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// Chapter 4: Questioning The Exile  
// Story: Lonely Is the One Who Endures: The Life of Spark Valor 
// by Spark Valor 
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											Enjoy.

Chapter 4: Questioning the Exile
The Next Day 
“Now children, as you all should know, the Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow. Can some pony tell me why that is so important?” Mr. Atrox addressed the class room. All of the foals raised their hooves. All but two. Thunder Specter was going to missing from school for almost a month to recover from yesterday. Spark Valor was going to be missing from school for the first time since he had been attending. So he finally broke, Mr. Atrox thought to himself. After the stunt he pulled yesterday and with my…persuasion…he won’t be back. Mr. Atrox smiled and refocused on the foals in front of him. 
“Yes, Strawberry Fie-“ Mr. Atrox was interrupted as the door was opened. Spark walked in slowly, half dragging his broken hoof in front of him which was now in a cast. He kept his head down as he awkwardly shuffled his way to his seat, still trying to get used to the new weight on his hoof. The foals started to whisper amongst themselves, leaning into each other and staring at Spark. Mr. Atrox cleared his throat, silencing the class as Spark took his seat. 
“Glad of you to join us Valor. Do you have a reason you’re so late?” Mr. Atrox leaned forward on his desk. So, Mr. Atrox thought to himself, he’s tougher than he looks. Or dumber than he looks, he hadn't decided yet.  He chuckled to himself as he thought of the fun he was going to have trying to break Valor. Mr. Atrox continued to wait for an answer. The foals stared at Spark waiting for an answer as well. 
“Well…um…Mr. Atrox, I-I was late because…of my hoof…I can’t really…um…uh” Spark stumbled trying not to sound frightened as Mr. Atrox continued to give him his undivided attention. Spark tried to hold his gaze but faltered and turned his head down. He could hear his classmates snicker at him.  Mr. Atrox’s smile grew larger as he stared at the defeated student. 
“Well Valor, even if your entire body was broken, you do not come into my class late. Understand? Now then, see me during recess and we’ll continue this conversation later. Now, where were we; ah yes, Strawberry was just going to tell us why the Summer Sun Celebration is so important.” The foals turned their attention back to the front of the classroom. Mr. Atrox nodded to Strawberry for her to continue and he wrote down several notes on the board as she listed several reasons for the importance of the Summer Sun Celebration. Spark clumsily tried to grab his pad and pencil to copy the notes. He didn’t realize the noise he was making as several students around him turned towards him and gave him annoyed glances.
Spark finally was able to pick out what he needed and struggled to take notes, having a hard time keeping his paper still with only one good hoof. But he managed. He always did. As Spark finished his notes the bell rang, cutting off Mr. Atrox before he could begin his lecture. The students filed out of the class for recess but not before looking back at Spark as he tried to put his things away. He accidently pushed them all onto the floor with his cast, making the class struggle to hide their laughter. As he bent down to pick them up, he heard the last of them leave the room leaving Spark alone with the teacher. He clumsily put his things away and moved towards the front of the class to endure whatever Mr. Atrox had planned for him. 
“Valor, do you know why those foals outside hate you so much?” The question caught him unprepared. He hadn’t been expected something like this. Spark thought for a moment, not able to recall a single detail that might have caused them to hate him. Spark shook his head slowly keeping his eyes down. Mr. Atrox leaned against his desk and sighed. “Of course not; why should you? Do you want to know why?” He leaned in closer towards Spark. Spark couldn’t help but look up to meet his gaze. “It’s because you’re different from them. Ponies hate change, so when you came along, they couldn’t help but hate you with a passion. It’s in our nature to fear change and fear leads to hate. And I for one don’t go against nature. So when the spawn of filth walks into my classroom, late of all things, after severely injuring a good student of mine; how do you think I feel?”
