Shrinking Lavender

by Yinglung

Chapter 19

It had been a few weeks since the Golden Oak Library became a tad bit overcrowded with unicorns.

As penitence for partly contributing to the mayhem at Trixie's disastrous magic show, Starlight had single-hoofedly taken on the heavy-work of repairing the damaged town center.

Mutterings from passers-by told of astonishing sights of giant slabs of stones hurling across town, as well as heavy steel piles that were driven into the ground like the earth was jello.

... That was definitely Starlight, alright.

Strangely enough, Starlight was also deathly adamant at not letting me help in any shape or form, probably because she came to see me as a, uh, patient.

Trixie, on the other hoof, seemed to have decided that her life as a wandering magician was to be put into the back-burner, because she had so far shown no signs of wanting to leave, like, at all.

Celestia knew why she suddenly decided that our grotty treehouse was prime real-estate. The other Spike could probably disintegrate her if gazes could kill, and we two were at best acquaintances... Well, perhaps also former schoolmates, if what I later dug out about her admission into the School for Gifted Unicorns were true. I swore to Celestia neither of us ever saw her around, though.

While she mostly loitered around our home, she and I kept a curious rapport. She did not act as difficult towards me, and my polite platitude was surprisingly effective at keeping her at bay. She even listened to me when I hinted at her to stop trying to drive the other Spike up the wall, which gave him a rather welcome respite.

Perhaps it was in part because I tolerated her temerity of setting up a ‘re-do’ magic show, stage and everything, right in front of the Library. Ponies were surprisingly not that against the concept of letting Trixie do a show again in the town, perhaps out of sympathy for having her show demolished by being blasted to kingdom come, which offset some of her obnoxiousness.

Holy Smoke, did Spike drag me over the coal for being so permissive, even with Trixie turning over a small part of her earnings. I also never told Starlight how much I helped with the additional housework, or the amount of magic I expended maintaining that sound barrier around the library, or even that one time Trixie managed to goad me into using actual spells for her show.

Speaking of which, the two unicorns had barely interacted after the incident, because by the time Starlight was back, Trixie was almost always already asleep. Perhaps it was for the best.

************

"By the beard of Star Swirl and the fiery Flamecano, what should I do?"

I muttered to myself using the lowest voice, while pacing around the library like there were bugs in my horseshoes. The figure sticking to me like a wet leaf was the stage magician extraordinaire herself.

Starlight sat at the far corner of the treehouse, ostensibly surrounding herself with books related to her research, but her gazes from between the gaps were only too conspicuous. The other Spike pat his forehead, and then walked over and whispered something into her ears. At least they seemed to be getting along fine.

For some Celestia-forsaken reason, Trixie had suddenly decided she wanted to ‘get to know’ me better, and begun to hang around me like a necklace.

Well, the idea itself was not a problem, even though she was not exactly my first pony in mind to make friend with. It was the abruptness that bemused me.

Since a few days ago, the magician mare had been nagging me with her ‘exploits’ and ‘remarkable feats’ of magic, possibly in a strange attempt to impress me.

I had no appetite for even more drama in this household, so I mostly just played along, entertaining the blue mare with her clumsy ingratiation and roundabout self-congratulation. Well, at least I got to know more about Trixie, and she was mostly bearable when she made an effort to be nice. But why in Equestria was she cozying up to me all of a sudden? Was it that she was concerned that I would have thrown her out of the treehouse otherwise?

My time that was spent with Starlight was cut down drastically as a result. Trixie always found new and bizarre ways to occupy my attention, be it gossips, trips to the town, show-offs or even screw-ups. It’s like the showmare had a way to thread the needle whenever she sensed an opening in my schedule.

That had resulted in a very unhappy Starlight Glimmer, who walked around in the treehouse with her piles of research materials, sulking next to empty chairs and elaborate equipment set-ups that screamed for my presence. The other Spike was the only one that commiserated with her, while meeting my apologetic gaze with a subtle but firm glare of judgment.

Ah, I was still not quite used to the idea of being someone sought after socially, but I should have known. Starlight had been savoring our newly forged friendship so very much.

She must also be working hard and looking forward to finally wind down and spend time with me in Ponyville, be it to do something about my condition or just hang out.

I winced particularly at the thought of her disappointment, as I recalled with shame about what happened last night.

************

“Oh, uh, hey Twilight!”

