Early the next morning, a concerned citizen of Ponyville strolled through the streets of town. Twilight hadn’t seen Clyde the previous day, though the hospital staff and records all confirmed he was still alive. Rainbow Dash raced out to look for him once they heard the news, but she hadn’t seen her either.

As she trotted down the streets looking for anypony who might know any news about either of her missing friends, she spotted a familiar face. It was Rarity, just outside Sugarcube Corner.

Twilight loped up to her and asked urgently, “Have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?”

“I’m afraid not, dear.”

“How about Clyde?”

The white equine shook her head slowly, “No; I haven’t heard anything about either of them. I came here to see if anypony knew anything. I thought for sure at least Pinkie Pie would have heard something.”

“Well, we’d better ask her then.”

They walked into the brightly lit candy shop, a bell ringing out a pleasant note as the door swung open. The smell of fresh cake and candy intermingled with the sound of haughty laughter in the air. The source of the giggles was easy enough to spot.

Pinkie Pie was sitting at a table with a sole companion, his lustrous obsidian coat rivaled only by the shine in his verdant eyes. Clyde and Pinkie Pie were laughing together as they blew bubbles in their milkshakes through straws.

He doubled over as Pinkie somehow got the bubbles to leave the milkshake and levitate through the air, bursting over an unfortunate turquoise pony’s head.

The mare parted her pink mane, which had fallen over her eyes as it was soaked in strawberry flavored cream. She looked at the table to the source of her head’s moisture, and raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. The stallion was covering his mouth and leaning over the table, trying hard to stifle his laughter, but failing.

“He-he, Whoops! Sorry Mrs. Cake.”

“Ohh, it’s alright Pinkie,” the baker replied in a thick accent.

As the unlucky mare trudged into the back room of the bakery, Twilight and Rarity came over to the table. Twilight double checked the giggling stallion seated in front of her, not believing it was actually Clyde until she saw the three lines of stitches across his breast.

The normally serious stallion was trying to compose himself, but the laughter kept coming, and he made snorting sounds as he tried to swallow his giggles. Pinkie began laughing too, and the others gave in to chuckling as well. His laugh was contagious; it made all who heard it want to laugh with him.

Eventually, the spell passed, and the four were able to talk again. The first words spoken came from Twilight.

“Oh, you’re ok,” she said with a sigh.

Clyde only looked to her gladly.

Just after the unicorn finished speaking, Pinkie Pie’s ears flopped up and down, her eyes fluttered, and her knees began shaking.

Suddenly, the bell rang noisily and a gust of wind blew through the store as the door flew open. The mares turned to see a multi-colored pegasus hovering just inside the doorway.

She spoke frantically, saying, “Guys, Clyde’s alright! I saw him yesterday and… oh.”

The pegasus set down to the floor as she saw the dark grey pegasus looking back at her.

“I found him Dashie!” yelled Pinkie to her friend after a short, awkward silence.

The blue mare joined the table as Rarity asked, “How did you find him Pinkie?”

“Well…”

The mares braced themselves, preparing for a drawn out, specific, very animated recollection of a series of random events explaining how she and Clyde ended up in the candy store, but were surprised when all she said was, “I saw him this morning and asked if he wanted to celebrate getting out of the hospital, so we came here and got milkshakes.”

The pegasus downed the rest of his chocolate shake with a gulp, his wings spreading to their immense length and his head shivering violently when the brain freeze set in. The mares giggled again, and he rose from his chair.

“Now what?”

“You should spend the whole day with us!” shouted Pinkie, rising to within inches of his muzzle, beaming.

“Yeah! That would be fun!” added Twilight.

Clyde was hesitant. He recalled the dire warning of the princess the previous night, and his instincts told him he should be watching over his region. He looked down into four pairs of sparkling eyes, and his heart melted; his instincts were subdued by his conscience.

“Alright.”

Pinkie jumped up and down before the words of agreement completely left his mouth.

“So what should we do?! Ooh, I know; we’ll have a party with piñatas and confetti and balloons and punch and cupcakes and music and dancing and…”

Her high pitched squeals were interrupted by a deep, mellow voice.

“Actually, I was thinking something more along the lines of a day in the park.”

Pinkie looked to Clyde, then to her friends, then back to Clyde.

“Well, the party is technically for him after all,” said Twilight.

