who laughed at Spike's words.
"Barkin' jus' like a good lil' guard dog, aincha?" the stranger replied. He spoke with a thick accent that Twilight couldn't quite place. "S'alright, I don' need ya to answer me. Not many people who'd use a nickname like 'Twilight' in the firs' place, anyway. Then yer right where tha lady said ya'd be. There's no mistakin' it." He started to move towards Twilight, extending his hand as if he intended to grab her. "Yer gonna need ta come with me, missy."
Twilight wasn't sure what exactly happened next. All she knew was that one minute the man was reaching for her, and the next he was recoiling, grasping at the back of his hand. Spike stood between them, something black and cylindrical in his hand. Surprisingly, the man was laughing. "Well, looks like tha dog's gaw some bite." He shook his hand and flexed it, before reaching into his coat. "Look kid, I don' wanna fight. I jus need the little lass there to come with me. Tha lady said somethin' about needin her magic. Don' know anythin' about magic meself. It's all fairytales s'far as I'm concerned, but the lady insists. Now you can move outta tha way, or," he paused and drew a knife from within his coat, "we can do this tha hard way."
There was a loud gasp, and it took Twilight a moment to realize she had been the one to make the noise. She looked around, and noticed that the other patrons had become aware of the situation. They were backing away from the confrontation, a few of them holding cell phones. Yes, call the police. For the love of everything sacred, do it she thought. She wanted to scream it, but her voice stuck in her throat. Spike didn't seem to be backing down from the confrontation, either. He flicked his wrist, and the cylinder in his hand extended to about three feet by Twilight's estimation. It ended with a small ball. "Twilight, get away," he snapped, his eyes not leaving the assailant. Numb, and unable to utter a word, Twilight simply nodded and ran.
Spike watched from the corner of his eye as Twilight moved away from him. The would-be kidnapper tried to move past him to follow her, but Spike swung his baton around, aiming straight for the man's ribs. He blocked it with his knife. "Come now, kid. We don' need to do this. Jus move aside an' let me have the little lassie." The man tossed the knife back and forth between his hands. It was a short blade-no more than two feet-which meant Spike had the advantage of reach. Somehow he doubted that would matter much, though.
"Go to hell," he spat at the assailant, rushing forward and thrusting the baton at the man's stomach. The stranger grabbed the baton with his free hand, pulling Spike towards him. His other hand began to bring the knife down towards Spike's back, but Spike allowed the combined momentum of his attack and the assailant's pull to carry him forward, bringing his shoulder into the attacker's stomach. The man crashed into the condiment stand behind him, cracking his head on the counter. Spike fell on top of him and quickly sprang back to his feet, baton at the ready.
"Tha hurt, ya lil' bastard," the man cursed as he rose to his feet. He threw off his coat and took a fighting stance. "I ain't playin' whicha no more. You wanna die so bad, then let me make it happen."
Spike quickly whipped his own jacket off, tossing it at his assailant. It hit the man in the face, blinding him for a second. That was all Spike needed. He brought his baton around for a low strike, catching the man in the side of the leg. He would have preferred to go for the ribs, but there was a lot of liability that could come from that. The man groaned and sagged to the side. He threw Spike's jacket to the floor, his face pure rage. Whatever pain he was feeling didn't seem to hinder him from rushing at Spike, blade at the ready.
Spike brought his baton up to block the strike. He was surprised at how strong the strike was, given the man's injured leg and the difference in their choices of weapons. It was taking most of his effort just to hold the blade at bay. Spike concentrated his energy behind one powerful surge and pushed against the blade with his baton, sending the man staggering back. There's no choice, he's really trying to kill me. Against his better judgment, Spike brought the baton around for another rib strike. The assailant deflected the blow with a sweep of his blade.
Quicker than Spike could react, the man closed the distance between the two of them, coming at Spike with short, quick slashes. The close range made it hard for Spike to move his baton fast enough to block-the man was using the length of Spike's weapon against him. Whoever he was, he was certainly no novice. Sparks flew as steel collided with steel, Spike's baton showing silver through the black where the pain was being scraped off. He had to do something, and soon; there wasn't enough space for him to maneuver his baton properly.
The man seemed to sense that Spike was distraught, for he began to put more force behind his attacks. These powerful attacks were slower, though, and allowed Spike a split second to react. As the man brought his blade in for another strike, Spike slid his left foot back, turning his body sideways. The man's strike missed, and Spike grabbed his assailant's blade hand by the wrist. Turning his body, Spike brought his knee up and into the man's stomach. He could almost hear the air rushing from his attacker's lungs. "I think it's best for you to give up now," Spike said through gritted teeth. The man replied by lunging forward and biting the arm Spike was using to subdue him. The boy cried out in pain, and against all instinct let go of the man's hand.
