//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: A New Friend // Story: Shadows Unseen // by The Fields of Ice //------------------------------// Spike sat atop an inner tube, letting the waves push and pull him wherever they wished. He found the gentle motion relaxing, allowing his mind to wander to the events of last night. While he was still disappointed in Twilight, what she may or may not have done wasn’t high on his priorities. No, he was more concerned with what he had seen, or quite possibly hadn’t seen. Spike continued to replay the events, trying to find evidence to support either hypothesis; though unknown to him was the fact that a certain alicorn was about to interrupt his mental replay. Spike’s only warning was a few small bubbles. Suddenly, he felt his inner tube begin to capsize as Twilight shot out of the water. “GAHHH!” he yelled before hitting the water. As Spike resurfaced, he found Twilight laughing as she lay against his inner tube. He glared at her, which only seemed to make her laugh slightly less. “Oh, come on Spike! All you’ve done is float around. Let’s do something!” she exclaimed as she playfully splashed him. “I’m still mad at you, you know?” he said, trying to look annoyed. Twilight made a faked pouty face. “Oh come on. I thought this would make up for it.” Spike smirked. “No, but this might.” Before Twilight even knew what was happening, Spike had splashed her with his tail, and simultaneously yanked the inner tube out from underneath her. As Twilight emerged from her watery face plant, she had an expression that almost mirrored Spike’s previous one. He giggled. “Yeah, that made up for it.” Being a good sport, Twilight began to giggle a little as well. “I’m going to get you back.” “Whatever,” he said in an almost taunting tone. Twilight rolled her eyes . “Hey, do you want me to get Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie out here too? It might be more fun.” Spike shook his head. “No, that’s alright. I really just want to be with you.” Even though she knew Spike didn’t mean anything by his words, she couldn’t help but blush, and as soon as he saw this, Spike’s cheeks turned a bright crimson as well. “Er, I didn’t mean it like that!” Finding Spike’s embarrassed face rather adorable, she smiled. “I know.” --------- After spending the rest of the day at the lake, Twilight and Spike returned to the castle with towels wrapped around the both of them. As they entered the castle, Twilight flicked on a few lights with her magic; an ability Spike dearly wished he had last night. “Hey, I’m going to go take a shower, then I’ll get started on dinner,” said Twilight as she removed her towel. Spike threw up a claw. “Don’t worry about it; I’ll have something done by the time you get out.” She tilted her head. “Are you sure?” Spike nodded. “It’s okay, just do me a favor and take this up to the laundry room please,” he asked, holding the towel out. Twilight took it with her magic and began towards the stairs. “Thank you, Spike.” As Spike started for the kitchen, he began to think of what he could throw together in the time he had. He wasn’t in the mood for anything fancy, and even though Twilight was a princess, she’d still chose macaroni and cheese over an exotic royal dish any day. He opened the refrigerator and once again looked through its shelves. He pulled out some various vegetables. "Looks like we’re having soup tonight" he thought. Spike laid the vegetables out on a cutting board and began to chop. As he did this, he let his mind drift back to earlier that day. He couldn’t help but worry that Twilight may have taken his remark the wrong way. Despite him playing it off as a slip of the tongue, he still thought it odd that she smiled at him when he said it. Just as Spike was finishing up chopping the vegetables, he went over to a pot and poured them in. He was about to begin adding the seasonings, but he got a familiar feeling, the feeling that he was being watched. Slowly, he laid the cutting board down, and reached for his knife. He drew in a few deep breaths, before swiftly turning around. He looked around the kitchen, and to the doorway. Nothing. Spike closed his eyes and sighed before laying the blade down. Had Twilight walked in to see him like this, there’s no telling what she might do. Returning to his pot, Spike opened the spice cabinet and began seasoning the soup. He still felt uneasy, but he tried to make it seem less obvious to whoever might be watching. Despite that, he kept an eye on the shadows and anything reflective, all it would take is the slightest movement to set him off. Perhaps he was just being paranoid, perhaps there was nothing to fear, but there was always the off chance that he was wrong. Realizing that he had forgotten a key ingredient for the soup, Spike went over to the refrigerator. He bent down and opened one of its drawers, but before he could pull anything out, a loud crash startled him. Quickly, Spike ran out of the kitchen, completely disregarding the open fridge. “Twilight?!” he yelled, fearing that she may have fallen. Spike was about to start up the stairs to check on her, but as his foot touched the first step, he heard a second crash. The only thing was, it wasn’t coming from upstairs, it sounded like it had come from down the hall. Spike hesitantly took a step back and began walking towards the sound. When he entered the hallway, he was surprised to hear what sounded like crying. Slowly, Spike neared the room he thought the sounds were coming from. He stood outside the door to a guest bedroom, listening to what sounded like a weeping mare. It was odd; this cry sounded familiar, but not only that, it was heartbreaking. He stood there for a few more seconds, just listening, preparing to open the door. Finally, Spike gripped the handle and threw the door open. What was in that room wasn’t necessarily scary, but still shook Spike to his core. “T-Twilight?” The alicorn sat atop a bed, tears streaking down her face, with a look of utter confusion