Beat.
Beat.
Beat.
Beat.
Spike finally could not bear it and turn to the striding fae. “Polly, why are you tutting? Is anything wrong?”
The fae let out a nervous ‘shh’, and the tutting resumed.
Before Spike could ask another question, Polytima suddenly flew forth in a perfect parabola, and then rapidly chanted a string of words that the dragon could not quite understand.
“Ave Concordia sancta, Terra Mater, sub tuum praesidium confugimus… Tueor!”
Immediately, glistening purplish blue shone from the fae, and extended into a translucent yet immense-looking barrier in front of the mystified dragon.
“Wha-”
Spike’s half-uttered sentence was interrupted by a blur in his peripheral vision. That blur, after getting closer, seemed to have changed course, and aimed right at the purple pony next to him.
By sheer instinct, he sprinted aside and pushed the purple pony out of the way.
“Spike, wait!” Polytima let out a yelp, clearly stunned.
As Spike moved, the protective shield followed. The blur then made solid contact with the shield, and at the blink of an eye, the mysterious object was bounced right back the way it came at an even higher speed.
The dazed purple mare, now half-kneeling on the road, only gazed towards the sky with her jaw agape. “Who- What the hay was that?”
The fae, on the other hand, observed the upward trajectory of the object and lamented in frustration. “Oh by the Immaculate Mother Harmony, I screwed up!”
“-at?”
Spike finished his half-utterance, and then interrogated through the mind-link. “Polly! What in Equestria was that about?”
Polytima audibly gulped. “T- That was, uh, Rainbow Dash.”
“Wait, you mean the weather pony?”
The fae sounded evasive. “Y- Yes.”
Spike frowned deeply after hearing nothing more from the fae. “… Go on?”
“Eeek! I- I was just trying to, um, m- m- make sure that the purple egghead and the rainbow tomboy become friends?”
A bit dismayed at the crude addresses, Spike however found more faults with Polytima’s words. “How in the world does- Wait, wait…”
He drew in a breath, and then asked. “Okay, first, you know full well that Rainbow Dash would Rainbow-crash into us beforehand.”
“… Yes. I’m indeed using my divination as well as my detection magic.”
“And you then casted a magic shield in front of me.”
“Yes, Spike. You need ample protection against such a high-speed object.”
Briefly baffled by her referring to a pony as an ‘object’, Spike shrugged. “Well, thanks for that-”
Polytima hummed. “You’re welcome, Spike!”
Spike’s appreciation was then tampered by his doubt. “- but did you also make it so that Rainbow Dash crash directly into Twilight?”
The fae made a nervous breathy noise. “I… am just facilitating their bond, that’s all. After all, physical closeness breeds intimacy.”
“There are a lot of ways that promote close friendship without risking grievous bodily harm.”
“Ohhh, Spike, how do you know that word-”
The fae shook herself to refocus. “S- Sorry, I mean, yes! But since she’s come crashing down anyway, might as well use it as a bonding exercise between the to-be Element-bearers!”
Spike knitted his brows. He was not entirely sure, but Polytima was probably picking on Twilight again, just using even more covert means. By now though, he figured that there must be some strange secret reason for her to be borderline spiteful whenever the purple mare was brought up. He had decided to peel her reluctance away bit by bit.
For now, though, he did not want to set the fae off, so he merely cautioned. “Polytima.”
The fae sounded worried that Spike addressed her with her full name. “Yes, Spike?”
“Can you promise me not to cause Twilight any physical injury, both directly and indirectly? Even if you think it’s for a good cause?”
To Spike’s surprise, the fae sighed and complied. “I understand. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“Good.”
The dragon’s cautious smile soon turned into a headache-induced scowl. “Oh crap. Now that we’ve bounced Rainbow Dash away, how-”
Spike’s mental dialogue was interrupted by a clearly concerned Twilight. She asked tentatively. “Spike, are you okay? You’ve been standing there and making faces without a word again.”
The dragon sharply inhaled. “Ah, nothing, Twilight.”
The purple mare looked on worriedly. “Are you sure you aren’t hurt? I’m pretty certain the… thing smacked right into you.”
“Absolutely positively. And I’m afraid that ‘thing’ is actually Rainbow Dash. You know, the weather pony we’re supposed to check on?”
