Tales of an Outsider

by Vivid_Whisper

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance, Sex, Slice of Life, Sad, Main 6, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 72502

A new pony comes to Ponyville, and he's not quite normal.

Having been born with a genetic defect of sorts, Spark Voltage has to live with his self-hatred while learning that not everypony is out to hurt him.

A collab between me and Drakalian. Be sure to check out his work as well!

Published 2019-06-15 17:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-06-05 23:29:02 UTC

Introductions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Good job delivering those letters!" she cheered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Line)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He handed Spark the gem, smiling at him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He nodded. "Never at all."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Without a doubt," said Applejack.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Author's Note

Here's another chapter. Enjoy.

Peeking his Head Out

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.

Making Magic Happen

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

Reveal

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.

Family Night

The next day, Spark awoke in the guest bedroom, having stayed there the night before. As he stretched, he rubbed his eyes with his hooves before looking around a bit, confused with where he is. As the memories of last night wash through him, he can't help but give a hopeful smile before shaking his head. He did hope this worked better than those other times he has had so called friends. In fact, the only other being he has really been friends with was Cuddio, and he has no idea where he is now.

Still, seeing as it was already settled and he was now living with a princess of all ponies, he got up and left the room, doing his best to navigate the castle as he made his way to the dining room. It takes a bit, but soon he finds the room, and looking inside he sees Twilight and Spike were sitting together at the very end of t:he table, eating stacks of pancakes.

He smiled as he saw them, walking to the fridge and grabs one of the salads he had brought from his own stash. Since he wasn't traveling anytime soon or at all at the moment Twilight allowed him to keep the extra food in their fridge, despite him saying otherwise. It was really hard to say no to any of them really. As he took the food out, he went over and sat by them. "Um, morning." he said with a small smile. He was a bit unsure of himself, not really used to such a situation, but thankfully they were all understanding.

Twilight smiled in his direction. "Good morning, Spark! Glad you could join us! There's a stack in the middle for you. I had Spike make extra in case you wanted some."

Looking at the stack there, he pondered on it for a few moments before giving a small shrug. "Um...perhaps one. I don't want to over eat." He said before taking one of the pancakes and placing it next to his salad. That and again he didn’t want to overstep, even if they were given to him.

Twilight took a bite of her meal, swallowing before speaking again. "What are your plans for today?" She asked, curious.

He shrugged upon hearing this. "Not really sure. I...I'm kind of at a loss." he admitted. As soon as he said this, he paused his eating as he just looked down at his plate. This was the first time he had ever tried to settle down ever since he left his home village...anyways, it was going to take a while for him to get used to it. Thankfully Twilight noticed this as she quickly thought of something for him to do.

"Well, if you want, I can help you get started on finding a nice little home of your own near the castle. There's a few that haven't been sold yet," she said to him.

Looking up with some surprise, he smiled as he nodded in agreement. "That does sound rather nice, though it will have to be aft-" He stopped speaking as his eyes went wide with shock. "Work! I forgot about work!" He shouted, and quickly finished his meal before leaping out of the chair. "SorryIhavetogonowbeforeI'mlateforworkbye!" He quickly said so fast that Pinkie would be proud before he rushed out in a blur, leaving both Alicorn and dragon to blink in surprise.

As he rushed across the streets, hoodie already on and hood up, he made good timing to the post offices, but once there, he is shocked to find that the door was locked. Worried, he started to pace around the entrance, trying to find out why it is locked in the first place.

As he was focused on the door, he didn't notice a certain grey pegasus walking over from behind him, giving him a rather curious look. "Spark? What are you doing here?"

Giving a jump, the red pony turned to face Ditzy as he gave her a worried look. "I'm sorry for being so late Ditzy I kind of lost time and I had been busy with so much stuff I know it isn't a good excuse but-" He quickly stopped talking as he saw her giggling, causing him to blink in confusion. "Um… w-what's so funny?"

After a few moments of laughter, the mare calmed down as she smiled at him. "Nothing, just… it's Sunday, silly." She said. Upon realizing that, he blushed as he finally sat down, pawing at the ground.

"O-Oh, Sunday...s-so no work… right..." He said, very much embarrassed. He glanced at her from under his hood. “Um… w-what are you doing here then?”

“Oh, w-well I was getting some snacks for my daughter, since we were out of them.” She explained, motioning to her packs on her back. He nodded as he goes back to staring at the ground shyly. She focused an eye on him, noticing his embarrassment, but not really sure what to say. After a few moments of silence an idea popped into her head as she smiled at him. "Would you like to join me and my daughter today?"

His eyes went wide with surprise as he looked at her. "W-Wait, me j-join you.? I-I'm not sure, I-I mean, not that its a bad thing, I just...I d-don't want to intrude on whatever you already have planned." He said, looking away shyly.

She quickly flew in front of him, smiling. "That's dumb thinking! You should join us! We'd enjoy your company!” She said.

He remained silent for a few moments, looking around the place as he thought over his options. After a while, he smiled lightly and nodded. "O-Ok, if it isn't that much of a bother." He said to her.

She lets out a small squeal of delight. "Ah! That's wonderful!” She grabbed his hoodie in her teeth, dragging him along to his surprise. This mare had some strength.

He staggered along, trying to keep his balance as the mare pulls him with her to her home, which they arrive within a few minutes. Once there, he straightens his hood a bit before looking at her. "Y-You know I can walk myself." He says, though upon seeing the look on her face, he quickly adds, "N-Not to be mean or anything, I just...you know...nevermind…

She tilts her head in confusion before nodding. "Okay! Sorry about that!" She hovers up to the front door and unlocks it with her key. "I hope you like orange juice!"

He nods. "Orange juice is fine." He tells her as they walk in, the mare closing the door behind them.

As they walked in, a young filly runs up to greet her with a big hug. "Mommy! I found a caterpillar!"

Ditzy patted Dinky's head, smiling. "Is it making its cocoon?"

"Not yet! He's eating the leaves!" she answered. She then turned to Spark. "Hello!"

He couldn't help but smile as he saw the energetic filly, giving a nod back. "Hello there, I'm guessing you’re the one that Ditzy has been talking about so much?" He asked.

"Uh huh! She talks about me to ponies a lot!" she said, a big smile on her face.

The energy she was giving was making him rather happy as well, reaching over and ruffling her mane. "I can see why. You are just such an adorable filly. You don't give your mom too much trouble, do you?"

"That'd be pretty mean!" replied the filly. "Oh! I forgot to check on the caterpillar!" she cried, running out the door.

"She's VERY energetic!" said Ditzy. "She knows how to watch herself though while I'm away."

"I can tell." He said, chuckling lightly. "I'm rather happy with how playful she seems to be." He looked around the building a bit before looking back at the grey mare. "S-So, um...what were you two going to be doing?"

"We were gonna watch a few movies. It's our mother/daughter night!" she answered with a small smile.

He nodded. "Very well, you need me to help in any way for setting up, or-" He started to ask, before the mare shakes her head.

"I've always got a lineup of movies~."

He nodded again as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

Ditzy walked over. There was a DVD player on the TV, which she opened up. "Any suggestions?"

Spark opened his mouth to say something, but slowly closed it as he inspected his hooves. "I-I've...um, I've never actually seen a movie, so...so I don't really know what to suggest." He said. There was a small gasp from behind him, and turning around, he saw Dinky staring at him with wide eyes.

"You've never seen a movie?!" She jumped up onto the couch, bouncing Spark a bit. "Mama! He's never even seen a movie!"

Ditzy smiled and patted Dinky on the head. "That's ok, sweetheart. At least he's watching one now. Would you like some popcorn?"

The red pony gave a nod. "I-If it's not too much trouble."

"I'll get it!" Dinky shouted as she ran off.

Spark couldn’t hold back his laughter as he watched the little unicorn filly rush off to grab the snacks, he then turned his eyes back to Ditzy. "She is very adorable. I can see why you love her dearly."

"Moooom! The popcorn is everywhere!" cried Dinky from the kitchen. Ditzy smiled nervously and flew into the kitchen.

Of course Spark wasn't going to just sit there. He quickly got up and followed her.

The kitchen was a complete and total mess, with popcorn all over the floor. Ditzy was grabbing a broom, sweeping up some of it.

As Spark looked around, he found the filly giving a small frown on the outskirts of the mess, and he walked up to her before leaning down to better talk to her. "So, what happened here?" He asked, curious.

Dinky smiled. "I didn’t know what to press, so I pushed all the buttons."

This made Spark utter a small laugh. He looked around at the mess. Giving her head a small ruffle, he leaned down and starts helping the mother/daughter duo with cleaning up the popcorn.

As they cleaned, Dinky talked about her day at school, speaking of lessons and friends and a few books. Ditzy happily listened and commented as she swept, obviously enjoying the time spent with her daughter.

Spark also listened as well, finding the little filly to be so damn cute. As he cleans the floor, his hoof bumps into Ditzy's, causing them both to pause as he stammers out some apologies, though she just waves it off and smiles back.

After they had finished cleaning, they were soon back at the couch, the tv ready as the grey mare went through the different movies to choose from.

"Here we go. Rolling Skies: A Love Story," she said as she inserted the disk.

As Spark settled down, Dinky was quick to jump onto the couch and sat next to him, causing him to blink as he looked down at her. Seeing her look back at him with those innocent eyes made his heart melt a bit and he couldn’t help but smile back.

Ditzy sat down next to her daughter, wrapping a wing around her. The movie's protagonist seemed a lot like Spark, especially when it came to childhood. They had both been hurt by judgement.

The protagonist went on to meet an oddly familiar mailmare, falling in love with her at first sight. He worked with her, and eventually, after she had invited him to her home, he asked her out. She agreed, and from there on, the movie depicted several different scenes of their romance until the very end, where they got married.

During the entire movie, Spark would smile at the small things that the stallion did for the mare, and even laugh a few times at some of the more funny parts. Glancing at Ditzy every so often, he would notice, to his surprise, that she would be looking back at him before turning away.

Once it was over, the red pony gave a small yawn as he stretched his wings, Dinky stretching her own limbs as well. "That was a rather nice movie." He said, smiling.

Ditzy nodded. "Yeah. It was very sweet and romantic. I love romance."

Nodding, he looked around the place for a few moments before asking, "So...what else do you guys do during mother daughter day?"

"Oh, this is normally it. After watching a whole marathon, we eat dinner and then go to bed, "she answered.

He blinked as he looked at Dinky, who nodded. After a few moments of silence, he shrugged as he leaned back against the couch. "I-I guess I can stay for a bit longer." He says, giving a small smile.

Ditzy smiled and put on the next movie, which was a comedy. There was nothing particularly special about this one. It was simply about a stand-up comedian who learned how to laugh again.

He was a very good comedian and he got the ponies in the room, including the ones watching the movie, to laugh at most if not all of his jokes. As the hours ticked by, Dinky rested her head against him, looking a bit tired, He couldn't help but realize how nice it must have been to have a family.

As the thought came to him, he felt a small tear leaking from his eyes as he remembered his own lack of a childhood, but thankfully he shook it off as he went back to focusing on the movie.

All too soon the last movie was over, and with a yawn, Ditzy got up from the couch and stretched her limbs. "What a great movie night!" She said before looking at Spark with a warm smile. "Thanks for joining us, Spark."

He blushed and gently waved his hoof. "I-It was nothing, really. I enjoyed the time with you two." He said, looking at Dinky for a moment, only to see that the filly was asleep.

"I should probably get her to bed," said Ditzy, picking up her daughter.

He nodded as he got up. "Need help bringing her up?" He asked, to which she shook her head.

She looked into his eyes for a moment before walking up the stairs with Dinky.

Once she came back, she led him to the door and smiled at him. "Have a good night, Spark. I hope to see you again soon, and perhaps we can hang out again like this? Dinky really enjoyed your company," She said.

He nodded. "Of course, I enjoyed hanging out with both of you," He said, and with a final farewell, he headed on out. Looking up at the sky, he sighed as he saw the stars and the moon all out, and stopped in the town center to just watch the sky for a bit.

Author's Note

Here ya go.

Magical Memories

After a few minutes of star gazing, he headed back to the castle and entered the building. As he walked around he realized that Twilight was nowhere to be found, though he assumed that she was just asleep. As he walked down the hallway, he saw one of the doors open and glanced over in the room, curious. Inside Twilight was sitting in a chair, reading a book, seeming very much absorbed in it. Surrounding her were massive bookshelves with thousands of books stocked. She looked up and noticed Spark, smiling and waving a hoof for him to come in.

He looked around the room as he entered, his eyes wide with amazement. "Wow, this is...a lot of books." He said.

She nodded. "These books originally came from Canterlot. Princess Celestia thought it'd be nice to give me a few."

He nodded as he looked at her with a small smile, tugging his hood instinctively as he did so. Even now he kept his hoodie on, something Twilight has noticed, and while she didn't wish to push him on it, she did think he doesn't really need it when around her. After a few moments of thinking it over she spoke up.

"Maybe you should try walking around the castle without your hoodie?" she suggested, smiling.

He paused as he looked at her with surprise before he quickly shook his head. "I-I kind of...p-prefer to keep it on, if that's ok? It helps to keep me calm with...l-large groups and to hide my...um, y-y-you know..." he said, looking down at his hooves in slight shame.

"But Spark, you don't have to worry about it here. Everypony who would be here knows about your...you know." she reminded.

"I-I know, but-"

"Please?" She asked again, giving him big puppy eyes.

He looked at her, stuck between a rock and a hard place as he tried to resist, but sadly his lack of dealing with such things proved to be his undoing as he sighed and nods his head. "O-Ok...I-I g-g-guess."

He slowly took the hood off, and soon he places it on the floor for the time being, looking at her with a nervous look.

She smiles in satisfaction. "Doesn't it feel good? You don't have to wear it all the time."

"Um...I-I guess." He said, though his voice didn’t share her conviction. His horns, having not bothered to cover them up with his mane this time, poked out on top of his head, the sight just begging for her to examine them. After a moment she placed the book down and got up, taking a few steps to looking at them closer, which caused him to back up a bit. "Um...w-w-what are you doing?"

She squinted her eyes as she studied them. "They're just such a curious sight. If you'd like, I want to run some tests." He shuffled on his hooves, but before he could protest, she once again gave him those big eyes of hers. "Pleeeaaase?"

He blushed as he once again tried to resist...and once again failed. "Ok, ok!" He said. "I-I'll...you can d-do some tests."

She squee'd in joy and ran out the room. She eventually returned with a large machine on wheels. "I haven't used this in a while!"

He gulped as he looked at the machine in worry. "Um...i-it won't h-hurt me...will it?"

She looked at him, looking smug as all Tartarus. "This old thing? Nah. It's harmless." She floated a few stickers from the machine onto Spark's forehead, near his horns.

He could feel himself starting to breath rapidly as she takes the stickers closer to his head, but before he can panic he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. After a few minutes of keeping his eyes closed and calm, he looked back at Twilight, seeing that she stopped what she was doing and was patiently waiting for him to calm down. He gave her a nod of thanks and allowed her to continue. As she placed the stickers on him, he shivers at how close they are to his horns, but otherwise he remained still.

Twilight switched on the machine, the metal box beeping and buzzing for a few moments before it spat out some paper from a slot in the side. She picked up the paper and read it over, becoming confused a few moments later. "Hm... that's definitely odd."

He blinked as he looked over at her curiously. "Um...w-what's odd?" He asked.

"Your magic output," she said. "It's higher than the average unicorn..."

This caused him to give a surprised look. "B-But...but I'm a pegasus, not a unicorn..." He said, confused.

"Exactly, that’s why it’s so odd...Perhaps it’s the horns?"

He gave a small shrug. "M-Maybe? I really don't know." He sighed as he sat down. "I-I mean...t-there is that one time that they..." He started to say before falling silent.

The purple unicorn noticed this, however, and was quickly curious. "That they what?" she asked, looking at him with more interest.

Spark, clearly anxious about such a subject, was gonna decline when he saw her preparing to do the puppy eyes. Not wanting to suffer such cuteness, he quickly starts to answer. "W-Well...t-they...I..." He hesitated again, still having a hard time telling it, and this time Twilight walked up to him and sits before him, offering a wing to his side for comfort. She can see that it wasn't a good memory, whatever it was.

"I'm here for you. You can tell me," she assured. "It will help if you tell me about it."

He nodded and after he took a few more moments to calm himself down, he finally continued. "I-I...I know that they keep growing back n-no matter what...w-what happens to them." He said. This got her curious as she tilted her head at him.

"They... grow back?" She shook her head with a small chuckle. "Spark, that's ridiculous. They shouldn't be able to...I mean... Well, how can they..." She tried to say, but as she looked at him and noticed the serious look on his face, she fell silent and stared back. “They...they do?”

He nodded. "T-They do. I...I've tried to...t-to..." He looked away once again in shame, though this time the Alicorn realized just why he was so upset about telling her this, her eyes going wide with shock.

"You've...tried to..." She went silent, tightening her wing's grip on him. "Why?"

He stayed silent as he remained looking away from her. "I-I...I was two years into my self isolation, if you want to call it that." He started. "I-I...I got so s-sick and tired of all the ponies either staring at me, o-or just...just refusing me any sort of help outright. I...I j-just..." He sniffed as his eyes start to water. "I couldn't take it anymore. So I...I b-bought a knife a-and..." he fell silent as he quietly teared up, a few of them falling and landing on the floor as he took in some shaky breaths.

Twilight was speechless, her eyes wide as she just sat there, frozen in shock. To think that he would be so desperate as to try and cut off the horns himself, using a simple knife. Of course there is such ways like having a surgeon help, and she has heard of a few ponies do such things, but to do it by himself, with no help or medicine? The next moment she quickly wrapped her forelegs around him, giving him a sort of double hug with both wings and legs. She could feel herself shivering a bit from this sudden information intake.

