“CRASH!!”
“Whoops!”
Spike’s ear twitched as a sudden noise woke him from his slumber. With a groan, he rolled onto his back and stretched out. His joints popped and cracked from the strain of his long night of work, but he didn’t care. He was sleeping on a floor devoid of books. Floors should only ever have one book on them at a time, the one you’re reading.
“Where’s the salt?”
What is that hatchling up to? Spike rolled over once more, getting his hooves under him. He stood up and admired his work one last time. The library’s basement was spotless. All the books were arranged neatly on the shelves, all except for one. There was an odd picture book that wouldn’t fit anywhere, that was sitting on a coffee table off to the side. He even cleaned the rug that was hidden under Twilight’s “hoard.” It was clean in here. There was one thing left to do though, make sure it stays that way.
Spike started up the stairs towards the main section of the library. Rarity told him that Twilight liked to keep her books in a pile until she had a chance to read them, at which time she would file it away on the shelf. It was her way of keeping track of what she read. As he walked, he used his magic to pull a piece of paper off the coffee table and up the stairs behind him. This ought to do the trick.
“KSSSSHHHHH!!”
“Wuh-oh.”
A distinctly waterfall-like sound followed by a curt statement of blunder? That couldn’t possibly be a good sign. The unicorn quickened to a trot as he ascended the stairs. A quick burst of telekinetic aura and the door at the top of the stairs swung open. He accelerated once more as soon as he reached the library’s main room. “Twilight? What hap-“ he found himself staring at the ceiling, “-pened?” His eyes had just enough time to widen in realization as gravity resumed its hold on him.
“THUD!!”
Spike clenched his eyes shut and groaned loudly, both from the pain of landing and the realization that he landed in something slimy. Most likely, he just landed in whatever he slipped in. When he went to roll over and stand up, another realization hit him. Whatever he just landed in stunk like- like- I don’t know! It just reeks! Ugh! Nasty! Spike fought back his gag reflex as he got to his hooves. Once he was up, he saw what he had been laying in. A dozen obviously rotten eggs were broken against the floor, right in front of the door to the basement. That at least explains why Twilight was looking for salt.
Spike decided to check on the hatchling before getting cleaned up, though he had a pretty good idea what happened after the eggs were dropped. He was guessing the library had a kitchen tucked away somewhere. At least, he hoped it did. If it didn’t, the rotten eggs become a lot harder to explain. Though, if Twilight was looking for salt, then it would stand to reason there was a kitchen. The only problem is that Spike had no idea where to find it. He closed his eyes and listened. Birds in the branches above, a fly following the scent of rotten egg, and- Ah! There it is, a faint scratching sound coming from behind a door to the right.
Spike walked over to the door and pushed it open. Inside was a well-equipped kitchen, the counters were low by dragon standards, but that was understandable. After all, it was probably Rarity who used it the most. But even if the kitchen would seem small to most dragons, there was at least one dragon that it was still too big for. That dragon was valiantly struggling to put a half-empty sack of sugar back on the counter. On the floor behind her was a pile of, what spike assumed was the other half of the bag’s contents.
The bag slipped out of Twilight’s grasp, but was caught in a green glow before it hit the ground. The hatchling looked towards the door with a sheepish smile. “Hi, Spike. Sleep well?”
“Quite well.” Spike lifted the bag onto the counter, folding it closed as he did so. “But then, the most interesting thing happened.” He lifted the sugar off the ground and dumped it in a nearby waste bin. Then he walked over to Twilight and sat down very close to her. She threw her claws over her nose and started choking on the stench that emanated from the unicorn. “Would you care to explain?”
“Sorry.” She choked a few more times and backed away. She looked down and let her arms fall to her belly. She grabbed on claw with another, slowly rubbing one thumb against the back of the other claw. She kept her gaze fixed firmly on her claws, as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. “I didn’t know if the eggs were any good, and I was on my way to ask you about it when I dropped them.”
Spike retreated to the other side of the kitchen so the hatchling could breathe easier. “What did you need the eggs for? Didn’t Rarity make breakfast?”
She nodded slowly. “And Aunt Pinkie came by and made lunch. They left a few minutes ago.”
“I see.” Spike shook his head. How did Pinkie make lunch in this small of a kitchen? For that matter, how did she even manage to fit in here? “That still doesn’t explain why you needed the eggs.”
Twilight fiddled with her claws a little longer before answering in a whisper. “I wanted to make you breakfast.”
Spike blinked. “Why?”
Her eyes flicked towards Spike for a moment before turning to look at something on the wall. She kicked a little at the kitchen floor. “I didn’t know your fur would pull out.” There was a slight pause before she spoke again. “And I shouldn’t have laughed, even if you did grow it back.” She glanced back at Spike, waiting to see his reaction.
Spike closed his eyes and shook his head. Then he started laughing. “Wait here.” He looked around the kitchen. When he located the salt, he grabbed it in his magic and left the kitchen with it.
Twilight waited in the kitchen for a few minutes, wondering if Spike was upset. He didn’t seem upset and he was laughing, but Rarity sometimes started laughing when she was nearing a deadline on an order. Spike’s laugh didn’t sound like Rarity’s crazy laugh though, so maybe that was a good sign? She suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air. Her feet scrambled to find purchase before she was set down on the counter.She looked towards the door to see that Spike had returned to the kitchen. He did not bring the rotten egg smell with him.
He trotted over to the counter with a smile. “You should be able to reach everything from there. Now let’s see if we have any more eggs.”