“The park it is!” recited Rarity, theatrically raising a hoof towards the door.

Pinkie seemed dejected, but then lit up again when she realized cupcakes weren’t restricted to house parties; she could still do her best to make this day as much like one of her parties as possible.

Before meeting, each of the group went to retrieve something from home, mostly food. Twilight brought Spike as well as an entrée’, the others contributed assorted goodies, and Dash retrieved Applejack and Fluttershy.

When they convened in the lush grass of the park, Fluttershy spread a picnic blanket which was promptly covered in food; cupcakes, cookies, and cake, all of which supplied by Pinkie Pie, fruit salad, hay fries, apple pie and fritters, the main course, sandwiches, and of course, gems for a certain purple reptile.

The group plopped down on the checkered blanket and began dishing up. Just as Clyde was about to bite into a sandwich, a young masculine voice reached his ears.

“So you’re the stallion Twilight’s been talking about so much?”

One thing about Spike that was a blessing as well as a curse; he certainly wasn’t shy. The purple unicorn blushed as her assistant continued.

“The one with the scars and the muscles and the cute rum…”

“I’m Clyde,” he said, interrupting the rambling drake and possibly saving the town’s librarian from severe embarrassment.

“I’m Spike. It’s good to finally meet you.”

The dragon threw back an amethyst, crunching loudly.

“Enjoying those gems Spikey-Wikey?” Rarity mused, giggling a bit.

The dragon’s face flushed red, and Clyde looked to Rarity with an eyebrow raised. Could she possibly be more demeaning? Clyde took a bite of the sandwich as he heard a question arise from across the spread.

“So, how are you feeling Clyde?” petitioned Fluttershy

“Pretty good, thanks for asking. I’m still a bit sore, but that’s expected. I’ll need to take these stitches out tomorrow though. Do any of you think you could help me?”

The whole party looked to Rarity.

She harrumphed at them, saying, “I am a fashion designer, not a nurse. Stitching thread and clothing thread are two completely different things. Besides, I couldn’t bear to get my tools dirty; I need them for my work.”

“I’ll do it,” chimed a weak voice, “I can do it.”

Clyde looked across the blanket to Fluttershy, nodding and bidding her thanks.

“Is this the kind of party you wanted Clyde?” asked Pinkie Pie, a spark in her voice.

“Yeah, this is nice.”

Pinkie’s joy suddenly seemed to recede, and as she sank to the ground, she muttered, “I just wish it was bigger.”

Clyde laughed as he finished the sandwich, and once he swallowed, he offered appeasement.

“Well, I happen to know of a big party in a few days.”

The mares perked up, especially Pinkie.

“The Military Ball in Canterlot is two nights away. I’m obliged to attend, but officers are allowed to bring guests. If you wanted to go, I could be your host.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” shouted Pinkie, overjoyed and jumping up and down.

“Well, that’s one,” said the stallion, looking to the other six in the group. Each of the mares seemed hesitant, silently debating within themselves whether they should go or not.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go to a party?”

“Well of course we would dear,” explained Rarity, “It’s just, we haven’t had very good luck at formal parties in Canterlot.”

The six of them shivered at the memory of the Grand Galloping Gala, the worst night ever.

“I promise this will be different,” assured Clyde.

They still remained hesitant, so Clyde thought to use a few methods of persuasion; if they didn’t work, nothing would.

“The Wonderbolts will be there,”

A light blue pair of ears perked up.

“and the princesses,”

A pair of violet eyes looked up, sparkling.

“and hundreds of young, fit, single stallions,”

Rarity gained interest suddenly.

“We’ll go!” said three female voices in unison as Dash, Twilight and Rarity agreed to attend.

“The other four Guardians will be there too,” Clyde said in an attempt to intrigue the others. No interest from the ones not already committed to going arose.

“There’ll be lots of food and drink. A.J., you wouldn’t have to cook for once.”

“Oh, alright. Ah’ll go,” said the orange mare, pushing her hat into a more comfortable spot on her head.

“Spike, Fluttershy, what do you say?” asked the grey warrior.

“I don’t know,” the dragon started, “I don’t think the stallions would like me very much.”

Spike seemed depressed as he looked down, fiddling with his talons. Clyde inspected the young drake, his green spines seeming to droop as his shoulders slouched. Obviously something had happened to him in the past, something that made him fear stallions, especially groups of them.

