The date was set. At the beginning of the week, Dash would be teaching Spark all she knew about flying. The only thing to do now was wait. In the meantime, as the next day came by, Spark was walking down the street to the castle, having been told by Ditzy that today was his day off, he was able to get right to Twilight to hang with her today like he promised her. He wondered if the others told her about what he said as he reached the front door. There was enough time left yesterday, so they most certainly could have told her on that day.

In any case, he took a few deep breaths, and with a tug on his hood and a ruffle of his still messy wings, he raised a hoof and knocked on the crystal door. The door opened, revealing the princess of friendship herself. She walked out, greeting Spark with a smile. "Hello there." She greeted him happily.

He smiled a bit nervously as he waved back. "H-Hey Twilight." he said. As she looked him over, he would notice a few changes on him, the most obvious one is his hoodie being redone and made to look like new, as well as the wings that now were out and in the open air, if a bit messy still.

Twilight tilted her head when she saw his wings. "I didn't know you were a pegasus," she said in a curious tone.

He couldn't help but to give a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, n-no?" He said. "I-I guess I didn't really make it known, I just kept them under my hoodie cause...um..." He fell silent as he looked away in slight shame. While he did get the weight off of his chest, he still felt ashamed for talking about it. Twilight, however, knew what he was talking about.

"It's okay. Very understandable," she said. "Are you ready to go?"

He blinked as he looked up at her, but quickly calmed down as he guessed, "They told you, I'm guessing?"

"Hm? No. Simple observation," she said. "It's easy for me to figure these things out. Besides, your wings look like they haven’t seen a day of preening in their life...no offense." She added, not wanting to insult him. He sighed and traced his hoof on the ground as he heard this, but Twilight quickly moved to comfort him. “Hey, not everypony knows how to preen their wings so easily. I remember when I first got my wings, I had no idea how to take care of them. It took me a few days of studying, and with Dash’s help I was able to figure it all out.”

He blinked upon hearing Dash helping her, and rather quickly the image of them preening each other rose into his head, his cheeks lightling up. Thankfully he was able to shake the naughty thought from his mind as he looked at the princess. “S-So, um...s-shall we go?” He asked, hoping she didn’t notice.

Thankfully, it seemed he was fine, and she just kept on smiling and gave a nod. “Of course, follow me!” She said, closing the door behind her as she took the lead.

As they walk, he glanced over at her. "S-So...what do you have planned for us?" He asked. He does remember that she mentioned a possible trip to a museum, but he just wanted to make sure.

"I had a trip to the Ponyville museum planned!" she exclaimed, looking rather excited.

Seeing that hadn’t changed, he smiled lightly and nodded. "Oh, that sounds like it would be fun and relaxing." He said. He is actually interested in the history of different places, always loved to learn new things whenever possible.

As they reached the building, Twilight let out a squee of excitement. "Ooh~. This is only my eighty-third time here! I'm so excited!"

He raised an eyebrow at this. "Eighty...third?" He asked slowly.

"Uh huh!" she answered, grinning. "Not as many visits as I'd like."

He can feel a sweat drop as he followed the Alicorn to the building, looking it over curiously. It certainly seemed rather large, and that thought caused him to shiver as he realized the potential for crowds. "Um, it w-won't be too...c-crowded, yes?" He asked.

“No it should be fine, it’s kind of empty despite its size to be honest.” She answered. She than let out a sigh as she kicked the ground lightly. "Nopony ever really goes here except me," she added, frowning.

He felt himself relax a bit as he heard this, but then he frowned as well when he saw the sad look she had. Taking a few steps closer, he slowly reached a wing out and, carefully, as he rarely has done this if ever, places his wing on her back. "Well...I'm happy you're bringing me here." He tells her, giving a small smile.

She blinked in surprise as she looked at him. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yea, I do like learning new things, be it about a town I’m visiting or anything regarding the locals. And even though the place is rarely used, it just means we get to spend more time looking around, yes?” He said.

She rubbed her chin in thought. She didn’t really think of it like that. Sure she enjoyed sharing this with others, but the silence to just think over the exhibits is rather nice as well whenever she went here on her own. She smiled back at him and nodded. "Thank you, Spark." She said, extending her own wing and wrapping it with his own, their feathers tangling up a bit.

