Tales of an Outsider

"Sweetie Belle, hurry up! Apple Bloom's already ahead of us!" shouted Scootaloo as
she raced across the pathway. They had run low on potion ingredients and, rather than going to the store, like normal fillies, they had decided to visit Zecora, who was bound to have the ingredients.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" said Sweetie, running just behind Scootaloo. Apple Bloom had run a bit farther, almost out of sight. She couldn't wait to see what Zecora had in stock. That zebra had the best potions, so by that logic, she'd have the best ingredients, right?

It wasn't long until Zecora's hut was in full view. Apple Bloom made a last minute sprint, reaching the hut all that much faster. She turned around to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, quite a ways behind. Apple Bloom opened the door to the hut, entering quickly. They'd catch up soon enough, anyway.

"A visitor, I see?" Zecora looked behind her to see Apple Bloom. "But there is one where there should be three."

"They'll catch up," replied Apple Bloom. "Do you have any oak tree roots?" she asked. Zecora gave a chuckle.

"Oak is one I do not hold. Try some birch if you feel bold," she replied, reaching for a shelf with bits of birch tree roots. She then pulled them down and put some in an empty cloth bag that had been nearby. She normally kept empty bags so that ponies could bring the ingredients home with them. Ponies much like the crusaders.

Apple Bloom looked at the flasks on the table, almost mesmerized by their purplish glow. "Hey, Zecora?" Zecora looked back to Apple Bloom, giving full attention. "Could you perhaps teach me a few things? I keep messing up in one potion in particular," asked Apple Bloom, giving a small frown.

"I can teach you many things as long as there's no trouble to bring," replied Zecora.

"It's only an instant wash potion," said Apple Bloom. "You're supposed to put one drop on anything and the messy stuff falls off."

"Ah, I can help you with your potion. We'll soon get its effects in motion," answer Zecora. She pointed over to her cooking pot, instructing Apple Bloom to walk over. After gathering around the pot, Zecora grabbed her ladle and began stirring the pot, helping to speed up whatever reaction there was to be had after pouring in ingredients.

As they put in the last ingredient, the cauldron bubbled almost immediately.

Apple Bloom couldn't help but ask the question, "Is it supposed to do that?"

As she says this, the bubbling slowly got worse, slowly building up inside of the pot. Steadily it grew, causing the pony and zebra to slowly back away from it. Soon the liquid inside the cauldron started to overflow, the contents picked up speed as they started to really flow across the floor.

"The answer to your question is no. Now would be a good time to go!" Zecora exclaimed as she reached for the door.

Before she could reach for the door, she slipped on the potion that was now all across the floor, making a very slippery mess as she tried to stop herself, only to bump into Applebloom. They skid and skate as they tried to find purchase with their hooves. Before long, the mess started to rise up, the bubbles and liquid filling the entire room as it raised which made it much harder to reach the door.

Outside, Scootaloo finally had reached the front door outside, nearly panting her lungs out. She turned to her friend, Sweetie Belle and smiled in victory. "We caught up!" said Scootaloo.

"You think Apple Bloom started without us?" asked Sweetie as Scootaloo turned the handle.

Bubbles burst forth the moment the handle was turned, washing over the two fillies and pushing them a few feet away. All the pressure on the inside of the hut had a great impact on the area as it was suddenly released.Emerging from the bubbles, Zecora gave a chuckle. "Nopony got hurt, so it's all okay. A little soap won't ruin my day."

After walking back to her hut, the zebra screamed upon seeing what had happened. Apple Bloom, shaking off the bubbles, rushed back inside, with the other two fillies on her tail. "Zecora?! What's wrong?!" asked Apple Bloom.

"One of my masks has gone missing!" cried Zecora as she frantically looked through the shelves.

"A mask?" Scootaloo raised a brow. "What's so special about a mask?"

"Don't you have more masks anyways?" Sweetie asks, confused as well.

"Did you forget to rhyme?" asked Apple Bloom

"Forgive me if my speech isn't as formal as it should be, but I fear my mask just became a frisbee!" she answered.

"...What?" Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion.

"When I was just a little filly, my father would do things rather silly. Whenever he read me a bedtime tale, a mask he'd wear while he would regale," Zecora explained. "Now that he's no longer with me, that mask is all that reminds me of my history." She looked to Scootaloo. "I think when you opened up the door, the pressure must have made the mask soar!"

Apple Bloom put her hooves to her head. "Oh no! This is my fault! I think I put in too many roots! I gotta get her mask back!"
Scootaloo grinned. "Another adventure, here we come!"

"But where could it have gone?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom looked outside, seeing that the only place the mask could have flown to, judging by the door's direction, was the deeper part of the Everfree Forest. "I think I know the answer..."

Zecora looked towards the same direction as Apple Bloom was looking. Zecora mulled it over before speaking. "Of luck, I wish you all the best. I hope you do well on your little quest."

"Ready, girls?" asked Apple Bloom. The other two fillies gave her a nod, signaling the start of their adventure. They rushed into the thick of it, pumped up.
Zecora looked onward as the trio sped off, wondering if she should have warned them of the dangers. It was then that she remembered who they were, and that they probably would have rushed in anyway. She gave a chuckle before heading back inside her hut.

(Line)

Scootaloo peered at the same tree for the fourth time. It was official. "We're totally lost!"
Sweetie Belle laid down on her side, tired of walking. "How much further do we have to go?"

"I think we're lost," said Apple Bloom, frowning. She looked up at the tree they had passed several times. "Gimme a boost!"

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both got up underneath Apple Bloom, lifting her up in the air.

Apple Bloom grabbed onto a low-hanging branch and climbed up onto it, her hooves leaving the safety of the other two's hold."Now that I'm up high enough, I can see where we're goin!"

"What do you see?" asked Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom looked outwards to see... no path. In fact, the area around them was thick with plant life. Far too thick for her to see through. "I see... nothing," she said, her hopes crashing.

"Great!" said Scootaloo sarcastically. "Just great! We're lost, we can't find that mask, and my hooves are sore!"

It was at this point that a couple of bushes started to make a few rustling noises, their leaves shook as if something large was coming through them. The three fillies stood there, eyes wide with fear as they saw the bushes move, their young minds already running wild with fright.

"Oh no, something's coming girls!" Exclaimed the white unicorn filly, her pegasus friend shaking a little bit next to her. Taking a deep breath, Scoots slowly walked up to the bushes and got into a defensive stance, glaring at the shrubs. Applebloom, thankfully, was still stuck up in the tree as she looked down at the bushes as well, scared for her friends.

The bush keeps shaking, getting stronger as the creature got closer and closer. Suddenly, with a grunt, another pony pushed out from the bush as he shook the leaves from his head and back.

"I knew I should have kept to the less dense part of-" The pony started to say, only to stop as they saw the two fillies stood before him. The new pony went a bit rigid at the sight, and the fillies took this time to look over the newcomer.
He is clearly an adult, that much is certain. His coat was a red similar to AB's big brother, Big Mac, if a few shades darker. They could tell it's a guy with how he looked and the larger form that he had, as well as the voice, even though his voice is not as deep as most stallions they know. Speaking of his face, they couldn’t get a good look at it cause of the hoodie he wore, the hood covering the upper part of his head. They couldn’t even see his mane under it, though if it's the same color as his bright blonde tail then it is most likely blonde as well. On his back and under his hood there were a couple of large bulges under it which told them that he is most certainly a pegasus, and while his body showed that he had the pegasus build, his legs are far more sturdier than a normal pegasus pony. Also on his back were a couple of large saddle bags, one's that one would use for traveling, along with what appeared to be a large folded tent.

