Applejack / Rainbow Dash
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.
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5029178
hi my "good friend", spike! do my backbreaking chores for no reward!
5029162 ...
Because they're still being written?
Why do I begin to think that Spike is one step away from throwing himself a party with a bag of flour, a pile of rocks, and a bucket of turnips as his only guests...
5029178 Agreed. I'd say more often than not, out of all the fics I've read, she is seen as far closer to him than the others bar Twilight. But hey, every fic is someone's perception of the show so... but I like how certain common status quo's form in many different fics meaning many share this same view.
Spike trudged into Ponyville up ahead was the Boutique ,"I'll see if she isn't too busy" he huffed
More please.
A mare in a trench coat exited and slinked off into the shadiows, A spy? In Raritys Boutique?
Got to let her know! She could be in danger!
Spike burst through the door looking for the Hay Puff marsh mellow of fashion.
"Rarity Rarity Gosh ! I saw a spy leaving your...."
"Oh Spikey dear , Just the drake I need to see, Please have a seat , Tea. my presious scales?"
"Rarity I just saw a..." Rarity continued "That was no spy my spikey wikey, That was my leader of the Sub-Rosa' team from DHX" She opened a package and looked through the contents "Oh Dear spikey" Spike looked on "What?" A smile crossed her face "This calls for some ice cream!"
"VANILLA OAT SWIRL ?" Spike called out looking into her eyes as her minds gears were turning,
"YOUR MINE!" Rarity screamed , "Your going to have my children! and live happly ever after!"
Spike stared at her then looked down at the information Rarity had
WOW! Spikey thought WOWZER, This was his lucky day. . . .He looked down a second time,
'Spike & Raritys big 'day script draft and a 2015 Hasbro toy catalog featuring 'A Dragons Wedding.'
Rarity beamed "Other than the Cakes can you name another couple that can have little ones?"
Cute and fuzzy
I...this makes me hate the mane 6.
The worst part is that this feels like an actual episode.
It's been clear throughout the whole series that Spike is incredibly undermined and to see that point taken and turned into this...almost brings a tear to my eye.
5029573
Sorry for barging in, but I just wanted to say I admire your attitude. Rather than getting angry at the story/author for not meeting your personal expectations, you're mature enough to accept it as it is and still try to find merit in it. That's a rare thing these days.
They should be ashamed of themselves.
. After all that talk of how much Spike means to them, for all of one episode, So that's 90 Episodes + This one, where they show how little that friendship means. Still reeling from little miss Remember-All totally forgetting the only thing Spike did he felt was awesome [other than save the Crystal Empire].
5029277
But when he invites them only the pile of rocks takes the time to actually come over. And then its only to make him do all the rock's jobs for the day before he passes out.
Gotta give you props for remembering Spike's comic adventure with Celestia. Not many it seems to recall that the comics tend to fit in with everything else
A savvy correction on his part. I fear the staff writers no longer believe him to be so intelligent or considerate.
Twilight's away; Rarity is 'in the zone' and keeps zoning Spike out; Pinkie forgets something that was important to Spike; Fluttershy treats Spike just like she treats Angel; Applejack is alone during Zap Apple Season and doesn't want Spike help (because of the way he phrased the question); and Rainbow is done practicing for the day and leaves before Spike can ask if she wants to hang out.
I wonder how it is going to go when he meets the crusaders? He already feels like no one wants him around, and if they reject him...
His friends better realize what's happening to Spike or he'll do something crazy.
Dear Author -- This is a great slice of life and the kind of story I love, great work so far! You are showing believable characters that are well realized. Have a favorite and thumbs up.
5029607 5029852 The mares he calls friends are busy with their own lives and are not just brushing him off, but due to his immaturity he feels they don't care for him. Spike is still young and needs to mature.
Children require time and experience to see the world doesn't revolve around them; sadly it is something some people never learn. He is having a hard time distinguishing between his own life and Twilight's. Twilight being the center of his universe he is lost without her. It is now time for him to start to grow as an individual and make more autonomous choices.
I really like how most, if not all, of these situations can be explained as simple misunderstandings. It's also nice that Spike is viewing things like a kid would. His perception of his friends supposedly not needing him fits almost perfectly of how a kid would view the situation.
And so Spike realizes the awful truth: He's not important and nobody really loves him.
