//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12 Friends: Part 1 
// Story: The Dragon King's Rebirth 
// by Sipioc 
//------------------------------//

Friends Part 1

You walked down the little stone path that lead from Fluttershy's cottage, readjusting your pack.  The sun was still high and despite summer starting in another two weeks it was rather humid already.  Passing a bird house at the bottom of the path you heard more chirping coming from their then you had an hour ago when you filled the feeders.  Turning your gaze you found that the clutch of Cardinal eggs had finally hatched, their mother and father huddled about the squawking hatchlings, proud of their work.  

'Fluttershy had been waiting for them to hatch.'  You thought as the birds chirping intensified making their hunger known to all.  'I should tell...'  You started to turn back up the path before you stopped.

'What is wrong with me?'  You now stood at the bottom of the path.  Your eyes on the nest but your attention was inward.  You couldn't deny that ever since you came to this town things had been changing.  You had been changing.

'I've shown remorse for my actions,  protected others for no good reason,  earned a 'cutie' mark that possibly reflected that, I've even made...'  You halted your train of thought as the father cardinal proceeded to vomit into the waiting mouths of his newborns for their first meal.

"Yeah...that about sums it up."  You said flatly, continuing down the path, once again pommeling back your worthless emotions. Still you felt inwardly conflicted and you didn't know what to think of it.

Pushing it to the back of your mind you contemplated your next move.  It was Saturday, so you weren't really expected anywhere else for the time being.  You recalled that Sparks had planned a party for Cozy's anniversary of living, otherwise known as a "birthday.  The party was planned for later that afternoon, an affair you were obligated to at least appear.  You weren't looking forward to the event,  a lot of loud noise, colorful sugary treats, social interaction, and false hopes:

'Blow out the candles and make a wish!'

'(Blow)...nope, I'm still here.'

Since you could vocalize your distain for such events you had avoided them personally, instead you would often find a new book or puzzle laying around your room, a gaudy ribbon adorning said item. Cozy and Sparks on the other hand seem to take great pleasure in the tradition for each other, pulling out all the stops for one another trying to out do the other each year.  Often, they attempting to drag you in on it.  The one year where your hoof prints were involuntarily dipped in paint and put into a home made card.  Another year where your ears were assaulted with those party horns and were forced to wear that ridiculously pointy hat.  Then their was that insufferable teddy bear suit!

"Guuuuuuhhhhhh."  You practically roared at the wretched memory, sending a flock of birds nesting in the trees along your path to take flight.   Recalling these attempts made up your mind to stay away from home for a few hours, at least until you were sure Sparks had no plans for you.  

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Casually, you had made it to the outskirts of town.  Crossing the small stone bridge over the stream bringing you into Ponyville proper.  Living here for nearly half a month has afforded you more than a general layout of the small town.  In the distance you spotted the giant crystal eyesore of a castle.  Looking at the buildings around it made it seem ridiculously out of place.  The older town look clashing greatly with the almost toy like appearance of the 'fortress', if it could even be called that. 

You were contemplating your next move when a voice broke through the sounds of be bustle of the streets, directed at you no less.

"Flint!" The voice too high pitched, to be Sparks, so you were safe in that regard.  Turning about you caught sight of its owner.

"Hey, Brony!"  Chirped Rumble.  The pegasus youth trotted up to you, tailed by two other colt's from school.  As the trio approached you instinctively sized up these new arrivals:

One was a brown coated Earth Pony, whose green propeller hat brought his name to your mind.

'Button Mash: enjoys playing those annoying sedentary pixel games.  Considered a "mama's colt" if the jeers from the playground were worth anything. The fact that he cries in the face of adversity might also lend to that.'

Your scrutiny then fell to the other colt.  A brown and white spotted Earth pony with a brown mane.

'Pipsqueak:  A precise, if not too imaginative name, this foal was scrawny even by your current standards.

