Tales of an Outsider

CHAPTER 6

It has been about a week since his small “session” with Rainbow, and just as she said, nothing really changed between them. Well, that isn’t entirely true. She did become a bit more open with him, and teased him whenever she got the chance. While she made it clear she was fine with doing more of their “preening breaks” and made sure he knew that as well, he always declined going further, and she never pushed him into it. She did, however, convince him a few times, but they never went beyond simple hoofjobs and the occasional oral attention.

During the rest of the week when he wasn’t busy training with Dash or learning to preen, he spent his time either finishing his packing to get ready to leave, or talking with one of the other girls. In fact it was that which he was doing now, having been invited to meet the gang at the Ponyville Park. Around this time, there were no fillies or colts, as they were all in school, making it the perfect time for a picnic. Plus it made it easier for Spark not having to worry about a possible crowd.

As he walked, he couldn't help but think of all the ponies he has met here, and all the new friends that he has made. Even if he has to hide who he really is, they are all rather nice in their own way. Applejack could be trusted to lend an ear out and offer her opinion on something. Pinkie Pie could put a smile on his face, even if most of the time she scared him a bit. Rarity was very nice, and kept on offering to take him to the spa, which he politely declined, as he was busy practicing his flying with Rainbow. As he recalled their many attempts, he still can't help but to blush at the first time when they did those...things. He always kept that memory in a deep spot, saving it for later dates.

Then there was Twilight. She seemed to know what to do, and how to have the most fun, at least in his opinion. Sure a few of those things seemed boring at first, but in the end, he learned so many new things, and while most of them such as spells he would never use, it just made him happy to know it.

And finally Fluttershy. He smiled as he recalled the times spent with her. Always talking about her animals, and willing to give him a shoulder to lean on when he was having a rough day, or a painful memory came out suddenly. She even helped him through the town in a rather crowded day, holding his wing with hers as she lead him.

He smiled as he reminisced those memories, and slowly a frown formed as he remembered that he will be leaving soon. Shaking his head, he decided to make the most of his last couple of days here as he reached the park, looking around for where the girls may be.

Suddenly a noise came from behind, and it sounded a lot like...squeaking wheels. As he turned around, he saw a large trailer, and it seemed to be rolling down a nearby hill at an alarming speed...right towards him.

As the trailer wheels on closer, he gave a yelp of shock as he quickly started to run with it in hot pursuit. Soon he reached a bend and quickly moved to the side, just barely avoiding it.

The trailer, as it reached flatter ground, slowed down until it came to a halt. The door swung wide open, revealing a rather familiar blue unicorn. She stepped off of her trailer, looking around. "Huh... am I early?" She asked herself, confused.

As the pegasus shook his head, he looked over at who nearly ran him over...and froze. "W-Wait...y-you're..." He started to say, but was unable to finish his sentence because of the shock he was going through with seeing another of his idols.

"Yes, it is I! The Great and Powerful Trixie!" she announced, taking off her hat and bowing gracefully. "I'm guessing you want an autograph?"

He quickly nodded. "Yes!" He shouted before covering his mouth and blushing. It was like the Wonderbolts all over again. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before trying again with a very shy smile. "I-I mean...if it isn't a problem..."

"Of course it's not!" she said, floating out a photo and pen from inside her trailer. She quickly signed it before hoofing it over to Spark. It was a signed photo of Trixie herself, smiling smugly.

He smiled back as he looked it over before carefully folding it and putting it inside one of his hoodie pockets. With that done, he looked back at her happily. "I-I just...I-I just..." He tried to speak, but is unable to get the words out right...or at all really.

"Do not fret, my loyal fan! For the Great and Powerful Trixie can read your mind!" She waved her hooves around, trying to act like she knew what she was doing. "Yooouuu... are inspired by Trixie! Is that right?" she asked, grinning.

Even though he knew she couldn't read his mind (as far as he knows), he is still impressed with how she guessed and nodded in response. "Y-Yes! After watching one of your shows, I went through studying many different spells, from stage spells to powerful blasts, to everything in between. There are just so much we can learn from magic and it's all so fascinating and I just love you for bringing this to me and-" He stopped as he realized he just said he loved her, covering his mouth and blushing brightly.

