• Published 1st Oct 2014
  • 6,067 Views, 481 Comments

Story Shuffle - FanOfMostEverything



Thirty-one pony one-shots inspired by thirty-one random Magic cards.

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Downtime

Twilight smiled as she stepped out of the shower. It was a truly beautiful day. The sun was shining, her towel was especially fluffy, and thanks to the recipe Spike was trying out, the air smelled pleasantly like warm root beer. It was though the Smarty Pants Incident had preemptively taken up all of the little snags and inconveniences she normally expected from life. It had been smooth sailing for...

Twilight froze in place, as did the towel. Then she bolted out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. "Spike!"

He gave her a glare that would be much more intimidating in a century or two, assuming he wouldn't still be wearing a frilly apron. "You are very lucky that I'm not making a souffle."

Twilight pranced in place, mind whirling. "This is more important than root beer float cake, Spike!"

Spike tensed, his eyes fixed on the unicorn. "What is it?" No hairs out of place, he thought to himself, no creepy grins. Not yet, anyway.

"It's..." Twilight paused and settled herself. "Well, actually, it's nothing."

"It's okay, Twilight. You know I'm willing to lend an ear." Spike chuckled. "Well, sort of."

"No, I mean it's literally nothing. It just feels like it's about time for something to happen. It's been more than a week since the Smarty Pants Incident, and..." Twilight shrugged. "I don't know, I'm not used to this kind of calm in Ponyville. Not unless there's snow on the ground. Is there anything going on?"

Spike thought for a moment. Twilight was getting better, but he was the one who'd had his finger on society's pulse in Canterlot, and that had carried over to their new home. "Only thing that comes to mind is the Sisterhooves Social. And, aside from Shining not being a mare, you're weirdly insistent on nopony knowing about him."

Twilight stomped a hoof. "I'm enough of a security risk as it is! Knowing that I'm the sister of the captain of the Royal Guard? I might as well just wear a 'Kidnap Me' sign."

Spike just shook his head and brought his attention back to the oven. "That was a dream, Twilight. Didn't you write a paper on all the ways that the ritual wouldn't work?"

"The cultists don't know that!"

"Assuming there are any, and that they want to use your blood as a reagent to restore the Nightmare." Spike waved his claws towards the front door. "It's too beautiful a day to be cooped up with conspiracy theories. Go grab a book or find a friend and enjoy the weather. We've got showers scheduled for the next three days."

Twilight just stopped, not even moving save for blinking. Spike recognized this; her mind was so busy, it had locked her knees and left her body to stand there until it needed it again. This could go on for hours when she encountered an especially tricky problem.

Fortunately, this particular instance only took a few seconds. Twilight then shook her head, smiled, and said, "You're right. How much longer will the cake be?"

Spike peered into the red-hot belly of the appliance. Instincts designed for assessing volcanic calderas came to the fore. Some part of him still thought there should be a rotten-egg smell involved. "Should be ready any minute now. Why?"

"When it's done, how about we go out and have a picnic? Just the two of us?" Twilight nuzzled Spike.

He smiled and hugged her head. It was a little awkward, but love tended to be. "I think it's exactly what we both need."

Author's Note:

"Sisterhooves Social" was the first episode of the show devoid of Twilight. She was probably a little weirded out by that.

No offense meant towards Pen Stroke, of course. But remember, the nature of magic may vary from one Equestria to another. Don't assume elaborate blood rituals are universally compatible. (That is, compatible with a given universe.)