Chapter 6 - Snooping
Spike stood on all fours in a disorganized office. The desk was covered with papers, broken quills, and empty inkwells. In the corner of the desk, used as a paperweight, was some kind of metal ring puzzle.
Beside Spike was a young yellow unicorn mare, almost pressed up against Spike’s side in the cramped office. She shifted her weight uneasily, not looking at Spike and, trying to stay out of contact with the somewhat-larger dragon.
Stalking around the two of them was a beige unicorn with a well coiffed curly mane.
Fine Dust, the beige unicorn, looked over Spike with a discerning eye. “So. You’re the dragon I’ve been hearing about.”
Spike straightened up and puffed his chest out, a smug grin on his face.
Fine Dust raised an eyebrow. “Not all of it’s been good.”
Spike’s chest deflated.
Fine Dust chuckled mirthlessly. “I heard it only took you a day to get arrested for fighting.”
The mare recoiled from Spike slightly, who lowered his head in shame. He laughed nervously. “It was… kind of a misunderstanding.”
“There were some good reports too. Xenon’s not an easy mare to impress, you know.”
Spike’s eyes widened.
Fine Dust stepped back. “So, that means I’ve got the unknown–” she gestured to the mare, who . “–and the ambivalent.” She gestured toward Spike.
Spike and the mare beside him glanced at each other. Fine Dust cleared her throat, and the two of them snapped back to attention.
“Well, at least we have you. It’s been months since I submitted that request. We have some basic tasks for you–”
Spike furrowed his brow as she continued. ‘But… I know Whiptail got his request through really fast. What was the holdup? I mean, it’s good for me because I got this job when I needed it, but it seems a little… unfair for the department.’
“–And that should sum up the basics of what will be expected of you here.”
‘Wait, what?’
The mare to Spike’s right nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“U-uh-yes,” Spike said.
Fine Dust rolled her eyes. “Good, well I’ve got your first deliveries right here.” She levitated two packages over to Spike and the mare, giving Spike the larger one. “When you’re done make sure that the recipients don’t need anything else, and come back here when you’re done.”
Spike and the other assistant both left the room together, stepping into the cool brown hallway of the arcane building.
Spike knew if he was going to ask for information he had to be on good terms with the other employees, and this mare was clearly somewhat anxious, maybe because of the job, maybe because of Spike himself. He had met more than a few nervous assistants in the castle that needed to be put at ease, and he just needed to turn on the charm.
‘If I’m gonna get any information about anyone I need to be on good terms with them. Let’s work that ole Spike magic.’
He turned to his fellow-assistant and smiled his toothless smile in a way he hoped was comforting. “Well, that was a little blunt, wasn’t it?”
The mare widened her eyes a bit, but nodded. “Y-yes.”
“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself before we had to meet with Fine Dust.” He offered his open claw to her. “My name’s Spike.”
She stared at the offered claw, and scrunched up her nose.
Spike quickly put his claw down and laughed nervously. “Sorry.”
She stared at his claw on the ground for a moment, before shaking her head. “I’m Goldenrod,” she said.
“So where are you headed first?”
She levitated the package around to look at the label. “It says I’m headed to… the arcane sigil building to meet with Point Agile.”
“Right, well I’m off too, uh, says here Professor Bog. I… don’t know where he is, though. It just says ‘potions room 225.’”
Goldenrod raised an eyebrow. “That’s the second potions building, 5 on the second floor. Most sections have multiple buildings for their purposes, and potions are on the right as you leave.”
Spike nodded. “Thanks. Good luck.”
“Yeah… you too.”
Professor Bog was an emaciated green stallion with a scraggly black mane, stooping over an honest-to-goodness black cauldron. He looked up as Spike entered, an eyebrow raising. “Well, well. What have we here? A dragon?”
“Uh…” Spike looked around himself. “That’s me.” He held up his box. “I have a package from the Arcane department.”
“Be careful with that,” Professor Bog said, getting up and trotting to the doorway. “There are very… delicate components in that package.” He enveloped the package in a dark green aura, and shuffled it onto a workbench.
Quickly looking into it, he said, “Yes. This all seems to be in order.”
He resumed stooping over his cauldron and he sniffed at it. “This also seems to be in order.”
Spike cleared his throat. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Seemingly just noticing Spike’s continued presence, he looked back at Spike, and a thoughtful expression crossed his face. “Could you close that door? I’ve been in need of an assistant.”
Closing the door, Spike frowned. ‘If I’m stuck here with Professor Bog… how am I going to find Xenon?’
“Excellent, please fetch the newtseye for me. In the cupboard over there.”
Spike sighed and trudged over to the cupboard, opening it. There were tons of jars filled with powders, liquids, and other mysterious almost-fluids.
A quick glance showed, though, that there were no animal body parts, though. Certainly no jars filled with eyeballs.
