//------------------------------//
// Capítulo Siete 
// Story: Cuatro 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Capítulo Siete


Smile


Later in the party, Cuatro was being blindfolded "What is the point of this?"

Pinkie was tying the blindfold with a smile "I already told you, Cuaty! This game is called 'Pin the tail on the pony'! It's pretty self-explanatory except you have to do it blindfolded!" She tied it tight and dusted her hooves "There! Now we just gotta get you your tail, then spin you a little!" She grabbed a faux tail with a nail sticking out and placed it in Cuatro's mouth "Okay! Ready, Cuaty?" The strange alicorn muffled something as he held the tail in his mouth "Alrighty then! Now we just gotta spin you and you can start!" She took Cuatro with both her forehooves, and rapidly spun him around.

Twilight looked worried "Pinkie, I think you spun him enough!"

Pinkie nodded and stopped Cuatro as he stumbled slightly "Okie Dokie Loki! Pin that tail, Cuaty!" She then lightly nudged him forward as he began a small pace "Okay, a little to the right!"

Cuatro complied and moved carefully over to the right. He still felt no fun in this game, even if it was a party favorite. "Good! Now move a tiny smidge-a-meter to the left!" Upon hearing Pinkie, he did as instructed and moved to the left slightly. As of right now, all he wanted was to go back and study magic for his own benefit "Whoops! Bring it back a little, Cuaty! You almost hit the wall! Now move a little more to the right!" He did as instructed. The strange alicorn even wondered if it was safe being around Pinkie with her hyperactive and random nature, especially if she wanted to make him smile at any cost. However, she considered him a friend along with the others, and according to Twilight, friendship can be strong "Almost there! You're getting warmer!" They also agreed to help him reclaim his lost memory. Sure, the ponies here were strange, but they are more than helpful to his cause. He leaned forward and felt the bump of the tail's nail sticking into the wall.

"Got it!"

Cuatro released the tail, craned his head back, and raised the blindfold over his eyes to show that he had pinned the tail exactly where it was needed. Other ponies cheered for him while he stared "Hm...So I did..." He then took off the blindfold and trotted away from the pony picture.

Before he could move further, Pinkie stopped in front of him with a grin "So did you like the game, Cuaty? Wasn't it so much fun?"

Cuatro stared "While I appreciate your hints, Pinkie...No, it wasn't. It didn't really pique my interest, so to speak..."

Pinkie's smile instantly vanished 'This'll be my toughest challenge yet! But I'm not gonna let this alicorn best me like this! This calls for drastic measures!' She then moved back and reared onto her hindlegs, her forelegs stretched in the air as she yelled "Everypony dance!!"

A white unicorn with purple goggles grinned as she levitated a record onto her turntables and turned on some music. It seemed to make up of electronic music in a fixed rhythm.

To Cuatro's invisible surprise, everypony began dancing around while he stood still. He looked around and almost felt the need to depart from Sugarcube Corner so he wouldn't have to partake in this.

Cuatro looked behind to see Pinkie nudging his flanks with her head "C'mon, Cuatro! Shake it! I just know you wanna dance!!"

The strange alicorn stared "Can you cut that out, please?"

Pinkie stopped and looked up at Cuatro "What'll it take to get you to smile, Cuatro!? You're really putting up a fight here!! I mean, I'm doing my super best!"

Cuatro blinked "The party is appreciated, and everypony is having a good time. I believe you've done your 'super best', as it were..." He looked away "I'm going to sit down and think. I'm not in the mood for dancing..." He trotted away, leaving Pinkie standing dumbfounded.

Pinkie shook off her stunned expression and looked down in thought 'He cares about everypony's feelings and said I did a good job. That's something, but it isn't enough! I need this stallion to smile! But how? How am I gonna-' She gasped before she beamed "That's it!" She said as she put on a snorkel and dove into the sea of dancing ponies towards the turntable.
_____

While Cuatro sat down, he tried piecing together what he was able to gather during each of the scenes that played in his mind. It was gnawing away at him, almost making his leads seem less aiding in his thoughts.

"Aizen...Hueco Mundo...and Ichigo...What is their connection?" 

"Hey, Cuatro!"

Cuatro snapped out of his thoughts and looked down to see Applebloom and her friends grin up at him "Ah, Applebloom...Is there something you need right now? Or is this another attempt at trying to tickle me?"

