Love at First Charm

Chapters

Part 1 - A Walk Through Whitetail Wood
Part 2 - Meeting the Charmer
Part 4 - A Spa Day Out
Part 5 - Fluttershy's A-Fluttering
Part 6 - The Center of Learning...and Love
Part 7 - Sweetness in Apple Acres
Part 8 - A Party of Two: 1/3
Part 8 - A Party of Two: 2/3
Part 8 - A Party of Two: 3/3
Part 9 - Start Your Day Off With Rainbows: 1/3
Part 9 - Start Your Day Off With Rainbows: 2/3
Part 9 - Start Your Day Off With Rainbows: 3/3
Part 10 - A Surprise of Their Own
Part 11 - Let the Clamor Begin: 1/3
Part 11 - Let the Clamor Begin: 2/3
Part 11 - Let the Clamor Begin: 3/3
Part 12 - To Reconcile Is To Care
Part 13 - A Poignant Farewell
Part 3 - Learning About Friends

Part 1 - A Walk Through Whitetail Wood

It was a very gorgeous spring day in Ponyville, and Twilight and her friends were taking a walk through Whitetail Wood. “Isn’t this such a wonderific gloritastic day??” Pinkie Pie enthusiastically said as she bounced along.

"Indeed it is," Rarity replied, "A bit of sunlight can do wonders for the complexion; as long as it's not too much. Nopony would want their complexion ruined after spending so much time outside in the sun."

"Ohh, Rarity, would you stop fussin' over how yah look and just try to enjoy the peacefulness of a walk in the woods?"

"It is not "fussin'" to care about one's own appearance, Applejack. You could learn a thing or two about improving your appearance, as well."

"Ah think ah look just fine, thanks." Applejack replied gruffly.

"Well, it could still be better."

"It's just fine!!"

"Girls, please!" Twilight shouted at Applejack and Rarity. "You're both being very disruptive! Nopony can enjoy themselves to listening to you two argue! Plus, I'd think you'd both have learned to accept how the other chooses to behave!"

Applejack and Rarity looked at each other with guilty faces, and then Applejack said, "Gosh, you're right, Twilight. We're awful sorry..."

"Yes, Twilight; we are indeed sorry..."

"Well, that's good," Twilight turned her head back forwards again. "I'm glad you two know that nopony should freak out over something trivial."

After Twilight finished talking, Pinkie Pie looked down on the path a short distance in front of her and stopped bouncing. When Twilight had walked right next to her, Pinkie exclaimed, "Lookie! Is that a snake up there?"

Twilight instantly froze in her tracks. "A...snake...?"

"It sure looks like a snake! What do you think Twil—" Before Pinkie could finish, Twilight had quickly teleported herself away. "Twilight? I didn't know she had someplace to go."

"Pinkie, ah think she left because of the snake," said Applejack.

"Really? How do you know she didn't have someplace important she had to go?"

"...Ah'm pretty sure it's the snake."

While Pinkie Pie was thinking this all over, Fluttershy flew over to where the snake was supposed to be to get a better look at it. "Actually, this isn't a snake," she said to everypony else.

"It's not??" They all replied.

"It's not??" shouted Twilight, whom had stuck her head out of a tree that was a couple trees behind the other ponies.

The other ponies turned around and saw her. "Twilight, what are you doing up there? I thought you had somewhere important to go?"

"No, I didn't," Twilight teleported herself in front of Pinkie. "I...just wanted to study the anatomy of trees up close while we were out here."

"Oh, okay!" Pinkie said. "See, Applejack? It wasn't because of any snake that Twilight left."
"Could've fooled me," Applejack said with a sarcastic look on her face; and then Pinkie Pie made a big smile.

The girls gathered around what they thought was a snake. "What is it?" asked Fluttershy.

"It looks like a rolled-out scroll," Twilight said. "And there appears to be writing on it." The scroll showed what looked like a bunch of scribbled lines in the form of a list on the scroll.

"And somepony's scribbled some writin' onto it," said Applejack.

"It looks like somepony wrote some words down, but kept crossing them out."

"Why would they do that?" asked Fluttershy.

"I'm not sure."

"Maybe they wrote something secret down and didn't want anypony to find out about it!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"Yes, I see how that could be possible," Twilight responded.

"Like maybe it was a recipe for some super delicious cupcakes or cookies or a great big cake!!" she shouted as she licked her lips.

The other girls looked at each other, then back at Pinkie Pie. "IIIIII don't think anypony would want to get rid of a good food recipe, Pinkie Pie."

"Of course," agreed Rarity. "Then they wouldn't be able to make it again."

"Well, if that's not what this is, then what could it be?"

"I'm not sure—waah!!" Twilight shouted as the paper suddenly started to move on its own. The others jumped back as well as Twilight.

"What the hay is going on??" shouted Applejack.

"I don't know!" Rarity responded.

"It must be mad at us for trying to read its secrets!!" Pinkie shouted.

"Pinkie, don't be ridiculous!" said Twilight. "That's not why it's moving!"

"Then why is it moving?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, see how it's coming out of the bush?" she pointed at the part of the scroll that was coming out of a bush. "If we just follow the rest of it, we're sure to find someone who's making it move."

"Well then, let's get going!" said Applejack, and the ponies started to follow the scroll to find where it led.

Part 2 - Meeting the Charmer

"My, this is taking quite a long time!" Rarity said as she wiped her head.

"We've only been following the scroll for about a minute, Rarity," Twilight responded.

"I know, but I didn't think this scroll would be so long!"

"She's got a point," Rainbow Dash interjected. "This scroll is ridiculously long. I didn't even think they could be this long."

"I have to admit," Twilight replied. "I've never seen one like this. Whoever it belongs to must have had it specially made for a reason."

"Well what reason would they need to have the scroll so dang long?" asked Applejack.

"I'm still sticking to my secret recipe idea, if anypony cares to agree with me," said Pinkie Pie.

Twilight looked at Pinkie in a condescending way, and then she said, "Well, don't worry, we'll have to find where it leads soon, and then we'll know for sure." They continued to follow the scroll even deeper into the forest, but then Twilight perked her ears up. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Fluttershy.

"It's faint, but it sounds like someone is talking...and they sound upset."

Everypony else listened as they walked towards the noise. "Let's see...no! Ugh!" The talking got louder as they got closer. "Now how about...oh, that's just awful!"

"It sounds like a guy," said Rainbow Dash. "And he really sounds mad at something."

"Gosh, what could be making him so upset?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well, we'll know now, since he's on the other side of this bush," Twilight said. She and the others then stuck their heads through the bush and saw a small clearing, and on the opposite side of where they were, they saw a unicorn sitting on a stump. "Look!" Twilight quietly said to the others. "He has the other end of the scroll!" she pointed at the scroll that the unicorn was holding up with his magic.

"Well, it looks like we finally know who it belongs to," said Applejack.

"But I'm still curious as to what he's been writing on the scroll."

"Well, we could ask him," said Fluttershy.

"Or we could just stay here and watch what he does," Rainbow Dash suggested.

"But isn't it wrong to spy on someone?"

"Who says?"

"Umm...I don't know..." Fluttershy said as she cowered.

"I think Fluttershy is right," Twilight said. "It's probably best to just ask him."

"Well, I still think—"

"Arrgggh!!"

Rainbow Dash was cut off at the sound of the unicorn's angry shouting. The ponies then started watching him again, having forgotten about their previous conversation.

"Come on, come on, think! I know!" the unicorn wrote on his scroll. "...no, no, no!!" he scribbled out what he had just wrote and moved the scroll up to write something else. He then wrote on the paper again, but got mad and scribbled it out again. He then scribbled even harder, then threw scroll and his quill and fell off the stump and onto the ground in anguish. He lie on his back, covering his eyes with his hooves. "Why? WHY?? Why must this be so difficult?!? Aaaggh!!!”

The ponies watched in shock and sadness as he became more and more distressed. Twilight looked at her friends, and they knew what she was thinking by the look on her face. They all proceeded to walk out of the bush and over to the unicorn. "Are you all right?" Twilight asked.

The unicorn suddenly ceased his sobbing, and moved his hooves away from his eyes. He looked around at all the six ponies, unsure as what to say. "...who are you?"

"Oh, well, I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends," she pointed to each pony as she addressed them by their names.

"Oh, I see," he then got back up on his feet. "Well, my name's Creati—I mean, Creo! Yeah, Creo..." he chuckled nervously.

The other ponies looked at each other with wary faces, and then back at Creo, who was smiling like he was hiding something. "Creo, I know we just met, but if you're nervous about something, you can tell us. We won't think any different of you. Right, girls?" The other ponies all nodded and agreed with Twilight.

"...well...okay. I feel like I can trust you ponies," Creo took a deep breath. "My name isn't actually Creo. It's just a nickname I made for myself because I'm embarrassed of my real name," he said as he slapped his hoof on his face.

"Oh, come now," Applejack said, "It can't be all that bad."

"Applejack is right," Rarity added. "Your name is just as good as anypony else's."

"Not mine..." Creo grumbled.

"I'm sure it's very nice," said Fluttershy.

"It's probably cooler than you give it credit for," Rainbow Dash added.

"Yeah!!" Pinkie exclaimed. "It's probably the most super wonderful fantastical splenderifous name in the world!!" she shouted as she jumped into the air and landed on her back on the ground.

"Well...you get the point," Twilight said.

"Okay, I'll tell you," Creo sighed. "My name is..." The other ponies leaned forward to listen. "...Creative Charmer..."

"Creative Charmer? That's your name?"

"Yes..." Creo grumbled. "My parents named me that because they thought I would grow up to be creative and charming...ugh..."

"...well, I think that's a perfectly fine name; right, girls?"

The other girls agreed with Twilight, but then there was the sound of snickering. Everypony looked and saw that it was Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie who were snickering.

Twilight cleared her throat loudly, which made Rainbow and Pinkie stop.

"Sorry, man," Rainbow chuckled. "I just couldn't help myself."

"Me neither!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Your name just sounded so silly to me!"

"Yeah, I'm sure it does..." Creo said, slumping down and hanging his head in humiliation.

"Girls, please!" Twilight shouted. "Let's try and be civil here."

"Absolutely," Applejack added. "You're gonna make our new friend feel bad."

Creo then lifted his head up. "You consider me a friend..? Even after we just met?"

"Well, of course we do, sugarcube!"

"Oh, quite so."

"We certainly do!"

"Yes, of course."

Creo turned to Rainbow and Pinkie. "Do you consider me your friend, too?"

"Well, of course!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Oh, of course!!" Pinkie also exclaimed. "It's always great to make a new friend!"

"Well...that's really nice of your girls...nopony has ever wanted to be my friends so fast before," Creo's sad disposition had completely disappeared, and he looked truly happy for the first time since the girls met him.

"Sure thing, Creo," Rainbow said. "I'm sorry we laughed at you, but friends joke around like that. We didn't mean anything bad."

"Oh, we would never do that! Making friends feel bad is one of the worst things ever!! One thing you should know about us is that we never mean those kinds of things seriously!!" Pinkie exclaimed as she grabbed Rainbow and Twilight and pulled them right next to her, hugging them both tightly.

Creo chuckled. "Well, that's great to know. You girls will make great friends."

"Well, thank you," Twilight said after Pinkie let her go. "Also, if you want to be called Creo instead of your real name, we all understand," The others nodded in agreement.

"Thank you all very much. Even though you made me feel better about my real name, I still like my nickname better."

"Then, we shall call you by that, Creo," Rarity replied.

"Sure thing!"

"You got it, pal!"

"All righty-wighty!"

"You girls are just the perfect ponies to be friend with," Creo sincerely said. "It's no wonder you all are such good friends with each other."

"It's no wonder indeed," Twilight said. "We may have been through some hard times before, but nothing will ever come between us and our friendship," Twilight and the other girls then had a group hug.

Creo looked so touched by this heartfelt display. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he ran over to his bag that was next to the stump he was sitting on. He used his magic to take out a blank scroll and started to write on it.

Part 4 - A Spa Day Out

In Ponyville, Rarity had just arrived at the spa. "Well, here we are!" she turned her head around. "Aren't you glad we came here, Creo?"

Creo was being dragged along the ground by Rarity's magic, while he had his hooves in the ground, still struggling against her. "Yeah...real glad..." he grumbled as he was dragged next to Rarity, whom then released him.

"So, shall we go?"

Creo got back up on his hooves. "Let's see...how about no?? I told you I don't want to do something girly like that! It's embarrassing!"

"Don't you think you could at least try it before you go berating it?"

Creo groaned. "If I try it once, will you stop pestering me about it?"

"Indeed I will. Now come, come! Off we go to have a glorious afternoon of pampering!" she said as she trotted into the spa.

"Yeah, very glorious..." Creo grumbled as he slowly walked into the spa.

Once inside, Rarity told Lotus, the pony at the reception window, ""I will have the usual, and my friend here will have the same," Lotus nodded and rushed off to get things ready.

"So, what is this 'usual'? And how long will I have to endure it?"

"Oh, will you please??" Rarity said, irritably. "You won't know how good it is until you try it, so will you please just try it??"

Creo stayed silent for a moment, then sighed. "Fine...I'll try it once, as long as you don't' force me to come again, okay?"

"Oh, don't worry; I won't have to force you to come again, because you'll love it so much you'll want to come!" Creo sighed and rolled his eyes. The doors to the spa then opened. "Well, it's time! Shall we?"

Creo sighed again. "Sure, why not?" Then he and Rarity walked through the doors.

Just after going through the spa doors, Rarity and Creo entered the sauna together, both wearing robes. They both sat down, and Lotus poured water on the hot rocks, thus creating steam. "Ahhh...aren't you feeling more refreshed already?"

Creo breathed in the steam from the sauna. "Well, I have to admit, I do like how this steam feels."

Rarity smiled in delight.

"...although, I'm not too thrilled about wearing this robe. I just can’t help but feel that it’s girly, too.”

Rarity groaned. “I have just about had it up to here with you talking like that! You might actually enjoy this if you stopped thinking about being humiliated and started thinking about it from my point of view!”

Creo just sat there, looking back at Rarity. The thoughts about what she said kept racing in his head. "...you know, you're right.

"Excuse me?" Rarity said, astounded.

"You're right. I care too much about what other ponies think of me. When I think like that, I can never truly enjoy anything that I should be enjoying. Like right now, I really have been enjoying being here, but I've been forcing myself to say I hate it, just because of the fear of being embarrassed. Well, no more! I say let us make the most of our time here!"

"Now that's the proper way to think!" Rarity said, feeling very delighted. "I told you my way was right! Now let us go on with the beautification!"

"All right!" Creo shouted enthusiastically.

When they were done with the sauna, Creo and Rarity kept on enjoying the rest of the spa treatments: the massaging, horn manicure, hoof soaking, and more.

Later, Creo and Rarity left the spa, both feeling quite refreshed; especially Creo. "Well, I must say that I'm sorry I hadn't tried that sooner! I feel so much better now!"

"I just knew you would love it if you tried it! And now all your stress about writing your stories is gone!"

"It most certainly is gone! And I have you to thank for it, Rarity!"

"Well, thank you, Creo, but I'm sure somepony would have done the same thing eventually."

"I doubt it. It's obvious not everypony cares as much about the spa as you do, Rarity. You're a very special pony, and I feel so lucky for having met you."

