//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 – Bottling the Common Sense // Story: Evenfall // by Yinglung //------------------------------// The Golden Oak Library looked peaceful in the gentle glow of the autumn sun, but inside it was at its one of the most hectic days since Twilight moved in. Spike was staring at the Cowhili exam Twilight just gave him and was quickly approaching a mix of dire dread and utter hopelessness, since he had sneaked away to read the newest Daring Do yesterday instead of studying. Twilight was not exactly disapproving with his new-founded interest in the adventure novel, but she also said something about ‘not following proper archeological conducts’ or some such, words which were almost immediately forgotten by the purple dragon. Spike groaned and looked towards the stairwell to the basement. Twilight had, since day one, continued to redesign the basement which had originally been used for storing cleaning tools. She now regularly conducted experiments, and did other sciencey and magicky things inside the largely modified and expanded basement. Twilight had walked with Pinkie Pie into the laboratory just a moment ago. Spike watched them turn the dials and enter some passwords on a panel, then Twilight stuck her face onto a platform and lit her horn. The two ponies together grabbed at the giant wheel in front of the thick vault-like door and turned, revealing yet another similarly locked door. Not that Spike hadn’t entered the place once, it’s just filled with strange water tanks and equipment, but Spike couldn’t for the life of him think of a reason why the place warranted such an over-the-top level of protection. But Twilight and Pinkie knew perfectly well that it was not for protection, but for quarantine. Twilight entered the inner sanctum of the basement vault, and with some trepidation took out a magically-reinforced cage carrying a furball-like creature. Pinkie observed nearby like a hawk, a trombone ready on her hoof. As Twilight deactivated the magical protection, the winged furball swiftly devoured the whole cage. Pinkie then immediately blew the trombone with a particular beat, which caused the tiny creature to vibrate accordingly and moved into one of the liquid tank in an almost perfect parabola. Twilight then flared her magic again and engulfed the whole tank with a purple glow. The creature then floated inside the tank without any more abrupt motion. Both mares sighed in relief. “Twilight, are you sure this will be safe or useful? Not that I’m a silly worry wart, but we both know that parasprites aren’t something to be trifle with!” Pinkie asked, somewhat unsure. “I’m not so sure myself, Pinkie. But with parasprites, their reproductive abilities are simply a thing to behold. Even with my knowledge of the bestiary in the world, I still have no clue that how a creature can reproduce asexually in such an exponential manner, using both inorganic and organic materials, while completely avoiding harm to living beings.” Twilight turned to watch the parasprite, seemingly so vulnerable in its deceptive cuddliness. “There must be an unknown mechanism in which they transform an amount of matter directly and quickly into energy, almost like…” Twilight gulped while Pinkie widened her eyes. “Anyway, fortunately, no historical outbreak of parasprites ever lead to the destruction of the whole world either by explosion or complete devouring, otherwise we would not be here. I just want to see if we can discover how they reproduce so quickly. Maybe it would be hugely useful for ecology and agriculture, like quickly expanding the scale of apple plantation for Applejack.” Twilight’s voice turned low. “And if it unfortunately comes to a time that we must repel really severe threats, then its voracious appetite might be utilized to destroy the enemy’s weapons and equipment.” Pinkie Pie quietly gasped, but then turned thoughtful. “… I don’t think it would work on changelings, Twi. Their armor is part of their body. And I would hope that Equestria would never descend into war under our watch.” “I hope so, but when the world gives us such an amount of out-of-bound knowledge, I can’t help but think that there must be some reason. Something might be out there that could not be dealt with unless with our arsenal of skills and understanding. Our foreknowledge only extends to when Starlight Glimmer seemed to have relented from messing with the time stream. Her meddling must have destabilize it so much that the further future was denied to us. I’m afraid the unknown threats that lie ahead will be more difficult to deal with than ever. It can’t hurt to be extra prepared.” “… Okay then Twi! It seemed that you’ve thought this through.” “I certainly hope that I didn’t miss something.” “Well, good luck and remember to tell us if you’ve got something!” Pinkie smiled as she prepared to leave. “Pinkie, remember to close the inner door before opening the outer one! Also help me check up on Spike!” Twilight yelled to the pink pony, who cheerfully nodded. Pinkie Pie trotted out of the basement in light steps. Spike saw the bouncing pony coming toward him and asked. “Hey Pinkie, how was Twi and her little experiment?” Pinkie nodded. “Oh Spike, it’s going well! Twi and I just brought a strange creature back to her lab and studied it and she said she might be able to use her finding to help Equestria, even