“Come on. Almost there….” Spike muttered to himself, a look of pure focus etched on his face.

He had to be absolutely, positively perfect here. One slip of the wrist and hours of hard work would go straight out the window; Spike literally couldn’t afford to screw up now, not when the finish line was so tantalizingly close.

The green haired boy released the solid grip he had been keeping on his pencil for the last half hour or so, letting the drawing tool clatter against his desk as he held up his latest masterpiece. Spike didn’t want to brag but he felt that this was his best work yet.

Decorating the paper was a complex pencil sketch of Spike’s Aunt Luna, the woman leaning on a beach house balcony with a full moon shining down upon her. Spike had happened upon the scene last summer when the whole family went to visit her and auntie Celestia at their vacation home down in Applewood. The fifteen year old had felt a little bad about secretly taking a picture of his favorite aunt without her permission like that, but the pose was just so striking he had to get a reference image for later. The creative potential was too great to pass up.

And his efforts had certainly paid off. Every stroke was flawless, perfectly capturing the almost regal grace Luna carried herself with, with the shading really highlighting the way the natural light of the moon glimmered off her body while standing in a stark contrast to the shadows surrounding her. This was the sort of thing one would hang in a museum and Spike felt a deep sense of pride while looking over his handiwork.

But unfortunately he wasn’t able to enjoy this moment of satisfaction for long. A series of knocks impacted against his bedroom door, followed by the voice of his mother coming from the other side.

Spike glanced over at the empty suitcase sitting on his bed, one that he had neglected to pack after getting distracted with his latest art piece.

“No, no! I’m just putting in my last shirts!” Spike lied, haphazardly throwing bits and pieces of his closet into the suitcase.

“Come on son!” Spike’s father Night Light called from further down the hall. “This is your first day at Crystal Prep! Being the tardy kid is not a good way to start off the school year!”

Spike scooped up his textbooks and started cramming them into his backpack. “Just one second! I’m- Almost- ready!” he grunted.

Once he had his belongings somewhat organized, or at least to the point where he could hide how thrown together everything was, Spike slipped on the academy uniform: a plum blazer with a light blue undershirt and black tie, along with some dark blue slacks and dress shoes. It made him look sharp, intellectual, and refined.

Spike preferred hoodies, jeans, and sneakers; the kind of clothes that reflected his true self and made him feel comfortable in his own skin. This outfit clung to his body like a giant leech, sucking the spirit out of him. Just like Ember said it would.

But Spike had to give this a fair chance. His entire family had been so proud when he had gotten that acceptance letter and even more so when he won that scholarship (even though Spike was still convinced it was nothing but pure luck), as much as he hated going to some stuck up, preppie school he had to see it through for their sakes. He didn’t want to let them all down.

That and Spike knew if he tried to blow it off, Twilight and Shining would never let him hear the end of it. The lecture he’d receive would be infamous.

The youngest member of the sparkle family checked himself over one last time in the mirror, ensuring that his hair was reasonably neat and his tie wasn’t a complete disaster, then grabbed his luggage and moved out into the rest of the apartment. An apartment that was currently in the midst of its usual morning chaos.

Spike barely managed to take two steps into the main hall before he was ambushed by his mother, the older woman pulling him into a hug and pecking him on the cheek.

“Oh look at my little baby! All well dressed and grown up!” Twilight Velvet cooed

“Mom! Cut it out! I’m gonna be late!” Spike said as he broke free from the embrace and moved towards the kitchen.

“Here. Got your breakfast ready champ, everything bagel with jalapeno smear and salmon slices.” Night Light said, sliding a plate over to the boy.

“Right here honey!” Twilight Velvet said, pushing the slim device into Spike’s already overflowing backpack. “You better finish up, you need to be out of the door in five minutes.”

“What are you talking about? School doesn’t start for another half hour and I can walk there in fifteen minutes.”

“Your older brother would disagree with you on that.” the patriarch of the Sparkle family shot back.

Spike nearly dropped his bagel right then and there when he realized what his father was implying. “No. No way! I’m not letting him drive me to school!”

“Sorry Spike, but he insisted and you know how stubborn he can be sometimes.” Twilight Velvet said.

