Spark of a Flame

by Riojoriginal

8 - For The Better or For The Worse...

Author's Note:

Hey! I'm sorry about the wait. Had so many interruptions and blocks during the making of this chapter, can't believe it's already December when I'm posting this...

Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter nonetheless... Also, really sorry for what's coming next!

A week later...

"Knock it off, birdbrain!"

"Make me, rainbow girl."

"Why are they still around each other?" Flash asked as they watched Rainbow and Gilda bicker since they met at the entrance.

"I'm shocked neither of them tried anything yet, like they were tied to each other or something." Raindrops replied as they saw Rainbow enter the bathroom while Gilda waited outside. "Okay, we sure there isn't a string or something? Why's she waiting there?"

"You think we should ask?" Flash asked.

"Good luck with that. That griffin isn't exactly friendly, you know." Raindrops replied, closing her locker. "Well, I've had enough of those weirdos. Let's find the others."

---

Second week later...

"-You two must love this room, since it's been the third time this week you were sent to detention." The detention teacher joked as he pulled from the bottom drawer a bottle in a paper bag.

Rainbow murmured to herself, staring at the assigment paper in her desk with contempt.

"Is he really-?"

"Yes, now keep your beak shut or he's gonna give us more work." Rainbow whispered before going back to her paper.

Gilda growled, annoyed as she look down her paper. "What are this questions? How the hell am I supposed to know the aceleration of-"

"It's 10 meters per second, dumbass." Rainbow interrupted her rant as she looked at her with an amused look. "Even I know that."

"And why should I trust that?" Gilda asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"Pfft. Fine. Find out on your own then." Rainbow replied annoyed.

---

Third week later...

"How can you all keep eating that? It tastes like grass." Gilda complained as she bite down on the apple.

"Maybe if you had better taste in food you'd agree this stuff is better than whatever the heck you eat." Rainbow replied, eating a daisy sandwich.

"Pfft. Meat tastes waaayyyyyy better than the garbage you're eating right now." Gilda retorted, causing Rainbow to choke on her sandwich.

*Cough* *Cough* "W-what did you just say?"

"What? You never heard of meat before?" Gilda asked, astonished.

"Of course I did. But you do realize where meat comes from right?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah, so what?" Gilda replied.

"You literally eating what was once alive!" Rainbow said.

"And your point? By the way, isn't plants also alive? They just don't get to say anything about being devoured by grass eaters, do they?" Gilda retorted, smirking.

"Uh..." Rainbow failed to find a reply as she slowly put down her sandwich back on her food tray.

---

Fourth week later...

"Alright, maggots. Time to end the day with a match of dodgeball!" The coach shouted as he went to get the equipment.

"Oh, boy. This gonna be interesting." Rainbow said as she saw Gilda's confused look. "What is it, now?"

"What's dodgeball?" Gilda asked.

"You don't know- How? You never played it in your school at Griffinstone?" Rainbow asked.

"Griffinstone hasn't had a working school in a while, that's why they sent me in this stupid interchange's to begin with." Gilda answered.

"Oh. Well, it's pretty easy. Just dodge the balls anyone on the other team throw at you or catch them if you can to eliminate them. If you manage to get a ball, throw at the other team, if they don't catch it they get eliminated. First team to get everyone eliminated loses." Rainbow explained.

"Hmm, how hard can I throw the ball?" Gilda asked.

Rainbow smirked. "As hard as you can."

"Okay, I think I might like this game."

"Alright, here's the catch. Everyone will be tied in pairs so choose your patner as this will be a free for all in the air." The coach said as he dropped a bag with ropes before he took the ball bag and spilled it through out the cloudy field of the school.

Rainbow groaned. "Ropes, really?"

"You got a problem, Rainbow Dash?" The coach asked.

"Yeah, how can you make sure whoever I get tied to doesn't slow me down?" Rainbow asked, annoyed.

The coach glared at her for a moment before he cleared his throat, getting the whole class attention. "Change of plans. Since Rainbow here apparently has a problem choosing, I'll go ahead and assign everyone's partners myself." The entire class groaned, moaned and whined in displeasure. "Rainbow, you're tied to the griffin." He said, throwing a piece of rope towards, which end up hitting her face.

"Nice going, Rainbow. Now we're pretty much everyone's target." Gilda said as she held her right talon up for Rainbow to tie.

"Oh, shut up. It's not like you didn't piss them off the other day too." Rainbow retorted, tying her left hoof to Gilda's talon.

"-Flash, Soarin. Here's your rope-" The coach continued handing out ropes.

"Ah, crap. Soarin and Flash? That sucks." Rainbow said, looking troubled.

"Why? Should I be concerned 'bout them?" Gilda asked.

"Well, yeah. Flash's a pretty good flier all around and Soarin's almost as fast as me." Rainbow answered.

"Eh, I got this in the bag. As long as you don't slow me down." Gilda replied.

"Pfft. More like the opposite." Rainbow retorted.

"Alright, get flying you all. And remember: If your partner gets hit, the pair is out. And if anyone crashes into someone else, both pairs are out too." The coach explained as everyone flew up above field. "Everyone's on place? Good, START!" He shouted before blowing the whistle, catching half the class off guard.

The few who weren't surprised, were already grabbing balls to throw. In the first minute of the match, a third of the class was already out. A ball would only have enough time to drop a meter or two down before someone would swoop in, take it and immediately throw it at someone else.

