//------------------------------// // Sick Day and Memories // Story: The Girls of My Life // by Wildcard25 //------------------------------// Saturday morning at Spike's place, the sound of a sneeze was heard from inside the house. In Spike's room, the teen was lying in bed with his nose red, and his eyes looked very drowsy. His mother looked at the thermometer Spike had in his mouth. "Just as I thought. A hundred degrees. You're staying in bed today, mister." she told her boy. "Say it isn't so, mom. Say it isn't so!" Spike pleaded, before he sneezed into a tissue. "Sorry, sweetie, but that's final." Elsa replied. "Ugh, to get sick on a Saturday is torture!" Spike groaned with a congested voice. "Just get some rest and you'll be better before you know it." Elsa tucked her son before leaving his room. Spike laid on his bed looking miserable, "And I had so much I wanted to do today, and now it's all gone downhill," he grabbed his Power Princesses comic to read, "This is about all I have now." About twenty minutes later, the door to his room burst opened, as Pinkie rushed in, "Spike! Are you with us, Spike?!" she gripped his shoulders and shook him. "Pinkie!" Spike tried to calm her down. "You better not die, Spike! I'm too young for you to die!" Pinkie continued to exaggerate, "Keep your legs elevated. Turn your head and cough. Does anyone know the Heimlich maneuver?!" Pinkie cried, until the rest of the girls came in with Applejack and Rainbow prying her off the sick boy. "Simmer down there, Sally." Applejack calmed her. "Yeah, he just has a cold. He's not dying." Rainbow added. "I knew that. I just wanted to raise the suspense of the moment." Pinkie grinned, as the girls rolled their eyes. Twilight taking a calmer approach, stood before Spike looking down on him, "How're you holding up, Spike?" "I'm sick as a dog and my head feels like a balloon of mucus ready to pop." he groaned. "Oh, dear." Fluttershy said in worry. "That is not a pretty picture." Rarity said, while feeling repulsed by his description. "Anything we can do for you, buddy?" Rainbow offered. "Nothing I can think of." Spike answered. "How about I make ya some of my Granny's famous Apple soup? Guarantee to cure the worse of sicknesses." Applejack offered. "That'd be cool." Spike admitted. "And I'll make you some herbal tea." Fluttershy added. "Thanks." So Applejack and Fluttershy went for the kitchen to get Elsa's help in preparing the stuff for Spike. Spike looked up at Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, and Pinkie, "Sorry my sudden sickness messed up our plans for today." "Don't be silly, Spikey." Pinkie comforted him. "Pinkie's right, darling. The only thing that matters is you getting better." Rarity added. "And we'll be here to help you with that." Twilight added. "Thanks, girls. You're the best." Spike smiled, before blowing his nose. "But if any of us gets sick because of this, we expect you to come to our aid in return." Rainbow warned him. "Deal." Soon enough Applejack came back with a bowl of hot soup, and Fluttershy had a cup of hot tea for him, "Here ya go, Sugarcube." Applejack sat the bowl on a tray table. "We hope you like it." Fluttershy said, as she sat his cup down. Spike took a sip of his tea and sighed, "Ah, that's good." Applejack took a spoonful of the soup, "Here ya go, Sugarcube. Open wide." Spike opened his mouth, as Applejack fed him the soup. Spike swallowed it, "Delicious. Thanks, A.J." "Always glad to help, partner." she got another spoonful. "Hey, Applejack, I wanna feed Spike." Pinkie protested. "I would like to help with that too." Rarity added. "Girls, we can each do that." Twilight broke them up. "Yeah. No need to get all heavy." Rainbow added. Coming to an agreement, they nodded, and each girl got to feed Spike or fetch him some more thing like tissues, an extra blanket, a refill of tea, and a cold washcloth. Spike was feeling good to see his friends taking care of him, until it came down to the last spoonful of his soup, "Here you go, Spike." Twilight offered it. "Hold on," Rainbow interrupted her, "Why should you get to feed Spike the last bit?" "Because it's my turn." she answered bluntly. "But you've fed him more than us." Pinkie noted. "I have not." Twilight denied her accusation. "They're right. So I shall feed