The rest of the week had come and gone, with Spark coming and going to work. Each time he was there, Ditzy would entertain him with tales of her daughter. She had just learned how to use magic. Ditzy had made it perfectly clear that she was very proud of her daughter. Every time Spark had to leave, the mailmare would give him a lollipop for the road. They would normally give them out to foals who had to come by and get their parents' mail, but that didn't mean the two workers couldn't indulge in the same candies.

He had been curious about what Rainbow and Twilight had planned for him, especially the pegasus, for she didn’t mention what they would do besides her showing him some cool places. He had to admit he was worried about what she had planned, but at the moment he trusts her to not take it too far...for now.

It was the last day of the week and he was smiling as he hummed to himself, feeling rather happy from the relaxing week so far. He had talked with the other mares during that time whenever he saw them, though he saw AJ the most because he went to the market often to buy supplies, and her apples were indeed amazing. She also kept her promise on the fritters, to which he was grateful for, and now he was getting a good amount of food stocked up for when he next heads out.

For now, with nothing to do at the moment, he just did his best to enjoy his time here, lollipop in mouth as he suckled it, not really focused on anything else. Then, from out of the blue, came even more blue. Rainbow Dash tackled Spark to the ground, cheering in victory. "You ready for a fun-filled adventure, kid?!"

He gasped as he got tackled to the ground, nearly choking on his treat. Quickly recovering, he looked up to see Dash as she pinned him to the ground, her face rather close to his yet again. Blushing in embarrassment, he wasn't really sure what to say except to stare at her with wide eyes, but the rainbow mare just took it as a yes.

"Oh, yeah!" she exclaimed, pumped up on adrenaline. "It's high time I showed you all the best places to hang!" She took him by the hoof and began to drag him across the ground. Eventually, after noticing the slowdown, she looked to him and stated, "This isn't working." She then wrapped her forelegs around his waist and lifted him off the ground. "Hang on, Spark!"

As he felt her about to lift him off the ground, his eyes wide with surprise still, he quickly tried to wiggle his way out. "H-Hold on! I can-" He started to tell her before she just launched up into the air, carrying him a good distance over the town. Ponyville looked rather small from up above... oh... It wasn't small... Dash was just flying upward... and upward, and upward, and upward.

Of course this caused him to just stare downwards in a mixture of fear and amazement. He had never been this high before, and seeing the land from such a distance, it caused his natural pegasus instincts to strain his wings open against his hoodie, but he snapped them shut all the same, not wanting to rip it open.

Dash soared above the clouds, and off in the distance, Spark could see an entire city made from the fluffy white material, just floating in the air effortlessly. Now Spark has heard about Cloudsdale, being a pegasus and all, but he himself has never been there before since the location and his own abilities made it a bit challenging for him. Looking around, he could see all sorts of pegasi walking or flying around, doing this and that as they went about their day.

"Pretty cool, huh?" asked Dash. She zoomed over the city and swooped down. Right before hitting the ground, she stopped. She slowly lowered Spark before she dropped him right on the clouds, making sure to catch him if he went through. He panicked as he got dropped, expecting to fall through the clouds. But of course he lands on them with a soft thud...face first, but still soft. "Ha! I knew you were a pegasus!"

Coughing a few of the clouds from his face, he looked up as she stated the fact and he shook his head. "Y-yea, what about it? It's not like I was trying to hide it or anything." He says a bit defensively.

"Yeah, but you're always under that hoodie. Take that thing off. It cramps your style," she said.

The red pony's eyes go wide as he quickly does the opposite of that and tugged his hood down even more. "NO!" He exclaimed, the sudden sound causing the rainbow mare to actually flinch. Seeing how he snapped, he took a few deep breaths and forced himself to relax a bit. "S-Sorry Rainbow, but I...I don't feel comfortable taking my hoodie off around public."

"Geez, no need to yell about it." Dash rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, yeah you can keep the hoodie on for now, but eventually I will get it off you. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, next week! If not next week...well, you get the idea." She finished with a sly grin.

He shivered as he heard this statement, and looking at her he can tell that she wasn't joking around. To try and take her mind off of getting his personal space invaded in the near future, he changed the topic. "So...why did you bring me here? This isn’t exactly in Ponyville" He asked.

She grinned. "I know, but I was able to get some things worked out and thought I would bring you here first before showing you around town, because...I'm taking you to the Wonderbolts show!" She said, throwing her hooves in the air in excitement.

THAT got a gasp from him. "Wait, the Wonderbolts? As in, THE Wonderbolts?" He asked.

"Uh, YEAH!" she answered.

“B-But how?! I mean, they are so expensive and almost always filled up. How in Equestria could you-” He started to say before being interrupted once again.

"Duh, you're talkin' to one!" She replied with a smirk.

Now Spark is normally a level headed pony. Shy, yes, nervous, of course, highly anxious, most certainly, but level headed. He has seen many different things, met many different creatures, and has been to many different places. However, the one thing that he never did get to see was a Wonderbolts show. It was a dream that almost all pegasi wanted to go to at least once, and the red pony was no exception.

Of course, being the one that doesn't listen to the news or even pay much attention to media whenever he is in town, realizing that the one he was facing is in fact in that amazing group caused his mind to pause and do a double, then a triple take...before he just properly fell over and fainted.

Rainbow Dash nudged the pony with a hoof. "Spark? Spark, wake up!” She tried to shake him awake, but he remained out cold. “Hoo boy...now what?" She asked herself. She had made plans for them to watch the show, and it wasn’t like she could leave him here. Quickly making up her mind, she picked him up again and swiftly carried him to the show herself.

Spark slowly regained consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was no longer laying on soft clouds, but on something cold and metal.

"Wake up! C'mon, you're gonna miss out!" shouted Rainbow.

Shaking his head, he looked around trying to find where he is. "R-Rainbow? What...what happened?"

