Tales of Eden

by BlackRoseRaven

Helping Hooves

Chapter Two: Helping Hooves
~BlackRoseRaven

In spite of all the many lessons she had learned about the Magic of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle was still always amazed by the lengths to which her friends would go to for her. This couldn't be normal! she often thought, when her friends all showed up to help her clean and prepare and run the book fair, along with other volunteers from Ponyville. She had to be lucky; she had to be blessed.

Applejack and Fluttershy had helped set up all the tables, Rainbow Dash and Rarity had put up the decorations, and Pinkie had provided a sumptuous buffet of treats – confined, of course, to its own safe area away from where grubby hooves could cover the rest of the library and its paper treasures in crumbs and grease – and Twilight had been able to concentrate on managing the other tutors and working with the foals herself.

There was all kinds of work to do, and countless things to keep track of, but working together, they could do anything and everything. Without her friends to support her, Twilight never could have made the book fair such a success.

Sure, there were a few accidents, but as Twilight had learned, life was not about making things go according to plan, but rather adapting to troubles as they happened. It was very hard for her, one of the hardest lessons that she had ever had to learn – and one she was still learning, at that! – but with her friends to help her, she was starting to get the knack of fixing problems as she went.

Foals got fussy and started crying during storytime? There was a Pinkie Pie for that!

Older foals got bored and needed to work off some steam? That was Rainbow Dash's specialty!

The Cutie Mark Crusaders got up to some hijinks while her back was turned, and had accidentally summoned a monster from another dimension?

Well, okay, that one had Twilight worried a little at first, but Fluttershy gently ushered the Tentacular Eyebeast to another room and made it some tea, and once she helped it understand ponies were friends instead of food, she took a brief break to show him a nice little cave just on the edge of the Everfree Forest where he could make a decent little home for himself.

Twilight had Spike add informing Celestia of the Tentacular Eyebeast to her agenda with a question mark beside it, as she wasn't sure if interplanar immigration was something she should bring up directly to the Princess, or if she should instead ask the Department of Foreign Affairs about it and whether or not it counted as a sentient immigrant or a migrating animal.

But she supposed that would all also depend on just what Celestia wanted to talk to her about. If it was important, well, she definitely didn't want to waste her time with something so trivial...

It was admittedly hard for her to keep her focus on the book fair alone: worries kept nibbling at the back of her mind. Was this a test? Did she have a test? Should she be reviewing, preparing? Or did Celestia just want to talk to her?

She was lucky her friends were here to help keep her focused. Not just during, but after, which was almost as important: this book fair was supposed to go on for three days, and they needed to keep the place neat and tidy, make sure that all the learning materials for each day were set out in proper order, and that they weren't too low on supplies.

While Twilight coordinated with Cheerilee and other teachers to make notes on what certain foals needed and their progress, Rarity sorted their supplies and made a list of things they needed more of, and she and Applejack worked together to figure out their sales. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie got lists of supplies they would pick up tomorrow early in the day, and Fluttershy cleaned, making the library impeccable, so that they could get right back to work tomorrow without the troubles of any messes or accidents.

Spike looked after Twilight: he made sure she had a meal ready for her, not to mention her bed. He also made sure that her agenda was in view, but out of reach: he knew Twilight well enough that she wouldn't sleep if she didn't know precisely where that was, but she also wouldn't sleep if it was close enough for her to grab and page through.

But she was far too tired to use magic after the long, busy day, and she fell asleep quickly, giving Spike free roam of the library to do as he pleased. But all he wanted to do was finish the little cleanup the ponies hadn't been able to do, and make sure everything was ready for tomorrow.

He was a little worried about what Princess Celestia might have in store for Twilight, too: this sounded like it was going to be some kind of mission to him. He had heard some worrying rumors: not from the ponies of Ponyville, of course, but when Spike was out at the market, he often ran across ponies from out of town, who were less blasé about the relative peace and safety of Equestria.

And for all the 'peace' and 'safety' of Ponyville, well, it wasn't like Twilight and the girls weren't often called on to deal with all sorts of weird dangers, or didn't end up in the middle of this quarrel or that. It often worried him: he knew they were special, as the Elements of Harmony, but all the same...

He just hated seeing his friend in danger, and often a danger he was helpless to do anything to protect her against.

But all he could really do was make sure that Twilight didn't get lost in the big picture, and that she remembered to take care of all the little problems in life, too. There was so much to experience, and she had already missed out on so much from all the time she'd spent – not wasted, it hadn't been a waste, of course! – alone with nothing but her books and studies for company.

