Fluttershy stood outside, feeding her animals by setting out plates of vegetables for them.

"There you go, little ones. Eat up.~"

Angel looked at his plate of carrots and then back up at his owner, tapping the ground with his foot.

"Angel, I couldn't find any cherries this week," defended Fluttershy.

The pesky bunny simply tapped his foot even faster.

"Well, I could use raspberries instead. Would you like that?" she asked.

The tapping went slower, the bunny thinking it over before finally answering with a small nod.

Fluttershy went inside her cottage and came back out a minute later with a bag of raspberries. She took a few out and sprinkled them on top of the carrots, leading to a satisfied Angel Bunny as he started to dig into the salad..

As she watched her bunny eat, she couldn’t help but to think about Spark and the improvements in his confidence, making her smile. "You know Angel, I think Spark would have a nice time meeting all of the animals here."

Angel listened, still eating their lunch. He did remember seeing the red pony when he was first here for tea, watching from a hidden nook in the room. He was kind of curious to know more about him, for he had to agree he was very much like his owner.

Fluttershy continued. "He really is a lot like me. Shy and nervous and scared of judgement, but at the same time he just wishes to help as much as he can. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if..."

Angel waited for her to finish her sentence, being patient since the rabbit had received his meal.

"Sometimes I wonder if I should... ask him to go someplace with me. Not too fancy. Just a relaxing place where we can talk about our feelings and maybe even share a laugh or two." She finished before she let out a small sigh.

Angel squinted his eyes in skepticism, causing the butter colored mare to look confused at him. "Why are you looking at me like that...?" Fluttershy felt nervous. "I'm not asking him on a date or anything..."

Angel just continued to stare, this time raising an eyebrow at the denying comment.

After a few moments Fluttershy rescinded her statement and said, "Well, maybe... I mean, he's really sweet. It was only yesterday he went to the spa with me and Rarity." She fell silent before she sighed. "Who am I fooling? I can't ask him out. What if he rejects me?"

This caused the bunny to give a facepalm, seeing his owner once again going down their own rabbit hole of anxiety. Before she could go any deeper, he quickly jumps up to her and stamps on her hoof a few dozen times in the only way a bunny could

This got Fluttershy to snap out of her thoughts as she looks right at her bunny. "Angel!" scolded Fluttershy. She was about to say more but was quickly silenced as she continued to look at his serious expression. “Y-You...You'll help me?" she asked in surprise, which caused Angel to give a nod in response..

It was at this moment that her door would receive a knock, causing them to both stop what they were doing and look at it before looking at each other, the bunny just motioned for her to answer it. Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy crept to the door and slowly turned the handle before opening it.

The door slowly opened to reveal Spark, who stood there with a shy smile as always. "Um, h-hey Fluttershy." He said. "I...I think I may have left my snow globe here when I...um, s-showed it to you." He told her, a sheepish smile on his face.

Upon seeing the very pony that she was just thinking about asking out, Fluttershy's brain froze. Was this her chance? It had to be her chance! This could be the only possible chance she ever got!

...SLAM!!!

She quickly slammed the door in his face from her anxiety, rapidly turning around as she placed her back against the door. She then looked to Angel Bunny on the floor as she realized her mistake. He simply gave a deadpan stare as he pointed to the door, tapping his foot. As she realized that he was right, she swallowed her fear and then slowly opened the door. "Um... C-Come in!"

As she reopened the door, the stallion's eyes were wide with shock, frozen in place as he just looked at the mare. He had no idea what just happened, and part of him was too scared to ask, so instead he just slowly nodded his thanks and walked in. Seeing the bunny, he smiled at him and reached into his pocket and pulled out a cherry. "Hey Angel, I found some fresh cherries in the market, thought you might want one."

Fluttershy smiled at such a kind gesture. Angel looked at the cherry in surprise. He had no idea how this pony knew about his love for cherries. Little did he know that Fluttershy and Spark both talked about her animals and she happened to talk quite a bit about Angel himself. He quickly snagged the small fruit and shoved the whole thing into his mouth, pulling off the stem. As he munched on his food, he stared carefully at the red pony before he gave a small nod. He’s ok...for now.

Fluttershy led Spark into the back room, where she had put his snow globe. "I was surprised to see you'd left it."

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Y-Yea, I guess I just got excited someone gave me something and wanted to show it off, even if it seemed stupid at the time." He said with a nervous chuckle as he took the snow globe back and put it in one of his pockets.

The kind mare gave a small frown at that. “Spark, it’s not stupid to show others a gift that you got.” She told him. This got him to smile lightly at the mare as he gave her a nod of thanks, to which she returned the smile in kind.

It was at this point that they fell silent, neither of them really sure what to say to the other. Normally they would have quite a few things to talk about, but for some reason neither of them could think of anything to say. It was during this time that Angel stood on an inactive lamp, his cherry having been finished just moments ago. He gave Fluttershy a small stare that gave her shivers, the look clearly obvious that he wants her to get a move on and make her move.

