//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 (Swarm of the Century & Suited for Success) // Story: Spike The Brony Dragon // by red4567 //------------------------------// “Sheesh, Twilight, have you ever considered reading a book one at a time?” I asked as I picked up some of the books from the floor. The entire library looked as if a tornado passed by. I wondered how Twilight, a pony who's always organized, managed to make such a mess. “Just hurry up,” Twilight replied. “This place isn’t going to clean itself.” “What’s the hurry?” “Princess Celestia said she’s coming to visit. Now, I’ve gotten the rest of Ponyville to prepare for her—” I gasped. “OH, NO!! I FORGOT ABOUT THE PARASPRITE!!” “Spike, we don’t need a—” I didn’t hear her. I rushed out of the library towards Fluttershy’s house. My blood was pumping faster than an IV. Oh, man! Oh, man! I hope I’m not too late! I couldn’t believe I forgot about taking care of the parasprite. In the show, Fluttershy found one and wanted to show the rest of the girls. Unfortunately, the parasprite would multiply into many, many more and end up eating the entire town. Now, Twilight could get Fluttershy to get rid of the parasprites the second Fluttershy showed her them, but I was afraid Fluttershy might idiotically keep one in her house regardless. I wasn’t going to take that chance.  I saw Fluttershy carrying a bunch of flowers on her back just like in the show. Then a rock near her jumped, making her hide behind a basket of apples. A parasprite popped out. I didn’t have long. Fluttershy smiled. “Hello little—” “FLUTTERSHY!! STOP!!” I pounced at the parasprite and grabbed it before it could fly away. I could hear it struggling in my hands. “I got you, you freaking pest!” “Spike! What are you doing?!” Fluttershy asked. “Leave that poor thing alone!” “This is a parasprite, Fluttershy!” I said as I carried it to the Everfree Forest. “Even if one of them enters Ponyville, it can spell disaster for all of us. These guys can eat anything and everything. And don’t get me started on how they multiply.” “Oh, my. How can one tiny creature cause so much destruction?” “Trust me, you don’t want to know.” I released the parasprite into the wild. Its eyes shot daggers at me before flying into the forest. “Good thing I showed up just in time.” “Yes, but please don’t scare me like that. I almost had a heart attack.” “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I just didn’t want you to get too attached with that creature.” “Spike!” I heard Twilight call out. She showed up out of breath. “Why did you run off? We need to clean the library before Princess Celestia’s visit tomorrow.” “I needed to catch that parasprite before it attacks Ponyville.” “And that couldn't’ wait until after we’re done cleaning?” “Nope.” “Wait a minute,” said Fluttershy. “How did you know that a parasprite was going to show up here?” “Zecora warned me that some of the parasprites have been wandering too far from their home,” I lied. “She said I should check in case any of them flies too close to Ponyville.” “Well, it’s good that you’re helping, but next time tell me where you’re going to go,” said Twilight. “Sorry about that.” That was one episode taken care of. Twilight and I returned back to the library to clean up. The next day, the Princess arrived, and surprisingly, she didn’t cancel like in the show. It was probably because Fillydelphia didn’t have an infestation. The parade went fairly well without any problems, except for Pinkie eating all the sweets.  The events of “Winter Wrap Up”,” Call of the Cutie,” “Fall Weather Friends” haven't happened yet. I figured they didn’t. It was still summer after all. The next event to come up was Rarity making the outfits for the Gala. In the show, Rarity made a bunch of dresses for the girls to wear for the Gala. However, the girls weren't satisfied with her designs, so she makes new dresses that end up looking tacky and crazy. Then a fashion critic comes and criticizes the dresses, resulting in Rarity having a meltdown. I hope I can prevent that from happening.  Twilight and I were heading to the Carousel Boutique with Applejack following us. Twilight had an old dress she wanted to have fixed for the gala. "So what are you girls going to do at the gala?" I asked. "I'm hoping I could talk with Princess Celestia. Let her know what I've been up to outside of my friendship lessons." Twilight looked at her dress. "That is, if I could get this button sewn in." "And I'll be sellin' some of my apple products," said Applejack. "I know there'll be free food at the gala, but once them fancy-pants ponies take a bite out of my treats, they'll wish my wares were free as well. I haven't decided on what to make, however. How fancy do them ponies in Canterlot like their food?" "Do you know what a hors d'oeuvre is?" I asked. "That fancy?!" Applejack gasped. "Hmm, well, I could try to whip those cinnamon baked apples my ma and pa had during their wedding. I just have to ask Granny Smith for the recipe." We entered the Boutique and saw Rarity working on a dress. The scene played out like in the show. Twilight wanted to fix her dress, but Rarity decided to make her a new one, and she was going to do the same for the rest of the girls. She also wanted to have her own fashion show. What was different, however, was that she wanted to make a suit for me. "Really?" I blushed. "Of course, Spike." Rarity pulled out a tape measure. "You're also going to the gala, are you not? Even a dragon has to dress formal for a gala." She then took my measurements.  "Wait...so you have to make a dress for…" Applejack counted the ponies and me. "...six ponies and a dragon? Lickety Split?" "Oh, Applejack. You make it sound as if it's going to be hard." While Rarity started working on our dresses, I decided I should hang out with some of the ponies around town. I could get to know them a bit more, and maybe see if I could increase my relationship with everypony. I thought about chatting with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and trying to get them to stop bullying, but then I remembered that Tiara's reformation resulted in the CMC's getting their cutie marks. So, I decided not to bother them. I'll have to make sure Babs doesn't join them, however. I had tea with Fluttershy. She was a fun pony to talk to. Her love of animals fascinated me. To be honest, I was stuck between asking her or Rarity to the Gala. Rarity was a beautiful pony and generous at times, but Fluttershy was both cute and kind. This was one dilemma that the old Spike didn’t have to worry about. I’ll have to think of something.   