Shrinking Lavender

by Yinglung

Chapter 7

After two more days of observation, I checked myself out of the hospital with minor bandaging on my head.

Compared to my injuries though, the damage to the library was more evident. Windblown debris was strewn across the library floor. Library books laid messily in puddles, still not quite dried. Some even had already grown moldy.

Seeing the carnage being done to our home, and especially my beloved library, I felt a strong sense of sadness. Perhaps due to Twilight’s influence, I cringed at any incidence of book damage.

The Spike next to me, however, merely groaned aloud in annoyance. “The pegasi are darn crazy! How could they just ramp up the storm without caring about any potential damage to the town houses? Now the tree house is ruined! We have to clean up this mess too!”

“And we probably need bits to patch up the wall as well. I doubt that would be cheap.” I added glumly.

“Can we ask the weather pony to, uh, pony up the cash?” Spike suggested.

“I doubt it. They must have some sort of escape clause when they agreed to help the town make weather.”

“So we can ask the mayor instead?”

“Maybe, but don’t bet on it. Although the library is sort of open to public, it’s not a municipal building. I don’t think it’s publicly insured. Moreover, as far as I know, Ponyville city council is poorer than a country mouse. I’ve read that a few years back, when some local youth vandalized the town hall, the mayor had to beg some local magnates to cough up dough in exchange of some unspecified privilege in order to repair the damage. We’re likely to be drilling rocks for water.”

Spike looked distraught. I sighed and said. “Perhaps I would add earning some bits to the purpose of my journey as well. For now…”

I gritted my teeth and lit my horn. A searing pain came from my head wound, but I still managed to move some planks from the upper floor and hastily boarded up the hole.

“Let’s cover it up like that first. Until I get the bits to repair the damage, you should watch out for seepage.”

“Understood.”

“Have you sent the letter then?”

“I did earlier, but the Princess hasn’t replied or sent anything back yet.”

“Thanks, that’d be fine. I don’t really expect a reply, since the letter is more like a report. I’d take a day’s rest to wait in case of one, and then I’d pack up and go.”

“Where are you going exactly?” Spike asked worriedly.

“If the goal is to achieve maximum physical distance, then the easiest way to do it would be hitch a train to the Northeast, all the way to Trottingham. Remember to stay around Ponyville though, or my calculation would be wonky.”

Spike did not seem to be reassured. “You really should reconsider this. You’ve just been knocked on the head, and became so disoriented that you almost lost a week of memories. If you go alone and anything happens again, no one would be able to help!”

I exhaled. “I’m not going to be away from major population centers for any extended amount of time. The Griffish Isles aren’t exactly rural nowhere.”

He still looked incredibly uncertain. Despite my ongoing existential crisis, I still didn’t want him to feel horrible because his Twilight left him alone, and that he had to worry about her safety all the time.

I decided to use a topic that would guarantee to rattle him.

“Hey, Spike. Don’t say that I didn’t think of you while you were gone. I spent the night trying to gauge how much Rarity’s into you.”

“W- What?!” Spike’s face again reddened like a ripe tomato. It seemed that my efforts to distract him from his worries were a success.

I then sadly smiled. “Unfortunately though, I think you’d need more work to make her pay attention to you.”

Despite his embarrassment and disappointment, he was clearly hooked. “How so?”

“She sees you as some dragon who’s following me around all the time. Not that there is anything wrong with that in my eyes, but to casual observers such as her, your personality just don’t really show.”

Spike clearly wanted to express some irritated frustration, but at the end he could only sulk. “So she sees me only as your tagalong dragon?”

“Don’t fret too much over that. Family being close together is simply natural. But I was thinking… perhaps some away time from me can indeed accentuate your character in her eyes.”

“A-cent-”

“Stress, I mean stress.” Vocabulary really hadn’t been his strong suit.

“O- Okay…”

“Despite over 40% of the whole night was fraught with their bickering, I still manage to slip in a few questions about her interests, things she love, et cetera. I know you’re a bit daunted by lists, so I make an infographics instead.”

I levitated a small piece of ‘cheat sheet’ and placed it into his little hands. “Use it to pique her interests and get her to notice you. I may have little romantic experiences myself, but speaking as a, um, mare, you need to make sure that you’re on her thoughts all the time. And to prevent her from thinking you as her little follower instead of possible love interest, you need to do something other than helping her around. Impress her with etiquette, surprise her with ideas, charm her with maturity, whatever it takes to make her think that being with a small dragon is not only viable, but desirable.”

He remained speechless for quite a while, and then he muttered. “Y- You certainly put a lot of thoughts into this, Twi.”

“I do. I want you, my beloved dragon, to be happy.”

He stared at me for a long time, and then he wrapped his little arms around my legs.

A while afterwards, he looked up with a bemused look. “Twilight… I…”

“Hmm?”

“Ever since we’ve arrived at Ponyville, you’ve been so, so caring and kind to me.”

Against the nagging discomfort in my heart, I mocked a disapproving look. “Are you saying that I’ve been a terrible caretaker before?”

“N- No! Of course not! But ever since we arrived, you’ve let me off the hook for really bad screw-ups for more than once, and you’ve always put it in your all, not only to look after my needs, but my wants. I- I don’t know…”

“… What do you not know?”

“I don’t know if there’s anything on your mind that prompted you to shower me with such care. I don’t think I’ve done anything in particular to deserve it, so it must be something that happened to you.”

He gulped difficultly. “Twilight, don’t tell me that you’re going to do something silly soon, like going to act as my fall mare for my screw-up in front of the princesses. I would never be able to forgive myself if you do that.”

I exhaled quietly. He’s catching onto it. This was only another testament to the fact that I had to resolve this quagmire as soon as possible.

“Spike, I want to protect you, but I also won’t do something like that because it would hurt you.”

I patted his head, as the sentimental dragon again cried into my other leg.

I might have indeed been addicted to the warm, glowing feeling whenever I spoilt ‘myself’.

I didn’t find fault with it, though.

Author's Note:

Finally leaving Ponyville and the stations of the canon

Comments

[honeyhoneyhoney]

Daww.

A bit short.

But daww.

[Wolfren]

7800574 Darn tootin'!