Glistening was in Pinkie's room packing up and putting all of his things into the new bag Pinkie had gotten him as a present. He was putting everything into it and making sure that he had everything he brought with him when he came into town the night before. When he finished packing, he put his bag on his back, and walked down the stairs. He got to the dining area, and decided to use the bathroom one time before he left. He asked Pinkie where it was, she told him, he thanked her, and he went to it to do his business. He used it, washed his hooves, and looked in the mirror. Glistening was a white soap pony with spiked blonde hair, and blue eyes. He had a CD for a cutie mark, representing his love and passion for music. He also has on a black jacket with white sleeves that he wore everywhere and everyday, since he loved it so much. He was really glad that he had come into town last night, because now he had a few new friends!
When he came out of the bathroom and walked into the dining area, he saw two ponies that he wasn't expecting: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. He paused when he saw them, shocked that both of them were here right now. They were both talking to Twilight and Spike, when Celestia saw him out of the corner of her eye. She looked over to him, and asked the pony and dragon, “Is that him?”
He had a smile on his face, still a bit shocked that the princesses of Equestria were there at that moment, in the same room as him, and walked over to them. “H-hello, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.” He greeted.
“Hello, Glistening. How are you doing tonight?” She asked the soap pony, holding out her hoof for him to shake.
He shook it for a few moments while looking her in the eye and saying, “I'm doing good princess! How about you?” They were similar in height, Glistening only a bit shorter than her and a bit taller than Luna.
“I'm doing fine at the moment, thank you for asking. As you know, this is my sister, Luna.” She said, looking at the princess beside her.
Glistening then held out his hoof towards the dark blue princess. “Hello, Princess Luna! How are you doing?”
“We are pleasant.” The princess said, shaking his hoof.
After a few moments, they stopped, and Glistening asked, “What are both of you doing here, this late at night? N-not that I mind you two being here! I’m just, uh, a bit surprised.”
The princesses chuckled, and Celestia replied, “We came to see you. We wanted to get to know you since you're a really special pony.”
He gasped and started hopping up and down in place. ‘I am?”
“Yes you are. We were wondering if you'd like to come back to the Royal Castle with us?” Celestia asked.
“Yes, please!” He exclaimed.
The three of them walked out of the store, and outside waiting for them was a chariot. The princesses got on it, but Glistening paused. Celestia noticed this, and asked, “Everything alright, Glistening?”
“Y-yeah, but uh… do we… have to take the chariot?” He asked, a little nervous.
“It's how we got here, so yes. How come you're asking?”
“I'm, uh… I-I'm afraid of heights.” He confessed, his stomach turning a little at the thought of being up high in the sky. He was insanely afraid of heights.
Celestia paused for a moment, trying to think of what to say. “Glistening, it'll be alright. We aren't gonna let you fall or get hurt.” She assured him.
“B-but how can you be so sure? There's nothing to hold us down.”
“We have ridden these many times before, and never have we fallen off. But if you do for some reason, we always have our magic.”
That set Glistening at ease a little. After a few moments of thinking, he said, “Alright." He then climbed onto the chariot, which took off a few moments later. Meanwhile, Twilight and Spike were already on their way into the forest to find a certain zebra.
As they walked, Spike said, “I don’t know how Glistening lived here for his whole life. The forest is really creepy.”
“I know. There’s gotta be something good about the forest that made him want to stay.” Twilight said, looking around as they walked. Soon enough, they’d get to the hut, and Twi knocked on the door. After a few moments, Zecora opened the door.
“Ahh, hello Princess and Spike. What brings you here tonight?” Zecora questioned.
“Hello, Zecora! We wanted to talk with you about a pony you possibly know.”
“First, come on into my hut.” Zecora stepped to the side to let the princess and dragon in. Once they came in, she asked, “Who is this pony you are speaking of?
“Do you remember Glistening Soaps?” Twilight asked.
The zebra rolled her eyes. “The soap pony, correct?” Twi nodded, and Zecora continued. “Yes, he was the one I used to protect.”
“How did you find him?” Twilight asked, taking a seat in a chair.
“Well, I found him in a cauldron on the side of the river one day. I thought that he was hurt and in bad condition, but he was okay.”
The princess and the dragon looked at each other with confusion when they heard that. “Do you know why he was in the cauldron?” The pony asked.