Scootaloo, after having a better look at the pony, squinted her eyes. "Were you hiding just to scare us?"

It took the stallion a few moments to recover from his surprise, but soon he realized that the two fillies were just as surprised as him, if not more so scared than anything else. He quickly shook his head before he replied. "No, I was just traveling through here. I didn't even know anypony else was here."

"We thought you were a monster!" said Apple Bloom from above. During this she tried to make her way down, but couldn’t find any hoofholds to support her.

The red pony didn't even notice Applebloom till she called out to him, and upon hearing her voice he just blinked in surprise as he looked up at her. "Wait, there are three of you?" He asked, surprised. "And you thought I was a monster?" He added. He remained silent for a few moments as he just looked at them before letting out a small sigh and a slight bow of his head. "I'm sorry for frightening you girls. I was just on my way to the closest town." He looked back up with some confusion as a thought pops into his head. "Wait...what are you girls doing here anyways?"

Apple Bloom, hanging from the branch by two hooves, replied, "We were here looking for our friend's mask. It got blown away by an accident into here someplace."

"Isn't it dangerous to be out here by yourselves? What about your families?" He asked before he took a few steps closer, sitting down before them.

With a snap from the branch, Apple Bloom gave a small yelp as she fell onto the ground, landing flat on her butt. Thankfully she is able to shake it off as she walked over to her friends. "Our families don't really know we're here," said Sweetie.

"Yeah, Applejack doesn't really need to know about this.

Scootaloo...just stayed silent.

The red pony looked at them for a few moments before letting out a small shrug as he sighed, looking around. He thought over his current situation, and while he is low on food, the fact that they are here means he can't be too far from the closest town. Besides that, he also doesn't want to leave them here alone. Turning to face them, he finally spoke up. "Let's get you girls back to your families, ok? Or at least back to town." He said.

"We can't go yet!" said Apple Bloom. "We have to find our friend's mask!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both nodded, both of them standing next to their friend.

Once again he just looked at the three fillies, though it doesn't take him too long to just nod to himself. "Ok, once you get this mask, then will you three go back to town...and perhaps you can also show me where it is?" He asked. They all looked at each other and then nodded, smiling innocently. Seeing the three come to some sort of agreement, he nodded as well before he stood back up. "Then I guess I'll help you girls out." He said.

The three fillies cheered as they quickly got up before they motioned him to follow. Once they were on their way, he gave a quick look around before continuing. "So...what's it look like?"

Scootaloo ran out ahead of him. As he asked the question, she stopped, turned around and shrugged. "I dunno. I think it’s just some sort of scary mask made out of wood like the others."

This just caused him to raise an eyebrow as he looked at her before looking at the other two who were behind him. "Wait...then how will you know if you found it or not?" He asked.

"It'll be the only thing that doesn't look like forest," said Apple Bloom, grinning at her own smarts.

The red pony gave them rather confused look, head tilted to the side as he thought it over. It is true, it wouldn't look like part of the forest, but still to just go with that? It isn't the best of plans.

With it being the only one that they have, however, he just nods as he followed the young pegasus, the other two following behind them still. As they continued their walk, they both began to look over the stallion, rather curious about the newcomer. As they examined him, they soon discovered, to their surprise, the lack of a cutie mark on his flank. This caused Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to look at each other with worried looks on their faces. A stallion with no cutie mark? Even as an adult? This warranted an emergency. Giving a nod to each other, the country filly turned to speak to him. "So...do you have any... hobbies?"

Of course this caused him to glance at the two in surprise, but with a mental shrug he just shook his head. "None that really come to mind." He simply said as he goes back to looking around for that mask.

Apple Bloom tapped on Scootaloo's flank, drawing her back so she could see his flank. Curious, the orange filly turned to look at what her friend was pointing at, only to see the blank flank on the stallions rear. She stared at it for a few moments in just as much shock as the others before speaking up. "Nothing you're good at? Or... what?"

This time he didn't even bother turning around to look at them. "No, just...nothing that really interests me." He said. He wasn't sure why these fillies are talking to him about such things and he didn't really want to talk about this stuff either, but he also didn't wish to be rude to them, so for the time being he just focused on searching for the mask.

The minutes ticked by as he continued looking around for that mask, the silence staying strong among them. Soon, he finally sees what he assumes is the mask. "Hold on, I think I found it." He said, pointing to the tree, the mask on a low hanging branch.

"Great!" said Apple Bloom. Before the red pony could say anything, she ran over to the low hanging branch in an attempt to grab the mask. Unable to reach it, she turned to her companions. "I'm too short! Gimme a boost!" Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were quick to rush over, lifting her up for the second time today.

The male watched the three fillies trying to get the mask, walking over to them before looking up. Standing on his hind legs, even he couldn't reach it, and looking down, an idea popped into his head. "Hold on, I got an idea." He said, and gently grabbing Apple Bloom in his hooves, he stands back on his hind legs again, raising her above his head as he looked down at the other two. "Climb up, we'll make a tower to reach it."

The three fillies all grinned at each other before the white and orange ones climbed up, each one on top of the other. Eventually, Scootaloo was able to reach the mask. She grabbed it in her hooves and shouted, "I got it! I got it! ...How do we get down?!"

Her question was answered rather quickly as during all the excitement of Scoots getting the mask, it caused their makeshift tower to become unstable, and rather quickly, all four ponies fell down in a heap. The first one to stand up is the red stallion, looking over at the three fillies. "Oh no, you girls ok?" He asked, eyes wide.

Thankfully the fillies seemed to be just fine as they laughed for a while before Sweetie Belle answered, "Yeah, we're fine." She then got up and smiled at the stallion. "Thank you for helping!"

Seeing as they are fine, said stallion smiled and lets out a small sigh of relief. Hearing them thank him, he just blushed lightly and looked away a bit shyly. "It's no problem, really." He said before falling silent for a few moments. He then realizes that he doesn't even know their names, and looking back he asked, "If I may, what are your names?"

Apple Bloom spoke up this time. "I'm Apple Bloom, and this is Sweetie Belle and that's Scootaloo!" she said, pointing to both of them. "What's yours?"

"The name's Spark Voltage, but you can call me Spark." he says, smiling back at them. Now that they had the mask, the three fillies could turn their attention to something even more important: finding this stallion’s cutie mark!

"So, Spark!" started Scootaloo. "What do you like to do?" She thought that the best way to start is at the beginning, so why not just ask.

He paused as he looked at her before shrugging. "Like I said, I don't really know. Never had the time to find out." He said as he gets up and stretched a bit. "Anyways, now that I helped you girls out, can you help me to the nearest town?" He asked. Sadly, they weren’t going to let it slide that easily.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes before shouting. "Where's your cutie mark?!"

"Sweetie Belle!" both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo yelled simultaneously.

Now this got Spark's eyes to go wide. He looked away for a few moments, not wanting to glance at them before he spoke rather softly. "Look, I...I don't wish to talk about it, ok?" He simply said, hoping that would stop their questions. However, he was far from done being questioned by the three fillies.

