When Lightning Strikes...

Chapters

bombs go boom
Chapter 1: Sleep-over
Chapter 2: As the Fuze burns
Chapter 3: The Long Road
Chapter 4: Memories
Chapter 5A: All It Takes Is A Spark...
Chapter 5B: ...To Light A Fuze
Wrapping Up When It Isn't Winter

bombs go boom

I don’t own a license to My Little Pony, and this story is not written for a profit.

When Lightning Strikes

An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. After the shock wave comes a still quite where remaining energy disperses.

prologue

The road ahead of you was lit for a moment, sending everything into perfect clarity. Then the whole world was plunged into blindness. You realize you can’t see anything. Not like it mattered, you think to yourself, you don’t have to see where you’re going if your not going anywhere. You keep trotting along, the monotonous tones of your hooves on mud fading into the night, highlighted by the occasional flash of lightning. “The pegasus ponies weren’t kidding when they said that this storm was going to be awful...” You are cut short as a bright orange fireball engulfs your entire body , bits of shrapnel sticking into your skin like oddly-shaped needles, and your unkempt black and yellow mane singeing. The thunderous explosion causing the soft and pointed ears on your head to ring as if they were inside a large church bell.

The darkness that then wrapped around you was darker, quieter, and calmer, than the darkness of the night.

“Hello?” voices and sounds penetrate through this new darkness like light through a dark room. “Are you awake? Sir, please get up... Oh no, don’t tell me I killed him, Oh Celestia, no. Not today! Why didn’t you look where you where going? Is he going to be ok? I don't know if i can live with myself if I, if I...” an emotional tone said.

“Sir, Fuse, right? Please be quiet. Just stay calm. The mood you’re in is not helping your friend here.” a less emotional(what emotion there was being annoyance at this, Fuse, colt) and mareish voice cut through.

“yes ma’am”

...

“but, I mean what if I actually did...”

The mare sighed, “If you can’t stay quiet, he won’t be the only one who is injured.”

Fuse bit his tongue to stay quiet. Through the pain of his tongue he noticed one of the mysterious pony’s eyes slowly open, and looked quizzically at the nurse pony who was tending to him.

“what, who....” you say.
just then a crying pony threw his front hooves around the stranger who wasn’t dead.

___________________________________________________________________

“release of energy”

Fuze was very emotional as a foal. He always was bashful around others, but he had his brave side whenever somepony was in trouble. Then he would cry afterwards and would need to be tended to more than whoever he had saved. His parents, Carmel Apple and Carrot Top, where as nice as they come.They lived in Manehattan until Fuze was born. His parents decided that there would be a need for a growing stallion to run in the open, especially if he was going to be like his father,who grew up on a farm. And so they moved to a farm on the edge of Appleloosa. Here fuze lived. He wasn’t of much help to any of the farmers, for while he had the spirit of his father, he had the form of his mother, meek and and not very strong. Most of his time was spent drawing and reading. On his 10th birthday, Fuze got a book, from his aunt in-law in law, Pinkie. It had festive bow, streamers, balloons, and his favorite, candy. This was quite usual for the pink party mare, however, the inside wasn’t quite what he was expecting. It was a book and a box, with a little note explaining that this was from Twilight Sparkle, one of Pinkie’s friends. He read through the book, and used the box(which was a science kit) to make his first ever bomb. At that time he never knew that he had accidentally quadrupled the ingredients(which were rainbow water and the juice of a blueberry). The explosion was a magnificent aura of color, blue shock wave and a rainbow after-burn. the young colt was dazed by its amazing color( and the fact that it knocked him off of his hooves). He loved it. He barley felt the tingling on his flank from his cutie mark appearing when his creation detonated. From that day on he strived to be the best pyro/ bomb maker in all of Equestria. His crafts never hurt anypony, they always showed great fun to all that he knew with their extravagant hues and sounds. well until that day.....

Fuze opened his eyes and noticed that he was hugging the colt that he had almost killed with his little , “cocktail”. He blushed and pulled away, trying(and failing) to hide that he had been crying.
_____________________________________________________________________

“Did i miss something?” your eyes are open and alert. You notice that it is day, and that you are covered in bruises and cuts, and smelled like burnt hair, but other than that, you seem okay. You also notice that next to you was a calm and sensible mare, and that a very distressed colt backing away, with an obvious blush spreading across his face.

“ ugh, all I remember is that I was walking , and then boom!” you try to lift yourself off of the ground, an ache in your side erupted into cascading waves of pain that spread through your entire abdomen.

The nurse pushed you down while she covered your muzzle with her hoof. “lay down, you are not severely hurt, but you do have some bad burns on your side, thanks to Mister Fuze, the Pyro-Freak over there. You walked right into his bomb site and almost stepped on the hey-feathered thing. When it went off you were thrown unconscious for almost a day and a half.”

At this, the tear-stained, flustered, and ashamed stallion (who you assume is Fuze) tries to bury his face into his front-hooves.

“after the shock wave comes a still quite”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...” Fuze sobbed out over and over

You hate when people cry, or when people think that they did something wrong when they haven’t. You hate that more than even more than the pain you were feeling. To hey with this nurse. You stand up, quite wobbly and almost cry out in the resulting pain.

~~~~~~~

What was this pony doing? Is he trying to stand? With that wound? Not to mention all the painkillers he has in him. I have to try to stop him. The worried nurse showed her discomfort with the injured unicorn moving.

~~~~~~~

Despite her efforts, you manage kept on going until you get next to the crying pony. You then found yourself at a loss of how to get his attention. Might as well just kick him...
You soon realized that this was a bad idea as yet another wave of pain flowed through your side, but it seems to get the colt’s attention.

~~~~~~~~

Fuze looked up. His heart dropped as he saw the pony who he had hurt grimacing.

“I”m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

~~~~~~~~

“as remaining energy disperses”

“Be quiet!” you yell out, more angrily than he had intended to. You mentally kicked yourself as he saw Fuze shrink away even further. “Uhm, sorry that came a little strong, but really, don’t beat yourself up over it. It was an accident, and I messed up what you were doing. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

Fuze jumped up onto you and hugged you again, his crying continuing. “oh thank you oh thank you! oh I’m so happy you aren’t hurt. Are we friends? does this mean we are friends?!?!! oh...” images of a pink pony that you had met a long time ago flow into your mind.

An annoyed nurse interjected and said “He needs his rest, and his side is still injured. He needs more time to heal. Come on, let him come with me back to the hospital.”

“Oh no! he can stay with me at my place tonight! A sleep over with my new best friend!” then remembering his courtesy he added, less energetically, “That is if he wants to...”

This sudden outburst shocks you,not expecting such hospitality from Fuze, but the nurse seems like she expected as much.

“Well, of course I need to,” you looked between the stoic nurse and the ecstatic face of Fuze, “to stay with Fuze, it’s the least I can do to make up for me messing up his, um, ‘experiment’.” Fuze bounded up and down in a way that reminded the nurse pony of a certain pink mare who had brought in a sick filly one day. She shook her head and laughed.

“Well I just leave my card and be on my way, hope you get better, mr.___???”

“Spark.” for the first time in a long time, you smile.

Chapter 1: Sleep-over

chapter 1: sleepover

It felt like you had spent all day with Fuze, even though you had only actually spent three or so hours with this bundle of unrestricted energy. Fuze. You test the name of this colt whose house you are staying in. Had it only been today that you had met him? the two of you had done a lot that day, in spite of your injuries. Not only had you two done a lot, but you also managed to talk up a storm. The both of you seemed to have pretty similar likes and dislikes. It seemed to you that you had known him your whole life. He is, unequivocally, your friend. If some one had told you last night that you could have a friend, you would have laughed at it like it was some cruel joke.

My whole life... The thought replays in your mind. Images and memories from the nightmare that you were ashamed to call a past flooded into your conscious thought. You slam your eyes shut and try to block out the torrent of pain with images of Fuze, your one and only friend. Instead of stemming the flow, a whole new idea comes into your mind. What if Fuze won’t like me for my past? then a worse thought rears it ugly form. What if Fuze isn’t really my friend, but is just doing this out of sympathy? You are on the verge of tears when a familiar hoof lands on your shoulder.

“You okay, Spark? You seemed troubled” Fuze says, lacking his usually joyous expressions.

