Spike was aware that his words would not sway the lavender pony’s mind, but it didn’t stop him from trying. Now, after putting forth his opinion, Spike regretted not holding his tongue. Since it was too late for that, he might as well prepare for the worst. Reaching far out of sight, Spike pulled forth his body armor of pillows and military-issued helmet, and he moved himself closer to the floor to better his center of gravity.
“Twilight,” Spike groaned, “it happens to everypony. Nopony can stop it from happening.”
Great fires roared in the mare’s eyes, and their smoke bellowed from her nostrils. With each step nearly shattering the oak wood lying beneath her, Twilight advanced on her assistant with many words on mind.
“No, Spike,” she replied in a calm demeanor, but it didn’t last. “This does NOT happen to everypony at an age like this, especially when this mare,” she pointed at herself, “has yet done anything to deserve something as catastrophic as THIS!”
Her hoof moved from her chest to the streak of pale in her mane. Spike ran into the end of his journey; the bookshelf stood strongly against the purple dragon’s will. He was cornered between a unicorn’s scathing tone and unprecedented danger. Spike attempted to turn to move away from the wall, but it was far too late; Twilight already stood in his wake.
“C-calm down, Twilight,” he pleaded, desperately wishing he could distract her long enough to escape.
“Oh, okay, so you want to take this slowly? Sure, let’s just sit down and imagine that my grey hair doesn’t exist. Let us pretend that Twilight can handle this situation with subtlety, and Twilight isn’t feeling like every second she spends fighting Mr. Let’s-be-reasonable over a matter that is NOT REASONABLE! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT!?”
“Uh, yes?”
This was it; this was the end for the number one assistant. Or so he thought, until his rescuers made an enticing entrance, which drew the fiery unicorn’s attention to them. A cyan pegasus made her mark and zoomed through the door sliding the a full stop in front Twilight. Uncomfortable with the lack of personal space, Twilight stepped back, but her movements were halted by her hyperactive friend giggling uncontrollably at the only sight to see.
“Twi-hic-light,” Pinkie Pie choked between giggles and hiccups. “What happened -hic- to your hair?”
Twilight was less pleased with the pink mare’s reaction as the unicorn glared at her.
“This is not funny, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight emphasized every word.
“You’re right,” Rainbow joined in, failing to hold back her amusement of the new look. “It’s hilarious! Twilight, are you sure you’re not telling us your real age?”
“Rainbow -hic-, I’m sure Twilight’s -hic- still young at heart if not anywhere else.”
“I am NOT old!” Twilight roared growing furious of the jokes.
“Hey, Twilight,” Rainbow teased. “When are you going to join the school house? The children could use a few history lessons on friendship.”
Twilight’s mane began to catch fire. She didn’t understand why such a calm and collected pony such as herself was getting grey hairs at such a young age. Her friends certainly weren’t making the situation any better with their obsessive need to crack jokes. Twilight was being serious, and her friend weren’t.
“Dashie,” Pinkie gasped, catching air and losing her uncontrollable torrent of hiccups. “We have to be professional about it. This is Twilight we are talking about. I am super-duper-positively sure that she is not old.” Twilight was happy to find somepony who was going to look at everything for how it is. “She’s just chronologically gifted.” Okay, maybe not.
The giggling mares fell to floor in a fit of laughter. Twilight was at her end, and she was not going to take it. The frustrated unicorn walked out the door in search of a way to solve her problem, leaving the two jokesters to look after the library.
Her stroll through Ponyville was no better than her unwanted visit to the library. As Twilight walked with her shoulders dragging, the citizens of this minute village gazed at the unicorn’s new fashion statement. Some gossiped to each other, ensuring they were unheard by the defeated pony, while others couldn’t control their desires to make fun of the shade of grey in Twilight’s mane.
The unicorn sighed and blew the highlighted locks of her hair out of her eyes. Once clearing her vision, Twilight realized there was a taller, muscular stallion standing in her way. She stopped before running into the red-furred horse and looked up on him as he looked down upon her. Despite the saddened look on the unicorn’s muzzle, Big Mac smiled mildly as he wondered what has this pony in a fix.
“Howdy there, Twilight,” Big Mac voiced as his bass keys rang in the unicorn’s ears.
“Hey there,” Twilight replied. She looked away in hopes the hide her face from the earth pony, and she murmured, “What are you doing here?”
“Ah’m just pickin’ up some stuff for the farm.” Mac took a slow pace around Twilight to keep watch of her emotions. “You don’t look so well? You be lookin’ as sad as a puppy without its chew toy.”
“Is it that obvious?” she asked rhetorically, but the stallion answered her question anyways.
“Eeyup.”
She sighed and walked forward a few steps before stopping. Twilight didn’t turn back to face her helper; she didn’t want him to see her sad face. She went on explaining what was bothering her.
“It’s just… my friends are sitting there laughing at me, and I don’t understand how this could happen to me. At my age, this shouldn’t be happening to me, but it is. Now, I am running around unsure of what I can do to fix it, and none of my friends are here helping me.”
Twilight planted her rear to the ground and slugged close to the ground. Tears began to form in her eyes; she wanted this all to be a dream. She wished hard, closing her eyes even, for this day to be a figment of her imagination, but no matter how many times her eyes opened, reality remained true; this was happening to Twilight.
Big Mac wasn’t entirely sure if his suspicions were accurate, but he decided to take a hoof of a guess. He walked beside the mare and lightly patted her shoulder while speaking softly in a more sentimental voice.
“Now look here, Twilight, Ah know Ah’m not the best of ponies to be turnin’ to for advice about these fancy things you girls be messin’ with. But if I reckon, you should go to your friend the next time you try something you ain’t used to.”
Now Twilight was confused; what was Big Mac talking about?
“What do you mean?” Twilight questioned. “I didn’t magically say I wanted grey hair and got it over a night’s rest.”
“Well, Ah didn’t expect you to. Ah’m just sayin’, if’n you thinkin’ of paintin’ your hair a different color, Rarity might be able to help you avoid mishaps like that.”
Big Mac pointed to the grey streak of hair in Twilight’s mane.
“Wait, this is hair dye?” Twilight insisted, hoping his answer brought light to her mind.
“Eeyup.”
This was the only answer she needed to hear. Twilight bursted into the air with joy, and she hopped around the silent stallion. How could she not have thought of such a thing: hair dye? She knew there was no way she could be getting withering locks in her rightful years… But she also shouldn’t have hair dye either. In fact, she doesn’t possess anything of the sort, so she couldn’t have done it herself. Where did the hair dye come from? When did her hair get dyed? Who could have done such a-? It was then that she realized the mastermind-no, masterminds-behind this… this… prank.
Anger erupted from the pores of Twilight’s skin. Her teeth grinded across the surface of their fellow brothers and sisters. Her pupils constricted, and the white turned red. She turned around, each step driving the country pony further away from the rage-induced unicorn. Once her horn pointed off towards the tree that which held her home, and howled off to the few that currently resided in its quarters.
“Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie!”