Rarity blushed a little. "Oh, my...thank you. It's very sweet of you to say that, Creo. I feel very lucky to have met a pony like you, too."

"Thank you, Rarity. I feel like there is some way I should thank you for this."

"Oh, you don't have to do anything."

"No, no; you deserve it,” He looked around, then saw a flower patch nearby. Using his magic, he pulled several different flowers out of the patch and gave them to Rarity. “Here are some beautiful flowers for a great and beautiful friend.”

Rarity used her magic to take the flowers from Creo. Rarity was blushing more. "Creo...I...I don't know what to say...this is just so sweet and generous of you."

"Well, like I said, you deserve it, Rarity. In fact, I’m going to try and spend the whole day relaxing instead of writing for once. And I have you to thank for showing me the light, Rarity,” Creo then picked up Rarity’s hoof and kissed it. Rarity was so taken aback by this, she couldn't say a word. "I'm sorry I have to leave now, but I want to see what other things this town has to offer; Goodbye, Rarity!" Creo shouted as he trotted off.

"Yeah...bye..." Rarity waved a little back a him. She then looked at her hoof that he kissed. She held her hoof close to her head and sighed happily.

Part 5 - Fluttershy's A-Fluttering

Creo had been happily walking through Ponyville, taking in the peaceful nature of the town. After walking through the town, he came upon Fluttershy's cottage. "My, what a cozy little homestead this is. I wonder who lives here?" He walked up to the front door and was about to knock on it, but then he heard the sound of singing and tweeting coming from behind the cottage. Curious, he followed the humming to the back of the cottage and found Fluttershy lightly singing along with some birds. "Oh, hey! Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy and the birds stopped their singing and turned towards Creo. "Oh, Creo! It's you. Sorry I didn't see you there," she then flew down in front of him. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, actually, I just happened upon this town as I was walking around; I didn't know that you lived here, since I didn't get a chance to learn about you ponies before Rarity dragged me away," Creo laughed.

Fluttershy giggled. "Well, I'd be happy to show you around, I mean, if you want."

"I would like that very much," Creo bowed in reverence.

Fluttershy felt flattered by his gesture. “Oh, well then, let’s go,” she then started showing Creo the nature around her house.

Creo marveled at the beautiful plants and large variety of animals living near Fluttershy. “I’ve never seen so many different animals living in one place before! It’s incredible!”

"Well, I do like animals very much; I care for them like they are part of my family."

"Awww, what a nice thought," Creo said. "It must be great being able to live in harmony with nature like you do."

“It is very great, Creo. I think my favorite thing in the world is spending time with my animal friends—although that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy spending time with my friends a lot, too! Ohh…please don’t tell them I said that, Creo.”

“Calm down, Fluttershy. There’s no way friends like yours could ever be mad at you for something like that. They as well as I understand your love for animals," Creo placed his hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder.

She looked back up at him, and lightly smiled. "Y-yes...you're right, Creo. My friends wouldn't do that. Sometimes I forget that...thank you..."

"Of course, Fluttershy. After all, you're my friend now, and friends look out for each other, as I've written in one of my stories."

"Yes, you're right...I'm glad I have a nice friend like you who knows that so well."

"Well, thanks, Fluttershy, but I'm nowhere as nice as you are."

Fluttershy blushed again. "...me..?"

"Indeed. You are most definitely the sweetest and kindest pony I have ever met. Even though we haven't known each other that long, I can tell how kind you truly are," Creo smiled.

Fluttershy couldn't think of what to say. Nopony had ever said how nice she was in such a compassionate way before. "...I...umm...I..."

"Are you okay, Fluttershy? Did I say something wrong?"

“Oh, no, not at all. It's just...umm...well…” Fluttershy scratched the ground with her hoof, unable to say what she wanted to Creo.

“…well, maybe it’s best I go now. I don’t want to bother you any longer,” Creo turned around to leave.

“Wait!” Fluttershy shouted, which caused Creo to stop and turn his head towards her.

“What is it, Fluttershy?”

"Umm…it was nice seeing you again…"

"Oh, well, it was nice seeing you, too, Fluttershy. Goodbye," Creo turned back forwards and continued leaving.

"...goodbye..." Fluttershy stood there, waving, until Creo was out of sight. She then slumped down on the ground. "Ow..I must have sat down too hard," she rubbed her hurt bottom, and then went back to thinking about Creo. "It's very strange...I feel differently about Creo than I do for other ponies," she said. "It's like...I care for him as a friend, but much more than that. Something...more..." Fluttershy then gasped at her realization. "Oh...my...can that really be it..?" Fluttershy thought of Creo once more, and how sweetly he had treated her. Fluttershy then closed her eyes, smiled, and blushed, knowing full well how she really felt about Creo.

Part 6 - The Center of Learning...and Love

Creo was back in the main part of Ponyville, wondering where to go next. "Hmmm..." he looked around, and then something caught his eye. It was Twilight Sparkle, whom was walking by a short distance away from Creo. "Oh! Hey, Twilight!" he waved at Twilight, and she turned towards him after hearing her name.

"Oh, Creo! Hello! It's nice to see you again!"

Creo ran up to Twilight. "It's nice to see you again, too, Twilight."

"So, how was the spa? Did you dislike it as much as you said you would?"

"Actually, I didn't! Rarity showed me the error of my ways and now I've been thinking about trying new things I was too embarrassed to try before!"

"That's wonderful! So, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know much about Ponyville, so I don't know what places might be fun to go to."

"Well, I—" Twilight stopped mid-sentence.

Creo turned his head toward her. "Yes? What is it?"

"...well, I could show you some good places at my house. I live in the Ponyville library, so I have maps of areas and towns around Equestria, and information about all of them."

"That sounds great! Let's go!"

"Okay! Follow me!" Twilight took Creo back to her house. When they went inside, they saw that Spike was dusting the shelves. "Spike! I'd like you to meet my new friend, Creo."

"Oh, hey there!" Spike got off the ladder and walked over to Creo.

"Nice to meet you, Spike," Creo shook Spike's hand with his hoof. "Do you live here with Twilight?"

"Yep! I'm her number one assistant! I've been her assistant for most of my life."

"And he does an excellent job of it!" Twilight said as she out her hoof around Spike.

Creo looked around the room. "Well, I can certainly see that! He keeps the library very clean and tidy!" Spike smiled proudly from the compliment. "Speaking of which, can I see that map of Ponyville that you told me about, Twilight?"

"Oh, right! Could you please get the map for Creo, Spike?"

"You got it!" Spike said, and he ran into the next room to find the map.

Creo walked up to one of the bookcases in the library. "So, I'm guessing you like to read a lot, Twilight?"

"Of course! I consider myself to be very erudite."

"Very what?"

"Knowledgeable."

"Oh, okay. I guess it just shows how much smarter you are if you know a word like that," Creo chuckled.

Twilight chuckled, too. "Oh, Creo; I'm not that smart."

"Well, I think you're pretty smart! I bet you could even memorize all the fun locations in Ponyville once Spike comes back with the map."

"Actually I've already memorized all those places."

"Wait, you have? Then why didn't you just tell me before instead of coming here?"

"Do you remember back when we were talking, and you asked me about fun places in Ponyville, and I was about to say something but stopped?" Creo nodded. "Well, I realized that it would be easier for me to give you a map, so you wouldn't have to remember all of the locations if I had told you instead."

"Oh, really?" Creo said, looking a bit amazed. "That sounded like some quick thinking on your part!"

Twilight giggled. "Yes, I guess you could say that!"

Creo chuckled. "Also, I must say that you are certainly one smart pony to be able to memorize all those places! It's obviously not something just anypony could do."

Twilight blushed. "Oh, I'm sure plenty of ponies in Ponyville have memorized the locations in town, too!"

"Yeah, you're probably right about that, but I still think you're the smartest pony I've ever met!"

Twilight was still blushing. At first she didn't say anything. "...well...thank you very much, Creo. My friends say I'm really smart, too. Although Rainbow Dash has called me an 'egghead' before..." she said with a slightly agitated tone.

"Well, that's how some ponies view the smarter ones. Besides, I doubt she meant any harm."

"Yeah. Especially since she's become more of one herself," Twilight chuckled.

Creo chuckled, too. "Anyways, you shouldn't let something like that bother you, because a pony as smart as you is a very special one. Knowing so many facts and locations and being able to remember them all is obviously not something anypony can easily do."

Twilight blushed again. "I do know quite a few magic spells, too."

"That's even better! I bet you do magic better than any unicorn I've met, too!"

Twilight kept on blushing more. "Well...thank you, Creo. Thank you very much. I don't know what to say."

"Oh, you don't have to say anything. You deserve to be commended for being so knowledgeable."

Twilight really couldn't think of anything to say. She was so touched by Creo saying how smart she was. Others have said she was smart, but Creo really made her feel good for being smart, as well as feel very special.

At that time, Spike had finally found the map he was looking for, and headed back to the main room. He opened the door, and was surprised at what he saw; Twilight was staring at Creo longingly. "Is Twilight...nah, that can't be," he thought to himself. He then walked up to Twilight and Creo and handed them the map. "Here's the map! Sorry it took so long."

"What map? Twilight asked, still focused on Creo. But then her mind snapped back to reality. "Oh, right! The map of Ponyville! I almost forgot about that because I was busy thinking about...something else," Twilight chuckled nervously.

Spike and Creo looked at each other with one eyelid raised. "...well, anyways," Creo said as he walked next to Twilight. "How about you show me the most fun places in town now?" he said as he used his magic to take the map from Spike and open it up.

"Of course! It would be my absolute pleasure to help you out!" Twilight cheerfully exclaimed.

"And it's my pleasure that you be the pony to help me!"

Twilight blushed as she giggled at Creo's amiable words.

Spike saw her blushing, and a look of suspicion appeared on his face. "Hmm... " he thought as he rubbed his chin.

Later, Creo was standing outside Twilight's house with her standing in the doorway. "I can't thank you enough for your help, Twilight! And thanks for circling the locations on the map and letting me use it for a while so I won't have to worry about forgetting them!"

"Again, it was my pleasure! I hope you have a great time!"

"Thanks! Say, would you like to come with me?"

Twilight's eyes lit up. "I would LOVE to!! But...I have to reorganize the maps with Spike, since it took him so long to find the right one," she sighed. "I'm sorry.."

"No, don't be sorry. I wouldn't want anything in your place to be unorganized, since I want you to be able to find things quick and easy."

Twilight lightly smiled. "Thanks for being so understanding, Creo."

"Certainly. I wish you luck in reorganizing your maps," he said as she turned around and started walking away. "Even though I know the smartest pony in town will be able to do it in no time!"

Twilight smiled and blushed once more. She waved goodbye to Creo, then went back inside the house. Twilight then went to the window and watched Creo walk away. She leaned her front legs on the windowsill, still smiling as she watched Creo.

Spike then opened the door from the room with the maps. "Hey, Twilight! Are we going to organize these maps now?"

"Yeah...sure...uh-huh..." Twilight's mind was elsewhere, as she didn't pay attention to what Spike said at all.

As Spike watched her, he noticed the look on her face and the way she was smiling as she looked out the window. "Hmm..." Spike said as his face grew suspicious again. "I'm starting to wonder..."

Part 7 - Sweetness in Apple Acres

Creo had been having a great time in Ponyville. Using the map Twilight gave him, he had gone around to several of the fun places she marked for him, meeting other ponies as he went around. Then, his map led him to Sweet Apple Acres, which was one of the last two places on the map he hadn't gone to yet. "My, what a pleasant-looking farm. I wonder what fun things there are to do around here?" As Creo walked onto the farm, he heard the sound of something being hit, and then what sounded like several objects falling to the ground. He followed the noise out beyond the front of the farm and into the apple orchard. As he walked through the trees, he heard the noise again. He followed it again to find Applejack, who was applebucking the trees. "Well, what do you know; I didn't think I'd meet Applejack here!" Creo walked over to Applejack, just as she was about to applebuck another tree, "Hey, Applejack!" he shouted, making her turn her head sharply towards Creo at the same time she kicked the apple tree, which made the apples fall out of the tree, and a bunch of them fell on her. Creo gasped and ran over to help Applejack up. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I shouldn’t have distracted you!”

“Oh, it’s all right,” Applejack said as she got up on her hooves. “It was just an accident, after all.”

“Well, I’m still sorry, Applejack,” Creo looked really down. “I feel like I should do something to make up for it.”

“Aww, shoot, there’s no need for that! I promise, it’s okay.”

Creo still didn’t feel satisfied. He looked at the apples that had fallen on Applejack, then his eyes sparked with the thought of a good idea. Creo used his magic to pick up all the apples on the ground and put them in the buckets. “How’s that, Applejack?” he said as he motioned his hoof over the buckets.

“You did a fine job, but ah still say you didn’t need to do anything.”

“Well, I still feel better for helping out,” Creo’s eyes then widened as he thought of another idea. “Actually, if you don’t mind, that is, I’d like to help you out with your apple harvesting.”

“You wanna help? Why?” Applejack asked, perplexed.

“Well,” Creo took out the map he got from Twilight. “My suggestion came from here,” he pointed at the circled Sweet Apple Acres on the map. “I asked Twilight to show me all the most fun places in Ponyville for me to visit, and Sweet Apple Acres was one of the places she circled.”

Applejack still looked a bit confused. “Why would Twilight choose mah farm as one of the ‘most fun places’ in Ponyville? Ah mean, I enjoy workin' here, but I didn't think she would like this place so much."

Creo pondered this thought. "Maybe she just thinks it's fun to harvest apples. I know I enjoyed helping you harvest those apples."

"Yah really think so?" Applejack asked, smiling.

"Certainly!" Creo replied enthusiastically. "In fact, I wouldn't mind spending some time helping you out with more of your harvesting!"

"Well, that's mighty kind of you, sugarcube!" Applejack cheerfully replied. "If yah think yah'll enjoy harvestin' apples with me, then let's git goin'!" Creo cheered optimistically, and the two of them went off to start collecting apples.

Creo was having a very enjoyable time collecting apples with Applejack, and Applejack was also enjoying collecting apples with Creo. When she saw Creo looking so happy, she felt happy herself for letting him ‘make up’ for the accident he caused before. "Yah sure look like yer enjoyin' yerself there, Creo!"

"I certainly am, Applejack!" Creo replied as he used his magic to take more apples off the trees. "In fact, I've just realized something," Applejack looked at Creo in an inquisitive way. "It's strange, actually. Doing all this work actually feels relaxing," he turned his head towards Applejack. "Doesn't that seem strange?"

"Actually, ah think it makes perfect sense," Applejack replied with a heartwarming tone. "Ah mean, ah don't harvest apples just to make money for the farm; Harvestin' apples gives me this feelin' of a sort of 'harmony'. I feel all relaxed and peaceful with everything when I'm applebucking just for enjoyment," Applejack sighed happily at this thought.

"My," Creo said, smiling with fascination at what Applejack said. "That sounds like such a beautiful thought There is obviously much more to you than anypony could guess, Applejack."

"Aww, shucks," Applejack replied in a modest tone. "I'm just as normal as the next pony."

"Well, I don't think so," Creo said as he walked up to Applejack. "There's more than one thing about you that makes you stand out amongst other ponies."

"Like what would you say makes me different?" Applejack asked, wondering what Creo would say.

