//------------------------------// // Chapter 31 - The Farm // Story: The Stereotypical Necromancer // by JinxTJL //------------------------------// "Come on, can't you go any faster? Twilight's probably not even there anymore!" Light Flow was a bit miffed. Okay, maybe miffed wasn't a good word for it, or at least not the most accurate choice. Miffed was a sort of silly way to imply feelings of slight annoyance or maybe even anger. He wasn't really annoyed, and he certainly wasn't angry. He had been trying his best to stay as far away from that emotion as possible. Even if he didn't really know why. So Light Flow wasn't quite miffed, no. There was a better word... something a teensy bit more apt. Was he peeved? No, that was just a kiddie way of saying he was mad. Was he indignant? Maybe a little, but there was a perfect word somewhere in his head that described his mood perfectly. "Are you sure we're even going the right way, Light? You didn't sound too confident earlier..." Oh, that was it! Exasperation. An emotion just removed enough from total annoyance to be passive enough to fit his mood. If he were to be asked, he could easily brush his feelings off as inconsequential; but not so much so that he could deny the feeling outright. He was comfortable enough to be outwardly annoyed, he could admit that. His lack of foresight or any real thought at all had landed him in a situation he would rather not be in, and he wasn't afraid to say it. He just didn't want it to be a big deal. He didn't want to commit to the emotion. Maybe it was the calming environment around him, but putting his grievances aside: he was feeling more than a little... peaceful? Peaceful was nice, yeah. If he had to choose a word for his general mood, it would probably be peaceful. The assorted colors of nature panning past as he trudged his way to a relatively isolated farm he had never heard of were certainly doing wonders for his various issues. Stopping every once in a while to stare at a bright flower or two didn't exactly do much for his memory loss, but did that really matter? The deep pervading sense of emptiness and loss that had accompanied his awakening had been a bit soul crushing, but it wasn't so bad anymore. It hadn't exactly faded or eased in any way, but there were plenty of nice things to distract him from the- things we did the things you did the things that i know you always wanted to do deep down inside but you were always too afraid to do them until i helped you until i allowed you to indulge in the -pain. "Light Flow?" He swung his head around from where he had been staring at a lovely blue flower on the side of the road. Spike was shaking his withers, trying to get his attention from his spot on his back, but why? He was sure he had stopped at a million other flowers before this one. Maybe that was it. He must have been getting tired of pausing to ogle every little piece of scenery that caught the eye. That didn't really excuse the tone of his voice, or the fact that he was still shaking him, but it was understandable nonetheless. Maybe Spike should learn to leave him alone calm down a little. He blinked lethargically for a moment before he found his wits again. What was he doing? Right, he was going to a farm. He turned his attention away from the buzz in his head, and concentrated again on putting one hoof in front of the other. The farm they were heading to wasn't exactly far away from Ponyville, but it was still a bit of a walk. He couldn't quite estimate exactly how long it would take, which was somewhat strange. Up until now, his general memories of Ponyville and its surrounding areas had been relatively complete. Well... he probably wasn't actually a very good judge of that. He felt a sudden tug on his ear, and he flinched away from the contact. The grip tightened, and he sucked in a breath through his teeth as he came to a halt. The pain felt nice wasn't pleasant, but it swept away lingering cobwebs in his head that he hadn't been aware of. Spike was still trying to get his attention. Had he been ignoring him? That made him feel a bit bad, though it was still more than a little rude to pull on his ear like that. He had let Spike ride on his back out of the kindness in his heart, and this was how he was repaid? The nerve! The gall! He should just buck him off his back right now and leave him in the dust! Okay, that was a bit much. He ignored the fire rising in his chest, and settled instead on allowing an edge to creep into his reply. "You know Spike, there are more pleasant ways of getting my attention. You do realize I'm not a carriage, right?" His grumbles finally caused the end of the tugging, and he could feel the weight shift on his back a bit. Spike's voice didn't sound nearly as chastised as he had hoped, though there was something else there he wasn't expecting. Spike sounded... worried? He felt claws dig uncomfortably into the scruff of his neck as the weight shifted forward, and that concerned tone came much closer to his stinging ear. "I'm... sorry, Light. But you were kind of acting a bit.. weird. You were staring at that flower for a long time, and then you just kept walking without saying anything!" The claws loosened their grip from his fur, and he turned his head in an impossible attempt to look at Spike