Spark: Book One

"Rarity!" I shouted at the white unicorn pulling at my tail as I struggled against her with my forehooves. The heavy saddlebags I carried made the struggle harder for the both of us even if I was stronger than Rarity "I tell you to LET. GO!!" she ignored me and refused to let go of my dark red tail, since her mouth was busy with it she couldn't respond. Tears started welling up in the corner of my eyes at the frustration I felt.

How hard can it be just to let. me. go?!

"Rarity! Dammit!" I shut my eyes tight and snorted... and with one strong pull I finally won the struggle. I trotted at full speed without caring if I had done anything to Rarity, but then I was suddenly enveloped by a light blue magic that kept me from going forward.

Passion... You fool... How can you allow these weaklings to stand in your way?!

A dark voice that sounded almost exactly like mine but was filled with anger, whispered softly words of hatred and arrogance...

I listened to it. I listened to it because it promised me a way to let go of this anger and sadness that I had endured for almost nine thousand years, which was also a way to find them... to find Luna...

Something inside me snapped and my whole body started feeling warmer and warmer. The next minute, I was running at full speed towards the almost departing train. I could see Rarity staring at me with horror while rubbing her head with her hoof from the corner of my eye. A pang of guilt hit my chest at the sight, but something inside me quickly melted it away. I jumped inside the train, tears now freely running through my cheeks.

What have I done...?

What you should have done a long time ago...

Just... who are you?

You

Evil laughter echoed through my mind and slowly faded away. No matter what I said next, the voice did answer again.

"Ma'am" said a stallion's voice, which snapped me out of my thoughts "you should take a seat"

“Uh… Yes, sorry” I apologized absentmindedly; slightly surprised that he had called me ‘ma’am’ regardless that I was still under the poison joke’s effects at the moment. Maybe he didn't notice that I still looked like a teenager because of the coat I was wearing. A coat Rarity gifted me. I slowly walked towards an empty seat and accommodated myself right beside the window. I could see the beautiful landscape passing through the train’s window, full of trees, a blue sky, singing birds and flower beds. It was the perfect moment for a little meditation… if my mind weren’t so disturbed at the moment.

It had been a rough week even in such a peaceful town such as Ponyville… I had discovered that the ponies around me weren’t the only ones in danger, but I was too. I was slowly becoming a changeling, and who knows what was happening inside of my mind. Perhaps I was finally going insane after so much…

I had even discovered that Rainbow Dash and Applejack didn't trust me, and that Rarity... well... she had fallen in love with me. That day at the spa... I should have believed what my sister had told me in that letter. She was always right. Always. Also, the letter Rarity sent me made it all obvious. Really obvious.

"Passion, I am... we are all worried about you. You have been everypony's 'knight in shinning armor' for a while, but that has been affecting you after so much time enduring all the pain you had to go through. We all can see it as clear as a beautiful sunny day. Ah, don't get me wrong dear. We appreciate what you have been doing for us. Trying to rescue our princesses and our little Twilight and also trying to save our kingdom from a possible catastrophe, but you are also a pony, for Her Majesty's sake! You have a heart! You have wishes, desires! You feel sadness! You feel love! You laugh and cry as well!

You have a beautiful sensitive heart, as well as your body. From the tip of your horn down to your hooves, you are a masterpiece. I could create an entire collection just from looking at your heavenly features. You are a princess. You have flaws, as well as virtues, but they all make you beautiful. They make you perfect.

But let us stop beating around the bush, shall we? I wanted to ask you if we could spend some quality time tomorrow as wonderful friends at the spa after your visit to the doctor. It could relieve you some stress! I'll be waiting for you there."

Once again, really obvious.

All of that just to ask me to hang out?