“Uh… I can’t find any kind of eyes in here.”
A groan emanated from behind Spike. “You ignorance is astounding. Newtseye isn’t the eye of newts, it’s a powdered flower whose function resembles the eye of a newt. I don’t use–” Spike heard a shudder from behind him “–animal bits if I can avoid them. I’m not a barbarian.”
Spike snarled. ‘Like I’d be expected to know that off the top of my head.’ The powdered jar labeled ‘newtseye’ was easy to find, once he knew what he was looking for.
Hoisting it up he plonked it on the table next to Professor Bog, who was stirring his concoction carefully clockwise, then counterclockwise. Levitating a spoon with his magic, he scooped up a small bit of newtseye, sprinkling it into the cauldron. “Excellent,” he whispered. “Now, be very quiet, too much noise may agitate the mixture.”
Spike shut his mouth as he was told, and waited.
And watched Professor Bog wait as well.
The waiting seemed to drag on, and there was no change to the mixture. Professor Bog was intently focused on the state of the cauldron.
Spike, his tongue parting his lips slightly in concentration, slowly inched backward, toward the door, gently opened it, and, very quietly, closed the door behind him.
Fine Dust was waiting for Spike when Spike returned. “Hm? That was fast.”
Spike laughed nervously. “He was in the middle of something and let me go.”
Fine Dust’s eyebrows raised. “Really? That surprises me.” She narrowed his eyes at Spike. “Usually he’s difficult about it.”
Spike put on a big fake grin. “Nope, he just didn’t want to interrupt his mixing.”
“Alright, well next–” She opened a closet nearby. Inside were more packages to deliver. “–I’ve–”
There were three quick raps on the door to the office. Fine Dust groaned. “Come in.”
The door opened and a pony head popped in. “Hey, Dusty, can I–” she abruptly stopped, noticing Spike. Her eyes went wide for a moment, looking up to meet Spike’s eyes. After a moment, she looked back to Fine Dust. “Can I have a minute?”
She nodded. “Of course. I have to take this, hang on.” She trotted out of the room, leaving Spike alone.
In a second Spike was across the office and snooping at the packages. He lifted each package quickly and gingerly stacked them on Fine Dust’s desk right behind him, to make sure to keep the order clear. He didn’t know if he would have much time to look at them.
‘Score!’ Right near the top there was a small book-shaped white package, labeled to be delivered to Xenon Shine. He giggled like a schoolfilly. ‘This is perfect. I thought I was going to have to keep wandering around, trying to find her.’
Then, as Spike was congratulating himself for his luck, the door opened a crack and a pony’s voice rang out clearly. “–and that’s why I need twenty liters of pudding.”
Spike started rapidly taking the packages from their resting place on their desk and transferring them back into the closet, trying to quickly and gingerly stack the packages.
Fine Dust groaned. “This is a mess. I’ll see what I can do.”
Spike vaulted over Fine Dust’s desk, knocking the paperweight ring puzzle onto the ground with a clatter. He whirled around and bent over, desperately grasping for it on the ground, but in his haste, it kept slipping out of his claws.
From behind Spike he heard Fine Dust clear his throat.
Spike, kneeling on the floor and panting lightly, finally grasped the puzzle, turned back, and laughed nervously.
Fine Dust rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to hide you’re playing with it, you know. It’s there to be fiddled with.”
“I… yeah. Sure… sorry.”
Fine Dust shook her head. She levitated the package off the top of the stack and shut the closet. “Here’s the next delivery.”
It was a soft round package.
‘And now I know where Xenon Shine is. She’s… she is...’ He wracked his memories for where the package said it was destined to go to. ‘I didn’t bother to actually look at where she was!’ He groaned. ‘Okay… I need to get my claws on that package. I just have to make sure I get the delivery.’
The next few deliveries were relatively uneventful, with Spike doing his best to not get caught up in someone’s chores. Every time Spike came back, the pile of packages dwindled, Goldenrod obviously taking longer for her deliveries than he did.
Each time Fine Dust opened the closet, the stack of packages was smaller, until finally, resting on the top was the book-shaped package destined for Xenon Shine.
Right at the same height as another package.
Which is the one that Fine Dust enveloped with her aura, and levitated over to Spike.
He fought off a grimace as Fine Dust said, “This will be good for you, it’s addressed to your department.”
The package was indeed addressed to Sunny Gaze, the director of the Department of Interdepartmental Research. In other words, Spike’s boss. Spike cursed inwardly. Sunny Gaze was almost never actually in his office. But maybe that was perfect. If he could never be trusted to be at his office, Spike could probably drop the package off with the receptionist and be back before Goldenrod came by for Xenon’s package.
Spike nodded. “Can do!”