You are instantly ashamed of letting your friend see you like this, and disgusted at yourself for stealing his happiness. Trying to convince him that you are fine, you pull out a long yawn, and choke back your emotions long enough for you to say “yah... thanks, I’m just kinda tired.” Putting on a weak smile, you let another yawn, laying it on thick.

Fuze seems unsure for a moment, but then a smile breaks over his face. “okaysies!” He then pulls a blanket over you, then lays on the floor next to the couch you are occupying.

You stare at Fuze incredulously. Is he really that good of a friend to let me stay on the couch while he lays on the floor?

He looks back up at you, his smile transitioning to one of confusion.

“There is no way I’m letting my friend lay on the floor while I hog the couch! Go to your own bed, or at the very least let me have the floor, and you sleep up here.” you say.

“No no no no!” he says defiantly, “What if you want a cup of water or something and need my help? And besides, you’re hurt! you can’t lay on this floor!” But, after one of his(what seemed to you) random blushes and a sly smile spread across his face, he added “ but I can share the couch with you, right? I mean, if you , don’t mind or-r anything.” His volume dropped to almost inaudible,and he stumbled over the last few words.

Taking no notice of his abrupt shyness, you agree. After all this is his house and his couch. A real yawn escapes from you, your eyes dropping, while you barely notice the warm mass settle next to you.

Darkness overtakes you, leading to a dreamscape that isn’t filled with nightmares, but instead a dream of you laying contented on a beach looking out at an peaceful ocean.

~~~~~~~~

For Fuze this had defiantly been the best day ever! He gained a new friend and was now warm and snuggly against this colt. A colt with such a soft coat... wait what? Fuze was deeply confused about this last thought. Yes, Spark's coat is indeed soft. That was a fact. But then why did that make me nervous and blush? Oh well, probably more of Aunty Pinkie's genes making me do crazy stuff. Maybe it’s some spell he has on himself, after all he is a unicorn. The thought hit him as Fuze realized that even though his friend was a unicorn he never used magic. Hmm, that's a weird way for a pony to act... maybe he’s related to Aunty as well! Wouldn’t that be a coincidence? I’ll have to ask him about it in the morning... Goodnight Spark... Fuze let night take him, slipping into the domain of those not awake.

~~~~~~~

You wake up in a start. Looking around, sunshine seems to illuminate everything in the modest living room. Pain scorches across your side, but your mouth is to dry too let out a moan. Where am I? As you see Fuze lightly snoozing next to you, you remember. All of your worries fade. You relax, letting yourself fall back onto the couch and stretch your stiff hoofs out. Fuze stirs and smiles.

“What’ya want for breakfast? he says while yawning. He gets off the couch and starts to walk towards the kitchen. as he enters into the kitchen you lose sight of the earth pony with the blue coat. A loud gasps makes its way to your ears, and you see an blue blur streak across the room and you are barely make out the words “late”, “work”, and a phrase that sounded like “banished and then imprisoned where I am banished to”. The blur pauses for a moment to give you an apology and explains that there are some oat flakes in the pantry, and that it has to get to work, then it disappears with speed that would make the Wonderbolts green with jealousy. The front door slams shut and everything returns to quiet. All to quiet for this empty house of your friend.

You are not sure what just happened, but are immensely hungry, so you go looking for the oat flakes Fuze told you about.

“I Wonder what Fuze does for a job anyways...” you ask yourself as you pour out a bowl of the delicious looking breakfast cereal.

After breakfast you start to clean everything up: the bowl, spoon, and the blanket left out from last night. You position yourself in a chair and wait on your friend. As time moves by, you start to become dangerously close to thinking about your past again, so you force yourself to do difficult things like balance on two of your legs, or rub your head and pat your stomach at the same time, to take your mind off of those disturbing memories. This works for long enough for you to fall asleep. Sleep consumes your mind once again.
~

Warm water cascades from the ocean you are wading in onto your hooves. You look next to you and see a lovely mare, her eyes the darkest black. Her coat the same color with streaks of silver, the tip of each one of her wings spotted with the same brilliant silver. The two of you share a kiss. Warmth and happiness flow through the two of you. As the kiss is broken, you hear your own voice call out, “I love you, Moonshine.” Moonshine... that name sounds familiar... Moonshine.... the skies that had once been clear have now turned dark,overcast with black clouds.What illumination that came from the sun replaced by lightning. You look around and can’t see Moonshine. Fear grips you, you shout out “Moonshine! Moonshine! I’m sorry! don’t leave me! please!” you sit down in the ocean. ‘Wait, the ocean is ice cold and sticky...’ you open your eyes and,to your horror, find that the water is now blood, blood that stains your coat. Panic fills you as you jump up. Something bumps into your leg. ‘oh Celestia...’ “moonshine?” the lifeless form of moonshine floating in the blood washes away leaving you feeling empty in this never ending sea of red. Sobs escape from you as cry, screaming up at the sky, cursing Celestia, Luna, any and everything. “why! why did you have to go like...” all of a sudden, everything fades and you hear one voice, brilliant light entering and clearing everything into a blinding white light.
~

“Wake up! Spark! You’re scaring me! please wake up!” your eyes open, seeing that you are in Fuze’s house, with Fuze next to you crying. Wait, Fuze is crying? worried, you ask “Fuze whats the matter?”

Obviously startled by your sudden response, he stammers, but then replies “you were scr-screaming, and cr-crying. It was really scaring me.” he buries his head into the floor and continues crying.

You let out a sigh of disappointment, which in turn Fuze states a apology between sobs. when you hear his apology, you to wince. “Fuze,” you say sternly successfully managing to grab his attention, “Stop crying. Nothing is your fault, I’m sorry I made you cry. And my sigh, the one that I just let out, it was directed at me for making you upset, not because you are.”

Fuze looks up excitedly. “Really?”

You laugh slightly “Really.”

Fuze returns to his regular state of hyper-ness.

The two of you get up as Fuze suggests "You ready for some dinner in town? I know this one great cafe."

“Dinner? But isn’t it like noon?” with a look out a window, you see that the sun is already setting “Oh, I guess I slept longer than I thought.”

“yup, I guess so sleepy head!” Fuze’s giggle relaxes you as the effect of the nightmare slowly dissipates.

“So how did work go?” you ask as the two of you exit his house “And if you don't mind me asking, what do you do at your job anyways?”

Another smile breaks out on his muzzle while he looks at you.

________________________________________________________________________________
authors note:

thanks for reading! and thanks to my editor, Mobius of the Moon, I hopefully have at least a few less grammatical and spelling errors!

Chapter 2: As the Fuze burns

“Well...” Fuze says through a mouth full of hay fries, “My job is awesome really. I work at Lunar Labs over in Canterlot.”

“Canterlot? How can you work in Canterlot? We are in APPLEOOSA, if you hadn’t noticed. Besides, that means you would have at least a day or two to commute!” you interrupt Fuze’s ridiculous explanation.

“The Princess sure has Her way with magic!" Fuze grins and continues, "All I do is go to that old tree up on the hill every morning at 8:30, and she teleports me directly to my office in the lab! Which, by the way, is the reason why I can never be late." He adds with a more serious look "Hey,sorry about leaving you this morning, and causing you to have that nightmare about.... wait, what was your nightmare about anyways?” a troubled look comes onto his face.

“Urm, well, how do you know it was a nightmare?” you ask defensively, the details of the nightmare not as forgotten as you would have liked.

“Because you were asleep and crying at the same time?” was Fuze’s face held a quizzical stare, as he unable to tell why you were not answering his question.

“Well, you see, it was...” after failing to find a flaw with his logic, you decide to dodge his question, albeit a little late. “Hey, let's not get side-tracked.You never really told me what you did at your job, .”

This seems to content Fuze for now as his expression reverts to thinking and trying to explain his job. “Well I got my job after my school expelled me...”

This surprises you. Why would they expel Fuze? He seems like such a nice pony.

“I know what you are thinking, why would I be expelled?” Fuze says,

Does he really know what Im thinking? No, that would take some clairvoyance on his part, like a sixth sense, and nopony actually has one of those, how could I be so silly to think that?

"Have I ever told about my Aunt?" Fuze asks while gazing off into space.

"No... What? Why would you ask me that?" you ask

"Oh well you, I just... I don't know... what was I even talking about?"

"You were telling me about your school, and how they expelled you?",you let out a long exasperated sigh after the reminder. "you know you can be so random some times."