He can't help but to blush at the smile she gave him, and just nodded in response. “J-Just speaking the t-truth.” He said. Soon they entered the building, and once inside, He could see Twilight quickly grinning happily.

Twilight pointed to a display case containing an old barrel. "There's the pride and joy of the museum! That barrel's existed since Ponyville was founded!"

He tilted his head as he looked the barrel over. While nothing that would really excite him, it did seem rather interesting. The fact that barrel existed during the very first days of Ponyville meant it was really old, yet it looked like it hadn’t aged a day. Clearly some magic was involved and that got his curiosity. Glancing at her, he asked, "Wow...um, h-how did they keep the wood from rotting?"

"Magic, of course!" she said. "It’s a spell that stops inanimate objects from rotting."

"I mean, I know it’s a spell, but what kind of spell? Is it a protection spell, or some form of enchantment? Oh, or maybe even an anti aging spell?" He asks. Clearly his knowledge of magic is a bit above average for the normal pegasus, something that caught the Alicorn off guard.

"Wow, you know about protection spells and...wait, there’s an enchantment spell that prevents aging?" This caused her to do a double take as she looked at him with even more curiosity.

He nodded. “There is, though from what I heard it’s rather complex and almost impractical. It was used during the older times when there weren't many other options in the field.” He explained.

She couldn’t help but to look at him in awe. “That’s amazing!” She stated excitedly. However, she quickly calmed herself as another question popped up. “But...but how do you know so much about magic? You’re a pegasus, not a unicorn...no offense.”

He nodded. "None taken. I know that I can't really use magic, but I always found it so amazing with what it can do, the unique limitations it has despite being so powerful, and everything about it." He explained as they walked away from the barrel. it's at this point he notices his wing is still on her back, but as he tried to pull back, her own wing locked with his, their feathers getting stuck against each other, causing his eyes to go wide with slight confusion as he looked at her.

"I'm so glad I've found somepony who's just as interested in magic as I am!" she exclaimed, not knowing the current predicament with their wings, which just made his cheeks red.

He gave his wing a slight pull to try and free it, but it still does nothing. Realizing she was holding onto him a bit tighter, he gently nudged her. "Um...T-Twilight...our wings?" He said softly, blushing even more now. It took Twilight a few moments to realize what he meant, but when she found out, she blushed as she realized their wings were entangled. After a few moments she was able to help get them untangled. He gave a few flaps of his wing as he pulled it back against himself. "Um, s-sorry about that." He said. "S-Still not quite used to my wings being free like this, and the new...um, s-sensations with it." He explained. When his wing was on her back, it actually felt rather nice, though it was the first time he ever used his wing like that.

Twilight just gave a nod as she cleared her face from the embarrassment. "It's okay! I understand," she said. “I had a few issues when I first got my wings, so it’s...not really anything new.”

He tilted his head in confusion. “Really?”

She nodded. “Oh yes! When I first got my wings, as a pony who never had them in the first place, let’s just say it was very hard to keep them against me. They always wanted to be spread out and open. Made sleeping almost impossible!” She said, laughing at the memory.

The thought of trying to sleep with stiff wings that just wouldn’t go down made him laugh as well. “That doesn’t seem pleasant at all.” He agreed.

“No it wasn’t. Thankfully after a while I was able to get them under control.” She said. They both laughed it off for a few moments before smiling at each other, the tension lifted from them.

After a few moments of silence Spark broke the silence first. "Anyways...a-about the magic. Maybe you could...you know...show me some stuff afterwards?" He asks. “E-Everypony tells me how great you are with magic, and I was hoping...you know...”

He doesn’t even need to finish as she heard this, an even bigger smile on her face "Sure!" she answered. "I'd be happy to!"

He blinked and looked at her. “R-Really?”

“Of course! There isn’t that many chances when I get to teach a new pony about the wonders of magic, even if they can’t use spells. Magic is something that should be shared with all ponies, big and small.” She said. The response caused his heart to flutter as he smiled, and he had a huge urge to just huge her tight, but he held himself back, mostly because he had no idea what that may cause if he did hug her.

