Friday Afternoon
Twilight reclined at her desk, thoughtfully tickling her chin with her quill pen. She had a nagging thought nibbling away at the back of her mind, like the catchy radio jingle once heard and never fully removed. Why wasn’t Spike growing? It was a matter of self-esteem, and he certainly wasn’t lacking there— not, at least, so far as Twilight could see. There, she thought, was the problem. She couldn’t see Spike, not properly. She’d raised him from an egg, known him for all eighteen— nearly nineteen— years of his life. She couldn’t see what was wrong if it was something that had always been there.
Obviously, there was only one logical solution. Twilight rose from her desk and exited the room, trotting for the library.
***
Starlight sat hunched over a desk, nibbling at the end of a quill as she pored over the scroll before her, sent all the way from the Crystal Empire. Sunburst had created a new list of spells for her to try out, and while some— okay, most— seemed pretty useless, they all looked pretty interesting. The only question was which to try out first. “Transmute wood into cheese… increase mass without increasing weight… artifice bubbles… disguise horn aura, interesting…”
“Starlight?”
“AHH!” the pink mare wheeled around, tottering dangerously on her chair. “Twilight! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
“Oh. Sorry. Um, are you busy?”
Starlight sighed, gazing longingly at the list in front of her. “...No,” she said, pushing away from the desk. “Not really. What do you want?”
“Could you take Spike into town for a few errands? I’ve written out a list.” Twilight levitated out a checklist which was (at least by her standards) surprisingly short. Starlight read it over quickly. Flower shop, Quills and Sofas, Sugarcube Corner, Sweet Apple Acres…
“Sure thing, Twilight,” Starlight said, summoning her saddlebags. “Shouldn’t take more than two hours.”
Twilight suddenly distinctly uncomfortable, gnawing at her lower lip. “Starlight,” she said slowly. “There’s one other thing.”
“...Yes?”
“I need you to inflate Spike’s ego.”
Whatever the pink unicorn had been expecting, it wasn’t that. “Sorry, what?”
Twilight winced. “It’s kind of a long story, but I’m really getting worried about him. I feel that I’ve been treating him like a baby for too long, and that needs to change. If you could help…”
Starlight grinned. “I’m on it. One self-confident dragon, coming right up.”
“Thanks,” Twilight said, smiling in relief. “You’re doing both of us a huge favor.”
As Starlight trotted off to find Spike, her mind positively hummed with ideas. Ways to make a dragon feel more confident… general proficiency in burning things, being strong, kidnapping damsels. Well, perhaps not that last one. Then again...
***
Spike walked beside Starlight, occasionally glancing with a frown at the mare’s back. Usually, he would ride her (or Twilight) into town when they were going on errands, but today Starlight simply hadn’t picked him up. It didn’t much matter to Spike, of course. He could keep up on foot. Still, it was kind of strange. Maybe she was just thinking about something else, like one of Sunburst’s spells. “So,” he said, “uh, where to first?”
“The flower shop,” Starlight said, levitating over Twilight’s list. “What do we need to pick up?”
Spike fumbled with the paper for a moment, once more surprised by Starlight’s brusque and unusual actions. “Uh, we need a dozen daisies, ten violets, and fifteen dahlias.” He squinted at the paper. “For a new salad, apparently.”
“Great. You want to keep ahold of that for awhile?” Starlight nodded at the list.
“Uh… okay, I guess.” Spike scratched awkwardly at the base of his neck. What was up with Starlight today?
The bell above the shop door chimed merrily as the duo walked in. The mare behind the counter jumped, nearly dropping her flower pot. “O-oh. Hello, Starlight, Spike.” She paused and continued, “You scared me.”
Starlight’s smile was a little bit tighter than she would have liked to think. “Lily.” Of thee Bouquet sisters, Lily was easily the most delicate. Rose was more than a bit of a flirt, but reasonably hardy, flourishing even under adversity. At least, so long as that adversity didn’t affect her flowers. Daisy was rather more sensitive, and tended to be something of a shrinking violet. Her wife, Carrot Top, however, was excellent at acclimatizing her to new situations. But then there was Lily. Oh, Lily. Delicate, ‘excitable’ Lily. She jumped at any noise. She was frightened of her own shadow. It had taken her five years to get used to the idea of sharing a town with a dragon, even a baby dragon. On top of that, she was a dreadful gossipmonger. She set Starlight’s teeth on edge. Well, none of that was going to stop her from putting her plan into action.
