//------------------------------// // A Rainbow Streaked with Gray // Story: Wanna Be My Wingpony? // by Blue Dragon //------------------------------// It’d been a long night for Spike. After he’d gotten home, Twilight had all but set his tail on fire. He ended up being a whole hour late, which apparently threw off her entire schedule. She then proceeded to yell at him for the next thirty minutes, which obviously messed up her plans even more, before finally calling it quits. Of course, she still forced Spike to live up to his promise—which was to clean the entire library before he went to sleep. As punishment, she sat there and made sure he did every little thing, never once letting her stern eyes stray from him and his mundane tasks. Spike wasn’t sure if she was just plain mad or if she really had been worried, but either way he just wished he could get some shuteye. There were few things Spike was truly afraid of, and among those were facing Twilight’s wrath. When she was in a really bad mood, he knew it was best just to take cover and hope for the best. When he’d mopped the floor for the second time, Twilight stopped him and sent him upstairs. She was still fuming silently, possibly going over how else he was going to be punished the following morning. Spike cursed Rainbow Dash and himself for getting caught up in it. Luckily for him, he was able to sleep peacefully. His dreams consisted of ice cream and Rarity—his two favorite things. Like all good things, however, they were swiped away from him right when it was at the good part. “Spike, wake up!” The dragon groaned when a draft blew over his back, making it clear that Twilight had taken his blanket away. “What time is it…?” he muttered, his eyes still closed. “It’s time for you to get up.” Twilight nudged him out of his basket, much to his dismay. He rubbed his eyes wearily. “Fine, fine…” Spike stretched his limbs out with a yawn, his eyes landing on Twilight. Her mane was messy and her eyes glassy. He frowned. “Are you alright?” Twilight gave him a small smile. “I’m fine, Spike. I was just up all night rearranging my schedule, and came to the conclusion that sleep was the least important.” “Oh… I’m sorry, Twi, I really didn’t mean to keep you up.” “No need to worry, Spike. I should apologize for acting the way I did. I’ve been pretty stressed as of late; the princess wants me to put together a presentation based entirely on my studies here in Ponyville—all of which pertaining to friendship—for the griffon kingdom. She wants to improve Equestria’s relations with the other nations, and she figured friendship would be the best way to go about that. And since I’m currently studying it…” Spike glowered indignantly at this. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! That sounds super important! When did this happen? How can I help? Gosh, I’m sorry, Twi—” A hoof was pushed into his mouth, halting any more apologies he might have spit out. Twilight grimaced lightly. “Remember that letter from the princess a few days ago? Well, there was a second parchment that we must have missed; I noticed it while you were at Rarity’s. Needless to say, I, uh… freaked out a little.” A bashful blush settled over Twilight’s cheeks, but she continued on. “She needs it done by tomorrow night—which, had I known about it the day she sent it,  I would’ve had plenty of time—but that isn’t the case. I woke you up because I need you to take care of anypony that happens to come in looking for a book. I seriously can’t be interrupted, alright?” Spike saluted. “Sure thing, Twilight! I gotcha covered.” Twilight nodded briskly before turning around and heading down the stairs. Spike was about to follow her, until he realized something. He slapped himself. “Oh man, this isn’t good… Just perfect… Now Rainbow’s gonna show up and Twilight’s going to be too busy to see her. Why me?” The dragon looked over at a nearby clock and deduced that it was eight thirty. That wasn’t too bad; he wouldn’t have to deal with Rainbow for another few hours. See, there totally wasn’t anything to worry about— SMACK! Spike’s head whipped over to the window of the bedroom, where the loud sound of something banging on glass was coming from. He half expected to see Rainbow Dash there, but was surprised when the sight of pink greeted him. “Oh, hey, Spike! Is Twilight in there?” Pinkie Pie asked, standing on the balcony. Spike had absolutely no idea how she’d gotten up there, and he really didn’t want to know. “Um… Pinkie?” Spike found himself unable to speak any other words, and he settled on blinking at his friend. Pinkie giggled, and rested