Applejack
Applejack.
Friendly, loyal, and the most warm-hearted, down-to-earth pony you could ever hope to meet. She'd been the first friend he'd really met, the day he and Twilight had arrived in Ponyville, and he'd immediately liked her. And not just because she'd offered them both a mountain of delicious food.
Since then he'd always really liked being around Applejack. She always made time for him. Would always share a joke with him. She reassured him when he was worried, and never made fun of him or scoffed at his fears. And when they did get talking, their conversations ran a little deeper than those he might have with, for instance, Pinkie Pie.
If he were ever to get himself in trouble—real, serious trouble—and for some reason Twilight wasn't around, Applejack would be the first pony he'd reach out to for help. No question. And if he quietly confided in her, she would keep it a secret until her dying day, if he asked.
As he ran all this through in his head, his despondent mood slowly lifted. And the closer he got to the farm the happier and more confident he felt. Applejack would always be there for a friend.
The farmhouse came into view and he joined the hard dirt track leading onto the farm itself. Getting closer, he heard singing coming from somewhere unseen. Applejack's voice, soft and lilting, and carrying a tuneful folk song that he didn't recognise. You know, he never did find out what her favourite song was. Maybe he'd ask?
Following the crooning to its apparent source at the rear of the barn, Spike rounded the corner and was met with...
Well... the confidence he'd been beginning to build up didn't quite survive intact.
Arranged in a circle were seven steel watering cans, full to the brim with pure, clear water. And Applejack was jumping over each one, anti-clockwise in sequence. While wearing a bright blue full-body one-piece bunny-rabbit outfit. Singing all the while.
For a moment, Spike could only stand and stare. On any other day this would have been hilarious. He'd be rolling on his back and howling at the absurd thing he was seeing. But oddly enough, with the day he'd had so far... he didn't feel a whole lot like laughing at Applejack right now.
"Uh... Applejack?" he asked from a safe distance.
Applejack, too busy concentrating on her singing and her jumping, hadn't noticed him approach. Startled, she looked up at him in mid-air and her trailing hoof caught a watering-can handle as she landed. The can toppled and spilled all of its contents onto the ground, leaving only six standing.
"Aw, dangit!" she huffed, and glowered at the fallen watering-can as though it were at fault. Then she looked back up at him with a smile. "Howdy, Spike. Maybe give me a little more warning next time, huh?"
She grinned and walked over to him, pulling the blue fabric hood of the bunny-suit back from her head. Then her smile fell and her expression turned an odd, confused shade of worried. "You okay, pardner? You look a little... off colour."
"Um..." he started. But he could come up with no reply other than to come straight out and ask. "Applejack? Why... are you wearing a rabbit costume and singing while jumping over a whole bunch of watering cans?"
Applejack rolled her eyes and once more glared back at the watering cans as though they'd offended her. Then she looked back at him with a weary smile. "Zap Apples're comin'," she explained. "Tomorrow."
Spike breathed an inward sigh of relief. Applejack hadn't just gone crazy. "Zap Apples. Of course. But... doesn't Granny Smith usually take care of this?" He indicated the watering cans.
"Yep. Just my luck that they decide to come while she's away visitin' uncle Apple Strudel. And Big Mac's off in Appleoosa for the week too, so it's up to me to get 'er done." She rolled her eyes, shook her head slightly, and her weary smile returned. "I have spent all mornin' painting pink polka-dots in my kitchen, yellin' at glass jars, presentin' bouquets of flowers to beehives and now, this." She gave a self-conscious chuckle at the patent absurdity of it all. "Sure is a lotta work for one pony, but the farm really needs the bits right now, so I gotta make it happen."
"What about Apple Bloom? Isn't she helping?"
"Aw, she's off Crusadin' somewhere with her friends today. I already promised her she could last week, before the signs started comin'." She cast a quick glance towards the Zap Apple field, and the sickly-grey looking apples dangling from the purple-leaved trees. Then she looked back to Spike. "The farm might need the money, but I ain't gonna break a promise to get it."
"Well, have no fear, AJ! Spike the Dragon, loyal friend extraordinaire is here to help! Anything you need, shall be done. Just name it. Your wish is my command." He placed one claw on his belly and stepped back into an exaggerated bow. This was ideal! He'd spend the day helping Applejack like a good friend would. They'd talk. He'd tell her what was bothering him. She'd make him feel better. They'd laugh. It'd be...
Applejack was looking at him with a surprised expression. Then she gave an embarrassed chuckle and a sympathetic smile. "Spike, sugarcube? Forgive me, but it feels like we've danced at this hoedown before." She walked up a little closer to him and spoke more softly. "I appreciate it, but I don't need you doin' things for me. I've got it covered. Anyway,"—she carried on more brightly— "you've got more interestin' things to be doin', and I don't wanna be the pony who made you waste your day workin' a farm when you should be off having fun."
Spike's mood fell for what felt like the tenth time that day. He'd never consider a day spent helping a friend to be a waste. Was... Applejack saying his help was a waste of time? "You sure I can't... I mean, that you don't want any help?"
Applejack smiled. "I'm sure, Spike. I'm almost done anyhow. Just gotta finish singin' to the water, then drag a few baskets into place so I'm ready to buck tomorrow mornin'."
"Guess... you don't need me around then, huh?" Spike forced a laugh, but couldn't quite meet Applejack's eyes. He turned, and headed for the track that left the farm, bound once again for Ponyville.
"Spike?" Applejack said from behind him. "You okay?"
It was an opening. A chance to talk. All he had to do was say, 'no.'
