"Just hold on!" I called up to Spike, running to a stack of fabrics in the adjoining room, yanking an especially thick one out of the middle. The rest toppled over, but as of right now, I really didn't care. I held the cloth out like a trampoline under the small dragon, just as his grip weakened and he fell from the fan blade. I caught him in the length of cloth, and he bounced a few times, eyes still screwed shut in fear, and newly-found wings clamped tightly to his sides.
I set the cloth gently on the floor, then lifted Spike and squeezed him tight.
"Are you alright?" I asked him. He nodded his head vigorously, still not trusting enough to open his eyes, "How did you even get up there?"
"I-I don't know. There was just this feeling near my shoulder blades, and the next thing I knew, I was hanging from the ceiling fan," one eye cracked open, looking up at me. It had a strange quality to it, sort of unreal. It's hard to explain, but I knew it wasn't right or normal.
"What happened? Did you see?" he asked innocently.
"Hmmm..." I set him down on the floor, turning to the door. I knew somepony who would know what to do. Maybe it was time to explain what I had done.
I trotted to my saddlebag rack, picking out the plainest, least conspicuous one out of the group. It was a light purple that complimented my mane, sans all frills and glitter that covered most of my wardrobe. It was just big enough to hold my scarf collection, or a small dragon.
I scooped up Spike and stuck him inside, "You'll have to be quiet and still, okay? We're going to Twilight's."
~~~~~
After several close calls in the streets, I had finally reached the library. I tapped my hoof lightly on the door, trying to keep a calm exterior.
"Yes?" called the familiar voice of Twilight Sparkle, slightly less cheerful than normal. She missed Spike as much as I had, of course.
"It's Rarity, dear. I wanted to... speak with you."
A magenta aura appeared around the door, and the face of an over-worked unicorn was revealed "Come on in, Rarity. I was just... cleaning up some old things."
She turned, and I followed her into the tree. I saw Spike's old bed sitting in a corner, a thin layer of dust already settling on it. As I watched, Twilight ambled up the stairs, wandering around in her bedroom, grabbing Spike's belongings and tossing them down into the bed. Each item landed in a small puff of dust on the blue dog bed.
"Well, what did you want to ask me?" Twilight reminded me.
"Oh, right. Yes, it was more of a... hypothetical conversation that I wanted to have with you,"
"Oh? That's interesting," she trotted back down the stairs, so as to talk to me snout-to-snout. She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to start talking.
"Um... let's say, hypothetically, that love could bring somepony back to life," Twilight nodded, "And let's say that this-- um-- pony, then had an abnormal reaction. Something that couldn't happen in real life: like, er, a pegasus gaining magic abilities."
"So, a physical change?"
"Yes. But, not a-- I mean, not something-- It shouldn't be-- uhh..." well, that wasn't very discreet.
"What made you think of this, anyway?" Twilight now looked simply confused.
"You know what? I don't know! I'm just going to... leave now... goodbye!" I stumbled backwards over the pile of old blankets and gems, The worn-out strap of my saddlebag snapping, and the small, dark figure slidding across the hardwood floor.
I chuckled softly, awkwardly, as though I hadn't just resurrected friend and neglected to tell her.
"You know, " I told her, "this isn't nearly as bad as it looks."
Twilight just sat down in the center of the room, looking at me with a face that spelled out absolutely everything she was thinking.
"What?" I asked bluntly, edging my way toward Spike.
"Sit down, please," I sat.
"Now: explain. Explain everything."