Chapter 30: Added Vanilla,Twilight
Spike looked out the window with an expression that was equally parts terrified and concerned as he spotted Owlowlious' two reflective eyes piercing the darkness before the bird let out a scale chattering shriek.
'Geez,' The little dragon thought, placing a tea bag into a cup before pouring hot water from a purple kettle that was decorated with a magical star. "I haven't seen him that riled up ever since H.B. moved out."
The sweet herbal smell of chamomile, lavender, and heather entered his nostrils as it rose with the steam coming off the freshly made cup.
"Ahh," He sighed, smiling a little drowsily. He watched the contents of the cup change color then, carefully, he plucked the bags from their watery resting place. Then, just as Twilight had taught him when he was little, well, little-er he then gave them a gentle squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible.
"I really hope she likes this..." He said to himself, putting the cup on a saucer. "Sugar..." He picked up the sugar tongs and clicked them together before taking the lid off the sugar cube bowl and picking up a few of the precisely shaped hexahedrons. "One-two-three... aaaand-" He took a pinch of sugar from the bottom of the bowl. "Seven-Twenty-seconds-ish!" he proudly exclaimed, dusting the scant pinch into the cup before giving a stir. "Oh! And just a little drop of added vanilla to finish it off! Almost forgot that..."
As he held up the dropper from the bottle marked with a picture of a vanilla bean and flowers over the teacup, he felt a small tremor ache in his claws. He set the dropper down and shook it off before picking it back up and setting back to his task.
Closing one eye, he carefully dropped a few drops into the steamy warm mug.
"There," he sighed in relief. “Now to get this to Twilight.”
Just then came the loud thumping of something falling on the floor above that caused him to nearly fumble the delicate glass eyedropper to the floor.
"What the fet?!" Spike asked, nearly whispering that last word while covering his mouth. Cautiously he looked around before wiping the sweat from his brow ridges when he realized that all was clear. 'Twilight wouldn't want to hear me swearing... Especially if it was one of H.B.'s,' he thought, covering the tea cup to prevent any loose dust from falling in.
"Now to get this to Twilight!" He repeated out loud.
Once nearing the final steps to the upper loft of the library, Spike braced himself for what he might be greeted with.
'After all, once she got back from Canterlot, she practically locked herself up in there!' he thought at the final step and near the door. 'I haven't seen her this dedicated since...' He paused and held his chin thoughtfully. "Ya know, I can't remember the last time I saw her this dedicated... weird," he said, scratching his head. "Maybe all that library work is getting to you, Spike..."
His open hand reached out for the door knob, only to be stopped when the shouts of exhausted frustration exuded from the other side.
"Uhm... Maybe... I should-" he was about to say 'come back later', however, the cup clattered against its saucer as if to retort with 'I'm not going to stay at this temperature forever, and reheated tea just isn't as good as fresh!' He sighed and lifted his hand again. "I should knock first." He said, lightly tapping on the door.
"Heeey, Twilight... It's me... Spike... Here with tea you like..." The little purple and green dragon said cautiously, opening the door before peeking in.
Despite bracing his dragon self for what could be behind said door, he found that he was woefully unprepared.
Scattered about the floor was a cacophonous din of books, scrolls, and parchments all stacked and splayed out in some strange arcane chaotic order. Upon the walls were notecards tethered together with bits of string and twine. Along with pictograms of rather simple everyday objects and in the middle of it was his purple unicorn pony Twilight Sparkle sipping out of a familiar looking cup...
"Oh, hi Spike!" She said once she levitated the clearly sipping cup looking vessel down.
"Hi, Twilight..." Spike replied with a slight worry in his tone. "Uhm... is that my sippy cup?"
"Oh...? This?" Twilight asked, lifting the cup giving Spike an uneasy grind behind a frazzled mane.
"The same sippy cup that you made H.B.'s Creativi-tea in?" Spike asked, slowly approaching.
"Well, uhm..." Twilight flubbed a bit, putting the cup back down.
"The same creativi-tea that H.B. turned into Insani-tea after finding the tea that you hid in the closet where you said she wouldn't find them?"
"Well, that's hardly fair," Twilight huffed, rolling her eyes. "I thought that with her fear of heights... I mean, how was I meant to know that she would overcome that fear, get to the tea bags, make Insani-tea, and then go on a tea-fueled chaos bender?!" she asked, indignantly.
"Right..." Spike replied, one of his eyes crests raised incredulously. "But you aren't... you know..."
Twilight frantically looked back and forth between the baby dragon and the cup of sipping.
