Twilight's Research

"Ngh... just five more minutes, please..."

Why was it that, when a pony begged morning for five more minutes of sleep, the Sun always found a way to prod its way into your life? You could toss and turn in bed, which I did, and that infernal light still managed to blind me.

"C'mon, Sun, just leave me in bed!" I mumbled, or groaned, I couldn't even tell what I sounded like that morning. Everything was just a milky haze in my head, like when I tried to read three books at once, and it all just twisted into some scary maelstrom of ink. I still refrained from doing that ever since that one time I was studying time travel, and I tried to read five books at once... I had nightmares of all that ink for a few nights after that.

Wait... what was that smell? And what sounded like... burping? Uh oh. I quickly snapped open my eyes and looked up at the ceiling, green trails of fire shooting up towards it... well, more like green balls. Green puffs? Clouds? Doesn't matter, room on fire! With an appropriately loud screech and a leap, I jumped from my bed and lit my horn, trapping the rising fire before it could burn down the rest of my precious library. The Sun trailing in from the window turned the room into a bunch of black and white lines and blobs, my head still pounding from the sudden rush of blood in my panic, the aura shifting in intensity with each thud. Maybe that 'thump thump thump' was from my heart, or from my horn, couldn't tell at that point, my whole body reverberated with it.

I dragged the flames back down from the ceiling and made a sort of umbrella, or parasol, or something to trap the fire above the source of the destruction; a very meager, kind dragon. Not really the kind you'd expect to burn down a hay bale, let alone a house.

"Should've stopped him from eating all that ice cream last night... he's gonna wake up with some crazy heart burn," I grumbled, anticipating what he was gonna say when he woke up. Oh, Twilight, my heart's on fire! Is Rarity around? And other crazy stuff like that. Spike was very good-hearted, there wasn't a doubt in my mind about that, but he did tend to relate his bodily issues back to his... adoration? Idolization? Something, he felt something for Rarity. Should read up on that...

"Well, since I'm awake. What was I going to do today? Schedule events for the next three weeks, do some timekeeping for today, read the next book in the line of Orion Hunter's tomes on astronomy," I whispered, eyes trailing upward as I tried to remember what I was going to do. That thudding was still going in my head, though, and it had an evil tendency to scramble my thoughts. Everything just flushed, one thought after the other, kind of like when Pinkie's on a really long tangent... in one ear and out the other. Well, there, it was in one side of the brain and out the other side. Nothing stuck! "Rrrrrgh, c'mon, think!" I tapped the side of my head until the thudding was quelled by a far more familiar sound, and feeling; the partial sickness that came with hunger.

"Breakfast. Yeah, that'll help me think!" I grinned and raced for the stairs, but by the time I'd reached them, the thudding had filled my ears with its drum beat... actually started to make walking difficult. I took my time down each step of the library, letting the melding colors of the books scroll by me, but the way everything shifted and blurred together just made for one heck of a sickening ride. "Why is this happening to me today? Did I eat something bad last night, or something?" Upon asking that, my mind sent back a pretty hefty checklist of food I'd consumed. Daisy soup with four salt-topped crackers, followed by a small salad and a cup of cider. Cider was aged two weeks in the fridge, assured by Applejack that it would remain good for consumption for up to three months if chilled, 'chilled' equating to three degrees Larus. Despite the things she usually talks about, Applejack is extremely quick on calling up details on her food and drink... always trust her.

"Alright, that's actually pretty... ohhh, jeeze," I covered my mouth with a particularly flipping rumble from my stomach, and leaned on the wall beside me. The shelves didn't provide all that good a surface to lean on, the pain in my shoulder as the edges dug into it told me that much, but it at least stopped me from moving. "Why am I feeling like this, though? Am I sick or something?" I raised an eyebrow slightly at the thought, going through the usual symptoms of a sickness. I touched my horn, rubbing along the familiar, smooth coils, finding that none of them had sharpened, decayed or worn away. That rules out about four diseases... forehead. A quick pass of the foreleg over my forehead revealed that, yes, I did have a proper temperature. I felt along my neck, finding no bruises or bite marks, and along my side to see if any strange growths had appeared.