"Well," Creo said as he and Applejack started walking off together. "One of the biggest things about you is that you're such a hard worker. I'm sure you've heard that from ponies before, but for me personally I don't think I've seen anypony so dedicated to working hard just so you can help your home and family. That also shows that you are a very considerate and loving pony, doing so much just to make the lives of others better. I really admire that about you, Applejack," Creo smiled.

Applejack blushed a tiny bit, but then she stopped. “Hmm,” Applejack murmured as she looked down. Creo looked at Applejack, and he could see there was something on her mind. "Yah know, Creo," Applejack started to say. "Plenty of ponies have told me how hard a worker ah am, and it made me feel good to hear that," she turned her head towards Creo. "But when I heard yah say it, it made me feel different than when anypony else said it," Creo raised his eyelid in slight bewilderment. "Ah mean, they called me a hard worker, sure, but that was mostly it. They didn't say so much extra about me bein' a hard worker as you did. It really made me feel like an especially hard worker and a great pony altogether when you said what you said," Applejack smiled, and then she and Creo stopped walking. "I'm really thankful for yah saying that, Creo."

“You’re very welcome, Applejack,” Creo smiled back at her. “I’m glad I could make you feel so special. After all, you are very talented for an Earth pony.”

Applejack chuckled a tiny bit and also blushed a tiny bit. "Shucks, Creo, you're way too kind with your sweet talkin'."

"But I really think it's true!" The two of them stopped walking again. "Seeing you work so hard showed me something; you don't need any special abilities to be great. You are already great in the talents you have made for yourself. Sure, unicorns can use magic, and pegasi can fly, but it takes a truly special pony like yourself to show that you can be more unique than normal unicorns and pegasi, if not more."

Applejack had been blushing more than before, and she couldn't seem to stop. Never before had anypony touched her in such a way. Applejack felt a bit confused; she'd never felt these kinds of feelings before, so she wasn't sure how to react. When Applejack looked at Creo, and saw him smiling at her, she smiled back, having a very warm feeling in her heart.

Creo then looked up at the sun. "Oh my! Look at the time!" he panicked. "There's still one more place I want to go before the day is over!" Creo then turned to Applejack. "But first, I wanted to thank you, Applejack, for the very wonderful time I had collecting apples with you. I felt honored that you would make time for me, and I'm very grateful," he bowed his head in reverence.

Applejack blushed again, also having a look of surprise on her face. "Well...Ah'm glad you were able to enjoy yourself so much, sugarcube," she then sadly looked down at the ground. "Ah just wish we could've spent some more time together."

Creo lifted his head back up. "Well, if you have time tomorrow, I'd be more than happy to come back!"

"Ah'm sure I could make some time for yah," she replied, smiling contently.

"Glad to hear it," Creo smiled, and then he started walking back to the entrance to the farm. "See you later, Applejack!" he shouted back as he left.

"See yah, Sugar Creo!" Applejack shouted back as she waved. Her face suddenly became full of shock at what she said and she covered her mouth with her hoof.

Creo then stopped walking and turned his head back towards Applejack. "What did you say?" he asked, puzzled.

"Uhh...ah said 'sugarcube'! Yeah! That's what ah said!" Applejack smiled big so as to not look suspicious.

Creo looked a bit bewildered. "Well...if you say so. Bye again!" Creo started walking off again. He felt a bit suspicious at first, but then he decided that it wasn't something he should worry about.

"Yeah! Bye!" Applejack shouted back, but not as loud as before. After Creo was out of sight, Applejack started rubbing her hoof on her face, trying to clear her head. "Ah can't believe what ah said..." Applejack took her hoof off her face and had a look of concern on her face. "Why would ah say that? it's almost like ah'm...ah'm..." Applejack's face then become froze with shock. "Ah think ah may be...fallin' fer Creo..." Applejack was still unsure if her feelings for Creo were really love and not just the same feelings she had with her other friends. Applejack sat and started thinking about this. She knew she enjoyed spending time with Creo, she liked how he made her feel so special for being a hard worker and being a talented earth pony. "It still seems weird to me; probably because ah never thought it would happen to me," she then thought of Creo one more time, and she made a heartwarming smile. "But ah think ah may be willin' to give it a try," Applejack said as she smiled, now accepting of her feelings for Creo.

Part 8 - A Party of Two: 1/3

Creo headed back into Ponyville again, and made his way to the last marked location on the map: Sugarcube Corner. Creo looked at the building, and he felt eager to go inside. "This place sure looks like it'll be fun!" He then trots inside, and sees Mr. Cake at the counter.

"Well, hello there!" Mr. Cake says. "I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new in town?"

"I sure am! My name's Creo! Glad to meet you!" Creo happily stuck out his hoof to shake with Mr. Cake.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, too!" Mr. Cake shook Creo's hoof. "My name's Mr. Cake. Me and my wife own Sugarcube Corner."

The two stop shaking hooves. "That's really neat! How often do you work here?"

"Well, it's easy to work here since I live here," Mr. Cake chuckled.

"Oh, you live here, too?" Creo asked, intrigued.

"Yes, indeed! Me, my wife, and our two children live here, along with another pony who works here!"

"Oh, I see! What is their name?"

"Her name is Pinkie Pie. She's a really great help to us here!"

Creo looked astounded. "Did you say...'Pinkie Pie'?"

"Yes, I did!" Mr. Cake then looked at the top of the stairs and saw Pinkie Pie walking down them. "There she is now!" he exclaimed as he pointed at Pinkie. Pinkie turned her head when she heard Mr. Cake, and her eyes widened with fright when she saw Creo, who was looking right at her. "Pinkie Pie! I'd like you to meet—" but before he could finish his sentence, Pinkie zipped back upstairs as quickly as possible. Both Creo and Mr. Cake looked very perplexed by her actions. "That's strange; she's usually so eager to meet new ponies."

"Well, actually," Creo said as he turned his head back towards Mr. Cake. "We had met earlier in Whitetail Wood, where I met her and her other friends."

"Oh!" Mr. Cake exclaimed in realization. "You must be the pony she—" but then Mr. Cake covered his mouth in mid-sentence.

Creo looked confused once more. "The pony she what?"

"Uhh..." Mr. Cake stuttered, unsure of how to respond. "...I think my wife needs me in the kitchen!" And he ran off to the kitchen in a flash.

Creo looked very baffled by all this, but he also felt suspicious. He turned his head towards the top of the stairs, and knew that the answers to what was going on lie up there. So, Creo went over to the stairs and started to walk up them.

At the top of the stairs, Pinkie Pie could hear somepony coming up the stairs, and she started to get worried that it might be Creo. "Well, maybe it isn't Creo. I mean, why would he want to come up here, anyway?" Pinkie Pie nervously chuckled to herself.

"Hello, Pinkie?" Creo shouted. "It's me, Creo!"

Pinkie then became nervous all over again, with her face filling with fear.

"Hello? Are you up there?"

Pinkie was sweating with nervousness. She had to think of something quick to get Creo to leave. “Uhh…no! Pinkie isn’t up here!”

Creo stopped walking. “Then who is it I’m talking to?”

“Umm…a…a ghost! Yeah, that’s right! I’m a ghost!”

“A ghost?” Creo replied, sounding a bit surprised, but also sounding a bit unconvinced.

"Yes, I'm a ghost! ooooOOOoooOOOooh!" Pinkie said in a "spooky" tone, making "ooing" sounds and flicking the light switch in her room on and off. "IIIII'm a ghoooost! Aaand if you don't want to be currrrsed, you must turn arooound and gooo hooome! ooooOOOoooh!" Pinkie kept making these noises, and when she turned her head to look down the stairs, she saw Creo right in front of her with a stern look on his face. Pinkie slowly stopped making her "ooing" noises and turning the light switch on and off until she became totally silent and motionless.

“Well, Pinkie,” Creo said in a non-serious way. “I never would have guessed you were a ghost.”

Pinkie’s eyes looked back and forth as she tried to think of a response. “Uhh…well I am! Aren’t I scaaarrry?” she said in her spooky voice again while waving her hooves up and down.

Creo continued staring at her for a few more moments, and then he blatantly said, "No."

Pinkie stopped what she was doing, and then her head hung down as she sighed. "I have to tell you the truth, Creo; I'm not really a ghost."

"Really?" Creo replied sarcastically.

"Yes," Pinkie replied, still sounding sad. "I just didn't want you to come up here."

Creo looked surprised. "Why not? We are friends, aren't we?"

"Oh, absolutely! I would never ever even think about not wanting to be friends with you!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, freaking out a bit.

"So why didn't you want me to come up here?"

"Because...because," Pinkie shut her eyes and bit her bottom lip. "...because I didn't want you to find out about your surprise party!" she loudly shouted.

"Sur—surprise party?" Creo looked astounded.

"Yes, a surprise party," Pinkie said sadly. She then turned her head and gestured with her front leg to show Creo all the party supplies she had out. "It was going to be fun to surprise you, but now that you know, there won't be any surprise at all! And that means the fun will be so much less than it should have been!" Pinkie fell backwards onto her back and placed her hooves over her eyes, feeling very distraught.

Creo then looked saddened. “No, Pinkie, don’t’ feel bad! It’s all right! You didn’t have to throw me a surprise party!”

Pinkie then leaned up on her back. “But I did have to! You were new in town, so I wanted to throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!”

Creo looked both surprised and puzzled. “You were going to throw me a party just for being new to town?”

"Of course! It's what I always do when somepony new comes to town!" Pinkie exclaimed as she hopped back on her hooves.

"Wow...that's pretty incredible that you would do that for just anypony!"

"Well, anypony is worth throwing a party for if it means welcoming them to Ponyville!" Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully. Creo looked very happy in a heartwarming way. “But this part would have been even better because you’re new and my friend! It would be like a double party!” Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped into the air.

“Awww, that’s so great of you, Pinkie,” Creo said, feeling touched. “I can’t believe what good friends I’ve made with you and all of your other friends so quickly.”

“Well, my friends are the best best friends ever, so everypony gets the best friendship from them!”

“You couldn’t be more right, Pinkie!” Creo cheerfully said as he put his hoof around Pinkie’s neck.

“How much more right could I be?” Pinkie asked.

“Well…uhh…” Creo couldn’t think of a response to a comment like that. "...it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you have great friends, and you're an especially great friend!" he cheerfully said as he pointed at Pinkie with his free hoof..

"Awww, thanks!" Pinkie happily replied as she put her hoof around Creo's neck.

Part 8 - A Party of Two: 2/3

Suddenly, a thought came to Creo, which made his smile disappear. "Pinkie, I was just wondering—are you still going to have that party for me now that it won't be a surprise?"

"Oh of course, silly! I was just all gloomy before because it won't be as special as I wanted it to be!" Pinkie's face then got a little saddened upon saying those words.

Creo looked sad at seeing Pinkie was sad, so he wanted to do something to cheer her up. "You shouldn't worry about it not being special, Pinkie. It's already special because it's my first welcoming party ever!"

"It is??" Pinkie replied in surprise.

"Yes, it is! That makes it special!"

"You're right! That is special! You're really right! More right than you could be!" Pinkie exclaimed happily!"

"Umm...yeah!"Creo replied. Pinkie hopped up and down with glee, which made Creo happy. "It's going to be the most special party I've ever had!"

Pinkie instantly stopped hopping. "It will?" she asked while suspended in midair.

"Yes, of course! I haven't had a whole lot of parties in my life, and let me tell you, they have mostly been pretty ordinary."

Pinkie turned around while still in midair. "I can't believe it! How could a party not be totally fun??"

"Well, my life back home wasn't too exciting. That's why I chose to go out in the world to see if I could come up with new and interesting ideas for my stories."

"Well, you can't get more exciting than Ponyville! This town is like a super-duper party with excitement cake and fun-tastic frosting!" Pinkie exclaimed as she zipped around the room, popping out of random places around Creo.
Creo chuckled as he watched Pinkie popping out of random places. "And I'm sure Ponyville owes most of that to you!"

"You really think so??" Pinkie said as she appeared next to Creo.

"Oh, absolutely! After all, you're one in a million, Pinkie Pie!" he exclaimed as he put his hoof around Pinkie's neck.

"One in a million? A million what?" Pinkie asked inquisitively. She then gasped. "Are there a million Pinkie Pies??"

"What? No—I meant that you're a one in a million pony! That means you're a truly unique and special pony!"

"Awww, thanks!" Pinkie said blushing a little. "But I'm sure you would say that about all my friends, since they're all so special!"

"You couldn't be more—" Creo stopped, realizing he didn't want to repeat what happened before. "I mean, you're absolutely right, Pinkie. But I think of you and all of your friends as being special in their own special way. They way you're special is that you're so fun to be around and you're such a great party pony!"

"Awww, even more thanks again, Creo!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Creo smiled, and then he put his hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "But I think what's most special about you is that you try so hard to be a good friend to others, like throwing this party for me just for being new. It's a very kind and generous thing for you to do, as not just anypony would be willing to do so much for friendship. That's what makes you such a great friend and a great pony," Creo said contently, and then he smiled.

Pinkie was absolutely silent. She looked like she had froze. She was also blushing more than before. "Gosh..." Pinkie thought in her mind. "That was the nicest thing anypony has ever said to me. I mean, lots of ponies say nice things to me, but what he said is, like, 10 times nicer than the nice things normally said to me!" Pinkie's eyes turned towards Creo. "Creo is so much different than any other friend I've ever had. He's nice like my friends, and it makes me feel super happy when he's nice to me, but a whole lot more than when anypony else is nice to me. Ugh...my brain is starting to hurt from all this," Pinkie put her right hoof on the right side of her head and made a distressed look on her face.

Creo looked and saw Pinkie looking distressed. "Are you okay, Pinkie?"

"Huh??" Pinkie said as she snapped back to normal.

"You don't look like your normal, upbeat, overly-happy self."

"Oh, don't worry, Creo. I'm as fit as a fiddle!" she said with optimism.

Creo didn't look entirely convinced. "Are you sure? You look like you have something on your mind."

"Trust me, Creo," she said as she put her hoof on Creo's shoulder. "There's only one thing on my mind right now—and that's throwing you your welcoming party!" she exclaimed as she slammed a party hat on Creo's head. Pinkie then pulled a party hat and party favor out of her hair and placed the hat on her head and the favor in her mouth.

"Wait a minute, Pinkie!" Creo says as Pinkie blows on her party favor, to which she then stops and turns her attention to Creo. "Are we having the party now?"

"Of course, Creo! Parties are always more fun when they're happening instead of before they're happening!" she replies ecstatically.

Creo was silent for a few moments. "...well, I can't argue with you there."

"Then don't argue! Just PARTY!!" Pinkie started hopping around and blowing on her party favor. Creo watched her hopping around, and then he just shrugged his shoulders and happily joined Pinkie in partying it up.

Creo and Pinkie did many things at the party. They bobbed for apples with Creo getting one apple in his mouth, and Pinkie getting 3 in her mouth, to which Creo smiled and applauded. Pinkie bounced around the room, tossing confetti all around, and Creo accidentally slipped on the confetti and fell down while following Pinkie. Pinkie worriedly ran over to him to see if he was okay, , and Creo sneakily used his magic to take a bunch of confetti and toss it all at Pinkie, causing her to fall down on her back. Creo went over to her, and she just laughed at Creo's great prank, and he laughed along with her. Creo and Pinkie were about to start eating Pinkie's cake. Creo used his magic to take one piece for himself, and then Pinkie ate the rest of the cake in one big bite, with Creo staring at her with a frozen look of surprise on his face. Later, Pinkie had Creo had started dancing to Pinkie's great party music. First they were dancing independently, but then as they got next to each other, they started dancing the same moves as each other. They were dancing and bouncing, and then Pinkie reached over and grabbed Creo's front hooves, and she started to spin around while still holding onto him. She spun faster and faster, and looked like a miniature pink tornado. And then she let go and collapsed onto the ground, laughing. Her laughing was soon interrupted by a crashing sound, and she looked to see Creo, who had smashed into the wall. Pinkie worriedly ran up to Creo as he dizzily got off the wall. He then shook of the dizziness and looked at Pinkie, and he laughed. Pinkie saw that he was okay, and she laughed along with him.

