There is always a Sparkle in the blackest hole

One Week Later After Library Incident
Ponyville
10:00 AM
Derek P.O.V.

Derek has been in Ponyville for about one week now. He is starting to get used to a lot of things that he swore a week ago he never would. He has a better understanding of how this new world works, along with many of the creatures who live within it. Magic still was iffy for him, but he was no longer shocked when he would notice it. Life here was surprisingly peaceful. The ponies were nice, he no longer had to deal with the stress back home, and he had a bunch more friends here than he had ever had back on Earth. One thing though was bothering him, he was unemployed. Twilight had offered him to stay at the castle, but he felt like a bum, just lounging around, and eating her food. Yeah he would do chores around the house like Spike did, but it was very dissatisfying. He was a janitor back home, and he had no plans of becoming one here. He began to see if any businesses were hiring, and could use a...'hand.' Luckily for him, he found one, with the help of Twilight.

Derek and Twilight were walking down a dirt path that led out of town, he had walked that path once before when he first got here, so it was obvious where he was going. Twilight was walking next to him towards Sweet Apple Acres. Both of them had silently yet mutually pretended what happened in the library a week ago didn't happen. As they walked, Derek would sometimes look down at Twilight to talk to her.

"I'm glad you decided you wanted to get a job Derek. It's another step in you joining our society." She said with a big smile on her face. Derek smiles back at her.

"I'm pretty excited actually. Thanks for having me get one from your friend Applejack." He put his hands into the pockets of his jeans as they walked.

"Of course! Applejack has been looking for new farmhooves for awhile now. But not a lot of ponies here like to get their hooves dirty." She turned her head to look at the ever approaching orchard.

"Well, I'm no stranger to that kind of job. I promise not to disappoint." He looked ahead as they passed the front gates. Applejack was at the barn, ready to meet them. She smiled and approached them as they stepped onto the property.

"Hey y'all! Glad to see ya!" Said Applejack, giving Twilight a quick hug and Derek a nod.

"Hey Applejack! Thank you so much for giving Derek a job!" Twilight thanked her again.

"Of course, my pleasure." Applejack then turned to Derek. "You willing to do some hard honest work?"

"Trust me, I'll do anything to get me out of mopping floors and emptying trash cans." He replied.

"Good, the starting wage will be 18 bits an hour. Do a good job while you're here, I'll definitely give ya a raise." She tipped her hat at him.

"That's great! That is already better than my starting wage at my last job! Just tell me what you would like me to do!" Derek said eagerly.

"Well, we were putting a new fence around the property. We've been at it for a few days now. if you could help out with that I'd be delighted." She informed.

"Perfect! I'll get right on it!" Derek reached into his pocket and pulled out some working gloves.
"Thank god I had these in my one piece when I was sent here." he thought to himself as he pulled them on. Applejack pointed in the direction of where they last stopped and he was on his way towards the site. Twilight waved goodbye and went back to town.

Derek got to where they had stopped previously. The lumber and tools were already there. Derek put his finger and thumb to his chin as he saw it. He could see where the fence would end, they were almost done with it.
"Damn, guess they aren't too afraid of someone stealing this stuff. Then again, this place is so orderly, I can't really blame them." He thought as he picked up a post. Luckily for him the holes where they wanted the fence were already dug. He put the post into the hole and picked up the sledge hammer. He began pounding it hard into the ground, after a bit he checked to see if it would wobble. "Pretty stable" he looked at what had already been done. "Looks like they want the fence to be a crossbuck, that won't be a problem." He picked up more wood and began to put the rails on, organizing the middle to form an X shape. Once he got his first section done, he took a step back to examine his work. "Pretty impressive If I don't say so myself. This shouldn't take long!" Derek Smirked as he picked up the next post.

5 hours later

It was around 3 o'clock when Derek made his way back towards the barn, Applejack had a clipboard, she seemed to be checking their stock before she turned around to see him. Derek had worked up a sweat, his shirt seemed to stick to his torso.

"Hey Derek, need something?" She asked with a pencil in her mouth.

"Just coming to tell ya the fence is done." He said as he took his hat off with one of his hands, slicking his hair back with the other before putting his hat back on.

"You're done!?" She exclaimed as the pencil dropped from her mouth.

"Yeah, you were almost done. It didn't take that long." He said with a raised eyebrow. Applejack stepped past him to overlook the details. Sure enough, the fence was done.

"How in the hay did you do that so fast! That was another 2 days of work for an earth pony!" She exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not a pony." He pointed out, his hands on his hips. Applejack looked back at him and gave him a smile.

"No, no you're not." She said as she turned back towards him. "That was pretty much all I planned for you to do all day, ya got a few more hours to kill, you mind helping me with the inventory? Just need ya to move some hay and barrels of apples into the barn and onto the wagon for shipment."

