Ms. Doo was sitting in the living room reading a book when Spark Storm came down the stairs. The older pegasus let out a frightened shout and scrambled up onto her lazy chair until she recognized the youth from her daughter's past. "Spark Storm? How did you - when did you - what are you doing here?"
Spark Storm glanced at Ditzy's mother, a sad, pitying look on his face. "Ms. Doo, I'm here to change the world. Well...the town, anyway. This town is much too full of bigotry and hate. I think it's time for a change of management. Just stay here and take care of your daughter." He turned to leave, but took one more look at her, this look a little angry. "And be there for her. Stop judging her. She needs your love, not your pity." He opened the door, and stepped out into the afternoon air.
Spark took a flying leap from the Doo's door, and with aid from his wings, landed on the nearest rooftop. He made a mad dash along the rooftops, headed for the one place he needed to be right now: The library. It didn't take long. He rushed along, picking up hay as he ran. He leaped from the final roof and landed on the balcony. He slipped inside (no locked windows or doors anywhere), climbed over a small book shelf, hopped down onto the main floor and scared the crap out of poor Emerald Skies, who let out a high-pitched scream and fell off the stool where he sat playing a game of chess with Turbid Serocity.
Spark had to suppress a chuckle as Emerald collected himself. He pulled his glasses onto his face and then laughed as he saw what dropped down right in front of him. "Spark Storm! You sneaky dog, what are you doing here? You know it's much too soon for another adventure, my friend."
Spark grinned and glanced at Turbid. "Have you told him why you're here?" Turbid smiled coyly and shook her head. "She's with me, Emerald. I'm kind of on my way to White Tail Woods to deliver something." Suddenly suspicious, he rounded on Emerald, his brows furrowed. "I gotta ask, buddy. How often do you get out of this library and get out around town?"
Emerald backed away from his old friend, confusion written all over his face. "Wh-what? I don't get out much, you know that. I'm afraid I've gotten a bit out of touch with the town. There's too much to do in here to pay attention to what goes on out there."
Turbid frowned as she stood. "Spark Storm, what's going on? Weren't you going to meet with Rarity and get some cover?"
Spark nearly snarled as he faced his teammate. "This whole town needs a good kick in the ass, Turbid, and I'm just the pony to do it. I'm sick and tired of the hatred and intolerance this town seems to have for anypony that's a little different. I'm sorry, Turbid, but could I ask you to stay here in the library tonight? It's personal...I really need you guys to stay out of what I'm about to do."
Turbid frowned with worry. She'd never seen Spark so determined, and she knew of the bad history that had occurred here in this town. She sighed and looked down at her chess game. "I don't know, Spark, how long is this going to take?"
"With luck, it won't take longer than one night. This night, if I can help it."
Emerald cleared his throat to get their attention. "Ah, well, I'd be happy to offer you all space in the library," he said, throwing Spark a bold glare. "I'm afraid there's not much in the way of comfort, though."
Turbid smiled at the young pegasus and nodded her appreciation. "That'll be fine, Emerald. We thank you for your hospitality." She turned to Spark, a concerned look in her eyes. "What are you going to do, Spark? How do you plan to change this town? You're not going to expose yourself out there, are you? It won't help to cause a panic."
Spark frowned and shook his head dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I have an idea." Spark slipped past Lightning and Midnight on his way out. The two of them had been sitting together on the stairs leading up to the library's living quarters. "Sorry, guys, I'm gonna be gone until morning, most likely. I'll see you both then."
Lightning looked up from his book to Spark, then to Turbid. She merely shrugged and sat back down at her chess board. "Just get comfortable, you two. I think we're going to be here a while."
Pinkie Pie paced nervously inside Rarity's unfinished boutique. She had gathered Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity inside, and had told them what had happened. All four girls were nervous, to be sure. Spark Storm would be angry. Of course, the fact that they felt ashamed for avoiding Ditzy was proof enough that they knew they had done wrong by their friends.
They all looked up in apprehension as they heard Rarity's front door open, then close. Fluttershy hunched down behind Rarity as heavy hoofsteps approached beyond the multiple plastic curtains hung throughout the large first-floor room. Finally, Spark Storm appeared, looking grim and upset. The girls glanced at each other. Applejack removed her father's Stetson and held it over her muzzle. Pinkie Pie frowned sadly and looked away, while Rarity lightly stroked Fluttershy's mane, likely an attempt to calm herself as well as her pegasus friend.
