The next morning, Spark had been greeted by a beautiful ray of sunshine beaming through his window. The warmth of the light seemed to assure him that the future would be a little bit brighter.

After eating breakfast, which was provided by the inn to ponies who paid for their rooms, he headed out the door and began walking to work. It was very pleasant to see everypony laughing and smiling, conversing as they went about their day.

On the way to work, though, he would notice flashes of pink in the corner of his vision, the sight of the very color giving him a mild form of PTSD as he was reminded of the pink pony from Sugarcube Corner. What was her name again? Ah! Pinkie Pie, he remembered. Even as he watched her dash from place to place, he was still reminded of her promise with keeping the party small, and just like before, he still trust her.

With nothing else of interest happening, he reached the mail office, opening the door and walked inside to see a panicked Ditzy.

"Oh no! Oh no!" She darted from mail drawer to mail drawer on the wall, looking through them. "Ah! I'm gonna get fired!"

Worried, he quickly walked up to her and tried to get her attention. "Ditzy, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Oh! Spark, you're here! Thank Celestia!" she said, still worried. "I lost a very important package for Mayor Mare! I need help finding it!"

Seeing the mare who was so kind to him and helped him get the job so worried caused him to frown and rather quickly he gently reached over with a hoof to try and comfort her. "Easy Ditzy, easy. I'll help I promise. Nothing bad will happen. We're going to find that package easy as pie and everything will be back to normal, ok?" He assured her.

Her eyes looked in opposite directions as she nodded. It appeared that her eye condition got worse with stress. "I hope we can find it! She'll get really mad if we don't!"

He nodded and kept rubbing her back gently, slowly getting her to calm down enough to focus on him. "Like I said, we'll find it. Now, let’s try to retrace your steps. When is the last place you remember putting it?" he asked.

She put a hoof to her chin as she thought real hard. "We were delivering mail yesterday, and when I got here, the package had arrived. I remember putting it in drawer M-19, for Mayor Mare. But I looked in there this morning and it wasn't there!"

He nodded. "Ok, that's a good start. Let's go back to that drawer." He said.

Ditzy flew over to one of the many small drawers labeled "M-19" which was on one of the higher drawers. She opened it, but just as she had said before, it was gone. "I don't know where else it could be!" She exclaimed, the panic started to set again, her chest rose and fell rapidly as she looked around once again in a desperate hope to find the package laying around somewhere in the office.

"Breath Ditzy, I'm right here to help." He reminded her. She took a few deep breaths as she started to focus once again. "Now, tell me what you did next once you put the package there.”

"U-Uhh... I had more deliveries to make," she said. Her eyes went wide and the panic increasing for a third time as she realized what that could mean. "Oh no! What if I delivered it to somepony else?!"

Seeing her start to panic again, he grabbed her tail with his mouth and pulled her down to get her to land by him. This also caused her to pause in her panic as she looked at the stallion with slight confusion. However, Spark just kept a comforting look on his face as he held her attention. "Like I said, deep breaths. I'm here and we are going to find this package, I promise. Nothing bad will happen, ok?" He said as he placed a hoof on her cheek to get him to look at her, the other hoof rubbing her back for comfort.

As he turned her head gently, his eyes locked onto hers, and she can feel the determination as well as his promise seep into her, the calmness slowly followed afterwards, getting her to finally start to relax a bit.

Ditzy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She then nodded. "Okay... We gotta go north," she said.

He smiled and nodded. "Lead the way Ditzy."

She quickly brought him outside before leading him to the town square, the same one where they had been the day before, and pointed to the northern street. "I delivered a bunch of mail down that street after you left, and I think it might be in one of those houses." She said before looking back at him.

He nodded before he started to walk forward till he looked over to see if the mare was following him. "Well let's go. The sooner we find it the sooner we can get it delivered, right?" he told her, a small smile on his muzzle.

She nodded, giving a small smile back, and they began their search for the missing package. They went door-to-door, asking each pony if they had received a package addressed to someone else. Unfortunately, no matter how many times they tried, each one had denied any knowledge of said package before apologizing and wishing them the best of luck finding it.

Soon their search came to an end, with Ditzy hyperventilating once more as she panicked yet again.

Spark frowned as they finished their search, looking at the grey mare he is quick to rush to her side and comfort her once again. "Easy Ditzy it's not over yet. Tell me, what did you do next?"