Spike." Rarity said. "Just a darn minute there," Applejack injected, "I made the soup so I should be the last to feed Spike." And so the girls started arguing, while Fluttershy quietly voiced her wanting to feed Spike, but was overpowered by her five friends. Spike tried to reason with them, "Girls, girls, please..." he finally let out a loud sneeze that broke their arguing, "Thank you. I appreciate you guys wanting to take care of me, but this behavior of yours is not doing well for me to watch. So I'll feed myself the last bit." he took the spoon and ate it himself, "There, problem solved," the girls started looking guilty for their petty squabble and Spike continued, "Now if you'll excuse me I'd like to take a nap now. So could you all please leave not disturb me?" They all nodded, as Twilight spoke, "Ok, Spike. We'll let you get some rest." "We'll be back later to check on you, ok?" Fluttershy asked. "Thanks girls." Spike answered, as he got comfortable. "And, Spike..." Rarity began, "We're sorry we made you upset." "I know." Spike yawned before he fell asleep, and the six slipped out of his room quietly. Spike slept peacefully, until he felt as if he was no longer in his bed. He suddenly woke up in an empty void, "What? Where am I?" he got up and looked around seeing nothing, until he saw he was outside on his block, "I'm outside?" "Come on, everyone. That's it." his father called out. Spike looked over and saw a moving van outside his house, with his father directing the loaders what to bring out of the truck, "This was the day we moved in." he gasped, before he looked over and saw his mother and most importantly himself when he was eight years old, "Oh, my God. I'm so cute!" He watched, until he saw child Twilight and her parents Twilight Velvet and Night Light approach, "Hi, and welcome to the neighborhood. I'm Night Light, this is my wife Twilight Velvet, and my little girl Twilight Sparkle." "Nice to meet you." Velvet answered. "Welcome." Twilight greeted them. "Nice to meet you all to," Geki began, "My name's Geki, this is my wife Elsa, and my son Spike." When they saw no sign of Spike, Elsa realized, "Come on, Spike. Meet our new neighbors." Spike came out from behind his mom and approached. "Nice to meet you, my name's Spike." "Nice to meet you, young man." Night Light greeted him with a shake of his hand. "Welcome to the neighborhood, Spike." Velvet greeted her. Twilight approached him with a bright smile, "Nice to meet you, Spike." Spike blushed as he looked at Twilight feeling this warmth around him from her smile. "So where are you from, originally?" Velvet asked curiously. "Well, we just moved to Ponyville, until I got a job transfer here to Canterlot." Geki explained. "Interesting, you must let us introduce you to all of our friends on the block." Night offered. "That'd be thoughtful of you." Elsa answered with delight. Twilight gasped, "Then is it all right if I introduce Spike to my friends?" "I don't see why not," Velvet answered, and turned to Geki and Elsa, "Is it all right with you two?" "It would be good for Spike to get to know the other kids on the block." Geki answered. "How about it, Spike? Maybe you'll make some new friends." Elsa said. "That would be nice." Spike admitted, as Twilight took his hand. "Come on. I live next door to you." she dragged him off next door, leaving the adults. In Twilight's backyard, Twilight and Spike were sitting at a table while older Spike watched the memory play out, "So you used to live in Ponyville?" Twilight asked. "Yeah. I liked living there, and I was sad when dad told us we were moving here." Spike said feeling dismal. "Why's that?" "Because I left my old school, and all my old friends behind." Spike answered. "Don't worry, Spike. My friends and I will make you feel welcomed." Twilight comforted him. "Really?" Twilight nodded, until they heard the backyard gate open and a voice spoke up, "Hey, Twi!" They looked over as Spike recognized younger Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy enter, "Fluttershy so adorable, and Rainbow was a tough little firecracker." he chuckled. "Hi, girls." Twilight greeted the two. Young Spike looked over seeing the two new girls, and prepared himself to greet them. When Rainbow saw the little boy, she spoke to Twilight, "Hey, who's