He closed his eyes as he felt her hug him, a bit unsure what to do. Eventually he returned the motion, his forelegs wrapping around her as he rests his head against her shoulder, slowly calming down. At this point Spike walked into the room, noticed the moment they were having, and then slowly walked backwards out of the room. Twilight shook her head at his actions before she turned her attention back to the pegasus. "We're here for you, Spark. I promise you won’t go through anything like that again." She promised him.

Spark didn't even notice when the dragon entered and left the room, so focused he is on the mare before him and the tears he was shedding. After a few minutes he finally calmed down enough to pull back. Glancing at her, he looked away before finishing his story. "N-No matter how many times, they would just grow back within a f-few minutes." He shivered as his wings tighten on his sides. "T-There was...s-so much...so much b-b-blood..." He coughed as he thought back to that, another shiver going down his spine.

She winced sympathetically as she heard the word "blood", knowing that unicorn horns actually bleed quite a lot when damaged or broken. If his horns are anything similiar to a unicorns biology wise, then there would be lots of it. She rubbed his back a bit longer and then pulled away. “Just relax, I’m here to help. No one will make you go through that again.” She said again. As the minutes ticked by, wanting to think of something to change the subject, an idea popped into her head...along with her stomach. "Why don't we get something to eat? You must be hungry."

At this his stomach growled, causing him to blush as he shuffles on his hooves., the mare just gave a small giggle at the sound "J-just a bit..." He said, already starting to calm down a bit at the mention of food.

She smiled at him and led him into the kitchen, a room he had never seen before. There was a variety of pots and pans hanging from cabinets, and there were stoves made from pure Crystal.

He looked around curiously at the many crystal objects before looking at the purple mare curiously. "S-So...so what's for dinner?"

"What would you like?" she asked. "We've got beans, celery, eggplants, radishes, daisies-"

“Actually...” He looks around the kitchen for a few moments before he continued. Looking back at Twilight, he tried again, "A-Actually, can I make something for us?"

She blinked in surprise. "What?"

He nodded. "Please Twilight? It's the least I can do after all you have done for me." He explains.

Seeing how he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, she giggled and nodded. "Alright. You can make us something."

Smiling, Spark was quick to start working on grabbing a few items before getting ready to cook. He was eager to make something for his hostess, considering how nice she and her friends had been this entire time. As the minutes ticked by, he was so focused on making the food that he barely notices Twilight still standing there, watching him work.

Twilight smiled and waited, watching Spark work. She figured that since he travelled a lot, he'd have picked up some recipes from other locations. She was rather excited to see what he made. Plus Spike would most certainly appreciate the break.

It took some time, but soon he has a pot simmering with hot water, along with a few chopped up veggies inside. As he stirred, he glanced over at the Alicorn, noticing that she was watching with interest, which caused him to blush. "U-Um...y-you can come and watch if you really want to." He says as he focused back on the pot.

She grinned excitedly and walked over, watching. "What do you cook when you're travelling?"

He shrugged. "Nothing special. When I travel...ah, was traveling, I would make simple things that didn't require a lot of supplies. I had to save up and manage my food, if that makes sense." He said, to which the mare gives a nod of understanding. "In this case, I'm making a simple stew I learned from a griffon a while ago, minus the...the um...m-meat..." He shivered a bit before shaking his head. He had nothing against meat eaters, he just would rather not see the insides of an animal if he had a choice. "A-Anyways, it's just a veggie stew, which can be filling without needing to use so many ingredients."

She frowned as she heard "meat". "I'm sorry... meat?" She asked, glancing at the pot suspiciously.

He nodded. "Griffins eat meat, and I was taught by a griffin how to make this. The first time he made it was with meat...though I-I...um..." He paused as he looked away for a moment. "I-I didn't realize it when I...tried it."

Silence fell down as she looked at him in shock, though he was quick to add, "I-I got real sick afterwards when he realized his mistake, so he taught me a more vegetarian friendly stew." He motioned to the pot. “Like I said, no meat in this stew, just veggies and some spices.”

"Oh wow... you should never try meat," she said. "It can hurt us really bad."

He nodded. "I-I was only ten, s-so...didn't really know at the time." He admitted.

Twilight looked at him with wide eyes once again. "Y-You ate meat that young?!"

He nodded again. "Y-Yea. I, um..." He stopped what he was doing as he just stared down at the pot before looking back at her. "I-I guess I didn't really say how I left the town...did I?"

She shook her head. "If you'd like to share?" she asked.

He slowly stirred the pot a bit as he thought it over. They already knew so much about him, he wasn't sure if he should share any more, still afraid of what they may think. However, feeling a wing on his back, he looked over and saw her smiling, kind face, making him realize that they wouldn't judge him.

With a sigh, he nodded. "Ok...b-but no more questions for tonight after that, ok?"

She nodded. "Of course." She stepped back, giving the red pony some space.

He continued to stir the pot for a few moments before he spoke up. “I...I was eight when I left my town.” He finally said. Her eyes, once again wide, mouth agape in shock as she just stared at the pony, who went back to focusing on his cooking. She wanted to ask more questions, to ask ANY question, but she remained silent, knowing that she promised no more questions for the night. Instead she just placed a wing over his back and nuzzled him a bit, which caused him to blush and look back at the mare, who just nodded her thanks before pulling herself back.

He gave a small smile of thanks before he went back to stirring the pot. After a few minutes the food was soon done, and he carefully filled a couple of bowls with the stew before carrying it over to the closest table, motioning her to join him. "Food is ready." He said. She smiled as she walked over to him and takes the seat, the pegasus watching her carefully and a bit worriedly as he hoped that she does end up enjoying it.

She took a bite, smiling brightly as she savored the flavors. "Wow! This is really good!"

He blushed as she smiles at him, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. "I-I mean, it's ok..." He said, only for her to shake her head.

"No really, it's great!" She told him, taking another bite and just enjoying the taste.

He smiled shyly as he nodded his thanks and started to eat his own stew, just glad that she did indeed enjoy it.

Spike walked in, smelling the meal. "Twilight? You cook something?"

The purple mare shook her head. "Not me, it was Spark. He made some veggie stew."

"There's plenty more if you want it." Spark adds.

Spike nodded. "Sure!" He sat down with Twilight and grabbed a bowl, tasting.

"Eh... it's okay," said Spike.

This caused Spark's heart to sink a bit, but before he could hide it, Twilight was already slightly scolding the dragon."Spike! He worked hard on that just for us!" she said.

"What?" Spike seemed surprised. "I didn't mean to offend. I'm just saying it has room for improvement."

He motioned Spark over and he looked into the stew. "What you wanna do is grind up some daffodils. They help bring out the flavor," he said, trying to give sincere advice.

Spark tilted his head as he looked at the stew with thought. "I-I...I didn't think of it like that." He said as he rubbed his chin,

Spike gave Spark a thumbs up. "If you want, I can teach you other recipes as well."

He stroked his chin a bit more as he thought it over before he gave the small dragon a nod. "Ok, I...I wouldn't mind that." He said as he gave a small smile.

Spike added the ground-up daffodils to his bowl and resumed eating, making Twilight roll her eyes with a smile.

"So, Spark. Think you could share some of your travels?" She asked before quickly adding, “Only if you want to of course. I know I said no more questions, but...”

He blinked as he heard this, a bit unsure as to what he should say. After a few moments of thinking it over, he nodded, deciding that it wouldn’t be that bad to tell some of his stories. "I-I suppose, but...I'm not sure where to begin...or what to tell in the first place." He admitted before he looked at his bowl sheepishly. "I..I just don't think my stories are that amazing really."

"I know that's not true. You must've encountered some things with all your years of travelling."

He shrugged. "Besides Cuddio, I tend to keep to myself." He admit. He paused as he recalled something. "Though...there was this one time with a chimera..."

Twilight's ears perked up upon hearing this. "A chimera?"

"Yea. It was interesting to say the least." He said. "I was walking down the path, doing normal traveling stuff, you know? I heard these strange voices in the distance talking about all sorts of things, though I couldn't hear what they were talking about. Curious, I got closer and soon, when I peered out from some bushes, I saw this chimera arguing with itself...himself?" He paused as he tried to think what the gender would be before he gave a shake of his head. "Anyways. I noticed that they were arguing about how one would be so annoying and such, and basically just mad at each other, so...I kind of...stepped up and said hi and offered to talk to it." He admitted, turning away to his stew as he gave a sheepish smile.

"And what did it say? Did it hurt you?" asked Twilight, hanging onto every word.

He shook his head. "No...thankfully. It almost did but I was able to talk with it. After a while, I got to know it a good amount just with talking, and soon even had its heads in a better mood. Once they were all better, we just went our separate ways" He gave a shrug at the end of his tale. "It was one of my more...interesting tales, I guess."

"Wow! I cant believe you befriended a chimera!" she exclaimed. "Any other creatures?"

He shook his head. "None that I know of. At least not to that degree. At most I was neutral with the other creatures. You know, the whole 'stay out of each other's way' sort of thing." He admitted.
"Huh... that's interesting..." she said, deep in thought.

He nodded as he looked at her for a few moments. He blushed as he turned away when he realized he was kind of staring at her. "I...did you really think that was interesting?" He asked.

"Yeah. Most monsters would just try to harm ponies," she said. "Maybe we're just doing things wrong."

He nodded. "W-well, it kind of helps when we are both monsters." He said as he gave a painful chuckle, his hoof automatically slid up to his horns and touched them lightly before going back down as he focused on his stew.

This caused Twilight to frown. "You need to stop viewing yourself like that," she said.

"But it's true..." He sighed, looking away. Seeing how he needed some comfort, Twilight got up from her seat and walked over to him as she wrapped a wing around him yet again.

"You're not a monster. I've fought many of them. You're just misunderstood."

He remained silent as she hugged him, his mind in thought. They stayed like that for a few minutes before he glanced at the stew, realizing that it had started to get cold. "L-Let's finish the food, it's getting cold." He said before shyly adding, "A-And after we finish eating...can you...show me some magic?"

She smiled and nodded, glad to see he was feeling better so quickly, and just as happy to perform some magic for him. They finished eating in silence, and later on, she led him into the library, Spike following as well. Once in the room, she sat down and looked at him eagerly. She floated out several books. "I think today I’ll teach you about magical artifacts."

He smiled eagerly as he leaned in, ready to learn. Spike, on the other hoof, gave a small groan as he waved at them. "I think I'm just going to head in for the night." He said, walking out of the room. "Night Twilight, night Spark."

"Goodnight, Spike," replied Twilight. "Now, where were we?"

"We were going to talk about artifacts." He reminded her rather eagerly.

"Ah, yes!" she said, smiling. She brought out a small crystal sphere. "See this?" He nodded. "This is a memory sphere. It takes a memory and turns it into a picture that you can see inside the sphere."

His eyes are wide as he looked at the crystal before him. "Woah...how does it work?" he asked.

"And all you have to do is touch your head to it," said, touching Spark's forehead with it as a quick example. He half expected to see something, but when nothing happened he looked at her curiously.

“Um...nothing happened...”

“You also need to focus on a certain memory for it to work.” She added with a giggle, getting a sheepish nod from the pegasus.

“Oh...” He simply said, and when he looked up at her, she just motioned for him to think of a memory. Seeing no harm in it, he pondered over his choices for a few moments, his mind going over all the possible memories he had. It was rather hard, however, since he hadn't had many memories that he wished to recall. However, after a bit of thinking, there was one that did pop up, and with a nod, he lets her know that he is ready.

She took the crystal and placed it against his forehead as he closed his eyes. Slowly, the crystal glowed for a bit before dimming down.

"Let's see if it worked," said Twilight. "Tell me what you see."

He looked into the crystal for a few moments before his eyes widen and he let out a small gasp. There, plan as day was the memory he was thinking. In the crystal was him, as a young foal laying in his bed, an elderly mare sat by him. She held a book open in her hooves as she was reading a story to him, the younger Spark smiling lightly as he cuddled against her.

Twilight couldn’t help but stare curiously at the memory, even giving a small smile as it reminds her of the times her parents or even her brother would read her a story. When she went to speak to Spark, she saw he was just staring at the crystal in shock, even taking the crystal and holding it in his hooves. Worried, she gently poked his shoulder with her hoof to get his attention. "Spark...?" He shook his head as he looked at the mare. “Mind telling me what this memory is about?”

He returned his gaze to the crystal before responding to her. "I-It's me with...w-with Sweet Heart. One of my more fonder memories of her. She was reading one of my favorite books before bed." He told her, giving a sad smile.

Twilight walked up to Spark and carefully took the orb in her magic, looking at it carefully. "You really miss her, don't you?"

He nodded, letting out a sigh as he does so. "Y-yea..." He said, his eyes started to water.

She patted Spark gently on the back with her wing, giving a sad smile. “Hey, I bet if she saw you now, she would be happy for you.”

He looked at her questioningly. “Really?”

“Of course! Not only are you a kind stallion but you are helpful as well. And you have us as friends who will always help you out.” She said, giving him a nuzzle, which caused him to blush even more, though he doesn’t pull back.

He remained silent as he looked at the orb. Even as his tears gently slid down his cheek, he can't help but to smile at the mare. Gently, he leaned in and hugged her, nuzzling her neck back. "Twilight...thank you for this. It...it showed me that despite my harsh past, I...I had a few good things to remember."

It was her turn to blush as he nuzzled her, feeling uncertain again. After a few seconds of processing, she just smiled, letting him nuzzle her. It was only far after all.

It took a few moments to realize what he was doing, and when he did, he backed up, blushing as he shuffles on his hooves. "Um...s-sorry."

She smiled at him. "It's fine." She then looked at the memory orb before holding it out to him. "You may keep that if you'd like."

Eyes going wide, he looked at the orb before looking back at her. "R-Really?"

She nodded. "Of course! I don't need it and I think you will like it more than me."

Spark looked at the orb once again, looking at the picture of Sweet Heart reading that story. His heart ached as he smiled, and Twilight can't help but to look at it with him. They just sat there, looking at the image for a good while, neither of them saying anything.

Finally, after a good while, the red pony spoke up. "I...I wish I could read that story again..." He sighed. He smiled as he tucked the orb away under his wing before giving a small yawn. "I...I'm rather tired now. I think I'll head to bed."

She nodded. "You get a good rest, Spark. I'll be here in the morning."

Giving a smile, he turned and left the room, waving night to the mare. After a few minutes of walking, he placed his things to the side and got into the bed. As he started to get comfy, he paused and grabbed the orb, once again looking at it.

"I...I miss you Heart..." He said, letting out a small sigh as he held the orb close, feeling his eyes lightly water as he started to fall asleep.

Author's Note

Happy Nightmare Night, y'all. Dylan's story comin' up soon. Am finally over my depression.

The Relaxed and The Unseen

The week went by rather smoothly, which was a surprise to the colt as he wasn't expecting it to go as such. During that week he spent his time talking to the other girls while also reading a bit from the library in the castle. Twilight would often hang with him as well during this time, both of them talking about random things that he found in the books that caught his interest.

He also found himself spending more time with Ditzy and her daughter outside of work, something which he found to be very enjoyable. Whenever Ditzy had to run an errand, Spark would offer to look after Dinky, and they would play and have lots of fun together. To him, it felt like a part of his foalhood being back.

As for Trixie, he never really got a chance to talk to her much after the incident with his horns. The few times he saw her she was more than happy to greet him, but otherwise she was busy doing a chore or another important thing. In any case, Spark was just happy that she meant what she said before, though he still wishes to talk about that kiss.

Today, with work being done, he was busy looking around for a possible blacksmith to fix something when he ran into Fluttershy in the market area, who was carrying a small book with a broken buckle on it. He was so focused with his search that she saw him before he did. "Oh! Hello, Spark. What brings you here?"

He blinked before looking around for a few moments before seeing her, then he smiled as he saw the yellow mare. "O-Oh, hello Fluttershy." He greeted her. "I was looking for a possible blacksmith to fix something of mine." He told her. "Um...w-what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just here to get my book fixed. It won't stay closed anymore," she said, showing the broken buckle.

He looked at the buckle of the book, and curious he also looked at the title, wondering what kind of book she may be reading. What he saw made him confused, for it was called, "How to speak animal." Couldn't Fluttershy already do that?

"Um...don't you already know how to...you know..." He asked, pointing at the book she was holding.

The yellow mare tilts her head rather cutely. "I can what?" she asked, seemingly clueless.

"You know...to...t-to, um..." He tried to tell her in some way that he thought she knew how to talk to animals, but instead he came up with nothing. Instead he shook his head and gave a sheepish smile. "Never mind." He said, his wings giving a rustle. The shy mare looked at said wings and was happy to see that they were in much better shape than before, though she is sad he is still wearing that hoodie at all.

She smiled and looked at Spark's jacket. "You really shouldn't wear that all the time. No one should hide such pretty wings."

He blushed at the compliment and looked away shyly. "I-I...I don't have...n-nice wings..." He said softly.

Fluttershy tilted her head. "You don't? But Rainbow Dash said they were."

He blinked and glanced at her again. "She did?" He asked, very much confused.

Fluttershy closed her eyes with a smile. "Oh, yes! She's commented on it before. Said despite how messy they were they can be a real nice pair if properly preened on a daily bases."

Now this confused the red pony, having no idea when Dash would have said something like that. Or why, more importantly. True his wings were a whole lot better thanks to her sessions (none of them getting any more out of hoof as of late, thankfully...besides some light teasing from her) and he has been able to maintain his wings on his own now, at least at a basic level. She does make sure that he is always keeping his wings clean whenever they practiced flying and he does still have issues keeping them clean sometimes.

Looking at the pegasus mare, he just nodded his head as he gently kicked the ground. "O-Oh..." Was all he could really say, not sure what else to do besides that. He felt a bit more self conscious of his wings now and the possible attention that they might get, which caused him to ruffle them up. In doing this, he winced and gave a soft grunt as a rather large cramp he had been dealing with once again ached through his joints.

Fluttershy noticed this and frowned. "Oh dear, are you ok? It looks like your in a bit of pain.”

