MLP: Air Magic

Spike sighed heavily as he stood behind the Apple Family's vending stand, several carts of apples surrounding him as he stared out at the path that cut through the center of town with a sour look on his face. He could be doing anything, anything else and he would be fine. But no. Instead he had to sit behind an apple stand that was currently getting no customers! He could still remember what Twilight had told him.

"No, Spike. I'm sorry, but you can't go around begging for more parts. And I definitely can't let you keep relying on us. Dash let you use her spare parts and you broke them in a battle. Again. So now, you have to get your own. And that means you have to get a job. No excuses!"

Spike had looked over to Fluttershy at that moment, his eyes begging her to say something, but she rejected him as well.

"I'm sorry, Spike. But Twilight is right. Magic riders don't just buy A.M.s you know? They build them up piece by piece until they've made them their own. You have to learn these things on your own if your ever want to be a good rider, not to mention if you want to be independent from us. Oh! Not that we won't help you when you need it, of course..."

He looked to Dash, the only one who understood him when all of the girls had left him high and dry. The only one to come back for him when he was all alone. Surely she would-...!

"Sorry, big guy. I have to agree with Flutters. Remember what I told you?" Dash put her feet up on the table again, reclining back to relax. "I have plenty of parts to lend you, but you have to find your own road. And sometimes that means making your own wings as well. We can't keep helping you fly for too long. One day you have to leave the nest and fly on your own. And I think you're ready for that."

Somehow, the same rejection coming from Rainbow's mouth didn't hurt as bad as when Twilight had said it. And the fact that Rainbow thought he was ready to fly on his own was good enough for him.

"You're right, Rainbow." He looked to Twilight. "S-sorry, Twilight. I guess that after Rainbow was so kind to me, I started to rely on you a little too much. I'll go find a job. And i'll buy my own parts, too.

Twilight turned to look over at Spike. "I'm glad you understand. I want you to be able to experience what it's like to be a magic rider on your own. The good, and the bad. I'm sorry if i'm a little harsh on you."

Spike smiled. "It's fine. I can't live in you guys' shadow forever, can I? I'll see what I can find."

"If you're lookin' fer a job, how about helping us sell apples in town from now on? We'll give ya ten percent of our earnings every time you help us out. It doesn't matter for how long either, as long as you at least stay for an hour. How's that sound, sugar cube?" Apple Jack asked as she let him consider her offer.

"Really? you'd do that for me?" Spike asked, excited that the offer came his way so quickly.

"Yep! We're having a bit of trouble on the farm right now, so any good pair o' hands would be a big help! We'd welcome ya to work with us, Spike!"

Spike could only stare at her for what felt like minutes, that is until he found his footing and immediately enveloped Apple Jack in a crushing hug . "Thank you so much!"

Apple Jack only laughed. "You're welcome Spike. Work hard now, ya hear?"

Spike looked up at her and smiled. "Right!"

He had smiled and said all that then, but now...he wasn't so sure. It wasn't that he minded the work. He had always been strong for his age and build after all. The only problem he had was that it was so unbelievably boring! They hadn't had any customers since he had shown up. He had no idea what was going on today! Was it him? Did no one want to come because he was manning the stand? Did they all dislike him or something? No, that couldn't be it. Apple jack was here too, and still no one would show. He hung his head in shame at not being able to get any work done after being there for thirty minutes already. He couldn't earn any money if they didn't make any, damnit!

Suddenly, Apple Jack called out to him, and he looked over to her, seeing her bent over, putting a loaded barrel down on the ground next to it's brothers. He tried not to stare at her rear as he listened to her. "Don't be too upset, Spike. It's usually like this at first. It'll get better soon, don't worry."

"At first? What exactly is gonna change? It's been thirty minutes. I don't see things getting better any time soon."

"Don't be so sure, Spike. They still haven't gotten here after all."

The tone of Apple Jack's voice intrigued Spike. Who was it that had her so sure that they would get customers soon. But then he heard her say...

"Ah, here they are now. Get ready for a show, Spike."

"What? What do you-...!"

All of a sudden, Spike was interrupted by a blast of wind blowing past his face. He looked over to where Apple Jack had set up a small obstacle course using cut wood from the Everfree Forest and a few barrels and hay bales from the barn.

There was a single figure standing at the starting line of the course. their back was facing the course, and they were waving at him.

Spike's jaw dropped like a stone. There, standing before him, was Big Macintosh, the sweat on his toned muscles glistening in the sun.

He gave a salute to the both of them, and turned, speeding his way through the course with an ease that made Spike's skill seem like a joke. He glided over several hurdles at once with tricks that had him in the air for what seemed like minutes at a time, then dominated the twists and turns of the winding pseudo-ramp that Apple Jack had made using the wood from the forest. On top of that, he began to grind up a tree and threw himself right through the hole in the center, having the nerve to finish with a backflip of all things.

