A Spark in a Gray Mare

by stupid

Search for an Assistant

Twilight's Assistant

"SPIKE!" Twilight Sparkle yelled at the lavender baby dragon. All she could see of him was his seaweed green spikes poking from a mound of books. The purple pony listened, though the only sound that came out of the books was a muffled snore. She tried yelling again, louder this time, "SPIKE!!!"

A head poked out of the books Spike had failed to finish putting away. "I'm awake!" Spike exclaimed, then started to pull himself free from the pile.

"Spike, we have GOT to do something about this! I know it isn't your fault, you're tired all the time, so that's why I'm making this announcement- we're getting some more help," Twilight said, pulling books off Spike as she spoke. Spike finally was able to yank himself free from the library's content. "Spike, how much money do we have saved up?" Twilight asked, trying to check what help they could afford.

"Um, it looks like our total balance is $0.00. . ." Spike said quietly, as he knew how Twilight could get worked up over the tiniest of annoyances. As soon as Spike said this Twilight started pacing, at first too shocked to say anything.

Finally she spoke, "HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET A GOOD ASSISTANT WITHOUT ANY MONEY!?" The volume Twilight's voice achived when she freaked out this dramatically would have caused anybody else to hide, but Spike had gotten used to it since she did this every other day.

"Calm down Twi! It'll be allright! Umm, may-maybe we can find something else to pay them with?" Spike stuttered with caution, being careful not rile Twilight up anymore.

To his relief Twilights face relaxed, and she spoke with a much calmer tone of voice. "All right Spike. That sounds great! Just one question-WHAT?!?!?" There Twilight went again, yelling in her melodramatically angered voice. Spike rolled his eyes, turning away first so Twilight wouldn't see him. Only he made the mistake of allowing her to catch him in the act. She went off the deep end and threw every book on the floor.

Spike spoke calmly with a hint of annoyance in his voice at Twilight. "If you would let me finish, there are plenty of other things. We could pay them with a place to live, food, books, and anything else we might think of!" Spike said with a proud voice. He thought not even Twilight could think that was stupid.

Spike tilted his chin up and wore an arrogant smile looking towards Twilight. In return she rolled her eyes and smiled. Then still grinning said, "All right. I guess that's a pretty good idea, but where do you suppose we look?" Twilight said, keeping the conversation down to earth.

"Why not the marketplace? There are always ponies looking for odd jobs there." The main reason Spike said this when Twilight wasn’t around one of his favorite diversions was going to the marketplace. There were many ponies selling food, some of them would give Spike a treat. Twilight and Spike put on their boots, two scarves, hats, a number of coats, and a huge jacket covering everything.

If they had worn all that any other day they would have gotten lots of laughs. This winter was one of the coldest Ponyville had ever had though; the snow gear was needed. They were bundled up so much they could scarcely speak. More importantly they had to use all their energy to walk in the heavy snow and their heavy coats.

When they finally trudged all the way to the marketplace they shed their heaviest coat, it was always a little warmer there since ponies were selling hot drinks and foods. It would warm their body, but the most heat came from the vendor's little space heaters.

"Ok Spike, you go to the right, and I'll go to the left." Twilight said, trying to send them both down the rows that were warmer.

"But Twilight, what happens when one of us finds somepony?" Spike replied, wearing a smug smile. He was pleased with the fact that he finally found a flaw with Twilight's plan.

"Just come back to here and yell my name as loud as you can. The ponies here are very used to loud noises so it'll be fine," Twilight said matter-of-factly, "and if you don’t find anypony come back here and wait for the me to finish, got that?" Twilight added.

"Ma'am yes Ma'am!" Spike said, doing his best to sound big and strong, but it was hard for a baby dragon. They both parted and started walking down the rows.

Twilight breathed in the smells of the scrumptious warm homemade brownies and the lucious steaming hot chocolates. She knew they hardly had any money as it is, but as the smells carressed her nose, she could almost taste the treats. She finally gave in, and gulped down some hot chocolate while she was turning her head side to side, trying to see every booth.

Meanwhile, Spike had been holding his ground and not buying anything. The smells tempting him and the cold was making Spike cranky. "I'm only a baby dragon and Twilights running me ragged at every turn! If I hadn't been with her so long I'd have left months; maybe years ago!" Spike yelled in his mind, but grumbled it quietly out loud.

Even though Spike was mad he was still being careful not to miss anypony's booth. Even when he passed Rarity, who was shopping for homemade fabrics, he kept his head down. "Oh, hi Spike!" Rarity called to Spike. He walked a few more feet, then shot up in the air with a chilling realization. I blew off Rarity!!! He screamed in his mind. He ran back and screeched to a stop right beside Rarity, then tried to act cool. "Oh, hey Rarity. Whatcha doin here?" He asked eagerly. He wouldn't mind being so cold if he could walk and talk with Rarity.