She looked left, then right as she tried to calm herself down. "I don't know! I think I went home!"

Spark just did his best to keep a strong, comforting face for her, rubbing her back and doing his best to keep her calm. Thankfully it seemed that it was working, her breathing slowly returned to normal as she looked over at the red pony, a small smile on her face.

“I...I’m sorry Spark. You must think I’m a mess, huh.” She said, looking away with a sad expression on her muzzle.

Spark is quick to shake his head. “No! Not at all.” He said before he quickly went silent. Ditzy looked at him with surprise as he turned away shyly, his coat hiding his blushing cheeks a bit. Soon he calmed himself enough to turn and face her again. “I...I don’t think any less of you for this. So what if you made a mistake, they happen to the best of us. All we got to do is move forward.” He told her.

The grey mare listened closely to his words, her heart slowing down as the panic eased from her body. Gently, she smiled, and even leaned in to nuzzle him a bit. “Thanks Spark, that’s a lot more than what most ponies would have said to me.” She said.

The red colt once again froze up at the affection, blushing even harder as he allowed her to nuzzle him. “Um...n-no problem...D-Ditzy. I-I’m just...saying the truth.” He stuttered, to which she giggled lightly.

It was that moment then that a mare had walked by, a brown fur and a gray mane pony with a scroll cutie mark upon her flank. She turned to Ditzy and smiled.

"Ah! There you are! I wanted to thank you for delivering my hair dye!" she said.

Ditzy looked at the mare, confused. "Mayor Mare, you're here! But... I lost the package!"

The mare, who was apparently the mayor, gave a good hearty laugh. "Oh, Ditzy! You delivered my package yesterday!"

"So I didn't lose it?" Ditzy asked, the rest of her stress quickly vanishing from those words.

"No, dear. You're fine!" said the mayor.

"You hear that?" said Ditzy, turning to Spark. "I'm fine! I didn't lose it!"

The red pony took this moment to calm himself down, but when he heard that she was in the clear, he smiled happily at her. "That's great! I told you all would work out in the end!" He said.

It was at that moment that both her eyes locked onto his, making her appear like any other pony. With an ever present smile, she hugged him tight, lifting him a few inches in the air.

"Thank you so much for supporting me!" she said, feeling very grateful.

This caught him by surprise as he looked down at the mare, blushing rather heavily once again. Unlike before, she didn’t show any signs of letting him go, no matter how long he stood there. Slowly, he reached his hooves around her and hugged her back, if a bit softer than her, his rear legs dangling off the ground.

"N-No problem Ditzy. I'm just glad that I could help." He said, trying to hide his shyness again.

She eventually let him back down after realizing what she was doing. "Ah! Adorable!" said Mayor Mare as she walked away.

"Adorable?" Ditzy tilted her head, confusion in her voice as she wondered what the mayor was talking about.

Spark however, knew just what the mayor was talking about, which made him blush even harder as he shuffled on his hooves.

Ditzy noticed this and patted him on the head. "There there. You must've had too much coffee if you're moving that much."

"Y-Yea...coffee..." He simply said before he fell silent for a few moments. Looking back at her, he asked, "So...besides finding the package, what else is there to do today?"

"Oh!" She reached into her mailbag and pulled out a few letters. "There isn't as much mail as there was yesterday. Could you deliver these?" she asked, giving him the letters.

Happy to change the subject, he nodded and took the letters, looking them over. "Of course! I'll be back quick." He said, and with a smile and a wave he was off.

The addresses on the letters would take him down the south road, allowing him to explore the town even further. It wasn't all that hard to find the recipients. Just a drop off and he was on his way back, finding the ever lovely, ever gracef--ever smiling Ditzy. She waved as he approached her.

"Good job delivering those letters!" she cheered.

He found it rather cute how she makes such a big thing out of nothing, rubbing the back of his head as he smiles back. "I-It wasn't that hard like you said." He said. He looked around the place before he asked, "So, anything else that needs to be done? Maybe I can stay at the office and do a bit of organizing?"

"Oh, yeah!" she replied. "There's a lot of mail that needs to be organized!" She grabbed Spark's hoodie in her teeth and began to drag him along as she flew, hurrying to get to the office. It wasn't long until they actually reached it.

After dragging Spark through the door, Ditzy flew over the counter and flopped into a pile of letters before poking her head out. "We gotta sort all these!"