Applebloom shook her head "Nuh-uh! We don't even have our feathers with us! Honest! We were jus' wonderin' iffin' y'all would like t' dance with us!"

Sweetie Belle took a step forward "Our sisters are dancing right now, so we figured, since you're their new friend and all, you would join them!"

Cuatro shook his head "Politely declined. I do not wish to dance."

Scootaloo looked incredulous "Who wouldn't like to dance? It's pretty fun, especially with Vinyl Scratch's songs!! Why don't you get up off that chair and join us?"

Cuatro stared down "I'm sorry, children, but my mind is made up. I only wish to sit here and watch."

The CMC all stared up at the strange alicorn with a frown until they huddled up and whispered to each other. Scootaloo stopped to glance at Cuatro before she huddled back up with her friends and whispered. They then stopped as Applebloom took a deep breath "Alright, Cuatro. Ya gave us no other option! Ready, girls?" They all stood before they looked up at Cuatro with three pairs of adorable and pleading eyes as their lips quivered in a pout.

Cuatro stared back in silence as they remained for a few minutes. When more time had passed, the strange alicorn sighed "Fine..." The CMC all beamed and cheered at Cuatro and hopped around him when he rose up and reluctantly trotted into the dance floor.

"...How do they do that?"

Soon, Cuatro and the fillies were at a vacant area of the dance floor as the fillies began dancing wildly. The strange alicorn only stared before he swayed left and right lightly, trying to pass it off as a dance.

"...How humiliating..."

Twilight and the others were dancing until she noticed Cuatro with the CMC at a short distance. "Girls, look!" She called to her friends as she pointed over to the strange alicorn.

Rarity gasped before she smiled "Isn't that just adorable? Dear Cuatro is dancing with Sweetie Belle!"

Applejack raised an eyebrow "Wonder how Applebloom convinced 'im t' dance...Ah'd figure he'd object t' such a thing!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled "If that's dancing, then I'd say he's in need of a teacher!"

Spike looked at Cuatro sympathetically "I'll say. He really needs to unwind!"

Fluttershy looked and smiled "Maybe he could do better if we dance with him and the crusaders..."

Twilight looked confused "Hey, that reminds me...Where's Pinkie?"

"Song change!!"

Everypony stopped for a moment to see Pinkie at the turntables "With the help of Vinyl Scratch over here, I got the perfect song for this part! Cuatro, this one's for you!!"

The party members all directed their gazes to Cuatro as he shifted his eyes around. The strange alicorn was instantly uncomfortable with being noticed on the spot.

"What is Pinkie's game?"

Pinkie placed a record on the turntable and held a microphone with a hoof "And a-one, and a-two, and a-one-two-three!!" A steady, calm, and uplifting beat was playing as some of the ponies began to dance again.

My name is Pinkie Pie, 
And I am here to say,
I’m gonna make you smile, and I will brighten up your day!
It doesn’t matter now,
If you are sad or blue.
Cause cheering up, my friend, is just what Pinkie’s here to do!

Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile! Yes I do~!
It fills my heart with sunshine all the while, yes it does~!
Cause all I really need is smile, smile, smile,
From these happy friends of mine!

Cuatro only stared at Pinkie's singing.

"She's lost it..."

I like to see you grin,
I love to see you beam,
The corners of your mouth turned up,
Is always Pinkie’s dream.

Vinyl Scratch and Pinkie shared a hoof bump "Hoof bump!"

But if you’re kind of worried,
And your face has made a frown,
I’ll work real hard and do my best,
To turn that sad frown upside-down!

Cuatro felt a tap at his side, and he looked down to see Applebloom pointing at her own smile as if to tell him to do so himself.

Cause I love to make you grin, grin, grin! Yes I do!
Busting out from ear to ear,
Let it begin!
Just give me a joyful grin, grin, grin!
And you fill me with good cheer!

Pinkie approached Cuatro's side with a spotlight as she frowned sadly and hung her head. The strange alicorn blinked at this.

It’s true, some days are dark and lonely.
And maybe you feel sad, 

She then draped a hoof over his back as she smiled and continued.

But Pinkie will be there to show you that it isn’t that bad.
There’s one thing that makes me happy, 
And makes my whole life worthwhile!
And that’s when I talk to my friends and get them to smile!

Pinkie trotted around Cuatro with a spring in her step as she sang into her microphone.

I really am so happy,
Your smile fills me with glee!
I give a smile, I get a smile, 
And that’s so special to me.