“What do you think soldiers are, bullies?” asked Clyde, giving Spike a gentle nudge. The young reptile’s sad eyes replied, and Clyde knew he had guessed right.

At first he pitied the poor drake, but then felt like he owed him something. He had to show him that not every stallion was bad or mean, and he thought the ball would be a great place to prove that. He absolutely had to convince Spike to come along.

“They’d like you,” he persuaded, “Heck, I’ll bet most of them will come right up to meet you on their own.”

“But why? I’m just a little dragon.”

“Just a dragon? I don’t know if you know, but dragons are a symbol of power and strength in the military.”

Spike’s big eyes looked back up at Clyde, his sad memories retreating back into the recesses of his mind.

“I promise you’ll be respected there, and even if you’re not, you can stick by my side; all night if you want. They won’t bother you when they see that you’re friends with a Guardian.”

“Alright,” said Spike, “you can count me in!”

Only one remained, and the entire group turned towards their pink-maned friend, who was looking away timidly on the far end of the blanket. She seemed nervous, almost afraid.

“Aren’t you gonna come too Fluttershy?” asked Dash as she hovered to her friend’s side.

“Oh, I…I don’t think so.”

“Well why not?” asked Pinkie Pie, concerned, “Don’t you like parties?”

“I do like some parties, but I don’t think I’d fit in at this one.”

“Come on, please come Fluttershy,” pleaded Twilight, but she only shook her head.

“It’s not like everypony there will make fun of you like at flight school!”

Rainbow Dash realized what she had said when Fluttershy whipped her thick mane in front of her face, flushing in embarrassment behind a bright shield of hair. She tried to apologize, but Clyde began to speak.

His voice, as smooth as calm water, gently asked, “Why don’t you want to come?”

Fluttershy came out from her shield of a mane, her eyes moist.

“Strangers make me… afraid.”

A solitary tear fell as she recalled their words, words she did nothing to deserve, words that she would not repeat, but could not forget. Words that made her feel worthless, that made her feel alone, and made her feel like no one cared about her, or for her.

She looked down, remembering their laughing faces; not a happy giggling but a mean, scary laughter, making fun of her as she walked by or struggled to fit in. She had made a few friends since then; most of them were with her now, but she still couldn’t help but remember how alone she felt against the jeering crowds all those years ago. She had never gotten over her fear of crowds or strangers, and just the thought of the party made her nervous.

Suddenly, she felt something softly touch her shoulder. She hadn’t seen him come, but Clyde was sitting next to her, his wing gently wrapped around her. She glanced to him without trying to hide her fears. Clyde gently smiled, the same kind of smile she would give to her animals during a thunderstorm to try and calm them, to try and convince them they were safe. His eyes were comforting, letting her know that he would protect her from anything.

“It won’t be like that this time,” Clyde assured, “Why would a kind, beautiful young mare like you not belong at a ball? Besides, you don’t need to be afraid of stallions who’ve been trained to respect their peers,” he chuckled to himself as he continued, saying, “The only thing you might have to fear is a few of them fighting over you.”

Fluttershy let a nervous laugh escape, but she was still unsure about going, at least until Clyde spoke again.

“I promise that you’ll be safe with me. I won’t let any of them hurt you, not that they even would in the first place. So what do you say? Will you go?”

All present leaned in a bit closer to hear Fluttershy’s whisper of a voice respond in a reassured and confident “Yes.”

“It’ll be so great!” started Pinkie Pie, “We’ll all go to a party together! And this time, it’ll be FUN! We’ll all get dressed up and ride in a carriage and sing and dance and eat cake and…”

As she continued to ramble, Clyde returned to his patch of blanket, but not before subtly hugging Fluttershy one more time.

It was a few hours after they had finished the picnic, and the whole group was still in the park. Most were tossing a red Frisbee Clyde had brought, and several other ponies had joined in in a game of extreme catch. Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy didn’t participate, Rarity with the excuse of not wanting to ruin her hooficure, and Twilight because she was never any good or interested in athletics, the same excuse as Fluttershy. Rather, the trio sat on the picnic blanket, watching as a dozen or so ponies ran back and forth after the crimson disc.

“Have you guys noticed something about Clyde?”

The fashionista opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Twilight added, “other than his body.”

Rarity closed her mouth after being stopped short of what she was about to say, and began thinking of anything strange her violet friend may have noticed.

