MLP: Against the Darkest Night

by Memphiston

Chapter One: A New Celebration

My Little Pony: Against the Darkest Night
By Memphiston

Prologue:

Evil is the brother of good, the counteracting weight on the scale that balances out existence. Without light there is no darkness, without black there is no white. In Equestria, that balance has been tipped over to one side for many millennia, with evil making itself known in diminutive amounts, trying and bring the scale back to balance bit by bit. But mere whimsical chaos, like cotton candy clouds and chocolate rain pouring from the sky, or replacing the sun’s brilliant glow with the moon’s dimmer light, is not enough to match the amount of virtue and good that flows within Equestria. With the amount of virtuousness that this world has, with all of its carefree creatures and radiating positivity, somewhere deep in the cold darkness of the world, an evil of rivaling power has formed. Chaos and Envy, two powerful advocates of evil were easily defeated by harmony and unity. Now, the question is, how will they fare against one of the most powerful, most infectious evils of all?

Corruption…

This story is about the emergence of that evil, an ancient being from an incredibly long time ago that has slowly been gathering strength ever since its first defeat at the hands of both Princess Luna and Celestia. Now, the six patrons of harmony: Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle, will have to face something that even the princesses fear to fight, something that yearns to see all of Equestria crumble to the ground, so it may feed on the misery and dread that will follow the inhabitants as they view the destruction. In this journey they will discover truths kept hidden away from them by their own rulers, have to join forces with both ally and enemy alike, and realize that sometimes, you need to fight, not only for your friends, not only for your country…but for your own self as well.

 

Chapter One:
A New Celebration

Wondering through the main square of Ponyville, watching everyone scurry about getting ready for the celebration, being sent to oversee the preparations…it was like old times for Twilight Sparkle and Spike. The only thing that really changed since the last festival was that everything seemed a little smaller, mainly because in only a year, both of the two had matured.

Twilight had grown about a third her size, her legs being much more slender than they had been before. Her body had yet to match her leg's growth so she did seem a bit awkward, but it was easy to overlook. Her hair had also flourished, sweeping down her back and becoming a tad curlier down the bottom. Spike on the other hand had grown almost two thirds his size. If he were to stand up he'd slightly pass Twilight's horn. The same growth had found its way into every other pony in town: Rarity, Applejack, even the Cutie Mark Crusaders had grown up a bit. The past year, even with all the troubles and toils the town had trucked through, had been fruitful and prolific for the entire community.

Every pony in town was busy with their own little jobs to do. Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders put their own efforts into decoration, standing on top of one another so they could reach the roof of the bakery to hang lights. Scootaloo heldthem up at the bottom, Sweetie Belle occupied on top trying to reach the roof’s edge, and Apple Bloom, sandwiched in between them. Right after Belle hooked the light wire onto the roof, they all toppled down on top of each other like a tower of dominos. Twilight held in a laugh as she and Spike walked over to help the fillies, who were desperately trying to scurry out from one another at the sight of her. They all stood up trying to look presentable, hoping that the two didn’t see the mishap.

“Seems you girls are having a bit of trouble. You know Scootaloo, you could just fly up there and hang the decorations.” Scootaloo chuckled nervously, looking at her wings and then back at Twilight.

“Um…I can’t. My wings aren’t working very well.” A curious look formed on Twilight’s face. “Well, we were hanging outside the tree house earlier today trying to figure out what we could do for the festival and I fell into a patch of that Poison Joke. When I tried to fly, I nearly broke the window next door.” Twilight chuckled and turned to Spike.

“Spike, can you poof up Zecora’s left over Joke Potion I kept?” Spike nodded and turned away, taking a deep breath. With a bit of effort, he blew out a burst of green flame and from it emerged a small bottle, filled with green liquid. Using her horn to levitate it she moved it towards Scootaloo and tipped it lightly. “Here, try this.” Scootaloo opened her mouth and she drank for a moment before Twilight pulled it back. “Not too much.” She said. The purple haired pony smacked her lips together before letting out an unexpected belch. As she turned to face her wings, the signature blue spots faded away. She flapped them slowly, making sure she had control over them once again. The flapping sped up until she lifted herself up into the air. She giggled with happiness as she flew in circles, and they all thanked Twilight for her help. Scootaloo then grasped the edge of the light and ran it across the roof’s edge, while Belle and Bloom scurried off to get more for the other buildings. Twilight smiled at the separating trio, then continued walking with her friend to where they were needed, Sweet Apple Acres.