Once he fixed his hood and makes sure the top of his head is still covered, he looked over at the pile of letters and the silly mare who was in them, chuckling a bit as he nods. "Sure thing Ditzy." He said, walking over and eager to begin.

They then began to sort mail, separating the junk from the legitimate. Ditzy looked out the window to her left, noticing the time slowly passing by. She turned to Spark, just staring at him. "Um.." She started to say before she fell silent. This caused Spark to look back at her, but she just looked away and focused on her work.

As they continued with organizing, Spark couldn't help but to look at the mare every so often. For whatever reason he found her to be rather funny, and she seemed to always know what to say and when to say it.

Ditzy herself was enjoying her time spent with the colt, even if it had only been a couple of days, he had been nicer than most of the ponies that she knew. Still, she isn’t really sure what to talk about, the silence extended as they remained quiet. Thankfully it was Spark who came up with something as he looked around the room and found a photo standing on the desk.

The photo contained the image of Ditzy in front of her house. Sitting next to her was a small filly, one that bore a striking resemblance of her, even sharing her blonde mane and tail. In the corner of the picture were the words "Happy Mother's Day!" written in childish writing. "Cute kid." He said softly, a small smile on his face.

Ditzy smiled and nodded in agreement. "That's my daughter. She's adorable, isn't she?"

He nodded and glanced over at the pegasus mare. "She is very adorable. How old?"

"She's only nine years old," said Ditzy, smiling. "That was taken when she was only seven."

"She seems like a very nice daughter." He stated, looking back at her. "I bet the father is rather happy about her as well, yes?" He asked. At this, the grey mare frowned, looking away slightly which caused Spark to grow worried. "I-I'm sorry if I said something wrong, I was just-"

"It's not your fault," she quickly said to stop him from panicking over nothing. "It was before she was born, so she never really knew him." She looked him in the eyes, her smile there if a bit forced. “I...I do miss him at times, but I manage to make the best for my little filly.”

He could see the pain that she was feeling from mentioning him, and in response he quickly walked over to her and placed a hoof on her back. "I'm still sorry for bringing bad memories." He said softly. Slowly, the mare smiled and nodded before she fell silent. Suddenly she brought him into a tight hug, causing the colt to stiffen up for the third time that day.

"Thanks Spark." She said, to which the red stallion just blushes, still rubbing her back as he hugged her shyly in return. After a few moments she broke the hug and continued organizing the mail the time slowly ticked by as they continued to talk to each other about random things, the atmosphere a lot lighter thanks to the picture.

For the rest of his time there, Spark enjoyed talking with the mare about whatever she wished to talk about, most of it involving her kid in some way. She even promised to invite him to see her someday, which he politely tried to decline, but she was persistent, so he told her he would think on it.

As the day drew to a close, he helped her to pack up the place and lock the office down, both ponies smiled at each other as they did so.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow then?” He asked her.

To his surprise, she shook her head. “Not this time. It’s my day off tomorrow, but perhaps the next day. In fact, I think it’s your day off as well.”

He blinked as he heard this. “Oh...ok then.” He simply said as he gave a nervous chuckle. Ditzy just giggled at his shyness before she nuzzled him again, causing him to once again blush.

“Till next time!” She called out as she headed for her home. Spark stood there for a few moments before he managed to wave farewell to the mare. Turning to head back to his room, he went over what he has planned and realized that the party that Pinkie was making was going to be tomorrow.

He let out a small sigh as a shiver went down his spine. “Ok...it’s just a party. Nothing bad will happen...right?” He told himself, still unsure. Unable to really do anything about it, he just took a few deep breaths as he calmed himself down as he hoped for the best for whatever was going to happen tomorrow.

(Line)

The next morning was filled with the chatter of birds as Spark followed his instructions, leading him to the Crystal Castle. He had found the note taped to his door earlier that day, telling him to follow its instructions. Outside of the castle, he could see Twilight talking to a familiar young filly, Apple Bloom.

Seeing somepony familiar brought a small smile to his muzzle as he walked on over, giving a small wave to them. "Hey Twilight, hey Apple Bloom." He greets them.

"O-Oh!" Twilight became flustered, trying to hide her previous conversation. "Hello, there, Spark. What brings you here?" She asked before she remembered why he was there. "Oh! I know why you're here! How silly of me!" she said. "Are you ready for the--"

"Did ya find yer talent yet?" Interrupted Apple Bloom, smiling.

