• Published 12th Apr 2020
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The Student from Warpla - SparkStone



A new student from a Human tribe goes to the School of Friendship on a mission. As he makes friends, he learns more about himself as well as the world around him.

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Part 16 - City

The gang finally catches a break after they move into their hotel room and unpacked their belongings. Ocellus, Yona, and Sandbar were reading out pamphlets of tourist attractions and shopping centers to visit. As they did, Smolder and Gallus were just lying around on the couch, still resting from the spindle of events. Valiant remained vigilant on his assignments, clearing up two folders full of papers.

“There’s a shopping district nearby!” Ocellus showed the others, garnering their attention. They look at the assortment of pictures located in the district. “It has all sorts of stores! Clothes, restaurants, book stores, even a movie theater!”

“A what?” Valiant spoke up, looking away from his papers. “What’s a movie theater?”

“Oh! I know what it is!” Silverstream claimed. “It’s a magical moving picture that talks and makes sounds!”

“Well, you’re not wrong...” Sandbar admitted. He looks to the curious Valiant, saying “You should try it though! There’s a lot of great movies out right now.”

“That does sound interesting,” Valiant thought aloud.

“So what are we gonna do today?” Gallus wondered.

“Yona wants to go outside and see the city!” Yona exclaimed.

“It’d be kind of a waste to sit inside all day,” Ocellus noted.

“Really? I wouldn’t mind lounging around for a while,” Smolder stated.

As they discuss further on their trip, Chewka enters the room. The kids look to him as he has an announcement to make. “My services have been requested to help with preparations for the upcoming Dune Star Cultural Exchange. I will be unavailable for the day, so please make sure you’re accompanied by Spike if you plan to see the city.”

Chewka bows before taking his leave. The kids look at each other before Sandbar declares their plans. “Okay! As soon as Spike is out of the shower, let’s go to the shopping district!”

“What about me?” Spike questioned as he opened the door, steam exiting the bathroom as he comfortably wears a towel over his head and around his body.


The group sets out to the shopping district with Spike reading the map and guiding them there. They enter the shopping district which has all kinds of ponies wearing so many different styles. Some had hats, many had shirts, the tourists had cameras hanging off their neck, and the more extravagant equines had necklaces and jewelry. The kids were in awe and amazement at the big city before them.

“How come so many ponies here wear clothing, yet most of them aren’t wearing pants?” Valiant questioned.

“Maybe it’s just uncomfortable,” Sandbar assumed.

“Have you worn pants before?”

“Well, once. It’s not really me.”

Silverstream grabbed both of the two boys in each of an arm hug as she gasped at the Carrot Dog stand. She dragged the two over to it and took a closer look at it.

“Carrots in bread?” Valiant described it with a raised eyebrow.

“Those are called Carrot Dogs!” Sandbar tells him.

“Carrot Dogs!?” Silverstream repeated. “They look really good!”

“Wait, why are they called Carrot Dogs?” Valiant questioned, but was given a carrot dog before he could get an answer.

“Do you want any condiments on it?” Sandbar asked. “They have ketchup, mustard, and relish.”

“You add additional ingredients after it’s already been served?”

“Oh! Like salt and pepper!” Silverstream assumed.

Valiant held his chin, wondering about this strange food and its name origin. Deciding that it was better not to think too hard on it, he put in a bit of all of the condiments. Silverstream received the bottle of ketchup and tried to squeeze it out. However, there seemed to have been very little left, as the contents swished inside but nothing was coming out. She squeezed with more force until a blob of it came out and splashed Yona’s cheek. Silverstream covered her mouth in shock of what just happened. “Whoops! Sorry Yona!”

Yona slurps the ketchup off of her and hummed at what she had tasted. “Mmm! Yona likes ketchup!”

The group laughed and had a good time eating by the stand. They traveled further into the city and gazed at the displays beyond the window panes. Glimpses of ornaments and figurine souvenirs catch the eyes of the Changeling and Hippogriff. The group enters to satisfy their curiosity for what was inside.