Spike snatched up Sunny Gaze’s package and darted out of the office. As he threw the door open, Spike almost ran straight into a familiar yellow unicorn.
Goldenrod yelped, and Spike twisted out of the way, collided with the doorjamb, and crumpled down on the floor.
“Sorry,” Spike mumbled.
“It’s… sure,” Goldenrod said, and moved out of the way.
Spike stepped out and the door slammed behind him. ‘Horseapples. if leave now I’ll miss Xenon entirely...’ He looked down at the package he had. He was pretty sure that Sunny Gaze didn’t need it right away… It would be fine if Spike delivered it later. Spike hid behind a nearby corner and waited for Goldenrod to exit the office.
Spike easily tailed Goldenrod through the institute streets, the package for Sunny tucked underneath his forelimb, ignored for now. He’d handle it later. In the meantime, tailing her was easy because she was making a beeline for the central tower. Once she got into the tower, inside the library, it was an entirely different story.
The library was busy. Spike had seen how busy the library here was before, but he hadn’t actually spent any time to pay attention to anypony browsing the stacks. It would have been a wonderful sight any other time, but today it just made it harder to follow Goldenrod without being seen as she asked around for Xenon Shine. It didn’t help that Spike still didn’t really know his way around the ground floors of the library.
Fortunately Goldenrod seemed to know where she was going, finding Xenon in short order.
Spike sidled up behind a nearby bookcase, grabbing and opening a nearby book, peeking at Xenon and Goldenrod above it.
Goldenrod trotted up to Xenon Shine, presenting the package in her magic glimmer. “Good afternoon, Miss Shine.”
Xenon Shine mumbled out a hello, quickly glancing at Goldenrod and taking the package into her magic.
Goldenrod faltered, but resumed smiling just a moment later. “Will you need anything else?”
Xenon looked at Goldenrod up and down. “... Yes. I believe I would. Please, follow me.”
‘This is perfect.’ Spike smiled broadly. ‘If I was the one delivering the package then she’d be talking to me. But now I can observe from afar.’
Spike stalked Xenon and Goldenrod as they made their way through the library. He padded along carefully on all fours, tiptoeing around carefully and staying several bookshelves away to avoid detection, pretending to be browsing the library when another pony would walk past. Occasionally Xenon would stop and direct Goldenrod to fetch a book, which was almost always flipped through quickly before replaced. A few went into Xenon’s saddlebags instead.
And Xenon did it while hardly ever glancing at Goldenrod.
The library was quiet, but the books still muffled whatever they were saying, preventing Spike from hearing their interaction. He lowered himself onto all fours and crouched low to the ground, ready to move to a closer bookshelf, when he heard a feminine voice come from behind him.
“Spike?”
Spike started to yelp, but clapped his claws over his mouth. His torso and jaw slammed onto the ground with a dull thud, bereft of the support of his forelimbs. Spike groaned and he wrenched himself up and around, coming face to face with a placid lavender and blue earth pony, Starscribe. “What?” he hissed.
Her eyes widened, and she backed up slightly. She blinked a few times, breathing deeply, and she relaxed. “Yes–” She cleared her throat softly “–hello.”
Spike looked back at Xenon and Goldenrod, who hadn’t noticed his outburst, and crouched down close to Starscribe, cupping his claw to his mouth. “What is it?” he whispered, trying to soften his tone.
“... I was going to just say hello, but what are you doing?”
Spike glanced back at Xenon and Goldenrod again. “Nothing.”
Looking back at Starscribe revealed she was staring at the package he was carrying.
“You’re working for the arcane department today, right?” she said.
Spike laughed nervously. “Y-yeah, that’s right...”
She glanced up at Spike, raising an eyebrow.
Spike grinned a thin, nervous grin.
Her eyebrow returned to its normal level. “All right.”
Spike let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding.
A grumble emanated from one bookcase over. Spike peered between the bookshelves to see Goldenrod in the next closest bookcase. His eyes widened, and he grabbed a book, stuffing his face into it, crouching down, and twisting his head to put his ear closest to Goldenrod, listening intently.
From the corner of Spike’s eye he saw Starscribe staring at him. She tentatively leaned her ear over to listen in as well.
“This is ridiculous,” Goldenrod grumbled to herself. “I am the prize apprentice of Sage Rose. Sure, she’s no Princess Celestia or anything, but she is a well-respected researcher. I learned everything there is to know from her, studied for years for this opportunity. And now that I’m here at the best institute in the world? Am I working on exciting new research? No. I’m stuck working as a gofer for a jerk.”
Spike and Starscribe shared a look with each other.
“The stupid department is basically putting me out as a personal assistant for all the ponies who happen to need a one,” Goldenrod said with a groan. There was a dull thunk that could only be her smacking her head onto the bookshelf. “And I’m just letting her push me around. I bet the dragon doesn’t have this problem.”