Spike's eyes narrowed while he continued his look of concern. "Trying to get..." he looked up, his little dragon mind trying to figure out how to word this while he tapped his chin. "Get creative?"
"What?! No!" Twilight stammered, holding the floating cup a little more closely.
Spike only reacted by setting the tea he made down on the nearby windowsill. He then proceeded to cross his arms and tap his foot.
"Really! I mean, any magically inducing creative effects were discharged back when the cup fell to the ground." Twilight explained.
"Oh yeah..." Spike replied, looking away while reminiscing over what happened on that frantic tea-fueled April first for a few moments. His shoulder ached briefly at the memories of H.B. practically throwing him into a tree before racing after Ghost Writer.
"Besides,-" Twilight started as she lifted the spout to her lips and took a perhaps too long of a sip from the liquid from within. "-the water I poured into this only sorta tastes like licorice and vanilla."
"Twiiiilight..." Spike groaned, facepalming before picking up the tea he just made. Walking over to his friend, he pushed an apple that Twilight had been nibbling on over a skootch to set the cup down. He then proceeded to hold out his hand in a gesture of confiscation, while giving a look that he only needed to use back when she was still doing Canterlot all nighters.
"I mean, really Spike, you don't think-" Twilight began, slowly pulling the cup away, only to be greeted with the flexing claws of 'give it here' as if she was some pet dog. "Fiiine." she conceded, floating the sipping cup down.
"The last thing we need is a-" He looked out the window, there was still a faint illumination of the setting sun. "-Twilight or maybe night of Creativi-tea?"
Twilight frowned and couldn't think of any witty response to Spike's little quip so she opted to change the subject. "All this research and I've yet to find anything regarding living cutie marks, though there's been a few mentions of animated marks though. So apparently those exist..."
Spike set the sipping cup down and picked up the he that he had prepared, which had cooled considerably during this conversation. "But I thought that H.B. 's marks were more like brandings!" he said, offering it to Twilight. "Like.. with red... hot... metal...?" He remarked, his face twisting up.
"In a way they are," Twilight said, taking the offered tea before also taking a sip. "But if Heart- uhm, H.B. is to be believed, there was something extra added to all this." She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "But I've yet to find anything about evil marks, marks that radically change and not just move, or even living marks!"
"Uhm...Didn't you just say that?" Spike asked, scratching his chin before looking at Twilight even more worriedly.
"Did I?" Twilight asked in return, shaking her head before rubbing her clearly sleep deprived eyes.
Spike's fingers fretted about his dragon belly before he looked down and away slightly. 'If she has gotten into one of her study spirals... sigh Looks like it's up to you to save the day, or in this case the night, Spike... Yet again...' "Have you thought about giving it a rest and maybe getting some sleep? I mean... haven't you been through all this before?" He asked, picking a book with the title of ‘Seven Things You Didn’t Know About Cutie Marks!”
"Yes..." Twilight replied, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle. "I just thought that maybe there were some that I missed..." She said her words trailing off.
"Uhm... Twilight?" Spike asked, waving his little hand in front of the unicorns' groggy every vacant growing eyes.
"Huh?!" she jolted looking back at her assistant who by this time had his arm crossed, brow furrowed expectantly, and a foot that was practically tapping in disbelief. "What?" she asked, mustering up as much innocence as she could fake.
"Don't give me that!" Spike replied, waggling a finger. "You need sleep!"
"Oh don't be-" Twilight found herself being interrupted by a wide yawn, followed by a stretching of her forehooves high above her head. "-ridiculous." she finished, a few solid pops emanating from her spine. "What?" she asked upon Spike's further glare. "I'm fine." she insisted.
"Riiiight..." Spike said, turning around. "Look, I'm going to go back to the kitchen to wash this-" he said, snatching up the sippy cup. "-and when I get back, I'm going to bed, and hopefully you will have too." he finished, walking out of the room.
"But Spike- '' Twilight started in protest, only to be rebuffed by the wagging of the little dragon's finger through the door.
==================================
The wooden cottage door barely creaked open, an exhausted sigh emanating from its barely cracked entrance.
Angel hopped over to the, from his perspective, massive wooden door and gave it a gentle pull. Much to his, honestly, lack of surprise, he almost stumbled a clearly drained Fluttershy.
Not even making a full five hoof steps in, the poor ragged looking pegasus collapsed to the floor.
Angel looked at his pony, genuine worry on his little bunny face. Hopping over, the rabbit lifted her forelock from out of her face. As expected she looked worse for wear.
Pushing himself up on her foreleg, he reached forward, his twitching nose sniffing the air before giving Fluttershy several small kisses on her fuzzy cheek.
