//------------------------------// // Song of the Sprite // Story: Dance of the Fae // by Yinglung //------------------------------// The duo of dragon and pony walked briskly towards their next destination, the Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight was sporting a nervous grin after the emotional exchange, but Spike was still worried about the fae in his little waist bag. He was slightly relieved to see a faint blue light emanating from the inside. But then, he heard some faint murmurs. He couldn’t quite distinguish whether it came from the bag or from his head, but he could hear some of the words. Something about a… contract? Spike tried to put more of his attention towards her mumbling, but whatever she was muttering was quickly overcame with incoherent sobbing. He again felt a pang of guilt in his heart. Although the fae basically forced him to accept her as a companion, he was still thankful with her advice, and felt some degree of responsibility to her. She was like a little stray that bawled whenever he slightly mentioned the idea of leaving her alone. Now he couldn’t help but think, in addition to her choice of companion, whether she suffered from some serious abandonment issue. A sharp gasp came from the bag. “D- Dark? Why is it all dark? Oh Mother Harmony, please, d- don’t take me away from Spike yet!” Spike put his claws into the bag and took out the startled fae. “Shh, relax, Polly. I’m sorry to have said those hurtful words. You know I’ll never have the heart to leave you behind.” “Spike…!” Polytima trembled on Spike’s claws. “Are you real? Not a figment of my imagination?” “Will a figment of your imagination admit that he’s just imagination?” Spike chuckled. “You faint too easy for a spirit of Harmony.” “Thank goodness! Praise be to Mother Harmony! I- I-” Spike silenced the panicking fae with a gentle kiss, which stunned her into silence. Her embarrassment was palpable, but Spike could sense that her fear was also immediately assuaged. He closed his eyes, and decided at heart that he must watch his tongue closely for the rest of his day, for he had two incredibly touchy companions with him. As the pony and dragon walked side by side towards the apple orchard, Spike momentarily looked at the deeply pondering mare. He wondered what she was thinking. Twilight Sparkle was not usually a sentimental pony. Reading and studying were of paramount importance to her, as was impressing the benign mentor who uplifted her from obscurity to being the top royal pupil. Spike then thought about where he was in this equation. After he had been hatched by Twilight’s magic, he had been placed in Celestia’s care before he was finally transferred to the purple mare. Who was he to her? He seldom consciously thought about their relationship before, during his routine work of assistance for the royal student. Polytima’s strangely pointed objection to the purple mare brought it into sharp relief, however. They were not exactly siblings, for Twilight usually had all the say with regards to their action. She was not like his parent either, as though she hatched him, they weren’t that apart in terms of age. Suddenly, a bashful voice rang in his mind. “I’m so sorry I’m a useless fae… I promise I will not faint so easily next time. Master, just don’t say you’ll… you’ll…” Spike winced. “Okay, Polly, I won’t. I only have two requests for now.” “Y- Your wish is my command!” “First, calm down for a bit.” A long inhalation could be heard. “I- I have calmed down, my mas-” Spike gently coughed. Polytima gasped and switched the form of address. “Spike… Th- Thank you for keeping me on with you.” Through the mental link, he cooed. “Polly, don’t think about that anymore. Now tell me about, uh, other things. Let’s talk more about this… Applejack, can we?” “Gladly!” Polytima beamed. “Applejack, as we discussed, is a farm mare. She lives with her family in Sweet Apple Acres. The Apples are a big family of traditional and down-to-earth folks.” “You should know her pretty well, huh? Her farm should be close to the edge of town and near the forest.” “Indeed, she and the would-be bearer of Kindness were the ones I’ve got the most frequent look from my forest abode. As long as you remain honest and fair in your interactions with her, she should be all good.” “Is there anything that she likes, you know, so that I can…” “It might be a bit tricky to impress her. She dislikes flowery pretense, and she's incredibly stubborn to the point of rejecting help even when she absolutely