"Here you are." Twilight presented, with a light wave of a hoof and a satisfied smile, a rolled up scroll. "This makes it all official."
Prickle accepted the letter hesitantly, holding it between her forehooves. "Just like that?"
Twilight lifted her shoulders. "Well, normally you'd have to prove your sincerity and ability, but then you went and stopped a flight of dragons for us while we were away. There's not a pony around that doubts you've earned this."
While her cheeks darkened through her mask, Immovable was busy clopping the ground. "Yeah! Of course you deserve it. Why wouldn't you? You're the best superhero around, maybe anywhere!"
Twilight looked to Immovable with a perked ear. "Speaking of which, there's you. I don't have all of your pertinents to file the paperwork properly."
Spike waved broadly in the general direction of Applejack's farm. "If superheroing is worth a stipend, why aren't the girls all getting a check?"
Twilight looked dumbfounded. "To start, what makes you think they're not? None of them are hurting for bits. To follow, this is specifically for cutie mark fulfillment in a productive manner. They're peacekeepers, as a profession. Guards, without the specific strata and order." She waggled a hoof towards Immovable. "I haven't seen your cutie mark yet, speaking of which."
Immovable glanced back at her garbed flank, her cloak concealing her mark from view.
She reached with a wing and brushed up the side of her cloak, revealing her mark for all to see. "I wasn't even thinking about it. Unlike Tiny Titan, I'm not even trying to be secret." The picture was that of a gust of wind crashing against a tall and lonely mountain peak.
Prickle tilted her head at it. "That... makes sense, but we're changing it."
Immovable jumped back, her cloak falling back into place. "Changing it?! But I like being me!"
Prickle suddenly smiled. "We already changed it a little."
"What? But..." It seemed to dawn on her slowly, a gasp coming from her quietly. "You... did... I guess..." She suddenly broke into laughter and grabbed Prickle, rubbing her masked head. "That's my mentor, teaching me all kinds of things!"
Twilight tapped her quill against a parchment that wasn't there before, finishing her crude rendition of Immovable's mark. "Excellent, now I don't suppose you'd be willing to--"
The doors to the castle burst open with a rain of confetti. "There she is!" came Pinkie's excited cry as she cartwheeled into view. "I've got a super special party lined up for you two." She came down, sliding on her knees with a forehoof directed at either super pony. "The mayor gave the alright for a whole parade!"
Twilight started at that. "They never threw a parade when we saved the town."
Spike looked more amused than surprised. "That's because you're not superheroes."
Pinkie shook her head. "Actually there are at least two great reasons other than that." She leveled a hoof at Twilight as she got up on her other three. "You're the best organizer pony in the town. Are you gonna plan your own parade? That would be awkward! But wait, there's a great party planner right here." She redirected the pointing hoof at herself. "But I'm with you almost every time you save the town, so then I would be planning my own party, and that's kinda funny too. I mean, I love a party as much as the next pony, but I like planning other pony's parties and seeing the big smiles on their faces during the special days." She reared up and hugged herself with both arms tightly. "Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside."
Immovable watched Pinkie monologue before she shook her head. "Just like the outside."
"Exactly!" Pinkie bounced onto Immovable's back, hugging her instead. "Hey, so, you're Immovable, right?"
Immovable swayed under Pinkie, not expecting to be suddenly mounted. "Um, yeah?"
"Nice to meetcha!" Pinkie sprang from Immovable's back. "I heard you two have a super dynamic super name for a super duo."
Prickle shook her head. It was all too much. "We don't need any parades, please."
Immovable sat up tall. "We are Opposing Forces!"
"Ooo, nice one." Pinkie took a quick note with a quill that wasn't in her mouth a moment ago. "I'll be sure to--"
"We really don't need any parades..."
Pinkie tilted her head at Prickle. "You don't need one, who does, but it'll be so much fun!"
Prickle saw her words were not penetrating and grit her teeth. "I don't... want a parade."
Immovable swiveled an ear at her mentor. "Why wouldn't you want one? You earned it! We earned it! She grabbed Prickle at her shoulders, putting a hoof on either side. "Ponies are happy to see me, and they want to celebrate. Don't take this from me!"
Prickle's ears flipped back. "You... can keep it, but I don't want it." Her voice was small and strained. "Please..."
Twilight's magic quietly wrapped around Pinkie, pulling her closer even as she was about to speak. "Pinkie."
"What? She's totally gonna have a great time once we get started. She's just nervous, like you were when you first came to Ponyville." She lifted her shoulders. "You didn't want any party, but we did one anyway and you--"
"--Hated it." Twilight's eyes half-lid. "I learned to like you all, later, but I didn't need that right then and she doesn't need that right now."
Immovable suddenly popped up between them. "But I can still have it?"
Pinkie squealed with joy. The parade was still on. She grabbed Immovable and they went off to discuss their plans.
Spike gave Prickle a light pat. "It's cool. Twilight's got you off the hook."
Prickle gave an unsure smile at that. "Thanks... I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but the idea of... everyone just... I don't..." Her head hung a little. "I just want to do what I can..."
Twilight set a hoof on the opposite side of Spike's claw. "It's alright. I've been there myself. In the heat of the moment, you're just doing what you can to protect the people that matter to you, not trying to get famous, or cheers."
