Chapter 9: Heal Me
This chapter is dedicated to my friend and fellow Coheed and Cambria addict Joel "Woff" Fletcher. It was an honor and a privilege to know you, Joel. Rest in peace, my friend.
Thank you to my pre-readers for always helping me out.
Twilight stared in disbelief as the book hovered inches from her face, bobbing slowly up and down in midair. She wanted to scream, to say something, to simply react, but instead she just stared, her mind a blank slate incapable of processing what she was seeing. Every logical process in her brain failed to explain what was occurring in front of her face, and it felt as if her mind had simply given up on any hope of an explanation. She could feel her heart beat quickening. Her breaths started to come in short, quick spurts, and her head began to spin. If she continued down this path she was sure to hyperventilate. That was one thing of which her mind seemed sure. It was what she needed, though: one concrete thought to stabilize her mental processes.
She began forcing herself to calm down, collecting her thoughts as best she could. As she did, she began to recall details of this same phenomenon occurring once before, and she could feel her mind beginning to switch over to rationalization mode. Alright Twilight, you know this is impossible. Spike's obviously playing some kind of prank on you. But how? That was the question. Maybe with some sort of string? She raised her hands and moved them through the air around the book, covering every possible angle. There was nothing to be found. While the rational part of her mind reeled at the thought that the book was actually floating by some telekinetic force, another part of her mind began to accept it. After all, this wasn't the first time this had happened, and she had been alone that first time. Well, Rainbow Dash had walked in during the event in question, but there was no way she could have manipulated the book. On top of that, her friends had all been experiencing some strange events over the past several weeks. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had both shown signs of similar delusions, and Rainbow Dash also had the unexplained increase in speed. Then there was Fluttershy's outburst in response to Pinkie's description of some unseen door. That meant that four of the six friends had experienced some inexplicable phenomenon. Despite her best efforts, Twilight's rationality slowly began to admit defeat in the face of the surmounting evidence.
She looked away from the book and focused on Spike. He was still sitting up in bed, his eyes fixated on her. It was almost as if he was studying her, like a zoologist studies an animal in a cage, waiting to see how she'd respond to this abnormality. The problem was that she didn't know how to react. Part of her wanted to burst out in anger. Spike threw the book at her, so he must have known-or at least suspected-that this would be the outcome. He was her bodyguard, after all, so it didn't make sense that he'd do something to harm her. Another part of her wanted to break down into tears. None of this made sense, and she had no explanation for it. The whole situation was overwhelming, to say the least, and she had only managed to main strong through all of it because her life had remained fairly normal. The first incident of supposed telekinesis could easily be explained away by exhaustion, after all. Then there was a third part of her that was completely fascinated by the floating book. That part of her ached to study this untapped power, to see just how far it could go. Imagine all of the things you could do it whispered seductively. This would be the scientific find of a lifetime. Your name would go down in the history books. She shook her head to clear the thoughts before they became too tempting. While that scenario was certainly plausible, it was equally likely that she would be locked up in some room and experimented on for the rest of her life. That simply wasn't acceptable.
The prolonged silence began to press on her mind, making it harder to think. Why wasn't Spike saying anything? Why was he just staring at her? She was going to go crazy if one of them didn't say something. But what could she say in a moment like this? Nothing that came to mind really seemed sane. Though she wracked her brain for something more intelligent, all she finally managed to utter was, "Spike... what... what is this?"
"A floating novel of epic proportions," Spike replied with a smile, making it all too clear that he was enjoying the situation. That infuriated Twilight. She could feel her anger rising inside the pit of her stomach, growing like a wild fire. He had to know something, and yet he was treating it like a game! As her rage began to boil over, she began to lose control of her emotions.
"Why are you treating this like a joke? This situation has been driving us all crazy! You obviously know something, so spill it! What's going on here?" She shouted, throwing her hands up in the air out of frustration. While she typically liked to remain calm and collected, she just couldn't hold back anymore. Her anger continued to grow as Spike continued to remain silent. She raised a finger and pointed it at him. "Say something Spike!"
Before Twilight could even react, the book that had floated idly in front of her face began to zoom across the room, headed straight for Spike. If the boy was at all startled by this event he didn't show it, but rather reached into the air and plucked the book down, tossing it onto the bed. Somewhere in her mind Twilight felt something break, some kind of connection that she hadn't even realized was there. It was all too clear that it was whatever had bound her mind to that book. As fast as it came her anger subsided, and she suddenly felt weak. She collapsed to the floor and buried her face in her hands, her hair falling down to shield her as the tears began to flow. "None of this makes any sense," she sobbed.
Spike's hand on her shoulder made her look up. In his other hand he held a tissue, which he used to gently mop the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry for toying with you, but I needed to spur that reaction." He handed her the tissue and then walked over to his desk, opening one of the many drawers on its face. From within he extracted a large stack of envelopes tied together by a single string. "These are all of the letters you wrote to the queen concerning the recent events. She felt it pertinent that I be brought up to speed on the situation, and she asks for your forgiveness on divulging the information." Spike was speaking differently than Twilight was used to. His voice lacked the laid-back air that she was used to. He now sounded as if he were talking to a business partner instead of a friend. The feeling that he knew more than what was in those letters kept gnawing at her stomach.
