Ch 7 Gems and scares and directions, oh my!
With a new point from which to continue his quest for employment, Spike set out for town hall with confidence. Perhaps Mr. Widget had been right, that the reason Spike had been failing was because he was choosing things he liked instead of things he actually knew something about. And so, with that in mind, Spike decided that he wouldn’t take the first job he saw, that he would consider his options, weigh them against his skills, and see what came out on top. He nodded in silent confirmation to himself.
It only took him a few minutes to get to town hall, situated in the center of town as it was, and once in the door, Spike looked for his quarry. However, he immediately ran into an obstacle he did not expect; he had no idea where to go. Fortunately, government employees were the friendliest ponies in Equestria. They had to be, since they dealt with other ponies all day. He located the first employee he could, a yellow and green mare at the front desk. “Hello?” Spike hailed her. “Can you help me?”
The mare, who had been doing a fairly good job of polishing her hoof before he came along, turned on him with disdain. “What do you want?!” she demanded. “Can’t you see were busy here?”
Spike took a moment to register the emptiness of the building, then pressed on. “Umm, I was looking for local job postings?”
The receptionist rolled her brown eyes before responding snidely. “Oh, does baby want his first job?” Spike immediately bristled at being called a baby (though, in her defense, he was carrying a plate of cookies around). “Look kid, we got better things to do than play with some princess’ pet lizard. Why don’t you just buzz off?”
Spike decided that it was time for a more tactful approach. Before the rude receptionist had time to pick her hoof-file back up, a jet of intense green flame shot past her, singeing the ends of her green mane. She returned her attention to him fully, silent from shock and surprise. Spike was glaring at her. “Where are the job postings?” he asked again.
She all at once remembered she worked there, and swiftly directed the young drago. “Up the stairs to the left, it’ll be the large empty room. Regular job postings are on the left and odd-jobs are on the right. Here’s your visitors pass.” She passed a laminated pink card over the counter to him. “All payment is to be determined by the employer, failure to pay is an issue to be taken up with the authorities. Thank you for coming.” She shimmied away from him in fear, and Spike immediately regretted losing his temper like that.
‘Maybe if don’t want the ponies in town to treat me like a monster, I’ve gotta get a hold of my temper.’ He thought quietly as he walked away. It occurred to him that anger had been coming more easily recently; was that part of the chryssaling too, or was he just finding himself in those situations more often now? He shook the thoughts from his head. One issue at a time. For now, he had to impress Rarity… get a job. He meant get a job. You can’t prove he didn’t.
Once on the second level, Spike found the room he was looking for immediately to his left. Just as the receptionist had told him, the odd job section was to his right, but he wanted something that would last; it wasn’t so much about the bits as it was the prestige. The job postings were “Help Wanted” posters arranged in a grid formation. As he got closer, one in particular caught his eye. It was an image of a finely sculpted jewel, with the words “Gem Inspector needed. Prior experience required for all applicants.” For a moment, Spike considered passing it by, but decided to give it a bit more thought. While he had promised himself he wouldn’t pick the first job he saw, this one did seem to fit him, and in a way he liked. While it was true that gems were personal fascination, his dragon heritage gave him powerful predisposition for quality control. He could smell a fake a mile away, and could always tell a pure gemstone from one that hadn’t had enough time to completely crystalize.
Spike wrote down the information from the flyer, deciding it was more polite to leave it be in case things didn’t work out. Ready to go, Spike left the room and went back downstairs. Returning the visitor pass to the rude receptionist, he left town hall for the jewelry shop, “The Glittering Pony.”
In a few minutes, Spike was in front of the jeweler’s store. Having dropped the cookies off in the library on his way, Spike was sure he was ready to give this a try. He patted himself on the cheeks a couple times to ensure he was as awake as possible, then entered the facility. For the second time that day, however, he found himself surprised by what he found inside. Unlike before, though, it was not the decor or level of cleanliness that surprised him, as it had with Sven’s fitness shop, but the unicorn who greeted him.
“Spikey Wikey!” came the most lyrical voice in Ponyville, sending shivers of surprise up Spike’s spikes. Coming straight for him was Rarity, the very mare he had had a crush on since he met her, and the very mare he was trying to get a job for. There was no way this could go wrong. “Darling, it’s so good to see you!” she declared, giving him an affectionate nuzzle. “You haven’t been by the shop since your chryssaling! I’ve been so worried about you.” She rubbed his cheek for emphasis.
Deciding that speaking was more important than contact right now, Spike brushed her hoof away with a blush. “Yeah, sorry.” He said. “Princess Luna wouldn’t let me or Twi out for the past two weeks. Yesterday was the first day I’ve been allowed out since.”