"It's... yeah... but more than that." Prickle sat herself up, facing Twilight. "I'm still weird... I mean... I get it, being weird isn't... bad... And I like... I... I don't want to be weak, not when my friends need me to be strong for them. I like being able to protect them... but it's... still weird..."
Twilight looked into Prickle's evasive eyes. "You don't need to justify yourself. Not to me. I'm sorry I didn't see this coming ahead of time. Your sidekick seems perfectly happy to take your place."
Prickle glanced over at where Immovable was chatting with Pinkie. Both looked so excited and eager. "We don't deserve that..."
Spike crossed his arms. "That's not how it works. A parade isn't just for the pony being paraded about."
Prickle blinked. "It isn't?"
Twilight seemed to grasp where Spike was going swiftly. "Right. When they put Princess Celestia on a chariot and roll her through town, it's not because she wants to see Canterlot that way. She'd rather just walk and talk to ponies if she could. It's for the ponies that get to see her and cheer and be happy. A parade is as much for the people seeing the parade as it is for anyone in the parade."
Prickle went quiet a moment. "So..." Her eyes lifted to Spike. "You'd be happier if I was in the parade?"
Spike lifted his shoulders. "I'm kind of a bad example. I mean, knowing you're uncomfortable, no... But there are a lot of ponies that just want to cheer at their hero and will never know any better."
Twilight spread her wings wide. "When I got these and had to go through the formal ceremony to be crowned and paraded, I thought I might die of embarrassment, but I smiled and waved and smiled some more. I got through it and everyone was so happy. I know what you're feeling right now--"
"--No you don't!" hissed out Prickle in an angry rush before her blush got worse. "Sorry... But... being a princess is a good thing. Everyone wants to be a princess. Not everyone wants this. Most ponies don't. Fighting super villains? Who... wants that?"
"Me!" Immovable plopped her head on top of Prickle's from behind. "I mean, if we don't, who will? And we can look good while we're doing it."
Twilight gave a soft snort. "Is it a pegasus thing?"
"Wha?"
Twilight waved a hoof. "You need to talk with Rainbow Dash, you two are very similar in your outlook on heroism."
Immovable's wings sprung wide. "Can I meet her?! Oh, she's the faste..." Her excitement suddenly deflated. "Nevermind..."
Spike leaned to the side, seeing Pinkie had left. "All done planning the parade?"
"Yeah..." said Immovable, her exuberance suddenly absent.
Prickle shook her head, making Immovable's bounce about. "What's wrong? We don't need two sad heroes and I got here first."
Immovable stepped to the side with a snicker. "You're the boss."
Prickle's own dissatisfaction was forgotten in favor of Immovable's. "Alright, out with it. Why the long face?"
"I'm a pony?"
Spike applied a claw to his face.
"Okay okay... It's just... Rainbow Dash..." She reached out her left wing towards the sky. "She's... almost everything you could want to be, as a pegasus. She's fast, daring, agile, athletic, a great weather pony... She's fast! I'm... best at not moving. I'm a lousy pegasus... She wouldn't want to talk with me."
Twilight shook her head. "From what I heard about your clash with the dragons? I imagine she would very much like to talk to you. In fact, if she wasn't busy catching up on the weather duties she claims were out of date since she wasn't here to help, she would tell you herself."
Spike bobbed his head in easy agreement. "I was there, I saw it! You were great, all fwoosh zoom." He moved his claws in pantomime of the aerial conflict. "I thought you were gonna get scorched a few times, but you were one step ahead of them."
Immovable let out a strained laugh. "I guess I can be a little fast when I think I'm about to be set on fire..."
Prickle smiled at her older sidekick. "I wasn't watching you, but you were taking on all the rest of the dragons while I just had one."
"The biggest one!" countered Immovable. "I just had, what..." She wobbled a hoof as if trying to count on it. "Like a half dozen teenagers."
Prickle stuck out her tongue. "And you think half a dozen dragon teens is a small task? You can tell me that's not true."
"Well, yea...." Immovable looked back to Twilight. "Would Rainbow really... be interested?"
"Without a shadow of a doubt."
"Would she... watch my parade?" Immovable's wings gave a little hopeful flutter.
Twilight snickered softly. "She's going to be so jealous. She hasn't gotten a proper parade either."
"Oh Celestia! I... I can't get a parade before Rainbow Dash..."
Prickle perked up an ear. "I didn't know you liked Rainbow... Last time you saw her, you didn't say anything."
"I was nervous..." Immovable fidgeted in place. "And she was so focused on finding the dragons. I didn't... want to be in her way."
Prickle burst into laughter. "But that's your talent."
Immovable gave a slow blink, owlish and confused before it clicked. "Oh yeah, it is, isn't it?" She joined the laughter, hers a little strained. "Okay okay... um... wait, if TT doesn't want to be there... I have an idea." She flashed a big smile. "It's time we hatched two birds with one egg!" Her wings came down in a powerful flap, carrying her away without another word but the determination shining in her eyes.
Prickle watched her go a moment before looking back to Twilight and Spike. "Any idea what she's doing?" Both shrugged.