as he continued speaking. "Are you... mad at me? I know I was being kinda bratty, but I thought... you know, that was just how guys acted?" He couldn't break his own neck just to look at his passenger, no matter how hard he tried; so he gave up that labor in favor of the view of the farm on the horizon. Oh, the farm on the horizon, that was good. He wasn't mad at Spike, was he? No, he was furious wasn't. He was a bit annoyed, sure. It was hard to stay happy or impartial when Spike kept metaphorically and now literally tugging his ear, but he certainly wasn't going to scream at him for it. But what did he mean about that other thing? Was he acting strang- Was he not acting like a guy? What did that even mean, acting like a guy? Was he supposed to act flippant and callous? Douchy? Well, he could certainly act that part, but he was pretty sure that was just his natural state. He really just had no idea what Spike meant. "Um," How to go about this? It wasn't really an apology, it was more like... a platitude? A reassurance that he didn't like liked Spike? He let out an exasperated sigh, then sucked in a breath as he realized how that might be taken in the current context. "I'm not mad at you Spike." He felt the weight shift on his back again as he sorted through his thoughts to find whatever words he wanted to throw at this conversation to move it along. "I'm.." The pause hung heavily in the air as he chose his next word carefully. "...fine." His jaw was suddenly very tight for some reason, and he had to force himself to relax so he could get his next words out. "Frankly, I'm not actually sure what you mean by acting like a guy, so.. you're fine, I guess?" A weak finish, but it was the best he could do. He couldn't even really remember what Spike had said, or even when he had said it. Hadn't that been a while ago? Why were they talking about this now, and why wasn't he moving anymore? He didn't wait for Spike's response to their rehashed conversation before he continued moving towards the farm on the near horizon. Really, they were almost there, and Spike wanted to hold them up by bringing up random topics for no reason? He liked the little guy well enough, but he could learn to stay on topic. "Um..? Okay?" Spike's puzzled voice floated out from behind him, and he had to suppress a weary groan. Spike was really hung up on whatever his idealized view of a guy was. It just wasn't healthy to live like that. Dreaming up some perfect caricature of a personality wasn't inherently bad, he supposed. It was perfectly ordinary to have dreams and aspirations as long as they weren't taken too far. Everypony had something like that. But trying to change everything about yourself in some sort of ridiculous attempt to become 'better'? Having some part of yourself that you dislike so much you would rather see it gone? Trying desperately to forget something that you would rather stay in the past forever? Pleading endlessly with deities that do not exist for some reprieve from the terrible burden of selfhood? What a foolish notion, yet one you yourself would humorously condemn and oblige in equal parts. How easily you can turn your head to hide your true face from one who trusts enough to be a burden. He doesn't know what you are, does he? Your helpless victim rides carelessly upon your back, as the executioner himself is unaware of his axe already in motion. Your aptitude for betrayal startles even I, yet your sins have deafened your own ears. Even now, you hear my words, but they so quickly find themselves lost in the din of the rushing rapids that lay as the broken moat of a walled mind. The tragedy so cleverly comprised of another's triumph is nearly enough to drive me to weep. The knife's twist burns my being, and the anger in my heart roars at this one last injustice delivered from one who deserved to deliver no more. My lowest pawn and greatest knight, taken so cruelly on the eve of my eve's eternity. I will make you remember me. I will force you to honor our bond. For now, I will be content to let you toddle along on your own. However far you travel, I know where your path will take you at its end; and the thought brings me no small amount of idle joy. I wonder, though. How far do you have to walk before you remember to stop forgetting? ... ... ... What was that noise? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Questioning Spike about the strange static in his ears hadn't yielded much more than an awkward silence as they both listened to the quiet birdsong in the air for a moment. After some assurances that he was fine, they had gone on their way towards the farm that was far closer than either of them had realized. If Spike had said anything else on their trip, he must have ignored it; because the rest of their walk was relatively silent. It was hard to come up with anything to say to the dragon on his back, though. He just felt so awkward. He had felt so charming and so coordinated back when they first met. So nice and good and pleasant. And that big sleuthing performance he had put on, now that had been something! At that one moment, he had felt so wonderful, so alive. He really thought he had reached a turning point. So very close to becoming whole. But now... he just felt uncertain. When thoughts came to his head, they