"Alex! Get down here!" Twilight's voice sounded frantic.
I ran down the stairs to see Twilight frantically looking through books. Then I looked at Spike, "Whoa! Someone had a growth spurt. How did that happen?"
"I don't know! I can't find anything in my books and Spike won't tell me what happened yesterday after I talked to him." Twilight replied, still trying to find something in her books.
I watched as Spike was going around gathering things. "Well you better ask someone who knows, because it looks to me like he is starting to gather his hoard." I slipped my wings onto my back. If this gets worse I might need them. I had been flying much better and was getting pretty agile in the sky.
"What?!" She watched him and realized my words were correct. "Spike come here. We're going to Zecora's."
"I don't want to go to Zecora's," Spike replied his voice going deeper. He covered his mouth in shock. "Okay let's go."
We ran through the Everfree. As much as I wanted my guns out for safety, Spike was being too grabby for my peace of mind. We reached Zecora's. She examined him then explained his condition.
I spoke up, "So in other words, if we don't reteach him sharing, he is going to be a greedy, grabby, and hoarding giant dragon? He isn't going to kidnap a fair maiden too, is he?"
"Alex!" Twilight scolded me.
"What? You can't blame me for asking. He just robbed Zecora blind." We looked around at the empty hut. "I would've stopped him, but my only idea was stunning him." Twilight looked aghast at that. "That's exactly why I didn't," I said as I pointed at her expression.
We left and ran back to Ponyville. "How are we going to find him?" Twilight sounded frantic.
"Easy. Listen for the cries of protest." She glared at me. "I'm sorry, but it's true."
Suddenly Applebloom's voice sounded out. We rounded a corner to see Scootaloo holding onto her scooter with the other two girls help. Spike was repeating, "Spike want!", as he tried to take it.
Twilight grabbed a broom and dangled in front of Spike as bait. My eyes widened as Spike grew. Whoa, it's one thing to hear of him growing, but to see him actually do it? Freaky. Twilight and I ran to the library Spike following the broom. As we ran I asked her, "How are you going to counter his greed? If this keeps up, the towns going to be in big trouble." She just looked at me worried.
We ran into the library, Spike close behind. Twilight threw the broom into the room and slammed the door. There was crashing then silence. Twilight opened the door. I could see Spike on top of a pile of books. Twilight levitated them out. Oh dear, can these walls hold him? I got my answer as a crash and breaking noise sounded.
We ran to Applejack's farm. The trees were bare. Twilight asked Applejack to lasso Spike. She laughed at first, then Spike ran by with his stolen goods. "Twilight? Get my rope." I followed them as they tried to tie him up, but missed as he ducked. They ended up tied in a tree, as he ran off.
I ran up and untied them as Rainbow appeared. Ignoring her I implored Twilight, "Please let me stun him. It'll only be a second and then he should be out like a light. We can tie him up and try to talk to him."
"No! There must be another way. We can--" Her words were cut off as a scream sounded.
"Fluttershy!" I activated my wings a sped towards her cottage, in time to see Spike running off with the coop. I landed at the base of the tree she was in. "You can come down, Little Shy."
She flew down with the squirrels. "What was a dragon doing here and why did he take my coop?"
I replied as the others ran up, "That was Spike and he grabbed your coop for his hoard. Don't know why he wants that though." Twilight was about to speak when Pinkie screamed. Again I flew up, then headed towards SugarCube Corner.
I came inside to see Pinkie throwing cakes at Spike and he was dodging. He had grown yet again. "Okay, that is it. Sorry Twilight." I took out my gun and was about to stun him when pink magic encircled my hand and pulled. My shot went wide. I turned and glared at Twilight as she ran in, "He is growing bigger. If we don't do something, he is going to get too big to control." My words were proven as he grew again, this time actually breaking the second floor off.
I thought about his pattern. He has something from all the girls! Except for Rainbow as Spike can't reach her cloud home. That means Rarity! Right as I thought her name, her scream sounded out. I ran out to see Spike was bigger and Rarity was trapped, his tail coiled around her. I didn't actually think he would kidnap a girl, just take things! I flew towards his spot. As he walked to who knows where, I rescued ponies when he was about to step on them.
Fluttershy and Dash flew in to try talk Spike into putting Rarity down. I flew up nearby to see if I could shoot a part of Spike's tail to cause him to release her. At that moment though he turned and began waving his tail to try hit the girls. Unfortunately before I could fly out of his tail range, he hit me instead. I tried to use the wings, but his hit damaged the power panel and I couldn't restart it.
I crashed into a building, breaking the wall. I tried to get up, but my body wouldn't respond. I could tell the hit and crash had broken my ribs, and possibly my leg. I had also hit my head really hard. The helmet wasn't strong enough to protect my head from going through a wall.
The world was blurry, then black as I fell unconscious.