Spike simply stared in awed silence, a bit of jealousy present in his system after that little display. As he looked back out at the path, he saw that it had indeed brought in customers. So many, that Spike had a hard time finding where the line ended.

He looked over at Apple Jack only for her to flash him a smile and a wink. "Told ya so."

"Wow! We made so much!" Spike said as he looked at the great stack of bits they had racked in that day. All in all they had made over four hundred bits in one day. And as promised, Spike got his cut of forty.

As he walked back to the Apple's farm with his earning's in his hand, he looked up at the sky. It was getting dark now. Having been so caught up in the excitement of the rush of customers, he had stayed longer than Apple Jack said he had to, but he was okay with it. It was a lot of fun being around the Apples.

closing his hand over the bits and placing them in his pocket, he was about to make his way home when he had a sudden idea. He ran forward to catch up with the group, and slowed down right beside Big Mac.

"Hey, Big Mac. Mind if I ask you a question?" He asked.

"Nope!" Big Mac answered with a smile. "Go right ahead."

"Would you like to join my magic rider team?" Spike asked with a smile of his own.

Big Mac seemed to think for a moment before saying, "Hmm...nope!"

"Aww, why not?" Spike whined.

"I quit A.M.s a long time ago. I've got too much work to do on the farm for that."

"Huh? But what about-?" Spike started before being cut off.

"What you saw earlier was something I only do to attract customers for the family business."

For a moment, Spike noticed that Big Mac was talking more than usual. Apple Jack had told him once that it was because of his old obsession with A.M.s, but he never noticed it until now.

"I see..." Well, looks like he would have to find someone else yet again. Wait. No. He couldn't give up. Not like that. Not after all he had gone through to get this far.

"I really need your help, Big Mac. Isn't there anything that would make you want to join us?"

Big Mac seemed to think for a moment, and then a small smile formed on his face.

"Eyup."

"Oh no..." Spike looked back and forth between Big Mac and the apple orchard before gulping audibly. "Do we really have to..."

"Ya wanted me to join you right? Well I will. But only if ya can beat me in an A.M.s battle."

Spike groaned inwardly as he thought to himself, 'I should've known. How do I always manage to get myself into these situations?'

"But my A.M.s are broken. ...Again. How are we gonna battle?" Spike asked, trying, in whatever small way to get out of this mess. He may have been scared, his opponent being an E rank magic rider after all, but he still needed Big Mac's help.

"Oh, well in that case, I can wait. Get them fixed up and come find me. The only way i'm joining is if you can beat me, so be ready."

'Darnit. I thought that would work. Oh well, looks like I need to fix them up somehow.'

Just then, Zecora and Trixie walked by. Spike seized the opportunity. "Oh, hey! Look! It's my teammates! I'll be right back!"

With that, he made his way over to the two girls and waved at them. "Hi, you two! What are you doing in town?"

Zecora answered first. "Ever since you introduced us, we two have been building our trust. There is no use in having a team, that does not know what harmony means."

Trixie answered next, "Oh hi, Spike! Zecora and I have just been spending the day getting to know each other. You know, teamwork and all that. Is there something you need us for? Or did you just spot us on your way somewhere and decide to check in?" she smiled a sweet smile at him, and if it wasn't for the circumstances, his heart would have melted with how cute she looked.

"Unfortunately, it's the first one. I need a favor. My A.M.s are broken and I need to fix them. Could I borrow some of your parts? Don't worry, I won't ask you to fix them for me too. That part i'll do myself."

Trixie spoke up. "I have spare parts you know? I'd be glad to give them to you to use."

Zecora simply smiled and shook her head. "Nonsense my friend! I also have more than enough parts to lend. If you'll give them to me to fix, i'll have them up and running before six!"

"But it's five thirty." Spike said. "And besides, something is telling me to do this myself. I don't mind if it takes a while for me to learn."

Zecora seemed to think on this for a while, before nodding her head. "I do think I understand. I will make sure not force your hand. One must learn to work alone, before he can do anything on his own."

"Thanks, Zecora."

And with that, Spike went into the barn and took his time learning each and every inch of his A.M.s, from which screw went where, to how each part fit together, all the way down to what he wanted it to look like. When he was finally done, it was right around eight o' clock.

Spike was now ready to start the battle. There was something about knowing his A.M.s were fixed, and that he had done it himself, that gave him more confidence. He had made these A.M.s, and he had used his teammates parts. If he lost this match, not only would he not get Big Mac to join him, but he would be letting both them, and himself down. A lot was riding on this match now. A lot more than he had anticipated, now that he thought about it. He looked over to Big Mac as he explained the course.

