Chapter One: The Orphanage
Spark Wheel had a very good family. He was an earth pony who had white fur with a short yellow mane and sky blue eyes. His mother's name was Night Mist. She was a unicorn who had dark, black fur and a long, light grey-blue mane, along with shiny white-purple eyes. His father's name was Bright Sky. He had light blue fur and a short, yellow mane. His eyes were that of his son, but had a yellow spot in the center.
His family was actually quite poor, but he didn't care. His parents were very nice to him, and he got everything he needed. Well, apart from school, but he didn't care about that. He got food, water, sleep, and a small hut to live in. His family struggled on the edge of being broke, and they lived dangerously close to the Everfree Forest.
One night, Spark woke to the sound of snapping wood outdoors. He went to check the window, but saw nothing in the darkness. Hmm. Then, he saw something that would haunt him for life. Two green glowing eyes appeared in the underbrush. The eyes seemed to stare straight into his soul. They had a certain blood lust that made Spark shiver. Spark froze in fear as the jaw of the timberwolf opened and let out an ear splitting roar.
There's a monster right outside our house! Spark's parents woke up from the sound. "What? What is—" Night Mist was interrupted by the sound of the timberwolf roaring again, and the wooden leg that smashed the window. Spark yelped from the speed of the timberwolf, but was to frightened to get away.
Night Mist was quick to respond, and shot a blast of magic at the timberwolf as it pushed itself through the hole. The blast hit the timberwolf square on the head, but seemed not to hurt it. The timberwolf switched its attention to Night Mist, and got ready to pounce on her. But it seemed to not notice Bright Sky coming in from the side. It yelped as it was tackled to the . It then growled and opened its mouth to bite Bright Sky, but before it could do that, Night Mist shot a blast a magic straight down its throat. It began to fall apart, piece by piece, but it still managed to raise its head and dig its teeth into Bright Sky's left shoulder. Spark began to respond again from the sight of his father hurt.
"Dad!" Spark shouted.
"Agh!" Bright jumped back as the rest of the timberwolf fell apart. Its wooden teeth remained lodged in his shoulder.
"Honey! Are you alright?" Night ran over to Bright, and began to levitate the teeth out of his shoulder.
"I'm fine, just some flesh wounds." Bright Sky tried to smile but the pain on his shoulder kept him. It looked more like a wince because of it. Spark ran over to his father. He hadn't seen blood before, but he feared for his father.
Night finished removing the teeth and began to wrap some pads around Bright's shoulder. "Can you walk?" Night asked rather hopefully.
Bright Sky began to put pressure on his left leg but immediately recoiled. "I'll have to keep off my left leg, but yes I can walk." When he smiled this time, it actually looked like a smile. Spark sighed in relief. He was so happy that his father was safe, but when he looked at the wood on the floor, he wondered why it came out of the forest.
The next morning, everything seemed to be fine. Spark wasn't so certain there wouldn't be more timberwolves, but he knew that they could never beat his parents. He was working on a drawing of some snowy mountains, because there wasn't much else to do in this house, when his father came up to him.
"Spark?"
"Yes, dad?" Spark set aside the drawing and smiled up at his father.
"Me and your mother have been talking, and we think that it's too dangerous for you to live here."
"W-what do you mean?" Spark's smile began to falter.
"Last night, there was only one timber wolf, but what if there are more next time? What if there are two or three next time?" Bright sighed. "Your mother is out in town, looking for a house on sale that we might be able to buy, safe from the Everfree forest. If she cannot find any... we're sending you to the orphanage."
"What? But dad, I don't want to go the orphanage. I don't want to be alone."
"Don't worry, you won't be alone, there are plenty of foals there to make friends with. Also, I've seen the orphanage once. The ponies working there are very nice. And I'm sure the ponies that adopt you will take much better care of you than me and your mother ever could."
"But—"
"No buts, Spark. It's just the way it has to be."
Spark was not happy, not happy at all, but there was so winning an argument with Bright Sky. "Alright," Spark said reluctantly.
Just then, the door opened and revealed a rather sad looking Night Mist. No. "Sorry, there are no cheap enough homes to be bought." Nooooooooooooo! Why?! "Why not?!" Spark shouted.
Bright Sky closed his eyes and sighed, a tear forming in his eye. "Alright, lets go."
"Wait, can't we check another town?" Spark asked in vain.
"And just how do you suppose we get to another town?"
"Well, we could... we could..." Spark couldn't think of anything. Spark gave in. There was no choice. He sighed. "Fine, lets go."
The orphanage was nearby, and it was very much bigger than Spark had expected it to be. How many foals live here? They were walked up to the front door of the large building. They all stood in silence for a few moments, before Bright Sky opened the door. "Hello!" They were greeted by a very happy pony. Spark smiled a little.
"My name is Crimson Heart, and I run this orphanage. What're your names?" The pony asked.
"My name is Bright Sky, this is my wife, Night Mist, and he is our son, Spark Wheel," said Bright.
Spark Wheel stopped paying attention to the words they were saying, and sat next to the wall. He observed the room around him, noting the decorations and smiley faces.
"Spark?"
"Huh, what?" Crimson Heart was gesturing for him to follow her. Spark glanced at his parents before following Crimson down a hallway with many doors. She stopped at a door with a number on it, and stepped inside.
"This is your bedroom, Spark. This is where you will sleep at night."
"Why are there two beds in here?" Spark asked.
"Oh, that? We have two beds in each bedroom because we once thought that we might need the extra space. Luckily we've never needed all these beds."
"Uh, okay."
Crimson sighed. "Look, Spark, I know that you are having a rough time, but you'll like it here, I promise you." I doubt it, Spark thought bitterly.
"Do you need anything to eat? It's almost dinner time." Spark looked up at Crimson, who smiled down at him.
"Sure."
They walked down another hallway and Spark was beginning to hear some noise. It seemed to be coming from behind a door, but he couldn't put his hoof on it. When Crimson opened the door, he saw about thirty foals, all in engaged conversation.
"Attention, we have a new foal to greet. His name is Spark Wheel." All the foals stopped there conversation to smile at Spark.
"Hello!" They all greeted him. Maybe the orphanage isn't such a bad place after all.
Spark smiled back. "Hello!"