Growing Pains

by Sixes_And_Sevens

Friday Morning

Lotus glanced at Aloe. “Is she still zere?”

Aloe leaned over the counter and peered through the glass doors. “Ee-yep,” she said with a nod. “She von’t stop pacing, either.” She leaned a little further. “I zink she’s beginning to dig a hole in the ground.”

Lotus shook her head. “Poor mare. I vonder vhat Sveetie Belle and her friends haf done zis time.”

Aloe giggled. “At least zey didn’t turn her mane green again,” she commented. “Zat vas some kind of dye!”

Lotus gave her sister a mild glare, but there was no heat to it. “Remember, Aloe, vhat is said in the massage room…”

“Stays in ze massage room, I know,” the pink mare laughed. “But you must admit, zat vas pretty funny…”

The blue mare fought back a grin. “Alright, ze green mane vas pretty good,” she agreed. “But not, I zink, as good as ze time zey tried to make cider?”

Aloe snickered. “I had forgotten zat,” she admitted. “Poor Epplejack. Her muscles were so tense…”

Lotus nodded. “You should haf felt her brother.”

Aloe’s grin turned to a leer. “I vill, sister. Oh, I vill…”

Lotus rolled her eyes. “Do you suppose ve should just let her in early?” she suggested, nodding at Rarity, still pacing outside.

Aloe considered. “Vait until she’s dug in about another few centimeters,” she replied. “I vant to plant some dahlias, end if she keeps it up, I von’t haf to dig.”

Lotus frowned at her grinning sister. “As often as you claim to be ze elder tvin, I might expect you to be a little more mature.”

Aloe squinted at her twin and blew a raspberry. Then, with a deft flick of the hoof, she tossed the key ring over to the other mare. “I’ll go varm up ze steam room,” she said brightly, trotting away.

Lotus sighed, but she was smiling nonetheless. Walking over to the door, she noticed that a rather alarmed Fluttershy had now joined her unicorn friend, who was talking in a highly animated fashion. The blue mare unlocked the door and peered out. “Miz Rarity? Miz Fluttershy? Vould you like to come in?”

“Oh! Yes, darling, thank you,” Rarity replied, her smile unusually wide as she trotted in. Fluttershy trailed closely behind.

Lotus quickly slipped behind the desk. “Vhat can I interest you in today?” she asked, leaning against the counter.

Rarity glanced at Fluttershy. “You choose, darling. Whatever you want.”

Fluttershy blinked, then flushed. “Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly…”

“Nonsense!” the unicorn declared. “I have no particular preference today. What would make you happy, Fluttershy dear?”

The pegasus smiled slightly. “Um. I’d like to use the hot tub today, and then maybe a massage?”

Lotus jotted that down. “Jasmine vill take you to your tub,” she said, indicating a spa worker who had just entered the room.

Rarity smiled at the silver-coated mare. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before, darling. Are you new?”

Jasmine nodded shyly. “It’s only my first week, miss.”

“Rarity. And this is Fluttershy. We’re what you might call regulars.”

Rarity followed the mare down the hall, chatting amiably. Fluttershy glanced at Lotus. “She’s acting a little strangely, right? It’s not just me?”

Lotus pursed her lips. “I could not say, I am sure,” she replied primly.

“Oh. Um, alright then,” Fluttershy murmured, slipping out of the room, her face burning.

Lotus watched her go, thoughtful. Rarity did seem to be oddly on edge, and yet she had allowed her friend to select the treatment for the day. Even at her best, Rarity usually took charge in that regard. Furthermore, she didn’t immediately launch into a story about what the Crusaders had done yesterday, nor embark on a rant about the Canterlot snobs who were making it all but impossible to run a boutique in the capital city of Equestria. So what was…no.

Surely not.

Was it possible—?

With Fluttershy?

The blue mare gazed at the door, deep in thought. This warranted further investigation.

***

Fluttershy let out a small sigh of pleasure as she settled herself into the hot water next to her friend. “Oh, my, this is nice,” the pegasus said, letting her wings spread gently.

“Isn’t it? Well chosen, my dear,” Rarity agreed. “The dragons have something like this, you know.”

Fluttershy swallowed. “O-oh?”