Starscribe looked at Spike with her typical inscrutable expression. Maybe she was… confused?
Spike mouthed, ‘What?’
She furrowed her brow slightly and returned to listening to Goldenrod.
There was a light slapping sound of a hoof on fur. “Get it together, Goldie. She can’t keep you here forever, and once it’s over you can find that spa, relax with a book… dream about not having to work with her ever again. Good things.” There was a long controlled breath and then the soft shuffling of hooves on carpet.
Starscribe pursed her lips.“Well, she must be fairly disappointed about her job here to be so vitriolic,” she whispered.
Spike turned around and peered around the corner of the bookshelf, watching Goldenrod trot away. “Or, the mare she’s working for really is that awful,” he whispered, narrowing his eyes.
Spike crouched down low to the ground on all fours and proceeded to scuttle softly toward the bookcase nearest Xenon’s position, before either Xenon or Goldenrod thought to look back. Pressing his back up against the bookcase, he peered around the corner, making sure that Xenon wasn’t moving too far away to hear.
Starscribe’s voice rang out from beside Spike. “You’re very persistent about this, aren’t you?”
He twisted around to see her standing nearly in the hallway. His eyes widened as he noticed that she was basically standing in the hallway, in clear view of Spike’s targets.
“What are you doing? They’ll notice us,” he hissed, grabbing her hoof and pulling her behind the bookshelf. She stumbled a bit at the end, and Spike stared at her, realizing exactly what he had done: he had just physically jerked around someone he barely knew.
He bit his lip. “Er… oh no. Oh no no no, I’m so sorry,” Spike pleaded, almost putting his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but wincing away at the last second, thinking better of still touching her.
She steadied herself. “It’s… it’s fine. I am unhurt,” she said.
Spike grimaced with a face full of teeth. “No it’s… I’m sorry I shouldn’t have grabbed you and–” His ear frill twitched when he heard Goldenrod clear her throat. He mouthed ‘sorry’ one last time, and held his ear near the bookcase.
“I think I’ve got it,” Goldenrod said from behind the bookcase.
“Let’s see,” Xenon said. There were a few rustling sounds. “... This is a book on the sunflower family.”
“Well… the snowcoast sunweed was supposed to turn into a hawkweed whenever it was taken out of its natural environment. I found that hawkweed was of the sunflower family so…”
“So you thought that this very general and broad book would have the very specific information I needed on the snowcoast sunweed, which was thought extinct when this book was published?” Xenon said, with a significant edge to her voice.
“I…” Goldenrod sighed. “Yes… I did.”
“And did you make sure it had the information I need?”
“No…” Goldenrod grumbled.
“I didn’t think so.” There was the thick clap sound of a book being snapped shut, and Goldenrod made a soft oof. “Try again.”
Goldenrod took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Alright, I’ll head back and look again.”
“Maybe this time spend some time thinking about it and making sure you actually found it before you bring me back something like this, hm?”
Spike frowned. ‘Sweet Celestia… she’s awful. I hadn’t imagined that she was this awful when I worked with her… of course I did finish what she expected was days of work in a single day, to not much of a compliment from her.
‘I don’t think I want someone like that following up Twilight’s legacy.’
Leaning away from the wall, Spike sighed and turned his attention back to the person he was talking to. “I’m sorry for–”
Starscribe’s eyes were widened in shock, her mouth open in a gaping frown.
Spike cocked his head. ‘Well that’s a much more significant reaction than she had before.’
Starscribe’s eyes focused on Spike and strained a little wider open, and she clamped her mouth shut. “I-I…”
‘She’s been so impassive until now. But Xenon’s so bad that she’ll even make someone so composed lose it.” Spike leaned a little closer. “What is it?”
Starscribe leaned back a bit as Spike leaned in. “I’m…” She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, composing herself. She opened her eyes with a demure expression and slightly bowed her head. “Please excuse me.”
Spike set himself back down on all fours. “... It’s okay. Xenon’s being pretty mean.”
Starscribe shook her head. “That’s no excuse for losing my composure like that.”
“No, it really is fine.” Spike grinned at her. “No harm done.”
“Well…” Starscribe bowed her head very slightly. “Thank you.”
A frustrated groan resounded from Goldenrod from behind the bookcase. “I can’t believe her! This is an impossible task. There is no information on the plant in this entire library, I’d bet, and I’m stuck here until she decides it’s entirely futile? She’s not even looking for it!”
Starscribe’s face showed a very slight frown. “That is no way to treat an assistant,” she said softly.
“Yeah. It’s awful…”
From beyond the wall, Goldenrod said, “Well, whatever. I guess it’s back to the botany section for a more thorough examination. Hopefully I’ll get it done quickly.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “It’s going to take her an awful long time starting there for the information.”