"Not a problem boss." He said, causing her to give him a chuckle.

3 hours later
Twilight P.O.V.

Twilight had stepped through the gates of Sweet Apple Acres again. The sun was approaching its dip into the horizon as Applejack met her at the gate.

"Here to pick up Derek Twilight?" Applejack asked her.

"Yep! how has he been doing?" She asked, wanting to know Applejack's thoughts on him.

"He's been doing great! Mighty impressive on his first day." She said with a big smile. Come on, I think he is still in the barn now." Applejack waved Twilight to follow her. They step inside the barn, Twilight's eyes widened at what she saw. Derek was on top of the wagon, putting barrels of apples onto the back for shipment tomorrow. He had gotten so hot that he had taken off his shirt, wearing only his jeans, shoes, hat and gloves. Twilight was instantly drawn to his chest, he had a well defined chest, decent neck muscles, and with a light six pack of abs, again showing that he had a bit of definition to him. Twilight covered her mouth with her hoof. She had to put in a lot of will power to not flex her wings, or show a blush.
"Hey Derek! Twilight's here to get ya!" She hollered to him. Derek looked up from his work and gave them both a smile. He hopped down from the back of the wagon. He picked up his shirt off a hay bale that he had set it on. He flips his shirt onto his shoulder with one hand while the other goes into his pocket. He approached them, stepping into the sunlight, the sweat on his body made him glisten in the sun.

"Hey Twilight!" Derek waved to her before looking at Applejack, his chest rising and falling with his breath. "Having me call it a day boss?"

"Yep! Thanks for your help Derek. Here's your pay! Should be 128 bits in there." She grabbed an old bag with a few bits in it with her mouth and handed it to Derek who was a bit taken back.

"Whoa... I'm paid daily?" He questioned as he took the bag.

"Of course, Why would I wait to pay ya?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well... Where I'm from you have to wait 2 weeks for them to pay you all at once. It's for taxes and such." He said.

"Ah phooey with that! That ain't how it works here! Only thing you're taxed on is for shopping." She said.

"No income tax? Kick ass!" He said with a large goofy grin as he looked inside the bag. As the two talked, Twilight could not help but to get an eyeful of him. She eventually had to turn her head away, afraid of getting caught oogling him. Derek puts his shirt back on before looking at Twilight.

"Ready to go Twilight? I'm starving." Derek asked her. Twilight looks back at him, Thankful and strangely... disappointed that he had his shirt back on.

"uh... Yeah, let's head back to the castle..." She had a sheepish look on her face which caused Derek to raise his eyebrow at her.

"Ok then, See ya boss." Derek winked at Applejack.

"Bye you two, see ya tomorrow Derek!" Applejack waved to both of them as they walked away from the orchard. The walk remained relatively quiet as Derek kept examining his money while Twilight would steal glances at him.

"Keep calm Twilight... you never seen him without a shirt, and you almost lose it!? I thought you pulled yourself together after what... what happened a week ago... but his chest... so defined... I just... I just want to...GAH! " Twilight shakes her head as a few lewd thoughts fill her mind. How she just wants to put her hooves on his chest. To feel his chest muscles... then onto his abdomen. Her face flushes red and her body shakes at the thought. She gives Derek the side eye, he had picked up a bit in his fingers and he was giving it a closer look.
"Celestia please don't notice me blushing..."

Shared Perspectives

His first pay since arriving in Equestria, he felt like he was in highschool again, getting excited about his first paycheck. But this time there was no disappointment at seeing the differences between net and gross. They stepped into town, Twilight had finally collected her thoughts, and had stopped blushing. They were about to get to the castle till a shop catches Derek's eyes. It was an antique shop. Derek stops walking, causing Twilight to stop as well.

"What's wrong Derek?" She looks up at him.

"I need to grab something real quick, I'll be right back." Said Derek as he approached and entered the shop. Twilight was extremely curious and followed him into the shop. She watches him as he looks around, appearing to be looking for something specific. He finds it and quickly takes it to the pony behind the counter.

"That'll be 20 bits sir." The Pony said as Derek put the bits on the counter. Derek then steps out and out of the store with Twilight next to him.

"What did you buy Derek?" she Asked curiously, a bit excited to see his first ever purchase with his own bits.

"Well, it's something for you." He replied with a smirk on his face. Twilight was a bit taken back by that.

"What...?" She said with a bit of shock in her voice. "What is it?"

"I'll give it to you after dinner." He said, She watched his smirk get wider, but she smirks right back at him.

"Oh Really? Well I have a gift for you as well." She said, peaking his interest.

"What is it?" He raised an eyebrow.

"It's at the castle." She gave him a quick wink.

They both smile at each other as they make it to the castle. They step into the dining room where Starlight and Spike were already at. They all wave to each other as Twilight sits down and levitates her plate off the cart nearby. Derek goes to the cart and sees there is no plate for him.