Starlight poked her head out of the kitchen, followed by the unhurried dragon behind. She was delighted to see me finally walk through the library door, more so because we seldom had the time to chat these days. “You must be starving after a day of outing. Come on in, I’ve cooked dinner tonight and had left something special for you! You haven’t eaten… have you?”

I shook my head, but I must have also shown them a rather silly face of surprise, because Starlight immediately giggled, while Spike wryly smiled.

Since my return, the other Spike and I had bonded with an utterly mundane activity – housework. We worked in tandem and meshed flawlessly, much to his surprise. Cooking was like slicing butter with a hot knife despite having two more mouths to feed, and I secretly relished in his awe and wonder at how in sync we were.

Therefore, it was a total curveball to actually see somepony else in the kitchen. Recalling Starlight’s earlier proclamation about my dietary habits, I widened my eyes in apprehension. However, a wink from the small dragon, hopefully reassuring in nature, gave me some much-needed confidence.

I gingerly trotted near the dinner table and sat down. I tried not to look too shocked or deterred, as the dishes were certainly… a sight to behold.

There was a pie, or at least something approaching the physical appearance of a pie. For one, I didn’t think I’ve ever seen a pie this aggressively, threateningly lumpy, like something right out of medical textbooks. This shade of grey was also uncommon in pies or any other edible stuffs. And were those hairs on the rim?

I looked away from the avant-garde piece of gastronomy, and another striking item entered my sight. It was a bowl of brackish brown sludg- thickened soup. Mysterious starchy chunks, running a gamut of muted green, kept oozing up from the bottom, giving the dish a unique outlook of being freshly scooped up from Hayseed Swamp.

I led my gaze to the last item on the table. It was elegant in its utmost simplicity, as it was simply a tall glass of totally pitch-black liquid. Again, something I would expect to be in my ink pot instead of a drinking glass, but it was so smooth and so uniformly carbonized, not even light from the lamp directly above us managed to glean off its surface. It was by far the most normal item on the table. Surely, something like that could only be made intentionally, right… right?

I briefly considered finding an excuse just to get the Tartarus out, since while the meal before me did not emit an immediately alarming smell, its colors and textures definitely activated all the ancient equine and draconic instincts against consuming dangerous materials.

However, Starlight was looking at me with such bright and expectant eyes… Despite how they looked, these dishes must be prepared with so much heart. I couldn’t possibly let her down by so blatantly bailing out, could I?

My head rose, as I silently asked for absolution for my stomach, and prepared to take a bite of the peculiar feast before me. I carefully cut out a small piece of the mystery pie and launched a fork into it. It broke through the crust with an unexpected sloshing sound, and then it just hanged before my mouth, impaled and held hesitantly still with the magicked utensil.

“Twi- Twilight Sparkle!”

A clearly breathless but still loud voice tore through my eardrum from the library entrance. “The Great and Winded Trixie dem- requires your immediate attention!”

I turned to the source of the sound, and saw the blue mare stand in the door frame with her usual dramatic flair.

“Um, Trixie?” I was still not entirely used to being so casual with her. “You’re so quick! I thought you told me to go home first because you’ve got something to do in the mayoral office?”

“Yes! But I, uh, do need your help!”

She gave the dinner scene a cursory glance, before looking back to me with a more pleading expression. “I have run into some, ahem, technical difficulties with the accursed bureaucracy in this town. They had to gall of telling me that my stage show in front of the library is somehow not ‘up to code’!”

“Huh?” That was a new one.

“And not to mention the trouble they give me just for parking my wagon – my whole livelihood – on the street! Can you even believe that? The exquisite sight of my dazzling wagon brightens up the whole neighborhood, and I haven’t even thought about charging them for my public service as I was so generous!”

The other Spike rolled his eyes so hard, they had probably fallen out and rolled to the back of the bookcases. I gave her my standard face of placation. “That’s really unfortunate to hear. What can I do for you?”

“I need you to come with me, and prove to the annoying clerks that I do currently live out of this treehouse. Some regulatory mumbo jumbo about being a dependent of an established household and exemption, blah blah blah… I might have fallen asleep half-way through.”

Starlight had this inscrutable expression as of yet, but she suddenly spoke up. “That’s all well and good, but surely both you two have not eaten right? Why don’t you-”

Trixie interrupted, and her words were not as subtle as mine. “Ughhh... Yeah, you can keep that bog cuisine to yourself.”

She then trotted next to me and simply pulled me out of the chair with her magic.

“H- Hey! She can’t- She’s-” Starlight yelped, but then Trixie already raised a brow at Starlight and reproved.