Starscribe tilted her head. “It will?”
“Well… yeah. The botany section probably has only the most up to date texts, and if the snowcoast sunweed was thought to be extinct there wouldn’t be much information. Her best bet would be trying to find some journals from a researcher who would be recording botany in the biomes that they grow in. Wherever that is.”
“Old… journals?” Starscribe said, tilting her head.
Spike peered around the corner. “Yeah, there’s a lot of information contained in old journals,” he said, watching around the corner. “It’s a good place to find really obscure information, and a lot of naturalists were also ponies who were naturally inquisitive.”
Goldenrod trotted off to the section that no doubt held botany. Spike watched her leave his field of view. “I feel kinda bad for her.”
When he turned back, Starscribe was staring into his eyes challengingly. “So… why don’t you help her?”
Spike pursed his lips and scrunched up his snout. “I… I’ve kinda been spying on her, and I don’t really want to tell her that I was.”
She raised a disapproving eyebrow, practically glaring at him.
Spike shrank a little under her gaze.
“Wait here,” she commanded.
Spike blinked and watched Starscribe about face and trot directly at Goldenrod.
“Starscribe, wait,” Spike hissed under his breath and swiped at her, backing off before he left the confines of the bookcase. He backed up and peeked his head around the bookcase.
Starscribe approached Goldenrod and got her attention. Spike retracted completely behind the bookcase as Goldenrod turned her head toward him.
Spike didn’t dare poke his head out while Goldenrod could be looking his way. But the problem was he had no way of knowing whether or not she was anymore. His pulse quickened a little and he tried to control his breathing. ‘Is Goldenrod still talking to Starscribe? Is she done? Is she telling Goldenrod that I’m here?’ he thought, not daring to make a move. He spent several minutes crouched behind the bookshelf, uncertain if it was safe to peek his head out.
Starscribe’s voice suddenly resounded beside him. “As the name suggests, it only grows on snowy coasts.”
Spike jumped up into the air and yelped. He landed and breathed in and out heavily, a claw to his chest.
“I… I’m sorry,” Starscribe said, her brow furrowed.
“Don’t sneak up on a dragon like that.” Spike gasped for breath. “Three times.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Duly noted.”
Spike took a moment to compose himself, then said, “So… what did you ask Goldenrod about?”
“The snowcoast sunweed only grows on snowy coastal areas, and was last heard of a hundred and twenty years ago. There were a few regions that Goldenrod knew of specifically.”
Spike blinked. “Right… so…”
“So now you can help her without telling her you are here,” she said, as a matter of fact.
“Well–” Spike scratched the back of his head. “–I guess so…”
“So, let us go to the section with the journals,” she finished, trotting over to the lift.
Spike watched Starscribe walk away, before sighing and following her.
Running her hoof along the bookshelf, Starscribe quickly scanned for the tome she needed, and with a practiced motion slipped it off of the bookshelf.
Spike watched her with curiosity. ‘She knows her way around books pretty well, and, once she knew what she was looking for, knows her way around these journals too… ’ His gaze drifted to her cutie mark: a scroll with a group of stars gathered in a constellation on it. ‘Maybe she’s looked through these for star charts, before?’
He tapped his chin with a claw. ‘Maybe… but she didn’t seem to be aware of the informational side of these...’
He watched as Starscribe carefully flipped through the pages of the old journal. A small smile appeared on her face as she read through the entries of the journal.
‘It takes a lot to get a reaction out of her… right? I wonder if she’s found something...’
“Hey, Starscribe?”
The smile was fading when she looked up to Spike. “Yes?”
“What did you find?”
“I… It is nothing,” Starscribe said, a little too quickly.
Spike raised his eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
Starscribe closed the book quickly and turned away. “Y-yes. I… I was indulging myself in reading the journals whether or not they were likely to include the information we need, instead of helping Goldenrod, as my suggestion. I will make sure to not tolerate my dalliances anymore and get back on track.”
Spike watched Starscribe return to scanning the bookshelf. “It’s… okay. It didn’t really take up any time...”
Starscribe didn’t respond, returning the book and continuing scanning.
Spike blinked and muttered, “Okay then,” under his breath.
They worked together in mostly silence, communicating only when it was about the work. It was a comfortable situation for Spike, harkening to the days when Twilight would focus on her work. He occasionally caught glimpses of Starscribe smiling as she read her work, not interrupting like he had before.
The search was not actually that difficult. Narrowing it down by region and particularly by the date expedited the search significantly. And, Spike had to reiterate to himself, Starscribe really did know her way around these journals. She was quite an efficient scanner, even when the journals were poorly organized or illegible. Spike wondered if she was faster than he was. She certainly made the job much quicker.