He nodded his head. “Y-yea, just...just a small cramp, it’s nothing.” He said as he gave her a comforting smile, trying to shrug it off as nothing. As another wave of pain washed over him his wings twitched as he nearly staggered, quickly catching himself.

The shy mare wasn’t having any of it. “I think you should go see a doctor, it can’t be-”

“NO!” He shouts before flinching back at his own voice. Shy also flinched back, her eyes wide as he looked at him with surprised. “S-Sorry, I just...not a fan of doctors. T-Too...too invasive.”

“Still, you need to get that dealt with. It doesn’t seem like it’s doing you any good, and I know Dash can be rather tough when it comes to flying, and thinking about you being in so much pain...” She falls silent and just gave him a sad look.

He sighed as he eased his wings a bit to fold them on his back before he turned to face her. "M-Maybe...but I haven't had a problem with it before." He told her. It is true, he has never had an issue with it before. "And her training isn't that hard. my wings are-" He started to say before wincing again as yet another shock of cramps shook through his back.

Fluttershy saw the saw the wave of pain once again pass through him, and then an idea popped into her head. It was another opportunity to help him, and it was so convenient, too, considering things. "Why don't you come to the spa with Rarity and I? We normally have our spa sessions on this day of the week."

Hearing about the offer did cause him some pause, but he shook his head. "N-No, thanks, I don't wish to intru-" he gasped as he stiffened up, his cramp getting a bit worse.

"Feel that? That's your muscles saying otherwise. I'd feel bad if you didn't come with us and relaxed," she said with a worried look.

"B-but I..." he tried to tell her, but as soon as he made eye contact with her, he just froze up. Looking into her eyes, seeing the worry that she held for him, it just brought his heart to a near standstill.

“Please.” She said so kindly and softly. “For me?”

He blushed like mad as he looked at her, and after what felt like an eternity, he finally looked away and gave a nod. "O-Ok...I...I'll go." He said, glancing back at her with a sheepish smile.

She gave a wide grin in response. "Oh, that's wonderful! I'm actually going after this if you'd like to join me!"

As he heard this, he realized he almost forgot why he came here in the first place, and said, "Oh, I almost forgot I needed to-" before he got another cramp. Seeing how they weren't going to go down anytime soon and that he should get it fixed sooner rather than later, he just nodded his head, forgoing his original reason for coming out. "I-I...I think I'm ready whenever you are, Fluttershy." He said, still blushing.

She smiled and quickly finished what she was doing. Once done, Fluttershy led him to a rather nice building. It was pristine on the inside, without a single spot. At the desk were twins, one blue and one pink. Spark, of course, huddled close to the yellow mare once they walked inside, still feeling very much nervous about going to a spa. Plus the way those two looked at him with such curious eyes made him nervous. Thankfully his hood is up as always, so he took comfort in that.

The blue one looked over to Spark and Fluttershy with a smile. "Ah! Velcome! Ve have been expecting you, Fluttershy! And who is zis?"

"He's a very good friend, and he'll be taking the same treatment as Rarity and I."

"Ah! Vell, ve'll need some payment, yes?" she said. Fluttershy nodded and reached into her bag to grab the bits.

This caused the red pony to look at her in surprise. "W-Wait, you don't need to pay, I can-" he tried to say, only got the yellow mare to shake her head.

"Nope. Don't waste your bits. You need this." Seriously, what was with everypony paying for him?

He blushed even harder, feeling rather thankful for how nice they all were, yet at the same time wishing he could pay for his own things. But it was already done, and with it out of his hooves the twins led them to their first destination, the steam room, where Rarity was just about to walk in herself.

"Oh! Fluttershy, darling! I was beginning to wonder if you'd make it this week!" exclaimed Rarity. She hugged Fluttershy tight before noticing Spark. "Oh! Spark is here as well?"

The red pony just smiled shyly and gave a nod to the white mare. "Um...h-hi Rarity." he greeted.

"Hello, darling! Are you here for a treatment?" she asked.

9

"Y-Yes. Fluttershy...c-convinced me to join you two...i-if it isn't a bother, of course." He said, pawing the ground once again.

"Not a bother at all!" she replied. "Come, come! Let's not dally." She opened the door, letting a burst of steam flow out.

Fluttershy gave a small smile to him, encouraging him to walk in. As he started to breath slowly to calm himself down, Lotus was quick to speak up. "I'm zorry, but I must ask zat you remove your clothing before entering ze steam room.." She told him. "You don't have to worry though, I can hold onto it in one of our lockers."

This got him to nearly freeze up, and is about to decline when he saw the look on Fluttershy's face. it was one of slight hope, seeing if he was finally going to take his hoodie off, even if it is for a little bit. Not wanting to have his only major protection be damaged by the steam, he nodded and slowly took his hoodie off, and soon he was naked once again, holding it over to the blue mare.

Fluttershy almost squee'd at the progress. Sure it was necessary for him to get into the steam room, but it still counts in her mind. Rarity walked in first before sitting down on a bench. She patted the spot next to her.

Feeling rather naked without his hoodie, he hesitated for a few moments before the shy mare gently nudged him into the steam room, that smile always on her face. Giving a nod, he walked in and sat down next to the unicorn, Fluttershy sitting down next to him, so now he was between them both, which just made him even more nervous, and it showed as his wings flexed and twitched from his anxiety.

The yellow mare is quick to pick up on this. "Don't feel nervous, Spark," said Fluttershy as she sat down. "This is a place to relax in."

“Indeed, no anxiety is allowed in these halls while you are here.” Rarity agreed with a smile of her own.

He nodded and took a deep breath before carefully exhaling. He closed his eyes and began to focus on just trying to relax. Slowly, he could feel the tension melting away from his body, the steam gently soaking into his fur, and he gave a small smile as he started to relax. The two mares smiled as they glanced at each other, slightly surprised that he actually started to calm down, but very glad to see Spark finally relaxing.

"See, darling? All anypony really needs in order to relieve stress is a simple trip to the spa. It works wonders!" exclaimed Rarity.

"Then after this are hooficures, mud baths, and the jacuzzi. The last one's my favorite," said Fluttershy.

He blushed at the mentioned other activities, especially the mud bath one. However, he would talk about it when it happened. For now, he just smiled and nodded in agreement. "I-I...I guess so," he said.

"So how have you been doing?" asked Rarity.

He tilted his head in thought for a few moments before he replied. "Can't really complain. Everything has been going rather well for me...which is surprising. Normally by now I would have expected to be run off cause of my...w-well...um..." He paused as he looked at the floor, still too shy to say it, even though the girls knew what he was talking about. After all, the steam had matted his fur enough so that his horns were now in plain view of them both.

Sensing the tension starting to build up, Rarity quickly tried to think of something to change the subject before turning to Fluttershy. "So um... How are your animals?"

Fluttershy smiled in return, understanding what the white unicorn was trying to do. "Oh, they're just fine! So, Spark! Have you gotten off the ground yet?"

He shook his head as he looked at the kind mare. "N-No, not yet. I did learn how to glide a bit, so...t-there's that at least." he said. He didn't notice how the white mare looked at his horns, most likely for the best considering how he already thinks about himself.

Fluttershy looked at Spark's horns as well and smiled. "You know, they're not so bad. They're like animal horns. I really like animals."

He wasn't really sure how to take that, but the fact that she even liked them at all caused him to blush even more. "R-Really?" He asked, his cheeks bright red, even visible through his coat. She nodded and smiled at him while he just stayed silent in embarrassment. Rarity found the whole thing to be rather adorable, giving a small smile as she tried to contain herself from it.

(One Hour Later)

"...and she says to me, 'Zat iz vhy ve use ze towels in ze first place!'" Rarity finished in a joke.

Spark laughed as he heard the joke, unable to stop the small chuckling fit as he did so. It had been a relaxing hour in the steam room, both of them huddled a bit close to him, Fluttershy more so than Rarity. it seems they were a lot more into cuddling and such here than other places, and for a pony like Spark it took some getting used to. However, after a small nuzzle from the shy mare and that amazing smile of hers, he just couldn't say no and allowed them to practically hold him. Plus it helped that the steam room was acting like a sedative for his mind, keeping him nice and relaxed. It was almost like the sauna had a magical effect on all of them.

Rarity removed her cheek from Sparks's and looked at the clock on the wall. "Ten more minutes until hooficures, darlings." She reminded the yellow mare, grinning excitedly.

He groaned as he got up from his spot, shaking his wings a bit before closing them. They still were a bit cramped, but not nearly as much as before. "Um...I-I'm not sure I want to do that, I'll be honest." He said with a blush, looking at his hooves. They seemed fine to him.

The girls gave him curious looks. "Why not?" asked Fluttershy. "They can be very relaxing."

He still shook his head. "Maybe so, but I...I just don't think that it's a good fit for me." He said. It was then that his wings gave a jerk as he winced, though he was able to hold it together, the two mares easily saw the wince. Thankfully, Rarity perked up as an idea popped into her head.

"Darling? Would you like to get a massage instead?" asked Rarity.

He tilted his head in confusion at this. "A massage? Um...w-what's a...massage?" He asked. He knew what a hooficure was, but not a massage?! This got the mares to stare at him with incredulous looks.

Rarity laughed nervously. "That's a very charming joke, darling!" She laughed for a bit more before it slowly died down, leaving a confused Spark to look at them both.

"Um...I don't think he's joking Rarity." Fluttershy stated.

The white mare’s eyes went wide with shock. "Oh... oh dear no. That's not acceptable. No one should go their whole life without even hearing of a massage," said Rarity. He just stared at her as she began to nearly go on a tangent."It's simply not right. I will personally ask Lotus if she'll give the massage."

As this went on Fluttershy noticed that Spark was still just as confused as before, and she gently tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "It's like a back rub," she explained. “You'll love it."

Spark raised an eyebrow at this. "Um...I guess?" He agreed with a nod. If it's just like a back rub, than it should be fine for him...he hoped.

"It's settled," said Rarity, finally having calmed down enough from her moment. "We shall go in," she glanced at the clock. "Five minutes."

Flutters looked at Spark with heavy thoughts on her mind. The biggest question, however, was if he'd ever considered settling down during that time.

It wasn't that big of a thought since he had already decided to stay in Ponyville, but the question remained still. In any case, Spark remained leaning back, a small smile on his face as he sighed, doing his best to enjoy the rest of the time in the steam room. During this time the girls chatted to each other about their day and about some sort of book series that they were reading.

"But if Miss Penny Pinched wasn't so blind to his true worth, the book would have ended happily. I don't understand why they ended it on such a sour note," questioned Rarity.

"I think it delivers a strong message. Ending it happily just means you can get away with what you've done to others without consequences. I'd say the book ended fairly," reasoned Fluttershy.

Spark was so zoned out with listening to the two talk that he didn't even notice when the doors opened and Aloe peaked her head in and announced, "Ok dears, the hooficures are ready!"

“Oh Aloe, by chance can you have your sister massage Spark here? He has never even heard of a massage before.” Asks Rarity.

“Oh mon dieu! Zat’s just not acceptable!” Aloe said, eyes wide with shock. Spark just sank a bit in his seat, still unsure as to what the big deal is with not knowing what a massage was. “Vut ov course Rarity, I zhall lead him to the room.”

Nodding her thanks, the two mares getting up from their seats and stretch their legs out, letting small, satisfied sighs before glancing at the red stallion. "Good luck, darling. Fluttershy and I will be getting hooficures." Rarity said, giving him a comforting smile.

He swallowed as he looked over at the pink mare who smiled at him, and with a nod to himself he got up and left the steam room after looking at the other two one last time, both of them still giving him comforting smiles. As he followed the spa pony, he couldn't help but to sweat a bit at what may happen next. And it wasn’t from the steam room.

Aloe noticed this as she looked at him worriedly. "Iz somezing ze matter, dear?" the pony asked as they walked.

He quickly shook his head. "Oh, no. I just...t-this is my first time in a spa. A-And...and first time getting a massage." he told her.

"Oh I noticed and it iz rather adorable!” She said, giggling. He blushed at the fact that she did notice, but she quickly added, “Fear not. Lotus and I are trained in ze art of relaxation, and ve vill not judge you on the fact that youv never been to a spa before. If anything, it juzt makes us more determined to make your time here zat much more enjoyable!" she assured, smiling.

He smiled lightly back, finding her confidence to be rather reassuring. Soon they reached an empty room where Lotus was busy tidying up. “Zizter! Spark here is in need of a massage. And this iz hiz firzt time, so make it a memorable one for him!” She said grinning.

The blue mare paused as she looked at her sister first, then at Spark with some surprise. “Oh, hiz first time? I shall make sure it is very pleasant zen indeed!” Lotus agrees. She motions him over to her, to which he follows and stands next to her. Aloe, seeing he is in good hoofs, leaves the room to attend to the other two mares.

After a bit of finishing up, Lotus has one of the tables set up. Looking over at Spark, she patted the large table beside her. "Lay here, pleaze. On ze stomach."He gave a small nod as he first sat on the table then laid down, face down as she instructed, adjusting himself so that he was looking forward comfortably. He didn't know what to expect at first, but before he could even guess, the pressure of hooves were on his back, slowly pressing down on his spine.

He started to panic a bit as a rather strong feeling of pain began to build up, making him wince as he quickly tried and pulled back from it. Thankfully, seeing how he reacted, Lotus was quick to respond and comfort him. "Hold ztill. It only hurts for a second. Trust me on zis, pleaze."

He didn't say anything for a few moments before giving a small nod and doing as she said, slowly relaxing once again. As she pushed down, the pain returned, but as she had promised, his back popped loudly, giving him immense relief.

His eyes went wide and he grunted at the pop before letting out a large gasp and then a long sigh. Now fully relaxed, his muscles were loose enough for the blue pony to get to work. It was like he had stepped into the ether itself, his body feeling more relaxed than he had ever been. No stress, no worries, not even a single thought plagued him throughout it all.It was amazing how this could happen from just a bit of back rubbing, at least in his opinion. He sighed as he allowed the mare to fully take over his body, the relaxation flowed through him like water over rocks. He was starting to even feel a bit hazy from the massage, his mind getting muddled in being so relaxed, never having been so calm before in his life. It was almost addicting to him and he didn’t want it to stop, not even for a second. Especially with how they managed to rub the pain right out of his wings, doing it so effortlessly and as to not cause any lewd thoughts to enter his mind. He barely even noticed other ponies were touching his wings he was that relaxed. It went on like this for the rest of the hour, the time slowly going by, while at the same time it felt like no time at all. His sense of time was rather off during it, so he had no idea if it was an hour or ten minutes when she finally lifted her hooves off of his back.

"Iz all done, sir! We hope you have a good day,~" Lotus said with her cheery smile.

He blinked his eyes as he looked around with slight confusion as he realized he had dozed off a bit. He looked himself over and gave his wings a few flaps, surprised with how smooth the movements felt. Moving his legs a bit showed the same thing as he just smiled at the twin. "Wow, I...I feel amazing. Thank you, you are amazing!" He said with a large grin

She giggles at the compliment. "Iz no big deal! We do zis every day after all.~" Lotus walked over to the counter and picked up a pamphlet before bringing it over to Spark. He looked at the paper curiously as she brought it over. It appeared to show what specials the sisters offered each day. Massages seemed to be 20% off on Tuesdays.

Seeing what it was, he just smiled his thanks as he took the paper. "Um...s-still though...t-thanks again." He said, his cheeks heating up a bit as his shyness started to return to him. It was at this point that Rarity and Fluttershy entered the room, having just had their hoof treatments finished.

"Hello, darling," greeted Rarity. "How was your massage?"

He smiled at the two as he gave his wings a ruffle. "Amazing! I never felt so relaxed in my life!" He said, letting out a small sigh at the memory of it. Of course he blushed right after he realized how he acted as the two of them giggled at his happiness.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time," said Rarity.

"We should do this again next week," suggested Fluttershy. "Honestly, you looked like you really needed that treatment."

He thought about it for a few moments, idling kicking the ground as he did so. He had to be honest, he really did enjoy it, plus spending some more time with Fluttershy was very nice too. It was something he rarely got a chance to do. "I-I...sure, if you're there I won't m-mind..." He says rather softly, but loud enough for them to hear it, his cheeks going red once again.

Fluttershy gave him a quick smile, happy to see him smiling as well and of course more than pleased to hear that he wanted to continue doing this with them.

It was at this point that he looked at the clock and realized how late it was getting. He gave them a small smile before saying, "I think I should head back, it's getting rather late and I need to get some sleep for work tomorrow." He told them.

"Well, alright, darling. Sleep well!" replied Rarity.

"I hope you have sweet dreams," said Fluttershy.

He nodded his head and with a wave to the two mares heads out. Looking outside, he took a small breath and exhaled before heading back to the castle, a bit of pep in his step thanks to the miraculous massage.

Little did he know, that a certain pony was watching him from beyond a few stalls, watching his every move.

Author's Note

Sorry it took this long to post. Also been working on Where The Apples Grow for a big return.

Chaotic Dates

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

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

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

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

The pesky bunny simply tapped his foot even faster.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...SLAM!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She nodded in response. "That sounds lovely."

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

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

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

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

How a rabbit has thumbs, we may never know.

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

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

(line)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The pegasus just shook his head.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Am I too shy?" Fluttershy asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Author's Note

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

The Arrival

"Sweetie Belle, hurry up! Apple Bloom's already ahead of us!" shouted Scootaloo as
she raced across the pathway. They had run low on potion ingredients and, rather than going to the store, like normal fillies, they had decided to visit Zecora, who was bound to have the ingredients.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" said Sweetie, running just behind Scootaloo. Apple Bloom had run a bit farther, almost out of sight. She couldn't wait to see what Zecora had in stock. That zebra had the best potions, so by that logic, she'd have the best ingredients, right?

It wasn't long until Zecora's hut was in full view. Apple Bloom made a last minute sprint, reaching the hut all that much faster. She turned around to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, quite a ways behind. Apple Bloom opened the door to the hut, entering quickly. They'd catch up soon enough, anyway.