Nothing. Nothing at all. Well, that wasn't unsettling in the slightest, since I could think about twenty different sicknesses with entirely internal symptoms, a very upset stomach suiting a symptom for about six of them. None of them lethal, of course, but several that could've chained me to a bed for about three months. "Maybe I should just... sit down. Just got up too quickly, and worrying about sicknesses is just gonna make it worse." I let out a sigh and sat down, feeling the chill of the step hit me, as well as the pain of my tail being pressed under my rump. It wasn't too unpleasant, and helped fight against the cold. It is Autumn after all. No wonder it'd be cold.

I let my eyes wander, slowly, across the library as my stomach tried to do damage control and stop me from throwing up. The windows all revealed that same, opaque ray of white light, but it was starting to come into view, with the colors of the books all consolidating into single tomes. Brown for informational, blue for non-fiction, red for fiction... it was a nice way of organizing, until you got to the Daring Do series, as well as a few other famous fiction and non-fiction series that dared to break out of the standard coloring scheme. "And if I get into that issue, I'm gonna be here all day, and my walls are gonna be green and yellow... don't worry about it, Twilight, just get to the kitchen, make yourself some food. Maybe an omelette, or some toast even... oooo, or pancakes." The pleasant feeling of drool pooling in my mouth at the thought of the food added to my anticipation as a smile slowly crossed my face, "Pancakes sound really good right now. Sweet and fluffy, with three blueberries arranged to make the vertexes of a triangle, and syrup to make the lines. An equal flavor for every bite, long as I don't shake with the knife again," I mumbled, smile failing to hold back a slight grimace.

That was something that plagued me over the past few weeks or so. I wasn't even sure when it started, or if I'd had the problem all my life, but it was a... weird feeling in my gut. My mind would wander through the usual subjects I considered for breakfast and the day, what magic tricks I'd practice for a few hours, who I'd go hang out with, what shopping I had to do... the usual, right? But, then, my mind would trip over itself as I thought back over the past day. Certain ponies I saw, certain... details I noticed. The weird thing is I could never remember what part of them incited such a reaction, it was always a blurry picture of them... but it made me feel weird.

And a weird feeling was never good. But sometimes it was good. But most of the time it wasn't, except when it... "Ok, no, I'm confusing myself. Alright, focus," I whispered, squinting my eyes to perceive the library again. Finally, all the colors had found their rightful place in their points in space, and everything finally looked normal again. I could even pick out a few titles, like "Space Eye for the Curious Guy", one of my favorite astronomy books. "Wonder why they have such weird titles though... you'd think "Big Book Of Stars And Planets" was already taken." I chuckled at the thought of twenty books hitting the publishing company, all with the same title. With my stomach finally calmed down, I resumed my quest to the kitchen for some much-needed sustenance, of the golden brown, fluffy variety.

If there was something that could be said about me, it was that my unstable gut always offset my love for food. Most ponies would never even guess that I was some kind of gourmand, but I knew my way around the kitchen, and I definitely knew how to cook my favorite foods. As the clean surfaces - as they should be - of the kitchen revealed themselves to me, the stool set up next to the stove, little pink apron set on top of it, I almost heard Spike's voice calling out to me... What'll it be today, Twilight?

"I'll take two pancakes, cooked the usual way, Spike," I responded, feeling something brush past my tail.

"On it!" The overly boyish tone was immediately recognizeable, and sure enough, the baby dragon strolled right past me.

"W-Wait, how'd y-... did you just wake up?" I raised my eyebrow in abject curiosity as he took up his favorite apron and started zipping about the cupboards, pulling out numerous ingredients and pans. Whatever I could say about my cooking ability, I knew for certain that Spike had me beat in almost every category. Even as I walked over to the table, checkerboard table cloth laid over it at a perfect fourty-five degree angle - I measured -, I was mesmerized by just how quickly he'd assembled everything. How does he get all that done so fast? I wondered, head tilting to the side slightly as I took my seat at the table.

"Alright, pancakes coming right up... now, um, where'd we— oh, right, fridge!" Spike hopped off his stool and quickly crossed the distance to the fridge, throwing it open with a strength I rarely saw in his morning ritual. Maybe he decided to be extra quick today? "Alright, got 'em. Now, the pan's heated up, got my flour, eggs, milk..." he rambled off into a descending stream of mumbles, quickly becoming incomprehensible.