“Oh yah! sorry I get all loopey sometimes, and I dont really have control over it... Well anyways, it happened one day when my school was holding a science fair...”

~~~~~~*flash back*~~~~~~~

“... last and not least, Fuze. What do you have for us today?” asked one of the three judges, donning a brown coat, a red mane, and a pair of evil little eyes that seemed to taunt Fuze, as if they dared him, dared the colt to show any sign of creativity, so that the judge could fail the little foal’s project for not being the usual volcano, or some other equally boorish set-up that always won first prize.

“Well, I made this super cool and sciencey thing all by myself! My aunt’s friend gave me a instruction booklet on how to make one, and so I thought, 'Hey, why not do this for the science fair?' I hope you all like it as much as I wil!” Fuze showed them a hemi-spherical clay pot with a paper tube protruding out of it.

“What exactly is it?” The an older stallion on the left said.

“ Let me explain what it is made of, then show you what it does... Please?” Fuze pulled the best puppy dog face a foal his age could make.

“All right, just get on with it! For Luna's sake boy, Celestia waits for nopony, and my favorite hayshack closes at sunset.” A fat mare on the right said.

“ Yay! Okay, so the clay pot contains spectra, the liquid that Pegasi make rainbows out of, and this paper tube contains blueberry juice inside of a glass cylinder. When I crush the glass by squeezing on the paper, like this...” a audible cracking noise is heard, “the two liquids mix.” Fuze then tosses the odd little clay...., whatever anypony would call that thing, into an empty field.

“And, if I may ask, what does this accomplish?” asked the center judge, the one with the evil eyes.

“Well, what most ponies don’t know is why spectra contains every color, and why they don’t just fade and mix all together in a boring brownish hue. It is because of a natural phenomenon, known as a multi-replacement reaction.”

“Is this relevant, Mr. Apple?”asked the Stallion on the right.

“Yes, indeed!” the excitement in Fuze’s voice rising. “As the antioxidants in the blueberry juice bond to the spectra, it turns black and the multiple, repeating single replacement reactions stop. As these stop, large amounts of energy are released!” Fuze turns to the field where his creation lies, a wisp of smoke coming out of the top.

Realization hit the fat one first, and she screamed out, “It’s going to blow!” before she ran as fast as her stubbly little trunks that only a blind pony would call hoofs could carry her.

Panic rose as the little pot started to jiggle. Teachers and parents ducked for cover. Screams filled the air, but they all fell on the deaf ears of Fuze. His excitement was to high, he could barely wait for the moment when the detonation would finally happen.

BOOM!

Colors burst forth in blindingly bright definition. The sound and shock wave forcing Fuze to his haunches. The blue from the shock wave matched the earth ponies coat. As the shock dissipated, little rainbow fires broke up almost instantaneously where the bomb had previously been. The fires then disappeared as quickly as they had come. Fuze just sat there in awe. “THAT. WAS. AMAZING!” he shouted out. This had to be my best day ever!!! That was what Fuze thought until he saw the stern face of the approaching judge. If Fuze thought those eyes were evil before, then these looked like Hell itself.

~~~~~~*back to the present*~~~~~

“So the town put me in jail, and then got the royal guards take me to Canterlot. They did some psyche evaluation thingy to make sure I wasn’t crazy enough to blow up the entire town or something. After assuring I wasn't all super-crazy/evil mad scientist, Princess Luna found out that I was talented in the art of the pyro at a super young age, so She hired me on the spot. Now I make the fireworks for all the royal events!” Fuze finished his story.

Your mouth hangs open. Fuze brought a bomb to school? And he now works many miles away for the Princess herself? How awesome is this colt?

You the see Fuze blushing. Seriously, why is he blushing? Then it hits you. You had been staring at him for about a minute now, and your mouth was still open. “Sorry, I didn’t, um, wasn’t trying to stare.” you looking away, embarrassed.

An awkward silence settles around the two of you.

Fuze clears his throat in an attempt to break the tension, but he fails. In a ditch effort he says “So that is how I got my cutie mark, what about yours? I mean, a black lightning bolt on an unicorn? That’s pretty awesome. Can you like shoot lightning? Because that would be AMAZING!” the last word comes out in a sing-songish tone.

You sit there, unmoving. You do not blink, and are barely even able to breathe. A silent memory passes into your mind.

~~~~~

“Moonshine! no...” tears and rain water mix into your coat. "Why..."
~~~~~

I always hated clouds. wait, clouds? I thought I was sitting on a chair... Why is Fuze waving at me? He looks... frantic? Worried? His mouth is moving but no sounds are coming out... what is going on? You think all of this to yourself for a few moments, but sleep quickly overtakes you.

Chapter 3: The Long Road

Churning blackness surrounds you. It’s tangible. But is this real? Where am I? I want to sleep, but I don’t feel tired. Where’s Fuze? It’s so dark that I can’t even see my own hoof. Do I even have a hoof? I can’t see anything. Wait... what is that? It looks like a light? A fire? A white fire burned in the distance, so far away that to you it was a pin-prick in this void of color. Maybe I can move towards it? Yah, I am getting closer. The fire seemed to get closer and closer, even though you yourself weren’t sure as to how you were moving without an apparent body. Soon, the fire moved towards you, without you even trying. The emanating light gets so painful to look at that you have to close your eyes in an attempt to block out the permeating white. The fire seems to sear through your eyelids re-exposing your eyes to the fire. As you focus on the middle of the light, trying to make out an indistinct shape, the darkness in the background fades, your peripheral vision fills with light and fuzzy objects. A murky background appears, illuminated by the blinding brightness.

As your eyes find clarity, the shapes and objects become clearer. A nurse... She seems familiar...

“Welcome back Mr. Spark. Didn’t expect to see you under my care so soon, but hey, it’s a small world, right?” the mare who you could now identify as the same nurse as the one who had tended to you the previous day spoke warmly.

“What happened? I was at a diner and then I was-” You stop, wondering how to describe where your consciousness previously occupied.

“Fuze said that you just passed out mid-conversation while you two were at dinner... That foal won’t stop asking about you, he hasn’t left the waiting room since you came in.”

“How long have I been out?” you ask, shaking your head at what you imagine Fuze was doing right now, while pulling yourself into a more comfortable position in the bed you are lying in.

“Not long. Maybe about three to three and a half hours,” she said thoughtfully. She trotted over to the door and smiled, before turning to you and asked, “Should I let Fuze know your awake?”

You nod your head, trying to mentally brace yourself for the oncoming onslaught of laughter/energy/talking that was named Fuze.

~~~~~~~~

That poor Spark... what did Fuze do to trigger that repressive coma? I’ll have to have a word with him before he goes in. The nurse thought to herself as she moved out into the waiting room.

“Fuze, Spark is awake and ready to see you.”

A smile like that of a billion waking new born foals, each one adorned with a smile, and emanating a melodious little giggle, lit up his face.

As Fuze started to pass the nurse, she held out a hoof and stopped him, leaning close to whisper in his ear. “What’s with you? First the bomb, now this? What did you do that caused this?” Maybe that was a little harsh... Oh well, there is no time now for afterthoughts.

A look of confusion hit him. “I... don’t, you mean, he, it...”

“Yes, Fuze,” she said the colt’s name with disgust. “You caused his momentary lapse of consciousness.”

His face fell, causing all but the most stoic, the most cold-hearted, to feel as if all of those billion foals just died of some horrific disease. All at the same time.

The nurse, however, did indeed have a heart, even if it was a size to small. “I’m sorry to be so blunt Fuze, but...”she was at a loss of words to describe why she was so angry with him. “But, I’m just worried for Spark is all. I’m sure that you didn’t mean to hurt him. Is there anything that you said that might have offended him?”

“Well, I was just talking about my job, and then asked about how he got his cutie mark, nothing crazy.” Fuze responded, his face sullen.

Cutie marks... maybe he has a troubled past... “Fuze, what do you know about Spark’s past?”

“Well I know that, well actually... I don’t know very much. Whenever I get close to anything remotely related to anything before I met him, he stutters, and then changes the subject...”

Definitely old trauma. “Well then, I think that it would be in everypony’s best interest if you tried to stay away from that subject. Oh, and please, just be wary when you talk to him. For his sake,” she said curtly. “I am sure he will be better in no time. Now, you can go in.”

The nurse held the door open, and a sad, depressed Fuze stepped in.

