//------------------------------// // Chapter 03: Pancakes // Story: Old vs New // by Fernin //------------------------------// Chapter Three: Pancakes A voice muttered softly to itself in the middle distance, rudely dragging the drowsing Spike out of oblivion. "...I mean, the unpredictable and often antagonistic interactions between various competing wavelengths in the chaos energies should cancel each other out! Why do they ignore each other in some cases and sometimes even amplify…?! It's so... well, chaotic. Yes, of course, ha ha ha. HahahahaHAHA—Arrrrgh, keep it together, Twilight!” The annoying babble continued, but Spike pushed it into the back of his mind as he clung to the fading shreds of sleep. The draco-pegasus' body-- still strange to him even after several days’ use-- was telling him very emphatically that it was not time to get up yet. For once Spike's mind and new form were incomplete agreement. He shook his head groggily, equine ears flicking to dislodge the voice as if it was a buzzing fly. Spike groaned and kept his eyes closed as he tried to wave the speaker away with one hand. It didn't work. For some reason, his arm seemed as reluctant to move as he was to rise. That was just as well. The draco-pegasus was in a comfortable position-- and that was a pleasant change of pace. Inexperience with his chaos-twisted form had made Spike's nights an exercise in frustration, leaving him tossing and turning for hours-- and his current reluctance to wake up was but the least of the results. Spike yawned, a pony-like muzzle opening to expose sharp draconic teeth. "Mmmm, five more minutes, Mom..." By now, Spike was awake enough to recognize the cause of his current woes: Twilight Sparkle was obsessing over something. The unicorn only really started muttering like this when she was really concentrating, so whatever she was talking about, it must be preying on her mind. Unaware or uncaring of Spike's half-awake plea, Twilight's voice continued its sporadically audible babbling. "...Still that hardly explains why the chaos energies are cancelled by the hex-phasic friendship pulse at all times save for the current subject... Why in this case and this case only did the chaos and friendship energies somehow harmonize with... Harmonize. Hmm... No, but what about..?" Well, simply moaning at Twilight obviously wasn't going to get the unicorn calmed down or out of Spike's hearing range, no matter the hour. But as long as they were both going to be awake at whatever-time-this-was, the draco-pegasus could at least help his friend. Then maybe they could both get some sleep. All he had to do was climb out of this wonderfully comfortable bed, and-- Metal clinked as Spike tried to move one arm more than a few inches. His eyes snapped open, and suddenly his world reeled. Instead of lying prone and splay-limbed on an amazingly soft bed, he was dangling face down in thin air, floating in a coruscating amethyst-hued field of magic. No longer was Spike in the hastily cleared storage room that had been his new bedroom since his transformation. In the dim glow of the magical field the draco-pegasus could see that he was in the cavernous basement lab, hanging almost within arm’s reach of the gnarled and exposed roots of the tree-library above. Spike’s eyes widened and his head whipped around to take stock of his unexpected situation. Both arms, both legs, and even the ex-dragon’s wings and tail were bound with chains and glittering magic to a great iron ring. The dull metal hoop was marked with glowing arcane symbols, the meaning of which the draco-pegasus could only guess. Fighting down rising panic, he managed to find his voice. "Uh... Um... Twilight? Twi? Help!" Halfway across the room, Twilight continued muttering for a moment before Spike's cries intruded on her consciousness. "Perhaps if I apply Brazen’s Fourth Law of Association to the problem, I might-- Oh! Spike, you're awake. I hadn't expected you up so soon." "Hadn't expected me up-- Twilight, did you drag me out of bed and tie me to this ring-thing?!” Spike whined. "Of course! Lots to do, Spike! We have to get you back to normal!" Twilight’s can-do attitude might have inspired confidence in Spike if she hadn't been able to see the mare’s manic expression and disheveled mane. The lavender unicorn trotted toward Spike through a maze of books, stacks of paper, and partially disassembled arcane equipment. She moved unsteadily, like a clockwork pony that had slipped a gear. “Uh… That’s great Twi, but couldn’t we work to get me back to normal with my feet- er, my hooves on the ground? I mean I know you’ve been having some trouble with the counter-spell but… Ground? Please?” Spike jingled his restraints for emphasis and tried to keep from cringing as Twilight came closer. The important thing when Twilight was in one of these moods was to keep her calm; remind her of the important facts of life like “unicorns have to eat;” and “draco-pegasi are probably happier with all their internal organs on the inside even if you really, really need to take a peek at something and swear you’ll put it right back;” and—and this was important—never, never, never bring up the possibility of failure. Twilight’s laugh seemed slightly brittle around the edges, just like her eager smile—ready to shatter at any moment. Peering up at Spike’s dangling form, she waved one hoof flippantly. One ear twitched as the unicorn spoke what she probably thought were soothing