Chapter 52 – With Calmer Minds

His mind raced, the Meltackian tried coming up with an excuse, but once again Spike cut him off, "Now you're panicking slightly, I can see the bright pinks mixed with the reds and purples." Image's mind stopped working at that point, he was in awe of the tiny dragon's perception and understanding, "I've been making sure you weren't going to try anything with Rarity, it gave me time to figure out what the patterns of your skin mean when they change." he said with a smug grin on his face, "That, and Twilight wanted to know why you changed colors." this he said while rubbing his clawed hand to the back of his neck.

"You…are far more perceptive than others." the Meltackian announced.

"I learned that from Twilight." Spike admitted, "Now talk! Why did you default back to your species' old way of thinking?"

Image, for the first time Spike could remember, opened his mouth, and exhaled deeply, "It happens when I get overly stressed, like if I'm doing the opposite of what my Passion is, or if I defile my Passion in some way. This happens to all Meltackians that find their Passion." he said into Spike's mind.

"But it happens easier to you, right?" Spike asked. This caught Image's attention, and the Meltackian was about to address the insult until, once again, Spike spoke up, "Because you're so generous, like Rarity. You feel the pressures more, and it's harder for you to cope with those pressures. Just like Rarity."

Image sighed audibly again, "Yes." he said rubbing his arm.

"I knew about your sister from you." Spike suddenly admitted, "I don't know how, but when I touched you, it was like your memories flooded my mind, showing me exactly what I needed to see." Spike sighed a bit, and looked down in shame, "The Sunik Team has her, huh?"

Image lowered his own arms in shame, "Yes, they have her." the Meltackian repeated, "And if I try to rescue her; they'll kill her, and by doing so, that will kill me."

Suddenly Spike clenched his claws into fists, "We can't let them get away with that!" he said, "I may be small, but I can help. With the right disguise, I can sneak in and rescue her."

"But how will you get her out?" he asked.

"I…haven't thought that far yet, but I'm sure I can do it!" Spike said with confidence.

"I am not sure if that was to encourage me or to discourage me." Image said, his shoulders slumped and his eyes half-laden.

"Look, they'll be expecting you to try something. I don't think they'll see a dragon-like me coming, especially if I paint my scales to look like one of them, just…really short." Spike said, with a nervous smile.

"It won't matter anyway." Image said, "They have her locked up in a high-security military base on Sunik. We're not even close to being able to rescue her without being noticed."

"Then, maybe after the race is over?" Spike said.

Image once again visibly exhaled, "I appreciate your enthusiasm Spike." the Meltackian said, "But I'm afraid it's far too risky and you'd have to ask permission from your caretaker, telling her everything in the process."

Spike let his shoulders fall, the realization hitting him just as hard as it had hit Image, "Don't give up Image." he suddenly said, "I'm…sure an opportunity will come up."

Image looked to the baby dragon, sadness in his eyes yet a calm smile on his face, "I do hope you are correct Spike." he said, "It would mean the universe to me to be able to show your world to my sister."

"Hey." the baby dragon said with swagger as he snapped his claws together, "I'm sure Twilight wouldn't mind bringing you and your sister to Equestria with us when this is all over."

"That would be nice." Image said, and sat down into one of the breakroom chairs, "I appreciate your willingness to help, and to be honest, having a friend I can tell my woes to does help to ease the worry and stress. But I must ask that we keep this a secret from the others. I do not wish my new friends to hate me as, though briefly met, I have grown fond of this team."

Spike hesitated a bit but looked into Images eyes. There he saw the emotions; worry, sadness, and fear, the emotions that for some reason were not showing up on his skin, "Ok, I won't." he said before adopting a stern look, "But you should." he said, "Having friends means letting those friends know of your problems. I wanted to confront you because I thought you'd hurt my friends." Image looked hurt and shocked, prompting Spike to explain some more, "But I know better now. You're genuine and kind, but in a really dark place right now. Friends? For real this time?" Spike extended his clawed hand, hope echoing in his eyes.