It seemed his explanation only exasperated her more, however. “Egads, darling!” she exclaimed. “Two whole days you’ve been out and about, and you never came to see me?” Her ears drooped and tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. “I’m hurt.” She said with a pout.
In alarm, Spike quickly set out to explain himself before he caused the love of his life any more pain. “N-no, it’s not that I didn’t want to see you!” he waved his claws at her to make her stop crying. “I’ve just been really busy, is all!”
“Hmm?” she continued to pout as she considered the words. “Oh, yes, your little job hunt.” She said at length. “Sweetie told me about it, but I didn’t think she was serious. So you’re really doing that?” she asked him. Spike nodded vigorously, glad they were both on the same page. She perked up in an instant. “Oh, well, I can certainly respect that.” She said with a regal pat of her perfectly quaffed mane. “I suppose you’re here to ask me for a job? If you just give me a moment, I was helping the jewelers here with some quality control issues, then we can be off.”
A little squeamishly, Spike told her his true intentions. “Actually, Rarity, I didn’t know you were here.” He confessed. She looked at him with surprise. “I came answering the ad for an inspector.”
“B-but,” unlike before, she seemed genuinely confused now. “Why wouldn’t you come to me? Wouldn’t you like a job at my boutique? After all, you’ve been helping me for years, it just seems like it would be natural.” She looked like she had been betrayed.
Again in hot water, Spike explained himself. “N-no! It’s just that Carousel Boutique isn’t the kind of job I was looking for.” This, however, just made it worse, and now she looked genuinely hurt. He tried again, hopefully this time without the’ awkward little boy’s inability to speak properly’ thing. “No!” he tried to get her attention before she got too upset. “I just mean that, working with you is its own reward! I was looking for a way to makes some bits, but I would never ask to be paid for helping you in a million years!”
Understanding his position now, her mood immediately improved. “Ohh, Spikey Wikey, that’s so sweet of you to say!” she caught him in an embrace, one which he had no intention of breaking himself. “Of course I can understand it when you put it like that!” She released him, to his disappointment, and assumed her usual dignified posture. “Now, darling you said you’ve come for the job opening here?” he nodded, just giddy to be speaking with her. “Well, I’m afraid there’s an issue there.” She said sadly, causing poor Spike to crumble. “You see, one of the stipulations is that you must be experienced, which I’m afraid you’re not, dear.”
Spike, though, was undaunted, and even perked back up. “Oh, is that it?” he asked, surprising her. “It’s cool, I’ve got something better.”
“Oh, do tell.” Drolled a male voice to their right. Spike looked to see a crème white unicorn stallion with a pince-nez and monocle, a slicked back black mane, and a jeweler’s inspection loupe for his cutie mark. “Please tell us how youth will trump experience. I’m dying to know.” He said dramatically, making sure to look down his nose at Spike the whole time.
Fortunately, Spike had enough experience with these types in Canterlot that his attitude didn’t faze him. “I’m not talking about youth, I’m talking about heritage.” He thrust a thumb into his own chest. “In case you didn’t notice, I’m a dragon, and we’ve got better eyes and noses for quality gems than anypony. I don’t need experience; I’ve got genetics on my side.”
The haute pony looked quite taken aback, and even Rarity seemed impressed. “That… might actually work out. Tell me, do you have a frame of reference so I can know how skilled you are?”
“Well, I don’t hoard, if that’s what you’re asking,” Spike told him, “but I can probably give you some kind of demonstration.” The pony motioned him forward, to the middle of the shop. Spike stepped into place and took a few deep sniffs, and let his draconic eyes do their magic. After a few moments of quiet, he turned back the store clerk and his lady love. “Three of the ponies in the line on your left are trying to trade for new rings with cubic zirconium ones, so you should probably catch them. There’s a filly with an honest to Celestia star sapphire in her pocket, but the clerk she’s talking to refuses to even listen to her, so I think it’s time somepony intervened. Beyond that, it’s what you might expect, except that the large diamond on the top right corner of that display case” he pointed to a glass display case to their immediate right “has a significant defect in its core. You won’t see it until it’s been set, since it seems to be a lump of quarts, and not a real spot in the gem.” The silence was deafening, and Spike couldn’t help but let some Canterlotian Smugness taint his features. (He was born and raised there, after all.)
“Spikey, th-that’s incredible!” Praised Rarity. “I never knew your sense for these things was so sharp!”
