What's the matter with me? Every time I try to do something of note, anything at all, it turns out poorly. Teleport? No. Lifting that stump? Nope. I should be able to do this, I know I should. There had to be something that could take his mind off of his other problem, off of the fact that he was completely alone. Where was his mom? Where was his dad? Where was his family? No, you can't think about that. There's no way I can show up like this. She was so proud of me being able to do something with myself, there's no way that I'm going to take that away from her. There's no way I'm going to take that away from myself. Hokey Smokes stood back up, slowly, and glanced around. How long was I out for? I came out here decently early, so maybe I should just figure out where the sun is. Of course, that means I have to leave the forest for a little. Once more, he glanced around to try to figure out if anypony else was around. He didn't even like to know that ponies were watching him train, he certainly didn't want any of them to see that he had passed out in the attempt. I have to be able to do something big before Twilight Sparkle comes back. I can't fail, I have to make sure that I can lift two things. But before I can do that, I should work on a single object. Magic is something that should be practiced, honed, and then strengthened. I can do this.

At the time, though, he wasn't actually doing anything. Each step brought him closer to the edge of the forest, and closer to the purple dragon that was now trying to think of a way to make sure that he wasn't seen. Think, Spike, think. He'll be here any second, and I doubt that he'd be too happy to see you around. Remember what he did to Twilight. Well, okay, he didn't really do much to Twilight. But he tried! Spike couldn't really do anything other than try to climb up the tree. And my claws save me again. He might have fooled her, but there's no way that he can fool me. I'll show Twilight that she was far too trusting. I will find out what it is that's wrong with this Hokey Smokes. I don't quite know what it is yet, but I know that something just isn't right. Green eyes glanced down at the stallion, watching him as he made his way out of the forest. Gah! I should havce made sure that I got closer. I don't know what he's doing. I couldn't have gotten too much closer, though, or he might have heard me. Yep, that was the perfect distance. I just should have figured out a way to hear from this far. Maybe I should talk to Twilight about that. As the small dragon kept debating with himself, his prey had been constantly moving. Wait, focus Spike. That pony was right.... oh, this won't end well. By the time that he looked down, there was no pony.

There were three timber wolves, though, glancing up at him.

Spike hated this forest so much.

Hokey Smokes glanced up, trying to calculate the placement of the sun to figure out an approximate time. This was something that scholars had done for centuries, it was something that any smart pony should be able to do. It was also something that hadn't been practiced much in decades, the need not being there. He had only learned it in passing, the knowledge being one of those things that seemed as though it could be useful at some point. The only problem was that he didn't do it enough to get a firm grasp, and now he could only see that it was some time after noon. There won't be too much time before dusk, though. Maybe three hours. And even I know that it's better to be in a house, or even just not in the forest, at night. It didn't go well for me last time, and I don't think I'm going to risk it again. I should be able to get in a little more practice, though. I should really be careful, I need to make sure that nothing bad happ- A loud yell, or something that might even be able to be classified as a scream, shook him from his thoughts. It would have been bad enough if it had been somepony he didn't know, he might have just been able to ignore it. Who am I kidding? I would rush in there, try to do something, and probably fail. The thing that made it worse, though, was that it was a voice of somepony, or more accurately some dragon that he actually knew.

What was Spike doing in the forest?

No time to think. I have to go in there, and figure out what's wrong. Twilight Sparkle wouldn't forgive me if something happened to her friend. And then I wouldn't be able to figure out what's wrong with me. To him, it didn't seem bad that he was thinking of it like that. At the very least, the stallion was still rushing back into the forest to try to figure out exactly what was happening. It could have been anything, actually. There was even the chance that nothing had happened that would cause him to need to help. It might have been something that had managed to sneak up on the dragon, frightening him into making such a loud noise. That would have been the best case scenario, but it was also the thing that didn't turn out to be true. When he started to get close, that was when he noticed exactly what it was that was wrong. One of those things would be bad enough, but three is definitely too many. I have to get them out of there, and I have to rush Spike away. Yep, hero time. Now where's my rewar- waitm I haven't done it yet. A breath was taken, and he started to charge faster. Hokey Smokes couldn't think of how to deal with the wolves as a group, but he did know that he had to find a way to get their focus. I can also deal with one of them right here and now. All I have to do is... Head was held down, horn was pointed at one of them, and he kept charging.

