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// 2 - The Naming Of The New 
// Story: SCSD 
// by mechafone 
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Two weeks later...


Two weeks had passed since the dark pegasus had been given up for adoption, and two weeks had passed without the little one getting a proper name. As with all ponies, the timing had to be just right. Sometimes a name would come to the parent or caregiver instantly, and sometimes it could take weeks. A newborn's name always came to life in the exact same way: in a dream. Sometimes a sibling had the dream, and sometimes it came to the parent. Once in a great while, it would come to a neighbor, and it was always accepted. If it came in a dream, it was meant to be. There was never any worry about somepony actually lying about the dream. Nopony ever lied about that, why would they?

As Cheerilee got ready for bed one night, she got to thinking of the little blue pegasus that her mother had received. For two weeks now, every night, she'd had the same dream. The same storm, the same electric storm, flashing, static, electric. And yet the same questions went through her head, despite the explanation her mother had given her. "Don't get any ideas, Cheerilee. He may be our first pegasus, but there's a reason we haven't had any before down here in Ponyville: Most pegasi fly, sweetie. The reason his parents gave him up is because his wings grew in a bad way."

So why, then, did she keep having the dream of a storm, and the sparks of electricity? If the dream had made any sense to her at all, she would have told her mother first thing. It just didn't make sense to her, and so for two weeks, the little pegasus had gone unnamed. The earth pony sighed to herself as she got ready for bed, and she took one more look at the picture on her nightstand.

It was a group picture of her friends here in the orphanage that she helped to take care of. Her nine closest friends began with with a musically talented five year old colt, light blue of fur and white of mane and tail. He was a rare case in that nopony ever had the dream for him. So, Cherry Joy took it upon herself to name him Wolfy. Something about a famous musician in ancient Equestrian past. Wolfy was a strange pony, endowed with enormous talent and a very strange sense of humor.

Next was Banana Bolts, a hefty four year old colt who seemed to have a talent for fixing and inventing things. He had a constant craving for bananas, his favorite food. He was a funny colt, always getting himself into trouble for trying to make some wacky invention that usually involved somepony getting hit in the eye with a projectile, or sending some unlucky pony flung across the room with a spring-loaded trap. Banana Bolts alone made life in the orphanage a lively place.

Next came the cousins, Summer Breeze and Summer Blossom. Summer Breeze was a yellow unicorn, and very pretty at six years old. Of course, she loved the warm months, and whenever she came back inside from playing, she had flowers in her mane. Her cousin, Summer Blossom, was an earth pony, and was a pleasant shade of cream. Her mane was a spring-ish shade of two-toned green and cream. The cousins both loved and lived for the summer months, and they loved to play outdoors, even though they were great with coming up with games to play inside.

Winter Green. Cheerilee loved that name, as well as Glow Frost. These two mares weren't related by blood, but they both loved winter, and it showed simply by looking at them. Winter Green was a five year old earth pony that reminded Cheerilee of a tree, a pine tree to be exact. Her fur was a rich brown, her mane was long, green, and resembled pine needles. To top of all off, there was a white patch on her rump that made one think of snow. Her tail was short and fluffy, and resembled a tree sticking out of the snow.

Glow Frost was a beautiful blue-green unicorn with a bright yellow and white mane and tail. At four years old, she already had the boys' attention, both of whom often got into fights over who got to play with her at any one time. Although the other girls were much too young to understand how affection worked among ponies, it still made them quite jealous, Cheerilee included.

Stardust was next after the winter mares. Stardust was a pretty seven year old white earth pony with a dark mane and tail. Her mane was styled with one thick lock over her right eye, the way she preferred it. She was a bit of a geek, though in a different way from Banana Bolts. She loved to stargaze, and had her own telescope set up in her room to practice her favorite hobby. As the oldest in the group, it was her responsibility to keep the others in line, though sometimes she could get in trouble herself for slacking off in these duties.

Pitfall was an interesting unicorn. At age six, she was rambunctious, rowdy, adventurous. She had a bright cream-yellow coat, a rich orange mane and tail, and bright aqua eyes. She was close friends with Banana Bolts, and often teamed up with the inventive colt when it came to thinking up adventures and playful antics. The two were so alike in looks and personality, they were sometimes mistaken for brother and sister.

Coffee Blaze was the last pony in the picture. She was a beautiful seven year old earth pony with a rich chocolate brown coat, with a light brown mane that included wisps of creamy white. As her name suggested, she was crazy about coffee and drank it so much that she was probably destined to be an expert on it. She'd been drinking it so long that caffeine barely affected her anymore. Sharing the same age as Stardust meant that she shared responsibilities looking after the younger ponies, something she refused to do unless she'd had a cup of coffee first.