"Ya passed out, that's what happened!" she answered. "But that's not important now! Check it out!" She pointed out to a racetrack that was slightly below them, far off on a separate cloud. Spark took this time to look where he was and noticed he was was sitting on some bleachers, the seats facing a racetrack of some sorts.

His eyes went wide as he realized just where he is now, and he started to panic, expecting to see many other ponies sitting around them. However, a quick look around showed that there isn't any other ponies in sight, just him and Dash. He turned to look at the speedster with confusion. "W-where...where are the other ponies?"

"There aren't any others. I called in a favor and we're gonna put on a private show just for you!" she exclaimed, holding Spark by the shoulders.

His mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out. Instead he just stared at the mare in shock. He could feel his heart racing as he slowly started to realize just what Dash did for him. "W-what? but...but how? Why? I mean, I just...I-I..."

"I just thought it would help you out with your fear and such?" she said. "Would make enjoying the show rather hard if you were panicking all the ponies. That’s what friends do, we help out one another and make sure they enjoy awesome things in life! Especially when you're friends with me, cause then you get to see things like this!" She pointed out to the racetrack, where the other Wonderbolts were grouping together.

Instead of pointing out that he has been doing fine all by himself, he looked to where she was pointing and gasped. He can see four of the Wonderbolts standing in the center, getting all prepped up and ready to go, and quickly he went into fan mode, forgetting who was next to him and just where he was in general.

"Omygosh, I can't believe it! That's them! The real life Wonderbolts! There's the courageous leader Spitfire, who has been in charge of them for as long as I can remember and is such an amazing leader. Then there's Fleetfoot, she's so graceful, I remember even having a crush on her when I was little, and then Soarin, just so powerful! Each of his wing strokes look like they can cause a tornado! And then Blaze, such passion when she flies..." He said. He continued to go on and on about them, naming the amazing things they have done and all the skills and talents they have, but Rainbow, knowing all of this herself, only really was interested in the bit about his crush with Fleetfoot.

Rainbow Dash put the tidbit of information away in the back of her mind for later. Perhaps she could use it somehow to make him feel even happier...if the mare in mention was willing. As for now, it was time to fly. "Just sit back, relax and enjoy!" she said with a smirk. She then flew off towards the group.

He is a bit confused as to why Rainbow was flying over to them, but only for a moment. He quickly remembered that she was also part of the team, causing his excitement to grow even larger. He sat there on the bleachers, looking down at them with wide eyes as he tapped his hooves in joy. He felt so much joy now, like a foal in a gift shop told he could take any toy he wished.

With Spitfire in the lead and Dash in the center, the Wonderbolts raced into the air. They went this way and that, performing incredible maneuvers such as loops, rolls, and strafing. They went through hoops, around walls and pillars, through clouds. It was a spectacular sight for Spark. It was then that they flew up extremely high. They flew so high that it started to get very difficult to even see them.

He looked up at the flying ponies, trying to get some sort of visual on them, but sadly he couldn't get anything. Slowly he started to worry, hoping that they are ok and wondering if this was part of the routine.

Soon, he could make out their faint figures as they sped down, with Rainbow Dash now in the lead. The air around her crackled with static as a cone formed around her. It wasn't long until, suddenly, a ring of rainbow colors burst outwards from her, the pegasus flying at extremely high speeds that other pegasi could normally only dream of. It was the legendary Sonic Rainboom!

Eyes wide, mouth agape, Spark could only watch in awe as he saw the rainboom. He watched as they all circle around Dash as she just raced across the sky. While his eyes are locked on the rainbow mare, even after such a spectacle, he couldn't help but to glance at the lighter blue one every so often, watching as her white mane blew in the air. As his eyes fell upon Fleetfoot for the sixth time, she looked back and smirked with a wink. They exchanged glances for only went a moment before they all had to turn, ready to land back on the track.

He froze as he saw the wink, his mind braking to a halt. Did she just...no, she couldn't have...did she? As he went over what just happened, it's then that he realized how he was nearly spilling out his love for the Wonderbolts that he must have said something about his young crush for Fleetfoot...and Dash heard him!

He doesn’t have much of a chance to recover as Rainbow high-winged her teammates and headed back to the bleachers to which she quickly noticed Spark's worried look. "Uh, you okay, dude?"

He shook his head as he looked over at her, and after a few shaky breaths he was able to calm himself down and gave her a rather large smile. "That was amazing!" He said, rather giddy with excitement. "You were all like woosh! Then you dove down and made a huge BOOOM! Then you guys did those fancy turns and flips and Fleetf-" He started to say, going over the routine that they did, only to stop himself at the last part. His cheeks slowly turned red as he looked over at her, too nervous to say what he almost did say.

However, she already knew just what he was thinking about and had a pretty good idea what she could do to make him even more happy. Dash wrapped a wing around Spark, pulling him close. She then pointed over to the group. "How'd you like to meet her and the rest of them? She's right there."

His eyes went wide, mouth open as he looked behind her, he saw the sky blue mare talking to the others. With how nervous he was, he can only manage a small nod, his cheeks so red that they could be easily seen even through his red coat. "On one condition," she said, looking smug.

His mouth closed quickly as his blush faded a bit. He looked at her curiously, giving her his full attention as to what this condition might be. Seeing how she has his attention, she smiled as she just said two words.

"No hoodie."

His eyes went even wider than he thought possible, his heart racing even faster then the Wonderbolts he just saw. He went over all the facts through his head, trying to find the pros and cons to going with what Dash had just said.

On one hoof, his hoodie was his main mental defense, plus the main way he hides his unusual "gifts" from others. It kept him more relaxed and comfortable so he could go out and interact with others...sort of.

On the other hoof, these are the WONDERBOLTS! One of his heroes was right there, and Rainbow was willing to bring him to them...and Fleetfoot, who he was starting to realize that he may not be fully over that little colt crush he had on her. Plus he could still hide his horns without the hoodie by using his long mane, it was just a bit more difficult to pull off, but he could do it.

