"Mmmm~"
Twilight smiled as she watched Spike exit the kitchen, rubbing his tummy in an almost obsessive manner.
"That was the best breakfast I've had in forever!" he told her, grinning and licking his lips.
"Glad you liked it," she said, taking a moment to giggle at him before turning her attention back to the bookshelf.
"You bet I did!" he exclaimed. "You're awful at cooking usually, but when you go by the book, it always ends up awesome!"
She squinted, not taking her eyes off the bookshelf.
I'm... not sure if I should take that as a compliment, or just pretend I didn't hear it.
"So, what are you doing anyway?" Spike questioned, taking a seat on the stairs as he watched her curiously.
"Trying to find a book," she stated simply.
"Well, there's one there... and there... and over there. Oh! And there's a few more there too!" he joked, chuckling at Twilight's unspecific answer.
She just rolled her eyes and smirked, facing him once again as she brought out one of the books with her magic. "No no. I'm looking for a very specific book. I've read it before, but I've forgotten a few things," she explained.
"YOU!? Forget something in a book?" he asked, reeling back in surprise. His tone showed just how unsurprised he was however.
"It was something that was unimportant to my studies. Even I forget things, Spike," she told him with a slightly annoyed expression, knowing that he was rubbing it in.
He grinned and gave her a small shrug, then hopped off the step and grabbed the book from her hand, nearly shoving it in her face as he held it up.
"Well, we both know that you can't find books to save your life. Which one are you lookin' for?" he asked.
Twilight grunted. She didn't want to admit it, but it was a bit of a quirk of hers that she always failed to find her own books, no matter how hard she tried.
"Ailments and Sicknesses," she muttered, swiftly snatching the book back. She turned to put it in its former place, but was quickly interrupted by-
"FOUND IT!"
She jerked her head back to Spike to see him pull out a large purple book.
Hmph... that was fast.
Hiding her disappointment at her inability to find things, she put the book in her hoof away and trotted up to him, muttering a quick "thanks" before taking the hardcover from him.
"It was next to your Astronomy books," he explained, jabbing a thumb at the bookshelf he had taken from. Upon turning to it, he noticed the star symbol on a few of them and gained a curious expression.
"Sooo... who was that Comet Tail guy?" he suddenly asked, being reminded of the stallion's cutie mark.
Twilight blinked, then sighed a bit as she sat down, placing the book on the floor and opening it.
"I thought I told you already?"
"You told me that you 'sorta knew him' or something," he replied. "But that was it."
"Why the sudden curiosity?" she asked, raising a brow at his prying.
"Well, you must've known him pretty well to leave him a note like tha-"
"YOU READ MY NOTE!?" Twilight asked, her wings flaring out as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
"You didn't honestly think I went back there to make sure you didn't forget anything, did you?" he questioned casually with a smug grin.
She scrunched up her snout in reply, practically glaring daggers into him. "...Nosy."
I should've known that his offer was too innocent.
"H-he was just there when I was taking notes. That's all," she explained, folding her wings back in as she tried to focus on the book once more. "Then he finished them for me when I fell asleep, okay? So I just wanted to return the favor," she explained.
Spike reeled back slightly, this time in actual surprise. "You... fell asleep?" he asked.
"...Yes," she replied flatly, blushing in embarrassment.
"..."
"D-don't look at me like that! He just had me feeling all comfortable, and I fell asleep because of it, alright? End of story!" she shouted, promptly shoving her face back into the book in front of her.
"A-alright..." he muttered, a bit stunned at her outburst. "It's just that... you never fell asleep at an assignment like that before," he explained.
"...I know."
I have to admit; I'm curious about it myself...
"Is that why you got that book out?" Spike questioned, taking a seat next to her. "Do ya think 'sudden drowsiness' is some sort of symptom?"
"...P-perhaps," she answered softly.
"What else are you looking up?" he asked, knowing from Twilight's tone that there was more than just that.
"Knotted-up stomach... cheeks feeling hot... legs going weak-"
"Sounds like you're getting sick or something," he interjected.
