//------------------------------// // C.8 // Story: The Sun and her little Sparkle // by Dark0592 //------------------------------// They went to the tower to say hello to Cadence and Spike, who had just found out that sapphires were his favorite gem; to which Twilight promised him that she’d pick some up for him, and they were on their way to the Wonderbolt Stadium. There were a LOT of ponies there. There were also a very small amount of other ponies in the VIP box. When they got there, Twilight was utterly surprised to see Spitfire, the captain of the most successful team of the Wonderbolts, chatting with one of the other VIPs. She turned and bowed to Celestia, who nodded in return, and they sat down next to each other. “I have to thank you again for letting my team perform for such an awesome occasion.” Spitfire said to Celestia. “Of course. I can’t think of any other kind of performance that would yield such a turnout on their own, let alone celebrating a renewed peace treaty. And besides, I had to make it something my Daughter would enjoy. “Daughter?” Spitfire asked, peeking around Celestia’s side to see where Twilight was shrinking in her seat. “Oh, I heard rumors you adopted a little filly. I guess they’re true.” Spitfire said, standing and walking to the Princess’ other side. “Hey there, I’m Spitfire.” The fiery mare said, holding a hoof out. “Twilight sparkle. I love what you guys do, even though I can’t fly myself I’ve always been fascinated by it!” Twilight exclaimed, shaking the hoof. “Thanks, it’s always awesome to have a fan.” Spitfire said, choosing the seat next to Twilight instead of her previous one. “Is there a reason you’re in here instead of out there?” Celestia asked when the performance started. Spitfire unfurled one of her wings to reveal a large patch of seared feathers. “I got hit by lightning in that big storm not too long ago, still recovering. It’s given me the chance to see my team perform from the perspective of the audience and let me tell you, they are absolutely amazing.” She explained. “Oh that must have been painful...” Twilight said softly. Spitfire looked down at her and smiled. She unfurled the wing again and pointed towards the scar. “Yeah, but it’s doing better. And now I have this really cool scar so that I can say I got hit by lightning and I’m still the captain of the wonderbolts. That’s not something you hear every day.” She said. Twilight examined the scar a bit closer and noticed something before the mare folded it back up. “I think I know why you’re so alright... It looks like the bolt went between the bones there where there’s nothing but membrane really.” Twilight said. Spitfire was surprised by that. She first looked at the filly again, then at Celestia, then back at the filly. “That’s one smart kid you have here. That’s exactly what the doctors said.” Spitfire said, shaking her head and returning her attention to her team as they did a rather impressive series of coordinated barrel rolls and corkscrews to create a series of miniature tornadoes that started ‘fighting’ and smothering each other out until it was one massive one. The team then suddenly broke off, taking a bit of the visible winds with them, and created what looked like a flower in the sky before the winds faded away. The stands were filled with applause as a break started and Celestia passed Twilight a small bag of bits. “Go ahead and get yourself something to eat at the concession stand. If you’d be so kind as to bring me back a large drink I’d appreciate it.” She said. Twilight nodded and turned towards the exit. “Hey, if it’s not too much to ask can you make that two?” Spitfire asked sheepishly, apparently guilty for asking a filly to fetch a drink for her, as she passed her a few bits. “No problem!” Twilight assured her and left. The line was long, so she decided to wait a little bit. When the break was almost over everyone would be rushing to their seats and the line would be clear. She was standing off to the side, looking at the big signs to see what she wanted. Apparently somepony thought she was a second line. “Hey, you in line?” She heard another filly’s voice asked. “Oh, Rainbow Dash... I don’t think that... um... she’s in a line...” She heard a much smaller voice say. Twilight turned around to find two pegasi standing there. The one who spoke first was a cyan filly with a rainbow colored mane and tail. The smaller voice was a yellow filly with a pink mane and tail. They looked like polar opposites. The rainbow one was confident and tough looking, while the yellow one was shy and hiding behind the other. “No, I’m just looking at the menus and waiting until everypony is in a rush to get back to their seats.” Twilight said, rubbing the back of her head. She wasn’t all that good with talking to other foals her age. “Hey that’s pretty smart. Mind if we join you then?” The rainbow one asked. “Um... not really.” Twilight replied. “Cool. My name’s Rainbow Dash, but everyone just calls me Dash. This here is Fluttershy, she’s obviously super shy.” The cyan filly introduced them. She bumped hooves with Twilight, FLuttershy settled with cautiously shaking instead. “Well, it’s nice to meet you. What do you think of the show? I’ve never been to a Wonderbolts show before.” Twilight asked. “It’s amazing! But to be honest it could be much better. I haven’t seen Spitfire yet and she’s the best one!” Dash exclaimed in response. “Well she got hit by lightning a little while ago and is still recovering. She’s alright, though.” Twilight said. “Oh yeah, I heard she got hurt... Man, you must be a bigger fan than I am if you know that. I would clip my wings just to shake even one of their hooves... I would die if I actually met Spitfire!” Dash said, ending with a giddy