//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Friendship is Equal to or Greater than Magic // by Fanon Canon //------------------------------// "You are!" "Hoot" "You are!" "Hoot." "You are!" "Hoot." "Oh I give up." Spike accepted bitterly, why did he even bother to try and get through to that owl, he will never know. "Hoot." Owlowiscious continued. "Will you cut it out?" Spike pleaded with the bird, but he could see that even if the bird had the emotional range of a plate, it was taking great pleasure in irritating Spike to no end. The little green dragon left the bird there, now plain irritated with how much of a waste of time it had been trying to engage in conversation with him. Still their relationship had improved considerably after the affair when the owl first showed up, and Spike knew that no matter what feats the little bird was capable of performing, it could never replicate his vital skills of the sacred magic fire breath, or at least, he hoped the owl wasn't capable of that. But even if it was, their humble master wouldn't think any less of Spike, though he had to admit, there were times when she would write up a Friendship Report and he would send it off, then she would worry about any typos she had made and he would have to send off another one, it could really stretch him thin with the constant worrying she was so very well known for. Come to think of it, Spike hadn't seen much of his master as of late, nothing to bother about, and he only really noticed when she was absent because he would get a very noticeable hunger from all the gemstones she wasn't gifting him, and he wasn't eating. Simply the though of not eating was enough for his stomach to rumble, and so Spike decided a meal was in order, and he sought out his cache of shiny treats, but was overcome with disappointment when he discovered he only had one big red ruby left, something he was saving for a special occasion, but the mere sight of it was making his stomach growl fiercely and he decided that that special occasion would have to be this very moment. "Hoot." Owlowiscious rudely interrupted him, as he was about to down the ruby in one. Spike managed to stifle the groan and he turned to the owl. "What is it now?" "Hoot." The owl simply uttered, Spike reminding himself that it would be some miracle if it said anything else, but he understood what he was trying to say. "Why not, I've earned it, haven't I?" He defended himself from the owl's disapproving hoots. "Hoot." It went on. "Well that's for future Spike to worry about." Spike replied, though bitterly reminded himself of the last time he relied on Future Spike to handle his hunger. "Hoot." Owlowiscious persisted. "If it stops me from having to listen to you, I think I'll take my chances." Spike said, and was just about to eat the ruby, when a familiar snapped him out of it. "Spike? Spike!" The usual anxious voice of his master called out to him from somewhere in the library. "Coming Twi!" He called back, and laid the ruby back down, scolding Owlowiscious for interrupting him and made his way downstairs to deal with whatever problem she no doubt had for him to worry about, doing his best to ignore the growing hunger in his stomach. "Spike! Spike!" Twilight Sparkle shouted, anxiety building in her voice. "I'm right here." Spike said quite calmly, confused with the plain panic he could sense in her tone. "Oh there you are!" Twilight said relieved, as if this was the first time she had seen him in years. "I haven't distracted you from anything, have I?" She asked now with concern. "Nothing important." Spike grumbled, ignoring his hunger, a sudden excitement building in him, for she may have gemstones for him. "Oh perfect!" Twilight exclaimed, slightly shocking Spike, but it was a familiar tone to him now, no doubt she had made some new kind of discovery and was eager to share it with him. "Then you wouldn't mind assisting me in this brand new field of research." She recited. "I guess." He said quietly, he was hardly in a position to say no, being her number one assistant and all, but there was something about this new research that sounded risky to him, it was the kind where Twilight would display nothing but bizarre enthusiasm, blind to any hazards associated with whatever new discovery she had made. "Perfect, perfect!" She repeated, making a move past Spike and delving further into the library, towards her area where she regularly made practices with magic and the sort. It was when she brushed past Spike that he felt a sudden jolt, making him jump back in surprise. Twilight paid him no heed of course; too involved in getting