//------------------------------// // Turn the Page // Story: My Little Dragon // by Metal Pony Fan //------------------------------// Spike and Grumble stood in front of the library door. They knew they had to go in, but neither of them wanted to be the first to open it. After Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash had their little huddle, they left with no explanation, leaving Spike and Grumble to wonder what they had planned. The two could only come up with one place where the three dragins would have headed, and that was the library. “So,” Grumble said slowly, “think they’re all in there?” Spike nodded. “Rarity and Twilight, for sure. The other three? Most likely.” “Pinkie’s in there too.” Grumble sighed. “And they know we’re coming.” Spike looked over at the dragon next to him. “What makes you say that?” Grumble pointed towards the library, towards one of the windows. A smiling pink face stared out at them. Pinkie waved at them. Spike and Grumble waved back. She disappeared from view. “Well,” said the pony, “that’s that, isn’t it?” “Yeah, it sure is.” Grumble sighed. “Whaddya say, boss? It’s your mission.” “You’re right.” Spike sighed. “It’s my mission.” He walked towards the door. “I have to- “BAM!!” The library door flung open, hitting Spike in the nose and knocking him back off his hooves. He clamped his hooves to his snout and rolled about in pain as Twilight bounded out the door on all fours. She ran towards the downed pony and leapt at him. “Spike!” She landed on his chest, knocking the air out of him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She hopped up and down happily. Knocking out every breath the pony managed to take in. “It’s the best gift ever!” She threw her arms around his neck, giving him a deep hug. “Thank you, Spike.” Spike coughed. “Gift? What? Is it her hatch-day?” “Twilight, dear, why don’t you let Spike up?” Twilight looked up as Rarity exited the library and made her way towards the pony and hatchling. “He looks like he’s having trouble breathing.” Inside the library, four more dragons were trying to look outside without being obvious about it. Twilight looked down at the pony beneath her. “Spike?” He coughed in response and the hatchling scrambled off of him. “I’m sorry Spike, are you ok?” He slowly rolled over, coughing the entire time. “Yeah, I’m good.” Once he got back to his hooves, he dusted himself off. He offered Twilight a smile and a small chuckle. “Just be careful opening the door next time, alright?” The hatchling nodded. “Ok.” She shuffled her feet a little. “I just wanted to thank you for the gift.” Spike noticed for the first time that Twilight was holding a piece of paper in her claws. “I really like it.” Spike scratched his mane nervously. “Uh, that’s good. Heh, heh. I wasn’t sure if you’d like it.” He looked towards the library. Four dragons were watching the exchange from inside. “Hey, Twi? Why don’t you head in and play? I need to talk to Rarity for a moment, then Grumble and I will get started on dinner.” “Yes!” The hatchling threw one of her claws in the air and brought it down in a fist. “For a while there, I thought Rarity was going to end up cooking.” She didn’t notice the shadow fall over her as a white figure took up a position immediately behind her. “And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?” The hatchling turned around to see Rarity standing over her. Only the bottom of her chin was visible, leaving Twilight to imagine the look of anger on her face. “Twilight?” The hatchling cringed as Rarity started to move, hoping that the white dragin wouldn’t be too angry. Rarity looked down at the hatchling. She wasn’t angry, but it turned out the alternative wasn’t any better. She was pouting. “D-don’t you like the food I make?” Rarity’s eyes were wide and tearful, and she emphasized her question with a loud, exaggerated sniffle. It was all Spike could do to keep from laughing as Twilight started stammering. “I, uh- But, you see- Um-“ The hatchling glanced towards the library, before looking back at Rarity. “I’m sorry, mom, Applejack’s watching.” Twilight didn’t notice that Rarity’s breath caught in her throat, or that the expression on her face had changed from one of mock sadness to genuine sorrow. The dragin cleared her throat. “Yes, well, I must concede that his culinary ability’s do exceed my own,” she ignored Twilight’s eye roll, “but, remember, he did say Grumble was even better.” She offered a weak smile. “Now, why don’t you go get cleaned up.” “Okay!” Twilight nodded once and gave a poor imitation of Spike’s poor imitation of the draconican military salute. Then she marched off towards the library. Spike watched as Twilight walked past him. He doubted the hatchling even realized what she said, let alone the effect it had on Rarity. He walked over to the dragoness and put a hoof on her shoulder. “You ok?” She stared after Twilight as the hatchling marched through the open library door and started talking with the four dragons inside. Before long, one of those dragons, yellow and pink in color, gently nudged the hatchling towards the washroom. Rarity drew in a breath and released it in a shaky sigh. “I never get used to it. Every time she calls me that, it reminds me that I’m not. It also reminds me-” She kept her eyes on Twilight until the hatchling was out of sight, then she looked over at Spike. “The first day she called me that was also the day-“ She put a claw to the side of her neck, eyes misting up at the memory. “Well, you know the story.” She looked at the ground and scoffed at herself. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this.” “Probably because you think he can help.” Spike and Rarity looked over at Grumble. He held one claw up in front of him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to listen in. But, I’m willing to bet I’m right. I don’t know the full story, and I’m not going to ask, but I can see the way you treat that hatchling. You dote on her like she’s your own, but there’s something else. I’ve seen it before. My grandmother had a tea set that she used to use every day. One day, she broke one of the saucers. I glued it together for her.” Spike grimaced and Grumble shot him a glare. “With real glue. After it was fixed, you couldn’t tell it had ever been broken, but the way my grandmother treated it changed. She kept the set put away except for special occasions, and when she did take it out, she worried constantly about breaking another piece of it.” Grumble looked down and sighed. “That’s what I see between you and Twilight. Something broke, got fixed, and now you’re scared of breaking it again.” Rarity tried to blink away the tears welling up in her eyes. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her claw. “Well, Grumble, it seems that you are far more observant than I gave you credit for. You are exactly right. Something broke, but it was not easily fixed.” She put her claw down and glanced towards the library. “In fact, it hasn’t been, not completely, and I don’t know if I can fix it.” He wasn’t sure if he was just complimented or insulted. “Maybe you can’t.” Rarity looked back at Grumble with a retort on her lips, but Grumble spoke before she got a chance to use it. “Not alone.” She fell silent, casting a sidelong glance at the pony beside her. Grumble pointed at the library. “You’ve got four friends in there who seem to care about you and Twilight, but I’m going to guess you don’t tell them nearly as much as you should. You tell Spike because it’s safer, because he’s going to be gone in two weeks. You tell him things that you can’t bring yourself tell your friends.” Grumble shrugged. “Now, I haven’t got the faintest idea why we’re here, what our mission is, or even where I’m sleeping tonight, but maybe the Princess sent us here to help. Well,” he pointed at Spike, “sent him anyway. I doubt she knows I exist.” Rarity chuckled in spite of herself. “That certainly is a comforting thought, but why would she do that? Surely she has better things to devote her military to.” Grumble scratched at his chin. “I’m not high enough on the food chain to answer that, but sending Spike isn’t really ‘devoting her military’ to something.” The dragon looked at the pony appraisingly. “Come to think of it, she pretty much raised him, so it’s more like she sent her son on a personal errand.” Rarity laughed a little more. “But then we’d have to call him Prince Spike, wouldn’t we?” “Ooh.” Grumble rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Hadn’t thought of that.” He smirked at Spike as he started walking towards the library. “I’ll go ahead and get started on dinner, you two can ponder the motives of royalty.” Spike gave his friend a punch on the leg as walked by. “Who are you, and what have you done to Grumble?” The dragon stopped walking and scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve just been thinkin’ about some stuff lately.” Spike nodded sagely. “Sounds serious… and contagious.” Grumble flicked one digit of his claw at Spike’s side, making the pony stumble sideways. “Then I caught it from you.” “Maybe you caught it from Pinkie?” Spike laughed and punched Grumble’s leg harder. “Keep trying,” Grumble rubbed at his leg, “that one actually stung a little.” He continued his walk towards the library. To his surprise, he had to try his best not to favor that leg just a little. He didn’t want to admit it, but that hit had done more than sting. Spike’s laughter stopped. “Hey, Grumble.” The dragon stopped and looked back. “Thanks.” Grumble started walking again. “Anytime.” Spike watched him enter the library and get immediately tackled by a blur of pink as three other dragons watched. A sudden realization hit the pony and he turned to the dragoness beside him. “How is he going to fit in the kitchen?” Rarity smiled. “He won’t.” Spike groaned and made a start to go after his friend. She put a claw on the pony’s shoulder to stop him. “Relax, Pinkie set up a temporary kitchen in the workshop, it’s big enough for him to work comfortably.” Spike sighed in relief. “That’s good, I thought I was gonna get stuck with all the cooking. Not that I mind cooking, but I’m guessing your friends are staying, and cooking larger portions tend to get tedious when you’re as small as, well, we are.” She looked at the claw she rested on his shoulder, but didn’t remove it. “I whole-heartedly agree. Pinkie tends to handle the cooking when we have a get-together.” She lifted her claw from his shoulder and set it