//------------------------------// // Plans and Premeditation // Story: Right Behind You // by BleepBloop2 //------------------------------// [Present] [Luna] As her sister knocked on the door to Books and Branches, Luna glanced through the window. The inside was bright and clean from what she could see. Everything sparkled like it had been freshly polished, even the windows. A voice, young and weary, came from within. “We’re open.” Luna saw her sister pause for a moment before making her way inside. She followed and closed the door behind her. Spike sat behind the main desk of the library, holding a quill, a ledger of some sort in front of him. He dipped the quill in ink and wrote something down. Glancing up at them as they entered, he said, “I wondered when you would show up.” Luna had little practice at reading dragons, especially those as young as Spike, but even she could see he was tired. There was no single sign she could point to, just a general weariness to his body language. Shoulders slumped, eyelids heavy, movements sluggish, these and half a dozen smaller things all pointed to a lack of sleep. Which, for a young dragon such as Spike, was a very large problem. Spike sighed, and pointed to a set of stairs behind and to his right. “Twilight’s stuff is up there, second door on the left. Some of the books are library books, so check before you take them.” Celestia put on the small smile she usually wore as a matter of course. “We are not here for Twilight’s possessions, Spike. I’m here to see you.” Spike finished writing in the ledger, carefully cleaning the quill before answering. He looked Celestia in the eye and asked, “What do you want?” Celestia only smiled a little wider, but Luna knew her well enough to know she hadn’t expected the drake’s response. “Only to see how you are doing, and to ask what you plan to do.” “You’re a bit late, aren’t you?” Celestia sighed. “I am truly sorry for that, Spike, but until recently matters in Canterlot demanded my attention. So please, tell me how you are doing?” “I’m fine.” “I can clearly see you are not fine, young Spike,” Luna said, moving towards the drake. “You wear your weariness well, ‘tis true, but if even I can see it then there is little point in trying to hide it.” Spike sighed heavily and rubbed the scales beneath his eyes. An odd gesture, for a dragon, Luna felt. No doubt one of the many things he has copied from ponies. “Look, I’d really like to never see either of you again, so if you aren’t here to go through Twilight’s things, and you aren’t going to check out a book, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” With that said, Spike opened the ledger and inked the quill. He paused before writing to look up at the two princesses. “Are you going to check out a book?” Luna moved over to her sister and whispered in her ear, “Let me speak to Spike alone, sister. You have other things to attend to.” Celestia frowned, but nodded, both gestures little more than twitches. She nodded more fully to Spike, who did nothing, and then left. The young dragon looked up as the door closed. His eyes narrowed when he saw Luna. “What is it?” Princess Luna did not reply immediately. First, she removed her crown and regalia, setting them both aside. Next, she focused on the magic infusing her mane and stilled it. It went from a shimmering inky black filled with stars to a deep blue. Luna took a deep breath before speaking. “What troubles you, Spike? What keeps you awake?” “What do you think?” “So it is sadness that keep you awake long into the night? Grief for what you have lost that prevents an easy slumber?” “Of course it is!” Spike jumped down from his seat and moved over to a nearby set of bookshelves. He pulled books out at random, flicked through them, then set them back. “And let me guess, you’re here to tell me how sorry you are, how terrible it is that Twilight’s gone. Don’t you think I know that? Twilight raised me, you don’t think I know how much worse off everypony is now she’s gone?” Spike slammed the last book into place hard enough to rattle the shelves. “Or maybe you’re going to say how terrible it is we can’t use the Elements to solve all our problems now?” “No, Spike. I had met with young Miss Sparkle only once or twice since she saved me, and every meeting was brief. The pain I feel for her passing is small compared to yours. I merely wonder what you plan to do now?” “Somepony has to look after the library,” Spike said, no longer moving through the shelves but still with his back to Luna. “Might as well be me.” Luna nodded. “Very well. I will tell my sister of your plans, and fill out the paperwork myself. Which brings me to my next point. I know some of what you feel, Spike, but I advise against being overly harsh with my sister. She, too, lost somepony she cared dearly for.” “Yeah, well, she’s had practice.” “It does not get easier, Spike. No matter how long you live, or how many you lose, it never gets easier. And my sister and I have lived long, and lost many.” “I guess thats something I have to look forward to as well.” “True. You are a dragon, and while not unaging like myself or my sister, you have the capacity for a very long life.” Luna paused, gathering her thoughts before