"Oh..." She murmured in surprise, half opening her eyes. She looked at her little puff of white as adoringly as she could muster. "Thank you, Angel... that was really nice." she said, smiling weakly.
Angel pushed his small body under Fluttershy's chest and attempted to push her to stand with all the strength his form could handle.
"I'm sorry, Angel..." Fluttershy said, softly giggling at her pet's slightly succeeding efforts. "Today was... really.. " She grunted as her words halted while she pushed herself the rest of the way up, wings flickering as she searched for different words to ascribe to the day's events. Any word but the one lingering in her mind. "...Frantic... Momma's really tired, were you a good boy and made sure that all our animal guests got fed and watered?" she asked, looking around at the unusually quiet room.
Angel nodded, looking up at Fluttershy with large concerned eyes, hopping aside, allowing her to walk in the general direction of her bedroom.
"Thank you so much, Angel..." She smiled and stopped to gently touch noses with him. "It's so appreciated..." She lifted a hoof and covered a yawn. "Especially with how chaotic-"
She flinched at that single word that had managed to slip out, despite her efforts earlier.
That word. That one word.
So small and simple, yet containing so much energy and power.
It clung to her heart, pulled it down, made it feel so heavy.
'In so many ways, she's a lot like him!' Fluttershy thought. 'She's a bit sarcastic, irritable, and when her emotions get the better of her, strange and sometimes destructive things happen around her!'
She bit her lip realizing that she was only listing bad things about H.B.
'But... she's also talented,' the interactions between Heartbreak and Cream Puff, or any young, innocent colt or filly for that matter, passed through her mind.
‘Another thing the two of them have-’ She looked into her room, on her nightstand there was a framed picture, that despite being placed face down, still brought a stir of sharp echoing memories. "Had in common? She has a good heart... She just needs a little help seeing that for herself.' Fluttershy told herself.
Just then, Angel tugged on her leg and pointed to the comforting allure of her bedroom door.
Fluttershy sighed.
The call of her warm, snuggly bed was strong; but not strong enough to overcome the drained feeling in her body, legs, wings, and yes, even the tips of her feathers that all cried out to just fall to the ground where she stood.
She shook her head trying to shake some semblance of awareness back into her extremities.
“Come on Fluttershy,” she said out loud. “It’s only just a few more steps... You can do this!” she commanded herself, bringing a forehoof down on the couch next to her in defiance.
However, the pony stopped and looked at the couch.
‘Or... I... Suppose I could sleep here...' Maybe H.B. did have a point about couches. It did look ever so comfortable, what with its green velvety cushions, rich curly wooden frame, and even those thick, well balanced, sturdy looking legs.
“I could sleep here...” She repeated, her weight starting to be placed in her forehoof in preparation to pull the rest of her body forward, only for her to suddenly pull it back. “But...”
“But what?” A warm voice from the furthest recesses of her mind asked.
“B-but... This... is where you sat... The first time we... became...” she hesitated, whimpering at yet another word she felt the need to avoid. However, the longer she held off on saying such words, the more it pained her. “... friends... Where you would sleep when coming over to visit...” she said, biting her lip and holding back tears. “What if-”
It was highly unlikely, after all, following... the event, the couch had been given a thorough cleaning...
“But what if-'' she repeated, her eyes now heavy from lack of sleep and the tears that were welling up from within. “I found...”
“A memento? Perhaps a feather? A shed whisker? A scale? Claw sheath? Or maybe the smell of chocolate milk and nitroglycerin?” The disembodied voice queried her, in a way that one would speak to a beloved pet.
“I-I...” She began, only to feel a faint tug once again on her leg pulling her out of these thoughts. Looking down, there, yet again, was Angel. This time his face looked even more frantically worried, almost scared, his ears drooping. “Oh, I’m sorry Angel... I’m just...”
“Shhh, you need your sleep.”
Fluttershy looked back and forth between her bedroom and the couch a few times before taking a deep breath, holding it, and stomping her hoof. “Oh, Fffet it!” She exclaimed in a high barely audible, save for the most sensitive of hearing creatures, voice.
Putting both hooves on the couch, she began to crawl up onto those soft, velvety green cushions. She heard Angel grunting in protest and pointing exasperatedly to her bedroom.
“I’m sorry, Angel,” Fluttershy repeated, pulling the rest of herself upon the couch. “Like I said...” She let out a wide yawn. “Momma’s really tired and...” she adjusted herself to get comfortable, laying her head down on one of the many throw pillows. “She’s going to sleep here tonight...”