His mind racing, it took a good minute or two before with a sigh, one of the sides finally won. Looking at her, he lowered his head and took a deep breath before exhaling, then in a very soft voice, says one single word. "Ok."

"Good choice, kid," said Dash. "Now, c'mon. Off with it. That thing goes against the one thing all pegasi love: Freedom!"

As much as he hated to admit, she was right. He does love his freedom. The only issue that he has is that he is scared about having so much of it. That and the fact that it helps to hide his horns. Still, with another nod, he slowly reached up to his hoodie, getting a grip on it as he looks back at her, seeing how eager she is to see it off. He starts to slowly pull at it before stopping. He just realized another issue that may happen with the mare, seeing how into flying she is. "Um...p-p-promise not to...l-laugh?" He asked.

"Why would I laugh? If you're hiding some freakish accident under there, that's only gonna make you look tougher," she replied.

He wished that were the case, but seeing how she wasn't going to laugh, he nodded again and starts taking his hoodie off. Slowly he pulled it back, first getting it off of his back, and then with a bit more effort, off his head and on the ground, making sure his mane covered his horns before he fully took it off.

With his clothes off, she would be able to see that his mane style was rather similar to her own, ruffled and unkempt, like he never bothered to comb it (again, mostly to keep his horns hidden.) As she looked him over, the thing that would really catch her eyes were his wings...and the complete wreck they were in.

They were a mess, feathers bunched up, primaries with split ends, broken secondaries, the whole works. It was like he never cleaned or preened his wings in his life. Even as he gave them a ruffle, a few old feathers get jostled out, floating down and landing on the ground before them.

Rainbow Dash stared at the hideous crime against nature, her heart having dropped at the sight of those mangled wings. "What the hay?!" She rushed over and brushed her hooves across them, trying to get them down and smooth them out. "Spark, this is unacceptable! These wings are your pride and joy! How in Equestria did they ever even get this messy!"

"Rainbow!?" He cried out as she rushed to try and clean his wings for him. Quickly he took a few steps back as he tries to stop her, but the mare just kept at his side, never stopping her hooves. "Please, just...just let them be, they're fine. I just-" He tried to speak, only for her to interrupt him with a stern look.

"Don't even try to stop me!" she said. "If Fleetfoot saw you like this, she'd be disgusted! Wing maintenance is chapter four in the Wonderbolts guidebook! Tarturus, it’s the very first thing any pegasus learns when they grow up!" She couldn't seem to get it down. Seeing as she had no choice, she took a deep breath and steeled herself. "Brace yourself, I gotta use my mouth."

"Wait, you gotta do wh-" He started to say again, only for the mare to already lean in and take a wing into her mouth, slowly preening his wings. His eyes went wide as his cheeks flared red, and he shuddered at the new sensation, even causing him to let out a pleased whimper. He had never had somepony touch his wings in such a way, let alone preen them, so now his mind started to get overwhelmed with sensations.

Dash blushed with embarrassment at having to do this. No pegasus should have wings this unkempt. The fact that his were in such a shape brought up many questions for the rainbow mare to ask, most of which she had a feeling he wouldn’t answer. She would use her tongue to wet down the feathers and keep them in place, each touch sending chills up Spark's spine as he bit his lower lip, doing his best to cover up his pleased sounds. "How long," she paused as she licked down more feathers, "have you been wearing this hoodie?!"

He gave a small moan, trying to cover it up with a hoof this time as he felt that tongue of hers do its magic. Hearing her question, he tried to get an answer out with shaky breathes. "F-F-For...F-For a while. I...I-I got it...ah....got it at a store. It...It h-heaaAaalps...with...with my anxiety a-and d-dealing with...Mm...c-crowds..."

Dash finished with one last lick to the base of Spark's wings and stepped back to see how much she got done. Sadly, with the time limit to meet the Wonderbolts in pony, she didn’t have enough time to really clean them up. With how messy they were, it would be a challenge even for her to bring them to proper standards, but they would have to do for now. "Why would you even have a hoodie for earth ponies and not pegasi? Today I'm gonna get you one so that your wings can fit through. Tarturus I’m surprised you can even fly with such messy wings as those."

Before he could stop himself, he found himself speaking up in the heat of the moment, "It was the cheapest one I could find, and it doesn't matter to me if my wings are exposed or not anyways, or too messy for me to fly..." Once said, he quickly looked down in shame, hoping that she wouldn't know what he means by saying that. However, Rainbow is quick to figure out just what that means, her eyes going wide as she looked at the red pony.

"Wait... You're a full grown stallion who can't fly?!" She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Please tell me you're joking! This just has to be some crazy joke, yes?" She nearly begged him. To be fully grown and not know how to fly...that was unheard of!

He wished he could just smile and laugh it off, to just take off right then and there and get her to laugh at a rather funny joke. Sadly, all he could do was just stare at the ground as she shook him, his eyes slowly started to water a bit.

Rainbow’s mind was filled with so many questions, the main ones being why he couldn’t fly and how his wings got so messed up in the first place. Before she can ask any of them, he raised a hoof to keep her silent. "P-Please, just...j-just not now." He said, looking up at her with a rather painful and pleading look. "Can we...can we j-just go and meet the others...please?" He asked. "I-I'll...talk about it later...p-p-promise. I just...j-just don’t want to talk about it now...p-please..."

Seeing how much shame he was in got her to shut up, a frown on her face as she stopped shaking him and nodded. Rainbow Dash had reached her conclusion: She may not know what was wrong with this pony, but she was going to help him and the look in her eyes said that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

"Spark..." She looked into his eyes. "After this, I'm going to help you, whether you like it or not. You'll thank me for this." Seeing her very determined look, the stallion just nodded his head, in no position to argue with her. She then grabbed him by the waist and flew him over to the track, gently putting him down before landing right beside him.