Part 8 - A Party of Two: 3/3

Pinkie's party had lasted for a long time, as it was getting dark outside, and Creo was feeling pretty tired out from partying. Pinkie, on the other hand, looked just as hyper and happy as when the party began, and did not look like she wanted to stop anytime soon. Creo didn't want to make Pinkie sad by stopping the party, but he knew it couldn't go on forever. "Excuse me? Pinkie?"

"Yes, Creo?" Pinkie replied while still dancing. "Do you want some more cake or candy? Gasp! Or how about both??"

"No, no, it isn't that, Pinkie. It's just...I'm feeling pretty tired right now, so I thought maybe now would be a good time for me the party to end."

Pinkie's face suddenly drooped in sadness, as did her party hat. "You...want it to end?" she said, sounding quite sad.

"I'm really sorry, Pinkie," Creo sadly replied. "But I just feel like I've done enough partying for one day—or even one lifetime with your great party," he laughed.

Pinkie still looked sad for a little bit, but then she warmly smiled. "It's okay, Creo. I understand. Not everypony can party as much as I can," she said as she took off her party hat.

"I'm just happy to know you're not upset with me," Creo said, feeling relieved. "You're such a sweet and understanding pony, Pinkie."

Pinkie blushed and smiled. "Awww, thanks, Creo. Understanding is one of the things I do best!" she said proudly.

"That's good to know," Creo smiled back. "Well, I'll see you later, Pinkie!" he waved goodbye to Pinkie, and then he turned around and walked towards the stairs.

"Okay, Creo! I'll see you when it's later, too!" she said as she waved goodbye, waving her front leg side-to-side rapidly.

Creo continued walking towards the stairs, but then stopped. "Say, Pinkie?" he asked as he turned his head towards her.

"Yes?" she replied as she stopped waving.

Creo opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. "Well...umm..." Creo looked nervous, and Pinkie looked at him inquisitively. "...I just wanted to say that this was a really, really great party!" he blurted out, and then he quickly used his magic to pull Pinkie over to him and he hugged her, which really took Pinkie by surprise, with her looking surprised while he was hugging her. "You are just too good to me, Pinkie. I wish I could be as great a friend as you are."

At hearing those words, Pinkie smiled, in a very loving and affectionate way. Creo then stopped hugging Pinkie, and when he stepped away, Pinkie, who was leaning against him as he hugged her, fell onto the ground while still smiling, as her mind was elsewhere. She then sprang back up, shouting "I'm all right!" and she turned towards Creo. There was a short bit of silence between the two as the stared at each other.

"Well then," Creo said, breaking the silence. "I'll be seeing you later, then?" he said as he turned his body towards the stairs.

"Oh! Right! Right! See you later alligator! And I don't mean my pet, Gummy!" she said as she lifted Gummy up with her left hoof.

"Right...well, bye!" Creo waved one last time, and he walked towards the stairs.

"Bye, Creo!" Pinkie exclaimed as she placed Gummy on the ground and started waving goodbye rapidly like before. Once Creo was completely gone from sight, Pinkie stopped waving, and she sat down on the ground. "Boy, Gummy, that sure was a fun party I had with Creo. It was definitely one of the most fun I've ever had! I guess I'm just lucky that Creo is such a great, fun, wonderful, super-incredibly friend..." she said with a look of love on her face. Pinkie then shook her head and went back to normal. "Woah! For a second there, I didn't feel like normal Pinkie. I felt like...a Pinkie that isn't normal!" Pinkie thought of Creo. "It's really weird, Gummy," she said as she got up and started walking around the room. "When I think of Creo, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That's why I wanted to throw the party with just me and him. I wanted it to be special—for just the two of us," Pinkie sighed. "Creo just seems so much sweeter and nicer to me than anypony else I've known. I've never felt this kind of feeling before. What do you think it means?" she asked Gummy as she turned her head towards him.

Gummy stood where he was, and opened his mouth, making a tiny gargling noise.

Pinkie gasped. "Do you really think...?" Pinkie's mind and face became frozen at this thought. Her mind soon went back to normal. "...could it be that I actually like Creo more than a friend? or a best friend? Or a super-special best friend forever??" Pinkie started to pace around the room, looking so distraught at these thoughts, unsure as to what she should think. As she walked by the window, she turned her head and looked outside, where she could see Creo walking away from Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie then walked up to the window and placed her front legs on the windowsill to lean on as she looked out the window. She then made a loving smile. "I really like my friendship with Creo—But I think I'll like like-liking him even more," Pinkie said, with her eyes and smile both showing her love for Creo.

Night had fallen on Ponyville, and Creo was feeling quite tired. "I've been having so much fun that I forgot to find a place to go to sleep for the night!" Creo thought of asking one of his friends if he could spend the night with them, but quickly shook his head in disagreement at the idea. "No, no, I can't just barge in on them like that. it's rude to ask others for favors like that out of the blue. Besides, I doubt any of them would want me staying at their house, anyways," Creo continued to walk through town, trying to figure out a good place to sleep. He soon came upon the park, and after walking over one of the park bridges, he a saw a bench near the path he was walking on. "Hmm..." he thought as he rubbed his chin. "That might be a good spot to sleep. Although, I'm not sure if sleeping on a park bench would be too comfortable, but I guess now isn't a time to be picky," Creo walked over to the bench and laid himself down on it on his back. "Yep, I was right; this isn't too comfortable. Oh, well," Creo placed his front hooves behind his head and looked up at the night sky. he began to reflect on the day, thinking about what fun he had with his friends and the new ways he learned on how to have fun. "This certainly was a great day for me; one of the best I've had in a while. My new friends were so right about me overworking myself, and this day really helped me relax a lot.," Creo was smiling happily, but then the smile disappeared from his face. "Although, I am still curious as to why Pinkie Pie threw that party with only me and her? I wanted to ask her, but I didn't want to upset her and ruin the party, so I just decided to forget about it and have fun," Creo sighed. "Oh, well. She probably just wanted it to be special for me, anyway," Creo looked up at the night sky again, and he smiled. "You know, there is one good thing about sleeping here; I get to see the beautiful night sky. I feel like I could stare at it all night," Creo looked at the sky a little bit longer, and then he quickly fell asleep.

Part 9 - Start Your Day Off With Rainbows: 1/3

The sun gleamed over the horizon as morning arrived to Equestria. Creo was still sleeping on the bench in the park, and continued to sleep during most of the morning. Creo woke up a short time before noon. He yawned and stretched his legs, and he turned around so he was sitting on the bench upright. He rubbed his eyes with his front hooves. "Yawn...I can't say that was my best night's sleep," he looked around at the other parts of the park, and he smiled. "But it is nice to wake up to such a nice day," Creo got off the bench and began walking through the park. He passed by other ponies who had already woken up and were out enjoying the day, which made him happy to see everypony having fun. "What a pleasant town this must be to live in; it makes me wish I had grown up here instead. Ooh! That's something I could use in another one of my stories!" Creo then used his magic to take his quill, an ink bottle, and a scroll out of his saddlebag and wrote down his idea. Creo looked happy after he had finished writing down his idea, but then his smile went away. "No, no..." he said as he shook his head. "I'm not supposed to be thinking about work right now, or else I'll be right back where I started," Creo rolled up his scroll and put it back in his bag along with his quill and ink bottle. He began walking through the park once more. "What I need to do is do something to get my mind off of work. But what?" Creo pondered this idea. "Maybe somepony in town could help me. But who?" Suddenly, Creo heard a noise above his head. A noise that sounded like something quickly flying over him. He looked up, and saw a rainbow trail that zipped over his head, which surprised him greatly. "What is that??" He watched the rainbow trail continue until it stopped at the other end of the park. After it had stopped, Creo could see that it was Rainbow Dash who made the trail. "Oh, it's Rainbow Dash!" Creo's eyes then widened with shock. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe I forgot about her!" Creo exclaimed as he put his hoof on his face, embarrassed. "Well, maybe she can help get my mind off of work," he said as he took his hoof off his face. "She did seem pretty cool to me when I first met her. I'll go ask her!" Creo took off and ran towards Rainbow Dash, who was still hovering in midair. "Hey, Rainbow Dash!" he shouted when he got close enough.

Rainbow Dash heard his shouting and looked around in front of her to see where the voice came from. She then turned around and saw Creo running towards her on the ground. "Oh, hey! Creo!" she exclaimed excitedly. She then flew down and landed on the ground as Creo ran up to her. "I haven't seen you since yesterday! It's really awesome to see you again!" she then eagerly lifted out her hoof to do a hoof-bump with Creo.

Creo paused for a moment, then shook her hoof, thinking that was what she wanted to do. "It's great to see you, too, Rainbow!"

Rainbow's face lost its happy eagerness. "Umm, thanks," she replied. She then stopped shaking Creo's hoof and looked at her own. "You know, Creo, I didn't actually want to shake your hoof."

"You didn't?" Creo asked, slightly surprised.

"No, I wanted to do a hoof-bump!" she said as she lifted out her hoof towards Creo and hoof-bumped the air in front of him, then put her hoof back down on the ground.

"I've never heard of that before. How exactly do I do it?"

"Don't worry, I'll show you to do one right," she said proudly. "Now, just do what I just did. Hold out your hoof like this," she held out her hoof in the "hoof-bump" position.

"All right," Creo lifted out his hoof the same way Rainbow did.

"Okay, now we do a hoof-bump!" Rainbow then bumped her hoof into Creo's, then set her hoof back down on the ground, as did Creo. "And that's how to do a perfect hoof-bump," she said proudly.

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash!" Creo said gleefully. "That was pretty cool! I'll make sure to try it out more often!" he said as he winked.

"Awesome!" Rainbow then lifted out her hoof to do another hoof-bump with Creo, as it was a force of habit for her. Creo then lifted up his hoof and they both hoof-bumped each other simultaneously, making them both happy, especially Creo since he did it right this time. After that, they both put their hooves back down on the ground. "So, what's up, Creo?"

"Oh, not much right now."

"Have you been enjoying Ponyville much?"

"Yes, actually!" he replied happily. "I've been having—"

"Oh, really?" Rainbow responded in a condescending way. "Because, as I remember, after we first met you got carried away by Rarity, looking pretty freaked out about going to the spa," Rainbow laughed.

"Hehe...yeah..." Creo chuckled nervously while looking around. He then shook his head a tiny bit and regained his composure. "Well, it actually wasn't so bad once I tried it, even though I did feel pretty scared to try it out of fear of being mocked," he said sadly.

Rainbow looked sad but empathetic for Creo, then she smiled warmheartedly and placed her hoof around Creo's neck. "Don't worry about it, Creo. If you can believe it, I've been scared of being at that place, too."

"Really?" Creo asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Rainbow nodded. "I'm not exactly much of a 'spa pony'. It just seems so—nyehhh," she murmured with her tongue sticking out.

"Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt at first, but I really do enjoy it now. Sorry of that makes me not so cool..." Creo said sadly, lowering his head a little bit.

Rainbow then looked sad, as she felt bad for unintentionally making Creo feel bad. "Well, I'm not too big a fan of that place, but it's cool if you like it, Creo," she said as she pointed at him with her right hoof and smiled.

Creo looked at Rainbow Dash, and he smiled. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash. I think you're cool for thinking it's cool that I like the spa," he said as he pointed at her with his left hoof.

"Thanks, Creo. I am pretty cool, aren't I?" she said smugly as she took her hoof off of Creo, turned to the right, and placed her right hoof on her chest.

Creo chuckled. "You sure are, Rainbow Dash. In your own special way."

Rainbow's face than became blank, her eyes widened, and her pupils got smaller. "What exactly do you mean by that?" she asked in a slightly upset tone as she turned her head towards Creo.

Creo looked a bit frightened by her sudden change in tone. "Well, Rainbow Dash, I just meant that you're cool in your own special way, like with your other friends."

"But you don't know any more about them than you do about me!"she said in her same slightly upset tone.

"Actually, I do," Rainbow looked quite puzzled, so Creo decided to elaborate. "You see, I visited each of your friends at their homes, and spent much time with each one so I could become better friends with them. That's how I learned more about them, and that's how I found out about each of their special qualities," Rainbow's face looked blank as she listened to Creo. "So, when I say you're cool in your special way, I mean it the same way as I do for all of your friends," Creo then lowered his head in sorrow. "I'm really sorry I upset you by not telling you that. I wasn't thinking about it at all..." Creo said sadly as he hung his head lower and closed his eyes.

Rainbow Dash then looked sorry herself for making Creo feel even worse than before. "Hey, Creo, don't feel so bad about it. If anypony should be sorry here, it's me," Creo opened his eyes and looked up at Rainbow Dash. "I just got upset because of my whole thing of acting like I'm better than everypony else. I'm really sorry," Rainbow said with a sorrowful look on her face.

Creo looked sorry himself as well, but then his frown changed to a smile and he walked up to Rainbow Dash and placed his hoof around her neck. "It's okay, Rainbow Dash. I'm not upset with you."

Rainbow looked at Creo. "You're not?" she asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"No, not at all," he said as he shook his head. "You're much too cool of a pony for me to get upset with; especially since you cared how I felt."

"Really??" Rainbow replied, sounding a lot happier already.

"Yes," Creo said contently as he nodded. "Caring about how I felt, in my opinion, makes you much cooler than you already are," Creo looked at Rainbow, and could see she was already looking a lot happier, so he decided to try and make her feel even better. "In fact, it makes you plain awesome!" he exclaims as he throws his front legs in the air, then gets back down on all fours.

"Thanks, Creo," Rainbow said happily, feeling 100 percent better. "You're a really awesome friend," she said as she put her hoof around his neck.

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash," Creo said as he put his hoof around Rainbow's neck at the same time. "And speaking of awesome, there's one more really cool thing about you that I've noticed."

"Seriously??" Rainbow replied mostly ecstatically, eagerly wanting to hear what Creo was going to say.

Creo nodded. "You see, the especially cool thing about you that I see is that you know how to be cool, but you're also very nice on the inside. I'm sure there are a lot of ponies who prefer being only cool over being nice, but you do both. That shows what a great friend you are, and what an awesomely cool pony you are, too!" he exclaimed as he took his leg off of Rainbow's neck and threw his front legs up in the air again.

Rainbow was smiling the whole time she listened to Creo, as she really liked what he said about her; and when he finished with those last words, she blushed a little. But then she realized she was blushing, and stopped doing it immediately. "Woah, that was weird," she thought to herself. "Why did I do that?" She thought about this for a little bit, but then decided to just forget it. She then looked at Creo again, and smiled at a new idea that just came into her head. "You know, Creo," Creo was back down on all fours when Rainbow talked to him, and he turned his attention towards her. "Since you've been so cool to me, I want to show you something."