back on the ground. “So, what was it you wanted to speak with me about? Just before Twilight went inside, you said there was something.” Spike’s face held a look of confusion for just a second. “Oh, that. I was going to ask about the gift. Is it Twilight’s hatch-day or something? And I don’t remember giving her anything.” “It’s not her hatch-day, not for a while yet. Trust me, in this town, you will know when it’s somedragon’s hatch-day” Rarity shook her head slowly. “It’s a little ridiculous, but she said it’s going to change life as we know it.” The dragoness laughed a little. “We, meaning, me and her. She found a piece of paper on the floor, said it was yours. She also said it was some sort of organizational system.” “Oh.” Spike smiled as he realized what it was. “I must have dropped it the other day during the mess with the eggs.” He saw confusion flash across Rarity’s features and held up a preemptive hoof. “Don’t ask. Anyway, I was going to give it to her, so I guess it could be called a gift.” “So,” prodded Rarity, “What is it? She’s been going on and on about it, but she still hasn’t told me what it is.” “It’s a checklist. I thought it would be good for her to have a way to keep track of the books she’s read without leaving half of them on the floor.” Spike smiled. “Glad she liked it.” Rarity laughed. “Liked is an understatement, darling.” She smirked at the look of confusion he gave her and started walking towards the library. “You’ll see what I mean soon enough.” Spike followed her in. Three dragons and a hatchling sat at the stone table in the center. Where they sat confirmed Spike’s guesses about the cushions surrounding the table. Twilight was sitting on her cushion and scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. Next to her, Rarity sat on her cushion and watched Twilight write. On the floor on the other side of the hatchling, there was a new cushion, one made of dark purple fabric edged with green trim. Rarity smiled and waved a claw towards it. “I found some fabric and stuffing laying around the shop, what do you think?” Before Spike could answer, Twilight was standing in front of him, holding a piece of paper against his snout. “Look! I improved on the basic principle by adding hourly time slots!” The hatchling’s voice was full of excitement. “Now it’s effective for planning out future events, not just keeping track of past ones!” Spike moved his head back and took hold of the checklist in his hooves. “Let’s see now.” He sat down on his cushion and inspected the list, making a big show of nodding every so often and saying things like “hm,” and “ah,” and “I see.” After a few moments, Spike lowered the checklist and looked at Twilight. “Quick question. You have a check box next to each time slot, one for each hour.” Twilight nodded with a smile on her face. “You allocated 14 timeslots for sleep.” Again she nodded. “Does that mean you’re going to wake up every hour to check the box?” Twilight’s smile disappeared. She looked off to the side and put a claw to her chin. “It seems I may need to make some adjustments. I’ll be right back.” She got up and headed for the stairs to her room. Spike watched her go. With a sigh, he turned towards Rarity. “There was something else I wanted to talk to you about.” He glanced over at Rainbow who was chatting with Fluttershy about something. “Earlier, Twilight saw somedragon use their ability, and she took notes on it. She also asked me for spell formulas and told me she knew a spell when we first met. Her cushion is also covered in scorch marks. This doesn’t fit with what you told me about her not using magic.” “Yes it does.” Rarity ran a claw over Twilight’s cushion, letting it linger on one of the scorch marks. “Theoretical knowledge. I think she’s convinced that she has to understand everything about magic before she’ll ever try to use it.” “That’s understandable.” Spike nodded. “But what about the scorch marks?” Rarity shrugged. “She’s a fire-breather.” “What?” Spike shook his head. “A magic-type fire-breather? That’s- Well, rare would be an understatement. Aside from Celestia, I don’t think there are any.” “Look who’s talking.” Rarity chuckled. “You appear to do both well enough.” Rainbow Dash slammed both claws on the table. “Hold up! You can breathe fire?! Prove it, now.” Spike rolled his eyes and shot an illusory puff of green flame at the multi-hued dragon, making her duck to avoid getting her fur singed. “Sweet!” Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Ah ain’t impressed.” “Looks like you’ve been found out, Spike.” Rarity giggled. Spike looked up at the orange dragon. “You can see through illusions?” She adjusted her hat and gave a smug grin. “Sure can, Sugarcube.” “What?!” Rainbow looked disappointed. “Aw, you mean that was fake? Not cool, not cool at all.” She crossed her claws and looked away. “Ok,” she muttered, “maybe just a little.” “Spike!” The pony turned to see Twilight running down the stairs. “I’ve got it!” She ran towards him, at the last second, she turned and jumped, cannonballing into her cushion. “Look, I leave the timeslots as they are, but I don’t add the checkboxes until all the timeslots are filled. That way, I can have one checkbox for each activity, no matter how long it