"What else do you know?" she asked, the question coming out much more bluntly than she had intended. In truth, she didn't expect him to tell her anything. He had refrained from telling her anything up until this point, so why would anything be different now? She watched him intently as he seemed to consider her question, his eyes drifting around his room in what she assumed was some process of thought. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he walked back to her and kneeled down, looking her straight in the eyes. From this distance she could see the tiny flecks of gold in his green eyes, a minute detail she had failed to previously notice.
"All I know is what I've read... and what I've seen," he explained, his voice low. "You broke a man's arm tonight, on instinct alone. I figured this telekinesis or whatever it is might also be an instinctual ability." He shrugged his shoulders, as if to dismiss the situation. Twilight felt another wave of anger wash over her.
"So you threw a book at me over a hunch? What if you were wrong, and it would have hit me? What kind of bodyguard does that?" she yelled at him, her eyes locking onto his, searching for some unspoken sign. Spike simply shrugged again and then made a gesture towards himself.
"I would have given you as many free shots as you needed, but I had a hunch that I would be right." He rose to his feet and clearly winced, most likely from the wound on his back. "Besides," he continued, "a scientist like yourself should appreciate the need to take risks in order to make discoveries. Or is it only okay to take risks when you're personal safety is guaranteed?"
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but found that she couldn't think of anything that felt like a proper rebuttal. Spike was right-scientific discoveries did often require some level of risk. At the same time, though, most scientists would be wont to keep themselves from any risk of personal danger. She wanted to say that, but the hypocrisy of the statement sat in the back of her throat, leaving a vile taste in her mouth. The fact of the matter was that she hoped to work as a scientific researcher one day, and that meant that she may very well have to put someone else at risk for the sake of discovery, just as Spike had done only moments before. I guess he has learned something, after all she thought to herself. In truth, the risks of a real scientific experiment would have been much greater than the bump on the head that Spike had risked giving her, as well. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of silence, she replied with, "I hate to admit it, but you have a point." Under her breath she added, "It was still a stupid thing to do from a bodyguard's perspective, though." If Spike caught her little addition, he didn't make any indication of it as he moved back to his bed and began examining his book.
"So what do we do now?" Twilight found herself asking.
Spike looked up at her curiously but didn't respond. He began to chew on his lip thoughtfully, no doubt contemplating what would be the best answer. After a moment, he said, "We don't do anything. The decision is up to you. You can continue to ignore this ability of yours or you can explore it and try to harness it. If I know you, you'll choose the second option. Just do yourself a favor and keep this between the two of us."
Twilight didn't need to ask why there was a need for secrecy. She had already seen her friends' reactions to the other strange phenomena that had occurred, and it had been less than favorable. The need for caution was clear, even as her mind began to cloud itself with a mixture of fear and excitement. On the one hand, she was afraid of what this meant. Had everything she'd known up until this point been a lie? Had the idea of psychics, telekinetics, and maybe even magicians-who were for so long debunked by the science that she loved-been real all this time? Or was she some sort of twisted mutation that shouldn't exist? On the other hand, this was a completely new discovery. She was living proof that the very things science denounced as cult fiction actually existed, at least to some extent. Life could become a lot easier if she mastered this ability. I could certainly carry more books; after all, my mind is much stronger than my arms she thought to herself with an approving nod. Yes, she would experiment with this new discovery like any true scientist would, and maybe one day she would be brave enough to present her findings to the world. Then she would inevitably become a world renowned scientist, with all of the greats seeking to collaborate with her. Gone already were here earlier fears of experimentation, replaced with visions of scientific splendor and grandeur. Her mind continued to delve further and further into speculative fantasy until a woman's loud, wailing singing pulled her from her thoughts.
"I want your love, and I want your revenge..." was all she heard before the noise stopped, but it was enough to pull her from her fantasies. It took a moment for her to realize that the music was coming from Spike's cell phone, which the boy now held in his hands, a tint of red spreading across his face. That's the queen's favorite song Twilight thought to herself, waiting for Spike to answer the phone.
He seemed to pick up on her intentions, for he looked at her and asked, "I don't want to be rude, but would you mind heading back to your room Twilight? This is going to be sort of a private call."
Spike's sudden bout of secrecy only served to further pique Twilight's interest, causing her curiosity to war with her desire to explore her ability. After several seconds of intense mental struggle her scientific desires won out and she bid Spike good night, leaving the room as he answered the call. With a spring in her step she made her way up the staircase and through the door to her room, locking it behind her. She had no intentions of going to sleep until she figured out how to work this new ability of hers, and she certainly didn't want any distractions.
"It's experiment time!" she exclaimed to herself.
Sometime later...
Something was pounding. Twilight couldn't put her finger on what it was, but she could definitely hear the pounding from somewhere outside of the darkness. Her mind swam through ideas, trying to place where she had heard that sound before. Could it be a drum? No, it was too monotonous and dull for that. Perhaps somebody dropped something? But then why would it be continuously repeating? She quickly ruled out that idea, as well. Whatever the noise was, it wouldn't stop, and she found herself vowing vengeance on whoever was causing the ruckus.