Trixie laughed nervously, writing that off as just some fan jabber. "Trixie is flattered by your words! Now, if you'll excuse me, Trixie has some friends she is waiting for!"

At the mention of friends, he realized that he almost forgot his own date. "Oh yes, I almost forgot I have some ponies I need to see too!" He said. Looking around, he realized not only was he in the right spot, but that they are the only ones here and that caused him to become rather confused. "Actually...they said they would be right here..."

"Odd... Trixie's friends said they'd be here, too," she said, looking around.

From over the hill, Twilight and her friends, Starlight, and Spike, walked towards Spark's direction.

"Ah! There they are!" announced Trixie getting the pegasus’s attention as he looked over at

"Hello!" Called out both Spark and Trixie before they looked at each other with surprise. "Wait, you know them? Of course I know them," They said to each other before they both just stopped talking as they stared at each other in confusion.

As they met up, Starlight ran over to Trixie, hugging her. "I'm glad you could make it, Trixie," said Starlight. "Really, I thought you'd be late again."

"Late? Trixie is never late!" answered the blue unicorn.

"Remember the party I invited you to? We were going to greet you-know-who into Ponyville?" reminded Starlight.

Trixie blinked, confused. She looked at Spark, then at Starlight, then back to Spark again. "Oh! This is him?!" Starlight nodded, motioning over to him. Trixie, realizing her mistake, rubbed the back of her head and looked at Spark before approaching. "Uh... Hello, my loyal fan! I um... Trixie wants to apologize. We were unable to attend your party. I was...um...busy with other activities."

The pegasus just smiled lightly as he nodded. "It's ok, I understand. Besides, the Great and Powerful Trixie is a very busy pony, right?" He said, willing to give her some leeway.

Trixie nodded and rubbed the back of her neck. " Indeed we are. However, in order to make it up to you... How would you like to witness a private show?!"

His eyes nearly sparkled at the thought, giving a quick nod. "Yes please!" He shouted, causing the other girls to giggle at how adorable he was being.

She grinned. "Then take a seat! Trixie shall astound and amaze you!" she said, running into her trailer to get ready for the show. As Spark looked around for a place to sit, he saw Starlight waving to him, smiling.

He smiled back as he walked over and sat down with her. "How in Equestria did you get Trixie here?!" He asked her.

"Believe it or not, we met at the spa here in Ponyville," replied Starlight. "We both have bad pasts, and we bonded over that."

He blinked as he heard this, glancing at the trailer before looking back at her. "You've had...bad pasts?" He asked, confused.

Starlight nodded. "Um... I kinda stole an entire village worth of cutie marks, forcing everypony to be equal..."

His eyes go wide with surprise "W-What?" He asked, eyes wide from surprise.

"It's a really long story," she said, trying to dismiss the whole thing. He was curious to know more, but before he could a loud voice boomed forth.

"Mares and gentlecolts! Witness the awesome power of the great and powerful Trixie!" A plume of blue smoke erupted in front of Spark and his new friends. As it dissipated, it revealed Trixie with a large chest beside her.

He grinned as he saw the unicorn appear on the stage, already stomping in applause as he watched eagerly, his curiosity for Starlight forgotten for the time being. He was gonna watch his magician idol perform once again, something he had dreamed of ever since he first saw her show.

Trixie would begin to perform all variety of tricks. Birds flew from her hat, Trixie sawed herself in half, and she had even levitated without magic. As the show went on, each trick would be more great and powerful than the last. They then came to the last trick...

"And now, for my final trick, I'll need my assistant and a volunteer!" Trixie looked at her group of friends, grinning.

Of course Spark's first reaction was to quickly make himself seem smaller, not wanting to be picked out for the trick. As much as he loves the show, he still wasn't a fan of being the center of attention.

Trixie looked at Starlight, who nodded and winked to her. "How about..." Trixie pointed directly to the one pony who didn't want to be seen. "Spark!"

He eeped as he tried to make himself seem even smaller, leaning behind Starlight as he did so. "M-M-Me?"

"I'll need help from a pony who truly believes in Trixie! Who better than my number one fan?" She continued her grin.

He gulped as he looked around at the other smiling ponies encouraging him to get on stage. He was about to decline when the lilac unicorn spoke up to encourage him.