Silverstream zips from shelf to shelf, looking at the pony figurines and the toys ranging from bags of marbles to the thunder clouds in a bottle. She scans her selection carefully before deciding on one that made her giddy with excitement.

Ocellus was more intrigued by the more complex and involving products. The model kits of miniature carriages and scale models of buildings. She was set on the kit that was pretty big. It wasn’t too troublesome for her to bring it to the register, but it did tumble to a shelf, knocking some boxes down..

Valiant takes a look at the postcards they had on the card rack. Understanding that they were for messages, he thinks about telling Fluttershy how he’s doing since she’s still at Ponyville. He purchases one with a picture of a basket of rabbits, knowing that would be something she would probably like.

Valiant places his postcard alongside Silverstream’s bracelet kit and Ocellus’s Model building kit. The two girls smile at Valiant, each of them having their own plans on what to do with them and just so happens to involve their human friend.

After leaving the store, they notice the entrance to the movie theater showing off dazzling lights around the titles of movies being shown currently. Posters of the movies in theater and upcoming blockbusters. Most of the students have never been to a movie theater, and Valiant has yet to be introduced to any particular films yet as well.

Sandbar easily notices their curiosity and suggests seeing one for later. “Hey, why don’t we go buy some tickets to see one?”

Valiant tilts his head upon hearing him. “We have to buy tickets to see one of these movies?”

“You have to pick a movie you wanna see!” Spike explains. “Let’s get in line! It’s still short right now!”

Spike runs to the queue for the tickets with the others catching up behind him. As they waited with half a dozen ponies in front of them, Sandbar brought up an important question.

“So, what movie do you want to see?” he asked.

“Is there a difference?” Valiant wondered.

“Well, movies tell stories, so they’re kind of like books but ponies act them out.”

“They have ponies act out a story!?” Silverstream gasped.

“Wait, aren’t those plays?” Gallus pointed out.

Sandbar sighed and began telling them the intricate methods they use to record ponies and places at different times. A lot of the talk went into magic and specially enchanted cameras that can take hundreds of pictures very quickly. Valiant and Ocellus seemed to have the idea while the rest of them just kept nodding, already regretting that they let this lecture drag on.

“And that’s all you need to know,” Sandbar said with a somewhat proud smirk, able to show off his movie knowledge.

“Oh! Oh! Yona has a question!” She said, gaining the disturbed looks of Gallus and Smolder who were worn out from listening to the tutorial of movies.

“Sure! What is it?”

“What movie are we going to watch?”

The others looked to the movie posters and began gauging what they would prefer to see. Valiant noticed the poster with the stallion and a sword being held with his mouth, making him curious about the ways ponies fight. Yona was calling out the movie poster with vibrant colors with fillies and colts in the front, signifying the child-friendly nature of the film. Gallus was liking the look of the mare standing off with the stallion with a mischievous mustache, which seemed to be a story about heroes and villains. Lastly, there was one film that had Ocellus and Silverstream fix their eyes on. A poster with a stallion and a mare sitting together in a sunset while sitting on a bench titled: ‘How to win their hearts’.

“Well, any winners?” Sandbar wondered.

“I’m liking that one right there,” Gallus pointed to the one that caught his eye earlier.

“That looks exciting,” Valiant assumed, judging by the dynamic angle of the poster. “Looks like there’s going to be action in it.”

“Yaks love action!” Yona agreed, hearing the promise of a thrilling epic.

Silverstream and Ocellus were pretty dissatisfied by how it was being tallied out so far. They looked to Smolder, assuming she was going to pick the hero action film as well, but she seemed to be torn by her choices. Little did they know, Smolder was also considering seeing the romance film as well. She was considering that it might be a good chance to take some notes on the topic, a curiosity that peaked in her mind a while back before they took the train to Manehattan.