to where her books were as soon as possible. Spike followed her, suddenly noticing that the unicorn horn on her head, the source of all her might and magic was glowing in a very irregular way, and for the first time, was slightly emitting static electricity, and a certain feeling of anxiety grew in Spike, and while Twilight had her fair share of eccentric spells, something about this seemed a little dangerous. "I can't believe I haven't come across this earlier, probably because it was so obscure, but now I have found it, and it is no longer obscure." She recited in a eccentric fast pace. "Right." Spike said, cautious as to where this would lead them. "Why, I could spend all day explaining this to you." Twilight said. "But I think it's best if I just show you." She finished, with a sinister hint to her tone. "Umm." Spike said, but before he could express his concerns she went on. "I will need to test out this little spell on you of course." She informed him. "What." He said quietly before the realisation kicked in. "What kind of spell." "Oh a very important spell." She replied. "But a completely safe spell, completely safe spell, yeah." "Are you sure about this?" He questioned with obvious concern. "Hey." Twilight said, her voice suddenly becoming very more like the calm and rational Twilight he knew. "Would I do something so unsafe and hazardous to you?" She asked sincerely. "Well no." He admitted, it wasn't like she had never intentionally put him in harm's way for her own sake. "Thank you." She replied compassionately. "If you would just stand in the middle there." She gestured to the centre of the room with a hoof, Spike obliging her. After a minute or so of Twilight going over some notes and prepping her horn for the spell, she was finally ready. "So Twi, you sure about this?" He asked, hoping to be assured. "Heh." Twilight muttered. "I have no idea." In a manner that was similar to one of their pink-coloured friends, and shot out a stream of magic in his general direction. In an instant, a swirl of colours swarmed around Spike, blinding everything from view. It was quite a show, but Spike couldn't feel anything different about him, maybe the effects of the spell had yet to kick in. But on it went, a multitude of colours about him, and yet he still felt indifferent to it all. Finally it stopped and Spike could make out his surroundings again. Twilight came into focus and Spike could make out a delight look on her face. "What that it?" He asked dully. "Of course that was it!" She exclaimed in delight. "Why it's worked even better then I could have ever imagined." She continued still in glee. "I don't get it." Spike said, confused with why she was so happy, he hadn't felt anything unusual about him, and every experiment Twilight had ever done had always had some kind of effect on him. "Oh but now comes the best part!" She cried in enjoyment. "Now I have a task for you, Spike." "What kind of task." He asked, concern growing again. "Oh the best, he most appropriate for my number one assistant." She started. "You see, I want you to go out and… mingle." "Mingle?" "Yeah, mingle, with all the ponies around here, talk to them, interact with them, learn their secrets, for they should be more then willing to engage you, now that I've cast that little spell on you." Twilight explained. "Uh-huh." Spike uttered. "And what's the point of that?" He asked. "All those different perspectives and opinions and outlooks will be collected and will grant me wisdom beyond all that I have seen and share in all my years." She recited, buzzing with excitement. "Doesn't that seem a little err." Spike did his best to explain. "Rude." "Not at all." She countered. "This spell should allow to you have a pleasant conversation with just about anypony. And if you talk to a whole bunch of ponies." Twilight reached into the knapsack slung across her back, and allowed to Spike to see it's contents, and what he saw infused him with exhilaration, for a whole colourful assortment of gems greeted him, rubies and emeralds in particular driving him giddy with the mere sight of them. "I don't know how to dig them all out like that, it took ages." Twilight reasoned, having no fond memories of what it took for her to get those gemstones. She allowed Spike one emerald, which he devoured with immense pleasure and satisfaction, savouring every shiny bit. But after that, she denied him any further treats. "Only when you get out there and mingle!" She demanded. "I'd start with the usual gang, but don't stop there, there's a whole bunch of ponies to talk to, so get out there!" "Sure thing, Twi!" Spike