"Woah! You weren't kidding, they're fast!" Gilda said as she ducked to avoid yet another ball.

"I warned ya! On your left!" Rainbow exclaimed as she pulled on the rope, getting Gilda out of the way as a ball zipped past her and hit Raindrops on the face, sending her down crashing into Thunderlane while pulling the other two unlucky pegasi tied to them down the cloudy floor below.

"...Thanks." Gilda murmured as she saw them plummeting down.

"You're welcome... Eyes up, Soarin and Flash are aiming at us." Rainbow warned as she flew up, dodging a ball coming from their right.

"Come on, boys! You gotta do better than that!" Gilda called them out as she flew after Rainbow.

"Really? Right now?" Rainbow asked, annoyed with Gilda's antics as she catches a ball mid-air, hearing a nearby 'Dammit' to confirm, she immediately threw it back at Flash who blocked with another ball.

"What's the point of playing a game if I'm not having my fun?" Gilda asked, taunting them by making faces.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smirk. "Fine, just try to keep up."

Not much after, there were only three pairs left in the air: Rainbow and Gilda, Flash and Soarin, Fleetfoot and Clear Skies. They all stopped for a moment, glaring at each other as only Soarin, Fleetfoot and Clear Skies currently had a ball.

"Well, this is awkward." Rainbow said as she faced Soarin and Flash.

"Sorry, Dash. But only one duo is winning this." Flash said as Soarin prepared his throw.

"Those girls are aiming at our back." Gilda whispered.

"You think you can catch their throws?" Rainbow asked.

"Pfft, easy. Watch this."

Both Soarin and the girls behind threw at the same time, Gilda immediately turned around, managing to catch both balls and tossed one to Rainbow who took it, blocked Soarin's throw and sent one back at them. He ducked to avoid it, but doing so pulled Flash out of place leaving him unable to dodge Gilda's throw, which nailed him on the face.

*Whistle* "Match's over!" The coach shouted as he started to retrieve the balls.

"Ha! Take that, boys!" Gilda shouted.

"Wooo!" Rainbow celebrated, holding her hoof up for Gilda.

She gave Rainbow a look but eventually just accepted it and high-fived her.

---

A month later...

"-am glad you made a new friend, Rainbow!" Fluttershy said.

"She's not exactly my friend, Shy. We just... Tolerate each other." Rainbow clarified.

Fluttershy gave her a look. "But you two keep hanging out in school?"

Rainbow exasperated. "We literally have to. The principal hasn't ended the spell yet."

Fluttershy chuckled briefly. "Spell huh?"

"It's true!" Rainbow insisted.

"Mmhm..." Fluttershy saw Rainbow sent her a glare as she drank her lemonade, though once she glanced at Rainbow's goggles, a question popped in her head. "So... Did Spike sent you anything?"

Rainbow looked away. "...No."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Rainbow-"

"Was something I did or...?" Rainbow murmured as she laid her head on the table.

"Oh, Rainbow. I'm sure he's just... Busy. May-"

"So busy he can't bother to use five minutes of his time to write a letter? And he can just make those appear outta nowhere with his fire." Rainbow said, upset.

Ah, I shouldn't said that... "Well... Maybe he, uh... Forgot...?" Fluttershy suggested, only managing to upset Rainbow more.

"That... Would mean he doesn't really care then if he just forgot about it." Rainbow replied, covering her face.

Oh, no. What I've done. Need to change subjects quickly. "Uhm, Rainbow. How about we go for a flight? You always enjoy those." Fluttershy tried, flashing a nervous smile as she left her seat. I can't keeping stalling like this, but... Not right now.

Rainbow sighed, getting up from her seat. "Sure." She replied, following Fluttershy.

---

Two months later...

Rainbow and Gilda walked through the school hallways, joking and goofing around when they crossed paths with the principal. "There you two are."

"Come on, we didn't do anything this time." Rainbow complained as they watched him pulled out the crystal.

"That's not why I was after you two." He said as he cracked the crystal. "This ends the spell, as you might imagine."

"Oh, cool. So we free now?" Gilda asked.

"Yes-" Both Dash and Gilda celebrated, even high five each other. "-but I'm not done."

"What do you mean? We didn't do anything wrong." Rainbow replied.

"No, you didn't. But I'm afraid Gilda's interchange is over." The principal said.

"Why?!"

The principal just shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask your guardian why." He replied as he started walking away. "She's already on her way too."

"Grr! Scarlet!" Gilda growled as he swung the air in frustration.

"Who's Scarlet?" Rainbow asked.

"She's my aunt." Gilda answered as they both headed towards the school's entrance.

"Why's your aunt doing this?"

"Who freaking knows? For all I know she's just doing this to mess with me." Gilda answered, upset.

"Maybe we can convince her not to?" Rainbow asked.

"Pfft. Yeah, good luck with that. She's more stubborn than Gruff." Gilda replied.

"Who's Gruff?"

"Eh, just an old historian or something. Everygriff respects him enough to kinda follow what he says." Gilda answered.

"Well... T-there has to be a way to change her mind!" Rainbow insisted.

"I'm telling you, she's not changing her mind."

"Argh!" Rainbow kicked a hole in the cloud floor in frustration.

"Woah, calm down there..." Gilda gave her a look. "What got your feathers riled up so much?"