“It’s just us Spark, no pony else around. We promise not to judge you.” She said in a comforting tone. He tried to decline again when she continued. “Plus it’s with your magician hero. What better chance do you got then this to do something like this?”

He looked back at her for a few moments before looking at the magician. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths to help calm himself down. Star was right, it's just his friends, no pony else, so he shouldn't be worried about it. They have been so kind and understanding to him so far, he felt he could trust them enough with this. Opening his eyes, he gave a very nervous smile and a nod as he shakily got up and walked over to the mare on stage, soon standing next to her.

As soon as Spark stood next to her, Trixie waved her hoof and Starlight floated four bags high into the air. "For my final trick," said Trixie, "There will be four bags. Three are filled with heavy sand. Only one is filled with water!" Trixie then pointed to the crowd. "It is up to the crowd to choose which bag Spark must stand under. His very life...is in your hooves!"

Upon hearing this, his eyes widen with fear. "W-Wait, what!?" He said, legs shaking.

"You have thirty seconds starting now!" she announced, and the crowd started guessing.

"Far left!" shouted Applejack.

"Second from the right!" suggested Twilight.

"No no, ALL the way to the right!" cried Pinkie.

As they continue to make guesses, the red pegasus just stood there, lightly stepping in place as his nervousness built up. He can trust them, they will pick the right one. And Trixie won't get the trick wrong, he has faith in her.

The crowd grouped together, wasting away the seconds. Then, finally, Twilight shouted, "Second from the left!" the rest nodded in agreement.

Spark looked over at Trixie, who nodded and motioned for him to go there. With a gulp, he slowly walked over till he was standing under the bag that they mentioned. As he stepped into place, Trixie gave a small, knowing smirk, which caused him to get even more nervous.

“And now my wonderful audience! Let’s see if you picked the right one!” She said. Everypony fell silent, not a single sound was made. Even Spark was quiet as he watched intently for what would happen to him next, his curiosity overriding the anxiety he has for a few moments. When her horn glowed, all the bags poured out their contents, sand hitting the ground around him and water pouring out onto Spark, drenching him.

As he looked up in awe, he saw the water pouring right down over his face, and as he felt the water pour down on him, the red pony can't help but feel a sense of relief wash over him as well. Once the impromptu downpour was finished, he smiled delightedly at the others, glad to see them pick the right choice. However, he soon realized that they seemed more shock than normal, his head tilted to the side in confusion.

"W-What's wrong? She got it right, yes?" He asked. Still they say nothing. "W-Why are you looking at me like I've grown-" He started to say, before his eyes widen in realization.

Slowly, he reached a hoof up and placed it on his head. As he felt the horns, he realized that the water matted down his mane and pulled his hood down, causing his horns to be shown...and he was in the middle of all of their attention. As he stood there in shock, the reactions of the others were somewhat mixed, if slightly similar with the mares.

Twilight stared at him in confusion, at first wondering if Spark had been messing around with potions. However, she was quick to see that with the reaction that he had he had them for much longer, and was quick to piece things together and realize that he had been hiding them for this entire time.

Applejack was rather unsettled by the unnatural features, a look if wariness on her face. She had an almost weirded out look. To her it wasn’t right. Unicorns have horns, pegasus have wings, and earth ponies have neither. The only other ponies that would have both were the princesses, and he wasn’t a princess. Plus, he had two horns that curved inwards, not one.

Fluttershy could only look on in worry for Spark, hoping he wasn't too scared. A concerned expression was on her face. She wasn’t sure what to make of his horns, being confused as much as the others, but she knew that he wasn’t happy with what happened, and wanted to comfort him, but the shock of those horns stopped her.

Rarity stared with wide eyes, more surprised than fearful. The horns did give him an interesting look...but he’s a pegasus. How does he have horns and wings?

Rainbow Dash grinned, thinking how awesome the whole thing was. She was confused with why he would ever hide such amazing things, it made him look so much more badass.

Starlight, having seen the horns, was not as shocked as the rest. Rather, she had suspected it earlier that he was hiding something. There's no way a colt would keep their hood up all the time unless they were hiding something. Of course, she had no idea he had horns, and that is what caught her off guard.

And Pinkie... she wasn't even looking. Her face was stuffed in a jar of cookies she had brought with her.