continuing. “Would you accept some advice, young Spike?” “Are you going to give it to me anyway?” he asked. “Most likely, yes.” “Then go ahead.” “Remember who is responsible for this. Remember who took Twilight Sparkle from this world. Focus on him. Do not lash out in anger at those who care for you. Save it for he who deserves it most.” “Spy.” Luna was surprised at the amount of hate the drake could fit in such a small word. “Yes,” Luna said, nodding. “Spy.” Spike stared down at his feet. “Spy is in Canterlot, right?” “As far as I am aware, yes.” Spike lifted his head and squared his shoulders. “I’m going to help find him. I’m coming to Canterlot with you.” “If you wish, you may, but I think I know of something you should do first” Luna said. Inside, she was smiling. All was going according to plan. [Present] [Spy] Making enemies is much harder than making friends or allies. I can make enemies as easily as I make corpses, but the urge to kill Chrysalis rose every single time I saw her walking away unharmed. It felt wrong, letting her live like that. She refused to tell me what Luna had been up to recently. She knew, I knew she knew, and she knew I knew that she knew, but still she feigned ignorance. Luna had been AWOL since she left for Ponyville. Celestia had returned a few hours after leaving, with Luna’s guards and a few of the remaining elements, and had acted like nothing was wrong, ignoring any questions about Luna’s location so thoroughly some ponies were probably starting to doubt her existence. I dealt with my frustration in the best way: making Celestia miserable. All I had done recently was murder some servants and some guards. I needed to aim higher. I’d spotted a guard with blue hair giving orders to pretty much every guard and from what I knew of insignias Celestia used, he was high ranking, either Captain or Lieutenant, most likely the former. I doubted he’d be much trouble. I’d more or less sauntered over all the other guards, and he was supposed to be in charge of training them, so I doubt he was competant. I followed him as he made his rounds of the castle walls, inspecting guards and listening to reports. When I cared to listen to what was being said, I heard one of the lesser guards say that, ‘they’ll get the bastard that killed his sister.’ I wonder which victim of mine was his sister? It didn’t matter. He’d see her soon enough. With no warning, he froze, horn flashing. A sphere of pink energy exploded from his horn, almost throwing me from the wall. I slammed against a crenelation and bounced, knife in hand, slashing down. I missed my mark, slashing along his side, quickly bringing my knife up, marking him again. He put up a bright pink shield and sent a wave of force my way. He was actually trying to kill me! This might even be fun. I used the distance he made between us to draw my gun, aiming for his horn. It was like shooting bulletproof glass. Each shot made a ripple of brighter pink across the shield and made him grunt from the strain. He couldn’t do anything without letting me break his shield, and I couldn’t bring it down before I had to reload. When I had two shots left, I pulled out my pocketwatch and readied it. As soon as I pulled the trigger and didn’t fire, he dropped the shield and sent another wave of force at me. It flowed through me, something I never want to feel again, and sent a dummy corpse flying over the wall. He hit it with a fireball as it fell, the dummy bursting into bright pink flames. He was breathing heavily as he moved over to the edge. I finished reloading and placed my gun against the back of his head. He froze again. My cloak dropped, static filling the air. “You know, I’m almost tempted to let you live. That was almost entertaining.” “You’re a monster,” was all he said. “I’m sure all prey thinks badly of predators. But because you actually put up a fight, I’m going to do you a favour. I won’t steal your form and slaughter everyone you care about.” I felt him twitch, eyes wide with shock. He was silent for several seconds. “Well?” I asked. “What do you say when someone does something nice for you?” He actually managed to growl! I’m almost sorry he had to die. I was starting to like him. Even in the war, ponies had been reluctant to kill, and he killed me and kept firing. I liked that. “Of course, that only goes if you tell me how you knew I was there.” He said nothing. “Whats wrong? Cat got your tongue? Oh well.” Before he could speak, before he could react, I lifted my gun slightly and fired. The bullet cracked his horn. He screamed, front legs falling out from under him. I snapped it off, got a feel for it’s weight, and planted it in his spine. My body filled with electricity. I felt like I could leap tall buildings in a single bound. Like I could clap and shatter stone. I heard wingbeats in the distance. Turning, I could see them, on the other side of Canterlot. I should not have been able to hear them. I took a step along the wall. The world blurred around me. When it stopped, I was a good ten feet away from where I had been. The lightning in my veins calmed slightly. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling as I looked down at the horn in my hand. I give myself the best gifts.