Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock went the clock. It had been like this for some time now, with each of the six mares staring intently at the glow of the Cutie Map between them. The day had been long, and uneventful to boot. The school was closed for the week's vacation Twilight had arranged for her students, and she and her friends didn't really have anything else to do for now. No chores to complete, no problems to fix, not even any friendship missions in some distant corner of the world that required their attention. And it was this latter issue that now concerned them, as they continued to stare hopelessly at the magical table. On some level, perhaps they hoped that, if they just stared at it long enough, a mission would be there for them. Alas, this was not to be, and soon, it was Rainbow who broke the silence between them, groaning loudly and leaning back into her throne.
"Uuuuuuuuuugh! How long have we been waiting now?"
"About half an hour," Twilight answered.
The impatient pegasus promptly smacked her head against the aforementioned table, though the rest of the mares at least had the courtesy not to give her grief over it. Although, while displaying similar irritation, Applejack looked over to her alicorn friend, frowning slightly.
"An' y'all are sure there's nothin' fer us ta do?"
Sighing, Twilight shook her head grimly.
"Afraid not. We're just...not needed for anything today."
It was an unpleasant feeling, not being required for once, and that shared displeasure was as clear as day upon the faces of all the mares. But then, to the slight confusion of them all, they began to hear a familiar voice humming a happy tune. They turned together, seeing the smiling face of Spike as he entered the chamber. In one hand, there was a small bowl of gemstones, and in the other there was one of his favourite comic books. The mares watched him, seeing him walk over with a little spring in his step, all the way over to the smaller throne that lay just next to Twilight's. Hopping into it, the young dragon promptly placed his gem-bowl upon the larger table, before taking a claw-full of its contents. Opening his mouth, he shoved them in, and after giving a quick chew, he soon noticed the stares he was getting.
"Um...want some?"
Smiling slightly, Rarity raised her hoof, politely refusing the offer.
"I appreciate it, Spike, but I think not today."
Spike shrugged his shoulders, then got back to chewing, eliciting the obvious question from his longest friend.
"So...I take it you've got nothing to do today?"
Hearing that, Spike shook his head.
"Nope. So I think I'll just do this today."
And "do this" he did, looking to his comic and bearing a wide grin as he flipped through the pages. Twilight, though somewhat amused by the youth's antics, nevertheless shook her head a little.
"How do you do it, Spike? I mean...we're all going stir-crazy from having nothing to do today. And you...?"
Finally swallowing his mouthful of gems, Spike looked to each of the mares, and did indeed see that most of them were looking less-than-pleased over their lack of something to do today. Scratching the back of his head slightly, the youngster looked back to the Princess beside him.
"Well...yeah, I know there's nothing important to do but...you know...I can just do something I...well...like."
Fluttershy placed her hoof upon her chin, looking to the dragon with interest.
"So...just spend the day doing...what we like?"
Spike raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! I mean...when did that become difficult?"
Pinkie, giggling nervously for a quick moment, clapped her hooves together quickly before offering some clarification. But, admittedly, this clarification came in the usual upbeat and energetic way she was so known for speaking in.
"Weeeeeell...we kinda have a whole bunch of stuff to do a lot of the time these days, with the school, and friendship missions and what-not, soooooo..."
She didn't finish, instead looking to Applejack, who, after letting out a sigh, finished her sentence for her.
"It's jus'...after takin' on all these responsibilities, we can't jus'...ya know...do what we like."
Hearing all of that, Spike set his comic to the side for a moment, folding his arms and sounding just a little bit irritated.
"Uh...yeah, you totally can."
He looked to each one of his friends, before finally settling on Twilight.
"I mean...when was the last time any of you did something you liked without worrying about some responsibility? Nobody expects you to do anything today, and you don't have anything big that needs you so...just do what you like."
Another shrug of his shoulders.
"Heck, it's better than just waiting for something to happen...right?"
