Sheton often knew when something deserved credit when credit was due, especially if it was something that was made in a rather articulate manner. Having been raised in the wealthiest and noblest city in Equestria, he was given the opportunity to see things made to the upmost perfection for the noblest of eyes. Even if it wasn’t made for the non-nobles like him, as a good majority of the nobles referred to him, Spike, and his families as, they were still amazed by all that they had seen in the city. Weather it was parts, sculptures, art pieces or designs, the skills that the ponies of Canterlot City used to make them never ceased to amaze him. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t see the things that more old-fashioned ponies made, and they didn’t leave an impression on him too. It was just that because of how rare the opportunities were for him to see all that the none noble ponies made he didn’t have a lot of those sights that he could add onto the list of things he liked.

Now though, Sheton believed that he may have just found another thing to add to his list of amazing things.

“What’s the matter Sheton? Bat got your tongue?” Fire Flash giggled, smiling in amusement at the gob smacked look on the Thestral colt’s face. “I thought that you’d do something a bit more vocal than that.”

“Oh, leave him alone Fire, th’ boys tryin’ t’ take in how amazin’ mah sister’s old clubhouse looks!” Apple Bloom frowned, punching the Pegasus filly on her shoulder. “Let him have a few moments t’ find his voice again.”

“I can’t really blame him. All of the colts and fillies had the same reaction as Sheton is right now.” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Though, I don’t think that they’ve lasted for this long.”

“D-d-do you think h-he’s okay?” Scootaloo asked worriedly. “I-I mean, he has been s-standing t-there f-for over a-a full m-minute. S-should we d-do something?”

Crescent Shield giggled. “No, it’s okay. There’s nothing you need to worry about; Sheton always gets like this whenever he sees something that he thinks is amazing. Although you are right, I think it’s time we get him out of this state, and I know just how to do it.”

“Why do I get the feeling your gonna do something completely unexpected?” Dinky asked staring at the ocean blue filly suspiciously.

“Just watch.” Crescent replied with a wink, before trotting over to a still shocked Sheton. With a deep breath, she leaned in and planted a big wet kiss on Sheton’s cheek. A gasp escaped from Scootaloo as everypony else’s jaws, with the exception of Spike’s, dropped in shock. A laugh of pure mirth escaped the draconic colt as Sheton's eyes dilated, his face blossoming a deep red color from the display of affection. A squeal left him as Crescent broke away and he flapped his wings wildly in an effort to get away from her as she giggled with glee.

“C-C-C-C-Crescent Shield!” He squeaked, holding a hoof to his kissed cheek. “W-w-w-what did you do that for?!”

“Oh no reason.” Crescent replied cutely. “Just giving you a little push to get more focused on what we wanted to show you!”

“By kissing him as if you two were coltfriend and fillyfriend?” Fire asked, raising a brow. “Yeah, a real motivational and sappy idea.”

“Fire Flash!” Sweetie chastised, smacking the back of Fire’s head with her tail. After giving her a sharp glare, she glanced back at Crescent and Sheton with a sweeter expression. “Don’t listen to her Crescent Shield, we don’t mind what you did to help Sheton out of his little daze. It was actually pretty cute to be honest.”

“Yeah, it was.” Apple Boom giggled. “Though ya caught me off guard when ya did that, jus’ sayin’.”

Scootaloo nodded, her own face a deep red. “M-mhm.”

“Y-yeah well…warn me next time before you do that okay Crescent?” Sheton asked calming down. “…I felt like my face was going to burn away when you did that.”

“Which goes to show just how much of a sweet and sensitive colt you are!” Crescent cooed, draping a wing around the stormy grey colt. “Though I can’t make any promises about what I just did if you end up getting put in that state again, just clarifying to you right now.”

“Of course…” Sheton sighed, hanging his head as his mane spilled over his face. “…Why me?”

“Anyway, how do you like the clubhouse Sheton?” Spike asked, walking up to the colt. “Apple Bloom did say that it would be a sight for you to see. So, what’s your opinion on it?”

Sheton glanced over at the draconic colt, before looking back up at Apple Bloom’s soon to be filled clubhouse. He had to admit, while it wasn’t the flashiest of clubhouses, at the same time, it was definitely something that would get a few pairs of eyes. It was bigger than your typical clubhouse, twice as big in fact, looking to be able to fit more than seven foals inside of it. The fours side of the exterior being a bright pale orange that gave off a shine in the Moon’s light, letting the deep brown roof melt into it. The doors to the front and to the windows were a deep red in color, with the pictures of apples and hearts carved and painted onto them, the roof included, even though really couldn’t be seen. At the bottom of the clubhouse was a big balcony or the foals to stand on and look out at the orchard, and it looked like they would be able to look at it pretty far.