(Twilight's POV)
"Alex!" I yelled as he went flying. Why isn't he activating his wings and righting himself? Unless... I felt fear go through me as I realized his pack must have been damaged when Spike's tail hit him. I watched as the Wonderbolts attacked Spike. This may be a rampaging dragon, but it's also Spike. Oh Alex, why didn't I just let you stun him? You would never hurt him if there was another option.
Spike began climbing Dragon Mountain. We had started calling it that after the sleeping dragon incident. The girls and I watched from the bridge as the Wonderbolts were trapped. Then he just stared at Rarity. Wonder what she is saying to actually get him to listen. Suddenly he shrunk and they were both free-falling. Pinkie yelled for somepony to do something.
Rainbow grabbed Fluttershy and then the cape in the water. They sped to them and caught them in the fabric. Bringing them safely to the bridge. I hugged Spike, "Oh I am so glad you are back to your sweet self."
As Rarity talked to Spike, Fluttershy asked "Where's Alex? I thought he would be here. I saw him helping the townspeople. He has gotten great with those wings."
I gasped in horror and galloped to where I saw him fly to. I saw a hole in one of the buildings. The rest of the area was undamaged. I ran into the house to see Alex unconscious among a small bit of rubble. His helmet was cracked and blood was drying by his eye. The panel that was on his side to activate power and wing activation was damaged. His leg was at an odd angle. I winced. Oh dear. That doesn't look good. I walked over to him and hesitated to try wake him, then shook his shoulder. Unconscious is different than asleep right? I'm not breaking my promise.
(Alex POV)
As I came to, my head was pounding. I immediately noticed the pain in my ribs and leg. I felt something touching my shoulder. Everything went blank and my training kicked in. I whipped out a hidden knife and pinned the target holding the knife to its throat.
I vaguely noticed it talking to me. I ignored it. If it even twitches, I'm slicing. It stared at me, saying something. I just stared back blankly. I could sense someone run into the area, and more voices joined the target's.
Slowly, their words pierced the blankness. When they did, horror rushed in.
(Twilight POV)
I shook his shoulder. Suddenly his eyes snapped open. Next thing I knew I was being pinned and a knife was at my throat. I looked into Alex's eyes and suppressed a shudder.
They were blank. Completely devoid of anything, not one emotion. They seemed to look right through me.
For the first time, I truly felt afraid. Sure, when I first met him I had been uneasy, but that had quickly dissipated. Now though, I could see why he had made me promise to never wake him by touch, no matter what.
For at this moment, I knew if I made one wrong movement, I was dead. It didn't matter that Alex had spent a year with me and considered me a friend. He didn't know who I was right now. I remembered him on the first day here, pleading not to wake him, knowing he would instinctively attack me. He was desperate not to hurt me. Desperate for this situation to never happen. Oh, Alex. I'm sorry I didn't handle this differently. Tears gathered both in fear and regret.
The girls and Spike ran in. I could see Rainbow about to tackle Alex. I spoke out a desperate, "Don't!" She stopped. "Talk to him. Speak of anything about Ponyville, yourselves, whatever." They did so, I joined in trying to remember something.
Slowly I saw awareness come into his eyes. As he focused on me, then the knife, his eyes widened and horror flew in. He immediately dropped the knife as he frantically pulled away from me. He just kept scooting back, despite his leg, till he hit a wall.
The girls immediately went to me as I shakily got up and moved towards him. "No! Stay back. I...I..." He spoke desperately, then couldn't continue.
I stayed where I was, yet spoke to him trying to comfort him, "Its okay."
"No its not! I almost...I had you...I could've killed you!" I flinched at that, knowing it was very true. "Just stay away from me, it's for the best." He shakily got up and hobbled to the door. I could see he was squinting as he went.
"It wasn't your fault. It was mine." I called desperately after him. He ignored me and just kept going. I ran to the door and yelled, "You need to see a doctor about that leg and your head!" His shoulders sagged and he changed directions. I didn't follow him knowing I would just make things worse right now. I sighed, tears one again gathering in my eyes.
"Twilight? Are you alright?" I turned to Fluttershy. She looked very worried and I could see slight fear.
"It wasn't his fault. It was mine," I repeated.
Rarity spoke, "Whatever do you mean Twilight? He was holding a knife to your throat!"
"Because I was near him as he woke and was touching his shoulder!"
"Huh?"
I sighed and explained, "The first day he was here, he made me promise to never wake him no matter what by touching him. I could throw something at him or whatever, but never touch him. He said it was because he had trained himself to always be aware even as he slept. Anyone who was near, or touched him as he slept, he attacked. He wouldn't even realize it, till he had already done so. I broke my promise today." The tears finally fell. "I broke that promise, and now he hates himself, and it's all my fault!" I broke down sobbing.