“Look Star Chef, I nagged the clerks so hard that they would wait past sunset for me to get her, and I must get this all sorted by tonight, or else they would tow my wagon tomorrow!”

Trixie then gave Starlight a conceited look that did not quite match with what she was purportedly concerned about. “Surely you would be understanding enough not to let them ruin my entire livelihood over a meal, huh, huh, hmmmm?”

She then turned and looked at me with such intensity, I simply let out a vague whimper.

Starlight took note of my response, shuffled and flashed me a wan smile. “I, I guess it cannot be helped. I will just keep them heated till you come ba-”

But then, I was already being dragged out of the library by Trixie. I could swear I saw a strange hint of glee on Trixie’s face. She then yelled into the treehouse from just outside the door. “Hey you know what, don’t bother! We’d be really late, so we’ll just grab a hay burger or something on our way there. Ciao!”

“Wait, wait-!” I said with no small shock, but Trixie was surprisingly strong for a unicorn. In a blink of an eye I was already a good distance away. Hm, must be all the wagon-pulling.

Released from Trixie’s pull, I trotted with a choppy gait and sighed with much guilt, as a small part of me did want to evacuate. Only then, I realized I was somehow still holding the forked pie in the air. As if asking for forgiveness from an absent Starlight, I closed my eyes and ate it.

… It was surprisingly okay.

************

My guilt welled up again at the recollections, even though Trixie was indeed in need. Spike later told me more about how Starlight insisted on working alone and only got him to taste-test. Not only I judged Starlight’s dishes by their looks, but I also pretty much just rolled over and let myself be dragged around.

To my bigger shock, Starlight did not seem even a bit mad with me afterwards, nor did she mouth off the pushy magician.

But that only made me feel even more guilty!

I quietly groaned, and then nodded smilingly to Trixie’s alleged anecdote, how she defeated a fearsome cyclops using nothing but her slicing wit, and earned the adulation of a tribe of griffons.

Meanwhile, the other Spike gave me the silent gaze again. That made me briefly consider why I was tolerating Trixie up to this point. I mean, he was clearly having none of her nonsense. It was quietly unsettling. Was there really anything wrong with me?

It was at that moment a welcome distraction came into the picture.

************

“A royal visit, you say?”

Spike fanned at his still smoking mouth and asked hurriedly. “At this moment of time? Is it because- I mean, is it to check on us?”

“I don’t know. I can’t really say.”

I said in a consciously veiled tone, seeing there were two ponies not in the know here. Still, I could not help but cast my eyes on Starlight, who gave me an unreadable look. “It’s a casual visit, she wrote. Perhaps she just wants to survey the realm.”

At least this would be a good way to extricate myself from the mare that had glued herself on me.

“But in such a hurry? She’s coming tomorrow!” He gawked at the letter with worry. “Is she planning to catch us unguarded?”

“We all know she’s the spontaneous sort for an Alicorn.” I tried to calm the dragon despite my own uncertainty. “Whatever happens, happens. We’ll just get ready and let things be. Roll with the punches and all that.”

Unlike the poker-faced Starlight, Trixie simply barged in our conversation and asked. “Why are you two talking about a Princess stopping by like it’s the sheriff coming?”

Before I even gave a reply, she smugly grinned and proclaimed. “Aha, I see now. Don’t you worry about being busted for whatever crime you might have committed. For I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am also an expect in stealth and intrigue.”

Starlight and Spike both raised a skeptical brow, while Trixie smacked a forceful hoof on my shoulder and pulled me close. “Since I’ve grown to quite like you, Twilight Sparkle…”

I did a double take.

“… I shall teach you one of my immensely useful skills, the dazzling Smoke-Out Escape! This way, you can always be one trot ahead of the authorities!”

I gently increased the distance between me and the mouthy magician, and tried to explain. “No, Trixie, and Starlight as well in case you’re wondering – Spike and I are not some kind of fugitives from justice. I thank you for your concern, Trixie, but we probably need decorations more than smoke bombs for now.”

“Decorations?” Spike asked as he tilted his head. “But didn’t you just say Princess Celestia’s just on a casual visit?”

“Casual or not, a royal visit can’t be too shabby. As the Princess’s liaison in Ponyville, I have to maintain a modicum of royal decorum. That means arranging for a modest reception, you know, putting on some show and such.”

“Hm, I guess that’s fair.” The dragon nodded.

Starlight seemed to have some idea, but she was immediately preempted by the boisterous blue mare.