"This just keeps happening to me!" Rainbow exasperated. "Every single friend I make just abandon me. Everytime."

"...Heh. Didn't think you actually thought of me as a friend." Gilda replied. "But it's not like I want to abandon you, Rainbow."

"I know but..." Rainbow stared at the floor. "It still sucks."

"...How about this. When I get rid of Scarlet, I'm gonna try move in Cloudsdale?" Gilda suggested.

"That... Would be cool." Rainbow said.

"Then it's settled. Now, just gotta think of a way to-"

"There you are! Didn't that grass eater tell you I was coming?" A dark brow griffin came to Gilda's face.

"He did. I just didn't care, aunt." Gilda replied.

Scarlet growled. "I don't know how I let Gruff convince me this was a good idea... Who's the multicolored loser next to you? Don't tell me you became friends with a pony, that's low even for you."

Ouch.

"What if I did, huh? Got a problem with that?!" Gilda confronted her.

"Many. But how about we got over them on our way back? 'Cuz there's a lot of reasons." Scarlet replied as she flew up, waiting for Gilda.

She sighed as she turned to Rainbow. "Sorry you had to see that. I... See you around, Rainbow." She replied, reluctantly following Scarlet.

"...Bye." Rainbow said, watching them fly east.

---

Three weeks later, at Canterlot...

Pacing around his room, Spike talked aloud. "-And so, that would mean... What exactly?"

"That it would not work the way you intent it to." Moondancer replied, holding a scroll up for Spike to see.

"Ah, I see..." Spike stopped in the middle of the room, sighed as he kicked the dust off the floor in annoyance. "Just when I thought I was getting close."

"Come on, Spike. I'm sure we can find a way eventually..." Moondancer said, offering him a friendly smile.

"Thanks, Moon. But I need to find a way before the school's finals." Spike replied, resuming his pacing.

"Well... How about mediums?" Moondancer suggested.

"What about- Wait, you mean wands and that stuff?" Spike asked, making a look.

"I know how that sounds but have you even considered that?" Moondancer asked.

"Yeah. I already tried that."

Moondancer frowned. "You sure? You know that wands aren't the only-"

"Yeah, I know. I tried wands, runes, scrolls-" Spike's face got more red as he went to finish the sentence. "-Brooms."

Moondancer frowned, confused. "Brooms?"

"Yeah, I read in a story once- But nevermind that! We need to find a way somehow." Spike interrupted her.

"I'm sorry, Spike. I'm drawing blanks right now-" They heard the clock from the hallway chime in. "Oh, it's that late already? Well, I'll meet you tomorrow and we can continue."

Spike sighed. "I think you should just focus on you own project, Moondancer."

"What? Why?"

"It's pretty clear that was just not meant to be." Spike replied, picking up a book from his desk.

"...Are you absolutely sure, Spike?" Moondancer asked, worried.

"Yeah. I'll continue searching on my own, and I don't want to screw with your chances at succeeding, so you don't need to come here tomorrow. -I mean, you can! If you want to hang out or use the library feel free to!" Spike quickly mentioned the last part as he went to a small bookcase and unceremoniously dropped the book on top of it, unintentionally kicking up a lot of dust.

Spike recoiled from the dust but still ended up sneezing at the bookcase, luckily only one book caught on fire. "Ah, crap!" He picked it up and started waving it around in an attempt to extinguish the fire.

Moondancer was about to get up from the chair she was in and help, when she suddenly fell on her flank. "Ow." She looked behind her and noticed her chair had somehow been thrown into the far corner of the room.

But she didn't spent much time contemplating what happened as she got reminded of the fire by the smoke and swiftly casted a bubble around the book, cutting the oxygen to the flames and succesfully snuffing the fire out. "Phew... Thanks, Moon."

"You're welcome, Spike." Moondancer giggled. "You might want someone to dust off your room, if that's how you deal with fires."

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny." Spike replied as he looked over the damage on the book. "At least it only ruined half the cover, otherwise it's still intact."

"Glad to hear your book's okay, but I kinda have to go now. See you later?"

"Um, yeah. Sure." Spike replied as Moondancer left.

Spike sighed as he eyed the calendar on the wall. "Some months left before that... I hope I didn't waste much of Moon's time."

Thinking while he glanced around his room, his eyes eventually stopped by Moondancer's work. "What did she even write down?" He wondered as he picked notes up and read it. "...Runes...Spells... Huh, she has some ideas here but-!" Spike frowned. "Hearts? Why's there hearts on her note-"

"Ah, Spike!" He almost jumped when Moondancer barged into the room. All the notes were pulled away from Spike's claws as she levitated them to her bag on her back. "Sorry, I complete forgot this here."

"Uh, Moon. I read a bit of the notes, noticed some good idea for spells, but what were the hearts about? I don't think I've seen any simbol look close to that." Spike asked, puzzled.

"OH!" Moondancer's face turned red as she started stuttering "That's...Erm... Gotta go, sorry!" She replied, leaving the room in a hurry.

"Moondancer!" Spike called her as he walked out of the room, but not finding her in the hallway. "What the heck was that all about?" He thought of going after her before changing his mind and went to search for one of the servants.

---

A week later...

"Good morning, Spike. Great to see you're not missing breakfast this time." Celestia replied, levitating a plate full waffles towards him.