This book fair was a very small thing compared to the rest of Equestria, but it was a precious small thing, and it was important for Twilight to experience alongside her friends. It was a reminder of the good she could do, and that this microcosm of Ponyville needed her, Twilight Sparkle the pony, not Twilight Sparkle, the esteemed student of Princess Celestia.

He wanted Twilight to enjoy that for as long as she possibly could. He was just anxious that with everything that was being whispered of outside of Ponyville, and the power shortages they were experiencing, and the weakening of elemental artes.

Spike was more aware of all of that than Twilight was because Twilight was so buried in research, and preoccupied with her studies of the Magic of Friendship and whatever tasks Celestia gave to her. But Spike knew something was wrong: not just because of secondhoof rumors and stories he heard from out-of-towners, but because some of his own dragon artes were no longer functioning the way they should.

His were a little different and not so reliable to begin with, anyway, being such a young dragon as he was: he just didn't have the stamina, or mana, as many ponies called it, to channel his artes very capably yet. But he was able to channel enough, and understood enough about their form and function, to know that they didn't just draw on his energy: rather, he used his energy to call on natural elemental powers, powers that already existed, and just had to be focused in the right way.

It felt like it took more to call down the same amount of energy, though: more focus, and more strength. He knew that artes were different from unicorn magic, so Twilight probably didn't notice it as much, but he thought he'd also seen Applejack and Rainbow Dash both having a bit of trouble with their own artes from time-to-time, and it made him feel anxious.

If he had to guess, well, he'd guess that whatever Celestia wanted to talk about, it probably had something to do with that. It made him proud that Celestia trusted Twilight with these important tasks, even if it also worried him.

Twilight spent so much time working as it was. And saving the world was such a big task for a little pony, and that's what Twilight always treated every mission she was given like, whether it was something as simple as learning the theory behind a new spell, or something as important as going on a diplomatic meeting to another kingdom, to help protect Equestria from an unknown threat.

So it was good to see Twilight spending her time here, in Ponyville, doing things like this. Normal pony things, that in their own way, were no less important than the world-changing things Twilight did under Celestia's watch and tutelage.

He really hoped one day, Twilight could just be a normal pony. But he knew that probably wasn't in the cards; she had some sort of great destiny awaiting her, and for some reason, he found that a little sad.

Didn't everyone deserve to have a normal life, even if just for a little while?

Imagine, being so important, that you had to constantly shoulder the burden of the weight of the world, that you had to live with the fact that every decision you made could have far-reaching consequences, good and bad.

It was no wonder Princess Celestia always looked so sad when she thought no one was looking.

Spike didn't sleep much that night: he didn't sleep a lot most nights, though: he let Twilight tuck him in for a brief nap, but once she was asleep, he usually got up and spent a good part of the night cleaning and tidying up whatever the ponies missed during the day. Reorganization was always a priority, too: as good as Twilight was about initially getting things in order, after that, she tended to just leave things where they fell.

Absent-minded professor: that was the silly ponyism that always came to Spike whenever he thought about Twilight. Smart and sharp and capable, but just a little daft and eccentric. She always had a plan to take care of and help everyone else, and forgot about herself; or, she got lost in the details, and missed a chance to make everything good, in pursuit of making it perfect.

Thankfully, there wasn't a whole lot to do tonight: Twilight and her friends had done a good job of getting mostly-everything in order. He reshuffled a few things, dusted some places that they hadn't thought of, took care of the nooks and crannies where the adult ponies couldn't fit, but he was sure some foal or another would wiggle into.

Once that was all done, he went back to bed to sleep for another few hours: he was up before Twilight, but that was okay. He liked getting up a little before her, so he could have time to put together breakfast for her, and eat a little himself.

Toast for him. Something a little more complicated for Twilight: she needed her strength for today, after all, and he planned to just relax.

Twilight came downstairs to a hot bowl of oatmeal, snack cakes, and fresh coffee, and she smiled tiredly at Spike as she stretched and remarked: “Some days I wonder where I'd be without you, Spike.”

“I think you manage fine on your own, Twilight. It would just be a little... messier.” Spike answered with a wink. “Besides, I worry less about that now that you have all these friends to help you out. If you ever set anything on fire cooking again, Rainbow Dash can put it out, and then Applejack and Pinkie Pie can make something properly for you.”

“Thanks, Spike, really.” Twilight said ironically, and then she sighed and shook her head before asking, a bit anxiously: “Do you think everything's in order for today? Yesterday went really well, but-”

“There doesn't always have to be a but, Twilight.” Spike half-chastised, and Twilight huffed a bit, but nodded awkwardly as she sat down at the table, picking up her spoon and stirring her oatmeal with big, nervous swirls. “It's going to go just fine today, you'll see. Just do what you did yesterday. Which is relax and be yourself. Now stop stirring and eat up, Twilight, before you spill.”

