Chapter 5- Ponyvilling it up
"C'mon, Spike! You'll totally enjoy yourself, I promise!"
"Absolutely not! There is no way I am getting on that mechanical monstrosity, Sunny Daze!"
A few days after his return from Butterfly Island, Sunny Daze and Sparkleworks had asked the dragon to test out their latest modifications to the Ponyville roller coaster. The dragon, of course, was having none of it, and was trying to find the politest way to tell them no.
"We need someone who weighs more than a pony to try it out!" Sparkleworks pleaded. "Please, Spike?"
"Oh, very well." The small dragon sighed, giving in. "Just try to set it on a speed my poor stomach can handle, if you please?"
He soon found himself in one of the butterfly- shaped cars, nervous as the safety bar snapped into place. The cars zoomed ahead, soaring and tumbling on the coaster's tall hills. Spike tried to hold his lunch in, even as he finished the first coaster lap.
Suddenly, the coaster's drive train began to rattle quite loudly, causing the two ponies to look up in shock.
"Wait a sec?" A surprised Sunny Daze whinnied. "What in Ponyville is-?"
SNAP! The chain broke, just as the car Spike was coming down the tallest hill. Traveling at top speed, the dragon is sent flying clean off the rails, and is sent soaring through the air.
"Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" The dragon wailed, as he was sent tumbling into the rainbow river with a loud SPLASH!
"Oh my gosh! SPIKE!" Sunny Daze shrieked, galloping towards where the dragon had landed. "I'm sooooo sorry! Are you ok?"
The dragon blubbered and sputtered, swimming towards the shore. He pulled himself up on land, coughing and spitting up volumes of water.
"Please don't ever ask me to do that again!" Spike blubbered, before passing out.
...
"Hey you two! Did you hear the news?"
Waterfire came running up to Ponyville's small orchard, where Applejack and Apple Spice were picking this season's crop of golden delights.
"What is it, Waterfire?" Apple Spice, the yellow pony with the orange and purple mane, asked. It was unusual to see the aquatic blue mare away from her job running Ponyville's water purification systems.
"Spike's been hurt!" Waterfire gasped, nearly out of breath. " There was an accident at the roller coster, and he was sent flying!"
"That's terrible news!" Apple Spice replied, horrified. "Simply awful! Is he going to be all right?"
"We're not sure." Waterfire replied. "Spring Fever is checking him out at the clinic!"
As the two ponies continued to talk, Applejack looked on silently. The red pony with the Apple and tablecloth cutie mark was Ponyville's picnic planner, but to some of the town's inhabitants, she seemed like her head was always somewhere else, besides where she was.
"Hey AJ? You all right?" Apple Spice asked her. "You coming with us to the clinic?"
"Huh? Oh no, you two go on ahead." Applejack asked thoughtfully. "I need to go to the Petal Parlor."
"Oh, AJ!" Waterfire whinnied "What is this obsession with getting your mane done? Especially at a time like this?"
"Yeah, what do you do at the Petal Parlor all the time? Have your coat and mane dyed different colors?" Apple Spice said to her best friend. "It seems you're always going there!"
"I'm really sorry girls." AJ replied nervously. "But I really need to go and take care of this!"
The two of them trotted off towards the clinic,as AJ galloped off to see Daffydaisy. The red earth pony let out a sigh, as that situation had been far too close a call. If Waterfire hadn't shown up when she did, with news about that silly dragon...
"This situation is getting far too out of hand!" Applejack grumbled to herself. "Still I hope that dragon is all right. It's funny, he almost reminds me of..."
Shaking her mane, AJ cleared her head of her memories, and trotted off on her way.
...
The ponies of Ponyville were gathered around the town clinic, hoping to see if their dragon friend was all right. Inside, a pink mare with a green and yellow mane looked over Spike, checking to see if there were any serious injuries.
"So what's the word, Doc?" Savannah Sage, a pink pony with a white mane, asked. "Y'all think he's gonna be all raight?"
"Yeah, Spring!" Merriweataher, a yellow pony with a pink mane, asked. "Is he gonna be ok?"
Looking back and forth between the two eager mares, Spring Fever sighed. "I don't know much about dragon anatomy, but judging from my examination, he should be all right."
"But what caused the coastah car malfunction?" Savannah asked in her thick accent. "Was it a case of equipment failure?"
"Or was it something more?" Merriweather continued, narrowing her eyes.
Spring Fever shook her head. These two mares ran the Ponyville Gazette... with Savannah Sage writing the editorials, and Merriwaether handling the weather report. They were always looking for something to print that wasn't covering the town's parades or festivals, eager to cover any news they came across. Since the two would never stoop so low as to write mean or hurtful gossip, an opportunity like this came about once in a blue moon.
"Look, you'll have to talk to Sunny and Sparkleworks about that one." The doctor Pony said with a sigh. "All I can tell you, is that Spike is going to be just fine!"
The two mares frowned, and trotted off to take care of other responsibilities. It wasn't long, however, before Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie showed up at the clinic.
"Excuse me." Pinkie asked. "But may we see Spike?"
"Of course." Spring Fever replied, adjusting her stethoscope. "Right this way, please."
The doctor led the two earth ponies into the clinic, where the purple dragon was sitting up on a bed.
