Start Of A Nice Summer And Heading To The Waterpark
Start of a nice summer and heading to the waterpark
The sun dawned on a certain neighborhood, with a certain house, where a certain boy slept peacefully for the first time in a long while. With the sun shining through his window, Spike began to rouse from his sleep.
After sitting up in bed, he yawned quietly, cracked his back and stretched his arms. After waking up, everything that happened before all seemed like a bad dream. The reality remained that his mum was dead, his dad was still in jail, he barely survived a run in with a psychotic madman, and his friend had become the personification of chaos. But, all of that was behind him, and he could only look forward to a brighter future.
Once Spike was out of bed, he changed into his street clothes, which had been laid out on top of the chest next to his bed. An accommodation from his new adoptive sister, Twilight Sparkle. After changing, he tidied up his bed, left his bedroom and walked to the next door over.
“Twilight!” he called, as he knocked on the door.
The door opened, revealing Twilight. Uncharacteristically, her hair was messy, her glasses were crooked, and she hadn’t even changed out of her pajamas at this hour.
“Goo--” Twilight’s greeting was cut off by a long yawn, “--morning, Spike.”
“No sleep again? Let me guess: busy studying for a summer holiday destination,” Spike said, with a mischievous smile.
“No…” Twilight said. In the short time she knew Spike, she learned that she couldn’t get much anything past him. She decided to at least tell a half truth, “Okay...Maybe a lot.”
“Typical,” Spike said.
“Did you come by for something,” Twilight asked.
“Yeah. I was just thinking that since me and my friends are going to the waterpark today, I thought you might want to come along. If you don’t have any plans, I mean.”
“Uh...I think I’ll have to pass. I’m spending the day with Thorax,” Twilight said, playing with a strand of her own hair.
“Aha,” was all Spike said. “Well, good luck with that.”
Spike went downstairs to the dining room. Immediately, he was greeted by a wonderful familiar scent. Looking to the dining room table, he saw sitting there his new adoptive parents. Set on the table was a platter stacked with pancakes nearly a quarter of a meter high. Next to that was a plate full of bacon, and a pan full of eggs. Set in the center was another platter, this one filled by one half of almond muffins and the other half filled with cinnamon buns.
“Ah. Decided to join us for breakfast, did you?” Twilight Velvet greeted the boy.
“Uh...sure,” Spike said, eyeing the extravagant feast before him. “Thanks, Mrs. Velvet.”
“Spike, you don’t have to address us so formally. Call me ‘mum.’
“Alright. Just...you know, I’m not so used to calling anyone else ‘mum,’” Spike answered.
Neither of his adoptive parents said anything. They didn’t have to for Spike to know that they understood exactly why.
Spike walked to the table, and took a plate that was set at a place there. He helped himself to at least four pancakes, three slices of bacon, a heaping scoop of eggs, one muffin and one cinnamon bun.
“Not to sound ungrateful, but why the feast? You’ve never done anything like this for me or Twilight since I started living here,” Spike wondered.
“Well, we just know that you’ve gotten off to a rough start. I guess it’s just our way of helping you adjust to this new phase in your life,” Night Light answered.
“Thanks. Got any orange juice with that adjustment?”
“Coming up,” Velvet said, as she stood up to retrieve the requested drink.
Soon as she had, Twilight came downstairs fully dressed.
“Looks like our newest family member’s settled himself right in. Just so you know: the muffins and buns were my idea,” Twilight said.
“Keep ‘em rolling. I want to eat like this every day,” Spike answered, before taking a bite of eggs.
The family had a good laugh at the boy’s comment. From the time they first had met him up until now, he had changed quite drastically. No longer was he the cynical, gloomy boy from before, but a model of an adolescent.
“What, you think I’m joking?” Spike continued.
“Sorry, Spike. This is just the welcome wagon,” Night Light said. He then noticed out of the corner of his eye that Twilight was not moving to sit at the table. Rather, she was heading right for the door. “Twilight? Where are you going?”
“I just have to go out and...meet someone,” Twilight said, having not yet worked up the courage to tell her parents she was dating someone.
“Yeah, she’s going out alright,” Spike thought to himself.
“As busy as you are, Twilight, you’re not leaving this house on an empty stomach. Sit,” Velvet said, pulling out a chair at the table.
