The Un-Popular Ones

A sliver of light shined into a cloud. As soon as it came though, it went onto a bright face. The light was the same color as the face. This was it. Another day. But a good day. Everyday was a good day. The young colt sprung up instantly. His wings fluttered immediately as he got a little off the bed.

"Woah! Mom! I'm flying! I'M FLYING!" He cries out. He allows his wings to keep flaping, waiting for his mom to come see. But he was only met with...

"Oh really? Good job!" She calls out. She doesn't come in, though. Short slowly reaches the bed again, sighing again. He bows his head and slowly trots into the kitchen. He fixes himself some food,  mainly a hayburger and some juice. He ate quickly as his mom flew into the room. She was wearing a Wonderbolts uniform and looked to be talking on something similar to a phone.

"Right... I'll be at the training facility in an hour... Gotta drop off my son... Alright...." She hung up before finally noticing her son.

"Hey mom..." He takes another bite from his burger as his mom sits down next to him.

"So... What were you saying?" She asks, trying to make up for earlier.

"Nothing... Just... Eating..."

"Oh come on... I'm sorry for earlier, but you know how busy I am, having to run the Wonderbolts training facility."

"Yeah... I know... I never hear enough of the 'Oh So Famous Spit Fire'" He says sarcastically, witch was met with a sad face by her.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I should spend more time with you."

"Yeah... I guess... Short responds, taking some bigger bites of his burger.

"You know what? How about after school, me and you do something?" His mom, Spitfire, says in response to her son's disinterest of her any other way. Finally getting the chance to hang out with his mom excites him. He grows a big smile and, seemingly like magic, his mane begins to get bright. Like a yellowish color.

"REALLY?! YOU MEAN IT?!"

"Of course I do."

"Can I invite my friends, too?!"

"Uh... Sure? Who are they?" This question makes Short's mane fade some, as he's told her like 200 times.

Two Nights Ago:

"Hey mom! I met this cool colt, G-Sec and this kinda weird-ish one, Dusk! We're friends!"

"Huh? Oh... Sounds cool!"

"Mom... I told you just yesterday... You know, G and Dusk?"

"Oh yeah! The... Pink one?"

"Wha... NO! That's Diamond Tiara! Green and Blue!!"

"Right... Of course they can come!" She says, trying to avert the subject to avoid hurting her son's feelings more.

"Oh....Kay..." He finished up his burger and gathered his school supplies.

"Alright, my little sunset. Have a great day!" She kisses his forehead but he wipes is and blushes.

"Moooommm..." He whines.

"Sorry... I forgot that you're a big ol' stallion now, huh?"

"Yeah!" He tried to flex his little muscles, causing Spitfire to laugh.

"Of course... I still love you." She smiles. Her words of affection are met with grumbles from her son.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you..." She leans closer.

"I said... I..." His sentence ends in grumbles.

"You know, I think I know just the pony to help you speak..."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"The TICKLE MONSTER!" She took him to the ground and tickled his tiny, colt stomach. He squirmed hard and laughed uncontrollably. He flailed his hooves everywhere.

"AHH!! StAAAHHHHPPP!" He cried between his laughs.

"Then say it!" She started to got to his hooves, which are his most sensitive part.

"AHH! NOT MY HOOVES! SO... SORRY! LOVE YOU!" He cried. After hearing this, she released him. He breathed hard.

"Good boy... Have a good day at school." She pulled him up and towards the door.

"Heh... Thanks..." He sniffled and left for school. Spitfire pulled out her phone-looking-thingy from her jacket pocket. It was on silent still and had 12 missed calls. She sighed and began to call back.

Short smiled as he tumbles into the street. The sun was barely rising as it shimmered over the Ponyville hills. He was happy to hang with his mom, but he realized that is sucked having a celebrity mom. He did lots (I mean LOTS) of money and met Celestia and Luna, but she ever hung with him. They never ate breakfast together or went to Walt PonyWorld or anything! He only saw her in the mornings and at Wonderbolts shows. He was strong and fast, like a Wonderbolt, but he always wanted be a Royal Guard. He admired the Captain, Shinning Armor. He was really cool. He got to rub hooves with Celestia like every day. And the rush! That wold be sweet. It would get him more friends. All the colts and fillies here said he was self-centered. A jerk. Unattractive. Egomanistical... Or something like that. The filly he had his heart set on even called him narasistalic-something-something... It was too big of a word. He sighed and reached the school.