making Applejack’s orchard rain apples!” She happily chirped. “Well, good for her then. What do you need me for, Pinkie?” Spike asked. “It’s nothing, Twi just wanted me to check on your exam. How does it goes…?” Pinkie glanced at the almost blank paper, except for the occasional Daring Do doodles. “Oh ho ho ho! Young drake, you’re in trouble, hehe!” “Oh dear, please Pinkie, do not tell Twilight on me!” Spike gasped. “And uh, though this is Cowhili, c—can you…” Pinkie Pie looked at Spike with a smiling gaze. Pinkie Pie had grown fond of the clumsily brave baby dragon, as they often played and chatted in his spare time. She took the dragon’s answer sheet up and said. “Uh-huh, what’s the words for ‘ocean’ in Cowhili, that’s easy, silly! It’s ‘bahari’, Spike!” “You’re not joking, right?” Spike asked in a slightly doubtful tone. “Well I never joke when my friend’s life’s on the line!” Pinkie huffed in a faux-indignant tone. “Wow, Pinkie, thank you so much! How’d you know anyway?” Spike asked in amazement. “Well, uh, because I talk with cows a lot, silly Spike!” “Whoa, Pinkie, then what about ‘sky’?” Spike asked. Pinkie patiently told Spike all the answers to all the questions, while occasionally looking to the basement to ensure the purple pony’s not coming out yet. “Phew, I thought I was doomed. Pinkie, you’re my savior! How can I ever thank you?” Spike exhaled in utter relief. Pinkie thought for a moment, she kind of wanted to have Spike for herself just for a day. “Well Spike, you can just sit here and chat with me, just like we always do. We originally had to bake a giant cake to prepare for Princess Celestia’s arrival, but Twilight told me that she heard from the royal capital this morning, that she just cancelled her trip to Ponyville because of an infestation in Baltimare.” “Hey chatting, that sounds good! You always got funny stories to tell. What have you got this time?” Spike said. “Well before anything, I have to ask you to later revise the Cowhili words you haven’t studied because you went slacking off,” Pinkie giggled at the purple dragon, “Couldn’t have Twilight find out that you kinda cheated by asking me, could ya?” Spike groaned and said. “Are you really Pinkie or are you just Twilight in disguise? I swear you just grumble at me almost exactly like her.” Pinkie grinned, and then pulled a small purple party cone from her mane and put it on her head. “Um, umm—Spike, you know, you must learn about everything in order to become a wise dragon. Everything I’ve done is for the good of you, do you realize, Spike?” Pinkie mocked Twilight’s serious tone, which caused Spike to have a belly laugh. “Wow, you sure nailed it, Pinkie,” Spike wiped his eyes, and poked at the pink pony’s cutie mark. “Are those just paint or not?” Pinkie gasped at the touch of the dragon’s claw on her back side and jumped slightly. She then furiously blushed. “S—Spike, you can’t just p—poke at a mare’s… plot, you know!” “Wow Pinkie, I’m sorry, um…” Spike said awkwardly, then the two entered an embarrassing silence. Pinkie eventually turned to Spike and spoke up. “Hey Spike, what do you think about Rarity?” This time Spike’s face turned red, “Um, uh, she’s a pretty mare, I guess?” “I agree that she’s a very fabulous pony, yes, but what else do you see in her?” Pinkie asked. “Um… She’s very kind and generous. She does not hesitate to help other ponies. She’s good at sewing pretty clothes. Also, she’s good at finding gems, tasty tasty gems, yum.” Spike licked his lips. Pinkie smiled. “That’s all good. But that just makes her a good friend. Twilight’s also very kind to you, why won’t you crush on her then?” “What? Huh? I—Twi—No! She’s my family, I almost see her as my mother!” Spike’s eyes widened and his face turned a funny shade of red and blue. “Hahaha! I got you, Spike!” Pinkie loudly laughed. “Hmph! What’s with the sudden questions about my love life anyway? Oh… I see now, Pinkie, you’re swooned by my handsome look and masculinity, aren’t you?” Spike smirked. “Wha—?” Pinkie’s face reddened again. She unwittingly leaned onto a book shelf nearby. A thick tome from the top of the shelf shook loose and fell towards Spike’s head. Pinkie immediately tackled the purple dragon out of the way, and they both lied in a heap in the middle of the library. “Um… Is Twilight here? I come for… Oh my.” A surprised Fluttershy entered the library to see a red-faced Pinkie and Spike cuddled together on the floor. Spike immediately said. “Fluttershy, it’s not like—” “… what I think? Don’t worry Spike, I saw nothing.” Fluttershy smiled with a rare mischievous tone. “What’s going on here?” Twilight also came out at some point, looking at the small mess the pink pony and the dragon made. Twilight’s jaw hanged open for a while, and then seemed to nod in some sort of understanding. “Oh you two...” “Say something Pinkie! Tell them what happened!” Spike pulled at the embarrassed pink pony, but she seemed to be too uncharacteristically shy to say anything. “Oh by Celestia, get up you two!” Twilight snapped, “Pinkie, I never knew…” “Shh!” Pinkie Pie shushed the purple mare, “It—It’s just a joke with Spike, nothing more!” Twilight and Fluttershy looked at the flustered pink pony, then Spike, and then Pinkie again. “Very well then.” Twilight said. “Are you ready for the twitch tests… or do you need some rests?” “No, I can do it now!