The Tales of Friendship

by maxisscrewed

Chapter 3 — The Big Super-Duper Secrety Surprise Party

Twilight Sparkle had slept well the previous night. Strangely yet, she was hardly sad over her parents. It was like the past event had never even happened. She sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, seeing Pinkie Pie at the computer, chewing on an ink pen. "Twenty bucks a bag at Flim n' Flam's Thing-Or-Two Shop, but I could always make it myself. If I get three packs of construction paper for one dollar each at—"

"Good morning, Pinkie," Twilight yawned, and Pinkie Pie nearly jumped out of her skin with fright as she looked back at Spike and Twilight. It was apparent that Spike had crawled in bed late at night when he couldn't sleep.

"Oh, I nearly forgot you were even there! Say, I have some errands to run today. I wonder where I can find a smart, pretty girl and a totally awesome little guy to help me plan the big super-duper secrety surprise party?"

"Me, me," Spike chanted excitedly, and Pinkie Pie flashed a big, white smile.

"Great! Go comb your teeth and brush your hair, because we've got an exciting day ahead of us!" Spike threw himself out of bed, and his feet pittered quickly to the bathroom. Twilight Sparkle smiled wearily.

"What's the duper super big party thingy?"

"The big super-duper secrety surprise party is a surprise, silly-billy!"

"Thanks for the offer, Pinkie Pie, but we don't have any clothes or, um, anything anymore, really."

"Oh, right. What size jeans do you wear?"

"Size eight," Twilight slowly concluded, and Pinkie pondered for a bit.

"I wear a size four, but you could probably wear some of my—oh, I got it!" Pinkie Pie jumped from her seat and tucked her pencil behind her ear, rummaging through the racks of clothes. Then, after a minute, she pulled out a plain, light blue dress from her closet. "This should work! It's a bit too big for me, but it should work perfectly for you. Oh, here's some leggings, too," Pinkie added, throwing a pair of white leggings at the girl. "Go get dressed, and I'll be ready in a jiffy!"

Pinkie Pie was acting ominous, but Twilight accepted this about her newfound—dare she think it—friend. How could she make a friend in such a horrific setting? What if she was glad that her parents died?

---

"I simply do believe that you should look into the engineered hardwood."

"Rarity, there ain't nothin' better than a bit of blood and sweat goin' into yer wooden floors if ya know it's all done correctly. They should be handled with care—not slapped down like a damn jigsaw puzzle!"

"Alright, alright, whatever you say, dearest."

"What color do ya want?"

"Something dark," she pondered, "like a—"

"Mahogany, gotchya," Applejack began, showing Rarity a sample of the dark wood.

"It's perfect," Rarity gushed, and she jumped as she felt a firm finger tap on her shoulder. She squealed and whipped around, nearly knocking Applejack down to the floor with the force of her hip. The country girl stumbled to the side and turned as well, straightening her cowboy hat.

"Well would 'jya looky here," Applejack laughed, grabbing Twilight's hand to shake it firmly, "if it ain't lil' miss Twilight Sparkle and Spike!"

"Who is she," Rarity hissed with a sense of jealousy in her voice, and Applejack smiled to her.

"She found asylum in the farmhouse last night when that big ol' storm blew through. Whoo-whee, that was somethin' else, huh? Sorry 'bout yer family, darlin', that was awful. I am so, so sorry to hear that. If y'all ever wanna swing on by for supper, we'd be glad to have y'all!" Rarity gasped and pushed Applejack to the side, grasping Twilight Sparkle's hands."

"So it was your house where Applejack was scoping the property!"

"Don't you listen to anything I say, Rare?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry that happened, darling! I couldn't imagine—" Rarity stopped speaking and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. "Um, excuse me," she whispered, "but where did you get that dress?"

"Pinkie Pie let me—"

"I made that dress for Pinkie Pie's birthday, and you stole it from—"

"I didn't steal anything," Twilight Sparkle insisted. "She let me borrow it because the storm took all of my clothes with it."

"Well, that's hardly acceptable," Rarity gasped in horror. "Don't worry—I'm getting a huge shipment of fabric into the boutique tomorrow, and I promise that I will help you in any way I can."

"Thank you so much," Twilight whispered, looking down at the floor. "I'll have to decline, though. I don't have any money." Pinkie Pie grabbed Rarity and whispered something into her ear, showed her the notebook, and Rarity looked to Pinkie Pie in confusion.