Seeing them all stare at him in such a way, it brought him back well past to his younger days, getting ridiculed by the other foals, being neglected by the adults...his heart rate spiked, his breathing increased. He could feel the panic welling as his eyes start to water.

Quickly, before anypony could say or do anything, he rushed away, tail tucked between his legs as he ran as fast as he could. Soon, he was out of the park and out of sight, leaving the mares left to wonder what just happened.

A few of them, namely the three who were told about his lack of flying skills, were starting to piece it together. They all looked at each other and it was clear that they needed to talk about what just happened.

Starlight reached out a hoof. "Spark! Come back! We can talk this through!" But her words either did not reach him, or he was too embarrassed to care as he kept on running.

Trixie had realized her mistake the moment he took off running. This was her fault, and she knew she had to do something, but what? Should she play it off like she didn't do anything wrong?

But this was her fan, she thought to herself. Somepony she had actually inspired. Sure, she had other fans, but she hadn't ever inspired them in the same way she did for Spark.

As the magician thought this over, Starlight turned to the others. "Girls. Group meeting."

Twilight nudged Spike, who had fallen asleep during the first half of the show. He opened his eyes, confused. Twilight motioned for him to follow as she and the others gathered around.

"So uh... Did anypony else see the weird little horns on the top of his head? That ain't natural."

"Applejack!" scolded Rarity. "The poor dear's probably scared half to death!"

"So that's what he was hiding," said Dash. "Don't know why. Those horns made him look twenty percent cooler!"

"Wait, Spark has horns?" asked Pinkie, ever smiling. "Neat!"

"You weren't watching?" asked Starlight.

"Of course not! Who could pay attention on an empty stomach?!" answered Pinkie.

"So, he has horns. So what? I don't see the big deal," commented Spike. Everypony looked at him. "...What? Rarity and Twilight have horns, so why is it strange for him to have one?"

“First off, he’s not an Alicorn or unicorn, like Twilight or Rarity.” AJ explains. “And second, he has two of them. Plus, they ain’t normal horns either. They’re all curved and such.”

"This is obviously a sensitive subject for him," explained Twilight. "He probably thinks we'll judge him or something."

“By the looks of it, it seems he already thinks we do.” Fluttershy stated. “You all saw how terrified he was when we saw them. Plus it would explain why he acted in such a way before, with how he avoided talking about his past. And...oh dear...” She slowly fell silent as she realized some rather important connections with that and his wings, the others noticing her reaction.

“What is it Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked.

“Maybe...maybe this is why he never learned how to fly, or how nopony would help him.” She said, getting the speedy pony’s eyes to go wide as she realized that as well.

“Um, excuse me, I know that you girls know, but perhaps fill the rest of us in on what you two are talking about?” Applejack asked curiously.

This time it was Rarity who spoke up. “Well darling, it’s kind of a long story.” She said, and went on explaining what Spark told them during their tea time, about him being an orphan and never learning how to fly.

As she told them, Trixie, having stayed quiet during this, knew what she had to do. She had to correct her mistake. Seeing how they were going to be busy talking for a while, she ran off in the direction that Spark went earlier, hoping to catch him while the others were still talking. She looked through the streets, trying to find the scared colt.

It took a while of searching, but after some time, she was able to find out that he had ran back to his room. As she walked up to the room, she was about to knock on the door when she heard shuffling hooves and moving objects. A few moments later the door opened suddenly, revealing the red pony with his bags on his back.

His hoodie was still wet from before, but he had his hood up once again, covering his head and a good portion of his face. His eyes widen as he looked at the unicorn mare, surprised to see her here. However, he was still running on fear, and his mind in terror, he quickly rushed past her and made a dash to the outside.

Before he could make it, Trixie grabbed him in her magic. "Oh, no you don't!" She pulled him back in and slammed the door shut, locking it. "Trixie nee-... ahem... I need to apologize..."

Sadly, the terror struck pony wasn't really paying attention to the mare, as he is brought back inside and tossed onto the bed. As he looked around, he does the first thing that comes to mind and that is to hide under the covers.

He closed his eyes as he whimpered, hooves over his head. "P-Please don't hurt me!" He cried out, and it's at this point that Trixie realized that he isn't just scared in general, but terrified. If anything, he was in panic mode and was trying to run from any source of danger.