“Indeed.” Added the clerk, himself looking very shocked, though a bit more composed than Rarity. He stepped forward to hustle Spike to a room in the rear, Rarity following behind. “It seems my manners have eluded me.” He said. “I am Sharp Eye, the proprietor of ‘The Glittering Pony,’ and I daresay we will be happy to welcome you to the staff.” Once in the room in the back, Spike saw that it was some sort of sorting area, which could be accessed from the main store by a compact window off to the side. Sharp Eye directed Spike over to a pony sitting behind a desk, cluttered with almost a dozen fine tools. “This is our primary inspector, Clear Heart. He will instruct you as to what you will be needed to do. If he approves of your work, we will discuss a more permanent position.” Sharp Eye nodded to Spike and Rarity, and then left the three alone.
Clear Heart was, for lack of a better word, rickety. The poor old stallion, grey of coat and mane, with pupils that looked like they hadn’t dilated in years, was shivering incessantly despite the room being a very comfortable temperature. He looked up and looked at them with pinprick pupils… and immediately proceeded to freak the buck out. “DRAGON!” he hollered. “DRAGON IN THE STORE! QUICK, IT’S GOING TO STEAL ALL THE GEMS!!” he swiftly gathered all the gem stones on the table to him and ran into a corner. Spike sighed, realizing this might be the new norm as he met new ponies through the day. Not sure if he should be the one to handle this, he instead turned to Rarity behind him and gestured to the frightened earth pony.
She quickly caught the hint and put on her best pony-pleaser smile and trotted to the poor stallion. “Heart, dear, do try to calm down.” She requested smoothly with a toss of her mane.
Clear heart, however, completely ignored her, and swiftly positioned himself so that Rarity was between he and Spike. “Take the unicorn!” he pleaded. “She’s fluffy and important, you can get a ransom for her!” Rarity was immediately offended. “Just leave my precious gems alone!”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN FLUFFY, YOU ROTTEN LITTLE-ehem,” Rarity caught her temper quickly and coughed into her hoof. Such an unladylike outburst, how uncouth! “Clear, ignoring that statement, I would like to introduce Spike, personal assistant and adoptive family of Princess Twilight Sparkle, who has come in response to the job posting you placed. Be a dear and say hello.”
She moved to the side so that the two could look at each other, and Spike smiled and waved his claw. It was not well received. “Oh, Celestia, don’t let him eat me!” the pony whined, clearly ready to run for his life. Spike just slumped in exasperation.
Again, Rarity intervened. “Clear Heart, darling, I want you to calm down and think about what I just said.” She said slowly. “He’s the personal assistant of a princess, and he’s come here to work with you. And as an Element of Harmony, I can vouch for him.” she reassured. Clear Heart registered her words this time, calming slightly, but still looking fearfully between the unicorn and the dragon.
Spike decided a little Canterlot charm would go a long way here, and attempted to try and employ a special bow he had seen a visiting pegasus dignitary do. He arched his back and made the tips of his wings meet in front of him, then swept them out wide with his arms as he bowed low. “Hello. I’m Spike, and it is nice to make your acquaintance.” Spike Straightened out, Smiled at the pony. However the fangs still put the pony on shivering edge, and the act did little to help. Spike slumped and released the smile. He tried to pick something that might make the pony feel a little better, taking notice of the gems he was protecting with his life. ‘meh, worth a shot.’ “If it makes you feel any better sir,” Spike ventured, “I don’t hoard gems, so I’m not going to steal from you.”
This had an immediate and dramatic effect, and at once Clear Heart popped up to his hooves and returned to his desk. “Oh, well why didn’t you say so?” he asked. “Honestly, you could have just opened with that; would’ve made things much easier.” He told Spike with a smile. Spike didn’t move, too stunned that his feeble ditch effort had actually paid off, whereas Rarity looked ready to throttle him.
However, she merely “humphed” loudly and walked indignantly out the door. “We shall discuss that little episode at length later darling, especially the ‘fluffy’ bit.” She said dangerously calm as she passed him by.
Clear Heart chuckled nervously, sweating bullets, and decided to get to work before he had another panic attack. “Heh, heh, Spike was it?” he asked. “Well, it’s pretty simple, just inspect the gems your given, separate them based on quality and type, then give the ones that the jewelers or customers who come to that window there-” he gestured to the small access window Spike had noticed before, “-ask for when they need them. You’ll be inspecting our own stock, as well as that which customers bring us.” He directed Spike to an open desk on the other side of the room with a pile of gems and some tools already on it. “It doesn’t look like Miss Rarity will be joining us for a while,” said the jittery pony “so you can just finish up her work load for a start. This is a surprisingly high stress job, considering the value of the objects we work for, so if you need some help keeping your wits about you, just let me know.” He rubbed a proud hoof on his shivering carriage, as though he hadn’t just pussed out on an epic scale a few moments ago.