bounce. Twilight got an idea, then. Maybe Celestia’s slight prankster attitude was starting to rub off on her, but this idea was going to be funny. “Well my mom knows one of the wonderbolts, maybe she can set something up.” Twilight said. There was a loud bell, signalling five minutes until the break ended, and so everyone either gave up on snacks or hurried through their orders. The three fillies quickly got into the line, Dash dragging Fluttershy. “Really?! That would be so cool!” Dash exclaimed. “That would be... um... so nice if... um... that’s alright with you.” Fluttershy squeaked. “It’s perfectly fine. My mom’s very friendly and nice. You two go first, I’m ordering for three.” Twilight said. The other two got medium drinks and a large order of hayfries to share. Twilight got three large ginger ales, since she heard it’s supposed to help with healing for some reason, and an extra large order of hay fries. “So where’s your seat? My dad is a royal guard, but he got called in and couldn’t make it so he told me to bring a friend so I brought Flutters here. He got some really good seats, too, halfway down from the VIP box.” Dash asked, almost too fast for Twilight to follow. She was practically bouncing, sometimes she WAS bouncing. Her wings fluttering and making her hover for seconds at a time. “Not too far from yours. Right over here.” Twilight said. Dash didn’t notice that they entered the VIP box, but she had to give Fluttershy the biggest smile she’s ever given to anypony besides Celestia to get her to enter. “I hope Ginger Ale is alright. And I got a super big order of hay fries so we can all share.” Twilight said, levitating two of the drinks and the fries over onto the little table next to their chairs. “Thanks a million kid, friends of yours?” Spitfire asked, accepting the drink and taking a sip. Celestia looked over. The Cyan one was babbling away about how awesome it is that Twilight’s mom knows a wonderbolt. The little shy one had shrunk to the floor and was gaping in awe at her. “Sort of. Rainbow Dash here was saying how awesome it would be to meet a wonderbolt and I kind of told them my mom knows one. It wasn’t a lie.” Twilight said. Dash stopped rambling when she heard the word ‘lie’ and completely froze. There was Spitfire, who was trying her hardest not to bust out laughing, and Princess Celestia smiling a rather warm smile. She dropped her drink, which Celestia managed to catch “They were pretty nice and I guess I thought why not?” Twilight finished, giggling at Dash’s reaction. “Who IS your mom if she knows not just a wonderbolt, but Spitfire herself, AND Princess Celestia?!” Dash exclaimed. “That would be me, actually, as of today.” Celestia said, sipping on her drink with a rather mischievous grin on her face. If Dash’s jaw was any lower to the ground it’d be touching it. The cyan filly stayed completely silent for a full minute, the others were starting to get worried. THey worries melted away with one exclamation. “THAT IS SO AWESOME!” She exclaimed. Spitfire and Celestia started laughing. Even Twilight was smiling. “Well, a friend of Twilight’s is definitely a friend of mine. Would you care to join us in here? You can go back to your seats and bring your parents. It’s rather empty in here.” Celestia offered. Dash was back into her awesome induced silence, and so it was Fluttershy who spoke. “Oh... um... our parents aren’t here...” The shy filly stuttered. Twilight told them what Dash told her. “Oh I see. How are you getting back to Cloudsdale, then?” Celestia asked. “My Dad’s supposed to come pick us up an hour or two after the show. Edinspur, where he’s posted, isn’t very far from here.” Dash replied. “Yikes, kid. There’s a big storm scheduled to hit Edinspur before the show ends. Even a royal guard can’t fly through that safely.” Spitfire said. “But... then...” The pegasus started. Celestia looked to be in thought a moment and Twilight knew what the alicorn was thinking and she wanted to give her the biggest hug ever because of it. “Well then it can’t be helped. Friends are friends, no matter how long you’ve known each other, and friends have sleepovers. I’m sure the tower is big enough to house more than a few fillies.” Celestia said. Twilight grinned and did hug her, while the two were utterly surprised by the offer. “You mean, like, in the palace?!” Dash asked. Twilight nodded and pointed towards where they could barely see said palace. “That tower right there.” She said. Fluttershy would have fainted, but her shock and surprise was so much that her body wouldn’t let her. Dash was back to rambling about how awesome they were before Spitfire interrupted them by clearing her throat. “The breaks over guys, and they were saving the best for the second half.” The fiery mare said with a grin. --- “That was so many spins I don’t even know how to say the word! The pivots were so perfectly timed with each other and everything!” Dash exclaimed after the team of six did a synchronized drill-like attack that broke apart right before it hit the VIP box. Each individual pegasus was spinning incredibly fast one way while the whole formation was spinning around each other the other way. “You’ve got an eye for this kind of thing. I’m gonna guess... top of your class in flight academy?” Spitfire said. “And the next two classes up!” Dash exclaimed proudly. “Niiice.” Spitfire said, bumping hooves with the filly. Said filly proceeded to stare at the hoof like it was a deity. “How about you, Fluttershy was it?” She asked the shy filly. “Oh! O-Oh um... I’m... not the best flier...” Fluttershy admitted. “Ah, well, not everypony is good at the same things. You definitely seem like more of a down to earth kind of pony.” Spitfire said. Fluttershy nodded ever so slightly. “Flutters