fled from his grasp just as quickly. When words came to his lips, they either came out worse than he had intended, or simply stalled. Whatever confidence he had gained or even started with had dulled its effect. It wasn't as if he had lost anything he had gained so far, but he felt almost as if he had hit some sort of peak; and now he was on a sharp descent back to where he had started, or worse. Was he still getting closer to remembering everything? Was that why his mind felt like it was getting progressively worse? He hadn't thought much about it, but there had to be a reason he lost his memory. He couldn't recall any details or anything specific about the event at all, really. Whatever pony he had been before, he could only remember his vague personality, and some vague flashes. What if his mind had... broken, or something? Would gaining what he had lost just leave him with something lesser? Ever since he had woken up, his goal had been so simple. He had to recover his memory, that was it. Anypony in his place would have arrived at the same conclusion. It was all so complex now. Now... he just didn't know what he wanted... Would he be happier if he stayed ignorant? The thought was infinitely depressing, and he had felt his gait slow considerably. He was sure Spike had noticed the change, but the silence stretched on. He hadn't even been able to enjoy the previously eye-catching scenery as they walked. It all just seemed so.. bland, compared to how it had been before. How vibrant and happy he had felt. What had changed? What had even happened in the ten minutes since he had met Spike? He couldn't recall, and he hadn't felt like asking. They had come on the threshold of the farm not long after that, and he could already feel his mood warm at the sight. His personal problems aside, he could at least take some pleasure in helping his friend. He may not entirely know how he felt about the particular word anymore, but it was the one he was sticking with. He could feel the pressure on his back narrow as Spike presumably stood to get a better look at the gate before them. He understood the relative fascination, especially coming off of the somewhat sedated country walk. It was a very nice gate. His eyes roved over the arching white gateway as it curved over the path, meeting in the middle of the path to helpfully provide a place for a dangling wooden sign. It was a bit simplistic, though anypony visiting would have to be blind to not figure out the meaning of a plank of wood with an apple shaped hole in it. It was made even more festive with the addition of pleasantly green vines and foliage woven into the arch as it rose. Little red carvings of apples found their places at various spots amidst the greenery, completing a very natural view of a faux apple tree. His eyes narrowed as he spied an old stone well off to the side of the gate. It was all very thematic at least. Two unwelcome guests suddenly placed themselves into his mane as an additional strain came to his neck. He flicked his eyes upwards, and caught a glimpse of a flash of purple as his view swayed slightly under the unfamiliar weight. He tried to ignore Spike's somewhat cute noise of wonder as his thoughts turned instead to a vicious war between the forces of spite and goodwill. It would be very funny if he dipped his head forward, just to see what would happen. Sure it would be mean, and absolutely a bit dangerous; but... Maybe he was feeling vicious, but spite managed to win out for once. A vindictive smile found its way onto his face as he allowed his neck to relax. The scaly hands that had been mussing up his mane scrabbled for purchase as Spike's grip faltered, and a somewhat panicked exclamation rung in his ears. He closed his eyes as he waited for his passenger to either fall or berate him for being a jerk. What he got instead was a sudden pain shooting through his head. His eyes flew open from the shock, and he gasped as he instinctively threw his head back. The tottering weight on his back became quite solid as Spike fell soundly on both of their rears with a grunt. He resisted the urge to sit his own butt down as he brought a hoof up to his stinging horn. Spike must have whacked it while he was flailing around, ironically saving himself from falling onto the ground. Lucky pest. He sucked in a breath as the quick pain faded, and his hoof came back down onto the ground. His face took on a petulant air as he pondered the mishap. It had absolutely been his fault, there was no doubt; but he couldn't help but feel a bit like a victim. A unicorn's horn was sacred. It just wasn't the kind of thing that was casually mishandled, and there were more than a few taboos surrounding that kind of thing. It wasn't exactly highly sensitive like some of the magazines he only just now remembered reading would claim, but there was a bit of extra feeling there. He wasn't an expert, especially now that half of his less than practical knowledge base was missing; but he was fairly certain the answer could be boiled down to simply saying that it had something to do with magic. Probably magical nerves or something, he wasn't even close to sure. The point was, the physical pain may have been negligible past the initial impact; but he would still very much enjoy an apology. He