"But... you're an adult," said Apple Bloom. "Didn't you do things as a foal?"

This was what he feared would happen, them asking about his past, and instead of saying anything, he fell silent as he just looked at the ground, his eyes getting a distant look as he recalled his foalhood. It was...not all pleasant.

He shook his head before looking back at them with a bit more of a serious look. "I don't want to talk about it, ok?" He repeated himself before getting up as he started walking off. Of course he stops to make sure they are following him as he starts to head to where he assumes is the end of the forest. “Now, can we head on out? I’m sure that your friend is hoping to get their mask back.”

Giving a nod, the Crusaders quickly followed him along, the three of them whispered to each other as they followed, trying to think up ways to help him or to get him to talk. This was truly an emergency.

As they continued to walk, he looked over at the three of them and asked, "So who does this mask belong to, and why is it so important?"

"Well, it belongs to a zebra named Zecora," explained Apple Bloom.

"And it belonged to her dad!" continued Sweetie Belle.

"Who used to tell her stories with it!" finished Scootaloo.

In his mind Spark does pause, but he is easily able to mask it thankfully, and just nodded instead. "Interesting. I can see why it is so important to her then." He said as he continued walking. "Where is she so we can bring it back to her?"

"She's on the edge of the forest, near here, actually," answered Scootaloo.

"This way!" shouted Apple Bloom, running off.

The other two fillies are quick to rush off as well, leaving Spark almost by himself. He gave a shake of his head before quickly rushing forward to catch up to them, keeping them in his sight. They are his only way to get out of this forest quickly of course. Soon they reach the home of the zebra, and once they are all there, the earth pony filly reached up and knocked on the door.

Zecora opened the door, smiling when she saw her mask. "You three are a big surprise, bringing my mask before my eyes!" As she took her mask back, she noticed the stallion. "Who is this?" She then noticed his flank. "With something amiss?"

Inside his mind Spark was already scolding himself for not wearing some sort of long coat to cover his flank with all the reactions he was getting with the lack of a cutie mark. He assumed that they wouldn’t mind the lack of a mark considering he had went to plenty of other towns that didn’t bat an eye at the sight, or if they did, they didn’t say anything.. In any case he just gave a small smile and a polite nod of his head. "Greetings Zecora, yes? I'm Spark Voltage. I ran into these three when they were looking for your mask and offered to help them." He explained, not bothering to talk about his lack of a cutie mark.

"Ah. I see. And you helped these three," she said, smiling. "I recently gathered leaves from the Everfree. Tell me, are you a fan of tea?"

While the riddles were confusing, Spark was able to make some sense of what she was saying. He smiled at the offer, but then shook his head. "I would, but I need to head to the closest towns. These three promised to show me where it is if I helped them after all." He said, motioning to the three fillies. Looking at them, he asked, "So, can you girls show me where the town is?"

"Sure can!" answered Apple Bloom enthusiastically.

Zecora chuckled at this and nodded. "Go explore the town. I will still be around."

Spark gives a nod of thanks to the zebra, and after bidding his farewells he allowed the fillies to lead him through the forest. Thankfully, now that they were back in more familiar territory, it took them no time at all to reach the edge of the forest, and as he looked around the place, a nervous look comes across his face.

"So...this is it? It seems...bigger than I was told it would be." He said, tugging his hood a bit more on his head.

"Ponyville is one of the best places ever!" bragged Apple Bloom. "In fact, I'd say we're even the friendliest! Especially with the new School of Friendship nearby!"

Spark gave a nod as he heard this and after a bit more looking at the town, he looked at the three with a small smile. "Thanks for the help girls, I should be fine from here." He told them as he started heading down to the town, his bags rather heavy on his back. As he walks on, he doesn't notice the three fillies still staring at his blank flank, clearly thinking up of ways to try and figure out how to get him a cutie mark.

As he continues walking, he looks around the town, the many ponies around him all looking rather happy and greeting each other as well. It seemed the place is rather nice to Spark, and as he kept on walking, he soon stopped at a large pink building, one that looks to be made out of cake and other tasty sweets.

"Is that a gingerbread house?" He asked himself before he shook his head. Well it matters not. Perhaps I can get some information here along with a snack. He thought as he walked through the door.

The inside of the building was quite different from the outside. It wasn't as candy-riffic as the outside, but the interior was still nice and homey. It wasn't just any old shop. Ponies actually lived in this building, and one of them, a blue mare, was setting up a cake on a glass display case.

She then turned to the stallion, smiling. "Oh! I didn't see you there! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!"

Spark just gave a polite smile and a nod of greeting as he walked in, the door closing behind him. "It's not a problem ma'am. I was just here to see what you sell." He said as he looked at the cake before looking back. "Though it seems I already got my answer. Do you by chance sell cupcakes as well?" He asks

"Oh! That's the work of our assistant!" She turned to the staircase and shouted, "Pinkie!"

"Comiiiiing!" shouted back a high-pitched, bubbly voice followed by a bouncing set of hoofsteps. Coming down the stairs was quite the peppy pink pony, bouncing down the stairs rather than walking down.

For whatever reason, Spark felt a small shiver going down his spine as he sees the bouncing pink pony reach down the stairs and to him. He shook that feeling away as he just smiled as he gave her a nod of greeting. "Hello, I was told you make the cupcakes here, yes?" He asked the pink mare.

It took the pink mare to register something. This pony was new! What did that mean? Her brain began ticking until...

DING!!!

"OHMIGOSH! You're new to Ponyville, aren't you?! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm the resident party planner! I'm gonna need your birthday, you favorite flavors, colors, preferences in decorations," she took a deep breath before continuing, "friends, best friends, super DUPER best friends, favorite games, favorite punch, soda, candy, cake, etcetera!"

This caught the stallion off guard as he just stared at her with wide eyes. Thankfully his hood was up so he was able to cover up his shock somewhat, even if his body said otherwise. "Uh...what?" He simply said, very much confused.

"Oh! I forgot the welcome wagon!" she exclaimed. Soon she was off in a pink blur, coming back mere seconds later like some trickster goddess. With her was a massive cart which unfurled into what appeared to be several cannons pointed straight at the stallion. "Say hello to the Welcome Wagon 2.0! I had to make a few upgrades because the last one wasn't welcome-y enough!"

Of course, Spark's only reaction to such a surprise is to jump and duck behind the closest thing, which happened to be a table, slowly looking up at what he assumed are weapons pointed at his face.

The cannons suddenly fired, but instead of cannonballs, like one would expect, it was a big flurry of confetti. Pinkie zipped up to Spark and handed him a plate full of cupcakes, each one a different color. "And theeeese are complementary!"

As he collected his breath, he looked down at the treats that the pink mare had given him, giving her a rather shy smile now as he nodded his thanks. "Um...t-thank you, but I can pay for them." At least for now "You don't need to give them to me for free."

Pinkie just stared, a big grin spread across her face. "Okay!" she replied. "Just talk to Mrs. Cake and she'll ring you up! I'll go get your welcome part ready!" she said as she bounced away.

Mrs. Cake leaned in and whispered, "I’m sorry about Pinkie, she can be a hoofful at times. Really, keep the cupcakes, as payment for the incident."

Sparks took a few deep breaths to calm himself down as he looked over at Mrs Cake, smiling at her, if still rather sheepish from the whole thing. "I'm sure it's fine Mrs...Cake, yes? She seems to be just overly...excitable." He said, slowly calming himself down.