is really good with animals. She can talk to them and it’s really cool. This one time there was this really mad falcon that was attacking flight students. Nopony could catch it, not even the instructors, and she just fluttered up and talked to it!” Dash explained. “Did you find out why it was so mad?” Celestia asked, curious. Twilight gave her the same look. “Oh... um... she was mad because one of the colts kept messing up her nest... They got in big trouble.” Fluttershy eeped. “That’s one of the big rules, don’t mess with other fliers. Pony or not. I have to go, the performance is almost over and I gotta be there. I’ll probably see you guys around, and thanks for the fries Twi. I’m surprised nobody asked for an autograph.” Spitfire said, getting up and tossing away her finished drink. “You hoof bumped me... That’s like, god status right there. AN autograph can never compare!” Dash said. “Heh, true that. You’re pretty cool, Dash. Pass the flight academy and I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on you.” Spitfire said before leaving. Dash, for the third time that day, went into an awesome induced silence. “I have a few errands to run after the show. I trust you know the way home and that you can show your new friends around?” Celestia asked. “Mhm. I promised Spike I’d get him some snacks on the way home so we’ll have to stop somewhere.” Twilight said. “Then here, so you don’t have to go all the way to the treasury.” Celestia said, making a small bag of bits a bit bigger than the previous one appear and levitate it to her. “Thanks, I’ll pay you back later.” Twilight said and made to leave, gesturing for the other fillies to follow. Celestia rolled her eyes but didn’t protest. “Man this is so awesome! You’re awesome, Twilight! Because of you, We not only got to meet THE Spitfire, but the Princess AND stay at the palace for a few days. I don’t think anything could make this day any better.” Dash exclaimed as there was a mass of ponies filing out of the stadium, talking about the show as well. “It’s no problem. You two are the first friends I’ve had, really.” Twilight said. Dash stopped, Fluttershy nearly running into her because of this. “Wait, so the Princess was serious when she said that?” Dash asked. Twilight turned around and nodded. They resumed walking after a moment and Dash continued. “Alright, if we’re having a slumber party it’s definitely going to be a slumber PARTY.” She said. “Alright. Let’s go in here a moment, I need to grab a few things.” Twilight said with a laugh, turning towards a jeweler’s shop. “Jewelry?” Dash asked, almost disgustedly. “Not exactly.” Twilight replied. She walked up to the counter. “Excuse me, do you have any gemstones en masse?” She asked the stallion. He looked down at her for a moment, then to the other two and pointed somewhere. They followed his sight to where there was a large bin full of gemstones of varying size. “Size and type determines price.” He said and went back to what he was doing. “Why do you need gems?” Dash asked as the purple filly used her magic to pick out and seemingly weigh different stones. “I told you I need to get some snacks for Spike. His favorites are Sapphires so I’ll get a bunch of those...” Twilight replied. “Wait... Your friend eats gems? What kind of pony eats gems?!” Dash exclaimed, eyeing the stones. “He’s my little brother, and he’s not a pony. He’s a baby dragon.” Twilight replied. Dash looked surprised, but Fluttershy’s wings fluttered slightly as she was suddenly in front of Twilight. “Ohmygoshyouhaveababydragon?!” The shy mare exclaimed quickly. Twilight nodded and selected a good amount of many different kinds of gems and put them in a few bags. She walked over to the counter as Fluttershy seemed to realize what she did and was now trying to back out of the shop. Dash caught her and walked up to the counter next to Twilight as the clerk started gathering up her choices for inspection. “Hmm... do you think this would look good if mom ever let me?” Twilight asked as she levitated over a rather beautiful set of earrings. “Nah, even though you’re not exactly tough like me it’s too girly. I think those would be best on you.” Dash replied, pointing to simple silver bands. They looked like they would go on the curve of your ear instead of the lobe. There were also much more than just one. There were many of different things on them, designs and even little gems embedded into them. It looked like you could fit maybe ten, just barely, on one ear. “Ooh, I like those...” Twilight agreed, replacing the first ones. “If I might recommend clip-ons? Cheaper, no actual piercing and minimal trouble with parents if they don’t know about it.” The stallion said, levitating over a similar set of four. “Hm... Should I?” Twilight asked her new friends. “Totally!” Dash replied. “Um...maybe... would your mom be alright with it?” Fluttershy replied. “I can just take them off if she doesn’t like them. I’ll take the set, thank you.” Twilight said, turning to the clerk. “Right. That with the gems will cost you a total of 113 bits. Can you handle so much?” The clerk asked. Twilight nodded and the coin bag Celestia gave her appeared. An exact amount floated out, leaving the bag half empty, and he accepted them with a smile. “Have a nice day.” He said. Twilight nodded and they left, the gems and the money disappearing. They stopped so Twilight could put the clip-on rings in. She could probably only fit six on one ear, since she was still small, but instead of evening them out she put all four on her right ear. “Now that looks awesome.” Dash said, nudging the filly. “Um... it... really does.” Fluttershy agreed. “Good. Now let’s head back in full, apparently you really want to meet Spike.” Twilight giggled.