“Ok...yes, great!” he said with a smile. “Um...shall we continue?”

She gave a nod and continue their trip, showing him everything of interest in the museum, which to her was everything. Spark learned about the founding of Ponyville, its culture, and its main trade, which was surprisingly all apples.

"And over there," Twilight continued, "is the picture of the Apple family when they had first arrived in this land."

He looked over at the picture, his eyes wandering over all of the ponies. "They seem...happy..." He said softly. The sudden change in his demeanor didn't go unnoticed by her as she gave him a worried look, Spark's eyes locked onto the family picture.

While she knew she shouldn’t intrude on his personal affairs, Twilight couldn't help but speak up. "Did... something happen to them?"

He blinked as he looked over at her with some confusion. "W-What? With who?"

She hesitated before saying, "Your family."

He hesitates for a few moments before looking back at the picture, letting out a small sigh. "I...I don't know." He replies before glancing back at her. "Did the others...t-tell you about...about what I said...yesterday?" He asks.

She just nodded her head as he looked back at the picture, and she could see his eyes start to water. Carefully she moved a bit closer to him, putting a hoof on his back. When he looked at her, she just smiled and gave him a gentle pat. “I...I’ll understand if you don’t wish to talk about it.”

He gave her a weak smile at this as he hesitantly shuffled himself a bit closer to her as well. "I...I guess I should tell you the same thing then....that I told the others." He said. He remained silent for a bit longer before with a deep breath to keep himself calm, he told her the same thing that he told the others, about being an orphan and having no pony to teach him how to fly.

She remained silent the entire time as she looked at him. She could see the pain in his eyes as he spoke about what happened, and it just made her feel sad as she listened. She wish she knew that there wasn’t anypony out there who would do something so terrible as to just ignore a foal, but sadly she knew a few ponies who would do anything for their own gain.

Once he finished, Twilight wasn’t able to stop herself in pulling him into a hug, even nuzzling his cheek. “I’m so sorry Spark.” She simply said, holding him close. He just remained frozen there once again, surprised with such kindness that these mares were showing him, but he just gently wrapped his hoof around her and held her back.

They remained like that for a few minutes, just holding each other in front of that picture, and soon he gently pulled back, wiping the few tears that had left his eyes. Looking at him, the princess smiled comfortingly, and he soon smiled back, just happy to have somepony to share this with, even if it wasn’t everything he was willing to share, it was a small part of his life that had a big impact. “Twilight, I...I’m sorry for-” He tried to apologize, but she just quickly shook her head and covered his mouth with a hoof.

“There is no need to be sorry Spark. We all need somepony to talk to, and me as well as the others will be here to listen to your words.” She explained. He couldn’t help but to blush as he nodded, glad to hear those kind words. “Now, let’s finish this place and go to the gift shop. I want to get you something to remember this trip, ok?”

He gave another nod and they continued through the last few exhibits, where they witnessed a reenactment of the founding of Ponyville and saw the original town sign.

After it was all finished, they went over to the gift shop, where there were actually some pretty neat knick knacks. "The snow globes are always a tourist favorite," she said as she levitated one off the shelf.

He looked over the globe with interest. "It does look rather nice..." He admitted. Within the snow globe was a replica of the first few buildings ever constructed in Ponyville.

"I wish I could go back and see it when they first arrived! How the place must have looked back then" she said, peering into the glass orb.

He nodded, leaning in to better look at the globe. He was very tempted to buy it, but he wasn't sure if he could keep it. When he leaves it will be in a bag for most of the time, and he didn't wish to break it either.

After a few minutes of silence, he shook his head as he made up his mind. "Y-You know what, I think I will buy one." He said, giving her a small smile.

"Great!" She took the globe in her magic and floated it over to the counter. "Just this one, please."

The stallion, seeing the same mare for the four hundredth time, sighed and placed it into a bag before handing it back to her.

"Fifteen bits," he said.

Twilight looked at the stallion in confusion. "What? Last time it was only ten bits!"

