Friendship is (still) Magic

Friendship’s Still Magic

Chapter 1

Twilight Sparkle lay on her bed in her room in Celestia’s castle. She was currently reading one of her old books. While she was reading, she came across a part about the Wonderbolts, ‘Rainbow Dash would’ve liked that...’ She thought. It had been over three months since she had seen any of her friends. Not only was she learning how to be a princess, she was having to deal with her new Alicorn form. Alicorns weren’t just winged unicorns, they had the combined powers of each pony in Equestria: Earth pony strength; pegasi flight; and powerful magic. As a unicorn, she already had powerful magic, but she noticed an increase in her magic due to the change. Spells that she already knew were more powerful than ever and she was able to access new spells, spells that she didn’t even know about.

But something was eating at her, ever since she had ascended to Alicorn. She wondered if she deserved this. She wasn’t really anyone important, just a girl who grew up in a wealthy family, went to a nice school, and became Celestia’s personal student. That still didn’t mean she deserved this. Celestia had had several students, all much more worthy than her. So why was she chosen?

Twilight sighed and closed the book. Using her magic she levitated the book and put it back on it’s place on the shelf. She stood up and straightened her violet tank top. In addition to that, she wore jeans. Unlike her fellow Alicorn Princesses, her hooves were bare, trying to feel the carpet beneath her. She walked over to the mirror and examined herself. She was taller, looked a bit more regal, her horn had gotten slightly longer and her wings… That was something she’d have to get used to.

She soon heard a knock at the door. Twilight walked to the door and opened it, revealing Princess Celestia. The white Alicorn was wearing a long white dress, and her gold sandals. “Good morning, Twilight. How are you doing today?”

“Good morning, Princess.” Twilight answered trying to keep a smile on her face, “I’m...okay, I guess.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just...feeling a little homesick I guess. Ironic since I’m FROM Canterlot.”

“Home isn’t always where your from.”

Twilight sighed, “I guess, but I still-”

“That’s why I’m here, actually. I think you’ve learned all you need to learn here except for a couple things.”

“What?”

“Well, you’ll need to learn self defence from the guards, but you’ll also need to learn about how to use your wings… And I can think of no one better to train you than Rainbow Dash. And since we can’t have her going back and forth to Ponyville and Canterlot-”

“I’ll get to move back to Ponyville?!”

“If Rainbow agrees to teach you.”

“Oh! Princess! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I don’t know what to say! I’ve just missed them so much and I haven’t been able to call or write or-”

“Well, maybe you should change that.”

“Oh! Yeah! Um, I guess I-”

“I’ll let you call her,” Celestia smiled, and left Twilight to call Rainbow.

Twilight immediately bolted over to the telephone and started dialing.

After she let it ring for a bit, she heard a familiar voice say, “Hello?”

“Hi Rainbow,” Twilight smiled at hearing her friend’s voice.

“DUDE!” Rainbow screamed, almost deafening Twilight. “What happened to you?! It’s been, like, three months!”

“I know… How is everyone?”

“Oh you know, the usual. There are a few things, I guess, but I won’t say what. How are you Princess?”

“Please don’t call me that. I’m still just Twilight.”

“Okay, Twi. But how are you?”

“Homesick.”

“Oh… Well why don’t ya come down here? We certainly want ya back.”

“Well...That’s kinda why I’m calling, I need some help.”

“What is it that you need?”

“Well… I have a pair of wings… and I still don’t know how to fly yet… Do you happen to know of anypony that would be able to teach me?”

Rainbow was floored by her response. “Anypony? Anypony?! You’d ask another pony to teach you instead of the most awesome pegasus in Equestria?!”

Twilight giggled. “Of course not. You’re the only pony I’d ask.”

“I’d hope so! So does that mean you’ll come back here?”

“Yup.”

“For how long?”

“For as long as I want.” Twilight smiled.

“That better be forever.”

“Well, I hope so.”

“Good. I ain’t lettin’ you go again.”

“Okay. I’ll hold you to that. So would the day after tomorrow be a good time to come over there?”