"Morning, mom." Spike then noticed how the food was placed on his plate. "A... Waffle face?" He looked over at her, puzzled.

"I thought it look adorable doing this way. Don't you think?" Celestia replied.

"Doing... Wait, you made these?"

"Yes, is that a problem?" Celestia asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Erm. No. I just didn't know you could cook..." Spike mumbled as he took a bite. "Oh."

Celestia glared suspiciously at him. "What you mean with 'Oh?'. You didn't think I could make good waffles?"

"What? No! I was just... Surprised."

"Right... Anyway, how's your project going?" Celestia asked.

"It's... Going." Spike vaguely replied, taking a big bite from the waffles.

Celestia frowned. "And what about your friend that was helping? I haven't seen her in a few days now. Did something happen?"

"Er... Not really." Spike replied, staring at the window on the right.

"...You sure? Because you're acting like it has." Celestia replied, getting Spike to sigh.

"No, I just told her to prioritize her own project first." Spike answered, taking another bite.

"Why?" Celestia asked, curious.

"Because we spent three months searching for anything and we found nothing. I couldn't waste more of her time, she was already cutting some of her sleep just to help." Spike replied, shaking his head as he stared at his almost empty plate.

"Ah, I see." Celestia said as she took a slice of cake. "I just hope your project isn't cutting into your own sleep."

Spike got up from his seat as he finished eating. "Nope. My sleep schedule remains intact." He replied, taking a small piece of the cake with a fork.

Celestia widen her eyes in realization. "Spike, don't!"

As Spike bit down on the piece, he immediately felt his tongue burn as his eyes started watering. He coughed multiple times, smoke and fire coming out.

"Here, drink it." Celestia said as she brought him a glass of milk, which he downed it in one swing.

"WHY YOU PUT PEPPER ON THE CAKE?!" Spike exclaimed as he took a second glass of milk.

"Because I liked it! I didn't think you would take a bite from it." She said as she noticed one of Spike's claws were lit with his fire. "Spike! Your claws!"

Once Spike noticed the fire, he immediately shook his claw vigorously until the flames got extinguished. "Sigh. Good thing I'm fire proof..."

"Unfortunaly, we can't say the same for the table cloth." Celestia replied as she flapped her wings once, putting out the fire that caught on the table cloth. Unfortunaly it also knocked over a few glasses and a jar filled with orange juice, spilling it over the table. "Oh no, look at mess we made."

Spike cleared his throat as the burning sensation finally ended. "Oh, I have nothing to do with that... Bye!"

"Spike!" Celestia playfully called his name as he snuck out of the room. "...Huh?" She did a double take once she noticed the curtains near the windows tangled up with each other. "Were they like that the entire time..?"

---

Three weeks later...

"...And done." Spike mumbled as he finished writing on the letter, wraping it up and holding it up. "Hope this helps." He then breathed on it, burning it away as the smoke magically headed through the window before disappearing.

Before he could continue his search, he noticed a small green flame still wrapping his finger, staring at it in confusion. "...How does it keep itself lit when it's burning nothing? Thinking of it now, it doesn't make sense."

He started waving his hand to put it out, when one of the scrolls in his desk were throw up. "Huh?" He picked it up with his free claw and looked over it before dropping it back on his desk. "Weird." He glanced around his room, but both door and windows were closed. "No one other than me is here, and it couldn't been the wind..."

There's no way... Right? Spike thought as he looked at the green flame engulfing his claw. Tentatively, he pointed to the scrolls with the flaming claw and waved to the left.

All the scrolls, a few of the books and a inkwell were all thrown off the desk onto the floor. Spike got up from his seat so fast he knocked it over as he looked over the mess he caused. "Oh, there's no way! Hahaha! YES!" Spike shouted as he pumped his fist, only to realize he accidently rip the curtains off their railing and dropping the metal pipe on the floor, causing a loud noise to echo through his room. "Oops!"

As he was about to test out what else he could do, a knock on the door stopped him. "Ergh. Who is it, now?"

Opening the door, he was greeted by Snowflame. "Hey, Spike. Uh, do you know where that loud noise came from?"

"Uh, yeah. About that..." Spike started, opening completely the door.

"Spike! Your claw's on fire!" Snowflame exclaimed as he immediately covered Spike's claw with his magic.

"Wait! Let me show you what I just discovered!" Spike said, pulling his claw from Snowflame's magic.

"Okay..?" Snowflame watched as Spike walked up to the pile of paper covered in ink on the floor next to the desk. "Do I even want to know why there's a pile of-?" He stopped, eyes widen in shock as he saw the pile been lifted off the floor as Spike had his flaming claw pointed to it. "H-how?!"

"I'm still not sure. I don't even know if I can do spells." Spike replied as he dropped the pile on the bin next to the desk.

"Well... We could use the training grounds to test it. Although we might want Shining's permission first." Snowflame suggested.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" Spike replied, excitedly leaving the room.

---

One hour later...

"Dang! He completely blew away the training dummy." Snowflame said, impressed.

"And that was our last one too." Shining replied as he walked to Spike.

"So, how was that?" Spike asked, extinguishing the flames on his claws for Shining to approach.

"That was pretty cool, Spike. Although you did just destroy our last dummy."

"Oh." Spike replied, disappointment on his tone. "You sure there isn't anything else here we could use? Please?"