"Materials are scarce nowadays," he said boredly. "Gotta charge more to cover the cost."

She peered at him with suspicion as she hovered fifteen bits over and onto the counter. Realizing just what she was trying to do, he tried to stop her. "Y-You didn't have to pay for it, Twilight." He said softly, feeling a bit embarrassed with the fact of somepony paying for him.

Twilight looked surprised. "What? No, it's okay! Nopony should leave the museum without a memory of this place. And I did say I was going to buy one for you." Before he could continue, she paid for the globe and placed it in the bag before taking the bag and holding it out for the red pegasus.

He gave a small smile and nodded his thanks as he took the globe and pocketed it into his hoodie. "T-Thanks Twilight." He said. She just smiled at him, giving one last glare at the cashier as they left the shop, heading back outside.

He followed her out as they head back to the castle, his hoodie a bit heavier with the new gift. "So Twilight, I have to ask, how did you become an Alicorn?" He asked. Realizing that he may have offended her, he blushed as he added, "N-Not that it's a bad thing or anything, o-or that you d-don't look good as one, I mean y-you're very a-a-attractive, n-not in a romantic way I mean not that isn't possible I would find you romantically attractive I'm just not sure if I do I just mean I'm not trying to hit on you or anything I just-" He kept on rambling as he tried to recover his blunder, only digging the hole deeper and deeper. Thankfully, she was kind enough to recover for him, even if she blushed a bit at how much he was saying how attractive he is.

"Well," she said, cutting him off before he could accidentally summon the demons of Tartarus with his stammering words, "It wasn't really a choice for me. It's not that I mind, though. It was just a test I had to pass. Thankfully, I did. If I hadn't, my friends would've all led miserable lives."

Now he was curious as his talking stopped and he looked at her with his head tilted slightly. "Wait, what? How? And what test?"

"Well my friends all had their cutie marks swapped, and they were doing things that the others would have done, making them very miserable like I said. And as for the spell, it's nothing special. Just had to complete one of Starswirl's spells," she said, as if it were a simple chore like taking out the trash.

He blinked. "Wait, Starswirl's spell? As in THE Starswirl?"

She nodded. "Took me a while, but I did it!"

"Wow..." He looked in awe at the Alicorn with new found respect, before he realized he was staring and turned to look away, blushing a bit. "W-Wish I was as smart as you. Whenever I got a chance to even glance at one of his spells, it always seemed to go over my head." He said, frowning.

"I'm sure you'll understand it some day," she assured. "Trust me, you'll figure it out. But I'd like to ask... why study magic when you..."

"When I can't use it?" He asked.

Twilight felt like she'd just stepped on a magical landmine. She slowly nodded before she added, “You never really told me how you got into it, and most ponies that get into magic are only unicorns, rarely are they any other kind of pony, due to unicorns being the only pony to use magic...besides Alicorns.” She paused as she looked at him for a few moments, and when he still said nothing, she continued. “I mean, not that it’s a bad thing, personally I’m glad to see somepony besides a unicorn take such an interest in magic and wanting to learn all about it, and the fact that you want to learn it all even if you can’t use it just makes it more interesting, and I just-” She kept going on and on, seeming to be going on a tangent just like Spark had with her becoming an Alicorn.

Seeing her react in such a similar way, he gave her a comforting smile. "I-It's ok, I don't mind you asking that question...for once." he said. "Honestly I'm not sure myself. I first saw magic being performed by a stage magician all those years ago. I’m not sure what her name was, but she had a beautiful azure coat and shining silver mane and tail. When I saw it done, I was hooked on it. Even if what she did wasn't always real magic, it got me into it, both stage and real magic, and I just wanted to learn as much as possible." He sighed as he recalled the pleasant memory. "Just wish I could remember her name so I could thank her for getting me into magic..."

The description of said magician didn’t go unnoticed by the mare, causing Twilight to chuckle nervously. "I think I know who you're talking about."

His eyes went wide. "Really?" He asked.

"Um... not only that, we've got kind of a history together," she said, nodding. How Trixie could've inspired somepony stumped her, but it did gladden her heart to know that she inspired somepony in such a way.