a hoof on the glass. “Are we having a staring contest?! I’ll totally beat you at it, ‘cause Fluttershy’s taught me a thing or two, and now I know all her secrets!” Pinkie pressed her face against the window, somehow creeping Spike out even more. Her eyes were practically popping out of her skull, unblinking. Spike jumped back. “N-no, Pinkie, we’re not having a staring contest.” She let out a gasp, her lower lip quivering. “Aww, but they’re so much fun!” The dragon was about to respond when Pinkie opened the window and crawled inside of her own accord. She seemed to have forgotten all about her momentary sadness, a big smile stretching over her muzzle. “Anyway, where’s Twilight? I’ve got the newest pie from Sugarcube Corner and wanted to give it to her this morning!” She bounced up and down, and Spike became aware of the box on her back. It redoubled his doubts on how she could have climbed up to the second floor from outside. “Uh… I would let you go see her, but she’s really busy right now. She stayed up late last night—” “I know! My ears flopped, my stomach dropped, and my teeth chatter-opped! That means a friend stayed up super late. Yup, see, that’s what this pie is for—cheering her up!” Spike stared at her for several seconds before shaking his head. Knowing Pinkie, she probably just wanted to check on Twilight—and from the looks of it, she had her work cut out for her. “You won’t bother her too much, right?” A nod. “I don’t see why you can’t go give it to her then, just make sure to…” Pinkie had effectively disappeared, a light pink trail leading out the open door. “...keep it down.” Spike shook his head, chuckling. He hopped down the stairs, musing what he was going to do for the day. Breakfast was obviously the first thing on his list, and he needed to figure out what he was going to do about Rainbow Dash. Considering the task Twilight had given him, he figured he wouldn’t get a minute away from the library. That meant he wouldn’t get the chance to go tell her… He just hoped she was prepared. But this was Rainbow Dash he was thinking about. She was the coolest, fastest pegasus around! There was no way she could be anything but awesome, whether or not she was in the company of her crush. Spike poured syrup over his waffles, his mouth watering. It’d been a bit since the last time he got to indulge in his guilty pleasure—waffles filled with gems. While they didn’t rank too highly on his favorites list, he still loved the way they melted in his mouth and made his belly warm when he swallowed. Not to mention Twilight usually caught him sneaking gems out of her stash… And that was always a pain. Once Spike had finished up his breakfast and cleaned his dishes (no evidence), he heard the library’s door opening—perfect timing. He jogged out of the kitchen to meet whoever had come inside, and was momentarily surprised at what he saw. “...What’re you guys doing here?” The three fillies gawked at him, seeming to be offended by his question. Scootaloo scoffed. “What, are we not allowed to read books anymore?” “Of course you’re allowed to read. You three just don’t seem like the type of ponies to sit around reading, much less spending time in a library…” Apple Bloom looked genuinely angry now; her nostrils flared and her eyes flashed. “I’ll have ya know, Spike, that Ah read Romare and Julio all on mah own!” She puffed her chest out in pride before trotting around him and into the library. “Now, we’re lookin’ for a book on magic.” The other two fillies followed after Apple Bloom, and Spike raced over to them. “Wait! Magic? Isn’t that a bit… out of your league?” “That’s why we’re here for a book!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she started pulling out random novels. “Show and tell’s almost here and we seriously need something to blow away Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s display. They always get their parents to buy something super expensive that looks great, and now it’s our turn!” Spike mulled this information over, and part of him wished Twilight wasn’t in the basement. He knew this wasn’t a good idea, but he didn’t know how to tell them that. Even if he did, they’d probably do something rash anyway. Better to have them be knowledgeable about it than have them do it with no foresight, right? The dragon nodded to himself. He walked over to the other side of the library and scanned over the titles. ‘Starswirl’s Guide to Magic’? How about no. ‘Photo Finish’s Autobiography: The Magix’? Yeah, that’s not what I was looking for. ‘Magic for Beginners’... That sounds right. Spike pulled out the book and quickly looked