As the pounding continued, she found the darkness receding. Slowly but surely light began to flood into her eyes, first as a small dot, then as a thin crack, until finally her eyes were open and she stared groggily around her bedroom. The place was an absolute mess. Books were scattered all over the floor, drawers were hanging out of her dresser and desk, and her sheets had been ripped from her bed and tangled up. She couldn't remember what happened; all she knew was that her head was killing her, and that that incessant pounding was driving her crazy. As her mind began to focus a little more, she finally realized that the noise was coming from her bedroom door. She stood up from her desk chair, stumbled, and caught herself on the edge of the desk. Whatever she had done had obviously drained her. Her mind seemed intent on holding that information from her, though.
She reached the door, unlocked it, and threw it open, ready to throttle whoever was on the other side, but found her temper diminished when she saw Spike standing on the other side, his toiletry carrier in hand. Confused, she asked, "What are you doing here, Spike?"
The boy cocked an eyebrow at her and slowly responded, "It's 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. I always come up here before school to take a shower at this time." He paused and began to study her face, his eyes darting across her features for any information. When that didn't turn up any results, he looked past her and into the bedroom. Those narrow, intense eyes quickly widened as he exclaimed, "Holy crap, Twilight? What the hell kind of experiment were you doing?"
Twilight tried to focus her mind so that she could make sense of what Spike was saying, but her head felt like it was ready to burst. All she could manage to do was ask, "Experiment?"
Again Spike cocked his eyebrow at her. "I came up here to check on you yesterday and you told me, quite angrily, 'Go away! You're interrupting my experiment!'"
As Spike finished his explanation, Twilight found her mind suddenly exploding with images, as if someone had pulled the trigger on a gun containing her memories. She saw herself focusing on any object she could, concentrating until she could will it to rise and come to her with only her mind. At first the items would only slightly rise from their locations, but the more she tried, the further they would move. Eventually she had moved on to moving larger objects, such as her television stand, which she had managed to scoot several inches. The more practiced the more she was able to move, but at some point things had started to go wrong. What was it? she thought, straining her mind to finish putting together the memories.
Various items had begun to swirl around her, moving from the power of her mind but not of her own will. Yes, that's right, I started to lose control she found herself thinking as she began to recall the incident in even more detail. Drawers were slamming in and out, clothes spewed from her dresser, and her mattress rose and fell, the sheets tossed from it. She had tried to control it, but the more she tried the worse the situation got. The last thing she remembered was something crashing into her head, followed by Spike's noisy wake-up call. Well, that explains the headache she thought to herself. To Spike, she finally said, "It seems things got a bit out of hand. I guess I pushed myself too hard."
"How long did you practice?" Spike asked, his tone a mixture of concern and curiosity.
Twilight had to think for a moment before answering. "Well, it was about 2:30 in the morning when I left your room... what time did you come up to check on me yesterday?"
The look in Spike's eyes already told her that the answer was going to be absurd. "I came up here around two in the afternoon after finally waking up. Those pain pills put me out cold. You yelled at me to go away, so I went and took care of the book filing for you."
Twilight had wondered how Spike had missed the noise she had apparently been making, but the pain pills seemed to provide that explanation for her. The headache was making another round of assaults on her, and she found herself grabbing at her temples. She needed some aspirin. "Well, come on in and take your shower. There's no point in me holding you up anymore," she commented as she turned and walked back to her desk. She began digging through the drawers hanging from the desk until she found a small white bottle buried under a mess of pencils, pens, and sticky notes. Grateful for the ensuing relief the medicine would bring, she said a prayer to whatever deities may be listening and turned to ask Spike for a glass of water. She found him staring at something on the floor. "Is everything okay, Spike?"
The boy turned his head and looked at her with a small smile. "I have to say, I'm kind of surprised that you'd have something like that," he replied, pointing at something on her floor. Puzzled, Twilight followed the direction of Spike's finger to find that he was pointing to a small, raggedy stuffed horse that was lying on her floor. With a small wave of embarrassment she stood and retrieved it, along with the pair of underwear beneath it. Thankfully it seemed that Spike hadn't noticed that second detail.
"There's nothing wrong with me having this," Twilight said defensively, cradling the toy against her chest. "You have that stuffed dog sitting on your desk, so I don't really think you have any room to make fun of anyone with a stuffed animal."
Spike shrugged in return. "I never said there was anything wrong with it, just that I was surprised. You didn't seem like the stuffed animal type. So sue me."
Way to over-react, Twilight she thought to herself as she watched Spike turn his back on her and head into the bathroom. Only the surge of pain that shot through her head reminded her of the two aspirin she held in her hand, and she quickly intercepted Spike for her glass of water. The boy complied with her request, filling the lone glass that she kept on the bathroom counter and handing it to her. After tossing back the medicine and downing the water, she handed the glass back to Spike, who closed the door and went about his business. She began to straighten up her room as she heard the shower kick on.
School
"So anyway, the meet's this Thursday afternoon at five. You all better be there to root me on!" Rainbow Dash finished, the excitement clear in her voice. Spike had only been half-listening the entire time, so he wasn't exactly sure what was said before that, but he knew it had something to do with Dash competing in a big track meet against their school's largest rival.
"Where's this at, again?" he found himself asking, looking up from the book he had been staring at. All six girls looked at him with annoyed, knowing glares that made him feel like a child about to be disciplined by his parents.
"I just told you, it's going to be in the gym. The temperature's been dropping too much for us to have it outside," Dash explained. She reached out and lightly smacked Spike in the side of the head. "Pay attention next time."
