//------------------------------//
// 4 - Downtime Part 1 
// Story: Expanding Horizons 
// by mechafone 
//------------------------------//

Flash Fire stared at Celestia in horror and dismay, her jaw practically on the floor. Finally, she pulled herself enough to argue. "Princess, please, you can't be serious! Spark Storm gets a vacation and I have to tag along to protect his..."friends"?

"This isn't about anypony going on a vacation, Flash Fire," Celestia told the unicorn, the barest of glares on her face. She'd only just told Flash Fire her role in Spark's journey. The two mares stood opposite one another in Celestia's office. "This trip will also serve as a means for you two to start getting along. The Fighters have been suffering from your anger and Spark Storm's condition."

Flash Fire nearly sneered at the princess. Nearly. "Sorry, Spark Storm's "condition"? I understand I have some anger issues, but if it were up to me, Spark would've been booted from this team the second that he bolted two months ago! "Condition"..."

Celestia very nearly lost her temper. Her glare seemed to darken the room. The pressure in the room seemed to intensify, the wood in the room creaked. Flash Fire's gaze widened with fear, and she took a step away from the alicorn. Celestia paused, then took a deep breath. The light returned to normal, as did the atmosphere. "This isn't an option, Flash Fire," the princess told her. "Regardless of who is at fault, the Fighters need to heal. It's sink or swim, understand?"

Flash Fire sighed quietly, both in relief and in resignation. She still thought this was a bogus assignment, but...the princess had a point. That, and Celestia scared her. "Yes, ma'am," she replied, and quickly slipped out of the room and closed the door. She stood outside the princess' office, staring at the opposite wall quietly. She nearly jumped when a small folder slid under the door. She lifted it to her eyes with her magic, then pulled out the message inside. It was an official document, stating that she was to report to Vanhoover immediately. She grumbled irritably before walking off to prepare for her journey.



Spark Storm opened his door slowly. His room was a mess, just the way he'd left it. His bed was covered with bits of wall from when he'd thrown Ampelus into it - something he had to apologize for. As usual, the floor was littered here and there with tiny brown and red feathers, evidence of Amacia's presence. This reminded him that he really needed to vacuum. Something was off, though, because none of his three roommates were here. Orea usually came to greet him by now, whether or not she'd been asleep. Ampelus too, though the greeting wasn't always consensual.

Spark frowned as he looked around the house. Nothing had been picked up, nothing had been placed back after Ampelus' body hitting the wall knocked a book or two off their shelves. He got the impression that the house was emptied rather quickly, and nopony had been home since. He stepped back outside and looked along the ground. The snow was fresh today, and fortunately, some tracks had been made.

He followed the tracks, which consisted of three different types of hoof-print - well, two hoof-prints, and one pair of harpy foot-prints. It looked like Ampelus had gone ahead, and the other two followed. The tracks lead into the Everfree, towards Ponyville. Spark sighed as he picked up his pace. He had a whole week before he had to leave, but he wanted to fix this situation with Ampelus just as soon as possible.

As Spark ran on, the track marks gained space inbetween steps, indicating an increase in speed. Finally, the tracks appeared to have taken off at a run for all three of them. Soon, Ampelus' marks disappeared. Spark frowned as he stopped at this point. He was deep in the Everfree forest, and the sun had gone down. Thankfully, Spark Storm never did have a problem with seeing in the dark. He glanced around for other signs of tracks, then finally looked up into the trees and saw tell-tale signs of Ampelus' vines gripping the trees. She'd gone into the treetops, and without more snow to track her...

Spark sighed, then continued to follow Orea and Amacia's tracks. He followed them for hours, even past the rising of the moon. Finally, after following the tracks for four hours with no results, Spark Storm sat down in the snow, terribly frustrated. He craned his sore neck to the sky, catching sight of the half-moon. It stared down at him through the trees. He'd always found the moon a beautiful and mysterious thing, but something about it tonight was immensely enticing. He climbed the nearest tree, made his way to the top, and finally broke the canopy.

The moon was much brighter here. The silver light bounced off the snow that sat on the canopy, making it shine and sparkle up at the top and at the bottom of Spark's view. It'd been a rather long time since he'd had a moment to himself like this. Even during his depression, Spark was surrounded by his friends and his comrades, the nymphs and Amacia. When was the last real time he'd gotten to himself?