He looked around to see who was here. There were only a few, for it was so early. Ms. Cheerilee hadn't even come yet. There was this yellow one, with a reddish mane. It was kinda cute and adorned with a bow. He never bothered to learn her name. There was also Pipsqueak. He was kinda cool, but only from the papers. Finally, last and most definitely not least, there was Diamond Tiara. Short knew lots about her, but didn't want anypony to know. He always went for her. IT wasn't for her money, for her mom had lots. A little of it was her looks, but there were a few better. A little white one with a blueish mane. Sweetie Bun? Little Belle? Sweetie Belle? Yeah... That's it. He went for her after some fails with Tiara but she shot him down.He tried to recall what it was about Tiara. A few weeks ago, though, she began to lose her appeal. She was a lot nicer and wasn't as controlling. That's it! He liked her sassy, strong and sweet attitude. Three S's. This was the first time he saw her alone in a while. Her grey friend, Silver Spoon maybe, was still home. This was his moment.

"Whelp, 246 is the luck number." He told himself before showing his stallion strut over to her.

"O for the love of Celestia... Not him..." Tiara told herself as he came over.

"Hey there, Tiara. You look nice today." He smiled.

"Hi there Short Fire." She fake smiled back.

"How're you doin'?"

"Umm... Fine. Silver slept in, so i'm here by myself."

"You know, you don't gotta be alone..."

"You're right! I could go play with The Crusaders." She pointed to the yellow one from earlier, showing Sweetie Belle and her other friend with her.

"I thought you didn't like them!"

"What? Ehh... That was a while ago. Ever since they got nice to me, we're kinda friends." That was it! It was them who ruined his love. They made her nice... But, he could maybe get her now then train her back.

"So... You're nice now?" The question called a blush to Tiara's cheeks, making her remember how she used to be. She hated how she used to be and tried to for get her past. (You know who elese tries to forget their past? Sunset Shi...)

"Uh... Heh... Yeah... I'm nice... I guess..."

"Cool! So, can we go on a date?" He asked bluntly. He was hoping she wouldn't do like she had before. 'What?! Eww... NO!' This bluntness made Tiara get caught off guard a bit, expecting more play up.

"I... Uh... What?"

"Can we, you know, get like dinner or something?" He tried to keep confidence in his voice despite being super scared.

"Short, you've asked like a million times..."

"Actually, only 246."

"You kept count?!"

"Uh... Yeah... Heh..."

"Why would you keep count of heartbreak?"

"I dunno... i just really like you. I wanna remember how far I've come if I get you." His sentence caught her hard. But only for one word. ]if. He never said that. He always said when.

"Di... Did you just say if?" He blushed and nodded. He was showing his true colors, orange and red. But, he was also showing that he's a real colt with feelings and selflessness. He showed total vulnerability and submission, which the old Tiara would've loved. The old Tiara.

"Wow... I thought you were just self-centered."

"Heh... Am I not?"

"No... You're not!"

"So... Um... The date?"

"Short... You're sweet and all but... I... I just can't." This saddens him hard.

"Oh... I see..." He hangs his head and trots away. Tiara sighs and feels bad. He hung his head and began to trot back to whee he and G ate lunch on G's first day. But, on his way there, The Crusaders began to run by. One of them, an orangeish-brown one with a purple mane, accidentally bumped into him, causing them both to fall.

"Hey! Watch where you're going! She said in an assertive tone before getting up and running with her friends. He stared as she ran off. She ran over to Sweetie Belle and that yellowish one. He realized that she was a part of The Crusaders. He stared, thinking of the purple-maned one. Although they only met this one time, she showed attitude, a bit of anger, & sass as she stood. Plus, she was a Pegasus! Her look wasn't too bad either... He spent a good time on the ground, eyeing her flank as the Crusaders whipped around the yard. Tanned and muscular, he flank was a real sig...

"Eh hem!" A clearing of the throat broke his gaze upon the filly. He turned around, only to notice a pair of purple legs. He slowly drifted his eyes up to see...