Shining chuckled briefly as Spike's demeanor reminded him of a certain pony. "Alright, Spike. How about this..."

Spike watched in antecipation as Shining kicked the pile of ashes away as he turned to him and casted a big magenta wall between him and Spike. "Throw your best shot at it."

Spike hesitated. "Uh... You sure? I don't want to hurt you."

"Pfft. Who do you think has to take the hits when we ran out of dummys during training? I'll be fine, since no one ever managed to break through my barriers before." Shining confidently replied.

"Hey! I did managed to crack it once." Snowflame interjected, annoyed.

"You mean when I was not only holding back but also distracted?" Shining asked, visibly smirking.

"Erm..." Flames failed to come up with a reply.

"Still, I'm not sure..."

"Spike, if it makes you feel better. I'll be putting more magic on this barrier than normal, alright?" As Shining said that, the wall got significantly brighter and Spike could barely see through it anymore. "Here, try it."

"Do you really have to stay behind it, thought?" Spike asked.

"It's easier to tell the impact if I'm behind the barrier. Trust me, Spike. I'll be fine."

Spike sighed. "Alright..." He mumbled for a moment, thinking of some spells to use until he settled with just a concussive blast. "Here goes nothing."

As it hit the barrier, a bang could be heard as well as kicking up a lot of dust, blocking everyone's vision.

"What the heck is going on here?" They heard Thunder's voice as he managed to create enough winds with his wings to blow away the dust.

"Hey, Thunder. We testing Spike's capabilities here. You wanna watch?" Flames asked.

"Watch..." Thunder gave one look at Spike's posture before replying. "Oh, he managed to find a way to do magic? Cool."

Snowflame frowned. "You don't sound surprised."

"Eh, not really. I had a feeling Spike would manage to do that eventually." Thunder replied.

"Really?" Snowflame asked doubtfully.

"Yup."

"Spike, how about you try something heavier?" Shining said.

"Okay..." Spike thought for a moment before he settled for a normal magic missile.

After a loud bang, Shining's barrier got pushed just enough for it to go unnoticed. "Is that all you got?" He asked, just now noticing the smallest of cracks right were Spike hit.

"Alright, you're gonna be like that." Spike said, lighting his right claw up and started to spin his arm. "How about... THIS!" Spike exclaimed as he fired off a fireball.

Flames and Thunder watched as the fireball flew quickly towards Shining's barrier. A loud explosion followed as it made contact with it, knocking him down on his flank as his barrier cracked a lot but managed to barely stay up.

"Captain!" Both Flames and Thunder rushed to check on him, prompting Spike to worriedly run to him as well.

"Shining! You okay?!" Spike asked.

"Oof..." Shining shook the dizziness before replying. "Yeah... I'm good. Just got caught off guard."

"Well, I think I've had enough of practice for today." Spike replied, helping Shining up. "Can we... Keep this from Celestia?"

"Why? I'd think you would love to show her how you managed this." Shining asked, puzzled.

"I want to keep it a surprise, you know. She's going to be a judge for the finals, and what's better surprise than to show off what I managed to do in the final exam?" Spike replied as he noticed the sun's position. "Oh, I gotta go. See you later, guys!"

"So... Should we keep an eye on him? Just in case?" Thunder asked.

"What?" Flames asked, surprised by his suggestion.

"Why you asking that? Do you really think Spike would do something to warrant that?" Shining asked, not happy with the suggestion.

"We know Spike tends to have... Incidents with his fire. Is it too far of a stretch to think he might be susceptible of something similar with his magic?" Thunder asked, pointing to Shining's barrier full of cracks.

"Do you always have to be so paranoid?" Snowflame asked, annoyed.

Shining frowned. "No... he has a point. But I don't think we need to keep an eye on him, per say. I'll just tell him to minimize his magic use, at least until he has complete control of it."

---

A week later...

"Come on..." Rainbow grunted as she kept flying straight up. "I can do it... Argh... Just a little... More..." She tried her best but she eventually gave up when she felt her wings were about the give in, turning around for a dive to rest her wings for a moment. Dammit! I was so close.

Noticing the sunset in the horizon, she turned to fly towards her home. Thought, in the middle of her flight she got surprised by her mother joining her. "Hey, Dashie. How's your day been so far?" Windy asked.

"Eh, fine. *Pant* I guess." Rainbow answered, her tone betraying her words.

Windy noticed her mood. "Is everything okay, Rainbow?"

"Everything's fine, mom." Rainbow replied, not that interested in talking.

"You sure? Because it sure doesn't sound like it." Windy insisted.

"I'm just tired, okay?" Rainbow replied as they arrived home. "I'm just gonna head to my room."

Windy watched as Rainbow disappeared into her room. She's still upset, isn't she... Maybe I can lift her spirits with her favorite food! "Hm... Where did I put that bowl..."

---

"...Sixteen..Seventeen...Eighteen..." Rainbow grunted, doing wing-ups by her bed. "Nineteen...Twenty...Ugh..." Suddenly, both her wings gave in, causing her to faceplate on the floor. Ow.

*Knock Knock* "Dashie, guess what I- Why are you laying down on the floor?" Windy asked.

Rainbow panted, slowly getting up. "No reason..."

"Hm... Well, dinner's ready. I've made your favorite too." Windy replied, waiting by the door.

