Ten years had passed since Twilight was officially declared Princess of Equestria, ending the more than two thousand year reign of Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna. Inevitably, much had changed since then. And yet, even more had not changed a bit.
On a gentle day in April, Rainbow Dash soared through the skies at altitudes high above the ground. She had already completed her daily responsibilities among the workforce of Pegasi responsible for manipulating and maintaining the weather. With nearly clear skies, comfortably warm air, and only a gentle breeze, the pleasant weather in the areas surrounding Canterlot and Ponyville was there to stay another day. With her day’s work finished for the time being, other thoughts clouded her mind.
Rainbow Dash knew that the day was the second day of April. The day prior had been the first day of the month, April Fool’s. The first of April had always been her favorite casual holiday. For most her life, she always enjoyed the thrill and laughter of a good prank. Sometimes, she even enjoyed being on the receiving end of one. But for the past several years, Rainbow Dash’s previous April firsts had been uneventful. As of yesterday, she had done nothing for April Fool’s for the past eleven years. There was no particular reason why she had stopped her habit. It was just something she had just stopped doing unknowingly. Perhaps she had gotten too busy, and simply no longer had the time to set things up, or maybe she just matured over the years and got over it. As Rainbow Dash raced along the skies, reminiscing of days long past, she felt a familiar sensation, one she had not felt for a long time. Rainbow Dash knew that it had been far too long since she had got a good laugh from a practical joke, and that it was time to change that.
In that moment, ideas and potential plans culminated in Rainbow Dash’s mind. Tomorrow would be the third of April, two whole days from April Fool’s. Surely no creature would suspect a thing if she were to come up with something then. However, Rainbow Dash struggled to actually come up with a good, and original idea. The practical joke was a careful artform. It was the prankster’s responsibility to make sure a joke was both impactful, and yet, did not go too far. A good scheme had to be both clever, and yet, not be too involved require too much effort. Originality was always the toughest part. Rainbow Dash had developed quite a reputation for her silly habit, and all of her closest friends were aware of her various shenanigans that she had subjected any one of them to. Coming up with something none of them had neither thought of nor experienced before, was a challenge to just about any creature. There was also the matter of deciding who to prank. Rainbow Dash only targeted her closest friends, as they were the only ponies she knew that she comfortable in subjecting to such a gesture. There were also her non-pony friends. Gilda, a longtime griffon that Rainbow Dash met as a filly, was probably not a good idea, given both her abrasive personality and her past experiences with practical jokes. Soon enough, a certain purple reptilian creature came to the front of mind.
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash’s face broke into a wide grin. Spike was certainly not as privy to her more mischievous side as Twilight or any of her pony friends were. As far as Rainbow Dash could recall, he was never a victim of any of her past pranks. The young dragon was a perfect target. More importantly, Rainbow Dash had an idea. Her grin spread even wider as the pieces of her simple, yet bold plan began falling to into place. All she still needed was the permission and cooperation of a few other ponies she knew.
Later that day, Rainbow Dash made a stop at the royal castle in Canterlot. Being such close friends with the alicorn Princess Twilight, she was allowed free access to most of the castle. The castle guards and the capitol security knew of Rainbow Dash’s habits, and how she preferred to race from place to place during the day. None would question the pegasus as she would soar down through one of the open windows of the castle, land, and casually stroll through the hallways.
Knowing that Twilight always did everything in her power to remain on schedule in her daily routines, Rainbow Dash knew exactly where to find her at that time of day. Rainbow Dash had made it a bit of a habit to stop by to see her friend every so often, and Twilight had come to expect the sudden, unscheduled visits. On one of the higher levels on the castle, Twilight was at her desk in her own private office. She was reviewing important legislative documents pertaining to the ever more complicated and detailed laws of Equestria. Princess Twilight’s intense focus on the stack of several papers in front of her was interrupted by a knocking on her office door.
“Hey Twi, got a moment?”
Twilight took a sigh of both reluctance, and of relief from the advanced legal jargon that she had been reviewing for hours. She figured she made enough progress that day to warrant a short break.
“Come in”, said Twilight.
“I don’t want to keep you for too long. I just had this amazing idea for a late April Fool’s prank, and I was wondering if you would like to be in on it. This won’t take long at all, I promise.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. To her knowledge, it had been a while since Rainbow Dash had last made a move. It was likely only a matter of time until she was at it again.
“What is this idea of yours?”, Twilight said reluctantly, her tone indicating how she was likely going to respond to her friend’s request.
