//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: A Very Pony Christmas // Story: Rising from the Ashes // by Doctoroctagonapus21 //------------------------------// Summer had gone, the snow had come and Christmas was just around the corner. However, there was one pony who just couldn't get into the spirit... This pony resided in a village in a forest just outside Fillydelphia. In a small two story house, a black unicorn with a golden mane and a golden stripe down his back named Sparky was lying on a couch, blanket over him, sighing and hoping to sleep the holiday away as he remembers a certain incident he had caused just a few months ago. All of a sudden, from upstaris, comes Sparky's best friend, Melody: a white pegasus with blue eyes, a blue mane, and a microphone with three musical notes trailing behind it for her cutie mark, humming to herself songs that would normally be sung this time of year. "Good morning, Sparky!" Sparky just grunts. "... How are you today?" she asked, trying to get a response out of him. No luck. Just another grunt. "You know... you've been cooped up in the house for a week. Everypony's starting to get worried." "Whatever." Sparky replied. Melody growled a bit and tossed a coat over to him as she puts on her own and says, "Get up. You're coming with me." "Fine." Sparky said, getting up, bones audibly cracking as if it'd been years since he even moved. He put on his coat and walked outside with Melody, looking around at the snow covering the trees, the ground, and the houses. As they started walking, the snow crunched under their hooves. "Let's see. Phyre wants us to taste test some of her recipes, Sandy needs some help with her ice sculptures, and Dawn and Luna want us to help them practice for a show." Melody said to her inattentive friend. As they're walking along, they meet up with their friend Chilly Temper, an icy blue unicorn with a dark red mane and a thermometer for a cutie mark with a Trottingham accent. "'Allo Melody, 'Allo Sparky. How are you two this mornin'?" "Hello, Chilly. I'm doing good, but Sparky's... in a bad mood." Melody said. "What's wrong?" "It's... a touchy subject." "Ah. Well, hope you fell better soon, Sparky." "What are you doing, Chilly?" Melody asked. "I'm keeping the temperature balanced around the village. See ya!" Chilly said as she trotted off, snow crunching beneath her hooves. As the two entered into Dawn and Luna's fully decorated theater, the two near monochromatic actresses were up on a stage in costume. Dawn, the white earth pony with a black mane and blue eyes with the mask of comedy as her cutie mark, was dressed up sort of like an angel. Luna, a black earth pony with a white mane, blue eyes, and the mask of tragedy as her mark was dressed up in pajamas of some bygone era. The two turned their attention to the two ponies who had just walked in. "Hello Melody. Hello Sparky. Haven't seen you around in a while." The two said in perfect unison. "Yeah, he's in a bad mood right now." Melody explained, "Best not to press the issue." The two actresses turned to each other and whispered. "So what is this show your doing?" "Well," Dawn began, "every year, our group performs A Christmas Carol for the ponies at the hospital." "Well, that's awfully nice of you... Right, Sparky?" Melody said, nudging him. "Yeah, sure, whatever." Sparky responded unenthusiastically. "Yeah... Well, we know our parts by heart but it's always good to practice. Sparky, would you like to play Scrooge?" Luna asked as she took off the outfit she was wearing. "Whatever." he moaned as he slowly walked up onto the stage. "Put on that outfit while I go change." Luna said, going backstage. Once Sparky put on the outfit, Dawn whispered to Melody, "If I didn't know better, I'd say scrooge himself was here. What's wrong with Sparky?" "I'll tell you later." Melody whispered back. "Okay, Sparky here's the script." she said bringing over a stack of paper, opened to a particular page. "We're going to take it from the top..." Well," Melody said, trying to strike up a conversation as she and Sparky leave the theater, "I think that went pretty good." "Sure, whatever." Sparky replied. "... You feeling hungry?" "Maybe a little." "Let's go over to Phyre's. It's about lunchtime anyway." Melody said. As they walked into Phyre's house, their nostrils were greeted with the scent of many delicious foods laid out on a table while their eyes were greeted by the sight of a red unicorn with a yellow mane and a chef's hat for a cutie mark. "Hi Melody." the unicorn said, "Hey Sparky, haven't seen you around in a while. You feeling okay?" "Yeah. I'm fine." Sparky said, obviously lying through his teeth. "He's just kind of in a bad mood right now." Melody explained. "I see... Well, I hope you're both hungry." Phyre said, holding a quill and notebook with her magic. For the next couple hours, Melody and Sparky sampled Appetizers, Snacks, Sauces, Sides, Dips, Chips, etc that Phyre had prepared. Melody made remarks like "less mint in this cookies, but more cinnammon in this pie." Sparky also ate a few things but all he'd say is "whatever." The duo said nothing to each other as they walked over to Sandy's house. They just listened to the snow crunching beneath their hooves. As they walked in they noticed bits, pieces, and attempts of almost every usable sculpting substance. In the back, Sandy, a lime green unicorn with a yellow mane and a hammer and chisel for her cutie mark, was standing next to two big ice blocks. Chilly was there too, presumably keeping the ice blocks from melting. A few hours later Sparky was standing on a platform while Sandy had chiseled the ice block into a rough shape and was now working on the details. "Remind me why i'm here again." Sparky said. "Becuase you needed to get out of the house." Melody replied, her sculpture already finished. "Forget this. I'm going home." Sparky said, as he walks out the door. "I'm sorry about that, Sandy." Melody said. "Don't be. I can take it from here." Sandy reassured her as Melody went off to go get Sparky. When Melody got home, she found him exactly where he was this morning: on the couch under a blanket. She walked over to him and nudged him, saying, "Please get up." "No." Melody sighed and said, "Fine. But I'm not letting you miss the party." "Whatever." "Just so you know..." she said before going back outside, "I understand how feel." About an hour later and the party had started. Everypony in the village, as well as Percy, had gathered in the theater. Flora brought in and decorated the tree, Phyre had set up food along the wall opposite the fireplace, Dawn and Luna's show had gone well, and Sparky was just lying down next to the fireplace. He was a sad sight. Melody went over and laid down next to him. "How ya doin'?" "A little better... I guess." "I know you feel responsible for what happened to your mom." "You mean the fact that I ended up burning down the house? Yeah." "This is going to be your first christmas without her isn't it?" "Uh-huh." Sparky replied. "Well, I have some news for you." "What?" "You have us, your friends. We're here for you. Did I ever tell you what happened to my parents?" "They up and disappeared." Sparky answered. "And I do miss them, but I have everyone here to help me through the day. They're here for you too, and so am I." "Yeah... Listen, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting." "It's okay." Melody replied. "And uh..." Sparky began to blush, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you too." "And what's that?" "I uh.." he trailed off as a branch of mistletoe suddenly appeared over the two. "Does it have anything to do with that?" Melody asked. "Something like that." he said as the two leaned in to kiss.