Trusted Scales

Many things withstand the test of time. Among those things, there are both positive and negative aspects. Such things are able to affect a being’s mind, body, and actions through their ever-changing influences and concepts. Among these everlasting morals and ideas are happy memories, sad tales, or even life lessons.

But perhaps two of the most prominent things that stand out amongst the crowd are polar opposites. They co-exist only every once in a while, and finding such a working combination takes skill, willpower, and a lot of luck. The first brings about feelings of despair, worry, and total stress. Its name is fear, and it shows little mercy to those that are unable to conquer it either totally, or to the point that they can live with it.

But while this emotion is eternally instilled within a being’s mind as a lesson-dealer, as a moral-builder, and as a hesitance-bringer, there is another feeling that is able to eliminate and nullify such a powerful entity. That feeling, of course, is love. Along with love comes the feeling of enrichment, wholeness, and total joy. It can drive away the darkness that is fear, and release upon the world a method of happiness seldom seen in any other concept.

When one being loves another - no matter their race, ethnicity, or background - something inside of their minds click. They realize that they wish to have something more, and that other being holds precisely what they desire. What they seek is rather simple, but unimaginably complex and complicated. It is the theory of being loved and returning love. No matter how strong the fear of something, someone, or somewhere, the person that is loved and can love is able to tread any ground in order to receive and produce their love.

But no matter how brave, strong, or quick-witted a being is, there is one simple fact that cannot be ignored when dealing with the concept of love. Fear is like a plague upon a person’s mind. Love is not invincible; it can be destroyed, if it is not solidified and protected. Our tale shall follow one who seeks to be loved, and is willing to love. The tragedy of our tale is that the one they shall seek to gain the trust and love of has the ultimate burden upon their mind.

For love can, unfortunately, be conquered. By fear, doubt, and many other aspects combined to create the seed of destruction and tragedy that befalls those unfortunate enough to become its victim. There is an exception, however.

Sometimes, love does not go down so easily. Sometimes, love finds a way - whether those who wish to love or be loved realize it or not - to triumph. Sometimes.. Love conquers over fear.

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Spike sat alone in the library for the third day in a row. Over the past few months, he had been left to his own devices within Golden Oaks Library - the number one source of knowledge and books for Ponyville. The one whom he had shared many memories and experiences with - one Twilight Sparkle - was now gone. Not in the sense of eternal loss, of course, but more of a physical distance that Spike could not easily surmount at any random time he felt lonely.

Twilight was a princess, now. She had her royal duties to attend to, and had embarked upon a journey in which she had to leave his side to pursue her own ambitions. It had taken him a while to adjust, but he found solace in the occasional letters they delivered to one another. She had taken up her rightful residence within Canterlot Castle, and he had willingly opted to stay behind and care for the library and its books.

“Someone has to sweep the dust off of these old things every once in a while,” he had reasoned with her, mustering his best fake-smile as he did so. With tears in both of their eyes, they had departed. It had taken him a little time to adjust, but he took to the solitary lifestyle quite nicely.

It had been around one year since that had happened, and Spike had come to terms with his loss of his mother-figure and long-time friend. After all, they would see each other once again when the time was right. He had decided to focus upon the more positive aspects of this new life of his.

He now had free time to think upon what he wished to accomplish, and what he truly desired in life. He could get the work done when he chose to do it, and he felt truly free. That is not to say he preferred this life of solitude, but he did enjoy the peace that was brought with living by one’s self.

And best of all, he had grown considerably. It had, at first, terrified him to find one morning that he had outgrown his classic bed and was now at least a foot taller. He notified Twilight immediately, to which she had responded with a knowing explanation. It was brief, but she left the promise of researching it further. The only thing she could tell him was that he was “unique” in his birth, and that such changes were most likely not dangerous to him or others.

This thought had comforted him, but the news was a bit less so to those around Spike. Some backed away from him upon his emerging from Golden Oaks Library, and it had taken him at the very least a week to calm down the local populace. They believed he had taken to his old, greedy ways, and was transforming. Upon explaining that he was simply different, many of them gave a laugh and agreed with such a notion.

There was one, however, that Spike knew would react much differently. She was the first pegasus Spike had ever formally met upon arriving in Ponyville. She was the first to ever show him pure kindness outright, and express total interest in his habits. Though shy, she had taken to the - formerly - baby dragon with keen eyes and an open heart.

He referred to none other than Ponyville’s resident caretaker (barring Flummox the veterinarian), Fluttershy. Few knew her just as well as he did, and that was mostly due to her inability to deal with others easily. Completely content to stay with her animals, Fluttershy made herself scarce enough around Ponyville to only be close to a few. Otherwise, residents of Ponyville had only stories or rumors of the pegasus, and they seemed to be content to stay that way. It was a blessing to hold a conversation with her, and she’d go out of her way to comfort someone if they were down, but she personally preferred to stay in solitude.

She was content that way, it seemed, and Spike found her own solitude to be rather different than his own. Her solitude was not total isolation, as his was slowly turning to. She had her animals, and she could cope with the silence quite easily. Spike had only gone to visit her on occasion - mostly because he truly did not wish to disturb the shy pegasus - but he had come to be very fond of her.