“Oh, that is certainly one way to describe her.” She said, giggling lightly.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his small bag of bits and took out a few coins, putting them on the counter. "I also wanted to ask if there is a place that may be looking for a possible job, part time most likely, but if there are any places that are hiring at all would be good to know."

"I could write down a list of ponies who I know are looking for helpful ponies such as yourself!" she said with a sincere smile. "You just go to each pony on the list."

This gets a relieved sigh as he smiled at her. "That should be more than fine, thank you Mrs. Cake." He said as he took the cupcakes and placed the small box on his back for now.

She gave him a piece of paper, and upon it were different names of ponies and where they could normally be found. "You have a good day, okay dear?"

Spark smiled and gave a nod of his head as he took the piece of paper, and with the box on his back, he waved goodbye to the mare before heading on out. Looking over the list, he saw that she has written several ponies and places, quite a lot to his surprise, but nevertheless he was thankful for the chance to get a job.

It was at this point that he realized that he forgot to ask about a possible place to stay, letting out a sigh as well. Crap, I should have asked her about possible rooming around here. Well perhaps somepony around here may know. He started to look around in the hopes of finding somepony that may know.

The hustle and bustle of the town filled the air with the noise of chatter. Ponies would walk by the Sugarcube Corner, not sparing it a second glance. It was just a normal building to these citizens. To tourists, it was a popular attraction. Two griffons walked past Spark, not paying him any mind, something which he was more than ok with.

Around the Sugarcube Corner, Spark found different individual ponies, each one claiming that the nearest place to stay was at a small inn near the edge of town. But there was another option. The option was to rent out a small cottage near the town hall.

After considering both options he decides to go for the one at the edge of town, mostly cause it would be away from the hustle and bustle of the place. He would have gone for the cottage, but its location was rather troubling to him. As he walks to the location, he can't help but to look around a bit more, finding the place to be one of the more friendlier towns he had come to during his travels.

After a few minutes of walking, he soon reaches the inn, which thankfully seemed rather decent from the outside as he entered the building. After a few more minutes of talking to the clerk pony, he was soon in his new room for the time, having rented the room out for a few weeks for now as he counts his bits.

Just as he thought, he only had a few dozen more left on him, so he does need to find that job sooner rather than later. Putting his saddle bags on the ground, he picked up the list and took a closer look at it, seeing where he can go to first.

As he read through the list, he came across several interesting choices, though at the moment he was thinking about only taking two. For now, he decided to head to this apple farm that was on the list.

After checking a few things off, Spark headed out of the inn, following the directions as he walked through the town. It doesn't take him too long to reach what he assumes to be the farm, and by Celestia, is that farm big!

Walking out of the orchard nearby was a rather big red stallion. Upon his face was a laid back look which said that he didn't mind his work. In fact, he didn't find it to be work at all; just another part of the day. Upon his flank was what appeared to be the inside view of a green apple.

Seeing the much larger stallion does make Spark a bit nervous, but seeing how most of the ponies here have been rather nice so far, he just took a deep breath and then exhaled before walking over to the stallion, waving a hoof to get his attention. "Excuse me sir, but is this Sweet Apple Acres?" He asked.

The stallion took one look at him, then looked to the orchard, noting all the apples. He then turned back to face the young colt. "Eeyup."

The smaller pony realized what he said sounded dumb and nearly blushed, but is able to contain his embarrassment for the time being as he asked his second question. "I'm assuming you work here? I was told by the mare from the bakery that you may be hiring, so I thought I would come over and check it out. Do you know who's in charge here?"

Technically it was two questions...but details.

The stallion simply uttered the same word as before. "Eeyup."

"Great, can you show me where they are?" Spark asked again.

"Eeyup," said the stallion a third time. He turned around and headed in the direction of the barn, glancing back at Spark and motioning him to follow.

Smiling, the newcomer follows him as he walked a bit behind the larger pony. He was rather curious about his limited speaking, but it didn't really bother him. If anything, he found it rather relaxing that he seemed to be a pony of a few words.

Upon reaching the barn, an orange mare walked out. Her green eyes locked onto Spark and she smiled. "Well, howdy there!" she said. "Big Mac, I didn't know you were bringin' somepony over!"

Big Mac shook his head, signifying this was not an acquaintance.

Spark gives a small, but polite smile at the mare as he nodded in greeting. "Hello, my name is Spark Voltage. I was actually coming here cause I heard you may be hiring." He said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Sure are!" said the mare. "I'm Applejack, and this here's Big Mac. If you couldn't tell before, he's a pony of few words." She took Spark's hoof and shook it vigorously. "Very nice to meetcha!"

The hoof shake caught him off guard, but he is able to quickly recover, noting just how strong she is with the shaking alone. As he glanced at the other red stallion, he said, "So it seems. Not that I mind. If anything it's a bit refreshing considering what just happened a couple hours ago." He then looked back at the country mare. "So, what do you need doing here that I can help with?"

"Well, here on the farm we've got a ton of things to do. No, sirree, you won't get bored here! We've got apple buckin', washin' the pigs and cows, milkin' the cows, fixin' up the fences, repaintin' the barn, tendin' the fields, sortin' the apples, waterin' the saplin's."

She would go on and on and on, listing the many things there were to do on the farm.

As she went on, his mind started to get lost in her words a bit, though he is quick to shake it off and continue paying attention to her. As she finished, he would finally speak up. "Wow, that's...that's a lot of chores. I'll be honest, I'm not sure I can do all of it..." He said, pausing as he thought over his options. Realizing his words might have been taken the wrong way, he quickly corrected himself. "Not that I mean it's too much, it's not! I just never worked on a farm before, so..." He trailed off as he also started to realize how bad of a first impression this was starting to be.

"Oh, nonsense!" she says with a chuckle. "We can start ya out easy. The main thing ya gotta learn is apple buckin'. That's our goal here at Sweet Apple Acres, buckin' apples and sellin' 'em to the good ponies of Ponyville. They deserve the highest quality, and we only serve the freshest apples. Think yer up fer learnin' the tricks of the trade?"

Seeing how forgiving she was being, Spark was more than happy to nod, a smile on his muzzle. "Of course! Thank you Miss Applejack." He said as he stands up to follow her as well.

“Of course, and no need to be calling me Miss, Applejack will do.” She told him, getting a nod from the red colt.

Applejack soon led him to the middle of the nearest orchard, with Big Mac following close behind. "We have more than a thousand trees here in the orchard," said Applejack as they walked. "But I don't expect ya to do it all by yerself. I learned that the hard way."

They eventually stopped at one of the trees. "Ah! This one's ready!" exclaimed Applejack. "All ya gotta do is use your hind legs to kick the apples out of the tree. Make sure to hit as high and as hard as ya can."

He nodded as he looked up at the tree, his mind already working on how to best hit it. He walked up to the tree and after looking at it for a few moments, turned around and got ready to buck.

He looked behind him and, with a grunt, thrust his hind legs as hard as he can at the tree, his hooves striking the bark. As he made contact, he nearly kicked himself forward, stumbling a bit with how hard he hit it, the tree shaking a little. He looked with bated breath to see if the hit worked, but frowned when not a single apple fell from the tree.