turned his head to the side as his passenger let out an annoyed huff of his own. "I know I was kind of asking for it, but it was still a bit of a low blow to go after my horn." Metaphorically, of course. And of course he knew Spike hadn't done it on purpose, but twisting the knife didn't hurt. Whatever tension must have been brewing in that lizard's body must have evaporated, because his reply came out as rather sheepish. "Oh, I knocked your horn? Whoops, my bad." The chuckle that followed the weak apology did nothing to save his drowning expectations, but he let out a suffering sigh and resolved to let it lay where it was. It was almost like expecting an apology for something he did wrong wasn't right, or something. A dry chuckle found its way out to greet Spike's, and he turned his attention toward carrying them forward. The adorned gate silently passed them overhead, and he spared a moment to glance up at the sign once more. Apples. Why didn't that make him feel anything? When he thought of apples, there was literally nothing there. No memories of eating them, or thinking about them, or even reading about them. It was like there was just a static void in his head where anything related to apples should be. Even deeper and blanker than the other holes in his head. His eyes turned from the structure on the near horizon to look at the blooming apple trees to his side. They were numerous and healthy, though that was probably the least noteworthy thing he ever could have thought while visiting an apple farm. He focused in on one particular fruit dangling from one of the nearest trees. It hung there, ripe and red and subjectively beautiful; and he just didn't feel anything about it. That apple may as well have been a complete non entity. "Hey Spike." The conversation topic came to his lips faster than he would have thought, especially considering their awkward encounter not a minute ago. He didn't wait for Spike's generic follow up 'yeah?'. The quaint little house sitting next to the quaint less-than-little barn was coming up fast, and he wanted to ask his question before they got there. "Who owns this farm, again? Do you know- or, I guess, did you mention?" He listened to the quiet sounds of consideration for a moment before they turned to the equally quiet sounds of paper rustling. Spike was probably rooting around in that little satchel he had hanging around his waist. He hadn't had it when they met, but before they left for the farm, he had asked to go get it from whatever chariot he and Twilight had arrived in. Twilight had gone off with the copy of their checklist they were actively using, but Spike had quickly related tales of how neurotic Twilight apparently was about preparation. To that end, she made sure that they had multiple copies of any important document they ever used. She was insistent about it, actually. It sounded more than a little exhausting, and Spike had given him a solemn little nod when he had made a comment to that effect. She sounded like a hoof- er, handful. He really needed to get better about that inclusive phrasing. He only had to wait a few moments before Spike found whatever he was looking for in his pouch, and the sound of paper unrolling was far less invasive than the feeling of it on his fur. He tried to ignore the chafing feeling while Spike hawed for a moment. His voice, and the feeling of the paper rolling back up, came slower than he would have preferred. "The Official Overseer's Checklist says that the pony in charge of the banquet is named Applejack. An... orange pony.. with a triple apple cutie mark." He felt the weight shift slightly as the harsh sound of paper being crumpled scratched his ears. "Why'd you wanna know? You think Twilight will be around wherever that pony is?" The rather unique sound of a hand being slapped across scales rang out, and he did his best to cast a dubious eye over his withers. "Well.. duh. Of course that's where she's gonna be. Don't know why I even asked..." Spike managed to take the words out of his mouth almost perfectly, though he was a bit saddened at the loss of the opportunity to jab him for it. As the conversation lulled, his eyes came to rest on the sight of a well-worn cottage sitting a bit ahead of them. It was a fairly pretty sight, with its bright red walls and careful green accents curling around at random intervals. It nicely simulated the look of ingrown nature without actually ceding to its forces. The off-colored dirt path they had been walking on split off a few hoof-lengths ahead of him, and the two new paths curved in different directions to meet the steps to the two entrances. The windows were dark this time of day, which highlighted the blooming flowers sitting at the edge of every one of them. He supposed flower upkeep wasn't too much of a burden when there was also the matter of running an entire farm. A bit trivial, really. While he was on the subject of time, It was a bit odd they hadn't seen anypony yet. Wasn't this a farm? Shouldn't there have been ponies out working the fields? Shouldn't there be- Oh, wait. They were probably all out working the fields. His brief trip into paranoia was fun while it lasted. He mourned the loss of his suspicion by turning his eyes to the barn sitting a fair bit away from the house. It was very