Never one to argue with her mother, Twilight reluctantly sat down and made herself a plate. All the while, her eyes kept darting to the clock on the wall.
Minutes passed, and in the same amount of time, Twilight finished the huge plate of food her mother had heaped up for her. After that, she ran toward the door.
“Twilight!” Spike called.
Twilight stopped herself. How could she have forgotten the simplest staple item that nobody should leave the house without?
She turned around, and caught the phone and car keys that Spike tossed to her. Now, she was ready to go.
The adults had an internal laugh at the antics of the children. These two worked so well together, and they hadn’t known one another a month. It seemed like such a fortunate happenstance that Spike had come into their lives, however tragic the circumstances were that brought him to them.
Thinking nothing more on it, they all continued to enjoy their breakfast.
Spike, however, was busily concocting plans for the day he was going to spend with his new friends.
In the flat above the carousel boutique, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were happily chatting amongst each other. At least, it was happy in the sense that the three of them were not having a bad time.
“Now, don’t that beat all. Sweetie Belle, I’m surprised at you. Ya had the one opportunity to ask out Spike, an’ ya blow it!” Apple Bloom said.
“It's not that I didn't want to... it-it's a little more complicated than just that,” Sweetie said.
“Complicated how?” Scootaloo asked, staring down Sweetie Belle. “Do you like him?”
“What does it matter? You two still hate him a little bit,” Sweetie Belle answered.
“Aw no! Yer not turnin’ this on us. Scootaloo just asked ya a question, an’ yer gonna answer it,” Apple Bloom said.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo agreed.
All of a sudden, Sweetie Belle felt like the victim of a cruel roast. Pinned by the stern stares of her friends, Sweetie felt as if a sudden vice had clasped around her chest.
There came a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it!” Sweetie Belle said abruptly.
She quickly walked to the door, and readily opened it.
“Rarity! Hi!” Sweetie Belle greeted her sister at the door.
“Sweetie Belle, please! I’m right here! You don’t need to yell,” Rarity said. “Now, I came up to tell you all to get ready, so that we can pick up Spike and be on our way.”
Rarity handed each of the children a small shopping bag, each one loaded with the clothes and supplies they would need for their day of fun.
“And this one is for Spike,” Rarity said, handing a fourth bag to Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle peeked into the fourth bag she was given, and found the essentials inside. Sunblock, goggles, a change of clothes, and finally, she pulled out a pair of swimming trunks. These, she examined longer than the other items, until she heard the sounds of her friends giggling behind her.
“I bet she’s picturing Spike wearing those now,” Scootaloo said.
“Ten bucks says she starts rubbin’ ‘em on her face,” Apple Bloom replied.
“Ew! Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle shouted, before wadding up the trunks and throwing them at her friend.
“Girls! Please! Keep the horseplay to a minimum!” Rarity intervened. She sighed internally at what was happening before her. Sweetie Belle had reached the age where she was transitioning to womanhood. When a simple fancy could blossom into so much more. She remembered when she was so young, and how things started changing so drastically, yet so gradually as well. It was like one prolonged walk through a difficult trail in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Still, there was no preventing it from happening, and she decided to simply facilitate getting to the waterpark. “Now, all of you children get ready and change your clothes.”
“We’re not children, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle said, before she went to the bathroom to change her clothes.
“Yes. Of course,” Rarity said, parlty to herself. “Just give me a call when you’re all ready.”
Over a course of minutes, Rarity was called back to the room upstairs, and greeted the younger girls.
“All set to go?” she asked them.
“Yeah!” the three cheered in unison, high fiving each other.
The girls and Rarity exited the boutique, and entered the car. After strapping themselves down, they were ready for their day of fun.
Today, there seemed to be something unusual about the city. Normally, the streets were choked with traffic, and the paths were flooded shoulder to shoulder with pedestrians. Today, traffic seemed relatively sparse, and only a few people were walking about in Canterlot.
Back at Twilight’s house, Spike was in his room watching a movie. Having not much else to do, he sat down with whatever he felt he was in the mood to watch.
There came a knocking at the front door.
“Spike,” called a voice he recognized.
That was enough to make him practically fly out of his seat and rush to the front door. There, he was greeted by Rarity, and he knew what her presence meant.
“Guessing it’s time to go?” Spike said.