Applejack and Big Mac exchanged nervous glances. It wasn’t a promising start for the pegasus pony. Applejack placed a hoof on Spark's shoulder with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"I'm really sorry, sugarcube, but if you can't buck apples, you won't be of much help around here. It's our main job."

However, Spark just shook his head. "No...I-I can do this." He said, and getting up he turns and bucked again, and again...and again.

Over and over the poor stallion bucked, trying desperately to get even a single apple down. A couple minutes go by as he started to sweat, his legs ached to stop, but he kept pushing on.

Big Mac stared, feeling the cringe from the poor colt trying his best. He couldn't bear to watch, and after a few more tries he turned and walked away to continue his own chores, leaving his sister to deal with him. Applejack watched Spark kick at the tree a few more times before she sighed and shook her head.

"That's enough, now. Don't need to waste your energy."

The colt doesn't seem to be listening at this point, his eyes now showing that he was rather desperate to get an apple to fall. On one kick, his hooves hit it the wrong way, causing it to twist, and with a cry of pain he fell down to a sitting position, holding his left hoof in his front legs.

He panted as he recovered his breath, and looking up, he sees Applejack's face, already seeing that he failed, he cringed as he looked away. "I...I'm sorry Applejack, I...I-I..."

Applejack let out another sigh and gave a soft smile. "None of that now. You tried your best, and while it wasn't what we needed, I can tell you that you've got some mighty fine determination there."
Determination didn’t help me buck the damn apples off. He thought to himself, but otherwise he remained silent.

She helped Spark to his hooves and patted him on his back. "I recommend you go and find another employer. I'm sure you'll find somethin'."

Spark sighed as he nodded his head, still a bit sad about having failed her. In any case as he stood back up, he gave her a nod of thanks. "I...I'm sorry again, but thank you for at least giving me a chance." He said before mumbling, "It's more than what most ponies did for me."

Thankfully for him, Applejack couldn't quite hear his last sentence as she continued on. "I hope ya find the job yer lookin' for! And if ya ever feel hungry, come back here and I'll cook up some fritters, free of charge."

That brought a small blush to his cheeks as he looked away shyly from the mare. "Y-you don't have to." He said softly, but this time it was loud enough for her to hear him.

"Oh, hogwash!" she said, patting him hard on the back. "Here at Sweet Apple Acres we pride ourselves in service!"

He was about to object to it again when he remembered that he is still without a job, and running low on food. With that in mind, he just smiled lightly at her as he nodded his head. "I...that really means a lot to me miss, I...I hope to repay your kindness someday." He said.

“Don’t think nuthin about it.” Applejack said before she gave a friendly smile and wave and sent him on his way, the stallion giving his thanks one last time.

The next thing on the list was a nearby mail office. As he walked back into town, he started to make his way to where that building is. It was a bit harder to find than the farm, though the farm was obviously much easier to find than anything else in this town. After a few minutes of walking (and resting his injured leg) he finally made it to the post office. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling, he walked up and entered the building, the door ringing, signaling his arrival.

The interior of the office was made out of a light brown wood. Of what tree species, Spark couldn't tell. What he could tell was that the mare at the counter on the far side of the room looked a little bit...different.

She was a light gray pegasus with a blond mane, but that was hardly the strange thing about her. What was strange were the eyes. The eyes both looked in different directions, with one of them fixated on Spark. "Hello!" she said, waving.

The red pony smiled as he walked forward to the mare, giving a nod of greeting as well. "Greetings miss, I heard you may be hiring and I thought I would see what the job might entail." He told her.

"Hiring?" the mare repeated, putting a hoof to her chin. "Oh! You must've seen our poster outside!"

Spark gave a small nod, for he did remember the poster outside, but it wasn't exactly readable. In fact, it was upside down, with some of the ink smeared.

"We need somepony to help with sorting mail and deliveries," she said.

Nodding again, the red stallion said, "I think I can do that, though I'll be honest, I never really worked at a mail office before, so I may need some help." As he finished he can't help but to give a sheepish smile on his face.

"You've never delivered mail before?" She asked, getting a rather cute look on her face.

"Nope, never. I guess the closest thing to that is when I was on a newspaper run, but that's really it."

"Well, I can certainly help!" she assured. She reached under the counter and pulled out a large mailbag, resting it on top. "This is what we need delivered by the end of the day! But don't worry. If we split the workload, it'll get done much faster!"

He looked at the bag. It is indeed a rather large bag, but does seem doable with one, let alone two ponies doing it. It was then that he realized what she just said about doing it at the end of the day, causing him to blink as he looks at her. "Wait, you mean right now?" He asked surprised. He wasn't expecting to start work right away.

She nodded enthusiastically, smiling. "Uh-huh! I could really use your help!"

She looked at him with a strange innocence in her wonky eyes. "Please? I'd really appreciate it!"

That look...it just struck something in him. Something about that look was just too adorable, and as he looked at her, he couldn't help but blush. "S-Sure, I...I would love to help miss." He said. Realizing he didn't introduce himself, he extends his hoof over to her. "Also, the name is Spark Voltage, but Spark is ok as well."

"My name is Ditzy!" she introduced, taking his hoof and shaking it. After the hoofshake, she went into the back room and came back out, not with the one big bag, but with two smaller bags.

"Just take a bag and I'll show you which route to take."

Smiling, he took one of the bags and flipped it over his back as he looked back at her. "Ok, ready whenever you are Ditzy." He said, already eager to begin.

After making their way to the town square, Ditzy pointed to the eastern road. "You just go down that street and deliver to each house. I'll go down the west road. Think you can do that?" she asked, looking confident in Spark's abilities.

The same could not be said for Spark himself, as his confidence was rather low. He could easily get lost, for he was still new to town, and he didn't know where everything was just yet.

But taking a deep breath and exhaling, he just smiled at the mare. "I think so." He said softly.

"It's just a straight line! Even I could do it!" she said, one eye trailing in another direction. "I'll meet you back here when you're done," she said as she flew west.

He watched her leave for a few moments before he turned to face the other direction. As he looked at the street, he took another deep breath and nodded to himself as he started to head down the road.

He reached the first house and looked through his bag, quickling finding the mail and carefully placed it into the mailbox. Once that was done, he finally started to get a bit more comfortable with it, seeing that it wasn't that hard to do. He smiled as he started walking down the road, delivering the mail as he goes.

Seems like this is going to work out rather well. He thought to himself, feeling happy with finally landing a job, no matter how temporary it is.

After the day was done, he had returned to find Ditzy with her empty bag. She waved the moment she saw him approach.

"Did you make your deliveries okay?" she asked, obviously happy with her workday.

Spark walked up to the mare and gave her a rather happy grin. "I think so. I was able to bring it all on time, and even managed to learn a bit more about the town." He said. He calmed himself down before giving a rather calm smile to her. "Ditzy...thanks for letting me work with you."

She looked at him, a happy smile on her face as well as she said, "You're welcome! Just be just to come back tomorrow! You've got the job!"

Of course this just made his smile get even larger. "Thank you so much Ditzy! I'll be sure to see you tomorrow!" He said as he hands her the bag. They both waved each other goodbye as he headed back to the inn.

As he walked back to his room, he can't help but to look around town and realize that something was...off. It was like most of the ponies around here were gone. Granted it was becoming the end of the day, but it wasn't that late. A glance at the clock tower showed that it was only 4:30 PM, yet there was barely anypony walking outside.