"Parts war E class: hurdles. The rules are simple. Go over, around, or through the obstacles, in this case the trees, in your way to reach the goal, the entrance to the orchard. Small warning. The orchard is pretty huge." Big Mac said nothing and led his hand in a sweep, showing Spike the sheer size of the land the Apple Family owned. Spike gulped and shivered.

"You ready?" Big Mac looked down at him, a friendly smile still on his face even as he revved up his A.M.s. That smile seemed to relax Spike enough for him to rev up his own skates.

"Ready!"

And so, they were off. Spike watched as Big Mac immediately took to the trees, jumping from branch to branch with a speed unlike that off a sprinting cheetah.

'He definitely deserves E class.' Spike thought as he watched him in awe for a small moment before pouring on his own burst of speed and zooming through the forest from the ground. Aside from the situation with Canterlot mountain, he had never done wall riding before, so he was not confident in his skills in this setting.

Instead, he stuck with what he knew he could do. Speed, and turns. He made his way through the orchard, swerving and twisting past tree after tree as he tried to catch up with his opponent. Soon enough, he could see Big Mac's back coming up in front of him as he rode on, but he was still too far back to catch up right away.

Meanwhile, there was someone watching the battle from the roof of the barn.

'I heard from Trixie and came to watch the battle, but...' Twilight thought as she watched Spike racing through the trees, Big Mac just ahead of him. 'Can Spike really handle this? I know he has potential but...is it enough to take on Big Mac? He's an E rank magic rider after all.'

Suddenly the sound of roaring flames could be heard right next to her, and she turned around to see...

"Spitfire? What are you doing here? I never thought a queen would be interested in an E rank match."

"I'm not. I actually came to ask you out to dinner." Spitfire said, flashing a smile despite not looking in Twilight's direction.

Twilight blushed and flashed her own nervous smile. "Oh, not this again..."

They continued to watch the match, seeing Spike rush past Big Mac and try to widen the gap between them by pouring on more speed.

Spitfire spoke up again. "The odds of him winning this battle are only about one percent. Do you really believe he can do it?"

Twilight nodded her head. "Yes. He may be out of his depth here, I won't deny. But I still have faith that he'll win. You know why? Because Spike's wings are bigger than anyone else's. I truly believe that."

Back to Spike, he had finally made his way past Big Mac. he didn't necessarily have a plan as much as it was by sheer luck that he even managed to take the lead. But he intended to keep it.He poured on the speed once more, widening the gap between him and his opponent, but even as he did so, he could still feel Big Mac's presence. It felt as if he was being chased down by a several foot tall horse, whose gigantic hoof was inches away from crushing him flat. He looked back for only a moment to see that same gentle smile on Big Mac's face, but his eyes spoke of something different. A burning determination to win this battle. If he wanted to win, he had to think of something to do, and quickly. He looked around and spotted a lasso sitting on top of a tree stump. A plan formed in his head.

He grabbed the lasso and twirled it, turning around and throwing it over the stump, securing it tight. He then through the other end towards one of Big Mac's target tree branches. He tightened that as well and decided to leave and let gravity do it's work. He made his way forward And decided to add another part to his plan while he was at it. He hid himself as well as he could while still moving forward, and tracked Big Mac's movements.

'He has to come up closer. I can't get him if he doesn't move closer.' He continued to watch for a little while, until he heard a branch snap.

'Yes! He got caught in my trap! Now to catch him off guard one more time!'

He heard Big Mac's voice from behind him. "Nice try, Spike! Don't worry! I don't mind your little trap. Keep trying. You might just catch me again!"

Then he saw Big Mac coming up to his position. He jumped toward a tree, bounced off of it and tried to knee his opponent, only to get caught and thrown back, now stuck behind Big Mac in the race.

"Nice one there! But there's one thing you seem to have forgotten. I'm stronger than you!" Big Mac said as he poured on his own speed and rode up a rather large tree.

'Apple Family Special: 1080 backspin wall ride!' With that, he spun his way up the tree, using the momentum from his spinning arms to propel himself up, landing on the top of the tree, which turned out to just be a stump.

Spike had no choice but to watch as this happened, in awe at the fact that his foe/friend could climb such a tall thing. There had to be something he could do to get up there. But by the time he got finished looking around, he had already past the tree.

He stopped his A.M.s and looked up to see Big Mac looking down at him, his eyes closed as he shook his head. When he finally opened them again, he said, "Stop, Spike. You can't do this. We don't have to do this. I know you want me to join you, but I have so much to do at the farm. I just can't. Don't you understand? Let's just forget this whole thing and you can look for someone else. Okay?"

Spike glared back at him, remembering that same look on a certain bully's face from a long time ago. 'It's just like that time...'

"No! It has to be you! You will join me!"

Big Mac simply shook his head again and watched Spike's actions, seeing if he would try to make it up.

Spike was busy trying to look around for places to go, when he suddenly remembered. 'The stump a little ways back! I can use that!'