“What? That pegasus pony? How come she’s coming down on us like a bomb and then bounced back like a ball?”
Spike gulped, his mind scrambled to drive Twilight’s attention away from the strange turn of events. “H- Hey, you know what? I actually read in an action comic that there’s actually a kind of bomb that can bounce across-”
“Spike, this is no time to joke! I’m glad that you’re not hurt, especially since you’ve been so brave to push me out of the way of harm. But if that… ‘Rainbow Dash’ is no longer here, nopony would clear the sky! My carefully arranged schedule will be thrown into disarray! And I will have to spend extra time tracking her down, leaving us with little time to study how to stop Nightmare Moon!”
Spike lowered his head with knitted brows. Surprisingly, Polytima also joined in with worry. “I don’t want to admit it, but she’s kind of right. We must have Rainbow Dash by our side when we go out to fight Nightmare Moon. The Elements must be whole to work.”
The dragon suddenly asked the fae. “You sure about that?”
“Huh?”
“Can’t I just go and stand in for that Rainbow Dash, maybe just for this time? I mean, I am pretty loyal.”
“Eh…?” The fae was only beginning to comprehend his outlandish suggestion.
“I’ve stayed beside Twilight for years as an obedient assistant. Also, I’m on pretty good terms with Twi, and equal terms with the other to-be bearers… At least they know Twi for as long and as much as me. I am not trying to take the supposed loyalty away from that Rainbow Dash or anything, but if she can’t make it, then I might as well stand in just this once.”
Even though Polytima was clearly hesitant, she sounded stumped when she was to argue against his logic. “Um… But the thing about that is…”
“Now, are you saying that only pony friendships count for the Spirits of Harmony?”
“N- No no no, of course not!”
Spike suspected that if he could see Polytima’s face, it would be covered with nervous sweat. “O- Of course I trust that my splendid Spike can do anything you want to do, but-”
“Spike, look, is that the pony that crashed into you just now?”
Twilight tugged the dragon, who turned his attention to his front. At the same time, Polytima let out a long breath of relief.
A cyan pegasus rushed towards them from a distance. It seemed that the rebound, though over-the-top, did not shoot her out of Equestria after all. This time, though, she nimbly landed in front of them at a safe distance. She then put both her hooves on Spike’s shoulders.
“Whoa, thank you, whoever you are! Good thing you cushioned my fall. I really don’t want to preen my wings and dust my coat all over again!”
The pegasus looked surprised when she noticed the stature of the dragon. She rubbed her eyes. “Wow, you’re just a baby dragon! I can’t believe a baby dragon can withstand such a collision at such a high speed and even bounce me back safely! A baby dragon as small as you!”
Spike's eyes twitched. “You don’t have to stress ‘baby dragon’ every time, Miss Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash merely smirked and waved him down. “Ha ha, whatever, baby dragon. But you do know me, how?”
Against Spike’s expectation, the previously overly protective fae did not immediately get defensive in place of him. She merely sighed and muttered something under her breath.
Before Spike could get pensive with Polytima’s reaction, Twilight spoke up.
“So you really are Rainbow Dash.”
The purple pony looked nonplussed. “Ugh, can you just clear the sky?”
Rainbow Dash narrowed an eye. “Now, who exactly are you to order me around?”
“To answer two of your questions at once: I’m Twilight Sparkle, the overseer of the Summer Sun Celebration. Spike and I are here to check if the weather is done in time. ”
Twilight pouted. “I’m not happy to see that not only the clouds are not cleared, you almost cause Spike serious injuries by crashing into us.”
“Come now, Twilight Sparkle. I can’t help it, being the fastest pegasus pony in Equestria and all-”
“Being fast does not exempt you from safety! How can you be so irresponsible about both your job and safety of others?”
Rainbow Dash looked irritated. “Being the royal overseer also does not give you the right to be so bossy!”
“Yes it does! It literally is my job to-”
“No it doesn’t!”
Spike intervened. “Excuse me…”
The mares did not seem to hear his pleading, as they were busy glaring at and arguing with each other.
The dragon sighed again, and called out to the fae. “Polly, please boost my volume.”
Polytima dipped, and immediately chanted. “Altior.”
"Can you two please listen to me?"