That was all the time the assailant needed.
Spike felt a sharp pain in his back as his attacker's blade found it's mark. Shit, I fucked up the boy thought to himself. He tried to bring his baton around for another strike, but the man had used his free hand to grab the weapon. With one hard tug he managed to break it from Spike's grip. He tossed it out of reach. How can he possibly move like that after having the wind knocked out of him? Spike thought to himself. The pain in his back was unbearable, and made it impossible for him to focus his thoughts. It felt as if the strength was leaving his body; he began to fall to his knees. He had to do something, though, or he would die, and Twilight... Twilight...
"Ya put up a good fight, kid, but it's over now. Almost a shame I gotta kill ya, but yer one o' the queen's dogs after all." He raised the knife high above his head, and Spike knew the next blow would be the last thing he ever felt. Hopefully Twilight at least got herself out of here he thought to himself, closing his eyes. He couldn't bear to watch his own death come down on him.
There was a loud scream, followed by a sick crunching sound, and then more screaming. Spike opened his eyes to find Twilight standing over him, his assailant on the ground. The man's arm was bent at an odd angle, the bone protruding from the inside of his elbow. "Wh-what the?" he stammered. He could feel the warmth of his blood as it ran down his back. Was he seeing things? Had the pain caused him to hallucinate? Twilight turned and offered him her hand, and he accepted.
"I-I don't get it," he said, dumbfounded. Twilight let out something akin to a laugh.
"I used to read a lot of self defense books. I guess some of it stuck. It doesn't hurt that he was distracted either," she explained.
Spike closed his eyes and laughed at himself. "How do you like that? The bodyguard saved by the one he's supposed to be guarding." He let out a sharp gasp as pain rippled through his back.
Twilight shook her head. "You did great, Spike. Actually, after what I saw in the hallway a while back, I was surprised that you could fight at all. No offense." Despite her calm nature, Spike could tell Twilight was shaken up. Her hands were trembling, and she kept glancing at his wound. After a moment, she kneeled down and threw her arm around him, providing him with enough support to stand despite the pain.
"None taken," Spike responded. He shifted his weight and, with Twilight's help, rose to his feet. "I had more fight training with that baton than anything, and even that was sparse. I think it was mostly an instinct to survive that helped me keep up with him." He winced as another bolt of pain shot up his back. Twilight guided him to a booth, where he laid out on his stomach. He wasn't sure how deep in the knife had actually went, but it didn't really matter-all that mattered was that it hurt. Someone's hands began to lift his shirt up. Spike began to protest, until he realized it was Twilight.
"It's alright, Spike, I just want to have a look at it." She fell silent for a moment as she inspected the wound. Finally, after enough silence to make Spike more than a little concerned, she replied, "Well, you'll definitely need stitches, but it's not bleeding as badly as I thought." Spike didn't reply. Something about the tone in Twilight's voice soothed him. There was concern, to be sure, but there was also a certain level of calmness that re-assured him that he would ultimately be okay.
They didn't speak again until the police and paramedics arrived. Naturally they had to ask the usual questions; Spike was just glad they did it in the ambulance, where he was being given the pleasurable relief of pain killers. There was a lot of fuss made about the fact that he had been carrying a steel baton-at least until he managed to extract his wallet from his pocket and flash it open. Inside was his card identifying him as a member of the royal palace's staff. That seemed to reduce the questions to a simple series of events. Despite his clearance, though, they still insisted on confiscating the baton as evidence. "Take it," Spike finally spat. "You guys could have at least let them sew me up before you badgered me with your questions."
The officers seemed quite taken aback by his sudden snippiness, but they didn't come back with any sort of reply. He was glad for that; the energy to argue was far removed from him. This is the longest ambulance trip I've ever been on he thought. Actually, this is the first ambulance trip I've ever been on. That thought amused him, though whether that amusement was genuine or simply the result of the pain medicine taking its hold on his mind he couldn't say. All he knew was that he had never been happy to see the words "Emergency" lit up in neon lights.