She looked at Spark and, with a nervous smile, she rubbed the back of her neck. "Would you...u-uh..." She started to say before her nerves got to her once again, making her fall silent.

He blinked as he tilted his head. "W-Would I...what?" He asked, confused.

Unsure of herself again, she looked back at Angel, who just continued to give her the stare, this time motioning with his head to keep going. Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly opening them, locking onto Spark’s own eyes. The stallion couldn’t help but to get locked into her gaze as she finally found the words to finish her question. "Would you like to... g-go out with me somewhere?"

He just remained a bit confused as she finally answered him. "I-I mean, sure...but we already went out before, I'm not sure how that is so hard to-"

This time the bunny does facepalm himself as he listens to Spark’s confusion. Quickly bouncing off the lamp and to the red pony, he jumped up and slapped him across the face. This got Spark to go wide eyed for a moment as he placed a hoof at the spot of impact, about to ask the bunny why he did such a thing when his eyes locked back onto Fluttershy’s. Just seeing the gaze she was sending him, and the anxiety along with the determination behind them soon sent the message across.

As he looked back, the full weight of what she really meant hit him, which caused his cheeks to blush extremely red. "W-W-Wait. Y-You want...t-to...to go out...with...with me?" He asked, eyes wide with shock. “As in...a-as in a...a-a-a...a-a d...d-date?”

She remained silent for a good few moments before slowly she gave a small nod to confirm it. "I...yes." She blushed an intensely colored shade of red, but she still kept her eyes locked on him.

He just stood there, completely speechless and unsure what to do or say. Here is this mare who is asking HIM out. Him, out of all the other possible ponies, and not only is she super nice, but she is also extremely attractive and very much like him in so many ways, including with her own shyness.

Seeing how she may be starting to back away from it, he quickly shouted. "Yes!" Before he covered his mouth. The sudden shout caused the mare to give a start, eyes wide with shock from the outburst. He took a few moments before he repeated himself at a more normal tone. "I-I mean, yes please. I-I would...I would love to go out with you, o-on a...d-date..."

Inside her head, Fluttershy couldn’t help but to squeal in delight. He said yes! He actually said yes! Outside, she coughed and nodded. "Th-That's splendid. I...thank you, Spark..." She said as she gave him a slightly bigger smile.

He blushed even harder at such a kind face and just nodded his head. "Um, y-yea." He said. Looking around he isn't really sure what else to do, and just coughs a bit as well. "Um...s-so...."

As he fell silent once again, Angel jumped up and slapped Spark again, this time on the back of the head, getting the gears in his brain to start turning again.The slap was just what he needed as he shook his head and added, "S-So...where do you wish to go for our...um...date?”

"I was thinking of a wildlife preservation park in a town not too far from here." She quickly said, causing the stallion to blink in surprise. It seemed she already had the whole thing planned out.

He quickly nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan. So...tomorrow?" He asked.

She nodded in response. "That sounds lovely."

He smiled back. "That's...um, g-great!" He said. He looked around for a bit and, seeing how he doesn't really need to be here anymore, he said, "S-So...till then?"

"Until then.~" She said, feeling herself feel more and more excited as she continued to talk to him.

He nodded and slowly backed away, his eyes locked on Fluttershy, but not of fear. He was starting to see her in a bit of a new light. Sure he thought she was attractive before, but now he was really looking at her, and for some reason he just couldn't look away...at least till he tripped on his own hooves. The small stumble caused Fluttershy to make a move to catch him, but he managed to catch himself and he gave her a sheepish smile before fully turning and heading out the door, closing it behind him.

As soon as the red pegasus left the house, the butter colored mare finally let loose a soft, but high pitched “EEEEE!” as she jumped in place, clapping her hooves together in excitement. She flashed a smile to Angel, who gave her a thumbs up.

How a rabbit has thumbs, we may never know.

As the two ponies started to get themselves ready, a single thought popped into both of their minds:

"Wait, what do I do on a date?"

(line)

This thought plagued Spark the entire walk back, including when he entered the castle and back into his room. As Spark looked through his closet to find something to wear for tomorrow, if anything, he is still lost by that one single thought, unsure how to answer it.

Suddenly... an answer to his question came...one that he certainly would have never expected.

"A date...? With Fluttershy of all ponies? You're better off teaching Schmoozy to tap dance," a voice said in Spark's head.

He blinked at the sudden voice in his head, quickly looking around for the source of it. "W-Who said that!?" He asked in shock.

"Why, I did, of course," replied the... lamp next to his bed?

And what was on it would haunt his dreams. A face was present on the lampshade. "Now, if it were the cross-eyed mare, I could certainly help, but Fluttershy? Oh, Spark my young colt, you ask for FAR too much." It said. Yup, it was indeed the lampshade that was talking.

He just fell silent as he stared at the face on the lamp, eyes wide with shock, mouth open and wings spread as if he was ready to take flight...if he could fly that is.