Rarity repressed a sigh. No matter how often Fluttershy saved the day, no matter how many monstrous creatures she cared for, no matter how long she cohabitated with Discord, the petite pegasus still wouldn’t be over her fear of large dragons. That was the reason she was doing what she was doing, to help a friend overcome a fear. No ulterior motives here. None. “Yes, darling,” she said casually. “Of course, they tend to use pools of lava, instead. Or do I mean magma?”

“Umm,” Fluttershy hedged.

“Doesn’t matter,” Rarity decided, waving a hoof airily. “You know, they’re terribly interesting creatures, dragons. I’ve always wanted to know more about them, haven’t you?”

“Pardon me,” Lotus said, trotting into the room with a basketful of dry towels.

Rarity smiled. “Oh, don’t worry about it, darling.” She turned back to Fluttershy. “Do you know much about dragons, dear?”

“I, um, well… I know they’re big and scary and breathe fire…”

Rarity smiled and raised a brow. “Nothing more from Ponyville’s premiere caretaker of animals?”

“Well, I know a little more,” Fluttershy allowed, “but nothing you wouldn’t already know. Like the Greed Growth, or how they can live for a really, really long time… and how they eat gems.”

“Mhm,” Rarity said, staring at her friend intently. “You know, I’ve actually been looking into dragon biology myself.”

Fluttershy blinked. “You have? That’s, um, nice. Did you… read anything interesting?”

“Oh, one or two things,” Rarity said, smiling slightly. “For instance, not all dragons breathe fire. Some actually breathe ice. Others can breathe lightning, or massive gusts of wind, or even darkness. It all depends on their hatching conditions. A very rare few, such as our own dear Spike, can actually breathe magic.”

“I—” Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Magic? Really? I always just assumed that was more Celestia than Spike.”

“I thought the same,” Rarity agreed. “However, Twilight has said otherwise, and even gone so far as to say that he could learn other spells with enough practice… and maturity.”

The yellow pegasus stared into space. “Oh, my.”

Lotus finished putting the towels onto the shelves and quickly pushed the cart back out of the room. Rarity smiled. “It would be a cryptozoological experience not seen for hundreds of years,” she said casually. “A pity Spike doesn’t feel mature enough to try…”

The unicorn knew that this could be seen (by only the most negative, suspicious individuals) as the worst sort of manipulation. Holding Fluttershy up to a problem and hoping the pegasus’s mother-to-all-life instincts would take over… well, it was morally dubious, perhaps. Rarity, however, had long held the belief that the end tended to justify the means, or at least put them into a better light. So she smiled as she watched the yellow pegasus combine two and two and obtain four. “He doesn’t?”

Success. She could see it in Fluttershy’s gaze, at once harder and more sympathetic. She had chosen the perfect bait, as her father would have put it, and now she had one on the line. All that remained was to “reel her in,” as it were.

“No,” she said with a sad shake of the head, letting herself droop just a little bit. “No, he doesn’t. The poor dear simply lacks the self-confidence even to try.”

Fluttershy, who knew a thing or two about failing to believe in oneself, leaned forward. “That’s terrible! Is there anything we can do to help him?”

Rarity allowed herself a small smile of victory. “Well, since you ask…”

***

Aloe whistled to herself as she continued to unpack the most recent shipment of shampoos and oils. Behind her, the door swung open, and her sister walked in. “Aloe,” she said calmly. “I haf something to tell you, but you haf to promise me zat you vill not overreact.”

The pink mare looked up, her eyes wide and innocent. “Me? Overreact? Never.”

Lotus sighed. That was a good as it was going to get. “I zink Miz Rarity is in love vith Miz Fluttershy.”

Aloe said nothing. She didn’t even twitch. “...Aloe?”

The pink mare licked her lips softly. “... why do you say zat, sister?” she asked carefully.

“Vhile I vas restocking ze towels, I overheard zem talking.”

“About love?”

“About dragons.”

The pink mare frowned. “Vhich you translated as sveet nothings… how?”

“Rarity had introduced ze topic. She never does zat. Alvays, she is discussing clothes, and Fluttershy is listening. Today, not so. You saw her pacing around, vaiting for her friend. Rarity even let Fluttershy choose ze spa treatment. And ze vay she keeps staring into her eyes…”

Lotus considered this. “Alright. I haf shipped ponies on less evidence zan zis. So, now vhat?”