takes. What do you think?” It was Rarity who answered. “I think you’ve got everything figured out.” She patted the top of the hatchling’s head. “I’ve got an idea, why don’t you help Spike and Grumble with the cooking? That way, you and Spike can keep discussing checklist improvements.” “Ok!” Twilight hopped out of her cushion and grabbed Spike by the hoof. She started walking, trying to pull the pony along, but didn’t get anywhere until Spike got up and started walking along behind her. “Spike, what do you think about adding a second checklist as a backup? If you did that, it would keep you from missing things.” Rarity smiled as she watched them go. “Twilight,” she called after them, “be a dear and send Pinkie out, would you?” If the hatchling heard the request, she didn’t give any indication of it, she just kept leading Spike to the workshop. She must have heard though, because seconds after they went through the door, Pinkie came out of it. She then walked over and sat at the table. Rarity cleared her throat. “Now that we’re all here-“ Pinkie’s claw shot up in the air and she started bouncing up and down on her cushion. Rarity sighed. “Yes, Pinkie?” The pink dragon put her claw down and tilted her head to one side. “When you catch somedragon staring at you, and you ask them what’s wrong , and they say that they’re just thinking about something a friend said, what does that mean?” “Uh,” Rarity glanced around the table to see if her other friends would answer, “I have no idea. Why don’t you try talking to that dragon about it a little more?” “Ooh.” Pinkie’s eyes narrowed. “You’re good at this.” The other four dragons stared at her for a moment before Applejack broke the silence. “Now that that’s out a’ the way, Ah hate ta be the one that brings this up, but Spike ain’t a dragon. Now, Ah ain’t tryin’ ta be mean, and Ah ain’t sayin’ nothin’ against him personally, but Ah never knew it was possible for… Well, for somedragon to not be some dragon.” “Um,”Fluttershy raised her claw, “but earlier, you mentioned reading that article about him.” The orange dragon tilted her hat back so she could scratch her forehead. “Honestly, Ah thought it was some sort a’ nonsense thing. Granny Smith told me that granpappy’s Commandin’ Officer made his pet boar a Tetrarch. I thought it was somethin’ like that, you know, a mascot or somethin’.” “No way!” Rainbow shook her head. “A military mascot’s gotta be something cool, tough, and most of all, big! Something like a TorraTerra.” “Ooh,” Fluttershy perked her head up, “speaking of tank, I finished smoothing the edge of his shell yesterday.” “Sweet.” Rainbow nodded. “So where is he?” Fluttershy put a claw to her chin and rubbed it thoughtfully. “Last I saw, he was heading for the north end of the no-hunting zone. He should reach the fallen fields in two or three days.” “Cool.” Rainbow looked around the table. “Anydragon wanna go visit?” Rarity thought about it for a moment. “That’s a good idea, it would give the four of you a chance to get to know Spike a little better.” Rainbow waved a claw dismissively. “I think he’s cool. Twi likes him, you like him, and he pulls a mean prank. That’s good enough for me.” Fluttershy nodded. “He and Twilight do seem to get along pretty well. And Grandpa has nothing but good things to say about him.” “Oh, yeah,” said Rainbow, “you told me your grandfather was career military. So, he serves with Spike? What’d he have to say?” “Um,” Fluttershy looked up and to the side, “he said that Spike is ‘tough for something so puny.’” Rainbow laughed. “High praise, coming from him.” Rainbow looked over at Applejack. “Alright, AJ, that just leaves you. What do you think of Rarity giving her heart to a pony?” “Rainbow!” Rarity turned beet red and looked back at the door to the workshop. “Not so loud! And why would you even say that?” Rainbow put a claw to her chin. “Uh, maybe because of the way you’re acting, like, right now. You like him, it’s there for everydragon to see. I thought that was why you wanted us to meet him.” She put her claw down. “Ya know, now that I think about it, that really could have gone better.” Applejack sighed. “All a’ ya’ll are missin’ the point. Ah hate to be the one tellin’ anydragon ta bust out the mithril-foil hats, but a high-rankin’ member of the military was sent here because a’ Twilight. Ah for one, would like ta know why.” All eyes turned to Rarity, and she fidgeted under the stare of four much larger dragons. “I, um- I don’t know.” Applejack sighed. “Well, he doesn’t know either.” Applejack leaned towards her friend, easily towering over the smaller dragon. “And ya trust him?” Before Rarity could answer, the orange dragon put up a claw to stop her. “Before ya answer that, Ah want ya ta think about it. Do you really trust him? This ain’t just about you, it’s about Twi as well, and I’m sure ya heard that grumble fella, he’ll be gone in two weeks. Are ya just gettin’ attached cause ya think it’s safe, or do ya really trust him?” Rarity looked down. Slowly, her claw found its way to the side of her neck. “Eleven days.” Applejack tilted her head in confusion. “He’s leaving in eleven days. He’s already been here for three.” Rarity thought about everything that happened in those three days, everything