Spark looked up at the moon, and the moon seemed to stare back at him. You wish for space. I wish for a companion. Must we be so far apart?

Spark stared up into the bright moon. Had he just imagined that voice? It was so familiar, but he couldn't place it. It was starting to freak him out a little. Spark tore his gaze away from the moon and closed his eyes, only now becoming aware that his heart had been beating a mile a minute. Not wanting to dwell on this any further, he ducked down under the canopy and returned to the ground. His head swimming with the memory of that voice, that...beautiful voice, Spark continued tracking Orea and Amacia.

It took him another two hours, but Spark soon found the tracks leading to the Apple farm. He sighed softly to himself, a relieved sigh. At least the two had gone somewhere familiar, someplace warm and safe. Relatively safe, at least. Spark was pretty sure that Applejack hadn't met Orea, or Amacia for that matter. She'd been upset as it was with Sohl. This thought made him frown, but he quickly shook it off. Now wasn't the time to get all mopey. He hurried on towards the farm.

Spark followed the tracks through the frozen, barren fields until the farm came into sight. Some lights were on in the farm house, and he could just barely make out a figure standing outside, a figure wearing a Stetson. He could see the figure turning in his direction, then he made out a familiar voice yelling at him. "Spark Storm! You git over here, y'all got some explainin' to do!" Spark paused, and he couldn't help but laugh at the indignity in her voice. He sighed gently and hurried to meet her.

"Spark," Applejack said angrily as he came within speaking distance, "This is gettin' ridiculous. Ya gotta stop lettin' these things on my farm! I swear, if Granny Smith saw these things, there'd be trouble!" Without giving Spark Storm a chance to explain, she turned him to the barn and pointed at it. "Now git in there and sort yer business!"

"It's nice to see you too, Applejack," Spark called over his shoulder as he hurried on to the barn. A stern 'hmph' was all he heard in return.

Spark made his way into the barn. It was quiet and dark, and he couldn't see the tell-tale signs of either of his friends. Spark frowned as he stepped deeper inside, his ears tilting in different directions, hoping for some kind of noise. Then, he heard it. The soft sound of breathing, and it was coming from the loft up above. Spark made his way up the ladder leading up, and immediately found Orea and Amacia huddled together for warmth in the cold darkness of the loft. He sighed and approached, a hoof reaching out to wake up little Orea, but her open eyes revealed she was waiting for him.

"You found us!" she said in a hushed voice, rushing forward and tackling Spark Storm. He caught her and held her in his arms, a relieved sigh escaping his mouth in a cloud of cold.

"Of course I found you. Orea, I've been worried about you," he told her, glaring at her gently.

Orea ducked her head slightly with guilt. Spark raised her head gently to have her look at him. "I'm sorry, daddy," she told him. "Ampelus left. We didn't know what we should do, so we tried to follow her, but she...she really didn't want us to follow her. She's mad at you for hitting her."

Spark nodded quietly, a brief glance at the floor his only sign of guilt. "I...I know she is, and I don't blame her. I haven't been very patient with her lately, either, I shouldn't have reacted that way to her."

Orea frowned and reached up to frame Spark's face in her hooves. "Daddy, you forget...I know what you're going through. You've been sad...so sad it hurts me sometimes. I didn't want to say anything, I didn't want to make you feel worse..."

Spark had forgotten. In that tiny universe he'd kept himself locked in, he hadn't thought of anypony else, not even Orea, who was psychically linked to him and felt the things he felt. He'd been so selfish. "Shh", she coo'd, stroking his face gently. She pulled him down and took his face in her forelegs and kissed his forehead. "It's all right, daddy. I'm here for you."

Spark Storm closed his eyes tightly. Two tears slipped from his eyes and plopped quietly on the floor, where they splashed and lightly touched his hooves. Dammit...he thought. This is so backwards. I have to stop this. I've grieved so much...I've let others take care of me and take the brunt of my aggression. I don't want to hurt them anymore. Spark pulled away from Orea enough to look down at her. She tilted her head, sensing a change.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he told her, shushing her when she tried to respond. "I'm sorry I haven't been all there lately, I really haven't. I'm gonna try to be better...I've got a new mission, and I think it's really going to be good for me." Orea smiled and climbed into Spark Storm's forelegs. He held her close as he repositioned himself, leaning against a hay bale. "I'm gonna be going away for a while, in a week."