“Smolder?” Valiant called out, snapping her out of her trance. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing!” She responded quickly. She clears her throat and tries to play it cool. “I’m fine with whatever.”

“Then I guess we’re watching the Striking Mare!” Sandbar announced, the three selectors giving a hurrah while the other three sighed. The group bought their tickets and had time to spend until the movie started. They continue their travels throughout the city and see more of what it has to offer.

On the way to another store, Smolder notices a display of outfits through the glass of the shop. Valiant notices her attention stuck on that for a while. He bumps her on the shoulder and says they can check it out when the others aren’t around. Smolder punches him on the shoulder, not wanting to bring it up when they’re in public where someone may overhear them. Despite her annoyance with the human, she agrees to the suggestion.

Their wandering leads them to see an entrance to some sort of club. Perhaps one of those clubs for dancing, drinking, and mainly for adults. Silverstream gets excited, but Spike warns them not to go in there, as forewarned by Twilight Sparkle in his list of what not to do. The students groaned, but Valiant lets out a bemused chuckle at their reaction.

The group takes a break near an ice cream shop. They each purchase their own cone, having a nice cold treat after walking around in a hot and crowded city. Yona was wafting the air to her face to create a small breeze. The heat seemed to have little effect on Smolder and Valiant who were just sitting and taking the rays of the sun easily. Spike was getting so tired, he was considering placing the ice cream right onto his hot noggin.

“Maybe we should find someplace with some shade,” Ocellus panted, trying to ventilate herself.

“How are you two taking this weather so well?” Gallus questioned Valiant and Smolder.

“Desert,” Valiant reminded him.

“Dragon lands,” Smolder reminded him as well.

“Why don’t we wait at the theater?” Spike suggested. “That should be a great place to relax, especially since the movie will start in a few hours.”

With everyone in agreement or at least not against the idea, they gather their strength and move towards the direction of where the theater was. As they began crossing the various roads, a sudden increase of ponies began taking over the streets. It was apparently rush hour and the ponies were either coming from work or going to work. The group was disoriented as ponies were moving by quickly, rudely shoving and even kicking as they were trying to make their way to their destinations while the students were just trying not to get seperated.

“Spike!? Where’d you go?” Smolder questioned.

“Down here!” He replied, reaching his claw out from the crowd.

“Here! Grab my hoof!” Sandbar spoke out.

Valiant reached out and grabbed hold of a hoof. Yona and Ocellus managed to reach out to each other as well. Sandbar and Silverstream held hoof and talon and Gallus took Spike out of the sea of ponies. They begin making their way out of the crowd and reach a spot where no one was passing through.

“Phew!” Sandbar sighed. “Rush hour kicked in sooner than I thought.”

“I couldn’t fly out of there on my own!” Spike stated.

Ocellus swept her brow, glad to have gotten out of the sudden avalanche of equines. “Good thing we all got out of there.”

Yona looks around the group and notices something wrong. “Where’s Valiant?”

The group looks around and realizes that their tall human friend was nowhere among them. A cold shill rises as they realize their awkward and somewhat oblivious friend has gone missing from the crowd.

“Oh no!” Spike screamed. “He’s missing!”

“VALIANT!” Silverstream called out at the top of her lungs. “Where’d you go!?”

“Does he have his own map?” Sandbar asked Spike. The little dragon shook his head. The group were becoming more concerned.

“Okay, how about Yona and Sandbar go to the movie theater and wait just in case he makes it back on his own? The rest of us can fly around and look for him to cover more ground!” Smolder planned out.

“That’s a great idea!” Ocellus grinned happily at the well thought idea.

“Okay, we’ll head there right now!” Sandbar told them. Yona and Sandbar nodded as they quickly ran to the theater. The rest of the fliers gave a quick nod before splitting up to search for the lost human boy.


Valiant took a good long look at the mare whose hoof he had been holding onto before he realized it wasn’t Sandbar. The mix up must’ve occured when he reached out and grabbed the wrong pony. The blue mare pulled her hoof out of his grasp, something that Valiant quickly did as well.