“Mm-hm,” Rarity nodded. “And we’ve already provided everything you’ll need for the trip. No need to pack up.”
“Everything? Even a pair of trunks?”
“Everything.”
“Thanks. I guess it pays to work in a clothing store.”
“Boutique, Spike. The word is boutique,” Rarity said, as she guided the boy to her car.
Rarity took her spot in the driver’s seat, while Spike moved to the back. When he arrived there, he saw that the only seat available was between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
“Hi,” Sweetie Belle greeted him.
“Come on in, Spike. Take yer seat. Right between the girls,” Apple Bloom teased.
“Apple Bloom,” Sweetie admonished her friend. She unstrapped herself, and scooted down to accommodate Spike’s arrival.
“Thanks,” Spike said.
After Spike settled himself into the car, Rarity started it up and drove off.
Everyone was silent, unsure of what to say to one another. Spike glanced around at the other passengers, and noticed something was quite off about them all. Scootaloo was glancing at him from the front passenger seat. Apple Bloom wouldn’t stop smiling at him. And Sweetie Belle wouldn’t even look at him.
“Soooooo...how have you girls been?” Spike asked, trying to break the ice.
“Just fine. Been a bit dull since school got out,” Apple Bloom answered. “But, enough ‘bout us. How ya been?”
That question seemed a bit abrupt. Just by looking at Apple Bloom’s face, Spike could tell that she was hoping to hear something. This notion was enforced by the sight of Scootaloo peering around her seat to look at Spike.
“I’ve been good,” Spike answered uncomfortably.
“Anything exciting happen yet?” Scootaloo asked from the front.
“Not particularly. Just this trip we’re going on.”
“Been thinkin’ about anyone?” Apple Bloom asked.
Sweetie Belle buried her face in her hands.
“Girls, please. I’m sure Spike isn’t interested in such femininities,” Rarity said. “Why don’t the four of you decide on what you’ll be doing when you reach the waterpark?”
Sweetie Belle held her breath, hoping that her sister’s intervention would divert the others’ train of thought.
“Yeah, alright,” Apple Bloom said.
Spike and Sweetie Belle released a collective sigh of relief, both glad to have avoided a potentially awkward situation.
The ride passed, and the four younger passengers all knew just what they were going to do when they arrived. However, upon seeing the water park itself, they were left in utter awe.
Slides that seemed a mile high were peppered about, while below them gigantic pools of water were happily occupied by the splashing attendees. Simulated tidepools rocked and waved, sending the swimmers up and down with each swell. A drifting lagoon was seen, allowing those within to simply float about as if they hadn’t a care in the world.
“This--looks--awesome!” Scootaloo said.
“And we won’t get anywhere just by looking at it. Let’s go,” Spike urged the others.
Rarity went first, and paid everyone’s admission. Once they were inside, Rarity left to have a relaxing day of her own.
Inside the front gates, the kids all stood stunned. Outside, the place looked amazing. Inside, it was even better. Everyone here was smiling. There wasn’t a sad face to see in the entire place. They had just begun walking to the changing rooms, when Spike saw something that made his skin crawl and his blood run cold.
Somewhere, among the crowd of smiling faces and playing families, Spike swore he could see the red-eyed man in black: Pharynx himself. He did absolutely nothing, other than turn his head, and looked at Spike the very same way he did that day on the metro.
The sight was a shock to Spike’s system, making the boy feel like he could keel over. Why did he have to be here? Why, of all the days did Pharynx have to reappear in his life.
“Spike? Are you alright?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Spike jumped so slightly that Sweetie Belle didn’t even notice. He quickly looked at her, then quickly looked back forward.
Pharynx was gone. Spike quickly darted his gaze around, trying to see where the madman could be hiding next. There was no rational place that he could have disappeared to so quickly. Not even the crowds would be thick enough to hide that black jumper he always wore.
“Nothing. Just got something in my eye,” Spike said, before he started rubbing his eyes.
“Alright. So, I’ll see you after you get out of the changing room,” Sweetie Belle said, as she handed Spike his bag.
“Uh, right. Thanks,” Spike said, trying to sound calm. Against his rapidly beating heart, he was having a hard time keeping his voice steady. “So, we’ll meet at the biggest slide first, after we all get changed,” Spike said.