To think, he's only... what, thirteen now? Fourteen? Still a baby by every standard of a dragon, but you'd swear he had a special talent for cooking! I entertained the idea of my assistant serving in a five-star restaurant, celebrities praising his God-like cooking. Oh, wait... he's standing on the counter, everypony's clapping for him... wait for iiiit... There it was! The trademark mustache twirl, and a smug grin to top it off. That's the Spike I know. Humble until somepony praises him, then he soaks it up like a sponge. I shook my head with a smile, and looked out the window above the kitchen table. Luckily, the library was built with everything somepony needed for a house; bedroom on the top floor, kitchen on the bottom floor, and more books than Starswirl himself would know what to do with! Even I got lost in it all sometimes, but that was usually when I lost my 'Books I've Already Read' list... cursed thing kept getting buried under all my other lists.

The window above the table offered a nice view across the fields and hills of Ponyville, houses lining the streets just beyond. Ponies sauntered about on their usual business, probably off picking flowers for loved ones, or buying them... That's a question, actually. Why buy flowers when you can pick them? Surely the effort is worth the admiration you'd get in return, and you could save some money... but the Flower Sisters always stay afloat. Heck, they make a real premium off it all... is there a difference in quality between their flowers and ones grown in the wild? And just how do their finances work? And why am I prying into that? I wondered, brow furrowing on the last point. It was a good question, though, honest! Just how did the whole flower business work? Were ponies too lazy to go out into the field and pick their own flowers, or was it assured quality from Roseluck and her sisters?

"Mmm, too much thought for the morning," I mumbled, still staring out to the street. Three stallions, five mares, two foals, both fillies. Ten houses, twelve visible windows, twenty four shutters, ten doors. Eight counts done out of boredom. Maybe I just need something else to focus on... I scratched my battlefield of a mane, getting at an itch just beginning to make itself known to the world as a... well, an irritating itch. Wonder if I know any of the ponies out there?

A quick glance revealed one mare I knew well enough, her maroon coat reminding me a lot of one of the highlights in my mane. Cheerilee's off towards the schoolhouse again, I bet... even in this light, those sunflowers still shine so bright. I quirked my mouth slightly as she walked along the street, the two fillies quickly joining her at her side. I was certain they were talking about something, their mouths were moving after all, but... Oh, great, there's that feeling again... I leaned on a hoof as my target of interest simply moved in tune with her body. It wasn't really the sunflowers that devoured my attention, though, it was the surface they were on... something about the shape, the size, maybe... it just held me in abject fascination. Cheerilee stopped in the street, likely telling the fillies about what they were gonna be learning that day, or giving advice, or... something, it didn't really matter.

What's happening to me? The rogue thought raced through my mind as I shook my head, the street coming back into focus. I've... I was just staring at her... but, why? I blinked in confusion, my mind unable to readily answer the thought, but my body happily answered for me. I felt warmer, definitely, but my head felt kind of numb, like I'd just lost myself in a story, or a medical study. Except it was in a round, maroon, bouncing, flex... ing... Snap out of it I quickly shook my head, earning a smack against something hard with my cheek, "Oh!"

"Oh, sorry, Twilight! You were, uh," Spike stumbled over his words, looking up at my face. A rather confused look scrolled by as he held up the plate of pancakes in one claw, and a fork and knife in the other. "Twilight. I know you like breakfast, but that red on your cheeks is kinda freaking me out... you sick or something?"

"Red on my cheeks? Wait, you mean here?" I blinked, raising my hoof to tap the area just under my right eye. It definitely did feel warm... kinda like how your cheeks burn in the cold of Winter. Wasn't that cold in the library, though; on the contrary, it was sweltering in the kitchen.

"Yeah. You feeling alright?"

"Just fine, Spike, honest. Just, um... well, I know I'm not sick." I looked over at the pancakes held on the inviting white plate, spotless as usual. "Oooo, does head chef Spike have something for me?"