needs it. I’m afraid it might take a while before she can see the light and accept how splendid you are.” “Uh… okay.” Spike scratched his cheek. “She's not as simple as we see, my splendid Spike. She’d lived in the East and knew the complexities of the cities, she just moved back because she preferred a simpler life. Besides, her parents were no more shortly after the birth of her younger sister.” “What…?” “An unfortunate accident, let’s just say.” After a protracted silence. “… You do know her well, Polly. How long have you been observing her and the others in Ponyville?” “Heh, it was so long ago since Mother Harmony gave sight to me, but I can reliably tell you that I knew her since she was born.” Polytima said to an astonished Spike. “Not that there were nothing to see in the forest, but… well… Anyway, I suppose she would still appreciate honest attempts to help from the others regardless, even if they fumble a bit. I knew this because she cherished her little sister even more because of it.” “I’ll keep that in mind-” Spike blinked and saw the entrance to the Acres in front of him. He hurriedly took out the list Twilight Sparkle gave him before they departed, and blurted out the rehearsed sentence. “Summer Sun Celebration official overseer's checklist. Number one, banquet preparations: Sweet Apple Acres.” An orange pony was seen bucking the apple trees. Apples came raining down with each skillful strike. “Let’s get this over with…” But before Twilight Sparkle could open her mouth, they were noticed by the apple farmer herself. “Hey howdy! A unicorn and dragon combo, how interestin’ eh?” The blonde-maned mare brightly chuckled. “Name’s Applejack, what’s yers?” “I’m Twilight Sparkle, royal overseer of the Summer Sun Celebration.” “I’m Spike the Dragon.” Spike neglected to mention his status as Twilight Sparkle’s assistant, lest the doting fae somehow went unhinged again. As Twilight Sparkle tried futilely to resist the attempts from the extended Apple family to feed her all kinds of apple dishes, Spike sat on a piece of log at a distance, observing the rumble quietly. “The old gray mare, she kicked on the apple tree, Kicked on the apple tree, kicked on the apple tree, The old gray mare, she kicked on the apple tree, Many long years ago...” Spike turned and looked at the fae, fluttering in the wind and singing an old-timey tune. “What’s that, Polly?” “It’s just a song I heard the older Apples sung in the past. It’s quite easy and repetitive, so I quickly learnt it by rote.” “That song sounds… hmm, how should I put it?” “Wistful? Dreamy? Sad?” Polytima supplied. “Well, I won’t say it’s sad, but it sounds like somepony who wished to do more but could do no more.” What Spike said was like a shock of an electric bolt, causing the fae to be stunned silent. Before Spike noticed her reaction, though, she collected herself and said shyly. “… The song was about a distant matriarch of the Apple family. She was a legend within her clan, dragging a big wagon across what was then an uncultivated waste and helping her family spread all over the land. But as age caught up to her, she could no longer run as fast as before, nor could she drag the heavy wagon around. And so, she rued this as she settled down and kicked trees in her small orchard.” “At least she could still kick trees at a ripe old age, couldn’t she?” Polytima mulled. “She thought she could do more to help her family, though.” Spike looked up and scanned the assorted Apples in the Acres. There were ponies of every age. Giving a side glance to the fae, he shook his head and said. “Everyone has a time under the blue sky. It’s no use mourning about the past. Rather, it’s important to live at the moment and enjoy ourselves.” The fae murmured something under her breath, but at the end, she offered a placid praise. “Wise words, my splendid Spike.” Spike continued to stare forward, but he asked. “You like singing?” The fae sounded somewhat surprised, and then quietly muttered. “Alas, I have naught to do otherwise in the forest, alone and expectant. Knowing that no one else could hear me should I choose to, I can sing however I want. It’s a great escape valve for my anxiety.” “I see.” Spike thinly smiled. “I’m happy that you found something that you enjoy doing.” The fae’s tone raised ever so slightly, and she hummed. “… Nevertheless, hearing others sing is a bigger pleasure of mine.” “Oh?” “It’s rare that ponies wander near the ‘dangerous’ Everfree. Sapient beings in the forest with the ability to speak and sing