"Really?" Creo said ecstatically. "What is it?"

"I'll show you," Rainbow looked around. "But not here. Follow me," Rainbow motioned with her hoof for Creo to follow her, and the two left together.

Part 9 - Start Your Day Off With Rainbows: 2/3

After a short time of walking, Rainbow Dash and Creo arrived in Whitetail Wood. Rainbow stopped walking, and Creo stopped with her. "Wait here," she said to him, and then she flew straight up into the air. Rainbow looked all around in every direction, and then she flew back down to Creo. "Okay, I don't see anypony else close by."

"Umm...pardon my asking, but why do you not want anypony around?" Creo asked, curious.

"'Cause what I'm going to show you is a brand new flying routine I created, and I want it to be a special one-pony showing for you, since you were so awesomely cool to me back at the park," Rainbow said gladly.

Creo looked speechless. "Wow...I don't believe it..." Rainbow looked at him in perplexity. "I mean, first you show me how to do a hoof-bump, then you're really nice to me, and now this?? You just get even more awesome the more I know you!" he said with glee.

Rainbow blushed a bit. "Thanks, Creo," she said in a slightly flattered way. She then stopped blushing and stood upright. "So...are you ready to see this?" she said in a bold way.

"Absolutely!" Creo replied excitedly.

"Then you'd better stand back, 'cause this pegasus is about to blow you away!"

Creo walked backwards 10 feet from Rainbow Dash. He then waited anxiously to see what her flying routine would be.

Rainbow Dash, still having her bold expression, spread her legs and wings out. She then started to slowly flap her wings, but then she started flapping them faster and faster, until they were moving so fast that they looked like hummingbird wings. Then, Rainbow Dash bent down towards the ground, and zoomed straight up in the air in the blink of an eye.

The force of her flying up so fast caused a large gust of wind to blow towards Creo. He lifted up his left front leg and closed his eyes to block the wind, although the force of the wind caused him to slide backwards a few inches. After the wind stopped, Creo out his hoof back down on the ground and looked up at where Rainbow Dash flew off. "When she said she was going to blow me away, she wasn't kidding!" he said with both surprise and awe.

After Rainbow had flown straight up into the air, she started spinning her body around clockwise like a drill. She then made a turn towards a nearby group of clouds, and she drilled through each one, making the clouds dissipate into thin air. The clouds were scattered around, so Rainbow used her great agility to quickly weave around through each cloud.

"Incredible!" Creo shouted with amazement as he watched from below.

After she had finished drilling through the clouds, Rainbow stopped spinning, and then she very quickly turned backwards and upside down, and zipped upwards at a 35 degree angle, her rainbow trailing behind her the whole time. Daring then started to fly around in a corkscrew pattern as she kept going in a 35 degree angle upwards. While still doing the corkscrew, Rainbow Dash went into a large cloud formation. After taking a few moments to go through, Rainbow popped out the other side, still flying in a corkscrew, but now she was going downwards, and she had a stream of clouds following her in a corkscrew pattern as well.

"Absolutely amazing!!" Creo shouted still very amazed.

Rainbow flew downwards more and more, and then she stopped flying in a corkscrew and made a straight dive towards the ground. She kept going faster and faster, with the trail of clouds still following behind her. As she got closer to the ground, Creo felt a ping of fear; he was afraid that Rainbow Dash wasn't going to be able to stop in time, and that she was going to crash into the ground! Creo covered his eyes and turned his head away in fear. But then, just when Rainbow Dash was about to hit the ground, she made a 90 degree turn, now flying about a foot off the ground, and she was heading right towards Creo! When Creo did not hear the sound of a crash, he took his hoof off his eyes and moved his head forward again, only to be shocked at the sight of Rainbow Dash flying towards him at an incredible speed! Now he was more afraid then before, because he thought that she was now going to crash into him! Creo shuts his eyes and braced himself for impact. But then, Rainbow rammed all four of her hooves into the ground, and she started slowing down. Creo opened one of his eyes to look, and then he opened both of his eyes in surprise at seeing what Rainbow Dash was doing. Rainbow kept slowing down more and more until she came to a stop right in front of Creo. As Creo stood there, mouth gaping, the clouds that had been following Rainbow Dash blew right past him and Rainbow Dash, with the large gust of wind pushing Creo's body back a bit, although he stayed in place. After the wind stopped, Creo looked at Rainbow, mouth gaping and totally awestruck at Rainbow's entire routine. Rainbow Dash looked quite proud of herself and her incredible flying.

Part 9 - Start Your Day Off With Rainbows: 3/3

"Rainbow...I...I don't even..." Creo kept stuttering, unable to get his head straight.

"Yeeees?" Rainbow said in a way that showed she expected Creo to say good things about her routine.

Creo put his right hoof on his head to try and get his thoughts together. When he finally knew what to say, he put his hoof back down on the ground. "Sorry about that, Rainbow. I just wasn't sure what to say."

"Nah, it's cool, Creo. I know I'm the kind of pony who can leave a pony speechless," Rainbow said smugly.

"I can't disagree with that!" Creo said with a bit of enthusiasm. "I mean, that was the most amazing bit of flying I've ever seen! All of those loops, that incredible speed, making those clouds follow you, and the way you finished—it was all just one big spectacular event!"

Rainbow Dash looked very happy from all the praise she was getting. "Thanks! It was definitely my best routine yet!"

"No doubt!" Creo responded as he walked next to Rainbow Dash and winked at her. "That routine was so amazing, there's no way anypony else could ever do something better!"

Rainbow chuckled. "Yeah, well, even though I'm one of the best, I'm sure the Wonderbolts could do something just as good, if not better."

"Better?" Creo said in disbelief. "That's one thing I do doubt!"

Rainbow looked surprised by Creo's response. "Creo, I know you're not from around here, but the Wonderbolts are the greatest group of pegasi in all of Equestria! Only the best fliers are in the Wonderbolts!"

"Yes, yes, I know about the Wonderbolts," Creo replied in a slightly condescending way. "And I've always thought of them as the best fliers in Equestria."

"Great to know you have good taste," Rainbow replied in a more pleasant tone.

"But now that I've met you, I don't think that they are the best anymore," Creo said as he shook his head.

Rainbow Dash looked quite surprised by this. "How can you not think they are the best??" she exclaimed with disbelief. "They're beyond all means of awesomeness! They're practically the definition of what it means to be awesome!"

Creo looked unfazed by Rainbow's words. "Well, in my opinion, you are just as good as any of the Wonderbolts."

"Well...I...they..." Rainbow stuttered as she couldn't think of another way to say the Wonderbolts are better. She then looked at Creo. "...do you really think so?"

Creo pondered for a moment. "Actually, no—you're better than any of the Wonderbolts," Rainbow looked taken aback by hearing that. "There's no doubt in my mind that you're a better flyer than any of the Wonderbolts. You fly fast, your stunts are incredible, and you can even make that cool rainbow trail when you fly! You are truly a one of a kind pegasus, and the most absolutely awesome flyer in all of Equestria!" Creo exclaimed gladly as he threw his front legs up in the air.

Rainbow Dash was blushing again, but now her blush was much more noticeable. Rainbow was feeling really glad from all the great things Creo said about her, but she was also feeling very confused. "This is so weird," she thought to herself as she stopped blushing. "I mean, plenty of other ponies have said what an awesome flyer I am before, and I always enjoyed all those compliments the same," Rainbow turned her eyes towards Creo. "But when Creo said how great I was, it felt—different. I felt like I liked it more when he said how cool I am than when anypony else did. And what I felt—it's not something that I've felt before. Guh...what's going on with me?" Rainbow placed her hoof on her face as she distressed herself with these thoughts.

Creo saw Rainbow Dash looking upset. "Is everything all right, Rainbow Dash?"

"Huh?" Rainbow didn't hear at first, but then she quickly moved her hoof off her face and looked at Creo, "Oh! Well..ahem!..sure, Creo. Everything's just cool. No problems here," Rainbow said as she smiled nervously.

Creo could still tell something was wrong. "Are you sure?"

"Sure! Everything's cool!" Rainbow said she flew right up to Creo's face, surprising him and making him move his head back away from her. "Just cool. Couldn't be more than cool than the amount of coolness that's happening right now," Rainbow said very quickly as she backed away from Creo.

Creo was feeling weirded out by Rainbow's actions. "Why are you saying cool so much?" he asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Why?" she responded in surprise. "B—Because it’s such a cool word to say! I mean, why else would I like saying it so much?" Rainbow smiled and looked at Creo, hoping she didn't look suspicious.

Creo paused for a few moments as he looked back at Rainbow Dash. "...well, if you say so," he said, still feeling a bit weirded out. Rainbow then went "phew" in relief. Creo looked around with his eyes, trying to think of a way to turn the conversation in a different direction. "...hey, thanks again for showing me that flying stunt. It was really awesome," Creo smiled.

Rainbow blushed again. "Thanks, Creo," she smiled.

"My pleasure," Creo replied. "You really know how to show off your abilities."

"Thanks!" Rainbow Dash said gladly. But then her face grew a bit more saddened. "Although, I don't want to show off too much," she said as she hung her head down and looked at the ground.

Creo looked a little confused. "Why do you say that?"

"Because if I show off too much, then everypony else will think that I think I'm better than them, and that's something I really don't want to do again," Rainbow said sorrowfully as she shook her head.

"I'm so sorry to hear that that happened to you," Creo replied sympathetically as he put his hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "But I think it's very noble of you to not want to be a show-off around other ponies."

Rainbow looked up at him. "Really?"

"Absolutely! And by the way, I didn't think you were showing off at all when you did your flying stunt for me."

"You didn't?" Rainbow said, looking a bit surprised.

"Not at all! All I thought is that you wanted to do the best that you could do! And that doesn't make you a show-off," Creo said as he shook his head. "It just makes you a pony who wants to try her best to succeed! And wanting to succeed at what you love to do is just another one of your qualities that makes you a great pony."

Rainbow blushed once more, and she was also smiling. Inside, Rainbow Dash felt very touched by Creo's words, and she didn't seem to mind this time. She really did feel happy that Creo was making her feel this way.

"Thanks, Creo. You're an awesome guy."

"You're welcome, Rainbow Dash. You're an awesome friend. A very great and nice one," he said contently.

Upon hearing these words, Rainbow's mind suddenly snapped back to its original form. This time, Rainbow was really getting frustrated with feeling these emotions, and she really wanted to get them out her mind so she would go back to the way she was.

"You know, Creo, I think I'm gonna head out now. I want to get some more flying in before lunch."

"Well, sure thing, Rainbow. It was great meeting you and seeing your incredible flying stunt," Creo said as he shook her hoof.

"And it was great meeting you and hearing you say how great I am!" Rainbow Dash laughed along with Creo.

"That was my pleasure!"

Rainbow chuckled a bit more. "Well, see ya, Creo!" she took off into the air.

"See ya, Rainbow Dash! Stay awesome!" Creo shouted as he waved goodbye to her.

"Will do!" Rainbow then zoomed off into the sky, leaving her rainbow trail behind her.

After Rainbow Dash was out of sight of Creo, she stopped looking so joyful. "I really felt the worst of it then. I hope flying will take my mind off of these feelings."

Rainbow continued to fly normally in the skies over Ponyville. "Ahhh; now this is relaxing—I knew flying wouldn't make me think..about..."

Rainbow's attention was drawn towards a nearby cloud formation. As she looked closer, the cloud suddenly came into form, and it resembled Creo's head, looking quite glad. Rainbow Dash stared at this cloud formation, and she smiled very warmheartedly. She then shook her head around and flew away from the cloud in fret.

Rainbow wiped some sweat from her forehead, relieved she had gotten away from that cloud. "Okay, that was just a fluke. I'm sure I won't think about him anymore."

Rainbow Dash looked at the ground as she flew overhead. She saw two ponies standing on the ground facing each other. Rainbow decided to fly down lower to see what they were up to. As she got closer, she saw the ponies were both mares, and they both did a hoof-bump with each other. As Rainbow watched them, she smiled. She imagined the two ponies as herself and Creo doing a hoof-bump, laughing and having a fun time. Rainbow felt that warm, happy feeling once more, wishing to herself that she could do that with Creo again. Rainbow gasped in fright at the thought of this, and she quickly flew away, leaving the two ponies on the ground puzzled as to what had just occurred.

Rainbow was looking much more panicked now, and she wasn't feeling as confident that flying was taking her mind off of Creo. "Come on, Rainbow Dash, get it together. You'll forget about Creo eventually," Rainbow was pleased with herself, but her contentment soon turned to sorrow after thinking about what she had said. "But...I don't want to forget about Creo. There's nothing wrong with him. In fact, he's one of the most awesome ponies I've met! He's a really nice, cool, sweet guy..."

Rainbow felt her loving emotions for Creo again, looking very happy. "You know, maybe these feelings aren't as bad as I thought they were. I just felt like I was uncool for feeling that way, but I shouldn't. If I think something is cool, then I say that makes it cool to me," Rainbow was sounding more confident with each sentence.

"Creo makes me feel happy, and by my definition, that is cool. In fact, it isn't just, cool, it's awesome! And so is Creo! I'm gonna go tell him how I really feel and how awesome he is right now!"

Rainbow eagerly started to fly off to find Creo, but quickly came to a halt. "No, wait. I can't go see him right now. If I'm gonna tell Creo how awesome he is to me, I'm going to have to think of something truly awesomely amazingly cool that is sure to make him think I'm awesome the same way I think he is!”

Rainbow began thinking of what she could do. “This is going to be harder than I thought. I’d better go home so I can come up with an idea,” Rainbow quickly took off towards her home to try and conjure up a brilliant idea to impress Creo.

Although, Rainbow Dash was not the only one of her friends planning a surprise for Creo, as he would soon find out, but not in the best of ways.

Part 10 - A Surprise of Their Own

"Ahh, how marvelously stunning," Rarity said as she looked over the suit she was making. "And it will look even more stunning on Creo."

After Rarity's time with Creo yesterday, she wanted to do something special for him to show him her gratitude, so she immediately began work on a dashing suit for him. Because she wanted it to be just right, she had spent most of yesterday and today working on it, making changes over and over so as not to displease Creo.

After Rarity had stitched together the collar, she looked stared at the suit, and began to longingly think about Creo."I can only imagine how strikingly handsome Creo will look in this dashing suit, but I know he'll absolutely love it, and he's sure to love me for making it for him," Rarity then began to fantasize about what she thinks will happen when Creo gets the suit.

Creo and Rarity were standing inside the front room of the Carousel Boutique. Rarity used her magic to float a large present in front of Creo. "For you, Creo," Rarity said as she blushed.

"For me? Why, you shouldn't have, Rarity," Creo said in both a thankful and slightly smug way. Creo opened the box and used his magic to take out what was inside. To his astonishment, it was a suit, and quite a dapper one at that. "Oh, Rarity! This looks absolutely marvelous! I cannot thank you enough for this absolutely exquisite attire!"

Rarity blushed and giggled. "It was my pleasure, Creo. A pony such as you deserved a suit as magnificent as this."

"Well, I simply must thank you for what you have done for me!"

"Oh, you don't have to, Creo—but I wouldn't mind if you did, either!" she said excitedly.

"Well, there's only one way I can thank you, and I think it's something you'll like," Creo said in a romancing way, which worked perfectly on Rarity.