Slam!

To say that it hurt would be an understatement. This wasn't something that had been thought out, debated internally, and then agreed on. Slamming himself into one of them was the only thing that he had thought to do. Green eyes looked down at him, though he didn't notice where Spike was until he heard the sound of his voice.

“Up here!”

“Well, you're going to have to come down here! Jump!” There was no time for anything else, the wolves were only going to be shocked for a moment. Come on, I have to think of something. Eyes glanced around, looking for anything. Nothing was there, so the only thing he could do was slow them down until Spike actually listened. Think, think, think. I got it! Any use of magic was probably going to hurt later, but for now he remembered a spell that would do some good. His horn started to glow, the spell being formed in his mind. A couple of seconds later, it was ready. “Close 'em, Spike!” The only hope was that he would have listened quickly, as there was soon a brilliant flash of light. Even something as simple as that wasn't simple, the concentration was enough to make the incoming dragon almost knock him over. Well, I did tell him to come down here. And now... time to try to run out of here. With that, he turned and galloped as quickly as he could. There was no time to stop, no time to slow down, no time to see if the wolves were still behind them. Hokey Smokes might have been able to do something about them at one point, but this was definitely not that point. He shouldn't have come out here. Then again, I might have had to deal with those wolves myself. They would have been able to sneak up on me, and that would have been the end of it.

Good thing he- why was he out here, again?

When he had been in the forest, his vision remained forward. Hokey Smokes still thought about all of the things that were going on, but he didn't focus on any of them. He had to move out of the way of trees, jump over stumps, and just generally make sure that he didn't slam into anything that would have prevented him from moving forward. As soon as he got out of the forest, though, he started to look around. He still didn't stop running, he needed to make sure that they weren't being followed, but it might have been good to actually think about where it was that he was going to eventually end up. I should take Spike back to the library, and then I should figure out somewhere to go. I doubt he'll want me to stay. Of course, I also have to figure out what he was doing out there. That thought, the question, was not leaving his mind. The only thing that brought him out of his thoughts was when he felt a heel dig into his side. “Ouch! What was that for?” A sudden stop wasn't fun, not at all, but at the very least it gave him the opportunity to figure out what exactly the small dragon wanted.

Spike was still trying to figure out how all of this had happened. He had just wanted to make sure that Hokey Smokes, if that was his real name, wasn't the threat that he thought he was. The thing that was happening now, with the constant galloping, was not helping at all. Come on, Spike. He has stopped. Now you can tell him thanks. Oh, and it's a perfect time to figure out why he was out there. The idea that the same question might be asked to him didn't come to mind, it was just enough that he wanted to ask it. “Thanks for saving me back there.” That would have been enough for most ponies, but he continued. “So... what were you doing out there? I thought you were supposed to be studying something till Twilight came back.”

“What were you doing out there?”

“Hey, ( asked first!”

“I had to clear my head, so I took a walk.” He doesn't need to know that I'm still unable to do as much as I used to.

“Sure looked like training to me!” Spike quickly glanced around nervously, right after he had said that. Oh wow. I didn't think that one through. Now he knows I've been spying on him. He's not going to be happy, and this definitely won't end well.

He... was watching me? “You can head back to the library on your own.” His failure was not something that he liked for others to see. An aura encompassed the small dragon, lifting him from Hokey Smokes' back. “I'm going to be back when Twilight gets back. I'm sure you'll be fine.” Without another word, Hokey Smokes started to walk back into town. He had to come up with a way to get some bits, and then he had to find a place to stay for the night. Or maybe I can spend another night under the stars. Yeah, that would be something that might be nice. I could get some practice in, and then I can go to sleep. It's going to be just like camping out! Yeah! This turned out to be a good thing after all... He couldn't convince himself, even, but there was no point in heading back to the library. One more night under the stars wouldn't be so bad. I just hope that Spike listens to me, heads back, and doesn't bother me. He came out there... to spy on me. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less, really. But, still, that just sucks. A yawn escaped, the day had been rather hectic near the end of it. Maybe it would be better if he didn't train, and just took the night to rest.

Yeah, sleep sounded good.