"Yes, m'lady," he said with a bow, and put on his best Manehatten accent, placing the plate and cutlery on the table in front of me as he spoke, "Two pancakes made to order, containing the precisely measured amounts of milk, eggs, flour, a touch of buttermilk, one knife's edge of margerine, a layer of oil to allow the golden brown-ness of the delicacy, and an assortment of fruit and syrup available, erm..." his accent faltered as he looked over at the counter, "On the counter. Darn it, I need more arms!"

I giggled at his complaint; maybe having a horn did make life really easy compared to others, "It's alright Spike, I've got it." With a quick flick of my horn, and thankfully, no return of that dreaded thumping, I retrieved the syrup and delectable— "Raspberries? Wait, don't we have any blueberries left?"

"You're forgetting the massive pancake binge you had last weekend? You know, after finishing your one hundred page report on the effects of unicorn magic when trying to inspire growth in plants and animal species. The one to the Princess? The one that I had to have six glasses of water after to get the burning out of my throat?" Spike scratched at his windpipe as I leaned back slightly, remembering the events that took place.

"And then, in celebration, I demanded sixty pancakes and all the fruit in the house. Sorry, Spike, my memory's been flaky lately..." I gave my head a good shake, my body thankfully calming down. What were the symptoms of this latest bout, anyway? Let's see... flushed cheeks... absence of mind... complete and total focus on the subject... and numerous parts of my body heating up, ranging from my cheeks to my chest to my belly to my... my, um... I hid my eyes behind my hoof in a mock attempt to lean my head on it and looked down. Yeah... that. That heated up, too. But why? Hmmm... This would require further study, definitely, but first came breakfast! Oh, that intoxicating smell was already stealing away my focus. The formula could be shifted a bit, but raspberries were notoriously uncooperative when it came to placing them at just the right places. Have to account for any shifts from environmental disturbances, and random earthquakes... as well as— oh, right. "Thank you, Spike, it looks great. Just gonna..."

"Take your time. If the pancakes get cold while you're placing the berries, I'll heat 'em up. Gonna get started on getting my breakfast out." He grinned and walked over to his stool, hopping up onto it and turning the stove off. First came food - probably emeralds -, then he'd get started on his chores. Chores... I've put a lot of chores on his back, haven't I? Even with Owlowicious around, Spike's still got a lot of work to do. Maybe I should help him out today while I read up on this... weird thing I've got going on. Maybe even a letter to the Princess? Should I alert her about this? Ohhh, I don't know. And that was the worst feeling I could experience that morning: not knowing. There was nothing that bothered me more than not having an answer to a question.

Though nothing beat not being able to solve the Pinkie Sense. That mystery still drove me nuts! Still, I did accept that it was something I couldn't solve... it definitely didn't mean it stopped giving me nightmares. My eyes moved away from Spike as he gathered up his cherished gems for breakfast, and down to the food that a pony actually could eat: pancakes! Top raspberry goes here... then the second one at a fourty-five degree angle, about two inches away... then the third the same distance and angle... ok. I smiled as the berries actually cooperated for once. Maybe the planets aligned that day? I let out a laugh as I imagined every planet in the solar system aligning, projecting some form of ultimate will on the berries to make my morning better. Definitely made me smile, at least, seeing those berries stand at attention as I drizzled just the right amount of syrup between them.

"Now we just cut..." I mumbled, and at the thought of 'cutting', my horn fired up on its own and produced a lavendery triangle, hovering just over the berries. The vertexes extended out to cover the entire delicacy, and my tongue ran over my lips as I pressed down, cutting the pancake into equal pieces. Glad Spike has something better to do besides watching me do this... he'd probably fall asleep. But the cut has to be perfect! I nodded to the thought, and took the berries in my magic. The cut had been done, now all that was left to do is to spread the berry juice and syrup across the pancake, evenly. The same amazing taste for every bite... it was a science, after all!

Soon, the deed had been done, and I took up my knife and fork, diving right into the food. The science was done, but boy, was I hungry! The sweet, sugary flavor of the syrup with the slight tang of the berries... it didn't match up with the cold, slightly bitter balance of a blueberry, but it definitely had its merits. Before I knew it, not a survivor had been left on the syrup covered plate held in front of my face, not wanting to leave even a stripe of syrup behind. Once the pure white of the plate had been restored, I placed it back on the table... revealing Spike's face to me.

