Spike placed the scroll paper roll by the other stacks. There were six sheets for the lists of potential Element Bearers, three different kinds of identification (one a couple sheets long), two institute maps, and an extra long length of scroll paper. It was about five times as much stuff as he had stored with fire before… and about as much paper as would fit into a saddlebag.
Spike groaned. ‘But it’s so convenient to store it like this.’ He looked down at several small backpacks, all specially designed for his dragon frame. When he was several feet shorter. ‘And all my old packs don’t fit. Regular saddlebags fall off if I stand up. I should be able to handle it anyway. It’s no effort to store a few papers… this is only about fifteen times more than that.’
He inhaled quickly and let his lungs fill with magic fire. He had to produce enough flame to incinerate all of the papers almost instantly or he would only store scraps, destroying any use they might have had. He exhaled sharply over the stack of papers, covering them with green flame. The papers all turned to magic swirling ash, mingling with his fire, and he inhaled again, allowing his fire back into his lungs. The heat died down and all that remained was a subtle feeling of pressure in his chest as his magical flame turned into… well, probably just magic.
When he first figured out the trick to store papers with his fire it was a little uncomfortable, but it became sort of pleasant once he got used to it. Of course… the pressure was significantly higher this time. Spike patted his chest and grunted a little in discomfort. ‘Okay, I guess I need to get used to this much now.’
Spike took another look around his apartment, still laden with unpacked boxes.
‘I’ve been putting unpacking off too long. Hasn’t it been more than a week? I need to stop making excuses.’
He sucked in just a tiny bit of air, making sure to isolate the papers he needed with his magic. He carefully exhaled a plume of flame and reached out his claw at the papers as the flame swirled in front of him. A disorganized mess coalesced out of the fire and Spike snatched at them frantically, managing to grab just one, the others falling to the floor.
Spike gave a good natured groan. ‘That didn’t go as well as I hoped.’
Magic was the only list that actually had a name on it. He looked at his clock. ‘And work is soon, so it’s not like I have time to clean now.’
He scoffed at himself. ‘I think that was a good run of not making excuses. Two whole minutes.’
Saying his farewell to Peewee, he left his apartment and set out for the Office of Interdepartmental Research. He didn’t know anything about the new assignment waiting for him, except that it would be with a partner.
The conference room was empty when he got in. It was a sparsely decorated room with a large window letting in natural light. The view wasn’t particularly spectacular, just of the street and the building across it. Spike watched the ponies walking in the street while he waited.
The door opened, and Spike turned to see a lavender mare with a blue mane walk in.
Starscribe gave a polite nod. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” Spike said. “So the new project is the two of us?”
Starscribe nodded again and sat down at the conference table. “Indeed.”
Spike took a seat across from Starscribe. ‘Oh. I should have guessed, my partner’s going to be Starscribe. It’s like the whole department is me, Dr. Gaze, and her. And the receptionist that’s always at his desk.’
She shuffled the papers around, pulling out the main assignment form. “We will be working to settle a dispute over what department or departments are going to be allowed to study an ancient magical relic.”
Spike’s brow raised. “Really? That seems like a pretty big deal.”
“So I understand. The artifact in question is controversial, too, which is why there was a neutral third party chosen for the deliberations.”
“Wow... What is it?”
“It is called the Throne of Absorption. It’s an artifact from the Late Classical Era, designed to transfer the magic of one pony to another.”
Spike’s blood ran cold. “... What?” he whispered.
For a moment Starscribe’s brow furrowed. As quickly as the expression came it was gone, though, and her face became neutral again. “Yes. I understand the reluctance.”
Spike’s voice was stern. “No, you probably don’t. We’re talking the same power that a monster once used to nearly destroy Equestria.”
Starscribe blinked. “Yes, I am aware.”
“But you weren’t there. I’ve seen a lot of creatures the size of buildings but there was nothing like Tirek,” Spike ranted. “He captured–” Spike stopped himself.
A moment passed. “I… wasn’t aware he took an interest in dragons.” Starscribe’s voice was tender. “Did he drain your family of their magic as well?”
“Ah… yes!” Spike half-lied. ‘Twilight is family, right? Just not a dragon.’ “The fight was really destructive. I was taken hostage and… my family got their magic drained .”
Starscribe cast her gaze down. “I see. I hadn’t realized that even non-Equestrians were drained. You dragons shouldn’t keep to yourselves so much.”
Spike smiled weakly. ‘Because a dragon living in Equestria is not an Equestrian, I guess.’ “Y-yeah. Maybe you’re right.”
Starscribe nodded. “Well, it was just as bad for many other ponies. But–” Starscribe’s gaze met Spike’s, and a tiny smile appeared on her face. “–Twilight Sparkle was also transferred power to her from the other princesses to be able to fight Tirek long enough to activate the Elements of Harmony.”
She closed her eyes serenely. “Twilight wielded the most magic that a single pony ever had to fight Tirek, but it wasn’t until she gave up the power for the sake of her friends that the Elements of Harmony activated for her.”
Spike glanced around nervously. ‘She knows the story that well, but hadn’t made the connection that I was there? Even after I told her the story from my perspective a few minutes ago? I can’t tell if I’m relieved or offended.’
Starscribe opened her eyes slowly. “It’s a wonderful tale about cooperation and friendship. Raw magical power was nothing without her bonds. The heroism and strength and care for others, even when she had no magic whatsoever, is a perfect demonstration of why Twilight was a princess in the first place.”
A smile slowly spread across Spike’s face. “Yeah. You’re absolutely right.”
Starscribe’s smile widened. “And now there are not one, but three different departments that want to examine this artifact, and it’s our job to make sure that it does the most good it can for all of Equestria. It’s what this institute was founded by Twilight to do: to use that knowledge for everypony–sorry, everyone’s benefit.”
Spike sighed. “You’re right, but the potential for abuse is massive.”
Starscribe’s smile waned. “I doubt anyone has designs on powering themselves up by tearing the magic from their fellow pony, but I suppose it’s a possibility.” Her face’s expression became neutral again. “Let’s begin.”
She fanned out three forms from the folder. “The three departments that have requested to research the artifact are Technology, Medical, and History.”
Spike picked up one of the request sheets and read through it. He furrowed his brow. “The Medical Department wants it so they can develop a modern method to transfer one pony’s magic to another. Isn’t that… exactly what I was afraid of?”
Starscribe frowned. “There must be a good justification for it. What would the method be used for?”