she learned about him, and everything she’d revealed about herself. She looked up at Applejack. “I trust him.” The orange dragon nodded and leaned back. “Then Ah’ll trust you. That just leaves Pinkie Pie, who’s been awfully quiet so far.” She looked over at the last member of the group. “Well, Sugarcube? You’re the town’s military liaison, what do you think about all this?” “Can’t say.” The pink dragon looked towards the workshop. “How long do you think it’ll be before the food’s done? Cause I’m getting rumblies in my tumblies.” “Pinkie,” Applejack said in a stern voice, “this is serious.” “Ooh, don’t I know it!” The pink dragon lowered her head and squared her shoulders. “If you don’t eat at regular mealtimes, it can cause all sorts of problems!” The orange dragon groaned. “Ah’m talkin’ ‘bout this whole deal with Spike.” Pinkie lifted her head up. “Oh, why didn’t you say so? That’s super serious too.” She nodded, making her head look like it was part of a bobble doll rather than a dragon. “It’s so serious, that it’s all super-duper classified at the highest level. And I am talking THE highest level, the top dog, the big guns, numero uno, Princess Celestia herself!” Pinkie suddenly leaned back in her cushion. “Oh, yeah! Did you know that Spike is Princess Celestia’s adopted son? I think it’s ok to trust him.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s jaws hit the floor at approximately the same time. Fluttershy just nodded. “My grandfather mentioned it.” Rarity nodded as well. “He did say that the Princess basically raised him.” “Yeah, but it’s all official,” said Pinkie happily, “like legally, and all that. He’s even next in line for the throne.” A quartet of surprised gasps rang out from the other dragons at the table. Pinkie then lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “But that’s pretty meaningless, I mean, come on, the Princess has been the Princess for pretty much, like, ever. You wanna know what’s even more shocking?” She looked left and right as the four dragons around her all leaned forward to hear what surprising information she would reveal. As military liaison, she had access to classified materials, confidential documents, and a wide array of rumors and gossip that just wasn’t available to the average dragon. Whatever she was about to say, they didn’t want to miss it. “I heard this from the Dragartha Division Quartermaster,” the other dragons leaned in a little more, “he even gets her a card for mother’s day, complete with a crate of chocolates.” Four dragons let their faces fall to the table. Rainbow Dash was the first to lift her head up. “I don’t know about you girls, but I’m gonna pretend that was something earth-shattering, like Typhon is his father or something.” She started chuckling, but quickly stopped when Pinkie brought a claw to her chin. “Oh, please tell me that’s not possible.” “Well,” the pink dragon said slowly, “according to some military reports, Typhon may not actually exist. But before Spike, none of us knew ponies existed. Except Fluttershy, and she was horribly misinformed, unless Spike can use magic to hide his giant, blood-sucking fangs.” Applejack just shook. “Now do ya’ll see what I’m talkin’ about? Everything about this brings up more questions.” Pinkie nodded. “It sure does. If he did have giant fangs, and he hid them with magic, wouldn’t they still get in his way whenever he tried to eat?” The orange dragon dragged her claws down her face. Then she took a deep breath. “He doesn’t have fangs,” she said in a slow, neutral tone, “Ah would a’ seen ’em. Now, don’t ya have any questions that relate to why those two are here, or what we should do about it?” Pinkie thought about it for a moment. “Ooh!” Her eyes went wide. “I have a question, a very important one. The answer may very well dictate how I act towards this situation, and have a profound effect on my future and the future of others.” Applejack smiled. “Now that’s what Ah’m talkin’ about. What’s the question?” Pinkie looked her friend in the eye and asked her question. “Do you think Grumble’s single?” “Um,” Fluttershy looked around before continuing, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but, um, I overheard them talking, and I think he is.” “Really! Ooh, what do I do? What do I do?” The pink dragon bounced up and down on her cushion. “Do I make the first move? Or do I wait for him to do it?” Fluttershy blushed. “Um, I think you need to let him know that you’re interested, but not directly of course. Then wait for him to make the first move.” She hid her face a little behind her crest and added, “at least, that’s what I’m going to do. One of these days.If I ever work up the nerve.Maybe.” Rainbow started laughing and threw a claw around Fluttershy’s shoulder. “How many times have I told you, you’re never gonna get anywhere thinking, ‘I’m gonna do this,’ or, ‘I’m gonna do that.’ You just have buckle down and do it.” Fluttershy nodded meekly. Rainbow pointed at her yellow friend with her other claw. “Now, next time you see him, I want you to fly right up to that rugged, well-built gift to dragon-kind and kiss him.” Fluttershy’s normally yellow face started to take on a pinkish hue. “I know you can do it, and I know you want to, and before you say it’s too embarrassing, think about this; If you kiss him, and you’re embarrassed, you’ll start blushing, just like you are now. Guys love that! You’ll have him right where you want him.” “Ah give up,” Applejack sighed, “Ah just give up.” Rarity was just about to give her opinion of Rainbow’s plan when she heard the sound of a door opening and closing. She turned around to see Twilight walking towards the table. Actually, it was more of a shamble than a walk, the hatchling was shuffling her feet, dragging her tail, and appeared to have no energy whatsoever. When she reached the table, she collapsed face first into her cushion. “That’s the last time I help Spike with the cooking.” The hatchling’s voice was muffled by the cushion in front of her face. “We peeled potatoes.” Rarity giggled, smirking at how easily Twilight could grow tired of something. “How dreadful,” she said in mock surprise, “then what?” “Nothing.” The hatchling rolled onto her back. “We just kept peeling and peeling until there was nothing left.” Rarity’s smirk faded. “I, um, I don’t know what to say, darling. Is that really all you did?” Twilight lifted one claw in the air like she was holding something. With her other claw, she made a motion like she was dragging something over whatever she held. “Over,” she repeated the motion, “and over,”she repeated the motion again, “and over.” The hatchling let her claws drop to the side. “That vegetable peeler is going to haunt my dreams.” All five adult dragons at the table shifted awkwardly in their cushions. “Well,” said Applejack, “Ah’d say this raises a slightly different set a’ questions.” Before she could expound on those questions, there was a flash of light in the center of the table. Once the flash faded, a large bowl sat in the center of the table. It was filled with thin golden brown wafers of something. A door opened and two voices rang out in unison. “Food is served!” Six heads turned towards the workshop door. Spike walked out with four trays floating in the air around him, two small ones and two large ones. Shortly afterwards, Grumble came walking out with four large trays balanced on his back. All the trays were covered. The two walked towards the table. Spike set his trays on the table, small ones in front of Rarity, Twilight, and a large one went in front of Fluttershy and his own seat. Spike then used his magic to lift the trays off Grumble’s back. He set those down in front of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie. With a smirk, he set the last tray in front Pinkie as well. Grumble leaned over to spike. “Um, that one was mine.” Pinkie blinked, staring at the additional tray. This was her chance! “Oh, sorry, Grumble. Here you go!” She slid the tray over to the empty space right next to her. “Uh, thanks.” He gave a nervous chuckle and leaned over to Spike. Through his smile he whispered, “you planned this, didn’t you?” Spike smiled and whispered back, “you’re welcome.” A green glow formed around Grumble. “Oh, don’t you da-“ The dragon didn’t get to finish his words before he was yanked into the air, moved to the other side of the table, and deposited in the cushion next to Pinkie. The pink dragon promptly gave him a hug. “Thanks for making dinner, Grumble, it smells really good!” She then leaned towards Fluttershy. “Do you think that’s good enough?” Grumble glanced back and forth between the two dragons. “Was what good enough for what?” Pinkie gasped and shook her head quickly. “Nothing!” She leaned forward, bumping her nose against the lid of her tray, then she took a big sniff. “This smells really good,” she said hurriedly, “what is it?” “Allow me.” Spike sat down on his cushion and pointed to the bowl in the center of the table. It was easily three times his size. “As an appetizer, we have potato chips. Dig in, we made plenty.” Twilight groaned. “Don’t remind me.” Rarity leaned over the hatchling towards Spike. “However did you manage to make so many in such a short time?” He reached up and tapped his horn. “Magic helps.” He returned his attention to the table. “For Twilight,” he lifted the cover from her tray, revealing two toasted discs with a swirl pattern, an apple, and some cut up broccoli, “we have grilled cheese swirls. For Rarity,” he lifted her tray’s cover, revealing a mix of meat and vegetables in a dark brown sauce, “beef and broccoli.” Spike then continued around the table, starting to his left. “For Grumble and Pinke, he have grilled corn and manticore steaks.” He lifted the covers from their trays, revealing a pile of corn and a steak that weighed about as much as the pony did. “For Applejack and Rainbow Dash, ranch-flavored mini-burgers.” Two more tray covers lifted, each revealing five hamburgers loaded with vegetables. Each burger was the same size as the steaks Grumble and Pinkie had. “Fluttershy’s dish was a challenge, because we ran out of manticore.” He lifted the cover from her tray, revealing a plate of breaded, fried- “Namazu river monster!” The yellow dragon clapped her claws together. “It’s my favorite! How’d you know?” She picked up a piece and popped it in her mouth, chewing delicately. Her eyes went wide as she swallowed. “It’s fresh. How? Did you get it nearby? I didn’t feel any tremors.” Spike