“Get your dirty paws off of me!” She shouted in disgust.

“My apologies,” he said to her. “I thought you were someone else.”

“Well, watch who you’re grabbing next time!” she shouted once more before grumbling off to the street. Valiant took a look around and realized that he had accidentally followed that mare into an alleyway of some sort. He had lost his way back, not sure of how he got into such a place.

He held his chin as he thought of how to find the others. Supposedly, he could head to the theater as he had planned with the others. The issue with that was that there was no way he could tell where he was or what to use to tell him which way was the theater. He looks up and thinks about climbing the buildings and get a better perspective of the town from up there. He rubbed his hands together and began climbing up by carefully placing his fingers into the gaps between the brickwork. By the time he reaches the third story, a stallion opens the window and scolds the boy.

“Hey! Get your grubby things off my apartment!” he shouts, shocking Valiant and caused him to lose his grip. He falls down into a rose bush, rump first. He emerges from his painful thorny landing while the pony who yelled at him went back inside and closed the windows. Valiant gave a long sigh before another pony went up to him.

“Excuse me, sir,” she says to Valiant. He turns to see the mare wearing a police uniform. “I’m gonna need you to come with me and tell me what you were doing on that gentlemen’s building.”

“Are you the law enforcer of this city?” Valiant inquired. The police officer nodded, confirming by showing her badge. “Don’t cause any trouble and just come with me. If you behave, this will go smoothly.”

Valiant complied, not wishing to cause trouble or interference with the law enforcement. The police officer guided him through the maze-like city, taking many turns and returning him out to the open districts. Upon reaching the station, Valiant was taken to a room where he was seated by the police officer. Told to stay put, he waited patiently for the mare to return. It wasn’t long before she returned with a stallion in a trenchcoat beside her.

“Is this the guy?” the stern looking stallion questioned. He had a scowl, reflecting his suspicions on the bipedal before him.

“I’m not sure,” the mare replied. “He matches the description and he was caught doing something out of the ordinary. However, he seemed to have complied with my instructions without as much as a fuss.”

“Hmm...” the stallion scratched his chin, looking closely at Valiant. He looked at the boy’s face and had a hunch based on the lack of aged wrinkles. He realizes that this is probably a child, somewhere in his late teens, but a child nonetheless. “Where are you from?”

“I hail from the land known as Warpla. I’m currently on a trip with my friends who all attend the School of Friendship at Ponyville.”

“Well, he’s not the guy we’re looking for,” he told the officer, making her ease up just a bit. The stallion looks back at Valiant with that deductive eye. “What are you doing all alone in that part of the neighborhood though?”

“I was… separated from my friends,” Valiant told them. The stallion nodded in understanding. “I see,” he spoke more softly than before. “Do you know where they are?”

“We made plans to go to the movie theater together.”

“There’s a lot of movie theaters,” the police officer told him. “Do you know which one?”

Unfortunately, no matter how much Valiant tried to list out the features of what the theater looked like from the outside, they were unable to pinpoint a specific theater. There were a lot of movie theaters in Manehattan, and even when the police officer showed him a map, Valiant was unable to discern the specific location. The stallion in the trenchcoat gave a weary sigh. “Looks like we gotta deal with a lost kid. Why don’t you have him hang around the entrance while we get the paperwork done?”

The police officer nodded and guided the boy back to the entrance of the police department. He sat on another chair next to the large window where he can take a good look at the streets outside. The way the mare and stallion he met were so tense earlier made him wonder what they had thought when he came in. They mentioned that they were looking for someone.

“Were you looking for someone in particular?” Valiant asked the police officer.

She adjusts her sunglasses and nods. “Someone on a case. Don’t worry your pretty little head over it. We’re on the job.”

“Does this person happen to be a human like me?”

“Is that what you are?” She responded, somewhat surprised. “Well, you’re walking on two legs and you're a bit taller than ponies around here. Though, we’re looking for some creature older.”