Cause I love to see you beam, beam, beam! Yes I do
Tell me, what more can I say to make you see? That I do!
It makes me happy when you beam, beam, beam.
Yes it always makes my day!

Soon, Cuatro shifted his eyes around as everypony around him began to dance and sing in syncronization with Pinkie, even her friends.

Come on, everypony, smile, smile, smile.
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine.
All I really need is a smile, smile, smile,
From these happy friends of mine!

It’s a perfect gift for me,
Is a smile as wide as a mile!
To make me happy as can be!
Smile, smile, smile, smile, smile!
Come on and smile!

Pinkie stopped in front of Cuatro with a wide grin "Come on and smile!!" When the song stopped, she waited for a reaction from the strange unicorn, as did everypony else around him.

He only stared at Pinkie, then everypony around him. Cuatro then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, causing everypony to lean in with expectant eyes. He slowly raised his forehooves, beckoning them all to lean in further with their mouths slightly open. After a moment of pause, he only did a halfhearted applause in front of Pinkie "A good song...You did well..."

In the crowd, Sweetie Belle popped up with an outraged expression "Oh, come on!!!" Everypony else traded glances and murmured at the strange pony's reaction, but thought he was sincere enough as they went back to enjoying the party.

Pinkie stood with her jaw nearly hitting the floor. Cuatro noticed this and spoke "I was being serious, Pinkie..." No response. He looked away slightly and thought to himself while she was frozen in her position.

"I might have hurt her feelings...It was her prime goal to see if she could get me to smile, despite it being almost impossible to accomplish...almost..."

For the first time, Cuatro had an idea, though his face did not show any reaction. He turned back to Pinkie and swallowed his pride as he took a deep breath "Would it make you feel better if..." He shifted his eyes away "It almost made me smile?"

Pinkie snapped out of her state as she looked with a twinkle in her eyes "Really?"

Cuatro looked at Pinkie "Yes...really..." He felt that he shouldn't have Pinkie feel so horrible that her song was a futile effort, even if he was serious in saying she put a lot of effort into it.

What he didn't expect was Pinkie cheering loudly as she crushed Cuatro in a hug "Alright!! Then that means there's still some possible way to get you to smile!!" She looked up at Cuatro "Here I thought there was no possible way in Tartarus that would happen, but you convinced me!! Now all I gotta do is step up my game!!" Pinkie gave Cuatro another hug, though lighter than the last "Thanks for the compliment, Cuaty! Enjoy your party!" She then zipped into the crowd, leaving Cuatro to stand still and contemplate his actions. The only thing that went in his mind was

"...What have I done?"
_____

It was nearing night, and the party ended with everypony was trotting back to their own homes, but not before waving goodbye to Pinkie and the emotionless guest of honor. Cuatro trotted towards Twilight and looked back at Pinkie with a curt nod "Thank you for the party, Pinkie...It was..." He looked away reluctantly "fun..."

Pinkie waved frantically to the strange alicorn "No problem-o, Cuatro! See ya tomorrow!" She trotted back into Sugarcube corner.

The others waved their goodbyes, and Rarity waved as she left "I better get going, Cuatro! Toodle-oo~!" She waved as she batted her eyelashes.

Sweetie Belle waved "Try to smile next time!" She received a light bump on her head as she traveled home with her sister.

Applejack patted Cuatro's back with a smile "Y'all be good at Twilight's, ya hear? Stop by fer a visit at Sweet Apple Acres sometime while yer at it!"

Cuatro nodded "I will..." He then watched the two Apple siblings leave.

Applejack stopped "Oh, an' while Ah'm not a fan o' lyin', you laid a good choice o' words earlier with Pinkie! Nice one!" She and Applebloom laughed as they left. Cuatro sighed to himself in exasperation, but then looked up to see Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash hovered over Cuatro with a smile on her face "I gotta say, C! I kinda envy those nerves of steel you got inside of you!"

Cuatro blinked "But I don't have steel..."

Rainbow Dash drooped at the response "Nevermind..." She then perked up "Hey! Try practicing those wings when you've mastered telekinesis! I wanna see what you can do tomorrow before we go to Canterlot! Night!" She then took off, leaving a prismatic blur.

Cuatro watched Rainbow Dash leave, and when he heard a small 'um', he turned to see Fluttershy look up at him with a small smile "Did you really like the party, Cuatro? I'd never think you would actually like something like this..."