“You know, you're the baby dragon here, not me.” Twilight said pointedly, but all the same she smiled a little as she looked down at her bowl of oatmeal, muttering: “Guess I'm not much of a parental figure some days though, huh?”

“Nah. But you're the boss, and I'm your assistant. That's the way it should be, right?” Spike smiled as he walked over and set a cup of coffee in front of her. “Besides, you'll always be family to me, Twilight.”

Twilight blushed a bit and smiled warmly at this, and then she took a breath and nodded firmly, saying: “Okay. Breakfast first, then we'll get ready for the day.”

Spike nodded and smiled in return, and then cleared his throat before he started with Twilight's schedule, which she liked to hear over breakfast. It always soothed her somehow, he thought: no matter how much there was to do, as long as they had some kind of order and plan to follow, she never backed down from the day ahead.

Twilight ate, drank a few cups of coffee, and started on the day: Spike mostly followed her around, assisting here and there with things until people started arriving for the book fair and learning classes. Then he slipped away from Twilight to float around the room, helping here and there where he could with their questions and concerns.

It was a busy day, but a good day: sure, there were a few little problems that cropped up, from overbearing parents to tantruming foals, but between Twilight and her friends, there was nothing insurmountable.

The Magic of Friendship: that was what Twilight always called it. But it wasn't something that really needed further romanticizing, Spike thought: their friendship was already magical enough without attributing some mystic power to it all. They had a unique connection: one that Spike envied sometimes, because he certainly hadn't made any friends in Ponyville like Twilight had.

But he never felt bad for long, because he had Twilight, at least, and really, she was the best friend anyone could ever ask for. Whenever he got a little frustrated or jealous, he just tried to remind himself of that, and that it was good other ponies were recognizing what a wonderful pony Twilight was.

Sure, with so many friends who were all so unique, they bumped heads from time to time. Rainbow Dash tried to calm some fussy foals down by showing off an air arte inside, which ended up creating a storm of loose paper, and Rarity and Applejack both snapped at her. But Twilight smoothly sorted things out; not that it was all Twilight's doing, either, though. Rainbow Dash mumbled an apology of her own will, Rarity admitted she overreacted, Applejack shrugged things off and offered to trade duties with Rainbow, since she was 'probably okay at readin' stuff.'

Not always perfect, no. But more than good enough to solve all their differences and remain close, even at the worst of times. He admired that, not because it was the pinnacle of what all ponies aspired to reach, but because they were all so unique and yet they all managed to always be there for each other. It was easy enough to get along with ponies who were just like you, after all: harder when you all came from different backgrounds, with different views of the world.

They made up for each other's weaknesses and helped one-another through difficult times, and busy times, and even good times, because it was very easy to forget that even the best of times could be lonely and easy to take for granted without a friend at your side.

When the day was done, her friends helped for a bit, then dragged Twilight off to have a big dinner with her. Sure, that left Spike with more work to do, but he was glad that they were there to remind her to take a break every now and then, and that those well-intentioned ponies were able to make even a fanatic like Twilight calm down and forget about things for a little bit.

Learning to slack off every now and then would be good for her, after all.

He didn't mind the extra work, anyway: it was nice to be able to help, and nice to have something to keep him occupied. And to be honest, it meant he would only have to organize everything once, since the ponies tended to shuffle things around a little too much.

There he was. Complaining again about them doing things right, but not right enough. He smiled despite himself, shaking his head: he knew he got that from Twilight, although she never phrased it that way. She always tried to be nice about even her peeves.

When Twilight came back that night, she found the whole library clean, and Spike napping quietly in a chair. She smiled a bit at him, softening and shaking her head: he always worked so hard for her, even when she tried to tell him to just relax or take a break. He always took too much on for a young dragon like he was, and yet he always managed to get everything done without complaint.

Okay, with just a little complaining. But what mattered to her was that he got it done all the same, and that he always carried more than his share. He was a good boy, a friend she couldn't live without.

And here she was, going out to have a night on the town with all her pony friends and leaving him behind. But it was hard for him to keep up to them, and it was hard for him to get comfortable in public places built for horse bodies, not tiny dragons, and of course he wasn't an adult, so he couldn't enjoy some of the things that Twilight and her other adult friends enjoyed.

Not that he was really a child, either: ponies treated him like he was – heck, even she did – but he was more mature and more adult than a lot of the stallions and mares she'd met. He just was small, and because they treated him like he was younger than he was, she guessed he'd never really grown up, either.