He was a bit surprised with not only her dropping it at least for now, but with her helping him to the area where the rest of the Wonderbolts were. Looking at her, he gave a small smile and a light blush. "Dash, t-thanks for...well, for everything really. For not pushing me too much this time...and for taking me to see the Wonderbolts perform." He said. His eyes held a lot of hurt in them from past memories, but they also showed his care for the rainbow mare, letting her know that he really was thankful for what she has done for him.

"Yeah, I know I'm awesome," she said with a smug look on her face. However, she kept the bragging to a minimum for now, knowing that the sooner he got to talking to his heroes, the better he would feel. "Now get over there. Fleetfoot's waitin'."

Blushing once again, he nodded as he let her lead him to the waiting Bolts, feeling his newly preened wings twitch. Even if they weren't fully cleaned, for the first time in ages, he could feel the air through his clean feathers, feel just how everything in the current felt, even if he wasn't flying, something just felt different, more...new.

As they reached the group of Wonderbolts, the leader, Spitfire, walked over to Spark, having replaced her goggles with her signature sunglasses. "Well, look what we got here. Dash was lucky we owed her. How are ya? Did you enjoy the show?"

It took him a few moments to collect his thoughts with what just happened earlier, but he was soon a bit more of his normal self, giving a small smile and a quick nod. "I-I did, it was amazing Spitfire. I thought it was the BEST show that I ever went to! I mean it was the only show I ever went to, but still! You all went so high up, then did all those twists and turns and-" He stops himself as he realizes he was rambling, coughing into his hoof before giving a nervous laugh. "I...I really enjoyed it." He said in a softer voice.

"Sounds like he loved it," said Fleetfoot as she approached. "Seems like you are a very big fan of us, huh?"

As he saw the sky blue mare approach, his eyes went a bit wider as his cheeks heated up even more. He was very glad his coat is red at this point as he sputters out a few words. "V-V-Very...very b-big...very big f-fan of you really...I mean ALL of you, not just Flee-I mean you're amazing too I just...and then...." He slowly fell to silence, his heart racing a mile a minute as he tries to think of some way to cover up his blunder and failing at it. All of his was making him wish he had his hoodie back on, his hoof itched to tug the hood over his head to cover up his embarrassment.

Fleetfoot wrapped a wing around Spark and pulled him close to her. "I like this kid. He's got enthusiasm!" she said. She reached her hoof onto his head and began ruffling up his hair. That was when she noticed the horns. While it did surprise her, the way his mane kept them hidden told her he doesn’t want others to see them and after a second, she looked at him in the eyes and smiled before she covered up the horns so anypony else could see them.

While normally any sort of interaction with his head and mane would cause him to instantly back away and double check himself, he was in too much of a mix of awe, shock, and slight infatuation to really notice her do it. He didn’t even know what she was smiling about, just assuming it was because she actually enjoyed him for some reason or another. He only smiled shyly back as he blushed even more, heart beating even faster as he gave a small, happy laugh.

"Hey," she said, "Come back anytime. I'd be happy to chat."

He blinked. "R-Really?" He simply asked.

“Of course!” She nodded with a smile. "Wouldn't want to let a big fan down, now would I?"

He smiled even larger. "T-Thank you! That means so much to me!" He said, nearly dancing on his hooves as he smiles in glee, which caused the others to chuckle at the reaction. Thankfully he was too happy to notice, otherwise he would be a blushing mess again.

"Want an autograph?" she asked, nodding to Dash to go grab some paper and ink, who quickly went to go grab those items.

"Yes!" He shouts, only to cover his mouth from the sudden outburst. This time he noticed as his shyness took over once again. "I-I mean...if that's ok?"

"Definitely!" she replied. Dash came back with a piece of paper and a small bucket of ink. Fleetfoot dipped her hoof into the ink and then stepped on the paper, leaving her mark.

He slowly took the paper in his hooves, looking at it in awe. Gently, he waved it around to air it out and dry the ink faster, and once it was dried, he gently folded it and held it close to his chest. "T-Thanks Fleetfoot, I'll cherish it greatly." He told her, unable to hide his smile even if he wanted to.

"Alright, ponies. Wrap it up," said Spitfire. "We've got a meeting to attend in fifteen minutes."

Fleetfoot rolled her eyes. Not another meeting. She looked at Spark and leaned in, whispering, "Don't be so scared of those horns."

His eyes went wide when she said this and he looked over at Fleet in shock. How did she...when did she...

However, by the time he was able to collect his thoughts, they are already gone, leaving him alone with Dash. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he just lets himself be thankful that she didn't point it out to the others as he lets Rainbow fly him back to the bleachers to collect his hoodie, to which he put it back on before letting her take him to the sky again. "S-So...now where to?" He asked.

Dash, disappointed that he donned the hoodie, sighed. "Clothing store. I'm still getting you a new hoodie." Hearing this, he let out a small sigh and a nod as he lets her fly them to their new destination.

Dash sat on the bench outside of the dressing room, waiting for Spark to come out. She was just on the edge of sleep when with the push of the curtain, Spark walked out, wearing a new hoodie. This one was very white, yellow lightning bolts down his side as his wings came out from clouds. Looking himself over, he gave a small twirl as he looked over at Dash. "So...how about this?" He asked, though his voice already showed his uncertainty for it.

Dash stirred from her half slumber as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. When she looked at Spark, she grinned, liking what she saw. "Totally awesome! That is a keeper for sure!" She exclaimed.

Despite what she said, the look on his face remained unconvinced, giving another twirl to try and change his mind, but instead he just sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure this one's for me though. It's just too bright." He sighed.

She frowned as he said this. “Really? But it suits you so well! So not cool.” She sighed, leaning back. Thinking it over some more, she brought a hoof to her chin. "I suppose we could see what you'd pick. Maybe you have better taste."

He nodded as he turned and entered back into the changing room. After a few more minutes he came out with a different hoodie. This one was bright green with a yellow star in the center on his chest, along with some vines along the side. "I thought this one seemed...interesting."