Spike scanned the paper. “It doesn’t say.”
Starscribe was scanning one of the other papers. “The Technology Department doesn’t say what its research would be used for either, just that they want to extract a new magical conductor.”
Spike rolled his eyes, and retrieved the third page. “The History Department’s paper just says they want to ‘examine the historical significance.’ So… we need to figure out more about their motivations.”
“Agreed. I believe the forms have a contact. They should hopefully be available without having to schedule an appointment.”
Spike scanned History’s document for the contact’s name. He scrunched up his snout when he saw who it was.
‘I shoulda known it would be Blueblood.’ Spike inwardly groaned. ‘I don’t know what he wants from me, but I don’t particularly want to deal with him. I’ve got other stuff I have to work on, anyway.’
“Why… don’t you take the History department?” Spike offered.
Starscribe tilted her head. “Perhaps. I would like to ask for their assistance in some preliminary research. We clearly must know something about the artifact, we do know its name, but I’m afraid the information that you and I have is insufficient. I would like to gather some more information on the artifact, and asking the History department for what they know is a good first step.”
“Right. You do that, I’ll handle getting the arguments from the Technology and Medical departments.” Spike stood up and made his way out.
Starscribe nodded and followed Spike out of the room. “I agree.”
Spike and Starscribe walked down the hallways. When they reached an intersection, Spike turned back to Starscribe. “Alright, good–”
She was already walking away.
“–luck.”
Spike stared at her as she walked away. ‘So… still distant?’ He sighed. ‘I think every pony here at the institute is difficult. Fight-happy unicorns, jerk guardsmares, Blueblood… and whatever is going on with Starscribe. She fangirled over Twilight. Maybe I should try deliberately bringing her up?’
Green flame incinerated the documents, storing them for later. ‘Something to think about, I guess.’
Spike made sure to walk on all fours through the hallways of the Medical department. The rooms Spike was passing were all tastefully clad in hardwood furniture, and the air was sterile and quiet, the tan walls and deep blue carpet muffling sound.
The few researchers he saw would hastily go on their way, giving him a wide berth.
He sighed and knocked on the office of Light Heart.
A cheery voice rang out. “Come in!”
Spike relaxed at the cheer and opened the door. Inside was a pale pink mare sitting at a big hardwood desk, with pristine colorful quills and statuettes covering it. All of them were well lit by the natural light filtering through the drapes. There was a strong smell of popurri. Her eyes widened a tad at the sight of Spike, and she broke out into a big toothy grin.
“Good morning, I’m Miss Light Heart. How may I help you?” she said.
Spike relaxed a little more and smiled, making sure not to show his teeth in return. “I’m Spike, sent from the Office of Interdepartmental Research, here to discuss the Throne of Absorption.”
Light Heart blinked at him, grinning away. “Of course.” She tilted her head. “How may I help you?”
Spike sat on his haunches across the table from the mare. “We need to know more about the research planned with it. What do you want it for?”
“Well, the doctors are going to study the Throne to understand the method it used to extract magic from ponies,” she chirped.
He nodded. “The document said as much. I need to know why they want to understand the method.”
“Well, perhaps you’ve heard of Tirek?”
Spike’s smile faltered. ‘Of course I’ve heard of Tirek, I’ve met him!
‘No,’ he reminded himself. ‘She couldn’t know that.’ He forced the smile onto his face again. “Yes, I am aware of him and how he devoured the magic of tons of ponies, including the princesses–”
Her eyes twitched and her smile strained.
“–In order to make himself more powerful. It’s why we need to know what you plan to do with that information.”
“I was getting to that,” she said between clenched teeth, her lips still curled up. “After he was defeated, a small percent of the populace became afflicted with hypoaethia when their magic returned improperly, usually if they already had an aetheric deficiency or were injured in the course of the disaster.
“Hypoaethia is a condition that eludes treatment for earth ponies and pegasi. A well-trained unicorn can use their horn to transfer a part of their magic to another, until that pony’s body is capable of regenerating their own, but for non-unicorns no treatment is effective beyond rest and attempting to stay healthy.
“But, if there were a method to allow the transfer of non-unicorn magics, then we could treat them as well. And if we could create a device to do it, we could free up some very talented medical unicorns who spend a lot of time regulating magic donations to aethericly deficient patients for other life-saving procedures.
“It is the opinion of the Medical Department that the Throne might hold the missing key in this sort of research.”
Spike’s smile waned. “I see. How common is hypoaethia?”
“Well, hypoaethia afflicts about one in four ponies at some point in their lives.”
Spike reared back in shock. “Why haven’t I heard of it then? It seems like a serious issue.”
The mare’s eyes lit up. “I’m sure it’s a big oversight. So you see the importance of giving us the exclusive rights to the Throne.”
Spike blinked and narrowed his eyes. “How many of those cases require medical treatment?”
Light Heart squirmed, the smile still glued to her face. “... About one in a hundred cases.”
“Hypoaethia’s just a fancy word for magical exhaustion, isn’t it? One in four means… most unicorns and probably a good number of the other tribes deplete their magic through normal use.”
“Yes… most cases simply require ponies to not exert themselves.” Her cheerful tone strained. “Sometimes unicorns use up much too much magic and require bed rest for several days, and very rarely pegasi or earth ponies do that too, but usually their bodies become exhausted at the same rate, so it’s very difficult for them to keep pushing their magic if they are physically exhausted.
“There are serious cases of chronic hypoaethia, and we have twelve patients attended by three medical unicorns right here at the institute.” Her smile was very nearly a grimace.
Spike glared at the Light Heart. “So… this is a fairly minor problem.”
“Who knows what kind of other useful discoveries we might find?” she said with an exaggerated shrug and that forced rictus still plastered on her face.
Spike snarled and stood up, causing Light Heart to flinch back, her face stretched to a degree that looked painful. “Any research does that. Do you have anything else of value to add?”
“N-nope!” she chirped painfully.
“Then we’ll contact you.” Spike marched out through the halls.
Spike stomped on two legs through the halls of the medical office.
‘I hate people like that. She can’t be honest for two seconds, instead she gives me bogus massaged statistics, trying to get me to panic about a rare condition. Does she think I’m stupid?’
He was dimly aware he was passing others in the hallway.
‘And that ridiculous fake smile! She can’t not know it’s obvious. Can I get a little honesty?’ Spike huffed loudly.
There was a soft thump sound to his left, and Spike twisted his head to the left. He saw a stallion in a doctor’s coat pressed up against the wall across from him. The doctor was breathing heavily and he averted his eyes when Spike looked at him.