“But he’s also super embarrassing! You know he’s gonna do something dumb and humiliate me in front of the whole school!” Spike whined.

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you and your friends slapped a bunch of stickers all over ninth street two days ago.” the older woman said.

Night Light snorted. “He also saw the Romane candle incident over at Everfree park.”

“Doesn’t matter. He wanted to be your personal chauffeur for your first day of school to make sure you don’t get into any trouble on the way there and he’s not taking no for an answer.” Twilight Velvet said as she grabbed a cup of coffee.

“No buts mister. You should be grateful that your brother is taking time out of his day to do something like this for you. He is a busy man you know.” Twilight Velvet snapped. “Now finish your breakfast and get cleaned up, you don’t want to keep Shining waiting.”

Spike bowed his head in defeat; if mom and dad were siding with Shining then there was really no way of getting out of this. All he could do was sadly munch down the rest of his bagel and hope that the drive would go by quickly.

***********************

Spike sighed and leaned his head back against the seat. “Shining, seriously. You don’t need to drive me to school anymore, I’m fifteen.”

“Spike, you could be fifty and you’d still be my baby brother. Nothing’s ever gonna change that.” Shining Armor replied from his spot in the driver’s seat.

Spike had put up a good argument when he met up with Shining Armor outside (or at least what he thought was a good argument) but his big bro didn’t wanna hear it. He just waved the kid into his police cruiser and set off through the streets of Canterlot City.

Don’t get him wrong, Spike loved his older brother with all his heart and still looked up to him but the guy was an embarrassing older sibling to the highest degree. Not because of his natural geekiness, he wore that moniker quite well and even scored a beautiful wife in spite of it, but rather because of how he interacted with his siblings. The sort that would always gush over how amazing they are and go on and on about their accomplishments with pride. When Spike had won that middle school art competition it was all he was talking about with his fellow officers at the precinct for two weeks straight.

While Twilight loved having her BBBFF always cheering her on from the sidelines, Spike just found it embarrassing and it didn’t help that his older sister often teamed up with him for such excursions.

‘At least I won’t have to worry about her today. Twilight’s busy with that tech lab internship.’ Spike thought to himself.

So now here he was, stuck in the back of a police cruiser like a criminal while Officer Shining hauled him off to his first day of school. The same way he did when Spike was in Elementary School and in Middle school.

“So…” Shining began, glancing at his younger brother in the rear view mirror. “Excited for your first day at Crystal Prep?”

“Oh C’mon Spike, you’re gonna love it. I went there and so did your sister when we were your age, it’s a great school with tons of friendly people!”

“Didn’t you say that you got a swirly from Buck Withers on your first week there?”

Shining clenched the wheel harder. “Okay so things were a little different back then. But it’s way better now I promise, besides Buck Withers isn’t that bad of a guy once you get to know him. He’s a darn fine officer.”

“Why can’t I just go to Canterlot High? That’s where most of my friends are going! Not this…elitist prep school.” Spike grumbled.

“Spike, you and I both know you’re too good for a regular old school like that.” Shining Armor replied. “I get that you miss your friends but you’ll have plenty of time to make new ones here.”

“Yeah, assuming I don’t flunk out immediately. Only reason I’m here is because I got lucky with that scholarship.”

“Don’t start with that. You aced the entrance exam just like your sister did, you’ve got every right to be at this school.” Shining Armor huffed. “This is a huge opportunity for you Spike. You really wanna throw it away and end up like your buddy Ember?”

“She’s a punk is what she is, her and those little flunkies she always hangs out with. Sure Ember may seem like hot stuff now but give it a few years time and I promise you she’ll be nothing more than street trash; robbing convenience stores and vandalizing public property. Wouldn’t be surprised if I end up hauling her into lockup someday.”

Spike crossed his arms and pouted. “We are not having this conversation again, Shining. Ember is my friend and I like her a lot.”

“Alright, I’m just saying I don’t get why a good kid like you has to get mixed up with somebody like that.”

With that Shining Armor returned his full attention to the city streets as a heavy silence settled over the vehicle, Spike occupying himself by watching the surrounding buildings pass by.

After a few more minutes of this, Shining felt that things were getting a little too awkward and flicked on the radio to create some sort of ambient noise.