“Why?”

The police officer looks at his curious gaze and contemplates how much she should be telling this human. He is young and is polite enough. She definitely wants to warn him in the case he finds that trouble so that he could avoid it, not wanting someone so young to get too involved. “Well, we’ve got reports on a bipedal creature skulking around town pony napping folks here and there. We have reason to believe that they’re creatures who came from a far away place, outside of Equestrian borders.”

“That’s concerning,” Valiant thought. “Do you have any leads?”

“Well, that’s the trouble,” she stated. “There’s an upcoming festival full of bipedal creatures visiting in a few days, not to mention some of the festival holders are here now to prepare it. The only leads we have is that this bipedal creature has scales. So we’re either dealing with dragons or lizardfolk.”

“I see.”

“Listen, if you see lizard people, avoid them and try to contact a police officer like me,” she warned him. “They’re dangerous and may even try to go after you as well.”

“I understand,” Valiant nodded. He looked at the mare and thought about how much she was willing to divulge the senstivie information towards him. Remembering that Fluttershy taught him that kindness can come in many forms and don’t always require anything in return. He understood that this mare was going a bit more out of her way for him, making him believe that she was a good creature. “May I ask for your name?”

The police officer looked at Valiant, still somewhat astonished by his mature and polite demeanor. Smiling at the well-mannered child, she answered. “Copper Top. Yours?”

“Valiant.”

The two exchange a respectful hand-to-hoof shake before the door suddenly opens. They turned to see a young blue griffon, panting and sweating from the long search for his friend.

“There you are!” Gallus breathed in relief. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Gallus…!” Valiant looked at his wheezing friend. It looked like he was searching frantically for him ever since they were seperated.

Gallus quickly caught his breath and refocused his attention to his human companion and the police mare. “What are you doing here? Did he do something wrong?”

“I caught your friend trying to scale a building,” Copper Top stated. “You ought to avoid doing that. It’ll upset the residents.”

“My apologies. I was only doing it hoping to get a better view of the town,” Valiant stated.

“Well, as long as you’re okay,” Gallus shrugged, reverting back to his more relaxed self. “Come on, we gotta head back to the others.”

Nodding in agreement, Valiant said his farewell to Copper Top. Valiant walked with Gallus outside before the blue griffon looked at the public clocks. “Oh crud! The movie is about to start!”

“We’ll just have to run to meet up with the others,” Valiant suggested. Gallus shook his head however at that plan. “That’ll take too long if we go around the buildings,” he warned him. Gallus began flapping his wings and flew above Valiant, reaching out his talons to his friend. “Grab on, I’ll fly us there.”

“Are you sure?” Valiant wondered.

“I may not be as fast as Professor Rainbow Dash, but I can still carry you around!” Gallus assured him. Not wanting to waste time, Valiant grabbed hold and the two took off. Gallus soared high above, and the two got a better view of the town. Valiant was amazed, not just looking at the view of the magnificent structures stretching up high, but how the air brushes his cheeks and flows through his dusty brown hair. Gallus was looking for the theater while Valiant was enjoying the ride. There was only a brief moment when he flew with Professor Rainbow back in the school fight, but this was the first time he flew while being able to enjoy it. He was somewhat guilty of feeling displeasure when the theater came into view and it was time to land. Gallus placed Valiant on the ground with all of his friends waiting for him. They all ran up to Valiant with Yona throwing her entire person onto the boy.

“Valiant made all of us worried!” She told the boy.

“My apologies. I was… misled, during our escape.” Valiant apologized.

“Come on! The movie’s about to start!” Sandbar warned them. “If we hurry, we'll have enough time to buy some snacks too!”

The kids quickly ran to the theater together, getting ready to see the movie together. For their first day in the city, it was full of enjoyable times together and promise of more to come.

Author's Note:

My writing has been changing slightly. I hope it's not getting worse.