“Face it, they don’t care about you.”
As soon as the unfamiliar voice registered in Spikes ears, the young dragon spun around as fast as he could to confront the intruder. But when he faced behind him, he was surprised to find that nopony was there. His eyes widened in alarm, he quickly rushed over to the bathtub, and pulled open the shower curtain, thinking the source of the mysterious voice was located in the tub. But it was empty.
“He he he. Nope, I’m not in there.”
Spike whirled around again, facing the emptiness of the bathroom. Hearing the voice sent chills up his spine. The voice was deep, and malevolent, like a demon whispering in his ear.
“Who…who’s there?”
“Look a little closer…”
Spike turned his head left and right, but didn’t see anyone or anything. That was, until out of the corner of his peripheral, he saw something strange. He turned to face the mirror, noticing that the small bit of his body that reflected in the mirror was shown to be somewhat distorted. Spike slowly walked towards the sink, to get a better view of himself. When he did, the sight caused his pupils to constrict, and his breath caught in his throat.
What Spike saw in the mirror was not him, at least…not entirely. It looked enough like him, but was different. The Spike in the mirror had purple scales, though they were darker than normal. His spines and frills were also darker, as well as sharper, ending in menacing points. His eyes were much the less the same, though they held a level of malice, that the normal Spike would be incapable of.
Spike stared at the dark copy, eyes wide. The copy looked at Spike with a menacing smirk, showing a sharp fang hanging out of his mouth. Spike raised a shaky hand, watching his reflection. The image copied his movements, as he slowly moved his hand towards the mirror. He hesitated for a moment, before he pressed his hand on the mirror.
“Boo!” startled, Spike quickly retracted his hand, and held it to his heart. He nearly fell over, but luckily was able to reorient himself. Spike held on to the counter with his other hand, before pulling himself back to his original position. Spike quickly glanced back at the door to the bathroom. He turned, and ran to the door, and opened it, checking the outside hallway, to see if anypony was nearby.
When he saw that he was alone, he shut the door, and returned to the mirror. He looked at the reflection Spike, who still held a menacing expression on his face, a confident smirk. Spike’s eyes quickly glanced down to se that the reflection was leaning on his version of the sink, while rapping the claw tips of his right hand on the counter. Spike swallowed the lump forming in his throat, nerving up the courage to speak.
“Who…what are you?”
“Do you really not know?”
“No, no I don’t. What are you, some sort of spell, a demon?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m you, you idiot.”
“What? That…that doesn’t make sense,” said Spike, keeping the volume in his voice low, so as not to draw attention.
“Oh, I am you. A part of you, one that’s smart enough to see the truth, the truth that you keep denying.”
“Truth? What truth?”
“That Twilight doesn’t care about you. That she’s not your mother, and she never will be. And any part of you that she actually did care about has been replaced by that baby.”
“That’s not true!” exclaimed Spike, quietly.
“And that’s exactly why I’m here. To show you that it IS true.”
“But it’s not true! And even if it were, why would you want to do that? What’s in it for you?”
“It’s my job. I’m a part of your psyche, a part that longs for the truth to be revealed. And you shouldn’t think of this as something I’m doing for myself. It’s something I’m doing for YOU.”
“You think that’s going to help me? How could that POSSIBLY help me?”
“It’s not healthy to live in denial Spike. To lie to yourself. If you had faced the truth sooner, I might not have needed to be. He he. Too late now.”
“You can’t be in my head! I’m not crazy!”
“No, no you’re not. I’m only here to benefit you. No you’re not crazy…let’s call it…enlightened." Spike closed his eyes tight, and tried to soak in what the duplicate was saying.
“How do I know you’re really in my head?”
“I know all your secrets Spike. I know you’ve been feeling neglected, without voicing it. And think about it, you know that every thing I’ve been saying is exactly what you’ve been thinking since the baby was born.” Spike tried to deny it, but he couldn’t. This duplicate was speaking all the feelings he had been feeling…even if he was harsher and more extreme with what he’d been saying. But Spike still didn’t want to admit that he was going crazy. So he changed the subject.
“Well…maybe I have been feeling neglected. But you’re wrong! Twilight does love me!”