Spark sighed and closed his eyes. He wanted to get what he wanted to say right the first time. There was so much to say, there was so much to do. Well...it wouldn't help things to yell at them now. He opened his eyes once more, and his anger was gone. Instead, it was replaced with a pleading stare. "Girls...it's ok. I'm not mad at you. But things have to change. This is my town as much as it is yours, and I want things to change for the better.
This is for the future, girls. This is for all the Cherry Joys, all the Ditzys, and all the Dinkys. This is for all the ponies that we'll have to look after sometime down the line. We have to take care of them and make sure that they have somepony to take care of them. It's up to us to take care of the sick, the wounded, the dead and the dying. We can't leave it up to the adults anymore...It's our time to take control of things."
As he spoke, every last face in the room lit up. Spark had grown up into a strong and truly caring individual. Pinkie's heart was singing, Fluttershy felt strong and brave in his presence, Rarity's heart felt like it could burst, and Applejack felt like hers was on fire, in a good way.
"I...I know it sounds like I'm coming back home, girls, but...I don't know yet. I've got things I need to do. But right now...Pinkie?" She snapped to attention, her tongue sticking out of her mouth in concentration. "I need you to make invitations to everypony in town under the age of twenty. Tell them tonight is a special occasion at Town Hall. Rarity? I need you to talk to the mayor. Tell him about a special youth activity we're having tonight. Book it, seal the deal." Rarity smiled happy and nodded. "Applejack? I need you to collaborate with Pinkie Pie on some food for the activities tonight. What I have planned isn't a party, but it'll be a good cover. I'm gonna rock this town tonight, girls, and I really need your help. Can I count on you?"
"Absolutely doosey loosey!"
"Of course, darling!"
"Yer darn tootin'!"
"Um...What about me?"
Spark smiled gently as he approached Fluttershy. "I was actually wondering if you'd be so kind as to find Rainbow Dash and bring her down here. Tell her what's going on. Ask her if she can get some pegasi recruits. I know how sensitive you are, so if you don't feel like doing more than that, that's ok."
"I can do that, I think...No, yes I can!" Fluttershy smiled and wrapped her hooves around Spark Storm in a big hug. Finally having the ice broken around the five ponies, the other girls joined in the hug with Spark at the center. He smiled and leaned into their warmth, something he had dearly, dearly missed.
Cheerilee hummed quietly to herself in her room. She lightly tapped the pencil held in her mouth as she looked over her homework. Her 18th birthday had come and went a month ago, and she was in her final year of education. She would start apprenticing at the school next year after graduation, something she was currently studying for.
The door swung open and hit the wall, making Cheerilee jump as Lyra came into the room, an excited grin on her face. "Hey! Don't you knock anymore? What's wrong with you?" Cheerilee demanded. Lyra just bounced a little by the door excitedly.
"He's here."
"What? Who's here?"
Lyra continued to bounce out the door and down the hall. "Your brother."
Cheerilee stared after the unicorn for a moment, then darted off her bed. If Spark Storm had returned, studying could wait.
When she got outside, she didn't see anything unusual. There weren't any panicked ponies, and there certainly wasn't any sign of a dark blue pegasus running around. Had Lyra been pulling her chain? The middle-schoolers often pulled pranks on the high schoolers, but a joke like this was just cruel. She was about to head inside when she stopped for a moment and thought. If he was here, then maybe he'd gone to see their mother's grave.
Cheerilee stepped inside the enclosed, single-grave cemetary. As she had guessed, Spark Storm was there, in the shade of the tree, next to their mother's grave. Spark looked up as his older sister approached, a small, patient smile on his face. Cheerilee sat down next to him, noting his height. He was taller than she now. Had three years really gone by so quickly?
"Hey, sis. It's good to se -" he was cut off as Cheerilee wrapped her forelegs around him and held him tightly. He reciprocated, wrapping his hooves around his sister's shoulders and resting his chin on her head. He held back tears of emotion as he felt her shaking.
I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." she whispered inbetween quiet sobs. Spark rubbed her back comfortingly as his sister released three years of guilt and sadness through her tears. He shushed her gently, and before their mother the two siblings reconnected. For the next hour, Spark listened to Cheerilee's story.
She spoke of her ambitions to become a teacher, like their mother had. She spoke of how after their mother's death, she had abandoned her weird, quirky style in lieu of her current, more conservative look. She told him of how she earned her cutie mark, which was similar to Cherry Joy's own smiling sunflower. She told him of her studies, how she'd spent the last three years cramming for the right to apprentice, now an understudy of Angelica Lovage, Spark's old elementary teacher.
