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// Chapter 15: You Can Always Have More 
// Story: Lost Fate 
// by Fluxxdog 
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Chapter 15: You Can Always Have More

Cantrip was ordered to remain in the hospital until the doctor was satisfied with his health. Having done nothing but sleep for two months, his muscles were weak. He would require some therapy, but once he could walk on his own, he would be released. Of course, his roommate, being an inherently magical creature, required nothing of the sort, and departed to have tea with Fluttershy.
This gave him plenty of time to talk with any visitors, his most frequent one being Ink Nose. He was surprised at the amount of research being done in the technique he invented. They had called them Cantrip lines, which he thought was humorous. But the depths of research boggled him.
“I never thought it would get this much attention. It’s pretty cool.” His voice was a little rough from not having been used for two months.
“Who knows?” said a smiling Ink Nose. “Maybe you’ll be remembered as one of the greats. Perhaps not as famous as Starswirl or Clover, but this could have influence for decades to come.”
“Yeah, well, I doubt Starswirl had his experiments blow up in his face like that. I can still taste burnt ice. How is that possible?” He was definitely in good spirits. “What does Princess Twilight think of all of it?”
Ink Nose’s frowned at the mention of it. “I don’t know. Haven’t talked to her about it much.”
Cantrip was confused. “Okay, that sounds off. If this were a major magical find, it would be something she’d being going at nearly twenty-four hours a day. I’ve heard of her obsession when it comes to research.”
“No, it’s more like we don’t talk much.”
“Wow. Really? You’re her personal librarian. And you don’t talk much? Is her nose stuck in books that much?”
“Actually, she hasn’t been coming around the library much.” Ink Nose looked a bit dejected. “I’ve been avoiding her.”
“What? Why?”
“You heard her! She kept me around simply to question me! I don’t even know why she keeps me now, but I’ve been saving my bits so when she finally does let me go, I’ll have enough money to travel.”
Cantrip scratched his head. “That doesn’t sound like her. Then again, I don’t know her personally. But there’s a problem. She hired you to be her librarian. She didn’t decide to question anybody until Lookout got ill. She didn’t even have a reason not to trust you.”
“Then why even mention it? Why say she was going to interrogate me? Why me? Her and that dragon of hers could have kept their mouth shut!”
“Yeah, but a friend wouldn’t keep quiet about it.”
Ink Nose was shocked. It sounded ridiculous. A friend wouldn’t even think of something so deceitful to begin with! “I’m... I’m going to head home. I think I could use some rest, and so could you.”
“Alright. I’ll see you later.”
As Ink Nose left, she completely missed the pair of horns sticking out of a nearby fern. Two leaves opened into eyes as a very non-plant-like voice said, “Well, that explains a lot. Ooh! It’s watering time!”
The custodian came over to water the fern as he did every day. Today, the fern reared up and chomped at him with teeth made of leaves. This made the custodian upset for three reasons. First, obviously, Norbert had attacked him. Second, Discord laughed at him for the prank. Third, he had to mop up the contents of the now empty watering can.


Ink Nose was writing a letter. It was simple and straight to the point. She was resigning. She was tired of being on edge all the time. She was about to sign it when there was a knock on the door. Spike? Maybe the princess, which would save her the trouble of tracking her down.
“Hello there… ah, Tar Nose, right?” This is a face she never expected. Discord in her library.
She suddenly remembered the story of his ‘reformation’. “It’s Ink Nose. This is a library, not an all-you-can-eat buffet.”
“Oh no, would never dream of it! Besides, I ate Diamond Tiara’s history book on the way here.” That filly was going to be mad when she went to study for tomorrow’s test! “I just came here to ask a favor.”
“You want a favor from me?”
“Well, no, not me personally. I was chatting with Twilight (we’re good friends, you see) and I was going to leave when she asked if I could stop here and have you deliver a book to her room.”
That was fine. She’d sign her letter and deliver it with the book. “Which book?”
Discord hadn’t thought that far ahead. He grabbed some random words. “Um, Emergency… uh, Ethereal… Essays?”
Ink Nose looked a little wary. Discord grinned sheepishly, starting to sweat. Ink Nose levitated the book down. “Starswirl’s Essay on Ethereal Emergencies. I’ll take it up to her in a moment.”
Discord breathed a sigh of relief. “Very well. I’m off to play in the mountains. I’ve been considering making some candy rocks.”
“I think Pinkie Pie makes those for necklaces.”
“No no, those are rock candies. I’m talking about boulders that you can build with made from candy!”
“And how is that different?”
“Well, you can’t eat them for one.”
“If you can’t eat them, how are they candy.”
Discord started to speak and stopped. He rubbed his chin and replied, “That’s a good point. Well. Ooh, I know! I’ll make a marble cake made from real marble!” And with that, he disappeared in a puff of nonsense.