Spike played along and rubbed the spot where Dash had pretended to whack him. He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty, though. While he was happy that Dash would get to compete in such a big meet, he found it hard to have any real enthusiasm for the news. He just had no interest in sports whatsoever. While there was no doubt that he would be there-Twilight wasn't about to miss an opportunity to support her friend, and wherever Twilight went Spike had to follow-he wasn't exactly happy about it. On top of his dislike for all things sports was the fact that a track meet inevitably meant a large crowd of people, some of whom would inevitably outsiders there to support the other team. The idea of that many unknown people coming into the school made him nervous, especially after the events from two nights ago. There was no doubt now that Shame on the Night had members in Perryville, and this would be a perfect opportunity for those type of people to slip in. He grimaced as a twang of pain shot through his back. If anything did happen, that injury was sure to slow him down. Voicing these concerns wasn't an option, either; at least not here. Twilight had asked that he keep the events from the coffee shop a secret from their group of friends. Thus far, it hadn't appeared in any newspapers or news programs, either, which made him wonder how much damage control the queen's camp was doing.
He glanced over at Twilight, who was listening to the rest of the girls recap their weekends. His stomach gave a slight flutter, catching him off guard. What was that about? he wondered. Was he seeing her in a new light? There was definitely something different about the way Twilight looked to him. She seemed more attractive now, more interesting. When did that start, anyway? he asked himself. The answer seemed to be at the hospital, where Twilight had finally broken down and began crying. She had hugged him and apologized over and over for the injury, even though he had only done what the situation dictated. It had been a long time since someone had ever shown any real affection for him, and it had changed something inside of him. Maybe it was just that-he felt grateful that someone actually cared. The fact that he was so out of touch with his own feelings began to bother him; after all, he had known how he felt about Rarity without all of this turmoil. But then she turned you down he told himself. You're just screwed up in the head right now. You're either looking for someone to latch onto, or you're too disheveled to make heads and tails of what you actually want. He wasn't sure where that particular nugget of wisdom had come from, but it seemed to make sense.
The sound of the morning bell pulled him from his thoughts, its high-pitched shriek as annoying as ever. With a resigned sigh, he joined his six friends as they joined the throng flooding into their classroom.
After School
Rainbow Dash cleared another hurdle, resuming her run as soon as her feet hit the ground. It had been a long school day, and it felt good to unwind by doing what she loved. The cool autumn air blew through her hair as she ran, cooling the beads of sweat that began to trickle down her thin, long face. Her hair streamed behind her as she ran, creating a dazzling effect as the sunlight reflected off of its many colors. Once upon a time she would have pulled her hair back in an attempt to increase her speed, but these days it seemed like her speed was already at a supernatural pace, so pulling her hair back just seemed pointless now.
As she neared the finish line she glanced back over her shoulder. Only a small handful of the club members had joined her on the outdoor track, and they were all well behind her. A rumor had apparently arisen concerning Rainbow Dash's speed-namely that it was the result of her practicing outside no matter the weather-and as a result she had gained a small following during her practice sessions. In truth, she just enjoyed the fresh air enough to ignore the chill and gooseflesh across her skin.
She crossed the finish line and immediately halted the stopwatch she held in her hand. A downward glance revealed that she had run a complete circuit in forty seconds. She shook her head and walked to the sidelines, where she retrieved her water bottle and took a long drink. If she hadn't looked at the number in her own hand, she never would have believed it. The whole situation was just too unreal, especially because it didn't even feel like she was running that fast. No matter how many times she did this, though, she always received the same result, even with different stop watches. Nobody had been able to come up with a reasonable explanation for her inhuman speed-not her teammates, not her coach, not the nurse... not even Twilight, and she seemed to know everything! One part of Dash's mind rejoiced at her new-found abilities; it would certainly make winning the upcoming meet a lot easier. The other part of her mind felt guilty, though. After all, there was no way anyone could keep up with that, and she couldn't help but feel like she was somehow cheating.
Her team mates began to cross the finish line as she continued to contemplate her situation. While she didn't pay too much attention to the order in which they crossed, she did note that the first one across the line was a freshman by the name of Megan. A short, flat-chested girl with shoulder-length brown hair, Megan had only joined the team a few weeks prior, but she was already showing promise. Dash watched Megan leave the track and head in her direction, no doubt coming to retrieve her own water bottle.
"You did good," Dash commented as she watched Megan drink. The younger girl shot her a look that was half shock and half annoyance.
"That's easy for you to say, Rachel... I mean, Rainbow Dash. You're like some kind of machine. I've never seen anyone run that fast before." She took another drink from her bottle and then retrieved a towel from the small gym bag near her feet. As she wiped the sweat from her brow, she continued, "So is it true? Did you get fast from running in all kinds of weather?"
Dash couldn't help but laugh. So far, she had only heard the rumor through the grapevine; this was the first time that someone had mentioned it to her face. She shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye. "I don't know who started that rumor, but somehow I doubt it's true. I have no idea how I got so fast... it just sort of happened one day a couple weeks ago. No one can explain it, and to be quite honest it freaks me out, but what can I really do? I love being on the track team, so it's not an option to stop running." She shrugged her shoulders and glanced at Megan, who seemed to be studying her face intently, no doubt trying to read her expressions. After a moment, she began to speak again. "Look, you made good time today. You beat several of our more seasoned members, and I'm willing to bet you haven't practiced in chilly weather like this much. Most coaches are really strict and require their members to move in doors when it starts to get like this. Ours gives us the freedom to choose, thankfully."