No, that was a bad way to put it. He was plenty grown-up. He just reflected the way they treated him: Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie treated him like a silly boy, so he was a silly boy; to her, he was her Number One Assistant, and as proud as he honestly seemed to be of that, at the same time, well... she did infantilize him a little.

Maybe instead of leaving him behind to tend to the library, she should bring him with her to Canterlot, include him in the discussions with Princess Celestia. After all, no matter what happened, it wasn't like she wasn't going to tell him everything anyway: he might as well be a part of the conversation in the first place. It would make him feel more important, and who knew? Maybe he'd catch something that Twilight might look past otherwise.

She liked that idea, the more she thought about it: and really, Spike deserved that chance. So that settled it, in her head: he would come with her to Canterlot, and he would attend the meeting with Princess Celestia with her, and they would figure things out together.

She smiled, then gently lifted Spike with telekinesis to carry him upstairs, to the comfort of his little basket bed. As she settled him down in it, she reflected that he probably deserved something better than this, too. She would have to look into getting him a proper bed while they were in Canterlot.

Spike woke up a few hours later, a little surprised to find himself tucked in safe and sound to the basket. He couldn't help but smile a little over at soundly-sleeping Twilight, shaking his head with a chuckle even as he silently chastised himself for falling asleep. There were still things to do, after all!

A little bit more work, and then a bit of prep for breakfast. A small nap, but he made sure to wake up early: the last day of the book fair had been the most hectic one last year, and he was somehow sure this wasn't going to be any different this year.

Spike was quickly proven right: before Twilight was even able to finish breakfast, worried parents showed up to ask if there was any way their foals could get into the program for... the usual slew of reasons. Not that Twilight cared, Spike knew: whether it was because they hadn't heard about the book fair, or they had been out of town, or the kids had skipped out or the parents couldn't afford to buy the recommended agendas and textbooks, Twilight would always try and welcome them with open embrace.

So even though she wasn't even done breakfast, she brought them inside and agreed to give them a 'quick' tutoring session. That session ended up lasting until the other tutors and Twilight's friends showed up, and then Twilight couldn't help but invite them to stay for the rest of the day with the other families, happy to share paper and pencil and books with them.

Of course, thanks to her surprise guest, she was a little behind with everything else and had to rush off to her room to clean up some while her friends handled getting the class started as students and families started filtering into the library.

They did a good job dealing with it, though, and Spike was able to stay in the background, quietly getting done anything and everything that needed to be done. He helped the tutors, he picked up lost test papers, he resorted and replaced books; all the little odd jobs that helped keep things running as smoothly as possible.

Once Twilight was back, she was able to quickly get everything into proper shape: she rearranged foals and classes, made sure there were no distractions, and started her own lessons, which sort of gradually overtook the other tutors'.

Everyone came to get a lesson from the Twilight Sparkle, after all: sure, Cheerilee and the other tutors were good and all, but they could get help from them anytime. Twilight Sparkle was the student of Princess Celestia, and knew or could find out the answers to anything and everything!

Spike wondered sometimes if Twilight realized she was the star attraction at the book fair; there wasn't really a nicer way to put it, for better or worse. They came to marvel over her, and became enraptured with how kind, how knowledgeable, how charming she was; she had really blossomed since she'd come to Ponyville, the little dragon thought. Sure, Twilight had always had a kind of charisma about her that made people want to meet her, to like her, but that was amplified a hundred times by her importance, and the fact she was somewhat... exotic to Ponyville still, after all these years.

That worried him a little. He didn't want to see her taken advantage of. But that was part of why he was so happy Twilight had such a strong network of friends. They could keep her safe and watch out for her, make sure that no one was trying to abuse her kindness, even when he wasn't there to run interference.

The last day of the book fair was hectic, but went surprisingly well, all-in-all: there were no more big accidents or incidents. They just struggled to cram a whole lot of everything into the relatively-few hours of the day they had, between moments of personal tutoring and individual assessments here and there.

Once they were done, Twilight's friends and associates ushered her out to a surprise dinner they had planned at Sugar Cube Corner: Spike stayed behind, even though Rarity gently urged him to come with them. He would like to, really like to, but he knew that Twilight wanted to leave as early as tomorrow for Canterlot, and that meant the library had to be cleaned up tonight.

And there was a lot to do: all the extra paperwork had to be sorted, all the unsold books had to be repackaged and boxed up, the tables and decorations had to be taken down, the library's own textbooks had to be sorted onto shelves...

Spike kind of liked working by himself, though: there was less of a sense of pressure, of judgment. He could do everything his own sometimes-weird way, and didn't have to worry about ponies trying to 'help;' as strong and useful as they could be, well, they weren't always great at listening, and often ended up putting the large heavy tables in the exact wrong area, meaning he'd have to go through the trouble of moving them around later by himself anyway.