Realizing that she had to take this slow and carefully, she stood a good distance away from him to not terrify him anymore. "I'm not gonna hurt you." she said softly. “Relax Spark, I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m not upset or anything, I promise.” She felt rather awkward doing this, as she never really helped a pony calm down before, so she was just going with what she assumed was the right way. Thankfully it seemed to work as his breathing slows down a bit, the shivering moving to a stop. After a few minutes he slowly peeked out from under the covers, looking over at her with surprised eyes. "Y-Y-You're n-not g-gonna...h-hurt me?" He asked, hoping she was speaking the truth.

"No," she answered. "Why would I hurt the only fan who was actually inspired by me in a good way?” He stayed silent as he thought it over, and she gave him a few moments before she added, ”I'm really sorry for putting you in that situation. Can you ever forgive me?"

He looked at her, his eyes stayed locked on her own as he tried to calm himself down some more, with little success. Slowly, he does calm down enough to think somewhat properly again. As he slid out from under the blankets, he took a few more deep breaths as he looked away. "W-Why? D-Don't you t-think I'm...I'm a monster?" He asked in shame.

"No!” She shouted, and then quickly covered it up and continued at a calmer tone ”You're not a monster." Trixie assured. "Sure you have those...things, but you’re still a normal pony."

He closed his eyes as he turned away, the tears threatening to spill again. "N-No...I'm not..." He said sadly.

Trixie frowned as she walked over and hopped onto the bed with him, sitting down next to him. She wiped away the tears with her magic before gently turning his head to face her. "You are a pony. Do you doubt the great and powerful Trixie?" she asked.

As he looked back at her, he couldn't help but blush with how close she is to his face. Looking into her eyes, he can see that she really did believe he is a normal pony, and slowly he started to relax a bit more, the rest of his panic subsiding. As he looked at her, Trixie smileed lightly, pulling his hood down to let his horns show fully. He flinched automatically and is about to hide again, but the mare stopped him as she just calmly holds his hooves with her own. After a few moments, she tried again, and he doesn’t stop her as she pulled his hood down, his horns once again in view.

“I...I’m a monster...a mistake...” He said softly, just repeating the same things he had heard during his childhood.

“You are none of those things.” She encouraged him. "Trixie was the real monster a long time ago, so she knows the difference, and you? you're a pony."

This got a small sniffle as he wiped his eyes. "Y-You were?" He asked, surprise easily shown in his shaken voice.

She nodded. "Trixie has done bad things. Things...Trixie would rather not talk about. But if you wish, Trixie...I can tell you my story."

He stayed silent as he looked at her, clearly curious and wanting to know just what happened to such an amazing mare. However, because of his nervous nature, he remained silent, not wishing to push her since she didn't wish to talk about her past.

She waited for a few minutes to see if he would say something, but when it was clear he wasn’t going to ask, she just nodded her thanks in response. “Perhaps one day I will be more willing to tell you that story. All I wish is for you to know that none of us think you are a monster.”

He just glanced at his hooves with a sniffle. “I...I don’t know...” He said softly, still not fully convinced himself. The years of hardship and insults had taken their toll on his mind, and even now he sometimes thinks that what they said is true.

She frowned as she thought of a way to convince him when an idea came to her mind. She smiled softly, her cheeks dusted with a light pink. "Do you need more convincing that you're not a monster?"

Spark looked back up at this. "H-How can you convince me t-that...that I'm not a monster?" He asked skeptically.

“Monsters are those that don’t have a heart, and don’t care what they do to others. They only think about themselves and will do whatever it takes to make themselves feel better. They have no emotions nor are they kind or helpful. Plus...” She paused for a second before just jumping into action. Without giving him any time to prepare, she leaned in and pressed her lips against Spark's, staying there for several seconds before she pulled away. "Monsters aren't supposed to be cute," she finished, her blue face turning a bit more red.

His eyes went wide as she kissed him, nearly sputtering as he just froze up, sitting there staring at her. His wings are quick to react, though, becoming erect in their wing boner as he just looks at her. Before he can even think of anything to say, there was a knock on the door, slightly startling both ponies from their stupor.

"Spark? Are you in there?" Twilight called, knocking again. "We just want to talk."