Several hours later, Spike and Twilight were exiting the back of a police car and making their way through the gates of Perryville Academy. Upon arriving at the hospital, Spike had been seen almost immediately, but they had taken a while to actually get him stitched up. Apparently the blade had gone several inches into his back; fortunately, the angle of the strike caused it to miss anything important. Still, the doctors had insisted on keeping him overnight. Naturally he had refused. Guests weren't allowed overnight, which meant Twilight would have had to go back to the dorms alone, and he wasn't about to let that happen, not after a botched kidnapping. He declined to stay and simply accepted his pain medicine and the police escort.
"Are you sure it was okay to refuse the overnight stay?" Twilight asked as they made their way along the pathway to the library. Spike nodded.
"Yeah, it's more important for me to be here. Besides, if my health was in any danger I doubt they would have given me a choice in the matter. "Either way I'd be in pain. Might as well be in pain from the comfort of my own room." He felt a sense of depression wash over him. "Still, I failed to protect you. What kind of bodyguard am I? The useless kind, that's what." Beside him, Twilight shook her head.
"That's not true. You held your own in that fight. That man was much older than you, not to mention bigger and probably more experienced at fighting. You did good."
"Yeah, but what if you hadn't read those books? What if you weren't so lucky? Then you'd be injured too. You should have never had to help out like that!" Spike protested. Twilight simply shrugged her shoulders.
"I hate to break it to you Spike, but we aren't living in medieval times. Girls aren't these dainty little things that need protecting. We can be just as strong as you guys, especially when we have something important to protect."
They reached the library doors which, unsurprisingly, were locked. This was of little concern to either of them; they both had a key to the grand double doors. Twilight did the honors of unlocking the door and opening it, allowing Spike to enter ahead of her. She entered and closed the door behind her, locking it as she did.
The interior of the library was dimly lit by the back-up lights that were kept on at night. It was just enough for the two companions to make their way to the back of the library without tripping and hurting themselves-or, in Spike's case, hurting himself more. When they reached his door, Spike pulled out his key and unlocked it, turning the lights on as he opened it. He gestured for Twilight to follow him inside. The clock on his night stand read 2:13 a.m.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Twilight asked as she surveyed Spike's room. The boy shook his head.
"Nah, I should be fine. It's not like they bound my arm up in a sling or anything. I have my pain meds and my bed. That's all I'll need for now." He picked up the large book on his bed and flopped down, wincing as pain shot through his back. Keep that in mind the next time you want to throw your body around he told himself. He watched as Twilight shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, in that case, I'm going to head up to my room. I'm utterly exhausted. Good night." She turned and began to open the door. As she did, though, Spike got an idea.
"Hey Twilight!" he called. As she began to turn, he lifted the book that was in his hand and hurled it straight at her head. "Catch!"
Twilight's eyes widened in fear as she watched the book come flying at her. She threw her hands up to guard her face, bracing herself for the impact, but it never came. After several seconds she lowered her arms to see what was happening.
The book was floating in midair.
End of chapter notes: Well, this chapter was certainly a long time coming. I hope you all enjoyed it! It's definitely the longest chapter in this fic so far (and will probably be the longest chapter, period). There were a lot of events I wanted to cover. Hopefully I've met your expectations for something "big" to happen. Spike fighting with a man who is talking about Twilight's "magic" and then the return of Twilight's levitation seem like big events to me, so hopefully you folks will share my sentiment.
A few thoughts: some might say that it's unrealistic for Spike to be allowed to go home after being stabbed. I'd have to disagree. When I was in high school a friend of mine was stabbed in the stomach by some would-be robbers he found in his house. They used a steak knife, and it went a good bit into him. The hospital stitched him up, confirmed that there were no vital organs injured, and sent him home with pain meds. I imagined Spike's injury to be similar in nature, just to the back instead of the stomach.
Also, Twilight's sudden ability to defend herself: I think she defends that well enough within the chapter. I've seen many girls and women in my life who, while seemingly "weak" or "frail" on the surface, have done amazing things to protect the ones they love. My fiancée is a shining example of this. If you were to look at her, you'd think she was this timid, quiet woman, but she got me out of some serious trouble back in high school. I'd gotten into a verbal argument with this group of guys, and it turned physical between myself and one of them. As I was fighting the guy, one of his buddies started to come over to jump into the fight. My fiancée laid him out (obviously we weren't engaged at the time, though). Never underestimate anyone, because even the seemingly weakest person can demonstrate feats of amazing strength under the right circumstances.
And if that's still not enough of a reason for you, well, there is something else behind Twilight's ability. You'll have to wait and see what that is, though. As always, you can find information on my blog: .com. I'll probably make a post explaining the long delay in getting this chapter done, so if you're curious, feel free to check it out.