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

"Twilight, dear, don't worry about money, alright?"

"You can't make them for free, though—"

"The world does not revolve around money, but rather around what comes from others." Rarity spun around with Pinkie Pie and shot a smirk and a glare to her as they began to walk away, leaving Applejack to converse with Twilight and Spike. Rarity leaned over to the girl and glanced around the store. "Pinkie Pie, are you sure about this?"

"Of course, I'm always sure," Pinkie snapped, and Rarity pointed at the notebook.

"Look at how much work you're doing over something you can't help—"

"I'll work overtime," Pinkie insisted, and Rarity sighed and smiled.

"Just don't worry about it," Rarity sighed with a smile. "You can do favors in return. That would be a bigger help than money." As Pinkie Pie picked up her gallon of paint and left with Spike and Twilight trailing behind, Rarity leaned against Applejack's arm and sighed.

"What's wrong, dumplin'?"

"I'm so torn about the color."

---

"Pinkie wants to what, now?"

"You heard me! It's crazy!" Applejack smothered some mayonnaise on her sandwich and squished it down over the turkey that was on her other piece of bread before taking a big bite out of it. Rarity took a sip of fresh milk straight from Applejack's farm and sighed, running her long, purple, glittery nails down the glass.

"You say that like nothin' Pinkie Pie does is crazy."

"Well, you're right, but at the same time, this is probably the craziest thing she has ever done in the history of mankind!"

"Maybe she's just tryn' to help in the only way she sees fit?"

"If one person in this entire world should not be helping economically, it is Pinkamena Diane Pie!"

"Well, if one person in this entire world can pull it off, it's gonna be Pinkiemeenie Diana Pie." The girls sat in silence before Rarity took a sip of her milk once again and looked up at the torn out wall. Applejack had cleaned out all of the molds by herself while Rarity watched. She was used to this—it tended to happen a lot with Rarity's projects. If it didn't involve fabric or string, then she wanted no part of it.

"When will we start putting up the wall?"

"Today, but it won't be done today." Applejack smiled and folded her arms. "Sheetrockin' is a delicate process, Rarity. You gotta treat it like yer wife—gentle, but at the same time, y'all got mutual respect and love for each other."

"It's a wall, darling, not a Tinder date." Applejack sighed as Rarity stood up, walking towards the paint swatches on the floor. She didn't understand the process of building. Still, Applejack would admit that she knew nothing about the fashion business.

So Applejack stood up, grabbed her hammer and nails, and walked up to the wall.

---

"Don’t worry, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie used her pogo stick as her mode of locomotion as they went down the street. She had a worry deep in her chest, which made her hair start to flatten out a little bit. "We'll be throwing this party in no time at all! We need one more thing from Dashie, though!"

"Dashie?"

"Rainbow Dash, silly! She's the keeper of the clouds!" Pinkie Pie launched herself off of the stick and into the grass, right on a square, stone pedestal.

"Keeper of the clouds? What sort of joke is that?" Pinkie Pie winked at Twilight and put her fingers in her mouth, blowing loudly.

"Dashie! Come down here, I need some help!"

"You're not silly enough to believe there's a weather goddess, are you?" Twilight shrieked when a light blue bullet rocketed in between the two girls, and Pinkie giggled hysterically, watching Rainbow Dash land on the ground in a crouch. "No way," Twilight whispered, watching the girl flap her wings gently before they retracted.

"What's up?"

"I need a big favor!"

"Yeah?"

"Can you play your guitar at a party I have tonight?"

"Uh, what kind of party?"

"It's the big super-duper secrety surprise party!"

"Why didn't you just say that to begin with," Rainbow Dash shouted enthusiastically.

"You just—you just—"

"Flew?"

"Yes!"

"I suppose you're new here, then! You came to the right place if you want to study magic!" Rainbow Dash grinned, then looked back at Pinkie Pie. Pinkie's smile slipped into a straight line, and she ducked down to whisper something in Rainbow Dash's ear. Dash's smile fell, and she looked up at Twilight. After a Pinkie pulled away, Dash shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry, Twilight, I didn't know."

"Know about what?"

"When I get mad, storms happen. I'm so sorry, Twilight, I didn't mean to hurt you." Twilight looked down, and Rainbow Dash reached her hand out. "Name's Rainbow Dash. I control the weather, and I'm a Wonderbolt Trainee Team member."