“We should’ve learned that freight teleporting magic way earlier. It’s come really handy when we’re out and we forget things at the library.” Spike nodded vigorously.

“I know, it’s like having a bottomless bag filled with everything we’d ever need. I always wondered why I learned how to send things off, like scrolls to the princess, but never how to get them by myself. The only thing is that sometime-” A sudden burp pounded out of Spike’s mouth, and Twilight looked at him with a look of both inquiry and humor. Spike composed himself and continued. “…Sometimes I get these fits where I can’t stop burping every few minutes. The longest one so far lasted about twenty minutes.” Spike sighed. “I hope this one ends before we show up at Rarity’s.” Twilight chuckled.

“Don’t worry Spike, Rarity’s place is our last stop. I think you’ll be fine by then.” Twilight’s trot suddenly became a run down the road, catching Spike off-guard.“Now c’mon, we have to hurry to Applejack’s!”

“Hey? Wait for URPPPPP me!” Spike hollered as hetried and catch up to the speedy Twilight, who was already beginning to put vision-blurring distance between them.

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Twilight never knew how far the sweet and sour scent of apple cider could reach, but considering that the orchard was but a mere dot in her sight, and the fruity smell had surrounded her nostrils, it had to be a good distance. Muffled belches followed her, as did Spike, still a long ways from reaching the purple pony. As she passed under the orchard sign, Twilight slowed down from a run to a trot, allowing Spike to catch up. Huffing, puffing, and burping, the dragon took deep breaths as he trailed behind Twilight.

“You know, sometimes I wish I could run on all fours, at least until I finally get wings. Then I’ll be the one leaving you guys in the dust.” The purple pony could only chuckle at her friend’s comment.

“Sorry to burst your bubble Spike, I don’t even know if you’ll grow wings when you get older.” The dragon only smirked as he marched alongside the pony in a playful confidence.

“Pfft, just wait Twilight. They’ll come, and when they do, I won’t even have to say I told you so. I’ll just spell it in the clouds-WHOA!” A loud thump followed Spike’s gloating as he felt flat on his stomach. Twilight began to laugh as the clumsy dragon had tripped over a bucket of apples. Looking back at the mess he made, a familiar voice called out.

“Aw, Spike? Look at the mess you made?” From the nearby apple tree appeared Applejack, wearing her applebucking saddle, the bags of which were almost filled to the brim with the red fruit. She nudged the bucket back upright before turning back to the two. “You gotta watch where you’re going around here. We can’t have people eating apples off the ground, you know.”

“Sorry Applejack, Spike was just daydreaming about getting his wings.” Twilight playfully explained as she used her magic to place all the apples back into the bucket. Applejack thanked her before smirking at Spike.

“Wings? Heh, well I can see why he’d dream of getting them. Those would be swell to have.” The orange pony chuckled as she trotted over to another apple tree. “Rainbow Dash used to brag about how wings made everything easier.” She bashed into the trunk with her back legs, and all of the apples came raining down, most landing in her bag, causing it to swell up even more.“No doubt it’d get this apple bucking over and done with in half the time. That’d give me and Macintosh more time to work on the delicacies. Sometimes apple pies and cider aren’t enough, we need more variety.” Applejack dropped her saddle next to the barn, and then slipped into another, empty one.

“What do you mean? I’ve never heard any pony complain that you guys didn’t have enough apple treats?” Spike asked, now incredibly curious.

“Me neither.” Twilight agreed.

“Well it’s not that we get complaints or anything like that. It’s just that Granny Smith and the rest always have great ideas for new recipes and such, but we rarely ever get to make them since it takes a lot more time. Oh! Macintosh came up with an idea for a bowl of apple slices in a sweet cinnamon sauce, it was to die for! Thing is it took a good chunk out of the day to make, so we know we would be able to make enough for the whole town.” Applejack bucked two more trees before heading to the last one in the bunch near them. “But as long as we can keep giving everyone what they like, it’s all fine and good for me.” The orange pony finished her account, just as the last rain of fruit landed in the bag. Placing it amongst the rest she came over and sat next to her two friends. “Plus, no pony can complain about Big Mac’s tang apple cider, no pony at all.” Twilight giggled at the comment.

