Chapter Eight.
You Can’t Fool Owls.
“Are you sure that it was a good idea to leave her alone like that, Twi?” Spike asked.
“I’m sure she didn’t even notice that we were gone, Spike.” Twilight replied. “And, in case she did notice, I left a note on the kitchen table.”
“Why did we go out anyway?” He looked at the wires and various other things that Twilight had picked up from the hardware store.
“There is something going on with her hooves that I just can’t figure out,” Twilight began, frowning. “I mean, we tried for three hours to get something to balance on them and nothing we did worked!”
“So...that has to do with the wires, how?” Spike said, showing a bit of concern.
“I want to run some tests,” Twilight replied.
“Tests?” Spike sounded even more concerned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“If there is something interfering with the way that her hooves should operate, then as her teacher and guide, I should know about it,” Twilight explained. “Besides, I am sure that she would want to know about it too.”
“Well, that does make sense,” Spike began. “But didn’t you try this kind of approach with Pinkie Pie and her ‘Pinkie Sense?’ And didn’t that kind of...well you know.”
“This is different. For one, Heartbreak’s-” Twilight began.
“H.B.” Spike corrected. Twilight gave him an off look. “Hey, it’s what she’s comfortable with.”
“Fine. H.B.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “H.B.’s hooves shouldn’t be doing this. After all, there is no rational reason why a perfectly level hoof can’t have something balancing on it! And besides, H.B. is from a world where science and the scientific method are a standard part of day to day life.”
“Alright, but I can’t shake the feeling that she might not be so warm to the idea, Twilight,” Spike replied, rubbing his arm.
“And why wouldn’t she?” Twilight asked, as they made their way back to the library.
“Well, for the same reason she doesn’t like talking about her past, or her own world. You’re trying to, well you know, invade into that part of her that she doesn’t like talking about.” he patted Twilight’s saddle bags. “What if something that she doesn’t want you to know slips out while you are doing this testing?”
Twilight snickered a little. “That can’t be helped, Spike. After all, it wouldn’t be my fault that it happened now, would it?”
Spike frowned and face palmed. “That’s not the way she’d see it, Twilight.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah, most likely she would really get on me about ‘invading her privacy’ and how knowing these things would lead to a spinning vortex of insanity or something like that.” The unicorn was met with a stern glare as the little dragon folded his arms. “Alright, you have a point. I will present the idea to her tomorrow. And if I can’t convince her,” Twilight thought about what she was going to say next tentatively. After all, Spike was the type of dragon that would hold anypony to their word. “I will let it go for the time being. Unless something else comes up that causes some concern.”
Spike grimaced a bit and rolled his eyes. This was better than nothing. “Alright, I guess.” He noticed that it was starting to get dark pretty fast. “We should hurry up. If your note in the kitchen doesn’t do the job of letting H.B. know that we’re gone, her stomach will.” Spike chuckled. “That pony certainly likes to eat.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s true. With that considered, I think it might be wise to get her exercising more. I know I’m not responsible for her health but,” Twilight’s expression softened with concern. “It’s just..” She mulled over how she wanted to phrase what she was feeling.
“You want to show that you care.” Spike gave her a questioning look. “That is what you are getting at, isn’t it?”
“Well,” Twilight grimaced and looked away, “Yes.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that, Twilight,” Spike replied. “From what I have seen, despite what she says, H.B. does care about what you think of her. Though-” Spike paused.
“Though?” Twilight asked.
“Though if you promised that it would give her a chance to get outside of the library, you’d have more success,” Spike said, continuing his thought. “She really doesn’t like being cooped up.”
Twilight sighed. “I think I will bring that up tomorrow as well.” She replied. “Right now, I focus on dinner. I was thinking something simple, like sandwiches.”
Spike shrugged. “Sounds good to me,” he replied, opening the library door.
Twilight turned on a light and looked around. “H.B.! We’re home!” she called out.
Spike blinked. “H.B.?” He scanned the room. “That’s odd, she’s not here.”
Twilight looked concerned. “What? She has to be here.”
“You don’t think-” Spike’s thought was interrupted by a blood curdling scream that originated from above. This scream was followed by the sound of something crashing on the floor above. “Twilight! That sounded like-”
Twilight had already disappeared in a flash of light.
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When the bright light of teleporting cleared from Twilight’s eyes, she was greeted with a rather unpleasant sight. Heartbreak was lying back on the floor with a pained and angry expression on her face. Her hoof reached up and rubbed her shoulder.