~~~~~~~~

To your confusion, Fuze’s entry was quiet. In fact, you think it is the quietest you have ever seen him. He approaches the side of the small hospital bed with a ghostly expression. Fuze’s face stayed unreadable as he looked over at you.

“Is something the matter Fuze?” you ask, scared that Fuze was mad at you for ruining his dinner. Your concern only grows as Fuze stays silent. “Look, I’m horribly sorry for ruining your dinner, I get it if your mad at me...” you look away while speaking, then a pair of solid hooves wrap around you. The sound of sobs reach your ears in your presently shocked state.

“How can you be sorry when you haven’t done anything wrong?” Fuze almost shouts, but his is muzzle to far buried into you coat.

“What are you talking about?” you ask him.

“I not a very good friend. The only colt who I actually want to be with, and all I can do is hurt him,” The sobbing colt says apparently to himself.

“That’s not true!” you say indignantly to Fuze. He looks at you and blushes when he realized that he said his previous statement out loud. “You have been very kind! Besides, the bomb incident was my fault, and I don’t think you can control me passing out randomly,” you jokingly state.

“The nurse said that the coma you fell into was because of me.” Fuze says. This shocks you, because the mare who let Fuze in, the one who had been so soft toned with you, didn’t seem like the kind of pony to blame others, but it that did certainly explained why Fuze felt so bad.

Why would she go tell something like that to Fuze, who is probably the nicest pony in this whole town? “Buck the nurse!" you say "That is all she is! Just a Nurse! Not even a doctor! What does she know? You had nothing to do with my, ‘coma', or whatever she called it! ” You say this to help Fuze, and even though you know the last part is a lie, you actually don’t blame Fuze for trying to start up a conversation, so you don’t want him to feel guilty over something that clearly wasn’t his fault.

“You really think so?” Fuze asks you with a half smile forming. “Does this mean we are still friends?”

“Nope...”you reply, a mischievous smile on your face.

“Oh... I guess I’ll be lea-” he says before you cut him off with

“ We are best friends!” you shout out before laughing so hard that you fall off the bed with a loud thump.

Fuze looks unimpressed for a moment, but his happy demeanor soon returns as he laughs at you. “ That was really cheesy, you know.”

“But that isn’t the funny part, it’s that you actually fell for it!” you continue laughing.

“Alright, you got me, which means you better watch your back, because you know what happens when you play with fire, you get burned. And in this case, the fire is me, and the burning is pranks! Mwahahaha!” He cackles out maniacally, then snorts in laughter.

“Yah, yah, let’s just get out of here... I think the hospital is starting to get to you...” you say with mock concern.

“I was just kidding, jeez, silly-willy,” he responds.

You and Fuze leave the hospital at about 2 A.M. So naturally, you both fall asleep as soon as the two of you step across the threshold, causing you both land in a heap just inside of the door. The sound of your slowed breathing mixes with his, melding together harmoniously. The transpiring melody is befitting only of Luna's night.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks to my editors/pre-readers , Mobius of the Moon and CosmicAfro, my story is some what readable. Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Memories

Sunlight filters into the room, making you to pull at the warm mass on top of you, seeking it as a shelter to block those shafts of brightness from your half-asleep face. Although your tugging doesn’t quite manage to comfort your waking eyes, it does manage to wake the gently snoozing Fuze who is sleeping on top of you.

“Hey,” Fuze lets out a huge yawn. “I guess it’s time for us to get up, Sparky.”

“No, just five more minutes...” you exasperatedly sigh as you roll over, trying to avert your eyes from the impending rays. Sparky, Moonshine loved to call you- you cut your train of thought off right there, before lurching up and yelling out desperately, “Moonshine?! Are you there?”

“Nope, just me and you, Spark,” said an annoyed earth pony with an orange mane, tinged with a dark red blot. He pulls himself off of where he had landed when you were so kind to throw him off.

He looks so friendly, even with a that frown on. I love the way his hair looks right now... No, I did NOT just think that. I am NOT a colt cuddler. Not like there is anything wrong with being like that, but that is not what I’m into. You reproached yourself at the thought of liking Fuze, or his wonderful mane.

“Spark, I think me and you need to talk,” he said, the tone of seriousness in his voice makes you uneasy.

“Yes Fuze? What is it?” You ask, your apprehension showing through.

“Who is Moonshine? This isn’t the first time you’ve mentioned her you know, and what is the deal with your past? Why won't you tell me about yourself before our little incident? Do you not trust me?” He asks. His eyes are dry, but you can still hear the hurt in his voice.

You are too stunned to speak, instead you just look down unable to make eye contact. Forcing yourself not to give into panic, you clear all of those painful, horrible, nightmarish thoughts out of your mind. Why? you ask yourself. Why should I try to forget about her? And why shouldn’t I tell Fuze about Moonshine? He deserves to know. You try to convince yourself about this, but you can still hear that dark voice called doubt in the back of your subconscious saying, whispering into your metaphoric ear, “Fuze is a nice pony, if you tell him about what you did, well,let me just say this, nice ponies don’t like bad ponies.”

“Never mind. Forget I asked,” Fuze stated, obviously perturbed by the thought that you don’t trust him. “I just thought we were friends and all, but I guess I was wrong,” he says, lowering his head into his hooves with despair.

No! I am going to tell him! Even if he doesn’t want to be my friend afterwords, He still deserves to know. “Uhm, hey,Fuze...”

“Yah Spark?” Fuze responds dryly from behind his hooves.

“I’ll tell you, if you promise not to hate me. Even if you don’t want to be my friend anymore, please don’t hate me.”

Fuze looks up at you, a questioning smile playing across his lips. “Of course I won’t hate you! and we will always be friends! For-e-ver!” He sounded out the last word for comedic effect.

“Promise me though,” you insist.

Fuze’s smile turns into a smirk. “I’ll one up you on that, lil’ ol Sparky. I, Fuze Apple, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, pinkie promise that I will never, ever hate you.”

"Pinkie promise?" you ask questioningly.

"Yup! It's supo-neato and you can't break one, ever!" he responds matter-of-fact-ly, like everyone knew what a pinkie promise is.

“Well, here goes nothing. About four years ago I was working for the weather factory up in Cloudsdale, where I -” Fuze cuts you off mid-explanation

“Wait, you worked in Cloudsdale? How did you get up there? And how did you get to walk on the clouds? Are they puffy? Can you bounce on them? Oh wow that would be super neat!” he says while literally bouncing on the ground.

“Shh Fuze, I’m telling a story,” you say, smiling for for the first time since you woke up.

“Oh yah, sorries!” he responded, settling down and listening intently.

“Like I was saying," you stare at him until he fully understands your reproach, "I could walk on clouds due to a nice unicorn librarian in a small town called Ponyville. She taught me a spell that would allow me to walk on clouds. However, she came to later regret the fact that she had , but that is getting ahead of my self. And yes clouds are quite fun to walk on. But that wasn’t why I worked in Cloudsdale. I worked for the weather factory, like I said, because my magic is unique from other unicorns. I bet you have noticed that I don’t use magic to pick things up like a regular unicorn would.” At this Fuze nodded, so you continue, “Well my magic is like lightning. It crackles and sparks, and if I were to try to cast a levitation spell like most unicorns do, my magic just would shock that item with electricity. This, while mostly just annoying, is how I got my job. Say if the Pegasi needed a thunderstorm, they would make a storm cloud, right? But they can’t control when the lightning is released or even how strong/often it would be. With me ,however, I can charge clouds to release an exact amount of lightning at a specific time. And that is how I met her,” you let out a pained, but happy sigh.

“Moonshine, right?” Fuze asked.

“Yes,” you respond after returning to reality from your memories. “She had the most beautiful eyes in the world. We met one day as -"

~~*flash back*~~

“Hi there!” an unfamiliar voice from behind you calls out.

Not being an especially good mood, you call out “ What do you want?” you turn to see how beautiful she is and it stuns you into quietness.

She lets out a small giggle and says, “I’m Moonshine, your new partner.”

“P-partner?” you stammer out, still recovering, “ Boss never told me about me having to work with anypony.”

“Well, he told me. He also told me that you have your way with lightning, so we are now on thunderstorm patrol duty,” she said with a light shrug. “How can you walk on clouds any ways, Spark?”