"M...Mi...Miss... Che... Cheer...Cheerilee!" He stumbled out, quickly standing.

I see you're a big fan of one filly, aren't you?" She commented.

"Wha... I... No..."

"Keeps your eyes on school, not Scootaloo. See me at lunch." She headed to the school room, limping slightly as her leg was still bandaged from the door slam a few days ago. Short sighed and headed inside.

"There goes my week of no detention." He said to himself, going to the door, only to fall into yet another crash that sent him down. He turned to face the clumsy pony and yell at them until he noticed who it was.

"HEY! I told you to watch it, egg head!" A filly with the same purple mane yelled at him. He blushed hard and tried to make coherent words.

"Wha... I... Heh... So..."

"UGH! Forget it! You got me all dirty!" She stood and shook herself clean of the dirt on her. She ran past him to her seat with the other Crusaders. Short grew a huge smile and walked back to his seat in the back. He just remembered: Cheerliee told him her name. 'Scootaloo'. He thought to himself, staring again at the filly. He concentration was broken again when G shuffled in back to his seat. It had been 2 or 3 days since Dusk had been in school.

"Hey there G!" Short called, causing all the foals to look back at them.

"Hi..." He whimpered in response until everypony looked back to the front.

"Any word from Dusk?" Short lowered her voice, remembering G's fear of public.

"No... I haven't seen him since that one time."

"Aww... That sucks." The talk for a good 20 minutes about random things, until the subject of dating comes up.

"Another rejection? How many times has that been?"

"246."

"Phew... That's a doosy of a number."

"How many times have you been rejected?"

"Eh... Not my place to say yet?"

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. Just, i'm supposed to focus on you."

"Uh.... I... Okay... Well, I found this new filly that I like!"

"Oh really? Who would that be?"

"Scootaloo." He smiled, pointing to the pegasus filly.

"Hmm..."

"She's PERFECT!"

"How so?"

"Seriously?! She's cute, her coat is awesome, her attitude is amazing and she's a pegasus! She's just the best!" The 5 minute bell rings, causing a sigh from G.

"Well, looks like another Duskless day."

"Yeah... Or do we?" Short said, ending his sigh with a smirk.

"What do you mean Sho..." He cuts himself, seeing Dusk standing at the door.

"DUSK!" They both yelled. He started to head to his seat, but he looked different. His face was still kinda depressed, he was bundled up in clothes, but his teeth... They were blindingly white!

"Dude! Where have you been?!"

"Legal stuff. My mom found me and gave me lots and lots of toothpaste."

"Weird mom... We gotta fill you in!" But, the school bell rang, signalling class.

As class drew to an end, the bell rang. Both G and Dusk headed out, for Short told them he'd be inside during lunch. After all the foals went outside, Ms. Cheerliee called him up. Had had been in detention so many times and knew the questions, so he was prepared to answer quickly.

"Do you know why I called you here?"

"Yes Ms. C."

"Why?"

"For staring at a filly."

"Why is that wrong?"

"It's inappropriate."

"What were you looking at?"

"Her flank."

"Right... Now listen good..." Short began to tune her out and nodded a few times to show he was listening. He tuned in to hear the last part.

"And THAT'S why I'm calling your mom." Not his mom. Most moms would yell at their kid. Maybe give them a smack on the hoof. His mom would be worse. His mom would be: Recognized.

"But Ms. C! You can't call my mom!"

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because! She's... At the training site!" He was half telling the truth. She was there but would be home soon after school for their fun day.

"And what is she training for?"

"Well, she's not actually training herself. She's training other ponies."

"For what?"

"The Won..." He drowns out the rest of his sentence.

"The what?"

"The... The Wonderbolts..." He whispered so only Ms. C could hear.

"Wait... Your mother is... Spitfire?" She looked through the files, and confirmed herself.

"Yeah..."

"Sweet Celestia... I'm a HUGE fan! Tell her I said so!" He got caught off guard by her enthusiasm but saw it as an opportunity.

"Sure... Does this mean i'm off the hook? I'll slide you some front row tickets..."

"No Wa... Wait... Front row?"

"Yeah?" He winced, hoping she'd agree.