“Yeah, it is pretty good. Hey, where is Macintosh anyway?” The purple pony wondered. Usually a colt Mac’s size was hard to miss, even in a forest of apple trees. But so far there was no sight of him between Twilight and Spike.

“I’ve been asking myself the same question all afternoon. After lunch he just disappeared. I think I may have over heard Apple Bloom say that he was with Fluttershy, but I can’t think of a reason why he would be. I honestly think he’s just hiding somewhere in the orchard sneaking a nap, knowing full well he’s still got a third of his side of the acre to buck!” Applejack raised her voice on purpose, hoping a slumbering Macintosh would wake up at the sound of duty. She rolled her eyes when no answer came. “Anyway, did you guys want to come inside for a little bit, maybe sample some of the sweets?” Spike looked at Twilight with puppy dog eyes that practically screamed “Pleaseeeeeeee?” She rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Well, we did skip lunch. I guess we can-” Spike was a green and purple blur as he sped towards the barn, towards the many delicacies that he predicted awaited him.

“Easy, Spike! Remember we have a whole town to feed!” Twilight shouted as she and Applejack gave chase after the ravenous dragon.

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“You managed to scarf down two plates of sliced cinnamon-covered apples, a whole apple pie, two caramel candy apples, and two full pitchers of cider. That was a three course dinner, not a sampling, Spike.” Cleaning out his teeth with a toothpick and flicking the small bits of fruit out onto the grass, Spike merely shrugged at Twilight’s comment.

“More like an appetizer, Twilight. More like an appetizer.” Right after he finished, a loud burp suddenly burst from his mouth. Twilight smirked.

“Was that the food or the spell?” Spike whined in annoyance at Twilight’s jeer.

“Ah man, this thing still hasn’t gone away yet?”

“Maybe you should stop wondering when the burps will stop, and start wondering about how many jokes Pinkie Pie is going make when she hears them?” Spike’s inevitable face palm was accompanied by a long, droning groan.

“You certainly know how to comfort someone Twiligh-URRRRRPPPPPP!” Spike wrapped his hands over his mouth, hoping to stifle the belches once and for all. But, it was too late, and nothing could stop the barrage of laughs that burst from a nearby tree. Both gazed at it in curiosity, until a certain perky pink pony popped out from behind, stumbling from the dizzying effects of such merriment.

“Pffffftttttt hahahahahaha! I don’t…think I’ll be able to…come up with any…jokes, it’s SO funny!” Pinkie Pie fell to the ground in a fit of unstoppable hilarity, turning over onto her sides as the ha-ha’s and he-he’s fluttered out of her. Twilight’s slightly embarrassed expression and Spike’s extremely embarrassed looks only took form for a few seconds, as a “poof” sound popped into their ears from above. Facing up they found Rainbow Dash, poking her head out of the clouds, mimicking Pinkie Pie’s laughing fit.

“Well, excuuuuuse you Spike.” Soon enough the laughter simmered down and the normalcy returned. Pinkie Pie, still giggling, stood back upright while Rainbow Dash flew down to join the group.

“What’re you guys doing here? We were just heading to Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s.” Twilight inquired.

“Well, the me and the Pegasus’ managed to get the clouds out of the sky way early, and Pinkie Pie needed a break from party-planning. So we decided to get some pranks in before the celebration really ramped up.” Pinkie nodded sporadically.

“Looks like Spike saved you from being drenched by Dash’s storm cloud, Twilight.” Pinkie joked, pointing her hoof skyward. A second look at the cloud Rainbow had emerged from revealed it to be dark, purple, and filled to the brim with rain. Twilight’s rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Well since you two have time to try and drench every pony that’s out here, I guess that means you’ve got your duties under control?” The purple pony raised her eyebrow to both ponies, only to be met with a cocky smirk from Dash, and a giggly smile from Pinkie.

“Like I said, we got the clouds out wayyyyyy early. We’re just waiting for a stray storm cloud that’s supposed to be headed here in about two hours. We have scouts looking out for it all around Ponyville, so there’s no way we’ll miss it. As for Pinkie, well we all know her parties never disappoint.”