He quickly walked to the changing room. Inside the small, dark room, Spike felt as if Pharynx were liable to reach out and take him down the dark path he once intended. These thoughts spurred Spike to change his clothes even more quickly than before.
Once he was done, he looked around to see if any of his friends were out of their rooms. When he saw they weren’t, he walked on to the largest slide in the water park.
Partway there, he bumped into somebody.
“Again?” Spike thought, as the other man walked past him.
The boy turned to apologize, but his voice stopped when he saw who he had hit.
The man he bumped into was only seen from behind, but was clad in blue jeans and a black jumper. Slowly, the man turned around and walked casually walked backwards as he looked at Spike.
“Have fun,” Pharynx said nonchalantly, his hands apart and his shoulders shrugged, before he turned back around and seemed to disappear into nothingness.
Spike didn’t know what to make of what he saw. Either Pharynx was now a ghost or some kind of hallucination. Either way, nothing good could come now that the madman had reappeared.
Discord's Regret And Discovery
Discord's regret and discovery
Discord had awoken in the early hours of the morning. In spite of the day waning on, he had been laying in his bed well until just before midday.
It had been the same every day since he found himself in possession of a strange and chaotic power that had quite literally turned Canterlot upside-down. On top of all that, he threatened the younger siblings of his new friends with this new power, and put his new girlfriend in danger.
Thinking of Fluttershy made his heart sink. He hadn’t spoken to her in days, and she had been trying her damndest to contact him. Every text message, he erased. Every phone call, he ignored. Every time Fluttershy tried coming to his house, Discord made sure to be out. He knew full well she had already forgiven him for all of his misdoings. That was what made Fluttershy so wonderful. But, how could he face her again after that?
His head turned, and he saw his phone on the night table next to his bed. Any minute now he knew that it would start buzzing, alerting him to an incoming call from his sweetheart. He was unable to bear it anymore. It was time to get past it all and speak with Fluttershy again.
Taking his phone, he turned on the screen and sent a simple text message: ‘where are you??’
Knowing Fluttershy, she would already be out and about with her friends. All he had to do now was get a head start and go out as well. When she answered his text, he would set up a meeting place with her and talk about what had happened. After taking a moment to psych himself up, he got out of bed and walked straight out the door, having still been wearing his same clothes from yesterday.
It wasn’t long before he was able to catch a tram into the downtown area, and started looking for anywhere Fluttershy might be. Once he departed the tram, he took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. Fluttershy hadn’t yet answered him.
Knowing her, he would be able to find her in a park, in a pet store, at the zoo, or at a dog show, if there were any being held in town.
With nothing else to do, Discord began meandering about town, hoping that he would run into her at some point. He was about to take out his phone again to see if she had answered, when he noticed a familiar face that he nearly passed by in the crowd.
“Twilight,” Discord greeted her.
“Hm?” Twilight asked. Clearly, her mind had been elsewhere. “Oh, Discord. There you are. Fluttershy’s been trying to get ahold of you for days.”
“I know. That’s kind of why I’m out. Have you seen her around? Or would you know where she is?”
“No. She hasn’t said anything about doing anything special or specific lately. Are you going to meet her somewhere?” Twilight asked.
“I’m trying to. That’s why I’m here. But, she hasn’t answered the text I sent her yet,” Discord answered.
“Sorry to hear that. I’d like to stay and help, but I’m pretty busy right now. Good luck finding Fluttershy,” Twilight said, before she left to go begin her date with Thorax.
After she left, Discord looked at his phone again
Nothing.
With a sigh, Discord simply sat down on a nearby chair at a restaurant patio. There, he decided to wait to be served and order lunch for himself, as he waited to hear from Fluttershy again.
Ever since Pharynx had spoken to him at the water park, Spike was completely on edge. For minutes now, he abandoned going to the largest slide in the park and was frantically looking for where the madman could be hiding.
It was no use. It was as if Pharynx somehow had turned invisible and gone away from the water park.
Fear clutched Spike as a terrible thought occurred to him. Discord had already accidentally fallen victim to powerful and dangerous magic. What if Pharynx had done the same, and was now warping the world to his mad whims. What people would be killed by him? How many would suffer from his psychotic episodes?
“Spike? What are you doing way over here?” Scootaloo’s voice asked from behind.