Slowly each and every one of the mares looked away from the small dragon and to each other instead. There was a long pause, as though all of them were carefully considering what to say or perhaps just how to say it. Then, when it was all done, Rainbow Dash got out of her chair, drawing the attention of everybody else. She raised her hoof to her mouth, cleared her throat, and then just said what she wanted to.
"Guys...I'm gonna go home...I'm gonna whip out my favourite Daring Do book...and I'm gonna read it while Tank is right next to me."
She folded her hooves.
"And I'm gonna do it all while he's wearing that little cotton hat Fluttershy knitted for him for his Birthday!"
Fluttershy beamed at that, while Applejack looked to her cyan friend with confusion.
"Er...why?"
Looking back to her, Rainbow smirked.
"Because he looks cute in it! There! I said it!"
Blinking to that, Applejack released a hearty chuckle, and after adjusting her hat, she too stood up.
"In that case...ah'm gonna go home...an' ah'm gonna grab a whole bunch o' apples an' make a pie outta them!"
She nodded firmly.
"Ah don't care if it's some stereotype of what people think o' me, an ah' don't care if apples are mah job! Ah like apples, an' so I'm darn-well gonna eat em!"
Fluttershy, smiling to her two already-standing friends, now got up herself.
"I'm going to go to the pond in my animal sanctuary and have a little swim. Because its a hot day, and I have a few otters who've been dying to spend time with me lately."
Rarity was next.
"Very well...I am going to go home, I'm going to draw some hot water, and I'm going to have the longest, hottest, most relaxing bath of my life! And I'm going to do it while wearing two slices of cucumbers over my eyes!"
Pinkie looked to her with more than a little confusion.
"Yeah, um...what do those little cucumber thingies do anyway?"
Rarity paused, then shook her head.
"I have no idea! I never have known, and I probably never will know! But you know what, darling? I don't really care! Why? Because I find it a fun thing to do, so henceforth, I shall do it!"
Pinkie, naturally, giggled intensely to this, before getting out of her own throne.
"Well I'm gonna go down to the local bakery, stand outside, then do nothing but sniff the air! Because the smell of baking bread is one of the best things you can possibly smell!"
She clasped her hooves together.
"Oooh! And then I'm gonna go home and have myself a slice of bread and butter!"
The others stared at her, prompting her to roll her eyes briefly.
"Hey, I like sweet things as much as the next mare. But you know what? I like savoury too! And sometimes, a little bread and butter is just delicious to me!"
Twilight paused here, looking to each of her friends, before slowly glancing down. She let out a long sigh, then eventually smiled.
"I'm going to find my favourite book...and I'm going to sit in my comfiest chair...and I'm going to read it all day."
She slowly looked back up to the rest of them.
"And then...I'm going to read that same book again! Because no matter what people say, I can find joy in reading the same thing over and over!"
Spike smiled to that, getting up from his mini-throne, downing another handful of gems, before looking to his friends with pride.
"Alright then...go and do fun stuff! Because, you know...it's fun!"
With that, the mares all gave each other one final smile, before darting out towards the front door, leaving a trail of dust in their wake. Twilight giggled to this, looking over to Spike and giving him a friendly pat on the head.
"Thanks, Spike. I think we all needed that little bit of encouragement today."
The youth's chest swelled out slightly.
"Hey, what are number-one assistants for?"
Twilight, while still keeping her smile, shook her head slightly to that, then began to move over to her aforementioned, comfy chair, and getting herself upon it. Then, a moment of pause came to her, and her smile widened. With a flash of her horn, a second chair now appeared next to her, and she gave it a quick pat.
"Reading my favourite book is fun...but doing it with my friend? That's even more so."
Spike smiled back, taking hold of his gems and leaving his comic behind, before hopping over to the chair that had been conjured for him. Twilight again used her magic, bringing her chosen book to her lap. She opened it, found the first chapter, then gave her childhood friend another warm smile.
"Well...let's do what we like then!"
Author's Note
So, my first fanfic. I hope you all like it.
Oh, and if anyone's wondering why I decided to use an image from season one when this story takes place in season eight-onward, it's because it's one of the images I find cutest from the show and I just wanted to use it :)