Spike became aware of his bared teeth and that he was lightly spewing smoke. He fell down onto four legs roughly, and the doctor flinched slightly.
Spike also flinched back. “Sorry! I’m sorry.”
“No it’s fine,” the doctor said.
“I-I-I was just stomping through the halls in a bad mood, I’m not gonna hurt anypony.”
“Noone was suggesting that,” the doctor said, starting to walk away. “Why don’t you just keep going, and I keep going, and we forget all of this?”
“Y-yeah. Okay.” Spike watched him walk away for a minute. He sighed and left the building.
The faint smell of smoke and chemicals wafted about the Department of Technology. It wasn’t a single building as it was a complex. The buildings were much more varied in this area as well. Down the street, there was a crew of ponies clearing debris from the street outside of a boarded up hole in the wall.
Spike breathed in heavily, stretching his limbs up high and groaning pleasantly. ‘It smells kind of nice, a bit like a volcano mixed with one of Twilight’s labs. I guess most ponies wouldn’t really like it like I do.’
Spike located the building his contact was located in, and knocked on the door. There was a grunt and a muffled “Come in!”
The room was a wreck; tools and scrap were strewn haphazardly across workbenches and the floor. Toward the back of the room an earth pony with goggles covering her eyes was spinning a wheel of some kind back and forth attached to a faintly glowing crystal, inspecting it. “You need something?” she asked, without turning around.
“I’m from the Department of Interdepartmental Research. I’m here to discuss the Throne of Absorption’s use for research.”
She began to take notes. “Oh. Goo’,” she slurred through the pencil in her mouth. “I wss looin’ frrward ta tnkering wff it.”
Spike sighed. “We haven’t decided who is going to get it for research. I need to know what the benefits are if we allow you to research it.”
The mare continued to take notes. “Shldnnt be tu haard tu deecde–” she spat out the pencil, but continued tinkering with her gadget “–this is magical technology, and the best way to get the most value is bringing it to us for reverse engineering. Open and shut. Pretty much doesn’t matter what the other departments want.”
Spike groaned. “In this case that’s not good enough. Medical and History have their eyes on this, and it’s a very potentially dangerous relic.”
“What?!” she exclaimed. “What does the past department think it’s doing? Every time we’ve got–” she wheeled around and stopped with a start.
Spike smiled sheepishly.
She barely missed a beat “–something old here they start saying that it’s got ‘historical significance’ or is ‘too dangerous’ to research. What the horseapples is it this time? Maybe an ancient artifact to change mane color they’re afraid will cause awful mismatched ponies?” she mocked.
Spike frowned. “You don’t even know what it’s used for?”
She threw her hooves up in the air. “I’ve been busy! Besides, it doesn’t matter what it does.” She returned to tinkering. “There’s so much lost knowledge in ancient relics its a huge waste to let them sit in a display case somewhere.”
“Leaving it alone is what needs to be done with it.”
She scrunched up her nose. “You’re joking. What exactly does this thing do that–”
“Steals ponies’ magic,” Spike said flatly.
The mare paused and pursed her lips.
Spike closed his eyes with satisfaction. “Yeah. Now you understand?”
She tapped on her chin for a moment. “Yeah, there’s a lot of potential in reverse engineering that.”
Spike’s eyebrows fell down and he glared at the mare. “What exactly is the potential?”
The goggled mare groaned. “Do I have to spell it out for you?”
“Do you have to...” Spike muttered to himself. “Yes!” he exclaimed. “That is what I am here for, an explanation of the potential benefits.”
“I’m busy. I don’t have time to explain, I have a job to do,” she said, still staring at her work.
Spike scowled and stomped across the room, summoning the request paper with his fire. He shoved the paper between the mare and her wheel. “Is this your name on this line?”
She reeled back in shock. “Y-yes.”
“And it’s not a forgery? It’s your signature?”
“Yyyyeah.”
“Then, it’s your job.”
She slammed her hooves onto the table. “It’s not my job. My job is to pursue new technology, not try to convince some ignorant dragon to give us things to work on. Get out of my lab so I can do what I came here to do!”
Spike tossed the paper up in the air, incinerating it back into his lungs. “Fine.”
Spike slumped down in the conference room and breathed heavily. ‘What’s wrong with those ponies? I bet Twilight would’ve been able to handle them. I bet anypony else but me would have. I saw how they reacted to a big scary dragon. They’d open up to a pony, right?’
The door opened and Starscribe trotted in. “Good afternoon, Spike. How did the meetings go?”
Spike waved halfheartedly. “Not too well. Yours?”
“It went well enough.”
Spike sighed. “Well… that’s good. What did Blueblood want it for?”
“For its historical significance, mostly. I then told him I would be pursuing some preliminary information. He offered assistance, but I felt no need to inconvenience him further.”
‘You mean inconvenience his assistants. He wouldn’t be helping you personally.’ “I see,” Spike said. “And what did you find out about the relic?”
Starscribe frowned lightly. “Mostly pretty terrifying things. The only reference I could find all day was that it was created—or found, history is inconclusive—by King Electrum, a brutal conqueror.
“He was a unicorn that was reputed to be able to stand on clouds without the aid of spells, shatter stones with his bare hooves, and overpower armies by himself. There were only a few references to the Throne of Absorption… well, just the Throne. Apparently the ponies who discovered it added ‘of Absorption’ to aid in distinguishing it from the throne that sat in the palace. Either way there was only one source explaining its use, but I think it’s pretty clear that he used it to give himself those powers.”
Spike rubbed his eyes and groaned. “Right. So if we’re worried about abuse… who could we give it to?”
Starscribe straightened up and looked into Spike’s eyes. “I think we shouldn’t worry too much about abuse.”
Spike blinked. “... I’m pretty sure that’s the most important part.”
Starscribe shook her head. “No matter where it goes, unless we decide to destroy it somepony might use it for evil. But we’re trying to find out where it’s going to do the most good. So, how much good would it do in the other departments?”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Probably not much.”
Starscribe tilted her head. “... That’s it? What information did you gather?”
‘Uh oh...’ Spike’s grimace melted away. “Um…” He scratched the back of his head. “Pretty much… nothing.”
Starscribe closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes her expression was soft. “What happened?”
“I…” Spike avoided her gaze. “The medical department was evasive. She gave me some massaged statistic about being able to cure something that afflicts one in four ponies. Except it was only considered a medical problem in every couple hundred of those cases, and we can already solve it in a lot of those cases.