platitudes. “Oh, Spike, ha ha ha…. Don’t worry about it. I’m Princess’ Celestia’s most faithful student! Figuring out how to work with chaos magic will be a cinch! Just you wait.” “S-sure. But could you let me down? My scales are chafing,” Spike begged. He did his best draco-pegasus-as-puppy-dog impression. “Haha, Spike, we both know you don’t have scales on your limbs now...” Twilight started to dismiss her assistant’s pleas out of hoof, but some vestige of sanity made her pause. She looked up, her face even more haggard than it had a moment before. Spike sighed in relief as the manacles and chains popped open, freeing his limbs. He stumbled slightly as his hooves touched the stone floor, and he had to suppress the urge to hug the floor and hang on in case Twilight changed her mind. Instead, he focused on the exhausted face of his friend. “T-thanks… Uh, Twi? When did you last sleep?” The purple unicorn considered the question for a minute, her sunken eyes crossing slightly as the corners of her mouth drew into a frown. “Thursday, maybe?” “…But it’s Saturday.” Spike sighed, one hand rising to scratch his spines in exasperation—oh, right. He turned the gesture into a furtive sweep of clawed fingers through his scraggly mane. Of all the things he missed about being a dragon, not having to deal with a mane was definitely high on the list. Ear still twitching periodically, Twilight Sparkle simply stared at Spike. She seemed to be having trouble understanding where the conversation was going. ‘Saturday?’ What was a ‘Saturday?’ It nearly broke Spike’s heart to see the happy and well-organized unicorn brought so low. The poor creature jerked in surprise as one comforting hand rested on her back. Spike kept his voice low and soothing. “Twilight, come on. You’ll think better with some food in you.” “D-don’t be silly, Spike. I’ve been using Stargazer’s Stimulating… Stimulating…” Twilight trailed off and nearly unhinged her jaw with a bleary-eyed yawn. Spike tried to suppress a yawn of his own as he practically dragged the unicorn towards the stairs. “Come on, Twi. Let’s get you some breakfast.” * * * Pancakes sizzled in the skillet, filling the air of the library’s kitchen with the warm, sweet smell of delectable cooking. Smoke trails spiraled up from Spike’s nostrils, leftovers from the short blast he’d used to light the range’s burners a few minutes before. A contented smile stretched across the draco-pegasus’ muzzle as he worked the spatula under one perfectly sized pancake and flipped it expertly onto the pile occupying Twilight Sparkle’s plate. “There you go, Twilight! Eat up!” “…Aren’t you going to have some, Spike? This is an awful lot for one pony to eat.” Twilight peered out from around the nearly head-high stack of pancakes. The mouthwatering smell of pancakes and the down-to-earth normality of Spike bustling around in the kitchen were already doing the frazzled unicorn a world of good. Her ear twitch was barely noticeable, and she’d even tried to straighten the lavender birds’ nest that had formerly been her mane. With a laugh that turned into a stifled yawn, Spike waved one hand towards a half full mixing bowl. “Oh no, Twilight; those are all yours. I was just about to make myself up batch of my famous double-sapphire-and-ruby…” The draco-pegasus trailed off as he remembered an important fact: yes, gemstones were still just as scrumptious as they had always been when he was eating them. Digesting them, however, was another story entirely… And not one with a happy conclusion. Spike rubbed his belly and grimaced at the unpleasant memory. “Er… I guess I forgot.” Now it was Twilight’s turn to laugh. A purple glow surrounded roughly half of the Leaning Tower of Pancake and placed the steaming stack onto Spike’s plate. “Here you go. You look almost as out of it as I feel…” Spike grinned and shut off the range, leaving the pans to soak in the sink for a few minutes as the librarian and her assistant tucked in to their belated breakfast. By Spike’s estimate, the sun had probably been up for a few hours. A little late in the day for breakfast, yes, but not too bad for an early brunch. He glanced over to Twilight to find the unicorn muttering to herself again, drawing little esoteric designs next to her plate with her fork and some syrup. Not again... If Spike couldn’t keep Twilight’s mind off the subject, perhaps getting her to talk normally about it was almost as good. “…So, Twilight, how’s the research going?” “Great, Spike! The research has been going amazingly… well. Yup. Hee hee… No problems at all.” Twilight grinned nervously and poked her fork at her diminishing stack of pancakes. And here she always wondered how Spike kept taking her for every bit she was worth during the weekly Sunday Night Poker games. “Come on, Twi. This is me. Your Number One Test Subject, remember?” Spike grinned awkwardly at his own joke and breathed a mental sigh of relief when Twilight started to smile as well. “All right, all right. It… could be going better. You see…” Twilight started to explain the whys and wherefores of Spike’s condition. Spike smiled and listened nicely for as long as he could, but started fading fast when it became clear that the bemused unicorn was talking in circles. When sentences started to be populated by five- and six-syllable words, it was time for Spike’s brain to take a short holiday. The basics seemed simple enough, however, and Spike hadn’t spent years helping Twilight with her studies