"Is there something on my face? No, wait! Is my face on something?" Two drumbeats and a cymbal sounded out of nowhere, as if to finish a joke.

Sadly the pony just remained silent as he stared at the inanimate object that was now animated, his brain locked up with what in the world was going on, for he had no idea who...or what...was talking to him.

"Oh, for chaos' sake! Some ponies don't know good comedy material."

In a flash, the face on the lamp vanished, and standing in front of Spark was... A fucking whatchamacallit.

"Hey! I can hear you two buffoons narrating! If you're going to introduce me, then do it right!" said the amalgamation of creatures to the sky.

He had a long body, with the paw of a lion, the claw of a bird, a hoof, and a dragon leg. It was a creature only heard of in legends: the draconequis known as Discord, Lord of Chaos.

"That's somewhat better. Work on your descriptive skills." He stared up at the sky for a few more moments before he looked back down at Spark to look at his reaction.

Of course Spark knew about Discord, what pony didn't? Still, reading up about him and seeing him right in front of him are two very different things. And while he also knew Discord was reformed, he still had a bit of fear for the Spirit of Chaos. All he could do was stare at him with wide eyes, unsure of what to do next.

The chaotic spirit tapped his chin in thought. "Now, what were we...Oh right! Dating Fluttershy! Anyways, I think you're in way over your head," said Discord. "Fluttershy is a sophisticated mare, and she can't just date ANYpony."

He just looked even more surprised at this. "S-She can't?" He asked, more confused and worried now.

"Oh, absolutely not.~" He looked at you and winked before turning back to Spark. "We will need to change a few things. Mostly your appearance and how you act."

Again he just stared at Discord, his expression telling it all: he wasn't following him.

The draconequis let out a small sigh. “Oh boy, we’re gonna have a lot of work I see.” He said. With a snap of his fingers, he conjured up a door in midair. He opened it up, revealing a walk-in closet room on the other side. He then grabbed Spark by the hoof and yanked him inside, closing the door behind him. The door jerked and twisted in odd ways, making various different shapes and oddly hilarious noises before reopening again, spitting out a finely dressed Spark.

Spark was now wearing a rather fancy tuxedo, with his front half fully covered and coattails draped along his flank. Discord pulled a mirror from Celestia-knows-where and showed it to Spark.

After gathering his wits and calming his nerves, he finally took the moment to actually look at his reflection. He had to admit, he did like the look, it was rather nice and...dapper, top hat and all. However, something inside of him told him that this wasn't right, and at the moment he hesitated, slowly taking his hat off and looking down at it. "I...I'm not sure she wants me to dress up like this..." He says softly. Discord, seeing he needed just a small nudge, decided to tone it down just a bit in order to push him in the right direction...or his direction really.

"Hm... If not the look, then the personality," said the draconequus. "I've been reading your fic, and so far, it's a little bland. I find that you're not very assertive, and the readers love somepony who is assertive, not some walk over stepping mat.

Now this confused the pony as he looked at Discord, head tilted to the side. "I...what?" he asked.

"Oh, right," he remembered. Spark clearly wasn't aware of being in a fanfiction. Oh, the dilemma of not being real...a dilemma that clearly didn’t bother Discord. "You need to be... braver. The whole victim aspect of the story is just too much."

He snapped his fingers and with a poof, he was then on a therapist couch, arm over head as he lay there in a dramatic pose. "Oh, woe is me, doctor! Please help me! I have tiny little nubs that everypony keeps making fun of, even though the unicorns have freakishly bigger horns."

Of course, Discord didn't mean all tha-- yes, yes he did, but it was meant to get Spark angry, to get him to show even the slightest bit of spine. If some random pony wanted to date Fluttershy, Discord had to make sure it was the best for her, not just some simpering colt.

Sadly all that did was make him upset, cringing at his words as his already small self confidence goes down the drain. Hearing those words just made him look at his hooves in shame. Seeing that his words didn’t have the effect he wanted caused Discord to face palm himself as he realized that he is going to have to take a slightly different approach.

He gave him a deadpanned look. “Really? By chaos you are not making this easy.” He stated, the couch poofing away as he stands back up. “Of course having two writers write me out makes things a bit more difficult.” He added to himself. Discord stroked his small beard, trying to think up a proper solution. That's when it hit him. "Oh! You're one of THOSE characters!"

He snapped his fingers, and instantly, Spark had found himself in a dirty old alleyway. At the end of the alleyway was Fluttershy, looking scared as two menacing ponies dressed in black approached her.

"Hoof over the bits and ya won't get hurt, little mare!" one of them said.

Discord flashed into existence next to Spark. "Oh no! Two horrible ponies are about to hurt Fluttershy! Whatever shall we do?!"

Spark was at first in shock and was about to jump in and save her, but when he heard how Discord was taking it all so nonchalantly, he realized that this wasn't even real, making him glare at the chaos spirit rather harshly.