Ink Nose signed her letter, grabbed it and the book, and started upstairs. When she got to the bedroom, she saw the door open and sobbing coming from inside. Perhaps one of the Princess’s friends had come to visit and need some consoling.
“Here you go, Twilight. Another box of tissues.” That was Spike. Which meant the crier was…
“<sniff!> It just hurts. It just gets worse and I don’t know how to fix it! I felt like this when Discord messed with everyone’s heads. But the pain wasn’t nearly this bad.”
“Well, that’s because you knew they were still your friends. You needed that reminder from Celestia, but you fought for them.”
“I know, but this time, it is my fault. Every time she calls me Princess, it just drives the fact home that I lost a friend!” She couldn’t be talking about her, could she?
“Twilight, you had your duties. It took you two months to decide to interrogate her because you didn’t want to in the first place.”
“What? No, I had to make a complex, logical decision. If I tried Lookout, she could have ended up like Screwy. Ivy and Sledge would never crack, and Slipwind would have just given me a run-around. Ink Nose is the only one who would have be able to take the questioning without breaking down and give me honest answers.”
“Yeah, and you figured all that out in the first couple days. You’re like Applejack, a horrible liar. You just didn’t want to put her on the spot.”
Twilight started crying again. “Stop being right! Fine, I just didn’t want to lose her as a friend! She the only close friend I have… had who even enjoys scholarly pursuits. It was good to have someone to talk to who could debate on my level.”
“So… your other friends are too dumb.”
“You know that's not what I mean! Rarity could list off each fashionable designer in order of popularity and influence from here to the end of the world. Rainbow Dash is doing thousands of calculations in her head when she’s managing the weather without even thinking about it. Their intelligence is on a different level than mine.”
“Oh, so she’s the right kind of smart.”
Ink Nose could practically hear her nodding. “Yes. And now, she’s gone.”
“You can make other friends. I’m sure there’s others who-”
“You don’t understand!” The walls seemed to shake a bit at that. “This will not be the last time I feel this pain! You’ve seen how Celestia is compared to Granny Smith. We’re all going to get older. But I’m going to be immortal. Ink Nose is the first friend I lost. I’m going to lose everyone else. That pain is going to keep piling up. I’ll make new friends, but they’ll leave too. This is only the beginning of what’s to come!”
Ink Nose started to tear up. She had blown it out of proportion, but with Cantrip in the hospital, she didn’t give herself the chance to actually deal with it. She looked at the letter she had written. If she left, she wouldn’t give Twilight a second chance when Twilight had given her a second chance, even if she didn’t know it.
“I want to remember the good times, Spike, not just the pain. The journal, the letters, they’ll be fond memories when I’m alone. When the others are gone, I’ll treasure each memory I had with them. But Ink Nose will only have one memory and I can’t do anything to change it.”
“Have you tried apologizing?”
“Yes! Several times. She accepts it, but I can see she still shuts me out.” Spike and Twilight suddenly heard what sounded like a piece of paper being torn. The looked toward the door. Spike jumped off the bed and pulled open the door it to a teary-eyed Ink Nose.
She just snuffled and wept out, “I’m sorry Twilight. I didn’t give you the chance you deserve.” She walked in. “You gave me a second chance and this is how I repay you? Misery and suffering? I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” She ran over and hugged Twilight, both of them crying.
Spike slipped out and let the two of them have their moment. He noticed the torn letter and book by the door. “Starswirl’s Essay on Ethereal Emergencies. Odd.” He started heading to the library when he noticed one of the crystal statuettes. “Huh, we have an extra statue.” He picked it up and sniffed it. “Well, I could use a snack.” He opened his mouth…
*POOF* “Really, Spike, there are more civilized ways to call my bluff.” Discord looked at him rather angrily.
Spike grinned, “Yeah, but my way was more fun!”
Discord patted the little dragon on the head. “You know, I may be having an influence on you.”
“Not likely. So, why set this up?”
“Set what up?” A little halo popped over Discord’s head.
Spike didn’t fall for it. “This book? It was the first one Ink Nose found for us. Why would she bring this up? When I saw you, I put two and two together.”
The halo disappeared. “Simple, my dear Spike. We are going to war and everyone needs to be in tip top shape.”
Spike just raised an eyebrow.
“Fine. I come out of a two month nap to find Twilight and Book Nose…”
“Her name is Ink Nose.”
“…right, Ink Nose. They’re mopey and whiney and all sorts of miserable and… Well, I didn’t like it. Maybe I have changed, but I don’t like the suffering when it’s my… my friends.”
Spike hugged him around his dragon leg. “I guess you really are a good guy. Thanks. I’d save the war jokes for another time, though.”
“Oh, I wasn’t joking. Something is very wrong and it is my duty as Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony to fight it.” This time a devilish grin crossed his face. “Spike, my lad, we are going to war.”