Dash stared at it for a solid few seconds before she just burst out laughing. Spark could feel his embarrassment slowly getting higher as she continued to laugh, but before he could go back and hide in the changing room, she quickly said, "If you wear that with your red coat, you'd look like some sort of Hearth's Warming decoration."

He paused and gave himself a second look over. She was right, he did look like some sort of holiday decorations. With a relieved sigh, he gave a nervous chuckle. "Yea, I supposed I look very much like a Hearth's Warming tree." He said, the mare calming down as she just smiled at him. With her laughing fit over he walked back into the room, another few minutes went by before he stepped back out. This time, he came out with a dark black hoodie, one that seemed to fit him a bit too tight. "Mmm...I-I don't think this one is...w-working either..." He said as he tried to take it off, finding it way too uncomfortable to wear.

The speedy mare gave him an incredulous look. "Did you even check the size tag before you put it on?" She asked. Seeing how he was having a difficult time taking it off, she walked over and helped to help pull it off as well, straining with her teeth.

He grunted and, with a bit of effort, they finally get it off, causing him to land on his rump. "Not with that one. it was with the others so I assumed it was the same size as the rest." He said. Sighing, he looked down at his hooves. "I...I-I don't think this is working. None of them really fit for me, and even if they do, I just...I just prefer my old one so much more. I'm already used to it and all, so why change it?" He asked.

Dash frowned as he mentioned this, giving a shake of her head. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "Wait, if you don’t want to change into a new hoodie...then we change the old one!" she exclaimed, smiling at the idea. She wrapped her forelegs around Spark and flew out of the store, heading out of the city. "Hang on! We're gonna dash!"

It still took some getting used to for him to be yanked all over the place, and he is quick to hold on tight to her forelegs as she flew him out of the city. He barely managed to grab his own hoodie before he is swept away. "Warn me before you do something like this!" He stated.

Dash swooped downward, ignoring the protest as she just sped right along. It seemed that she was going much faster than before, like she was racing the sun itself. His eyes were wide as he feels the raw power from her wingbeats taking them closer and closer to the town. They were going so fast that he swore she was about to pull off another Sonic Rainboom, with him right in the center!.

Thankfully, before that could even happen, they had already returned back to Ponyville, and the rainbow mare swooped down as she landed him back on the ground.

"Alright!" she said as they landed. "Follow me! If anyone can fix that old thing, it's Rarity!"

He nodded as he slowly followed her, quickly putting his hoodie back on as he walked behind her. As they walked, he noticed that there were a lot more ponies walking about, and a lot of them seemed to be focused on Dash, giving her a greeting or a wave or some sort of happy remark. In doing so, with how close he was to her, he started to feel the eyes of the other ponies soon on him, be it real or imagined. He shivered as he felt his heart race. He could feel himself closing up and slow down even more.

Dash turned to look at him after a moment, and upon seeing him starting to freeze up, she knew that she had to do something to help him. She wasn’t about to let him freeze up like at the first party, so she grabbed onto Spark and quickly sped off in a hurry, leaving a temporary trail of rainbow colors behind. It wasn't long before she had reached the boutique.

She set him down with a grin, then looked at him. Narrowing her eyes, a question popped into her head as she asked, "Aren't you suffering from heat stroke or something under that thing? It's summer!"

He took a few moments to catch his breath after such a quick grab, and hearing her question he shook his head. "N-Not really. I've gotten used to it. Plus I've had a few enchantments placed on it to keep me cool in hotter weather." He blinked as he realized that he didn’t say anything about that during their shopping trip. "I...s-should have said that before I guess."

"Would have been nice to know before, but oh well." She shook her head and opened up the front door, walking in with Spark clung to her side. He wasn't exactly sure how many ponies would be in the boutique at first, but when he saw there were none, he relaxed.

"Hey, Rare!" called Dash.

"Coming, Rainbow!" answered Rarity. She soon came into view out from behind a hangar collection of clothing.

"Oh! Hello, Spark! Are you here to try out the newest craze?"

"He just needs his hoodie fixed so he can fit his wings through. Isn’t that right Spark?" said Dash.

He nodded shyly as he looks at his hooves, too nervous to really say much of anything.

The white mare smiled. “Of course darling, it’s not a problem at all! Now, do you mind taking that off for me Spark?” She asked him. The red pegasus hesitated as he looked down at his hoodie, and after a small nudge from Rainbow, he slowly took it off, taking a deep breath before removing it completely. Once naked again, he held the clothing over to the seamstress. She smiled as she took the hoodie in her hooves. "Just wait here for a few minutes and I'll be right back. This is just a simple change, so it shouldn’t be any longer than ten minutes, twelve tops!" She walked over to her work table and grabbed the scissors in her magic.

Meanwhile, seeing how they have some time Dash gave a grin to Spark. "So, how'd you like Fleetfoot?"

The memory of the Wonderbolt caused him to blush once again, looking away shyly as he smiled lightly. He can't help but remember the feel of her wings as she wrapped him in a small hug, even her smell was interesting to him. Despite her seeming to know about his horns cause of his lack of awareness, he can't help but feel giddy with the encounter.

He said nothing as he just stood there shyly, but fortunately Rainbow didn't need to hear him speak as one look at his face said it all. She laughed a bit as she saw his look. "So, what's the deal with the hoodie? Why's it so important? Does it have anything to do with why you won’t tell us anything?"

He can feel the blush fade as he heard those questions, letting out a small sigh. Looking around, he found a couple of seats and walked over to sit down on one, with her following suit. He looked at her for a moment as he decides that he may as well tell her a bit about himself. After all, she did do all of this for him, so it was only fair. "I already told you, t-the hoodie is to help me with my anxiety, and I...I wasn't lying when I said I travel a lot, or why I came here in the first place. I prefer smaller places, and when I heard that this here was rather small and the ponies are kind, I thought to make it my next resupply stop. Normally I try camping away from others, cause I...I-I'm too nervous to be with them." He said.