Spark gave a mental shrug at this and after a few moments of thinking it over he is just glad that he got to walk through the town without having to worry about walking past a large crowd. As he reached the inn, he greeted the clerkpony and walked up to his room, opening the door as he entered before closing the door behind him.

The inside of the room was pitch black, concealing all that was inside. It wasn't exactly unusual for a room to be dark when the light was off. What was unusual, however, was the incessant giggling.

When Spark flipped the switch on, what greeted him were the faces of at least two dozen ponies, along with the pink one from before, Pinkie Pie.

"SURPRISE!" They all shouted, smiling wide. The room had been decorated all in streamers, with balloons floating about as well.

Now, one may think that getting a surprise party from a super active pink party pony would be amazing, and most would be right.

For Spark, it was a nightmare.

Instantly, he froze on the spot, wide eyed as he just stood stock still, eyes quickly locked to the ground. He didn't make a single move, not even a twitch as he just stood there, hood covering his face as his heart beat a mile a minute.

This caused some confusion amongst the ponies in the room, a few of them started to mutter to each other. Normally the pony of the hour would just be shocked from the surprise before laughing it off, but this time it seemed to be a bit...different.

Pinkie stood there, confused. Smiling, but confused. Something was off. Pony plus party equals happy, right? But this pony wasn't happy. Something clearly went wrong, and she had to make it right for him.

"Um... surprise?" repeated Pinkie, trying to kick start the party. Sadly saying it a second time didn’t work, even if it was worth another shot. Time for Plan B: humor! She looked around and soon found a piece of cake from the table she had set up earlier and grabbed it, looking back at him.

"Ya like comedy! I’ve got lots of it!" she exclaimed, slamming the cake into her face, only to still get no reaction from the frozen pony. She then grabbed a unicycle from seemingly nowhere and began juggling while riding it. "How about this?"

Sadly, even that got nothing from him, and as the pink mare kept trying to get the stallion to smile, he just stood there, as still as stone, not even seeming to breath.

The minutes slowly ticked by as Pinkie kept on trying to do something, ANYTHING, to get him to even chuckle, but nothing happened. Finally out of ideas, she turned to her friends who are around with the other ponies. "Um girls...a little help please?" She asked, the worry evident in her eyes.

A purple mare stepped forward, looking concerned. "Pinkie? I don't think he likes this."

"I know he doesn't like it!" replied Pinkie. "I must've gotten the wrong balloons! Help me cheer him up!"

"No, Pinkie. I mean I don't think he wants a party," replied the purple mare.

"Twilight, please?" begged Pinkie.

The mare, apparently called Twilight, sighed and walked over to Spark, giving a nervous smile. "Hello there. I'm Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Are you doing alright there?" She asked. Sadly, he still does not respond, staying as still as ever, even in front of the Princess of Friendship.

Twilight gave herself a small mental scolding, for it was clear he wasn’t doing ok at all. As she looked him over, she waved a hoof in front of his eyes, yet he still didn't seem to respond. After a few minutes, she finally turned to face her bubbly friend. "Pinkie, I think everypony should leave."

"Awww, but Twilight!" complained Pinkie.

"No 'buts'. Gather everypony and get them out of here," Commanded the princess.

"Aww... What a party pooper... Okay, everypony! Pack it up!" said Pinkie, clapping her hooves.

The rest of the ponies walked around Spark, most not even making eye contact with him. They weren’t the happiest ponies with the fact that they just got invited to a party, only for it to be canceled cause the star of the party went in shock for whatever reason. Some of them gave a look of pity, but none of them bothered to try and help, for they guessed it would only end up with the same results. Soon the room was empty of all the guests, leaving just Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, and three others. One was a blue pegasus, another was a yellow pegasus, and the third was a white unicorn.

"Sugarcube? Are you okay?" asked Applejack, nudging him with a hoof. She was rather concerned with Spark, remembering not even a few hours ago when he tried to get work at the farm. Now...he’s a completely different pony, and it worried her greatly.

He remained motionless, even as he got nudged. After a few tries though, it did seem to have some effect as his body was no longer as tense as before, but he still remained motionless. AJ let out a small sigh, glad that whatever was affecting him was starting to wear off.

"What do think is wrong with him?" asked the yellow pegasus in a soft voice.

"He's probably just in shock and awe that a real live Wonderbolt is here," said the blue one in a bragging like tone.

"I think we should leave the poor dear alone. All the stress of meeting Pinkie would obviously warrant a visit to the spa," said the white unicorn.

As the three mares debated on what happened to the poor colt, the purple mare was still standing next to him with a worried look, along with Applejack. "Would you like some water?" Twilight asked, touching Spark's shoulder gently with her hoof, so as to not startle him.

The red pony remained silent, his heart rate steadily going down, if at a slow pace. Soon, after a few minutes, he finally was able to give a very small nod. It was barely noticeable, but it's there.

Twilight smiled, glad to see that he was starting to recover and lit up her horn, opening up a cabinet in the far end of the room and grabbing a glass from there as she floated it out. She then filled it up with water from the sink and floated it into Spark's hooves and nodded. "You look like you've had quite a day, am I right?"

Applejack also smiled. "He was at the farm not too long ago. Couldn't quite make the cut, but he's real determined."

As his breathing slowly started to steady itself, he shakily looked up at the six remaining mares in the room, and while he would still be nervous, seeing Applejack, a pony that he was familiar with, made him feel a bit better. As he took the glass of water, he gently sipped on it before letting out a small sigh, his body finally relaxing enough for him to move properly. Carefully he walked to a couch and sat down, looking at the others in the room for a moment as he caught his breath.

He didn't really know what to do at this point, his mind still a bit jumbled with what happened as he finally got a closer look at the orange mare. "App...A-Applejack?" He says, wanting to make sure that she was really there.

The country pony nodded and fixed her hat a bit. "That's right! Nice to seeya again! Did you ever find the job you're lookin' fer?" she asked as she walked over to the couch. Seeing how Spark was now aware again, the three ponies that were talking fell silent and walked up to them, all of them taking up spots close by, but not too close in case he froze up again.

Keeping the glass of water in his hooves, he nodded. "I...I-I did. I-I got one w-working at the post office." He said, his voice a bit louder now, but still very shy.

He was starting to recover from the whole surprise party, but now as he looked around, he realized that there are still at least four new ponies here, and that was making him nervous. Thankfully, it was just his normal nerves affecting him at this point as he looked at the others shyly. "W-who...who are you all?" He asked.

"Well, these here are mah friends," said Applejack. "That yellow one there's Fluttershy, the blue one is Rainbow Dash, the fancy white unicorn is Rarity, that there mare who just said hi is Twilight, and I'm sure you've already met Pinkie Pie."

The purple mare smiled and nodded "It's very nice to meet you."

Spark looked at Twilight curiously, for he remembered that she said she was the Princess of Friendship, and yet he had heard nothing about another princess being around. Then again, he didn't pay much attention to the news, so he lets it pass for now. Looking back at the Alicorn, he gave a nod in greeting back as he placed the cup on the table for the time being.

"So what brings ya here to Ponyville?" asked Rainbow Dash as she relaxed against the couch. "There's no way you're here for sightseeing. Only things to see here are the castle and the school."