Rarity's fantasy then switched to where she and Creo were sitting at a table for two in a candlelit diner, and they were the only two there. Neither of them were eating, but were instead leaning on the table, gazing longingly into each other's eyes. Creo was wearing his new suit, and Rarity was wearing a lovely indigo dress.

"You look more beautiful than ever tonight, Rarity."

"And you look more handsome than I've ever seen you, Creo."

"It's so wonderful to hear such a thing coming from somepony as sweet as you."

"Oh, stop it, Creo," Rarity said playfully as she blushed. "If there's anypony that's sweet here, it's you for being so sweet to me."

"No, you're the sweet one. After all, you were the one who generously made me this stunning ensemble."

Rarity blushed again. "Oh, I thank you ever so much, but I know you would have made me a wonderful gift if you could."

Creo thought for a few moments, then smiled. "Well, if it's a gift you want, I believe I have one for you."

Rarity looked absolutely thrilled. "Oh, Creo, you are so thoughtful! What kind of gift is it?" Rarity eagerly leaned towards Creo.

"Well, it's a gift I'm sure you'll like."

Creo placed his hoof on Rarity's. Rarity looked at her hoof, then back at Creo. She looked at his smiling face, and then smiled herself, knowing exactly what his gift was. They both slowly began leaning towards each other. Eyes closed and lips puckered, they leaned closer, and closer, and closer, until...

Rarity felt like something was wrong with her kiss with Creo.. She opened her eyes, and saw that she was kissing a mirror! Filled with shock, she quickly backs off from the mirror, spitting in disgust. "Oh, drat! I was really enjoying that!" she sighed, but then a new thought came to her. "But, if my fantasy was that enjoyable, then doing it for real..."

Rarity paused to think it over, than started hopping up and down and squealing with delight. She quickly ceased these actions, not wanting to look childish by being so giddy. "Ooh, I don't want Creo to see me like that. He might think I'm too much of a filly for him. I'd better prepare myself for when we meet so nothing will go wrong!" Rarity ran back to the suit, touching it up some more whilst memorizing in her head what to say to Creo when she gives him his gift.

While Rarity was busy with her own work, Fluttershy was flying around her garden, picking flowers and placing them into her basket. She was humming a merry tune to herself, feeling very contented at the moment.

"I hope Creo will like what I'm going to make for him with these flowers," Fluttershy placed another in her basket, then paused to look at them. "Oh my, I hope he isn't allergic to daisies; maybe I should choose another type of flower—but what if he's allergic to that kind instead? Oh, dear..."

Fluttershy was beside herself with worry, and felt unsure as to how to handle the situation. "Maybe I could ask Creo if he's allergic to any of these flowers—but then I wouldn't be able to surprise him! Oh, what should I do?" Fluttershy looked down at her daisies again. "Well, maybe I should just use these flowers and hope for the best. After all, how likely is it that Creo will be allergic to daisies?" Fluttershy tried to sound confident in her words, but part of her was still afraid for Creo, causing her to go "meep" in fear. She then went back to collecting daisies, still unsure of what was going to happen.

During the time Fluttershy was collecting flowers, Applejack was hard at work harvesting apples. After bucking another tree, she stopped to look ever how many trees were left.

"Looks like ah've still got quite a bit of work left to do today. Sorta wish ah had some help, just like yesterday..when Creo was here..."

Applejack's mindset suddenly changed from thinking about work to thinking about Creo, which made her feel her adoration for him again. She smiled for a few seconds as she thought about him, and then an idea popped into her head.

"Yah, know, since Creo said he enjoys harvestin' apples so much, ah think it would be the right neighborly thing to do to ask him if he wants to help me out. Yeah; ah'd better go 'n' find him now so ah can ask him," And with that, Applejack left Sweet Apple Acres to try and find Creo in town, feeling quite eager just to see him again.

At the same time, Twilight had just closed a book she was looking at. "Yes, this will do," she placed the book in her saddlebag. "I'm sure Creo will enjoy this book as much as I do," she then headed towards the door and opened it. "I just hope I'll be able to find him easily," she then headed out the door to search for Creo.

Overhead, Rainbow Dash was flying in the skies above Ponyville, searching for Creo herself. "I can't wait to find Creo so I can show him my new stunts!" she said enthusiastically. "I hope he'll think they're awesome enough, since I was so eager to show him that I didn't practice them a whole lot. But hey, it's Creo; he thinks anything I do is awesome!" And with those thoughts, Rainbow gladly and eagerly picked up speed so she could find Creo faster.

While searching from the skies, Rainbow Dash flew over Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie was also preparing her own special surprise for Creo.

"Come on, oven, hurry!" Pinkie said frantically as she anxiously scuttled her hooves on the ground. "I really really really really really wanna see Creo so I can give him your baked goodies so he'll eat them and like them and like me for making them!" Pinkie then grabbed both sides of the oven and pressed her face against the oven door, smushing her face on the glass window. "So please hurry!!"

All six of the ponies each have their own special surprise for Creo, with each one unknowing of what the others were planning, and also with each unknowing of how their friends felt about Creo. At this time, Creo had just made it back to Ponyville from Whitetail Wood, and when he gets his own great surprises from the girls, they will all get surprises of their own, but they may not be as great as Creo's...

Part 11 - Let the Clamor Begin: 1/3

Creo had arrived back into town, and was now thinking of what he should do next, since he had already done everything in town the day before. "Hmm, there must be something that I could do. But what?" He looked around, trying to find anything of enough interest for him to do. "I just want to do something so I don't have to leave town yet, since this is the best place in Equestria that I've been to," Creo sighed. "Well, I guess I'll just have to keep walking until I find—"

"Oh, yoo-hoo!" Creo abruptly turned his head, and saw that Rarity was calling for him. He now looked quite glad for having found one of his friends, and hurriedly went over to Rarity.

"Hey there, Rarity! It's great to see you again!"

"Good day, Creo," Rarity replied, sounding very pleased. "It's quite wonderful to see you again as well. In fact, I was hoping to run into you today."

"Really? How come?"

Rarity blushed a little. "Well, I—"

"Wow!" Creo suddenly interjected, having just noticed Rarity's gift. "Who's that large gift for?" he asked with eagerness.

"What?" Rarity's train of thought got bungled for a second. "..oh! Well," she giggled. "Let's just say it's for a very special somepony I've met recently."

"Really? Who?"

"Well, he's a sweet, generous, and quite handsome pony," She says as she slowly steps towards Creo. "The kind of pony anypony would want as their special somepony," Rarity began gazing into Creo's eyes, with him feeling puzzled as to what she was doing. Then, after a few moments, a thought struck his mind.

"Wait..are you talking about..me?"

Rarity giggled and blushed some more. "Well, you are the sweetest and most generous pony here, so I believe that would make you a truly special somepony, would it not?"

Creo was absolutely stunned. He never in his life thought he would get a present from out of the blue like this, and he especially never thought Rarity felt this way about him. Even though he was surprised, Creo also felt very touched by Rarity's generosity. He knew he had to let her know how truly generous he thought she was. "Well, I'm not sure if I agree with all of that."

Rarity's face suddenly became full of shock. "What??"

"It's just that I can't agree all that—since it's quite obvious that the kindest pony here is you for having made me a gift! I haven't done anything quite so munificent for you as you have for me. I know I've been quite nice to you, but you're far more generous than I ever could be. There's no doubt in my mind about that."

Rarity was blushing hard as her face became frozen from being stunned. It seemed that no matter how kind she thought Creo was, he always did something even more kind later—not that she minded at all. Rarity was already vastly lovestruck from every kind act or flattering remark Creo had done so far, and with each new kind thing Creo said or did, Rarity felt even more in love with him than ever before. With these many thoughts of love in her head, she began gazing at Creo in a love-filled daze, completely unaware of everything around her.

Creo was feeling a bit weirded out by Rarity staring at him they way she was. After a few moment of awkward silence, Creo decided to break this silence.

"Excuse me, Rarity?"

"Mmm?" she said in a trance-like state.

"Do you mind if I open my present now? Because I'm really eager to find out what it is."

"Sure, okay..."

"Thanks..Rarity," Creo then walked over to his present and used his magic to start opening it.

Right after creo had moved, Rarity snapped out of her trance. She felt puzzled, not knowing what just happened. She then looked over and saw Creo, looking happy to open his present. Rarity now felt happy herself, knowing that Creo was so fervent to see what her gift was. Because of this, Rarity was now much too eager to wait for things to play out the way she had fantasized. "Creo?" she asked in a partly calm, partly eager manner.

Creo stopped right when he was about to take the lid off the present. "Yes, Rarity?"

"I was just wondering...if you'd like to join me for a nice dinner later?"

"Oh, sure, that sounds nice."

"Really??" Rarity said, suddenly becoming ecstatic.

"Certainly! Who else will be coming?"

Rarity now became bewildered. "Who else...? Well, actually, I wanted it to just be you and me."

Creo was astonished to hear that. "You mean, just the two of us?"

"Of course! I think it would be a fairly nice way for us to get to know each other more, considering we haven't interacted since our day at the spa."

Creo paused and thought for a few moments. "Yeah, you're right about that. We haven't had much time to interact because of my touring Ponyville and all."

"So will you go?" she asked, eager for a response.

Creo thought again. "Well, it does sound like a good way for us to spend more time together, but I'm not sure if something will come up before then."

"Oh, please??" Rarity begged. "I promise, we'll have a marvelous time! We'll go to an elegant restaurant, and you can wear your new suit!"

"New suit?" Creo responded in befuddlement.

Rarity quickly covered her mouth, feeling quite foolish for giving away what her gift was.

Creo then realized what Rarity was talking about. He lifted the lid off the box and peered inside. He was awestruck to see the suit, and he used his magic to lift the suit out from the box so he could examine it more closely. He was wholly amazed by how great the suit looked, gazing at it in admiration. "Wow!! This..looks just incredible, Rarity!"

Rarity wasn't looking so excited to hear that. "Oh..thank you, Creo; although it would have been better if I hadn't ruined the surprise..."

"Oh, don't worry, Rarity," he explained as he put his hoof on her shoulder. "I was still surprised that you made this for me, and I still think it looks absolutely fantastic!"

"Really..?"

"Really," he smiled.

Rarity was now feeling better, and was finally truly happy that Creo loved her gift. She knew there was only one more thing needed to make this moment perfect. "Well then...what do you say about that dinner?"

Creo still didn't feel sure about an answer, but when he saw Rarity's eager disposition, he knew he couldn't say no. So, Creo opened his mouth to give Rarity his answer.

Part 11 - Let the Clamor Begin: 2/3

"Umm, excuse me?" Creo and Rarity turned their heads to see Fluttershy, who standing beside both of the ponies.

"Fluttershy?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, I hope I'm not bothering you, but..it's just that I have something for Creo, and I wanted to give it to him, if that's okay."

"You got me a present?" he asked, astonished.

Fluttershy softly blushed. "Oh, yes. I spent all morning and afternoon working on it, and I'd like you to see it, if that's okay."

"Sure it's okay! Let's see it!"

Fluttershy looked quite pleased as she opened up her saddlebag and took out a flower crown made from the daisies she had picked. "Here it is. I hope you like it, and I hope you're to allergic to daisies," she said with a hint of worry.

Creo was quite moved by this simple yet pally gift. "Oh, Fluttershy; this is so nice of you to do for me; and don't worry, I'm not allergic to any type of flower," he smiled. Fluttershy blushed and smiled back at him.

During this whole period of interaction between the two ponies, Rarity looked be getting more and more peeved that Fluttershy had interrupted her conversation with Creo, and was now at her most impatient.

"Would you like to try it on?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, certainly!" Creo lowered his head for Fluttershy to place the crown on. However, just as she was about to, Rarity intervened.

"Oh, I'm quite sorry, Fluttershy," Rarity interjected as she put herself between Creo and Fluttershy. "But I was right in the midst of a very important conversation. So, if you don't mind?"

"Oh..well, I was really hoping to give Creo the gift I made for him."

"Well, I'm sure you can give it to him some other time. Besides, I was here first," Rarity replied, sounding more keen on having Fluttershy leave.

"But I've worked hard on this gift all day, and I wanted to see how it looks on Creo."

"Well, I've worked hard on my own gift for Creo yesterday and today! So that means I get to talk to Creo first!"

Creo was feeling uncomfortable from all this rude talk displayed by Rarity. Weren't she and Fluttershy supposed to be good friends?

It was at this point that Fluttershy felt like she should leave. But, she thought of Creo, and how important he was to her; she didn't want anything to get in her way of giving Creo his gift—not even Rarity. So, this was one time when she wasn't going to let her friends tell her what to do. "Well, I'm not leaving until Creo tries on his flower crown," Fluttershy replied, actually sounding a bit mad herself.

Rarity looked quite taken aback by Fluttershy's affront. "What?? How can you talk to me in such a manner??"

"Well, I can, and I did," she responded with much firmness, not backing down even a smidgen.

Rarity felt even more insulted than before. "You bite your tongue, Fluttershy!"

"No! You bite your tongue!"

"I will do nothing of the sort! if you think you can just come between me and Creo, you've got another ting coming!"

"Well, we'll just see about that!"

Both Rarity and Fluttershy were continuously altercating over who got to be with Creo right now, and it was getting more and more intense. Creo just could not believe what he was seeing and hearing. This isn't what he wanted at all when he met up with the girls. He was just trying to be friendly, like he always is, and now he felt somewhat responsible for the girls fighting, even though he didn't intentionally do anything at all. As Creo watched them quarrel, he knew it had to stop, so he was going to have to try and intervene, although he was not the best at confrontations.

"Now, girls, there is really no need to bicker over me. We're all friends here, after all, so I'm sure we can agree on some kind of compromise," Unfortunately, the girls paid no attention to Creo, for all they cared about right now was getting their own way. Creo felt helpless, with his feeble attempts unable to persuade Rarity and Fluttershy to cease their fighting.

Creo continued to think of what else he should do as the arguing continued. But then, he was suddenly drawn towards a voice coming from behind him.

"Hey there, Creo."

Creo turned around and saw Applejack standing behind him. "Oh, hello there, Applejack. I didn't realize you were here."

"Yeah, well, I'm here now!" she chuckled nervously, feeling foolish for saying that.

"Yes, well, as nice as it is to see you, I have a lot more on my mind at the moment, as you can plainly see," he stepped to the side and showed Applejack the two arguing equines.

"Whoa, nelly; what's goin' on here?"

"An incident that should never have occurred..." he responded with a sigh of grief.

Applejack looked concerned for Creo, as she didn't like to see him so dismayed. Now disregarding the feuding of her two friends, Applejack was focusing her attention on consoling the pony she cared for so much. "Ah may not know what's goin' on with those two, but ah can see it's upsettin' to yah."

"You got that right."

"Well, it just so happens that ah was already on my way tah meet yah, because ah wanted to see if yah wanted to go applebuckin' with me again today."

"You want me to do that with you again?"

"Well, there are still some more apple trees that need tah be harvested, and since ah know how much you enjoyed it before, ah thought you might like tah do it again. Plus, it would take yer mind off of yer troubles, and ah can see that's somethin' you need right now."

"Well..that's very kind of you to care about me, Applejack, but I really can't just leave—"

"Creo!" Creo turned and saw Twilight trotting towards him. "How pleased I am that I finally found you!"