"Fine... Tell nopony!"

"If you promise not to tell who my mom is."

"Deal!" She smiled. Short returned the smile and headed outside for lunch...

As school ended, all the foals ran home, finally getting freedom. The three colts were the exception, talking as they headed out.

"The arcade huh?" G asked a bit skeptically.

"Yeah! Then we'll get dinner and we can have a sleepover!"

"I'd have to ask my mom..." Both the unicorn and earth pony retort. They headed to G's house first, him insisting to not have anypony else come in. It was weird, was he hiding something? After a few minutes, he came out.

"My mom said it's cool. She's going to a concert tonight, so, yeah. It's cool."

"Nice! Onto you, Dusk!" They walked to the apartments where Dusk's mom lived. He stepped to his house, but the other two colts were to afraid to go in. Well, G was. Short said he'd stat outside to 'comfort G'. Dusk came out not to long later, saying his mom had agreed. Short smiled and lead them to his house. Unfortunately, none of them could get up naturally. Short had planned on this and lead them to some clouds that were tied up to the ground. He released one and all three colts grabbed on. It floated up to the house before settling naturally. They got off. The unicorn and earth pony felt uneasy on the cloud but slowly learned to walk on it. They entered Short's room first and looked around. There were posters of the Wonderbolts, one of the Royal Guard, a few blurry shots of Diamond Tiara,and a big one of... Rainbow Dash. G started to snicker.

"Huh? What's so funny?!"

"Heh... Your posters..."

"Yeah?! What about them?"

"Rainbow Dash..." This caused Short to blush hard. G started to go through his drawers and pulled out some pics of Rainbow Dash in some.. Suggestive poses...

"Hey! Stop doing that!" Short pulled them away quickly. G then looked through her bottom drawer and saw his journal.

"Dear Journal

Today, I found somepony with awesome Photoshop skills. He made me some pictures of my crush, Rainbow Da..."

"You little..." He snatched the journal away but Dusk and G were already ROTFLOL.

"Too funny!"

"SHUT UP!" His mane went dark red and he blushed as hard as possible.

"Calm down, we wont tell anypony of your 'rainbow maned heartthrob'" Dusk said, quoting the journal.

"Grr... I oughtta..." He got cut off by the sound of a door opening. He rushed to the front room and saw...

Soarin.

"Hey little dude! What's up?"

"Hi Soarin." He sighed.

"You're gonna take me and my friends out 'cause my mom is working."

"Uh... Yeah..."

"Ugh... Just forget it!" He stormed off to his room. Soarin shrugged and went off to Spitfire's room.

"You alright Short?" G asked as Short came in, flopping on his bed.

"We're not going out." He huffed.

"What? Why?"

"'Cause Soarin came! Not my mom!" G realized how angry he was and came over, rubbing his head slowly.

"There There... I'ts okay..."

"IT freaken sucks! I just wanna see her so bad!"

"How bad?" A masculine voice with a hint of femininity calls into his room. Short sat up, seeing...

"MOM!" He rushed up to her and hugged her hard.

"I had Soarin trick you. Did he get you?"

"Yeah! Don't do that!" He punched her, but it showed no effect. She played it off though.

"OWW! You're getting too strong to hit me! You're not my little sunset anymore." This cause some snickers behind them.

"Moooommmm... Not in front of my friends..." He whined.

"Sorry. Let's go to the arcade!" She cheered, causing all the colts to her back. She flew them down and they all had a great time. After the arcade, they headed to McRonald's for some dinner. There, there was paparazzi that asked for pictures and autographs, but she declined them, much to the delight of Short.  When they got back to Spitfire's cloud house, all the colts were tuckered out. Short, despite his tiredness, sent in one last journal entry.

Dear Journal,

we finally hang out! Me and my mom! It was so cool! G and Dusk where there too. She didn't let the pap...papa... cameraponies talk to her so we could hang! That was the best part! Despite her famousness, I know she still loves me. It would break her hart to tell her that I wanna be Royal Guard, not Wonderbolts. Oh well... I'll just try to shimmer in my light, like her little Sunset.

P.S. DON'T WIRTE ANY DASH FANFICS! I may later, but that's a story for another time.

-Short