He isn’t sure that is really true, since he saw a few tourists walking around when he was looking for a place to stay, but he doesn’t bother to comment on it. Instead, he remained silent for a few moments before he gave a small shrug. "Honestly, nothing. I just heard that this place is a rather small town and I thought I would stop by." He said, not bothering to look up at the other mares, clearly too shy to do so.

"So you're a traveler?" asked Twilight, eyes lit up with interest. "What's it like?

"It must be very lonely," said Fluttershy sadly.

The red pegasus just smiled slightly at the shy mare before he said, "I-It's not that bad. Yes, I was a bit...lonely at first, but I g-got used to it." He then turned to face Twilight and answered her question. "I-I just wander around, moving from place to place. Honestly, it's not all that interesting."

He sighed as he grabbed his water and took another sip of before putting it back on the table, feeling a bit more comfortable around these mares now. Even with that, though, he was still unsure what to say. Thankfully, the others in the room had a few questions of their own.

Rainbow Dash was the next one to speak up. "So what's up with you? Why didn't you like the surprise? Ya got a fear of balloons or somethin'?"

Fluttershy looked the other way, trying not to mind Rainbow Dash's intrusions.

Spark actually laughed at that. it's a small laugh, but a laugh nevertheless. "N-No, nothing like that." He said, taking a deep breath before exhaling. "I-It's...it's embarrassing." He added, looking away in shame as the laughter rather quickly died away.

He wasn't sure if he should tell them or not for he thought that they wouldless about him if he did, but the white unicorn is quick to say otherwise.

"Darling, if you think what you've got is embarrassing, then let me tell you all about some of the things that my little sister, Sweetie Belle has done. You've got nothing to be ashamed of," said Rarity.

He swallowed to once again to calm himself as he kept his gaze away from the others, still unsure of telling them or not. After a few moments of silence, he finally mumbled something out, but it's too soft for any of them to hear it.

"I'm sorry, dear. What was that?" asked Rarity, holding a hoof up to her ear. The others got in closer to better hear Spark's reason.

"I'm afraid of crowds..." He whispered a bit louder, but still barely hearable.

"Afraid of crowds?" asked Rarity. "Dear, you should talk to Fluttershy. You'd get along with her quite well."

A blush appeared across Fluttershy's face as she looked down. "Oh, um..."

The red pegasus blinked as he slowly looked over to the shy mare in slight confusion. "R-Really?" He asked. He thought he was the only one afraid of large crowds, or of any sort of crowds really.

Fluttershy let a soft smile form as she made eye contact. Their eyes met for only a moment before she looked away. "Y-Yes... I'm not good in any kind of crowd. I get nervous and I start to sweat and whenever somepony tries to talk to me I just freeze up."

Sparks remained silent as he looked at her before he too looked away to avoid eye contact as well. "Y-yea, something...something similar with me as well. I just...I can't stand to be in a crowded area, or the center of attention, I just...I freeze up like that." He paused as he looks back down at his hooves.

His mind started going back to when he was little, the number of colts and fillies that would berate him and shamelessly insult him for his...difference. It was...painful to recall. The girls could see his eyes started to water up as he does so.

Fluttershy pushed her mane back and looked back at him with a bit more determination as she saw him start to get sad from something. Not wanting to upset him, she tries to help with a bit of advice. "I got over a lot of my fears with the help of my friends, though. So not everything is as bad as it was before."

"Yeah! With our help, she became twenty percent cooler!" said Dash.

“I’m sure that someday you will get over your fear just like her.” Pinkie added, giving a huge grin.

He glanced over at them and gave a small smile before looking back at his hooves. "T-That's...nice." He said, letting out a small sigh. Now that he felt much better from the crowded incident, some things started to come back, namely what it was in the first place and who threw it. "Did...did you say this was a party for me, Pinkie?" He asks the party mare.

"Yuppers! I threw this party just for you! For your first day in Ponyville!" exclaimed Pinkie, a grin spreading across her face.

"She tries her best to bring a smile to everypony's face, no matter how sad they might be," explained Twilight. “And that includes welcoming everypony to Ponyville, no matter who they may be.”

He nodded as he heard this, a small frown coming on his face. "I...I-I'm sorry I ruined it for you Pinkie." He said. "I just...I never had a party thrown for me, so I didn't...I didn't know what to do. That and the whole crowd thing just...I just..." He pauses as he just shivers from the recent memory.

“Wait, you never had a party before?!” Exclaimed Pinkie as she let out a large gasp. “That means I have to make this one even BETTER! There'll be cake, ice cream, balloons, streamers, games, music! Everything!!!" She stated, giving a wide smile. However, the smile faltered when she saw the terrified look on his face, and as she realized her mistake, she gave a sheepish smile and added, “Um, b-but it can be smaller, just the seven of us...and perhaps a couple of others, if that’s ok with you?”

The mares fell silent as they watched for his reaction, the red pony having his eyes closed in thought. He wasn’t really sure what to think about such actions, and while normally Spark wouldn't mind hanging with nice and kind ponies, he was curious as to why these mares were doing it. Sure they were all nice, but having been proven wrong and tricked so many times before, he was a bit skeptical. Not only that, but he did just meet them today, and yet they are all willing to do this for him?

He opened his eyes as he looked at them with slight suspicion. "Why? I-I just...why me? Why throw a party for me? Why...why all of this?" He asked. Even though he is suspicious, the worry is most evident in his voice.

"Why wouldn't we?" asked Twilight. "We just wish to make you feel comfortable." She said with a smile.

"Plus, I have to make a party for you if you never even had one for yourself!" Added Pinkie, her hooves in the air. “I mean, to never have a party in your entire life?! That’s just crazy, and I know a thing or two about that.”

Spark looked at them again, still unsure of what to do, but seeing how there wasn’t a way out of it without hurting their feelings, he soon made up his mind. With a sigh, he looked at them all for a few moments before giving a nod. "O-Ok. But no surprises! And keep it small...um, p-please?" He asked. "Just...just give me some time to gather myself ok? M-Maybe...in a few days?"

The pink mare just smiled and nodded at this before going through some sort of random motions as she said, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

He raised an eyebrow at this before just giving a nod, content for now as he looked at the others in the room. "I...I guess you girls will be on your way now?" He asked, always rather awkward around others and a bit unsure how to let them know he wished to be left alone without, again, hurting their feelings.

The girls looked at each other and a few of them nod, though to their surprise, the yellow mare shook her head. "Um... if you don't mind, I'd like to talk a bit. You remind me of me when I was younger," she said, blushing with a smile.

"Well, if you really want to stay, that's fine, but I think it's up to Spark," said Twilight.

He blinked in surprise at this as he looked up at her, and then the rest of them. After a few moments he nodded gently. "I...I-I guess you can stay for a bit." He said. It's not like he has anything else to do...and how the hell could he say no to somepony with eyes like hers.

With varying goodbyes, the other girls left, Pinkie giving a reminder to Spark that she will make it up to him.

After the other left, Fluttershy sat next to Spark on the couch, looking up at the ceiling as if it were interesting before she turned her attention back to him. "So why visit ponyville?"

He raised an eyebrow at this as he looked at her. "Didn't you girls already ask me that?" He asked. Then, thinking that it might have been rude, he quickly added, "N-Not that I mean it's a bad question or you didn't hear, I just thought you asked it is all."