Aloe shrugged. “I do not know,” she admitted. “But Rarity is too reserved to tell Fluttershy of her feelings, and Fluttershy is too shy, even if she shares zose emotions.”

“So… ve must help zem!”

Aloe stared. “No.”

Lotus blinked. “But vhy not? If it is true love—”

“Hoo boy. Here ve go again,” Aloe muttered.

Lotus cut herself off, glaring at her sister. “You haf no romance in your soul.”

“I’ve got plenty of romance!” the blue mare replied, pulling back from her sister. “It’s just strictly reserved for me and whoever I vant to date. Not… shipping.”

“Hmph,” Aloe grumbled. Then, a sly smile crossed her features. “Vell zen, you haf two choices. Eizzer you help me get ze two of zem togezzer, or I do it all myself.”

Lotus flinched. Her hyperactive sister on a shipping spree? That would not bode well for Ponyville, especially if Aloe got… distracted by another young couple. “You are incorrigible. I should never haf told you about zis.”

“Is zat a ‘yes’?”

The blue mare’s shoulders slumped. She already regretted everything. “Yes. So, how do you plen on getting them togezzer?”

The smile on the pink mare’s face was genuinely disturbing. “Competition,” she purred.

***

“Good-bye, Fluttershy. Do try and stop by tomorrow after Spike goes home, and let me know how it went.”

The pegasus gave her friend a slight smile. “Oh, you can count on me, Rarity.”

The unicorn pulled her friend into a slightly damp hug. “I know I can, darling.”

The unicorn blinked. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Rarity glanced around. “It’s the strangest thing. I thought I heard a little squeal.”

Fluttershy looked at her friend in concern. “Like an animal?”

“No, more like a pony.” A pony reading a rather saucy novel, she mentally added. “It must have been my imagination, in any case.”

The two mares trotted out into the sunshine. “Miz Fluttershy?”

The yellow pegasus stopped in her tracks. “Yes?”

Lotus stood at the desk, looking vaguely uncomfortable. “Ah, I believe you left somezing in the massage room.” She coughed nervously and touched her mane.

Rarity glanced at her friend, confused. “What in the world did you bring?”

Fluttershy turned red. “Oh… it must have been the bunny food Angel had me pick up this morning. You go on home.”

“Very well, darling. Remember, tea at my house tomorrow.”

“I’ll remember,” Fluttershy promised, raising a wing in farewell as she walked back into the spa foyer. She turned to the blue mare at the counter, extremely pink. “Um… would you…”

Silently, Lotus unclipped the pink tail extensions from where she’d hidden them in her hair. “Your secret is safe wiz me,” she whispered.

“Thank you.”

The blue mare, paused, as if debating. “Here,” she said, quickly hoofing the pegasus a card. “For being such a good customer.”

Fluttershy frowned, examining the coupon. “For a free, full-body massage… what’s a ‘happy ending’?”

Lotus’s mind raced. Damn her sister to Tartarus. “It is… milk and cookies at ze end of ze massage,” she said, a large, artificial smile plastered onto her face. “And, if you vish, a bedtime story.”

“Oh, that sounds relaxing,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Is there one for Rarity, too?”

Lotus’s mind stalled. “Ah, she had a coupon a month ago. I meant to give you one also, but kept forgetting.” The fake smile grew larger.

“Oh. Okay! Thanks, Lotus…”

As the butter-yellow mare left, the spa mare sighed. “Stupid Aloe…”

***

Spike hummed absently to himself as he poured a little bit of pancake batter into the frying pan. It sizzled and hissed satisfyingly as it hit the hot metal. “Aw, yeah,” the little dragon murmured, grinning broadly. “Now, a few gem chips for me, some blueberries for them, a few more gem chips for me…”

“Spike?”

“Huh?” He turned away from the sizzling pan. “Oh. Hey, Starlight!”

The pink mare smiled at him uncertainly. “Uh, what are you doing up so early?”

“...Making breakfast,” Spike said slowly, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah, I see that,” Starlight said, rolling her eyes. “But weren’t you up until eleven helping Twilight with her research?”

“Yep!” The little dragon beamed. “And I’m proud to say that we are one step closer to another crime against nature attacking Ponyville.”