Dash stared at him with wide eyes of disbelief. "So... you just... stay away from ponies? Why would you do that? Why do it in the first place? HOW can you do that in the first place?! Who in their right mind would-" She started to say.

"I'm not the most social of ponies, in case you haven't realized it." He reminded her.

“Even so, no pony ever...no CREATURE would ever want to be alone in such a state!” She stated. “There is just no reason to live by yourself like that. Even Cranky has some friends around here, and he isn’t that sociable either!”

Sadly, Spark just stayed silent, his gaze staying away from her as Dash slowly calmed down. Seeing the look of distress, she frowned and began to reach over with a wing. As she is about to gently pat his back, her eyes landed on his flank as a possible idea comes to mind. "Are you it's not because of that?" She asked, pointing to his cutieless rear.

He looked at it as well, but otherwise remained silent. He wasn't really sure about his blank flank, never really putting much thought into it. He had much bigger issues at the time. "I...I'm not sure. It just...never was a problem with me before" He admitted, making Dash is even more curious than ever. What could be a bigger problem than having no cutie mark, even as an adult? Before she could ask anymore questions, Rarity came back from the table with his improved hoodie.

"Here you are, darling! Tailored to your frame and size! I noticed it was a little stretched out, so I made a few adjustments to make it feel much better. Now it'll fit perfectly!"

He blinked as he heard this, and looking it over, he couldn't help but notice that she was right. It did look a lot better, and seemed to be as if he just bought it all those years ago. Picking it up, he gave it a few quick look overs before putting it on. His wings popped through the new holes, and he gave them a small flap as he looks himself over though that did cause a few loose feathers to fly out.

Seeing the feathers and the rather messy state his wings were in caused the unicorn’s eyes to go wide with shock. She was about to ask Spark about them when a glance from the rainbow mare caused her to stop. Rainbow just shook her head and made a zipping motion with her hoof, indicating that now wasn’t a good time to talk about it. She closed her mouth and nodded in understanding as the stallion finished looking over his improved hoodie.

"Thank you so much Rarity, how much do I owe you?" He asked with a rather large smile.

"Oh, darling, there's no charge at all," she said. "Think of it as a welcome gift!"

His eyes went wide as he looked at the mare, surprised with the generous gift. "R-Really? I mean...I can pay for it, it won't be-" He started to say, only to be interrupted by her.

"Darling, I insist!" she said. "I won't let a crime against fashion like you had earlier plague you! The fact that you couldn’t even let those magnificent wings be free when you wore those, it just makes me feel like I did something right." She said, a twinkle in her eyes.

Spark, hearing about his “magnificent” wings, just blushed as he looked away. He knew that his wings were still a mess, even after the quick preening that Rainbow did for him, but it still made him feel happy regardless. "T-Thanks, that means a lot." He said.

“Think nothing of it dear!” She replied. With a smile, he started to head on out with Dash when the door opened and in walked a certain yellow mare.

Fluttershy smiled when she saw Spark. "Oh! Hello, Spark! Hi, Dash. How are you, Rarity?"

He smiled shyly and waved at the mare. "H-Hey Fluttershy, what brings you here?" He asked. For whatever reason he can’t help but to feel more at ease whenever the kind mare is around him.

"I was just here ask Rarity for the tiny sweaters I ordered," she said with an innocent smile. Tiny... sweaters?

Head tilted to the side, he looked at her with a confused look. "Um...what?"

Realizing his confusion, Fluttershy giggled to herself. "For some naked mole rats I've been nursing back to health. They can get rather cold."

"Ohhh ok." He said, nodding in understanding. It was at this point that his stomach rumbled, causing him to blush as he hid himself under his hood a bit, dirty wings ruffling a little.

"Oh! You must be hungry!" deduced Fluttershy. "Would you like to come over to my place for tea? We never did have our meeting."

His eyes went wide as he realized his mistake. Looking up, he quickly apologized to her. "S-Sorry Fluttershy, I-I was busy getting settled in, a-and then there was the whole party, and it just...s-slipped."

She just smiled at him and shook her head. "No, I completely understand. I forget things, too. Besides, the party was just that same day, and we didn’t really have time to reschedule. I know, why don't we all go now?" she suggested.

Rarity, overhearing her, walked over. "Well, I HAVE met my quota today. Why not? I'll close the boutique for today."

They all looked at Dash, who looked back in confusion. "What?"

"Do you want to come?" asked Fluttershy.

"For... tea?" Dash rolled her eyes. "I mean, I guess I could."

Seeing how it was going to be a small gathering, Spark gave a nervous smile as he looked at the others. He had to remind himself that this isn't so bad, since he will be with others that he knows, and one of them is basically kindness incarnate itself.

Fluttershy set out the teacups and lifted her teapot over them, pouring in the hot tea.

"Be careful," she said. "Don't let it burn your tongue."

Spark nodded as he carefully picked his tea up, taking a small sip from it before letting out a small sigh, the taste resting on his tongue. "Mmmm..." He hummed, feeling content with the drink.

Rainbow Dash looked at the odd water in her cup, reluctant to drink it. "So uh... you wouldn't happen to have any hot chocolate, would you?" She asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Dash. I'm fresh out," she replied before sipping her own tea. The cyan mare groaned as she looked back at her tea again before taking a slow sip, drinking it anyways. She quickly gave a slightly disgusted look as she placed the cup on the table, just staring at it carefully.

"So, Fluttershy, how was your week?" asked Rarity. She took a sip of her drink with a smile, clearly enjoying the tea much more than her speedy friend.

"Oh! My week was wonderful, thank you," answered Fluttershy. "I ran into a few squirrels who were very polite yesterday. I helped them gather some nuts and even clean their den out."

"Well they just sound very much adorable! And what about you, Dash? How was your week?" asked Rarity.