Orea was quiet for a moment, for the moment content to listen to Spark's heart beating against her chest. She lowered her head and rested it on Spark's shoulder, then said, "Do you want me to come with you? Or Amacia? You won't be alone, will you?"

Spark Storm took a moment to answer. Honestly he wasn't sure what he wanted right now. There was just too much to think about, and he had a week to think it over. For now, he could spend a few days relaxing. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe this was what Celestia wanted him to do. She wanted to give him time to heal, and this was a good time to do it. He had ponies to see, to talk to. Maybe a week wasn't long enough, but seeing all of his friends and his sister in this time would probably do him some good, and not to mention this, with Orea. Neither spoke again, instead falling asleep together in their loving embrace.



Spark Storm woke up to the sound of laughter and talking. He groaned with displeasure at being woken up, but his non-committal complaint was ignored. The pegasus sighed and opened his eyes, first sight his eyes caught being a lack of nymph, and then harpy. He frowned and listened to the talking below - that was definitely Applejack. He crawled to the edge of the loft and stared blearily down at a strange scene: Amacia, sitting on a stool, milking one of Applejack's cows. Spark stared at the most bizarre scenes he'd ever witnessed for a moment, while Amacia and Applejack chatted.

"Well I'll tell ya what," Applejack said, sitting beside Amacia and watching approvingly. "I've never seen anypony milk a cow as fast as you're doin'. It's a mighty strange sight, but darn it if ain't gettin' the job done."

Amacia smiled shyly, continuing her stroking motions. She leaned towards the cow's front end and rested a clawed hand on the cow's shoulder. "How's it feeling, Ms Brynlee? Are my hands too rough?"

The cow shook out her head and moo'd pleasurably. "Ohh no, dearie," the cow replied in the usual Northern accent. "Your hands are just fine, they're nice and warm, ya know. Are ya sure this isn't your first time?"

"As sure as it is my being on a farm, Ms Brynlee."

Spark raised a brow at this odd scene, but it seemed so natural. So natural, it's weird, he thought. He sighed quietly and switched positions so he could head down the ladder backwards. He finally dropped to the ground and turned to see Applejack fixing a glare at him. It wasn't a look he was expecting, and he found himself taking a single step backwards. "What?" he inquired.

"Now why in tarnation didn't you tell your friends you were feelin' down?" Spark made to respond, but the farm pony pressed on. "We care about ya, Spark! Ya shoulda come home! We woulda thought of somethin', 'stead of you mopin' around and sinkin' deeper into that there hole ya dug."

Spark sighed and glared at the ground, then glanced at Amacia, who had been watching him. She quickly turned around and began milking again in silence. "It wasn't her," Applejack told him a little more gently. "Your daughter told me. And don't think I'm gonna be lettin' you off easy on that, either, ya never told me you had a kid!"

So much for keeping my secret life a secret, Spark grumbled inwardly. Applejack approached him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Spark Storm, seriously, ya gotta learn to trust your friends. I understand ya got some secrets, and I promise I'll keep 'em. But ya got a lot on your shoulders, and I don't wanna see ya collapse 'cause it's too heavy. Share the load. Ya know I love ya like a brother, so don't forget that I'm here, okay?" Spark's eyes filled with tears at Applejack's words. Speechless, he lowered his head. He felt unworthy of Applejack's love and care. Applejack just pulled him close and held him.

Applejack leaned back after a few moments to give the pegasus some space. "Now - Orea told me some things I still ain't clear on. What's goin' on? You're goin' somewhere?"

Spark nodded. "Yeah...I'm..." he thought for a moment. Applejack knew Anorax, but probably not Madalah or Kecnik, and he still wasn't sure what Anorax' final decision would be, to stay or to return home. "...I'm going on vacation."

Applejack gave Spark Storm the evil eye. "I don't buy it. Vacation? You?"

Spark Storm held his head high and nodded once. "That's right," he said more confidently. "I'm going on vacation. I'm going to the country of Breen, by boat, on vacation."