But, really, Applejack was too busy for the heart-to-heart he'd come for. If he dredged up the issue now, he'd end up dragging her away from her preparations. And if the farm needed the money that badly... well he wouldn't be much of a friend if he jeopardised that for the sake of himself. If she didn't need help, it seemed like the best thing a good friend could do was leave her to finish in peace. He looked back at her, and managed—barely—to force a smile.
"Sure, AJ. I'm okay." He turned once more and walked the long dirt track back towards town.
After a few long moments the soft notes of Applejack's folk song began to drift once more from the back of the barn. It was a sweet tune, except with a faint, tragic undertone that he only now noticed.
Applejack would always be there for a friend.
* * *
Rainbow Dash
He didn't make it all the way back to Ponyville. Leaving the dirt road, he found a small rise just outside of the town, overlooking it, and sat on the soft, inviting grass. A faint breeze on the air carried the distant sounds of a bustling, happy village up the hill to him, but there was, thankfully, nopony else around at the moment. He had the world all to himself.
Everywhere he went it seemed he became an anchor, weighing down the ponies he called friends; getting in their way and forcing them to make allowances for him. That wasn't what a friend was supposed to be. A friend was supposed to be helpful. To be able to laugh and have fun with other friends, and to make their lives better. And yet all too frequently, and often in spite of his best efforts, he managed to accomplish the exact opposite. To the extent that now his friends didn't even want his help.
Some friend he was.
From his vantage point he could just see remains of the library that was no longer his home, as well as the great sparkling castle that just couldn't be home. As his gaze shifted back and forth between the two, he started to well up. There were very few places left that he could turn to, and it was as though, without explanation, some higher power had flipped a switch and decided he just didn't belong here anymore.
A short, faint but deep rumble attracted his attention from somewhere distant off to the west. He glanced towards it, but saw no obvious cause. Then it happened again. And a minute or so later, a third time, and as he watched there seemed to be a faint flash in the sky as well.
With his other choices limited to stewing in despondency or suffering boredom, or both, he dragged himself to his feet and headed off to investigate the source. Who knew? This might even make for another story that nopony would bother to remember.
After a few minutes walking across the lush wild meadows on the outskirts of the town, Spike crested a small hill and finally discovered the source of the sound.
Rainbow Dash was practicing.
He hadn't forgotten about her. But he hadn't sought her out before now simply because he knew the chances of him actually finding her were slim-to-nil.
Rainbow Dash. Always there when you needed her, but perpetually elusive when you wanted her. You didn't find Rainbow Dash. If she wanted to hang, then she found you. And if you blew it by being boring, she'd just be gone in a flash. That was how she rolled.
He considered himself fortunate that he did spend so much time with her, but had to remind himself that it was almost always when Twilight was around. In fact, with a sad pang, he realised he couldn't remember when the last time he'd spent real time with Rainbow Dash one-on-one was. If it had ever happened at all.
And with the day going as it was, there was no real cause to hope that that would change now. But he loved to see her perform, so he sat alone on the brow of the hill and quietly enjoyed watching the blue-and-rainbow streak soar and twist through the air.
The sunny afternoon sky was clear except for a single, dark grey cloud hovering conspicuously in the centre of Dash's aerial practice space. As he watched, Rainbow performed a mind-boggling series of loops, twists and turns in the air, using the cloud as some kind of centrepiece around which her performance revolved. Her speed steadily increased, her turns getting faster and tighter, building to some implicit climax. Then she rocketed vertically into the sky, becoming a mere dot high above the cloud, arching over, and began to power downwards with frightening speed. A thin corona formed at the leading edges of her outstretched hooves, becoming thicker and thicker as she descended. The angle of the corona increased, becoming sharper and more acute, and just as Dash hit the cloud the turbulent air itself took on the many hues of the rainbow.
Dash emerged from the underside of the cloud, the corona gone but still moving fast, and an instant later the cloud exploded.
BOOM.
The cloud vapour vanished to nothing in a flash, leaving the dozens of thin lightning bolts that were apparently stored within to explode and crackle outwards in all directions in a huge, spherical array. But the spectacular thing was that the lightning bolts, rather than electric-white, were instead hued with all the colours of the rainbow. It was like a gigantic, multi-coloured firework, but with lightning!
It was awesome.
Rainbow Dash did a quick victory lap of her aerial performance area before making a beeline for the hilltop where Spike was still watching, his jaw on the floor.
He had to admit, the fact that she'd even noticed him, let alone was coming over, was a little surprising. He didn't have long to be surprised though, because then she was hovering in front of him with her confident smirk.
"Pretty awesome, huh? I call it the Cloudburst. Whaddya think?"
Spike was still stunned. "It's... it's..."
"Spectacular? I know!" said Dash, excited in self-congratulation.
"It was amazing!" said Spike, finding his voice at last. "Can you do it again?"
Dash loved performing, and Spike figured he could enjoy watching that all day. That was almost like hanging out. The closest he was likely to get anyway.
"Yeah, in my sleep!" boasted Dash. "But I'm all outta storm clouds for today."
"Oh. You can't just... find another cloud to use?" asked Spike, scratching his head. That had never seemed like an issue before.
"Sure. Clouds are easy," said Dash. "But lightning bolts...? They're expensive."
"Ah. Right. So, are... are you gonna practice anything else, or...?"
"Nah, I'm all done for today. I'm gonna head on back to Ponyville and see what's goin' on."
"Oh. Well, do you maybe wanna ha—?"
"See ya round, Spike!" she said without pausing. Then, with a grin, a wave, a whoosh and a blur, she was gone. Nothing more than a rainbow-coloured streak heading for the town, leaving Spike alone on the hill once more.
Well... she probably thought he was boring.
Spike hung his head. Par for the course so far. Another friend who'd rather he didn't spend time with them. Slowly he began to trudge his way in the direction of Ponyville.
He had no idea what he'd do when he got there though.