Discord raises an eyebrow as he looks back at the pony. "What, not even this?" He said trying to get some sort of reaction. When none came, he just sighed and shook his head. "Ok fine, let's keep it more normal." He said, and with a snap of his fingers they were back in his room. "Let's see, how about-"

"No!" Spark cried out before he quickly covered his mouth, the spirit just raising an eyebrow at the reaction, his fingers in mid snap. After a few seconds he continued. "I-I mean, no more, please. I...I don't know how to be...you know...assertive."

Discord rolled his eyes and crossed his mismatched arms. "Well that much is obvious."

"I know..." He paused as he shuffled on his hooves a bit before he took a deep breath. He knew that, despite all the crazy stuff that he did and said, Spark knew that Discord was right. He had to figure out some way to get a bit more confidence. Then it hit him, Discord was great friends, perhaps best friends with Fluttershy. If anypony could help him, it would be the spirit of chaos. "Can...can you help me?" He asked, looking up at him.

Discord sighed, a bit annoyed, a bit lazy, and a bit bored. He honestly thought this would have been quick and easy. He tapped his chin with his clawed hand as he thought it over before he gave a small shrug.

"Alright I’ll help, but only because I want to see how this story ends.” He said. “Let's see... I could make it easy by just forcing you into a new personality, but SOME ponies would question the ethics and morals of such a thing. Looks like class is in session." Discord snapped his fingers and Spark was suddenly in a desk chair, along with a teacher’s desk for the spirit himself.

Discord, now sporting a teacher outfit, pretended to get up off the chair he was suddenly sitting on when he paused and looked around his desk. “Oh, where did I put that apple...” He pretended to ask himself...just when an apple appeared in front of Spark.

Cautiously, the red pony picked the apple up and held it out for Discord, the spirit looking up just at the same time. “Strange, I thought you were bigger?” He said to the fruit, his eyebrow raised. Just as he said that, the apple suddenly grew tenfold, towering over Spark...and then landing on top of him, crushing him and the desk and chair he was on to the ground.

Discord just picked the apple up with his clawed hand before poking it with a straw as he started to suck it, making it grow smaller and smaller till the whole thing vanished through the straw, leaving a slightly flattened pegasus on the ground, who popped back to normal a few seconds later. As the chaotic being finished the apple, he gave a loud belch before tossing the straw to the side. Seeing as his new “student” was ready, he grabbed a pointer and caused some chalk to float to the blackboard as it started drawing rapidly.

Once finished, Discord pointed to the floating chalkboard with a cruddy drawing of Spark surrounded by angry looking ponies. "Okay... you find yourself in the middle of a crowd of bullies. They saw your horns, and now they wanna make themselves look big by picking on you. What do you do?"

He blinked as he was placed back in a new chair in front of a new desk, and after he adjusted to it and heard his question, he tried to think over the answer. However the memories of exactly those times slowly crept back, making him shiver in fear. Seeing this, Discord just shook his head, not needing him to answer it as his reaction gave him all the answers he needed.

“By chaos, this is gonna be even more difficult than I thought!” Diacord conjured up another image. This time it was Spark, but with only one other pony. "On your way home, a mare spots your horns by chance and asks you if you are okay. What is your response?"

Perhaps someone with the kindness to ask if something was wrong was the answer.

For some reason he felt something whisper into his ear. He turned to see who was whispering, but saw nothing. As he turned away, the mini Discord that was behind him snickers before poofing, letting Spark think it over. He took a few moments before saying, "Um...I-I say I'm fine?"

Seeing how he actually gave an answer, Discord smiled as small horns were blown around him, along with a small amount of streamers. "Good! Perhaps there's some hope for you yet!" He switched to the next image. It featured an ominous looking villain. "You're faced with an evildoer. Twilight and friends are down. What do you do?"

This question confused him. "Um...w-why would I be involved in something like that?" He asked.

"Are you aware of how often they fight villains? Always on a Saturday for some reason too," Discord replied. "No idea why really, you think they would choose other days. I myself went with Wednesday, but it didn’t seem to catch on. Now, go on. What do you do?"

It took him a few moments to think it over, for it was a hard one. He couldn't run away, not with what they have done for him, but he can't fight either. He's no fighter, even if he wants to. He racked his brain for a few minutes before letting out a small sigh and a shrug. "I-I guess...I try and help stop it but...b-but how? They fight all sorts of villains, they even beat you! I...I can't compare to that!"

"Oh come on! Everypony has SOMETHING to contribute, even if it's small and most likely not gonna make a difference. You could easily do something simple, like go find Starswirl or the princesses? I'm sure there's something," said Discord.

Hearing that did boost his confidence a bit. He could just go and find more help, such as the princesses or even some royal guards. He nodded his head as he looked at the draconequus, new determination in his eyes.

Discord waited, remaining silent as he looked at the pony who was just looking back at him. After a few minutes of rather awkward staring, he looked at his watch, eyes widening when he saw what time it was. "You think we could hurry this up? I have a poker game at four and I'd rather not be late. The Smooze is not exactly reasonable when it comes to scheduling."