Applejack leaned closer, fixing Spark with the stink-eye. "Vacation?" she repeated.

"Vacation."

Finally, the farm mare seemed to take his word for it. She smiled and clapped Spark on the back. "Well, all right. S'long as you're takin' it easy, I guess."

Let's hope, Spark thought. He felt bad for twisting the truth, even if Celestia had told him it would be a vacation, of sorts. Thinking back earlier in the conversation, he remembered that he still hadn't seen Orea. "Hey, uh, where is Orea?" he asked, directing the question to both Applejack and Amacia, who by now had finished and was currently returning from stocking the milk. Brynlee had wandered off quietly, leaving considerable more space in the barn.

"She went looking for Ampelus," Amacia told him, lightly grimacing at the look Applejack gave her, which the farm mare then gave Spark.

"Another thing ya "forgot" to tell me about," she said chidingly.

Spark just rolled his eyes and looked out the open barn door, towards Ponyville. Now that he was awake, he had a chance to go and see his friends, maybe his sister, check up on Anorax and the changelings.

Rarity.

Spark's heart thumped harder in his chest, and he couldn't help but let a small, goofy smirk grace his features at the thought of the unicorn. Seeing her out and about in winter, in the white snow, probably dressed up in boots to keep her hooves from getting wet...

"Whoa-ho!" Applejacks' exclamation brought Spark out of his thoughts quickly. "What's got you thinkin' there, Spark? Ya had a mighty goofy grin just now. You thinkin' 'bout a girl?"

Spark smirked, a shy blush spreading across his face as he intently avoided the farm mare's eyes. "Shut up. Ugh. I need some air." He started for the door, but paused and turned to Amacia. "Amacia, I'm going for a walk to town, what do you want to do?"

Amacia shook her head politely. "I'd rather not spend the day cooped up like a chicken on your back, no offense. I'd rather spend the day here and help out on the farm. It's an exciting experience, feeding the chickens instead of spending the day as one of them."

Spark chuckled and waved goodbye. He ran across the snow-covered fields, just to get his blood circulating. It felt amazing, especially with little flurries of snow rising up to meet his face. The sun was out, the snow on the ground was thick, and it was a cool, beautiful day. He already felt more alive, and the sight of Ponyville getting closer made him smile.

Spark finally started to slow as he came to the town's border. He sat down, despite the cold snow, and just watched. Ponyville was alive and full of bustling ponies, going about their lives and routines, getting things done and having fun. All ignorant of the things that had happened here just over two months ago.

Spark thought about his own experiences, the battles he'd been through, the things he'd seen, the creatures he'd met, having been ignorant of their existences early in life. Maybe that was a big problem with his depression, he'd seen so much, much more than any normal pony would ever know about.

Less introspection, more healing, Spark told himself. It was time to go say howdy.

Spark stood and made his way into town. Wondering what to do first, he decided he was hungry, and made a beeline for Sugarcube Corner. When he stepped inside, he took it nice and slow, remembering how Pinkie Pie could be. He was completely dumbstruck when he saw not the familiar pink, but a lustrous brownish earth mare whose physical beauty might've rivaled Rarity's. She seemed to be surprised to see him, then she fixed him with an angry glare. "You..." she hissed.

"Me?" Spark asked as the mare sat behind the counter, somehow patient through her anger. "Uh, wh-where's Pinkie Pie?"

The mare narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Don't you know? She's been in Canterlot for an apprentice-trade. She's learning my secrets, I'm learning hers. Didn't she tell you?"

Spark thought back to the last two months, being plagued by the earth pony several times a week when he wasn't with the Fighters. It made sense now, but..."Well, no! I just thought she was coming to town to stalk me!" Spark let out a chuckle at the thought, then more chuckles and laughs erupted from him. The concept of Pinkie Pie stalking him in the big city was just too funny, and even the pretty mare couldn't help it.

After a few moments of hysterical chuckling, the earth mare introduced herself to Spark as Choco Swirl. She revealed to him her role in Ponyville for the last two and a half months, and that it had been she that had calmed Lemon Pop and made her feel confident enough to go get the Fighters' help in dealing with Shimmering Oasis. If it hadn't been for Choco Swirl, that day would have gone very, very differently.