“Oh really? Well then tell me, when was the last time she said that she loved you?”
“Well…” Spike searched his mind for the last time Twilight had uttered those words, but he had trouble recalling the memories he was searching for. He was about to give up, when it came to him.
“Oh, it was after the incident with Owlicious! She told me she loved me when we got home!” gloated Spike, with his eyes closed, with a smug look on his face.
“And just how long ago was that?” Spikes smug look fell into a frown, as he processed the question.
“Well, I guess it’s been…a while.”
“It was one or two years ago Spike.” The young dragon’s eyes fell to the ground, as he just stared at the floor, processing his doppelgangers words. It HAD been over a year. Spike felt an ache in his heart, but still fought the sadness that was building up inside him.
“She doesn’t need to say it…I know it’s true.”
“She may have felt some sentiment towards you, but it’s since been replaced with her feelings for her baby. He’s her flesh and blood. And you…you aren’t even the same species.”
“Shut up,” muttered Spike.
“When was the last time she even treated you as a friend, instead of a servant to bark orders to?”
“Please…stop….” said Spike, tears beginning to form in eyes, which were shut tight.
“You know I’m right.”
“So what if you are? What do you expect me to do? How does creating a riff between me and Twilight solve anything?”
“I just want to see you break out of your shackles, and be free. Stop being her servant, be a man!”
“But I’d be lost without her. She’s my guide…she’s my family.”
“Her actual family doesn’t seem to think so.”
“What?”
“Look at all the ponies who gathered together for Skylight’s birthday. The Princesses, Twilights parents, her brother and his wife, her friends, and even those little fillies, they all came to celebrate the little brats birth. When’s the last time that many ponies have gathered around for you?” Spike didn’t respond. Instead he just sniffed, whipping his eyes with his arms.
“The truth finally soaks in,” said the clone.
“So what do you want me to do now?”
“You do whatever you want. I just want you to stop lying to yourself, and accept the truth. What you do with it is your choice.”
“So does this mean you’ll leave me alone now?”
“Oh don’t be silly, I’ll always be with you. Making sure you don’t forget what you’ve learned today. I’d personally recommend you leave this library, leave Ponyville, and seek out your own life, find people you can truly develop a relationship with. I’d leave this house of pretenders, and never look back.”
“I don’t…I don’t want to leave. I love Twilight. I…I don’t want to leave…” Spikes voice died down to a whisper.
“Well, I’ve said my peace for now. I’ll let you return to the party. Have fun, if you can. And by the way, I wouldn’t tell anypony about me if I were you. They might send you to the bonkers barn. He he.” Spike didn’t respond, just looking down at the floor, before shutting his eyes.
“You’ll hear from me again. Oh, it just occurred to me that I never formally introduced myself. You may call me…”
“Clarity”
Good on Spike to realize that just getting angry at Twilight would be counterproductive... but I have no idea what he would do instead.
So are we slated for another delayed chapter, then?
7057940 Given demand, this story will probably stay pretty high on my to do list.
Well now I can't wait to see more soon
Clarity ? Crystal Clarity?
wa sup?
the name of our foal.....
????
you had to. . .pre12.deviantart.net/5c2b/th/pre/i/2015/325/8/5/bed_time_story_by_hillbe-d9hkh8m.jpg
that's not crystal!
I'm pretty sure "No. 1 Assistant" is a euphimism for "slave."
So, if Spike was to leave, how long would it take for others to notice? It's not like Spike has any friends that aren't Twilight's friends first. It's only a matter of time before places one too many straws on Spike's back before he breaks.
Yeah, it actually might be better if Spike simply ensures that all his affairs are in order before he leaves. Any repayable debts should be settled; anything borrowed should be returned. Storming off angrily will do him no good.
hmm, Nightmare Spike?
Wow. Interesting. Nice idea with the name. As for my say in what should happen. Spike has another really bad day. He decides to spend time with his friends (the main six, or maybe a letter to the princesses). Unfortunately after a few minutes or lines, they only talk about the baby. Asking questions and completely ignoring Spikes wishing to change the subject. That night he gets in trouble again (probaly trying to say hi to the baby and something else causes the baby to cry. Twilight gets mad). Spike then leaves and no pony notices except the baby who just keeps on crying.
um me think that is nightmare talk to spike, try to change him,
but good story
7059000
There's a LOT that the show leaves blank about Spike (and everything else which I think is the biggest reason for so many fanfictions since it leaves so many directions to go.) You could for instance say, Twilight pays him a large salary which he spends on gems, (what's the value of his meals anyway.
