The Starlight Broadcast

by ponyfhtagn

Pt.1 - Chapter 26

Morning was here, whether it was welcome or not.

“Ooo, I’m so nervous,” Rarity said, packing her saddlebags for the day. “What kind of exam is this going to be? I feel like I should have studied. I never study,” Rarity whined. “Unless it’s something to do with making dresses. Oh dear. This is certainly a lot more important than a school play. I’ve never been so stressed!”

“Rarity,” Spike said firmly.

She stopped and took a few deep breaths.

“You’ll do fine,” Spike assured her. “It’s alright. They just want to see what kind of natural magical gifts you have. You’ve already proven that you can cast spells under pressure. You’ve proven you can look at a spell for the first time and workout how to use it. You’re organised and creative and you’re a problem solver. That’s all they want to know.”

“Really?” Rarity said, unsure. “Don’t I need to know all that magical history about famous unicorn wizards or something?”

“That’s what the school is there to teach you about,” Spike said. “It’s for gifted unicorns. You’re gifted. You’ll do great.” He put a claw on her shoulder in a gesture of reassurance. “Think of it as making a costume for school, and the test parameters are like the guidelines for what costume you have to design. There are going to be some right answers, yes, but the rest is up to your own talent. Just show them that you’re confident and that you always try your best. You’re going to be amazing.”

Rarity drew one final deep breath and exhaled. “I’m going to be amazing.”

“That’s it.”

She pulled Spike in for a quick hug. “Okay. I’ll see you when we meet back here.”

“And you can tell me all about it,” he said.

Rarity let him go and smiled. “Yes, and do tell me how it goes with Rainbow Dash. It’s a shame I won’t get to meet her today. But if I move to Canterlot I’ll make sure to visit her as often as I can.”

“Right,” Spike nodded.

They parted ways for the day.

Rarity went off to the School for Gifted Unicorns. Spike put on his green and purple disguise—and his new backpack that Rarity had made for him with her newly learned mending spell—and went in the other direction towards Canterlot Royal Hospital where the pegasi with Starburst Sickness were being kept. It was well within visiting hours so Spike was confident of being allowed in to see Rainbow Dash. Unless it was a restricted area or something.

“Sorry,” the guard outside the Starburst Sickness ward said. “Restricted area.”

“Oh come on,” Spike said.

“Family only,” the guard added.

“I could be family,” Spike said. “You don’t know.”

“We’ve got a list of family and most of them are pegasi. There are a few earth ponies but none of them are your age. I could go check your name against the list, if you like, but I’m pretty confident of what I’m going to find.”

“What about friends?”

“We’ve got paperwork for that,” the guard said. “But I hope you’re not in a hurry.”

Spike grumbled as he walked away. “Nevermind.”

Spike sat down in a waiting chair around the corner and planned various strategies for sneaking into the Starburst Sickness area. Then he remembered to factor out Rarity’s involvement and had to start over. He was considering faking Celestia’s signature again when he heard the doors open around the corner and a recently familiar voice.

“Thankyou for holding the door,” said Mrs. Shy.

“Not a problem, ma’am,” the guard was saying. “You and the little one take care, now.”

“Oh we certainly will. Let me just have her say goodbye,” Mrs. Shy said.

Spike heard the rustle of pegasus feathers and knew this would be his only chance. He dived under the seats, hoped that nopony was looking, and changed his disguise to the Scootaloo one he had used when visiting Cloudsdale. He crawled out again just as Mrs. Shy and Fluttershy were coming around the corner.

“Oh,” said Mrs. Shy upon seeing him. “Hello, Spike, dear. Fancy seeing you again.”

Fluttershy waved hello and made a redundant gesture with one wing.

Spike smiled at her and managed to twitch his own wing in reply.

“Are you here to visit Rainbow Dash?” Mrs. Shy asked.

“Yeah. I was hoping to,” Spike said. “But I’m not on the list.”

“Oh, well that’s a shame,” Mrs. Shy said. “And their paperwork is so tedious.”

“Yeahhh,” Spike hinted again. “And I’m only in Canterlot for today.”

“Oh my,” Mrs. Shy said. “I’m afraid it’ll never get done in time. Oh, how sad. You’ll have to come back another day.”

Spike’s ears flopped. He’d forgotten who he was dealing with.

Fluttershy’s wings suddenly rustled.