“Nooooooo they don’t! This one will be a party to remember!” The pink pony began to bounce around with uncontrollable giddiness, nearly ricocheting off the nearby tree into the sky. Spike leaned towards Twilight, whispering into her ear.

“Didn’t she say that about her last three parties?” The purple pony snickered under her breath so no pony would hear.

“Well it’s good to see things are going smoothly with you guys. All we have left to checkis Fluttershy’s music and Rarity’s décor and we’ll be all done. Then it’s party time.” Pinkie Pie squeaked with muffled excitement at the world “party”, bouncing up and down trying to keep from blowing up. At that moment, Twilight remembered the absence of Applejack’s brother at the orchard, and since she was already here, why not ask? “Hey, by any chance, would you guys know where Big Macintosh is? Applejack’s been looking for him and he’s been nowhere to be found.” Pinkie and Rainbow looked inquisitively upwards, scratching their heads in thought, before responding “No.” at the same time.

“I figured so. Alright, I’m off girls. See you at the party tonight!”

“Bye, Twilight!” Both ponies shouted before the tone hushed to soft whispers, no doubt being about what pranks to do next and who to prank. Twilight knew she and Spike were safe from any second attempts, now that Pinkie and Dash knew they were onto them. But even if they did try anything, Twilight had been itching to try out this new reversal spell she learned. Maybe give Rainbow Dash a little shock with her own thunder cloud.

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Twilight always loved the wooded areas around Ponyville, well except for the Everfree Forest of course. But the areas decorated in bright green with white and gray barked trees were always beautiful and grand, whether viewing in the gleaming sun or the luminous moonlight. All of Fluttershy’s friends knew that this was the most likely place to find her during times of preparation. It was her own little quiet spot, and everyone respected that.

As Twilight moved further down the beige path, the melodic sound of birds singing slowly began to fill her ears, accompanied by the soft leading voice that was Fluttershy. The pitch and intensity of the tune suggested that the singing creatures were nearing the end of their performance, but then again bird’s never had strong expression, at least in small numbers. One bird chirp was peaceful to listen to, but a flock of birds…majestic. Plus it was easier to tell what place in the song they had reached. Twilight and Spike slowly sneaked towards the avian chorus, trying to avoid a repeat of last year’s occurrence where the birds scattered in all directions at the pony’s sudden approach. From behind a small bush they gazed upon it.

Fluttershy hovered inmidair, leading the troupe with both hoof and voice, accompanied by a group of about twenty or so birds, all of different tones and voices. Blue jays sang low, black birds held high, and robins owned the tone in between. They watched for a few minutes as the performance slowly came to its end, with the birds moving to an extremely high note, and then a relaxing fade out of sound. Twilight felt that the ballad that blessed her ears was enough to check off music as thoroughly ready, but of course she couldn’t leave without saying hello. Silence was expected to take melody’s place, at which Twilight planned to come out and compliment her friend’s recital. But instead of quiet, came the sound of two lone hooves clapping together. A single applause played from the right of Fluttershy, at which she smiled humbly. Trees obscured Twilight’s view of the lone clapper, but through the small holes between the leaves she saw a red entity slowly make its way over to the cream colored Pegasus.

It was Big Macintosh. Apple Bloom had been right on the money.

Twilight wasn’t dumbfounded, but rather a bit perplexed. She had never seen Fluttershy and Macintosh have any sort of interaction before, not even a hello to each other while passing by. It was interesting to the purple unicorn, but astonishing to Spike, whose look of utter shock was a constant expression of his tendency to overreact. Macintosh had an impressed smile on his face, mixed with a little bit of soothing and a hint of wonder. Soon it opened up to allow the plentiful and much deserved praise to begin flowing.

“I must say Fluttershy…that was some mighty, mighty fine work. Ponyville will be dazzled.” The tall red colt extolled, causing the shy Pegasus to blush a warm pink. She turned to the ground with her expected humility.

“Heh, I guess it was okay. But, the tempo was off towards the bridge and some of the altos came in late at the end. It wasn’t my best.” Mac raised an eyebrow playfully.

“Fluttershy…it was great. No deep voices came late, no rhythm was off. It was amazing…heck, you should already know that about yourself, and everything that you do.” Fluttershy’s blush bloomed to a lighter red now, and she smiled at Big Mac.