This got a rather mixed reaction from the stallion, who decided to just sigh as he shook his head. "No I didn't, and I doubt I'm going to anytime soon." He said. He then leaned down to better speak to her. "Really, it's not a problem for me. I've lived this long without it, so I can live a few years more not knowing." He explained. Little does he know that the princess was listening in rather curious about what was going on.

When he does look up at the mare, Twilight just coughed into her wing and smiled to cover up her eavesdropping. She looked to Spark and spoke. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad? It could improve things, right?"

Seeing that the Alicorn overheard him, he stood upright again and shook his head. "No, I doubt it will. Besides, it may be something I don't want, or I may go on forever trying to get something that I don't even know how to get." He sighed again and looked down at the frowning filly. Giving her a comforting smile, he gently pats her head. "Besides, it's not all that bad. I've got plenty of time to find it, and even if I don't, at least I can see fillies and colts getting their own such as yours. Speaking of which, it seems that you and those other two have similar cutie marks, I'm guessing you all found them around the same time?"

"Yeah!" said Apple Bloom. "It was after we discovered we were good at helping others find their cutie marks!" she said, which caused him to blink in surprise.

Twilight smiled at Apple Bloom's enthusiasm. "They really can help you if you ever want it. But I understand if it’s rather sudden, especially when we have the party getting set up. So for now... are you ready for that party?"

He looked over at Twilight with a small smile and a nervous nod. "As ready as I'll ever be. And Applebloom, I...I'll think about it." He said, the last part going to the yellow filly. This seemed to satisfy her for now as she waved bye to the two grown ups and headed out, most likely back to continue with her chores on the farm.

With a smile in return, the Alicorn just nods as she lead him into the castle. The first thing he saw when he passed through the doors...is that it is flipping huge. He has never seen a place so big before. He thought the outside was impressive but inside was amazing. Eyes wide with surprise, he looked around the room carefully, wanting to see everything that he can.

Every single room was made entire out of crystal. The walls, the chairs, the tables, even the toilet was made out of pure raw crystal. As they walked through the place, Twilight would explain the purpose of every room in detail, listing functions and rules.

"And this room is room 23-B. It's actually my favorite B room, because it has this neat little notch in the corner there. I don't know what it's for, but the Tree of Harmony must've put it there for a reason, so I won't question it!"

As she goes on explaining each room, Spark could feel himself starting to fall asleep, which is surprising considering he is used to walking for long periods of time. Shaking his head awake once again, he smiled up at Twilight as he stopped her for a moment. "I-It's a rather big castle Twilight, I never knew there could be so many rooms in one castle." He said. He then paused for a moment to ponder on something, before finally speaking up. "Um...so...I was wondering..."

Upon hearing him finally speak up for the first time since they started the tour, Twilight looked at Spark with interest. "What's up? Is something wrong?" She had a bit of concern on her face. She was worried that he may be getting bored or that she went overboard with the whole tour, as she is known for doing, but thankfully Spark just shook his head.

"N-No, nothing is wrong." He quickly replied. "I just...did Pinkie keep her promise? About there not being a lot of...p-p-ponies?"

"Oh, definitely!" she answered. "It's just us seven...and one extra," she said.

He blinks, giving her a nervous look. "O-One...e-extra?" He asked nervously.

"Yes. She's a student of mine. Oh! And of course, there's my assistant, Spike. He's a baby dragon, but he doesn't bite. He's very well-behaved!" she assured. She realized the issue rather quickly as she saw his anxious face, causing her to worry that may be one too many ponies for him to handle. “Um, that’s not too much for you...is it?”

While she couldn't see it under his hood, his eyes were closed as he just focused on taking a few deep breaths. Thinking it over, it was just two extra ponies, and they both are well known to her as well, so it shouldn't be a problem. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and gave a small, if shy smile. "T-That...that should be fine." He said.

Even with the smile, Twilight could tell that he wasn’t super excited about the party anymore, and she gently placed a hoof on Spark's shoulder. "Spark, if you ever feel uncomfortable, tell me, okay? We are all here for you, no matter what. If adding two more ponies is too much for you-"

“No!” He shouted before covering his mouth in shock, his blush coming to full force on his cheek. She waited for him to calm down as he replied in a softer tone. “I mean, n-no, it’s fine, really. I...I think just two extra are fine, if they are as nice as you say they are.”