"What about you, Sparky?" she asked. Now that she'd been talking for the last hour, she had loosened up enough to smile. "I remember Filthy Rich coming to tell me that he took you to Canterlot, and to see the Princess, no less! What's life been like there, what've you been doing?"
Spark sighed gently and rested a hoof on his sister's shoulder. "Cheerliee, I'd love to tell you about it sometime. Right now, I need your support with something."
Cheerilee smiled happily and reached up to hold the hoof on her shoulder. "Of course, Spark. For you, anything."
Spark Storm smiled back down at her and proceeded to tell her his plan.
That night, around seven, over fifty young ponies had shown up to the gathering at Town Hall. Food, party games, and music had been set up inside. Anorax, Spark Storm's old pal from their school days, was djing some fun electropop. The youth danced, ate, talked. There was some speculation as to what they had really been called here for. Lyra and Bon Bon had spread the word that Spark Storm was in town, though they didn't know what he was here for.
On the stage area, curtains had been set up, giving the impression that there might be a play or a film later in the evening. Backstage, Ditzy, Dinky, Spark Storm and Rarity stood. The four listened to all the talking, laughing and playing going on beyond the stage. Ditzy frowned at Spark. She looked fearful, afraid of more rejection from the town's youth who had already judged her to be unfit for society. At least they hadn't cast her out. At this thought, she felt even more guilty.
She felt a comforting hoof on her back as Rarity pulled her in close and nuzzled her affectionately. "Again, I am so sorry for what we put you through, Ditzy. I do hope you can forgive me."
Ditzy sighed softly and leaned into Rarity's embrace. "If we can pull this off tonight, consider us even, Rarity."
Spark Storm gently knocked on Ditzy's head, earning him an affectionately annoyed look from his grey friend. "There are no 'if's' tonight, Ditzy. We will turn this town around tonight. Rarity, it's about time. Can you check outside and tell me if everything is ready?"
The alabaster unicorn winked at Spark before she slipped outside into the main room to check things over with the others.
Spark smiled down at Ditzy, giving her a confident smile. She looked back up at him, her eyes looking over his face. He was about to ask her what she was thinking when she leaned in and kissed him. Spark's eyes widened and made to back away, but she had already pulled back. Spark stared at her in shock as she blushed madly and stared at the curtains.
"Ditzy, I..."
"I know. It's ok." She smiled at him again, a bright, beautiful smile on her face. "I love you, Spark Storm. I always have." She reached up and gathered Dinky into her forelegs, cuddling her little filly. "You don't have to say anything. I just needed to tell you how I feel. I know you're in love with Sapphire Snow." She gave him a knowing smile, then looked back down at Dinky. "No matter what happens tonight, Spark, good or bad, I just wanted to thank you for going so far for me. You've already done so much, and I'll never, ever forget it for as long as I live, and neither will Dinky. Thank you, Spark. Thank you, so much."
"Spark, we're ready." Rarity called from the side of the stage. She blinked at the two teenagers staring at each other. Did she miss something interesting? She cleared her throat daintily, gathering Spark's attention. He turned to her, trying to quash the blush evident on his face. "Uh, right..." He cleared his throat and cleared his head before reaching for Dinky. He put on his game face and settled the little filly on his head and stepped between the curtains onto the stage. Rarity watched Ditzy watch from the curtains, a single tear slipping down Ditzy's cheek before she sucked in a breath and dispelled her emotions, leaving only anxiety for the scene to follow.
Dozens of ponies were talking, laughing and playing games when they all heard a loud snap. Many gasped in surprise as they all turned to the front of the stage for the source of the noise, only to see Spark Storm with his wings raised, a hint of smoke wafting from his feathers. Many of the youth started to shout and whoop in praise and welcome until he lowered his wings to reveal the tiny filly sitting on his shoulders. They all recognized the month-old unicorn. Many a pony lowered their gaze as they figured out what he was doing here, and why he was staring at them all so angrily.
Spark started to pace back and forth across the stage, gathering his thoughts for what he wanted to say. As he did, three or four ponies tried to leave, but stopped when they saw that Applejack and Pinkie Pie stood guarding the doors and blocking the exits.
"Y'all just sit tight and hear what he has to say. We ain't movin' till he's said his piece."
"What she said! Listen to him, he's a stallion on a mission!"
With the doors blocked, a few pegasi made to get out through the windows, but Rainbow Dash and three others had those covered. "Yeah, you guys are stuck here till my cousin's laid down the law, so get back down there pronto!"