without picking up at least something. As soon as the unicorn reached the end of one circular thought and the beginning of the next, Spike interjected a quick, “…So you’re saying you don’t have enough information, Twilight? But you’ve been studying me for days!” “It’s not just you, Spike… It’s the elements! I need to study how the Element of Loyalty works when there’s no chaos energy around for it to interact with. I need… I need…” Twilight jabbed her fork at the empty plate with each sentence, the little porcelain clink adding emphasis to her despair. “Yes, Twilight?” Spike could feel dread coiling around his belly like a snake, but he let Twilight continue as the light of realization began to dawn in the unicorn’s eyes. Twilight practically leaped out of her chair. She gestured wildly with her eating utensil until it slipped from her magic’s grasp and thudded into the ceiling. Her eyes practically glowed, lit from within now that she had a way forward. “I need Rainbow Dash! Of course! It’s so simple! Why didn’t I think of it before?!” If Spike didn’t interfere now, it was obvious that Twilight Sparkle was going to go rushing off for another multi-day research marathon. “You didn’t think of it because you’ve been running yourself ragged, Twilight! You need to take a break!” “I’ve taken a break, Spike! Look how much good it did me! Now I’m ready to go find… I’m… Whoah.” With the initial sugar rush of the pancake syrup and the surge of adrenaline from the epiphany already draining away, Twilight found herself swaying on her hooves. She tried to speak again, but only yawned. Fighting back a yawn of his own, Spike stood up and leaned over until his sharp-toothed muzzle was level with Twilight’s nose. “Twi. You need to rest. I… I promise I’ll go find Rainbow Dash for us. Then when you get up you can take a look at her and you’ll have this solved in ten seconds flat.” “I don’t know, Spike…” For the second time that morning, Twilight Sparkle found herself getting led around her home by the little dragon she’d always looked on as a younger brother. Well… former dragon, anyway. It would almost have been endearing, if the lavender mare’s brain hadn’t been dulled by days of endless activity. For Twilight’s sake Spike fought down the urge to panic until he’d managed to put the mare to bed. Limbs feeling weak and rubbery at the thought of what was to come, he climbed back down to the kitchen. He was going to have to do it. He was going to have to find Rainbow Dash, probable supersonic-hooves-to-the-head or no. The draco-pegasus struggled against another yawn as his fatigue wrestled his nervous apprehension for dominance. he needed rest almost as badly as Twilight Sparkle did… but there were more important things to do first. The ex-dragon couldn’t let Twi down. As Spike washed pots and pans, cleaning up the detritus of the hastily cooked breakfast, he planned. All right. The primary goal was finding Rainbow Dash for Twilight. The next most important goal was not getting clobbered by the irate cyan pegasus… Spike felt a shudder run down his spine all the way to the spade of his tail at the flickering memory of that recurring dream—the angry Rainbow Dash, the chase… the technicolor explosion of the sonic rain-bomb… No! Spike couldn’t think of that now. He had to concentrate on helping Twilight. Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. But where to start? Perhaps the draco-pegasus’ other friends would have some idea of how to begin… but who to ask first? Spike put the last of the pans into the drying rack. That just left the plates. Keeping his clawed hands busy helped keep the draco-pegasus calm as he mulled her options. Hmm… Fluttershy seemed like a good bet. After all she was a pegasus pony too, right? Better yet, the yellow mare was probably one of Rainbow Dash’s oldest friends. If anyone would know where the ex-bearer of the Element of Loyalty might be, it would be her. Spike nodded to himself. All right, now he had at least the beginnings of a plan. Now he just had to finish with the dishes — Spike’s eyes drifted to the unfinished batter from the gem-studded pancakes he had been planning on making for himself. The sapphires and rubies sat in a little jar next to the batter, glittering alluringly. Spike licked his purple lips with a long, forked tongue. He really shouldn’t… but maybe just one wouldn’t hurt? Hmm… * * * Rainbow Dash adjusted the angle of her wings, trying to enjoy the sensation of air ruffling through her mane and hissing past her primary feathers. Normally just being in the air like this was enough to raise the blue pegasus’ spirits… but not today. Not after what she’d heard from the mailmare. Was that wild tale really true? It seemed ridiculous. Spike was the new Element of Loyalty? One thing was for sure, the cyan mare was going to get to the bottom of this or her name wasn’t Rainbow Dash. It… was still Rainbow Dash, right? Growling at herself for the momentary doubt, Rainbow Dash gave up on gliding altogether. No reason to take her time. She was going to get back to Ponyville and set everything straight. And she was going to do it today. A/N: Whooooops @_@ Would you believe this was supposed to be a one- to two-page intro to Fluttershy's chapter? Yeah. That didn't happen. Sorry, all. At this point I'm just glad to get my computer functioning again so that I could finish writing this. Stealing moments at work and emailing the results to myself again and again? No bueno.