"Oh?" He gave her a curious look. "I would very much like to-" He started to say, only to realize they were back at the castle. "Oh, we're here." He looked up at the sky and realize that the sune was starting to set. "A-And it's starting to get late..." He frowned, a small sigh escaping his lips. "I-I guess I should be going now..." He looked at her and gave her a small smile. "Um...t-thanks for the trip, a-and...and the gift."

Twilight just smiled and nodded before she looked at the sky, seeing the first star twinkling into view. "Look up there!"

He quickly looked up at what Twilight was pointing at, and gasped when he saw the sparkling star. "Oh wow...it looks rather pretty."

"You know, some ponies say that if you wish on the first star to appear at night, your wish will come true!"

Spark can't help but raise an eyebrow. "I thought that was only with shooting stars?" He asked.

"Nope. You can make wishes in many different ways. This is just one of them." she explained.

"Oh..." He looked back up at the star before looking at the Alicorn. "Um...h-how do you do it?"

"You just focus on the star with all your will and think to yourself what you want to wish for!" She explained simply.

Nodding, he looked back up at that star as he slowly closed his eyes. Focusing all that he can on the star, he slowly thought his wish before whispering it to himself. After a minute of softly speaking, he opened his eyes, a small but bright smile on his face.

The star seemed to twinkle even brighter from then on. Twilight looked at Spark, noticing his naivety. She couldn't let him go just yet. "Hey, Spark?"

He blinked as he looked at her curiously. "Yea?"

"You don't have to go just yet. I did promise I'd show you some magic, remember." she reminded him.

His eyes went wide as he remembered. "Oh right, I forgot." He looked back up at the growing night sky. "B-But...but isn't it getting late?"

"Well, I DO have a guest bedroom. You can use that for tonight." She opened the door wide, walking in. She kept the door open for Spark. "Come on!"

He blinked as he heard this. "Um...y-you sure? I-I won't be a b-bother?"

"I'm pretty sure I can handle one guest," she said, smiling.

He thought it over for a few moments, and unable to find any reason to decline, he walked in, smiling and giving her a nod of thanks as he entered the castle. After setting up his things in the guest bedroom, Twilight walked in with a trail of books floating behind her. He looked over at the books, eyes wide with how many there were. "Wow, that's a lot of books." He said softly.

"Oh, these? Just an hour's worth," she said. "I brought a few you might like to read. They're guides on potions and how to make them." She floated one of the tomes over to Spark.
Hearing about potions does spark his interest. "Really? I've never tried doing anything potion related. I was more focused on reading about spells and enchantments and such." He said as he took one of the books and gave it a quick look over before flipping it to a random page. The page in question showed a list of instructions on how to brew a mixture for night vision.

"Potions have always been a way for creatures without magic to make their own magic in a sense," explained Twilight.

He nodded. "Makes sense. I guess I just overlooked it." He said. "Are we gonna try to make one now?"

"Mhm~." She floated over a cauldron filled with water. "We'll be trying the most basic of potions: the color change potion."

He was a bit worried about possibly messing it up and making a mess, but as it stood, he trust her. Nodding his head, he looked at the cauldron before looking back at her. "Ok...so what first?" He asked.

She floated over a table of random and assorted ingredients, smiling. "First, we need gem dust." She told him.

He nodded as he looked over for the item on the table. "Dust, dust...." He murmured to himself before his eyes lit up. "Aha! Dust!" He took the dust in hoof and turned to face her. "How much?"

"About two cups full," she answered. "And afterwards, you add in some daffodils. Plants and gems have been known to activate something magical when mixed together properly."

Nodding again, he grabbed the cup and carefully measured out the gem dust before pouring two cups worth into it, then grabbing a few daffodils and, after a nod from the mare, put a few of them in as well. "Ok, what next!" He asked unable to hold the excitement coming from his voice, causing her to giggle.

"Easy Spark, no need to rush.” She reminds him, getting a sheepish look from the pegasus. “Now we wait for a few moments."