She smiled at this. “Of course! I bet you will enjoy their company very much!” She told him. “So, ready?”

She gently removed her hoof from him to give him a moment to prepare himself mentally. Seeing that she was really concerned for him lets him smile a bit more and nods, his mind somewhat at ease. “Ready." He simply said. "So...I guess we shouldn't keep them waiting?"

She nodded and led him to one of the upper rooms, the dining room. It was filled with streamers, balloons, a few games, and a record player in the corner. Pinkie was there with a huge smile on her face, giggling excitedly. "SURPRISE!" she shouted.

"Pinkie, it's not even a surprise anymore if he knows," said Twilight.

She giggled. "Seems that it got him anyways."

"Huh?" Twilight looked next to her for Spark, and realizing he isn't next to her, she heard a small shuffling. She continued to look around and soon found the red pegasus trying to hide behind her, his hooves holding onto her sides as he tried to make himself seem smaller. At the same time, however, his wings which were stuck under his hood, tried to spread out to make himself appear bigger instinctively. Thankfully the hoodie was made of strong stuff, so it didn't rip.

Twilight raised a brow. "Are you okay there, Spark?"

"Is this gonna be like last time?" asked Dash.

"Don't be rude, Dash," said Rarity.

"N-No, I'm f-fine..." He said, slowly coming out from behind the Alicorn, if a bit shakily. He took a few deep breaths and then exhaled before looking at the others. "Just a bit...surprised is all..."

Seeing how he was fine, Twilight gestured to a new unicorn, whose coat was the color of lilacs. Her purple mane was striped with colors of light blue. "This is Starlight. My pupil."

The mentioned unicorn walked up to Spark as she gave him a welcoming smile. "Nice to meet you!" said Starlight, extending a hoof for a hoof shake.

He smiled shyly as he nods, extending his hoof and lightly shaking hers. "Um...n-nice to meet you Starlight. Name's Spark...though I guess you already knew that if Twilight told you."

"I've heard a little bit about you," she said. She let go of Spark's hoof and gave a friendly smile.

"Um...l-like what?" He asks, a bit curious.

"Oh, not much. Just your fear of crowds. And how you're new here," she said before giving a blink. “Huh...not the best first impression I think.” She quickly realized what she said as she recovered. “I mean for me! Not you, you’re fine, I just-”

“It’s fine.” He said, quickly waving a hoof to try and get her to stop. “Just...don’t worry about it.” Starlight gave a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head. As the awkward silence grew larger, the two of them just looked at anything but each other, though when Spark looked back at her finally, she did the same, and seeing the look in her eyes, he knew that she didn’t mean anything rude, and he was able to manage a small smile of thanks, one to which she responds in kind. With that the tension was lifted and the unicorn can’t help but to feel relieved that he didn’t retreat into that hoodie of his.

"Hey there!" said a voice from behind. He turned around to see a small, purple baby dragon, just like Twilight said. She wasn't kidding about him being a baby dragon. He held a gem in his claws.

"So uhh... Twilight told me you were new, and I didn't have anything to give you, so... I got you one of my gems"

He handed Spark the gem, smiling at him.

Spark blinked at this as he stared at the gem, a bit unsure what to make of such a gift. He was surprised to get any sort of gift at all, let alone a gem from a dragon of all creatures, and now this young dragon was giving one to him. Looking at the dragon, he asked, "A-Are you sure? I-I mean, I don't have anything to give you."

Spike waved a hand, dismissing the concerns. "It's no problem. I don't really need it. I got more of 'em."

Still unsure, he nevertheless nodded his thanks as he pocketed the gem in his hoodie. "Um...t-thanks Spike, that...that means a lot."

Spike gave him a thumbs up. "No problem!" As he walked away, Pinkie slid forward, wearing sunglasses with a false mustache attached to them.

"Hey! It's your party, and I got some jokes! What do ya call a fish with no eyes? A FSSSSHHHHH"

Sadly the joke went well over his head, and he just gave a sheepish smile and a shrug. "Um, that's a...good one?" He said cautiously. he doesn't want to offend them after all. Especially Pinkie. She...scared him a bit.

Pinkie continued the horrifying joke list. "Well, what about a DEER with no eyes? NO I-DEER!!!"