He started going back down the path in the other direction. Big Mac raised an eyebrow. 'Now just what is he planning on doing now? Don't know when to quit that one.' Big Mac smiled. 'But that's part of why we're friends, ain't it?'

Meanwhile, Spike raced back down the path, finding the stump he had tied the rope to. He stood on top of the stump, tested the rope, grabbed it tight, and revved his A.M.s.

He jumped and rode up the rope for a bit, spinning around it as he held it with his hand, ignoring the slight burn he was feeling from having his hand there like that. He rode faster and faster in one spot, spinning and spinning and spinning until finally, he let go and launched himself off the rope, towards the towering tree. He raced towards it at blinding speeds and did a front flip, Just managing to catch the edge with his hand before pulling himself up.

Big Mac's eyes widened. 'When did he learn a trick like that?!'

Meanwhile, Spitfire and Twilight watched as Spike pulled off the trick.

"No way!" Spitfire said, surprise in her tone. "The kid did it! He pulled it off, A rising whiplash trick! How'd he manage that?"

Twilight simply giggled, causing the fire haired girl to look at her in slight confusion. Twilight looked back, a smile on her face.

"Didn't I tell you? His wings are bigger than anyone else's!"

"Now, Big Mac. This is where the real battle starts!" Spike said, glaring at his friend.

"Wait! How did you manage to pull that off when you're only a beginner?!" Big Mac asked, his voice still full of surprise.

Spike relaxed for only a moment to say, "I don't know. Just popped into my head. Thought i'd give it a try."

Big Mac however, was stunned. 'So all that was just beginner's luck? How much potential does this kid have?'

Then he smiled. "Well, beginner's luck or not, you won't win against me!" Big Mac revved up his A.M.s and rode down the other side of the tree. ' Once more: Apple Family Special: 1080 backspin wall ride!'

Little did he know, Spike was doing the same, following just behind him, his wheels sparking the whole way.

"Is he using four way traction wheels?" Spitfire asked Twilight.

"Nope! I don't think so. His A.M.s are made up of Trixie and Zecora's parts, too, so... But, honestly, I don't even think he knew what he was doing when he put them together."

Spitfire went back to watching the match. "Hmm...so it was just dumb luck then."

There they were, finally, on the last leg of the race, the entrance to the orchard was only a few feet away, and Spike was still just a few feet behind Big Mac, who smiled in anticipation of his victory.

"I'm sorry, Spike. Looks like I won't be joining your team, after all. The goal is only big enough for one person, meaning with me in front, you won't be able to get past me at all. Nice try, though!" Big Mac sped up.

'Damnit! He's right. He's so bulky that I can't fit past him. There has to be a way that I can get past him. Think quickly, the goal is coming up fast!'

Spike racked his brain. There had to be a way! There just had to be! Think, think, think!

And then he remembered. He thought back to what Big Mac said at the start of the race. 'The rules are simple. Go over, around, or though the obstacles in your way, and reach the goal.'

'Well, there's obviously no way I can get around him, ad trying to go through him isn't even an option, so it looks like the only way to go...' He looked up towards the sky. '...is up!'

"Haaaahh!"

'Huh? What he doing now? Doesn't he know it's over?' Big Mac looked back for a second to see what he was doing, only to see him jump completely over him in the span it took him to turn his head back around, all the while appearing as if a green dragon had just flown right over his head.

'What? No! How is he able to jump so high! And so precisely at that! He landed directly in front of me, for Celestia's sake!'

The rest of the race was a given, as Spike raced through the goal all of two seconds before Big Mac did, turning and braking as he did so.

"So, looks like you have to join me now, huh?" Spike said as he lifted a hand to offer a handshake.

"Looks like it. You did pretty good, Spike. Ya reminded me of how I used to be about A.M.s. I wanna continue to feel that excitement, so I would be glad to join you on your team." Big Mac said as he accepted the handshake, slightly surprising Spike with his grip strength.

"Whoa!" Spike said as he shook out his hand, trying to ease the slight pain in his hand.

"S-sorry, Spike. Guess I can't control my own strength sometimes."

"It's alright man." Spike said, a smile on his face. "Let's get back, now."

After the big battle, all present met up at the barn for a drink.

"I didn't know you were here, Twilight! So, how was i? Was I good?" Spike asked, genuinely curious as to what his guardian thought of his first real battle.

Twilight giggled at Spike's eagerness. "You did great, Spike. I'm very proud of you."

"Yes!" Spike cried out to the heavens as he heard Twilight's words. He had done a good job. That was all that mattered.

But then, as if out of nowhere, a figure came down from the sky and stood before Spike.

All of a sudden, his body began to move on it's own. He went to punch the figure, wondering just what was going on with his body.

'Wait. I don't want to do this! Why am I moving without my permission! Someone hurry and stop me!' His fist was inches away from the figures face before he...stopped?