that mirrored Spike’s. Though that quickly changed as she tried frantically to wipe away her tears. “Spike, what are you doing here?” Spike stepped forward. “Twilight, what’s wrong?” It’s then that Spike keyed in on a sound he hadn’t noticed before; the shower upstairs was still running. He turned his head to indeed make sure that is what he was hearing. He looked back to Twilight. “Did you…” He trailed off. The Twilight that sat before him seconds ago was gone. Spike turned the palest shade of purple he’d ever been in his entire life. He took a step back, bumping into a small end table as he did so. “Wh-What the…” Spike continued to walk back and shut the door behind him. Not wanting to be near that room for a moment longer, he ran down the hallway and into the throne room. "This is all some kind of joke" he thought. "It has to be." Spike tried his best to rationalize what he had just seen, and at the moment, this seemed to be the only plausible explanation. However, the more Spike considered the possibility, the more unlikely he found it to be. He knew Twilight was too kind a soul to do anything this cruel. Still, he healed onto the possibility, no matter how remote. He decided that he would just wait for Twilight to finish her shower, and ask her about it then. All he would have to do is judge how she reacts. ---------- Carefully, Spike ladled soup into each of the bowls, one right across from the other. He placed the empty pot into the sink only to turn and find Twilight standing in the doorway, smiling at him. “It smells good,” she complimented as she took her seat. “Thank you.” Spike took his seat across from her, but his expression wasn’t anywhere near as cheerful. It didn’t take Twilight long to notice this. “Is something wrong?” He looked down. “Twilight… were you in the shower this whole time?” Twilight made a confused expression. “Yeah, why?” That was all he needed to ask to prove Twilight innocent. As she spoke, Spike watched the emotion in her eyes, and knew she had a genuine look of confusion. “I just heard something. It was probably just the wind,” he lied. Not wanting to frighten Twilight, Spike figured his best course of action would be to keep this little secret to himself. If Twilight knew what he had seen, all it would likely do is frighten her. Twilight eyed Spike. She could feel that there was something he wasn’t telling her, but she assumed she would get it out of him later. “Well, you did a good job on dinner,” said Twilight, trying to break up some of the tension in the air. “Thank you.” “So what did you end up doing while I was gone last night?” Spike poked at a slice of carrot in his soup. “I mostly just read some books, and got something to eat.” "At least that’s partially honest." “You weren’t just sitting here bored were you?” He shook his head. “No, I had enough to keep me busy.” Twilight cleared her throat. "Why is he being so distant?" she thought. “Spike, are you sure there’s nothing bothering you?” Spike let out a sigh. He figured that if Twilight was going to ask he might as well get some of his issues off his chest. “Listen, I just… I don’t like that we don’t get to spend as much time together.” Twilight leaned back in her seat. “So, that’s what this is about?” He nodded. “Spike… I know this is different, but I have a coltfriend now. That’s just how these things work.” “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.” “Spike, I…“ “Twilight, I know we see each other everyday, but it just doesn’t feel right. I get to see you maybe an hour or two before you head out, and before bed. That’s nothing compared to how it used to be.” “But we went to the lake today. Doesn’t that count for something?” “We went to the lake because you felt bad. Seriously, since you started dating, how often have we hung out? I miss you Twi.” Twilight was beginning to feel guilty. She hadn’t really thought about it, but Spike was right. She didn’t realize just how badly she was taking him for granted. “I-I’m sorry.” Spike smiled before standing and making his way over to Twilight. “I know. Just try to make time for the both of us, okay?” She nodded. As Twilight let this sink in, Spike couldn’t help but hug her. He needed to show her that despite all of this, he still cared about her just as much. ---------- Spike lay in his bed, his mind now less stressed than the prior nights. Though that’s not to say he wasn’t still bothered with what he had seen that day. No longer could he just play it off as some trick of the eyes, no whatever was happening was all too real. As Spike thought more and more about this crying Twilight, he began to wander who or what she was, and where she had come from. Various ideas flooded his mind, some seeming beyond outlandish, and others were at least plausible. Though there was one hypothesis he found rather unsettling. What if this second Twilight was just in his head? When he pondered this idea, he realized something that he had overlooked earlier. He was drawn to the bedroom because he heard a crashing sound, but other than this mystery mare, nothing seemed out of place. Before Spike could chase this idea any further, the mare whom he had assumed was asleep spoke up. “Spike, are you still awake?” Spike was a little surprised by this, given that Twilight usually doesn’t like talking before bed. “Yeah, I’m just doing some thinking.” “Me too.” “Are you still on about earlier today?” asked Spike as he shifted in his sheets. “Yeah, I just… I still feel bad.” “Twilight, don’t worry about it. As long as I get to spend some more time with you, I’ll be happy.” “Do you really mean that?” Spike couldn’t help but smile. “You’re my best friend, Twi. Of course I mean it… Hey, if you want to, maybe we could do something tomorrow. Go to the park, see a movie, whatever you want.” “B-But I thought you and Rarity were going on a date tomorrow?” Spike sat up, confused and a little annoyed. “What are you talking ab…” As he looked over to Twilight he trailed off. There was no debating it; she was dead asleep.