After a few seconds, the water in the cauldron turned green, glowing and bubbling from the mixture of magic dust and plant matter. "Now we mix it up. While we do, you must very carefully add in EXACTLY two and a half cups of milk." Spark gave a nod before he took the spoon and started stirring the cauldron of liquid up, being careful not to spill a drop. Looking over at her, he gave a nod to let her know that he is ready for her to add the milk.

She gave him a curious look. “Don’t you wish to add the milk in?” She asked.

He shook his head. “I...I’m too scared I may mess it up, so...”

She just smiled. “There’s nothing to be scared of, and it’s easy enough to do it.” She told him. Seeing how he wasn’t going to be swayed so easily, she just shook her head. “Ok, I’ll do it this time, but next time you add the milk.” He nodded his head in agreement as she grabbed the milk and carefully measured out the exact amount. Shye then hovered the cups over the cauldron and poured in the milk, a flash of light coming from the green water. "And now... the final ingredient: chalk. Any color will do."

He blinked his eyes a few times before shaking his head to clear his vision from the light flash. After hearing the final ingredient, he nodded and looked over at the different colored chalk. "Hmmm...what color do you want Twilight? I kind of what to go with red cause it's my favorite color...and the color of my coat as well...and my hoodie..." He said. “Come to think of it, a lot of things I own are red.” He added, giving a sheepish smile.

"Go with red, Spark," she said, happy to see the giddiness on his face. "You're doing very well."

Smiling at the compliment and glad that she was ok with red, he quickly grabbed the red chalk and slowly placed it into the pot. As soon as it touche the liquid, it starts to change color, slowly shifting to red. "Oooh...pretty!"

This got another chuckle from the mare, finding his actions to be so darn adorable. She pointed to a spout on the side of the cauldron. "Now put a flask under there and fill it up."

He did what she said, and soon he had a rather red looking potion. "This is amazing! Um...what's it supposed to do?" He asked, blushing. He kind of forgot in the excitement of making the potion.

"A single drop will turn the object red, just like the color of chalk you put in," she explained. "Now let's try it!"

Hearing this, he looks around to see just what he should turn red. "I guess I should have done a different color if I wanted to do it on myself." He partially joked.

Twilight laughed lightly upon hearing this. “Perhaps for another time.” She said. She then floated over a simple blue lamp that had been resting on the guestroom table. "Try it on this!"

Nodding, he slowly poured a single drop onto the lamp. Rather quickly, just as she said, it turned red. "Wow...does it light the room with red light now?"

"Um... no," she answered. "The colors are only for looks and don't actually affect the important properties of the object. If you want it to turn red, than it would have to be poured on the lightbulb, not the lamp itself."

"Oh..." He said as he looked at the once blue lamp. He then turned and smiled happily at the Alicorn. "This is an amazing spell-I mean potion. Why, I bet you could make all sorts of different color changes." His eyes go wide as an idea popped into his head. "Maybe even make it so that you can be camouflaged to your surroundings?!"

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "I've never thought of it being used that way before..." She said softly before she shook her head. "Applications like that would normally be useful for battle, though. Ponyville is... fairly peaceful?" She laughed nervously, realizing how untrue it was about Ponyville being safe. “Not only that, but Equstria hasn’t had any major conflicts in over one thousand years.”

He shrugged. "Who said anything about using it for battle? I was talking about a really fun game of hide and seek." He said, laughing at how much fun it would be. As he laughed, he realized how silly and foalish he was being, causing him to stop laughing as he blushed. "S-Sorry, I-I've...I've never had this much fun before Twilight."

Twilight looked at him, confused at his apparent shame. "There's nothing wrong with that," she said. "You saw us playing games at the party, didn't you?" He nodded. "Don't feel ashamed to play games, even if you're fully grown. I still find myself thinking of the old games my brother and I used to play."

He looked at her curiously. "You have a brother?" He asked.

"Oh, yes! Shining Armor. You've probably heard of him. He helps run the Crystal Empire with Princess Cadance."

He pondered on it for a moment before he gave a small shrug. "The name sounds familiar. I think I've heard of that pony and Princess Cadance being married while under an invasion of some sort, but that was awhile ago."

