Library duty in Ponyville was always a mixed bag: Sometimes you'd be staring down multiple dead hours with nothing to do. Other times? You'd get Cheerilee's entire class on an unannounced trip, backed with what felt like every single shop-pony in town doing industry research all at once. Thank Celestia that the average fell somewhere in the middle, or even a hard-working person like Spike would probably go mad.
Which isn't to say he felt particularly sane right now, far from it: Lyra had come in, and he was trying to keep his eyebrows from twitching as he led her on a shelf-by-shelf expedition to find the books on mythical cryptids and humans. He'd seen plenty of books in the 'mundanity' genre that had settings without magic or the other natural features that made Equestria so fascinating... But even with that, he found it hard to believe some ponies wanted to hunt down weirder things than the ones Ponyville already dealt with on the regular.
That was the default frustration that came with any Lyra visit. Today he was trying not to freak out for a completely different reason that nopony else noticed. How could they, since they weren't The Gamer?
[Cold Hand, Warm Heart]
Lyra Heartstrings
LV 23
This time it wasn't just somepony's title that changed. Her entire name was different! Was this another pony entirely? He'd heard rumors to that effect about Lyra and Bon Bon, and the other mare's name had shown up differently from his expectations. The problem is that Bon Bon could just be a nickname, and his system showed Sweetie Drops as her actual name: He had yet to see her with Bon Bon as a displayed name. This on the other hand was a direct change in his system, Spike seeing different names on different occasions.
Lyra (Heartstrings?) must have noticed his staring because when he started paying attention again she was looking right at him. There was a moment of silence as they locked eyes, and then she broke away with an affable giggle.
"Oh geez, sorry lil' guy! I must have forgotten to dial it back after my morning practice. Not used to anypony noticing, yaknow?"
She closed her eyes and stepped away, her hooves following some kind of measured path. Spike could tell there was a structure and a pattern to the movements, it gave him a sense of grounding and returning to the center. Then, when she exhaled and stopped...
[Handy]
Lyra
LV 22
"...UH."
Lyra, just Lyra, shrugged and flipped her mane.
"Yeah, it's a weird feeling right? I only just noticed you were a fighter yourself when you visited the other day, actually: Never pegged ya for the type even with those claws!"
He pretended to follow along with that chain of logic, while inside he was furiously marking down all this new information.
"R-right. It's... uh, my situation's a little more complicated I guess? It sorta sprung up on me out of nowhere a few days ago."
"Oooooh, natural talent huh? I can respect that! You'll have to put in a lot of work still, don't think that it's a free pass just because you have the right... I was gonna say Cutie Mark but you're a dragon so I don't think it works like that?"
Spike scrambled for an excuse before realizing he could hit two targets with one shot.
"...Yes. Dragon stuff. Hey Lyra, I've got a packed week ahead of me but... maybe we could chat about this sometime soon? The whole 'natural talent' thing means I'm sort of adrift, don't really know what's what."
"Sure thing! Just swing by me and Bon's place whenever: I work out of the house so I'm there p. much all the time... I mean, unless I'm practicing out in the woods or at the dojo. If that happens I guess just try back later? Or try to find me if you're feeling lucky and-or plucky."
He nodded his assent and the strange mint-green unicorn went right back to trotting alongside the shelves, picking out a book here or there to add to a basket. He hadn't thought about it before, too distracted by her title... But when she first came in with the new name? Her magic was a much brighter, lighter amber compared to the almost burnt umber color it had now. Now he really wished he'd been watching her magic when she did whatever it was to change her name and title.
"OH SNAP it's the new edition of Boring Tales~! Gotta pick that up, forgot to renew my subscription last month."
...All the new weirdness aside? That pony sure does love humans.
- - - -
The clock had almost exactly struck on the end of their open hours (which was to say lunch time) when one final pony came through the door. Spike would have gladly served whoever, even if it cut into his food time, but he was especially glad to help a friend.
[Behind a Curtain]
Fluttershy
LV 25
She took a moment to catch her breath before straightening and brushing her mane off her muzzle.
"Hello Spike! I'm so sorry to come in this late, but Angel was simply being a little terror this morning."
"No problem at all! Do you wanna stay for lunch since it's so close to my break? I'll lock up behind you and we can check out your books in peace and then sit down with a salad."
"That would be lovely!"
Thinking of her returns from the other day Spike directed her to those areas: Fictional dramas, romance, Neighponese comics, and... magical theory. That last one had been surprising to him, doubly so when she'd been so excited to hear about their new shipment. Apparently Fluttershy had gotten into the subject over the last few years and was just starting to branch out into self-study, or so she said as they walked around the aisles.
"It's a bit of a long story, I will admit. I made some pen-pals and we started exchanging tips and stories on the subject, and over time we've really become good friends! I even met a few of them recently when they came through Ponyville, it was very nice."
"Sounds great, Fluttershy: I guess the whole long-distance communication thing helped ease things for you?"
The pegasus nodded, running her hoof along the shelf she was looking over.
"It was so much easier getting to know a new pony without having to meet them first, if that makes sense. By the time we finally saw each other in person I was... Um. Well I was still nervous but it wasn't even half as bad!"
"Hah, nice! I'll have to meet them at some po-"
"Oooh!"
Spike was cut off when Fluttershy’s eyes caught a particular book he'd unpacked the other day, On The Arrangement of Elements. She quickly swept it off the shelf into her hooves and flipped the cover open before turning it to face him.
"Here!"