"Oh, hi, Twilight. I'd really love to talk, but—"

"That's great!" she interrupted. "Because I just got this new book on local flora, and I thought it would be enthralling for the both of us to study it together," she said, sounding quite keen.

"That sounds like it would be great, Twilight, but I really—"

"Fantastic!" she interrupted again. "Let's head back to the library so can begin!" she began tugging on Creo's leg eagerly, with him feeling conflicted about what to do in this situation.

"Beg pardon, Twilight," Applejack interjected, which caused Twilight to stop. "But ah was just about tah take Creo to mah farm tah do some applebuckin', so ah'd think it'd be best for you to just strut along and let me and him get some real work done."

"What??" Twilight responded, taking umbrage of what Applejack said. "What do you mean 'real' work?"

"Well, ah'm sure studyin' and readin' books isn't as easy as it looks, but it's still no match for some real outdoor physical labor."

"I'll have you know that studying books takes a lot more effort than collecting some frivolous apples!"

"Ah don't know what that means, but I don't take kindly to it!"

"Well, I don't take kindly to the way you're speaking to me!"

"And the same goes fer me!" Applejack and Twilight had butted their heads up against each other's, both scowling at the other.

"Oh, no, not again," Creo said frantically as Twilight and Applejack began to argue just as Rarity and Fluttershy were doing. It was time for him to be the mediator again. "Please, girls, I beg of you: don't fight. No good can come from it."

"Well, ah'd be more than happy to not do any fightin' if Twilight would just back off!"

"Me fight?? This was all the cause of you!"

"Only because you wouldn't leave me and Creo alone!"

It seemed there was no stopping them now. The girls continuously blamed the other, going back-and-forth again and again. Creo felt dreadful for accidentally causing another feud between his friends. Why were they fighting over him? Did they really enjoy spending time with him that much? Creo mulled over these thoughts, but he just couldn't understand why something like this would happen. It didn't seem like things could get any worse for Creo now.

Part 11 - Let the Clamor Begin: 3/3

"Creo!!" Creo jumped from being startled, and turned his head to see Pinkie Pie right next to him, having popped out of nowhere, as is her usual fashion.

"Oh, Pinkie," he said as he tried to catch his breath. "I didn't expect to see you pop out of nowhere."

"Well, it wouldn't have been a surprise if I didn't!"

"Yeah, that's true," he then placed his hoof on his chest as he continued to breath in and out.

"Are you doing anything right now?"

"No, not much; just making sure my heart is still working."

"Oooh, that sounds neat!" she said with glee.

Creo just stared blankly at Pinkie Pie. "...is there something that you wanted, Pinkie?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from checking your heart, but I came to find you because I wanted you to taste test my new baked goods I made at Sugarcube Corner!"

"Actually, Pinkie, I—"

"I know you'll absolutely love them! They're a brand new kind I made up myself! Cupcake muffins! The deliciousness and fluffiness of cupcakes and muffins put together into one tastylicious treat!" she licked her lips several times while thinking of her delectable confection.

Creo then made a sigh of disappointment. "Look, Pinkie, I'd really like to try out any treat that you've made—"

"Really?!" she said loudly, her eyes shimmering with elation.

Creo paused for a moment, feeling uneasy about his answer. "...but I really haven't the time."

Pinkie's smile abruptly disappeared, her eyes lost their glimmer, and her ears drooped downwards. "You...you don't want to come with me..?" she replied, absolutely disheartened.

"No, no, it's not that. I'd really love to try some of your treats right now—"

"You would??" she exclaimed as her whole face perked back up and she excitedly wagged her tail.

"Oh, why did I have to say that?" Creo asked himself in regret as he put his hoof on his face.

Pinkie grabbed his leg and began pulling on him. "Let's go before the cupcake muffins get cold! Otherwise they'll be less good than how good they are now!"

Creo planted his feet against the ground to try and keep Pinkie from taking him away from the other ponies, all of whom were still feuding. Suddenly, a call came from above the two.

"Hey, Creo!" Creo and Pinkie Pie both looked up to see Rainbow Dash flying around overhead. She landed on the ground next to them. "It's about time I found you! You gotta see these new flying tricks I came up with! I know you'll think they're awesome!"

"I'm sure they're amazing Rainbow Dash, but—"

"He's coming with me to try out my new baked goods!" Pinkie gleefully interrupted.

"Well, actually, I—"

"I'm pretty sure he can do that any other time, Pinkie Pie," Rainbow said, cutting Creo off. "My stunts are way too good to keep waiting."

"Well my treats are even more too good to keep more waiting!"

"Huh?" Rainbow said in confusion.

"What?" Creo asked, bewildered.

"You heard me!" she responded gruffly.

"Well, as good as your treats are," Rainbow started to say "I know Creo would much rather watch my cool tricks than eat some little cupcakes," she grabbed Creo's front leg and tugged him towards herself. "Isn't that right, Creo?"

"Well, I—"

"They're called cupcake muffins!" Pinkie shouted as she grabbed Creo's other leg and tugged him towards herself. "And I know Creo wouldn't choose anything over eating something tasty and delicious and yummy!"

"All three of those words mean the same thing," Rainbow retorted.

"That just means they're three times as great!"

"Well, it doesn't matter because Creo's coming with me!" Rainbow pulled Creo to her side.

"No! He's coming with me!" Pinkie pulled him back to her side.

"He's coming with me!"

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie continuously pulled Creo back and forth whilst arguing at the same time. Creo was getting the worst of it, though, as getting his legs constantly yanked on was not a pleasant experience. Creo knew he had to make them stop, as his legs were already feeling like they were about to come off! "Girls, please stop this fighting! If you pull on me anymore, my legs are gonna tear off!"

Rainbow and Pinkie both gasped when they heard Creo's plea, so they both immediately released his legs, which snapped back to his body, causing him to fall down onto his back.

As Creo lie there, dazed, Rainbow and Pinkie turned their heads to each other, each staring daggers at the other one. The two ponies then moved right next to each other in face-to-face confrontation.

"Now look what you've done!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "You hurt Creo by pulling on him so much!"

"You pulled him, too!" Pinkie Pie retorted. "And you made him more hurt than I did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

As the ponies did their back-and-forth, Creo struggled to stand up straight, still feeling a bit dazed. After shaking off the dizziness, he saw his friends arguing once more, and without delay, attempted to intervene.

"You just can't realize that Creo likes me better, can you?"

"I guess I don't!" Pinkie sounded firm in her answer, but then realized what she had just said. "No, I mean I do! And he doesn't like you more than me!"

"Girls, please!" Creo interrupted. "I don't like either of you more than the other. I like you both equally. I could never choose a favorite among friends, and all this fighting shows why I would never want to," he said sadly as he shook his head.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both still remained silent as they did when Creo began speaking. Creo looked at their blank faces, and he felt that maybe he had finally gotten though to them.

"...wait..I just remembered!" Pinkie Pie blurted out. "Creo told me that I was one in a million! That means he likes me more!"

"What?? No way! Creo said that I was one of a kind, so that means he likes me more!" As the arguing started up again, Creo's face drooped with the dejection that had just encompassed him.

"A million is way more than one kind!"

"That doesn't make it better!"

"Does so!"

"Does not!"

"Does so!"

"Does not!"

Creo backed away from the feuding ponies, feeling even more helpless than before. Even this time when he was actually able to get a word in, he still was unable to cease the onslaught of bickering between his friends. Creo looked around, seeing Rarity and Fluttershy still going at each other, as were Twilight and Applejack. This whole catastrophe was like a plague; a plague that infects the mind so it can see no reasoning and will only want to fulfill its own desires. With the nonstop fighting, it seemed to Creo like this would be a plague with no possible cure.

Part 12 - To Reconcile Is To Care

As Creo sat, feeling totally worthless, Spike came walking by, and his attention was immediately drawn to the sound of all his shouting friends. "Woah!! What in Equestria is going on here??"

"The worst possible thing that's ever happened to me..." Spike turned and saw Creo sitting dejectedly.

"Creo? What are you doing here?" he asked as he rushed to Creo's side.

"Oh, I'm just sitting here—mulling over all this chaos I caused..."

"Chaos?"

"Chaos, anarchy, pandemonium...any of these synonyms seem like a fit description for what I've done..."

"What do you mean you've caused this? What in the world is going on??" Spike asked, starting to sound a bit frantic.

"Well, Spike, all of these ponies wanted to spend time together with me today, and when each pony found out what the others wanted, that's when the feuding began," Spike looked taken aback by this. "When one pony said what they wanted to do, another pony came and the two started arguing over who should spend time with me. And now all of our friends are fighting because of me..." Reminding himself o this made Creo feel vastly lower in spirits.

Spike still looked stunned by Creo's account of what happened. He then looked towards his quarreling pony friends, and was even more shocked to see them fighting like this, as they had never done such a thing in the past. "I never thought I'd see them act this way. Especially because of the reason they're fighting."

"I've only known them all for a day, and I can't believe it, either. I mean, do they really just like me that much?"

Spike looked at his friends, and then back at Creo. He began pondering what Creo had said. "You know, I think they like you more than you think."

"What?" Creo asked in perplexity.

"Well, the reason I say this is because the other day, after you left the library, I noticed Twilight looking out the window at you, and she had a weird look on her face."

"What kind of weird look?"

"It looked like she was entranced; she was focusing all her attention on you, and she was even smiling a little. It reminded me of how I sometimes look when I see Rarity."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, whenever I see Rarity, in all her beautiful glory, I just become mesmerized by her," Spike's face suddenly shifted to the same love trance that Twilight was in before as he had mentioned.

"Spike? Spike?" Creo waved his hoof in front of Spike's face. "Spike!" Creo shouted, making Spike jump back to reality.

"Huh?! What?? Oh...what was I saying?"

"You were talking about Rarity being beautiful and then went into this love-filled daze."

"Oh, right! That's the look Twilight had when she was looking at you!"

"That's the look??" Creo then put together everything that Spike told him. "Are you saying...that all these girls have a crush on me??"

"Yes, I'm sure of it. That's why they're fighting over you; because they want to spend time with you without anyone else around."

Creo was speechless. He couldn't believe that that was the reason for all this chaos. Gloom surrounded him, causing him to lament over this unfortunate series of circumstances he had the misfortune to cause. "All I wanted to do was be a good friend. I never intended for any of this to happen," Creo hung his head down, but then lifted it back up, sporting a look of fortitude on his face. "But now I have to make amends for what I have done, and undo what I have caused," Creo got up and ran in the direction of the girls, and Spike hurriedly followed him.

Creo ceased running when he was close enough to the girls, all of which had not let up their constant bickering. "What are you going to do?" Spike asked when he stopped next to Creo.

"I need to make them stop fighting, and since words didn't work, I'll have to try using magic."

"You mean you know actual magic spells?" Spike asked, astonished.

"Actually, there's only one spell I ever learned, because it's the only one I thought I would ever need. You see, the dark has always been unsettling for me, ever since I was a colt. I eventually learned of a magic spell that creates a bright flash of light, and I studied the spell so I would possess a way to make the darkness not so frightening for me anymore."

"Wow," Spike replied in awe. "Do you really think that'll make the girls stop fighting?"

"It's the only idea we've got, so we have to try. I'm not going to be responsible for creating such bad blood between our friends," Creo readied himself as he planted his hooves firmly on the ground and pointed his horn at the center of where the girls were all at. He began concentrating as the magic flowed through his horn, making it glow brighter and brighter. When he was at the maximum power, Creo released the spell, which shot out a beam of light that halted in the exact center of where the girls were. The light then took on the form of a sphere of light that tripled in size. Right before the spell finished, Creo pushed Spike's head away from the light, and moved his own head away as well. The orb of light than burst into a large flash of brilliant light, which was so bright that all of the girls shouted in fright and surprise, and desperately tried to shield their eyes from the luminosity.

"Waaahh!!" Twilight shouted after the initial impact of the light.

"What in the hay is goin' on??" Applejack asked loudly while using her hat to shelter her face from the extreme brightness.

"Aaaahh!" Pinkie shouted as she covered her eyes. "Who put all this white here?!"

The ponies continued to be alarmed at this situation until the light had finally dissipated. Pinkie Pie was the first one to open their eyes. "It's okay, everypony! The white went away and the color came back!" she exclaimed, and one by one the other ponies uncovered their eyes and unshielded their faces.

"My word! What was that light?" Rarity asked, quite confounded.

"And where did it come from?" asked Rainbow added.

"And did it have to be so bright?" Fluttershy asked, still feeling a bit phased by the intense luminosity.

With everypony feeling puzzled by this sudden occurrence, Creo knew it was time to step in and tell them what was going on. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy," he said after walking over to the girls, to which they all turned their attention onto him. "I didn't mean to hurt anypony with that light."

All of the girls gasped. "Creo..you don't mean...??" Twilight stutteringly asked.

Creo made a lamenting sigh. "Yes, Twilight. That light was conjured by me," all of the girls were utterly shocked to hear this.

"Ah don't believe it..."

"It just can't be!"

"I seriously don't believe this!"

"Is this real?" Pinkie fretfully asked. Suddenly, the worry vanished from her face. "Wait! This isn't real, is it? That must mean we're in a dream!" she exclaimed excitedly. "What should I do first?? Oooh, I wanna see Ponyville made out of sugary sweets!" Pinkie then sat down, and began concentrating on creating a sweet Ponyville, with everyone else staring at her with weirded out faces.

"Pinkie, this isn't a dream," Creo said. "This is real life."

"But it can't be real life! Somepony as super nice as you would never do something mean to us in real life! So, show me the sugar-filled Ponyville, dream world!" she exclaimed as she spread her hooves out in the air to take in the dream that she desired.

Creo sighed disappointingly. "Pinkie, I'm telling you, this isn't a dream. I really did shoot that light at your girls, but I was not trying to be mean in any way. That's the last thing I would ever want to do," Pinkie lowered her hooves in response to this, looking to be accepting what Creo said to be true.

"Well, if yah weren't tryin' to hurt us," Applejack said. "Then why did yah shoot the light at us?"

"Because it pained me so deeply inside to see your girls quarrel over me. I did what I did to cease the hostility you all had aimed at one another."

The girls were all fixated on Creo, engrossed with his expressive speech.

"You see," he continued. "When I look at you girls, I see a group of great and caring friends: friends that love having others be their friends and love spending time with those very friends; so when a fight breaks out amongst such a devoted group of friends, and I am one of the ponies within that very group of friends, it becomes my solemn duty to step in and mend the broken bonds of friendship that have been torn apart by jealousy."

The girls all had their mouths hanging wide open, completely rapt by Creo's astute representation of this entire predicament.

"All I ever wanted when I met you ponies was to be the kindest, most paramount friend I could be, because you were all so kind to me when we first met," Creo sighed despondently. "But it is clear to anypony that in my attempt to repay you all for your kindness, I overdid my own kindheartedness, and inadvertently caused all of this chaos," he hung his head in sorrow. "I am deeply sorry for what I did to you girls, and I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me."

The girls exchanged looks with each other, all looking to be feeling like heels for making Creo feel so guilty and downhearted. How could they do this to him? Especially after how kindheartedly he had treated them all? The girls were feeling guilty as Creo was, but now it was time to repay him for his kindness and remove all these feelings of remorse from Creo's self.

"Creo," Twilight started as she stepped forward. "There's nothing that needs to be forgiven."

Creo tilted his head slightly back up. "What?"

"Well, there's nothing that needs to be forgiven by you. The only ones here that should be asking forgiveness is all of us for how badly we've made you feel."