"Darling!" Rainbow Dash came over and nuzzled him. "We're so glad you're safe! We were worried sick about you!"
"How ya feelin, Spike?" Pinkie Pie asked. "You took quite a nasty fall there, from what we're heard!"
"Thank you so much for coming to see me, both of you." Spike replied. "The doctor gave me a clean bill of health, so I should be free to leave soon, I believe."
"We're so glad to hear you're going to be all right, Darling!" Dash turned her head, tossing her mane back over her shoulder. "Please, we insist on seeing you back to the castle!"
As the two ponies and the dragon walked and trotted out of the clinic, Spike thought about his behavior towards one of these ponies. Rainbow Dash had treated him with nothing but kindness since he had arrived, and he had done nothing but avoid her in return.
"But she reminds me so much or Rarity..." Spike thought to himself, remembering how being around the white unicorn had affected him. He remembered how he had blushed at the gifts Rarity had always given him, or how jealous he had become when been when Fancy Pants had spent time with her at Princess Cadence's wedding... even though the two ponies were only friends! So to see her personality, coming out of a pony that looked exactly like Rainbow Dash, was almost too much for the poor dragon to bear!
But that wasn't this Rainbow Dash's fault, he reasoned, and she should not be paying the price for Spike's memories.
"Rainbow Dash, listen..." Spike said, stopping dead in his tracks.
"Yes,Darling, what is it?" Dash asked, looking back at the dragon.
Spike sighed. "Listen, I'm so sorry I ran away from your house that day. That was a very mean thing for me to do."
"But why did you run away, darling?" Rainbow Dash asked, remembering that day. "Did I say something to offend you in some way?"
.
"No, that's not it at all." Spike replied. "I let my memories of another pony I once knew- that was like you,in many ways,- affect my opinion of you." The dragon continued, his scales drooping. "I-I cared about her a great deal, and when I see you..."
There was silence for a few moments, then Rainbow Dash suddenly trotted up to Spike, and took the surprised dragon in a tight embrace.
"Miss Rainbow Dash, what in the world?!?" The confused dragon asked in a startled tone.
"Darling, I had no idea!" The deeply moved blue earth pony pulled away, tears in her eyes."Darling, if you ever need anything, or need someone to talk to... please... come see me anytime you like!"
"T-thank you so much, Miss Rainbow Dash." Spike was touched. "I am truly honored to call you my friend."
"C'mon, you two." Pinkie Pie smiled. "Let's get Spike back, so he can get some rest."
The three of them made their way back towards the castle.
...
"So let me get this straight, your highness." The white mare with the yellow and pink mane asked."You think that Spike's little accident on the coaster... wasn't an accident at all?"
In the Celebration Castle throne room, Princess Wysteria was meeting with Chancellor Pinkie- who had just seen Spike off to bed; and Puzzlemint, the closest thing Ponyville had to a detective. The other two ponies had been summoned by thier princess this evening, when she had expressed misgivings about the events surrounding Spike's accident.
"That's right, Puzzlemint." Wysteria replied. "All of the weird stuff happening in town seems way too suspicious to me... and I feel there may be more going on here than meets the eye."
"Well then, we should consult our town's oracle for her analysis of the situation." The ever logical Puzzlemint looked to Pinkie Pie. "We could use a jolly good Pinkie Squink, if you please."
"You got it!" Pinkie Pie nodded, and began to perform her odd little ritual. Whipping her hair back and forth, the pink mare activated her mysterious divination ability- an evolution of her ancestor's Pinkie Sense. Above the Pink pony's head appeared a wispy cloud, in which her subconscious thoughts were projected for the other to ponies to see.
"See now!" Wysteria exclaimed, learning forward on her throne. "It begins!"
In the vision, the three ponies saw six mysterious mares, all covered in shadow. Staring down from above at an unsuspecting Ponyville, their eyes began to glow... and the whole town crumbled under their iron gaze. Ponies were running in every direction, fleeing in terror as their homes were destroyed around them by an unseen force.
"That's... that's horrible!" Wysteria cried in terror. "Pinkie Pie, what does this mean?"
"I have no idea, Wysteria." Pinkie sighed. "I just conjure em, I don't interpret em. I don't even know who those Ponies in shadow were."
"Puzzlemint, it falls to you to get to the bottom of this mystery." Wysteria commanded, pushing her crown up farther on her head. "You must uncover this threat to Spike, and apparently to all of Ponyville!"
"Worry not, my Princess!" Puzzlemint replied, bowing. "I will get to the bottom of this confounding mystery, no matter what it takes to do so!"
"Make sure you keep an eye on Spike." Pinkie Pie instructed her. "My Squink gives me the feeling he's going to be targeted again."
"I will speak with Queen Star Catcher about anything odd happening on Butterfly island." Wysteria told them. "Until we get to the bottom of this, say nothing to the other ponies."
"Not even to Spike?" Pinkie asked incredulously.
"Not Yet." Wtysteria replied. "I want to make sure something is actually wrong, before we worry our dragon."
"I am still amazed that any pony would try to hurt another pony." Pinkie Pie replied sadly.
Puzzlemint shook her mane. "Unfortunately Pinkie, it seems that there are ponies out there, who are willing to do just that."