“What’s that, dear?” Mrs. Shy said, and twitched a quick reply of her own.

Fluttershy’s wings moved again.

“Oh. Well I don’t know,” Mrs. Shy said.

Fluttershy gave her mother a resigned look. Then she nodded to Spike and gestured for him to follow.

“Oh. Okay,” Mrs. Shy said. “I’ll just wait here.” Though Fluttershy could not have heard her.

Spike and Fluttershy walked up to the guard and Fluttershy got his attention with an adorable little smile-and-wave combo.

“Well hello again,” the guard said, all cheer and compliments now. “Er… Can you read lips?”

Fluttershy made a so-so gesture with her hoof that required no translation.

“Does. It. Help. If. I. Speak. Slowly?” The guard said.

Fluttershy frowned and shook her head.

“Oh, sorry,” he winced. Then he noticed Spike. “Hello there. Who are you?”

Spike was about to answer when Fluttershy put up a wing to stop him. From behind her long pink mane she gave him a subtle wink. Then she turned back to the guard and made a few wing-signs. Spike caught on and did the same, except he was entirely making stuff up.

“Oh, you’re both deaf,” the guard said, and his ears drooped a little.

Fluttershy pointed at Spike and then pointed at the Starburst Sickness area.

Spike nodded and twitched his wings.

“Ummm,” the guard said. “Is she family?”

Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. She pointed at Spike and pointed at the door.

“I just need a name,” the guard said.

Fluttershy waited. She looked at Spike and then back at the guard.

“Look, I’m sorry,” he said. He craned his neck. “Is your mother around maybe? Could she translate for you?” He looked back down at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy pointed at Spike, then the door, then twitched her wings and drooped her ears. A slow sad expression began to spread over her face.

“Aw no, don’t do that,” the guard said. “Do you want a lollipop? I think they have them around here somewhere.”

Spike also drooped his ears and tried to look sad.

Fluttershy pointed again at the door with a quivering hoof.

“Aw, come on, not the puppy dog eyes,” the guard was saying. “Please, you’re killing me. Ah. Geez. Okay.” He sighed. “Look, I can see she’s clearly with you. Just… Ugh. Just go. Come on.” And at last he opened the door.

Spike gave Fluttershy a big, big hug and singed the ‘thankyou’ motion with his wings a fair few times. She giggled and smiled, patting him on the back.

“Gosh, that’s adorable,” the guard said, wiping a tear away. “Go on. Before I get in trouble.”

Spike and Fluttershy separated. She singed ‘goodbye’ and waited for him to leave. Spike strode confidently through the open doors and down the hallway of the Starburst ward. He would have to remember to send Fluttershy a big basket of cookies or something. He could see her new cutiemark shining through at its full potential now, while still clearly retaining much of the Fluttershy he knew. He smiled. Maybe the world would be alright in this new shape.

It took Spike a few trips up and down the hallway, peeking into rooms and trying to avoid drawing attention from the occasional hospital staff member, or—curiously enough—at least two extravagant-looking unicorns. Healers, Spike reasoned. Though they looked more like wizards, he thought.

Eventually Spike spied Rainbow Dash in a room down the end of the hall. She was easily recognisable by her rainbow mane and the fact that she was sat up in bed bouncing a little ball against the wall and waiting for it to ricochet back to her.

Yikes. Rainbow Dash never did do well in hospitals.

Once Spike had discerned that there were no nurses or doctors or random unicorns in the room he pushed the door open further and trotted inside.

The ball bounced back from the wall and Rainbow caught it with her hoof. She stopped playing and looked over at Spike.

“Who the hay are you?” she said.

Spike tensed. This was going to be like Applejack all over again if he didn’t think of something to get her onside. Then it occurred to him that he didn’t actually have a fate-of-Equestria reason for visiting anymore. No Elements of Harmony plan. No Rarity for him to introduce. This time, it seemed, he really was just visiting a friend.

“M-my name’s Spike,” he began, climbing up on a chair by the bed.

“Hiya, Spike,” Rainbow said, and returned to bouncing the ball.

There was one other bed in the room and the colt there was sound asleep.

“You seem bored,” Spike said.

“Wow. What a genius,” Rainbow replied.

The ball bounced again. K-thunk.

“I’m a friend of Fluttershy’s,” Spike said.