“Technology was worse. The contact didn’t even want to tell me about the potential benefits. She was too busy tinkering with her… whatever it was to bother. She gave me a line about how she didn’t want History to get it.”
The air was heavy in the room as Spike waited for a chastisement, or a sigh of disappointment, or even a frown. None were forthcoming from the mare, though.
“... Blueblood didn’t give me trouble per se, he did offer help and was very polite, but I didn’t get a particularly concrete argument for the History department.”
Spike snorted. “That sounds like Blueblood.”
Starscribe’s eyes widened. “... You have previous experience with the prince?”
“... Yeah. We worked with the same pony about five years ago.”
“Then maybe we’re doing the wrong parts of this job.”
Prince Blueblood.
That’s what the new request form said. That’s who Spike agreed to meet with the next day.
He set out some seed for Peewee.
‘Why did I agree to this again? Blueblood is probably worse than the jerks I met today!’
He roughly grabbed one of his unpacked boxes labeled “Gems”, causing several others to fall over. Spike groaned and sat down, opening the box.
‘Maybe it won’t be so bad… I can probably handle him better than Starscribe can, since she doesn’t know to look out for his lies.
‘Maybe I can bring up one of his known hot button issues to get him acting like the Blueblood I know and hate. Get Starscribe to see it.’ Spike chuckled grimly. ‘That sounds like a great way to sabotage my reputation and lose my job.’
He idly rummaged in the box, trying to find a sizable gem for dinner.
‘So, no making Blueblood mad, no matter how much he deserves it… probably. He hasn’t done anything worse than being a jerk I guess. And I don’t have to worry about him freaking out about a huge pointy-toothed dragon like I do with everypony else.’
Spike sighed. ‘That… makes me feel better than it should. It’s still Blueblood.
‘And where’s my dinner?’ He finally paid attention to his claw in the box, only feeling tiny gems. He looked down to find he had eaten all the significantly sized gems already.
His ear frills fell. ‘Great.’ He looked to his window. ‘It’s still light out… I bet the market’s still open. Not looking forward to that. I wonder if there’s a cheap jeweler around somewhere… or better yet, a quarry.’
As he turned to leave the room, his foot caught on something and he was painfully introduced to his floor. He moaned and looked back. A box was spilled out on the floor, which he had carelessly let fall earlier. The whole room was in disarray, half opened unpacked boxes strewn about.
‘And I need to get started on–’ Spike’s stomach growled.
‘... First things first. I’ll do this later. Again.’
Blueblood’s door didn’t have any snarky comments on it this morning. Spike ran his claw over the nameplate, which was one piece and unremovable. ‘I guess the other day he changed it with magic? Some sort of detailed transmutation? Or maybe an exchange spell?’
He knocked on the door, and was rewarded with a distant, “Come in.”
Opening the door he saw Blueblood pouring over some papers.
“Did you find what you needed yesterday, Starscribe?” he asked without looking up. “If you want some help today I need to push out some paperwork first, but I’ll be ready shortly.”
Spike watched Blueblood float a quill by his head, making notes about whatever he was working on. ‘He really does paperwork like this? Or is this just for Starscribe’s “benefit”?’
He cleared his throat loudly.
Blueblood looked up. “Spike? I–” Blueblood paused and his face flashed a frown, then a thoughtful expression, then a grimace, followed by a buisnesslike face. “I apologize, Spike, now is not a good time. I am waiting for a pony from the Department of Interdepartmental Research. Perhaps we could reschedule later?”
Spike gave him a wry grin. “It’s good I’m here for research on the Throne of Absorption, not a social call then.”
Blueblood blinked at Spike. “So… Starscribe–”
“–and I swapped jobs today,” Spike finished. “She’s meeting with the ponies I met with yesterday, and I’m meeting with you.”
Blueblood tilted his head. “So… do you have her research from yesterday? I would like to be kept abreast what we’ve discovered about it.”
Spike took a shallow breath and carefully breathed out Starscribe’s notes from the previous day, they formed in a neat stack which he then snatched out of the air. ‘Hah! Got it that time.’
Blueblood’s eyes widened. “You sent the notes to Cele–the Princess?”
“What? N–Oh! The fire thing.” Spike grinned. “Nah, I figured out how to store papers with fire years ago. It comes in handy.”
“I can imagine so...” Blueblood seemed surprised, but he levitated the papers over to him all the same, beginning to browse them. He frowned. “These sort of tyrant powered relics are far too common.”
“Really? Don’t you guys get a lot of mundane relics? Like unmagical stuff?”
Blueblood sighed. “I suppose so, but those are so mundane nopony is fighting over them. The lower level ponies handle it. And about six months ago we got some relics recently discovered in secret chambers in the Crystal Empire, so I’ve been approving tentative research on tons of relics that were created by Sombra. It’s becoming tiresome.”
“... I guess they’re really keen on sending anything that reminds them of Sombra away, huh?”
“Oh no–” Blueblood scoffed “–they want to destroy anything that reminds them of him. We had to fight tooth-and-hoof to get them to agree to simply send every bit they find out of the empire for study, just so Equestria doesn’t forget the reign of a tyrant and duplicate it.”
“... Huh. Guess you take this History Department thing pretty seriously.”
Blueblood raised an eyebrow. “And why wouldn’t I?” he asked sternly.
Spike gave a nervous full-tooth grin. “Well… you didn’t seem too happy about your position as the head of the Department.”
“Well, I certainly would like a more important position, but I can’t do that by making myself look like an incompetent fool. Besides–” Blueblood grunted. “–it really isn’t the worst position in the world. I am still in charge, afterall.” He returned to his paperwork. “I really do have to finish this paperwork before I can focus on the Throne, however. I trust you know your way around a library?”
Spike turned to leave. ‘Yeah. I know my way around a library, even a crazy tower library with a filing system I don’t understand, that I don’t know my way around and that I’ve never looked up a single book in...’ Spike sighed and turned back.
“Actually… I really don’t know my way around the tower yet. Can I get some assistance?”
Blueblood and Spike rode down the tower on the magical lift, saying nothing. ‘Great… I try to avoid him and now I’m stuck working with him all day.’
Spike avoided looking at Blueblood, making a show of taking in the sights of the books of the towers.
Blueblood cleared his throat. “So, Spike, what do you think of the tower?”
“Twilight would’ve loved it,” he said, still not facing Blueblood.