"Hey, did you all forget about me? I'm starving too." He whined.

"Nope, didn't forget about you." Twilight said with a smirk as she eats.

"Then where is my plate?" He turned and narrowed his eyes at her.

"You see, that's your gift I was talking about. But for the sake of me not losing my own dinner, I just need you to wait for a moment." She said while turning her head at him. He looked befuddled as he was trying to understand what she meant.

"Why would it cause you to lose your own dinner?" He thought about it for a moment, before it finally clicked. "Twilight, Are you trying to say..." He gave her an excited look when all she did was wink at him.

"Just give me a few minutes, and I'll help you." She promised. It only took Twilight 5 minutes to eat. After she did, she stood up and led Derek to the kitchen. He stood there eagerly as Twilight opened up the freezer with her magic, and levitated a bag to him.

"I had this brought in from the Griffon Kingdom. They packed it with Ice, so it should be fresh." She gave him a smile as he opened the bag, and pulled out one decent sized fish. Derek smiled from ear to ear as he looked at it.

"Twilight, you really didn't have to do this, thank you! Thank you so much!" He said as he put the fish on the table, His mouth watering at the thought of finally having some meat for the first time in a week. He turned and was about to hug her, but a mental flash of what happened in the library causes him to hesitate. "Here, let me get what I got you real quick." He finally said to get his mind off of the hug.

"Eat your dinner first Derek, I can wait." She insisted.

"You sure?... well, ok." He turned back towards the fish and picked it up.

"Hmm... It's not gutted yet." He examined it.

"Gutted? What's that." She stood next to him at the counter.

"It still has the blood and guts still inside it." He placed it down. "You got a knife and a spoon Twilight? I used to do this with my dad before he passed."

"Yeah, ok." She levitated him both utensils.

Derek took the knife and began to scratch all the scales off by dragging the knife side ways across it. Twilight watches closely, partly grossed out, partially interested. With the same knife he cut around its throat, he then held it upside down over the sink to drain the blood. Twilight made a "BLEH" sound as she took a few steps back. Derek couldn't help but chuckle at her. After it was drained he laid it back, and began to cut the fins off. Twilight slowly stepped back towards him as he did, but gagged again as he removed the gills. Finally he ran the knife along the belly, and with the spoon, he began to scoop the guts out. That almost did it for Twilight as she gagged loudly and backed up almost all the way to the wall. Derek looked back at her, she had a green hue to her face, which caused him to laugh. Once the guts were out, he quickly cut the head off and began to filet it. He put the guts and the carcass into the bag, knotted it and threw it away. He pulled out a skillet, put some olive oil on it and began to fry the filets after putting some salt and pepper on them. By now, Starlight and Spike walk into the kitchen curious as to what they were up to. Spike sniffs the air, and his mouth begins to drool, but Starlight scrunched up her nose.

"Mmmm... What's that smell?" Spike Said as he licked his lips. "Smells good!"

"You think that smells good?" Starlight gave him a weird look, before she looked back at Twilight, who still looked nauseous. "You ok Twilight?"

"I will be... Just be lucky you didn't see what I just saw." She Said giving Starlight a side look. Spike walked right up to Derek to see what he was cooking.

"Whoa, fish! I never had fish before." Spike said as he looked at the two filets.

"You want some pal?" Derek asked as he turned his attention to the small dragon.

"Yes please!" He very eagerly said. While the filets were cooking, Derek made his own tartar sauce with some mayo, pickles, and lemon juice in the fridge. Once the filet's were done, Derek put them on a plate, cutting one in half and giving it to Spike. The tiny dragon devoured it in seconds. Derek couldn't help but laugh at the young dragon before he himself took his first bite. He leaned his head back and savored the flavor.

"Mmmm... Delicious." Derek then looked Over At Twilight who was finally starting to turn back to her normal color.
"Twilight, I know you don't think it's a big deal, but this means a lot to me. Thank you so much! It had to have been a lot for you to do this for me." He said as he took another bite, this time with his sauce. Despite feeling a bit sick, Twilight couldn't help but give him a big smile.

"You're welcome Derek. I'm glad you are really enjoying it." She dared not get closer, the smell from the cooked fish was making her a bit dizzy. After he was done, Derek put the plate and skillet in the sink and washed them. Derek leaned against the wall and rubbed his belly, he was really satisfied.

"Alright Twilight, I really want to give you that gift now." Said Derek finally standing up straight,

"You know you really didn't have to buy me something Derek." Twilight said As she followed him out of the kitchen. They got back to the dining room where Derek left it, and his bag of bits. He sits down on the chair and picked both bags up. Derek held up the bag with the gift in it and began to pull it out, inside was a really old looking book. Twilight raised an eyebrow as she looked at it.