5030131
Nah 5029852 about got it. He understood that Rarity was in the zone. Sad, but he accepted it. Wouldn't be that bad until you look at the show and realize that Rarity never gives him the time of day unless he's helping her with something. Usually it doesn't bother him, but he wants a friend to take his mind off of two major life changes [his home was annhilated along with his material possessions [which as a dragon are extremely few]], and Twilight being gone for so long.
He wanted for once for her to be there for him like he was always there for all of them. But he left, sad but understanding. Then there was Pinkie Pie. His thing is she never forgets. Literally never forgets. As long as it's something important for / to a friend [how she knew about Matilida even though she only saw the pic for a brief second before it burnt to ashes]. Yet something he told them, something that to him was an awesome part of his life, that literally was amazing. She totally forgot. Something she wouldn't do for a real friend.
Flutters. Well even when she first saw him, it was as a caregiver type feel. Trying to learn all about a new critter. When he went there, while he found the whole thing stilted and awkward. At least he had the company of a friend. Somepony who cared, even and took the sting of major pain away slightly. Yet, only to find out that she's treating him like she treats all her "animal friends" rather than her "pony friends" hurt. Yes, it was mostly since none of the Mane 6 [minus Twilight] really took time to know him, and if he told her why that hurt to be treated like a pet not a pony. She would've treated him differently. Doesn't change the fact that he was treated like a pet.
AJ. She was all good with Spike, busy, but good. But then he tried making a joke to lighten the mood. But from her words and reaction, she misinterpreted it and became uncomfortable by being reminded of "Spike at your Service". Of course he could'v talked to her then as well, but he didn't. So in those two instances. Yes he was still acting young by not talking about his feelings. But the much older mares [Mane 6] are guilty of just as much. Even though they are older.
As for Dashie. By that time the pain of learning that his friends weren't his, but Twilight's. Loosing his home and everything he ever knew [brought over from Canterlot + gathered in the 4 years in Ponyville]. And the constant sting of rejection built up to the point that Dashie left before Spike could talk. As he said himself. If you wanted her there she was nowhere to be found, she only showed up when she's needed. That and her own canon words, she doesn't do mushy stuff.
So yeah, the Mane 6 really aren't doing anything different to Spike [which actually is just as horrible], but Spike seeing that now has hit hard.
5029573
Oh, please good sir, tell me that's a typo and not a dig at my favourite pony?
Hmm. Does that sound like me?
From Spike's point of view, you can 'see' how he he thinks that everyone is just blowing him off. Though if you take a step back and look and look at it from any other point of view. You'd see that everyone is just busy. Not everyone can get funding from the Princess and thus have to make a living. Well except Dash, she's probably just blowing some steam, but even she has to work.
This is one of those things you have to look at from another characters point of view to fully get and appreciate. At first glance, you'd think Spike is just being an immature kid, but then you have to consider that he is just a kid. And well, kids will be kids.
5028871
There is a button in the editor that says "YouTube." Paste the link into the box that appears.
5029615
I don't know about that, the Equestrian gender roles don't seem very different from ours. Absolutely not reversed.
Anyway, let's not generalize - of course Spike doesn't mind spending time with the Mane Six, of course he considers them friends. I'm just saying that we should at least consider the possibility that he has male friends in his own age group as well.
It like the only 'friends', Spike, may have made are all in Canterlot!
Well, if there are no friendship to be found among the ones his knows or from the other ponies in Ponyville, there's always Zecora, or doing back to Canterlot to visit the ones he left.
5030262
It dosen't work when i do it, it goes [youtube url] and when published, it wont work. Maybe cause I'm using Ipad or something
You knooww... This is starting to feel like Party of One. XD
I like where this is going. Spike's reactions, given his perspective, have so far seemed pretty reasonable and understandable. Good stuff.
5034315 I haven't tried it without an iPad to see if it works better without, but post, then edit it to remove most of the url from the link and only leave the gibberish at the end that identifies the video to YouTube.
So it posts initially as:
[youtube=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i7PQ9IO-7fU]
Then you edit it to just "youtube=i7PQ9IO-7fU" in brackets instead of quotes.
And it becomes:
[youtube=i7PQ9IO-7fU]
Voila. iPad workaround that nopony really cares about, but I am as bored right now as spike in this fic so there!
wowcha...... eeek...... ehhhh..... errry.... uhmmm.......
I feel like the authors a little harsh the main 7 aren’t this bad with spike they aren’t good just not this bad