The pegasus blinked in surprise before he realized he didn't actually say anything. Quickly he said, "I-I...I could go get help...maybe the royal guard or somepony else."

Discord smirked. He felt like a good teacher. "Good. But personally, I would've delivered a bit of martial arts justice, myself." He said, making a few judo moves as he pretended to get ready to fight an invisible enemy.

"Umm...what?" For some reason, Spark felt like he was being...pushed to the side, as if he was a main character who was slowly being shown off by him.

Discord realized this, knowing he wasn't sticking to his script...or the fanfiction. "Nevermind. Let's focus on your mannerisms, shall we?" He snaps his fingers, a table appearing with white cloth draped over it. Spark was suddenly sitting at one end while a... body pillow of Fluttershy was sitting on the other side?

Again he blinked, Spark looked even more confused than before. Not sure what to do, he just stood...er, sat there, hooves on the table as he looked around for where Discord was, unsure what he was supposed to be doing.

Within a second of looking, and a small poof later, he spotted the face of Fluttershy on the pillow moving, Discord's eyes having replaced her pretty blue ones. "Spark, honey, does this pillowcase make me look fat?"

This threw Spark off guard, the red pony blushing as he just quickly went to his shy self. "N-No, it's very slimming." He said. He didn't even notice how quick he got into the roleplay, so focused he is to try and learn.

"Are you saying I'm too skinny?" The Fluttershy pillow asked, giving a frown. Spark had better think up something, and quick.

"N-No! I-I just...I mean...I...I-I-I..." Slowly he started to lose himself, and after a few moments of stuttered silence, he just melted under the table, hood over his head and hooves holding his face.

The pillow rolled her eyes and went still, face returning to its neutral smiling expression as Discord phased out of it. Looking down at the pony, he tapped Spark's noggin. “Really? You’re gonna just lay there and not even try to say something?” He asked. Shivering, the pony slowly looked up, spying the draconequues from under his hood as he gave a sad, sheepish look.

Discord stroked his chin, thinking over the problem. "Perhaps that's a bit too complicated. I mean, really, what stallion could possibly fully understand a mare?" He poofed away the body pillow and sat in the chair that once held it up. He reached forward, grabbing a teacup from thin air and raising it to his lips, drinking from it. "Euugh..." He made a face of disgust. "Too bitter... Tell me, do you like your tea bitter or sweet?"

Spark was silent for a few moments before slowly sliding his hood up a bit. "Um...s-sweet is better...at least for me. It's ok if you like it bitter though." He said.

He took a long look at Spark, then put on a pair of thick square glasses. "Whether it's sweet or bitter, it doesn't really matter, because in the end it's going to your stomach. See, that's how life is. Making things fun isn't a requirement, but it does make things better, just like how having a certain flavor in your tea can make it more enjoyable. Not sure if you can tell where I'm going with this."

The pegasus just shook his head.

"Neither can I." Discord grinned. "I supposed a bit of thinking was in order, but then I went to that and I thought, 'What am I doing?'.”

Very much confused, the red pony just stared at him for a few moments before shaking his head. "I...I think I'll just...um...something...else..." He said as he got up and took a few steps. In an instant the place was back to normal as he walked over to the door and turned to look at the draconequues. "I'm...I'm gonna wash up. Um...t-thanks...I think."

Discord appeared on the other side of the door once Spark had opened it. "Oh, but you still have so much to learn. We haven't even talked about what spoons you need to use for soup. What are you going to do when Fluttershy needs to cross the road and there's a puddle in front of her?"

"I-I think I'll manage. Besides, it's getting late and I-" he started to say, only to look out the window. It was rather bright in the morning instead of turning into a sunset, almost as if the rest of the day and night had just gone by. Very confused, he looked around outside to see ponies getting up to do their daily tasks already.

He remained as he just looked outside, a very confused look on his face. Discord took this time to float next to Spark as he unrolls a calendar. “Hmm, seems our teaching took longer than I expected.” He said, the calendar showing that it is already the next day...and just minutes from Spark’s date with Fluttershy.

Upon seeing just how close it was for his date, Spark’s eyes go wide with shock. "Oh no! I'm gonna be late!" He shouted before rushing out the door, leaving a bemused Discord to look after the running pegasus. The spirit of chaos just watched him go as he then turned to the calendar again.

“Thankfully I still got some time for my poker game, which is indeed at four...pm today.” He said, grinning as he gave a wink to the reader. With that he gave a snap of his fingers as the scene changed back to focus on Spark as he ran down the hallway.

Running down the hall, he made his way to the bathroom, quickly washed himself up before looking around for something to wear. After a few moments of finding nothing he just decided to stick with his normal hoodie and quickly ran out of the castle.

As spark ran out, Twilight noticed something amiss as he passed by her. "Spark! Your hoodie's down!"