“Spike, would you read off the flowers again?”
“Okay. Ahem. One dozen daisies.”
“One dozen daisies,” Starlight repeated, levitating twelve white flowers off of a shelf.
“Oh!” Lily gasped. “Be careful, Starlight.”
The pink unicorn smiled at the other mare. “I’m always careful,” she assured her. She turned away once more and her smile grew larger. “Next, Spike?”
“Ten violets.”
A few pots of purple flowers soared through the air to land sharply on the counter. Lily flinched. “And to finish off?”
“Fifteen dahlias!”
“Fifteen dahlias!” Starlight repeated as she lifted off another set of pots. This time, however, she made sure to be a little bit less careful. One of the floating pots jostled sharply against the shelf, making it sway dangerously, falling forwards. “Whoa!” she gasped, frantically attempting to juggle both plants and shelf.
“I got it!” Spike shouted, leaping forward to steady the shelf, narrowly dodging a falling bouquet of day lilies. He grabbed a support and gently pushed the falling unit back into place as Starlight set the potted plants on the counter.
Spike leaned back and wiped his brow. “Sheesh, that was a close one.” So focused was he on the shelf that he didn’t even notice Starlight trotting up behind him.
“My hero,” she whispered, and gently kissed him on the cheek. Then she turned to Lily. whose ears twitched in shock as she nervously cantered back. “So, um, what do we owe you?”
The mare’s face was a picture. Her very emotions were at war with one another. At length, none of them won. “Twelve bits,” she said shortly, smacking the cash register sharply.
With a slightly (but only slightly, Starlight assured herself) malevolent grin, the unicorn hoofed over the cash and started to levitate the potted plants away.
Lily watched the two leave, her face impassive. “He saved her… and she, she kissed him, and he blushed…” She gasped. “Oh, I’ve got to tell Rose and Daisy!”
The mare galloped out from behind the counter, racing out the door. “Cover for me!” she shouted at a perplexed passerby as she ran back toward her home.
Thunderlane looked at Rumble. Rumble looked at Thunderlane. “I’ve already got a thing with the Crusaders,” the younger pegasus said, shaking his head.
“I’ve got a date with Flitter,” Thunderlane countered.
“Yeah, in five hours. Anyway, you were planning on getting her flowers anyway, weren’t you?”
The charcoal stallion opened his mouth, but then deflated. “True,” he admitted. “Alright, bro. You go on to Sweet Apple Acres, while I learn to run a flower shop. Just try to stay out of trouble.”
“I repeat. I’ve got a thing with the Crusaders,” Rumble replied flatly.
Thunderlane snorted. “Okay, try not to burn down any buildings, then.”
“No promises…” Rumble galloped off. His elder brother chuckled good-naturedly. Property damage to Ponyville’s infrastructure? Pretty bucking expensive. Seeing his little brother smile and hang out with friends? Priceless.
The pegasus trotted into the flower shop, settling himself behind the counter. With luck, One of the sisters would be back before another customer came— ding-a-ling!
Horseapples.
“Hello, Miz—” Aloe caught herself, registering who was actually at the register. “—ter Thunderlane. Ah, what are you doing here?”
The dark horse shrugged. “Dunno. Lily ran off somewhere and left me in charge. I can probably run the register until she gets back, though, so what do you need?”
The pink mare grinned. “One dozen violets. Ze symbol of, ah, Sapphic love…”
Thunderlane reached for the flowerpots, then paused. “Symbol of what?”
“Sapphic love. You know, ah, what is ze word...” she waved a hoof vaguely. “Lesbian.”
“Oh, right,” Thunderlane nodded, grabbing the flowers. “Didn’t know you swung that way. Who’s the lucky mare?”
Aloe giggled. “Oh, zey are not for my affairs. Lotus and I are just haffing a bit of practice… shipping.”
Thunderlane paused. “Um. You sure that’s a good idea? Remember that love poison incident…”
“Nonsense. We will not be usink magic. Anyvay, if we don’t do somethink, they will neither of them be able to make ze first move.”
Thunderlane still looked dubious, but he just shrugged and pushed the violets across the counter. “Well, you’re a grown mare. You can make your own choices.”
Aloe grinned. “Glad you agree. How much for ze flowers?”