“She did.”
Spike wheeled around to Blueblood. “What?! But the institute only opened up two years ago.”
Blueblood smirked. “The tower had been in my family for generations, used to store arcane lore and historical tomes. It had fallen into disuse. Nopony in my family had been particularly magically or academically inclined. I was the most inclined in generations, and I’ve probably spent more time at parties than at study.
“Showing Twilight the tower was the deciding factor in the location of the Institute,” Blueblood said proudly. “It was…” His tone became soft. “It was the last time we met.”
“But… Twilight revealed the location half a year before she disappeared. You two stopped meeting before that. What happened?”
“We split up.” Blueblood idly pushed a hair out of his face. “Location was the last big detail that we had to iron out together. After that, we divided and conquered, contacting each other with letters. I worked businessponies and donors to handle funding, she started drumming up support in the academic community to attract the best talent.”
Spike scratched his chin. “We did visit an awful lot of universities and libraries in the months leading up to her disappearance.”
Blueblood put on a satisfied grin. “I think we did a pretty good job even after her untimely demise–”
“–disappearance.” Spike interjected.
Blueblood stopped and gave Spike an incredulous look for a moment, before following up with, “... Of course. After that, the rest of the trusted staff and I were able to continue to recruit academic talent. Everypony was chomping at the bit to help out the martyred princess, after all.”
The conversation abruptly stopped there, and Blueblood and Spike waited in awkward silence as the lift descended.
Spike sighed. “Look, I shouldn’t have interrupted. I know most ponies believe Twilight died the day she entered the portal, but I can’t believe it. You don’t have to pretend you believe otherwise though.”
“Well… perhaps the less said on that the better, then. We have arrived anyway,” Blueblood said, his horn glowing blue and the lift stopping.
They were halfway up the tower, the lift opening onto the web of staircases and platforms allowing access to the tomes in the walls.
“How um… stable is all of this?” Spike asked, looking over a hoofrail. “We’re up awfully high.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it. We have had a collapse, but the same source of magic that empowers the lifts protected the falling ponies and prevented the debris from causing further destruction.”
“Woah…”
Blueblood flipped his hair haughtily. “Yes, it is truly a marvel of magic.”
Spike gave a flat expression and raised his eyebrow.
“... Anyway”–Blueblood continued, walking over to a stack of books on the platform–“This is the section covering the Late Classical Era, and these are… whatever books Starscribe had set apart. There were other texts that were found with the artifact, but they are still in the process of being archived and copied.”
Spike furrowed his brow. “So, if there are still more texts, couldn’t the history department study those, while another department gets the artifact itself?”
“I assume that the Throne wouldn’t be particularly useful without instructions on its use. Or on hypothetical effects. Tinkering randomly with a relic like this is an awful idea. It should probably be simply locked away, or at least examined heavily before attempting to use it.” Blueblood levitated a book off of the stack “It seems like a very dangerous relic.”
Spike smiled faintly. ‘Wait no!’ He shook his head and wiped the smile off of his face. ‘He’s doing it again! Just because he agrees with me doesn’t mean I should give him a pass. And him trying to get all sentimental about Twilight.’ Spike narrowed his eyes. ‘I’m on to you… again.’ He walked over to a bookshelf and started scanning them for potentially applicable tomes.
Progress was slow. There was a lot of literature on the Late Classical Era, of which King Electrum was just a cruel footnote. Works talked much about his superlative magical prowess and miraculous tribe-transcending feats, which were constantly referred to as exaggeration and myth. Of course, the existence of the Throne of Absorption suggested otherwise.
The breakthrough came late afternoon. Spike was going through an obscure text, Collected Journals of the Late Classical Era (‘What a compelling name,’ Spike thought sarcastically.) when the name Electrum started appearing with regularity.
That specific journal was detailing the observations of the palace doctor, Steady Pulse.
His Highness, King Electrum had the most unusual request for me today. He requested I investigate a method to test magical prowess in any pony, whether they be of the land, skies, or aether. Of course, it is not difficult to tell a strong land pony from a weak one through casual observation, but he was looking for something more specific, possible to record the progress of a single pony over time. I hope this does not take too much time from my duties of healing. I am a healer foremost, after all.
Spike read on, the journal detailing Doctor Pulse’s process of seeking out powerful mares and stallions to administer magical tests on, and then the resulting methods of judging magical power. Unicorns levitated various items and shot beams, powers practically every unicorn could demonstrate. Earth ponies were judged on feats of strength and a single test on their effect on a plant referred to as land’s flame, which the transcriber noted either no longer exists or whose modern name was unknown. Pegasi tests involved flying and wind control using their wings.
‘It’s always fascinating reading about ancient ponies and seeing what used to pass for scientific research. Most of the tests test skill or physical ability just as much, if not more, than sheer magic. Not to mention with special talents things get really complicated. And even then there are tons of magical traits that are left out that could indicate strength, like a unicorn’s magic sensitivity, and it seems that some earth pony magic only comes out in the very long term.’
His Highness was displeased with the tests I have devised for a sky pony. Naturally, since the more powerful sky ponies are always competent fliers, the test was based heavily on their ability to use their wings. This infuriated him. I feel I only have one more chance to correct this, or my life may be forefit. I require assistance, but have no idea who would volunteer under these circumstances. Perhaps subterfuge may be my ally here.
Following this was a description of tests based on cloud control and weather magic. ‘It’s a little better, but I think it’s only better by luck, rather than because he did a lot of thorough testing.’ Spike examined the relative dates on the entries. ‘A few months is a long time. I suppose he must have done at least some testing.’
Thankfully, I have survived the second presentation to His Highness. He then demanded to be tested using all three tests. In shock I protested, but thankfully he was in a forgiving mood. The results shocked me. I knew he was a powerful sorcerer, but he proved more than a match for most land and sky ponies as well. I have never seen a pony of the aether, even as mighty as His Highness, stand freely upon a cloud and control it like a sky pony would. He… must be the coming of unity. The three tribes in one pony. I am honored to be serving one such as he, even if I must weather his mercurial nature from time to time.
The greatest pony must have the greatest standards, after all.
One of the subjects I recruited, Stones Throw, the strongest Earth pony that I could find, came in weak and ill today. There were no symptoms beyond a general weakness. I decided to run him through the land pony tests, upon a whim. Of course they came out with weak magic, as his general weakness. His testing was remarkably stable before this. I have asked him to stay in the capital, and he revealed to me that he was already asked to stay by the king, with the clear implication that he was being forced to stay.