You face hoof and slowly count to three under your breath. “I can walk on clouds because of a spell I know, and why do you sound so happy? We apparently just got assigned to thunderstorm patrol duty. You do know what that means?”

“Yah!” she responds happily. “Me and you get to fly around in thunderstorms, and tame wild thunderheads.”

“That is not something to be happy about!” you half-shout at her after an exaggerated sigh. “That is probably one of the most dangerous jobs here! What are you, some kind of newbie?”

“Nope, just an adrenaline junkie. Now come on, hop on my back, we are going to go to our first storm,” she chirps out.

“I’m going to be r-riding, on you?” you blush up at the thought.

“Oh stop being such a baby!” She kneels down, allowing you to climb onto her back. You get onto her back and she whispers up to you, “Besides, I’m sure you don’t mind being this close to a beautiful mare anyways.” Your blush burns its way across you face instantly, and starts to journey down your neck in a matter of seconds. While you try to mutter out a comeback, she jumps off the cloud edge. She spreads her wings and glides through the air. The feeling of wind in your mane is exhilarating. Any and all thoughts of embarrassment or revenge against the mare you are holding onto are forgotten as the adrenaline pumps into your blood. Every single one of your senses are lifted, you feel the feeling of unrestrained euphoria for the first time in all of your life.

She yells up to you, "You ready, Sparky?"

Sparky? Why did she call me , Sparky? "Ready for wha-AHH!" she interrupts you with a aerial roll. The amounts of adrenaline in your blood stream went from a few hundred thousand parts per million to an insane amount that would have killed a normal pony. Serotonin mainlines directly into your heart, creating a feeling that frees you from any and all stress of work, financial problems, and life. She continues to fly around for a while, but not pulling off anymore stunts.

But, alas, all things must come to an end eventually, and Moonshine lands, pulling her wings back to her sides. Trying to milk all the feeling out of afterglow, you get off of her and run around on the cloud, and kick your hoofs in the air while yelling, “Ah, bucking yes!”

“Are you always this excitable, Spark? Because if that's so, then we are going have a lot of fun together!” She lets out a soft mare-ish giggle.

“Does it always feel like that?" After a prompting "What are you talking about?" look from Moonshine, you clarify, "When you fly, I mean.” She just nods her head. “Then, Moonshine," you approach her, a large smile displayed across your face, "Welcome to team Lunar-shock.” You extend your hoof.

She accepts the hoof shake and says in the best Faustrian accent she can muster, “ I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

~~*present*~~

“Aww, how cute!” Fuze says.

“She sure was, Fuze,” you sigh out dreamily. “She was the reason that i could bear through the day. My first regular income of happiness. Anyways, after a while me and her started to date. It was going good for about two years, and we were having dinner at a small diner in Ponyville.” You continue with your story.

~~*flash back*~~

"Sparky, I don’t see why we always have dinner here in Ponyville,” Moonshine says to you after she took a sip from a wine glass at the table.

“You know that if you get drunk up in Cloudsdale, I can’t walk you home, and I’m not about to leave you alone, drunk, in your section of that city,” You say, laughing at how you have probably told her the same excuse a thousand times before, but in reality, you both know that Pegasi aren't known for their cooking.

“It’s not my fault I can’t hold my liquor.” She laughs before taking another sip from her glass.
Building up your courage, you down your own wine before you stand up from your seat at the table and walk up beside Moonshine, kneeling onto one of your hind hooves and then say, “It’s not my fault you stole my heart.” You then present her with an onyx earring sporting her cutie mark (a full moon) with yours (a lightning bolt) cut out of the center.

The entire diner goes silent, everypony holding their breaths, ready to either cheer for a newly engaged couple, or to offer what solace they could provide for the newly single colt.

Moonshine’s face finally lit up and she shouted out, “Yes! Oh Yes!” before she tackled you. The two of you kiss there, on the floor of the diner, in front of a crowd of cheering ponies. Nothing could be better. Everything seemed just to click for that moment. It reminded you of the first time you flew, times a hundred. Sure you two had kissed before while dating, but trying to compare those kisses to this one was like trying to compare jumping to flying. Now don’t you get yourself wrong, all of those previous kisses were very, very enjoyable, but knowing that the mare who gave your life meaning again will be with you for the rest of your life made the kiss that much better. As with flying, although, it had to come to a stop as you both stop kissing, gasping for breath. You stand up while Moonshine dusts herself off and whispers into your ear, “You know that line was so cheesy and cliche, right?”

You smile and reply with a teasing peck on her neck, before stating simply, “That’s why it worked.”

~~*present*~~

Fuze slowly wipes a tear from his eye, wearing a huge, goofy smile. “That is so sweet, Sparky.”

“Save the water works for the next part, Fuze,” you say. “We got married a month later, and she got pregnant. We were so happy. But on her last day-” a choking sob escapes from you. When you recover, after some comforting encouragement from Fuze, you continue. “But on her last day before she left for her maternity leave, everything went wrong..."

~~*flash back*~~

Rain fell, and you gallop over to where you saw Moonshine crash. The sight that greets your eyes is not a welcome one. Her right wing is almost completely gone, blood seeping out of the wound and mixing into a rain puddle. She was barely breathing, and she had obviously broken her legs and a few ribs. “Moonshine are you awake?” You do your best to cauterize her stump of a wing. A yelp escapes her as electricity from your horn melts the flesh together to stop the bleeding.

“Sparky?” she asks.

“Yes, darling?” you answer. “You are going to be fine, I stopped the bleeding, and your broken bones are not fatal.”

“Stay by my side, Sparky. Everything is so cold, please stay with me.”

“I’ll stay with you... Wait, cold?! Oh no, please don’t go into shock!” you panic and quickly try to warm her up, but to no avail. Her heart beat slows, her breaths become ragged. She looks at you and smiles, but you can’t see what she has to be happy about.

“I’m going to try and start your heart again, use my horn like a defibrillator, okay hun?” you say, almost screaming.

“No!” she protests, putting a hoof up to your forehead.

“Moonshine, you and the foal are going to die otherwise!” you plead with her.

“But you told me yourself that spell would kill you because of over exertion! I don’t want our daughter to grow up without a father! And...” she pauses to cry softly, “ I don’t want to raise her without a husband. I know I’m being selfish, but please Spark! I don’t know if I can live without you,” she sobs out.

“I can’t just wait here and watch you die! I can’t live without you either, Shine.” Tears slowly building up in your eyes, like a river about to breach a old and cracked dam.

“Yes you can, Sparky. Be strong for mommy.” she says sweetly, closing her eyes.

“No don’t go! Don’t leave me alone! Celestia dammit!” you pull chest her to your ear.As you hold your ear to her chest, you hear her almost nonexistence heart beat slow down and stop.
With her last breath she looks pained, and so sad. She says directly to you, “ Forgive me, Sparky. Just, please forgive me.”

As her body cools off, all signs of life stop. You scream at her, “BUCKING NO! YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG! STAY WITH ME! MOONSHINE! No...” Tears and rain water mix into your coat. "Why?” in response, everything, except for the raindrops falling from the storm clouds above, remains silent. Your head falls over her lifeless form.

~~*present*~~

Fuze sat there quietly, absorbing all the incoming knowledge. I never new Spark had gone through so much. How dare his wife tell him to stay alive while she died with the foal. Every day must be a living hell for him. He slowly thought to himself, now feeling sorry for asking about Spark's past, but is still wise enough not to interrupt.

~~~~~~~

You shake your head, tears dried up. “But that isn’t the end of the story. Apparently, Moonshine’s parents never could get it through their heads that thier baby girl would want to die. Unfortunately for me, her moms were in considerable places of power.”

“Moms?” Fuze asked.

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle and Sunshine. Sunshine is a well respected mail pegasus, and so I lost my job, and Twilight is the personal student of Princess Celestia herself, and an amazing lawyer. So after about a week, I was convicted of two accounts of mareslaughter, imprisoned for 6 months, and fined a very large amount of bits,” you sigh. “When I was released from jail, nopony in Ponyville would forgive me, and nopony would let me take a job. I couldn’t even rent a simple hotel or apartment, that is how much they hated me.”

“Oh those meanies! That is just, so, so, mean!” Fuze shouted out.

“Not really, I got what I deserved. I bucking killed their daughter for Luna’s sake!” you break into a new set of tears.

“Now Spark, hush. It is not your fault! You did what Moonshine asked you to do!" After a short pause he adds almost silently, "Even if she was being silly filly by asking you to do that.” Even though Fuze said the last sentence under his breath, you still heard him. Although it hurts to acknowledge the truth in his words, he is right. You try not to think about it, It's too soon to blame Moonshine for what she did, and besides, I would have done the same thing in her situation.

“So, you still want to be my friend?” you ask, kind of surprised at the way he suddenly confronted your self-hatred.

“Forever and always, Sparky.” he says.

You give Fuze a hug, and continue to cry into his coat. He smells so good. Wait, no! Ah, fine. Maybe I like Fuze a little bit. You think smugly as you tighten your hug on the earth pony.