With that, they both settled into work, Clear Heart with his tools and practiced eyes, Spike with his sense of smell and draconic eye for quality. Spike had to resist eating a few of them, and he eventually had his gems organized into piles he defined as ‘low quality,’ ‘mid quality,’ ‘high quality,’ ‘display quality,’ ‘dragon quality,’ and ‘hoard it like its stolen quality.’ The last one called to him constantly, but thankfully his greed was not magical in nature now, and he was able to resist.
It seemed he had become kind of popular in a short period of time. Given his unusual method of sniffing the gems, as well as the earlier outburst from Clear heart, many waiting ponies or bored employees came to the window simply to get a look at him. Given his current popularity, as well as the relative ease and speed with which he worked, Spike felt like he might have lucked out and finally found a job he could do well. The older pink and green mare that next came to the window might have something to say on the matter however.
“What is that dragon doing here?!” She screeched angrily, pointing an accusing hoof at Spike through the window. “I want it out this instant!”
Rarity was there momentarily, trying to keep the situation in hoof. “Miss Glitter, darling, I must insist you calm down. I assure you, Spike is no dragon of ill repute and is quite the little gentle drake, so you have nothing to worry about.”
The older mare, however, was having none of it. “I know just what kind of dragon he is, young filly.” She hissed. “He’s the viscous little lizard that tore up the school yesterday! My daughter is having nightmares about it even still!”
Rarity was taken aback, and Spike himself was surprised and hurt on her take of the situation. “Tore up the school? Miss Glitter, my sister Sweetie Belle was right in the thick of it, and I assure you dear Spike was just protecting the children from those timber wolves!”
Glitter was in no mood, however, and instead turned her nose up at Rarity is disdain. “Don’t try and tell me what that violent monster did or didn’t do, I know full well!”
Rarity bristled, whereas Spike shrunk into himself. “Now you listen here, miss, Spike is-” however Glitter cut her off as she shoved past her to Sharp Eye.
“Sharp.” She said curtly. “I’ll have you know that I and my compatriots have no intention of bringing our business to this establishment so long as that creature is here. You need to do something about this- now.” She stamped her hoof to finalize it. As fearful proof of her claim, she caught the attention of two other mares in the room and all three of them left the building with their noses turned up, while behind them Rarity and Spike sat stunned.
Sharp Eye, ever the crisp business pony, immediately trotted to the back room to speak with Spike and Clear heart. “Mr. Dragon.” He began. “I was unaware of this kind of history. Would you care to explain?” he was undeniably cold, and being so unused to the kind of attitudes he was now facing, Spike crumpled like paper, and found himself unable to speak.
Thankfully, Rarity came to his rescue. “He doesn’t need to, Mr. Sharp. I can tell you all you need to know.” She swiftly entered the room and stood beside Spike to lend him strength. “Yesterday at the school, a group of timber wolves attacked the children while they gathered to begin the day. Young Spike here intervened without hesitation and positioned himself valiantly between the wolves and the children, selflessly rescuing five fillies who had been cornered by the beasts, my sister included.” She pulled Spike comfortingly close to her, lending him strength. Smiling down at him, she finished saying “I assure you, on my honor as a fashionista, that little Spikey Wikey is a thoroughbred hero, and nothing less.”
Sharp Eye did not let his visage change as he turned to Clear Heart. Immediately catching the hint, Clear stood and spoke “His work is impeccable, sir, and incredibly swift. Aside from a little mouth-watering at the best in the bunch, which is better than many we’ve hired, his manners and ethic are excellent as well. From a professional standpoint, sir, he would be a great benefit.”
Releasing his breath, Sharp Eye finally relaxed, but his demeanor was not positive. “I was afraid of that.” At Spike and Rarity’s inquiring looks, he elaborated. “As Mr. Clear said, Spikes presence could be a benefit, but lack thereof will not harm us.” They both deflated, and Sharp turned to Spike specifically. “I’m sorry, but if you’re continued presence could in any way harm my business, then as an obligation to my other employees I can’t keep you on staff.” He came forward, taking a gem from the ‘hoard it like its stolen’ pile as he passed Spike’s work area, hoofing it to Spike. “I’m sorry, but until this incident passed on, there is no place for you here. This should more than adequately compensate your time, and any injury this incident might have done to your pride.” He smiled, sadly but sincerely. “I have a nephew at that school; let this be thanks for that as well, and don’t hesitate to return when it passes.”
Spike took the gem in his claw, a small but perfect ruby, and held it close, too upset to maintain eye contact.