“You, you really think so?” Fluttershy asked, flattered at the colt’s compliment. He nodded with pure sincerity, and smirked mildly.

“Eeyup.” Macintosh gingerly lowered his head to Fluttershy’s as she stepped closer to him, and they nuzzled tenderly, both in a sort of close-eyed daze of carefree, tranquil happiness. Twilight was touched by the sight, trying her hardest not to let out an adoring “Awwwwww”, while Spike was rolled his eyes, trying to seem unsurprised. In reality he was imagining that he and Rarity were in the place of the pony and the colt.But out of nowhere, the birds suddenly began to scatter away in a frenzy, fluttering further down the path in a hectic flock. Fluttershy cried out for them to stop, but with her voice being incredibly low, the airbornefowls ignored her. She sighed in disappointment.

“It’s gonna take forever to get them back.” She looked to the ground, disheartened, much to Big Mac’s disliking. He brought her chin up with his hoof.

“Don’t worry...I’ll get ‘em back. Your birds never go far from you anyway.” Fluttershy’s frown faded away. Her trust in Macintosh outweighed the fact that she had no idea how he handled animals, indicated by her nod for him to go. He then turned and trotted off in pursuit of Fluttershy’s musical companions. Once he was gone, another affectionate, dreamy sigh wisped through Fluttershy’s lips. Finally Twilight could come out of her hiding place, while Spike decided to stay behind the bush. She approached the Pegasus delicately, being sure to try and not startle her.

“Hey, Fluttershy?” The cream colored pony quickly turned to face her friend. She smiled, delighted to see a familiar face.

“Oh! Hi Twilight. I didn’t expect to see you around here.” Fluttershy floated closer to Twilight, landing right next to her.

“Yeah, Princess Celesta wanted me to make sure everything was ready for the celebration tonight: food, decorations, music etcetera. Just came to see how you were doing. From the music I heard on the way here, it seems to be going great.” A hint of red found its way into Fluttershy’s cheeks, not because of humility at Twilight’s compliment, but because of her uncertainty of whether or not Twilight had heard everything after the music.

“Well um, gee, thanks. It’s coming along nicely, a few kinks here and there.” Twilight raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Like the tempo being off towards the bridge, or some of the altos coming in late towards the end?” Fluttershy’s face had gone completely crimson at this comment. Twilight kept it at a joking tone, trying to keep it from seeming like mockery. She chuckled a little at Fluttershy’s embarrassment, before sitting next to her friend.

“You don’t need to feel ashamed. I just had no idea you and Big Macintosh were…together.” The light yellow pony kept silent, only kicking around some dirt under her hoof. Twilight knew she may have struck a bit of a nerve, so she tried to not pry, only choosing to ask one more question. If Fluttershy didn’t answer, she’d leave it at that, out of respect.

“Has it…been for a while now?” She asked. Silence remained bricked between them, until Fluttershy quietly gulped, and responded.

“N-No…it was…it started about two months ago, around that time the heavy downpour hit Ponyville?” Twilight nodded, she remembered that day, or few days rather. A stray cloud had emerged from the direction of the Everfree Forest, a massive, colossal storm brewing inside of it. It was large enough to cover all of Ponyville in its torrential rain and powerful winds. Trees were uprooted, houses were nearly torn from the very ground, and no smart pony would dare be outside in the gale. Twilight and Spike had locked themselves in the cellar of the library for the day and a half that the storm spent ravaging the community.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?” Twilight questioned, interested in how these two ponies who barely ever spoke a word to each other, ended up where they were now. Fluttershy sighed, readying herself for the long story she would have to tell.

“Okay, I was caught in the storm while looking for Angel in the fields, and I couldn’t make it back home in time. I managed to hide under a tree for a while till I noticed that I was close to the Sweet Apple Acres barn house. I saw that Big Mac hadn’t made it inside either and was taking shelter in the barn. When he poked his head out to shut the barn windows, I guess he saw me becausehe came right out and got me inside. He was really nice.” Twilight nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, Big Mac’s definitely a gentle giant.” Twilight gasped in fake surprised. “Speak of the devil?” Fluttershy jolted back to the path, and along came Macintosh, carrying three of the thirty or so birds that had flown away, one robin, one blue jay, and one black bird. These three were slightly bigger than the rest of the flock, with subtle differences from their common peers, such as: white on the edges of the blue jay’s feathers, yellow feathers on the robins, and the black bird had a small cluster of white spots on its tail. Before Fluttershy or Twilight could say anything, he spoke.