Thankfully he heard her just in time as he ran outside, pulling his hood up to cover his horns as he continued to hurry along. He had no idea how it went down, but when he was dealing with Discord, he really had no idea about anything. Soon he reached the train station where they had agreed to meet and as he stood there catching his breath, he looked around for the butter colored mare.

There Fluttershy was, adorned with a little blue flower in her mane. The moment she saw Spark, her face lit up. "Oh! Hello!" She greeted him, clearly pleased to see that he made it for their date.

Seeing her, the red pony smiled and walked on over, stopping just in front of her. Opening his mouth to speak, he gives a soft "Hi" back as he looks around nervously, rubbing his forelegs together.

She repeated the same motions, rubbing her forelegs. "Um... Are you ready to go? I packed a lunch."

It took a while for him to respond, but as he looked back at her, he saw that she was just as nervous as he was, maybe even more so. Seeing this gave him a bit of comfort, knowing that he isn't the only one who is a nervous wreck, allowing him to give her a small smile. "Sure, a-and the lunch sounds like a good idea, thanks." He told her.

Fluttershy saw the train approaching, rolling along the tracks. As it approached, it slowed down until eventually coming to a steady stop.

The doors of the cars slid open, and from the front of the train out came a pony with a conductor's hat. "Hm? We don't normally get ponies this early."

This made Spark rather confused as he looked around for the clock tower to see what time it was. Seeing it was only 6:30 made him even more confused. "Um...r-really? Why is that?" He asked, curious.

"Well, the train normally leaves at about 8:30, and most ponies don't really show up until around 7:30 or 8:00" The conductor checked his watch. "...Yep. Pretty early."

All he could do was give a sheepish smile as he glanced at Fluttershy, seeing her giving a small frown as well before looking back to the ground, unsure of what to say. "O-Oh..."

The pony looked at the couple, seeming to assess the situation. He could already guess that they were most likely on some sort of date with how they were acting, perhaps their first date ever, and he didn’t wish for them to just wait for the first few hours just so they can get to wherever it is they are going. "Hm... I guess you could hitch a ride with Wheelie, but he's a bit of an... eccentric stallion."

Seeing how there is still some hope of getting to the nature park sooner rather than later, he looked at Fluttershy, silently asking her what she wanted to do, to stay for a couple of hours or go now.

She looked at Spark, then at the conductor. She really did want to see the animals. She gave him a small nod, smiling hopefully.

Seeing her nod, Spark smiled back and looked at the conductor. "If it's ok with you for us to ride now, that will be nice." He told him.

The conductor smiled, glad that he could have helped them with their small problem. "He's over there, by the side of the station. You really can't miss him."

Spark gave a quick nod of thanks and walked with Fluttershy to the side of the station. However, when they reached the side, they were stunned to see an air balloon that probably shouldn't be flying, the balloon having been patched up with duct tape and glue.

Standing next to the balloon was a gray stallion with a white mane. He looked to be very old, wearing aviator goggles and smiling. His eyes were closed and it seemed like he was snoozing, though it was very hard to tell if he is awake or not.

They both looked at each other for a few moments before Fluttershy took the lead, the butter colored mare gave a quick glance to Spark before she turned to the old pony. "Um... Is that your balloon...?"

"Eh?" The old-timer blinked slowly before responding with, "That ain't an air balloon. That's muh sister. Of course, I'd appreciate it ya didn't call her a balloon." He walked up and leaned forward, whispering into Spark's ear, "She's gained a few pounds. I don't really care, but she might."

He blinked slowly at the random talking, his ear giving a small flick of confusion. "Um...o...k...we...we w-were wondering if you could give us a ride." He asked softly, glancing at his date every so often, seeing that she is just as confused as he is.

"Yeah, I can give ya a ride. Just need to find my tractor," he said, climbing into the air balloon. "Gosh darn it, missy, where'd ya put muh tractor?"

Fluttershy gave Spark an uneasy look, a bit concerned for the old-timer. He shared her look as well before looking back at the old stallion. "Um...do you need any help?"

The senior poked his head out from the air balloon. "Wha?! Nah! I got it!" Wheelie said. He then pulled out what appeared to be a... motorcycle? "Yeeeehehehehehehe! I found muh tractor!"

"But... that's not a tractor," said Fluttershy.

"Shhhhh. It don't know that yet! Gotta ease it into the lifestyle. He gets nervous!" Wheelie replied.

Spark just remained silent, his eye blinking every so often as he stared at him, confused

Wheelie grabbed a helmet from the air balloon and hopped into the motorcycle seat. He would then pat the leather behind him. "Eh? C'mon, then!"

And without further questions, the two climbed on into the basket. As soon as they were in, Wheelie seemed to turn the handle in his hoof before getting a loud roar from the engine. With that the balloon took off quickly into the air, and they quickly experienced a rather bumpy ride as they flew in the sky. Twists, turns, and several bike tricks littered the path ahead of them as the old pony just laughed and grinned the entire time.