Many entries passed with no more mentions of King Electrum or Stones Throw, until Spike found the following entry:
I have not been writing on this, because it has become routine now to care for Stones Throw, whose condition continues to oscillate between healthy and unhealthy. I have even found several other patients with the same condition, which fluctuates at the same rate of Stones, although the severity varies between each case, the worsening always happens at the same time.
I have… made several correlative observations that are disquieting. I fear even to think of them, much less put them to paper. I shall write no more on this subject.
It is with shame that I admit I have come to fear my liege. Recently he has delivered Stones Throw to me for treatment personally. Stones Throw was heavily bandaged on his barrel and his flank, and unconscious. Even when the ailment was at its worst the salts would still rouse Stones Throw, but now he only wakes for several hours every day, and refuses to speak except of his basic needs. Something has been taken from this stallion, and I suspect I know what it was, hidden by his bandages.
His Highness wears full formal dress all the time now, but he was not when Stones Throw was delivered to me. I clearly saw the symbol upon his flank. Like usual it was a resplendent emperor’s headdress, the sign of his ability to rule. But… I wish I could convince myself I had not seen it, it was embellished with gleams and rays of light when before it was simply the headdress. His refusal to expose his flank has all but confirmed my suspicion.
The other ponies with the same condition as Stones Throw have begun to fall similarly ill. I should not, but my curiosity as an academic and my oath as a healer prevent me from leaving this fallow.
More exceptional ponies have come to the capital under the guise of fighting in His Highness’s army today. They were not summoned to the armories, but instead were admitted to my care. The king was already preparing them for travel, even as they were afflicted.
I used this time to converse with one of the ponies, a sky pony named Faint Breeze. I began making small talk with her. I learned of the kingdom outside of our lands. Our people suffer. Starvation plagues our lands.
But what most broke my heart is what she told me next.
She told me of a throne, well crafted but not opulent, and a set of shackles. the king led her to the shackles and sat upon the throne, and the throne took her magic for the king. And she was happy. Happy to sacrifice her strength for the king. That she could lend him her strength to save our nation from the outside invaders. But I know, from the diplomats, this war is our invasion, not the invasion from others. The king taunts new enemies to prove his strength, and puts all our resources to waging this war.
Perhaps it is madness that causes our king to press forward in battle-frenzy? Could the empowerment of himself with the artifact have led to this? I fear that I am now the only one that truly understands the depths of his corruption.
I have shored up my knowledge, and gathered allies for the conflict ahead. Five capable others I have found to share in my quest.
We have meticulously planned our treachery. Better that the next generation not know our plan, it is the plan of cowards and wretches. But the king’s madness grows. He neglects his duty to his country, in favor of his glory of conquest… and as terrified as I am of his wrath, I am more terrified of what would become of our country if he were allowed to persist.
Tonight we act.
That was the last entry. Spike closed the tome, his blood running cold and mouth dry. ‘He must have failed… This wasn’t just some story. This was a pony who actually lived and died at the hands of King Electrum.’
Spike took a deep breath, calming himself. ‘Remember, this was thousands of years ago. Electrum was deposed eventually.’
Spike looked at the journal pensively, and took a deep breath to calm himself.
“Blueblood,” he called out. “I found something.”
Blueblood exhaled, closing the book. “That is chilling. Well… we know the effects of the relic on its victims.”
“Yeah,” Spike said curtly. “I think we can safely say that this is too dangerous to study.”
“I agree it’s dangerous, but studying it is the only way to make it not dangerous.”
“Unless we destroy it.”
Blueblood frowned. “There are a lot of problems with that, Spike. If we don’t research it someone else will discover it eventually. Besides, what if another monster shows up like Tirek? We don’t have the benefit of the Elements of Harmony anymore.”
“Um… oh. Yeah.” Spike’s ear frills fell. “We do still have Discord and three princesses to help. Besides, the arguments for the other departments were weak at best.”
Blueblood raised an eyebrow. “They were? That’s unusual. We sort of have first claim on artifacts like this, and to contest it the other departments need to be fairly serious. They wouldn’t do it if they didn’t have a good reason.”
‘Maybe they did, and you were just too much of a dragon for them.’ Spike’s thoughts betrayed him. ‘Too intimidating, too impatient. I bet Starscribe’s doing a good job.’
“Spike!” Blueblood called.
Spike jolted slightly, snapped out of his thoughts. Blueblood was standing on the lift back up. “Uh… did I miss something?”
Blueblood raised his eyebrow. “Apparently. I think this is probably the best we’re going to find today, and I was inviting you back up to my office. I suppose you could stay to continue your search–”
“No!” Spike said, louder than he intended. “I mean, that sounds like a good idea,” he said, dialing his volume back.
Blueblood stared at Spike for a few minutes, Spike not moving. “Well…” he said. “Are you coming?”
“Er… yes.” Spike scrambled to the lift.
Blueblood engaged the lift, and turned to Spike. “Spike, are you okay? You’ve been zoning out a lot today.”
“I’m fine. I’m always like this,” Spike said curtly.
Blueblood’s ear twitched. “You weren’t when we met before. I remem–”
“Well it’s been a long time!” Spike snapped. “And you didn’t really know me then anyway! I don’t know where this familiarity is coming from but…” Spike trailed off.
Blueblood’s ears pressed against his head, but he said nothing and looked away.
Spike closed his eyes and breathed deeply, his own ear frills pressed down. ‘This is ridiculous, why am I snapping at him? It’s not his fault the rest of the institute is filled with jerks. He’s been perfectly polite the whole time.
‘Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you can trust him,’ a part of him retorted.
‘But he’s never done anything suspicious!’ he subvocalized back.
‘He used to get into arguments with Twilight.
‘Considering the subject matter, and that she kept associating with him, that’s probably just another reason to trust him. She has obviously been a good influence on him. He dedicated his life to fulfilling her dream, even!’
Spike glanced to Blueblood, trying not to attract his attention. ‘... He is isn’t he? But he could still be untrustworthy...’
“Um… hey,” Spike said.
Blueblood looked back at Spike. “Hm?”
“What’s uh… your department’s reason for wanting the Throne of Absorption?”
Blueblood shrugged. “To be honest, we don’t have one.”
Spike stared at Blueblood incredulously. “Then, why are you in the running for it at all? Why not freely give it to another department?”