“F-F-F-FETTING OWL! A VERY NICE HELLO TO YOU TOO!” She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Twilight jumped back. “Heartbreak! What happened?!”
Heartbreak rubbed her eyes. “What happened?! What Happened?! Owlowiscious attacked me! That’s what happened!”
“What?” Twilight stammered. “What did you do?”
“What did I do!?” Heartbreak snarled. “Nothing! I came up here looking for you and Spike. I thought you were up here because that’s the last place I saw you go. When I saw that there was a light on in the attic, I figured that you were up there!” She explained, pushing herself up off the ground. “Then, when I get up to the attic, I see two yellow eyes, I gave a friendly greeting and out of nowhere, he comes flying at me talons spread!”
Twilight blinked. “You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe you right away, but that doesn’t sound like something Owlowiscious would do, Heartbreak.”
“I know that, Twilight!” she exclaimed pointing her hoof at the attic door. “But that’s what that crazy bird did anyway!”
Twilight looked up at the attic door. It would be far out of character for Owlowiscious to attack anypony. He came off as a bit creepy and reserved to most, but was always helpful. Cautiously, Twilight crept up the stairs. “Owlowiscious?” she asked into the darkness. At first there was nothing, but then a quiet ‘who’ came from above. “There you are. Come down here.”
Owlowiscious turned his head and flew down near the attic window. Twilight followed him. She bit her lower lip and found herself not believing what she was about to ask. “Owlowiscious, did you attack Heartbreak?” The bird stared at her for a moment and then his head drooped down in shame. Twilight was taken back by this expression. “You...did?” she asked in a confused manner. “Why?”
Owlowiscious's only response was to peck at the hook that held the window closed open. With a gust of wind, his eyes narrowed at the door leading down stairs and a raspy hiss quietly came from his beak. A flurry of wings left Twilight more confused and with fewer answers than when she came up to investigate.
Spike was helping Heartbreak get her bearings when Twilight came back down. “I’m fine, Spike, but thank you,” she said, her voice still very shaky.
Twilight frowned. “I don’t understand, I’ve never seen him act that way before.”
“I must have startled him,” Heartbreak replied.
“That was a pretty extreme reaction for just being startled, Heartbreak.” Twilight said, eyeing Heartbreak.
Heartbreak blinked. “What are you implying?”
“Nothing, it’s just that for him to react like that, I would have guess that you did something more than just startle him,” Twilight explained.
Heartbreak shrugged Spike’s hand from her shoulder and gave Twilight a rather stern glare. “Are you implying that I did something to instigate the attack!?”
“Well, he was rather insistent on opening the window and flying off. I’m guessing that you must have done something that you aren’t telling me about!” Twilight retorted.
Heartbreak glared at Twilight. “I-” she began. “You!” she stammered. “I can’t believe it! I told you exactly what happened, and you think I attacked your pet owl!”
Twilight took a deep breath. “I didn’t say that you attacked him, I was saying that you might have done something to provoke him. I just want to know what it was. ”
Heartbreak stomped her hoof down on the ground. “I told you! All I did was come up there, look around and greet him! Nothing more!”
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked.
“Ugh! Yes Twilight! I’m sure! Why don’t you believe me?” she cried out.
“It just seems very unlikely that he would have attacked without provocation,” Twilight replied. “And it isn’t like you have been the most honest of ponies here.”
Heartbreak glared at Twilight. “Now you’re accusing me of lying about this?!”
“I’m not saying that either! I am just saying that you generally don’t tell the full story about everything,” Twilight replied.
Spike face palmed and moaned. “Twilight...”
Heartbreak’s expression turned from confusion to near outright anger. “What. The. H-h-hay?! Because I don’t like talking about where I’m from or anything like that, I am lying about your pet owl attacking me?!”
“Well, you seem really defensive about the whole situation. And it seems to me, if you didn’t have something to hide about it, that you wouldn’t be acting this way,” Twilight replied, sternly.
“Defensive!? I-you-owl!” She threw her hooves in the air. “Ugh! You got me so upset that I can’t talk to you right now! You know what?” she turned and started to walk out of the room. “I don’t need this. After every frustrating thing that has happened today? Not going to argue about this thing. Owlowiscious attacked me, and if you don’t want to believe me, that’s your problem. I am going to bed! Downstairs!”
Spike looked worried. There had to be some way of salvaging this situation, some way to rekindle some kind of peace between these two. “H.B.! Wait! What about dinner?”
Heartbreak stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. “No offense to you, Spike, but right now, I’ve lost my appetite. Good. Night,” she replied, walking out of the room.