And it took public workers six hours to repair the burst pipes after last night’s earthquake

In other news there has been another sighting of the elusive Dawnweaver. During a robbery at the Spoiled Rich savings and loan yesterday afternoon, the superheroine appeared on the scene and quickly gained control of the situation, all of the criminal suspects involved were taken into custody with the hostages only suffering mild injuries thanks to Dawnweaver’s efforts.

“She’s a vigilante Spike! Doesn’t matter how much good she does, she’s still acting outside of the law! Throwing on some Nightmare Night costume and souping yourself up with some fancy gadgets doesn’t give you a right to go around enforcing your own brand of street justice.” Shining ranted. “Me and the guys at the precinct are out here risking our lives every day, no mask, no fancy toys, and do we get a thank you? No! It’s always that web slinging weirdo who gets all the credit! Gal swings in, does a few fancy flips, and answers to nobody. Doesn’t even have the decency to show her face! I mean really Spike, we’re-”

“We’re here, Shining.” the younger boy said, pointing to the private academy coming up on the right. The front courtyard of the school filled with all sorts of students milling about in matching uniforms.

“Oh, right. Sorry, got a little distracted there.” Shining Armor replied with a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Spike just shook his head and got out of the car, silently thanking the powers that be that one of Shining’s ‘Dawnweaver’ rants was cut short. For some reason the guy was utterly convinced that Dawnweaver was a menace that needed to be brought down. Spike didn’t share that sentiment, he wasn’t one of those ‘webhead’ fans around town that practically worshiped her but he thought Dawnweaver was alright; she always stood up for the little guy and kept the neighborhood safe, always beating the baddies with a sort of snarky charm.

“You really need to stop listening to those Gabby Gums podcasts Shining.” Spike remarked as he retrieved his bags from the front seat.

“Yeah I know Shining.” Spike said, slamming the door shut with his foot. “See you later.”

Spike turned around to head into the main entrance of crystal prep and made it all the way to the staircase before the sound of a blaring police siren made him freeze in his tracks.

“You gotta say I love you back Spike.” Shining’s voice echoed through the cruiser’s PA system.

“Shining! Seriously?!” Spike snarled, spinning on his heel to glare at his brother.

Spike let out an audible groan and bowed his head in defeat for the second time this morning. He loved his brother but gosh darn it could he be stubborn.

“Copy that baby bro.” Shining said, wearing a smug smile so wide it could practically be seen from space. “And don’t forget to say hi to Twily for me!”

Spike could already hear all of the other students laughing at him, their jeers and taunts filling his ears as he marched into the school. The boy taking on the appearance of a Hearth's Warming decoration with his green hair and blushing red face.

‘Everytime. He has to embarrass me like that every single time, I was hoping for a fresh start but now everyone’s gonna think I’m a baby for the next four years.’ Spike thought to himself. ‘Oh well, at least things can’t get any worse from here.’

The green haired kid felt his heart drop into his stomach as he looked over to see none other than his older sister twilight sparkle standing on the other end of the lobby, excitedly waving at him.

‘You have got to be kidding me…’ Spike internally despaired as Twilight practically skipped over to him.

“Hey Spike, how’s my favorite little brother doing this morning?” Twilight beamed.

“Twilight. What are you doing here? I thought you were busy at that lab job out in the mountains!” Spike said.

“Oh, well I talked things over with my boss and got reduced to part time hours on the weekends so I can help run the library here on the weekdays!”

Spike’s hold on his luggage turned into a white knuckle grip, he was going to have to deal with his sister hovering over him while he was at school too?!

“No…well maybe. I just wanted to keep an eye on my BLBFF while he makes his educational journey through one of the top schools in the state. Someone’s gotta keep you from slacking off after all.” Twilight said in an annoyingly bubbly tone.

“Aw don’t be like that. It’ll be just like old times, the two of us! Twilight Sparkle and her number one assistant Spike!”

The nearby laugher seemed to grow even louder around and Spike was able to pick out a few taunts among the crowd:

At times like this Spike wished he had the ability to just sink into the ground and escape from this absolute nightmare of a day he was currently having. But since that wasn’t possible, he had to settle for shrinking in on himself and hiding his face the best he could.

If Twilight noticed her sibling’s discomfort, she didn’t show it. The older girl softly grasping Spike’s shoulder in a friendly manner.