over it. It didn’t have anything too serious or complicated for them, so he called them over. “This book will be perfect for you guys.” Sweetie Belle took hold of the book and smiled. “This’ll be great! Thanks, Spike! You should totally come see our presentation tomorrow; it’ll be amazing!” Apple Bloom jumped at the thought. “Yeah! We should invite everypony! We’ll show Diamond Tiara who’s boss!” Before Spike could say another word, the Cutie Mark Crusaders scampered off. Spike let out a sigh as he looked over the mess Scootaloo had made in her search. He set to picking it up, but didn’t get very far before another pony entered. The library was a lot more busy than usual, but he managed to get what they needed easily. Several hours went by that way, and neither Twilight nor Pinkie had come back upstairs. As the clock ticked on and the time went by, Spike grew more and more bored. It was with a blatant sigh in his tone that he regarded the next visitor. “Hello and welcome to the Ponyville library. How may I help you?” “What’re you doing, Spike?” The dragon jumped, no longer feeling a lack of interest. “Rainbow Dash?” The pegasus in question smirked, though she looked less sure of herself than usual. She flew over next to him, sending cursory glances around the library. “So, where is she? It’s like, one thirty, and you said she would take a break around now.” “Yeah, well… um, something’s come up.” The ground suddenly looked really appealing. He couldn’t bring his eyes up to meet hers. “What do you mean?” “Turns out she’s doing some super important task for the princess, and she can’t be bothered.” The sound of a hoof slapping a pony’s forehead could be heard. “Really? Ugh… how long until she’s done? Sometime soon, right? This is Twilight we’re talking about here.” Spike shook his head. “No, it’ll be a while. That much I’m sure of.” Even though she didn’t say anything, it was her silence that clued him in on her disappointment. He forced his gaze upward, trying to gauge how bad it was. Rainbow was frowning, but she didn’t look too bothered. “That’s okay… I’ll just stop by and say hi. That sounds like a good idea, right?” Rainbow grinned as a thought struck her. “Yeah, a good friend would check on another friend when something big like that came up. And I’m a good friend of Twilight’s, so it’s only natural that I’d go make sure everything was alright.” “Um… Right?” Spike said uncertainly. Rainbow trotted over to the stairs that led to the basement and raced down them. The dragon lagged behind, wanting to see how things would go, but not wanting to invade on anyone’s privacy. Still, Spike comforted himself with the thought that Rainbow had spied on him and Rarity earlier, so why couldn’t he do the same? As the pegasus flew into the room, Spike stayed beside the door, hidden from view but close enough to see the lab below. Papers were strewn all over, multiple charts and graphs stapled to the walls. Twilight was writing something down onto parchment, apparently documenting her speech, and Pinkie was listening and giving her input whenever there was a lull. The box from earlier lay just to the side, half of the pie inside eaten. Spike watched as Rainbow almost lost her balance, and he winced. Probably should’ve told her Pinkie was here… The pegasus recovered herself and smiled at the two ponies, though they still hadn’t noticed her. She landed. “Hey, guys. What’re you up to?” Spike chewed his lip. She sounded nervous. “Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie bounced up and gave her a big hug. “It’s nice to see ya!” Twilight smiled briefly, though Spike could see that she wasn’t very happy about being interrupted. The twitch of her lips when she smiled gave her away. “It is nice to see you, Rainbow Dash. I’m working on a presentation for Princess Celestia concerning friendship, and Pinkie’s giving me her opinion.” “Oh yeah?” Rainbow stuck her chest out. “I bet I could help you too!” Twilight thought about it for a while before nodding. “Alright, sure. Just take a seat.” Rainbow plopped down happily, and Pinkie did the same. Twilight cleared her throat before speaking. The scratching of her quill could be heard at the same time. “Friendship is a fickle thing, but in its entirety, it’s worth it. Your friends will always be there for you, even on your worst days, and even when you’ve…” she trailed off, her brow furrowing. “Had a fight?” Pinkie suggested. Rainbow wouldn’t be outdone, apparently. “Gotten into hot water?” Twilight frowned. “Had a fight it is…” Rainbow huffed indignantly, but it wasn’t loud enough for Twilight to hear. The