Angel slapped his face, paw dragging down his muzzle. He was going to protest, however before he could open his mouth or thump a foot, the soft sound of Flutter-dozing entered his ears.
Defeated in getting his pony to her bed, he hopped over to the linen closet and pulled out a light blanket. He then returned and with one swift leap, bounded over Fluttershy neatly dropping the white rectangle over the pony below.
“Oh... Thank.. You.. .Angel...” Fluttershy murmured in her sleep.
==================================
‘I can still do this. I, Angel Bunny, can still do this.’ He told himself after dusting himself off from the ‘over the pony’ leap.
Just then, he heard a chuckling-wuffle from up in the cottage rafters.
Angel grumbled and looked in the direction of the bemused chuffing. “Does Rat have something to say? Does Rat find something amusing?” he asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head.
“Whaaat?” Rat peered his little face from his hiding place. “Nothing. Rat has nothing to say. Especially nothing that he finds funny...”
Angel narrowed his eyes incredulously.
“Though, if Rat had something to say on something that he found amusing... It would be about how Angel Bunny bounces from doting pet to conniving bunny.”
The lagomorph frowned. “As I, Angel Bunny told you, Rat, I, Angel Bunny have no idea what you, Rat are talking about.”
“Of course not... Of course not.” The rodent replied, licking his little hands and washing his face. “Course Rat could keep not knowing anything if let’s say... Angel Bunny tossed him an extra treat next snack time...”
Angel fought the urge to attempt to leap up to the rafters and somehow pull the twitching whiskers out of the little rodent's face. Swallowing his anger and quelling a foot that wanted to thump-a-thump hard, he spoke.
“I, Angel Bunny cannot make any promises, but, I, Angel Bunny will see what can be done.”
Rat squeaked in surprise. “Uhm... Really?”
Angel narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, sure, in fact...” he paused. “I, Angel, could go out and get Rat a special treat from his secret stash in a hidden burrow outside...”
Rat scratched the side of his furry head. “Why is Angel Bunny being so nicey-nice all of a sudden?”
“Does Rat want a treat or not?” Angel asked, tapping his foot.
Rat’s eyes woggled and his ears waggled in excitement over the sound of the word ‘treat’. “Uhm, yeah! Sure!”
“Then, Rat, can wait here in his nest up there, and I, Angel Bunny will go and get it.”
After Rat heard that, he ducked back into his little nest.
‘Now that that has been taken care of...” Angel thought before proceeding to hop over to the cottage window and push one of the loose panes of glass aside before slipping into the summer night before closing the exit behind him. Once the little bunny landed safely on the ground, he looked around.
Acting all nicey-nice to that... Rat gave him a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach.
‘Going to have to keep playing that part, if the information from the Burrow is who I, Angel Bunny, think it is...’ He thought with a shudder.
He hopped away from the homely cottage and looked around. The warm air was abuzz with the sounds of creaking and croaking frogs and off in the distance the bleating of a goat or sheep.
'All good over,’ he told himself, still peering for... something.
Looking to a clear patch near the horizon, a near full moon rising, he spotted a recognizable black silhouette: a pair of rabbit ears, contrasting against the white of the celestial body.
“Most likely her.” He muttered before eyeing the tree behind him and giving it several hard sharp, loud thumps.
In return, the rabbit ears moved, first the right ear fully fell, then was raised back up, only to then slightly fall, before laying at a right angle.
“Yup... That’s her alright...” Angel readied himself as the ears vanished from the moon and a large fluffy creamy gray and white doe came speeding in his direction.
“Angel Bun-ny!” She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the white powder ball. “Eet has been so long since you called upon Maw! Elena Lupine!”
“Y-y-yeah... I, Angel Bunny cannot-Erg!” Ge grunted attempting to push the sudden thick, plush dewlap that threatened to suffocate him from being shoved into his face. “-imagine why that is!” he grunted, finally escaping the constricting grasp. “Did The Warren find anything about a rat named Tippetarius in Canterlot?”
“Tch!” Elena chuffed. “What? No ‘Hello’? No kiss on zee cheek? No... Anytzing?!” She asked, a thick Prench accent permeating even her rabbit tongue. “All work and none of the play! Humph! Mr. Angel Bun-ny is that way about et? Then where is Elena Lapine’s payment? Hmm?” she asked, crossing her arms under her dewlap.
Angel smacked the tree behind him unveiling a small door that upon opening tumbled a multi-colored pile of carrots. “Fourteen carrots as agreed upon...”