"A visitor, I see?" Zecora looked behind her to see Apple Bloom. "But there is one where there should be three."

"They'll catch up," replied Apple Bloom. "Do you have any oak tree roots?" she asked. Zecora gave a chuckle.

"Oak is one I do not hold. Try some birch if you feel bold," she replied, reaching for a shelf with bits of birch tree roots. She then pulled them down and put some in an empty cloth bag that had been nearby. She normally kept empty bags so that ponies could bring the ingredients home with them. Ponies much like the crusaders.

Apple Bloom looked at the flasks on the table, almost mesmerized by their purplish glow. "Hey, Zecora?" Zecora looked back to Apple Bloom, giving full attention. "Could you perhaps teach me a few things? I keep messing up in one potion in particular," asked Apple Bloom, giving a small frown.

"I can teach you many things as long as there's no trouble to bring," replied Zecora.

"It's only an instant wash potion," said Apple Bloom. "You're supposed to put one drop on anything and the messy stuff falls off."

"Ah, I can help you with your potion. We'll soon get its effects in motion," answer Zecora. She pointed over to her cooking pot, instructing Apple Bloom to walk over. After gathering around the pot, Zecora grabbed her ladle and began stirring the pot, helping to speed up whatever reaction there was to be had after pouring in ingredients.

As they put in the last ingredient, the cauldron bubbled almost immediately.

Apple Bloom couldn't help but ask the question, "Is it supposed to do that?"

As she says this, the bubbling slowly got worse, slowly building up inside of the pot. Steadily it grew, causing the pony and zebra to slowly back away from it. Soon the liquid inside the cauldron started to overflow, the contents picked up speed as they started to really flow across the floor.

"The answer to your question is no. Now would be a good time to go!" Zecora exclaimed as she reached for the door.

Before she could reach for the door, she slipped on the potion that was now all across the floor, making a very slippery mess as she tried to stop herself, only to bump into Applebloom. They skid and skate as they tried to find purchase with their hooves. Before long, the mess started to rise up, the bubbles and liquid filling the entire room as it raised which made it much harder to reach the door.

Outside, Scootaloo finally had reached the front door outside, nearly panting her lungs out. She turned to her friend, Sweetie Belle and smiled in victory. "We caught up!" said Scootaloo.

"You think Apple Bloom started without us?" asked Sweetie as Scootaloo turned the handle.

Bubbles burst forth the moment the handle was turned, washing over the two fillies and pushing them a few feet away. All the pressure on the inside of the hut had a great impact on the area as it was suddenly released.Emerging from the bubbles, Zecora gave a chuckle. "Nopony got hurt, so it's all okay. A little soap won't ruin my day."

After walking back to her hut, the zebra screamed upon seeing what had happened. Apple Bloom, shaking off the bubbles, rushed back inside, with the other two fillies on her tail. "Zecora?! What's wrong?!" asked Apple Bloom.

"One of my masks has gone missing!" cried Zecora as she frantically looked through the shelves.

"A mask?" Scootaloo raised a brow. "What's so special about a mask?"

"Don't you have more masks anyways?" Sweetie asks, confused as well.

"Did you forget to rhyme?" asked Apple Bloom

"Forgive me if my speech isn't as formal as it should be, but I fear my mask just became a frisbee!" she answered.

"...What?" Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion.

"When I was just a little filly, my father would do things rather silly. Whenever he read me a bedtime tale, a mask he'd wear while he would regale," Zecora explained. "Now that he's no longer with me, that mask is all that reminds me of my history." She looked to Scootaloo. "I think when you opened up the door, the pressure must have made the mask soar!"

Apple Bloom put her hooves to her head. "Oh no! This is my fault! I think I put in too many roots! I gotta get her mask back!"
Scootaloo grinned. "Another adventure, here we come!"

"But where could it have gone?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom looked outside, seeing that the only place the mask could have flown to, judging by the door's direction, was the deeper part of the Everfree Forest. "I think I know the answer..."

Zecora looked towards the same direction as Apple Bloom was looking. Zecora mulled it over before speaking. "Of luck, I wish you all the best. I hope you do well on your little quest."

"Ready, girls?" asked Apple Bloom. The other two fillies gave her a nod, signaling the start of their adventure. They rushed into the thick of it, pumped up.
Zecora looked onward as the trio sped off, wondering if she should have warned them of the dangers. It was then that she remembered who they were, and that they probably would have rushed in anyway. She gave a chuckle before heading back inside her hut.

(Line)

Scootaloo peered at the same tree for the fourth time. It was official. "We're totally lost!"
Sweetie Belle laid down on her side, tired of walking. "How much further do we have to go?"

"I think we're lost," said Apple Bloom, frowning. She looked up at the tree they had passed several times. "Gimme a boost!"

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both got up underneath Apple Bloom, lifting her up in the air.

Apple Bloom grabbed onto a low-hanging branch and climbed up onto it, her hooves leaving the safety of the other two's hold."Now that I'm up high enough, I can see where we're goin!"

"What do you see?" asked Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom looked outwards to see... no path. In fact, the area around them was thick with plant life. Far too thick for her to see through. "I see... nothing," she said, her hopes crashing.

"Great!" said Scootaloo sarcastically. "Just great! We're lost, we can't find that mask, and my hooves are sore!"

It was at this point that a couple of bushes started to make a few rustling noises, their leaves shook as if something large was coming through them. The three fillies stood there, eyes wide with fear as they saw the bushes move, their young minds already running wild with fright.

"Oh no, something's coming girls!" Exclaimed the white unicorn filly, her pegasus friend shaking a little bit next to her. Taking a deep breath, Scoots slowly walked up to the bushes and got into a defensive stance, glaring at the shrubs. Applebloom, thankfully, was still stuck up in the tree as she looked down at the bushes as well, scared for her friends.

The bush keeps shaking, getting stronger as the creature got closer and closer. Suddenly, with a grunt, another pony pushed out from the bush as he shook the leaves from his head and back.

"I knew I should have kept to the less dense part of-" The pony started to say, only to stop as they saw the two fillies stood before him. The new pony went a bit rigid at the sight, and the fillies took this time to look over the newcomer.
He is clearly an adult, that much is certain. His coat was a red similar to AB's big brother, Big Mac, if a few shades darker. They could tell it's a guy with how he looked and the larger form that he had, as well as the voice, even though his voice is not as deep as most stallions they know. Speaking of his face, they couldn’t get a good look at it cause of the hoodie he wore, the hood covering the upper part of his head. They couldn’t even see his mane under it, though if it's the same color as his bright blonde tail then it is most likely blonde as well. On his back and under his hood there were a couple of large bulges under it which told them that he is most certainly a pegasus, and while his body showed that he had the pegasus build, his legs are far more sturdier than a normal pegasus pony. Also on his back were a couple of large saddle bags, one's that one would use for traveling, along with what appeared to be a large folded tent.

Scootaloo, after having a better look at the pony, squinted her eyes. "Were you hiding just to scare us?"

It took the stallion a few moments to recover from his surprise, but soon he realized that the two fillies were just as surprised as him, if not more so scared than anything else. He quickly shook his head before he replied. "No, I was just traveling through here. I didn't even know anypony else was here."

"We thought you were a monster!" said Apple Bloom from above. During this she tried to make her way down, but couldn’t find any hoofholds to support her.

The red pony didn't even notice Applebloom till she called out to him, and upon hearing her voice he just blinked in surprise as he looked up at her. "Wait, there are three of you?" He asked, surprised. "And you thought I was a monster?" He added. He remained silent for a few moments as he just looked at them before letting out a small sigh and a slight bow of his head. "I'm sorry for frightening you girls. I was just on my way to the closest town." He looked back up with some confusion as a thought pops into his head. "Wait...what are you girls doing here anyways?"

Apple Bloom, hanging from the branch by two hooves, replied, "We were here looking for our friend's mask. It got blown away by an accident into here someplace."

"Isn't it dangerous to be out here by yourselves? What about your families?" He asked before he took a few steps closer, sitting down before them.

With a snap from the branch, Apple Bloom gave a small yelp as she fell onto the ground, landing flat on her butt. Thankfully she is able to shake it off as she walked over to her friends. "Our families don't really know we're here," said Sweetie.

"Yeah, Applejack doesn't really need to know about this.

Scootaloo...just stayed silent.

The red pony looked at them for a few moments before letting out a small shrug as he sighed, looking around. He thought over his current situation, and while he is low on food, the fact that they are here means he can't be too far from the closest town. Besides that, he also doesn't want to leave them here alone. Turning to face them, he finally spoke up. "Let's get you girls back to your families, ok? Or at least back to town." He said.

"We can't go yet!" said Apple Bloom. "We have to find our friend's mask!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both nodded, both of them standing next to their friend.

Once again he just looked at the three fillies, though it doesn't take him too long to just nod to himself. "Ok, once you get this mask, then will you three go back to town...and perhaps you can also show me where it is?" He asked. They all looked at each other and then nodded, smiling innocently. Seeing the three come to some sort of agreement, he nodded as well before he stood back up. "Then I guess I'll help you girls out." He said.

The three fillies cheered as they quickly got up before they motioned him to follow. Once they were on their way, he gave a quick look around before continuing. "So...what's it look like?"

Scootaloo ran out ahead of him. As he asked the question, she stopped, turned around and shrugged. "I dunno. I think it’s just some sort of scary mask made out of wood like the others."

This just caused him to raise an eyebrow as he looked at her before looking at the other two who were behind him. "Wait...then how will you know if you found it or not?" He asked.

"It'll be the only thing that doesn't look like forest," said Apple Bloom, grinning at her own smarts.

The red pony gave them rather confused look, head tilted to the side as he thought it over. It is true, it wouldn't look like part of the forest, but still to just go with that? It isn't the best of plans.

With it being the only one that they have, however, he just nods as he followed the young pegasus, the other two following behind them still. As they continued their walk, they both began to look over the stallion, rather curious about the newcomer. As they examined him, they soon discovered, to their surprise, the lack of a cutie mark on his flank. This caused Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to look at each other with worried looks on their faces. A stallion with no cutie mark? Even as an adult? This warranted an emergency. Giving a nod to each other, the country filly turned to speak to him. "So...do you have any... hobbies?"

Of course this caused him to glance at the two in surprise, but with a mental shrug he just shook his head. "None that really come to mind." He simply said as he goes back to looking around for that mask.

Apple Bloom tapped on Scootaloo's flank, drawing her back so she could see his flank. Curious, the orange filly turned to look at what her friend was pointing at, only to see the blank flank on the stallions rear. She stared at it for a few moments in just as much shock as the others before speaking up. "Nothing you're good at? Or... what?"

This time he didn't even bother turning around to look at them. "No, just...nothing that really interests me." He said. He wasn't sure why these fillies are talking to him about such things and he didn't really want to talk about this stuff either, but he also didn't wish to be rude to them, so for the time being he just focused on searching for the mask.

The minutes ticked by as he continued looking around for that mask, the silence staying strong among them. Soon, he finally sees what he assumes is the mask. "Hold on, I think I found it." He said, pointing to the tree, the mask on a low hanging branch.

"Great!" said Apple Bloom. Before the red pony could say anything, she ran over to the low hanging branch in an attempt to grab the mask. Unable to reach it, she turned to her companions. "I'm too short! Gimme a boost!" Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were quick to rush over, lifting her up for the second time today.

The male watched the three fillies trying to get the mask, walking over to them before looking up. Standing on his hind legs, even he couldn't reach it, and looking down, an idea popped into his head. "Hold on, I got an idea." He said, and gently grabbing Apple Bloom in his hooves, he stands back on his hind legs again, raising her above his head as he looked down at the other two. "Climb up, we'll make a tower to reach it."

The three fillies all grinned at each other before the white and orange ones climbed up, each one on top of the other. Eventually, Scootaloo was able to reach the mask. She grabbed it in her hooves and shouted, "I got it! I got it! ...How do we get down?!"

Her question was answered rather quickly as during all the excitement of Scoots getting the mask, it caused their makeshift tower to become unstable, and rather quickly, all four ponies fell down in a heap. The first one to stand up is the red stallion, looking over at the three fillies. "Oh no, you girls ok?" He asked, eyes wide.

Thankfully the fillies seemed to be just fine as they laughed for a while before Sweetie Belle answered, "Yeah, we're fine." She then got up and smiled at the stallion. "Thank you for helping!"

Seeing as they are fine, said stallion smiled and lets out a small sigh of relief. Hearing them thank him, he just blushed lightly and looked away a bit shyly. "It's no problem, really." He said before falling silent for a few moments. He then realizes that he doesn't even know their names, and looking back he asked, "If I may, what are your names?"

Apple Bloom spoke up this time. "I'm Apple Bloom, and this is Sweetie Belle and that's Scootaloo!" she said, pointing to both of them. "What's yours?"

"The name's Spark Voltage, but you can call me Spark." he says, smiling back at them. Now that they had the mask, the three fillies could turn their attention to something even more important: finding this stallion’s cutie mark!

"So, Spark!" started Scootaloo. "What do you like to do?" She thought that the best way to start is at the beginning, so why not just ask.

He paused as he looked at her before shrugging. "Like I said, I don't really know. Never had the time to find out." He said as he gets up and stretched a bit. "Anyways, now that I helped you girls out, can you help me to the nearest town?" He asked. Sadly, they weren’t going to let it slide that easily.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes before shouting. "Where's your cutie mark?!"

"Sweetie Belle!" both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo yelled simultaneously.

Now this got Spark's eyes to go wide. He looked away for a few moments, not wanting to glance at them before he spoke rather softly. "Look, I...I don't wish to talk about it, ok?" He simply said, hoping that would stop their questions. However, he was far from done being questioned by the three fillies.

"But... you're an adult," said Apple Bloom. "Didn't you do things as a foal?"

This was what he feared would happen, them asking about his past, and instead of saying anything, he fell silent as he just looked at the ground, his eyes getting a distant look as he recalled his foalhood. It was...not all pleasant.

He shook his head before looking back at them with a bit more of a serious look. "I don't want to talk about it, ok?" He repeated himself before getting up as he started walking off. Of course he stops to make sure they are following him as he starts to head to where he assumes is the end of the forest. “Now, can we head on out? I’m sure that your friend is hoping to get their mask back.”

Giving a nod, the Crusaders quickly followed him along, the three of them whispered to each other as they followed, trying to think up ways to help him or to get him to talk. This was truly an emergency.

As they continued to walk, he looked over at the three of them and asked, "So who does this mask belong to, and why is it so important?"

"Well, it belongs to a zebra named Zecora," explained Apple Bloom.

"And it belonged to her dad!" continued Sweetie Belle.

"Who used to tell her stories with it!" finished Scootaloo.

In his mind Spark does pause, but he is easily able to mask it thankfully, and just nodded instead. "Interesting. I can see why it is so important to her then." He said as he continued walking. "Where is she so we can bring it back to her?"

"She's on the edge of the forest, near here, actually," answered Scootaloo.

"This way!" shouted Apple Bloom, running off.

The other two fillies are quick to rush off as well, leaving Spark almost by himself. He gave a shake of his head before quickly rushing forward to catch up to them, keeping them in his sight. They are his only way to get out of this forest quickly of course. Soon they reach the home of the zebra, and once they are all there, the earth pony filly reached up and knocked on the door.

Zecora opened the door, smiling when she saw her mask. "You three are a big surprise, bringing my mask before my eyes!" As she took her mask back, she noticed the stallion. "Who is this?" She then noticed his flank. "With something amiss?"

Inside his mind Spark was already scolding himself for not wearing some sort of long coat to cover his flank with all the reactions he was getting with the lack of a cutie mark. He assumed that they wouldn’t mind the lack of a mark considering he had went to plenty of other towns that didn’t bat an eye at the sight, or if they did, they didn’t say anything.. In any case he just gave a small smile and a polite nod of his head. "Greetings Zecora, yes? I'm Spark Voltage. I ran into these three when they were looking for your mask and offered to help them." He explained, not bothering to talk about his lack of a cutie mark.

"Ah. I see. And you helped these three," she said, smiling. "I recently gathered leaves from the Everfree. Tell me, are you a fan of tea?"

While the riddles were confusing, Spark was able to make some sense of what she was saying. He smiled at the offer, but then shook his head. "I would, but I need to head to the closest towns. These three promised to show me where it is if I helped them after all." He said, motioning to the three fillies. Looking at them, he asked, "So, can you girls show me where the town is?"

"Sure can!" answered Apple Bloom enthusiastically.

Zecora chuckled at this and nodded. "Go explore the town. I will still be around."

Spark gives a nod of thanks to the zebra, and after bidding his farewells he allowed the fillies to lead him through the forest. Thankfully, now that they were back in more familiar territory, it took them no time at all to reach the edge of the forest, and as he looked around the place, a nervous look comes across his face.

"So...this is it? It seems...bigger than I was told it would be." He said, tugging his hood a bit more on his head.

"Ponyville is one of the best places ever!" bragged Apple Bloom. "In fact, I'd say we're even the friendliest! Especially with the new School of Friendship nearby!"

Spark gave a nod as he heard this and after a bit more looking at the town, he looked at the three with a small smile. "Thanks for the help girls, I should be fine from here." He told them as he started heading down to the town, his bags rather heavy on his back. As he walks on, he doesn't notice the three fillies still staring at his blank flank, clearly thinking up of ways to try and figure out how to get him a cutie mark.

As he continues walking, he looks around the town, the many ponies around him all looking rather happy and greeting each other as well. It seemed the place is rather nice to Spark, and as he kept on walking, he soon stopped at a large pink building, one that looks to be made out of cake and other tasty sweets.

"Is that a gingerbread house?" He asked himself before he shook his head. Well it matters not. Perhaps I can get some information here along with a snack. He thought as he walked through the door.