At the right side of the balcony, there was a latter that led to a door that was made in the bottom of the clubhouse, possibly for an extra entrance way, and Sheton could see a confirmation to that. Starting from the front door all the way down to the tree, was a swirl of stairs that were imbedded in the tree with rope tied to them for extra footing. Around the front, back and sides of the clubhouse were pots of lowers, with a few more being sat from the outside of the clubhouse windows. Sheton could also see that there was another flight of those stairs at the back of the clubhouse, going up into the leaves of the tree the clubhouse hanging onto. At least, at the very top of the tree, Sheton could see a bit of a tower poking out, with a large red flag hanging from the top of it.

“I have to be honest, it’s not as…flashy as it thought it’d be.” Sheton finally replied, walking closer to the clubhouse. “That being said, it’s not exactly like all of the normal designs that I’ve seen, let alone a clubhouse.”

“Yeah, it really ain’t either. More like somethin’ in between th’ lines of it.” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. “While we don’t like to make thing too flashy, we don’t like t’ make ‘em t’ th’ point where it doesn’t catch anypony’s eye. That’s how me an’ th’ girls roll when we all work together.”

“Yep!” Sweetie chirped happily as she and the other fillies walked up the stairs. “Let me just say, that when we told all our sisters about our plan to redesign the clubhouse, Rarity wanted to make it really flashy and sparkly. Like, seriously, she wanted to be just that, saying that it would add a divine shine to our hangout for all to see.”

“She did?” Sheton asked, following the fillies up and around the tree. “Did the others want that too?”

“No way in Tartarus, especially not Applejack and Rainbow Dash.” Fire snorted. “My sister wanted to make the clubhouse a lot more awesome looking, while Applejack wanted to be more traditional and old fashioned and all of that stuff. While I don’t mind it being but like any other clubhouse, at the same time, I do wanna add at least a little flare to it. Like some flames and maybe even a few rainbows if we could.”

“I-it didn’t really w-work out v-very well.” Scootaloo murmured softly, walking up from behind Sheton. “I-I was f-f-fine with w-whatever way the g-girls wanted t-to make the clubhouse, t-though I did w-want to make it m-more like my b-b-big sisters c-c-cottage. A-at least a l-little bit…y-you know, with the f-flowers that’re around the c-clubhouse a-and all.”

“In the end, we had all decided to make it like this, and put a little bit of everything we all liked into it.” Crescent said, giving a swish of her tail skirt. “Looking back on it now, I think that it had worked out essentially, wouldn’t you agree Dinky?”

“Uh-huh!” The grayish violet filly squeaked. “And it’s still so beautiful every time I see it!”

“I think so too~!” Spike giggled, his tail wagging.

“Uh-huh, it really is.” Sheton nodded, looking around at the front of the clubhouse as his hooves gently brushed against the wooden floor. He took a deep inhale of the woods scent and the flowers, and was washed with the scent of apples and vanilla, the former of which making him smile as he stared up at the tree. ‘Even this clubhouse smells like apples. Oh, if only it really was an actual apple, I would suck it off until it was milked dry!’

“If yer done drooling at th’ apples on th’ tree.” Apple Bloom murmured, flicking the colt’s face with her tail. “We’d like t’ show ya inside.”

Quickly wiping the saliva form his mouth, Sheton blushed and nodded as Crescent opened the door with her magic. Before he could think of letting them go first, Fire practically shoved him inside, so hard that he almost lost his footing. After collecting himself, Sheton looked around the clubhouse and felt his jaw drop again at what he saw. The whole interior of the clubhouse looked even bigger than the exterior, something he could not fathom was possible. On the left side of the clubhouse, was a large table consisting of plates and cups and silverware for more than seven ponies. In the middle of the clubhouse, at the far back next to the table was a large judge stand with a gavel sitting on it, with a huge chest at the far right, probably containing toys of some sort.