"Twilight's right," Applejack appended. "None of this is yer fault at all," Creo looked astonished to be hearing these words come from his friend's mouths.

"Yeah, it's totally our faults," Rainbow Dash said, looking and sounding quite remorseful.

"You girls really don't think this was all my fault?" Creo asked in bewilderment.

"Of course we don't, sugarcube. We shouldn't have fought over you tah start with."

"It was quite improper of us to even think about fighting over a friend like you," Rarity added. "Let alone fighting over a friend at all."

"I feel so ashamed" Fluttershy said dismally.

"I feel more shame than double shames plus another three shames!" Pinkie said in addition to Fluttershy.

"The point is, Creo," Twilight said, cutting off Pinkie Pie. "Is that we're all very sorry for everything we have done to make you feel like a criminal, and remember that it was all the cause of us, and not the cause of you in any way," The other ponies nodded in agreement.

"...so you all honestly don't blame me for any of what happened?" Creo asked, sounding modestly surprised.

"Of course not, Creo," said Rarity. "We would never even consider that thought."

"Remember, we're the ones who shouldn't have started all this feudin' in the first place."

"After all, we're all friends," said Fluttershy.

"Really great friends!" Pinkie exclaimed as she popped up between Rarity and Fluttershy, hugging them both by their necks.

"And one important part of friendship," Twilight began to say. "Is not fighting over wanting the same thing, whether it be an object," she looked over to Creo. "Or somepony that you like."

Creo smiled, feeling a great deal of joy from this unwavering flow of kindness and acceptance, knowing that at last, the quarreling had ceased to be.

The girls were also in high spirits now that the fighting was no more. "Ah feel so downright ridiculous for bein' a part of that feud," said Applejack.

"Well then," Rarity appended. "Let us promise not to fight over something so silly like that again!" she instantly looked to regret what she said as she peered over at Creo. "I mean, not that Creo is silly at all, but, umm..." Rarity blushed from discomfiture as she struggled with what she should say next.

"Ahh, he knows what yah mean," Applejack responded nonchalantly.

"Yes, so let's hug already!" Pinkie Pie blurted out, and all six of the girls gathered together for a great and heartwarming group hug.

Part 13 - A Poignant Farewell

Creo breathed a sigh of relief as his friends hugged one another. "This is all certainly a load off my conscience."

"Boy, you said it," Spike concurred, also sounding relieved.

Creo overlooked the girls, thinking to himself about how happy he was feeling. He thought about his experiences in this town, the good and the bad, and overall this made for a great town to visit. He experienced things he had never tried before, and met new friends like no others he had met. He almost felt like he could live in this town forever—and that was when he realized what needed to be said to his friends, and even though he was not pleased to say it, he knew it had to be done. "Girls, may I say something?"

The girls stopped their hugging and put their eyes on Creo. "Sure, Creo," said Twilight. "What is it?"

"Well, these past two days have sure been eventful; much more than I ever could have expected when I first came here, but now I am thinking that is time for me to leave Ponyville."

"What?!?" all the ponies shouted in unison.

"Now, now: don't take this the wrong way! The reason I think I should leave is because I've never stayed in one town for too long, I travel all around Equestria to try and find inspiration for my writings, so I may learn to write better and obtain more ideas on what I should write about; and Ponyville has certainly supplied me with much to think about. For that, I thank you, my friends, for you all helped me learn so much in Ponyville, and I had fun spending time with each of you the day before. I believe I can say, with all honesty, that you girls are the best ponies I've ever met throughout my travels, and I'll be forever grateful to have met you all."

The girls all looked to be tearing up from Creo's heartfelt speech; even Rainbow Dash.

"That was so dearly touching," Rarity said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"It was downright sweet of you tah say that, sugarcube," Applejack said, looking so touched.

"And we're all grateful to have met you, too, Creo," Twilight said warmheartedly, to which Creo smiled happily.

Pinkie's eyes were tearing up quite a lot, but then her tears stopped at the flash of an idea in her noggin. "Hey, everypony! Let's group hug Creo!"

The other girls looked to be in agreement and all ran over to Creo, hugging him lovingly, with Creo looking happy to be hugged.

"So I take it you're not so gloomy about me leaving now?"

"Don't worry, Creo; we understand," said Twilight.

"But we'll sure miss you a lot," added Fluttershy.

"And I'll miss you girls very much, too," he replied, hugging his friends, with warmness of true friendship emanating through them all.

Creo was now all ready and packed, and had just arrived at the Ponyville train station with his friends. "Well, my friends, it's sure been fun hanging out with you all, although I still feel bad that I won't be able to spend time with you now."

"Well, actually," said Twilight," We all wanted you to have something to remember us by, so we each got you farewell gifts."

"Really??" he said with a bit of excitement. "That’s really sweet of you all, but none of you needed to get me anything.”

“We didn’t??” Pinkie exclaimed in astonishment. “Aww, pickles!” she said discontentedly, kicking the ground with her hoof.

"Pinkie, that's just a phrase," Rainbow Dash said to her.

"It is? …does that mean Creo won’t be upset that we got him gifts?” Rainbow shook her head no. “…well, then I’m happy to give him my present now, again!” she said with glee.

Rarity was the first to walk up to Creo, with him looking quite eager to receive gifts from his friends.

"For you, Creo, I have made a brand new saddlebag!" she used her magic to float the saddlebag in front of Creo, with him in awe at its magnificence.

"Wow, Rarity, this looks amazing! Plus, my old one was looking a bit worn-out," right then, the bottom of his left saddlebag ripped open, with all of his scrolls falling to the ground. "...well, anyways," he said to redirect the conversation. "Thanks very much for the wonderful gift, Rarity."

"You're quite welcome, Creo," she replied happily. "Also, I stored the suit I had sutured for you in the right-side bag, so you'll always have a way to look fabulous wherever you go."

"Thanks again for that, Rarity. It'll be great to have a piece of your fashionable clothing with me, since I've never had something to wear on special occasions before, and the suit you made will be just perfect for those occasions," Creo said with much contentedness.

Rarity blushed, remembering how much she adored Creo's kindness, but she didn't want a repeat of what happened, so she just thanked Creo for his kind words, and went back next to her friends.

Pinkie was the next up, and she hopped up to Creo, holding a basket in her mouth. "Mmmff mf hmff mff!" she burbled, unable to speak clearly with the basket handle in her mouth.

"Excuse me?"

Pinkie then spit the basket onto the ground. "I said that I brought you those cupcake muffins I wanted you to try but you didn't try them because me and my friends were all fighting so much!" she explained without taking even one breath. "Remember?"

"Yes, I do believe I remember, Pinkie."

"Oh, goodie!" she said gleefully. "Well, I hope you enjoy them!"

"I know I will, Pinkie, and thank you."

Pinkie then gave Creo a tight hug around his neck, which partly choked him, and then hopped back to the others as Twilight walked up to Creo next, with him having regained his normal breathing.

"Creo, even though I'm sure you're already great at writing, I have decided to give you this book on creative writing to help further your skills," she took a book out of her saddlebag and floated it over to Creo.

"Well thank you, Twilight. I'm sure it will help me greatly," he placed the book beside his new saddlebag and Pinkie's basket.

Applejack was up next, and she came up to Creo with a jug in her mouth, which she placed on the ground in front of him. "Ah was thinking about how you never tried some of my cider before, so ah thought ah'd give ya some fer the road."

"That sounds pretty good! I can't wait to try some! Thanks, Applejack!"

"Yer welcome, Sugarcube," she replied as she patted him on the shoulder.

Fluttershy came next, and she shyly flew up to Creo, holding a flower crown in her hooves.

"Hey, isn't that the flower crown you showed me earlier?"

"Well, umm..yes, it is. I didn't have time to think of something new to give you, so I thought you might like this. I hope that's all right.."

"It's perfectly fine, Fluttershy," he said as he took the crown from Fluttershy and placed it upon his head. "After all, it's the thought that counts."

Fluttershy blushed as she smiled, happy with the knowledge that Creo was happy with her gift.

Rainbow Dash was last to give a gift to Creo, and she looked quite proud of whatever it was she had brought to bestow to her friend. She used her wing to open her saddlebag , take out her gift, and presented it to Creo.

Creo looked astounded to see that the gift was, in fact: an autographed picture of Rainbow Dash. He looked surprised at the gift he had just received, and bore the same expression as he looked towards Rainbow Dash.

"I thought you might like a way to always have something awesome to look at," she said haughtily.

"Gee, umm..thanks, Rainbow Dash. I'll make sure to look at it whenever I want to remember how awesome you are."

"That's what I thought," she said again with smugness before she was pulled back to the others by her tail by Applejack for making herself look better than her friends, as shown by Applejack's stern look towards Rainbow Dash.

"Well, thank you all so much for your wonderful gifts. I know that no matter where I go or how far I travel in this world, I will never meet friends as great as you ponies."

Everyone felt touched once more by Creo's heartwarming speech, and they all got together for one last group hug, with Creo and the girls both forever glad to have met each other.

Smoke began to stem from the train's smokestack as the conductor shouted out that the train was departing.

"Well, I'd better get going. Goodbye, everypony," Creo then turned around and went to board the train. The ponies all waved goodbye as he walked away.

"Goodbye, Creo!"

"Farewell!"

"See ya!"

"Have a good one!"

"Good luck with your stories!"

"Make sure to have as much fun as possible!"

After boarding the train, Creo faced his friends whilst standing in the doorway. "Goodbye, my friends! I'll be sure to come back to Ponyville soon!"

Pinkie suddenly stopped waving, having gained a partly perplexed look on her face. "Soon?" she asked as she walked up to Creo. "How soon?"

"I don't know...umm..as soon as I can."

"Oh, okay—how soon is that?"

"As soon as I have the time," the train slowly began to move, and Pinkie began following alongside it.

"How soon will you have that?"

"When I think I'll have time," Creo sounded like he was having trouble coming up with responses. Additionally, the train was picking up more speed, and Pinkie was now sprinting a bit.

"And when will that be??"

"Well..uhh...I really don't know, Pinkie," he replied as he shook his head, unable to come up with any more answers.

"Well, when will you know??" Pinkie asked, as she was now sprinting quickly to keep up with Creo. But, before she could get a reply, Pinkie fell over the side of the train station platform, falling to the ground, right on her face.

Creo couldn't help but sniggering at Pinkie's misfortune, as was the same with the other ponies. After feeling dazed for a little bit, Pinkie shook it off and looked up at Creo, who waved back at her as the train sped away. Pinkie then bounced back up on her hooves just as her friends joined up with her, and together they all waved goodbye to their friend Creo, all eager for the next time he would come to Ponyville—especially Pinkie Pie, as even though she didn't get the answer she wanted, she knew a friend as good as Creo was worth waiting for.

THE END

Part 3 - Learning About Friends

Twilight looked over and saw Creo writing, so she walked up to him, curious as to what he was doing. "What are you doing there, Creo?"

Creo turned his head towards Twilight while he was still writing. "Well, after seeing you girls and your wonderful friendship, I came up with a new story idea, and I wanted to write it down so I wouldn't forget it."

"Wow, that's awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the other girls came over to Creo.

"So, you write stories?" Twilight asked.

"Indeed I do. It's my special talent. See?" Creo showed them his cutie mark, which showed a quill writing on a piece of paper. "I discovered long ago that I am good at coming up with ideas, so I set out on my own to find inspiration around Equestria so I might write novels about them."

"Wow! That's an amazing!"

"Ah'll say!" Applejack said. I'd fancy takin' a look at one of those stories of yours!"

"And I'd like to see the story inspired by us!!" Pinkie exclaimed, hopping up and down.

Creo chuckled. "Well, I only have an idea now. It may take some time to come up with the whole story, but it shouldn't be too hard for me."

"Well, it's good to know you have confidence in yourself," Twilight said.

"Thank you very much, Twilight," Creo said, smiling. Twilight smiled back at him.

"So, what's yer title goin' to be?"

Creo's eyes suddenly widened and his smile vanished from his face. "...I don't have the slightest idea. I never do," he said as put his hoof over his face and shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I—oh my gosh! I totally forgot!" Creo then ran back to the stump, used his magic to pick up the scroll he was writing on before, and started writing on it again.

The girls were surprised and confused by Creo's actions. "Creo? What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

Creo looked back at Twilight. "Oh! I'm sorry. It's just that when I met you girls I forgot I was working on coming up with a title for another novel of mine, but I've been having some trouble."

"Oh, I see. Well, what is the novel going to be about?"

"Actually, I've already finished the novel."

"Really?" Twilight asked, perplexed. "Then why are you just coming up with the title now?"

"Well, you see, the hardest thing about writing, for me, anyway, is coming up with titles. It's just SO hard for me. That's why I do them last, so I can focus on the story instead."

"So is that what all the scribbled-out words on your scroll are?" Rainbow Dash asked as she pointed at the scroll.

"Yes, they are. I just haven't found a title that sounded good."

"But did you really need such an incredibly long long long scroll just to come up with a title?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Well, I had that scroll custom-made to be that long because I knew I would be coming up with titles and crossing them out because, as I've said, it is extremely hard for me to come up with one that sounds right."

"Do you do this for each new title?" Twilight asked.

"Yes...unfortunately...but, I always settle on one eventually, so it's not all bad. Good things take time, after all."

"Well, I can certainly agree with that."

"Indeed. Say, I just thought, what were you girls doing out here, anyway?"

"Well, we were taking a walk when we found the other end of your scroll, so we followed it right to you."

"Speakin' of which, we should git back to it."

"Well, I hope you girls have fun! It was nice meeting you all," Creo then went back to working on his title.

"Well, I hope you come up with an awesome title for your book, Creo," Rainbow Dash said.

Creo then got upset and scribbled out another title. He then looked up at Rainbow Dash. "Well, don't expect me to come up with anything too awesome anytime soon," he then went back to work.

The girls looked at each other, and then Twilight said, "Creo, maybe you should take a break from work for a while."

Creo stopped and looked at Twilight. "Take a break? What else could I do besides work?"

"Well, you could join us on our walk. That should be relaxing for you."

"Twilight's right," Applejack said. "You shouldn't be workin' yourself too hard. Trust me, I know what that's like."

"I agree," Rarity added. "If you work too hard, the stress will get to you, and your work may not turn out as well because of it. That's one of the reasons why I'm glad I go to the spa every week. It's perfect for reducing one's stress levels."

"Oh, I could never go to a spa. It just seems so...girly..."

Rarity was shocked. "How can you even say that?? The spa is the best place to be in Ponyville! And I'll just have to show you!" Rarity then used her magic to pick up Creo's things and put them in his bag, and then placed the bag on Creo.

"What do you think you're doing??"

"I'm taking you to the spa right now!" Rarity then got behind Creo and started pushing him towards the path she and the others were on before.

Creo stamped his hooves into the ground to try and keep Rarity from pushing him. "I don't want to go there! I said it's too girly! And I need to work on my story title!"

"You're going whether you want to or not!" Rarity then used her magic to pick up Creo, and started carrying him out of the clearing.

"Rarity!" Twilight shouted. "What about our walk??"

"It'll have to wait for another time, Twilight! This is far more important!" Rarity shouted as she kept walking away and out of sight.

All of the ponies stood silent for a few moments. "...IIIII think we should call it a day," Twilight said. The other girls nodded and agreed with her.