“As you are aware, most of our friends already know of most my tricks. However, I came up with something that will for sure get a good reaction out of Spike. I cannot remember the last time I tried to fool him before, so it’s high time I did. I am certain that he will not see this coming.”
“You want me to help you annoy Spike?”
“Well, we will probably need a bit more than just the two of us, but yeah. I know you and Spike have always been very close. But even now, I’m sure you two sometimes still get at each other from time to time. Consider this as your next move.”
Twilight made another sigh. Spike was by far the most obedient and cooperative creature she knew, and her closest friend. And yet, due to how much they interact, he too was still bound to get on her nerves every so often. A prior incident was still fresh in Twilight’s mind. When she last asked Spike to replace her nearly empty ink wells, Spike refilled all of them with the wrong colors of ink. This error caused Twilight to ruin an extremely long and thorough scroll pertaining to the different classifications and definitions of magic that was outlawed in Equestria. Even though Spike alleged to her that he did not do it intentionally, it did not change the fact that rewriting the entire contents of the scroll from the start took over an hour.
“Fine, tell me about this plan of yours, Rainbow Dash”, Twilight responded.
“Oh, I’m glad you’re interested.”
Rainbow Dash spent the next few minutes explaining her newest scheme. At first it sounded like some harmless mischief. What followed that was some of the more aggressive details on what exactly Rainbow Dash was planning to do. Twilight’s face first expressed shock, and then disgust at the rather intense concepts Rainbow Dash was suggesting. She continued to listen silently, unable to speak a word as intrusive thoughts raced through her mind. Then, Rainbow dash finished her explanation.
“So, what you think Twilight? Are you up for it?”
Twilight was silent a moment longer as she finished processing and interpreting exactly what Rainbow Dash had said. She shook her head and looked back at her friend.
“You are not seriously going through with this, are you Rainbow Dash?”, Twilight inquired back.
“Of course, I am. It will be hilarious. Now, do you want to join me, or not?”
“I don’t think I could do that to any creature, let alone to Spike. I am surprised you’re even considering such a thing. Sorry Rainbow Dash, but I will not partake in any of your antics.”
“Hey, it’s no problem, Twilight. Like I said, I know other ponies who could help me anyway. See you around”, said Rainbow Dash, before jumping up and taking flight out of the office door.
“Wait”, Twilight cried out, in a vain attempt to stop her impulsive friend. But by the time the word left her mouth, Rainbow Dash was already out of the castle and out of earshot. Twilight felt troubled by this. She almost considered warning Spike. But then she remembered just how busy she was, and how little time she had to waste on such silly matters. Besides, Twilight knew that Spike was much older now, and that he was capable of looking after himself. He would be fine.
Rainbow Dash flew around the area, and met up with some of her other friends. Unlike Twilight, the other ponies who Rainbow Dash asked actually seemed to like her idea and were willing to help. After flying from place to place, Rainbow Dash ended her trip at a very familiar estate near the center of Ponyville. It was none other than Carousel Boutique, the residence of her friend Rarity, and the headquarters of her acclaimed fashion empire. Convincing Rarity to cooperate was pivotal in the plan. If Rainbow Dash could get her to cooperate, then getting Spike to unknowingly arrive at the trap that she will set, would be easy.
Rainbow Dash knocked on the front door of the former high end clothing store. After a brief pause, Rainbow Dash heard a cheery, familiar voice sing out, “Come in”, from the other side. After opening and walking through the door, Rainbow Dash was greeted by Rarity, in a rather large, and vastly furnished living space. With several of her own boutique’s now scattered across all urban areas of Equestria, Rarity had long since expanded her living area and workshop throughout the whole building. Once Rainbow Dash took a good look around the place and exchanged pleasantries, she wasted no time finding an opportunity to share her idea.
Rarity seemed curious at first, the idea of pranking Spike catching her interest. But as Rainbow Dash revealed the details of her plan, she noticed that Rarity starting to appear more and more hesitant. While Rarity was not ready to completely reject the idea as Twilight had done, she felt more than a little conflicted on the matter.
“Darling, you cannot truly expect me to go along with this, plan of yours!”
“Oh, come on, Rarity. You’re like, the perfect mare for this. I’m certain we can make it work. I’ve also already got Starlight Glimmer, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and even Flutter Shy on board.”
“This is not a matter if we could, I just don’t think that we should.”
“Why not? It would just be some harmless fun. What’s there to lose?”
“Rainbow Dash, how do you think Spike would feel after all this? This could hurt him.”