“I have no idea why, but it makes me wonder how he was alive.”
Twilight was a bit more confused now. Being in a cauldron was weird, but nothing life threatening, right? “Why do you say that?”
“Well, inside with him were soaps and stones, and with him being, at the time, a little foal, if he had been in there for days and nights, I think that he would have taken a few bites.”
“But he was okay, right?” Spike asked, and Zecora nodded. “Do you know how he became a soap pony?”
“No, I have no idea how or why. That’s exactly how he was when I found him inside.” Zecora answered, taking a seat in front of both the pony and the dragon.
Meanwhile, the two princesses and the soap pony arrived at the castle. Luna went off one way to go and do her job of helping little ponies with their nightmares, while Celestia brought Glistening to a room somewhere in the big castle.
Once they got to the room, Celestia opened the door to it and walked inside with him. “Woah, this is a nice room! Thanks, princess!” He said happily as he looked around.
“You’re very welcome, Glistening. It is getting pretty late, so it would probably be wise of both of us to get some sleep.” Celestia suggested.
“I actually sleep during the day, rather than at night, so I’m not tired right now.” Glistening replied.
“Oh, do you? Well, if you’d like, you can go spend some time in the garden.”
“That’d be nice!”
“Alright, I’ll have some guards escort you there.” Some guards appeared next to her, and Soaps walked out to them.
As they walked him to the garden, Glistening said to Celestia, “Have a good night!”
“You too, Glistening!” Celestia said back. Once the guards brought Glistening to the garden, he took a look around for a little, before choosing a place to sit and listen to music as he looked at the stars.
In Ponyville, Shadow walked around the town looking for a present to get Glistening. He wasn’t able to get anything for Glistening since Rose wouldn’t let him. As he walked, he said, “Come on, Shadow. Think! What do you think would be something he’d like?”
As he walked and thought, he noticed the music store. He did recall seeing his cutie mark, which looked like a CD. “You can get him a CD! But, what type of music does he like?” He thought some more, but couldn’t recall him saying what type of music he liked. “Well, maybe he’s still awake; I could go pay him a quick visit!"
He made his way to Sugarcube Corner and knocked on the doors of the place, hoping that Pinkie Pie was still awake. A few seconds after, he saw the pink pony hope towards the doors. Pinkie opened the doors, and greeted, “Hey, Shadow! What brings you here tonight?”
“Hey, Pinkie. I was wondering if Glistening was still here?” Shadow asked.
“Oh, no he isn’t. The princesses took him to the castle with them!” She answered.
“Oh, ok. Thank you Pinkie!” He said, then taking off with Pinkie wishing him the same in the background.
Glistening would still be sitting and drawing in the garden, when he thought he heard somepony calling his name. He looked around, but didn’t say any other ponies near him other than the guards. He heard it again, but this time, he knew where it came from, that being… the sky? He looked up to see somepony flying towards him.
“Glistening!” Shadow yelled from the sky as he flew to the ground.
Glistening quickly realized who it was. “Shadow!” Glistening called out, getting up to greet the bat. But as soon as he landed, Shadow was tackled, and Glistening and his things were brought out of the garden. Glistening tried to explain to the guards that he knew who Shadow was and that he was a friend, but to no avail.
Glistening was brought back to his room, as some guards stayed outside of it, while some others went to alert the princess of the trespasser. Glistening waited in his room for a little bit, hoping he’d get his chance to explain that he knew Shadow. His hopes were high when two guards opened the door to Glistening’s room, and one said, “Sir, the princess would like to see you.”
Glistening gasped, hoping it meant what he thought it meant, as walked out of the room, and let himself be escorted by the guards. They brought him to the throne room, where Luna, Shadow, and some other guards were. The guards then brought Glistening to the room and closed the doors, and Luna said from her throne, “Hello there, Glistening.”
“Hello there, Princess.” He said, standing up tall and ready to explain himself and Shadow.
“I have brought you here because this pony said that he knows you and is friends with you. Is that true?”
“Yes, he is. He was at the ‘Welcome To Equestria’ party Pinkie Pie threw for me.” Glistening affirmed, and Shadow sighed a little with relief that Glistening had his back.
“Alright. Well, Shadow,” The princess said, looking over at her, and him looking back at her, “I’ll let you off with a warning this time. But next time you come here without warning, you will get a heavier punishment.”