are few and far between. And when they do, it’s usually when they thought there was no one nearby. So they sang out of their hearts. I enjoy listening to these rawest, most genuine expressions of emotions.” “That’s… relaxing, I suppose.” The fae hummed cheerily, until she noticed that no further response came from the dragon. She gently approached Spike, who was sporting an inscrutable face. “Spike?” The dragon could not hold it anymore and burst into laughter. “Mwahahaha! So you’re not just a stalking fairy, but an eavesdropping one as well!” “Mas-! I, I mean, Spike!” Polytima yelped with an off-key squawk. “I- I’m not a creepy unhinged stalker!” “Really? Alright, how many ponies did you listen in on when you’re staying in Everfree and this town?” “No more than a dozen times per pony… on average anyway!” “What?” Spike did a mini-spittake. It was much more than he thought. “Like, when they’re in the privacy of their homes as well? Cos it’s impossible for everypony to wander inside the Everfree so many times for you to… you know…” “Um… Uh…” After a period of mumbling, Polytima then added with the volume of a mosquito buzz. “P- Perhaps?” Spike did not know to laugh or to feel queasy about the mass surveillance. “So tell me, who in this town of Ponyville does you not have a full binder of info of?” Polytima slowly sighed. “… I’m afraid not. I need information on every inhabitant I can get ahold of. Whatever they said, it was precious information, not only about themselves, but also the wider world. Especially since I couldn’t go far previously, I need to hear every bit from every one of them.” The fae then said with the tone of a scolded filly. “I- I’m not a stalker… Please don’t hate me…” “Aww… Silly Polly, I’m not scolding you. I’m just teasing you for a bit.” Spike shrugged with a grin. “Ah, I was a bit unfair. I still don’t think it’s right to spy on unknowing ponies like that, but it’s not like you have any other, uh, normal way to talk to the others or gather information.” Polytima seemed to be brightened. “I’m glad you understand, Spike. Everything I did, however embarrassing, toiling or incriminating, I was preparing for the time that we met. Knowing things around the town would surely help our endeavors in the future.” Spike nodded, and then struck up a smile. “Hey, can you teach me the song you were singing just now?” “Eh?” Polytima fluttered to the side as if she was tilted her ‘head’. “I- I mean, sure, of course! But may I be so brazen and ask… why?” “It just sounded so… melodic. I wonder if I can sing it well as well. Twi said I might have a talent for singing when I was younger.” “Of course you can. No doubt about it! Her use of ‘might’ is foolish, I say!” “Ha…” Spike cupped his paws together, as he pondered aloud. “Um… Also, what do you think if I sing this for the Apples? Would they be happy, or would they be weirded out by an outsider randomly singing their family song?” “Eh…? I- I… am not sure.” “Huh? Something that our all-knowing fae doesn’t know?” The fae sounded genuinely apologetic, not catching the jokey tone of the dragon. “My most sincere apologies, my splendid Spike, for I honestly don’t know. It’s been quite some time since I learnt that tune, and it’s been so long since I last heard the old granny sing it. I am not even sure if the younger Apples would recognize the tune.” “Oh.” The fae let out a sigh. “I understand that you might want to please these farmer ponies with your singing voice, but I really can’t say if it would have the desired effect… I’m terribly sorry, Spike, I must sound pretty useless.” “Don’t say that, Polly. If not for you, I wouldn’t even know so much about the Apples and the very song.” He looked at the streaming mass of Apple family members, and leaned back at the log. Eventually he let out a long breath. “Maybe… Maybe it’s indeed better not to go all the way out to win over their love and respect. As you said, this Applejack is a down-to-earth type. She might see through it, and everything might go belly up.” “… I see, Spike.” “But still, I want to learn this song. Can you sing it once again for me, before Twilight gets stuffed with too many apple fritters and has to bail?” Polytima dipped and said. “S- Sure thing, my splendid dragon.” As the aroma of apples filled the morning air, Spike swung on the log with a carefree mood, listening to the delicate singing voice of the fae. “… Many long years ago Many long years ago, many long years ago The old gray mare She ain’t what she used to be Many long years ago…”