“Uh,” said Thunderlane.
***
Some twenty minutes later, Spike and Starlight arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, one confused and the other victorious. Everywhere they had gone, something had happened. A pot of quills had upset on a sofa for Spike to gather up. At Sugarcube Corner, Mr. Cake had nearly dropped a platter of cupcakes, only for Spike to manage to catch them. On the way here, a branch had fallen into their path, and Spike had carried it over to the side of the road. All of that wasn’t so unusual, taken alone; Ponyville was a pretty accident-prone town. But Starlight’s reactions had been… weird. Every time he did anything, she was positively showering him with praise. It was a little disconcerting, and Spike was glad that she’d left the kisses to a tally of one. That had been really, really weird. At least they were nearly done.
“So, what do we need?” Starlight asked cheerfully. Her plans had been going swimmingly. Arrange accidents, let Spike play hero cleaning them up, inflate ego, repeat. Foolproof! Not to mention, she could practice the Invisible Aura spell that Sunburst had sent in his letter. It was the perfect plan if she did say so herself. Now, she just had to find something to do here…
“Howdy.”
Starlight nearly jumped out of her skin. “Ah! Big Macintosh,” she gasped, clutching at her chest. “Please don’t do that.”
The red farmpony blinked. “Do what, miss?”
“...Never mind. We’re here for the weekly order?”
Mac nodded. “Right. Ah’ll get AJ in a few.”
Starlight frowned. “A few. A few what? Why not now?”
Mac frowned slightly. “Well’s broken. Gotta fix it.”
“I—” Starlight broke off. “Here’s an idea. What if Spike goes to help Applejack with the well? Then you can help me with my order.”
Macintosh looked at the unicorn dubiously. Ever since the time the mare had cast that babbling curse on him, he’d mistrusted her. Still, Spike would probably be able to fix things up well enough, and Applejack would be there to help. And it would get Unpredictable Pink Unicorn off of the farm much faster. “Eeyup,” he assented. He turned to Spike. “Y’all know where to go?”
“The well’s on the west side of the house?” Spike checked. “On the trail to the Crusaders’ clubhouse?”
“Eeyup.” Macintosh nodded, then turned back the way he’d come. Suddenly, he paused, and pulled a large wrench out of his saddle bags. “You’ll need this,” he said, hoofing it to Spike.
“Thanks. Hey, see you at Sugarcube Corner Saturday for O&O?”
“Eeyup,” Mac grinned. “See ya there.”
“You too, Sir MacBiggun.” On that note, Spike turned and trotted toward the house.
“Um… So! The weekly order!” Starlight said brightly. Mac sighed inwardly and led the unicorn back toward the barn.
***
“Hm,” Applejack grumbled, fiddling with the ropes around her chest. “Yep, that should do just fine.” As she released it, however, the knot fell apart. “Goldarnit!”
Suddenly, she heard hoofsteps coming up the path. “Mac! Help me with this darn knot, wontcha?” She glanced up, then frowned. “Hey. You ain’t Mac.”
“Heh, ‘ee-nope,’” Spike replied, grinning. “Starlight needed to pick up the order, so he went with her and sent me to help you.”
“Huh.” Applejack gave him a quick once-over. “Well, alright. Ah reckon you oughta be able ta do this. First, help tie me up.”
“Uh… kay. Any special way, or…”
“Something that’ll hold mah weight. Round th’ barrel, like. Do it m’self, but it’s a bit tricky ta tie there.” Applejack gestured vaguely at her chest.
“Why not just tie a lasso? Then I can just slip it over you.”
“Huh. Good idea.” Applejack grinned. “Glad you came along, sugarcube,” she said, taking up the rope once more.
“So, uh, what do I need to do?”
“Well, see, used to be we had to drag up buckets fulla water whenever we needed t’ take a bath or wash dishes or whatever. That was back in Grandpappy Jonathan's day. Now, though, we got us a pipe system down there, leads into an aquifer under th’ house, an’ that takes care of most all th’ water we need.
“‘Course, it ain’t a perfect system. Sometimes th’ pump breaks, sometimes a pipe breaks. Those are the big fixes. Might need t’ call a real plumber in then.”
“So, what’s wrong with it now?”
“Well, see, the water ain’t always th’ cleanest. Comes out from the ground, sometimes stuff falls in. So, we gotta put on a li’l strainer, keep out the pebbles and dirt. That’s fallen off, so Ah gotta go down and put on a new one.” She waved a piece of mesh in the air.
“So— wait. Questions,” Spike said, holding up a claw. “Number one, what about bacteria? That’s a fine strainer, but…”
“We have a purifier hooked up in the aquifer,” Applejack replied. “Fine fer handlin' th' small stuff, but we can't let it get clogged. Next?”
“Why do we need this?” Spike gestured vaguely at the wrench.
“Th’ strainer goes in between two pieces o’ pipe, an’ Ah gotta unhook ‘em afore Ah put it in.”
“Final question, why don’t I go down? I’m, like… way smaller than you.”
“Well, for th’ same reason Ah don’t send down Apple Bloom. Ya don’t know what y’all are lookin’ for, an’ Ah do. Now, if that’s all, Ah’d be mighty obliged if ya grabbed that-there rope.”
“Right.”
Spike grabbed the loose end of the rope. Then he glanced at Applejack. Applejack, who was much bigger and heavier than he was. The orange mare grinned. “Ready?”
The little dragon swallowed, then grinned nervously. Slowly, Applejack lowered her hind hooves over the edge of the well. Then, she stopped. “Hold on.”
Spike breathed out. She’d thought better of it after all. “Uh, yeah?”
“Don’t let’s drop that wrench on mah head. Here.” She pulled a red toolbox out from the other side of the well. “Stick it in.”
Shoot. “Uh, Applejack, I don’t know about this…”
“What’s not to get? In and out, simple as that. Now, stick that tool in mah box an’ lets git goin’!”
“Applejack, I don’t think I’m big enough!” Spike exclaimed, throwing down the rope. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Spike.” Applejack’s green eyes were soft and warm. “Sugarcube. You can do this. Ah reckon you’re strong enough ta hold me. An’ yer smart enough ta get me out again. Heck, ya jes’ figgered out a whole new way to tie me up! So, come on, sugar. Gimme that there tool, and let’s get to work.”
“You… really think that about me?”
“Sure thing.”
Spike grinned, the butterflies in his stomach dispersing slightly. “Well, okay. Here you go.” He placed the wrench into the toolbox. “Ready?”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Ain’t nice ta leave a mare waitin’ like that,” she teased. “Ready.”
Spike grabbed the rope and Applejack rappelled down the well. “Alright, sugarcube. Nice an’ slow, almost— EEYOW!”
“Applejack?” Spike asked, the panic returning in an instant. “Are you okay?”
“Ah’m soakin’ in this dirty stuff!” the farm mare exploded. Then she sighed. “Feels awful good, though.”
“You said it,” Spike agreed. The summer sun was merciless. Then, suddenly, he noticed something moving in the bushes. “Hey! Who’s there?” The bushes let out a startled squeak, and a brown blur shot off.”
“What’s that?”
Spike frowned. “Button Mash. Wonder what’s up with him…”
“Long as it ain’t knockin’ down mah barn, Ah don’t much care. Now, let’s see ‘bout gettin’ this pipe off…”
There was a sudden watery clunk, and a loud expletive from the farmer. “AGH! Splashed me right in the face!”
***
“AGH! Splashed me right in the face!” Button winced as those carrying final words found his ears. He repressed a shudder. The last time he had heard those sorts of words, he’d been seven. They had been coming from his mother’s bedroom. The young colt had gone in to see that his mama and her new coltfriend were okay. As a reward, he’d gotten a large bowl of ice cream to cry into and a variation of ‘the talk’ that was even earlier and more uncomfortable than usual. He didn’t want to go through that again, not for all the HP in the world. So, he’d covered his eyes and hidden in the underbrush and tried to wait it out. He would’ve gotten away with it, too, if he hadn’t been shuddering and trying to repress all of his memories. He had gotten as far as last week’s health class when Spike had spotted him. Now… he didn’t know what would happen now. All he knew was that he had to get to the clubhouse. To sanctuary.
He galloped up the stairs, smashed through the trapdoor headfirst, and fell to the floor, breathing heavily and erratically, half-crying. “Waaahhh… Heeeehhuuh… Hhuuaaahhh… Wuuaahh….”
“Hi, Button,”Sweetie said, glancing up from the pile of paper before her. “Uh. Do you need a hug, or…”
“Apple Bloom,” Button gasped. “Your sister and Spike are doing… adult things.”
The yellow mare looked up from her own work, frowning. “Adult thangs?”
“Yeah!”
Bloom blinked blankly. “Ya mean like… taxes?”
“I— no, they— um, I mean—” Button sputtered. He tried to remember what his mother had said to him without fully un-repressing those memories. “Uh, when a mayor and a stale onion love each other…. No, that’s not right…”
“You mean they were engaging in carnal relations,” Dinky said flatly.
Button stared. “Maybe? I don’t know what that means.”
“Trying to have a baby?”
“Yes,” Button said, relieved.
“Oh, havin’ sex. Well, why didn’tcha say so?” Bloom asked, shaking her head. Then she paused. “Wait. Mah sister an’ Spike?”
Sweetie gasped. “Ooh! Do you think they’re in love?”
Scootaloo groaned. “No. Not doing this. Remember the Love Poison incident?”
Everypony winced. Really, they had just been trying to get Miss Cheerilee a special somepony. It wasn’t their fault that Thunderlane and Rarity had stopped by the clubhouse and tasted some of the potion. Nor was it quite their fault when Winona got into it, and the rest spilled onto the floor. That had been a very... interesting day. Fortunately, everything had been sorted out in the end, and Sweetie Belle hadn’t ended up getting Rumble as a brother-in-law after all. Even more fortunately, Winona wasn’t going to have baby dogwoods.
“Well, that was different,” Sweetie said. “I mean, we didn’t know what we were doing. Plus, it sounds to me like they’re already in love, right?”
“Point,” Rumble agreed after a moment’s hesitation. “But what are you suggesting, then?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Sweetie asked, glancing around the room. The other Crusaders stared back. Evidently it wasn’t as obvious as all that. “They can’t just hide their love all the time. We have to show everypony how much they love each other!”
“Without Love Poison,” Dinky said.
“Without, as you say, Love Poison. Or even potion.”
There was a long moment of consideration. “So how do we do it, then?” Rumble asked. “We can’t just tell everypony, that’d be rude.”
“Mmm,” Sweetie hummed, furrowing her brow. “Ooh!! We can make it look like Applejack is in danger, and then Spike can swoop in and save her, and then they’ll be all kissy-kissy and everything!” She looked around. “Well, that’s how it works in movies!” she insisted.
“Jumping over a gorge with a wagon happens in movies, but I think we definitely found out that doesn’t actually work,” Dinky deadpanned.
“Hey! The theory was solid,” Scootaloo protested. “We just need a steeper hill. Or maybe a smaller gorge.”
“We’re not trying that again,” Dinky said.
“Anyhow, Ah don’ like th’ idea of puttin’ Applejack in danger, an’ dependin’ on Spike ta save her.” Apple Bloom said.
“What about the other way around?” Scootaloo asked, rolling over onto her back. “Get Applejack to save Spike.”
“Hmm…” Sweetie said, pursing her lips. “Well, I guess it could work…”
“I don’t know,” Button said. “Isn’t there a lot that could go wrong with that? What if Applejack can’t save Spike?”
Apple Bloom glowered. “You better take that back, toot sweet!” she said, tone menacing.
“I just mean, what if she isn’t where we need her to be? Or somepony else saves Spike first?” Button said. “And I dunno if saving somepony’s life is a solid basis for love. I mean, Thunderlane saved Rarity’s life once, right Rumble? And they aren’t in love.”
Sweetie frowned. “But think of all the times when it has worked out,” she whined.
There was silence. “I got nothing,” Scootaloo said.
“Me neither,” Dinky agreed.
“Ugh,” Sweetie grumbled. “I like movie romance better.”
“Maybe we can ask other ponies how they fell in love?” Button said. “Like, I can ask my mom, and Rumble, you could ask Thunderlane, and stuff like that?”
“Well, what about me?” Apple Bloom said. “Ah can’t go tellin’ Applejack Ah know she’s in love with Spike, how’d y’all git together an’ all that. Mac still don’t like tellin’ me about his love life, and… well, let’s not talk ‘bout Granny.” She shuddered. “Too much information.”
“So ask Applejack what to do when you’ve fallen in love,” Dinky said. “Maybe she’ll let something slip about Spike after all.”
Bloom frowned. “Well, alright. We all in agreement, then?”
Nods all around.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SHIPPERS, YAY!”
***
Starlight, dragging the cart of apples behind her, rounded the corner of the house and smiled. Spike was resting his head against Applejack’s barrel. Both were soaking wet, and both were smiling contently. “All done?” the unicorn asked.
“Yep,” Applejack nodded, blinking her eyes open. “Spike? Sugarcube?” She nudged the dragon, and he let out a little snore.
Starlight sighed. “I told him he should’ve taken a nap. But did he listen?”
The farm mare chuckled. “Well, Ah can’t hardly blame him fer bein’ tired now. He was a big help, an’ did a heckuva lotta work.”
The unicorn smiled. “Glad to hear. Help me get him onto the cart?”
Gently, Applejack rose, shifting slowly so as not to rouse the sleeping dragon. Starlight lit her horn, lifting him off the ground. Gently, his sleeping form settled in among the apples. “See you, Applejack,” she said, trotting away.
“Yeah. See y’all around.” Applejack watched them go, a faint smile on her face. The two of them were just too darn cute. She wondered when one of them would finally admit their little crush...
***
Later that evening, Fluttershy hummed quietly to herself as she waited for dinner to be served. Normally, she would be busy in the kitchen herself, but tonight, somepony else had offered. Well. Not some pony, exactly. “Flutterbutter, where do you keep your dehydrated water?” Discord called from the other room.
“I, um, think I’m out,” Fluttershy replied. “Is regular hydrated water okay?”
“Hmm… let’s find out!” the draconequus called back gleefully.
The pegasus smiled slightly. Her friend was an unconventional one, but she enjoyed their company regardless. They had enough courage and self-confidence for the two of them at least, and when they were around, it felt like she was queen of the world. Except only in an administrative capacity, not in a position where you had to stand up and give a lot of speeches. Um. Perhaps that simile had gotten a little bit away from her…
There was a quick knock at the door, and Fluttershy blinked back to reality. Who could that be? She pushed out of her chair and trotted over to open the door. “Hello?” she asked.
A cheerful grey face smiled back at her. “Hi, Fluttershy. How are you?”
“Oh, um, hello Ditzy. I can’t complain, I suppose. How are you?”
“I’m doing well, thanks for asking!”
The two pegasi stood there for a moment, one beaming, the other, nervously shuffling her hooves. “Ditzy.”
“Yes?”
“Is there, um, a reason you came to see me? Not that I don’t appreciate the company,” she added hastily.
“Oh!” Ditzy slapped her forehead. “Sorry. Lost in thought. Here you go. Special delivery.” She held out a large cardboard box marked “HANDLE WITH CARE”. There were air holes punched in it. The mailmare smiled. “Importing your little animal friends these days?”
“Me? Oh, no,” Fluttershy shook her head vigorously. “Well. Not in the mail, anyway. I wonder what it could be…”
“Well, good luck finding out,” Ditzy said merrily. “I gotta get home and make dinner. See you later!”
She leapt up, flapping, and soared off into the night. Fluttershy watched her go for a long moment, before turning back to the box. “Fluttershy?” Discord asked. “Did you hear me? I can’t find your radish rose cutter. What’s with the box?”
“I don’t know. It only just arrived. Also, I don’t think I have a radish rose cutter… whatever that is.”
“Don’t you? It’s a lovely little device, cuts roses into the shape of radishes. Or was it the other way ‘round? Doesn’t matter, open the box, I’m dreadfully curious… Do you suppose it might be a cat? Or perhaps a doctor? I’m told they travel in boxes. Although it isn’t blue…”
Fluttershy sighed slightly. Discord was her friend, and she really did like them, but sometimes they didn’t make any sense at all. “You’ve got claws, you can cut open the tape.”
“Oh, can I?” Discord gasped, clasping their talon to their chest. “Well. I’d be honored. Oh, I do hope there’s bubble wrap…”
They examined their paw. “Now, let me see… it’s been awhile since I actually used these…” They squinted, then flipped up a corkscrew. “No…”
Then came a pair of nail clippers, a file, seven screwdrivers of various shapes and sizes, a pair of scissors, a flashlight, and… “A knife!” Discord cried jubilantly.
Fluttershy glanced up at them, a letter opener gripped in her mouth. She dropped it into her hoof. “I got it.”
The draconequus blinked. Then their face crinkled into a grin. “So you did! Any bubble wrap?”
“No… oh, it’s flowers!”