My main question is that usually an entrance exam to a school is something everyone passes. So despite Twilight saying dragons are too rare and too dangerous for ponies to have ever studied closely, somehow Celestia has a steady supply of dragon eggs which she gives to her students... and then doesn't tell them that they can turn into giant monsters overnight.
What usually happens to the dragons that 'assist' Celestia's students?
Not to mention that the dragons at the great dragon migration all acted entirely differently from Spike when he went greedy.
7059112
Actually according to Faust. Twilight was the only one that got the egg test. Since Celestia had a feeling that Twilight was going to be the EoM, but wasn't quite sure. So she sent the dragon egg her way to test her personally [via proxy]. So it wasn't a common test, rather something that only happened to Twilight.
That and unlike the Dragon Migration dragons. Who were raised by Dragons so that they could control certain aspects of their innate magic. Both of the times Spike grew to adulthood were without the benefit of an adult dragon around to ensure that things went how they were supposed to go.
7059112 One of the most common explanations in fanfiction for that is that Spike's egg was a dud, or that dragon eggs take an insane amount of magic to hatch without a dragoness. And that the test wasn't to hatch the egg, but to see how clever and powerful potential students are based on what spells they use to try to get it to hatch.
I do agree that part of what makes Spike so interesting to write about is how little is known about him. With every other character we know where they were born/grew up (past), what their talents are (present), and what their goals in life are (future). With Spike we know none of that. So it allows for a lot of creative freedom without having to break canon.
I'm just going to say I'm not a fan of the Clarity thing. I'm hoping there is some kind of deeper plot behind it because if it's only purpose is to be a dark being that whispers in Spike's ear what to do, in order to move the plot along, then this it feels very unnecessary and forced.
Spike could have easily have had this conversation with himself in the first person and come to the realization that Twilight doesn't love him without Clarity. As it is the introduction of Clarity makes it seem like Spike as a case of split personality disorder.
7059734
7067352
I've heard this answer before but:
1. If all the current students at a school had dragon assistants; everyone would know. It would be very hard to keep a secret if they did, and just as hard to have the illusion of several hundred dragons roaming the halls if there weren't dragon assistants. If you want to join a school and are told that you need to hatch a dragon egg first, you would assume that all the current students had succeeded, and you would ask where all those dragons are.
2. Anyone who had passed the test, could easily let it slip that the test is unwinnable; sooner or later everyone would know the true nature of the test. (Unless every student receives a different trial.)
3. If Spike is truly unique as the only baby dragon being raised by a pony, you would think he would get more looks. The only person who seemed remotely surprised to see him was Fluttershy in ep 1: Someone who lives very much apart from mainstream society.
7070067 I think the idea is Spike's egg has been used for the test for decades and until Twilight no one ever succeeded in hatched him or even thought he could be hatched. The entrance exam is probably the first time any enrolling student go to the campus so their is no reason for them to think every pony should have a dragon.
Once they are told to hatch a dragon egg they try either till they give up or the professor tells them to stop and are then dismissed not knowing if they passed or not till later.
I can really only see learning about the test before hand being a problem when it comes to older already enrolled siblings telling it to their younger enrolling siblings.
I will grant you no one raising an eye to Spike dispute him supposedly being the only dragon is weird. And quite honestly the idea of Spike always being gawked at simply for existing would make for a good episode.
I can't wait to see how this situation is going to take
When will twilight realize she is going to lose spike
7165452 It might be coming soon, but don't quote me on that
7165504 I'm sorry
7180138 Oh, uh, you don't need to be sorry, you didn't say anything wrong
7180230 seems like spike can't take anymore and I don't blame him for it
Not to sure what to think about it, that Luna created something like that in her own mind was one thing, but this happening to Spike....I don't know, for now it is just strange.
Nah, I think Nyarlathotep fits better.