"That's why I'm looking through the book!" she said swiftly, knowing that her statement was obvious.
"I figured..." he started to say.
"...but?" she asked.
"...but it doesn't look like you've got those symptoms now," he pointed out.
She blinked in abrupt surprise. He was right. Why was she feeling ill last night, yet not today?
"Coming!" Spike suddenly called, getting up and running to the door.
D-did someone knock? I didn't notice...
"Oh, hey! It's you!"
Twilight flinched slightly, knowing what he meant when he said that. "C-Comet Tail?" she questioned, looking over to see the yellow stallion enter the library.
"I-I got your note," he replied, pulling out her letter from his saddlebag.
"O-oh! Right, of course!"
Frantically standing up and grabbing her book, Twilight hesitantly walked up to him, nearly shoving the hardcover into Spike's claws, earning a grunt from her assistant.
"I... just wanted to thank you... f-for finishing my notes," she explained.
"Oh?" he asked, gazing at her inquisitively. "It was no big deal. You fell asleep, so I-"
"It's absolutely a big deal!" she interrupted, looking surprised that he was shrugging his kindness off. "I can't thank you enough!"
Comet Tail blinked for a moment, then smiled slightly as he looked around. "Really, it was no problem," he said. "So... is this your library then?"
"Uh..." she began, her mind going blank for a moment. Upon getting a quick jab from Spike however, she jumped slightly and nodded. "Y-yep! I live here too!"
"Is that right?" he asked, sounding somewhat amused as he gazed at the large selection of books before him. Walking over to one of the shelves, his tone lowered to almost a whisper.
"I-I've been meaning to come here actually. I wanted to pick up a book on-"
"-Astronomy?" Twilight guessed with a small smile.
"U-ur... yes," he replied, smiling back with a bit of nervousness.
Spike stood between the two for a moment, then glanced at Twilight and chuckled. "You can just feel the awkward tension."
"S-Spike!" she shouted, quickly using her magic to fly him upstairs. "Hush!"
She then turned her attention to Comet Tail and shyly ran a hoof through her mane. "S-sorry about that."
"Don't worry," he told her with a gentle smile, promptly pulling out one of the astronomy books. "...do you mind if I check this one out?"
"Oh, of course! ...I-I mean, of course not!" Twilight stuttered, her cheeks going somewhat red at her error.
T-there go those symptoms again...
Comet Tail merely nodded as she marked down his name and the book's title in her Library Checker.
"There you go. It's yours!" she said, giving the book back.
"Thank you," he stated politely, levitating the hardcover with his magic and heading towards the door.
"A-ah, wait!"
"Hm?"
"U-uhhh..."
Twilight blinked, suddenly unsure of what she stopped him for.
"Could I... invite you to dinner this afternoon; as thanks for what you did last night?" she asked.
"P-Princes-"
"Twilight, please," she reminded him.
"I wouldn't want to cut into your free time," he admitted.
"You wouldn't be, and I'd really like to do something for you! So, please?" she asked.
"I-if you're sure-"
"Absolutely!"
Comet Tail was quiet for a moment, then gave a nervous smile (that seemed to happen a lot).
"In that case... how about I meet you down at the Ponyville fountain at 6, and we can go from there?" he asked.
"Sounds good!" Twilight replied, being strangely... loud.
Meanwhile, Spike rubbed his head and headed down the stairs as Comet Tail left, closing the door behind him.
"What was that all about?" he asked. "You were so forward..."
"..."
"...Twilight?"
"H-hm?"
"Your face is all red," he pointed out.
"I-it is?" she asked, rushing to the nearest mirror to confirm.
"Wasn't that one of your symptom things?" he questioned.
"Y-yeah..." she replied.
And that's when she knew...
"...Spike, I'm going to get to the bottom of this," she said.
"Huh?" he asked, looking confused at her sudden determination. "You mean... your 'illness'?"
"Exactly," she replied. "It's too much of an oddity to ignore."
He raised a brow. "So... what you're saying is-"
"Get my equipment."