The two ponies gasped and sharply turned. Spike raised an arm and said. "Thank you! Now, there is no need to get worked up. Twi, I'm not hurt, and I'm sure that Rainbow Dash did not mean to hurt anypony or anyone."
Twilight bit her lips, and her ears drooped. "... You're not wrong. I might've got a bit unnecessarily riled up."
"And Rainbow Dash, can you also please do something about the clouds? We really need it done before the celebration begins."
The cyan pegasus, somewhat glad that the dragon spoke on her behalf, simply nodded with a grin. "Sure, dude, just look at me clearing the sky in ten seconds flat-"
As Spike accompanied Twilight towards the town hall, he worriedly muttered to himself. "I hope that the two of them are cool now."
"My splendid Spike, you have defused their tension pretty expertly, I must say."
"But they did argue, and didn't you say that their encounter was supposed to go much smoother than that?"
Polytima did not immediately answer. After they walked inside the town hall, she said with resoluteness in her voice. "... Visions and premonitions are just guidance. What use are they if they are supposed to happen as they were shown? There will be changes and there must be changes. We must deal with them."
"But would it make-"
Spike's stream of thought was terminated by a white pony that entered his sight. The purple-maned unicorn mare waved gracefully around curtains and small piles of gems, using her magic to skillfully transform them into elegant decors.
His heart beat rapidly in his small chest, as he was drawn towards the exquisite mare almost involuntarily. He straightened his spines and immediately fawned. However, his incoming advance was interrupted by Twilight, who stepped ahead of him and spoke to the unicorn, Rarity, with business-like tone. After making sure that everything's fine, she turned and exited the town hall briskly after a few measly minutes.
Torn between having to follow Twilight and wanting to give Rarity another longing gaze, he almost stepped on his own feet and tripped. Without much thinking, he whined to the fae. "Awww... Why must Twi leave so quickly? I want to get to know more about Rarity. Do you think that she would be into, ahem, dragons?"
The fae, however, did not reply. It was only then Spike shook off his enthralled feeling and paid attention to Polytima. Her blue glow still shone radiantly, yet she had been completely quiet since he approached Rarity.
Spike gulped after the realization. Was the fae silently brooding? Although she clearly let up in the face of Rainbow Dash's near-hit, that's probably just because she too had a hand in it. He wanted to be more charitable about Polytima's character, but he could not discount the possibility that his unbridled infatuation towards somepony else would drive her to extremes with sheer jealousy.
After some time with Polytima, Spike grew to understand more about her. There was a persistent worry in his mind about her stability. It was not only about her physical existence - the disquieting fact that she might disappear merely because other ponies call her name - but also her mental stability. He thought Twilight was neurotic enough, but Polytima was on another level entirely. Moreover, he himself was her object of obsession. Her possessiveness was simply legendary.
As his thought flew to unsettling places, Polytima spoke up. "Spike, you like the white unicorn, right?"
This time he was the one replying in nervous sweat. "Ye- I mean, no... um... maybe...?"
Again to Spike's surprise, the fae said without a hint of grudge, and she was wholly forthright in her tone. "My splendid Spike, you need not worry about my feelings. I am but a fae so supplicant. I am here to help you, not to bring you trouble or worry. If your goal is to pursue that mare, I will use every mean and lend you all my power to make that happen."
Spike spluttered in embarrassment and perplexity. "Y- You don't have to-"
"Listen to your heart, Spike, not the vapid musings of a fae."
Spike went silent with thought, as Polytima let out a small chuckle. He was unable to discern whether it's mirthful or bitter. "That mare and you will cross path for many a time; there are plenty of chances to get together in the future. But now, perhaps we should let go and simply let the purple pony get acquainted with the rest of her to-be partners. We shall negate unwelcome changes with interventions of our own."
"O... kay?"
Spike scratched his head. "Polly, I don't understand everything you say, but I trust you. From what we've been through, you seem so much cleverer and more farsighted than me."
Polytima sounded flustered. "S- Spike, I'm not-"
Spike shook his head and simply said. "I trust you, Polly, that you'll lead us away from danger, prevent Nightmare Moon from taking over Equestria. You seem to be our perfect guide to a better future."
The fae paused. After a beat, she proclaimed with renewed enthusiasm.
"Of course! I'll shine my brightest to light up your way, my splendid Spike!"