Spark shook his head slowly from side to side trying to block out what he was hearing. His teacher was admitting he not only hated Spark with all of his being, but was defending and justifying Thunder Specter. Justifying every action of every pony who had ever hated Spark. “The foals are just the beginning of a long life for you” Mr. Atrox continued, “Every pony in Canterlot will never cease in their hate for you. With Celestia as my witness, know that my words are true Valor. Get your stuff and leave. You’re excused for the rest of the day.” Mr. Atrox sat back down behind his desk and watched as Spark slowly took in his words and walked back towards his desk. His words had struck deeper than Spark could comprehend. He didn’t know why he felt so…empty inside now. He had never felt more alone than at that moment. He wanted to curl up and just hide. He wanted to break down and stop caring. No, Spark yelled at himself in his mind, you can’t let him win. 
Spark grabbed hold of the emptiness he felt inside and shoved it to the farthest part of his mind and raised his head high. He placed his saddle bags on his back and turned around to see Mr. Atrox staring him down.  Spark began to shake slightly. He couldn’t help himself; he knew what he was about to do was wrong. He didn’t care. “Mr. Atrox? You know what you and Canterlot can do? You can go buck yourself.” Spark walked out as best he could before the teacher could comprehend what just happened.  “Have a nice day”, he called back as he shut the door behind him. 
His joy was short lived as he realized just how severe the consequences were going to be for him. He couldn’t believe he had just told not only the teacher but all of Canterlot to go buck itself. He didn’t even know where he had learned that curse word from. He quickened his pace, fearing that his teacher might chase after him. He looked over his shoulder several times and began to break out in a cold sweat. He tried to calm himself down and think rationally. He slowed his pace and tried to figure out where he had wandered off to. He didn’t recognize any of the street names, so he looked around for some pony to help him. He spotted a trio of stallions talking around a table in front of a small café. They didn’t seem to notice him as he slowly walked up to the table trying to get their attention but waited for a pause in their conversation. They were some of the longest winded ponies Spark had ever heard. As he stood waiting for them for what seemed like an hour, one of the stallions, a dark green coated unicorn finally noticed Spark. 
“Hey kid”, the stallion called over to Spark, nodding his head over in his direction as his friends tried to figure out who he was talking to. “Watcha looking at, huh? Why you just standing their staring at us?” Spark moved a little closer as he tried to speak, but his voice got caught up in his throat. They seem alright, Spark thought, trying to calm himself down. “I’m just…just lost… and I was wondering…” 
“Come on kid speak up, and quit your mumbling.” The unicorn on the right of the table said turning around to get a better view of Spark. “Hey, your Diamond Charmer’s kid aren’t you?” the unicorn said. He turned towards his friends around the table to confirm his suspicion. They nodded and got up from their table, leaving without a word. Spark stood there for a second trying to figure out what he did wrong to make the three stallions leave.  Spark gathered himself and tried to follow them. “Hey…Hey I need your help. Slow down please. Hey. Wait please!” Spark yelled at them trying to catch up to them, barely able to keep within five feet of them with the cast on his hoof slowing him down drastically. 
The unicorn stopped and turned around, making Spark scramble to a stop. He looked down on him with a look of disgust as he raised a hoof across his body. “Get lost you piece of dirt”, the unicorn said, his voice full of malice. He swung his hoof down, catching Spark across the check and throwing him into the street and landing in the gutter on his bad hoof. Spark tried to blink to the stars away from his vision as he looked up to see the trio turn around a corner. Spark felt a burning sensation fill his body. It quickly faded as he felt pain sear across his injured hoof. He couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks as sobs over took him. 
Could Mr. Atrox really have been right? Was this going to be his life from now until he passed on with no one to love him but his mother? To be spit on and left out to die in some alley? To never feel the warmth of a hug from a friend or the joy in seeing some pony he cared about smile? As he contemplated his fate within Canterlot, a small hole was forming within his being. A small pinprick draining the joy and happiness from Spark. The longer he thought of what his teacher had told him and what he had experienced throughout his life; the hole grew, slowly, but it grew. 