“Since we’ve still got another twenty-two minutes and thirteen seconds before the freshman orientation, how about I give you a personal tour of the school grounds? I know it’s been a few years since I graduated but I know Crystal Prep like the back of my hand!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Alright, fine. Not like I have anything better to do right now.” Spike grumbled.

“That’s the spirit Spike!” Twilight replied, grabbing her brother by the arm and dragging him deeper into the building. “Let’s go, we’ve got quite a lot to cover!”

The best way Spike could describe the overall aesthetic of Crystal Prep Academy was ‘regal’. Everything had a very affluent vibe to it from the general architecture to the smug air the students carried themselves with to the unusual cleanliness of the whole place. There were a few touches here and there that reminded Spike he was still very much in a high school with normal teenagers such as the bulletin board covered with all sorts of after school club flyers and other announcements, but it wasn’t enough to mitigate how out of place Spike felt here nor the growing anxiety that came with the thought of spending four whole years here.

For once, Twilight’s geeky ramblings provided Spike with a much needed distraction instead of boring him half to death like they usually did.

“And here’s the library! I’ll be working here for most of the day so if you ever need to find me for any reason, feel free to swing by for a chat!” Twilight exclaimed as she led the way into the aged stacks. “Speaking of which, there’s actually a rather interesting history behind the Crystal Prep Library. Back in 1951, a few years after the school was established, a fire broke out at the local-”

Much like his older brother, Spike had an equally interesting relationship with his sister Twilight. As much as they loved Shining, there was no denying that the two of them shared a closer sibling bond than the one maintained with their older brother. They weren’t just siblings, they were lifelong friends. Be it Twilight acting as Spike's personal tutor in elementary school or Spike helping Twilight calm down when she was in the midst of one of her meltdowns, they always looked out for each other, protected each other, and loved each other.

But then Twilight, the prodigy that she was, ended up getting sent ahead a few grades and this in turn caused her to slip away from Spike. The girl buried herself in her work, making less and less time not only for Spike but her family in general as her obsession with the road ahead grew. She may have relaxed somewhat after being picked up for that research lab internship and taken a step back from it all, but the damage had been done and her relationships had remained strained. It didn’t help that her workplace was way up north in the mountains and saddled her with a pretty busy schedule.

‘That’s probably why she’s doing this. Trying to make up for lost time, again.’ Spike thought to himself.

“And with that, we come to the end of our tour! Just in time too, freshman orientation starts in a few minutes. You’d better get in there Spike!” Twilight said.

It was at that moment that Spike realized that he had pretty much tuned out Twilight’s entire tour and the two of them were now standing in front of the auditorium where all of the freshman students were being filed in one by one.

Twilight smiled at the green haired boy and pulled him into a tight hug. “You’ll do great here Spike. I just know it.”

She gave her baby brother one last kiss on the top of his head before gently pushing him into the crowded auditorium, waving him goodbye as she disappeared around the corner. Leaving Spike all by himself in a sea of unfamiliar faces.

The green haired teen swallowed down as much of his anxiety that he could and scanned the auditorium for the nearest available seat, which just so happened to be next to where a REALLY attractive girl was sitting with alabaster skin and silky, violet hair styled into perfect curls.

It took quite a bit of effort on Spike’s part to fend off his hormones so his gaze didn’t wander further south to more inappropriate areas as he approached the girl.

The girl glanced up at him and made a quick ‘go ahead’ gesture, returning her attention to whatever it was she was looking at moments before. Spike awkwardly sliding into the seat next to her.

Now that Spike had a chance to get a closer look at the girl, he realized that she was a few years older than him. Not as old as Twilight but closer to a junior or a senior student. So it was odd she’d be attending freshman orientation.

Spike was about to ask her about it out of pure curiosity, but the sound of microphone feedback drew his attention to the stage where several members of Crystal Prep’s staff were getting settled. One of them, an old crone with violet hair tied into a neat bun and half moon glasses sitting on her face, approached the podium.