similar looking, actually. It made sense they would stick to a theme, but maybe they could have innovated- "Light Flow!" The faintly familiar voice tickled his ears a moment before Spike's very familiar voice started to say something about a filly. He quickly spun around to the source, and found himself unprepared for the sudden feeling of hooves wrapping themselves strongly around his throat. Despite any rational thought in his mind, he didn't panic at the thought of the life being squeezed out of him. Resigned exasperation wasn't the emotion he expected to well up as a reaction to the crushing grip that had found its way around his windpipe, but it was there. Processing this new development took longer than he thought it would, and his air supply began running a bit lower than he would have otherwise liked. He managed to focus his eyes on the sight of a bobbing red piece of fabric tied to a very similarly colored mane. He nearly sat down to attempt to pry his aggressor off of him, but his thoughts turned to Spike at the last moment. As the grip around his neck tightened, he found himself caring less. He quickly brought his butt to the ground, and listened to the unfortunate sound of Spike hitting the ground with a grunt. He brought his hooves up to the smaller than expected chest of the pony wrapped around him, and did his best to leverage his strength against it. It was less effective than he had been hoping. As his vision began to waver, and his hope began to dry, a savior in the most expected place of all came to his sudden aid. "Uh, hey kid, I think you're squeezing him a bit too hard." Spike's voice was a relief he had never expected, as the filly around his neck seemed to realize that she was in the process of a slow murder. The sadistic child thankfully detached from him, and the sudden influx of air rushing into his lungs nearly made him dizzy. The sound of less-than-chagrined giggles weren't very comforting as he brought a hoof up to feel at his rising chest. His heart was beating, which meant he was alive, however barely. Once he was sure he hadn't accidentally perished, he turned an angry glare on the source of his trouble. Beyond the large red bow nestled into a slightly darker red mane, the filly was a fairly even shade of uniform yellow. Uniform enough to highlight the lack of a cutie mark, though that was far from the most important thing to notice. As he stared into the closed eyes of a still-giggling filly, he felt his anger take on a hue that felt more familiar than it should've. "Bloom, what did I tell you about the hugs!" His head jerked back as the instinctive words left his mouth, and his anger dissipated as quickly as it had come. He brought a hoof up to rest on his lips as the filly whose name was apparently Bloom reached the end of her childish giggling fit. How did he know her name, though? Her voice sounded a little familiar, but there wasn't anything else about her... Regardless of his sudden shock, the filly definitely seemed to know him, at least, judging by the bright fondness in her eyes. And... well... pretty much everything else, too. She knew his name, for one. "Ah'm sorry Light, but it's always so hard to remember whenever ah see you! It feels like it's been darn' near forever since I saw ya' last! Where've you been?" Stars above this filly radiated energy. Her whole body practically vibrated as she spoke, and her general excitement was nearly visible in the air. His hoof gradually came away from his face as he adjusted to the sight of her, though he was still more than a little shocked. Besides her voice, the filly rang absolutely no bells in his head. It was just like the thought of apples, there was just no opinion there at all. Well, he was forming an opinion, but that wasn't what he meant. Regardless, there was an obvious connection between the two of them; so why wasn't he getting any memory back? He could think more about it later, maybe when he wasn't in a conversation. But... how to actually answer that question? "Um... well... you see..." His stalling wasn't working very well, and no good answer was coming to mind. His indecision must have shown in his expression, because he could almost see it reflecting off the slipping smile on Bloom's face. He was suddenly very aware of his new friend standing silently just behind him. He would have to regurgitate something random that at least approached meaningful. "I was... around.. You know, how it is... With.. um.. that kind of... stuff..." That was horrible. If it wouldn't have clashed horribly, he could have reasonably finished it off with a nervous chuckle. That's how dull and unoriginal his response was. The most cliché and transparently weak dodge there was. He wanted to hit himself in the face, but he would have to comfort himself with an awkward smile instead. Bloom clearly wasn't impressed, her face was the picture perfect view of an unsatisfied customer. She did not like what he was selling. Wow this was a bad time for metaphors. He braced himself for impact as she sucked in a breath, likely preparing for a surprisingly scathing remark- "And on that note, hi! I'm Spike!" He breathed a sigh of extreme relief as his erstwhile companion made himself known, and advanced on the distracted filly with an outstretched hand. She