His rather... bothered face.

"Something wrong, Spike?" I raised an eyebrow, feeling a lone tear scroll down my face. What could I say? Those pancakes were the best pancakes I'd ever had. Right, dragon was speaking, listen!

"Um... nothing, nothing at all. Just, you were really going at that plate, Twilight." He quirked his mouth up at the side, emerald in his clenched claw; seemed he halted just before taking a bite to watch me fill my gut. Bit creepy...

"Well, the pancakes were good! Really good." I sniffed, wiping my damp cheek, "Really, really really good..."

Spike grinned, taking the emerald between his fangs and crashing down on it, "Well, what can I say? I'm the chef for a reason, Twilight. So." he gulped down the emerald chunks, spinning the remains of it in his claw, "What's the plan today?"

"Oh, right, my plan! Shoot, um... I was gonna do a lot of timekeeping today."

"Schedule writing today, then?" He raised his brow and leaned on his claw, tossing the other half of the emerald into his mouth. I'd always wondered just how strong a dragon's mouth was... those emerald shards had to be sharp, after all!

"Yep. Gotta get a schedule down for the next three weeks, then sort out the time periods for today..." I trailed off, blinking as an image flashed through my mind. It didn't look familiar... or even visible, but it was definitely there; if it wasn't, then why did I feel myself heat up a bit again?

"Twilight?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, sorry! Um, I was going to do some reading today!" I shook my head, quickly throwing the sentence out of my mouth. I *really** need to read up on this!*

"Oh yeah, that astronomy book, right?" Spike spoke through the shattering glass of the emeralds, wincing a bit as he went, "Oh jeeze, that's sour... ahem, anyway. Right, that new Orion Hunter book."

"That's the one. Is anypony coming over today?"

"Nah, I don't think so. You know, besides Rainbow blowing another hole in the wall, or Pinkie kicking the door down to invite us to another party," Spike chuckled as he lounged in his chair, shaking his head. Yeah, that wasn't too fun...

"It was really hard fixing that hole last month, wasn't it?" I smirked, covering my mouth in time to muffle a light belch. Ate a bit too quick... I thought, letting out a small sigh, "Pardon me."

"Pardon what?"

"Never mind. You were saying?"

"Right. No, that hole wasn't too fun, but at least we had your number two assistant to help out with carrying the wood." Spike grinned at the exclamation of his dominance, however much worth it had to me. I couldn't help but humor him, though... after that huge mess between him and Owlowicious, the two just never saw eye to eye, no matter what I could sort out concerning work schedules. They eventually agreed to disagree, and left each other alone to their work, but I always enjoyed seeing them work together, whenever the blue moon shined above.

"You're gonna keep calling him that, aren't you?" I rolled my eyes, smiling at the silliness of it.

"Hey, I've been your assistant ever since I was a little baby. That's not gonna stop," he said, gesturing at me with an emerald, "Think we should get started on those schedules, then?"

"If you want t—" I stopped after a blink, realizing I was talking to a dust cloud that looked suspiciously like Spike. Where the heck did he run off to? It only took a few moments of looking to spot him standing right next to me, stack of parchment and a lot of ink at claw and ready. "Well, you're on the ball, today!"

"Gotta keep up my A game. Can't let it slip after those pancakes. Take it away!"

And after that was, quite honestly, the most peaceful two hours I'd ever spent in my life. Even while sitting in my lonesome back in Canterlot, reading through Starswirl the Bearded's theory on time travel. The weeks just built themselves. Stunt practice with Rainbow two days from now, then help Pinkie over at Sugarcube Corner, then read some Daring Do on the weekend. By the end of it, though, I found that my brow had furrowed quite intensely, Spike looking back up at me as he sat on the ground.

"Something wrong, Twilight?"

"No, nothing's wrong... everything's been scheduled just fine. I guess... it's just surprising to hear I have so much free time on my hooves." I scratched the back of my neck in honest confusion. My days were usually packed to the brim with scheduled activities... yet most of them had more than seven hours of free time, excluding sleep! It was unheard of! Something has to be missing, but what!? Letters to the Princess on Saturdays, whenever one comes up, then astronomy study on Mondays. Today's Wednesday...