“I… want to argue with that statement on several levels, but… Spike, when did you go to sleep last night?”

“Uhh…” he frowned. “Probably around midnight? Maybe a quarter ‘til?”

“And when did you get up to start making these pancakes?”

“Half-past six.”

Starlight stared. “Spike, you really need to get eight hours of sleep every night. You’re a growing drake, you need—”

“Ah-ah-ah!” Spike waved a claw admonishingly. “It’s my turn to make breakfast. My responsibility, my problem. Besides, I can run on way less than six and a half hours of sleep. I’ve pulled all-nighters before, I’ll pull ‘em again.”

He looked at Starlight’s expression and sighed. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll have a nap sometime this afternoon. Now, before you do something everypony is going to regret, give me the sleep spell you were going to use.”

Starlight started, cantering back in surprise as she swiftly pulled a book back into her saddlebag. “I— you— I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Spike stared. “Starlight. I can see the spellbook. It has a pillow on the front cover.”

The unicorn deflated. “...Alright…” she sighed, levitating the book over to the dragon. “It was only going to be for a little nap…”

“I know,” Spike said with a small smile. “You really had good intentions. And I do appreciate the thought, really! But, y’know, I really don’t think Twilight would want you casting spells on anypony without their permission. Or hers, really.”

Starlight winced, tucking her tail between her legs. “...Sorry.”

“We’re cool,” Spike assured her. “Just remember this next time you’re worried about somepony. Or somedragon.”

Starlight frowned. “Spike?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re great at magic, and I know your heart’s in the right place, but you can’t go helping people without asking first. Learned that the hard way…”

“Spike?”

“Never ask Applejack about a Dragon Code of Honor, okay?”

“Spike!”

“Yeah?”

“Your pancakes are smoking!”

Spike blinked and spun around. “ARGH!” Frantically, he flipped them over, one by one. They were a bit darker than he would have preferred, but thankfully not burned. No amount of syrup could wash out the taste of burned pancakes. “Whew. Just in time. Thanks, Starlight!”

The mare smiled. “My pleasure. But after breakfast, you’re going to take a nap, one way or another. That wasn’t the only sleep spellbook in the library…”

Spike chuckled and gave a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

Starlight smirked, and walked out of the kitchen. Spike was a puzzle, she thought to herself. Sometimes, he seemed wise beyond his years, and others, absurdly immature. Sometimes, he was both. It didn’t feel natural, somehow, but it couldn’t be an act. He’d kept it up far too long for that. And even if he was purposefully hiding his levels of maturity, Starlight couldn’t tell which one was the real Spike. Her smile dipped. Huh. That was… disturbing. She glanced over her shoulder at the kitchen door, still swinging closed. She would have to keep a closer eye on Spike. She didn’t much care for puzzles left unsolved…

Comments

[DragonPony]

Great chapter. I am still wondering tho what is Rarity's deal i thinking Spike isn't mature enough. I mean look at Pinkie, Dash, and many other ponies in town. Spike is far more mature than them. And she think because he hasn't grown that it makes him less mature, I honestly think she is judging him mostly on his height and looks more than anything. And what if dragon's scale of maturity is different? Like they start to really grow after their first kill or eating of meat. Her pushing could trigger something she doesn't really want. Now we have Starlight as well taking a interest in Spike of course I feel that interest in him has been around since she have been there since she started staying at the castle, only now it is growing.

[Coyote de La Mancha]

“Oh, one or two things,” Rarity said, smiling slightly. “For instance, not all dragons breathe fire. Some actually breathe ice. Others can breathe lightning, or massive gusts of wind, or even darkness. It all depends on their hatching conditions. A very rare few, such as our own dear Spike, can actually breathe magic.”

“I—” Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Magic? Really? I always just assumed that was more Celestia than Spike.”

Right. So. Spike breathing magic (and the impact of hatching circumstances) just became head canon. I don’t know if that is a widespread thing or not, but this is the first time I have encountered it. Please do not be offended if it shows up in my own tales at some point.

[Sixes_And_Sevens]

9033918
I'd be happy for you to borrow the notion.

[Arkonfleight]

Lotus considered this. “Alright. I haf shipped ponies on less evidence zan zis. So, now vhat?”

You lot know who you are.