He remained silent as he looks at the door, still unsure what to say, even as Trixie just got off the bed and walked to the door herself. She would have liked to have a bit more time with the pony, but she also knows that he is need of his other friends to talk to him. Once she reached the door, Trixie turned the handle and let Twilight in, who looked at Spark with concern on her face. "Spark, we're your friends. We wouldn't judge you just for having those horns."

Even as she said that, he started to back up a bit before his rear hits the wall that is against the head of his bed, and he started to kneel down as he whimpers. The fact that there were so many ponies out, even if they were his friends, makes him super skittish, nearly ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Plus it didn’t help that they all knew about his horns.

Thankfully one of the mares was quick to respond. As he cowers, Fluttershy rushed to his side before he can do anything else and wrapped him up with a wing, pulling him close as he comforts him. "Shh... it's okay. We're not going to hurt you," she said, trying to calm him down.

"Spark, we could never judge you for what you look like," said Twilight earnestly.

As they continued to try and soothe him, something finally snapped inside of him, the red pony slowly looked over at them with his green eyes, almost glaring at them. "H-How can I believe you! Y-You just think I-I'm a monster like the others, a hellspawn, a...a-a d-d-demon..." He stated, causing them all to wince. The girls look at each other as they hear such venom from a normally shy and kind pony. Clearly he has been hurt before, but they had no idea how bad until now. Now, however, they were going to get to the bottom of this.

Twilight shook her head. "We don't think that... Why would we ever think of that? Who would even call you such things?" She was going to say more but a quick glance from Fluttershy got her to pause her questions.

His eyes start to water as he looked away, clearly not wanting to talk about such events. However, Starlight was having none of it as she walked over and gently turned his head to look at them with a hoof, making sure to use a gentle voice as she spoke. "Whoever hurt you isn't here anymore. You can trust us. We're your friends, and friends don’t abandon each other cause of some little thing like this." He took a shaky breath, the pegasus slowly started to calm down again, and he glanced at them for a moment before turning away. Seeing this Star added, “If you really don’t wish to talk about it, then we won’t-”

"Ev...Everypony hurt me..." He said softly and rather suddenly, his eyes watering as he tried to hold back his tears.

The lilac unicorn looked at the others, who just gave her confused looks like hers. She turned her attention back to Spark. "Can you explain?" She asked, looking concerned.

He hesitated, looking away as he stays silent, but a nudge from Fluttershy gets him to look back at them. After a few minutes of silence, he finally speaks up. "I-I...I grew up a-alone in town. T-The caretakers...they never bothered to help or take care of me c-cause...cause of this." He starts to say.

While Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity all told the others about his past, they were still surprised by it. Twilight looked to Spark. "What happened to them?"

He just shrugged. "I-I don't know. I was left on the doorstep o-of the building, only my name on some paper...a-and my necklace." He closed his eyes as he tried to stay relaxed, Fluttershy being a rather large help as she kept rubbing his back, the words just falling from his lips. "T-The only one w-who helped me was the owner of the place."

"S-She raised me up for the first years of m-my life. Those were the only good times I had." He gave a light smile as he recalled those times before sighing and turning away. "B-But she was old and...and died by the time I was supposedly six."

As he talked, the mares couldn't help but feel sad with how Spark was brought up. Being raised up with no parents, then having the only one who was supposed to raise him pass away...it couldn't have been easy. A fact that AJ understood quite well.

"Um... I know what it's like to live without yer folks..." said the farm mare, even making eye contact with Spark.

He paused his story as he looked over at her with surprise. "Y-You...you do?"

She nodded with a sad smile. "Mhm... I really do miss them..."

Spark nodded in understanding. "I-I'm...I'm sorry Applejack." He says. She looked up and gave him a polite smile, but when her eyes locked onto his horns, she is quick to look away. He saw this and frowned upon seeing such a familiar action. "Y-You're scared of my horns, aren't you." He simply stated.

She knew that he caught him, and just gave a saddened nod. "I don't particularly find them natural," she replied before she quickly added, "I won't make fun of you, though. Yer a good pony in my book, horns and all."

He stared at her for a few minutes to see if she was telling the truth, but seeing how she has been honest with him so far, and seeing that she wasn’t lying to him then, he gave a small nod. "Thank you Applejack." He said before taking a moment to breath. Fluttershy rubbed his back some more and he leaned into her a bit and continued his story. "T-The others...they thought the same as you did. They didn't think it was natural. But they took it further. They...t-they thought I was a d-d...dem...a creature of Tarturus."