"Oh, I'm just looking for some new fabrics. I do say the ponies here are very talented when it comes to making fabrics." Rarity replied, stopping every few booths to inspect some fabric or to make a purchase. As they passed a warm booth filled with hot treats and drinks, Rarity gasped.

"Oh my goodness!" Rarity exlaimed, looking at a pony huddled up against the booth. It was the most pitiful pony either of them had ever seen. Spike judged it was about the age of a filly, or an early after-filly. It was a female pony, covered with dirt from head to toe. Everything about this pony's color was dull. Her coat was a dull gray. She had a dark red-almost auburn colored mane and tail; her mane was clumsily tied at the bottom with a frayed ribbon. Her eyes were the same color red. Her eyes had fear in them and she was hunkered down. The most surprising of all at this pony was-SHE DIDN'T HAVE A CUTIE MARK!

Rarity looked at Spike, "Aww, the poor pony's ribs are showing from hunger!" She said, then she sighed. "Oh how I wish I could help everypony that's in that sad of shape!" Rarity added then continued with her shopping. After a minute Rarity ran back to the pony and gave her a small apple, making sure everypony was watching first.

Spike ran off to get Twilight. The whole time he had been standing there, the gears had been turning. When he finally got back to the meeting place, he found Twilight already waiting there. He grabbed her and tried to pull her down the row, talking a mile a minute. "And she looks like she doesn't have a home- and she's real dirty- and she's a blank flank- and she doesn't even have boots-and-" Spike was going on and on until they finally got there. Twilight wasn't really listening to Spike babble until she heard one line, "And she's a unicorn-". Twilight felt joy over that line. Imagine having someone to practice magic with, Twilight thought to herself.

When they got there, Twilight looked the pony over. Twilight was, in fact, a practical pony. So she didn't care much for this pony's looks or how dusty she was. Twilight was trying to figure out if the pony was strong, not bossy, a hard worker, willing to work, and willing to take the time to learn about the merchandise.

Twilight walked up to the pony, who's had changed from fear, to downright fright. "Hi there! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I own the library in Ponyville." Twilight pointed to Spike. "This is my faithful assistant Spike; however, we have realized we need another pony to help out around the library. So I'm here to propose that you work as an assistant in the library, in exchange for food, clothing, and living arrangements." Twilight nervously smiled at the pony, who just lay there and stared at Twilight. After a very long minute, the pony bit her lip and slowly nodded her head.

"Great!" Twilight exclaimed. "Why don't we go over to my house, the library, and I can show you around, warm you up, and get a nice meal in your stomach!" Twilight said, her and Spike were much more joyful, now that they could go back home. At the mention of the warmth and food, the pony slowly got up and trotted after Twilight and Spike.
The three ponies walked in an awkward silence. The frail pony finally broke the silence and asked a question. "So, um, Miss Twilight, what kind of work will I be doing as an assistant?

Twilight didn't stop walking, but she turned her head around while undoing her coat; which was covering up her mouth. "Oh, the tasks won't be too difficult! Just simple things like sorting books, cleaning books, sweeping the library, going shopping for new books, making sure ponies get their books, making sure ponies return their books, issuing out library cards, and anything else that needs to be done!" Twilight quickly pulled on her heavy purple coat and zipped it up. She felt its warmth come over her body the second she pulled it on. She was completely ignorant concerning the freezing pony trotting behind her.
The pony rolled her eyes when Twilight had turned back around and smiled sarcastically to herself. "Well, I'm SURE GLAD she gave me the EASY tasks!" She rolled her eyes once more and trotted a bit faster as Spike and Twilight were going at a much faster pace than her.

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They finally got back to the library. When the pony saw the fireplace, she wanted nothing more than to curl up beside the hot fire and sleep the rest of the day and night, as it was already 8:00 P.M. She watched the sparks dance around the crimson flames and longed to go lay beside it.

Twilight interrupted her daydreams as she spoke, "Why don't you take a rest in front of the firepl-" Twilight didn't finish when she saw the pony gallop in there, flop in front of the hot fire, and fall right asleep. Twilight smiled, then Spike went to put away the books he had taken a nap in earlier, and Twilight went to her librarian’s desk and looked through overdue book notices she saw on the library computer.

The computer had one-button mouse and she wore a device on her front right hoof that strapped onto the hoof and had a metal stick with a small metal ball on the end to hit the keys with.

She spent the next few hours while the tired pony slept, writing and mailing notices to fifteen ponies that had overdue library books, telling them they needed to return the books and pay the late fee before it got any larger.