“Did. You. Say. Shows?” Trixie slammed her hooves on the floor with excitement. “How fitting! There is one fantastic stage magician, right here right now! I even have the stage ready. Oh, an opportunity to put on a show for the most prestigious royalty in the land, you don’t exactly see those every day… With any luck, tales of my deeds will be told from Maretonia to Saddle Arabia!”

“I’m talking about something more like a simple welcoming banner-”

“Pfft, those can be arranged.” Trixie waved her hoof dismissively. “A welcoming banner at the town entrance and multiple, very clear direction signs to the main stage!”

Spike retorted with an utterly unamused tone. “The Princess comes to check on the ponies in Ponyville. You are not even from Ponyville.”

“Tsk, none of you are from Ponyville, and yet we are here.”

The small dragon groaned. “But what about catering? We’d need more than just a gag-pony!”

Spike blatantly ignored the daggers in Trixie’s gaze and continued. “We’d need food and drinks. Even if it’s just a single pony, it’s the princess we’re talking about, we can’t put together some crummy snacks and call it a day!”

“I’ll do it.”

Starlight finally managed to squeeze herself into the conversation. She gave me a simpering look and continued. “To clarify, I mean I will go to the Sugarcube Corner and the Sweet Apple Acres to make arrangement for the banquet. I know whatever I make would not be nearly as presentable or edible enough.”

“Starlight-”

“That’s okay. It’s a good thing to know one’s strengths and weaknesses.” She said with a measured tone. “Either way I am doing something for you, and that’s fine by me.”

I gulped hard at her words and Spike’s recurring gaze, and was about to apologize further. But out of nowhere, my face was smacked with a ball of fur.

“Whu-?”

The blue, hairy object wriggled and chirped, before being removed from my face by a turquoise aura of magic. Starlight inspected the rotund bug-like creature, and turned it around several times. It buzzed and shook its pairs of tiny wings, and its big colorful eyes stared attentively at its captor.

“What exactly is this hairball?” Trixie looked on incredulously. “Where did it even come from?”

“It’s quite cute!” Spike smiled, and jabbed at the creature with his claws, causing it to emit a pleasant purring sound. “Look at it goes!”

“I saw it come in from the upper floor.” Starlight said matter-of-factly. “Must have come through the window.”

“Whatever, just get rid of it.” Trixie waved her hooves dismissively again. “I’ve learnt on my travel not to mess with critters however they look.”

Starlight, on the other hoof, looked cautiously thoughtful. “I seem to have seen this creature in my studies before… Any ideas, Twilight?”

I shook my head with some shame, as knowledge on bestiary was not exactly my strong point. Twilight used to prefer reading wordier books, as she thought the illustrations were distracting, and I simply have lapsed in ‘my’ studies in a way that Twilight of the past would have cried bloody murder.

I would agree with the other Spike that the critter was adorable, though.

“T- There it is. Oh, thank goodness!”

We turned to the gentle voice that had suddenly weaved herself into the conversation. A yellow pegasus flew through the door with a clear expression of relief.

“Oh, Fluttershy.” I greeted with a smile. “Good morning, what brings you to the library today? If you are looking for the book on herbs and their suitability as feed additives, then it hasn’t come in through the interloan yet.”

“No, I’m just looking for-” The demure mare still looked a bit fidgety, especially since she noticed there were four of us here. “Oh, uh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting?”

“No, not at all.” I reassured. Fluttershy, though, looked at Trixie and Starlight with clear apprehension, seeing how their first public appearance before the citizens of Ponyville ended in complete pandemonium.

Spike gestured to the wobbling creature still held in Starlight’s aura. “We’re just talking about this little fella. Is it yours?”

“Yes! I mean, well, not exactly.” The yellow pegasus, in sweet self-consciousness, shyly corrected. “I just found this adorable little guy near the edge of Everfree. It’s so cute! I just can’t help but to bring it into town to show everypony!”

“It looks so soft and lovable, yeah.” Spike grinned at the purring critter. “I won’t mind having one or two in the house, to be honest.”

“Meh, it’s just a ball of fluff.” Trixie muttered under her breath, while Starlight stared at the creature intently for one last time, before returning it to its finder.

Fluttershy gave Starlight a skittish nod of thanks, before shifting with even some embarrassment. “But when we’re at the market, it slips out of my saddlebag and just ate up a whole basket of apples! Poor thing must be famished!”

She then sighed wistfully. “I paid the stall owner, and then tried to get it to calm down, but it escaped again.”