“Now, I know what you’re thinking. But y’all just wait a moment.” The two ponies did so, but nothing broke the silence, save for Big Mac’s voice after a few moments. “Wait for it…” Then, the sound of dozens of flustering wings filled the air, and soon enough, the whole bunch of avian creatures returned, taking their places back on the tree. It was like they never left, save for the three that remained perched on Big Mac. He had a bit of a smirk on his face. “I noticed that the other birds tended to follow these specific three, so I got ‘em first, knowing the rest would have to follow.” The three birds hopped off Mac, hovering back over to their place on the tree. Twilight was impressed.

“Seems like rounding up animals doesn’t just apply to cows and parasprites, huh Macintosh?” The colt nodded with a snicker.

“It would’ve been easier if I could sing. Birds follow music better than pack leaders.” Both ponies chuckled, but then Twilight’s memory then snapped back to her conversation with Applejack.

“Oh, Big Macintosh, Applejack is looking for you. She said that you still have your side of the orchard to buck?” Fluttershy turned to the mare in confusion. Mac’s smirk grew into a low chuckle as he shook his head.

“Oh, that sister of mine.” Mac sat down.“Twilight, I finished bucking my side of the orchard fifteen minutes after lunch….wanted to get it done early so I could help Fluttershy with her music.” Fluttershy looked away, blushing as Twilight thought back. Applejack was really busy when she came to the barn, and Big Mac was not one to lie.“I don’t think she would choose to take a peek at my pile of apples over getting right back to work on hers. Maybe she thought that because I finished up quick?” Twilight shook her head in consideration. Big Mac stood back up and stretched a bit. “Then again, if she askin’ about my whereabouts, I reckon it’ll be a matter of time before she starts worrying. I should be heading back.” He leaned in towards Fluttershy. “Your chorus is gonna be amazing.” He moved his gaze to catch both Twilight and Fluttershy in it. “I’ll see you both later tonight.” The tall red horse then trotted away, disappearing into the trees. Twilight turned to her still-blushing friend.

“I have to get going too. Rarity’s my last stop before the party.” A bird circled around Twilight before landing on Fluttershy. Then she continued. “Well, good luck with everything, I hope it goes well for you two.” Twilight turned, readying herself to leave, but Fluttershy’s hoof came down on her shoulder, halting her from doing so. Looking back, she gazed upon the eyes of a worried, fearful, and trusting Pegasus.

“Twilight...um, could you please just, not say anything?” Twilight’s raised an eyebrow in question. Fluttershy let her shoulder go and stroked her own. “It’s just that, Applejack doesn’t know and, Big Mac doesn’t want her to know…yet.” Twilight turned to face the confiding pony. “I don’t know what she’ll think.”

“Fluttershy, Applejack’s our friend. I don’t think she would see anything wrong with you two being together.”

“Just…please Twilight, don’t tell anyone, especially Applejack. I’m…not ready for her to know. Just…please…” Twilight saw the deep, sincere pleading in the cream-colored pony’s eyes. This was something that she wholeheartedly needed, prayed for from Twilight. There was no way Twilight could argue, not even question Fluttershy’s request. She placed her own hoof on her friend’s shoulder, smiling.

“Okay, Fluttershy. You have my word. I won’t say a thing, until you feel you’re ready.” Both ponies smiled back at one another, said their temporary goodbyes, and faced opposite directions to return to their own endeavors. As she passed the bush Spike was curled up behind, the reptile sprang out and began to follow her.

“So what happened, Twilight? I couldn’t hear or see from inside the bush to well.” Twilight tried to look as placid as possible, and fed Spike some generic story about Fluttershy having Big Mac there as a critique. The purple dragon bought into the story, sparing Twilight from being drowned under the wave of questions that she knew would’ve been asked, had she told him the truth.

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Ever since they had made for Rarity’s place, Spike had been fiddling around, making sure that everything a dragon could have in order was in order: smelling his breath, changing his walk to a more confident stroll, and letting a self-assured grin slither onto his face. Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at his antics.