"Cool, I'll be there in a minute." Rainbow replied, walking to the side of her bed and marking an X on the calendar. One less day, and I'm nowhere close to it.

"What are you waiting for?" Windy asked, causing Rainbow to jump a little.

"Ah! I thought you left!"

Windy giggled. "No, just waiting for you. So, what are you marking that calendar for?"

"Uhm... For the Wonderbolt's cadet submission." Rainbow answered, earning a frown from her mother.

"Rainbow, you're only sixteen."

"I know that. I'm just... Keeping track, I guess." Rainbow replied.

Curiously, Windy looked over the calendar and realized it were three whole calendars glued together. Passing through the pages, she noticed two months after her eighteenth birthday was marked 'Wonderbolt recruitment' in big red letters. "Rainbow... Don't you think you're a little obsessed over this?"

"Obsessed?! You're kidding me? What's wrong to plan for my career?" Rainbow asked, irritated.

"I'm not saying it's wrong. It's just you're neglecting some stuff because of it." Windy explained.

"Pfft. Like what?"

"Like your social life? And your grades? Don't think I just forgot you failed those." Windy replied, sending her a momentarily glare.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know, I screwed up there. -But social life, I did not neglect them, they abandoned me." Rainbow replied, glaring back.

Windy was taken aback. "What you mean? I know some of your friends had to move away, but you still have Fluttershy, Spike and what about that griffon you talked about a month or so ago?"

Rainbow's mood immediately got worse. "Fluttershy's so occupied that I barely see her nowadays. That griff is Gilda and she also moved away... Spike-"

Windy noticed tears coming from Rainbow's eyes. "...He forgot me."

She immediately pulled Rainbow into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Rainbow. I didn't know."

"Can we- *sniff* -just go eat now. I don't wanna talk anymore." Rainbow asked, wiping her tears while pulling away from the hug.

"Of course, Rainbow." Windy replied, leading her out of the room. How did I not see this happening in front of my face?

---

Four months later...

"-You keep pacing like that and you're gonna dig a hole on the floor, Spike." Minuette joked.

"Yeah, you gotta chill out." Lyra said.

Spike stopped momentarily, took a deep breath before replying. "Sorry. I just can't help it."

"Well, think about it. At least you didn't gave up unlike somepony here." Twinkleshine replied, sending shade to Lyra.

"Oh, bite me Twinkle." Lyra retorted.

"Actually, I'm curious. Why did you drop out, Lyra?" Spike asked.

"Eh. Honestly, it just wasn't for me." She replied.

"Fair enough."

"You think it's gonna take too long?" Minuette asked.

Spike looked at the double doors by their side. "It shouldn't take much longer. Moondancer's probably done by now and just waiting for her results."

As he said that, the doors opened followed by Moondancer and Celestia. "Thank you, your highness."

"Of course." Celestia replied as she turned to Spike.

"Can we please go eat something, I'm starving!" Minuette winned.

"We still gotta wait for Spike." Moondancer said.

"It's fine, girls. I'll meet you after it. Same place, right?"

"Yup." Lyra replied as she and Minuette immediately headed out.

Twinkleshine shook her head. "I swear, all they do is eat." She murmured, following them.

"Hey, you got this, alright? Go show them what you're made off." Moondancer said, encouraging him.

Spike smiled. "Thanks... Although, if I do that, they might get weirded out if they see what's under the scales, you know."

Moondancer laughed. "You know what I mean, you duffus. See you later, then. And good luck!"

"See ya!" Spike waved before turning to Celestia. "So..."

"So... The other judges are prepared to test your knowledge on everything your learned." Celestia paused, biting her lip. "After it, you'll be evaluated and told if you've passed or not... And then if you have anything... unique you'd like to show, that would be the time for it." She explained, putting a hoof on the door. "Ready?"

Spike took a deep breath before answering. "Yeah."

Celestia nodded and opened the door, leading him to the front of the auditorium where three judges stood waiting. "-And you'd think there would be more. It's ridiculous how we only had a few graduations this-"

"Ahem." Celestia cleared her throat, immediately gathering their attention.

"Oh. Apologies, your highness." One of the judges apologized as they took their places. "Your name is Spike, correct?"

"Yes." Spike answered, holding his claws behind his back.

"Are you aware of how we'll be evaluating your performance?" Spike nodded. "Good, you ready?"

"Yes."

The judges patiently waited for Celestia's queue to begin.

Remember: You promised to evaluate him like you would to everypony else... She took a deep breath. "You shall begin."

---

"What? Are you serious?!" Rainbow asked - more shouting than asking - rather upset with her father.

"I-I'm sorry, Rainbow. I didn't realize they put my name for this week's overtime." Bow replied.

"You promised me!"

Bow's ears pinned agains't his head. "I know, Rainbow. But-"

"No! I'm done talking with you." Rainbow huffed as she went back to her room, slamming the door shut.

"Rainbow!" Before he could knock on her door, he saw the time on the clock. "Oh, shoot! I'm gonna be late!"

He quickly grabbed his ID card and left the house in a hurry. Just missing Windy returning, carrying groceries with Fluttershy.

"Thank you again, Fluttershy. You can put these on the counter, I'll put them away in a bit." Windy said.

"Just glad to help Ms. Whistles." Fluttershy replied as she looked around. "Uh, is Rainbow Dash home?"