“That’s weird,” Rainbow said. “I don’t remember Fluttershy having any friends. Besides me.” K-thunk. “Of course you’re probably one of her new friends.” K-thunk.

Spike took off his backpack and reached inside. “I brought you something.”

“Is it a new set of wings?” Rainbow asked. K-thunk.

Spike paused, hoof still inside the bag. “No.”

“Pass,” she said. K-thunk.

“You might like it.”

“Nope.”

“How do you know?”

K-thunk. “Because,” she said. “The only thing I want right now is to get back to normal,” K-thunk, “so I can go back to Cloudsdale so I can see my family,” K-thunk. “And my friends,” K-thunk. “And go back to flying,” K-thunk. “And racing,” K-thunk. “Because that’s the only thing I’ve wanted to do my whole life.”

The ball hit the wall at a bad angle and skidded off into a corner of the room.

Rainbow groaned and slumped back against her pillow.

She didn’t have any bandages, Spike noticed. Or casts or cuts or notched ears or missing feathers or anything.

“You look like you’re healing pretty good,” Spike said.

“Yeah,” Rainbow groaned. “They’ve got every doctor, healer and crackpot wizard in Equestria trying things out on us here. I’ve gotta be the healthiest pony in the world. I’m probably immortal by now. I’ll bet lasers just bounce right off me and I can eat lava for breakfast.”

Spike chuckled. “Wow. Sounds awesome.”

“Hmph,” Rainbow said. “Well I would trade all of it just to have what you have.”

Spike blinked. “What I have?” he said.

Rainbow shrugged. “You know… Flying. You’re not from the hospital so I know you don’t have the sickness. Lucky filly.”

Spike looked down at himself and remembered his was still in his Scootaloo guise.

“You don’t know what you’ve got,” Rainbow grumbled.

Spike frowned at her. “No. You don’t know what I’ve got. You think I can fly? I can’t fly,” he said. “I’ve never been able to fly.”

Rainbow sat up. “What? But… you’re old enough. I mean—”

“Exactly,” Spike said. “I should be able to, but I can’t.”

He wasn’t entirely sure who he was channelling here—Scootaloo or himself—but suddenly the words just came pouring out of him.

“It didn’t bother me when I was younger. I just assumed that that’s how I was. But then all these other—uh—pegasi. They could fly. And I thought maybe I would get that when I got older. Maybe my wings would just happen. Just work. But it’s never happened. And I don’t think it’s ever going to.”

Spike scrunched his face and glared at the ground.

“You’re jealous of me?” he went on. “You’ve had more opportunity that I ever had! You had years of flying—racing—living like a normal… a normal pegasus. Things that I never had! And now you’re going to sit here and bounce a ball all day and just whinge about it?”

“Well yeah,” Rainbow snapped. “Because it totally sucks!”

“I know!” Spike said. “But who you are is not the same as what you can do.” He huffed a breath. “A very amazing pegasus once told—Well, told me. That it just doesn’t matter if you can fly or not. Because I’m me and you’re you and we’re all different. Maybe you think flying is what pegasi are supposed to do. But you’re more than just a pegasus.”

Rainbow folded her forelegs and looked away. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes,” Spike said firmly. “I know I’m more than just what I’m ‘supposed’ to be. And maybe we’ll fly some day, or maybe we won’t. But that doesn’t matter to me anymore because somepony helped me realise that I’m all kinds of awesome anyway. And so are you. And so is everypony, as long as you have the guts to keep on being awesome. Okay?”

Rainbow didn’t respond.

“Oh wow,” jeered the colt from the next bed over, waking up. “That’s so inspirational. It doesn’t matter if our lives are ruined as long as we just keep being awesome.”

“Hey, shut up Billy!” Rainbow grabbed the tissue box from her nightstand and flung it at him.

“Ow!” Billy yelled. “Lay off, Rainbow Crash. I’m a cripple now.”

“The only cripple you’ve got going is your cripplingly bad smell,” Rainbow shot back. “Take a shower for once!”

“It’s your idea of peace and quiet that stinks,” he said, getting out of bed. “You know what? I’m going to take that shower, but not because you told me to. It’s just so I can get away from your stupid bouncing ball and your crazy friend who thinks she knows more about our situation than we do just because she’s a regular cripple.”

“Fine!” Rainbow yelled, grabbing her pillow. “I hope the hot water shrivels your brain like a raisin!” She threw the pillow at the closing door. “Nnhhh! I hate that guy!”

“Is that the bully from flight camp?” Spike asked.

“Fluttershy told you about that, huh? I’m glad his life is as screwed up as mine!”

“Well,” Spike said, reaching into his backpack again. “I know one thing you’ve got that he doesn’t have.”

“What’s that?” Rainbow said.

Spike lifted the book from his backpack. “A copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone.” He smiled.

Rainbow’s ears flattened. “Are you serious right now? A dumb book?”

“You’ll really like it,” Spike said, putting it on her bed.

“Why do you keep saying stuff like that?” Rainbow said. “Why are you here talking to me like you know me? ‘Cause if you really knew me you’d know that books are for eggheads and I’m no egghead.”

“Do I look like an egghead to you?” Spike said.

Rainbow looked him up and down in his Scootaloo guise. “I guess not.”

“Well I’m telling you that this is the book for you,” Spike said. “Just give it a read next time you’re bored. Instead of bouncing that ball.” He tilted his head towards the door. “Besides, between you and me, I’m pretty sure the reason Billy’s so cranky is he doesn’t get enough sleep.”

Rainbow snorted. “Ha! He’s such a baby if he doesn’t get his nap.” Rainbow’s laughs died down to a sigh. “Thanks, but I still don’t do books.”

“Just keep it,” Spike said.

“Whatever,” Rainbow huffed. “Now can you get my pillow back? And fetch my ball. If I’m going to be stuck in this dumb hospital forever then I’m gonna need those things.”

“It’s not forever, is it?” Spike asked, going to collect the pillow.

“I’unno.” Rainbow shrugged. “I guess until they either find a cure or they give up. Whichever comes first. Some of the other patients have started taking bets and it is not looking positive-attitude if you ask them.”

Spike put the pillow back on the bed and went to get the ball.

“Thanks,” Rainbow said, getting comfy and leaning back again. “I guess I’d better get used to this place. Eventually Fluttershy will stop visiting. Everyone will forget about me and Billy will die from lack of showers; if I don’t beat him into a coma with a pillow first.”

“Aw, come on,” Spike said, tucking the bouncy ball under his wing. “Fluttershy will still visit you.”

“Nah,” Rainbow said. “We’ve got nothing in common. We just had Billy. Billy was mean to Fluttershy and I’d put him in his place. That was our routine. Now? No Fluttershy. And she certainly doesn’t like visiting me since I’ve got Billy here as a sideshow attraction. I’d ask them to give me a different roommate but then I’d feel bad for inflicting Billy on some other pony.”

“You do the world a great service,” Spike said.

“It’s my burden,” Rainbow said. “Ball?”

Spike passed it back to her.

K-thunk. It started straight away.

Spike looked at the other nightstand and saw a notebook and a pen.

“Hey, do you mind?” Spike asked, point at it.

Rainbow shrugged. “Help yourself. Fluttershy’s mum left it for us.” K-thunk. “But as you can see we don’t have much to talk about.”

Spike looked at the top sheet. It was just Hello. A redundant thing to write since the point could be made with a simple wave. They hadn’t even bothered to write Goodbye. Spike flipped the sad page over for a blank one.

Spike picked up the pen with his mouth and scribbled down an address. Mouth-writing was slow and tedious and he wondered how ponies managed to do it all the time. But when he was satisfied that it was legible he spat the pen and lifted the notepad for her to read.

“What’s that?” Rainbow asked. “Another hospital? Great idea.”

“No,” Spike said. “It’s the hospital where a friend is staying.”

“Another friend in hospital? Gee, you’ve got bad luck.”

“Well she’s not actually happy with me right now,” Spike said. “But I think the two of you would get along really well.”

K-thunk. “There you go again, pretending you know who I am.” K-thunk. “Does this pony like racing or the Wonderbolts? Because that’s what I’m all about right now. Or I was.” K-thunk.

“She likes races,” Spike said. “Running races, though. And she likes competitions.”

K-thunk.

“She may not compete it flying contests,” Spike went on. “But she likes rodeos. Also the kind of dumb contests you get into with your friends. Like, who can stand being covered in bees the longest. Or who’s the best at hoofwrestling.”

K-thunk. Rainbow caught the ball and held it. “What’s her name?”

“Applejack,” Spike said. “But you can call her AJ. She’s in Manehatten hospital right now but her home is Ponyville and she misses it a lot.”

Rainbow started squishing the ball between her hooves. “Yeah, I know how that feels.”

“And she grew up a farm pony,” Spike said. “So she’s always thought she had this life planned for her. But now she can’t do that anymore. So… she doesn’t really know what to do or who to be.”

Rainbow squished the ball a few more times. “Right…”

Spike put the notepad and pen on the bed. Then he went to collect his backpack.

“That's it? So where are you off to now?” Rainbow asked.

“Trying to find another friend,” Spike said. “She’s disappeared and I need to help her.”

“You have weird friends,” Rainbow said. K-thunk. The bouncing started again.

“Yeah,” Spike said. “…I hope it works out for you, Rainbow.”

“Mm-hmm,” she said. K-thunk.

Spike opened the door and was about to leave.

“Hey, um…” Rainbow said, catching the ball. “Thanks. I guess. For the book and the, um, penpal. Or something.”

Spike nodded. “No problem. Just trying to help.”

“And, um…” Rainbow went on. “What you said before? About not worrying about being a pegasus and just being… y’know… awesome?”

“Yeah?”

Rainbow looked up and gave him a wary smile. “You’re pretty awesome.”

Spike blushed. “Thanks, Rainbow.” He flapped his little wings. “You know, ponies look up to you. You’ve got what it takes to be a good leader. Some day maybe a little pony like me will need help and I know you’ll be there for her. And whether you realise it or not I think Fluttershy looks up to you, too. Today she helped me deal with, I guess, a different kind of bully. And I know she didn’t get that from her parents.” Spike smiled. “She got it from you.”

Rainbow blinked and laughed awkwardly. “Yeah. Well. I’m pretty great.” She shooed him with her hooves. “Now get out of here. I’ve gotta throw Billy’s mattress out the window before he comes back.”

Spike laughed. “Always a prankster, Rainbow Dash.”

“Again? How would you know? Get out of here,” she laughed. “Go on.”

“Alright, bye!” Spike laughed, and threw in the matching wing-sign just because.

He closed the door and headed back to the exit, feeling pretty positive for a change. As he was walking he noticed the two unicorns in the ward had found each other and struck up a conversation. Probably comparing the size of their libraries or something. Spike rolled his eyes and strode on past.

“…heard that they’re confiscating public copies of Warhock’s The Living Spell,” one wizard was saying.

Spike froze. Then he darted behind a potted plant to listen.

They hadn’t even noticed him, of course.

“I’m glad I have my own copy,” the other wizard was saying. He was tall and blue-ish. “In my extensive private collection in my very large library.”

Spike deadpanned. Typical.

“Well of course we all have our own copies,” the first wizard was saying. She was also tall, but of a green-ish colour. “But when they start confiscating books it does rouse my concerns.”

“Oh please. It’s not a concern,” the blue wizard said. “Celestia just doesn’t want foals getting their hooves on it anymore. I heard there was an accident with one of the students from her school.”

“Oh, that school,” the green wizard said. She tsk’d. “Unicorns today. Do you think I became a wizard by attending a class?”

“I know. They’re so coddled,” the blue wizard agreed. “They can’t even handle a simple book like The Living Spell.”

“What kind of accident can one have with a book like that? If this student could even use the spell in the first place.”

“I was thinking the same thing. At the most she’d witness a few scary flashes of magic and then give up. We’ve all tried Warhock’s spell. It quickly has it’s limitations.”

“Yes. Well. It’s probably just an excuse to restrict access to forbidden arcana. You know it borders on spell hacking.”

“Yes. Quite,” the blue wizard said. “Still, it makes for a good story, don’t you think? A cautionary tale, perhaps, for other overeager unicorn brats.”

The green wizard gave a wise chuckle. “Yes. But tell me, how does the story end?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear?” the blue wizard said. “Well I heard, because I was recently invited to Celestia’s palace to consult on my knowledge of healing magic.”

“I was also,” the green wizard assured him. “But go on. What did you hear whilst you were snooping around?”

“I never!” the blue unicorn said. “But if you insist. I may have overheard that the student in question was being kept in the palace chambers because…” and he gave an inappropriate snicker, “…whatever she did with that spell, it drove her quite mad.”

Comments

[HB_DS2013]

It's like they're compensating their brains for something else. Also, hope that Spike sees Twilight soon.