“Attention everyone? Your attention please? I am Principal Cinch and allow me to be the first to welcome you all to Crystal Prep Academy, where we carefully cultivate the minds of today to mold them into the future leaders and innovators of tomorrow. Your academic journey will be filled with peaks and valleys but rest assured your future is in good hands here. Furthermore-“

A soft groan passed through Spike’s lips, he could already feel the boredom setting in. He didn’t know how long this orientation would last but with the way Principal Cinch was droning on and on it may as well have been forever. The boy was ready to simply zone out and daydream for the next hour or so when a refined voice suddenly spoke up:

Spike glanced to his right and saw that the remark had come from the girl next to him, who was now sporting a somewhat annoyed expression.

“Sure seems like it.” Spike whispered back. “Hey can I ask you something?”

“What are you doing at the freshman orientation? You look like you’re one of the seniors here.”

“Oh. Um, well I…transferred here recently, from a different town. My father recently obtained a new job in Canterlot City and with my academic credentials, I was able to attend Crystal Prep easily.”

“Rar- I mean ra-ra-Rachel! Yes, my name is Rachel!” The girl said a bit louder than necessary, getting shushed by the students around her.

“Huh, that’s kind of a weird name. I thought you would have been Diamond Gleam or Opal or something like that.”

“It’s a European name.” Rachel quickly said. “But enough about me darling, how about you tell me what brought you to this lovely institution?”

“Well…last year I applied to this art scholarship after my family guilt tripped me into entering. I did a sketch of my neighborhood block, it wasn’t anything that special but apparently it was enough to impress the people in charge and a few weeks later I get a congratulatory letter…”

The two of them spent the rest of the assembly chatting with each other, simply chewing the fat over whatever topics came to mind. It was a comfortable exchange that helped clear out some of the anxiety Spike had picked up from the rough morning he had gone through and he really felt like he had a connection with this girl. There was just something about her that he found so alluring.

Before either of them knew it, the orientation was coming to a close and all the new students started emptying out of the auditorium in a massive flood of bodies.

“It’s true what they say, time flies when you’re in good company.” Rachel remarked, standing up from her seat and smoothing out some of the wrinkles on her skirt. “Well I suppose I must be going, settle into my new accommodations.”

“W-wait, do you think we can swap numbers before you go? I’d really like to keep talking with you!” Spike asked with an almost desperate eagerness.

“Unfortunately I can’t, my contact information is not something I give out freely. You do seem like a pleasant boy but I simply cannot share that sort of thing until I’m certain I can trust you.” Rachel replied.

“Come now, it’s not as though this will be the last time we see one another. I’m sure we’ll have more encounters in passing, perhaps we’ll even have the good fortune of sharing a few classes.”

“Yeah I guess.” Spike dejectedly replied. “It was really nice to meet you Rachel.”

Spike looked on as Rachel walked away, keeping his eyes on her with a sense of longing until she disappeared into the throng of students moving through the auditorium walkways. The green haired boy soon followed suit and joined in with the crowd just as his newest acquaintance had.

It took Spike a few minutes to figure out where he was supposed to go, they probably went over that in the orientation that he didn’t pay attention to while talking with a pretty girl, but after a bit of asking around he headed off towards the dormitory wing where students were supposed to stay throughout the week. Which was good because he was still lugging around his bags and they were really starting to weigh down on him.

A quick check in earned him a room key which in turn brought him to room 306 and with it a whole new sense of fear that came over him.

During the check in process, Spike was kindly informed that he would be bunking with a roommate for the rest of the semester like the rest of the students; a roommate that had stopped by mere moments before Spike did. Leaving him to ponder what they’d be like: would they be some kind of preppy jerk? A quiet kid that kept to himself? Some a-type neat freak? An endless stream of possibilities ran through his head as he stood before the closed door to his dorm.

‘Stop it.’ Spike internally scolded himself. ‘You gotta think positive about this. For all you know a new best friend is waiting on the other side of this door, but the only way you’re gonna find out is if you suck it up and get this over with.’

So Spike took in a deep breath and slowly opened the door, bracing himself for whatever individual was waiting for him within…which turned out to be a scrawny kid with orange hair, purple eyes, and lime green skin that Spike was very well acquainted with.

The boy looked up from the comic book he was reading and immediately mirrored Spike’s stupefied expression. “Spike?!”

FlameWeaver: Into The Equestria-Verse

by closet brony 77

An Average Day for An Average Boy