I Only Hate You.

Personally I never really understood why someone would stamp "log date" or "journal entry" on their research notes. It sort of detracts from the realism of what you're doing and makes it seem a little cartoony. Just a little silly, if I'm completely honest. I mean, I did that that with all my notes when I was little... It made me feel like a scientist in some way. But back then I was filling balloons with fruit juice to leave out in the snow so they'd freeze and turn into some sort of ball of pure frozen deliciousness; now I'm diluting physical matter in an attempt to make some means of creating blood that can be magnetized to a visible degree. While the short answer to doing that very thing is a "yes" it's a very ehhhhhhh "yes".

The difference between then and now is how serious I'm actually taking it. No longer am I using mom's pots and pans to do my work... Now I have my very own. Really, it was a great birthday present for Applejack to get me a new set. I ended up completely destroying my last set of pots and pans after an... "Interesting reaction" between some pancakes Spike was making that morning and an experimental parasitic gel I was home-brewing. If anything, that new set of dishes from Applejack and those amazing research findings were the only good things to come out of that day...

I keep losing my point here, don't I? Sorry. I haven't slept in... Um... Well I know the sun set at least three times. I shut the blinds after the third sunrise. So... I might have lost track of time. OH! I actually haven't! Spike keeps bringing me dinner, so I just need to count how many plates. See? Even with five days without sleep I can still think on my feet.

...Five days? Yeesh. Maybe I should take a teeny-tiny nap. I'm sure Spike and Sunset will give me an earful the moment I leave my room.

"Twilight, it's not healthy to work so long."

"Twilight, you need to change clothes at every other day."

"Twilight, your eyes look like a raccoon's."

"Twilight, you stink."

Well, Sunset usually tells me that last one regardless of how long I've been working. And -I mean- she's not completely wrong. Heh. But I will say I always smell worlds better than she did when I picked her off the street! I don't know what kind of messes she got herself into while she was out there, but she had the smell of a wet dog that ate a skunk tail first. That doesn't really do it the justice it deserves; but creative descriptions aren't my field of study. Though... How long has it been since she moved in? It has to be more then four months now.

I'm glad she accepted my offer... Spike and I really enjoy her company. She's a great friend and an amazing worker. She can do all of Spike's chores in a quarter the time. Though, that's probably more to do with Spike being half her size, really. Still, it's nice having extra hands around the house as well as the shop. And I won't lie...

I really enjoy having the extra time to research and study more. I used to have to sneak books off of my own shelves during work and read them at the front desk while I was working. I was a real rule breaker. So bad. It was a rush sometimes! But... I did feel guilty after a while... What if someone wanted to take that very book I was reading? They'd never find it! I had it after all; and it wouldn't have been stamped out, so they'd just think it was lost in the store or stolen. Doesn't that sound horrible? So, I stopped doing that...

But thanks to Sunset, I don't have to do that. Now I can just check-out books naturally and have a clear conscience. Which is good because you can't spell conscience without science and you need a conscience to do science!

...I'm more tired than I thought, aren't I? Yeah, I think I'll call it quits for now and head off to sleepy-time-juncture.

The doors of Twilight's library-house were well maintained. In fact, it was one of Spike's weekly chores to make sure each door's aging was properly handled. Lubing the joints, maintaining the locks, cleaning the undersides of the doors; excessive--yes; but there was no sound worse to a library regular than the sound of creaking doors. If the door was opened to fast, it would make a sudden and sharp groan! And if the door was opened to slowly (because everyone always thinks that helps), the creaking would just drone on and on.

CREEEEE! Or.. Creeeeeee-eee-ee-eee...

Neither one was pleasing to the ears. Especially when you're trying to read in a quiet environment; like a library is supposed to be. So it was left to Spike to make sure that sound never-ever existed in their house. And yet, that evening, though each door was checked over and fixed up by Spike the day before; the both heard it.

Creeeeeee-eee-ee-eeee...

Down in the library, Sunset's eyes went wide. She jumped to turn around, looking up the spiral stairs that led to where Spike had left to as well as... She couldn't think about it for long as she saw Spike barreling down the stairs, looking more frantic then Sunset herself. The young boy tripped over himself and bumped into bookcase after bookcase in his frazzled run to Sunset. The moment the two met, Sunset crouched down to meet Spike at his level; both their faces suddenly distraught.

"What do we do?" They both had blurt out the question at the same time, wanting the other to know the answer.

"Me? You know her better!" Sunset hissed, trying to stay quiet in the unlit library.

"What about you? You're the smart one!" Spike quickly shot back.

There was a bag between them both, and clearly neither wanted to be caught with it. And yet...

Creeee-eee-ee-eeee....

Spike ran his hands through his prickly green hair, sweat starting to beat against his younger frame. "Gaaaah! It's like a horror movie! There's always one squeaky door somehow! What do we do?! What do we say?!" Spike grew more and more panicked with each second that went by.

It would not be long until the drowsy beast stirred out from behind her door and into the two's realm. Sunset bit her bottom lip, watching her partner in this continue to break down more than her. All her plans revolved around Twilight stayed held-up in her room, blissfully un-involved with what would transpire the moment "she" arrived. And yet...

Creee-ee...