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Alright. Fluttershy.” Twilight turned to the yellow pegasus. “Wait here for a bit while I run some test on Pinkie. I’ll bring you inside to look at the parasprite later.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Wow, your heart beats like drums, you sure you’re alright?” Twilight asked Pinkie Pie. “Of course I’m alright, Twi. Why won’t I be?” “Oooh, a grumpy Pinkie. Something must have happened outside?” Twilight smiled knowingly. “I should have noticed with you sticking with Spike all the time. That’s one critical divergence.” “What divergence?” Pinkie Pie knew very well what Twilight meant, but still asked. “You falling for Spike of course.” Twilight said. “When did it start?” “No I didn’t! It was just a prank went wrong!” Pinkie Pie protested with a blush. “Okay, let’s say it was a prank went wrong,” Twilight nodded. “What’s up with the constant red faces and banter that comes straight out of an old romantic novel?” “You heard that?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Of course! Why wouldn’t I install some monitoring system in the library when I locked myself in the basement? By the way, I saw you help Spike out and make fun of me as well, you naughty Pinkie.” “Oh dear! Please don’t punish Spike!” Pinkie Pie pled. “You know very well that I’m not some grumpy no-fun. I had to admit, you did a pretty good impression of me, though that’s to be expected. As for the exam, you did tell Spike to go study for real later, just like what I’d have said, so I’m not planning to do anything for now.” Twilight then asked. “What’s with you defending him so vigorously anyway? I don’t recall any particular special reason for you to, um…” “I don’t know either, it’s all just so confusing!” Pinkie’s mane slightly deflated. “I blame you, Twilight! If not for you who casted your weird mind magic on me, I would never think of Spike as anyone other than a cute little dragon friend!” “Well, I’m sorry Pinkie.” Twilight grimaced. “But what’s done was done. If it was about my unintentional influence, shouldn’t you be thinking of Spike just like a dear foal anyway, you know, like all of us do?” “Well, why don’t you ask Rarity as well? Surely she’s even more conflicted on this matter than me.” Pinkie Pie sighed. “But yeah, I know I should have just see Spike as some dragon to be cooed and loved, just as a friend of course. Besides, his heart is very obviously Rarity’s. But… I don’t know, Twi, Spike’s funny and mischievous side kinda matches with me, so I guess I like him more because of that. But then, we didn’t really have a lot unique experiences together... Ugh, I don’t know what comes over me!” “… I see, Pinkie.” Twilight said. “It’s clichéd, but you need some time to clear up your mind. You like Spike, I understand. Love needs no reason, and love can be irrational. But one shouldn’t confuse loyalty, friendship, platonic love and consummate relationship. Whatever you choose, it is your personal choice. I have no right to question it merely because we were once linked.” “Thank you, Twi… You’re the best!” Pinkie slowly began to grin, as her mane puffed up again. “You say you want to test on my twitches?” “Actually, that’s just a ruse to bring you in for this talk. We know very well that testing the twitches is not going to yield anything conclusive, with our current technology anyway. I think we’ll need equipment that are able to observe sub-particle level activities in order to do that.” “You think that?” Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened. “Yes. What we can do now is to match and catalog the twitches to what you think they mean, as comprehensively as possible. This would help us supplement our knowledge that might become obsolete because of the changes we made.” Twilight handed the pink pony a notebook. “Alright Twi, I’ll try my best.” “… Pinkie, surely you’ve realized, love’s complicated. The ancient tome has not fully understood it even with its thousands of years of experience. But we will support you no matter what.” “But what about… Rarity?” Pinkie asked uncertainly. “Don’t worry too much, Pinkie. Focus on organizing your thoughts first. Maybe Spike is who you really love, or you’ll find that he’s just your best bud in your eyes.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight had just escorted Fluttershy to the door. The yellow pegasus had helped her with animal physiology and provided some observation on the status of the parasprite, now two parasprites, as Twilight had given a small piece of wood and cloth to the small creature, which had made it squealed in delight and coughed up another parasprite soon afterwards. “Whew…” Twilight sighed and leaned on the closed door. “What’s with Pinkie today? And what’s with…” Despite her wise advice towards the pink mare, her own mind have been disquieted by Pinkie’s words. Spike was his son, his baby dragon. She loved him, as she admitted quietly in her mind, more than her mentor Celestia, her foal-sitter Cadance, her parents, and even her own dear brother. Spike was like a precious gift in her lone magic study. It’s into him that she put her first wholehearted dose of love and nurture, other than towards something inanimate like a doll. Spike was cheeky and sometimes stubborn, but he never really swayed away from the side of Twilight, who always watched over him like a dragon towards her horde. She paused and slowly