Slice of Velvet and Pear

by David Silver

55 - Foal Free Press

"Did you hear?" Diamond fluttered her lashes at Spike with the biggest smile. "Namby-Pamby graduated. Congratulations to them, but, more importantly, hirrah for us." She waved between herself and Spike, cheeks squeaking with the force of that smile. "We get to run the newspaper however we want!"

Spike hummed softly. "Well, not however we want... right?"

Diamond rolled a hoof and her eyes in casual dismissal of that problem. "So long as ponies are reading the paper, we're doing our job. If we're doing the job, Cheerilee won't complain! Now, get this, I already did the hardest part."

"You wrote a bunch of stuff ponies want to read?" Somehow, it seemed Spike already knew that wasn't the answer.

Diamond's previously cheerful expression suddenly became completely emotionless. "I'm the editor, which is where I was going. Cheerilee named me the editor-in-chief!" She danced in place with an excited giggle. "So my word is the last word on what goes in, and what doesn't. And you!" She poked him directly on the chest. "I want you to be involved!"

"O-oh! Sure!" Spike rubbed behind his head, looking unsure. "How?"

"Well... Tomorrow, Cheerilee will be announcing this. Tonight, we prepare!" She threw up her hooves with a scheming snicker. "Come on! We have banners to make and pictures to draw. We want to hit the ground running!"

Spike did his best to doodle something impressive, but he was no artist, and his crude sketch showed Diamond the error of her ways. "Alright... We have resources!" She rushed out and badgered her butler. "He'll have it ready for us tomorrow. Be ready!"

She casually tossed Spike out for the evening. "Tomorrow!"

Spike hurried home, hands together as he pondered. "Twilight?"

"Mm?" She looked up from her book. "Welcome back, Spike."

"Hey." He gave a brief wave of one hand. "You ever work for a newspaper before?"

"I can't say I have." Twilight inclined her head faintly. "What brings that up?"

"Who?"

Spike looked around at the sudden new member of the conversation. "Oh, hey." He spotted the feathered companion of Twilight perched there, listening to them. "I forget you're there sometimes." He had far fewer reasons to really think about Owlie. "How's he doing?"

"Owloicous has adapted to the library wonderfully," Twilight reported with a gentle smile. "And he's quite useful. We're lucky, really. We have a wonderful assistant during the day, and the night." She curled an arm around each assistant as she mentioned their active time. "Now, about that newspaper?"

"Right!" Back to problems that were actually important to him. "Diamond's getting a job, as the editor-in-chief for this newspaper at school." He scratched at his cheek slowly. "And she wants me to help. I want to help! But I don't know what I can do, and she didn't even tell me. Um, I think... she's still thinking it up for tomorrow."

Twilight ran a careful hoof over Spike, petting him in quiet as she considered things. "Well, then you have a few choices. You already said you want to help, so, you could just wait until tomorrow and see what she says. Or." She saw she did not entirely satisfy him with that option. "You could think of how to apply what you're already good at for the sake of a newspaper. You like comics, don't you?"

"Love 'em!" His features brightened as a topic he knew so much more about was brought up. "But how can that help?"

"Bring the love of comics to the other foals." Twilight sat up fully. "Articles on what's new in the comic world, for examples, and callbacks to things ponies may not have read yet, but will be glad they did. Favored places to get either? This could all be engrossing information, if you put it out there the right way."

"Huh..." Spike hopped to his feet and scrambled off, just to return a moment later with his box of comics. One of many, of course, but it was the one he picked. "Do you really think that'll work?"

"It could. It's all in the execution. A balancing act, if you will."

Spike set the box down heavily. "What am I balancing?" The uncertainty was clear in his voice. "Do you know?"

"Well..." Twilight raised a hoof. "Balancing between appealing to new and amateur readers of comics." She switched which hoof was up. "And those who are diehard fans of the media. Appealing purely to one or the other is an option, but the risks are many. Let's not forget this is a foal's newspaper. No offense, but being mindful of who's actually reading is important."

"Mmmm..." Spike grabbed a bit of paper and a quill. "Maybe I need to do a survey..."

Twilight brightened at the information gathering being proposed. "An excellent idea! The more you know about your potential readers, the easier it will be to reach them." She clopped her hooves with mounting excitement. "I admit, I was a little confused at first, but Cheerilee may be onto something. You could all learn quite a bit from this little project."

She perked an ear at a knocking from the door. "Who is it?" She trotted over and willed it open, allowing Applejack to come inside. "AJ!" A moment was spent in a gentle embrace. "Good to see you. What brings you by?"

"Sorry fer showin' up after close, but this ain't fer a book, promise." Applejack nodded to Spike in greetings. "Mom's wonderin' when next you'll stop by and she won't let me off the hook 'till I come ask 'bout it. She's starvin' fer some Twilight Time"

With laughter bubbling up, Spike put his hand over his mouth in an attempt to muffle the sound. "That sounds like her. The moms of the Apple family aren't very subtle, are they?"

"That they ain't." Applejack was looking at Twilight. "So can ya take a break from yer work at least fer an evenin'?"

"I'm not that busy," she huffed out, wagging her entire body in a shaking snort. "You're here right now, and I'm not exactly kicking you back out the door."

"Pardon, bein' a little overdramatic." Applejack turned to point. "That a yes then? When can she expect ya?"

Twilight smiled. "Of course! She hardly had to ask, I just didn't plan--"

"--A fine time to plan then." Applejack nodded firmly, sure in her path. "Two days from now?"

"Two days from now. I'll show up around sundown. How's that?" She walked off towards the kitchen. "Want a snack?"