The pegasus could feel his face actually flushing from these jokes, as they didn't seem to be that funny, at least to him. They also didn’t seem to be ending as the pink mare got ready to tell yet another one. Thankfully, Starlight came over to help him out of the awkward situation.

"Hey, Pinkie? I think we're low on punch," she said to the pink mare.

"What?! Already?!" Pinkie ran off to the table to check on the punch bowl.

He let out a small sigh of relief as he looked at the unicorn. "Thanks for that."

"No problem," replied Starlight. "I couldn't help but notice you weren't exactly getting along with Pinkie. She can be a bit overwhelming."

He nodded. "She's nice, don't get me wrong, just a bit much for me." He admitted. "Plus it doesn't help that I...I-I don't really know how one parties."

Thankfully, Starlight took this news much more calmly than Pinkie. "So you've never been to a party before? Like, ever?"

He nodded. "Never at all."

A thought came to Starlight's mind as she heard this. "You know... back in my village, I was quite the party pony. I could teach you."

He looked up with surprise. "R-Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah! It's easy!" she said to him. "You just gotta learn the ABC's of partygoers."

He looked around for a few moments, and while he saw nothing he can really do off the top of his head, he knew that she was being honest with helping him. Looking back, he nodded shyly. "O-Ok." He simply said.

Grinning, she lead him to the first stop, the snack table, to show him all the different food that was there. He had his pick of different cupcakes, cake, ice cream, and all sorts of other desserts and sweets. Next on the list was games, to which Starlight showed him a few that were present. Once a few were explained, they played a quick pin the tail of the donkey, to which they somehow tied on.

As she went about showing him the party and the different things that one can do there, the other mares started to group up a bit to talk to each other, along with how the guest of honor was doing.

Twilight, holding a drink in her magic, took another sip before resuming her conversation with Rainbow Dash. "You know, I think Spark is handling this pretty spectacularly."

"Yeah! Sure, he's pretty quiet at first, but he's not the worst conversationalist I've seen," replied Dash.

"The dear's certainly got a good head on his shoulders," said Rarity to Fluttershy.

"Oh, certainly. He's very sweet, too,"replied Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie turned to Applejack, still wearing the odd mustache glasses."Think he likes it?" she asked.

"Without a doubt," said Applejack.

“And...what about me? I did notice how nervous he gets around me. I mean...more nervous than normal.”

“Not to worry Pinkie!” The farmer comforted her. “Just give him some time and try not to overdo it with your normal stuff and he is bound to like you as well.” This got a smile from the party mare as she nodded her head.

Twilight's topic took a different turn. "What do you think his cutie mark will be?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "What I wanna know is why doesn't he have it yet? He's a fully grown stallion."

"He does seem reluctant to talk about his past, like Fluttershy told us," commented Twilight. She took another sip before continuing. "Do you think he's keeping a secret?"

Rainbow Dash looked at Spark from across the room with a suspicious look. "There’s one way to find out if he is." She said, and before the purple mare could stop her, she was off flying across the room.

She walked over to Spark, giving him a fake innocent look. "So, Spark. I heard you're pretty shy."

Said pony blinked as he turns to face Dash with a slightly confused look. He was talking with Starlight a bit about different music that could be played at a party when the cyan mare showed up. Hearing her question, he just nodded slowly. "Y-yea...I would say I am." he said.

Dash rested a foreleg on Spark's head, resting it, which caused him to quickly back up and adjust his hood. "So, if you don't mind me asking... why so mysterious?" she asked, smirking.

Once he was sure his hood was still in place, he gave a nervous look to her. "S-Sorry Rainbow, but what do you mean, m-mysterious?"

She walked closer as he backed away, closing in slowly. "You know... the whole lack of a cutie mark and your past. You don't gotta be so mysterious. It's not like you're an evil villain or something, right?"

His eyes go wide as he quickly shakes his head. "No! N-Nothing like that!" He said, though he was starting to shake a bit now with how close she was getting to him as he continued to back up a bit.

It wasn't long until he was pressed up against the wall, Dash's face in his. "Well, c'mon! What's wrong? Why are you hiding? What are you hiding?"