Megan uttered an annoyed groan. "Look, I get it, you don't want to share your secrets. That's fine. But don't act like you don't know. People don't just suddenly get speed boosts." The younger girl groaned again, snatched her gym bag, and marched away from the track, leaving Dash alone.
Sighing, Rainbow Dash walked to the bleachers lining the track and took a seat. She sat there and watched the rest of her team mates continue to practice, and continued to sit there even after they had gone, lost in thought. She wanted to be mad at the fact that so many people refused to believe her explanation, but the truth of the matter was that she understood where they were coming from. It was hard to believe herself. Of course, her boosted speed had earned her the top position in the upcoming race, which didn't help things at all. Maybe I should just resign she thought to herself. Then someone else can have the opportunity, and the eyes can finally get off of me. She chewed her lip and considered the option. It certainly seemed like the best way to save face. As she did, though, another voice seemed to pop into her mind.
So you're just going to walk away? it said. People are jealous of you because you're better than them. That's never going to change. You want to be in the Olympics? Well you better toughen up first! You'll never get there if you keep giving up opportunities just to spare someone else's feelings! Dash found that liked the way this other part of her divided conscience was thinking. People were always going to be jealous of those who outperformed them, so why should she sacrifice her own happiness to appease them? It felt a bit harsh to think that way, but she had grand dreams, and to achieve them she would inevitably have to outperform other people. A harsh reality to accept, but a reality nonetheless.
With a renewed sense of vigor, Rainbow Dash rose from the bleachers and began running more laps around the track, the sun dipping to the horizon behind her.
The Track Meet
Thursday. The day of the meet. The gymnasium was packed with students, and the sound of their voices was deafening. Even the cheerleaders were having a hard time being heard over the voices. Twilight thought it weird to have cheerleaders performing at a track meet, but then again she didn't know much about the subject, either. While she had read about sports in the past, they weren't exactly her favorite subject. The only reason she was even here was to support Rainbow Dash. At present, she was keeping the runner company on the sidelines along with Spike, who looked like he was trying out for a cheesy spy b-movie in his black ensemble and dark sunglasses. She didn't bother to guess his motivation, though she was relieved that the gymnasium at least provided an excuse for him to wear the sunglasses.
She glanced up at the ceiling, only to be met with a blast of sunlight to the face. While most of the ceiling was solid, the center was comprised of glass panels to allow natural sunlight into the gymnasium. The panels ran three wide for the length of the ceiling, allowing a substantial amount of light in-so much so that the school currently had the electrical lights turned off. It was a green initiative, and a fairly effective one at that. Spike, of course, had voiced concern about that design decision while they were shelving books a few days prior. He had envisioned swarms of terrorists swooping through the glass and descending only long enough to grab kidnap her. Twilight had laughed at the notion, thinking and hoping that Spike was joking. Judging by the deadpan look he had given her combined with his current attire, though, she had thought wrong. She shook her head to clear her mind. If this is what it took to make Spike feel secure, then so be it; who was she to stand in the way? After dispersing those thoughts, she began to survey the gymnasium, as she was very rarely in the building.
It had been designed to host several different events. There were basketball hoops at either end of the building, though they were currently raised up via a mechanism on the wall. The floor of the building contained a number of different markings. Of course there were the obvious track lines, but in addition there were basketball boundaries along with other markings she didn't quite recognize. The school's emblem stared back at her from every wall, and even from the center of the floor. The whole scene was quite remarkable. Or maybe not. Twilight Sparkle knew a lot of things, but gymnasiums were one of the few things of which she lacked sufficient knowledge. She was pulled from her deliberation by a low groan from Rainbow Dash.
"Is everything okay?" Twilight asked, turning to look at her friend. Dash shook her head.
"No. Gilda is here." When Twilight's confused look made it clear that she didn't know to whom Dash was referring, she continued, "She's a runner from LaGuardia Academy. Well, I guess that much was obvious. We've competed against each other several times. Apparently she's into girls, and she always hits on me thanks to the rumor that I also swing that way. It's really frustrating." Rainbow Dash pointed to indicate a short, lean girl with short spiky hair who was currently making a practice round on the course. "I have nothing against her personally, but the constant advances get annoying, especially when I've already told her I'm not that way."
Twilight wanted to say something, but she found that she was at a loss for words. Finally, after fumbling around for something to say, she said, "Well, at least you only have to put up with it on rare occasions." The look on Dash's face made it clear that she wasn't comforted in the slightest by that statement. An uneasy silence settled between the two. Finally, after what seemed like eons, Dash finally spoke again.
"Well, I need to go warm up. Make sure you cheer loudly for me. And get off that damn phone, Spike!" She jogged out to the gymnasium floor, waving to them over her shoulder.
Twilight waved back, although she knew Dash wouldn't see, and then turned to Spike, who seemed to be staring intently at the screen of his phone. "I guess you got bored of playing the vigilant watchdog," she teased, moving over to stand beside him. He looked up at her with gaze that instantly killed her good mood.