“I’ve noticed he has different personalities,” Twilight explained, “It’s like he has a mysterious side, a serious side, a sad side. Do you see it?”

“Now that you bring it up I do. When he was new was when we saw the mysterious side, was it not?”

“Yeah,” replied the violet unicorn, “And the sad side when he told us about the battle in his cabin after dinner a few nights ago.”

“And the serious side with the manticore,” Fluttershy and Rarity said in unison.

“I think we just saw a gentle side as well. Did you see how kind he was to Fluttershy and Spike? He was so sincere,” said Rarity, her eyes falling on Clyde as he flew after a high toss of the Frisbee.

His coat shone in the afternoon sun, his rippling muscles flexing with each movement.

Fluttershy took to her private thoughts for a few seconds, thinking how kind he was. He made everything seem less scary, and she realized a very characteristic warmth rushing through her veins as she thought of how he hugged her.

“What other sides does he have?” asked Twilight, bringing her friends’ attention back to her.

The three began listing off different traits he seemed to have; romantic, funny, sarcastic, giddy, reassuring, and obviously, protective.

“Which side do you think is the real him?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight looked back to Clyde temporarily, watching him as he threw the disc across the park, smiling while he did it. The only part of his coat not reflecting the sun was his cutie mark, the permanent stain from the manticore’s poison corrupting his coat and making the lightning bolt in its center all the more prominent.

“I don’t know.”

The day progressed, and eventually Celestia’s sun began its descent from the heavens. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity, who had continued chatting through most of the day, were interrupted by panting and heavy footsteps; the group had returned from the game.

Clyde put the disc back in a saddlebag and sat down on the picnic blanket, breathing deeply. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike did the same, giggling a bit.

“That was fun,” said Pinkie softly. For once in her life, she was actually tuckered out, and had no energy to spare.

“Why didn’t ya’ll join in?” asked Applejack as she removed her hat and wiped the sweat from her brow.

“It was enough fun just watching,” explained Twilight.

“Pssht. Come on! Sitting can never be fun! Fun is doing tricks and stuff, not watching you egghead!” said Dash somewhere between a shout and a scream, “Out there is real fun. Did you see some of the sick catches I pulled? They were awesome!”

“Oh, don’t be such a braggart Rainbow Dash,” scolded Rarity.

“Everyone has their own kind of fun,” said Clyde, “and I think we all had fun today. I know I did. Thanks for this.”

The pegasus turned and threw his saddlebag over his back, saying, “The sun’s going down. I’d better get back to the mountains.”

“W-Wait!” shouted Spike.

Clyde stopped before he took to the air.

“This was a great day, and I want to remember it,” the dragon explained, “Can we take a picture?”

Clyde smiled and turned around, nodding to the small reptilian. Spike trotted for a saddlebag Twilight had brought while the others stood together. Spike took aim with the camera, which was mounted on a tripod.

“A little to the left; a little more… that’s perfect.”

He pressed a button on the camera and then ran to the group. He stood in front of Clyde and in between the other six, but he had to aim the camera too high to get Clyde’s elevated stature in the shot; Spike was out of place, and the camera’s countdown to the flash wasn’t slowing down.

Clyde realized his problem, and scooped him up in his forelimb, sitting him on his back. Clyde looked over his shoulder at the drake, who wore an infinitely happy expression on his face. Somehow, the simple gesture had meant the world to him.

The camera’s methodical beeping quickened, indicating the impending shot.

“Say cheese!” squealed Pinkie Pie as they all put on their best smile.

The camera flashed, and Spike jumped from Clyde’s back to check the camera.

“Hey, send me a copy of that picture once the film turns out,” said Clyde, hovering a few feet off the ground.

“You bet!”

Before he rocketed off, he looked down to each of his friends, and said in his silky smooth voice, “Until next time.”

Then, the grey warrior pressed against the air with his expansive wings, ascended into the painted sky, and flew towards the Saddlebacks.

Author's Notes:

Hey! Thanks for reading guys and girls. Just a reminder, I don't mind if any of you make art of this story as long as you give me credit. In fact, I encourage it; I'd love to see what this community will do with my idea. Just make sure to cite me, otherwise its stealing, and I've worked really hard on this piece. Please comment about the good and the bad, and I'll try to fix the bad. Thanks!