"Here Twi, I know you have been wanting this." He handed it to her, to which she used her magic to take a hold of it. The cover was all black, but when she opened it and saw the title, her eyes widened. It was a book about the history of the Pony-Griffon war, a first edition. "I heard you talking about wanting to add to your collection of books about the history of the Pony-Griffon war. I saw it the other day and noticed it was a first edition. So I really wanted to get it for you. I just wanted to say... Thanks... Thank you Twilight. You're probably the closest friend I have ever had in my entire life." Derek said as he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling pretty cheesy. Twilight looked at the book in awe, before looking back at Derek. She was truly touched by his generosity.

"The first ever bits he has ever earned... and the first thing he uses them for... was to get me a gift." She thinks to herself before hugging the book to her chest with a soft smile.
"Derek, I'm truly touched by this. Thank you." She looked back up at him, when it happened again. Their eyes met each other. Derek could see her eyes swelling, making them bigger, and more affectionate. Time seemed to slow for them again, Derek couldn't pull his attention away from her eyes, he felt like he could stare at them until the day he died. He just wanted to hold her close, and look into her eyes forever. For Twilight, a mental image of Derek shirtless again enter her mind. Seeing his skin shine as the sun glistened off his sweaty body, the definition in his chest and abdomen. Her cheeks began to flush again, but this time she didn't force herself to stop. She began to fantasize about Derek wrapping his large, strong arms around her again, holding her close, and laying her head on his chest. But... she didn't just think about how gentle he could be, she also started to think about how rough he could be. Seeing him eat meat... seeing how strong he is... Oh how it would feel to be overpowered by him, by a predator. She can see him pinning her hooves down with his hands. Having him hold her onto her back while seeing his bright green eyes, glowing in the dark. He gets closer to her face, only being a few centimeters away from her lips and then... and then... Twilight gasped suddenly as she saw what just happened in her mind. This causes both her and Derek to snap out of it again. She turned her head to hide her ever blushing face. Derek blinks a few times before standing back up.

"I need to go take a shower Twi. Again, thank you for the fish. It was good." Derek said as he rubbed his neck again.

"....o-ok." Was all she could mutter out. Derek walks past her and out of the dining room. Twilight sits down in one of the chairs and looks down at the book Derek gave her. Her face is red, and her whole body is warm. She crosses her hind legs as she tries to collect herself. What she was fantasizing about was pretty intense for her. She almost couldn't believe how she was able to come up with those thoughts. Her heart was beating and she felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest. She was pulled out of her stupor, when she heard somepony clear their throat at the doorway. She quickly looks and sees Starlight in the doorway, with a shit eating grin on her face. She was a bit shocked to see her standing there, and she got a bit embarrassed.

"H-how long have you been there Starlight?" Twilight asked, her face still obviously a shade of crimson.

"Long enough to see you two looking at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time." She admitted stepping in. Twilight looks at the ground in shame as Starlight takes a seat in front of her. "You like him don't ya." Twilight bites her lip, as she gets more embarrassed.

"I... I... I don't.... I don't know." She admitted. "Part of me... really... REALLY wants to like him... but... I'm scared."

"Scared of what?" Starlight scooted closer to her teacher.

"I'm scared that it's... that'll it be wrong." She admitted, but it didn't make her feel better. Hearing herself say that, made her throat begin to tighten.

"Why would it be wrong, Twilight?" Starlight asked, placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"Because... he is a human... I... I'm scared he would be disgusted by the idea of him... and me..." She blinks, as a tear falls from her face. "What if society is disgusted by that..."

"Twilight, I need you to look at me." Said Starlight sternly. Twilight slowly moved her head to look at Starlight, tears were already rolling down her cheeks. Starlight took a firm hold of both of Twilight's shoulders.

"Society won't think anything of you. You know how the world is opening up to these things. Dragons, Griffons, Hippogriffs, Everypony is starting to break out of their own norms. There have been Griffons dating Ponies. Ponies dating Dragons. Hippogriffs dating Griffons. Griffons dating Dragons. That kind of structure is being broken down as we speak. Nopony will think less of you and Derek if you were to be seen together. And from what I just saw Twilight. Derek is just as smitten with you, as you are of him." She gave Twilight a very serious squeeze.

"You... are you sure?" She asked her, looking for any kind of reassurance.

"He has to, he was looking at you, the same way you were looking at him. He looked as if he was entranced by you Twilight, and I can't blame him. You have been kind, generous, and welcoming to him ever since he got here. You comforted him when he felt like he had lost everything. I wouldn't be shocked if he has grown attached to you. If you feel like this is something you want to try and pursue, I encourage you to do so." Starlight finally stated. Twilight gives her hopeful eyes as she then places her hooves on top of Starlight's.

"Will... will you be there to help support me?" She asked meekly.

"Of course I will. I'll help you two in any way I can." Starlight then hugs Twilight, as she hugs her back tight.