tapped his horn again. “Magic helps.” Grumble rolled his eyes and muttered, “so does that permanent hunting license.” Spike ignored him and kept talking. “I saw a picture on your wall of you holding one. I teleported out to the river and found the smallest one I could. I used magic to pull it out of the river and and keep it off the ground.” Fluttershy nodded. “You must have done it quickly if you managed to avoid the tremors. Do you hunt often?” “No.” The pony pointed at Grumble. “He told me the trick to catching them.” “Oh, um,” Fluttershy looked over at the brown dragon, “are you the one who applied for a hunting license? Sorry, but I haven’t had a chance to look at the application yet.” “That’s ok,” said Grumble,”I wasn’t expe-“ “I know,” Pinkie cut him off, “Why don’t you do it now? It’s just a few questions, right?” “Pinkie,” The yellow dragon said in a warning tone, “not now.” “But-“ Before Pinkie could continue, Fluttershy lifted a claw and pointed towards Twilight. The hatchling was sniffing at her grilled cheese, slightly unsure about its odd shape. “Oh, right,” Pinkie ducked her head and smiled sheepishly, “sorry.” Rarity let out a sigh. “Thank you, Fluttershy.” She looked over at Spike with a smile. “That just leaves you. Care to explain why your plate is larger than you are?” “Actually,” Spike scratched the back of his neck, “I’m full. I kept tasting everything to make sure it was coming out right.” Rarity blinked at him. “Then why do you have the largest plate?” The pony pushed the tray towards the center of the table. “I wanted to see if anydragon would comment on it. It’s actually something Pinkie provided for de-“ Spike was interrupted by a familiar smell, the smell of smoke. He turned to look towards the workshop. “Grumble did you turn everything off?” Grumble followed the pony’s gaze. “Sure did, why?” Spike got up and headed for the workshop. “It smells like something’s burning.” Behind him, all seven dragons started sniffing the air. Spike entered the workshop. Nothing seemed out of place, portable cooking equipment was arranged neatly and everything was off. The room was well ventilated, and unlike the rest of the library, the floors and walls were made of stone; even if something caught on fire, it wouldn’t spread. That confused Spike even more, he could still smell smoke. It wasn’t the smell of burning food, no this was the smell of fire, the smell of burning wood and ash. But where is it coming from? “Boss!” Grumble’s voice jerked Spike out of his thoughts. “We’ve got a problem!” Spike ran back into the main room of the library. It was empty, but the door was open. Spike ran outside. He saw all seven of the dragons from the library and several others staring off into the distance. Spike followed their gazes. There was smoke flowing from the nearby mountain. “Everydragon? May I have your attention please?” One dragon was not looking at the mountain. Instead, she was looking at the dragons that were looking at the mountain. She was a light tan, smaller than Grumble, but still quite a bit larger than either Spike or Rarity. Around her neck, she wore a ribbon much like the ones favored by nobles and members of government in Dragartha. “Excuse me? Everydragon? This is the mayor speaking!” Also, for a dragon, her voice was unnaturally quiet. If she was the mayor, and she wasn’t worried, there was probably a reason. And being the mayor explained why her voice was so quiet. Spike walked over to her. “Excuse me? I don’t mean to pry, but do you take Laryngocrysts?” She nodded. “M-hmm. I take them to soothe my throat after talking all day, but I think I got a bad batch.” She looked down at Spike and her eyes snapped wide open. “A really bad batch.” She closed her eyes and took three slow breaths. She opened her eyes slowly.” You’re still there. I wonder if I can get a refund.” “Ma’am,” he saluted, “my name is Spike, I am a Centurion in the military, here on orders from Princess Celestia. I am going to dispel the magic of the laryngocrysts now, please resist the urge to clear your throat.” She nodded and he generated a magical field around her. He tuned it to what should have been the trace magic of the laryngocrysts. “Ma’am, please don’t answer right now, but how many of those things do you take in a day?” He slowly started to shift his magical field until it was a hundred-and-eighty degrees out of phase with the laryngocrysts.”You shouldn’t rely on those, ma’am. If your voice is sore after talking, there’s probably a problem with the way you talk. I would recommend singing lessons, and deep breathing exercises. Also, if possible, try to increase the humidity in your home or anywhere else you spend a lot of time, a few potted plants should do the trick.” In theory, flipping the phase of two identical magical energies should cancel them both out, much like sound. But magic is additive, and reaching a perfect phasing creates a relatively harmless pure magic that the dragon body can easily absorb. There is, however, one side effect. “Hic!” The mayor stared at Spike for a moment. “Hic!” Then she turned back to the crowd. “Everydragon! Hic! I have, hic, an announcement! I, hic, Mayor Marble, have been under a great deal of stress lately. Hic! So, I’m going