Fluttershy, who was very scared of the whole thing, clung tight to the basket as they flew through the sky, her red date doing the same as well. At one point a rather hard turn caused Spark to tumble against Fluttershy, who quickly grabbed him to steady him on his hooves. As he wraps his forelegs around the mare to keep himself from falling, they looked into each other's eyes and gave each other a sheepish smile, yet neither of them let go of the other.

After about an hour of travelling, they had finally arrived at their destination, quickly hopping out of the balloon and landing on the ground. Turning around, they bid the old pony adieu as he just waved back and flew back into the sky, heading back to Ponyville in a rather hectic flying pattern.

Once the pony was out of sight, Spark let out a small sigh of relief. "That was...different..." he said, mostly because he was unsure of what else to really say.

Fluttershy looked over to Spark with doubts in her mind. Things were a little bumpy to the start of their date. What if there was another bump? "Spark?" She slowly said, looking up at him.

The red pony however remained silent for a few moments, looking out to where that older pony went, but once his mind was back, he shook his head and looked over at the mare, a small smile on his face. "Oh, um...l-let's go see the animals. I'm rather excited to get going." He says a bit eagerly.

Fluttershy smiled at him, relieved to see that he is still eager for their date despite such a...strange start to it. "Oh, absolutely! Maybe we can see the monkeys first?"

"Of course." Spark agreed. "Lead the way Fluttershy."

Fluttershy smiled and gave a nod of her head, quickly walking to the wildlife preservation park. Once there it was much easier for them to get in than it was to get there, simply paying for the tickets before walking inside. Soon, Fluttershy and Spark were walking through the area, looking at the different animals along the way.

The yellow mare smiled as she looked over at Spark. "I really appreciate you coming with me." She said, her cheeks tinted with a light red.

Spark smiled as he looked at her, a small blush forming on his own cheeks, thankfully hidden because of his red coat. "Oh, um n-no problem Fluttershy. I...I really do enjoy spending time with you, no matter what it is." He says, wings giving a small flutter.

She smiled back at him, her wings giving a single flap. "So, which animal is your favorite so far? I couldn't possibly choose. I love them all!"

He chuckled as he heard this, pondering it over for a few moments. After a while he just gave a small shrug. "I'm not sure. It's so hard to choose a favorite when they are all amazing in their own way." He said.

Fluttershy nodded in agreement before her ears suddenly perked up. "Oh! Did you hear that?!" She turned and pointed at a far-off exhibit. "I hear them" Spark, however, heard nothing.

He tilted his head as he looked at where she pointed with a confused look. "Um...hear who?" He asked

Fluttershy grabbed onto Spark's hoof and pulled him along with her. As they reached the exhibit, Spark noticed only one kind of animal: a sloth.

He tilted his head as he looked at the slow creature. "A sloth? How did you hear that?" He asked.

The sloth slowly turned its head, looking at Spark with a lax expression. "They have a very distinct language," replied Fluttershy with the biggest grin.

He just looked at the mare for a few moments as he tried to process what she just said. He had no idea that sloths even made any sort of sound, nor did he hear said sound when she heard it. However she can understand animals so he decided to take her word for it, the red pony just turning back to face the sloth once more. "Well...he is rather cute." He said, giving a small smile to the slow moving critter.

The sloth returned the smile, its mouth spreading wide very slowly. Fluttershy smiled back as well. "Isn't it exciting?"

He nodded back at her as he looked at the sloth. His legs getting a bit tired from all the walking they did around the park so far, he decides to sit down and just watches it, glancing at Fluttershy every so often. He isn't sure what to do or say, now they are alone and on a date. Mostly he doesn't want to mess this up, and that worry just keeps his lips shut tight.

Fluttershy noticed his quiet behavior. This was a bit more quiet than usual to her, and she was a bit worried that she did something wrong. She turned around and faced him. "Are you okay?"

Hearing this he just nodded his head. "Y-Yea, I'm fine." He says with a small smile, though the nervousness is easily seen on his face.

Clearly able to tell that he is not fine, she continued. "I wouldn't want to be rude, but it'd help you feel better if you wish to talk about it," she said to him.

It took him a few more moments before he glanced back at her, than away, then her, than away again. Finally, he just groaned and slumped down, hitting his head on the railing. "This is terrible, I suck at doing good dates." He said, groaning.

Fluttershy hesitated, but then she patted his head. "It's okay. You're just overthinking it."

Spark isn't so sure about that as he sighed and kicked the ground lightly. "Still, I've never been on a date...never even thought I would be on one, and now I...well, here I am, unable to think of a single thing to talk to you about." He said. He remained silent for a few more moments before he looked back up at her for some reassurance.

Fluttershy patted his back again. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I've never been on a date, either. I don't know how these things are even supposed to go."

This caused him to look up at her in slight surprise. "R-really? But you're so beautiful. How could no one ask you on a date?" He asked.

The moment he called her beautiful, she blushed. "I guess it's because I don't go out that often. I'm usually content with tea at home."

He nodded his head. "Yea...that does sound rather nice as well." He said. He realized that he may have offended her as he quickly added, "N-Not that I'm not enjoying this, I mean I am, I just-"

Thankfully the small giggle that popped from her is enough to get Spark to fall silent. "I don't mind it at all, and perhaps we can do that one time as well. J-just...just the two of us." Fluttershy added, giving a small smile back to the stallion.

Spark blushed as he realized he nearly panicked as well as the suggestion of another date, smiling his thanks and agreement at the kind mare. He then looks out at the animals some more, still smiling. "This is rather nice." He said, slowly leaning his head against her, not even realizing what he was doing.

Fluttershy, however, noticed, but she didn't say anything. Although she didn't exactly have super strong feelings for him, she did enjoy his company. And he is very sweet and kind...and cute…

She mentally shook her head as she continued to watch the animals frolicking in their habitats, her eyes mainly on the sloth. She knows that she really likes Spark enough to ask on a date, perhaps even like-liking him, but for it to be full blown love, she was still unsure.

Of course, Spark was still a bit confused with himself as well, not knowing fully about this new emotion of love. He had never felt this way for another pony before, and it was so new and raw that it did feel like he was falling in love with the butter mare. Of course he isn’t sure if it’s normal, and he didn’t want to scare her off after just their first date. Still, it is something that he really likes, and as long as she enjoyed his time, then he was going to enjoy her time as well.

He remained silent for a bit longer before looking up at her and noticed how quiet she was. Wanting to break the silence, he racked his brain again for some topic to talk about, and to his surprise he managed to find one. "What else do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Oh!" Fluttershy started thinking. "Well, I do like tending to my animal friends, walking through the fields, sometimes even reading a book. Oh! And Discord and I sometimes have tea together."

He did recall how she and Rarity were talking about that one book at the spa, and is rather curious about it himself. He also remembered Discord and just how he tried to "help" him, but he quickly tossed that thought to the side, not wanting to ruin the mood he is in. After a few moments of some more silence he freezes up as he heard a loud rumble, the sound caused him to quickly stand straight as he looked around, but after another growl he realized the only creature making such a noise was the one in his belly.

Fluttershy nearly flinched in surprise, but when she realized it was Spark's stomach, she couldn't help but to give a giggle. "Oh! The food! I almost forgot!" She double checks her pack to see if it’s all still good, and with a nod turns to face the red pegasus. “If you want we can eat lunch now.”

During their time walking around Spark also forgot that Fluttershy packed them some food. He gave a nod of agreement. He was very hungry himself, plus the fact he didn’t even have breakfast made him even more hungry. Looking around he saw a table and bench to the side, and with a motion of his head he walked over there, sitting down and looking over at the shy mare as she quickly followed suit.

She sat down on the other side before laying out a blanket from her basket, placing two sandwiches on it.

Once the sandwich is before Spark, he nods his thanks and picks it up with his hooves, taking a bite of it. He pauses as the taste hits his taste buds and his eyes go wide with shock. "Wow, this is amazing!"

"Oh, it's nothing, really. Just the same recipe as I usually make. I'm sure you've had sandwiches just like it," Fluttershy replied, giving an embarrassed smile.

This made him blush as he realized he was making a big deal out of nothing, but instead of backing down, he persisted. "I...I still really like it." He said, smiling lightly at her, a light blush on his cheeks.

Fluttershy's wings flapped in excitement, the light pegasus happy to have someone compliment her. Her eyes roamed over Spark's face, just enjoying the kind and cute look that he has as she thought of something over in her head. After a few minutes of thinking it over she finally spoke up. "Spark?"

The red pony paused his eating as he looked up curiously at the mare. "Yes Fluttershy? What is it?"

"Am I too shy?" Fluttershy asked.

This caught him off guard as he looked at her with some confusion. "What, no. Why would you ask that?" He asked.

She smiled slightly. "Well, I guess I'm afraid of what other ponies think of me sometimes." There was a message here... Could Spark understand it?

Sadly that was not the case because his limited social skills made it hard for him to pick up on the more subtle clues of such interactions. Thankfully he made up for it with heart as he quickly scooted closer and wrapped a wing around her. "Well, I think you're very kind and loving and...and I just feel very lucky that you asked me out here." He said. He blushed very hard after the words left his lips, but this time he forced himself to look at her and kept smiling, even as his heart beats at a few dozen miles a minute.

She looked down, a little saddened that he couldn't receive her hint, but she still smiled regardless. She'd get through to him someday. It was just a matter of time.

As they enjoyed the rest of their day, Discord would be watching from afar. There were a few emotions stirring within him. Part of him liked Fluttershy, but another side of him liked Spark. There was something about Spark that stirred the chaos magic inside of him, and it often tickled his fancy, even if Spark was a little hard to get through to.

Whatever happened though, he just knew that this was going to be a very interesting tale...

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait. There's been some stalling and procrastination, mostly by me. I had to be pushed to get this chapter out, I'll admit.