That was one problem, he reflected: Twilight could be a little go-along, get-along, if the only pony being inconvenienced was her. She'd crawl over broken glass to help another pony, but that never applied to herself: or maybe it did, and maybe she thought she was 'helping' other ponies by just taking on the burden herself.

Twilight came home to find Spike had already cleaned up most of the library, and she sighed and smiled a little as she used her magic to gently take the boxes of repackaged books from the little dragon, saying softly: “You don't have to do all of this by yourself, you know.”

“Sorry, Twilight. I know you wanted to get the early train tomorrow, though...” Spike replied with a tired smile, and her eyes became a little more worried as she approached and studied him before she reached up and gently rested her hoof on his head.

He winced a bit, then smiled awkwardly again, a bit brighter this time. She smiled back at him, and then she said: “I want you to come with me.”

“I know. I mean, I come with you everywhere, and I wasn't planning on-”

“No, I mean... I want you to come with me to meet the Princess, too. I want you there, Spike. You're my Number One Assistant.” Twilight winked, then softened and said in a gentler, more serious voice: “And you... I could really use your help. I should really use your help more. You deserve to be part of the meeting, not just to hear it all secondhoof from me.”

Spike smiled warmly at this, and then he gave an awkward laugh and rubbed at his head before he blushed and said: “I trust you, Twilight. I don't want to, you know, interfere or anything-”

“You're not.” Twilight said firmly, before she rubbed his head, then straightened and said: “Think about it, Spike. I'd really like to have you there, but you know I won't force you, either. I just want you to know that I value your input. And I mean... we don't know how serious it is or anything. Maybe I'm even being premature, maybe it's just a surprise quiz or something, but...”

She chewed on her lip, and Spike frowned a bit as he asked: “Something wrong, Twilight?”

Twilight hesitated, and then she admitted: “It just seems like my pegasus and earth pony friends are having trouble with their artes lately. Artes are a combination of a pony's own skill and talent, and energy summoned from the world around them. I find it hard to believe something's wrong with so many different ponies who are otherwise in perfect health, so that means something must be wrong with the world's spirit energy, which we shape our artes from...”

Twilight looked away meditatively, muttering: “But the history of arte use is hard to follow... it seems almost like at some point, ponies just... started using artes without understanding where they came from. There's a big blank area, and even Princess Celestia says she doesn't know where this came from, any more than she knows precisely what the ether that we draw our artes from is, only that it is.”

Spike nodded slowly: it wasn't anything he didn't already know, but the fact that the ponies were actually noticing it now... “So you think maybe Princess Celestia wants you to investigate this?”

“It wouldn't be the first time she's had me research something for her. It wouldn't really be a lot different from some of the work I've done, either.” Twilight hesitated. “But the scope of it is much larger than I'm used to. Who knows, though? Maybe I'm wrong and Princess Celestia just wants me to help her sort the Royal Archives again.”

Spike smiled despite himself at this, and then he said finally: “I trust your feelings, Twilight. And I'll be happy to come with you, either way. I guess at worst, I'll just wait outside while you take your test.”

Twilight chuckled, and then she nudged him gently before she urged: “Go to bed, Spike. Get some good sleep tonight. I'll finish cleaning up here and pack a few things for our trip, but I don't think we'll be at Canterlot very long.”

“And even if we are, we can always just stop in at your parents' if we need anything.” Spike agreed, before he winked. “Although you've pretty much got a third home in Canterlot Castle by now, too.”

“Shush, you.” Twilight shooed the little dragon away, and smiled as he headed to the stairs. He paused long enough to wave at her, and she waved back before she sighed and shook her head with a quiet laugh.

What would she do without her Number One Assistant at her side?

Comments

[FamousLastWords]

8913858
Oh yeah, dude. It's great. It's one of the only ones where you play as the bad guys. And its actually a spirutal prequel to Tales of Zestiria. Basically, you play zestiria and have to destroy this evil presence but in Berseria you play as the people who caused it in the first place.

Great stuff.

(And don't worry, that's not a spoiler. The actual game is extremely in-depth with characters and plot.)

[Yami Vizzini]

Sweet to see a bit more of Spike’s take on things and his relationship with Twilight, though it did get a bit repetitive.

[BlackRoseRaven]

8916018

Thanks. I wanted to drill it in some, admittedly, although I might have overbalanced it. These first few chapters were really hard to get right because I wanted them to feel... "normal," so to speak. Writing normal is probably the hardest thing for me.