Spike spent a hour putting away the books, then spent the other two hours napping, curled up on a yellow wool rug.
The 3 hour nap was magical to the starved and exhausted pony. When she finally woke up, Twilight came to talk to this strange pony. "Well, I see you've woken up! As I’ve already said, I am Twilight Sparkle! I am currently a student to Princess Celestia!" Twilight said with a very proud voice. When Twilight noticed her boasting tone of voice, she cleared her throat and tried to talk in a less boastful tone. "Yes, well, that said, what's your name?" Twilight asked, putting on a sweet smile, trying to make the pony feel comfortable.

The pony just shrugged, looked down, and then quietly spoke. "Um, I don't know..." She said, obviously embarrassed. The gray unicorn never remembered being called by a name. When she was with her parents, the only names they called her by were "Idiot" or "Stupid".

Twilight looked the pony over. She really hadn't noticed the pony's looks until she looked at her right now. "I'm going to call my friends over! I just know they'd all love to meet you, and Rarity could help you clean up and maybe get a new ribbon to tie your mane up with!" Without waiting for an answer Twilight ran to her phone, which had huge buttons, and called up each of her friends.

They came one by one. Since Sugarcube Corner was right next to Twilight's house, Pinkie Pie arrived first. Pinkie Pie ran into the room and without any sort of greeting whatsoever, she began talking about 20 miles a minute. "YouMustBeTheNewPonyTwilightsTalkingAbout! WhenSheCalledMeICouldn'tWaitToComeOver! I'mPinkiePie,DoYouLikePie?Or Pinkies?OrPinkiePies?IKnowIDo!DoYou?OfCourseYouDoCauseYou'reSoAwesome!!!!" After Pinkie said all this, she stopped to take a breath.

When Pinkie was inhaling, Twilight stuffed her hoof in Pinkie's always open mouth. "Um, that will be all Pinkie! Um, oh look! Here Comes Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed excitedly, glad for something to make Pinkie stop freaking out the new pony.

Rainbow Dash flew in the library, made a triple axel, and then landed gracefully on the floor on her hind legs, in a beautiful pose. Rainbow walked over to the pony and did her usual long, long greeting. "Hey there! You're looking at the best flier in Equestria! Not only have I won numerous flying competitions, I've also been the only pony to pull off not one, but TWO successful Sonic Rainbooms! I'm TOTALLY gonna be with the Wonderbolts soon! They just have to notice me first, otherwise I’d totally be in right now!" Rainbow Dash ended her speech by tossing her mane back and approaching the pony.

"So, what's your name anyways?" Rainbow asked pulling her head back to get a good look at the small pony.

The nameless pony just looked down at the floor and rubbed her hoof on the floor, drawing an imaginary picture.

"Um, um, OH! There's Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed nervously running out to Rarity to warn her not to ask the pony's name or say anything that might embarrass her. It had already happened to the poor pony so many times, Twilight wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again. She galloped toward her as quick as she could, so she could talk to them without the pony hearing. Even though she knew Pinkie and Rainbow were both talking to her at the same time, Twilight didn’t want to take a chance of the pony hearing their conversation.

When Twilight went out there she gave a sigh of relief. She saw that Fluttershy was with Rarity, so now that was one less time she had to burst out of her house at top speed. She ran up to the two ponies. When she got there Rarity quickly got a comb out of her diamond studded purple bag, and started to comb Twilight’s mane vigorously before Twilight could even get a word out. “Oh, my poor dear! Whatever happened to your mane?” Rarity asked in disbelief at Twilight’s disheveled mane and tail.

Twilight was used to her friend doing this to her and to her other friends so she just let it happen and began talking. “It’s a long story. Anyways, when you come in just don’t ask for the pony’s name. Apparently she either doesn’t have one or doesn’t remember. And Rarity!” Twilight pointed her hoof at Rarity, “Please don’t say anything about the pony’s looks! Feel free though to clean her up! As you had probably guessed from the look of my mane, I’m not exactly the best at mane styling.” Twilight added, with an embarrassed smile

Fluttershy spoke first. “Oh of course Twilight! I would never want to do anything to hurt a pony’s feelings!” Fluttershy said with her eyes big, as though if she made the pony feel bad in any way, she’d have a heart attack. And knowing Fluttershy, she probably would.

Next Rarity spoke up. “I would never want to hurt a new friend! And of course I’ll clean her up! If I was you, I would also want any assistant of mine to look respectable!” Rarity said, in her usual melodramatic voice.

“Thanks you two! I knew I could count on you! Let’s go inside, but help me watch out for Apple Jack. Her being so honest, I’ll have to really work with her so she won’t say anything to make the pony feel uncomfortable.” Twilight said with gratitude toward her friends. She hugged them both, then walked inside.