Spark tried to drag himself out of the gutter as he continued to grasp the truth in Mr. Atrox’s words. He looked up at the sky to see that time had passed quickly during his time lying in the gutter. The sun was setting on the horizon and he could feel the night’s cool breeze chill him and he dragged himself up into a standing position. His cast was becoming undone and he was swaying, off balance from lying down for so long. He stumbled as he tried walking down the street. 
“Spark? Spark is that you? Oh, thank Celestia your alright!” He felt a pair of hooves wrap around his neck before he could recognize the voice he heard call him. “Spark, are you all right?” His mother. That’s who the voice belongs to. “I-I think so.” Spark mumbled into his mother’s neck. “I was so worried when you didn’t come home after school and then I tried to find you and then I-I…Where were you?” Spark could feel his mother’s tears on his back as she squeezed tighter around his neck. He could barely hear her next words. “I’m so sorry Spark.” “I am too.” 
They stood there in each other’s embrace, letting tears run down their faces for several minutes before Diamond broke the hug and examined Spark. She magically tightened Spark’s cast as he had come loose. She made metal notes to fix the cast better when they got home to fix the cuts on Spark’s face, “Let’s go home”, she said with a smile. He smiled back up at her as she kept her pace slow for him. 
Diamond looked around, marveling at all of the sun themed decorations and banners that hung from every ledge and wall that could be found throughout Canterlot. Shame the Summer Sun celebration isn’t in Canterlot this year, Diamond thought to herself sadly. Spark would have loved seeing the sun being raised first hand. 
The walk helped clear Spark’s mind as he gazed up at the night sky. His hoof was itching like a colony of ants had settled in his cast. His face stung and his balance still wasn’t perfect. He was glad his mother had found him and glad they were going home but he still felt…wrong inside. Like something had settled inside him and he couldn’t figure out what it was. He tried to ignore it as he returned his gaze back up at the night sky. He kept his mind busy as he named the constellations and how they got their names. He could only name a few but it was enough to distract him. 
They arrived home as Spark was going over Orin’s Belt in his head. His mother opened the door and entered, her hoofs echoing throughout the home. Spark walked slowly up the stairs using what little wing power he had to help lift the casted hoof up the stairs towards his room. His mother came in after him carrying some bandages and a pair of scissors with her magic. 
As his mother worked on bandaging the cut on his cheek, Spark couldn’t help but ask her, “Am I different?” Diamond didn’t respond for some time. She had been dreading the day he would ask something like this. It had been only a matter of time before some pony would have said something to Spark. She sighed and stopped working on him. “Spark Valor. You are different from every other pony in all of Equstria. But want to know a secret?” She said leaning closer to him, coming down to is eye level. “The best ponies are always different. They make the biggest changes. They go beyond what every pony say they can do and shatter false ideas.” 
“So why do the ponies here hate me then? All of the other foals at school hate me and even complete strangers hate me!” Spark said tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Diamond just sighed again. She couldn’t tell him the whole truth not yet. He’s too young to know just yet. “Spark…sometimes ponies can’t handle change and things that are different. So they lie to themselves and others to protect themselves from something they don’t understand. It’s wrong but they can’t think of any other way to cope.” She got up and began to walk out of Spark’s room when she heard him ask, “But why?” “I just don’t know Spark…I just don’t know anymore.” She whispered back to him. 
Spark heard his mother leave his room leaving him alone with his thoughts. He got into his bed stared out his window up at the night sky. It was a full moon tonight and Spark could see the mare in the moon clearly. Is this what Luna felt when she turned? Spark thought to himself. All alone and abandoned by the world with only one person to love her? He felt his eye lids flutter as he struggled to stay awake. As he gave into his exhaustion, he saw the stars move towards the moon and in a flash the mare in the moon was gone. Spark fell asleep believing he was already in a dream. All the while the hole inside grew ragged and swelled.