"Shame on the Night's been active again. There were two attacks within moments of each other. One was in LaGuardia, which is only forty miles from here, but the other was in Springston, which is almost two hundred miles away," he explained, holding the phone up as if to provide evidence for his statements. Twilight felt her mouth start to go dry.
"This is getting out of hand. These people need to be caught," she commented as her eyes scanned the bit of text on the phone screen. One bit in particular seemed to catch her attention. "Wait, it says that eyewitnesses at both locations described the same group of men. How is that possible?"
Spike pulled the phone away and holstered it on his hip. "That's why I'm concerned," he stated. "There's always the possibility of mistaken identity, but I can't accept that when multiple witnesses at both scenes described the same five men."
"So what, you think they have some kind of teleportation ability?"
"I'm not willing to rule anything out at this point, Ms. Telekinetic" Spike replied. He paused and surveyed the area around them before continuing. "The good news is that they're less likely to try anything here today. Police and military forces will be on high alert after two high profile attacks." It seemed to Twilight that Spike's shoulders relaxed as he vocalized this realization. She felt relief wash over her, not only for the fact that they seemed to be safe for the moment, but also for the fact that Spike was finally off edge. It was horrible to think that there were people hurt, but she couldn't even fathom the idea of something happening to one of her friends. If she had to choose she'd rather see her friends safe. Hesitantly, she raised her arm and put it around Spike's shoulder, causing him to jump.
"Relax Spike. It's not good for someone your age to be so stressed all the time. Look, the track events are about to start."
Spike seemed to regard her for a moment, his eyes staring intently at her face. After that moment passed, though, his face seemed to relax and a small smile played at his lips. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he responded.
The Perryville side of the gymnasium erupted in cheers as their team brought home yet another victory. While Perryville definitely seemed to be the favorite to win, LaGuardia was putting up a decent fight. Perhaps that would have been different if Rainbow Dash were in every race, but from what Spike had been told the coach had wanted to give some of the younger runners a chance. Still, Perryville was leading by two points, and the next race-the relay-was the last. If Perryville won that, then it would be their win, and Rainbow Dash was holding the anchor position. There was no way they could lose.
Spike glanced over at Twilight, who was standing to his left, clapping vigorously. He never thought he would see her get excited over a sporting event, but it seemed that friendship could drive people to do the unexpected. Still, it was nice to see her looking happy about something besides studying for once; in fact, it was kind of cute. His eyes moved from her to the surrounding area. While the threat of attack had certainly dwindled, he couldn't entirely relax. There was always the possibility that Shame would try to come after Twilight again. The good news was that they seemed to want her alive, so he just had to keep an eye out for suspicious individuals who were headed for Twilight. In an ideal world he would be able to protect everyone in the gym, but the world was far from ideal and Twilight was his mission. More importantly, she was his friend. The area seemed to be clear, so he turned his attention back to the track, where the runners were setting up for the relay. Something seemed different about the gym now, and it took Spike a second to realize that the interior lights had been turned on, albeit dimly. He glanced up at the paneled ceiling, surprised to see the orange and pink hues of sunset. Have we really been here that long? he thought.
He was about to return his attention to the runners when something caught his eye. Among the pink and orange clouds there seemed to be a thin black line. Spike squinted at it, trying to figure out what it was. A jet, maybe? As he stared, though, the line seemed to widen, until it was as wide as a door's height. It's length seemed to extend well beyond the scope of the ceiling windows. His eyes widened as he stared at this black void that rent the sky. A thousand tiny lights seemed to dance within, all different colors. He thought he could make vague outlines of buildings and huts, but it was so far away he couldn't be sure. Impossible he thought. Another round of cheering erupted around him, startling him and causing him to tear his gaze from the celestial phenomenon. When he glanced back up, it was gone, but a look to his left made it clear that at least one other person had seen it. Wide-eyed, Twilight looked in his direction.
"I've never seen anything like that," she stated, her voice distant as though she were speaking more to herself than to him. "What about you?"
Spike shook his head. "Can't say I have." He wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash.
"We won! Yes! Did you guys see that?" She was jogging in their direction, and then she was throwing her arms around them, jumping up and down with excitement. "You can't beat this feeling. Oh man, I'm so glad you guys could see this!"
Guilt gnawed at Spike's stomach as he realized that he had spent the entire race staring at the sky. With a nervous laugh he simply replied, "Y-yeah. I'm glad we got to see it."
Dash backed away from them and wiped sweat from her brow. "There's nothing like the excitement of competition, although it would have been nice if someone didn't darken the lighting during the relay." The tone in her voice was one of pure annoyance, but it confirmed a question Spike wanted to ask: Dash had been affected by the sky anomaly. He felt a vibration at his hip and immediately recognized it as his cell phone. A glance at the girls showed that they had become engrossed in their own conversation, so he took a few steps from them and answered the call.
"So I guess this means you saw it, too?" he asked.
"Yes, I did," the voice on the other end replied. It was heavily distorted, making it impossible to tell whether the caller was male or female. A necessary security measure, to be sure, but also one of Spike's greatest annoyances. He forced himself to swallow the comment he wanted to make about it.
"We're running out of time. If you needed anymore evidence, this is it. Continuing with your method won't provide the results we need in enough time. Let me implement the contingency plan," he said, trying to keep his voice level. He could tell that he was letting his emotions slip out some, though.
