Popped

Part VI - A Pain In The Back

Twilight Sparkle sat wide awake, tucked snugly under the covers of her bed. As the candle on her nightstand slowly burned down, she turned the page of the book in her lap. Her horn, as well as the page lit up, creating a brief burst of light that illuminated the walls around her.

A few feet away, Spike groaned and slowly opened his eyes, his dream having been cut short for the third time tonight. With one eye closed and the other halfway open, he glanced at the clock on the wall. Five in the morning.

He sat up groggily and placed his hands on his growling stomach. After debating with himself over whether or not another midnight snack was in order, Spike lifted himself out of his basket by Twilight's bedside and began the trek down the multiple sets of stairs that led to the library's kitchen.

Taking extra care not to let the wooden steps creak loudly underneath him, Spike tiptoed down the first set of stairs which led from Twilight's sleeping area to the small space underneath that was usually used for research purposes. The space was filled with various scientific tools and instruments, ranging from the large, ornate telescope mounted by the window to the set of compasses ordered by size in ascending order that lay on the desk below it.

Spike placed his foot on the final step, and the wooden board produced a loud creak as it yielded to his weight. All of the other sets stairs in the library were carved out of the tree. He silently cursed the closet underneath the staircase that caused the reaction. "Just my luck."

"Spike? Is that you?" He heard a familiar voice call from above.

Slightly surprised, Spike turned around to face the voice's owner. Most ponies, she included, usually were still fast asleep at this hour.

Spike put his arms to his sides and looked down towards his feet. "Oops. Sorry, Twilight." Spike said. "You're up awfully..." he paused mid-sentence to yawn. "...awfully early."

"That's because I haven't slept." Twilight replied.

"What? Why? Are you nervous about going to Canterlot?"

"No, Spike." Twilight said, closing the book with a huff and tossing it into an ever-growing stack by her bedside. With the addition of yet another tome, the tower wobbled from side to side before finding its balance once again. "It's Pinkie Pie. I'm worried about her. I'm starting to think that maybe Rainbow and Applejack were right earlier today."

"You mean yesterday?" Spike corrected, pointing at the astronomy-themed calendar on the wall.

"Whatever." Twilight waved her hoof dismissively as she effortlessly levitated another book off the shelf. "I thought some reading would help me fall asleep, but nothing's been able to get my mind off this! "

Spike frowned and walked over next to Twilight. "Trust me, Twi. I'm just as worried as you are, but you need to sleep! It's five in the morning, and you need to be on the train platform in three hours! You can't possibly lead a country while sleep-deprived."

Twilight felt her stomach tense up at those words. Lead a country. The words ran through her mind over and over. If Pinkie Pie's disappearance wasn't nerve wracking enough, that sure did the trick.

"Ugh!" Twilight groaned, throwing her face into the pages of the open book in her lap. "Ay aan't oo dis!" She said, her voice muffled by the thick pages.

Spike grabbed the heavy tome and pulled it away from Twilight's face. "What?"

Twilight closed her eyes and slid under the covers. "I can't do this, Spike! This is just too much! All of Ponyville is going to be depending on me to find Pinkie, and the rest of the country's going to be depending on me to do everything else!" She turned around to face the opposite end of the bed. "I can't handle this! I'm just not ready for this kind of responsibility!"