“I understand, Princess.” Shadow said back once she finished. “I have a question, Princess. Would it be alright if I took Glistening around Canterlot to talk and walk with him?”
“Well, as long as the two of you stay in Canterlot only and go nowhere else, it is fine.”
“Alright, thank you, Princess. We’ll be back by the time the sun is up.” Shadow affirmed. Him and Glistening were brought out of the room by three guards, but only after Luna said something to said guards. “So, Glistening, I was wondering if you’d like to hang out?”
“Sure! What would you like to do?” Glistening asked as he walked next to Shadow. Glistening was only a bit taller than Shadow, but Shadow still had to look up a little, and Glistening looked down at him.
“Well, I didn’t get you a gift for your party, so I was thinking we could stop somewhere then, if places are still open, then we could see what’s around Canterlot.”
“Oh no, it's alright! You don’t have to worry about getting me a gift. You coming was just enough!”
“No, no, no. I insist. Come on, let’s go!” Shadow said, gliding down the hallway, and Glistening trotting quickly to keep up with him.
Once they were out on the streets of Canterlot, the three guards still following them, Shadow asked, “So, what do you like? Do you have any hobbies?”
“Well, I mainly just listen to music, and play around the house. Not a lot to do since I’ve lived by myself for a long time, so I gotta make due with what I’ve got.” Glistening said.
“Music, you said?" He asked, confirming his thoughts earlier about his liking in music. “Well, we can get you a CD, if the music store is still open.” Shadow suggested.
“No, no, no. Shadow, it’s really fine. You don’t have to buy me anythi-”
“Nonsense,” Shadow said, cutting Glistening off and walking ahead to a music store while pulling the soap pony along with his magic. “I should have gotten you one for your party, and for having to deal with Rose.”
They got to the store, went inside, and Shadow said, “Go ahead. Get any one that you’d like. Actually, I’ll get two.”
“You really mean that?” Glistening asked, looking at Shadow.
“Mhm.” Shadow answered. Glistening smiled, and looked around. There was one CD in particular he was looking for by one band: flank-182. He had heard one of their songs on the radio one day, and fell in love with it. He went to the “Rock” section of the store. Once he found the CD with the song on it, he squealed a little with happiness.
Shadow was just watching Soaps as the former hung out by the counter, and chuckled a little as he watched the other pony search. Shadow had taken a liking to Glistening. He was very friendly and nice, and was a bit surprised when he didn’t accept the offering of the gift. Even though they hadn’t hung out much yet, he was hoping he would become good friends with Glistening. Unfortunately because of Rose, he didn’t have any friends other than Pinkie Pie. But hopefully, he would be able to change that now. All he has to do is just find a way to keep Rose away from both him and Soaps while they are hanging out.
Glistening would then hop over to the counter with the two CDs. Once he put the CDs on the counter, Shadow pulled out a bag of bits. He asked how much they would be, the mare at the counter told him, and Shadow paid the amount. The CDs were put in a bag, Glistening grabbed it, and hopped and giggled with joy. Shadow smiled, something he didn’t do quite often, and both of them thanked the mare and headed out. Once they were outside, Soaps gave Shadow a tight hug.
“Thank you so much, Shadow!” Glistening said as he hugged. Shadow wanted to fight back since he wasn’t a big fan of hugs, but this felt... fine coming from him, even if Glistening’s arms were cold, since they were solid (because he’s soap) instead of fluffy.
“It’s nothing big, Glistening.” Shadow responded as Glistening stood there for a few seconds, continuing to hug. After those few seconds, Shadow started getting uncomfortable. “Could you put me down now?”
“Oh, sorry.” The soap pony said, placing down Shadow. “It has been a while since I’ve done that, and I was, uh, liking that feeling.”
“What feeling would that be?” Shadow asked.
“Well, the feeling of… hugging somepony again. That’s always nice to do. Teddy bears don’t do that justice.” Glistening replied, and that last part got a little chuckle from Shadow, until he realized Glistening wasn’t joking.
“Oh, you were being serious?” Shadow asked.
“Yeah. As I said earlier, I’ve been alone for the past few years, and I gotta make due with what I’ve got. So, what do you want to do now? We still have the entire night to spend together.”
“How about we walk around the city and what there is to do?” Shadow suggested.
“Alrightie! That can work!” The soap pony said, hopping down the street with Shadow following behind.