He hadn't been planning to read anything right away... And then he realized she wasn't showing him the main text of the book, but the inside of the back cover: The author's blurb and picture.
"...Ardor Ray is a pegasus who travels even more than most but calls Cloudsdale her home more often than not. She has written multiple books on non-unicorn magical theory, magic-powered item creation, and ritual magic. This is her seventh, and if you ask her? The best is yet to come."
The picture was of a mare with a sharp mane worn high, and he couldn't tell for sure in black-and-white but both her coat and mane were lightly-colored, maybe orange or peach? He turned to look at Fluttershy's wide smile and obvious excitement, which clarified exactly why she'd been so glad to see this piece.
"One of those new friends, huh?"
"Oh yes! In fact I know I told her not to but I bet in the front... Of course she did."
Fluttershy sighed and turned the other inside cover of the book to face him.
"Special thanks to Lolly and Shee for keeping me on track. Um..."
"Ah, it's a nickname she started using after trying to use a magic tool for reading things out loud so she could get more work done: It wasn't very good with names and such. The other name is from the same time, actually: Lilac Lack is another friend from the letter circle, they've known each other forever."
"So your letters helped her stay motivated during the process?"
"Oh yes. Well, and some light editing. I wanted to check it out from the Library soon and see how things turned out in the final version! I've never really worked on something like that before, and visiting a strange new bookstore to buy my own copy... No."
Spike shrugged and gently grabbed the book before setting it into the basket with the others she had picked out along the way: He also had a second copy of some of the comics in his Inventory so he could check them out himself. He would have grabbed a second copy of Ardor's book too, but arcane theory didn't exactly fly off the shelves so they hadn't stocked another... Although maybe Twilight had a copy? He might not have been paying close enough attention when he unloaded that shipment.
"Lemme get these all into the logs and then we can grab a bite to eat: I've got a lot to tell you about, so maybe we can trade stories!"
Fluttershy walked along just behind him, but he could hear her continued smile in her tone.
"Certainly!"
- - - -
Over the course of devouring their salads (with jade dressing, whose color and shine Fluttershy found fascinating) they ended up trading quite a few stories back and forth. Spike explained the nature of his new powers piece by piece, and in between them Fluttershy had her own personal tricks to reveal and explain. He watched with no small amount of surprise (and a fairly large amount of Dragon's Mind) as she slowly and strenuously wove a cloud out of the condensation on her drink: Her hooves moved through the air languidly and turned the droplets into a suspended mist over the course of a minute.
"It's lots of little things like this: Other adult pegasi could do that sort of thing with no problem, but they'd have to use their wings and weather magic, or factory tools."
"Right. You're just sort of... doing it more directly. Or maybe less directly, because you're already a pegasus yourself?"
"That's exactly the sort of thing we talk about in our letters! It's very interesting, or at least I think so... Especially since it's not risky or scary, compared to a lot of other things about magic."
He glumly turned and looked at the title and level over her head, thinking about how much of his power seemed to revolve around combat. Last night he'd been excited about the prospect, but...
"Does that include me?"
She immediately leaned across the table and put a hoof on his claws, giving him that hard-eyed glare that he recognized from when her animals misbehaved.
"Of course not! You're a perfectly nice dragon, which is much more than I can say for so many ponies! Just because you have these traits that suit you..."
"You think they suit me?"
"Well, um. I was thinking about the things you're describing. And I admit that a lot of the gamey parts go over my head. But you did say you think it's a natural dragon thing, just expressed differently for you because of your upbringing, right? A personal talent like a Cutie Mark."
"Yeah, I uh, I think so. Either that or it's just something innate to me, even if I hadn't been raised in Equestria? But that's a pretty big existential question to tackle on top of all the other stuff."
Fluttershy leaned back into her chair and let go of him, picking at what remained of her food as she spoke.
"It's only natural for a lot of creatures to have things that are special or unique to them, even when compared to their brothers and sisters. I know that really well, and not just because of my talent... But I think that all those special traits do more work when they're used together with others, instead of just being used for their own sake. Strong individuals succeed more as leaders than as loners."
"Pinkie told me something kind of similar, the other day. Actually just about everypony has been giving me some kind of advice on the matter. Which I definitely appreciate: If anything I've been seeking it out on purpose. So you think..."
"Well! Not to be too forceful, but... It sounds like you have the potential to use your strength to make others stronger too. I imagine you could work on medical skills, leadership, nurturing and education... So many species excel because they can help each other and use social bonds to share their wisdom. Ponies are very good at that sort of thing, but you might be even better in your own way."
He didn't bother turning his eyes upwards to try and see the Number One Assistant over his head.
"Yeah. Yeah! I think you have a point: This isn't just something about me in the end, even if it only gives me power directly. That just means I have more power I can use for helping others improve... I wonder if I'd be a good teacher."
Fluttershy nodded and stood up, coming around the side of the table to hug him.
"I'm sure you will be."
A nearby clock chimed the hour, and she suddenly straightened and stepped back.
"Oh dear! I totally lost track of time: Will you be alright cleaning up lunch alone?"
If it had been anypony else he would have given them a deadpan stare and no answer. Fluttershy clearly just meant the best for him, so he was a lot softer in return.
"Yup: You're all checked out, too, so don't fret about missing any obligations. Have a good day!"
"You too Spike. Thank you again for the meal!"
She trotted out at a (relatively) fast pace with her books safely in her saddlebag. For a moment it looked like she was going to take her empty basket as well, but she remembered to set it down by the door on the way out. That left Spike alone again apart from his thoughts... And the impending approach of more patrons.