"THE HOSPITAL IS ACROSS THE DARN STREET!"

by Heath of Tragedy


"All I need is your ID."

The door to the library flung open, letting the bustling noise and the rays of the sun shine down inside of the building. Two purple feet stood at the entrance, struggling to carry the oversized black garbage sack as they shuttered with each step, dropping the tiniest specks of dust and dirt off the edge of the open bag.

Spike gritted his teeth as he waltzed comically to the nearby trash can, trying to balance the garbage bag, as it kept trying to fall out of his arms. He whined as the content of the bag nearly fell out on top of him, almost giving him another one of its trademarked ‘banana hats’. Honestly, why would Twilight eat so many bananas in the middle of the night? he thought, irritated by the task. Makes no sense.

Thankfully for the drake, Twilight left shortly after rushing her breakfast - which would make Sweetie Belle proud - to meet up with the other girls to ‘uncover who the mastermind behind all of this misunderstanding information is’, as she so dramatically and determinedly put it, if the bags under her eyes and the mumbling words she uttered before she left were evidence of that.

Spike couldn’t contain his sigh in relief after that. The recent events that happened at the library - while extremely traumatizing - had helped him from getting caught after forgetting to lock the door when he snuck out to the Carousel Boutique in the middle of the night to watch Rarity slee- He means, um… doing laundry.

Yes… loads of laundry.

Bumping into the trash can, he cautiously lifted his right claw off the sack, leaving only one arm to shiver intensely, opening the bin to allow the sack entrance to its rightful place and ending. Closing the bin, Spike turned towards to wash off the excess sticky liquid left in his claws before a voice whistled behind him.

“Hey kid,” it spoke in a mysterious teenage raspy tone, catching Spike's attention for some odd reason. “Over here,” Spike turned again, meeting only a dark shadow that enveloped the voice’s body.

“Uh, where are you?” Spike asked, squinting his eyes to search for the source of the pony. He began to question why that shadow even existed when it was plain daylight.

The figure stepped out of the dark, a hoodie cloaking his form, leaving only his scaly red legs and long snout with jagged teeth poking out to help the witnesses to discover his identity, which Spike found out immediatly as his eyes widened.

“Garble?”

“Wait, Spike?” the red dragon inquired, seeing his former crew member. Lowering his head to meet him, he gave him a toothy grin. “Dude, I didn’t know you worked here. How’s hangin’, man?”

Spike inched back slightly at the sudden motion, squinting his eyes at the older drake. “What do you want, Garble?” Spike asked, smoke rising from his nostrils.

Garble was taken aback, eyes widening in fake surprise. “Woah, what’s with the sudden hostility, bro? What did I ever do to you?” he asked innocently.

Spike’s gaze did not waver. “Oh, you mean besides forcing me smash a phoenix egg, then forcing me to eat a baby phoenix that had just been born and then chasing me out of a forest after refusing it. Not to mention you and the others almost ate my real friends.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that your pony friends looked delicious,” Garble crossed his arms on his chest. “Besides, eating birds is in our diet, and you have the only one in your hands. But no,” he dramatically waved his claws in the air. “You just wanted that egg all for yourself. You’re a greedy little dragon, aren’tcha?”

“Greedy? I helped raise that phoenix so he could go home to his mom and dad.” Spike pointed a victorious thumb to himself.

“Hold on, hold on…”Garble backtracked. “You helped raise a stupid bird?” Garble stood dumbstruck, before sighing angrily. “For the love of Alduin, are you one of those pony-hugging gemetarians?” he pointed a menacing claw, gritting his teeth. “I hate that.” he catchphrased.

Spike raised his arms in protest. “Ok, can we just get back to the situation at hoof here-”

“Don’t you mean ‘at claw’ he-”

“I don’t care!” he suddenly yelped, causing Garble to shrink back slightly. Sighing the black smoke off him, he continued. “Look, I know for a fact that you’re here for a reason, and I’m certain that I won’t like that reason. So just spill it out already.”

Garble’s eyes widened slightly, raising an impressed brow at the young drake. “Straight to the exchange, eh? I… what’s the word I’m looking for?” he rubbed a claw in his chin inquisitively. “I... don’t hate that?”

“Would you hurry up, Twilight might be home at any minute.” Spike brought his rival back on topic.

“Okay then, I'll tell ya. I’ve ran out of a certain… supply and I was in charge of getting more of it. Do you have any…” Garble looked around nervously, noting there weren’t any ponies nearby before he drew closer to Spike. “herbs?” he whispered.

It was Spike’s turn to raise a confused brow. “Herbs? Can you be more specific?”

Garble grew more anxious. “You know, herbs… green leaves... smoke everywhere when you heat it up… they’re supposed to relax you - listen, I can’t really go into more detail.” The red dragon was practically bouncing off his coat from anxiousness at this point, eyes darting back and forth from all directions as if reliving a traumatic teenage memory, like spending time with dad. “Truth be told, I’m not even supposed to be here, and if I’m found, I’m gonna be in so much trouble from the ancient dragons.”

“Green… smoke… relax…” Spike repeated the words in his head until a lightbulb surged, a grin of knowledge popping on his face. “Oh, I know what you’re talking about. Why didn’t you say so?”

“Well, I thought you guys had a strict policy on it.”

Spike waved a dismissive hand. “Ah, don’t worry about that. Between Twi and me, I’m the one that gives out stuff other than books to customers that need it. Just don’t tell her I said that, and I’ll get you what you ask for.”

Garble gazed at Spike, a smile creeping up on his features as happiness overtook his every thought. Finally, after months of stressful strain of mind and body, Garble and his gang were able to receive a reliever for all those times the ancient dragons just couldn’t understand their teenage angst. His eyes glistened with hope as a squeaking began to form on his throat, slowly rising up to-

“All I need is your ID.” Spike informed, then he heard what sounded like something breaking in a millions tiny pieces. From his experience, he could safely assume they were dreams breaking. But whose were they? It sounded near him. Is Twilight home or something?

Garble broke from his excited expression to stare at Spike, the red dragon brimming with tears visible from the corners. “W-wh-what did y-you say, Sp-pike?” he was barely able to utter silently.

Spike concerned over Garble as he approached him cautiously with an incredulous gaze. “Are… are you okay, Garble?”

“YES MY NAME IS GARBLE!” he blurted out, making Spike retract in surprise.

“That’s… I didn’t ask that,”

“I mean, um, uh…” he grew silent, losing a stare contest with Spike as he tried to blink back the tears. Frustrated, he clenched his fist, opening his wings causing his jacket to be ripped. “This is the fifth time it happens,” he took a flight, going off in the opposite direction of the purle drake. “I hate that.”

Spike witnessed the whole incident, the confusion more evident now than it was before. “He must’ve been in a hurry,” he turned back to the library, intended to put an end to the mess. Honestly, what kind of dragon cries over chamomile tea? he shook his head as he closed the door. This day makes no sense.