”And after a lengthy chase, it somehow ends up in here.” I held my jaw and surmised.

“P- Pretty much.”

“Well, since it’s here, I may as well try to ID it later, if only because it is so delightfully cute.” I twirled my mane in thought. “But probably after we set things up for Princess Celestia’s visit.”

“The Princess is coming?” Fluttershy’s eyes grew round.

Spike clapped and rubbed his claws. “Yep, tomorrow morning, and we’re about to get around and put up decorations.”

“Oh… I see, I guess I should be going then-”

However, as the yellow pegasus turned around to leave, the fur ball suddenly trembled in her hooves. Another nearly selfsame fur ball then popped out from its mouth.

The new fur ball was of a different color, but it buzzed and chirped all the same. They flew around the assembled ponies and dragon in cheerful unison, and emitted an almost saccharine hum.

Fluttershy immediately swooned, and Spike let out a cooing ‘aww’. Even Trixie begrudgingly admitted. “Okay, I guess that was a little cute.”

Starlight and I, however, were more interested in its curiously fast growth.

“Such a remarkable way of reproduction for a macro-organism.” I said with amazement.

“It gestates completely within the parent, and yet is the same size as a mature specimen… And if the trigger to its reproduction is food intake, then it assimilates nutritional matter with an astonishingly fast rate and high efficiency.” Starlight stroke her cheek intently. “We must consult the Compendium of Equestrian Fauna-”

“Yes, yes, your passion is noted.”

Spike gave both of us a pat on the side, and then waved the timid animal caretaker along with her two new critters goodbye. “But as far as I know, you two are not exactly animal experts. If even Fluttershy doesn’t know what that is, it’s not going to be quick. Remember, we still have a princess to welcome.”

“Spike’s right.” I smiled. “We can study this together when we are back from work tonight. It’s been some time since we spend time properly together.”

“Aye, sure thing, Twilight.” Starlight looked visibly perked at my promise. She gave a not-so-discreet peek to Trixie, who have gone back to planning for her big show for the Princess. She then nodded again with a clear smile.

I chuckled. “It’s not like these critters are going anywhere.”

************

They were definitely going somewhere, alright. That somewhere being every-bucking-where.

The deafening sounds of insect buzzing reverberated across the winding streets of Ponyville, almost drowning out all the screeches and screams from innocent bystanders.

I turned back in alarm, and a sky-shielding swarm of fur balls suddenly descended upon the square in chaotic tandem. All edible stuffs in the open were picked clean off in a blink of an eye.

Holding a half-hung piece of colorful fabric, Spike and I exchanged an astounded look. Out of sheer instinct, I yanked the dragon with a levitation spell and quickly put him on my back.

“Hey!” He protested at being suddenly manhandled.

“Sorry. These creatures seem to be quite ravenous in their appetite.”

He immediately blanched. “D- D- Does that mean they are gonna eat us?”

I put up a reassuring tone. “I’m just being prudent. They don’t seem to attack living beings from what we’ve seen.”

“Riiight...” He looked to the insatiable cloud of devourers with still some disquiet in his voice. “But even if that’s true, they’re going to eat all the food in Ponyville at this rate!”

I let out a plaintive sigh and leaned my head back onto the dragon. “That would indeed be bad.”

“Not just bad, but really bad!” Spike cried and grasped my cheeks. “A lot of ponies are going to go hungry. We’re all going to go hungry!”

“While there would definitely be disruption, I trust the royal government would promptly divert aid from elsewhere, so as to make sure a famine doesn’t break out at the heart of Equestria. Plus, they don’t seem to touch inorganic materials, so gems and minerals would be fine.”

“B- But-” Spike, however, seemed to be more agitated than me. “Even so, ponies will go without a job and have their lives ruined! Like, Pinkie would have nothing to bake cakes with, the Apple family would see their soon-to-be harvest gone in a ‘poof’, Fluttershy would struggle to feed her animals-”

“Not trying to lay blame on her or anything, but I think you’ll see that it’s her desire to feed animals that contributes to our current conundrum.”

He stuttered for a bit, before returning to his flustered reasoning. “Besides, you know, ponies would have much bigger things to care than the weather or fashion, so Rainbow Dash and Rarity would also be screwed!”

I chuckled. “And getting Rarity into trouble would be a bridge too far, right?”

Spike quickly blushed, but he let out a frustrated groan. “This is no time to joke! Why aren’t you more concerned about the whole thing?”