Cheerilee smiled to herself as she looked at the photo of her closest friends. She really was a lucky filly, being the only pony among the ten with an actual, blood-related mother. There were times when she felt sad that her friends didn't have any real family, but she always reminded herself that she was their family now. She, her mother, and the two other teachers who looked after them, Pea Soup and Angelica Lovage. They were all a tight-knit family, and now they had one more to add to this wonderful place.

Cheerilee climbed into bed, then reached over and clicked off her table light. Thinking one last time on the new arrival, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.



It was happening again. The dream. It began in darkness, and as usual Cheerilee found herself frightened and alone. The darkness was all encompassing, seeming even to blanket the air, making it difficult to breathe. She always hated this part, the beginning. Soon enough, the familiar light coming from above began to appear, making itself known as cracks in the darkness that spread like slow-moving lightning patterns through the suffocating darkness.

As usual, the light began to pulse, as if the light were a heartbeat. The light spread out, casting the peaceful lightning arcs in every direction, the light comforting, like it was protecting Cheerliee from the darkness. Just like always. It made her feel warm and at peace. However, something was different this time, something was out of place. It was the wind. There had been no wind in the dreams before, why now?

Cheerilee looked around herself in panic as the wind began to pick up, blowing through her mane and tail so hard that it nearly moved her. She could feel herself blown against harder and harder, her little body nearly picked up in the violent winds. As the little filly curled up into a ball to try and protect herself, the lightning-shaped light that usually felt comforting to her began to disappear, becoming smaller and smaller until the light was gone.

Just as Cheerilee began to panic, another light began to appear, this time behind her, a soft golden light. Again, this was new. She got to her hooves and turned to face the light. Staring down at her from high in the sky were a pair of great golden eyes. What are you waiting for? the eyes seemed to say. Cheerilee felt a smile start to tug at her mouth, and the eyes smiled back. Spark's eyes. Spark Storm.



Cheerilee sat up in bed, panting quietly. A smile spread across her face, a warm, happy smile. She had known this name ever since the first dream, but this was the first time the name had actually been said during the dream. Little Spark Storm wanted his name, and he wanted it now. Cheerilee climbed out of bed and ran down the hall full speed to her mother's room, where the new pegasus slept in a crib.

Cherry Joy sat up with a groan as she heard her door open. She was a light sleeper; she had to be with fourteen foals under the same roof. She looked around, hoping to find the source of whatever it was that woke her up. When she saw the open door, she started to panic. Could somepony have broken in? She looked around again in panic, but when she noticed her daughter standing up on her hind legs to look down at the new pegasus, she nearly collapsed with relief.

"Oh for Celestia's sake, Cheerilee, what are you doing up?" she whispered as she pulled out of bed and sidled up beside the filly in question to look down at the baby.

"Spark Storm," Cheerilee said as she looked up at her mother, a bright, confident smile on her face.

It took Cherry Joy a moment to process just what her daughter had told her. When it hit, her eyes lit up with excitement. It took all her willpower not to dance up and down on her hoof-tips. "Oh my goodness, Cheerilee, are you sure?!" she asked, her voice barely contained.

Cheerilee nodded happily, but then an uncertain look came over her face as she lowered her gaze to the still sleeping baby pegasus. Noting her daughter's suddenly sullen gaze, she rested a hoof on her daughter's shoulder. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Cheerilee seemed to withdraw into herself. She looked back up into her mother's eyes, her face both apologetic and scared. "Please don't be angry, mommy, but...I had the dream on the first night he was here. I knew his name this whole time. I just got confused...why would a pegasus that'll never fly have a name that has to do with the clouds? Wouldn't it make more sense if he had an earth name?"

Cherry Joy crouched down to be level with her daughter. Of course it made sense that Cheerilee would be confused about such a thing. It confused her a bit as well, she had to admit. It was an unusual name for a grounded pony. It was not an unusual name for a pegasus, however. Whatever powers that be that had decided the pegasus would never fly obviously didn't think he needed a more earth pony-based name. Maybe it meant that he was destined for bigger things. Of course, this was a little difficult to explain to a four year old.

"Well...maybe it just means that he's special, Cheerilee," the mother said, planting a warm kiss on her daughter's head. Cheerilee immediately perked up, then latched onto her mother in a happy hug. The two stayed like this beside Spark Storm's crib until the little filly fell asleep in her mother's arms. Starting to fall back asleep herself, Cherry Joy carefully made her way back to her bed with her daughter in tow. Finally under the covers, she cast a final glance at the crib where the newly named Spark Storm lay fast asleep. She smiled happily, and followed him into the realm of rest.