The inside of the building was quite different from the outside. It wasn't as candy-riffic as the outside, but the interior was still nice and homey. It wasn't just any old shop. Ponies actually lived in this building, and one of them, a blue mare, was setting up a cake on a glass display case.

She then turned to the stallion, smiling. "Oh! I didn't see you there! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!"

Spark just gave a polite smile and a nod of greeting as he walked in, the door closing behind him. "It's not a problem ma'am. I was just here to see what you sell." He said as he looked at the cake before looking back. "Though it seems I already got my answer. Do you by chance sell cupcakes as well?" He asks

"Oh! That's the work of our assistant!" She turned to the staircase and shouted, "Pinkie!"

"Comiiiiing!" shouted back a high-pitched, bubbly voice followed by a bouncing set of hoofsteps. Coming down the stairs was quite the peppy pink pony, bouncing down the stairs rather than walking down.

For whatever reason, Spark felt a small shiver going down his spine as he sees the bouncing pink pony reach down the stairs and to him. He shook that feeling away as he just smiled as he gave her a nod of greeting. "Hello, I was told you make the cupcakes here, yes?" He asked the pink mare.

It took the pink mare to register something. This pony was new! What did that mean? Her brain began ticking until...

DING!!!

"OHMIGOSH! You're new to Ponyville, aren't you?! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm the resident party planner! I'm gonna need your birthday, you favorite flavors, colors, preferences in decorations," she took a deep breath before continuing, "friends, best friends, super DUPER best friends, favorite games, favorite punch, soda, candy, cake, etcetera!"

This caught the stallion off guard as he just stared at her with wide eyes. Thankfully his hood was up so he was able to cover up his shock somewhat, even if his body said otherwise. "Uh...what?" He simply said, very much confused.

"Oh! I forgot the welcome wagon!" she exclaimed. Soon she was off in a pink blur, coming back mere seconds later like some trickster goddess. With her was a massive cart which unfurled into what appeared to be several cannons pointed straight at the stallion. "Say hello to the Welcome Wagon 2.0! I had to make a few upgrades because the last one wasn't welcome-y enough!"

Of course, Spark's only reaction to such a surprise is to jump and duck behind the closest thing, which happened to be a table, slowly looking up at what he assumed are weapons pointed at his face.

The cannons suddenly fired, but instead of cannonballs, like one would expect, it was a big flurry of confetti. Pinkie zipped up to Spark and handed him a plate full of cupcakes, each one a different color. "And theeeese are complementary!"

As he collected his breath, he looked down at the treats that the pink mare had given him, giving her a rather shy smile now as he nodded his thanks. "Um...t-thank you, but I can pay for them." At least for now "You don't need to give them to me for free."

Pinkie just stared, a big grin spread across her face. "Okay!" she replied. "Just talk to Mrs. Cake and she'll ring you up! I'll go get your welcome part ready!" she said as she bounced away.

Mrs. Cake leaned in and whispered, "I’m sorry about Pinkie, she can be a hoofful at times. Really, keep the cupcakes, as payment for the incident."

Sparks took a few deep breaths to calm himself down as he looked over at Mrs Cake, smiling at her, if still rather sheepish from the whole thing. "I'm sure it's fine Mrs...Cake, yes? She seems to be just overly...excitable." He said, slowly calming himself down.

“Oh, that is certainly one way to describe her.” She said, giggling lightly.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his small bag of bits and took out a few coins, putting them on the counter. "I also wanted to ask if there is a place that may be looking for a possible job, part time most likely, but if there are any places that are hiring at all would be good to know."

"I could write down a list of ponies who I know are looking for helpful ponies such as yourself!" she said with a sincere smile. "You just go to each pony on the list."

This gets a relieved sigh as he smiled at her. "That should be more than fine, thank you Mrs. Cake." He said as he took the cupcakes and placed the small box on his back for now.

She gave him a piece of paper, and upon it were different names of ponies and where they could normally be found. "You have a good day, okay dear?"

Spark smiled and gave a nod of his head as he took the piece of paper, and with the box on his back, he waved goodbye to the mare before heading on out. Looking over the list, he saw that she has written several ponies and places, quite a lot to his surprise, but nevertheless he was thankful for the chance to get a job.

It was at this point that he realized that he forgot to ask about a possible place to stay, letting out a sigh as well. Crap, I should have asked her about possible rooming around here. Well perhaps somepony around here may know. He started to look around in the hopes of finding somepony that may know.

The hustle and bustle of the town filled the air with the noise of chatter. Ponies would walk by the Sugarcube Corner, not sparing it a second glance. It was just a normal building to these citizens. To tourists, it was a popular attraction. Two griffons walked past Spark, not paying him any mind, something which he was more than ok with.

Around the Sugarcube Corner, Spark found different individual ponies, each one claiming that the nearest place to stay was at a small inn near the edge of town. But there was another option. The option was to rent out a small cottage near the town hall.

After considering both options he decides to go for the one at the edge of town, mostly cause it would be away from the hustle and bustle of the place. He would have gone for the cottage, but its location was rather troubling to him. As he walks to the location, he can't help but to look around a bit more, finding the place to be one of the more friendlier towns he had come to during his travels.

After a few minutes of walking, he soon reaches the inn, which thankfully seemed rather decent from the outside as he entered the building. After a few more minutes of talking to the clerk pony, he was soon in his new room for the time, having rented the room out for a few weeks for now as he counts his bits.

Just as he thought, he only had a few dozen more left on him, so he does need to find that job sooner rather than later. Putting his saddle bags on the ground, he picked up the list and took a closer look at it, seeing where he can go to first.

As he read through the list, he came across several interesting choices, though at the moment he was thinking about only taking two. For now, he decided to head to this apple farm that was on the list.

After checking a few things off, Spark headed out of the inn, following the directions as he walked through the town. It doesn't take him too long to reach what he assumes to be the farm, and by Celestia, is that farm big!

Walking out of the orchard nearby was a rather big red stallion. Upon his face was a laid back look which said that he didn't mind his work. In fact, he didn't find it to be work at all; just another part of the day. Upon his flank was what appeared to be the inside view of a green apple.

Seeing the much larger stallion does make Spark a bit nervous, but seeing how most of the ponies here have been rather nice so far, he just took a deep breath and then exhaled before walking over to the stallion, waving a hoof to get his attention. "Excuse me sir, but is this Sweet Apple Acres?" He asked.

The stallion took one look at him, then looked to the orchard, noting all the apples. He then turned back to face the young colt. "Eeyup."

The smaller pony realized what he said sounded dumb and nearly blushed, but is able to contain his embarrassment for the time being as he asked his second question. "I'm assuming you work here? I was told by the mare from the bakery that you may be hiring, so I thought I would come over and check it out. Do you know who's in charge here?"

Technically it was two questions...but details.

The stallion simply uttered the same word as before. "Eeyup."

"Great, can you show me where they are?" Spark asked again.

"Eeyup," said the stallion a third time. He turned around and headed in the direction of the barn, glancing back at Spark and motioning him to follow.

Smiling, the newcomer follows him as he walked a bit behind the larger pony. He was rather curious about his limited speaking, but it didn't really bother him. If anything, he found it rather relaxing that he seemed to be a pony of a few words.

Upon reaching the barn, an orange mare walked out. Her green eyes locked onto Spark and she smiled. "Well, howdy there!" she said. "Big Mac, I didn't know you were bringin' somepony over!"

Big Mac shook his head, signifying this was not an acquaintance.

Spark gives a small, but polite smile at the mare as he nodded in greeting. "Hello, my name is Spark Voltage. I was actually coming here cause I heard you may be hiring." He said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Sure are!" said the mare. "I'm Applejack, and this here's Big Mac. If you couldn't tell before, he's a pony of few words." She took Spark's hoof and shook it vigorously. "Very nice to meetcha!"

The hoof shake caught him off guard, but he is able to quickly recover, noting just how strong she is with the shaking alone. As he glanced at the other red stallion, he said, "So it seems. Not that I mind. If anything it's a bit refreshing considering what just happened a couple hours ago." He then looked back at the country mare. "So, what do you need doing here that I can help with?"

"Well, here on the farm we've got a ton of things to do. No, sirree, you won't get bored here! We've got apple buckin', washin' the pigs and cows, milkin' the cows, fixin' up the fences, repaintin' the barn, tendin' the fields, sortin' the apples, waterin' the saplin's."

She would go on and on and on, listing the many things there were to do on the farm.

As she went on, his mind started to get lost in her words a bit, though he is quick to shake it off and continue paying attention to her. As she finished, he would finally speak up. "Wow, that's...that's a lot of chores. I'll be honest, I'm not sure I can do all of it..." He said, pausing as he thought over his options. Realizing his words might have been taken the wrong way, he quickly corrected himself. "Not that I mean it's too much, it's not! I just never worked on a farm before, so..." He trailed off as he also started to realize how bad of a first impression this was starting to be.

"Oh, nonsense!" she says with a chuckle. "We can start ya out easy. The main thing ya gotta learn is apple buckin'. That's our goal here at Sweet Apple Acres, buckin' apples and sellin' 'em to the good ponies of Ponyville. They deserve the highest quality, and we only serve the freshest apples. Think yer up fer learnin' the tricks of the trade?"

Seeing how forgiving she was being, Spark was more than happy to nod, a smile on his muzzle. "Of course! Thank you Miss Applejack." He said as he stands up to follow her as well.

“Of course, and no need to be calling me Miss, Applejack will do.” She told him, getting a nod from the red colt.

Applejack soon led him to the middle of the nearest orchard, with Big Mac following close behind. "We have more than a thousand trees here in the orchard," said Applejack as they walked. "But I don't expect ya to do it all by yerself. I learned that the hard way."

They eventually stopped at one of the trees. "Ah! This one's ready!" exclaimed Applejack. "All ya gotta do is use your hind legs to kick the apples out of the tree. Make sure to hit as high and as hard as ya can."

He nodded as he looked up at the tree, his mind already working on how to best hit it. He walked up to the tree and after looking at it for a few moments, turned around and got ready to buck.

He looked behind him and, with a grunt, thrust his hind legs as hard as he can at the tree, his hooves striking the bark. As he made contact, he nearly kicked himself forward, stumbling a bit with how hard he hit it, the tree shaking a little. He looked with bated breath to see if the hit worked, but frowned when not a single apple fell from the tree.

Applejack and Big Mac exchanged nervous glances. It wasn’t a promising start for the pegasus pony. Applejack placed a hoof on Spark's shoulder with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"I'm really sorry, sugarcube, but if you can't buck apples, you won't be of much help around here. It's our main job."

However, Spark just shook his head. "No...I-I can do this." He said, and getting up he turns and bucked again, and again...and again.

Over and over the poor stallion bucked, trying desperately to get even a single apple down. A couple minutes go by as he started to sweat, his legs ached to stop, but he kept pushing on.

Big Mac stared, feeling the cringe from the poor colt trying his best. He couldn't bear to watch, and after a few more tries he turned and walked away to continue his own chores, leaving his sister to deal with him. Applejack watched Spark kick at the tree a few more times before she sighed and shook her head.

"That's enough, now. Don't need to waste your energy."

The colt doesn't seem to be listening at this point, his eyes now showing that he was rather desperate to get an apple to fall. On one kick, his hooves hit it the wrong way, causing it to twist, and with a cry of pain he fell down to a sitting position, holding his left hoof in his front legs.

He panted as he recovered his breath, and looking up, he sees Applejack's face, already seeing that he failed, he cringed as he looked away. "I...I'm sorry Applejack, I...I-I..."

Applejack let out another sigh and gave a soft smile. "None of that now. You tried your best, and while it wasn't what we needed, I can tell you that you've got some mighty fine determination there."
Determination didn’t help me buck the damn apples off. He thought to himself, but otherwise he remained silent.

She helped Spark to his hooves and patted him on his back. "I recommend you go and find another employer. I'm sure you'll find somethin'."

Spark sighed as he nodded his head, still a bit sad about having failed her. In any case as he stood back up, he gave her a nod of thanks. "I...I'm sorry again, but thank you for at least giving me a chance." He said before mumbling, "It's more than what most ponies did for me."

Thankfully for him, Applejack couldn't quite hear his last sentence as she continued on. "I hope ya find the job yer lookin' for! And if ya ever feel hungry, come back here and I'll cook up some fritters, free of charge."

That brought a small blush to his cheeks as he looked away shyly from the mare. "Y-you don't have to." He said softly, but this time it was loud enough for her to hear him.

"Oh, hogwash!" she said, patting him hard on the back. "Here at Sweet Apple Acres we pride ourselves in service!"

He was about to object to it again when he remembered that he is still without a job, and running low on food. With that in mind, he just smiled lightly at her as he nodded his head. "I...that really means a lot to me miss, I...I hope to repay your kindness someday." He said.

“Don’t think nuthin about it.” Applejack said before she gave a friendly smile and wave and sent him on his way, the stallion giving his thanks one last time.

The next thing on the list was a nearby mail office. As he walked back into town, he started to make his way to where that building is. It was a bit harder to find than the farm, though the farm was obviously much easier to find than anything else in this town. After a few minutes of walking (and resting his injured leg) he finally made it to the post office. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling, he walked up and entered the building, the door ringing, signaling his arrival.

The interior of the office was made out of a light brown wood. Of what tree species, Spark couldn't tell. What he could tell was that the mare at the counter on the far side of the room looked a little bit...different.

She was a light gray pegasus with a blond mane, but that was hardly the strange thing about her. What was strange were the eyes. The eyes both looked in different directions, with one of them fixated on Spark. "Hello!" she said, waving.

The red pony smiled as he walked forward to the mare, giving a nod of greeting as well. "Greetings miss, I heard you may be hiring and I thought I would see what the job might entail." He told her.

"Hiring?" the mare repeated, putting a hoof to her chin. "Oh! You must've seen our poster outside!"

Spark gave a small nod, for he did remember the poster outside, but it wasn't exactly readable. In fact, it was upside down, with some of the ink smeared.

"We need somepony to help with sorting mail and deliveries," she said.

Nodding again, the red stallion said, "I think I can do that, though I'll be honest, I never really worked at a mail office before, so I may need some help." As he finished he can't help but to give a sheepish smile on his face.

"You've never delivered mail before?" She asked, getting a rather cute look on her face.

"Nope, never. I guess the closest thing to that is when I was on a newspaper run, but that's really it."

"Well, I can certainly help!" she assured. She reached under the counter and pulled out a large mailbag, resting it on top. "This is what we need delivered by the end of the day! But don't worry. If we split the workload, it'll get done much faster!"

He looked at the bag. It is indeed a rather large bag, but does seem doable with one, let alone two ponies doing it. It was then that he realized what she just said about doing it at the end of the day, causing him to blink as he looks at her. "Wait, you mean right now?" He asked surprised. He wasn't expecting to start work right away.

She nodded enthusiastically, smiling. "Uh-huh! I could really use your help!"

She looked at him with a strange innocence in her wonky eyes. "Please? I'd really appreciate it!"

That look...it just struck something in him. Something about that look was just too adorable, and as he looked at her, he couldn't help but blush. "S-Sure, I...I would love to help miss." He said. Realizing he didn't introduce himself, he extends his hoof over to her. "Also, the name is Spark Voltage, but Spark is ok as well."

"My name is Ditzy!" she introduced, taking his hoof and shaking it. After the hoofshake, she went into the back room and came back out, not with the one big bag, but with two smaller bags.

"Just take a bag and I'll show you which route to take."

Smiling, he took one of the bags and flipped it over his back as he looked back at her. "Ok, ready whenever you are Ditzy." He said, already eager to begin.

After making their way to the town square, Ditzy pointed to the eastern road. "You just go down that street and deliver to each house. I'll go down the west road. Think you can do that?" she asked, looking confident in Spark's abilities.

The same could not be said for Spark himself, as his confidence was rather low. He could easily get lost, for he was still new to town, and he didn't know where everything was just yet.

But taking a deep breath and exhaling, he just smiled at the mare. "I think so." He said softly.

"It's just a straight line! Even I could do it!" she said, one eye trailing in another direction. "I'll meet you back here when you're done," she said as she flew west.

He watched her leave for a few moments before he turned to face the other direction. As he looked at the street, he took another deep breath and nodded to himself as he started to head down the road.

He reached the first house and looked through his bag, quickling finding the mail and carefully placed it into the mailbox. Once that was done, he finally started to get a bit more comfortable with it, seeing that it wasn't that hard to do. He smiled as he started walking down the road, delivering the mail as he goes.

Seems like this is going to work out rather well. He thought to himself, feeling happy with finally landing a job, no matter how temporary it is.

After the day was done, he had returned to find Ditzy with her empty bag. She waved the moment she saw him approach.

"Did you make your deliveries okay?" she asked, obviously happy with her workday.

Spark walked up to the mare and gave her a rather happy grin. "I think so. I was able to bring it all on time, and even managed to learn a bit more about the town." He said. He calmed himself down before giving a rather calm smile to her. "Ditzy...thanks for letting me work with you."

She looked at him, a happy smile on her face as well as she said, "You're welcome! Just be just to come back tomorrow! You've got the job!"

Of course this just made his smile get even larger. "Thank you so much Ditzy! I'll be sure to see you tomorrow!" He said as he hands her the bag. They both waved each other goodbye as he headed back to the inn.

As he walked back to his room, he can't help but to look around town and realize that something was...off. It was like most of the ponies around here were gone. Granted it was becoming the end of the day, but it wasn't that late. A glance at the clock tower showed that it was only 4:30 PM, yet there was barely anypony walking outside.

Spark gave a mental shrug at this and after a few moments of thinking it over he is just glad that he got to walk through the town without having to worry about walking past a large crowd. As he reached the inn, he greeted the clerkpony and walked up to his room, opening the door as he entered before closing the door behind him.

The inside of the room was pitch black, concealing all that was inside. It wasn't exactly unusual for a room to be dark when the light was off. What was unusual, however, was the incessant giggling.

When Spark flipped the switch on, what greeted him were the faces of at least two dozen ponies, along with the pink one from before, Pinkie Pie.