He closed his eyes as he started to shake once again. "The a-adults...they would either avoid me or ignore me out of fear, while the k-kids..." Finally, he gave a sniffle before he slowly started to cry, tears sliding down his cheeks. Unable to continue, he nestled his face against the yellow mare’s chest, to which she quickly held him close, whispering soothing words to calm him down again.

It didn’t take much for them to connect two and two together, each of them looking at each other. They were hoping that it was just verbal abuse, a couple of them even knowing a bit about such thing, but then Twilight spoke up, asking the question that was on all of their minds. "They physically hurt you, didn't they?" She asked.

He nodded once again, getting a few gasps from the girls. A few of them had to grow up with such things, and they knew what it’s like to get bullied in their life. Fluttershy and Rainbow for instance were almost always bullied in Flight School, but they had each other to help themselves through the trying time. It was clear that Spark had no pony to stick up with him. The shy mare continued to rub his back, doing her best to not tear up before him. "Is that all that happened? I hope that's it..."

Sadly, and to the surprise of the rest, he shook his head. "N-No..." He sniffed as he recalled that one fateful night. He started to tell them about that night, when he was busy walking from the park. He normally went there to relax, being one of the few places he could feel safe. The night was cool and he was even smiling at the time. Then a pony, he isn't sure who, came from the darkness and snatched him, pulling him between some buildings. He tried to escape, but all he got was a slap to the face and a punch to the gut to make him stop.

As he lay there in pain, the guy was murmuring something about how all hellspawn and demons have to be cleansed from the world, and as he was talking, he pulled out a knife.
The girls' eyes widen as he continued on, the stallion walking over to him and pressing it against his throat. His eyes went misty as his mind played back that dark time. He could feel the blade as it dug into his skin, his flesh, the blood flowing out as it started to pierce his throat...

Then it was suddenly gone and he could hear some scuffling before it suddenly stopped as soon as it started. He sadly can't remember much after that as he passed out, but from what he learned he was saved by the main caretaker's husband, one of the few ponies who was "nicer" to him than the others.

"H-He was able to just save me before I...b-b-bled out..." Spark finishes. His hoof slowly goes to his neck, where he can feel the scar there even after all of those years ago. "T-The worst part was instead of feeling pity, the kids and adults just...u-used it as fuel against me." This time he didn’t cry, just whimpered as he shuffled closer to Fluttershy, the mares looking at each other with mixed responses.

Fluttershy wasn’t able to hold back her tears after hearing this, and she just held him close as she silently cried for him, her cheeks getting wet during it. She hugged him tight and refused to let him go, though he didn’t want to leave at all at the time.

Rainbow and Applejack just looked at each other, both of them shocked with such an act of violence.

Twilight didn't know what to say, and neither did the rest of them. They could only stare on in shock. The only one who spoke up was Starlight. "Whoever that pony was, they were clearly not right in the head," she said. "They should've been in a hospital."

He shook his head. "N-No, he was j-just...one of the more vocal ponies that hate me. E-Everypony in the town thought I was some monster from hell..." He admitted.

“You mean everypony there was like that?” She asked, shocked.

He nodded. “Y-Yea...” It's at this point that he shivered, still rather cold with the wet hoodie on him.

The others noticed this and Twilight was the first to speak up about it. "Spark. Please take that off before you catch a cold," She said. Before he can even say anything, Fluttershy was already tugging on the hoodie, and after a few moments she had it off of him, tossing it to the side. He blushed as he is now fully exposed to them, though at this point it hardly mattered considering his horns were in plan view the entire time. Twilight looked closer, examining the horns. "I've never seen anything like these. They don’t look like any other horns I have seen before."

As she tried to take a closer look, Spark pulled back, whimpering, and Fluttershy gave the Alicorn a stern look. "I'm not sure he wants us to stare at them right now." She said, patting the red pegasus to keep him calm.

Twilight nodded sheepishly. "Oh, right. Perhaps he should get some rest? It is pretty late." She suggested, the others nodded in agreement.

At that, the pegasus yawned, causing him to blush as he looked away. "I-I...I guess I should go sleep then..." He said. With that, instead of getting settled in the bed, he got up and slowly walked to his bags as he started to gather them up.