Image studied the clawed fingers, hesitation etched upon his face, but eventually, he smiled, and clasped his fingers around the extended hand, "Friends." the Meltackian agreed, "Twilight Sparkle has taught you well."

The two exited the room with smiles, and Image seemed to be far more relaxed now, nearby Twiggs stood in the darkness, his back leaning against the wall as he watched the two carelessly leave, and with a genuine smile, thought to himself, 'About time that Meltackian relaxed.' Then he frowned a bit, 'I wonder what they were talking about. I'd better keep an eye on them. Should be easy enough.'

And easy it was, he would come out with Applejack from time to time, and spy the three of them working together; Image, Spike, and Rarity. The young Meltackian showing signs of calmness that seemed to spread to others as he smiled and, though with his mind, chatted. He could tell in the mental voice that Image was calmer and more focused now.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was a big ball of nervous anger. Twiggs could tell she was still angry at Breeze, however, she continuously calmed herself before addressing him. She didn't want to be mad at him like she had some kind of fear of what she may say. He could tell that Breeze could tell the same thing, yet he handled it almost professionally. He didn't ignore her anger, yet he didn't provoke it or try to baby the matter. He simply apologized before approaching her, and then visibly became his usual self. This helped to keep the anger to a minimum instead of letting it grow out of control like so many do. However, it did not address the issue either, that would have to come later he guessed.

Pilit and Twilight were both still upset that the underground museum was completely destroyed because of the Sunik ship, so they were rewatching the video that Breeze had taken both out of respect for the history that was physically lost and to see if there were any hints as to what it all meant. Twiggs chuckled to himself as he set his part down on the ground, 'Not even a day later and we're already fixing what was broken.' he thought to himself, 'Some intentionally broken, and some unintentionally.' He then turned back to the yard just as Lau, Breeze's son, came running out from the hallway, a lollypop in his little hand with Hulon and Fluttershy walking behind him. Instead of running up to Breeze, he ran up to Rainbow Dash, which surprised all of them, but the mare seemed to calm down instantly when it looked like the young man introduced himself with such passion and grit that Rainbow Dash just couldn't resist admiring the adventure he sounded like he was having. 'I can't get a read on that kid's personality, it's like he's everything he needs to be, yet he's still finding what he wants to be.' Twiggs thought as he made his way back into the yard, "Ah, to be young again!" he said out loud.

"Is Lau finally out?" he heard Applejack asked. He looked up, finding the orange earth pony standing there with a large piece of an engine on one of the hovering flatbeds. Twiggs simply nodded and turned to look back into the garage. "That kid is somthin special, ain't he?"

"You got that right." Twiggs said with a smile and then frowned.

"Still can't read him?" Applejack asked, catching Twiggs off guard, "I seen ya studyin him. Trouble is, I don't think even he knows who he wants to be. His ma ain't taught him like she shoulda. From what I get from the boy, she's too obsessed with his pa to even begin. It's like…"

"His life never really started until now." Twiggs finished, "Like this is what he's been waiting for {snort}. Love and actual family."

"Yeah." Applejack agreed. The two watched Lau as he connected with everypony in the garage, running in circles as Rainbow Dash and Breeze chased him, even Twilight and Pilit were now smiling and laughing, "He's gonna be special, whatever he wants to be." The two stood in silence for a bit, watching as the team grew as friends. "It's gonna be harder, ain't it?" Applejack asked, getting Twiggs to turn to her, "It ain't over, not by a pig's ear."

"How many races do you think {snort} are in this race?" he asked.

"We was thinkin five." she said, "The prelims, and then the next three, with three contestants bein eliminated every time, now it's gonna be the final four, and I'm bettin there are more."

"Us, the Suniks, Honor's team, and Syls' team along with {snort} three other teams." Twiggs counted.

"Yeah." Applejack agreed, "But there are more races, ain't there?"

Twiggs shrugged his shoulders, "We'll see." he said, "I've only ever seen the races, never been {snort} in them before."

"That's no help!" she said to him, and the two of them smiled at each other again, and laughed.