"Oh, Spike, why aren't you more excited? Aren't you glad to see our friends again?"
Spike, his bulky arm hanging limply out of the sky carriage, looked over. Twilight, tall and thin and effervescent in a way S;pike still hadn't really gotten used to even after all these years, was looking at him like he'd spat on her hay fries or something. The only time she stopped giving him the confused half-death-glare, half-concerned-motherly-gaze, was to fiddle with her uncomfortable regalia and pretend that she wasn't thinking of throwing it off the side of the cart.
Spike rolled his eyes. "Of course I am, Twilight. Just... I wouldn't get your hopes up You remember how Celestia's Ponyville visits always went, we're totally gonna get called off to some more boring paperwork or something."
Twilight just tutted at him. Ran a hoof through her ethereally flowing mane, and nudged his side. "Come on, Spike, you can't know that. Besides, you know I triple checked my list! With any luck, and barring any national disasters, we're having a Pinkie Pie party tonight!"
"Don't jinx it."
Finally, finally, the Great Bejewled Swamp-Beast of Old crashed mightily to the ground. The entirety of Ponyville shuddered at the impact. Houses wobbled, windows shattering in their frames, flowers whipping wildly in planter-boxes. With a huff, the magical smoke oozing from the swamp-beast's mouth stuttered and stopped. The choking fog lifted. Ponies, dragons, gryphons and more began tentatively poking their heads outside their splintered doors. Li'l Cheese blew a raspberry at the monster out of spite, but also because he thought that raspberries sounded funny. Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich joined in after a few seconds, of course.
After that all was silent for a moment. The day was saved.
Then everypony started groaning in pain as they realized they did, indeed, just get their butts kicked for a good few hours before the magic of friendship saved them at the last minute. Again.
Sighing, Twilight lit her horn and lifted her friends as well as her previous students in her telekinetic grip. Thy floated gently to their hooves and feet, all the while rubbing at wounds and groaning. Yona (who -- oh wow -- was much bigger since the last time Twilight had seen her) had her thick coat knotted with clumps of some sort of goop, and Rarity was trying her best to make sure that nopony could see her inching away from the pile of Rainbow Dash's singed hair on the ground.
Spike was still lying a crumpled, groaning mess on the ground. He didn't even try to get up, just flopped his injured arm to the side and ignored the way the skin beneath that spot of scorched scales was stinging like crazy.
He snorted and shot Twilight a look.
"You jinxed it."
"Quiet, Spike."