Before long, they had located a journal of one Garden Spice, a young mare who had grown up around snowcoast sunweeds, and only started taking notes in her adulthood after learning about the scarcity of the flower she grew up with.
Spike peered out from behind another bookcase as Starscribe approached Goldenrod with the tome in her saddlebags. When presented with the book and proof of the existence of the information she was looking for, Goldenrod squealed with delight, which got her a few nasty looks, since she was still in a library. Blushing, she compromised by hopping and clapping her hooves together softly.
Spike snuck around behind them as they located Xenon, and when Starscribe finally found her way behind a nearby bookcase he joined her, using his height to his advantage to peek over her. He saw Goldenrod approaching Xenon Shine.
Biting her lower lip, Goldenrod approached her and announced, “Xenon Shine, I have found the information you need.”
“Is that so?” Xenon’s voice was filled with doubt, and she raised an eyebrow.
Shirking under Xenon’s scrutiny, Goldenrod managed to say, “O-of course,” and presented the journal.
Xenon opened the journal to the marked page and started flipping through it. Goldenrod (and Starscribe and Spike from their hiding place) waited with bated breath.
After a couple minutes Xenon closed the book, placed it into her saddlebag, and turned back to what she was working on.
Goldenrod motioned with her hoof for Xenon to continue, a dumbfounded expression on her face. After it became clear no response was coming, she stomped on the ground.
Xenon looked back, bemused. “Can I help you?”
Goldenrod snapped at Xenon loudly. “Is it right or not?!” Nearby heads turned to watch.
Xenon frowned slightly. “Of course it is. That’s why I put it in my pack instead of sending it back.”
“So why didn’t you say so?” Goldenrod hissed.
With a roll of her eyes, Xenon said, “I didn’t think I needed to. I thought you’d at least be sharp enough to figure it out.”
Goldenrod sputtered. “Maybe because this is the fourth time I brought you information on it.”
“Why are you getting angry?” Xenon said, starting to get a sharpness from her voice. “It’s not my fault it took you four tries to get to the information I needed.”
“It’s an obscure piece of information! Besides, it’s here now, isn’t it?”
“... It is.”
“So maybe at least you could acknowledge that my job is complete!”
Xenon stared daggers at Goldenrod. “Fine. You’re done. I release you. Now go away.” She turned away, returning to looking through the stacks herself.
Meanwhile, Spike was grinding his teeth. ‘Look at this. I can’t believe I even considered she would be a good candidate for the Element of Magic. She’s unappreciative, rude, self-absorbed… I lucked out when she gave me a vague compliment when I finished my work.
‘Twilight would have reacted properly to this.’
Spike snorted out a puff of smoke, eliciting a light cough from Starscribe below him.
“This is a very sensitive topic for you, isn’t it?” Starscribe asked him.
“Er…” Spike grimaced. ‘Nope, can’t talk to Twilight to this stranger...’ He stepped back, so he was no longer looming over her. “I have a little experience with… assistance, and I just think it’s… terrible for someone to be that rude.”
Starscribe looked at Spike impassively. “I… see.”
Goldenrod stomped up to Starscribe. “I absolutely cannot sta–” She stopped short, staring with eyes wide at Spike. “The dragon? What are you doing here?”
‘Horseapples.’
Her eyes shifted down, to the package that Spike was still toting around. He smiled sheepishly and hid it behind him. “I was just… well… around and… kind of…”
“Spike–” Starscribe gestured to him “–helped me locate the journal.”
“Really?!” Goldenrod said, with just a bit too much disbelief in her voice.
Spike frowned. “Yeah, I helped.”
“He knew to look in the historic journals to find this information, and this expedited the inquiry immensely.”
“Oh… well… thanks.” Goldenrod looked away, crossing her hooves petulantly. “Not that it made Xenon any nicer,” she grumbled.
“Yes, she was quite acerbic,” Starscribe said.
“I mean, it’s not like the work isn’t done. On time even! It’s not like she was working on it. There’s no reason she would be–”
“Stop,” Starscribe interrupted firmly.
“What? Is it wrong for me to want to do the job I thought I came here to do?”
“No.” Starscribe laid a hoof on Goldenrod’s shoulder, and in a much softer tone she said, “We’re still in the library.”
“So, the real problem isn’t just that I have to do these kinds of errands. I get it, I’m at the bottom of the pecking order, someone has to do them.” Goldenrod sipped from her coffee cup. “But that’s the only thing I’ve done so far! I’ve been here for two months, and I’ve done a lot of fetching, delivering, clerical duties, searching for texts and such… but I haven’t done any actual research.”
Starscribe nodded placidly. “Surely you’ve done those things before, though.”
A frown appeared on Goldenrod’s face. “Well… yeah. But… I haven’t just done them for years now. I did nothing but that stuff under Sage Rose, my old mentor, as a part of my apprenticeship, but… I had thought I had moved past it, you know? I was working on my own stuff, pioneering spells or techniques.”