Twilight nodded in confirmation. "Yes, there was an invasion, but it's okay now. The girls and I helped take care of it. We couldn't have done it without Cadance or Shining, though."

He looked at her in slight awe as he listens, and with a soft voice, he asks, "C-Can you...can you tell me about it please?" He asked.

Twilight hopped up onto the guest bed, sitting down. "Well...I don’t know, it’s a long story..." She said slowly, giving a glance to him and seeing the rather cute pleading look he gave her. Unable to really resist too much, she just giggled and nodded her head. “Oh very well. It all started when I got a letter from my BBBFF, or Big Brother Best Friend Forever...”

And from there, she told him about her adventure, from learning about her brother's wedding to the changeling invasion. Every bit had been explained in great detail, the story having lasted well past midnight. Spark listened with rapt attention, not saying a single word as she told the tale. During this, he climbed up and laid down on the bed as well, looking at her the entire time, the mare laying down next to him as well. As it started to wrap up, he can't help but smile, glad that all worked out in the end. "Wow, that's rather impressive." He said. "I'm glad that you were able to find your real foal sitter." He sighed as he laid his head down a bit. "I am sad about the changelings though. They were only trying to find a way to live, even if it was rather mean."

"Oh, they're fine now!" she said. "They're under a new leader. His name is Thorax."

He perked up upon hearing this. "Really?" He says before speaking to himself. "I should tell Cuddio about that, he'll be happy to hear it."

"Cuddio?" Twilight looked confused.

"Oh yea. He's a changeling that I met on my travels. Nice guy, doesn't take love unless he has to...well, didn't I guess." he paused. "I haven't seen him in a while, I wonder how he's doing. Or if he changed as well. I think he told me he was separated from the hive after a failed invasion on some ponies a while ago, one he wasn't too happy to partake in."

"Well, I hope he finds his way back home," said Twilight. She suddenly let out a huge yawn.

Upon seeing the yawn he too yawned as well. "Oh, is it that late already?" He asked, looking outside at the night sky.

"Mhm... it's past midnight actually." Twilight hopped off of the guest bed and walked towards the door, hovering everything she brought in behind her. Before she reached the door, she looked back at Spark and gave him a smile. "Goodnight. I hope you rest well and I hope you enjoyed the potion making. Next time I promise to show some actual spells."

He nodded in understanding. “Of course, I really liked making that potion with you.” He replied. He is about to get under the covers when he paused, turning to face her. "Hey, Twilight? C-Can you...um...I-I just..."

She stopped walking out and turned to face him curiously. "What is it?" she asked.

After a few moments of silence, he motioned her to come closer. Seeing this, Twilight set her things down and approached the bedside. Once she is right next to the bed, he quickly reached forward and wrapped his forelegs around her neck, pulling her into a deep hug and startling the mare a bit. "Thanks Twilight, for making this one of the most fun days I've had in a long time."

Twilight, not sure what to do, just stayed still, letting him hug her. All she could do was smile at such a positive response. "You're very welcome, Spark." She said softly. She felt very happy with how happy he was glad to see that she could make his day so bright with just some simple potion making.

He kept holding her close, not minding that she wasn't hugging him back, but after a while she does return the hug, making him hold her just a bit tighter. He rested his head against her shoulder, his eyes closed as a few tears gently rolled down his cheeks and onto her coat.

Feeling the tears against her shoulder, she gently turns her head to look at him. "Spark?" she asked. "Are you ok?"

He shook his head lightly. "Y-Yea, just...just happy." He then stayed silent, and while the Alicorn is curious as to why he is getting so emotional, she can feel just how happy he is, and not wanting to ruin the moment for him, just gently stroked his back, nuzzling his cheek lightly with her own.

After a few minutes of them hugging it out, she gently moved him off, to which he smiled, wiping his eyes dry. With a few words of good night, he is soon alone in the room, the potion items she brought with her gone as well. Taking his hoodie off, he snuggleD under the covers, his eyes slowly closing as he fell asleep.

He was going to miss this place when he leaves.

Author's Note

UPLOADED THIS DURING THE RIDGECREST EARTHQUAKE. YES I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO