//------------------------------// // Gift // Story: Talking Is Hard // by Leoshi //------------------------------// "Erm...Spike?" "Oh, hey." "Spike, it's late. Why are you up?" "I'm making something for Applejack." "For Applejack? Why?" "Well, remember when she saved me from those timberwolves?" "Yeah." "That was a year ago tomorrow. I wanted to make her something to say thanks, y'know, without getting under her hooves and making a mess of things." "Heheh. That explains the mess of things here." "Ha, yeah, I got a little carried away with the craft supplies. But hey, it's working! I think." "So what are you making?" "Well, first I wanted to just get a card, but that didn't say enough for saving my life. Then I thought about doing what I did last year - helping out where I could - but we all know how that turned out. Plus, she and I still have our agreement, which meant I couldn't just go out and get in trouble again just to make her save me a second time. Anyway, I eventually settled on this." "So...again, what are you making?" "Heh, sorry, got carried away again. It's a mural. Well, a tiny one - I'm just one dragon, after all. I decided to make something by hand that would say more than a card, so it naturally had to be bigger than a card somehow." "Wow, that's really thoughtful of you, Spike! Any way I can help?" "As long as you're better at helping me than I was with her, sure!" "Great! What's next for you?" "Hmm...over here. I was wanting to fashion a few sticks together in order to make a timberwolf, so I got these, and--" "So that's where all of our popsicles went!" "It's for a good cause!" "Mmmmph!" "Hey, you said you wanted to help, not to judge!" "I'm not judging! I'm just scolding you. With my eyes." "So you're judging silently." "Oh, hush, you silly dragon. Here, how's this?" "Ahh, yeah, that looks great! Say, can you make sure they stay like that somehow, so I don't accidentally move one piece and make it look weird?" "Sure, I can hold them still in this shape. Are you thinking...right here?" "No, uh, more like...here. Yep, good, hold it there..." "Spike? What are you--" "Phftoo!!" "Whoa! Hey, watch it with the fire, mister!" "Twilight, you moved the stick wolf!" "You breathed fire on it! Spike, this is wood, and we're putting it on paper, and you're breathing fire on it. What are you thinking?" "Ugh, well since you asked...one, I'm thinking that I set up some special paste on the underside of the sticks that activates when exposed to heat. Two, I'm thinking that I wasn't blowing fire on anything, I was blowing close to it so the heat would be enough without actually lighting anything. Three, I'm thinking that your magic won't get affected by any flame, so you're good to stay back where you are now. And four, since we're on the subject anyway--" "Okay, okay, I get it. You thought this through." "--we're in a giant crystal house now instead of a tree, so there's no chance of an uncontrolled fire--" "Shush, you. I get it." "Heh, yeah, I win. Care to try again?" "Ugh. Would it hurt you to give a pony a little warning before you light a fire?" "Consider this... Phtooo!! Just consider this a little payback for you constantly picking me up in your magic without warning. That's pretty surprising too, you know!" "Oh, please, it's not like I'm hurting you." "Yep. And it's not like I was hurting you just now." "Sheesh, Spike, you're a bit of a fighter when you're focused. It's actually pretty neat." "Thanks! But you know, it shouldn't come as any surprise. This is for Applejack after all." "Oh, so it's only for her?" "Well, I'd make something for everypony, but then I'd have to move on from a mini mural to a full-blown tapestry. Or, wait, don't you already have stained-glass windows?" "Pfft, this coming from mister crystal statue over here." "Exactly my point. You and I? We get enough recognition already. It'd be like giving you the gift of a book you already own." "I think I'd just give you the book on your birthday." "Heheh, some things will never change. Do we have any yarn? I want to try to make a grassy field right here..."