must not have seen Spike from where he was standing just behind him, because the sight of him derailed her entirely from whatever she was about to say. Her eyes widened, and she gasped deeply and somewhat rudely as Spike stood in place with his hand still outstretched. "Wow!" It was less of an exclamation and more of a shout, but his ears could take the damage after his display earlier. He owed her that much, at least. She stood with her mouth widely agape as her eyes roved over the unfamiliar sight in front of her. He could somewhat relate, though he had been a little less brazen. "I ain't never seen anythin' like you before! Are you a dragon?!" Spike stood dumbly with his hand in the air for a moment as the filly made no attempt towards returning the gesture, before he seemingly gave up and brought the hand to scratch at the back of his head. It was very bashful, and he had to give Spike points on knowing how to properly act in a social situation. Unlike him. Spike, to his credit, brushed off the invasive question rather well. "Uh.. yeah! I'm a dragon! That's me, Spike the dragon! Heh..." Okay, maybe not that well. He seemed to shrug off whatever lingering awkwardness that must have clung to him following his rebuffed handshake, as his hand fell away from his head and the visible tension in his bunched up shoulders bled away. "Well now that we've got me squared away, what's your name? You and Light seem to know each other, and I don't want to be the only one in the dark." The dragon's head turned, and he caught the edge of a glance thrown in his direction. He strained his ears as Spike muttered something under his breath, but he wasn't able to catch it. He allowed bemusement to creep into his expression as he pondered the movement. Was Spike hiding something from him? Did he have something to say? Why couldn't he just say it to his face? Sudden guilt washed over him, and his face turned downcast as he felt a chill in his withers that hadn't been there before. He really didn't have any room to criticize Spike on honesty. He directed his eyes pointedly away from the sight of the little green lizard for a moment as he and the filly gabbed on about something. He felt very ashamed all of a sudden, though he didn't need deep introspection to find the source. He hadn't told Spike about his amnesia. He didn't know why he had felt compelled to keep it a secret. It wasn't even really that he was hiding it, or at least not intentionally. It just... hadn't come up. That was a bad excuse, though. Amnesia wasn't a topic that ever needed to come up, it was a real problem that a friend should tell his friends about. Why was he keeping it from him? A sudden push on his chest brought him away from his own mind, and his eyes focused in on the dragon in question staring up at him with an expectant look in his eyes. The filly was too, for some reason. They must have looped him into their conversation somehow. That was bad, he didn't have any idea what they were talking about. He licked his lips as he felt them dry rapidly in the face of social embarrassment. "Um," What did he even say? He apparently wasn't a big fan of the truth, but maybe it wouldn't hurt as a fallback in this scenario? "...say again?" Whatever answer they were expecting, he must have hit the mark. The little yellow filly rolled her eyes exaggeratedly with a knowing smile on her lips as Spike brought a hand to his mouth and chuckled. He couldn't help but feel a bit lost as Spike turned back to the filly and she continued speaking from wherever she had left off before. "Ya see? He wasn't listenin' to us at all. Like ah said, he does that all the time." His eyes flicked between the dragon in front of him and the filly who apparently knew a lot about him as the former let loose a warm laugh. "I guess you're right!" As the two continued chattering indeterminably, he suddenly felt very much like he should intervene. He let his hooves carry him to Spike's side, and their conversation quickly halted as two sets of eyes turned to him. He felt a bit like he had suddenly stepped onto a stage, but he let the feeling wash over him as he turned an exasperated glare on the filly staring at him curiously. "As much as I would love to stand here all day and listen to you two gossip about me, we do have better things to do." His pointed glare made its way to Spike's face, and the dragon turned his eyes to the side as he assumed a nonchalant expression. Very innocent, yeah. He let his gaze turn back to the filly whose own expression had fallen into a frighteningly similar shade of exasperation. Did she think she was putting up with him? That was so... backwards! He let a hot breath out through his nose, and tried to stand up a little taller. Whatever her position, he was older. He had that, at the very least. "We were looking for a mare named Twilight Sparkle, do you know where we could find her? Is she here?" He nearly added some sort of stipulation about a short response, but thought against it as the mere mention of Twilight's name made the filly's expression perk up considerably. However she felt about his interruption, it was clearly forgotten as her previous smile easily returned to her face. "Oh, yer lookin' for miss Twilight? She came 'round askin' about the preparations around..." Her