The group gave him confused looks as he finished packing his stuff up. "Wait... what are you doing?" asked Starlight.

"I'm heading out to make camp." He said.

"But why? Aren't you staying here?" Asks Trixie, who had been silent up till now.

He shook his head. "I was, but again it's only a temporary stay. I got my bits and supplies that I'll need to keep me going for the next few weeks as I travel to the next town, wherever that is." He explained before glancing at them. "Remember, I travel a lot."

As they stare at him in shock, it was Rainbow, who once again remembered him telling her that he didn't hang out with others a lot, who finally realized why he stayed away from others the way he does.

"It's those horns, isn't it?" She asks, causing him to turn to face him. "That's why you travel. Cause those horns and being afraid of what others may do to you."

He paused as he looks at her before nodding, then hefting the bags on his back. Without saying another word, he started to head out of the room, letting out a small sigh as he does so. "I-I...Thanks for everything you girls have done for me." He said softly, his eyes still wet from before. To his surprise, he finds himself unable to leave the room, a blueish force field blocking his way out of the room. He turns and looks at the group confused, only to see Starlight’s horn lit up.

“There is no way we’re gonna let you continue living such a life. Heck it’s not even a life at all, running away from everypony.” She said, Twilight and the others nodding in agreement.

He frowned as he looks at her. "Why should I stay? I’ll just get you all in trouble, and sooner or later somepony will hurt me again. What’s stopping it from happening all over again?"

"Duh, we are!” The cyan mare stated as she walked up to hm and wrapped a wing around him. ”If anypony picks on you, then they have to deal with us. It’s what friends do after all."

He shook his head before moving away from her. "N-no, I can't ask you to do that for me."

"We don't care if you ask or not. We don't let those kinds of things happen." She continued. Looking back at the others, they saw that they were all nodding in agreement, and as much as he tried to find one of them to not back her up, to give him some excuse to leave, he found none.

He was left speechless as he heard this, looking at all of them. Seeing them all smile and nod in agreement, he wasn't really sure what to say. All his life he has known pain and loneliness, but now these girls are all wanting to change that for him. With that said...

He looked away and sighed. "Still, even if I stay here, I can't stay in this inn any longer. It's too expensive to stay for long term." He explained as he got off the bed. "I was just going to camp out by that forest for a few days before heading out-"

"Nuh uh, sugarcube," said Applejack, silencing quickly. "We're here for you, and we won't let you pack up and leave like that. Runnin' is no way to live."

He looked at them for a few moments longer before he shook his head yet again. "Fine, but I still can't stay here in this inn. Like I said, too expensive."

Twilight smiled. "That’s easy enough to solve. You can stay at the castle." She offered.

His eyes widened with surprise. "B-But I don't wish to be a burden. It's really fine for-" he started to say only to be interrupted by the Alicorn.

"I think that it will be much better than camping out in the Everfree Forest.” She added. Seeing him open his mouth to retort, she stopped him and continued. “None of that, your princess commands it, and you can't refuse," she said, finally finding SOME use for her authority.

This left his mouth open, speechless with the fact that she actually ordered him to stay at her castle. As his mind tried to get around it, Fluttershy nuzzled against his side, causing him to look at her and see the rather large smile on her face. He did remember how much she wished for him to stay here, and it seemed that she is getting her wish after all. Taking a few deep breaths, he looked over at the girls before him, all of them with comforting smiles, letting him know that he wouldn’t be all alone anymore. He remained silent for a good few minutes, the silence stretching out before with a small nod, he finally agreed. "Ok...I-I'll...I'll stay here for now."

The group cheered and Twilight wrapped a wing around Spark. "Trust me, you'll love life here."

He couldn't help but blush at that, and without warning he wrapped his hooves around her, hugging her close, along with Fluttershy. "T-Twilight...Fluttershy...everypony. T-Thank you so much."

They just smiled as they hugged him back, the rest of the girls quickly joining in on the group hug. As they all got closer, Spark expected for his anxiety to kick in and push them all away like normal, but this time, he was just...relaxed. Even as he was smothered among all of them, he felt more protected than any other time during his life. Perhaps today is the start of something new. Perhaps he finally gets to live life just for himself.

Perhaps...he can just live.