Discord stilled. “Flowers," they said, voice oddly flat. "How interesting. What sort of… flowers?”
“Violets,” Fluttershy said as she pulled them out of the box. “Oh, and there’s a little note. For your kindness. -R.”
Discord’s brow had darkened. “And, ah, who is this… ‘R’?”
“Rarity, I suppose. This must be a little thank-you gift for helping with her project…”
Thick white eyebrows cinched together over yellow eyes. “My dear, dear Flutterby, you know I hate to pry…”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “Okay, so that was a lie,” Discord admitted. “So, what’s this little project, hm?”
“We’re trying to increase Spike’s self-confidence,” Fluttershy replied, drawing herself up a bit with pride.
Discord waited. “...And?” they prompted.
“And… trying to make him grow up?”
The draconequus stared. “Okay, let’s put this another way. Why are you doing this?”
“To help… my friends?” Fluttershy tried.
“Hrm.” Discord looked skeptical. “With you, I can believe that. Rarity on the other hand, well. She tends to be a little more… how can I put this… self-centered.”
“No she isn’t, she’s very generous!”
Discord waved a claw. “Yes, yes, because magical jewelry has such a good track record for character judgement. She is generous, I don’t deny that. But you must agree, that her generosity usually has some deeper motivation behind it, such as her little social climbing hobby.” They clicked their fingers and suddenly the two of them were kitted out in full rock-climbing gear, halfway up a mountain. Fluttershy squeaked and clung tightly to the rocky face as the wind howled around them.
“Now, I don’t say it’s her primary motivation,” Discord continued in a louder voice so as to be heard over the wind. “But nevertheless, she does tend to have some sort of ulterior motive for her actions, you see?”
Fluttershy pursed her lips. “I wish you wouldn’t criticize my friends like this…” she shouted as best she could.
“Criticize? Who’s criticizing? I approve of ulterior motives. I have them all the time,” Discord said, waving a paw and teleporting them back to Fluttershy’s cottage. “All I’m saying is, it might be best to have a better idea of what little Miss Generosity wants out of this situation. After all, it is rather unusual to come up with the idea so suddenly, is it not?”
Fluttershy hesitated. “You do have a point,” she conceded. “But I still think she just wants to help Spike reach his full potential.”
Or spend more time with you, Discord thought, grinding their teeth internally. Sending flowers, particularly those flowers, was far more than a ‘thank-you’ gift. They knew exactly what violets symbolized, and he had no doubt that that prissy little unicorn did, too. “Perhaps I shall offer my own help in your little endeavor,” they mused.
Fluttershy looked at him sideways. “And just what ulterior motives might you have?”
Their grin was massive and very toothy. “Why, my dear Flutterbutter, I thought you knew me better. My only motivation these days is finding opportunities to have a little… fun.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.02 seconds
Total duration
1,049 users online
2,211,926 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Man the plot threads of this story just seem to grow more and more lol. Now we have so many other things going on. I would like to see more of Spike tho to be honest, I mean for a story that has alot to do with him this I would say is the chapter were we got to see the most of him. I do wonder tho how DOES Starlight feel about Spike? I mean there is a reason people have been shipping them together lately, I am still a Sparity guy till we FINALLY get to see either that progress or let us know it is dead lol,I could see this becoming more complex with someone ELSE, if Rarity does have feelings for him, ending up liking Spike. lol
Very good, very interesting. A couple things though, for one, 'Flutterbutter?' Adorable, but weird. Also, why do you call Discord 'they' when it's been proven multiple times that Discord is in fact male?
8821428
I reject canonicity and substitute my own.
my faust what have you done
Loving this betangled web more and more.
BTW, there is a mess of italics towards the end of the Spike / AJ scene. Is it intentional? With Discord nearby, it’s hard to be certain...
9034027
Ah. No, actually. Thanks for mentioning that.
8821428
Honestly, when has it been proven that Discord is male?
Discord is Chaos. Having a single gender seems very, very limiting for a spirit of the concept that represents all possibilities and no restrictions.
I'm not saying Discord's not male -- I write him myself as if he's fairly comfortable identifying as male, although he's perfectly willing to take female forms -- but it certainly hasn't been proven that he's male. All that's been proven is that it doesn't bother him to be perceived as male.
Aaaaaand the end of this chapter is the precise moment, when shit hit the fan.