The strange alicorn stared down at Fluttershy, her calm and demure demeanor almost affecting him like the CMC persuading him to dance "Pinkie has put in a lot of effort into this particular gathering...it would be disrespectful to think otherwise of a grand celebration..." He stated clearly.

"Even if most of it involved trying to get me to smile, apparently..."

Fluttershy's smile widened slightly "That's nice to hear from you. I'm sorry to consider you a scary pony back then. You could possibly be the best you can be with or without your memories..." She trotted away at a decent pace "Good night, Cuatro..."

Cuatro watched the timid mare leave, then turned to Twilight and Spike "Shall we? I would like to master at least one spell before meeting your princess..."

Twilight nodded "Of course! Let's go home!" The group trotted back to the library, where they settled in for the night. Cuatro did not hesitate to go over the basic guide of unicorn magic the moment they arrived.
_____

It was late at night, and Twilight rested in her bed while Spike was nestled up in his own, sleeping soundly.

While any other night would be easy to sleep through, Twilight could not help but think to herself as she laid in her bed wide awake and stared at the ceiling 'Cuatro has a long way to go...It's pretty sad to know he could be possibly born with that...that emotionless demeanor of his!' She clenched her eyes with displeasure at the thought 'But I musn't chastise him if he WAS born that way...especially since he's an alicorn. Perhaps his personality bears significant meaning to his lost memory...I just hope we can get him to think more brightly before his old life comes back to him...' She decided to lift herself a little to get a glance at the guest bed, only to see that it was empty. This caused the lavender bookworm to widen her eyes 'He's not here? Where is he?'

She hopped up from her bed and carefully trotted downstairs, not to disturb her assistant, and looked to see that her guest was not in the main lobby of the library. There only remained the closed book that he had read earlier tonight 'Did he finish it? Where could he possibly go so late at night!?' She decided to go outside into the cold air and look around as her hooves dug into the snow "Cuatro?" Twilight took more steps as she grew more worried "Cuatro, where are you?"

Twilight looked down despondently, almost under the impression that Cuatro left Ponyville at his own free will and leaving her and her friends behind. But then she noticed the shadow of her library with extra growth "Huh?" She trotted to examine the elongated outline, then looked up to the top of the library, only to see a silhouette with spread bat wings and a long tail and mane blowing in the breeze as it faced the glowing pale moon.

Twilight could recognize the shape anywhere as she took a deep breath and smiled to herself 'There you are, Cuatro...' Her horn glowed as she instantly winked out of existence.
_____

Cuatro sat on the top of the library as he stared up at the moon and its umbral beauty. There was something about it that gave the strange alicorn a sense of peace and familiarity. Almost as if he saw a moon similar to this one. He shifted his eyes when he noticed a flash next to him, and saw Twilight smiling at him "You're awake...Did I disturb you?"

Twilight giggled "Technically..." She sat next to Cuatro as they looked up at the moon "I never thought you would just perch yourself up on top of my house at this time of night. Do you like to stargaze as well?"

Cuatro kept his stare on Twilight "Stargaze? No..." He looked back up at the moon "I only came here for the moon itself...How its glow appears almost similar to the sun...How it breathes the southern winds to everypony that embraces it, like it or not...It's practically soothing to me..."

Twilight smirked at Cuatro "Very poetic...You like the moon that much, hm?"

Cuatro kept his stare on the moon "Yes...I guess you could say that, while Pinkie tries her hardest, that this celestial body on high almost innovates me to...to smile, perhaps..."

Twilight noted the sincerety of his words and chuckled before she began to laugh.

Cuatro looked at Twilight "...Is this humorous to you?"

Twilight shook her head as her laughter died down "No, not that. It's just, I never thought the moon itself could get you to nearly smile before Pinkie! I'd consider it a unique quality that you would favor the night. In fact, you could be in for a treat when we go to Canterlot tomorrow and visit the princess!"

Cuatro stared "I see..." He then looked up at the moon "I'll be down to join you and Spike in bed shortly...I would like more time to myself, if you please..."

Twilight nodded respectfully "Sure. Take all the time you need." She then teleported out of Cuatro's sight as she went inside her home.

The strange alicorn couldn't take his eyes off of the moon and its impressive form. More and more, it filled him with more familiarity and peace. On a different note, he wondered what would happen if he ever reclaimed all of his memories. Would he still find solace in Equestria?


To be continued...