I couldn’t believe how much I needed someone wiser and trustworthy to talk to at that moment. I needed someone I could look up to, someone I could pour my soul at, someone that could kiss my tears away and that always knew what to say to cheer me up… But ‘Tia was who-knows-where and both Luna and Twilight were also in a similar situation… and my mother…

I guess that when you’re a princess yourself there’s not much choice…

I sighed, noticing how many times I had done that in a single week. It seemed as if relaxing was something I couldn’t and wasn’t allowed to do. But I felt a small weight lift off my shoulders when I realized that I had left Ponyville behind. The mere fact that I was present could mean the end of the small town.

I hope Rarity will find it in her heart to forgive me… and the others as well for hurting their friend…

Alright. Now I had to find a cure to my changeling infection before I became brainwashed, find a way to get to Nicardia, to compensate my lack of wings, etc... etc... etcetera.

I shifted my attention from the scenery outside to my reflection on the window before I became even more stressed. I definitely looked better than one and a half weeks ago; now I didn’t have much bandages at all. And it felt refreshing… But even if the doctor had approved I was better and could move freely again, for some reason Rarity wanted me to stay…

Why is everypony so confusing?!

Guilt returned and I did not want to escape it this time. I decided to savor it and let it all out instead of bottling it up. Nopony would mind anyway… The next second, tears went down my cheeks slowly, but my face was indifferent. Tears simply fell.

“Hey, miss!” a voice came from beside me. I looked up at the Pegasus mare that was standing beside the table. She was a grey coated mare with yellow mane with bubbles as her cutie mark. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of special talent she had, but I notice something weird about her… her crossed eyes. She was balancing two muffins with her wings.

“U-um… hey?” I answered nervously, drying up my tears with my hooves in the process.

“I don’t like seeing sad ponies and I thought I could share a muffin with you!” she placed the muffins on the table and pushed one of them towards me “Would you like one? I’m one hundred percent sure it will make you feel better! It a~lways works for me!”

“Th-thanks” I said, shyly levitating one of the muffins towards my mouth; it was true, the sweetness and the taste of blueberry somehow made me feel at ease. I closed my eyes and focused on the soft texture of the muffin and swallowed slowly. I opened my eyes back to find the grey mare sitting on the seat across mine, already halfway through her own muffin.

“Did it work?” she asked hopefully, small crumbs on her muzzle.

“Yeah… really, thank you” I whispered sincerely with a small smile. The presence of this cheerful mare also helped a lot.

“Great! I’m Ditzy Doo, though ponies prefer to call me Derpy!” taking the last bite of her muffin she extended her hoof at me.

“I’m Golden Passion, nice to meet you” I answered politely and reached out to shake her hoof, to find my own wrapped in both of hers, which shook it slightly violently.

“So why were you crying?” she asked when she finally let go, her face showing her curiosity.

“Well… I’ve just had a lot of problems lately…” I decided to keep it simple, since narrating nine thousand years in a few hours was almost impossible. Unless you had Pinkie Pie’s speech capacity.

“Oh! I totally know what you mean!” suddenly claimed Ditzy while munching on a muffin that she seemed to have materialized out of thin air “this pony delivery job is kinda tough on me! They make me carry the most impossible things and and and they blame me for whatever breaks or whatever even if it isn’t my fault! But it can be kinda fun too since you get to meet and talk to a ton of different ponies! That’s not the point. So then I thought ‘everypony needs a rest once in a while’ and decided to take a small vacation to Canterlot with the money I gained!” then, she gasped “Wait, you’re also on a vacation?!”

“Not exactly… It’s more like a business trip. There are a few things I must look for… But now that you mention it, visiting a few pleasant areas doesn’t sound bad at all…” I replied. Even if I knew there was a clock ticking, my answer was sincere. After all, I could not bring myself to lie out of pity to the innocent mare in front of me.

“You should eat muffins while visiting those places! They make the experience more delicious! My favorite muffins are blueberry muffins!” she said after finishing what seemed to be her fourth muffin “And yours?”

“…Chocolate” I answered in a whisper, a distant memory flashing through my mind, which drew a smile in my face “…my favorite muffins are chocolate muffins”