//------------------------------// // Rooted // Story: The Root of the Problem // by BlazzingInferno //------------------------------// Spike sat up in bed the next morning, his heart racing as his name echoed through the castle. “Spiiiiiiiike!” Twilight shouted. He burst out of his bedroom and stumbled down the hallway in a daze. “Coming, Twilight… What’s got you so m—” Starlight stepped out of the bathroom and collided with him. “Oops! Sorry, Spike. So—” she leaned in close “—what’d you do?” Spike rubbed his eyes. “Huh? I didn’t—” “Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!” Twilight called again. Starlight cocked an eyebrow. “If the who-ate-all-the-cookies-I-made-for-Cadance incident is anything to go by, that’s a ‘Spike’s in Trouble’ Twilight scream.” “But—” “I hope it was worth it, whatever it was. Come on, let’s go. Maybe I can deflect her first barrage of magic bolts, so you have a chance to run for it.” Spike groaned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, or why Twilight sounds super-upset. I didn’t do anyth—” Twilight burst through a door at the end of the hall, mane astray and safety goggles perched on her horn. “There you are!” Spike jumped behind Starlight, despite his innocence. “I didn’t do it, whatever it is!” Twilight stood before them for a moment, panting like she’d run a marathon, and wide-eyed like she’d been competing against a hungry timber wolf. She finally spoke in a quiet yet deathly serious tone. “Could you join me in the lab, please?” “Um… Okay.” He fell into step behind her, and soon realized Starlight was bringing up the rear of his supposed death march, trying and failing to suppress a mischievous grin while she mouthed “Hope it was worth it!” Maybe Twilight was right about Trixie being a bad influence. The procession ended at Twilight’s lab, a room filled with test tubes, beakers, and warning signs about protective equipment and dangerous chemicals. Twilight pointed a foreleg at the giant planter on the floor, surrounded by yellow hazard tape. At first glance it didn’t look any different from last night. Spike shrugged. “It’s just the planter, Twilight. What’s so special about—” Then he saw it. He froze, but Starlight didn’t. She stepped through the door and inspected the scene. “So this is soil where the infamous ‘plant incident’ happened? What’s with the weird flower growing here? It looks kind of like a cross between a snapdragon and a lily, but how—oh. Oh!” She turned back to Spike, mouth agape and ears drooping. “So you and Rarity turned into plants in this very soil, and now there’s a flower here…” Twilight blushed. Spike felt dizzy. Starlight grinned. “Well well, Spike. It looks like you and Rarity… cross-pollinated.” --- Spike’s progeny looked so much bigger in a normal-sized flowerpot. He stood on Rarity’s doorstep, rocking back and forth on his heels while he waited for his knock to be answered. He smiled at the closed door. “Hi Rarity, something big… err, small… something happened yesterday when we… and… No. Meet your… and my… our… flower?” The door swung open, and Rarity gave him a warm smile. “Good morning, Spikey. I’m afraid I’m rather busy, what with all the time I lost yesterday, but I can always spare a moment for my noble dragon. Is this flower for me?” Spike cringed and hugged the flowerpot. “Kind of?” Rarity batted her eyes. “Don’t tell me it’s for Sweetie Belle.” “No way! It’s uh… uh…” She leaned in and gave the bloom a sniff. “Mmm. It smells lovely, and I have the perfect vase to display it in. I’ll go get a pair of shears.” He recoiled with a yelp. “You can’t cut it!” Rarity frowned. “But… why not, darling?” “Remember when you were transforming yesterday, and I drank the tea too, and we…” Her smile returned, as warm and affectionate as ever. “I’ll never forget. If anything I should be bringing gifts to your doorstep, my Sp—” “We made this!” She stared at him, first as if she hadn’t heard and then as if she’d been turned to stone. Finally her blank expression sagged into a look of deepest horror. “What?” “Twilight found it growing in our soil this morning. I didn’t know this could happen! I never meant to… I’m a dragon and you’re a pony so I never thought we could make… but…” Rarity swayed from side to side as if she was about to faint, and then marched past Spike and down the street. He looked from her, to the open shop door, to the tiny load he was still carrying. After a moment’s hesitation, he pulled the shop door closed and hurried after her, flowerpot in hand. “Wait, where are you going?” She bowed her head but maintained a brisk pace. “I don’t know.” “What do you mean you don’t—” She shot him a heart-stopping glare. “I mean I don’t know! By all means pick somewhere, or I might just keep walking all day!” Spike instinctively held the flowerpot a little further from her. “Okay… uh… not anything tea related.” “Definitely not.” “And nowhere near the castle, considering how Twilight’s reacting.” “I can imagine.” He shut his eyes for a moment to think. Ponyville only had so many destinations, most of them filled with ponies who’d ask way too many questions about the flowerpot clasped in his claws. What he needed was someplace quiet where they could talk, someplace Rarity would find soothing. “This way! We’re going to the spa!”