"Huh?" Dash looked up from staring at her cup. "Oh! Yeah! Just took Spark here to see the Wonderbolts!" she bragged. "He was so excited, too!"

"Oh? Did you enjoy it, Spark?" asked Rarity.

He smiled as he recalls what happened only a few hours ago. "It was amazing! I've never been there before and seeing them for the first time...it was a dream come true." He said, smiling.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time," Rarity replied, smiling. "You must've been so excited."

He nodded. "I did, and Dash even got me to meet them as well! Even met Fle-" He started to say before he fell silent, looking down at his cup of tea for the moment in shyness.

"You ok, Spark?" asked Fluttershy.

He gave a nod of his head as he tried to speak again. "I-I met...um..." He tried to say, only to again fall silent, still unwilling to really say anything due to how embarrassed he is about how he acted in front of her, so Rainbow had to be the one to speak up.

"I introduced him to Fleetfoot. He's a pretty big fan of hers."

"Oh! I remember meeting Fleetfoot," mentioned Fluttershy. "She was very nice." He nodded, his cheeks heating up a bit more, his wings ruffled a bit which caused a few feathers to drop onto the couch. This got the shy mare’s attention as she looked at his wings in surprise. “I didn’t know you had wings Spark, but...um, why are they such a mess?” She asked.

The heat from his shyness faded away as he avoided eye contact, just looking at the cup in his hooves. He still felt too ashamed to look at the kind mare, or at anypony in general. This caused Fluttershy to look at him in worry, placing her cup down as she walked up to him. “Spark?” She asked again, and even now Rarity was looking on with curiosity.

With the wings the main attention of the group now, the stallion could feel all their eyes on him, slowly making him close up as he tried to move deeper into the cushions. Even with how uncomfortable this was for him, Rainbow knew they had to talk about it sooner or later, so why not now and with friends willing to help him. She sighed, putting down her tea. "Spark's wings were a mess. Heck, they were even worse than this before. The only reason I saw them is because I told him he had to take his hoodie off if he wanted to meet the Wonderbolts.”

“Don’t you think that was a bit forced though?” Rarity asked.

Dash shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe? Anyways, I tried to pr-um...fix them up when I saw how bad of a state they were in, but not even I could fix them up completely” She finished, blushing a bit at how Spark twitched during his first preening.

The other two mares in the room looked at her in shock, Fluttershy with a slight red tinge to her cheeks, knowing that preening can be sensitive to other pegasi. “What? But how is that possible?” The kind pegasus asked.

She looked at her with a shrug. "I don’t know, he didn’t tell me. But he...um…” This time she paused, unsure how to say what she wanted next. She still found it hard to believe herself.

Fluttershy was very much worried as she waited for Dash to finish. “He can’t what?” She asked.

The rainbow mare is about to finish when to all of their surprise, Spark beat her to it. “I can’t...I can’t fly...” He said softly.

They all looked at him in shock, eyes wide and even Rarity’s mouth open wide for a few moments before she closed it. Fluttershy just remained silent as she took in that information before she finally found her voice. "But...but even I can fly," she said. "How is it you don’t know how?"

"Darling, what could possibly keep you from reaching your full potential?" asked Rarity.

He just remained silent as he looked at his cup of tea, trying to think up of something, anything, to say to them. Sadly nothing came to mind, and the longer he tried, the worse he felt. His hooves started to shake and his eyes got a bit moist as he kept his head down, not willing to look at the others. Dash walked over and wrapped a wing around Spark. "Hey... it's okay. We're here for you. It's what friends do."

He shivered at her touch and was about to back away when he felt another wing softly wrap around him on the other side. Looking next to him, he saw Fluttershy, who was sitting next to him smiled kindly back. Her smile just melted his heart, slowly easing the pain, and while it still hurt to recall, he knew at that point that he had nothing to fear from them.

Taking a shaky breath, he took one more sip of his tea before placing it down, his eyes closed. It took another few minutes before he was able to find the words to speak. "I...I wasn't taught how to fly by my parents, or by anypony really."

"Why didn't anypony teach you?" asked Fluttershy, frowning.

Again he hesitated, but the feeling of their wings around him soothed him enough to continue. "Cause the caretakers were too busy to deal with a single foal when they had dozens of others to take care of." He said softly. When he mentioned caretakers, the mares in the room became silent, their eyes wide as they realized just what he meant by that. They looked at each other for a few moments as they collected their thoughs before looking back at him.

Rarity put her tea down and looked at Spark. "Spark?" she asked. "Were you...?" He doesn't even bother to speak, just giving a small nod, his eyes starting to leak small tears.

"But... an orphanage? That's for foals who...who..." Dash tried to put two and two together, to understand what he was saying, but all she felt was a deep-seated anger. "Did your parents just... leave you?!"

The two other mares were equally upset, but they didn’t raise their voices, not wanting to make him even more sad. The fact that he was an orphan more than surprised them, but the fact that he was left to his own devices as a young foal, when he was in the most need for help...that is just unheard of.

The red pony shrugged at this, nearly flinching from the anger coming from her. "I-I don't...k-k-know. I was found at the...d-doorsteps of the place in a bundle of...o-of blankets with only a letter for my name. M-Maybe they did l-l-leave me...m-maybe they...t-they were too...a-ashamed..." He can feel his words slowly getting a bit harder as he sniffled, the tears slowly increasing.

This made the girls rather confused. "Ashamed? Who'd be ashamed of their foal?" queried Fluttershy.

"And for what reason?" asked Rarity.

My damn horns. He thinks to himself. Of course he isn't going to say that to them, not now. He knew that if he made any mention of his horns that they would shun him just like everypony else. Instead he shrugged, his body shaking even more.

Fluttershy took Spark into a big hug, her forelegs wrapped around him. "You poor thing..."

He shuddered as he was taken into the hug, his forelegs automatically wrapping around her as he hugged her back, his muzzle nuzzling into her neck. His tears slowly started to stream down from his cheeks, staining her fur.