Shrugging, Goldenrod said, “Sure, I had to do a lot of the legwork myself, but I thought I had proven myself, and that I’d finally be moving out from my master’s hooves and onto bigger better things.”
She raised her hooves dramatically. “Come to Princess Twilight’s Institute for Magical Research! It’s the next step for my research and my whole career!” She sighed. “But instead I just traded my good position under my mentor with one where I’m back at the bottom again.”
Spike sipped his coffee; it was a little bitter but not unpleasantly so, and he looked around awkwardly. He had passed this open-air cafe many times, but had always been on the move. It was pleasant, especially since the sun was well past its zenith and the air was cool and dry.
He rested his claw gently on his undelivered package, still destined for the director of the Office of Interdepartmental Research.
Goldenrod made a miserable face. “But that doesn’t excuse this whole damn department from using me like slave labor, though!”
… Listening to Goldenrod going in mental circles like this was only dampening the mood a little bit.
‘The Arcane department sounds like it doesn’t do very well by its younger employees … I wonder if that’s why the assignment was unfulfilled for so long: because my department doesn’t actually want to send us to do random gofer work for the Arcane department.’
“And the nerve of Xenon! Would it kill her to show some gratitude?”
Spike nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I–”
Starscribe backed up out of Goldenrod’s line of sight and glared a little at Spike, shaking her head.
Spike stared back, blinking repeatedly.
“... You what?”
Spike’s head mechanically rotated to Goldenrod. “Uhhh…” He opened his maw and dumped the rest of the coffee into it. The strong bitter taste bothered him more than the heat did. “I’m out of coffee. Let me go fix that.”
Getting up to go to the counter, Spike inwardly cursed when he realized he’d be paying extra for the coffee refill, and this was not a cheap place. He could still collect a stipend for technically still being a steward of the Ponyville castle but… it didn’t feel right, taking money for a job he didn’t do anymore. And that meant no royal funds.
A diet of gemstones, even a few gemstones, was not cheap, and Spike hadn’t yet found a source of low-quality cheap gemstones. They weren’t as tasty, but they were still the gems Spike’s biology needed, and he could mature a few, if they were already of enough quality.
Spike sighed as he paid the price. ‘I shoulda come up with a better excuse. One that doesn’t fine me five bits.’
When he returned to the table, both Goldenrod and Starscribe had stood up and were still chatting.
“Uh… what’s up?” Spike asked.
Noticing him finally, Goldenrod turned to Spike. “I have to go.” She took a deep breath and held her hoof out to Spike. “Thank you for your help today.”
Spike grinned, and bumped it with his closed fist. “You’re welcome.”
Goldenrod shared his grin, turned back to Starscribe, and said, “And thank you, too. I would probably still be looking for data, or… I would have failed, and I can only imagine what Miss Shine would have been like if I had failed to find the information she needed.”
With that, Goldenrod turned about face and trotted away, but stopped for a moment. She didn’t turn back to face them, but said “And… thanks for listening,” and continued off.
Spike stared blankly off into the space Goldenrod used to be in. His coffee cup slipped from his claw, spilling out onto the ground. He didn’t even look down.
“Spike… are you alright?” Starscribe asked.
“I… why did I even buy the extra coffee if she was about to leave?!” he said, holding his hands out in outrage.
Starscribe frowned. “I’m sorry, had I realized I might’ve recommended that you not get a refill.”
“Well, why did you stop me from saying what I was going to say?!” Spike said, raising his voice.
“I believed it would be intrusive,” Starscribe said, completely unflapped by Spike’s outburst. “She was expressing her frustration, and we were listening to her. It would be rude, and I believe counterproductive, to intrude with our own frustrations.”
Spike lost his steam. “Well, I… I was just going to agree with her.”
“And I am aware how strongly you feel about Xenon’s actions, but I think that it would be counterproductive to her own mood. She was doing a good job working herself out of her frustrations on her own, I didn’t think interrupting her would help.”
“... Even with your own frustrations? I know you weren’t very happy with Xenon Shine’s actions.”
Starscribe sighed, and pursed her lips. “Of course I wasn’t. It was counterproductive arrogance and cruelty. Especially as she was losing her temper at the end there.” She shook her head. “But it would be just as counterproductive for me to lose my temper.”
Spike scratched the back of his head. “Oh uh… I guess it would… wouldn’t it. Sorry.”
A small smile appeared on Starscribe’s face. “It’s okay. There was no harm done.”
Spike mirrored her smile and chuckled weakly. “Well… thank you.”
Starscribe covered her smile with her hoof, cleared her throat, and when she removed the hoof the smile was gone. “Now, I must be off.” She trotted off, and it seemed like she had a little spring in her step as she left.