"You know," he told her as they sat at a table together, the store having fallen into a lull after the breakfast rush. "If it weren't for you being here for Lemon Pop, a lot of ponies probably would've died that day."

Choco Swirl stared at him with disbelief. Then again, she'd seen the video of Spark Storm's personal stalker, Laser Reflex. There had been many crazy things on that video, including a disembodied creature that was in turn stalking Laser. Finally, alone with this 'animal control' friend that Lemon Pop spoke of sometimes, maybe she could get a straight answer. "Spark Storm, I have to ask, because nopony else seems to know...what happened that day of the explosion? I get the feeling that something huge happened. How does an entire town sit in darkness about that, and about everything you do?"

Spark frowned thoughtfully at Choco for a moment. She didn't really need to know, and most ponies were better off not knowing what happened. Choco sighed, feeling perhaps there wasn't much of a chance of him telling her. "It's all right, I guess. If you can't tell me because of your job, I understand."

"It's not that, Choco Swirl, it's...most ponies are just better off not knowing the truth. There's a much bigger world outside of Ponyville, and it's a lot bigger than Canterlot. There are things out there that-"

"Spark," she interrupted, the shortening of his name catching his atttention. "Isn't that my decision? Come on..."

The pegasus sighed. She had a point. She deserved that much, and she'd already seen Ampelus. "...An alicorn. From Neippon. Her name is Shimmering Oasis, and she has strong psychic powers. She was there that day of the explosion. A whole mess of ponies saw her, but for some reason she erased everypony's memory of seeing her..." he trailed off, his eyes on Choco's to watch her inevitable disbelief.

Instead, she seemed thoughtful, her own eyes on the table in front of them. Finally she nodded and raised her eyes to his. "But what about the explosion? A psychic alicorn doesn't explain why the town cafe's outside dining area was ruined."

Spark chuckled, closing his eyes to remember. "That...that was my pal, Gunslinger. See, there was a unicorn that was being controlled by Shimmering Oasis, and he had turned into this teeny tiny black hole in the middle of the Ponyville market, and Gunslinger fired this gun that's usually meant to take down manticores, and -"

"OK!" Choco suddenly yelped, her hooves brought up in a signal to stop. "Ok. That's...wow. That's way too weird. It's too out there, I can't..." she shook her head and sighed. "I mean...I know it's probably what happened, but who the hay is going to believe that if they haven't actually seen it? Just...no."

Spark frowned with some indignity. Here he was, telling her the truth after she'd asked him to respect her enough for it, and -

"I"m sorry, Spark Storm," she apologized, realizing what she'd done. "You're right...the truth is better left unknown, I'm sorry for throwing it back in your face."

The pegasus nodded sympathetically, an understanding smile on his face. "It's all right. It is a lot to take in..." The two sat in companionable silence for a moment or two until the door opened and an older couple entered. With some customers needing some attention, Choco Swirl got to her hooves.

"I should get this. Spark Storm...thanks."

Spark stood as well, but looked confused. "Thanks for what?"

"For telling me the truth - or trying to, anyway. You're a sweet boy, I can see why she likes you," she replied with a wink as she stepped behind the counter to take the couple's order.

Spark blushed and glared at her for not bothering to tell him who liked him. In the last two months if somepony had told him that, it would've made him more miserable. But he was feeling better lately, and hearing that actually felt pretty good. A few more ponies were coming into the shop, so he waved goodbye and set out again into the town.

He'd barely gotten out of the shop when he was tackled by a blur of pink. "Spark Storm!" it cried. The two tumbled in the snow for a moment and finally ended up with Spark Storm on his stomach in the snow, with his assaulter on his back. "Oh, I've missed you..." she told him and hugged him tight. Spark looked down at the forelegs holding him and recognized Cheerilee's darker berry color.

"Oh, hey!" he exclaimed and sat up to hug his older sister. "I've missed you, too." The reunited siblings nuzzled each other happily before she pulled away and beamed at him, a bigger smile on her face than he'd seen in a while. "You look like you've got something to tell me."

"I've got something to show you, and you're not going to believe it. I was going to come to Canterlot to show you in the spring, but since you're here, come on!" she said, taking his hoof and dragging him off.