breathed. She really shouldn’t think about this too much. Besides, Pinkie was right, she hadn’t really asked Rarity about her feelings for Spike. Due to the mind meld, Rarity intimately knew the strong feeling of the dragon for her. Among the quiet acknowledgement of the mares, she sort of became the designated love interest of the small dragon. A fact that Twilight from time and time thought it’s unfair to both Rarity and other mares. So what if Spike loved Rarity? Was Rarity then obligated to return the love, even though she only knew his feeling via some strange magical ritual? It was clearly a bizarre and awkward situation for her. It might be for the greater good, though, to bind Spike towards them six by just arrange Rarity with Spike… Twilight gritted her teeth, she hated it when her thoughts turned to those places, in which she saw her friends and Spike just as something to help achieve her goals. Twilight’s deep thought was disrupted by a voice. “Hey Twi, I’ve finished my exam, see?” Spike’s head suddenly popped in front of the purple mare. “Gah!” Twilight was shocked, jumping up high and almost accidentally discharging a magic blast. “Whoa, Twi. It’s just me, what’s up with the scares?” Spike asked in surprise. ‘It’s exactly because it’s you, Spike.’ Twilight thought. “Well, sorry Spike, I was just deep in my thoughts. What did you say?” “I say, I’m handing in my exam.” Spike smirked. “Um, um. Huh, all correct!” Twilight said as she checked the answers. Although she knew those were actually Pinkie’s answers, she simply shook her head with a defeated smile and said, “Very well then, I will give you a ruby as reward and also buy you the newest Daring Do when it comes out.” “Oh thank you, Twi!” Spike embraced Twilight, and planted a speck on her face. Twilight turned to Spike and grinned, “Don’t be too happy with yourself yet, Spike. The next exam will be soon and it will be.” Twilight mocked a dramatic sound, “dun—dun—dun, accumulative!” “Spare me! Oh great purple one!” Spike moaned in pain, towards which Twilight simply laughed. She then sighed to herself quietly, ‘Maybe I should go ask Rarity herself, when the time is right.’ She poked Spike and said. “Spike, you need not worry if you get full mark this time, right?” She smirked at the fretful dragon, “I have some business to tend to outside, I’ll be right back. Tell any visitor to wait here for a moment.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celestia trotted on the outskirts of Ponyville towards the town center, curiously without any accompaniment, nor riding on her golden chariot. Suddenly a voice was heard from her back. “Princess Celestia! What are you doing out here all by yourself?” Celestia turned back, and saw it was just her student, Twilight Sparkle. “Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil.” Twilight smiled thinly, “Greetings, princess. I come to see if I can meet with you on the road.” “Oh? Twilight, is there anything you would want to talk to me?” Celestia asked. “Well yes, princess. I’m afraid that it might not be completely appropriate for Ponyville to accommodate a royal visit for the moment.” Twilight said. “Ah, what a coincidence. I was just coming to tell you that I must attend to an emergency most dire, and I must cancel the visit to Ponyville this time,” Celestia said in some surprise. “What is wrong with Ponyville, Twilight?” “Actually, they are all just precautionary measures. A specimen of a curious creature, called parasprite, was captured in the parameters of Ponyville.” Twilight explained. “We have secured and contained the parasprite, because according to our observation, it devours matters and quickly multiplies, and it might cause an infestation if it is not properly controlled.” “Oh dear. Twilight, you and your friends have done a great job protecting the properties and livelihood of Ponyvillians. You have my most gracious thanks.” Twilight gulped, she wondered if that’s time to ask for some boons. She eventually decided against it and simply said. “That’s but my humble duty as a royal subject, princess. Shall the emergency elsewhere be connected to this parasprite outbreak, I recommend using aerophones, like trombone, to direct their movement to safe storage.” Celestia nodded. Twilight looked at the princess, and eventually asked. “Princess, you could’ve just sent me a letter through Spike, or sent an urgent mail by the Royal Guards. I dread to disturb your royal personage to inform me in person.” Celestia raised her eyebrows and frowned. Twilight was being the overly formal and distant self again, so she gently cooed. “Twilight, can’t a mentor and princess just come to check up on her most faithful student once in a while, hmm?” Despite Twilight’s grand plan to change Equestria, Twilight still loved her Princess Celestia, despite her fear that she might have to clash with her one day. It pained her every time to think about opposing the kind and loving princess, but for now, her hearts were simply warmed by the mentor’s gentle words. Twilight spluttered, “P—Princess Celestia, I… “ She gulped, “I want to see you too, princess. I’d missed you.” The princess gently hugged the purple mare, who grew tense upon the initial touch, but she softened up soon and too embraced her mentor. The mentor and the student was, at least for today, embracing each other with little reservation under the orange sky.