"She's probably in her room." Windy answered, pulling everything out of the bags.

Fluttershy nodded as she made her way to Rainbow's door.

"Oh, for the love of- Bow! I swear, you don't forget your head home because it's glued to your neck." Windy murmured as she realized Bow forgot his lunch on the counter. She quickly put the rest of the groceries away before heading out.

*Knock knock*

"Go away!" Rainbow shouted from the inside.

Fluttershy took a step back, caught off guard by that. "R-Rainbow? It's me."

The door quickly opened as Rainbow stared at her for a moment. "Finally decided to show up?"

"Sorry. It's been surprisingly tiresome to take care of critters the past weeks." Fluttershy replied.

"Uh huh. Can we just go somewhere else? I'm really not in the mood to stay here right now." Rainbow said, leaving her room.

Fluttershy wanted to ask what happened, but upon noticing her mood decided agaisnt it - especially since she herself had bad news too - as she just followed her outside. "Uh, where we heading to?"

"Don't know." Rainbow replied, flying through out the city with Fluttershy behind struggling to keep up.

"Rainbow, wait! I can't keep up with yo-" Fluttershy got interrupted as she crash on one of the clouds that Rainbow accidentally changed it's course with the wind of her flight. Not that she realized it as she focused her attention on the approaching factory.

What she's doing there? Rainbow wondered as she saw her mother enter the factory.

Although, she didn't get much time to think as a sudden flash of light blinded her, followed moments later by a shockwave that sent her flying back, going through a window into a building then crashing onto several shelves within the room.

Luckily, she didn't feel any pain as she was already unconscious before she even passed through the window.

---

"Ngrhh..." Opening her eyes, she saw the white ceiling of the room. Tilting her head to the left, she immediately noticed Spike sitting by her bed reading a book, a tired look on his face. Why's Spike here? I thought- wait. Why am I here?! "S-Spike?"

"Rainbow!" Looking up, surprised, he dropped the book, jumped off his chair and came to her side. "How you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck. What happened?" She asked.

"You don't remember?" He asked, earning a no from Rainbow. "Well. From what Fluttershy told me, you were flying near the weather factory when a explosion happened and knocked you into another building."

"Explosion?"

Spike sighed. "Yeah, there was an incident in the factory. They are still investigating the cause of it."

Rainbow frowned. "Did... Anyone get hurt?"

"Besides you? Yeah, a lot of ponies got hurt... And worse." Spike replied, looking away.

"...Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me?" Rainbow asked.

"Erm..." Spike hesitated. "Do you want the bad news first? Or... The horrible one first?"

"The-" Rainbow recoiled, taken aback. "Uh, bad...?" She asked, worried.

"Fluttershy... She asked me to tell you that... Um, she had to move out of Cloudsdale..."

"What?... No... She..." But she promised... Rainbow struggled to keep her composure.

Spike put a claw on her shoulder. *Sigh* The first time we see each other in who knows how long, and it's like this...

"What can be worse than this...?" Rainbow asked.

"Y-your-... Your dad, Rainbow. He-" Spike couldn't finish the phrase.

Putting two and two together, she stared at him, horrified. "What...?" She suddenly grabbed Spike by his shoulders, catching him of guard. "T-This has to be a joke! A-a lie o-or a dream! Something! Please!" She pleaded, her vision already blurring with the tears forming in her eyes.

Spike shook his head. "I-I'm really sorry, Rainbow." He pulled her into a hug as she wept.

The door slowly opened as Cadance entered the room. "Spike? You- Oh." She came to his side. "I take it you told her the news?"

Spike nodded. "Any info on-" He significantly lowered his voice. "-On Windy?"

Cadance shook her head. "No, but Shining had a few witnesses say they saw a pegasus matching her description entering the factory right before it happened."

"Oh, no..." Spike replied.

*sniff* "Wh- C-Cadance?"

"Shh. It's okay... Quick question, do you trust me?" Cadance asked.

Spike frowned in confusion while Rainbow looked at her, puzzled. "Y-yeah? *sniff* Why-y ask-"

Spike just saw Cadance's horn glow slight before he had to readjust his grip on reflex alone as Rainbow suddenly went limb on his arms. "Wh- Cadance, why?"

"I'm sorry, Spike. It just breaks my heart seeing her like this." Cadance replied as the door opened.

"Hey, everyone. Is dash ready to go?" Shining asked.

"Go where?" Spike asked, noticing Cadance picking up his book.

"The castle." Shining replied. "You fine carrying her down?"

"Uhm... I guess. But isn't it a little suspicious of us to just be sneaking her out like this?"

"We already spoke with the responsible doctor and SnowFlame is currently distracting the receptionist." Cadance answered as she put the book on his satchel by the bed.

"Okay..." Spike didn't really get why they were doing this, but decided not to question it for the moment.

---

A week later...

Carrying a tray with a plate covered by a lid, Spike made his way through the castle hallways, finally stopping by a door. *sigh* "Here goes nothing, again..."

*Knock, knock, knock*

After a minute, he sighed again and tried the knob, only to find it locked. He rolled his eyes. "Really?"

Balancing the tray in one claw, he ignited his other one and in seconds, the door clicked before opening slighty. He didn't waste time as he entered the room and closed the door.

"Hey, brought you some food." Spike tried getting the attention of the ball of covers in the bed. "Come on, it's been three days since you eat something..."