“Dude, you can come today. Just get here!”

“Well, I’m meeting my mom for lunch tomorrow, but I’ll come the day after. Is that okay?”

“Like I said, just get here!”

Twilight laughed, “Okay. Expect me to arrive in the afternoon.”

“Will do. Expect a Pinkie Pie party five seconds after, too.”

“I will,” Twilight smiled, fondly remembering Pinkie’s parties, “See ya then, Rainbow. And be sure to tell everyone else.”

“Will do. See ya,” Rainbow Dash replied before Twilight hung up.

Twilight let out a small scream, not as quiet as Fluttershy’s though. “I can’t wait!”

She happened to glance over at her chest of drawers and realized, “I gotta get packed!”

*****

Rainbow Dash put the receiver down on her own phone. She was wearing a black T-shirt and khaki shorts. She then did a flying back flip, exclaiming, “Yes! Woohoo!” She went back over to the phone and picked it up, dialing Applejack’s number.

“Hello?”

The voice didn’t belong to Applejack, it was the Sweet Apple Acres’ farmhand, Caramel.

“Hey ‘Mel, is Applejack there?”

“Actually, she’s right here.”

After a few moments, Applejack’s voice said, “Ya want another flank whoopin’, Dashie? Track’ll need to be cleaned up but-”

“That’s not what I’m calling about. Can I meet you and the other girls at the library in an hour?”

“Uh...How come, Sugarcube?”

“It’s a surprise…”

“Uh… This isn’t a prank, is it?”

“No.”

Rainbow could hear Applejack sigh, “Okay, Rainbow Dash. I’ll be there.”

“Awesome. See ya then.”

‘This is SO AWESOME!’ She thought with a smile. She hung up, then dialed another number...

******

Spike was dusting off some of the books. He wished Twilight would come back and put whatever magic she had put on the books back, he never remembered them being this dusty. Course...he wished Twilight would be back, period.

Three months was too long, a lot of stuff happened that he wished he could have talked with Twilight about, but couldn’t since she was studying (he guessed). It had gotten so bad he had written a list of things he wanted to talk with her about. One of which was his recent breakup with Rarity. Though, that relationship merely lasted two very awkward dates. It had been difficult at first, but he resolved that it was for the best.

Spike shook his head. No, it was still difficult, he still felt depressed over the matter. Would he be able to move on? Maybe, but not now.

Suddenly, Spike heard a knock at the door. “Coming!” He called out. He ran to the door and opened it.

“Hey, Spike,” Rainbow Dash greeted.

“Hey, Rainbow. You wanna come in?”

“Yeah.” Rainbow stepped in and closed the door behind her, “So what’s Poyville’s one and only dragon citizen doing?”

“Dusting. What’s the next Wonderbolt doing?”

“Well… Is it alright that the other girls are comin’?”

Spike frowned, “...It’s a library… Anyone can come over.”

“...Anyway… I haveta tell everyone somethin’.”

“What?”

“It’s a surprise.” Rainbow winked.

Spike looked at her blankly.

“Sorry. But I think you’ll like it.”

“Okay…” Spike groaned.

There was another knock at the door. Spike sighed and went back to open the door. This time, it was Applejack. She was wearing a red flannel button up shirt, which acted as her work shirt, though it was normally rolled up to keep her cool, jean shorts, and her trademark stetson. The first thing both Spike and Rainbow noticed was how sweaty she was. “C’n somepony tell me why I thought cuttin’ the A/C outta my black Mustang was a good idea?”

Rainbow sneered, “I thought the problem was that it wasn’t a Camaro.”

Spike cleared his throat, “Can we argue about you cars later?”

“Yeah. What’s this secret, Dash?” Applejack asked, entering the library.

“Sorry, I gotta wait for the others.”

“Okay. But I can’t promise Ah’ll be awake.” The farm girl flopped down on the couch and rest her eyes.

“You think you’re tired, I’ve been dusting off these books for the past hour,” Spike added, “And I’m not even done yet!”