"That plan has a lot of risks. If even one thing goes wrong, we'll fail," the voice argued.
"If we continue to follow your path, we'll definitely fail," Spike countered. "I've explained what I know several times already. Put some trust in me, for once."
There was a long silence while the other party presumably considered Spike's words. It wasn't until the voice spoke again that Spike realized he had been holding his breath. "Fine, you can use your method, but if it fails you can consider your life forfeit."
"If we fail all of our lives are forfeit," Spike replied before hanging up the phone. He holstered it and glanced in Twilight's direction with a sigh. "I'm sorry for what I have to do, Twi," he muttered.
Friday Afternoon
Twilight descended the staircase from her room. Spike had requested that she, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity meet him in his room at six p.m. It was still a little early, but all of her tasks were completed so she had decided to change and just wait for her friends with Spike. Her attire was fairly simple: a purple v-neck shirt and blue jeans with tennis shoes. Of course, she was also wearing her glasses. How could she forget those? She had to admit that the idea of having some genuine alone time with Spike excited her. While she still had no idea how Spike felt about her, and while she doubted that he had gotten over his heartbreak from Rarity that quickly, she couldn't help but indulge in her crush.
As she rounded the bottom step and headed for Spike's room, she noticed two things: one, his door was slightly ajar, and two, there was soft music emanating from the room. Curious, she approached the door and gently pushed it open just enough to squeeze her head in. As she peaked around the corner she saw Spike sitting at his desk, his back turned to the door. In his hands he held a black acoustic guitar, the source of the music. The tune was soft-almost hypnotizing-with a sound that struck her as an odd mix of happy and sad. He was muttering under his breath-the lyrics, she assumed-and she was able to just barely make out what he was saying: "The things I've done, the work I've seen, won't measure up to you my queen. And I'll take one for the other, and work my way through this machine". She felt herself being pulled in by it and began to zone out. As she did, she leaned forward on the door, pushing it further open and stumbling into the room. Spike quickly rose from his seat and turned, his guitar held in his left hand as a makeshift weapon. He seemed to relax when he realized it was just Twilight; he at least lowered the guitar.
"You know, most people usually know, or say something like, 'Hey, I'm here' before coming into someone's room," he said, a slight note of irritation in his voice.
Twilight blushed and replied, "W-well, the door was cracked, and I didn't want to interrupt you. That song sounded beautiful."
Spike tossed the guitar onto his bed and sat back down at his desk, turning in his chair to look at Twilight. "That sounded like crap. I still can't play that song right."
"Say what you want. I thought it sounded good. The lyrics sounded really good. Did you write that yourself?"
"So you heard that, huh? Well, I didn't write it. It's a cover. I'm trying to get good enough at singing and playing, so I was just muttering the to words get used to doing both simultaneously. The song's called Iron Fist." His tone was rough. Whether it was irritation, embarrassment, or a combination of the two, Twilight couldn't quite say. All she knew was that this wasn't how she envisioned things going.
"So, um... you were finger picking that, right?" she asked, trying to keep up the conversation.
"Yeah, how'd you know? I didn't picture you as a guitarist," Spike responded, seeming a little less annoyed and a little more intrigued now.
Twlight raised her hands to dismiss the notion. "Oh, I'm not, but I've done a lot of research on the subject. I've also listened to a lot of recordings, so I can tell the style of playing by the sound, that's all."
Spike uttered a low grunt and rose from his chair. He approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders, startling her. Twilight could feel the warmth filling her cheeks. Her eyes seemed to lock onto his, and she couldn't break her gaze. "Do you ever actually do anything?" he asked. "All you ever talk about is how you've read books on this subject or that subject, but I never hear you talk about doing the things you read about." He spun her around so that her back was facing his bed. With a gentle push, he moved her in that direction and made her sit down.
"What are you doing, Spike?" Twilight asked, her mind afire with all manners of scenarios, from the most innocent to the most perverse.
"I'm going to make you finally do something," was his reply.
Rainbow Dash casually walked through the library doors, her face still wet with sweat from her evening practice session. She had wanted to stay at the track a little longer, but between the setting sun and the looming meeting Spike had requested, she had called it quits and headed for the library. Technically she still had fifteen minutes before she was due to be there, but those could be killed with video games.
She gave the crotchety old lady at the front desk a lazy wave as she walked by, and then began to wind her way through the rows of bookshelves. The school's library truly was a sight to behold, and it always made her feel a bit guilty that she wasn't much of a reader. People had worked hard to write these books, and they deserved to be read. Well, everyone has their own talents, right? You can't do everything she rationalized, increasing her pace. After a few moments, she finally emerged from the final section of bookshelves. She approached the lone door on the back wall and raised her hand to knock, but froze when she heard voices within.
"Ouch Spike, can't you be more gentle? This is my first time," she heard Twilight say.
"Sorry, sorry. Let's try this position instead," came Spike's voice in reply. A few seconds later he continued, "How does that feel?"
"A lot better, admittedly."
As she listened to the exchange, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but blush. She tried to tell herself that she had to be misunderstanding the situation, but with those kinds of phrases there wasn't much else she could imagine. What should I do? she wondered.