Spike stopped and turned around. There was Scootaloo, changed into her swimsuit for the day at the waterpark.
“We’ve been waiting for you forever. Why aren’t you at the slide?” Scootaloo continued.
“I--I was--” Spike stammered. The last thing that he wanted to do was to worry his friends over the presence of a madman in their midst. His mind raced for an excuse, but Scootaloo didn’t seem to have the patience to wait for one.
“Looks like Apple Bloom called it: cold feet. But, I got news for you,” Scootaloo said. As soon as she finished, she grabbed Spike by his wrist and dragged him right back to the others.
As they were walking, Spike’s eyes darted about, looking for any trace of black clothing in the crowd.
Scootaloo led Spike through the crowd, back to where Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were waiting. Both girls had changed into their swimsuits as well, but Sweetie Belle wore a thin, short-sleeved top to cover the scar on her arm.
“There ya are. We been waitin’ forever,” Apple Bloom said. “What took ya so long? Ya get lost or somethin’?”
“I--yeah. I got lost,” Spike said, holding onto the one remotely believable excuse he could offer.
None of them had known Spike for very long, but Sweetie Belle could see that something was troubling Spike very much.
“Spike? Are you okay?” she wondered.
“Yeah. Yeah, fine,” Spike hastily answered. As much as he wanted to have fun and put the experience behind himself, he couldn’t even hope for it to be that simple. As far as he knew, Pharynx was waiting to strike. It was only a matter of time.
Discord had eaten his lunch, but still received no word from Fluttershy. Afterward, he continued searching for her.
After searching so many places, he was beginning to run out of ideas as to where she could be. He looked at his phone again, and once more saw that she hadn’t responded to the text message he sent her.
With an aggravated sigh, he put his phone back in his pocket, and walked to the next crossing.
Across the street, he saw a flower stand. An idea occurred to him, and as soon as the lamp signalled for him to cross, he jogged straight over.
“Hello, sir. What are you looking to buy,” the woman behind the flower stand asked.
“Uh,” Discord stalled, as he looked through the merchandise. He decided to go with the old reliable, “One rose, please.”
“Five bucks for one rose,” the woman said.
“Five bucks for a flower?! What scam is she running?” Discord thought to himself, as he retrieved his wallet and produced a bill for her.
The woman crouched behind her stand, leaving Discord to briefly mull over what he would do when he actually met Fluttershy.
“Here,” the woman said, as she returned with a single rose. One that had just barely begun to open up. “You look like you’ve got something serious to handle, so here’s a fresh rose.”
“Thanks,” Discord said, before leaving on his way.
His next stop was going to be the zoo. When he arrived there, he paid his admission and walked inside.
Fluttershy was still nowhere to be found in this place.
“Dammit! Where is she?” Discord thought to himself.
He stopped in front of a gigantic aviary, where birds of many colors flew about. He leaned against the fence, which separated the attendees from a shallow pool where flamingos waded about.
One look at the rose in his hand, and he felt as if he had just wasted his five dollars.
“Crap…” he sighed, as he tossed the rose aside.
Discord left the zoo, feeling now that Fluttershy had stopped wanting to talk to him. Of all the stupid luck. He had waited too long to try speaking with her, and now he was paying the price. Tired, exhausted and sore, he decided to walk back home and try again tomorrow.
Once Discord was home, his parents were already out. Not that they’d notice if he came home, had they been present. He went to his room, contemplating what he would say and do if he met Fluttershy tomorrow.
There came a noise at his window. When Discord looked, he saw the very rose he had thrown away batting its petals at the glass panes.
Curious and startled both at once, Discord opened the window and allowed the rose to come hopping inside on its stem. The rose hopped up to his night table and put down roots.
Discord stared in amazement at what had happened. The only time something even remotely similar happened was in the weeks before when he fell victim to a strange power. Had it been he who animated this rose? Was he in control of this power now?
This matter would need to be investigated. And he did it the only way he could conceive how. He thought back to what he had for lunch, before he bought the rose.
“I’m sure hungry right now. Fish and chips sounds nice,” he said aloud.
The rose on the table blossomed, and spat forth a platter of grilled fish and crispy chips.
Discord didn’t know what to make of what he saw. Whatever power he had, some small part of it seemed to have stayed behind. Whether it was good or bad, that remained to be seen.