Applejack opened her eyes, “Try buckin ‘bout two hun’red trees, haulin’ few hundred punds a apples, and for hours on end.”

Spike was silent for a minute before, “Ya got me there.”

Applejack smiled triumphantly before resting her eyes again.

Just as Spike was about to sit down, there was yet another knock at the door. Spike groaned, “Maybe I should just leave the door open.” He yet again got the door.

“Hiya Spike!” Pinkie Pie greeted. She was wearing a light blue dress with white highlights on the sleeves, neckline, and skirt. “Dash here yet?”

“Yup.”

“Great! And I brought Fluttershy over!” Pinkie stepped in and Spike could see Fluttershy come in.

Fluttershy followed Pinkie in, she was looking very stiff and uncomfortable. She wore a yellow T-Shirt with blue jeans.

“Awesome. Now we just need to wait for... Rarity.”

Everyone could see Spike was pretty reluctance at the fact Rarity would be here, of course, they knew why.

“Spike?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“If there’s anything you need...um...We’re here for you.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy… I think I’ll just go to my room till you guys leave.”

“Oh no ya don’t,” Rainbow interrupted, “You need to hear this, too.”

“Rainbow, if Spike doesn’t feel comfortable around Rarity-”

“Trust me, he’ll be over it very quickly once he hears what I have to say.”

Spike sighed, “Fine, but it better be good, like a Griffengers and Power Ponies crossover.”

“Nope. Better than that.”

Spike looked at Rainbow Dash skeptically.

“You’ll see.”

Suddenly, the door opened and Rarity walked in.

Spike might have given her thanks for just barging in, since he didn’t have to answer the door, but at the same time...well…

Rarity wore a red tank top and jeans.

She quietly sat down on the couch by Applejack, which was also the furthest seat from Spike.

“Alright Dash, we’re all here, so what is it you wanna tell us?” Applejack asked what everyone else was thinking (except Pinkie, who was thinking about cake).

“Well first, guess who called me this morning,” Rainbow said.

“Princess Celestia?” Rarity asked.

“No, but close.”

“Princess Luna? Does she wanna have an early birthday party? It’s only-” Pinkie asked.

“No, Pinkie,” Rainbow took a deep breath, “Twilight called… and said she’s coming back to Ponyville… Permanently.”

Everyone gasped at this revelation, especially Spike, who was at the edge of his seat.

“She said she’s coming the day after tomorrow, so if a certain pony wants to throw a little party for her, she better get on that.”

Pinkie gasped, “Why on earth would Twilight want some pony to throw her a party when there’s me?!” She gasped again, “Has she forgotten about me?” Pinkie started to cry,

“Ah think she was talking about you,” Applejack pointed out.

Pinkie immediately stopped crying. “Oh. Well then I better get to work, see ya all later!” With that, Pinkie dashed out of the library.

“Well, Ah better get goin’ too,” Applejack added. “Ah have a feeling she’s gonna need a lot of cider.”

Rainbow’s ears perked up, “Cider?”

“Yeah, wanna help?”

“Under one condition: I get a mug of it.”

“Deal.”

“Err hold on, girls,” Rarity spoke up, “I’m coming too.”

Everyone looked at her.

“What? Someone has to make sure there are no bad apples in the bunch. The very thought of it is simply dreadful.”

“Uh...Okay… If ya want…” Applejack held the door open for her friends, and after they left, it was just Spike and Fluttershy.

“Do you need to be somewhere?” Spike asked.

“No… But I can stay here… if you need someone to talk to.”

“You mean talk about Rarity?”

“Not necessarily, if you want to, that’s fine, and if you don’t, that’s fine, too.”

“Okay. Thanks…”

“You’re welcome,” Fluttershy smiled warmly.

Both were silent before…

“So, Twilight’s coming home,” Spike said.

“Yeah… Are you excited?”

“I am… Are you?”

“Yes. It’ll be good to see her again after so long.”

“Yeah… There’s so much I want to tell her, but where do I start?”

“Well… Would you like to talk to me about it, or would you feel more comfortable with Twilight?”