"Dude, what you do to your mane?"  Rumble had his head cocked to the side, examining your new look, already snide grin creasing his features.

"Drop dead, Rumble."  You calmly bit back, turning away you began to walk toward the center of town.

"Whoa, harsh?"  Button remarked, and yet they still were following you.

"Naw that's ok," Shrugged the pegasus, quickening his pace and coming along side you, "I'd wanna look good too if I was getting 'private lessons' from Ms.Fluttershy."  He wiggled his eyebrows at you, inexplicably causing your face to flush.

"Did you need something?" You snarled, your exasperation evident.

"Not really,". He said as he and the others cantered about you.  "The boys and I were headed for the school yard to play a little hoof ball. Wanna come?"

"No." You responded instinctively, quickening your pace ahead of the group.

"You sure?  It'll be fun!" He said coming alongside you.

"Doubtful." You huffed.

"Come on!" Pushed Button.

"You'll make the teams even!"  Pipped in Pipsqueak, his accent, though some saw as cute, already grating on you.

Already having enough, you came to a halt and turned on the group.

"Open your ears, you mutts!"  You snapped. "Leave me al-lllllooooooo..."  Your latest tirade trailed off before it began as your throat tightened.  Your gaze was fixed on the sky just over the shoulders of the trio before you.  There, looking through the crowd, hovered none other than Sparks, a chipper smile on his face.  What made it worse was what laid draped around his foreleg.  It was a dress jacket, much too small for him, black with white stripes, an insufferably large red bow tie.

'Thats a conversation not happening.'  Immediately, your mind went into escape and evasion mode:

'Judging by the direction he came in he already was at Fluttershy's looking for me.'

"Is he....ok?"

'Have to figure something out.  At least three routes in the other direction I could take, but from the air he could spot me easily.'

"Sometime my games cartridges do this.  Have to take it out and blow the dust out."

'No, no, need to slip away subtlety, he knows all my tricks.

"Yeesh.  Anypony wanna volunteer to do that?"

"Nope."

"Eww! Dibs not!"

'Need to get away, using the crowd as cover, and go somewhere he won't expect.  But where?'

The outside world started to partially fade back in, and once again you saw the three colts as they regarded you uneasily.  In addition you noted that you were still dragging on the word 'alone.'

'Wait,' You thought, 'three ponies, my age and size, heading out of town, in the opposite direction...'

"His eyes moved! He must be coming out of it!" One of them exclaimed.

'Easier to blend in to a group.'  You reasoned, as you quickly merged back into conversation.
"....Oooooon second thought," you relented, drastically ending and changing your words.  "Might...be...f—fun."

"Ok...great!"  Rumble responded with an uneasy, but enthusiastic smile.

"What were looking at anyway?"  Button asked turning to look over his shoulder.

"DON'T!"  You said nearly tackling him and forcing him to look back at you, fear evident on his face.  "I-It's nothing."  You calmly said, slowly releasing him. "Let's-lets go and p-p-play."  A sickly forced smile spreading across your own face.  

Sparks had started flying toward the bridge, lazily floating above the side streets of town.  He hadn't spotted you, yet, but you needed to get this group moving and now.  This was going to be juvenile, but from your experience, it was full proof. You smiled wider and punched Rumble in the wither.

"YOUR'RE IT!!!"  You chirped, in a tone that could be called 'playful' as you bolted toward the school, and a stay of execution.  It took half a beat, but you soon heard the other two Earth ponies following you, laughing as the lighter steps of the pegasus colt joined in.

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Sparks landed in the dust trail that he saw four colts kick up.  He smiled as he recalled his own foalhood friends and the mischief they had gotten into at that age.

"Those were the days."  He mumbled to himself, as he reminisced on his past.  He couldn't help but notice that one of them looked strangely like... "No, couldn't be."

Stretching his wings, he took to the air, after all he had a party to get under way, and first thing he needed to do was track down his son and make sure he had his suit coat for the party.

"Cozy is gonna love this!"