~~~~~~

Oh my gosh! He is hugging me! Score for Fuze! Fuze by now had identified the feelings that he had harbored for Spark as love. He first came upon this conclusion when he was at the hospital waiting for Spark to wake up. An older patient sat down next to him and started up some idle chit-chat, but he had been to worried about Spark to pay much attention. Finally the older mare said, “ She’s lucky to have a pony like you to love her as much as you do.”

“What?” he had responded quite confused by this mare’s declaration.

“The mare who you are waiting on.” she continued like it was obvious as day. “ She is the reason you are not paying attention to me.”

“How do you know it’s not just a friend sort of love?” He had inquired.

“Friends worry. They even act sad, but those who have this melancholy obsession, now that is love my little pony,” she said in a very knowing tone.

“Thanks,” he said, reveling in this new idea of his love for Spark.

“I was in love once,” she said. “And I still am, but he has quite the case of Alzheimer’s, so he barely remembers me, but I still care for him every day.” She then half mutters to herself, “Takes more than being sick to get rid of me, Braeburn.”
She seemed familiar, but Fuze couldn’t quite tell where she was from or where he had seen her before.

“Well it was nice talking to you, Mrs. ?”

She smiles and answers, “Fluttershy, Mrs. Fluttershy.”

Then the nurse had called him in, and he made a fool out of himself with that, “the only colt I actually want to spend time with” line, right in front of Spark himself! But oh well, he didn’t seem to notice. Now all I have to do is impress Spark and he will be mine, and we will love each other and live happily ever after, laughing and having fun together! Fuze thought all of this as the one and only Spark hugged him.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note: Huge thanks to my authors, CosmicAfro and Mobius of the Moon, for their great editor abilities!

Chapter 5A: All It Takes Is A Spark...

“Do you have anything planned for us to do today?” you ask Fuze hopefully while munching on some oat flakes.
He responds with a shrug and says, “Well I had a picnic and dinner planned for tonight, accompanied by a fire work show, but only if you want to go.”

You laugh and respond playfully, “A show and dinner outside? Why are you all romantic all of a sudden, Fuzey?” Fuze’s cheeks match the color of his mane and he hastily responds with a sheepish explanation,“Well, you are the one who asked about my job last time we had dinner, so I thought that you might want to experience my fireworks for yourself.”

“Awwww, you made them for me? How sweet.” You swoon up at him, his blush only flaring even more. Finally, to his great relief, you stop your teasing and punch him in the shoulder.

“Come on, you know I’m just messing. Yah I would like to see how awesome your mortars are. The one you ‘showed’ me earlier was definitely a blast!” you laugh at your gibe.

“Hey! I thought we promised never to mention that!” Fuze shot back, still recovering from the awkward situation you had put him in.
  ~~~~~~~

Fuze had yet to confess his feelings to you, and it made him feel dishonest. Being an Apple had its disadvantages. But he had made up his mind. Tonight is the night! At dinner, he will be so taken with everything, that he will have no choice but to love me back! Right? Although Fuze still heard the voice of doubt, his instinctual honesty was louder. Even if he doesn’t love me back, He cringed at the thought, but continued, He will still be my friend. And it’s just not right to lie to someone who has opened up to me like he has. Tonight will be the night.

  ~~~~~~~~

That rest of day passed slowly. Fuze left for work, and you decided to waste time by cleaning the house. After finishing, you start to prepare for the night. You were worried that you were going to be dressed too informal. Picnics aren’t formal, are they? But then again it is a dinner date, wait, date? Is that what this is? No, it can’t be, Fuze doesn’t like me back. Eventually, after debating with yourself on the finites of social outings in the manner of potential dates with regards to picnics, you settled on wearing an old grey and black shirt that you found earlier while cleaning. You take a long shower to occupy yourself until Fuze arrives home. After what feels like hours in the bathroom you find out, to your disappointment, it has only been twenty-five minutes. Sitting on Fuze’s couch, you wait. The minutes tick by slowly.

“Gah! I can’t wait any longer!” you scream out in exasperation.

“Is that what we are doing? I thought we were the ‘shhh!’ game.” Fuze asks from behind.

You jump up and yell, “Ahh! When did you get here?”

“I don’t know, maybe like an hour ago... Hey where did you get that shirt?”

“I um, got it from your closet,”

"It looks nice on you!" he says happily.

"Um, thank you?" you blush. “But that’s beside the point, how did you get here without me noticing? And why didn’t you tell me that you did?”

“Like I said, I thought we were playing the ‘shh!’ game! I’m the best at that game, you know,” he says, getting off of the couch, standing next to you and smiling.

You slowly count to three and take a deep breath.

“What’s the matter, Sparky?” the blue pony says.

“Nothing! Nothing at all, is it time to go to the park yet?” you respond, forcing all of your annoyance at him out, knowing that he can’t help being himself.

After a quick look at the clock, he smiles and nods. He grabs you by the hoof and drags you out the door, bouncing all the way. Although you aren’t normally the one to blush, you are taken aback by the way he pony handles you. You quickly force down the show of emotions, and simply let yourself be dragged along by this adorably energetic pony.

After arriving at the surprisingly packed park, he pulls you through the crowd up to a hill, where a blanket, two sets of eating utensils, and pillows for you both to sit on.

“After you, Sir Spark,” Fuze motions for you to sit down with a flourish of one hoof, the other bending in a courteous bow. After doing so, he continues, “Sparky?”

“Yes Fuze?” you respond.

“What is your last name? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention it before...” he says, partially puzzled.

“Well it is, um...” you hesitate, but, being prompted by Fuze’s stare, you finish with, “My last name is Hour.”
Fuze gasps and says “As in one of the three dream-caste families, Hour? The Noble Unicorn family who Celestia personally imbued with power after Luna’s banishment? Does that mean your dad is Nightingale Hour? Because that would be so cool!” His enthusiasm is apparent.

You deflate and sigh, harshly asking, “Do you even know what dreams the Hour Family was tasked with making?”

Fuze pulls back slightly, traces of hurt on his face. “Well no, not really.”

You let out another sigh , then say apologetically. “Sorry I snapped. Yes my dad was Nightingale hour, he’s dead now.”

Your companions expression changed from hurt and indignation to one of sorrow and he bows his head, his ears falling flat. “Oh... I’m sorry Fuze.”

You wince at the word ‘sorry’. Trying to lift his spirits, you brush it off by saying, “Oh Fuze, it’s nothing to worry about, I never really liked him that much anyways.”

Although it doesn’t exactly help Fuze, he did seem to look less sad. An awkward silence settles like a fog. It becomes stifling, to the point where you thought you were going to die of suffocation, or go insane from the tune that Fuze was absent mindedly humming. Where is it from anyways? It seems so familiar… Just then a waitress comes to the rescue by asking sweetly,

“And what will you two fair gentle-colts be having today?”

You mentally thank her a million times and ask aloud, “Do you serve oat-flakes?”

“Do you mean like the breakfast cereal?” she asked puzzled.

“Yes, indeed.” You smile at her, unaware that this is an unusual order.

“Well, I suppose that we can get something to that effect, but-” she can't finish what she is saying because you cut her off with

“Great! Then we will have some oat flakes and,” you look questioningly at Fuze.

“Hay Fries!” he says ecstatically.

“Ok, I’ll get some hay fries and … oat flakes,” she says, shaking her head and trotting off.

“What’s with her?” you ask, mystified.

“Maybe she has her tie tied on to tight,” Fuze replied with a hoof under his chin. “I’ll be sure to ask her about it when she comes back.”

The dreaded silence returns, as so does your unease with the awkward situation.

Damn! Just when I thought we had fixed that… Trying to find something to talk about you notice a library filling up with colts and fillies.