Fluttershy could feel the wet droplets against her coat. She could only imagine the pain he'd been put through. "We're here for you, Spark." She whispered in a soft and caring voice as she gently rubbed her back.

He nodded as he kept on lightly crying against her, his wings fluttering behind him a bit, letting a loose feather fall out. Dash backed away a bit to give him some space letting the animal loving pegasus to take over with comforting him. As she looked at his wings, she shuddered, remembering the mess they were before they came back from Cloudsdale.

As she looked, she connected two and two together and spoke. "That’s why you don’t even bother to preen them, cause you never knew how to in the first place." She said. He nodded. “But...why not bother trying? Even a poor attempt is still better than letting them break down right on your back.”

He sniffled a bit more before he turned slightly to look at her with one eye open, giving her a glance before looking away. “I-I didn't s-s-see a point in taking care of them...w-when I...I c-couldn't use them anyways. W-Why...why bother, why even...w-why should I even tried." He explained, his grip on the yellow mare getting a bit tighter..

"That's still no excuse!" shouted Rainbow, eyes narrowed. "These wings are what make you special! Don't go hiding them!"

"Dash, calm down," said Fluttershy.

She shook her head. “Sorry Flutters, but he needs to know that this is no way to live. Just on his own with nopony to help him. Not knowing even the most basic of things to do as a normal pony.” Upon hearing the word normal, he shuddered, but Dash continued without noticing. “Somepony needs to help him.”

The words slowly sank into him, and as soon as she fell silent he almost growled as he snapped, head raising up from its rest against Fluttershy as he glared at her with a surprising amount of anger. The sadness was gone from his eyes, only to be replaced with anger. "What’s the point! Nopony cares enough to take the time out of their day to bother helping me! They all think they have more important things in their lives! It’s always about them and they never take a second glance at the misfit like me!” He shouted, the sudden change in emotions causing all of them to gasp, though Rainbow was the first to recover as she glared right back.

“It still isn’t right!” She shouted back, causing him to flinch. “Being left alone and having nopony...no, noCREATURE to help you! It’s wrong! You need somepony to help you!” She shouted back. The power behind her words made Spark huddle closer to Fluttershy, the mare gently holding him to her.

He sniffled as the tears started to form, but he remained staring at her, both in pain and anger. “Then who!? Who would even bother to help somepony like me.”

“I am.” Those words caused him to fall silent, his eyes wide with shock as he just stared. She took this moment to continue. “Because not only are we friends, but I don’t let my friends down! Not only am I gonna to help you with living here, but I'm gonna teach you how to fly as well!"

He was quiet as he just looked on in shock, his anger now gone, only holding confusion. “W-What? But...but how? I...I’m nothing. I can’t even help myself.” He said, his self doubt once again crawling through. However, Rainbow just smirked, not giving that emotion a chance.

"Don't you remember who you're talking to?" She turned and grabbed his cheeks, squishing his face a bit as he got him to face her. "You're talking to Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolt!"

He is stunned a bit from her squishing his face, and he quickly breaks away from her hooves as he slightly glares at her. "But I’m useless. I can’t-”

"Hey! You think I'm gonna back down just because you're having a little trouble?! Cause you have no faith in yourself? No way! This is my mission now!" she exclaimed. "And when you've learned how, as a reward, I'll take you flying with the Wonderbolts!"

He sniffles a few more times, slowly thinking over her offer. He still doubted himself and his ability to actually learn to fly, but the way Rainbow spoke, the passion in her words, it did make him think...perhaps there’s a chance after all. He slowly looked up at her and right into her eyes, both of them holding each other’s gaze. "P-Promise?" He asked, wanting to really make sure that she was telling the truth.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" she replied, making odd motions.

While the motions were odd, he did remember Pinkie doing them as well, and she kept her promise by keeping the party small. He looked around at the other two mares, seeing only comforting smiles from them. Finally, after taking a few deep breaths, he let out a small sigh and nodded. "Ok...I trust you Rainbow."

She grinned. "Alright! By the end of the month, I'll have you high in the sky!" she bragged as she slapped his back enthusiastically.

He nearly stumbled from the pat, but he couldn't help but chuckle a bit, the last of his tears drying up as he smiled lightly. Her positivity is infectious, his own self doubt melting away and being replaced with hope. "T-Thanks Rainbow Dash, I...I can't wait!" He said, his wings fluttering again...and a few more feathers falling out. He looked at them and blushed a bit. "P-Perhaps I should find a place to help me p-preen...and maybe find somepony to teach me..."

Dash blushed. She didn’t really think that far. She rubbed the back of her head as only one option came to mind. "I um... l-look, I..." she cleared her throat. "I'll teach you and help you out for the first few times," she said quickly. Fluttershy blushed, but Rarity couldn't understand the embarrassment.

He blushed even harder then the shy mare as he heard this. "Y-You...you s-s-sure?" He asked shyly.

Dash turned her head away as she sweated. "Y-Yeah... no biggie, right?"

He nodded, his face still as red as ever, while Rarity finally spoke up, confusion in her voice. "Not to be rude, but...what's the big deal of teaching him to preen? Isn't it you just teaching him how to take care of his wings and keep them clean?" She asked.

"Oh, Rarity!" Fluttershy blushed an even deeper shade of red.

Dash blushed as well, but she was able to face the white mare. "Wings are pretty sensitive," Dash explained. "They're like... the feel good sensitive. Touch 'em in the right place and... you get the picture."

Rarity had a reddish tint on her face as she realized just what she meant. "O-Oh...oh my..." She said softly, covering her mouth with a hoof. Dash just rolled her eyes and sighed.

Of course this just makes Spark get even redder as he slowly leans into Fluttershy to try and hide from the rest of them, clearly shy about even thinking about such a thing.

Fluttershy, knowing just what he was going to go through, could only do one thing, and that was to just pat his head with a wing.

Author's Note

Ahem... my current mood: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.