Still receiving no reply, he put the tray on the desk before he pulled the covers away, revealing a slumped Rainbow facing away from him.

He noticed a couple feathers got thrown in the air. Catching one, he also put it in the desk. "Rainbow, you're literally losing feathers now. If you continue like this, you won't be able to fly anymore."

He tried to roll her over but she shrugged his claw off, still not saying anything.

Spike groaned in frustration, glancing at the food tray. An idea formed on his head as he couldn't but smirk a little. "Rainbow~ You are leaving me no choice then..."

He picked the plate, took the lid off and walked next to her. "You sure you not eating?" He asked as he looked over her, seeing her face slighty, barely noticing her shook her head 'no'. "Fine, then I guess I'll have to resort to this..." He said, taking a fork with food and putting it in front of her face, making sure she was looking at it. "Here comes the train closing in onto it's station~ Choo, choo!"

That got an reaction from her. She swatted his claw away as she groaned in annoyance and sit up. "Knock it off." She said, glaring at him.

"You need to eat."

"I don't want to."

"Do you really want me to go back to mom and tell her you didn't want the food she made just for you? Again?" Spike asked.

"Ye- Wait a second..." Rainbow looked at him, suspiciously. "She cooked this? Just for me?"

"Yeah."

"So you're telling me the cooks are just for show then?" Rainbow asked, still not believing him.

"They cook for the guard, and the occasional feast Celestia hosts." Spike answered.

"Hmm..." She kept staring at him suspiciously.

"Will you just eat already?"

"Fine, one bite and you leave." Rainbow replied, stuffing the fork before Spike's answer, only to widen her eyes in surprise. "Fhis preddy goof!"

"Don't talk while mouthful, Rainbow! Don't you have manners?"

*gulp* "See? I toke the bite, you can go now."

"I never said I was leaving after the first bite." Spike replied.

She groaned in annoyance. "Why me..."

"Yeah, why you have a friend that's worried about your wellbeing. I wonder that myself too." Spike replied, sarcastically.

"Pfft. Right." Rainbow said as she took another bite, finally giving in to her hunger.

He looked astonished at her.
"Rainbow?What's that about?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you abandoned me!"

"What? When did-"

"YOU FORGOT ME FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!" Rainbow shouted, jumping off the bed and knocking the almost empty plate on the floor.

Spike stepped back from her outburst, almost knocking stuff off the desk behind him. "I-I-"

"What? Can't think of an excuse?"

"I don't have one..." Spike replied, sitting on the floor. Not able to meet her gaze anymore. "I've been obsessed with an idea for so long, I just started neglecting everyone... I even got in arguments with mom and Cadance..." He felt his blurring as his eyes started watering. "I just- *sigh* I'm sorry for being the worst friend to have..."

Rainbow slowly calmed down as she listened to him.

"I..." He hesitated for a moment, thinking... "I know this is asking for a lot but... Could you give me a second chance?"

"I..." Rainbow thought about it.

"I'll not let anything stay in the way of our friendship this time, alright? A-and I'm never abandoning you again." Spike said.

Rainbow took a shakey breath. "You promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

Once she heard his confirmation, she hugged him. "Please, don't break that promise...

"I won't... I won't..." Spike replied, hugging her back.

Comments

[Zerschmetterling]

Ah, come on. Not gonna tell us how Spikes Exam went?

[Riojoriginal]

11769617
Next chapter you'll know the results pretty much, if that's what you mean.

[LastToTheParty]

Great to see another chapter come out, it was certainly worth the wait .

It's nice to see Spike's and Rainbow's stories once more interweave. Though I got to feel for poor Rainbow she really did not get a break since things started to fall apart for her. Now I'm interested in how she'll deal with the cards she is dealt, and how will Spike and maybe even Celestia play into all of that. Will they try to integrate her into life in Canterlot and will she be able to adapt?

One small critique that I have to make, is Fluttershy's absence after the incident. While there could be many reasons for her to not be with Rainbow when she wakes up, like her trying to help out looking for survivors or nursing the injured, none of that is mentioned, so it just strikes me as odd, that at that time Rainbow's closest friend and one of the kindest ponies around would not be there for Rainbow. Even worse she is relying on Spike to break to Rainbow all the bad news. Also, Rainbow asking, if Fluttershy was OK after hearing lots of ponies got hurt is something I am missing.
Probably a bit nitpicky on my part, but just a small inclusion like Rainbow asking if Flutters is OK and Spike saying she is and saying she is trying to help out after the accident feels more in touch with both characters, though that's just my thoughts on the matter .

[Riojoriginal]

11770805
A Very understandable critique. I actually might rewrite the ending of the chapter to be more precise with the characters, though, I think it might be best if I do the next chapter first before that. Like I mentioned on previous author notes, both this and the next one are quite important for the story and I kinda want to finish the story soon - Not because I don't like it or anything, but because, initially, it wasn't even supposed to be a 'story' per say, just a simple prologue to another story. - Anyway, enough rambling on my part. Thank you for taking your time to read my story to this level, I appreciate it greatly.

Have a great Christmas and a happy New Year!

[LastToTheParty]

11771367
I'm just happy to help and am glad that my comments seem resonate with you . I am looking forward on how you'll develop this "prologue" along further.

And of course Merry Chirstmas and a Happy New Year to you, too .