“Hey Fuze, why are those foals going to that library at this hour?”

“I think they are having a lock in, part of their school or something he says.” He says, while obviously being distracted by something. You are about to speak when your train of thought is disrupted by the noise of an announcer. Over the loud speakers that are set up everywhere, comes a booming voice,

“ATTENTION ALL PONIES. THE SHOW WILL BE STARTING SOON, PLEASE SETTLE DOWN.”

“Ohh!” Fuze says. “This is going super-uber especially fantastic!” He manages to reposition himself and his pillow to allow a better view of the stage. Unbeknownst to you, he is actually getting positioned closer to you.
On the stage, you can see a few ponies putting the finishing touches on the rack of rockets that are going to be displayed tonight. A thought strikes you.

“Why aren’t you down there helping them set up?” you ask.

“Well I normally do,” a quick blush passes over his face, but then subsides. “But tonight I actually wanted to see my work for myself. You know, from the perspective of the audience. And I didn’t want to leave you all by your selvsies! Because then you would get all lonely-wonely!”

“Ok, I get it. I just hope they don’t mess anything up,” you say, concerned.

“Oh don’t worry, I have full confidence in my crew. I made them pinkie promise to do their best tonight,” Fuze says confidently.

  ~~~~~~~~

Bucker, the chief pyro pegasus, made one last check to make sure that everything was in place where it should be. Everything is perfect, he thought

“Good for go?” a fellow worker called out.

“Yah were good, go when ready,” he calls out and leaves.

While Bucker was good, he did not have the uncanny ability to identify a problem before it became one, an ability that only two ponies in all of Equestria have. One has a pink coat, and the other was the one in charge of working this station. Tonight however, that second pony wasn’t here. Instead he was out watching the stage from afar. Bucker had actually done a fair job considering the difficulty of the task, and only missed one thing. But one thing can turn the best of nights into the worst.

____________________________________________________________________________________________
Authors note: although this chapter was written better than previous chapters, I still owe a thanks to my editors. So thank you Mobius and Cosmic!

Chapter 5B: ...To Light A Fuze

The show started with a bang. Explosions of reds and blues painted the sky, as many more rockets succintly streaked up towards the smoke laden air to replace their finished brethren. Each magnificent display lit up the night, dueling one another for supremacy. Every spectacle filled second becoming more glorious than the last. Purple stars, golden showers, green diamonds, and many more shapes completely emptied your mind of every thought as you just marveled in their beauty.

Once again, reality kicked you in the head, the timeless wonder you had been enjoying faded into the background as a gentle nudge from Fuze caught your attention.

“Yes Fuze? What is it?” you say, holding back your impatience.

“I was just wondering what you thought of the show?” he asks, his eyes averting yours, his hooves listlessly swinging in circles. He almost looks nervous... Oh who am I kidding? Fuze? Nervous? Ha! That would be the day...

“Oh, I think it is just awesome!” you say, your enthusiasm earnest.

“Like super awesome? Like so awesome you could just explode?” he asks, tilting his head so that his eyes lock with yours. The sudden movement swishes his mane, deftly landing perfectly around his shoulders. His expression is expressed perfectly in his orange eyes: it was one of hope.

You try to suppress the oncoming giggle, fearing embarrassing yourself, but it comes out all the same. “Like so awesome that I could explode twice.”

Fuze gasps and says, “Oh my gosh! Can a pony do that? Can they just, explode twice?”

A full on laugh escapes you, “Oh Fuzey, you are just so... random.”

He looks distraught and asks, “Is that a good thing? ‘Cause I know that I am really random, and talkative, and that is what most ponies don’t like about me. And I really want you to like-” he quickly shoves a hoof in his mouth and blushes. After his vascular show of embarrassment subsides, he says quickly adds, “I’m worry, I wuf twiing twoo sway-”

“Fuze, you, um, still have your hoof in your mouth,” you say, slightly uncomforted by the fact that you can't understand him. Like I can normally... you sarcastically conclude.

He pulls it out and with a sheepish smile says, “I’m sorry, what I was trying to say was that I want my new friend to like me, and not think that I’m annoying... That’s normal, right? Something that regular friends do?”

“Yes Fuze, it’s normal for friends to like each other as friends,” you say, confused.

He just nods and looks back at the fireworks. His Fireworks. His work of art. His beauty. You notice that with each rain of color, every single brilliant explosion, that his mane lights up, the aurora from the multiple luminous explosions seem to be an extension of his color, each one individually highlighting his natural complexion. The various, but distinct hues make his orange and blue hairs blend with the untold wonder of the night show. Luna’s starry sky. Her stars shone bright, so perfectly accented with these pyrotechnics. The phosphorescent orbs mix effortlessly into the scene, disappearing with the flashes and reappearing in their wake.

it’s no wonder that she personally employs him, she who made the night for ponies who remember little of its meaning. I don’t think that either of the Princesses could compare with his work, though. Sure Luna’s sky is wonderful, and Celestia's day illuminating, but I have always found them lacking. The former lacking the glaring shine of the day, while the latter is lacking the shear scope of the night. But this, what Fuze has made, is mind blowing. It is subtle yet loud, colorful, yet also dark. It makes art out of chaos; it’s truly amazing. I think that, that maybe I’m in love. A contented sigh escapes you. You close your eyes, the cacophony of explosions plays like a bass line for a song. A soft melody plays through your head, sad and mournful. A quiet humming escapes your lips and you lay your head down on Fuze’s shoulder.

Fuze shakes and says loudly, “Oh my gosh!”

You lift your head ever so slightly and ask questioningly, “What is it Fuze?”

“That song! Oh I have to write a song that fits that tune you were humming!” he says.

“Sure Fuze,” a condescending smile plays out across your face. You lie back down, only to be poked by Fuze again. The only reason I’m not going to strangle him now is because I love him, but this is pushing it!

“Yes Fuze? What is it?” you ask with a forced smile. The look of nervousness, however, quickly sobers you and impels you listen intently.

“I have to tell you something, but if I tell you this, you have to promise not to hate me,” he says, worry showing on his face.

“I could never! I Pinkie Promise!” you say indignantly.

“Really? Say it then.” He looks less worried, but not like himself still.

“Say what?” you asked, confused.

“The Pinkie Promise!”

“Oh, here goes...” you say, completing forgetting the words. “What was it again?” you ask, smiling sheepishly.

He sighs, then says, “Cross my heart,”

You repeat, “Cross my heart,”

“…hope to fly,”

“…stick a cupcake in my eye,” he finishes.

“…stick a cupcake in my eye.” you finish a moment after him.

“Okay then,” a new look of confidence in his eyes. “What I’ve been meaning to tells you is that...” the rest of his words are mumbled, too quiet for you to hear.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” You say.

“What I’ve been trying to tell you is that I kinda like...”

“Mumbling still,” you smile, unaware of what he is trying to say.

“Well, me and you have been freinds, and I found out that I kinda like, that I kinda lo-, whenever I’m around you, I feel like I’m...”

No way. Is he saying that, he likes... Is it possible?, you manage to think, currently too stunned to feel anything more complex. As you come to grips with what he is trying to say, you suddenly find his incoherent blathering too adorable to resist. After deciding to meet him half-way, you close the distance between you and him. You whisper in his ear, “What does it feel like whenever I’m with you?” after soft nuzzle, you continue, “Do you like me, Fuzey?” After a bit of repositioning, you find him face to face with you. A fire of a blush rages across his face as he mutters incoherent nonsense, He is probably just to stunned to react. He finally manages a slight nod, and then pushes his muzzle up against yours. The passionate kiss that caught you unaware suppresses every emotion and reality that you felt.

Have you ever really realized how much of a troll life is? Because just before you were about to add a little something you picked up while in prance to the kiss, a surprisingly loud boom interrupts you both. Woah, that sounded way to close... A fire in the not-as-far-as-you-would-like distance breaks out. You hear ponies screaming, and you are not sure what happened until you look at the fire and realize that it is the old library that is ablaze. Oh my Celestia! All of those poor, poor foals! A rush of air knocks you over and you hear Fuze shout from the distance,

“Buck! I’m going to save them Sparky! Celestia please, don’t let any of them -” his voice trailed off into the now barren night as he ran off.

You sit there dazed, not knowing what to do. You stand and slowly make your way through the crowd. As it finally dawns on you that Fuze just ran after a burning building, you become panicked, as you fear for his safety. As adrenaline pumps into your blood, you scream and pick up your speed. You push and shove past anypony that is in your way, not caring for anything otherwise, except to find Fuze safe and sound.
When you make it to the building, Firecolts are spraying the house with water, trying desperately to extinguish the fire. About twelve foals were outside, adorned with shocked faces and a few minor scrapes and burns. As nurses attend to them, you hear a panicked teacher answer a question with,

“I don’t know who he is, but he just ran in and started to grab foals, there is only one more colt in there,” she said, tears evident on his face.

Fuze is still inside! I got to go help him! I won’t lose him too! You push past a Firecolt, who is busy spraying the house, and run inside the building.