When they walked inside, Rarity had to bite her lip pretty hard, so to not say anything. Of course she had already seen the pony before, but no matter how many times she saw the pony, it was always hard to take in. She looked away, took a few deep breaths, then put on the best smile she possibly could and walked up to the pony “Hi there, I am indeed Rarity! Oh, Twilight has told me so much about you! I was just dying to come over her and meet you!” Rarity greeted the pony. She made the pony actually speak back with her warm words.
“It-it’s nice to meet you Miss Rarity. You-you have a beautiful mane.” The pony said softly. From the second Rarity walked in, the pony had stared Rarity’s lovely deep purple mane, that twisted just the right amount into perfect curls. Her matching tail was also a marvel in itself, with its one ringlet that hung right above the ground so not to be spoiled by the dust and dirt.
“Why thank you! I do try to make it look its best!” Rarity replied, her face beaming. She was about to say more, but one look from Twilight made her think again. “I do say though, I am quite envious of that perfect shade of red your mane has!” Rarity put in, grinning the entire time.
Twilight smiled to herself. If anypony knows how to compliment, it’s Rarity! Twilight thought to herself. Even though Rarity could seem to another pony snobbish, Rarity wasn’t greedy with her compliments at all.

Rarity was actually getting a conversation out of the shy pony. “Yes, I own the boutique in town. You know, when I saw you, I remembered this fabric back at my boutique. It’s a lovely shade of blue. Not a navy blue, but more of a deep blue. I guess I would call it a blueberry blue.” Rarity said, making a dress design in her head.
“You would really make me a dress Miss Rarity?” The pony said. She pictured herself wearing a dress in her head. She pictured a flowing deep blue dress. At the end of it, it turned up ever so slightly to keep it from dragging on the ground. It had crimson trim on the ends of the dress. It had a thin strip of gold fabric that went around her middle. The strip of gold had just the right amount of glitter, not too little and not too much. The whole dress was made of silk. She had a lovely red rose, with soft green petals that she wore in her hair. Instead of her old frayed ribbon, she had lovely gold silk ribbon. Her hair had been washed, and had lots of beautiful ringlets.
“Why of course! I would delight in it! If Twilight doesn’t need you to terribly badly, why don’t you come to the boutique? I could wash and style your hair, draw you a nice bath, then we can work on the dress design!” Rarity replied, listing all the tasks. Then she added, “And by the way, plain ‘Rarity’ is quite alright!”
“Thank you so much Rarity!” The pony bursted out in gratitude. Again, the pony was barely an afterfilly so she behaved much like a filly. She hugged Rarity tightly.
A tear rolled down Rarity’s cheek as she felt the small pony squeezing her. She gently pulled away and smiled at the pony. “You’re quite welcome.” Rarity replied.
They had been so preoccupied with the pony none of them heard Apple Jack trot in. And they couldn’t help what happened next. Apple Jack trotted right up to the pony and spoke, “Howdy there! What’s your name?” At hearing this tears flowed out of the pony’s eyes. She turned and ran out of the library.

Comments

[stupid]

Constructive critisism wanted!

[Criticul]

So this is your first fic? Impressive, though there are a few formatting things you can work on. Add an extra line between paragraphs, huge blocks of text make the words seem to blur together. Also, you use CAPS LOCK excessively. Try just using an exclamation mark when someone yells or shouts. Other then that for this being your first fan fic on the site, I'm rather impressed. Spelling and grammar are decent, though I would suggest maybe getting a proof-reader. I'll give you a 5/5

[Delicious]

Quite good, I can't really say much without sounding like 162323 , Just keep it up.

[stupid]

Thanks! I try to just use them when the characters are more screaming than yelling.

[stupid]

forgot to say this, but thanks to Vulpes/MrPony for help revise a part of it!

[Criticul]

162943 oh, okay. I was just pointing out that it's used A LOT. It's fine though, your story is still awesome.

[stupid]

Thanks! Its my first so I'm seeking any tips from anypony to make it better!

[stupid]

I see someone was quite stingy with their ratings. Oh well, Rainbow's okay with you now. but sleep with one eye open, Rainbow's watching you lol

Author's Hoof Notes:

1. I put sad and comedy because it varies. Sometimes it will be light hearted, but sometimes it will hit a sad point. I think its nice to have a healthy ration of the two.
2. ...............hmm I guess there's only one hoof note.............

Next chapter should be out tomorrow or the day after! Hang in there!

[aporath25]

I give this a 5-star! Sorry it took me so long to get to this story, I was way behind, but I'm caught up now! It's good to see some modern conveniences in the library like a computer and a telephone. Very interesting! It's nice to see Twilight and Spike open her home to give her a job and meet some new friends! Great story! keep 'em coming!