"SURPRISE!" They all shouted, smiling wide. The room had been decorated all in streamers, with balloons floating about as well.

Now, one may think that getting a surprise party from a super active pink party pony would be amazing, and most would be right.

For Spark, it was a nightmare.

Instantly, he froze on the spot, wide eyed as he just stood stock still, eyes quickly locked to the ground. He didn't make a single move, not even a twitch as he just stood there, hood covering his face as his heart beat a mile a minute.

This caused some confusion amongst the ponies in the room, a few of them started to mutter to each other. Normally the pony of the hour would just be shocked from the surprise before laughing it off, but this time it seemed to be a bit...different.

Pinkie stood there, confused. Smiling, but confused. Something was off. Pony plus party equals happy, right? But this pony wasn't happy. Something clearly went wrong, and she had to make it right for him.

"Um... surprise?" repeated Pinkie, trying to kick start the party. Sadly saying it a second time didn’t work, even if it was worth another shot. Time for Plan B: humor! She looked around and soon found a piece of cake from the table she had set up earlier and grabbed it, looking back at him.

"Ya like comedy! I’ve got lots of it!" she exclaimed, slamming the cake into her face, only to still get no reaction from the frozen pony. She then grabbed a unicycle from seemingly nowhere and began juggling while riding it. "How about this?"

Sadly, even that got nothing from him, and as the pink mare kept trying to get the stallion to smile, he just stood there, as still as stone, not even seeming to breath.

The minutes slowly ticked by as Pinkie kept on trying to do something, ANYTHING, to get him to even chuckle, but nothing happened. Finally out of ideas, she turned to her friends who are around with the other ponies. "Um girls...a little help please?" She asked, the worry evident in her eyes.

A purple mare stepped forward, looking concerned. "Pinkie? I don't think he likes this."

"I know he doesn't like it!" replied Pinkie. "I must've gotten the wrong balloons! Help me cheer him up!"

"No, Pinkie. I mean I don't think he wants a party," replied the purple mare.

"Twilight, please?" begged Pinkie.

The mare, apparently called Twilight, sighed and walked over to Spark, giving a nervous smile. "Hello there. I'm Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Are you doing alright there?" She asked. Sadly, he still does not respond, staying as still as ever, even in front of the Princess of Friendship.

Twilight gave herself a small mental scolding, for it was clear he wasn’t doing ok at all. As she looked him over, she waved a hoof in front of his eyes, yet he still didn't seem to respond. After a few minutes, she finally turned to face her bubbly friend. "Pinkie, I think everypony should leave."

"Awww, but Twilight!" complained Pinkie.

"No 'buts'. Gather everypony and get them out of here," Commanded the princess.

"Aww... What a party pooper... Okay, everypony! Pack it up!" said Pinkie, clapping her hooves.

The rest of the ponies walked around Spark, most not even making eye contact with him. They weren’t the happiest ponies with the fact that they just got invited to a party, only for it to be canceled cause the star of the party went in shock for whatever reason. Some of them gave a look of pity, but none of them bothered to try and help, for they guessed it would only end up with the same results. Soon the room was empty of all the guests, leaving just Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, and three others. One was a blue pegasus, another was a yellow pegasus, and the third was a white unicorn.

"Sugarcube? Are you okay?" asked Applejack, nudging him with a hoof. She was rather concerned with Spark, remembering not even a few hours ago when he tried to get work at the farm. Now...he’s a completely different pony, and it worried her greatly.

He remained motionless, even as he got nudged. After a few tries though, it did seem to have some effect as his body was no longer as tense as before, but he still remained motionless. AJ let out a small sigh, glad that whatever was affecting him was starting to wear off.

"What do think is wrong with him?" asked the yellow pegasus in a soft voice.

"He's probably just in shock and awe that a real live Wonderbolt is here," said the blue one in a bragging like tone.

"I think we should leave the poor dear alone. All the stress of meeting Pinkie would obviously warrant a visit to the spa," said the white unicorn.

As the three mares debated on what happened to the poor colt, the purple mare was still standing next to him with a worried look, along with Applejack. "Would you like some water?" Twilight asked, touching Spark's shoulder gently with her hoof, so as to not startle him.

The red pony remained silent, his heart rate steadily going down, if at a slow pace. Soon, after a few minutes, he finally was able to give a very small nod. It was barely noticeable, but it's there.

Twilight smiled, glad to see that he was starting to recover and lit up her horn, opening up a cabinet in the far end of the room and grabbing a glass from there as she floated it out. She then filled it up with water from the sink and floated it into Spark's hooves and nodded. "You look like you've had quite a day, am I right?"

Applejack also smiled. "He was at the farm not too long ago. Couldn't quite make the cut, but he's real determined."

As his breathing slowly started to steady itself, he shakily looked up at the six remaining mares in the room, and while he would still be nervous, seeing Applejack, a pony that he was familiar with, made him feel a bit better. As he took the glass of water, he gently sipped on it before letting out a small sigh, his body finally relaxing enough for him to move properly. Carefully he walked to a couch and sat down, looking at the others in the room for a moment as he caught his breath.

He didn't really know what to do at this point, his mind still a bit jumbled with what happened as he finally got a closer look at the orange mare. "App...A-Applejack?" He says, wanting to make sure that she was really there.

The country pony nodded and fixed her hat a bit. "That's right! Nice to seeya again! Did you ever find the job you're lookin' fer?" she asked as she walked over to the couch. Seeing how Spark was now aware again, the three ponies that were talking fell silent and walked up to them, all of them taking up spots close by, but not too close in case he froze up again.

Keeping the glass of water in his hooves, he nodded. "I...I-I did. I-I got one w-working at the post office." He said, his voice a bit louder now, but still very shy.

He was starting to recover from the whole surprise party, but now as he looked around, he realized that there are still at least four new ponies here, and that was making him nervous. Thankfully, it was just his normal nerves affecting him at this point as he looked at the others shyly. "W-who...who are you all?" He asked.

"Well, these here are mah friends," said Applejack. "That yellow one there's Fluttershy, the blue one is Rainbow Dash, the fancy white unicorn is Rarity, that there mare who just said hi is Twilight, and I'm sure you've already met Pinkie Pie."

The purple mare smiled and nodded "It's very nice to meet you."

Spark looked at Twilight curiously, for he remembered that she said she was the Princess of Friendship, and yet he had heard nothing about another princess being around. Then again, he didn't pay much attention to the news, so he lets it pass for now. Looking back at the Alicorn, he gave a nod in greeting back as he placed the cup on the table for the time being.

"So what brings ya here to Ponyville?" asked Rainbow Dash as she relaxed against the couch. "There's no way you're here for sightseeing. Only things to see here are the castle and the school."

He isn’t sure that is really true, since he saw a few tourists walking around when he was looking for a place to stay, but he doesn’t bother to comment on it. Instead, he remained silent for a few moments before he gave a small shrug. "Honestly, nothing. I just heard that this place is a rather small town and I thought I would stop by." He said, not bothering to look up at the other mares, clearly too shy to do so.

"So you're a traveler?" asked Twilight, eyes lit up with interest. "What's it like?

"It must be very lonely," said Fluttershy sadly.

The red pegasus just smiled slightly at the shy mare before he said, "I-It's not that bad. Yes, I was a bit...lonely at first, but I g-got used to it." He then turned to face Twilight and answered her question. "I-I just wander around, moving from place to place. Honestly, it's not all that interesting."

He sighed as he grabbed his water and took another sip of before putting it back on the table, feeling a bit more comfortable around these mares now. Even with that, though, he was still unsure what to say. Thankfully, the others in the room had a few questions of their own.

Rainbow Dash was the next one to speak up. "So what's up with you? Why didn't you like the surprise? Ya got a fear of balloons or somethin'?"

Fluttershy looked the other way, trying not to mind Rainbow Dash's intrusions.

Spark actually laughed at that. it's a small laugh, but a laugh nevertheless. "N-No, nothing like that." He said, taking a deep breath before exhaling. "I-It's...it's embarrassing." He added, looking away in shame as the laughter rather quickly died away.

He wasn't sure if he should tell them or not for he thought that they wouldless about him if he did, but the white unicorn is quick to say otherwise.

"Darling, if you think what you've got is embarrassing, then let me tell you all about some of the things that my little sister, Sweetie Belle has done. You've got nothing to be ashamed of," said Rarity.

He swallowed to once again to calm himself as he kept his gaze away from the others, still unsure of telling them or not. After a few moments of silence, he finally mumbled something out, but it's too soft for any of them to hear it.

"I'm sorry, dear. What was that?" asked Rarity, holding a hoof up to her ear. The others got in closer to better hear Spark's reason.

"I'm afraid of crowds..." He whispered a bit louder, but still barely hearable.

"Afraid of crowds?" asked Rarity. "Dear, you should talk to Fluttershy. You'd get along with her quite well."

A blush appeared across Fluttershy's face as she looked down. "Oh, um..."

The red pegasus blinked as he slowly looked over to the shy mare in slight confusion. "R-Really?" He asked. He thought he was the only one afraid of large crowds, or of any sort of crowds really.

Fluttershy let a soft smile form as she made eye contact. Their eyes met for only a moment before she looked away. "Y-Yes... I'm not good in any kind of crowd. I get nervous and I start to sweat and whenever somepony tries to talk to me I just freeze up."

Sparks remained silent as he looked at her before he too looked away to avoid eye contact as well. "Y-yea, something...something similar with me as well. I just...I can't stand to be in a crowded area, or the center of attention, I just...I freeze up like that." He paused as he looks back down at his hooves.

His mind started going back to when he was little, the number of colts and fillies that would berate him and shamelessly insult him for his...difference. It was...painful to recall. The girls could see his eyes started to water up as he does so.

Fluttershy pushed her mane back and looked back at him with a bit more determination as she saw him start to get sad from something. Not wanting to upset him, she tries to help with a bit of advice. "I got over a lot of my fears with the help of my friends, though. So not everything is as bad as it was before."

"Yeah! With our help, she became twenty percent cooler!" said Dash.

“I’m sure that someday you will get over your fear just like her.” Pinkie added, giving a huge grin.

He glanced over at them and gave a small smile before looking back at his hooves. "T-That's...nice." He said, letting out a small sigh. Now that he felt much better from the crowded incident, some things started to come back, namely what it was in the first place and who threw it. "Did...did you say this was a party for me, Pinkie?" He asks the party mare.

"Yuppers! I threw this party just for you! For your first day in Ponyville!" exclaimed Pinkie, a grin spreading across her face.

"She tries her best to bring a smile to everypony's face, no matter how sad they might be," explained Twilight. “And that includes welcoming everypony to Ponyville, no matter who they may be.”

He nodded as he heard this, a small frown coming on his face. "I...I-I'm sorry I ruined it for you Pinkie." He said. "I just...I never had a party thrown for me, so I didn't...I didn't know what to do. That and the whole crowd thing just...I just..." He pauses as he just shivers from the recent memory.

“Wait, you never had a party before?!” Exclaimed Pinkie as she let out a large gasp. “That means I have to make this one even BETTER! There'll be cake, ice cream, balloons, streamers, games, music! Everything!!!" She stated, giving a wide smile. However, the smile faltered when she saw the terrified look on his face, and as she realized her mistake, she gave a sheepish smile and added, “Um, b-but it can be smaller, just the seven of us...and perhaps a couple of others, if that’s ok with you?”

The mares fell silent as they watched for his reaction, the red pony having his eyes closed in thought. He wasn’t really sure what to think about such actions, and while normally Spark wouldn't mind hanging with nice and kind ponies, he was curious as to why these mares were doing it. Sure they were all nice, but having been proven wrong and tricked so many times before, he was a bit skeptical. Not only that, but he did just meet them today, and yet they are all willing to do this for him?

He opened his eyes as he looked at them with slight suspicion. "Why? I-I just...why me? Why throw a party for me? Why...why all of this?" He asked. Even though he is suspicious, the worry is most evident in his voice.

"Why wouldn't we?" asked Twilight. "We just wish to make you feel comfortable." She said with a smile.

"Plus, I have to make a party for you if you never even had one for yourself!" Added Pinkie, her hooves in the air. “I mean, to never have a party in your entire life?! That’s just crazy, and I know a thing or two about that.”

Spark looked at them again, still unsure of what to do, but seeing how there wasn’t a way out of it without hurting their feelings, he soon made up his mind. With a sigh, he looked at them all for a few moments before giving a nod. "O-Ok. But no surprises! And keep it small...um, p-please?" He asked. "Just...just give me some time to gather myself ok? M-Maybe...in a few days?"

The pink mare just smiled and nodded at this before going through some sort of random motions as she said, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

He raised an eyebrow at this before just giving a nod, content for now as he looked at the others in the room. "I...I guess you girls will be on your way now?" He asked, always rather awkward around others and a bit unsure how to let them know he wished to be left alone without, again, hurting their feelings.

The girls looked at each other and a few of them nod, though to their surprise, the yellow mare shook her head. "Um... if you don't mind, I'd like to talk a bit. You remind me of me when I was younger," she said, blushing with a smile.

"Well, if you really want to stay, that's fine, but I think it's up to Spark," said Twilight.

He blinked in surprise at this as he looked up at her, and then the rest of them. After a few moments he nodded gently. "I...I-I guess you can stay for a bit." He said. It's not like he has anything else to do...and how the hell could he say no to somepony with eyes like hers.

With varying goodbyes, the other girls left, Pinkie giving a reminder to Spark that she will make it up to him.

After the other left, Fluttershy sat next to Spark on the couch, looking up at the ceiling as if it were interesting before she turned her attention back to him. "So why visit ponyville?"

He raised an eyebrow at this as he looked at her. "Didn't you girls already ask me that?" He asked. Then, thinking that it might have been rude, he quickly added, "N-Not that I mean it's a bad question or you didn't hear, I just thought you asked it is all."

"Yes, but I don't think that was the real answer. I've hidden the truth before to cover up my own feelings, especially when I was younger." She gave him a sincere smile, a blush on her face. “I know what to look for when somepony else is trying to hide the truth...sometimes...”

This surprised him as he heard her say this. It is indeed what he has done for most of his life to be honest, but even so does he trust her enough to tell her the full truth. Taking a few deep breaths, he thought it over before giving a shake of his head.

"I...I-I'm sorry Fluttershy, but I...I don't know if I really want to talk about it." He admitted, turning away in shame. Thankfully the shy mare was having none of that as she gently reaches over and places a hoof on his leg, surprising him to look back at her. She didn’t want to push him too much, but at the same time she knew what it was like to hold something in and not tell anypony else. She just wished to help him.

"It's okay. You don't have to worry about anypony knowing," She assured him. Her eyes had that sense of trust. It was as if she had been through the same exact things he had.

Spark couldn't help but stare into her eyes as she said that, and he can see that she spoke the truth. Not only that, but he can see the kindness behind that gaze, making his heart pause as he looked at such a kind face. He didn't even know such kindness was possible, but here she was, and she hadn't even done anything but talk to him, yet he felt so much calmer than before. Before he got too deep into it, however, he pulled back, his body shaking a bit from the intensity of it all.

"Fluttershy I...I appreciate it, I really do, but I just...I don't feel comfortable talking about it just yet." He admits. It hurts him to say it, but it hurts just as much to try and tell this kind mare why he travels as he does. "I don't want to burden you or anypony else, and even if I did want to tell you, I...I just...I can't bring myself to do it. Not now."

He looks away in sadness as he takes a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry, but maybe one day I can-"

"Shh, it's ok." She says, rubbing his shoulder calmly. "You don't have to tell me if you really don't want to." She felt bad for pushing him too hard, something she had tried to avoid, and now she just wished for him to relax. If he didn’t want to talk about it, then she wasn’t going to force the issue anymore.

He glanced back at her in surprised relief, even giving her a small smile. "T-thank you." He simply said as he took a few deep breaths, her calming aura helped him quite a bit. After a few minutes of a rather comfortable silence, he finally spoke up again, wanting to ask some of his own questions. "S-So...what do you do? If that's ok for me to ask, that is?"

"Oh, me?" Her eyes lit up with interest as she began. "Well, I take care of the sweet little animals. They can't fend for themselves all the time. There are so many, too. Bears, birds, bunnies. They all come to my cottage for help."

As she spoke, there was an innocent aura about her. She seemed to be genuinely naive and trusting. Her whole attitude was rather infectious, causing the red colt to feel himself go at ease while listening to her.

He Nodded his head before he grabbed his water and took another sip, looking back at her. "That's very nice of you." He said, smiling.

"Oh, I don't do it just to be nice. I do it for them," she said with a slow nod. "It's nice to meet somepony else who's like me. Are you going to settle here?" she asked, her eyes looking hopeful. Even though they had only just met, something about this pony really made her click with him, and she was hoping that he planned on staying here to live.

This causes the red pony to fall silent, a small frown on his face. "I...I don't think so. I don't normally stay in one town for long, usually for a few weeks to a month before heading back out. Just enough to refill my supplies and such." He explained.

However, he felt rather sad about explaining it to her. For some reason, telling her that made him feel like he let her down, and taking a glance at her, he can see just why he felt like that.

The hope in her eyes had vanished, replaced with a bit of sadness. However, she kept her smile, not wanting to make him sad as well. "Oh, that's too bad. I was honestly hoping for you to stay so I could hang out some more. I would've invited you to my place for tea." She said, rubbing her hooves together shyly.

The surprise is quick to replace the sadness that he had suddenly felt when he heard her words. "Wait, really? I-I mean, why? We only just met." He asked.

"I-I know, but...b-but I've never met another pony who was shy like me," She answered. "To be honest, it's kind of comforting. It means I'm not the only one." She looked back at him with her kind smile as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. "It's okay. Maybe we'll see each other again someday."

Now Spark had a choice here. To refuse to come over and make the mare just that much sadder, or to accept the invite. He couldn’t really see any reason to refuse her, plus when he saw the look of sadness in her eyes, it just...hurt him greatly.

