Raison D'être

by mechafone

6 - An Inconvenient Tour

Spark Storm lay awake in his bed that night. His whole body was sore. Braham's spell had forced him to use every last muscle he had in his body, including muscles he didn't know he had, especially muscles in ridiculous places. Braham had told him that none of the Fighters were that strong at his age. Then again, none of the Fighters had ever been farmers. Spark wasn't a farmer either, but he had spent many, many months plowing the fields at Sweet Apple Acres.

He looked at the clock on the wall. It read 2:35. Ugh...two thirty in the morning. Why was he still awake? After all that exercise he got today, why wasn't he sleeping? He looked out the window from his room. From here, he had a perfect view of the moon. It was large, and was halfway through it's cycle, at the third quarter. It's light was hypnotizing. Soon, he felt himself falling asleep.

When Spark awoke again, he found that he wasn't alone. Sapphire Snow had snuck in at some point during the night and was snuggled up against him from behind. He smiled and turned around carefully so as not to disturb her sleep. She had a smile on her face as she slept. He yawned sleepily, and was about to get back to sleep when he noticed something on the nightstand on her side: a sketchpad. Now he was curious.

He watched the sketchpad almost obsessively for the next ten minutes. Could he reach over and look inside it without waking her up? Aside from being a serious breach in privacy, he was very, very interested in seeing what was inside. He stretched out his wings, testing to see if they were long enough. They were, but the tips clumsily pushed the sketchpad onto the floor, causing a soft thud. He immediately snapped his wings back and looked down to see if Sapphire had woken. She hadn't, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

Finding it too risky to get up to look inside, Spark let it go for now. He was still a little sleepy, but he felt it was time to get up and go. Sapphire was going to be busy today, and Celestia was going to be giving him a tour of Canterlot. He slipped into the bathroom and started his bath. After getting into the tub, he let his sore muscles soak up the warmth.

After resting for a good twenty minutes, he got out and dried off. Then, for the first time in quite a while, he preened. He brushed his mane, his tail, and personally groomed each and every last crooked feather. By the time he was done, he was shining like a model. He opened the door to see Sapphire just beginning to wake up.

He hurried up onto the bed and stood over her, a confident smile on his face. His appearance was so sudden Sapphire blushed as she was pushed back onto her pillow. He hadn't been this forward with her, ever, and it was both startling and breathtaking. He smirked down at her and touched his nose to hers, letting his fresh breath cascade over her mouth, making her shudder. He grinned and kissed her forehead, then dropped down to the floor and, taking a backwards glance at her, left the room to start his day.

Sapphire watched him go with an amused look on her face before reaching for her sketchbook. Funny...it wasn't where she'd left it.

---

Spark Storm walked with Celestia. They had been touring the castle first, and they were nearly finished. The Princess had saved this room for last on purpose. It was her science and magic classroom, and it was in session. A pretty yellow Earth pony with a stylized mint-green mane was giving a lesson in physics and chemistry. She was very proficient at mixing, and she could work and talk at feverish paces and still not make a single mistake.

As soon as classes were finished, the students came piling out. Princess Celestia then called the for the student she'd been waiting for, a bookish purple unicorn with an interesting looking star cutie mark. "Twilight Sparkle!" The Unicorn looked up at the Princess with a smile. Instead of bowing, she hopped over and gave her a hug, which surprised Spark. He hadn't seen anypony -that- close to the Princess before.

Twilight glanced at Spark Storm, and she began to act apprehensive. "Oh, um...who is this, Princess?" Celestia gave her a knowing smile and touched a wing to Spark's back. "This is Spark Storm. He'll be our guest in the castle for some time, I was hoping that you might make him feel welcome and take him around the city today?"

Both Spark and Twilight, at the same time, in the same tone, accused, "You're trying to set me up?"

