Sweetie Pup

by GrimInk

Cutie Mark Crusaders Getting To Know-ers!

When recess finally came around, Sweetie Belle made sure she could get herself alone with Storm Spark. She didn't know why she was so fascinated with him, but whenever she caught his eyes, she found herself getting weak in the knees. This was an emotion she really hadn't felt before, even around her friends. It was so alien to her, that she wasn't even able to put a word to the sensation. She didn't know what scared her more, the fact that she was having the emotion in the first place, or the fact that she didn't know what to call it.

Storm Spark, during recess, seemed to have the same idea that Sweetie Belle did, as he followed her out of the classroom to one of the trees in the playground. It wasn't a particularly big tree, but it did offer a nice amount of shade, so it was one of Sweetie Belle's favorite places to sit during recess time.

"Hello there," he said, taking a seat in the soft grass beside her. "I don't think we were given a proper introduction back in class," he stated. "My name is Storm Spark, from Hoofington. What's your name?"

"I'm Sweetie Belle," she answered, "from Ponyville."

Storm Spark nodded, and ran his hoof through the grass. The pair sat in awkward silence for a while, as they slowly moved closer to each other. Sweetie Belle wanted to ask about what had happened to Storm Spark's ear, but she felt that it might be a bit too rude of a question, and considering that they had really only just met, she didn't want to do anything to offend him.

"So you're a pegasus?" Sweetie Belle asked, in an attempt to jump-start the conversation. She didn't really know anything about him, so she decided to break the ice with something simple.

"Sure am. You're a unicorn?"

"Last time I checked."

At the exact same time, Storm Spark and Sweetie Belle turned their heads to face each other, but ended up bonking noses together. Sweetie Belle fell onto her back, rubbing her nose with her hooves, while Storm Spark jumped into the air, and did the same thing.

"Ouch," the said in unison, before laughing at their own silliness.

So far, despite the shenanigans, they were off to a good start.

"So, I couldn't help but notice that you don't have your cutie mark either," Storm Spark remarked, as he fluttered down onto the grass.

Sweetie Belle couldn't help but blush at the comment, but she knew that, unlike Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Storm Spark wasn't speaking with the intent to harm. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She barely knew him, yet she could immediately tell that he was very nice. She wanted to bombard him with questions, but she was just too tired.

"I'm not the only one," she admitted, twiddling her hooves a little. "My friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, don't have their cutie marks either."

Storm Spark couldn't help but laugh a little, but again, it didn't feel like a harmful laugh. It felt friendly, as if he was trying to say that it was okay to not have a cutie mark.

"Any particular reason you find it funny?" Sweetie Belle asked, not aware that she was sounding a bit ruder than she intended.

"Oh, I was just worried that I'd be the only foal without their cutie mark," he admitted, immediately ceasing his chortle. "It's actually quite a relief," Storm Spark sighed and shuffled his hooves a little, looking down at the ground and folding his ears towards his head. "Back in Hoofington, I was the only foal in my class without a cutie mark. It was kind of depressing."
Sweetie Belle completely understood how Storm Spark felt. Before she had transferred into Apple Bloom's class, she had been the only filly in her class to not have a cutie mark. Even then, when she hadn't known Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon, she had been bullied. It seemed that the less-than-friendly ponies could be found everywhere in Equestria. While this fact scared her, it also gave her some comfort, because it also meant that Equestria was filled with ponies just like her, that don't have their cutie mark yet.

"Do you miss your friends from Hoofington?" Sweetie Belle asked. She wanted to know more about Storm Spark. It was clear to her now that she had feelings for him, and it excited her.

Storm Spark tilted his head a bit and scrunched up his face as he took a moment to think about it. "Not really," he admitted, "now that I think about it, most of them were pretty mean. As soon as they got their cutie marks, they stopped being friends with me," he grumbled, pouting a bit.

"Well they don't know what they gave up!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, grabbing Storm Spark in a hug. "You seem really sweet!"

Now it was Storm Spark's turn to blush. He wouldn't readily admit it to anypony, but he had never been hugged by a filly before. In fact, the action caught him completely off guard, and as Sweetie Belle held him in her warm embrace, Storm Spark's knees turned to jelly and parasprites began to flutter through his stomach. His breathing became quick, and his heart started to race a little bit.

