//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6-A Blossoming Relationship 
// Story: The Greatest Showmare 
// by Creativa-Artly01 
//------------------------------//

A few days later, after the shows come to the end for the night, Twinkle and Carl Lyle run off and go and have a late night picnic under the stars. "This is nice," sighs Twinkle, "being with you, that is." 

"Yeah, here, here!" responds Carl with a laugh and a smile on his face. "But my parents don't really approve of it, which is a shame."

"Yeah," sighs Twinkle. "Why don't they, though?"

"Because they see mess ups like you as inferior to their upper-class lifestyle," responds Carl with a frown appearing on his face. 

"Well, screw them," replies Twinkle. The two then share a kiss as they tumble down the flowery hill underneath them. A few minutes later, the two finish rolling and Twinkle pegs him to the ground and the two continue to kiss. After a while, the two sit up and he embraces her in his hooves. He then begins to sing her a love song he wrote just for her. 

"When I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were the mare for me. When I first saw you, it made my heart skip a beat. You have changed my life, maybe for the better. Through whatever comes our way, we both know we're both stronger and better together. Sweetheart, I love you. I'll love you forever. You are the mare of my dreams and you're here right in front of me. I will love you to the day I die. The way I look into your eyes. How they twinkle! How they shine! Oh, how much I want you to be mine. Say you'll always be mine. Say you'll always be mine because I'll always be yours. When you need a shoulder to lean on, a hoof to pick you up off the ground, I'll always be there for you. Right there for you. After all, when I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were the mare for me. Let's not let that love disappear. After all, the two of us, we're meant to be. Yes, indeed, we're meant to be."

Twinkle then joins in. "You and I both know, we're meant to be." The two then share yet another kiss then walk back up to the picnic blanket together, get their stuff, and return to their tents and turn in for the night. Before they do, however, they share one last kiss. Twinkle then goes into her tent and falls fast asleep, then falls into dreams of her and Carl being happy together. As she dreams, she can't help but smile. Maybe she and Carl are meant to be together after all. 

Meanwhile, back in his tent, Carl reads a letter from his mother and father. As he does, his eyes well up with tears. "Why do you disapprove of everything I do?" he sighs as he lights a match to the letter and watches it burn. He then throws it into the bin and snuffs out the flame with the lid. He then turns over on his side and falls fast asleep, all the while thinking about his parents' disapproval and how much it still continues to haunt him.

Meanwhile, over in her tent, Philly works on some papers with Andromeda perched atop her shoulder. "You're a good bird, my sweet Andry," sighs Philly as she finishes up the letter that is in front of her. "If only the critics and the skeptics were so nice." She then rubs Andromeda under the beak and Andromeda lets out a soft coo and then flies over and lands on her perch. Philly then sticks the letter in an envelope and puts it in her desk drawer. She then plops her head down and after only a moment, she is fast asleep. 

The next morning, everypony wakes up to the sound of flames everywhere. "Why is everything on fire?" screams Philly as she looks up in shock. "What happened?" 

"Some scoundrels came by in the dead of the morning and set everything ablaze from what I saw," responds Carl. "Why would they do such a thing?" 

"Because they see us as rejects and worth burning to the ground, now help me get everypony else out," demands Philly. Carl nods and gets right to work. A few minutes later, all the performers, animals, and creatures leave the tent. All the while, Andromeda sounds like an alarm and helps get everypony out of harm's way. Soon, everypony is out of the flaming tent and accounted for. They then go up the hill and watch the blaze spread, all the while, some of the performers are in tears, and Twinkle is also crying in Carl's arms. 

"I can't believe our home is destroyed, how are we ever going to rebuild?" she sniffles.

"Well, we are, we're going to rebuild, right Philly?" says Carl as he looks up towards her.

"Yes, I promise," responds Philly. 

Over the next few months, the circus slowly rebuilds with even better tents with built in fire retardent fabric. They are making sure this won't ever happen again. After about eleven months, the circus is back and going stronger than ever. The performers, animals, and Philly are thrilled. Their life is back and from now on, they are not going to let it burn to the ground like that ever again.