Spike was kneeling on the bed with his arms wrapped around Twilight. She held his guitar in her hands, and he was taking the liberty of positioning her fingers into the shape of an F Barre Chord. As he pressed her index finger down over the first fret, she cried out, "Ouch Spike, can't you be more gentle? This is my first time."
He grimaced as she scolded him. It was easy to forget how much this chord hurt when you first learned it, especially since it was now second nature to him. "Sorry, sorry. Let's try this position instead," he replied as he shifted her index finger to only cover the first two strings on the first fret. He positioned her middle finger on the second fret of the third string and her pinky on the third fret of the fourth string. "How does that feel?" He asked.
"A lot better, admittedly, " Twilight responded. He could see that her fingers were quivering as they struggled to hold the shape, though. She tried to strum the chord, but only received a deadened sound. Frustrated, she removed her hand from the neck and laid the guitar across her lap. "This is harder than I imagined."
Spike couldn't help but laugh. "See? Reading about something and actually experiencing it are two different things entirely. The guitar's a pain in the butt to learn, but it's rewarding when you do figure it out. I picked it up after leaving the band, hoping to write my own music."
Twilight turned to look at him from behind those half-moon glasses. They were small, and they fit her face quite well. The look was undeniably cute. "I have to admit, I admire you, Spike. You've been put in an unbelievable position, and yet you still power through every day with a smile on your face and your own personal goals. It's... inspiring, really." She seemed to be leaning closer to him, and he wasn't sure how to react.
Is she trying to... nah, this sort of thing only happens in movies he thought to himself. Still, her face was inching ever closer to his. Whether her intentions matched his thoughts he never found out, though, for a knock at the door caused Twilight to jump back and look away. With an annoyed sigh Spike rose from the bed and walked to the door, pulling it open. On the other side stood Applejack, with Rainbow Dash and Rarity behind her.
"What in tarnation is goin' on in there?" Applejack asked. "Rarity 'n I showed up and found Rainbow Dash pacing by the door. She said she heard some weird things being said in here."
Spike stared at her blankly for a moment. Weird things? I was just showing her how to play the guitar. What's so weird about... his thoughts trailed off as he realized how the exchange between Twilght and himself could be misinterpreted. He quickly raised his hands and said, "Hey, I was just showing her how to play the guitar. That's all. I swear!" He pointed at Twilight, who still had the guitar seated in her lap. Applejack looked from Spike to Twilight and back again. Then she turned to Rainbow Dash and gave her an aggravated look.
"What? I just told you what I heard! Anyone would have misunderstood that!" Dash said in defense. Next to her, Rarity shook her head and cut in.
"At any rate, we were invited here for a reason. Instead of standing around and making a big deal out of nothing, why don't we let Spike do what he needs to do?" As he listened to Rarity's comment, Spike felt himself snap back into reality. The reason he had asked everyone here suddenly snapped back to him, and he quickly ushered the three girls into the room.
"Please have a seat at the table," he said to them, indicating the low-sitting table in the center of the room. He closed the door and then approached the end of the table closest to him. All four girls sat cross-legged on the floor, Twilight and Rainbow Dash to his left, Rarity and Applejack to his right.
"Say, why aren't Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie here?" Applejack asked, drawing nods of agreement from the other girls.
"They had... other things to do," Spike replied. "I'll fill them in later." Instead of sitting down, he walked around the table to the mini fridge he kept in the corner of the room. "This is going to take a while, so how about a few drinks?"
He knelt down in front of the fridge and removed five plastic cups from the stack on top of the appliance. With shaking hands, he opened the door and withdrew a bottle of juice that, despite being completely full, had the safety seal cracked. He began to pour an equal amount of juice in each cup, being careful not to spill a single drop. When he was done, only a small amount of juice remained in the container. This remainder went back into the refrigerator. With that done, he began to hand the cups to the girls, until each of them had one. He then grabbed his own cup and returned to the head of the table, seating himself in the same fashion as the girls. They all seemed to be staring at him, and he fought to restrain the trembling that was arising in his body. They know he thought to himself. He gave his head a slight shake to clear his thoughts. No, that's impossible.
"Well, aren't you going to try it?" he asked, raising his own cup to his lips. To his relief, the girls seemed to follow suit, each of them drinking deeply from their cups. As they finished, they sat their cups back onto the table. Several seconds later, all four of the girls' heads followed suit. They laid there, unmoving. Spike breathed a sigh of relief and spat the juice in his mouth back into his cup. "I thought that was going to blow up in my face," he muttered, rising from the table and circling around it, checking to make sure that the four girls were indeed unconscious. Upon confirming this information, he calmly walked to the door, opened it and exited the room, locking the door behind him. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his cell phone. Using the 7th speed dial setting, he placed his call. After a few rings, that distorted voice answered on the other end.
"What do you have to report?" it asked.
Spike's response was short and simple, "It's done."
End of Chapter Notes: Iron Fist is the property of Coheed and Cambria. All other notes can be found on my blog, which is linked in my profile. I had also recorded a sound bit for the section where Spike is playing the guitar. I will post a link on the blog for those interested. Finally, I put the bolded words at the beginning of each scene shift for ease of understanding. When I write the chapters, I use asterisks to mark the changes. Apparently FFNet doesn't like the asterisks, as it refuses to display them. I didn't realize this before. Sorry for any previous confusion.