“Relax, Spike is tough. He will totally be cool with this after we explain things to him. Besides, I know not to take things too far.”
“Rainbow Dash, I refuse to do something so vulgar and degenerate.”
“Oh, come on Rarity, we both know of all the stallions you met over the years. Surely something like this would be comparable to your, how should I say, past experiences.”
“That was all long ago. Things have changed since then, and I am a different mare now.”
“Well yeah, but what about that one fancy looking stallion you were eyeing up the other week. You know, the one who had asked you out to lunch while you were last in Baltimare. I think you said his name was…”
“RAINBOW DASH!”, Rarity exclaimed, while slamming one of her hooves to the floor, as part of her face blushed. “We only had a few casual meetings, and nothing more! What exactly would he have to do with any of this?!”
“I was just trying to say that you should consider this little prank as a bit of practice, you know, for your later endeavors.”
“And what do you think any stallion, or any other pony for that matter, would think of us, if they knew about this crass little scheme of yours?”
“Like I said, this is all supposed to be in good fun. Any pony who can’t take a small joke is probably not worth hanging around with anyway. Besides, this would be nothing compared to what I managed to get away with in the past.” Rainbow Dash let out a small chuckle to herself after saying that last part. Rarity just looked back at her friend with both concern and distaste.
“Do you really need me at all for any of this?” asked Rarity.
“I need most of Spike’s closest friends to show up to this, and you’re closer to him than any of all of us. There were some other creatures who I would’ve asked instead of you, but this idea will work best if its only done by us ponies. As I said, you’re perfect for the job Rarity. I was also going to ask Scootaloo and her friends if they were interested, but they’re probably still a bit too young and inexperienced for this sort of thing. Well, that and I doubt you would be cool with your sister taking your place instead.”
“You are certainly correct about that last part Rainbow Dash. I will not allow Sweetie Belle, or her friends, to partake in this scandal of yours if I can do anything about it. In fact, I might just tip off Spike later if that’s what you’re going to do.”
“Please Rarity, don’t ruin this now, you have no idea how difficult it was to convince Starlight to find some time after her school lets out.”
“I can certainly imagine why your idea for a prank wouldn’t be near the top of Starlight’s concerns as a school principal”, suggested Rarity, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, I know this is all a bit silly, but that’s kind of the point.”
“Oh no, now you’re starting to sound like Pinkie Pie. Honestly, I’m not the least bit surprised that you managed to put her of all ponies up to this.”
“Look Rarity, I just wanted to know if you would help me with a late April Fool’s Day joke, that’s all. I certainly won’t try to convince you, or some pony else into doing something that they’re not comfortable with. This is your choice to make. I was just really sure that you would have wanted to help me out with this. Afterall, I know how much you love an opportunity to impress others.”
Rarity took another moment to contemplate Rainbow Dash’s offer. She could certainly see the humor in her scandalous plan. And while Rarity hated to admit it, she did take great pride in showing off any her talents and skills in any way possible to just about any audience. The more Rarity thought about it, the more difficult it was to turn down such an opportunity, even if it was all for a joke. And then there was Spike himself. While the event would surely be humiliating for him, Rarity was also confident that he would handle it well. Spike was far more mature than the little dragon she once knew. Besides a shred of dignity, what else was there to lose?
“Well, I suppose you do need me to play my role. In that case, I’ll honored to help,” said Rarity, still somewhat reluctantly. “What exactly would I have to do?”
Rainbow Dash was taken back at her friend’s sudden shift in heart, but was more than glad for it anyway. “Great! Here is what you need to do. I know that Spike will come here later today to deliver your regular shipment of fabrics and sewing supplies, as he usually does on this day of the week. When he comes, tell him that I wanted to speak to him right here, this time tomorrow, at the start of the hour. I’ll give Spike a little greeting, and we’ll take things from there. Do we have an agreement?”
“Agreed”, affirmed Rarity.
“Awesome, see you then Rarity”, exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she turned to leave.
“Rainbow Dash, wait! There is something you should know before you-”, called out Rarity. But she was too late. Rainbow Dash had already taken off at twice the speed of sound, and was already too far away to hear Rarity. Rarity turned back into her home, and got back to the work at her sowing machine that she was interrupted from.
“I’m sure this will turn out just fine”, Rarity assured to herself. “We will just explain everything to Spike afterwards, and this will all be fine.” While Rarity still felt concerned, she also could not deny the subtle yet intense excitement building up inside her for what tomorrow would offer.