And that was when the realization hit me, like an angry train riding right off the rails. I didn't have any work to do to fill in those seven hours a day. I felt my jaw drop at the thought. I-Impossible! How could my days not be filled?! I hurriedly charged through every single idea I could come up with to fill the time: biology, chemistry, magic, physics, studying the Sun and Moon, looking at the stars, hanging out with friends! E-Everything's got a space! It's all scheduled! *I can't fill the time!!***

"Twilight, hey!" Spike grabbed my neck, constricting it just enough for me to feel that I was hyperventilating, and I felt a tremble race through me.

"Wh- H-Huh?" I shook my head, Spike's blubbering accompanying it; must've been shaking him along with my head! "S-Spike?"

"Twilight, are you really sure you're ok? You just spaced out, then you started hyperventilating and- you freaked me out!" Spike tightened his grip into a hug, resting his head under my chin. Wait, he's... alright, panicking dragon under my chin! I quickly snapped out of my trance and returned the hug, putting on a shaky smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just fine, Spike. Just... never had that happen before." I stared off into space as his claws lowered to my shoulders, returning the hug as best he could. Really scared him, didn't I...? My eyes moved down to him, catching only the tip of a green spine sticking up past my muzzle. His trembling body against mine told me everything I needed, though: he really was scared. "It's alright... just never had so much time available in my day."

"R-Right, that's true." Spike let out a small chuckle into my neck, answered by my own little giggle. Hey, it tickled! "Guess I overreacted a bit..."

"No, no. I was panicking over nothing. Don't worry about it, Spike," I gently spoke as I squeezed him in a hug, smiling. It was always nice to be reminded that somepony nearby cared that much for me, even in my little world of schedules and panic attacks. Refreshing. "Alright, since you helped me with the schedules, how about I help you with the chores?"

"Huh? But, I always do them." He leaned back into my view with a squinted look, "Are you trying to take my job, too?"

"Now how in the world would I do that?" I could've sworn I puffed out my cheeks a bit, trying to hold in that laugh, "C'mon, there's no way I could replace you!"

"Well..." Spike quirked his mouth, as if considering the thought, and almost as quickly shrugged, "Yeah, I guess you're right." He let go after I gave him a last squeeze, and dropped to the floor from my forelegs. "Alright, chores. What to start with... dusting, sweeping, setting up the ladders, sorting the sign-out sheets, organizing the books..."

"Wow. I really had no idea you did so much everyday..."

"Really? I just kinda kept taking jobs over when you went out on your crazy adventures with everypony. I do a pretty good job, don't I?" Spike put on a smug smirk, folding his arms.

"Good job? You do a fantastic one, Spike! I swear, sometimes it looks like I did it!" And that was no joke. Every time somepony came by to sign out a book, Spike was ready to receive them and bring them to me. "Why do you worry about losing your spot as my number one assistant so much? The job's pretty much yours, permanently. Nopony understands my methods as well as you!"

"And believe me, it took a long time to understand them as well as I do!" His smug smirk gave way to an exasperated look, slouching a bit, "I spent years studying where everything went! Pretty much had to start over when the Princess ordered you to study friendship in Ponyville. At least the smaller library made things a lot easier... but it was a rough first year!"

"And I'm always impressed by your work. So, Mister Spike. What's the first order of business?" I stood at attention with a work-ready smile, or at least, I thought I did... I tried to mimic my brother whenever he was out on drills. Hopefully it came through.

"Alright, Miss Sparkle. First job is dusting. It's crazy, this library gets so clogged with dirt sometimes, it's like walking on a beach." Spike chuckled a bit as he lead me into the library, and the two of us got to quick work. He handled the books while I multi-tasked sweeping, dusting and cleaning the windows. A simple task, but one that always amazed everypony who'd catch me while I was working. The library quickly became a cloudy, dusty... cloud of dust!

"Alright, slow down, Twilight! The Princess isn't coming today!" Spike shouted from somewhere in the room. Couldn't quite see him.