"Mom already fed me good, promise." That didn't stop her from trailing after Twilight. "What's Spike upta? Did I interrupt anythin'?"

"It's the cutest thing." Twilight giggled as she willed the pieces of what would be a basic sammich together. "He and Diamond are joining forces for this newspaper the foals make. Have you heard of it?"

AJ twitched up her ears and casually stole a leaf of lettuce to chew on. "The Foal Free Press, right? Runs outta the school, last ah knew. Kinda cute, havin' the little ones makin' their own newspaper like that."

"Isn't it?" She chomped her creation, taking a big bite out of it and quietly chewing a moment. "I'm glad Spike came here, so he can take part. Canterlot didn't have a youth media like that." She whirled on Applejack. "Did you ever take part?"

"Me? Not mah thing." Applejack waved a hoof negatively. "'Sides! Ah get plenty ah practice with media just makin' ponies show up fer farm thin's. Ah was a public pony fer most ah mah life. Ah ain't starved fer it. Oh!" She clopped her hooves with the realization. "Ah'll make an extra special treat! Ya deserve to try some of the tasty thin's they taught me up in Canterlot. Knock your horseshoes right off."

Twilight nibbled at her prize more delicately, as if the first chomp had severed her most severe hunger. "I meant to ask about that! How's cooking treating you? You're still doing it, even away from Canterlot?"

Applejack buffed her chest with a big smile. "Ah'd do it fer every meal if mom an' granny wouldn't tan mah hide fer tryin' to push them out like that. Now that ah know how it's done, ah can't get enough of it! Ah thought ah knew how... but it's a whole 'nother level, ah promise. An' once yer there, the whole world looks different. Ah'm a chef! And darn proud of it. 'Sides, it brings in bits and uses up apples an' makes happy ponies. Now that's a win all 'round so far ah can see."

"It may be hard to imagine." Twilight set a hoof on her own chest. "But I know the feeling. When I first learned how to read and cast magic? It changed everything! You just can't go back to how it was before then. So... I'm saying, I support and approve. And! I look forward to what you're cooking up."

"It'll be great." Applejack started for the exit. "See ya in two days. Oh, bring Spike if he's feelin' it. Always welcome." She passed by him busily making some kind of poster. "Good eve, Spike. Good luck with the paper!"

"Thanks!" He waved as she departed. "This is going to be great." He grabbed it up and dashed off for a mare, not Twilight but Moon Dancer. "Look! How's this?"

Moon paused her writing and set the scroll she had been working on aside. It took a few moments for her thoughts to make the necessary adjustments. "Spike. Always nice to see you." She meant it, even if it took her a moment to focus on him. Fortunately, he seemed used to her mannerisms. "What's that?" She looked at the poster he was holding. "It seems... kinetic."

"Kinetic! Good word." He slapped the poster down. "I'm thinking of using this as the header for my new post!"

"A new post?" Moon inclined her head. "What sort of post?"

"I'm helping Diamond with the Foal Free Press and Twilight gave me this great idea! I'm going to write about comics I like, the new ones and the old ones, so other foals and ponies can share in my passion." He crossed an arm over his chest, gazing to the horizon of his dreams. "It'll be great! Whattaya think?"

Moon gave it due consideration. "Hm. You haven't explained who that one is." She pointed at a big mecha with a smiling pony inside, piloting it. "What is their name?"

Spike brilliantly smiled. "Oh, she's great!" He became lost in explaining the ins and outs of that character's struggles. "and she only managed to save the day with a last minute--"

"--Harmony rocket?"

Spike blinked. "Yeah! You've been paying attention." He ran his claw off to a pony in a martial arts stance. "Recognize them?"

"That is... The pony that changes when exposed to water?" She consider them. "Very good at martial arts."

"Yep!" Spike almost danced in place. "You really were listening... I thought you just wanted to hear me talk."

"I do like that." Moon leaned in. "but feigning interest in a topic is the worst kind of deception. In fact." Her horn glowed as she pulled out a comic from between two heavy books and floated it over. "I've been reading."

"No way!" Spike snatched the comic and twirled it so he could see it properly. "Oh, I remember this one... Good times! Okay! Alright! I'm feeling energized. If I can talk you into loving comics, I have a chance with this!" He released the book to Moon's magic and reclaimed his header poster. "I'm gonna write about comics!"

"Tell me when it's published." Moon willed the comic away. "I will endeavor to see what you've created. The odds of it being worth the time are high."

"You're the best." He hopped up and grabbed her by the neck, dangling from her in a tight embrace that lasted only a moment. "This is gonna be great!" He raced off, mind full of ideas.

"Hm..." She could but hope things turned out well.

Author's Note:

Time for a new episode! Boy, a lot of these end up longer than a chapter, but that's not a bad thing, right?

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Comments

[TheGJ90]

You know, I did not expect your story's take on THIS episode to come up so soon! I'm loving the setup for it so far.

Now, if Spike can somehow keep Diamond reigned in just a little bit, they just might avoid disaster!

[Booster Spice]

Really hope Spike can get Diamond to realise what she does to others, implies others can be doing to her.

[badninja]

Ok Diamond let’s see if you can show your character growth.

[Venerable Ro]

Alright, time for a relationship stress-test. I have a good feeling I think, pretty sure Spike can inspire Diamond to channel her ambition in a constructive manner.

[redmar]

sammich

Shouldn't this be sandwich?

[David Silver]

11600709
Spelling intended and cutesy.

[Aiwhisper]

Loving the story so far and you’re doing great keeping the butterflies in check with this alt universe. That is never easy as more change builds up.