I paused, and asked myself the same question again in my mind. I suddenly realized why there was a nagging feeling of mine that did not want this situation to resolve quickly.

At the end, I supplied with some shame. “I apologize. I suppose I should indeed take the situation more seriously. I guess I was, without thinking, hoping that the disruption would distract any royal scrutiny. But it’s selfish of me to think so.”

Spike then scratched his head hesitantly. “I- I haven’t thought of it this way. But yeah, we really should try to stop the swarm first. Celestia knows if they would escape Ponyville and spread to other parts of Equestria. Nopony deserves to have their livelihoods destroyed, if even somepony like Trixie doesn’t.”

“Right. So, any ideas?”

“What? You’re turning to me for ideas? Do I look like I am the one who graduated from a School for Gifted Dragons?” Spike first noted with a droll smirk, then frowned. “Can’t you just, I dunno, use some doohickey spells to make them stop eating?”

“Well, I do have a spell or two that could in theory trick them away from ingesting organic matter.”

I pondered. “But seeing how they have an unnaturally intense appetite, and a heretofore unknown yet highly efficient mechanism to exploit the energy from a wide range of materials, they might just turn onto other non-organic sources for continual catabolism. I doubt I have a spell that could counteract their very drive to consume, not before I have a good understanding of the nature of their behavior.”

“Uhhhh-”

“They will just eat non-food instead.” I switched to my Spike-speak.

“Oh… Eh?”

We both noticed an exasperated blue mare galloping from afar, and wearing an absolutely livid expression.

“Hey you two, do some- just do something already!” Trixie asked with a mix of incredulousness and impatience once she approached us. “Why are you just standing around? There won’t be a show or even reception any longer if this dump of a town turns into Famine-ville!”

“Well, then why aren’t you doing anything, o brave Hero of Kvetch?” Spike began to mercilessly mock the blue mare. “Surely saving Ponyville from this hungry horde would be a simple job for a unicorn as resourceful as you?”

I swore I could see a vein or two popped on Trixie’s temple. But then we briefly met gazes.

Miraculously, she simply took in a long, slow breath and calmed herself down.

“… Very well, I shall show the scaly hayseed there how it is done.” The stage magician proclaimed with her usual bravado, but I could sense that she did not have much of an idea yet. “And steady your eyes too, Twilight Sparkle, for I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am about to add a new feat for the ages into her long list of-”

Trixie’s grand speech was cut short by another bright blue-green flash. Her erstwhile opponent, Starlight Glimmer, materialized right before us with a serious expression.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight, I am late to connect the dots.” The light purple unicorn immediately apologized with a sigh. “Of course their appetite plus their multiplying rate would mean exponential growth.”

“No worries, we are all slow on the uptake here.” I reassured her. “So have you figured out other things?”

“’Fraid not. I was just going to the Acres, when some townpony spotted me and told me there is some sort of attack on the town. I then rushed back and looked for all of you.”

She then added bashfully. “They might have looked to me as somepony who can just blast anything into oblivion with one hit.”

“Not an unfair assessment.” I noted wryly.

Starlight’s mouth opened as if to say something, but she rolled her eyes with a snort instead. She then trotted towards the edge of the meandering swarm, which extended all the way along the main street towards the horizon.

“I am just going to banish all these pesky fur balls back to where they came from. If they will just stay there, then we don’t have to worry about them anymore. They are from the Everfree Forest, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and not a bad idea… Uh, need my help?”

“No, just stay back and watch.” Starlight’s words were curt but firm.

I fell into a pensive silence, and the light purple unicorn immediately fired up her horn. A massive aura materialized before her, and grew into hundreds of frightful tendrils that darted towards every individual in the swarm. Each of the fur balls that got hit was immediately teleported away, giving it an illusion of an all devouring leviathan.

“What in the ever-loving heck is that?” Spike gasped, and hugged my mane even closer in fear.

“What an annoying show-off.” Trixie, on the other hoof, was completely oblivious to the irony of her own words.

I just quietly gauged Starlight’s efforts to get rid the perpetually hungry creatures. Her spell seemed tailor-made to lock onto the individuals within the formless swarm. She might have ramped up the showy factor, but it was the epitome of precision and magical control.

However, as time went on, something just did not add up. The swarm was at first held at bay by Starlight’s magic, but they did not wane in any appreciable numbers at all.

At last, the light purple unicorn panted heavily with exhaustion, and abruptly ceased her spell.

“What happened?” I asked quickly.