~~~

The smoky air immediately permeates your lungs, sending you into a coughing fit. Your eyes sting, and broken glass on the floor cuts the bottom your hooves. Determined, you push past the pain and forge ahead with your search, yelling and calling Fuze’s name. After ten minutes of searching you see him lying there. A burning beam is lying on top of him with an unconscious foal next to his body. Running, you use your shoulder to push the charred wood off of his body and yell, “Wake up! Fuzey wake up! Please!” your voice cracks with sadness and you pick him up. Blood oozes out of his many wounds. You don’t even know how to even begin to help him. One of his eyes opens, and he smiles.

“Fuze? Can you hear me?” you choke out.

After a wracking cough he says, “Don’t you dare leave me.”

Taken aback by his darker sounding comment, you ask, “What?”

He says, “I’m dying, and if you try to save me and kill yourself, I don’t know, I can’t even begin to think-” a tear escapes from his eyes and he starts to sob. His mean facade vanishes and he cries out, “I’ll miss you! I won’t be able to make another firework, or laugh again! I won’t have my best friend. It won't be fair! And so, if I can't have you, the world won’t have me." His voice was growing weaker and smaller with every passing second. With his final breath he says, “I don’t want to live in a world without you,” his eye slips close and he goes silent.

You search his body for signs of life, but find none. You cry and scream and curse. Finally you drop his body onto the charred floor and slump beside him. As pain and heat floods your senses, you think back to his last words, “I don’t want to live without you.” Some part of your sanity breaks and you stand up, albeit a little shakily. You scream at Fuze’s body, “Well you don’t have a choice!” Summoning a large bolt of pure white lightning to your horn, you plunge it directly into his chest. His whole body has a spasm, but then lays flat against the ground. A throbbing sensation pours through your head. Starved of oxygen and pushing your magical stamina, you try again, meeting similar results. You fall to your haunches and fall over, a dark haze settling over everything. I tried Fuze. Maybe me and Moonshine and you will all meet, I bet she would like you... you last breath escapes your body, but you continue to think, I think I’ve forgotten what it feels like to fly. Well, I’m ready to relearn... your eyes close.

Two motionless bodies lay on the ground. Fire raged round them, all the sparks of their life faded from their entwining fires that made up their lives. The fuze had stopped burning. All was quiet except for the crackle of burning wood.

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Authors note: Hahaha! almost finished with the story! But that wouldn't be possible without the help of Mobius or Cosmic, now would it? So a round of applause for them! Huzzah!

Wrapping Up When It Isn't Winter

Wrapping Up When It Isn’t Winter

A time must come when the basic energies of any explosive are dispersed and removed; when what little remains are nothing but memories and ashes. No matter how magnificent or touching it may be, it will eventually be left as a shared memory. It may, however, be remembered, for better or worse, by those who witnessed its glory. Those who are touched are often inspired and henceforth spread creativity, love, and friendship to others. This is the basic nature of a chain reaction. But, without that first spark, the fuze will never be lit. Some may say, “but I don't want to waste either the spark or the fuze.” But how then, will you see the wonder of the bomb? How then, will you be able to experience its sole purpose? How then will it inspire others? The answer is simple: it will not. The spark will catch, and the fuze burn bright, starting the reaction for others.

Epilogue

It was an average day. Buisness in the small town ran as usual as ponies went to and fro. What wasn’t average however, was the proceeding procession. Two wooden coffins lay closed in front of a small assembly of crying ponies. About eight stood in the crowd, all adorned with forlorn faces. As some pony on the stage gave a small talk about how the lives of those now dead were great, yet still young and filled with potential, the sobs quiet down. After closing with a prayer to the princesses, he finishes, and asks for the coffins to be opened. As that is happening, the mob of grievers pass by one by one talking and laying flowers with the one laid in the first coffin. Only two stopped at the second coffin.

One was a nurse, her white coat deeply contrasting with her black gown. She lays down a single black rose with a yellow stem by the corpses side, using her mouth delicately to perfect the placement. The second, wearing a suit of bandages rather than formal attire, approached the casket with deep remorse. The white gauze snuggly wrapped around his back with his red and orange hairs of his mane cover the majority of the padding.

Fuze looked down into the coffin of Spark, who laid there free from his mortal injuries, coat and horn fixed. The coroner did a good job with him, the stallion sadly thought. A tear would have been shed, if he had any more. After his death, the depressed earth pony had cried for Spark for hours on end, deeply hurt by the abandonment. He felt all alone; no happiness, no spontaneous joy or erratic euphoria. The lone stallion felt numb. Princess Luna had given him a break from his work after seeing him in his condition, so getting his mind off his miserable life with some mind clearing tasks was out of the question.

Spark looks so happy. But he is dead. Gone. Forever. Fuze had barely been able to eat for the days preceding today, unable to come to grips with reality. He still couldn’t believe it. The one he loved had loved him back. But then had died, and left him all alone in this world. A world that feels so cold without a spark of warmth. The normally excitable pony normally would have smiled at the pun which had incorporated his loves name, but seeing the Spark’s body lying there stiffly, it brought nothing but more pain.

With a grimace, Fuze whispered accusingly to Spark, “Why did you leave me?” then, to himself, he asked, “What is a fuze without its spark?”

Fuze’s hooves gave out and he knelt to the ground, finding a few more tears held behind his eyes.

A soft and hesitant hoof placed itself on his back, weary of his concealed dressings. As he looked around, he saw the nurse, looking with a sympathetic smile on her face.

“Fuze, you know that you are much more than a, well, fuze, right?”

“What do you mean?” he asked incredulously.

“A fuze burns, even after its spark cools off. It starts something great, but dies off in the process. You gave purpose to Spark, and not only did you start something great with him, you continued with it until his death. But I think you still have so much more to do, many more amazing things to start.”

“Why do you care so much now? You always seemed to hate me before, whenever I accidentally hurt him...”

“Well... I think that I was scared for you,” she responds slowly.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“I didn’t want you to lose him, I saw you care so much for him, that every time something happened, I... I just didn’t want you to be alone again.” Her care is evident in her tone as she speaks softly.

Fuze thought about all of this, and stood. As his composure returned, he began to truly realize how much those words meant to him. A small smile almost graced his lips. Almost. He gave the nurse a hug, and went back to his place at in funeral, passing by the first coffin which held the only foal that fell victim to the firework show mishap.

~~~~~~

Spark jumped playfully at Moonshine, who dodged gracefully with the help of her wings. Spark landed on the cloud surface and smiled up at her. She stuck out a tongue at him, eliciting a laugh. She landed and kissed him.
You pull away and say, “Wait... is it wrong to be doing this?” you asked uncertainly. “I mean I still love him...”
Moonshine laughs and responds, “I think that the combined powers of death and your love for me can separate the two of you. Besides, I think that a certain mare will catch his eye in the years to come.”
You ponderously ask “I wonder if that will be weird for us when they comes here. Will you, her, me and him all just fall in love with the other three? Or just me/him you/me him/her? Maybe me/you and -”
Another kiss silences you, and she answers before resuming the game you two had left off,
Only time will tell.

~~ and the fuze burned bright~~

After the funeral, Fuze left with renewed spirits. After all, he thought, I still have so much more to do, so many more amazing things to start. He sees the nurse walking away from him, and he waves for her to join him. She starts trotting beside him and soon they are talking about life and its various composures.
She asks, “...so how did you get your cutie mark any ways?”

“Well, that is kinda a long story.”

“I’ve got the time,” she says.

For the first time in a long while, he smiled.

The End

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Author's note: The end! (courtesy of my ever persistant editors, Mobius and Cosmic)

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