“I think it would be best to talk with Twilight about it.”

Fluttershy nodded, “I understand…” Fluttershy stood up, “Would you like some help dusting? I assumed that’s what you were doing since you’re holding that featherduster.”

“Yeah, I was. How did Twilight do it?”

“Magic?”

Both friends laughed.

“Must’ve been. Hopefully she’ll fix it when she gets back.”

“If she doesn’t mind that is.”

“Why would she mind? She started liking things dirtier since she went to Canterlot?”

“Good point,” Fluttershy blushed.

Spike rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah…”

Another moment of silence passed over them.

“U-Um Spike?”

“Y-yeah?”

“I...Um… I need to go, but if you need me, you can call me, okay?”

“Okay, I will.”

And with that, Fluttershy walked out of the library, leaving Spike alone to dust the books. “Alone again…”

*****

Applejack did a roundhouse kick on one of the trees, knocking all of its apples loose. All of the apples fell into a basket that Rainbow Dash was holding. She took the basket over to Rarity. “Here’s some more for ya, Rares,” she said.

“Oh...Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity said, absentmindedly.

“You okay Rarity?”

Rarity looked up and faked a smile, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Uh… Well… Spike…”

Rarity took a deep breath, “I’ve moved on, Rainbow.”

Applejack stopped bucking and came over, unrolling her shirt. “Ah don’t think ya did, Sugarcube,” she said.

“Well, maybe I bounce back quickly.”

“It’s only been a week, Rarity! You can’t get over someone in a week,” Rainbow pointed out.

“Maybe I can. How would you know anyway, Rainbow?”

Rainbow paused for a minute. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Rarity,” Applejack looked her unicorn friend in the eye, “Didn’t ya care about Spike?”

“Of course I did!” Rarity suddenly stood up, a tear streaming down her cheek, “That’s the whole reason I broke up with him.”

Applejack and Rainbow gave Rarity an odd look.

“He’s only a boy, I- I couldn’t see him any other way. He’s the most wonderful, caring, amazing dragon I’ve ever met- but he’s a boy! I- I couldn’t look at him in the same way I would a stallion. It just wouldn’t be right.”

“So… You broke up with him because he’s a dragon or cuz he’s younger than you?” Rainbow asked, sincerely.

“Because he’s younger than I was. Otherwise, I’d be quite alright with dating him.”

“He’s just five years younger than you!”

“And he’s two years older than Sweetie Belle. It’d be like dating one of her classmates! I- it wasn’t right! I didn’t want him to waste his life on me.  I want him to find someone closer to his age.”

After a few moments of silence, Applejack asked, “Are you sure it isn’t because he’s a dragon?”

“Yes I’m sure.”

“And...you aren’t over him, are you?” Rainbow asked.

“...No…” Rarity confessed.

Applejack sighed, “So much f’r cider.” Applejack sat down, with Rainbow following.

“Now wait a minute,” Rarity said, “I can still work.”

“But we can’t, knowin’ one of our friends is hurtin’. And Ah reckon Twilight would approve of us helpin’ you over some silly cider.”

“Believe it or not, I’m with AJ. Cider’s great ‘n’ all, but it’s pretty worthless compared to my friends.”

“And I appreciate that, but we can resolve the issue later.”

“We can’t. Rarity, just get everythin’ off yer chest, okay?”

“Applejack, I’m not going to rest just yet, so you might as well get back to work. We’ve already wasted enough time as it is.”

“But-”

“AJ…” Rainbow finally said, “maybe she doesn’t WANT to talk to us…”

Rarity didn’t say anything.

Applejack sighed, “You’re right, Rainbow, if she don’t wanna talk about it, we shouldn't force her.” She stood back up, and went back to the trees.

Rainbow glanced back at Rarity before following Applejack.

Rarity went back to sorting through the apples. Maybe now was not the time and place to worry about Spike. Yes, Twilight would appreciate it if she told her friends about how she felt, but at this point, it wasn’t going to be her day; it was going to be Twilight’s. One thing was for sure though, Rarity is going to have a lot of apples to sort.