"Wow, you're the Rainbow Dash, like the soccer player who totally deserves a spot on the team and keeps getting swerved every year," Spike gasped, looking up at her with big, shimmery eyes. The girl had a heroic look to her, and she flashed her award-winning smile at him. "You're Rainbow Dash! It's really you!" He slowly walked over to her, and Rainbow Dash let go of Twilight's hand.

"The one and only!"

"Wow, I can't believe it!"

---

"Can I have your autograph?"

"Why get an autograph when you can just be my friend?"

"You really wanna be my friend?" Spike's eyes illuminated like a Christmas tree, and she smiled at him.

"Sure, why not? You guys will be here for a while, right?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash usually didn't give a second look to fans, but if they were kids, she always tried to provide them with at least a little bit of time with her. Spike seemed like a good kid, and she never really had time for friends in the first place. Fluttershy was her first friend she ever had, and Pinkie Pie came second. Everyone else was either her father or a fan.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight snapped, and Dash whipped her head up to look at the girl, blinking quickly back into reality.

"Uh-huh?"

"You went blank for a minute."

"Head in the clouds?" Pinkie Pie laughed at her own joke, and Twilight couldn't help but giggle. Rainbow Dash smirked and nodded a little bit, looking between the two.

"Really funny." Dash pulled a soccer ball from her backpack that the wings had slithered underneath, and she flicked it to Twilight. The girl jumped with fright and caught it in her hands, looking almost shocked when she saw she was holding the ball.

Dash grew a competitive smile. Finally, she, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle were playing soccer with Spike, who was more than thrilled to be able to play his first game of soccer ever. What made it even more special was the fact he got to share it with his idol. They stopped when Twilight spun around, hearing an eerie song coming from the woods. Dash grinned even more than ever: this was going to be a totally awesome prank.

---

Fluttershy sang as she watered the flowers. In the deep, lush valley that her family lived in, Fluttershy's voice would echo off of the rolling hills. Still, they were so far out of the way that nobody would ever hear.

"Flutters," a whiny, recognizable voice pouted, and her singing never ceased. She did, however, tense up.

"What's the matter, Zephyr? Did someone hurt your feelings again?"

"Yes!"

"Mom and Dad?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Did they ask you to fill out your college application again?"

"How did you know? Were you spying?" Fluttershy turned to face him as calmly as she could and smiled.

"This is the third time it's happened, Zephyr."

"Okay, and?"

"The third time today." His face dropped, and he scratched his hair, making sure not to mess up his long, blonde hair.

"Right, but that doesn't mean they have to be rude about it."

"Do you want to live with Mom and Dad forever?"

"Sure! I don't have to pay rent or anything!" Fluttershy's gaze hardened. This is what Rainbow Dash called "The Stare"—where she would look so hard into someone or some animal's soul that they would freeze like ice. She was like the Grim Reaper in the sense that she could get the truth out of anybody.

"What did you say?"

"Nevermind," he mumbled, watching her eyes cautiously. She took a step towards him, and he took one back, but she stared harder into him.

"You don't expect to freeload off of them forever, do you?"

"No, I'm sorry!"

"You don't think they'll be around forever—" She watched him as he tripped over a tree root and fell back, but she continued to intimidate him, leaning down to him. "Do you?"

"No," he whimpered. "You're raising your voice, stop it! Stop doing The Stare!"

"Then why don't you go and get a job or fill out your application," she shouted as loud as she could at him, which wasn't exactly booming. It was more of a wispy, slightly loud talking. She broke eye contact and shrieked when she heard two screams and the sound of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash howling with laughter.

"Yeah, some Everfree monster she is, huh? Intimidating as a butterfly!" The two laughed harder as the unfamiliar faces held each other, trembling with fear. Fluttershy whimpered and covered her blushing, pallor face with bony hands, visibly shaking from revealing her voice to the worst sort of people ever—strangers.

Comments

[Aremna]

Story seems to have a lot of interesting elements, I love a lot of the unique takes on several of the characters. The implementation of magic and having a bit more a family life is certainly ripe for exploration. I just have one gripe though.

How/Why is everyone so casual about a gal that just had both her parents killed and no one seems to bat an eye when RD pretty much openly claimed responsibility?

Outside of that one big issue I honestly think its an interesting premise though.