Blueblood smirked. “Well… I already said these sorts of artifacts default to the History department, but I make sure to contest the decision to make the other departments utilize the artifacts. Sometimes they don’t have a good reason, and it would be going to waste not at least preserving these artifacts with respect to their historical value. By contesting it I ensure the artifact goes to the place it will do the most good, even if it’s not my department.”
“But, isn’t that kind of–” Spike searched for the word “–jerky to your own department?”
Blueblood shifted officiously. “The purpose of the departments is to further the research of the whole of Equestria, not to look out for their own interests. If all the departments felt this way, then I would not have to use antagonism to ensure that the limited resources I have control over go to the best places.” Blueblood sighed. “But I must work with the tools I have.”
“Wow, that’s like… actually noble,” Spike said.
Blueblood huffed and muttered, “Don’t act too surprised.”
The lift reached his floor. “So–” Blueblood said, stamping his hoof for emphasis “–with that in mind, what will Starscribe and you be doing with it?”
Spike groaned gently. “It’s… going to depend on what information she brings back.”
“I see.” He levitated the journal over to Spike. “Well, if you think it could help, perhaps you should bring this.”
Spike plucked the book from Blueblood’s blue magic aura. “Sure.”
The lights had just come on when Spike arrived at the conference room again. Starscribe was waiting.
“Good afternoon, Spike,” she said.
“Afternoon. Have you been waiting long?”
She waved her hoof. “It’s not a problem.”
Spike blinked. “That… didn’t answer my question.”
“No, I’m sorry,” she said, then paused, as if waiting for a response. “Have you discovered any more about the Throne of Absorption?”
“Um… yeah,” Spike said, placing the book on the table, a visible bookmark in it. “This is an entry in this penned by a doctor under King Electrum’s employ.” He proceeded to abridge the tale of Doctor Steady Pulse.
A look of concern was on Starscribe’s face. “I… see. It is more or less what I expected.” There was a flash of an apprehensive look at Spike, before her face returned to a neutral expression.
‘What was that?’ Spike thought, before responding. “... Yeah. So did you get any better information from the other departments?”
“... Yes. The Medical Department elaborated on the impact they believed this research would have on ponies’ lives. Admittedly it is not a huge impact, but there are many ponies that this research would help, and there are always additional unknown benefits when purusing new research.”
Spike nodded. “That’s about as much as I got. What about Technology? Did you get anything out of her?”
Starscribe nodded. “She was considerably more difficult, but I was able to work out the potential benefits of allowing her to reverse-engineer the Throne of Absorption. Primarily she is looking for the method it uses to actually transfer the magical source, a generic method to transfer any sort of magic. Currently, in order to conduct magic a source must be prepared for a single pony’s source… the hope is that this artifact is a physical mechanism to store or conduct any pony’s magic, and is not too small or atomic to determine the method when taking it apart.”
“Well… that sounds pretty good, actually.”
Starscribe shook her head. “It’s pretty much all predicated on the notion that there is something to examine inside of it. The throne seems to be of mechanical construction, rather than an magical artifact like the Crystal Heart or similar, and the first step would be to take it apart. If we give it to Technology and they are incorrect, we have destroyed the artifact for nothing.”
Spike tapped his chin with his claw. “Wouldn’t Medical have to do it as well?”
“Miss Heart explained the process to me, and it would involve examining the effects first with diagnostic tools prepared. In fact, I suspect improved diagnostics might come from simply trying to measure the artifact’s effect. They would not be taking it apart except as a last resort.”
“So if we wanted to get the most potential aid from the artifact… Medical’s our bet.”
“Yes, but if we wanted to eliminate the danger of misuse, we should give it to the Technology department. If they are successful in reverse engineering it then the information can be used by a doctor just as easily as someone else, but if they are not then we might only get a little benefit from it.”
“Yeah…” Spike said, looking up in thought. “Alright… I think we should give it to the Medical department.”
Starscribe paused again, tilting her head. “You’ve changed your mind?”
Spike scratched the back of his head. “Uh… Blueblo–the prince changed my mind.”
Starscribe blinked incredulously at him. “That was his opinion? I thought he would have wanted it for his department.”
“Nah, he wanted it to go where it would help the most. I guess he didn’t tell you?”
Starscribe shook her head, eyes closed. “Of course not, the prince is notoriously cagey. He gave me as little information as I imagine he could… I didn’t know how to handle him.”
Spike laughed. “Well I couldn’t handle Miss Liar and Mrs. Grumpy Pants.”
Starscribe frowned. “That’s unfair to them. Neither of them expected to be asked to compete for research material. The mare in technology was forced into her role as a punishment for causing one too many accidents on a previous project.”
Spike wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms. “I’m not exactly doing what I expected to do, but you don’t hear me complaining,” Spike complained.
Starscribe raised an eyebrow at him.
“... Alright maybe that was a bad way to say that.”
Starscribe looked at Spike forebearingly. “She might have been difficult to deal with, but she was frustrated by her circumstance. No, she was not nice to you, and not nice to me, but getting upset about it doesn’t solve the problem. She is a real pony with a real grievance, even if we don’t immediately understand her or think she should be reacting the way she did. Being callous about it doesn’t help her or us.”
Spike shrank in his chair, he could feel his cheeks burning. “Yeah… I guess.”
Starscribe offered a smile. “Don’t be harsh on yourself,” she said. “Everypony has problems, and you just need to keep cognizant your own and to to do better next time. Besides, you’re much better with the prince than I am.”
‘There’s that smile again… ’ Spike shrugged. “I guess. I just knew him from when we both knew T–my old boss. It’s not really a big deal.”
“I think it might be.” Starscribe handed the book back to Spike “The History department doesn’t normally loan out their research volumes.”
Spike looked at the book in his claw.
Starscribe headed out the conference room. “Let’s meet again tomorrow morning, make sure we know what to do, then sign the requisite paperwork.”
“Yeah…” Spike said, still staring at the book. ‘Blueblood gave it to me with no hesitation… He’s just trying to get on my good side, I bet. I should take this back so that he doesn’t get any ideas.’
The main shaft of the tower was well lit from the inside, even later at night, but it was clear the floors were mostly dark.
Spike made to leave the book on the receptionist’s desk, even if it didn’t seem to actually have a receptionist, when he realized that he could actually see the book in front of his face without blowing any fire for light. A faint light was shining from down the hall. The hall Blueblood’s office was in.
Spike looked down the hall, and, sure enough, the light was coming from the crack underneath Blueblood’s office. Spike quietly made his way over to the door, giving it a soft knock.