Fluttershy still wanted to see the animals at the gala, but she didn’t know how to approach them without scaring them off. I gave her a book from Twilight’s library about rare animals. It talked about where they came from, what their personalities were, what they ate, and so on. I bookmarked some of the creatures that I knew were going to be at the Gala. She thanked me for the book. I hoped that she would find it useful. I visited Pinkie and, with a help of a book, taught her some dance moves from the Gala. You’d be surprised how much skills you’ll learn from reading so many books. Pinkie had a hard time keeping up, but she got most of the moves down. “How do you not fall asleep dancing like this?” Pinkie asked. “Most of these dance moves are so slow.” As much as I didn’t like Rainbow Dash, I decided to hang out with her anyway. I didn’t want to get on her bad side, and given what I’ve done in the past, I was on thin ice. Much to my surprise, it wasn’t as bad as I hoped. Her flying tricks were rather impressive, but there was one trick that she was trying to do: a sonic rainboom. I knew what a sonic rainboom was, but I asked her anyway to avoid suspicion. While it involved going really fast, even she couldn’t pull it off. I assured her that she’ll accomplish it someday. I asked Applejack if I could help around the farm. She accepted my help this time. I bucked some of the trees, helped carry hay, and fed some of the animals. I wanted to ask Applejack why she had pigs on the farm, but I decided it was best that I didn’t know. I also helped her look up some recipes that she could try making for the gala. They were all apple-related, unsurprisingly. I also decided to hang out with some of the background ponies, like Lyra, Bon Bon, Rumble, Button Mash, Big Macintosh, and even Hoity Toity, who wanted to see Rarity's fashion show. Out of all the ponies I talked to, I found Lyra the most interesting. I bet she didn’t realize she was talking to a human, or else she would’ve fangirled like Twilight at a new bookstore. After a few days, Rarity had finally finished making the girls’ dresses and my suit. She invited us to come over to the boutique to see. However, we had to cover our eyes as we got in. “Okay! You can look now!” Rarity said. We opened our eyes and gasps filled the room. The dresses looked just like the ones in the show. The only difference was that my suit, which was a black and white penguin tux, was included in the set. “Aren’t they all amazing?!” Rarity asked. Before the girls could say anything, I replied, “They’re spectacular! You really went all out making these dresses. The ponies at the fashion show AND the gala would be impressed by your assembles!” “Thank you, Spikey. Don’t you girls agree?” The rest of the Mane Six stayed silent. “Well...uh...” Twilight started to say. “They’re very nice...” Applejack rubbed the back of her head. “Mine’s just not as cool as I’d imagine,” Rainbow said. I oughta slap the rainbow out of your mane, Dash! “Come on, girls! What kind of gratitude are you showing here?!” I asked. “Rarity spent so much time making these for you! The least you could do is accept her designs and thank her for her time.” Twilight sighed. “You’re right, Spike. Rarity worked so hard on these dresses, and we shouldn’t chew her out for designing them differently than we imagined.” She glared at Rainbow. “Right, Dash?” “I’m just saying,” Rainbow said. “Mine should’ve been 20% cooler.” There’s that old meme. “I’m sure everypony, including Hoity Toity, would be impressed by your designs at the fashion show,” I said to Rarity. "Hoity Toity? THE Hoity Toity?!" Rarity asked. "The bigwig fashion hotshot in Canterlot?" Twilight added. "Yep," I replied. "He heard about Rarity's fashion show, and he's coming to see our outfits." "But will he like our outfits?" Applejack asked. "I mean, this feller's from Canterlot after all. Given how them ponies there eat food fancier than an apple coated in luster dust, there ain't no telling how high their standards are for fashion." "I'm sure he'll keep his expectations low here," Twilight answered. We all tried on our outfits while Rarity finished up hers. I'll admit I looked snazzy when I saw myself in the mirror.  Now all I need is a martini and a P99. The fashion show arrived in a flash. Everypony from Ponyville showed up to see the show. Hoity Toity was sitting in the front row like he did in the episode.  I was a bit worried about what might happen. What if Hoity Toity criticizes these outfits as well? He didn't see the failed designs, so what would he say to the current ones? The girls and I got into our respective outfits.  "Ugh, I still say that my idea would've been better," said Rainbow Dash. "I look silly in this." "Don't worry, Dashie," I said. "If you ask me, you look like the pony who knows how to dress in style." The lights and music started up. I grabbed the microphone.  "Since the dawn of time, the elite of Equestria have longed for pony fashions that truly expressed the essence of their very souls. Patiently waiting years, decades, even centuries for the perfect pony gown. Today, at long last, Equestria, your wait is over! Let's hear it for the breathtaking designs of Ponyville's own Rarity!" The curtain pulled back, showing all of Ponyville our outfits. Unlike last time, the crowd applauded at us. Surprisingly, even Hoity Toity was impressed.  By the end, even the girls were ecstatic.  "Hoo-wee!" Applejack said. "I haven't heard that much cheering since I won the pie-eating contest at last year's carnival. I guess Rarity's design was spectacular after all." "Sorry we doubted you at first, Rarity," Twilight said. "You know more about designing than we do, so we shouldn't have acted all snooty because they weren't to our liking. If it weren't for Spike, who knows what our designs might've looked like?" "Glad I could help," I said. After I sent another friendship letter to the Princess, Hoity Toity showed up. The scene played out just like in the show, with Toity asking for a bunch of dresses for Rarity to design by next week. I never knew if she accepted or not, but I was sure she picked the latter given she didn’t work so much the following days.