There was, however, one major boundary that separated Fluttershy from Spike, and he from Fluttershy. One of her greatest, if not the greatest, fears was of a certain scaled breed of sentient beings. Namely, she was deathly afraid of dragons. What was the initial source of her interest in Spike was also the greatest source of fear in her heart. This could go to prove just how kind she truly can be, forsaking her own fears in order to make someone feel welcome and downright happy.

But it also meant that Spike was running out of time. Fluttershy had once reason with Spike that only elder dragons scared her. They were much more intimidating than what Spike was, and she truly felt at ease around him. But those days were steadily passing - Spike was growing at an enhanced rate, due to his “unique birth”. He was unsure whether or not the pegasus’ kindness could extend towards him permanently, should he be the very thing that struck fear into her heart and mind.

This is why he had been in isolation for three long days. He was lost in thought, and a stack of books laying upon a lone table with several melted candles indicated that he was just as lost in study. He wished to understand this phenomenon that had befallen him, but it was just as elusive as it was rare. No information could be given upon the subject in all of the books he had acquired, and he rationalized that he was very unlikely to have any further luck.

This led him to only one conclusion: he would have to face Fluttershy. Undoubtedly, someone had informed her of his growth. Rainbow Dash was much closer to her than he ever was (with good reason), and she visited her quite frequently. There was no doubt in his mind that Rainbow had spoken of this sudden change.

But this also came to a new problem. Though Fluttershy knew, she now also had time to come up with theories of just how big Spike had gotten. She had ample amounts of time to formulate theories, ideas, and possibly new fears of the dragon she had come to befriend and trust. And Spike knew all too well that fear was the mind-killer. The bonds of friendship could easily be undone with one slip-up, and could just as easily be torn apart by fears that were deeply embedded within the mind.

With this in mind, Spike understood that each minute - no, each second was one that he could not afford to waste. He silently cursed himself for waiting so long to realize this, and headed for the door. He would need to fix this problem, or it would come to break him. Fluttershy was one of his closest friends, and he had recently come to realize just how much she meant to him.

All of the warm smiles, comforting hugs, and easing words she had given him helped to shape him into the gentle and kind dragon he had come to be. She had taught him lessons indirectly, but those lessons would carry on with him through his entire life. He learned to help those weaker than him, even if they have not even a sliver of a chance. He had come to understand that being kind also meant making a few sacrifices, and it did not always even out for himself in the end; but what he would accomplish was the true reward.

These lessons and many more caused a sense of warmth to boil within him - and not due to the need to breathe fire randomly, as some ponies believed all dragons tended to do. He felt truly happy when he thought of Fluttershy, and he simply would not stand to lose a friend so very dear to him.

He pushed his way up onto his feet from the sitting position he had trapped himself in, knocking down a few books in the process. He cringed as the tower of literature beside his seat toppled over, but ultimately gave an accepting sigh. He wouldn't fret over such a simple error; he could just clean it up upon his return.

Taking a few large steps to the front door, Spike exited the library and stepped out into the warm, morning.. Darkness?

Spike looked around him, and to his dismay he realized that he was too late. Another day had passed him by, and he would have to wait another long night before he could act upon his plan. With another sigh - this time caused not by acceptance, but rather by sorrow, - Spike opened the door to Golden Oaks Library and stepped inside.

He inhaled deeply through his nose, then exhaled sharply as he ran his scaly hands down his face in frustration. His eyes grew heavy and his home felt a bit colder than it previously had been. Fatigue was claiming him and his thoughts slowed to a crawl. He debated whether or not he should head straight to bed, or whether he should pick up the books he had knocked over in his rush to get out of the library.

Spike gave a quick chuckle as he recalled something Twilight had always told him. “Get it done now, and it will stay done for later,” she said. That lecture had been repeated so many times that it had become some sort of inspiration for him to get things done sooner, rather than later. With this in mind, Spike stepped over to the pile of books and gathered some of them up to bundle them in his arms.

He moved over to a table and placed them in a few neat stacks, deciding that he could sort them after some rest. He moved quietly over to the rest of the books and bent down to pick them up. Then he watched as his vision went dark and he had the faint sense of falling.

It wasn’t until he awoke with a start two hours later that he realized what had happened. He heard the sharp cry of one of Ponyville’s local roosters outside, and he jolted with a start. He had fallen asleep atop the very books for which he had forsaken sleep to clean up.

Wiping a bit of drool from his mouth, he looked down to find that the book he had used as a pillow was soaked through the cover with his saliva. He gave a shudder of disgust before tossing it aside in order to gather up the other books.

He gave out a loud yawn, and then turned towards the other books on the table. He gave out a quick, “Ah,” and then set to work stacking the books neatly. He was just about to sit down at the table and begin organizing before his mind sent a thought racing through his consciousness. It was all-consuming, and guaranteed that he would have little option to do little else with his time.

The thought was a simple one, but it sent a mixture of emotions coursing through his veins that triggered his adrenalin to activate and get him moving. The thought was “Visit Fluttershy”, and he then remembered just how determined he was to remedy this would-be before it even began.

Immediately, Spike dropped what he was doing (namely, a pile of books he had to organize), and ran out of the library. If he was going to save this friendship, he would have to act fast and think rationally. What Spike did not know, however, was that a little more than friendship was on the line for him. And in the time to come, he would discover just how powerful some emotions can truly be.