unicorn continued. “They are the stepping stones to a better life, and I wouldn’t change them for the world. I’ve never been happier than my days spent in Ponyville, and I have my friends to thank for that.” She looked up at the two other ponies. “How was that?” Rainbow was about to answer, but Pinkie was faster. “It was pretty good! But maybe you should add another part where you say something specific-al to the griffons? Kinda to pull them in and get them to buy your apples?” “That’s a good idea, Pinkie! You’re a genius. Alright, so let me see here… It doesn’t matter what species you are or where you grew up, everypony has the potential to be a good friend. And that is what I hope to bring to all of you.” Rainbow jumped at the opportunity to speak, and Spike could tell she’d been itching to redeem herself from her rejection earlier. “You know what goes well with a speech? You could do a really cool spell and capture the griffons’ attention with a flawless maneuver! I’m positive you could pull it off.” Twilight shook her head. “The griffons might take that as a challenge and things could get even worse between the two nations. But you’re right, I need something to wrap everything up.” Pinkie’s hoof shot up into the air, and she seemed to exert happiness. Twilight nodded toward her, and she blurted out, “A PARTY!!!” At first Twilight looked like she was going to shoot the idea down right away—her hoof was even lifted as if to restrain Pinkie—but then she paused. A spark flashed through her eyes. “...That actually isn’t a bad idea at all! Though, not quite a Pinkie party, but a small, organized one. With cake and punch, and maybe a couple of games. Absolutely no pranks, of course. Wouldn’t want anyone to feel singled out…” “I could help you plan it!” Pinkie jumped up. “Oooh, we could make a game called pin the tail on the griffon!” Rainbow stood up too. “Yeah, that sounds good. And maybe I could—” “And streamers! Everypony loves streamers!” “And a search and find, in which each guest is given a checklist and must find another griffon that meets each question’s specifications?” “Sure!” chirped Pinkie. “Those are always fun.” “Would you mind coming with me to the griffon kingdom to help me get all this stuff set up? It’d be comforting to see a friendly face in the audience, you know. Though, I’d understand if you couldn’t; I have to leave tomorrow and we’d be gone for three days.” “I wouldn’t mind at all. It’d give me the chance to make more friends, and I’m always up for helping somepony out! I’m sure the Cakes would be fine with it, too.” Pinkie beamed. Rainbow Dash cleared her throat, gaining the attention of her two friends. She smiled sheepishly. “Any room for one more?” “Hm… I don’t know, Rainbow. I don’t want to overstep my boundaries by going to another country and bringing too many friends… And don’t you have weather duties here in Ponyville?” “Oh… Yeah, you’re right. Maybe next time, then…” Both Pinkie and Twilight began speaking animatedly about the details of the party, as well as some of the minor things concerning her speech. Rainbow sat disconnected from the conversation, and Spike couldn’t help feeling bad for her. The other two were ponies that easily got distracted—especially about a subject matter like this—and would never notice that they were unintentionally pushing Rainbow out of their conversation. “Ouch…” he said, watching with pained eyes. This was even worse than his mishap the other day; at least Rarity had acknowledged him. Rainbow Dash was out of her element here, and it really showed. Soon she just flew back up the stairs, and neither pony had noticed. Spike backed away from the door and ran back up the stairs before Dash could’ve noticed him. When she’d made it to him, he gave her a little smile. “...How’d it go?” “Great. She’s fallin’ for me already, I just know it.” She smiled weakly. “Anyway… uh, did you get invited to Scootaloo’s thing at school? She said you were going, and I was just wondering if that was true. And sorta wondering if you knew what they were planning.” Spike was bothered by her lie, but decided to let it go. He said, “I’m not entirely sure. Some sort of presentation for show and tell is all I know.” Rainbow shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll be good, whatever it is. You busy?” “Not really, why?” “Let’s go do something fun. Libraries are too stuffy, and it’s really starting to cramp my wings. How about we forget about the ponies we love for a bit and just kick back?” Spike let a smile cross his features. “That sounds like a great idea… but just for the day, right?” “Right.”