that?" "Our newest neighbor. Girls, this is Spike. Spike, meet Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy." the girl answered. "Nice to meet you both." Young Spike greeted them. Fluttershy approached, "It's nice to meet you too, Spike. How old are you?" "I'm eight." he answered. "I thought so," Fluttershy smiled, "You look so precious." the little boy blushed. "Welcome to the neighborhood, little dude." Rainbow playfully punched his shoulder. "Thanks." he rubbed his shoulder sheepishly. "Where did you used to live?" Fluttershy inquired. "Ponyville." "Well, kid. Welcome to Canterlot, where I pray you survive." Rainbow warned him in a dreary tone. "Survive?" Spike trembled. "Rainbow, don't scare him." Twilight lectured him. "Relax, Twi. I just having some fun with the little guy." Rainbow said, as she ruffled Spike's hair while he groaned. Older Spike chuckled at that memory, "Oh, that Rainbow. Hasn't changed since then." "Howdy yall." another familiar voice called out, as Older Spike watched seeing younger Applejack enter the backyard. "Hey, Applejack/A.J." the three girls greeted her. When the cowgirl saw Spike, she approached him, "Well now, what have we here?" "This is our new neighbor, Applejack." Twilight explained. "I'm Spike." Spike greeted her. Applejack shook his hand, "Well, Spike, it's a pleasure to meetcha. So ya just moved here?" "Uh-huh." he nodded. "You're a cute little fella, aren't ya?" she winked at him. "The cutest." Fluttershy said, as she went to Spike's side and nuzzled him. Spike started blushing, until Twilight broke them up, "Come on, you two. Let's not embarrass him on his first day here." "Oh, but it was fun to see his face turn red, Twilight." Rainbow groaned. Older Spike smiled, until he saw Pinkie enter the backyard and knew what was coming, "Oh my gosh, is that a new kid on the block?!" the girl gasped, as she ran over and started shaking Spike's hand rapidly, making his whole body shake. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie. You must be new here. Me I've lived here for about two years now. Say do you like parties? Because I do. I like the kind with really loud music, lots of balloons, lots of cake, oh don't forget cupcakes." Older Spike shook his head with a chuckle, "I'll never forget Pinkie's greeting. I felt so wobbly after she shook my hand like that." he then looked and saw the final girl of the entourage approach. The one and only Rarity. "Pinkie Pie, stop that right now!" she raced over and pried Spike's hand out of the excited girls', "Can't you see you're scaring the poor thing?" she straightened Spike's hair, "I'm ever so sorry for my exuberant friend, child. My name is Rarity, and it's so wonderful to meet you." "My name's Spike, and it's nice to meet you too." "Spike, what a fitting name for one with adorable hair like yours." Rarity said as she gently brushed her hand against the top of his spikes. "Thank you." he smiled. "So you're our new neighbor?" Pinkie asked. "Yes. Do you all live here on the block?" "You bet, sugarcube." Applejack nodded. "I brought him over here to make him feel at home." Twilight explained to the two newcomers. "Well, why didn't ya say so?" Pinkie asked, "Making others feel welcomed is my specialty!" Pinkie cheered, as she wheeled in a music box that started playing music. Pinkie bounced around and placed a part hat on Spike's head while singing a welcome to the neighborhood song. When she finished she blew into a noisemaker that spit confetti onto Spike. Pinkie and the girls watched, as Spike burst into laughter, "Oh, that's funny!" he laughed while clutching his side. "I got him to smile and laugh already. Yay me!" Pinkie beamed. "I'd like to know more about you, Spike." Applejack said, as she took a seat at the table. "Me too." Fluttershy added. "Me three!" Pinkie finished. "I'm sure we all would." Rarity spoke on Twilight's and Rainbow's behalf. "I'd love to talk to you girls about me, at least if you tell me about yourselves too." Spike said hopefully. "We'd be delighted too." Rarity replied. "Well, I just moved from Ponyville with my parents after my dad was transferred here." "What was it like in Ponyville for you?" Rainbow asked. "It was fine." The girls were confused by his vague answer, "Just fine?" "Didn't you do anything special or cool like sports and such?" Rainbow inquired. "Not really. I'm not much of a sports boy." he answered. "Did ya do anything cool?" Rainbow asked. "I mostly just read." he answered. Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Read? That is so boring." "Rainbow Dash, there's nothing wrong with a good book," Twilight began, "If you picked up a book you may be surprised on how good it can be." "Me, read? That'll be the day." Rainbow replied. Older Spike spoke to himself, "And when the Daring Do book series came out we never let you live it down." he chuckled humorously, until he listened to his younger self speak to the girls. "What about you girls, what're you all like?" "Well, I'm the smart one here and I like to read a lot." Twilight explained. "Yeah, she our resident egghead. If you listen to her go on and on about something you'll fall asleep." Rainbow nudged him and the two giggled, while Twilight scowled. "You need to take a better interest in literature, Rainbow." "Yeah-yeah, whatever." Rainbow replied. "So what do you do, Rainbow?" Spike asked curiously. "Me? Well, I love sports, baseball, football, soccer, you name it. What I hate is all the boys saying I should be more like a girl and leave the sports to the boys. And you know what I did to them?" she grinned. "What?" Spike asked, while creeped out by her grin. "I gave them the biggest wedgies you could ever imagine!" she declared. "Ouch." Spike said, while hating to think of that happening to him. Fluttershy spoke up, "I like to take care of animals, and I happen to be a bit shy in large crowds." "You don't seem shy right now." Spike noticed. "That's because I'm around all my friends. And I don't really get that shy around someone who's younger than me. And you just look so cute." she cooed, while hugging Spike. "Thanks." Spike said, as he blushed from close contact with her. Pinkie spoke up, "As I mentioned before I like parties and I'm the official party girl of our group. I know everyone's birthdays and all the anniversary's and holidays important to us. Plus I love baking cake, cookies, and cupcakes." "I love all those." Spike smiled, as Pinkie got down to his level. "Then you and I are going to get along just fine." she grinned. "I am the fashionable one out of us, always up to date with the latest styles," Rarity began, "This purple jacket of your looks just your style, and these shorts further compliment you." "Thank you." he answered, while looking entranced by how pretty Rarity looked. Applejack spoke up, "Me and my family own the land at the end of the block where we grow apple trees." she pulled out an apple from a satchel and handed it to Spike. Spike looked at it before looking at Applejack who beckoned him to try it. He took a bite out of it, and his eyes lit up in delight, "So juicy!" "My family and I make the best apple products we sell to stores." Applejack explained. "Wow, then you guys must make a fortune." Spike said. Applejack giggled, "Something like that." "Ok, so you now us and we know you now. What's say we have some fun?" Rainbow asked. "Ooh, I love fun stuff!" Pinkie cheered. The girls laughed as older Spike watched more of the memory unfold with each of the girls introducing Spike to some of their favorite pastimes. Twilight showed him some of her favorite books which he listened to her without falling asleep. Pinkie Pie gave him a one girl comedy performance, which got him to laugh and smile some more. Rainbow showed him some tricks she learned with a soccer ball. When she tried to get Spike to try them he didn't do so well, but Rainbow gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder letting him know trying is just as important as succeeding. Fluttershy was showing Spike some of the stray cats she feeds, and had him help her in feeding them. Applejack had brought over some more apple based products which spike was more than willing to sample, and voiced his honest approval on how much he loved them. Finally Rarity was having him try on numerous hats to see which one best fit his style. Older Spike finally saw the memory move forward until it was getting later. His younger self was standing with the six girls, "Thank you for giving me such a fun day girls. You're the best friends I could ever hope for... We are friends aren't we?" he