Naturally, as to make her feel better, he accepted her invite.

"Y-You know...today is only my first day, s-so...um..." He took a shaky breath as he tried to calm himself down, then slowly he turned to look at her again. "I-If you want me to...t-to come over, then...then I guess I can for a bit. And...and for some tea."

Her eyes lit up with hope once again. "Oh, that would be wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I'll get us some sugar cookies and I'll whip up some nice green tea when you arrive!"

Spark can't help but chuckle at that, giving her a smile. "That sounds great." He said, her joy flowed right back into him. "Maybe some time on the following Monday?" He asked. It was Friday today, so that gave him plenty of time to get himself settled here.

"That would be a great time!" she agreed. "And maybe you could tell me all about your journey during it?"

"I wouldn't mind telling about where I've been." He said. Thankfully that's one of the few things he is willing to talk about himself...at least to a certain extent. It's at this point he let out a small yawn and glanced at the clock, noticing that it showed that a few hours went by.

"Oh! I must be keeping you up!" She got up from the couch and looked over to him. "Don't forget, okay?"

"I won't." He said, getting up and leading her to the door. Once there, he stopped for a moment and adds, "I...I just want to thank you, for...for talking to me and...and inviting me. Nopony has ever taken the time to do so for me before."

"I think you'll find that Ponyville may very well be the friendliest place in Equestria," she said to him. "I should be going now. I don't want to keep you up for too long. Plus I need to make sure the animals are ok."

He nodded again, and with a polite nod in return, the shy mare left, closing the door softly behind her. He sighed as he walked back through the room, seeing the streamers and other party decorations still littered all over the place. He is worried about what Pinkie had planned, but she did promise to not overdo it, and strangely enough, he trusts her to hold her word.

Letting out another yawn, he is about to head to bed when his stomach rumbled. "Shoot, in all this confusion I forgot to eat." He said, and looking around he spied the cupcakes that he got from earlier.

"Not sure I should be eating cupcakes before bed...oh well, not like I have much of a choice." He said, and opening the box, he started to eat one of the cupcakes.

As he chowed down, he thought over what those six mares had said, and for some reason he was inclined to listen to them. In any case, he knew that was going to be for another time as ate his food.

Once finished, he cleaned up the place a bit before heading off to bed. This is when he finally took his hoodie off, letting out a small sigh as he parted his mane a bit before he looked at the mirror that's in the bedroom.

His ragged blonde mane is just as much of a mess as before, but that's not what kept his attention. Standing there, right on top of his head, were two white horns, jutting from near his ears and right above his forehead, curving slightly upwards and giving him a rather hellish look. At least that's what it looked to him.

Sighing, he reached up and touched them as if to confirm that they are still there. Sadly the cold feel of bone against his hoof proved just how real they still are. Yup...still there as always. He thought to himself. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths as he calmed himself down before giving a small nod as he walked to the bed.

As he laid down, he sighed, feeling the stress slowly roll over him, yet at the same time the new ponies that he had met helped him to wash those fears away, at least for now.

He may not want to tell his story in fear of being shunned, but maybe one day he will find those ponies that do trust him. He just doesn't know when that will be.

Stretching his Wings (Sexual Intercourse)

CHAPTER 5

The next morning...

"WAKE UP, MAGGOT!"

Spark gasped as he was startled awake, his eyes flew open as he looked around, trying to collect his thoughts and figure out who in Equestria was shouting in his ear. Who he found was Rainbow Dash as she hovered over his bed, wearing a strange jacket and sunglasses. "Are you ready to fly?!"

He slowly uncurled himself from under the sheets, sighing nervously as he quickly made sure his mane is hiding his horns as he does so. "Um...y-yes?" He asked nervously. He forgot that today would be when she taught him how to fly...or at least tried to, in his opinion.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU, MAGGOT!!! ARE YOU READY TO FLY?!" She shouted again, making him reel back in shock.

The shouting didn't really help him as he just nodded vigorously trying to get her to quiet down. "Y-Yes!"

"Then eat this and meet me outside in five minutes!" she shouted, tossing toast atop Spark's face.

He somehow was able to catch the toast as Rainbow flew out of the room, Twilight walking in soon afterwards. "Um...h-how did she know I was here?" He asked the Alicorn, toast in hoof.

"Oh, she asked me," answered Twilight. "You'd better hurry. She can get really rough if you don't do as she says."

“T-That wasn’t rough?” He asked in shock, eyes wide.

She shook her head. “Not really, she can be a lot more tough if needed.” She paused as she noticed Spark was on the verge of hyperventilating, and quickly added, “But she won’t overdue it. She’s many things, but she isn’t unreasonable. Just relax and follow her lead and you’ll be fine.”

He took a deep breath to calm himself down before doing as she said, quickly eating the toast while making sure not to spill any crumbs on the sheets. Once eaten, he got up, put his hoodie on and with a wave to the purple mare as well as another thanks for letting him stay over, he was quickly rushing to get outside of the castle.

Rainbow Dash awaited him outside, tapping a hoof to the ground. When she saw him approach, she smiled eagerly. "Alright, maggot! It's time you learned how to fly! First, we're going to try a few exercises!"

He nodded, feeling his muscles tense as she kept calling him maggot. He would try and ask her to stop, but he had been called way worse before, and being called a maggot isn't all that bad, at least to him. Before Spark knew it, he was grabbed and placed atop the roof of a building. On the ground in front was a rather large trampoline. Once on the roof, he quickly wrapped his hooves on it, his wings flaring as a few dead feathers flew off. "R-Rainbow! W-What is this?!"

"This exercise is called 'Winging it'! You're going to try flying on your own right now. I need to see how bad this case actually is!"

He gulped as he looked all the way down at the ground, his eyes locked onto the trampoline before he glanced back at the hovering mare. "W-What!? Is this really supposed to help me?" He asked, the fear evident in his voice.

"Uh, yeah! I need to see what you're doing wrong so I can correct it!" she answered, rolling her eyes. "Hey, who's the teacher here?!"

He stares at her for a few moments before letting out a defeated sigh. "You are..." He said slowly. Twilight’s words ran through his head, reminding him that Rainbow was just trying to do her best to teach him to fly. And if Twilight trusts her, then so does he. Besides, she is a Wonderbolt, so she should know how to best fly. He glanced back at the ground, then at her, and with a deep breath, he slowly extended his wings, giving them a few flaps...and jumped.

As he fell, his wings caught the air effortlessly, causing him to start to drift down. With a few flaps, he is suddenly shooting into the sky, whooping with joy as he soared among the clouds...

...Is what he wished happened. Instead, he cried in fear as he plummeted down, wings flapping without a rhythm or reason as he spun in the air. After a few moments he landed on the trampoline, bouncing up and down a few moments before coming to a stop, resting on his stomach, his heart pounding madly in his chest.

Dash floated down to Spark's level with a raised eyebrow. "That was some of the messiest flying I have ever seen! I don’t think that should even be called flying!!"

He gave her a deadpanned look at that. "Really? I never would have guessed..." He said softly.

"I would say it was more like falling with style!" Shouted Pinkie, who suddenly appeared from behind Rainbow.

"Not now, Pinkie!" shouted Dash. "Can't you see I'm busy giving lessons?!"

"Oops! Soooorry!" said Pinkie as she twirled her tail, hovering up and away. "To infinity! And beyond!"

They both watched as the pink mare just seemed to hover away before disappearing around a building, Dash being the first to focus back on the training. "Anyways...don’t mind her, she’s just being Pinkie. As for your flying: there's no rhythm, no pattern. You've gotta have a rhythm when flapping, or else you're just gonna keep falling."

He sighed and nodded. "I-I know, but...but I don't know how." He said. He was doing his best to ignore Pinkie's strangeness, as it just hurt his head to try and even look at what she does at times. Instead he just did his best to focus on the cyan mare’s words and his own reading into flying...at least with what few books he did read on it.

"You need a drumbeat. More importantly, you need music!" she said.

He blinked, head cocked to the side in confusion. "Music?"

"Yeah!" she answered. "Flapping your wings to the music is important!"

He could safely say that nothing he had heard has told him he needed to listen to music. "Ok...so...how do I do that then?" He asked.

“Wait here.” Dash said before she zoomed off and came back a few seconds later with a pair of headphones. "Got these as a gift from Vinyl Scratch. I never really used 'em."

He tilted his head at the headphones. "Ok...but how will those work, they aren't even attached to anything?" He asked as he got up into a sitting position on the trampoline.

"Uh... magic?" replied Dash, as if that were obvious. "They were enchanted by Vinyl to play beats."

"Oh..." He gave a small facehoof as he realized just how stupid his question was, and looking them over one last time, he put them on and over his ears. Once on, she pressed a small button on the side of the headphones, making steady techno music play.

"Ok!" she said. "Try flapping to the beat!"

As the music played, he slowly nodded his head to the beat, his eyes closed as he tried to focus on it. Steadily, his wings extend, and he started flapping them. Of course he wasn't on the beat at all for the first few minutes, and even when he does get it right the way his wings were flapping didn't seem to be too natural and almost a bit forced.

Dash rubbed her chin, thinking hard as he looked him over. "Don't force it. It's no good if you force it. Forcing causes destabilization and that causes panic. It has to come naturally, so just do what feels right. Even if the right thing is wrong, it’s still a start where we can work on."

Of course he couldn't really hear her as the music was playing, only seeing her lips move when he opened his eyes, but he already felt that something was off and he started making himself relax. As the minutes ticked by, he slowly started to get the hang of the beat, his wings flapping a bit more normally, a little more naturally. Even then, the way they bent was still not right, showing that he really is a novice with such wing skills.

She grinned as he started to get into the rhythm. “Stretch out those wings!" she said. "You're almost there! Stretch em out as if you're gonna soar!" Once again he guessed what he wanted him to do and started beating his wings faster, doubling the beat he was listening to. It was at this moment that she realized a possible problem with this. "Wait... are you even listening?" she waved a hoof in front of his face. "Hello?"

As he saw her waving a hoof across his face, he paused his flapping and removed the headphones off of his head. "Were you saying something? It's kind of hard to hear with these things on." He said, giving a sheepish smile.

"Yea...figured as much." She sighed before giving a shake of her head. "Let's take a break for now." She looked at his wings, noticing they were messier than how she had fixed them. "Have you even been trying to preen them?!" She scolded him

He flinched as he took the headphones off, placing them to the side before shaking his head. "N-No, I...I haven't..." he said, looking away from her in shame.

She let out another great sigh. "What am I gonna do with you?" She said as she rubbed her chin. After a few moments of silence she gently placed a hoof around him and pulled him close. “Listen, I did promise to help teach you about preening as well, but you need to start making an effort to do them on your own, even just simple washing is better than nothing.”
Realizing she may have been a bit too harsh, she quickly adds, “Not saying that you knew how to preen when we didn’t do anything yet, just wanting you to know that you need to be paying attention with this, cause of...I mean...”

He waved a hoof to get her to fall silent as he nodded. “I-I know, cause it’s...i-it’s personal stuff.” He said. Again silence fell and this time a solid minute passed before he spoke up. “Rainbow, if you don’t want to-”

She covered his mouth before he could even finish that. “Don’t you even think about finishing that sentence! I promised I would help, and I don’t back out of a promise.” She stated. Now determined to start and help him out, she wrapped her forelegs around his waist and carried him high onto a roof, out of view.

He looked around as they land on the roof, seeing that they were very much up high yet at the same time hidden from most of the other ponies. He then put two and two together and he blushed as he looks over at the mare. "W-Wait, here?! N-Now?" He asks, nerves kicking in.

"It’s fine, it’s not like we’re doing anything too crazy, and I want those wings preened now. The longer they stay that messy, the worse it is for you, so the sooner the better. Besides, this part of town is less traveled by most other pegasus, so it’s not like they will spy us during this.” She reassured him. Before he could complain more, she said, “Now, lay down and relax your wings.”

Seeing no way out of it, he shivered a bit as he does as she said, laying down and taking a few deep breaths to relax himself before he was able to relax his wings. Once relaxed, she walked up to his side and sat down next to him, her hoof rubbing his back. She gave him a comforting smile before leaning down and taking his first wing into her mouth as she began to preen, making sure to get every individual feather with her tongue.

As soon as she started, his complaints were thrown out the window, the worries about being exposed to others, including other flying pegasi vanished as the red pegasus gasped from the pleasure and shuddered, laying on the roof as she preened and cleaned his wings. "F-Fuck!" he shouted, the sensation so much stronger than when she last did it. He quickly covered his mouth as he heard himself, his cheeks even brighter than his red coat.

"Relax Spark!" she whispered. "It goes better if you just relax." She did her best to tell that to herself as well, but sadly this was getting even to her as she focused on his wings. Spark could feel her wet muscle bury itself deep underneath his feathers to get them wet, lining up a few feathers and fixing a few broken ones. Every moment of contact was bliss, her tongue seeming to find spots that he didn’t even know existed..

"W-Why...n-n-not in...mMM....p-private..." He tried to ask again, his mind racing with all these new feelings. However Dash didn’t hear him as she just continued preening him. His heart raced as the pleasure coursed through him, and it was at this point he remembered he was supposed to be learning from this. He looked over his shoulder to watch her, trying to learn from what she is doing even as his wings slowly start to extend on their own.

Dash kept her focus on his wings, making sure to fix and clean every single feather that she could find. When she finished with one feather, she lined it back up before moving to the next. So focused was she that it took a few minutes before she noticed just how high his wings were spreading, causing her eyes to widen as she realized what was happening. She knew a wingboner when she saw one. She paused the preening and pulled her head back slightly in shock. "A-Are you...?!"

Sadly, the same couldn't be said for Spark. Having never felt such sensations before, it was all new to him. "I-I don't...w-w-why are my wings moving like this?" He asked. Giving a few grunts he tried to fold them back, but to his surprise he found out that he couldn't. "I...I-I can't m-m-move them..w-why? Why c-can’t they...m-move?." He whimpered softly, another small moan escaping his muzzle.

Dash blushed an intense red. This pony was actually getting off just from her preening him. Of course she wasn’t faring any better at the moment, all his moaning and verbal pleasure causing an effect on her as well. Her own wings twitched as she looked on, his feathers flicking the air lightly.

Thoughts slowly started to cross her mind, very lewd and naughty thoughts about this stallion before her before she shook her head to clear it, though it doesn’t stop her neithers from swelling a bit, the heat blooming between her legs. She had been in a bit of a dry spell as of late, so to be in such a situation as they are in now was slowly breaking her defenses. It didn’t help that he was acting rather cute with the way he doesn’t know what a wingboner was, trying to get his wings to go down even though she knows that won’t happen so easily.

Even with all of that in mind, she had to finish preening him first, and she wasn’t going to just stop and rub one out till his wings were all clean. "J-Just...hold still!" she said before leaning down and licking at the edges of the next wing.

He nodded as he tried to do just that, wings extended as he took deep breaths to try and calm himself down. His eyes, however, stayed locked on her, and he couldn't help but to look her over as this strange feeling grew even more.

As the minutes slowly ticked by, Spark would feel something starting to grow under him, slowly sliding out as it hardens. It took a few moments before he realized that it's his stallionhood, sliding from his sheath and hardening under the ministrations of the rainbow mare. He blushed deeply as he realized this, wanting to back away and stop her. Despite knowing this and wanting her to stop, he found himself unable to do so, eyes locked as he watched the pegasus continue to preen his wings.

The mare herself was getting lost in preening his wings too, her eyes partially lidded as she nuzzled into a few primaries, moving them aside before diving back in with her tongue. Her breathing was rather deep, inhaling his scent as her focus went from preening his wings and teach him into a more pleasurable mindset, preening him just for the sake of her own delight. She placed a hoof around his back as she gently leaned on him, making him shiver from the extra touch. Rainbow could feel his heartbeat through his wings, pumping the blood and keeping them straight as they are. Her body was starting to act on its own, her tongue teasing a few secondaries without her even meaning to.

As the licking slowly finished, Spark shuffled a bit more to try and get comfortable, but this just caused his cock to slide out from under him and hang to the side, pulsing lightly as it rested on the roof and next to Dash. She didn’t notice it at the moment, however, too much into fixing his wings as she is.

Her hoof, not doing anything, slowly started to wander on its own, reaching under her and rubbing her lower belly, teasing herself lightly. She grunted as she felt the teasing appendage, but didn’t stop it, her mind getting more lost as she felt herself touch her swollen mound, wet and dripping with her arousal. She shuddered and tried to cover up a moan at the touch, her eyes shut tight as she rubbed herself.

Both of them were so focused on what the other was doing that neither of them noticed how deep into the preening they were getting. Spark had given up on keeping any sort of mental notes while she had mostly finished cleaning his wings and was now just preening purely for fun, her rubbing hoof hidden from sight. She gave his wing a slow lick across the center, matting down the feathers with a great amount of saliva before licking it back up, panting as her hot breath washed over them.

With a few more licks, she finished, nearly gasping and almost letting out a whimper from how her hoof teased her clit. After finishing, she stopped and caught her breath, her eyes locked onto his wings. They seemed to be in so much better shape now, even if both were a panting mess. She gave it a few more looks and was about to comment on how much better they are when her eyes caught something lower. Glancing down, her eyes went wide as she saw the rather large shaft poking from under him.

Spark wasn’t faring any better. With the mare finished, he was just a panting wreck, eyes glossed over, his breathing labored, and his shaft throbbing almost painfully. After a few moments of catching his breath his eyes focused enough to notice her staring at something, and when he followed her gaze, he gasped as he quickly did his best to cover himself up.

"SHIT!" He said, hooves covering his groin and growing member. "I-I didn't mean...I wasn't g-getting...I mean I was, but...b-but not in that way...not that you aren't you're a-attractive, I just-"

Rainbow quickly placed a hoof over his mouth, thankfully it wasn’t the hoof she rubbed herself with. "Sh-Shut up!" she shouted, before covering her own loud mouth. It took a few moments of them just staring at each other before she resumed speaking. "I-I can't just carry you back down there like that!" she whispered. "Ponies will freak!"