“Spike, I don’t think Rarity’s gonna be focused on how suave the spines on your head are looking. Usually she’s got her hands full with the town’s décor. For this kind of occasion, every detail has to be perfect with her.” Spike rolled his eyes, practically deflecting Twilight’s conjectures. In his mind, while his friend’s assumptions were definitely accurate and truthful, they still were assumptions nonetheless. Nothing could keep Spike from at least trying to catch Rarity’s eye, but deriving Rarity’s attention away from the adornment and furnishings of anything significant was in itself, a rarity. Yet, against all odds, the dragon was determined.

The door to Rarity’s home soon crept close, and Spike moved to swing it open. But before his hand could even turn the knob one degree, grumbling sounds slithered from his stomach, to his chest, to his neck, and finally to his mouth, morphing from a gurgle into another powerful belch. He wrapped both hands over his mouth, hoping that his crush that lay inside did not hear the indigestion. No windows opened, no hmm’s or what the’s let out from within the house. Spike sighed in relief, but immediately 180’d from utter confidence to sheer nervousness. The tirade began.

“Why won’t this stupid thing go away? It’s been hours, why am I still-URRPPP!” Twilight began to laugh as Spike raged at his own stomach, the belches overpowering him numerous times while in mid-sentence. “Twilight it’s not fun-” Spike was cut off once again, but not by another belch. It was the sound of a knob turning slowly. He straightened himself up, clenching his mouth shut to keep not even a small bit of gas from escaping. The purple door slowly swerved open, pushed by magic rather than hands. Inside a plethora of tools and trinkets commonly used in the architecture of fashion were surrounded by white auras, maneuvered and handled by unseen hands. Scissors snipped fabric, needles sewed stitches, tapes measured, and all while the orchestrator of this invisible clothing line sat in the far side of the room, working on her own little project.

“Uh…Rarity?” Twilight called out, tilting her head in concern.

“Oh, Twilight, Spike! Please do come in, I’m just getting some last minute things done.” Spike and Twilight looked at each other in confusion.

“Last minute things? Looks like you have a lot of your plate for last minute.” Spike only nodded, keeping himself as quiet as can be. Rarity turned, looking tired and in need of a good nap. She bustled around the area at different stations as she spoke.

“I know, those three fillies and Pinkie Pie are getting so much of the decorating done in such short time, they’re asking for more and more.” Rarity began to ramp up the speed of her rant. “I originally made the amount I usually make for the celebration but then Sweetie Belle comes in telling me that Pinkie Pie told her to tell me to make more decorations for the rest of the town. But I made enough to decorate the whole town so I ask why does she need more and she says-”

“Rarity?!” Twilight shouted, trying to get friend to cease with the rushing. It worked, as the pearl white unicorn froze in her place, as did the many utensils she was controlling. Twilight stepped up to her, moving a stray curl from her mane out of her eyes. “Rarity I don’t think you need to make a whole other layer of decorations for the town. I’m sure just a few extras are fine.” The white pony took a deep breath and nodded, knowing Twilight was right. She had been treating the ornaments like a fashion project, rushing to make sure that every detail was perfect, and that there was enough to meet the demand of her peers. Thing was, the demand was nonexistent, and the decorations were simple enough that no extra attention needed to be paid.

“I’m sorry dear, you’re right.” Rarity admitted as she returned all the airborne tools back to their holdings and places in her workshop. The last thing held by her magical grasp was a ribbon, which tied itself to the edge of a long streamer, before the whole ornament was tucked away in a drawer. The blue-eyed pony then wiped a hoof over her moist sweaty forehead, making an “ick” sound at the sight of her wet hoof. “I need a shower, and a nap.” Twilight smirked at the comment.

“Well, I don’t think I need to inquire about the décor, especially with the fact that you were working on a second set. We’ll get out of your hair so you can get some sleep before the party.” Rarity smiled in thanks, before noticing that Spike had been quiet the whole time. Normally he was the one that always tried to get a word in, but here his jaw seemed clamped shut. Obviously the pony’s gracious etiquette wouldn’t allow her to blatantly point out the change in the dragon’s attitude, so she decided on a different acknowledgement.