"Hang on, I'm getting everything off the walls so I can do..." I smiled as my horn sparked up, aura quickly wrapping up the entire room. With a flick of my head, all the dust was dragged together into a small ball in the middle of the room, Spike flopping onto the floor from the sudden yank. "This! Oh, oops! Spike, are you ok?"

"Yeah, fine. I've lived through higher falls," he groaned as he rolled over and onto his feet, staring at the dust ball in the middle of the room. "Woah... now that's cool! How'd you do that?"

"Oh, just a little adaptation for my levitation. I've been studying a few new spells, and got interested in the concept of gravity. I just attracted all the dust to each other, and built a ball out of it." I smiled and gestured to the bowling ball of dirt, Spike looking it over with interest.

"Sweet. Wish I had a horn and that spell, it'd make cleaning a lot easier!" He scratched the back of his head and poked the ball, it rolling off from the touch. "Hey, get back here!" He set into a chase, though every time he got close, he'd accidentally kick the ball and send it off in another direction at a higher speed, like a cat with a yarn ball. Did dragons react to dirt the same way cats reacted to yarn? He's not really playing with it. Hm. Something to study. Along with that weird... thing that happens to me. I thought as I tapped my chin, looking around at all the books on the shelves, seeming to stretch upwards for miles from where I was sitting. That was a really weird trick of the eyes, and even after two years of living there, it still got to me!

"Well, as long as I've got time, I could read that new book on astronomy..." I nodded, Spike's random yelps and grunts as he tried to retrieve the mischievous ball of dust fading away into my mind as I grabbed book after book off the shelves, reorganizing them. I can ask Spike to take over today. Think I'll do some reading out in the park... I thought. Spike could definitely handle running the library on his own, unless Rainbow came by, then there was a problem or three to deal with. In fact, whenever I got back from the crazy stuff I did with my friends, I'd always find the sign-out page organized and written with about twelve items on it. Book returns, sign-outs, names, birthdays... he was the smartest little dragon I'd ever met, and likely ever would meet. With the important house in the important claws of my important dragon, I could focus on the important problems of space, time, and me. Of course, me was number three on that list, but still!

"Right then. That's a book on magic, goes in Classics... 'Checklists For The Novice Scheduler', that's in Foals... 'Daring Do And The Castle Of Nazaal', definitely Fiction. Ah, 'Stars And Planets For The Avid Stargazer, Orion Hunter'! Perfect." I continued organizing the books absent mindedly as I tried to uncover the secrets of the book through the front cover. The planets in our solar system, only ever observed... could we actually get to them someday, though? Doubt we'll ever be able to reach the stars in my lifetime... but I can always dream, can't I? I mused, smirking lightly. "Alright, Spike. I'm just gonna finish up with the books, then I'm gonna head out for some reading in the park."

"Alright! Come back here, you little!" Spike grumbled, climbing a ladder to catch the dust ball that had somehow ended up on one of the upper shelves. "How'd you ride that book up here, anyway!?"

"Sorry, Spike. You gonna get it down on your own?" I called up, readying my horn as he tipped back a bit on the ladder. I let my caught breath go as he landed back against the shelf, but I could definitely tell he was just a bit more tense than before.

"Yeah, no problem. Almost got it. You done with the books?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright, that's it, then. I can take care of everything else." Spike grabbed the ball of dirt in a claw, digging into it slightly to get a better grip. Sliding back down, he hit the ground with a light thud and rolled, ball still held between his claws. Agile little guy! "Have fun, Twilight, with... well, whatever you do."

"I always do, Spike. Take good care of the library." With a nod and a wave, I headed back upstairs and retrieved my saddlebag, placing the book on astronomy in it. Where should I go today, then? Could go to the square, relax on one of the benches... or sit out on that hill in Embark Fields. The square isn't that far away, though, and I should be through this book in no time. I nodded at the plan, but that one little itch at the back of my mind acted up again, reminding me of the questions I wanted answered. "Can't keep having these reactions happening to me... I don't even know what they relate to, or mean. Should take a few medical texts as well." With another nod, I raced back downstairs, thankful that I could do it with a manner of speed, and quickly snatched up several books on pony anatomy. With another wave, I was out the door and heading to the square.

I had questions. It was time to get some answers.