She took in a long breath. “… As I suspected, these creatures must have some kind of homing ability towards their peers, or that they are attracted to the food sources in town. They just won’t stay where I teleported them to.”

“That’s a shame.” Spike commented and stuck his tongue out, while Trixie just jeeringly snorted.

The glare of the magical unicorn against the swarm turned harsh. “If they are too simple to understand my benevolent intention, I guess I have to do it the hard way.”

She did not even wait for a bit, before unleashing another sky-rending beam of pure magical energy. This time, there was no well-crafted subtlety, only raw power and utter annihilation.

The beam narrowly missed a crooked signpost and an old bell tower, before reaching the edge of the swarm, fiercely howling and blitzing.

Spike covered his eyes and peered out of the gaps, while I instinctively winced, expecting a blazing inferno of barbecued bugs and the subsequent counselling session with a heartbroken pegasus.

However, the creatures moved together in a choreographed motion. Like an oddly organized horde of angry frilled lizards, their mouths collectively flapped open to an impossible width, weaving themselves into a terrifying curtain of abyss.

The attack hit the dead center of the swarm, but instead of turning the creatures into hot dust, the blinding light went into their mouths and disappeared like a candlelight in the wind.

Much to our horror, the fur balls seemed to have fully absorbed the attack. They ballooned in size briefly, before letting loose a torrential stream of new individuals made with the sudden influx of energy.

The air filled up to the brim with the cute yet all-devouring critters, their bodies compressed and slipped against each other, all while pushing towards us like a tsunami.

Starlight clearly did not expect this outcome, neither did the rest of us. She froze there, eyes round as melons. I knitted my brows and trotted forward, preparing to teleport the whole group to a safer distance, but Trixie seemed to have some other idea.

“Watch out!” I called out to the galloping mare, worried that this was far from something the magician could handle herself.

“Twilight Sparkle, I told you I am going to do something about this myself, before that magical brute barged in and screwed things up even more!” The magician sounded exasperated and somewhat uncertain, but also oddly exuberant. “Now feast your eyes upon my work and behold!”

I gasped in shock as Trixie entered a mad dash towards the ferocious swarm, her cape fluttering in the turbulence.

“Geronimo-!”

She raised her front hooves, let out a loud cry of war, and elevated her cape to reveal the content underneath – tightly-secured belts carrying numerous metallic spheres.

I was briefly startled by her explosive belt, before the blue mare catapulted the spheres out one by one with her magic, and began again to gallop with her full might. Instead of explosions, pungent colorful smoke quickly enveloped the advancing file of swarm section by section, and eventually occluded our view of the surprisingly courageous magician who disappeared under the smoke and the swarm.

The remaining three of us looked on with mouths agape, before the magician mare dashed out of the smoke cloud again, holding one of the fur balls using her telekinesis triumphantly. Unlike a moment ago, the fur ball looked much more lethargic, and its wings beat listlessly without rhythm.

“Haha, hahahaha!” Trixie sounded as if she did not believe she did it at first, but she quickly raised her hooves in victory. “The Great and Powerful Trixie always has a few tricks up her sleeves!”

Although Trixie’s smoke still clung to the air stubbornly, we could see something similar happened with the swarm at large. They have lost most of their vigor and swam around the smoky air slowly and aimlessly, clustering into a writhing ball of confused bugs. Their mad pursuit for edible materials had completely ceased.

“Whoa.” Spike was the first to give an audible response. “That’s… That’s something. I guess smoke bombs are not just for escape after all.”

“That faint a praise does not at all match with the absolute genius that goes into my operation, scaly hayseed.”

Trixie tutted. “My smoke bombs are so smoky because of all the very special oils I put into them myself. I use them to repel mosquitoes on my travel all the time. I know it is going to work on all other kinds of bugs, naturally.”

“So basically, you fumed all those hairy bugs out of the air.” Spike blinked a few more times. “… I can’t say that’s not effective. It did the job anyway. So, bravo.”

Trixie harrumphed, basking proudly in the reluctant praise from the other Spike.

“Hey-! Wow, you girls make the parasprites stop even before I gather up the instruments!”

A high-pitched, sprightly voice rang behind us, and we turned to find Pinkie Pie rolling in, for some reason, as a one-pony band. She looked intrigued at the positively plastered swarm. “How you do that?”

“All thanks to Trixie and her quick thinking. She used her homemade smoke bombs to disable them. Now their removal should be easily expedited.” I smiled, and then turned to the magician mare. “Thank you so much, Trixie.”