asked them. "Of course we are." Twilight answered. "We'll always be your friends, Spike." Applejack added. "What they said, little dude. You'll be hanging out with us from now on." Rainbow Dash added. "And we'll even help you make more friends." Fluttershy offered. "You will?" "Helping friends is what we're all about." Pinkie explained. "Pinkie's right, sweetie. When a friend of ours is in need we'll always be there to lend a hand." Rarity confirmed. Spike looked at each of them seeing the bright smiles giving him a ray of hope. Tears started forming in his eyes, making the girls confused, until he ran to them wanting to group hug them, "What's wrong, sugarcube?" Applejack asked in concern. Older Spike awaited to hear what he told the girls back then, "I'm so glad I met you girls!" his younger self cried. The girls seeing he was shedding tears of happiness embraced him. Soon they let him go and Twilight huddled the girls up while younger Spike was concerned as to what they were suddenly discussing as a group. The girls broke and Twilight spoke, "Spike, the six of us would like to give you a special charm that promises we'll be friends forever." "What's that?" Young Spike asked curiously. "Come over here, and we'll show you." Rainbow said, motioning to come by a spot. So young Spike walked up and stood where Rainbow motioned him to stand, as Pinkie and Fluttershy stood on both sides of him, "Are you ready, Spike?" Fluttershy asked hopefully. "For what?" he asked curiously. "This." Pinkie answered, as she and Fluttershy simultaneously kissed Spike's cheeks. Young Spike started blushing up, while Older Spike smiled knowing more was to come. Rainbow and Applejack were next, and when they did so Rainbow felt hesitant at first, but soon started enjoying it until the two broke lip contact with Spike's cheeks. Finally Twilight and Rarity approached. "And this will seal our everlasting friendship." Rarity concluded as she and Twilight sealed it with their kisses to his cheeks. Older Spike smiled at how happy his younger self looked after that, "And since then we always remained together.' he thought to himself, as the memory started fading away. Suddenly Spike woke up back in his room in bed, "What a dream," he yawned before realizing his nose didn't feel all congested, "Hey, my nose isn't stuffed up." Suddenly he heard his door creek open, as Twilight peeked in, "Spike, can we come in?" "Sure, girls. Come on in." Spike answered. The six entered, as Fluttershy asked, "How was your nap, Spike?" "Feel any better?" Applejack wondered. "You know actually, I feel great." he admitted. "Really?" Twilight asked. "Yeah. My nose doesn't feel stuffed. My throat isn't sore. And I can breath again. I think I'm cured." "How wonderful." Rarity clapped in joy. "Yippee!" Pinkie cheered. "That's what I'm talking about." Rainbow smirked. "Wait just a moment, girls," Twilight interrupted them, "Let's not jump the gun this quickly," she took out the thermometer and popped it into his mouth. They waited a bit, until Twilight took it out and checked it, "What do you know, your temperature has really dropped. I guess you are better now." "I told ya my granny's soup can cure just about any sickness." Applejack said with pride. "I'm gonna go tell his parents, maybe we can still go out today." Rarity said, as she left the room. "I'm surprised how you just recovered this quickly." Twilight said, as she sat on the edge of Spike's bed. "I don't get it either," he replied, while thinking, 'Maybe reminiscing about how nice the girls are and how lucky I am to have met them was about all I needed.' Rarity came back in, "They said you can if you're absolutely sure you feel well." she told Spike. "Great. Let me hop into the shower and I'll be good to go." he got out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes. About ten minutes later, Spike came out fully dressed, "All set ,girls." "Then let's get going." Rainbow said, until Spike approached them, and pulled them into an embrace. "Spike?" Fluttershy wondered. "What is it?" Twilight asked about the sudden gesture. "I'm just so glad I met you girls." he used the same words he told them when they were kids. The girls smiled and returned the embrace feeling the exact same way he felt when they met when they were just kids.