"It's not your fault Twilight." I looked at Pinkie to protest, but the serious look in her eyes and expression made me stop. She repeated, "It's not your fault." I tried to protest again, but she continued. "The fault lies in the ones who made it so Alex couldn't trust anyone. If he had had someone he could trust to take care of him, he wouldn't have trained himself to be the way he is. So, it's not your fault Twilight."
"You also wouldn't have known he reacts the same way coming out of unconsciousness as he does from sleep," added Rarity. "I also shouldn't have been so quick to judge him. I know he would never purposely hurt one of us." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"What am I going to do though? He doesn't me near him! How can I fix this if he won't let me?" I cried.
Fluttershy then spoke up, "Why don't you go home and rest? You've been running around all day. I'll go to the hospital and see how Alex is. Even if he doesn't talk to me, I can talk to the doctors and nurses."
I nodded and walked heavily home. I went to the room Spike had broken through and fixed the wall, then shelved the books. Heading to my bed, I just curled up. Tears leaking from my eyes as I knew things would be different.
Two days later, I waited impatiently in the library. Alex was finally coming home. The doctors kept him a couple nights to be sure there was no head trauma besides the concussion. Fluttershy told me they had set his leg in a cast, and that he has 3 broken ribs, and heavy bruising throughout his body.
What worried me the most though, was that Fluttershy said he was back to using short answers, even to her. He never spoke unless spoken to and an answer was needed. He also never made eye contact. Oh Alex. I want to help you and repair what has been broken between us. How can I make you see I don't blame you for what has happened and you shouldn't blame yourself?
The door opened and Fluttershy walked in, then looked behind her. Alex came walking in with crutches. He gave a scan of the room. His eyes settled on me for a moment, then he moved to his bed silent. As he sat down and settled himself I spoke, "It's great to have you back Alex, the library hasn't been the same without you." He just looked at me out of the corner of his eye, then pulled out a book and opened it.
I sighed as Fluttershy walked to me. She gave me a sympathetic look. "I'll be around in a couple of days to see how his ribs and breathing are. His head is still making him a bit dizzy and he has a headache, so he needs to rest as much as possible." She then left with one last sad glance at Alex.
"So if you need anything, just ask, okay?" He just nodded in response, never looking at me.
So that is how the next few days went, he would just nod or ignore me. He basically avoided me as much as was possible being in one place and resting. When Spike gave him his dinner, he gave quiet thank yous.
Fluttershy came by to check up on him like she said she would. She declared his head was doing better, so he could do a bit more, not much though. With that he went and settled himself on the second balcony, bringing most of his stuff with him, and a tent.
My heart felt like it was cracking slowly. The month passed painfully. As his head improved, he moved around more, not too much because of his ribs. He silently worked on whatever he was doing, keeping an eye on me, but never interacting. He was awake when I went to sleep, and he was already awake when I woke up.
I tried once to talk about what happened. He coldly stated, "There is nothing to talk about. It won't happen again." He then promptly left. I know it won't happen again, but that isn't why I want to talk about it. What do I do? How can I get him to talk to me? To us? The other girls were feeling down as well. We knew Alex was our friend, but we hadn't realized how much he had warmed up to us, till he began giving us the cold front once more.
I finally couldn't take it anymore, so I asked Princess Celestia for help. She replied that she had a possible solution and to wait till Nightmare Night.
That was in two days.
I fought to keep my face neutral as I watched Spike pass by me in a dragon costume. A little over a month ago I would've outright chuckled, but now...
A sigh escaped me. My ribs were healing well, just a week more and they would be fine. They still hurt occasionally though. What hurt more though was my heart. I hated seeing Twilight stare at me with those sad eyes, but it was for the best. I almost killed her. She was better off having me as distant guard not a friend who could kill her anytime. Same as the others. I felt another twinge in my heart at the thought of Fluttershy.
It was hard to keep my resolve with Twilight constantly trying to get me to interact with her. How is she so forgiving? How can she even say it was her fault what happened? Sure, she may have been shaking my shoulder at the time, but she didn't know that I would attack.
I didn't even know.
That was the first time waking up from unconsciousness that I have attacked immediately. I usually take a moment to be aware of my surroundings if my injuries allowed it. Sleep was different. I have a certain level of awareness that isn't given to me when I am unconscious. I always attacked anything that touched me, because I am always at the ready.
That was the heart of my problem. I attacked when I usually didn't. Twilight shaking my shoulder should not have triggered my attack response. If one touch can trigger that, what else could? the girls weren't safe near me, so I I kept my distance...
I drew out of my thoughts in time to see Twilight look at me, hopeful. "Will you come with us?"
My hand tightened at my sides, I wanted to say yes, but...it was Nightmare Night. A time of pranks and scaring each other. Before, I would be confident in my response to each prank or scare, but now it was too big of a risk. "I apologize, but I will not be joining you."