“... Hello?” He heard Blueblood’s voice inside his office.
Spike opened the door, poking his head in. Blueblood was at his office with a stack of papers, pouring over them.
“Hey,” Spike said softly.
“Spike? What are you doing here so late?”
Spike stepped into the room and held the book up in his claw. “I came to return the book. What are you doing here so late?”
Blueblood motioned to his paperwork. “Well… I was busy researching all day, so it kind of piled up. I’m basically done, just making sure I haven’t missed anything.”
Spike walked over to the desk and set the book gingerly on top of it. “Alright then, I’ll just leave this here…”
“... Good. Did you make a decision?”
“Yeah, we have. It’s going to Medical.”
Blueblood nodded. “Good.” He returned to his paperwork.
Spike watched him do papework for a minute, then made to leave the office. As he was opening the door he turned around. “So… I heard loaning out books wasn’t really done by the History department.”
“Not… typically, no.”
“So why am I special?”
“Well normally it’s a concern for the security and care taken of the books. Of course, since you once were Twilight Sparkle’s assistant, I had nothing to worry about. I know you are trustworthy.”
“But you spent all day working with me, even though you knew you would have to make up the work later that night. Even though I might have been able to work on my own.”
Blueblood frowned. “This is my job. I wouldn’t be able to keep doing it if I were unwilling to go the extra mile, as it were.”
Spike hesitated again. He looked over at Blueblood. ‘Have I been too harsh on him? I guess I haven’t really treated him that badly… other than running out on him. And snapping at him. And avoiding him…’ “Blueblood… you had wanted before to speak to me about something before I um… ran out on you?”
“Yes… You wanted to speak on it now?”
“Yeah. I’ll hear you out.”
Blueblood quickly levitated the remaining papers into his outbox, dumping them unceremoniously into it. “Could you close the door? And please, have a seat.”
Spike closed the door gently, and took a seat on the other side of Blueblood’s desk.
Blueblood drew the drapes over his window.
Spike’s stomach dropped. ‘Oh no, what have I got myself into?’
Blueblood turned back to Spike and sat at his desk. “Spike, I’d like your help with a project, but first–” Blueblood shifted his eyes around as if he was looking for someone to spy on him “–if I tell you, could I get your guarantee that, agree or disagree, you don’t spread what I am doing around?”
“Just what are you asking my help with?” Spike narrowed his eyes.
“Nothing illegal, but I’m afraid there are some ponies that might not take it as something good. I have Equestria’s best interests at heart.”
Spike eyed Blueblood warily. “Alright… I’ll keep it a secret, unless it’s overtly evil.”
Blueblood nodded. “Good. Spike, I’d like for you to help me identify candidates for new bearers of the Elements of Harmony.”
Spike’s mouth hit the floor.
“Now,” Blueblood quickly added, holding up a hoof. “Please let me finish before you respond.
“I think the Elements have become an important part of Equestria’s safety. You remember when the Smokey Mountains erupted, and it took a small army of ponies to prevent collateral damage, and they still failed mostly? The mountain wouldn’t have erupted at all if it weren’t for the old dark magic infecting it that had been sealed away by the Elements. Now we can’t even tell if the dark magic is gone, or if it’s going to erupt again after the magic builds up.”
Spike continued to stare at Blueblood, his mouth agape.
“And that’s not the only disaster that the Elements could have mitigated, and I think everypony is secretly dreading another Tirek- or Nightmare Moon-level disaster. They are not uncommon, after all, and I think everyone would be more comfortable if we had the Elements as well as the princesses and–” Blueblood gave a small shudder “–Discord.”
Spike blinked in Blueblood’s direction.
“Now, you may be wondering why I am asking for your help… and that’s because you are uniquely qualified to locate new Elements. Apart from the princesses and the former Elements —whom I would expect would be fairly reluctant to locate a new set—you are probably the most knowledgeable creature alive when it comes to the Elements. You have known all the different Elements for years, and knew Twilight for nearly all of her life… certainly all of your life.”
Spike did nothing but blink more vigorously.
Blueblood straightened himself up. “And I’m far too conspicuous and suspicious to find excuses for myself to investigate a large number of ponies around the institute, although I can be discreet enough about acquiring background information. I have been trying to do this alone, and I simply don’t know enough about the Elements, so–”
Blueblood looked Spike in the eye. “–will you help me?”
Spike said nothing for a minute, before breaking into a full body laugh. He cackled wildly, his chest and shoulders heaving with every laugh. Pretty soon he was gasping for breath, and had to prop himself up with his forearm.
Blueblood’s lip twitched. “I didn’t realize it was so hilarious. Are you quite finished?”
“Yeah,” Spike said between breaths and chuckles. “Just… it’s not... what you think. Gimme… a… minute.”
Spike finally composed himself. “Okay.” He took a breath and suddenly doubled over, coughing. A puff of flame drifted up and formed six sheets of paper, which appeared in a messy group in the air, scattering on the way to the ground.
Blueblood grabbed a sheet and hovered it in front of his face, mumbling, “Honesty?” His magic aura enveloped another sheet, bringing it up. “Generosity?” The other sheets were gathered and examined as well.
He set the sheets down on the table, with wide eyes and slack jaw. “So, you were already looking for Elements?”
Spike gave a sputtering chuckle. “Yeah.”
Blueblood stared at the Magic sheet, with Xenon’s name on it.
Spike gave a half cough. “So, um… you were asking me for my help?”
Blueblood shook his head lightly. “Yes… yes, of course. Help to do… what you were already doing.”
“That’s the gist of it, yeah.”
Blueblood tensed up. “So will you do it?”
“I…” ‘I shouldn’t. He’s Blueblood, right?’ Spike thought.
He hasn’t done anything wrong,’ he retorted. ‘And he’s offering to help me. And he can help me find the time to look for the Elements. And he knows the institute better than I do. And… he has spent his life pursuing Twilight’s dream. Even though it’s probably not what he wanted to do with his life… Maybe I should give him a chance.’
Spike straightened up and looked Blueblood in the eyes. “Yes. I’ll do it.”
Blueblood’s shoulders relaxed. “Really?” He laughed lightly. “That’s wonderful!”
Spike broke into an amused grin, and offered his claws curled up into a fist.
Blueblood looked at it for a moment, confused. “Oh,” he said softly, and lifted his hoof to align with Spike’s fist.
Blueblood lightly bumped his hoof to it. He looked at his hoof for a moment, and then back to Spike, and smiled.