Spike smiled to himself, picked up the package and started off to the last delivery of his day.
Spike walked back into Fine Dust’s office, a satisfied grin on his face. “Done with my delivery for Sunny Gaze.”
Fine Dust looked up from his work and gave a glance at the clock on the wall. “It’s been hours.” She shot a piercing glance at Spike. “It couldn’t possibly have taken you that long. Where have you been?”
‘Spying and helping Goldenrod do her job, instead of mine.’ Spike definitely couldn’t tell her that, so instead he said, “Sunny Gaze had some tasks for me.”
Fine Dust raised her eyebrow dubiously. “Really? But he has you all the time anyway. Why would he send you to us, only to monopolize your time?"
Spike rubbed the back of his head. "I guess it just... worked out that way."
"Just like how it 'just worked out' that you didn't take much time at all in all the other deliveries?"
"Y-yeah." Spike laughed nervously.
"Even though Professor Bog came in earlier complaining that you left him before he was done with you?"
'Busted.'
The glare Fine Dust was shooting at Spike darkened. “Just what exactly were you doing all afternoon?”
Spike grimaced. ‘Ugh… okay. Honesty time. Mostly honesty.’ “I was… well I followed Goldenrod to Xenon’s delivery.”
Fine Dust’s glare turned to surprise. “You… did? Why?”
Spike licked his lips and looked away from Fine Dust’s eyes as he fought to come up with an excuse. “Well… I thought… That Xenon was so demanding and hard to please that I’d just… see if she needed help...”
Fine Dust rotated her hoof as if to say ‘go on.’
“... And then I did. We helped locate a journal for Xenon Shine.”
“And the reason I didn’t hear about this is…”
“W-well… I’d imagine it would be pretty embarrassing for Goldenrod to admit…”
Fine Dust’s eyes narrowed as she peered at Spike.
Spike put on the biggest winningest smile he could muster.
The seconds dragged on as Fine Dust scrutinized Spike. After a time, Fine Dust closed her eyes and seemed to shrug. “Alright.”
Spike’s smile turned genuine. “Great. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
He turned to leave, and as he was opening the door, Fine Dust interrupted him. “Hopefully this time you’ll actually stick around for your assignments, and I won’t have to share that your performance was disappointing with Doctor Gaze.”
Spike twisted his head back slowly, to see Fine Dust looking at him with a sly expression. Spike laughed nervously. “D-duly noted.”
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Ooopsie! Check for gender confusion.
Extra carriage return and I'm not quite sure what you were looking for with the or/and, but I hope you can even it out.
In all, great to see this piece continuing. It's clear that Xenon has other issues, and that at this time she's not winning herself any elements. I feel properly bag for Goldenrod. Spike is certainly making progress towards his goal. Best of luck with this going forward.
6117710
Oops indeed! I waffled on Fine Dust's gender during the draft, and I thought I caught all the examples of her being referred to as the wrong one.
Yeah. I couldn't work it into the chapter but... the Arcane department is having some growing pains. They all come from a very hierarchical academic background, filled with scribes, assistants, apprentices, and the such... But the way the institute was set up doesn't strictly provide for those kinds of positions at the moment (note how Spike was surprised that his job wasn't technically an assistant). So they make do with who they have.
On the other hand, Goldenrod is very much like an honor roll student graduating from college and learning that even if you get a job with the best company you still might be fetching coffees for a while. It's kind of a lousy lesson to learn, I know.
6118006
Lousy, yes... but being an adult is knowing that you can't have what you want right away, and that some things must be worked for. Nothing easily gained is cherished, as people both older and wiser than me have said. Well played.
Wow, it feels kinda... frustrating that a great, well-written story like this that's been around two years only has this much attention while the feature bar keeps putting the... stuff it always has on top
.
That being said, I can't help but imagine Starscribe looking and talking like Moonlight Raven from the canterlot boutique episode.
6443096
Thanks for the kind words.
When it comes to popularity, there wasn't much going for this story when it first came out. The summary was worse than it is now, there was no cover, and the opening wasn't as strong as it is now. Suffice to say, it didn't hit the popular or featured box. And, unfortunately, unless I get a shout out or a link from a group it's going to be hard-pressed to get a lot more attention than it did now. The window for that first injection of attention is over.
Even then, the readership has more or less doubled since it started, and my chapters hit a hundred views after a week or two, so it's not like I've got nobody reading it. I was more frustrated, too, before I wrote a story that got a lot of attention. Definitely softened that blow.
And... Starscribe is a bit challenging to write, with her deliberately stoic nature. I didn't want a Maud, nor just a demure high class type... I think I could be doing worse, though.
Yays!!!
Finally caught up!!!
I already have some ideas of who is going to be get some of the elements
Quiero más.