Pegasus and Unicorn glared at each other. Suddenly, neither one of them wanted to look at the other. They both turned their heads and 'hmph'd. This set the Princess into a fit of giggles. "Oh, you two are perfect for each other!" Spark glared pointedly up at Celestia. "I beg your pardon?" The Alicorn stared down at him. Such a sudden transition from upset to indignity. It was too funny! She held a wing over her mouth to quell the giggles threatening to escape. "Oh, Spark...I don't mean like that, but you two are so alike..."

---

It had taken some coaxing, maybe even a little pleading, but Twilight had eventually agreed to show Spark around Canterlot. Twilight was brief with everything she showed him, like she had somewhere to be. Spark hadn't really enjoyed her company, either. She hadn't made any efforts to be friendly. Finally, they arrived back at the castle some two hours later. It had certainly been the longest two hours of his life, even though he'd been able to see the key points of the city. Twilight had just been that unpleasant.

He certainly wouldn't miss her. "Well Mr Storm, that's about it. If you'll excuse me..." "Sure, whatever." They were almost out of each other's line of sight when they had to stop as a line of soldiers came marching towards the castle, blocking them in.

Twilight watched this with interest. She seemed to be looking for somepony among the guards. Somehow, Spark spotted him first. He was a white Unicorn, but he greatly resembled Twilight. After a moment, Twilight spotted him as well, her eyes lighting up happily. "That's him! He finally made it into the guard!" She bounced where she stood, letting out a quiet, nearly controlled squeal.

"Who is he?" Spark asked, although he guessed it was probably family. "He's my brother! I haven't seen him in two years, and here he is, in the guard!" Her brother, while a stoic, regal looking Unicorn, took a single instant to recognize his sister and gave her a wink before falling back into the military mask. Twilight responded by doing a little hopping dance in a circle around Spark. It was amusing, to say the least, of the unemotional and distant Twilight he'd just spent the last two hours with.

After a few minutes, the guard was done with it's routine, and the line of Unicorns and Pegasi marched off. One rarely saw an Earth pony among the guard anymore.

Twilight slowly calmed down after seeing her brother for the first time in ages. She glanced behind her now at Spark, hoping he hadn't taken her departure of character too seriously. She didn't want him to confuse her actions as 'opening up' to him. "Uh. Sorry about that. I should probably get going..." She sighed and began to walk away when he spoke to her.

"Twilight...This whole time you've barely said a word to me. You tried to rush things and drop me off here as fast as possible. But when you saw your brother, you kind of opened up there for a minute." Twilight looked back at him with a light glare. She didn't like where this was going. If he saw the warning look in her eyes, he made no indication that he got it.

"I thought it was kind of weird the way the Princess put us together. I'm...kind of getting the impression that you don't have many friends to hang out with." There it was. The point she knew he was going to get to eventually. "Look, Spark...I have a lot of things going on right now. I have studying, magic practice, and keeping the Princess constantly informed on my progress. I wasn't going to tell you this, but I'm the Princess' personal protégé, so there's a lot riding on my getting things done. I just don't have the time or the inclination for friends right now. I'm sure you'll find somepony else to - "

Spark laughed, cutting her off in the middle of her speech. She gave him her best annoyed look, which only served to amuse him more. "Look, Twilight...I think I see what the Princess was doing. She doesn't want -me- to find friends. She did this for you. You seem so deep into your work that you don't give yourself time for anything other than studying." Twilight turned to face him. It was taking all her lessons on protocol not to yell at him for poking his nose where it didn't belong.

"Spark Storm, it's really not your business what I do with my free time." "What free time?" He retorted with a grin. She gasped as if she'd been scandalized. "Oh! You- I-I don't have to explain myself to you! Honestly, just...go wherever it is you think those lame wings of yours can take you and leave me alone!" She threw her nose into the air and stalked off, the both of them miffed with each other.

Celestia sighed as she watched from her window. This hadn't gone exactly as she had planned. Not at all.

Comments

[Jacensolo43]

haha! Wow, from the first week Tia probably has been trying to get Twi to make friends. Well, this is fail attempt number 1. YOU'LL DO SOME YEAR TIA! EVEN IF NIGHTMARE RETURNS!