She sighed and went out the door with Spike. Waiting ten minutes, I left the library and walked in the shadows. I headed to a hill that overlooked the festival. I may not be able to stay near the girls, but I'm still watching over them from a distance. I can't wait till my leg is better though. It was out of the cast, but now I had to do rehab. I couldn't do too much or risk hurting myself more.
I watched as Rainbow went around playing a joke on unsuspecting ponies. Then the mayor made a speech and introduced Zecora to tell the story of Nightmare Moon. I silently followed the group, keeping to the shadows. She told a story, using pretty cool effects. As Pinkie and the kids dumped candy at the statue, the wind picked up.
A light flashed from the moon and a chariot appeared. Whoa, lunar pegasi! Amazing. If they're here that must mean the lunar princess is the hooded figure. As everyone returned to town, I quickly followed. As the figure landed then threw back the hood, I was surprised. Wow, Princess Luna looks very different from the brief time I saw her over a year ago. She now looked like a true princess of night.
I gave a slight yelp, and covered my ears as she yelled. Ouch! What is it everyone and loud voices? She spoke, and then Pinkie scream out something causing all the kids to run screaming. Luna stuck out her hoof for something and everyone just cowered. She then left in a huff, sounding very much like Rarity at that moment. I couldn't help smirking at that.
I followed Twilight as she went to speak to the lunar princess. I snickered as Luna started yelling again, actually causing Twilight to slide back a couple feet. When Luna explained why she was using the large amount of volume to speak, I just couldn't help laughing. Seeing how much blew by just with her using the 'Royal Canterlot Voice' made me laugh.
"Alex! What are you doing here? You said you weren't coming!" Twilight yelled at me.
I controlled my laughter and stepped from the shadows, "On the contrary, I never said I wasn't coming, just that I wouldn't be joining you."
She sighed sadly at that, then spoke, "Why were you laughing?"
I turned to the princess, "I apologize, but I was laughing at the volume you were speaking, and things were actually being blown around."
"APOLOGY ACCEPTED. YOU ARE ALEX RIDER I PRESUME!"
"Yes. Is there any possible way you could lower the volume?"
"Oh. We have been gone for a thousand years. We are not sure we can."
Twilight spoke up, "I think I know of someone who could help. Follow me." She started to trot off with Luna following. When she noticed I wasn't following she turned to me, eyes pleading, "Please come with me, please?"
I couldn't look away from her eyes. The same eyes that had held fear as I held a knife to her throat, were now pleading for me to come with her. How is she not terrified of me? How did she forgive me so easily? Her words echoed in my mind 'It wasn't your fault! It was mine!' It wasn't your fault Twilight. I'm not so sure it wasn't mine though. How can I make you see you're safer from me at a distance?
I couldn't deny her, not now,with those eyes. I nodded and followed. We headed to Fluttershy's. Oh this isn't going to end well. Twilight knocked. Fluttershy actually yelled for us to go away.
I covered my ears, and said frustrated, "What is with everyone yelling tonight?" A yellow blur shot out and hugged me. "Ah, my ribs."
Fluttershy immediately released me, "Sorry, it's just that I'm so happy to see you. Why are you here?" I pointed behind her. She screamed and ducked behind me.
I face-palmed. "Should've just stayed home, but no I had to indulge my protective side. Curses," I muttered into my palm.
Twilight spoke up, "Fluttershy, you remember Princess Luna right?" I felt her nod. "She needs some lessons in speaking quieter." Again she nodded.
"LET US BEGIN! HOW IS THIS?"
"Perfect," Fluttershy squeaked then ducked behind me again.
"In other words, please try again, a little quieter princess." I stated flatly.
"HOW IS This!?" Luna tried again.
"Better. Right Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. I heard a nervous giggle and yes. I sighed once again. I am not in a good state to handle this.
"How about now?"
"Now you are getting it."
"And how about now?"
"Perfect. Can I leave now? I'm really not feeling the best." I spoke up. Twilight looked put out, but nodded yes. "Uh Fluttershy? You need to let my legs go." She shook her head. "Princess is actually nice. Loud, but nice. You'll be fine." i could feel my composure fraying. Because I was torn between being close and being distant to the girls, my emotions were unstable. "Please let me go," my voice came out colder than I expected.
She released me and backed off a sad look on her face. I opened my mouth to apologize, then quickly shut it. Giving a growl of frustration, I turned and stalked off to the library. I headed to the upper balcony. I had moved all my stuff there, now that I could do stairs again. I stared at the stars. I gave out a cry of frustration. Why can't I keep my distance? Why can't I close off my heart like I did before? I knew why though. This time I didn't want to. I wanted to be near the girls, but I was to scared of the real possibility of me hurting them.
Tears dripped down, as I realized, once again I was going to lose my family and friends.