“So am I a good friend indeed to a friend in need?” She asked eagerly.

“Oh, uh, of course you are.”

Trixie’s head held high in clear joy and pride, while Starlight averted her eyes. I nonetheless kept on asking the pertinent question. “You also sound like you know what these ‘parasprites’ are, Pinkie.”

“Oh, you know, they are the ever-hungry parasprites! If you don’t get them out of the town soon, they will eat all the crops, harvest, absolutely everything!”

“And those instruments…?”

“Oh, they are for exactly that!” She grinned brightly. “Just watch!”

Pinkie blew a loud tone with the trombone, and began to beat on the drums. Unbelievably, the writhing mass of tipsy parasprites began to half-fly and half-squirm towards the pink pony. With each hit of the keys, the massive swarm rippled and bobbed, and sluggishly followed the pony piper, all the way towards the horizon out of the town.

“… My head hurts.” Spike jumped down from my back and held his forehead.

I patted the dragon with an empathic nod, before catching eye of Trixie pulling Starlight to the side. The blue mare had this look of glee, and whispered something very quickly to Starlight’s ears with a swaggering grin. Starlight seemed quite stunned at what the presumably boastful mare had said, and she hung her head further lower.

I immediately frowned, and was about to trot near them to express my disapproval at the magician’s apparent aggressive aggrandizement, but Starlight just slunk away and said quietly. “Twilight, I… I think I will just go ahead and finish my job at the Acres.”

“Wait-” I barely spoke up, but Starlight was already gone in a flash of teleportation magic.

I quickly turned and glared at Trixie, who only then noticed my clear displeasure and slightly flinched. “What exactly did you just tell Starlight, Trixie? Are you boasting to her how witty you are for thinking up a way to immobilize the parasprites?”

“What, no-” Trixie widened her eyes, and then slapped her own cheeks dramatically. “Ow, I mean, yes, yes I did. Ah, I shouldn’t do that, I really shouldn’t. You know, humble in victory gracious in defeat and all that. I’m sorry!”

“… Okay. I mean, you did well to hold up the parasprites until Pinkie came along, but that doesn’t give you the right to-”

“Yes, got it, got it-” Trixie looked like she’s already out of patience. “You know what, Twilight, we really should keep at our work to prepare for the Princess’s visit, don’t you think so? We’re already behind schedule with this whole parasprite nonsense.”

“Whoops.” I realized she was right, as the sun was trending downwards. “Fine, we’ll talk about this tonight after I met with Starlight.”

Against Trixie’s loud groan, I added. “Spike and I will keep putting up the banners and decorations, and then probably check on any loss of food suffered in town. You go back to prepare whatever kind of show you’re trying to put up, okay?”

“Aye, the Great and Powerful Trixie never disappoints.” She smirked. “I’ll have to check on and replenish my props as well. See you around.”

I waved Trixie goodbye and let out a heavy breath. I realized very clearly now. I was so blind and passive, and definitely not giving nearly enough attention to Starlight and her feelings, especially ever since we were back in Ponyville.

I must sit her straight up and have a serious talk, mano-a-mano, to clear the air and remind her that I still value her as a very good friend.

I gritted my teeth, my stomach and guts tied in a distressing knot. Spike held up the opposite side of the banner and stared right into my regretful eyes, and I was certain he knew what I was thinking. He merely sighed and shook his head.

I hoped it would not be all too late.

Author's Note:

I am not dead ^yet, so is this story, I swear to the guy who have put my story into the Deader than Sombra folder.

Anyway, I'm pleased to have received a lovely story illustration from Twirility! Twi-Spike in the story is still a vintage unicorn, but this is still a very awesome gift!

Comments

[Yinglung]

Heck, I really should do my own illustrations for my own stories sometimes. I really should have a semblance of an update schedule.

... I am so sorry.

[azereath]

Ok Wow, it is good to see that this updated again, as I remember enjoying this though I think I need to reread it again from the beginning, as while I think I remember some of it, I cannot for the life of me remember why Starlight is there.

[Yinglung]

Thank you so much and my sincere apology

[ThatOneGriffin]

ayahoo

[mishun]

It's back! Yay!

[twilywily]

Hi, I followed along with this story before I had made an account many years ago. It’s definitely one of my favorites! I’m really happy to find it again! It’s well written and I love the characterization. I don’t know if you have any plans to continue but I’ll be here to appreciate any updates!!

[hmaf43]

Hello there? It's really not dead?