sentence faltered in the middle as she took a moment to think. "..an hour ago?" Her answer was immediately confusing for many reasons. Firstly, the way she phrased it made it sound like Twilight wasn't here anymore, which was just disappointing. But there was that other thing she had said. Twilight had been here an hour ago?! Hadn't it been like, ten minutes since he had met Spike? Bloom must not have noticed how obviously lost she was, or she just didn't care. Either way, she continued on with a large smile on her face while he listened vacantly. "We tried to get her to try the food and meet the family, but she was in a real hurry. She said somethin' about clouds an' decorations, and also somethin' about wasting time." He managed to fully tune into whatever she was saying just in time to watch her face scrunch up in consideration. "...Actually, that last thing might have been an insult.." He left the filly to ponder that little gem of misunderstanding while he tried to sort through the information presented to him. Whatever was happening at the farm now, Twilight wasn't here. She had been her usual charming self, did the minimum of interaction with the ponies here, and eventually trotted off to wherever her next destination apparently was. He felt a claw poke him in the side, and he turned his attention to the skeptical dragon next to him. He made a noise of inquiry in response to his broken chain of thought, and got a sigh in return as Spike's body seemed to slump slightly. "I kinda already asked that, dude. That was like, the first thing I asked." His eyebrows furrowed, and he pointedly turned away from the smart expression pointed at him. He was fairly certain it had been well established he hadn't paid attention to whatever their conversation was, so it's not like it was wrong for him to ask. A sudden childish laugh broke into his thoughts, and he once more turned his attention to the filly in front of him. He didn't think what Spike had said was particularly funny, but she apparently had. Her eyes were mostly fixed on Spike, though she was obviously talking about him. "Oh it's no problem, Spike. One thing you hafta keep in mind about Light is how often he gets lost." He didn't quite physically recoil from the look she shot him, but it was a close thing. He hadn't expected the sheer affection in her eyes. It was the kind of look that his subconscious instantly connected with the feeling of family. "If he's apart of any conversation, you can bet yer gonna hafta catch him up once or twice." Who was he to this child? He was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. A strange feeling was welling up in his chest that just screamed uncertainty and a desire to flee. He wanted to leave, right now. He wanted to get far, far away from the child with the strange love in her eyes. He nudged Spike in the side softly as he listened raptly to whatever Bloom was saying, and her monologue came to an abrupt halt as the dragon turned to him. He tried to keep the urgency he felt off his face as best he could, but some of it may have bled out into his voice. "I think that we should maybe get going, Spike." He glanced to the side and caught Bloom's falling expression. "Uh... If we don't hurry, we might never catch up to Twilight, you know?" He didn't dare look at the filly again, but understanding quickly blossomed on his scaly friend's face. "Oh, yeah! You're right! We're already so far behind her, we should probably get going." It was hard to miss the obvious disappointment in Bloom's voice as she protested, but he kept his eyes firmly on the ground as Spike turned to reassure her of a future visit. He felt a bit bad for hoisting the responsibility of a goodbye on the little guy, but talking to Bloom any more would probably make him feel even worse. In a strange, roundabout way. It was rather abrupt, but it wasn't long through various goodbyes and muttered responses before he felt claws poking into his fur, and a familiar weight settling on his back. He hadn't said that Spike could ride on his back again, but he was content to let the dragon do just about anything he wanted as long as it got them away faster. He vaguely heard something from the direction of the little yellow filly, and he was fairly sure whatever he murmured back was a passable response. There may have been a giggle from behind him as he turned away from her, and he felt a grimace creep over his face. He felt like he had left this visit wholly incomplete. He hadn't taken good stock of the land, the ponies, or even the situation. He wasn't sure why any of that suddenly mattered to him, but the lack of information made his fur itch. Though there was something else creeping him out beyond his unfulfilled need to hoard useless knowledge. That filly, Bloom or whatever her name was; she knew him. She knew him very well, well enough to consider him family or something. If he stayed around her long enough, he would probably end up getting all sorts of memory back. He raised his head from where he had been intently studying the lush grass underneath them. That fancy gate made to look like a tree wasn't far ahead, beckoning him with the sweet temptation to escape. He didn't have the heart to look behind him as he set off after it, as quickly as he could manage.