"Sorry," Sweetie Belle apologized, blushing again and pulling away, "I didn't to hug you out of the blue." Her ears grew hot as the blush moved through her entire face, filling it up with warmth. She had never blushed this hard before, for any reason at all. If she hadn't been so fascinated with Storm Spark, she might have been scared by it. Then again, it was just part of her body, so maybe not. "So, what sort of things do you enjoy?"

"Things?" Storm Spark raised an eyebrow and tilted his head again. "Do you mean activities or objects?"

Now it was Sweetie Belle's turn to tilt her head. She hadn't really anticipated that question. "Both, I guess?"

Storm Spark tapped a hoof against his chin a couple times as he tried to think of an answer to Sweetie Belle's abnormally ambiguous question. "Well, I guess flying would be one thing. I'm not very aerobatic, though, and have a tendency to crash into things. I guess I also enjoy jewels, too. I used to have a really nice collection before they were stolen by Diamond Dogs… I never did get those jewels back."

Storm Spark continued to list off things that Sweetie Belle really didn't care about, but she did her best to remain interested, often even just adding a "cool" or a "uh-huh" in between his comments. She was about to thank him for listing, when he ended it with something that really interested her.

"One thing that I really like, but will never admit to anypony else, is that I really like music," he whispered, hanging his head a little. "Like, I really enjoy music. It calms me down whenever I'm angry."

"What a coincidene!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "I really like music too! Well, not all that much… I sing and stuff, but it's still music, right?"

Storm Spark laughed again. Sweetie Belle liked it when he laughed, because when he laughed it was like the world was empty of troubles, void of evil, and full of happiness. She couldn't help herself but stare into his eyes, golden yellow in colour, like the sunshine, and lose herself in their splendor.

"Well, Sweetie Belle," Storm Spark sighed, hopping into the air with a flap of his wings, "it was really nice talking to you. Let's chat again sometime, okay?"

Sweetie Belle nodded, but she found herself to be at a loss for words. She didn't want him to go. She didn't want him to leave her there, all alone, without him by her side. Her heart longed for him, and thought of him not being there made her sad.

But none of that was reflected in her face.

Instead, she simply smiled and nodded her head. "I'd like that, Sparky," she said.

Suddenly, Storm Spark did a double take. "What did you call me?"

"Sorry," Sweetie Belle said, jumping to her hooves. "It's just that saying your full name is a lot of work, so I thought I'd just give you a nickname. Is that okay?"

Storm Spark made a bit of a grimace, but didn't seem to dislike it. "It's not that I don't like it, it's just, where I come from, there were a lot of bad things attached to that nickname. Sorry, I'd just prefer if you called me Storm Spark."

Sweetie Belle nodded and apologized again. Then she watched, longingly, as Storm Spark fluttered back towards the school house. It was then that she noticed that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had finished their 'discussion' with Cheerilee, and were making their way over to her.

"Heya, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom called, prancing over. "I saw you makin' sweet talk to the new foal."

"He seems cool, doesn't he?" Scootaloo added.

"Ah bet if we asked him real nice, he'd join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Apple Bloom continued.

"Oh yeah! That would be totally sweet! Then we'd finally have a boy in our group!" Scootaloo cheered leaping into the air and fluttering her wings at mach speeds.

"I don't think that will work, girls," Sweetie Belle admitted.

"Why not?" the other two asked, in a perfectly rehearsed unison.

Sweetie Belle couldn't control the blush this time, and the pink was visible even through her fur. "Because I think I'm in love with him."

Comments

[Rustling Leaves]

This looks great! A very interesting story and convincing renditions of the characters. And I was just about to comment that I wanted more when you posted chapters 2 and 3. Keep it up!

Even a mare whose heart is pure,
and says her prayers by night,...

This is gonna be awesome.

[GrimInk]

2648598

may become a dog when the sky is clear
and the moon is shining bright

[Rustling Leaves]

2648598
And that, everypony, is how you win a fan.