Now any normal pony would either be telling her right away their deepest secrets in the hopes of getting her to back off, or just telling her to back off in general. Sadly for Spark, his fear prevented him from doing anything of the sort, and instead he just cowered in place, ears pressed to his head as he avoid her gaze, shaking against the wall, even letting out a small whimper. It's at this time that a certain lilac unicorn is quick to step up and save him once again.

Starlight tapped Dash on the shoulder. "I don’t think this is a good idea Dash. He doesn't seem very keen on sharing his personal life."

Rainbow Dash just looked at Glimmer a bit before shrugging and walking off. Starlight held out a hoof to Spark and gave him a comforting smile.

Feeling her hoof in his, he gave it a small squeeze as he took a few minutes to calm himself down, the unicorn sitting next to him as she patiently waits with that calming smile still on her face. Meanwhile, Twilight approached Rainbow, almost glaring at her as she said, "Rainbow! What was that about?"

"What? I just wanted to see what was up!" answered Rainbow.

"Just because I say something seems off, doesn't mean to go and interrogate him!" argued Twilight.

During this Starlight continued to keep Spark company, even going so far as to rub his hoof with her own as he held hers. After what felt like forever for him, she finally asked, "Are you ok? Do you wish to leave? I’ll understand if you need some more time to yourself."

As he took in a few shaky breaths, he began to calm down as he slowly stood back up, his shaking having gone down. "I-I-I am. T-Thanks Starlight. And I...I-I think I can manage now" He said. Looking back at her, he smiled lightly, showing that he is very grateful for the help. It's at this point that he also realized they were still holding hooves, which of course caused him to blush as he quickly pulled his hoof back, but not without some hesitation.

Starlight, just giggled at the cute reaction, letting it go for the time being as she doesn’t wish to make him even more uncomfortable. "Hey, um... great party, right?" she asked, trying to make conversation. It was clear that Spark needed to take his mind off of Dash.

He closed his eyes for a few moments as he breathes in and out, calming himself down. Once calmer, he opened his eyes and smiled lightly at Star. "Y-Yea, it is. Though I don't think it's a fair assessment, since it's the only party I ever went to...or ever had." He admitted.

Starlight just flashed a smile. “It’s not a problem. Now come one! It’s time to dance!” She said. She took him by the hoof and led him by the record player, where the music was playing. She then released his hoof as She began to dance to the music.

Of course he was unsure what to do as he watched her dance, his body just locking up. As he watched her, he couldn't help but find that she danced rather nice, most certainly much nicer than he ever could. Of course it isn't much of a comparison, considering that he hasn't seen many others dance before, let alone danced himself.

He soon noticed that he was staring at her, his eyes had wandered over certain parts of her that caused him to blush even harder. Thankfully the unicorn didn’t notice it and he was able to turn away to avoid getting caught. "Um, S-Starlight? I...I don't know how to dance either..." He admitted, dragging a hoof across the ground.

“Just follow my lead!” She told him, and suddenly she took his hoof and began leading him into a fast-paced twirl, forcing him to keep up.

It certainly caught him off guard, his cheeks flaring even more red as he stumbled to keep up with her. The minutes slowly tick by as he did his best to keep up with her, feeling very embarrassed with each failed step and mistake, and he made a lot of them. Thankfully Starlight was kind enough to just keep on encouraging him, helping him along with the beat. It wasn't long before he soon memorized the steps, moving in somewhat unison with her.

He was rather surprised with how quick he learned how to dance, though following her lead and being forced to ignore the rest of the surrounding area did help. He wasn't the best dancer, but he managed to get by, and the most important thing was that he was actually having fun! He smiled as he kept on dancing, following her movements as he does so. "See? Now you're getting it," she said, seeing how he was feeling much more at ease.

He laughs shyly and gave a nod. "Only cause you are a good teacher." He told her as he trid his best to follow her movements. As he kept on having fun at his new party, Twilight was still busy confronting Dash about her "plan".

"You shouldn’t have confronted him like that, Dash," said Twilight angrily.

"It was your idea," Dash replied. She rolled her eyes and crossed her forelegs.

"No, it wasn't," said Twilight. "I just said it seemed odd."

"Well, now that his guard's down, I can just ask again," said Dash. Before the Alicorn could stop the cyan mare, she was already headed back to Spark who was still dancing with the lilac mare.

Dash went back over to Spark, another smirk on her face. "So, maybe we got off on the wrong hoof here... What I mean is, Maybe you could share just a little bit more about yourself?"