It took a few minutes, but finally all was silent. "I grew up with so many of you." Spark Storm said, pacing back and forth again on the stage. "Most of you know me, but there's somepony else that you should all remember. Somepony who made life happy for so many. Somepony who sacrificed so much." He let the audience stew for a moment before he continued. "I'm sure you all remember my mother, Cherry Joy. She was kind, she was beautiful, and she worked harder than anypony I ever knew to make sure that the future - your future, was happy, manageable...and assured. It pains me to see that her lessons and her love have been forgotten."
Spark reached up and cradled Dinky in his forelegs, smiling as she batted at his hooves. He turned her to the crowd, lightly bouncing her as she looked out at the ponies before her. "This is the future, everypony. This, right here," he said, pulling Dinky under his chin and hugging her, "...this is your future. If you don't care for the future, if you don't change the hate, the apathy, your futures will slowly lose their potential. This little one here," he pulled Dinky up over his head, resting her on his shoulders, "she has so much to look forward to, but only if you decide, right here and now, to make it happen. You can continue to avoid those that desperately need your help, or you can make life for others and yourselves to be as bright as Celestia's sun."
Many ponies in the audience looked around at each other, guilt and shame on their faces. They watched as Cheerilee walked up on stage to her brother, gently taking Dinky into her forelegs and turning to the crowd. "Many of you know me. My name is Cheerilee, and..." she smiled at Spark. "This is my brother. And this..." she raised Dinky in the air for all to see, "...this is Dinky, and some day, she's going to be one of my students when I become a teacher. Your children will also be my students, and no matter their origins, no matter their stories, they will all receive the same love, care, and attention that Dinky will. Their futures will be safe with me. I promise that. Dinky and Ditzy," she turned to see Ditzy come out through the curtains to stand timidly beside Spark, "...I promise that I'll do everything in my power to make you and your child happy, safe, and loved."
The crowd looked less apprehensive and more welcoming as Applejack and Pinkie Pie took to the stage, no longer worrying about anypony trying to leave. Applejack took to Spark's side, while Pinkie walked up and wrapped a hoof around Ditzy's shoulder.
"Y'all know me." Applejack said, removing her Stetson to hold over her chest in shame as she looked at Spark. "Ah admit, I've done the same here as everypony. Ah ignored my friend when she needed a helpin' hoof, and Ah can't say 'Ah'm sorry' enough. It won't change what Ah did." She looked out into the sea of eyes watching her. "But Ah can change mah future. And yours. Ah promise, from now on, if any o' y'all needs help, Ah'll be there. Mah whole family'll be there. We ain't got much, but we'll never turn ya away, should ya need help." She turned to look at Ditzy, a warm, apologetic smile on her face. "Ah promise."
"Me, too!" Pinkie Pie hugged Ditzy tightly, who returned it with her head on Pinkie's shoulder. "Life's no fun if you don't have any reason to smile. So I promise, I'll never turn you away if you need some help." She turned to look out at the crowd. "That goes for each and every one of you, too! Sugarcube Corner is always open to share the love and care that goes into it's baked goods, and even the love and care that doesn't go into cakes and cookies. I promise, I'll always try to give you all reasons to smile!"
Spark Storm smiled as he witnessed a change among the crowd. Most of them were smiling, and all of them were paying rapt attention. Rarity made her way to Ditzy's free side and embraced her along with Pinkie Pie. "I, too, have been a...a terrible friend." She said, dramatically raising a leg to her forehead. "But for you, Ditzy, and little Dinky, too, I promise you shall never again have to fear my reproach." Rarity turned to the crowd and posed, lightly bouncing the curls in her hair. "The same goes for all of you. I promise, while my meager skills may not be much, I shall do everything in my power to be as much help as I possibly can."
Ditzy sniffled and took a step towards the stage. She was all ready to make a speech when somepony called out, "I promise!" She chuckled gently and made ready to speak when another called out. And another. And another. Soon the entire crowd was chanting the magic words, "I promise!" The whole hall was ringing with support. Ditzy stared out at the crowd in awe. She noticed after a moment that she was crying. She felt herself teetering to the side when Spark caught her. She buried her face in his chest, sobbing heavily with emotion. Somehow, through the chants of the crowd and her face pressed against his chest, he heard her mumble an emotional "Thank you, Spark Storm..."
Holy crap, this was the biggest chapter I've ever written, and I definitely have to say, it's one of the best. I love it, and I hope you did, too.