The door stopped. The footsteps started. More-so sliding feet against wood-paneling rather than footsteps, though. They would have to think of something fast. Sunset drew a coin from her back pocket, brushing some gathered lint off of it while she grabbed Spike by the shoulder. "Alright, alright. Let's be square with each other..." Spike looked at Sunset, slowly regaining his senses, "There is no way we get out of this without one of us telling her the news." Spike whimpered but Sunset continued, "If we don't tell her, she'll find out. If she finds out and knows we didn't tell her, you know how she'll get." The Twilight Disappointment Treatment was stuff of nightmares to them, "So, we'll flip a coin. If you win, I'll tell her. If I win, you'll tell her. Deal?"

Spike drew in a few calming breathes, his shoulders lowering from his defensive state as he nodded. "Y-Yeah, alright. That makes sense. Completely fair."

"Completely fair, right. Heads I win, tails you lose. Ready?" Sunset looked Spike dead in the eyes, face as straight and serious as could be.

"Ready."

The coin flipped from Sunset's thumb and index finger up into the air with a satisfying twirl and chime. When it fall back into Sunset's hand, she revealed it to Spike as tails. "It's tails, Spike. Sorry." Before another word could be said by either, the lights of the library flickered on overhead.

"Guys? You're still down there? I thought I said we could close early today... I said that, right?" Disoriented was her voice, but Twilight Sparkle's voice was unmistakable as it came from the top of the stairs.

In the time it took for Spike to look to where the sound came from and back to where Sunset was, Sunset had hopped the front desk and made a darting bee-line for the front door. She looked back to her young comrade and waved him off a salute before opening the front door and leaving into the drawing night. Spike huffed quietly to himself, but what could he do? He lost the coin flip fair and square. Backing out now would just lead to the scenario Sunset talked about. The idea of getting the "Twilight Disappointment Treatment" made his skin crawl.

"One of these days I'm gonna win a coin toss..." While looking towards the stairs he grumbled to himself.

Twilight's steps were subdue, each one sliding and thumping dull against the base of each step of the stairs as she descended. The stark white coat Spike had seen her in when she first entered her lab was a lot more dingy from the days. Black burns, splashes of unspecified liquids, wear on the coattails... But, the moment he saw her face, aside from the black rings around her eyes that looked much like the 'mask' of a raccoon, the soft and caring features of his dearest friend came through. Twilight stood there on the last step of the stairs with the most tired of looks on her face before yawning and stretching up towards the roof. "Mmm... Evening, Spike... Any news from the front lines?" Twilight may have been joking, but Spike cringed a bit at the question.

There certainly was news, and he was going to have to be the one to give it. After all, he lost the coin toss...

"Wait a second..." Spike narrowed his eyes, looking over his shoulder after Sunset Shimmer.

Twilight tiredly raised a brow, though it only prompted her to start and try to bat some of the sleep from her eyes. "Something wrong, Spike?" She half yawned her question.

How could he have missed it? Spike put the pieces together in his head, making a little click to an imaginary image in his mind. "...Where is she running off to?" The question Spike posed only served to confuse Twilight all the more.

"Just remember to run that little string between your pearly-whites and I promise you -doctor's honor- that you will be blinding those icky boys in no time flat!" The little girl hiding behind her mother's leg couldn't see it due to the mask the woman was wearing, but she could tell there was a big bright smile aimed right at her.

The little girl giggled and hugged her mother's leg all the more. That's what it was all about. Minuette was now content with her patient's reaction and gave all her attention to the parent. "Your daughter did very well in the seat. There was a small bit of inflammation towards her right molars, but it's strictly benign at the moment and will die down in a matter of days if she brushes with the toothbrush we discussed." The mother only nodded a few times to let the dentist know she was listening. "If you have no other questions, please checkout with the receptionist and I'll see you both at her next appointment." Still obscured by the medical mask she wore, her smile failed to come entirely through.

Both patient and mother excused themselves from Minuette and went off to where she directed. Out of sight, Minuette undid the paper facets of her mint-blue mask and took her first breath of fresh air; or at least as fresh as air can be in a dentistry. Heavy cleaning products assaulted her nostrils and lungs the moment she inhaled. But -oh- how she loved that smell and taste after a good checkup. Her lips curled into the most satisfied grin she could have, her arms looping around her own frame in a makeshift hug.

The day was done, the children pleased, and the sun wasn't even fully down yet? A more perfect day could not have been possible unless it started raining milk... Nope, still not happening. It was still a great day nonetheless. Minuette walked to the coatroom near the entrance to the clinic, riffling through big coats, small coats, windbreakers, and the sort until she found her own jacket. She slung it over her shoulder and looked over to the reception desk, still smiling that same smile. "See you tomorrow! I've got a hot date tonight," Minuette's voice was sing-songy as she addressed her receptionist.

Getting a thumbs-up, Minuette readied to walk out into the bright world of her evening. And yet...

"Good, you're still here." That voice... Like nails on wood... The sound of it did not hurt to hear, but it just never sounded like a good thing...

Minuette looked out in front of her at a fair skinned woman standing in her way. The silver hair was a dead giveaway as well as the shriek of her receptionist behind her the moment she saw the woman. Not a shriek of horror or fear... But the shriek of a fan. Minuette's cheery smile dwindled second by second the shriek went on and she had to look at the silver haired woman before her. That hot date with Mr. Drill and cam-shows would not be happening tonight.

Her most high profile "child" had walked in.