He tried to apologize once again, but the hoof on his mouth prevented him from saying anything. As the silence went on, Rainbow’s mind went through all sorts of scenarios that could possibly help him. She knew that this was a rather tense situation, the fact that they are both high over their heads on lust and he is clearly inexperienced with such a thing. She wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a virgin. Looking back at his cock that he was still trying to hide, she thought over ideas.

She had to help him, get him to relax and calm down enough so that it would go away, that much is certain. However, could she really let something that amazing go away unused? She hadn’t had any action for a few months now, and it was killing her inside to the point that she was thinking about it almost every day.

But he is nearly in shock, and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings by making him think she was into him. She knows what it’s like to have her first sexual moment, and how attached one could get to the other, and she didn’t want the same thing to happen to him. He is attractive in his own right, maybe not the buff she was looking for, but most certainly a good catch if he ever got out of his shell.

But they just met! Sure he has been here for a couple of weeks and he has been slowly opening a bit more every day, but to just dive into something so intimate so quickly? She was fine with it, but she doubts he would be. But she can’t let him go out with that out. It looked way too painful as well, the large...throbbing…

She shook her head as the mist of lust started to take her mind, her breathing getting a bit deeper. She had to help him somehow, so...so why not in a way that would make it pleasant for both of them? She gave a mental nod as she finally made up her mind, and a quick look over the rooftops showed that no pony was around. Seeing nopony, she gently pushed Spark over and flipped him onto his back, his shaft now fully exposed to them both.

Eyes wide, he once again tried to cover himself up, crossing his legs in front of him. "R-Rainbow! W-What are you-"

"I gotta get it back down. Can't just... let it stay like that when I fly you back down." She said, her voice a bit husky with that arousing mist. She pushed his legs out of the way and gave his cock a good look over, seeing just what she was working with, the stallion freezing and doing his best to not move a muscle.

Just as she thought at first glance, it was rather decent sized, perhaps ten inches, which is just above average for most ponies. Of course she has seen much bigger before, but his was not to be laughed at. The head flared lightly as she looked, giving a twitch as he tried to remain still. The medial ring itself looked rather thick, again average but a good average, and her mouth watered at the thought of how it would feel in other places.

She leaned forward and stuck her tongue out, placing it on his shaft right below the medial ring and sliding it up, causing him to moan in shock from the new, more intense feeling. As she gave it a taste test, her tongue licking up the sides, her eyes stay locked on the pole before her, wanting to see just how it reacts to her touch.

Once she reached the head, she latched onto it with her mouth, lips lightly holding the tip in and giving it a gentle suckle. Huh...once again not the worst she's ever had, but not the best, either. Her tongue swirled around the throbbing cock, making sure to give it the attention it needed. Her focus on the member was so intense she almost missed the pre till she tasted it as it leaked from the head, making her pause as she sampled it. It had a unique flavor to it with that bitter aftertaste, nothing too crazy, but certainly addicting in its own right. Wanting more, she focused her attention on the head, lapping at it and trying to draw out more pre.

As soon as her mouth was on the head, he gasped, his body freezing up as he looked down at her. He isn't completely in the dark with such activities, but hearing and reading about them are much different than being part of it. Moaning, he instinctively reached a hoof to her mane, rubbing her head as the head of his cock leaked pre, aching and throbbing in her maw.

The feeling of his hoof on her head caused Dash to pause as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. Seeing the reaction he had on his face, she smirked and felt the need to make him squirm even more, wanting to see what other reactions she could get from him. She slowly started taking more of him into her mouth, inch by inch sinking down her maw. After a good while she had the first half of his cock in her mouth, her lips only a few inches away from his medial ring. Holding it in her mouth, she licked around the shaft and gave it a small suckle, which caused him to nearly jump in surprise and moan.

She quickly reached up and covered his mouth once again, making him look down at her. Her eyes told him to stay quiet, and with a nod, she slowly removed her hoof and places it on his stomach, rubbing him lightly. With that taken care of, she could finally focus on what she wants: properly sucking him off. With another suckle and a muffled groan from Spark, Rainbow started bobbing her head, sliding the rod in and out of her mouth.

With how fast this was going it was leaving the stallion in a bind. He wasn't sure what to do or say, but the pleasure the mare was giving him was amazing! He gently thrust into her mouth, panting as he ached for release. Even after just a minute of her sucking him, his hooves are stuck on her head, his hips gently trying to thrust into her mouth.

Rainbow looked up at him with her magenta eyes, finding his reactions to be rather funny. Feeling him try to buck into her mouth, she held him down, preventing him from moving as she took control, sucking him harder as her tongue wiggled on the underside of the shaft. She wanted to really give him a ride, and seeing how he wasn’t going to last long, she took a deep breath and sank as low as she could. The head of his cock quickly met the back of her throat, making her pause, but only for a moment. She quickly pushed onward, sinking his cock past her tonsils and into her throat., squeezing the head tight as her lips reach his medial ring. She holds him steady as she sucks and swallows before sinking more down, inch after inch sinking into her throat. Soon she had the rest of his shaft in her mouth and throat, her neck even bulging a bit with how deep she took him.

She held him there, eyes locked on him as she watched for any interesting reaction, and she wasn’t disappointed. Spark was squirming like mad, his hooves stuck in her mane and pushing her down, even if she was preventing him from thrusting up, she knew he wouldn’t let him off till he came.It was clear he wasn't going to last long as she kept him lodged deep inside of her throat, his cock lightly dragged against the walls of her throat. It's started to make his mind go numb with the pleasure that he was feeling. Doubling over, he pushed her head down harder with both hooves as he again tried to thrust himself into her throat, acting very much like a horny teenager with his first blowjob...which isn’t far from the truth here. "D-Dash I...I-I-I'm gonna..."

Hearing those words, Dash's throat tightened on Spark's shaft, the mare's body trying to swallow hard, walls tugging on the foreign object. It was as if she were milking him of every last drop. She pretty much was as her eyes stayed locked on his as she just swallowed and sucked hard. She was hoping for him to last just a bit longer, but sadly he couldn't stay focused for much longer, and with a few more thrusts into her squeezing throat, he held her head down as he came, spurting his seed down her throat and right into her belly.

Dash's wings spread out wide, the blue pegasus gaining her own wingboner as she took every last bit of seed into her stomach. She moaned softly as she swallowed as much as she could. When the last of it left his nuts, she slowly pulled back, sliding him out gently, making sure he was watching her as she did that. With a pop, he left her mouth, his cock wilting lightly as they both caught their breath.

Both were left panting after what just happened, slowly coming to their senses. Rainbow was still a bit muddled with her heated sex pulsing against her, begging for some attention, but she ignored it as she realized that the full extent of what just happened was going to crash onto him at any moment. As she just stood up, she let out a small cough to clear her throat. "Um...p-preening's done..."

He blinked for a few moments as he finally fully realized just what happened, and eyes wide he looked over at Rainbow. "W-Wait, y-you just...and I just...b-but...b-b-but..." He stuttered as he tried to make sense with what just happened. Thankfully, while Rainbow is a bit distracted with it as well, she was waiting for this moment, and knew she had to choose her next words carefully.

"It was just...proper procedure," she lied. "A stallion can't focus on flying if he's...a-aroused..." Sadly, when she saw the raised eyebrow on Spark, she knew that she would have to tell him the truth, for even he wasn't buying that lie. She rolled her eyes. "Ugh...fine...I guess...at first I was trying to help you get it down, but in the end I just kinda...lost control of myself. Was in the zone so to speak."

He looked at her a bit harder for a few moments before he nodded. "Oh...Um..." He hesitated, his cheeks much redder than normal. Even with that, the tone of his voice showed her that he was starting to very much doubt himself, and she had to act fast.

Dash, not wanting him to worry about it, quickly added, "I-I didn't mean anything by it, really! I-I mean you're good looking and all, but this was just to get rid of that boner you had, ok?" She paused as she looked away slightly. "I'm sorry if you thought I had a thing for you. I do care for you, just not that much. I really think you’re a good friend, shyness and all."

He started to ponder over her words, as well as the feelings that he just had. While most of them were new, he wasn't sure what he felt was love for the rainbow mare. Rubbing the back of his head, he finally said, "I-I can understand...I think. Honestly, I-I'm not sure what I felt myself."

As he continued thinking it over, he began to freak out a little. Normally when two ponies do such things they become a couple, at least from what he has heard. Now that they did it, does...does that mean...

Thankfully, Rainbow guessed what was going through his mind and quickly reacted to comfort him. She patted his back with a wing, blushing as she looked away. "Look... it's not a bad thing. This stuff happens. And it doesn’t mean we have to hook up either. Um... but it's not like you should be ashamed of it. I should've stopped when I heard you... moaning."

Hearing her words did comfort him a bit and looking at her, he asked, "Y-You...sure that...that it's ok? W-We’re not...not a couple?" The last thing he wanted was to offend her.

She nodded. "It was just a one-time thing. Sure, you can feel embarrassed, but not ashamed. Believe it or not, I...I've been down that whole shame road before."

This caught his curiosity. "Y-You have?"

"Y-Yeah..." She looked the other way. "Done a few things...with a Wonderbolt..."

Now he is very curious. However, seeing her look away he guessed that she didn't wish to talk about it, and nodded. "Um...y-you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to Dash." he told her.

Hearing this, she faced him again and gave a small smile "Thanks. Um... W-We should really try flying again," she said, trying to derail the topic.

He nodded as he goes to stand up, but that is when he caught a whiff of a strange scent, something he hasn't smelled before. "Hey...what's that smell?" He asked, looking around as he sniffed the air.

It took Dash a second before she realized that he was smelling her arousal, her eyes widened in shock. "P-Probably nothing!" She said, sitting down.

Spark isn't convinced though as he slowly followed the scent, his eyes closed as he moves his head around. Dash can feel her heart rate rising as he got closer, slowly lowering his head. She knew she has to do something, be it telling the truth or making something up. Seeing how things have been going so far, she decided to just go all in and tell him.

"I-It's me, okay?!" Silence filled the air for a few seconds. "I'm the one who smells..."

He opened his eyes as he realizeed that she is right and the scent is coming from her. "Wait, why do you smell? Didn't you take a shower today?" He asked, confused.

Her face turned beet red. "Of course I showered! I'm just..." She squirms a bit. "I'm turned on, I guess. You squirming and moaning was...really arousing."

"Turned on..." He said to himself as he thought it over. It took a few moments but he soon did realize what she means, his cheeks going red once again. "O-Oh!" Eyes wide, he looked at her before turning to face away. He was about to offer her some space and privacy before an idea popped into his head. "W-Wait, you helped me s-so...so how about I help you?" He asked, turning to face her once again.

"Wh-What?!" She looked at him as if he had asked her to jump off a cliff. "Wh-Why?!"

He was silent for a few moments as he wondered why he would suddenly ask that himself, but he soon continued. "I-It's only fair. Y-You helped me s-so..." He paused as he waited for a reply, but as the time ticked on, he grew worried that he said the wrong thing as he quickly turned to look away again. "I-I'm sorry if that was too forward, I just wanted to help, I didn't mean to offend you or anything like-"

She blushed as she heard him apologize, her mind going over his offer. It does make sense, she helped him and he is just wanting to return the favor. She is mostly surprised with the fact that he offered it in the first place, but that wasn’t going to stop him. "Yes!” She said before covering her mouth with her hooves and blushing. It seemed her own excitement for getting some sort of action got her excited. She took a few moments to collect her thoughts before nodding and giving a smile. “I mean, yes, that is fine.”

He blinked at the sudden outburst, but was just glad he could return a favor back after all the nice things these ponies have been doing for him. "Oh, um...o-ok." He said. He waited for a few moments before he realized a very important detail: he had no idea what to do, "Um...s-so...what do I do?"

She chuckle at this. “You really are rather new, aren’t you? Not that it’s a bad thing. Anyways, I’ll help you out, so don’t worry about messing up.” She assured him. Getting a nod in return, she laid down on her back and spread her legs, her marehood winking in the open air.

He watched as her puffy lower lips gently dripped her juices, causing his own arousal to spike slightly. However he is more focused on helping her than he is on himself. That and his anxiety was preventing him from getting another erection. He gently walked over to her before sitting down in front of her. "Um...s-so...so what do I do." He asked. "I-I've...I've never done this before...as you may have g-guessed..."

She kept her smile as she motioned him to lay down, which he does so. Soon, he is laying before her, his head just inches away from her pussy. “Now just take it slow for now, start with licking my marehood.” She said. While she would prefer he just dive right in, she doesn’t wish to make it too difficult for him.

"Um...o-ok." He said. He leaned down slowly before extending his tongue out and gave her folds a small lick to test her out. He blinked as he finds the taste to be...rather interesting. Not great, but not bad. Wanting more, he dove back in and pushed his face against her marehood, tongue lightly gliding up and down her wet folds.

She closed her eyes, letting out a soft gasp of surprise from his sudden eagerness. "Ohmigosh..." She pushed forwards, making Spark go a bit deeper. "Th-That's it, just like that..."

He blushed upon hearing her moan, but continued on regardless. He found her taste strangely addictive as he closed his eyes and pressed even harder against her. Raising his hooves he placed them on her thighs to steady himself as he kept on licking at her, pressing his tongue harder and harder against the treat before him.

"Ooohhh... D-Don't ever stop," she muttered, her lust-infected mind taking over. "I need it deeper...f-faster..." She quickly brought her hoof to his head, holding him down gently as her need to go faster soon overtook her worry for making him worry. She started to grind herself against his eager mouth. “P-Push...push your tongue in Spark.”

The red pony gave a muffled gasp against her heated sex as he was pushed in, but otherwise he continued. He was worried about her touching his horns and finding out about them, but thankfully it seemed she missed, and the worry was very brief compared to what was happening. Not even bothering to nod, he did as she said andpressed his tongue even harder between her lower lips. Soon, he felt her petals part, and his wet muscle is suddenly inside of her, wiggling around and licking her inner walls. He groaned at the feeling of her squeezing his tongue, finding it to be so different and amazing.

Once he was inside, he quickly went with what his gut told him to do and that was to start thrusting his tongue, pushing it in and out of her tight tunnel. His hooves wrapped around her legs and her hooves pushing his head down, they were both locked so deep that nothing short of an earthquake would stop them. She tightened her walls around his tongue, almost as if it were being hugged. Her wings spread out from under her and flapped from the stimulation, her heart was pounding as she started humping against the red pony’s face. "I-I should hang with you w-way more often... W-We could do this more," Dash muttered, not really knowing what she was saying. All she wanted was the continuous bliss to just keep going.

Spark however, did hear this, and blushed at the thought. He pushed that thought aside to worry for later though as he just licked her insides up, eyes closed tight and hooves moving down to rub her flanks as he ate the colorful mare out. Her walls twitched, pressing down on Spark's tongue. She mentally cursed herself for being so quick to pop, blaming her lack of any recent action. "I-I'm gonna... ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!"

He kept a tight hold on her as he felt her walls clench, his muzzle stuck between her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his head suddenly, preventing him from moving. Doing his best to stay focused, he tried to thrust his tongue in deeper, and as he soon touched a very special spot right inside of her, causing her to finally goes over that edge.

She shuddered as her body experienced the blissful high that was an orgasm. If she had any second thoughts, they were gone in that moment. She released a moan as her marehood left juices on Spark's muzzle. The smell of her juices was intoxicating as he quickly drank it all up, his head in a bit of bliss from the flavor. Her hooves and legs held him down the entire time, almost making it hard for him to breath as he looked at her face with wide eyes. Eventually she started to relax, her heart pounding and her wings splayed out, her body was a wreck as she came down from her orgasmic high, releasing his head from her hold as she let her head fall back, resting on the roof, a panting mess.

Slowly, as she came down and rested in her afterglow, he finally was able to pull back, licking his lips clean and giving her a curious look. He felt rather out of breath, but if it was from her holding him down or the effort of pleasuring her, he wasn’t sure. "S-So...did I do good?"

She let out a whimper as she nodded, cheek rubbing the ground. "Y-Yeah..."

He smiled happily as he leaned back, feeling rather happy with the blissed out look that she has, the effort leaving him in a rather giddy mood, though he still is worried if she is ok, for she looked very tired. "Um...i-if you need a moment I can-" He started to say before she interrupted him.

"J-Just a moment..." Dash replied, waving a lazy hoof at him. Slowly she sat up and stretched her limbs before she looked back at him, blushing a little. "Y-You did good..."

He blushed back, rubbing a hoof behind his head. "W-Well...I just did what felt right a-and...um...you know...it's just the r-right thing to do...right?"

She gave a sheepish smile. "R-Right!"

“P-Plus I had a good teacher...” He added.

This definitely got her in a happier mood, chuckling as she gave his shoulder a small smack with her hoof, making him wince. “You damn right I’m a great teacher!” She said with a huge smile.

He rubbed his shoulder from the love tap, but otherwise he smiled back. They fell silent for a few moments as he looked at her, and rather suddenly, Spark leaned to her and hugged her close, nuzzling her neck. "T-Thanks Rainbow."

She looked at him, noticing a twinkle in his eyes. It seemed that she got something in him to actually relax. For her, it’s just one step to get him to open up, but for now, she was just glad he is so happy. She smiled and wrapped a wing around him. "You did good. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on you!" She replied as they broke the hug.

He chuckled and nodded in understanding. "I know, and I promise to do my best to make you proud!"

“Damn right you will!” She grinned. “Now come on, we got practice to do!” and with that she wrapped her hooves around him and carried him back to the ground. They spent the rest of the day attempting to train Spark and although he still couldn't fly at the end of the day, he did walk away knowing quite a bit more about Rainbow Dash.

Author's Note

This collaboration was brought to you by: Tired-as-hell Dudes. Dudes who are tired as hell.