However, it didn't seem that Spark was listening to Dash, his eyes still locked with Star as he just danced away. At this moment, he was the happiest he has ever been in a very long time. After a few tries with Dash, he did finally hear her, and slowly stopped dancing as he looked over at her before looking away with a nervous sigh. "I…I’m not...sure Rainbow."

Dash tried to speak again. "Seriously, I don't think it's cool to hide stuff from your friends. Just a little bit of a story?"

He was surprised that she considers him a friend already, for once again they had only just met. "Wait, w-we...we're friends?"

"Uh, yeah!" she affirmed. "That's why we threw the party!"

He looked over at Starlight for some confirmation, but she just continued to dance, not really paying attention to the conversation. Spark remained silent as he thought this over. It does make sense why they would throw this party, and consider him as a friend. However he was still skeptical, having been tricked one too many times during his life, and after a good while, he nodded slowly. "I...I really don’t wish to...to talk about it Dash, even if...i-if we are friends" He admitted. “I’m sorry, you must...hate me because of it.” He looked away in shame, already afraid she was going to kick him out or do something even worse.

However, Dash did none of that and instead smiled as an idea popped into her head. He was new to Ponyville, that was obvious. If he hung with his new friends, then maybe... "Hey, you wanna hang out sometime after this? I can show you all the cool places to hang out around here." she asked. If she could get him to get used to her, than maybe he'd reveal more about himself.

He blinked in surprise as he heard this, but still he pondered on it for a few moments. He was going to stay here for a while, and he couldn't work all the time. Plus there are only so many things he could do by himself, even if he is used to being alone all the time. Looking back at her, he smiled and gave a small nod. "I-I...I guess so. Just...no more interrogations please?"

She nodded. "Deal! I'll see you at the end of the week!" she said as she walked back to Twilight.

He watched her go for a moment before turning back to Star, who was resting after dancing so much. "Hey Starlight, I'm gonna get some food, you...you want anything?" He asked. He is sure that she said it's just the right thing to bring snacks to others when you go for them yourself.

She smiled. "Um... some of that cake would be nice," she said with a smile.

Giving a nod, Spark headed over to the table as he looked for the cake. As he found it, he also got a plate for himself of a couple of brownies and ice cream. As he gathered the food, Twilight took this moment to approach him, walking over with a cupcake. "Want one? Be careful, Pinkie made it and said it’s a surprise cupcake, so I don't know what flavor it is."

Of course as soon as she said the pink mare’s name, he became skeptical. However, he did have the ones that he bought before, and those were good, so he doubts that these would be that bad. Nodding his head, he reached for the cupcake and, after inspecting it for a few moments, he took a bite. To his surprise, the cupcake was actually cotton candy flavored, and not anything like hot sauce or rose flavored as he had suspected in the back of his mind...though the rose one did sound kind of good.

"So, I noticed that Dash asked you if you wanted to hang out with her. Might I ask the same thing, but with me? I have a large selection of books, and we can even visit the local museum."

He looked at her in surprise as he paused eating the sweet. Hearing her offer, he thought it over before looking at her again. He felt that he could sense a pattern going on here, but regardless, she had been nice enough so far, so he nodded. "I...g-guess so...I mean, I'm not that interesting so-" He starts to say, only to be interrupted by her.

"Great! I'll see you this weekend! Maybe after Dash's scheduled day?" She gave him a big smile, hoping he'd accept. He blinked, surprised by her excitement as she blushed, realizing that she interrupted him. "Sorry, just really want to know what it's like traveling from different places constantly. It just seems like such an interesting lifestyle." She explained.

He nodded. "That's fine, and I would be happy to do that as well." He said, feeling a bit more comfortable with her explanation. She smiled and nodded her thanks before heading out. Making sure he had all the snacks, he brought them to Star, giving her the cake as he starts munching on the brownies and ice cream, feeling rather content with himself.

As he talked with the unicorn, he couldn't help but think of everything that has happened so far since he got here. He has gotten a good job, some nice friends, and they even threw a party for him, something which he has never had before. Honestly this was turning out to be one of the best places he stopped at, even if it is temporary.

He shook his head as he focused on the positives, smiling as he listened to one of Star's stories. He will worry about the rest for later, but for now he was going to do something he rarely got to do when he was a foal: have fun.

Author's Note

Here's another chapter. Enjoy.