“It’s alright, it’s natural for you to make sure the celebration is the best it can be. But I do need a rest. Spike, would you be a doll and fetch me the Deep Basket? It’s in the closet in the far room to your left, the large white one?” Spike nodded, nearly saluting Rarity, before speeding off towards the direction she specified. Once he left, Rarity began turning off the many work lights around the room, all of which lit the up the craft areas that lay around corners. As she dimmed each one, she conversed with Twilight. “So, why does Spike look like he’s clamping his jaw?” Twilight chuckled at the question.

“Um, well a new spell I taught him has been causing him to have some indigestion problems. He hoped it would go away by the time we came here but…” She winced. “…it didn’t. Now he’s afraid if he opens his mouth he’ll be grossing you out.” Rarity’s “ick” face returned as the thought of belches slithered into her mind.

“Well at least he’s being gentlemanly about it.” Two more bulbs flashed off. “There’s nothing worse than passing gas in the presence of a lady.” The jewel-marked pony shuddered at the word ‘gas’, trotting across the room to shut off the last two work lights.Suddenly, an unexpected sigh was heard from the fashionista pony, which caught Twilight’s attention. Rarity turned back to her with uncertain eyes, before speaking. “You know, I always thought those creatures were angry, fire breathing monsters that scoured Equestria, but Spike’s shattered that assumption. Sometimes, I honestly wish that Spike…wasn’t a dragon.” Twilight’s facial expression had contorted into one of interest and surprise. Admittedly she did always wondered about Rarity’s feelings toward Spike, as his has always been obvious to everybody who knew anything about him. It seems a lot of surprises were making themselves known today. Rarity caught sight of Twilight’s shocked face, and immediately rebutted what she knew the purple pony had thought she meant. “O-only to see what it would be like!?” She nearly stumbled on her words, trying to revoke the idea of returned feelings that she had accidentally let on.

“Well what about that Prince Blueblood you always used to talk about?” The utmost look of disgust slithered onto Rarity’s face as the name of her former crush spewed into the conversation. Twilight was met with a blue-eyed gaze of disbelief.

“Twilight…we’re you not there at the Gala when that atrociously selfish mare tossed me in front of the catapulted feast? His name doesn’t deserve to ever cross my lips again.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at Rarity’s comment, accompanied by a smirk. Rarity turned back to the desk and began to put the last remaining tools in their places, resuming her confiding in Twilight. “But in all seriousness, I do sometimes wonder how it would be between us if we were the same…I don’t know, maybe it’s just one of the ‘what if’ scenarios whose contemplation pops into the mind without warning.” Twilight juggled both possibilities: that either this was just Rarity’s exhaustion pulling the strings of her inner expression, or this was how she really felt about her dragon admirer. But before the purple unicorn could offer her thoughts to her friend, Spike strolled in with the Deep Basket wrapped under his arm, his jaw still airtight. He wisped by Twilight and handed the container to Rarity.

“Thank you, Spike. Much appreciated.” As Rarity closed her eyes, her horn began to illuminate, and all of the decorations, ornaments and bits of beautification flew into the basket. Obviously the container was enchanted, as enough decorations to fill a sixteen-wheeled truck were packed into it. Once the basket was full, Rarity then concentrated her magic, straining a little bit, before the basket vanished into thin air. She sighed with relief. “All finished. Pinkie Pie and the rest should be receiving that basket any minute now.” Rarity stood up as she yawned, stretching her front hooves.

“Alright, we’ll get out of your hair so you can get some sleep, wouldn’t want you to snooze right in the middle of the festival. C’mon Spike.”

“Goodbye, Twilight. Goodbye, Spike.” Rarity waved them goodbye as they left her home, with Spike, never refusing to try and be the considerate dragon, making sure to close the door behind them. He then leaned against the door and sighed affectionately, with hearts practically floating up and away from his head. Twilight shook her head at Spike’s antics.

“Oh c’mon lover boy, we’ve got to head home, there’s still some things I have to take care of before we head off to the party. Don’t think I forgot about that mess of books you stuffed under the table.” Spike groaned as he lazily trailed after Twilight.

“It was only like eight books, and I put them there because there was no more room on any of the shelves, in any of the closets or any of the drawers.” Twilight then shrugged.

“I guess that means we’ll have to buy another shelf on the way home.” Spike’s moan grew louder, knowing he had just set and sprung his own trap. Twilight also took notice, and began to chortle in the irony.

Still, she was serious about getting those shelves…

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[Frost]

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