"Yes, but I don't think that was the real answer. I've hidden the truth before to cover up my own feelings, especially when I was younger." She gave him a sincere smile, a blush on her face. “I know what to look for when somepony else is trying to hide the truth...sometimes...”

This surprised him as he heard her say this. It is indeed what he has done for most of his life to be honest, but even so does he trust her enough to tell her the full truth. Taking a few deep breaths, he thought it over before giving a shake of his head.

"I...I-I'm sorry Fluttershy, but I...I don't know if I really want to talk about it." He admitted, turning away in shame. Thankfully the shy mare was having none of that as she gently reaches over and places a hoof on his leg, surprising him to look back at her. She didn’t want to push him too much, but at the same time she knew what it was like to hold something in and not tell anypony else. She just wished to help him.

"It's okay. You don't have to worry about anypony knowing," She assured him. Her eyes had that sense of trust. It was as if she had been through the same exact things he had.

Spark couldn't help but stare into her eyes as she said that, and he can see that she spoke the truth. Not only that, but he can see the kindness behind that gaze, making his heart pause as he looked at such a kind face. He didn't even know such kindness was possible, but here she was, and she hadn't even done anything but talk to him, yet he felt so much calmer than before. Before he got too deep into it, however, he pulled back, his body shaking a bit from the intensity of it all.

"Fluttershy I...I appreciate it, I really do, but I just...I don't feel comfortable talking about it just yet." He admits. It hurts him to say it, but it hurts just as much to try and tell this kind mare why he travels as he does. "I don't want to burden you or anypony else, and even if I did want to tell you, I...I just...I can't bring myself to do it. Not now."

He looks away in sadness as he takes a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry, but maybe one day I can-"

"Shh, it's ok." She says, rubbing his shoulder calmly. "You don't have to tell me if you really don't want to." She felt bad for pushing him too hard, something she had tried to avoid, and now she just wished for him to relax. If he didn’t want to talk about it, then she wasn’t going to force the issue anymore.

He glanced back at her in surprised relief, even giving her a small smile. "T-thank you." He simply said as he took a few deep breaths, her calming aura helped him quite a bit. After a few minutes of a rather comfortable silence, he finally spoke up again, wanting to ask some of his own questions. "S-So...what do you do? If that's ok for me to ask, that is?"

"Oh, me?" Her eyes lit up with interest as she began. "Well, I take care of the sweet little animals. They can't fend for themselves all the time. There are so many, too. Bears, birds, bunnies. They all come to my cottage for help."

As she spoke, there was an innocent aura about her. She seemed to be genuinely naive and trusting. Her whole attitude was rather infectious, causing the red colt to feel himself go at ease while listening to her.

He Nodded his head before he grabbed his water and took another sip, looking back at her. "That's very nice of you." He said, smiling.

"Oh, I don't do it just to be nice. I do it for them," she said with a slow nod. "It's nice to meet somepony else who's like me. Are you going to settle here?" she asked, her eyes looking hopeful. Even though they had only just met, something about this pony really made her click with him, and she was hoping that he planned on staying here to live.

This causes the red pony to fall silent, a small frown on his face. "I...I don't think so. I don't normally stay in one town for long, usually for a few weeks to a month before heading back out. Just enough to refill my supplies and such." He explained.

However, he felt rather sad about explaining it to her. For some reason, telling her that made him feel like he let her down, and taking a glance at her, he can see just why he felt like that.

The hope in her eyes had vanished, replaced with a bit of sadness. However, she kept her smile, not wanting to make him sad as well. "Oh, that's too bad. I was honestly hoping for you to stay so I could hang out some more. I would've invited you to my place for tea." She said, rubbing her hooves together shyly.

The surprise is quick to replace the sadness that he had suddenly felt when he heard her words. "Wait, really? I-I mean, why? We only just met." He asked.

"I-I know, but...b-but I've never met another pony who was shy like me," She answered. "To be honest, it's kind of comforting. It means I'm not the only one." She looked back at him with her kind smile as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. "It's okay. Maybe we'll see each other again someday."

Now Spark had a choice here. To refuse to come over and make the mare just that much sadder, or to accept the invite. He couldn’t really see any reason to refuse her, plus when he saw the look of sadness in her eyes, it just...hurt him greatly.

Naturally, as to make her feel better, he accepted her invite.

"Y-You know...today is only my first day, s-so...um..." He took a shaky breath as he tried to calm himself down, then slowly he turned to look at her again. "I-If you want me to...t-to come over, then...then I guess I can for a bit. And...and for some tea."

Her eyes lit up with hope once again. "Oh, that would be wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I'll get us some sugar cookies and I'll whip up some nice green tea when you arrive!"

Spark can't help but chuckle at that, giving her a smile. "That sounds great." He said, her joy flowed right back into him. "Maybe some time on the following Monday?" He asked. It was Friday today, so that gave him plenty of time to get himself settled here.

"That would be a great time!" she agreed. "And maybe you could tell me all about your journey during it?"

"I wouldn't mind telling about where I've been." He said. Thankfully that's one of the few things he is willing to talk about himself...at least to a certain extent. It's at this point he let out a small yawn and glanced at the clock, noticing that it showed that a few hours went by.

"Oh! I must be keeping you up!" She got up from the couch and looked over to him. "Don't forget, okay?"

"I won't." He said, getting up and leading her to the door. Once there, he stopped for a moment and adds, "I...I just want to thank you, for...for talking to me and...and inviting me. Nopony has ever taken the time to do so for me before."

"I think you'll find that Ponyville may very well be the friendliest place in Equestria," she said to him. "I should be going now. I don't want to keep you up for too long. Plus I need to make sure the animals are ok."

He nodded again, and with a polite nod in return, the shy mare left, closing the door softly behind her. He sighed as he walked back through the room, seeing the streamers and other party decorations still littered all over the place. He is worried about what Pinkie had planned, but she did promise to not overdo it, and strangely enough, he trusts her to hold her word.

Letting out another yawn, he is about to head to bed when his stomach rumbled. "Shoot, in all this confusion I forgot to eat." He said, and looking around he spied the cupcakes that he got from earlier.

"Not sure I should be eating cupcakes before bed...oh well, not like I have much of a choice." He said, and opening the box, he started to eat one of the cupcakes.

As he chowed down, he thought over what those six mares had said, and for some reason he was inclined to listen to them. In any case, he knew that was going to be for another time as ate his food.

Once finished, he cleaned up the place a bit before heading off to bed. This is when he finally took his hoodie off, letting out a small sigh as he parted his mane a bit before he looked at the mirror that's in the bedroom.

His ragged blonde mane is just as much of a mess as before, but that's not what kept his attention. Standing there, right on top of his head, were two white horns, jutting from near his ears and right above his forehead, curving slightly upwards and giving him a rather hellish look. At least that's what it looked to him.

Sighing, he reached up and touched them as if to confirm that they are still there. Sadly the cold feel of bone against his hoof proved just how real they still are. Yup...still there as always. He thought to himself. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths as he calmed himself down before giving a small nod as he walked to the bed.

As he laid down, he sighed, feeling the stress slowly roll over him, yet at the same time the new ponies that he had met helped him to wash those fears away, at least for now.

He may not want to tell his story in fear of being shunned, but maybe one day he will find those ponies that do trust him. He just doesn't know when that will be.