“Oh... Why, Mr. Angel Bun-ny, you spoil Elena! Wee... Zee Warren did find zomething about this..." she rolled her little paw. "How do you say, Tippetarius? However,“ Her face turned from bright and cheerful to fretful and morose. “be warned, Mr. Angel Bun-ny.. What was found... Iz a tale most mad, bad, and very sad...”
“Oh... Do tell...” Angel said, smiling a wide wicked grin as he offered a ruby red carrot.
Elena hesitated in taking the carrot. Angel's cruel expression and ears taking on an almost horn-like appearance unsettled her. 'Tis no wonder zey refers to 'im as zee Demon Bun-ny of Pon-nyville!'
"All right, well, I, Elena will start at zee beginning-" She said, taking the carrot and stepping half a hop away from Angel's still ever widening smile...
==================================
“And that was everything that happened today...”
Laying on my back staring up at the ceiling, Lucas has been dangling above me for who knows how long. As long as I have been talking, and talking I have been! Gawds, now my throat is kinda sore. Maybe even... a little horse? Ha. Ha. Shut up brain.
“So... uhm... whatcha think?” Pfffft, right, as if asking a spider what they think about creepy eye-glass ponies, animated tails, dead mothers, fire breathing ants, trips to the hospital,(again), and horrible doctors who are based on ... I wanna say eighties sitcoms? I don’t remember. I think it was the eighties... Pffft, whatever doesn’t matter.
Little Lucas only stares back at me with those glowing red eyes, his two front legs slowly waving up and down, and of course, saying nothing.
I really thought that just some... thing? Some creature... Well anything with an ear to listen to me... wait... spiders don’t have ears... Well, not in the sense that we think of ears... right?
‘Guess I’ll just have to look that up later. At least that is something I can send out a search for and get some information back about...’ Have I mentioned that not having an internet sucks?
“Whelp, you’re not the greatest conversationalist there, Lucas, but at least you’re a good listener. Just kinda wish I had some advice for what to do when tomorrow comes. I mean, I know what I ought to do, play things by ear and for the love of fffet, try to at the very least act like I’m learning-” I stop and take several breaths, I feel like I’m having run off sentences here. “No, not just try, actually act like I’m learning whatever it is that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash have to teach me tomorrow. That way I can learn a lesson, write a letter, and then do... whatever for the rest of the month... Probably write all this down in my dia-Journal. Yeah, journal.”
I let out a long sigh and then took a deep breath before pushing up my glasses.
“Just... so... I can do the same exact fetting thing all over next month... Gawds, I knew that this whole ordeal would be long but I didn’t expect there to be some tedium to it all, I mean I did but I-”
That’s the moment that there is a whimpering growl as a pang of hunger hits me and my stomach rumbles in protest of my talking.
“Gah! Really?!” I ask, glaring over my hooves at that belly of mine. “Hungry, hungry, hungry! Always hungry. If we didn’t use the restroom like, what... ten minutes after I got back, I’d be wondering where it all went...”
Sighing once more at one of the very aspects of staying alive, I turn to my left and sorta flip onto my hooves off the couch.
“Many apologies, Lucas, much to my dismay, but it would appear that my gut thinks that I should keep tending to those bodily functions that keep perpetuating my existence in this and other realities... I’ll probably talk more to you after eating something and-” A yawn comes over me and I don’t hold back lifting an... ankle to cover it, after which I adjust those glasses. “-and probably some sleep. So, ya know, I’ll spin.... Wait... weave, yeah, weave my own cocoon after consuming something and talk to you in the morning. M’kay?”
The blue spider’s red eyes seem to actually blink before he once again waggles his two legs, and pulls himself back up that silken line to somewhere in the rafters of the living room ceiling.
“Y-yeah... good night to you too, little spiderling.” I mutter while walking to the kitchen.
Just as I’m entering the hallway, I noticed a slight glow coming from the narrow crack under the door that leads to the storage room.
“Wait... What the fet? Did I leave a light on in there?” A chilly panic strikes as I remember that the lights in this house, along with practically everything electrical, are powered by the batteries in the basement, instead of, you know, a power grid, and that the wind has been less than gusty today. “Ah, Fet! Who knows how much power that’s eaten up... Maybe I can get Dash or Fluttershy to come over later after the lesson and flap in front of the windmill..."
That last bit was an attempt to calm myself down, which only partly worked. Deep sigh, H.B. is there anything that can be done about it now?
"No..." Comes my muttery answer. "Oh, well..." I push up my glasses before rolling my eyes. "better go and turn that off before it consumes any more power... Then I’ll eat, and sleep...” I say out loud before walking towards the storage room door.