accepted, his lust for further gemstones holding sway over any reasons, and with that he made his exit, taking to the streets of Ponyville in search of his pony friends. Just another typical day in Ponyville, Spike noted. The weather was at it's usual best, barely a cloud in sight and the sun baring down on the young dragon, but he didn't have too long to dwell on it, when a sudden blur of colour drew his attention, it seemed to be coming straight at him, almost at alarming speeds, and Spike was sure he could recognise the distinct array of colours in its wake. But at the moment, the flash was getting closer at an alarming rate, and so Spike doing something he wasn't used to, made a sharp dive to the left, something he didn't need to do as the flash crashed down quite close to him, but it would have pasted by him if he'd simply stay put, and now Spike could make out the Pegasus to which the flash of colour belonged to. Rainbow Dash was in daze after her little stunt, but soon regained her perception and quickly surveyed her surroundings before hitting herself on the head with one of her hooves, cursing herself for her recklessness. Spike simply observed her, wondering inside whether this had something to do with the spell Twilight had cast on him, but also praised his luck that he ran into a familiar face so soon. "Hiya Dash!" He greeted her cheerily; also glad to be talking to someone who wasn't Twilight. "Oh Spike, Spike, I am so sorry, I could have sent you flying a mile, and then two miles after that, and then another mile just to round it out." She mused in a manner that was very unlike the one he was familiar with. "Err, sure." He said at a loss for words. "What were you doing, exactly?" He asked her. "Why." Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying up into the air above the little dragon. "Rainbow Dash was doing what she does best, Spike!" She boasted. "What?" He smirked. "Crashing." "No!" She shouted in defiance. "The part before crashing, usually the part that determines whether of not you end up crashing. Flying!" She finished in the usual proud manner. "Yeah, yeah." Spike agreed. It was no surprise to virtually anyone that Rainbow Dash spent her free time flying, what with her being the fastest Pegasus in the land, though that was an unofficial title. "Why, how else am I suppose to get into the Wonderbolts if I don't dedicate as much time as I can to perfecting this delicate art of flying." She reasoned. "Y'know, Dash." Spike said suddenly. "Do you actually need the Wonderbolts?" "What!" Dash exclaimed taken aback. "I mean." He started to explain. "You're the fastest flyer there is, like ever." "True enough." She reasoned. "Well, why are you wasting your time on trying to get into a club that's full of Pegasus's that can't even match your speeds." Spike continued. Rainbow Dash hovered on the spot for a while going through the thought in her mind, but in an instant she decided that she would be having none of it. "Spike!" She scolded. "What a nasty thing to say, sometimes it isn't a question of speed, but of comradeship, and the Wonderbolts are the bets comrades I know, and with me being the Element of Loyalty, there are some things that don't have anything to do with how fast you can fly." "Yeah, yeah okay." Spike reasoned, berating himself for trying to give his own take on the Element of Loyalty. "Still." Dash said. "Thanks for giving me the thought, but now I don't flying like flying anymore. And when Rainbow Dash doesn't feel like flying she instead… works." "Works." Spike said puzzled. "Oh, at the Rainbow Factory!" "Spike, please!" Dash scolded him again, now with notable disgust. "Refer to it by it's proper name: The Cloudsdale Optical and Meteorological Multicoloured Arc Phenomenon Productions Facility." She recited proudly. "The what?" He simply asked in bewilderment. "Much better name, sticks with you, y'know." Dash explained. "Raises awareness and increases granite precipitation by approximately one fifth; it is literally twenty percent cooler." She finished. "Umm, okay." Spike said with faint awe. "Anyway, this has been fun, but now Rainbow Dash has got to go to… works." The multicoloured Pegasus announced, before rising high into the air, giving Spike a wave, and zooming off in the direction of Cloudsdale. For the little green and purple dragon, he was simply left in bewilderment; that was a very strange little chat he had with Dash, nothing like what they usually were like. Could that be a result of the spell he was under? If so, Spike was unsure as to whether he wanted to continue having more chats with several other ponies.