to take a short vacation.” Spike stared at her, confused by what she was saying, but happy that her voice was back to normal. “Excuse me, Ma’am? Regarding the smoke coming from that mountain, do you-“ The mayor pointed her claw at Spike. “Shut up, you. I don’t need everydragon thinking I’m crazy.” Spike shook his head. “Ma’am, why would they-“ “Excuse me?” She ignored Spike and addressed the crowd. “How many of you see something small and purple beside me?” Every dragon in the crowd raised a claw. The mayor nodded and closed her eyes. She turned towards Spike with a confident smile. “See? You’re-“ Her eyes flew open and she looked back at the crowd. “Real?” Spike tapped her on the leg with his hoof. “Ma’am, do you have any information on the smoking mountain? This is important.” “Uh, yes.” She took a moment to compose herself. She was about to clear her throat, but caught herself. “Everydragon, regarding the lonely mountain, somedragon bought it yesterday and will be moving in for their nap. They have already spoken to me about air quality concerns and it gives me great pleasure to announce that a filtration system will be installed in four day’s time. I trust everydragon can put up with a little smoke for that amount of time, right?” Instead of directly answering, the crowd just started to disperse. The mayor looked down at Spike. “I assume that answers your question? Hic!” Spike saluted again. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” He turned and walked over to Grumble, leaving the mayor alone to question her sanity. The brown dragon was watching the rest of the town go back about its business. “Everydragon seems satisfied with that explanation, what about you?” Spike kept his eyes on the mountain in the distance. “What do you think?” Grumble looked at the mountain. “Are you planning to investigate?” Spike glanced over at Grumble. “Tell me that smoke is coming from somedragon snoring.” Grumble shook his head. “Can’t do that, boss. It doesn’t smell right.” Spike nodded. “If it’s a bandit’s signal fire, it’s a good one. I’m going to head up there. Grumble, have Pinkie call in reinforcements, but have her do it quietly.” “You got it,” the dragon turned to head for the library, “you want anydragon specific?” Spike put a hoof to his chin. “Yeah, Screwy and her team. This town doesn’t have much in terms of fortifications, so if anything happens, I want to have a good show of force ready.” “Show of force?” Grumble laughed. "Since when did Screwy get demoted?” “I know, it's probably overkill, but she’ll jump at the request if my name’s on it.” Spike turned and started walking back to the library alongside Grumble. “She’s after my job, after all.” As Spike and Grumble approached the library, the door flew open and Pinkie jumped out. She stomped her claws and turned around in circles. “Whoo-hoo! Camping trip!” She plopped down and scratched at her chin. “I’ve gotta pack, make sure the Cakes know I’ll be gone, and make sure the mayor forwards all military correspondence to Thunderlane. Why is he called Thunderlane anyway? He can’t control lightning or create thunder.” She looked up and saw Grumble. “Hey! Grumble!” She hopped over to him, completely ignoring Spike. “Do you have any camping gear?” The brown dragon blinked. “Uh, no. Why?” “Hmm.” Pinkie chewed on her lip. Suddenly, she stomped one claw. “I know! You can borrow some of mine! It’s the least I can do after you made that wonderful meal. Oh, and I ate yours too.” She lowered her head and pawed at the ground. “Sorry.” She immediately lifted her head. “I know! You can come to Sugarcube corner and I can make something there! Come on!” She grabbed the brown drake by the tail and started hopping away. “Uh, ok,” said Grumble as Pinkie dragged him along, “not quite sure what’s going on here, but, ok.” As Spike watched his friend leave, Rarity walked out of the library. “So,” he said to her, “what was that all about?” Rarity looked at the mountain in the distance. “It seems that Pinkie knows the dragon that bought the mountain, so the entire group’s going to go visit. It’s perfect timing really, because we were all going to go visit tank soon anyway.” “Really?” Spike scratched at his mane. If Pinkie knows the dragon that bought the mountain, and they’re really just getting ready for their nap, that’s good, but there’s still the question of why the smoke doesn’t smell right. “I don’t like it, at least let me head up first, it could be dan-“ “Whoa nelly! Look at the time, Ah gotta git Applebloom home!” Applejack came running out the door. The ground shook under spike’s hooves as the large dragon ran by. “I guess I’ll head out too.” Rainbow exited the library in a much slower manner. She looked up at the sky and yawned. “Maybe I’ll take a nap or something.” She shifted her wings as she searched the skies for a suitable cloud, releasing small sparks of static electricity. “See ya, Rares.” She took off quickly, creating a gust of wind that kicked up a cloud of dust and nearly knocked Spike and Rarity to the ground. Fluttershy poked her head out the door. “Um, if nodragon minds, I’m gonna stay here a little longer, there are still a few potato chips left.” Spike dusted himself off. “You know what? Nevermind, this’ll be fun.”