There was another table that looked to be one made for meetings and planning, and a large chart with boxes coloring and regular pencils resting on top of it, on the closer right side of the clubhouse. On the left side of where he was, Sheton could see beanbags of various colors, looking for foals to just hang out and lounge around at. At the sides of the clubhouse, in the center, were the windows having curtains pulled back, one a pale purple with red flowers, while the other was a plaid color. Next to the first window, was a picture of a landscape, and hanging from the top was a large lightbulb, one that Sweetie Belle lit with her magic.

“Surprise!” The alabaster filly exclaimed. “Welcome to our clubhouse Sheton! The clubhouse of the Sweet Apple Acres Farm!”

“Well, what do ya think dude?” Fire asked, grinning widely. “Is it as awesome as you thought it would be?”

“Its…not what I expected it to be at all.” Sheton finally said, managing to find his voice. “Then again, the exterior of the clubhouse wasn’t what I thought I’d be either, so I should’ve seen it coming.”

The crimson filly leaned in, her eyes sparkling. “So, I take it you do think it’s awesome?”

“W-well, yeah I do.” Sheton replied nervously, his ears falling limp at the invasion of his personal space. “I-it’s really awesome.”

“Fire Flash, please back up.” Scootaloo said softly, pulling at the crimson filly’s tail and pushing Sheton away from her. “Y-you’re m-making Sheton u-uncomfortable. A-and you know how w-we are a-about y-you making c-colts and f-fillies n-nervous whenever w-we t-take them h-here.”

“R-right, sorry.” Fire replied sheepishly. “I got a little excited about how you’d like the look of our clubhouse.”

“I-it’s fine, j-just try to be more mindful about my personal space okay?” Sheton advised, before turning to the other fillies. “So…this is where you all like to hang out?”

“Uh-huh, whenever we get the chance!” Spike replied, grinning widely. “Of course, it’s not all that frequent for me, since Twilight does need me for assistants in the library, and spells, and tests and all that, but I do get my chances! It’s so worth it every time we do, and it really helps me unwind!”

“I-I’d much r-rather it t-to b-be calm and q-quiet m-most of the t-time.” Scootaloo said, pawing at the ground. “B-but even I-I like it w-when t-things l-liven up a l-little…i-it makes it a-all t-the more f-fun for us.”

“It’s even more exciting when we have even more guests over!” Dinky chirped, smiling sweetly at Sheton. “And you just so happened to be one of those guests!”

“Yeah, you…pretty much made that abundantly clear.” Sheton murmured, flicking is tail. He then walked around the clubhouse, taking in all of the sights and valuables. “I gotta say, it does look like a fun place to be at. It kind of reminds me a lot of my room back in Canterlot City. Only it was a little bit, um…smaller.”

“Really?” Sweetie asked, tilting her head. “Your room is a lot like our clubhouse?”

“Yeah, it really is.” Crescent replied. “It’s actually really articulate, especially since Sheton is a Thestral and all, and they really like the nighttime.”

“O-oh I think I s-s-see…” Scootaloo nodded. “S-Sheton’s room is e-eerily similar t-t-to t-that of o-our c-clubhouse…o-only i-its more suited f-for the n-nighttime?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Spike confirmed. “While Sheton doesn’t mind the day, he’d much rather be active during the night.”

“Seriously?” Fire asked. “Why would he want to do that? The daytime is awesome, and I know there are a lot of ponies who love it too! How could someone like the night more than the day?”

“Because I tend to believe it’s more active than the day.” Sheton replied, looking over at the tomboyish filly. “I’m not saying that the day isn’t as beautiful as the night, I’m just saying that some ponies don’t really give the night that much credit. I mean, there’s just so many things about the night that make it just as wonderous. From the Moon that bathes the towns and cities with its pure white light, to the stars that twinkle as if they were little nightlights. To the northern lights that float about in the skies, to the nocturnal animals that all roam about, from the fireflies, to the possums, racoons, to the bats…” A small smile adorned his face as a dreamy look came to his eyes. “The night can be so beautiful to those who’re willing to search for it.”

“Well, when you put it like that, that does sound pretty amazing.” Dinky murmured. “Then again, I’ve always kind of liked the night anyway too, so...”

Sheton raised a brow at the grayish violet filly. “Kind of?”

“Okay, okay, I really like the nighttime.” Dinky huffed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know why, but…I just do. Probably because of the family that I’m from. Or maybe it’s just one those differences I have like anypony else. Either way, I really do believe the night is a lot prettier.”

“I think so too~!” Spike nodded, giggling merrily as Sweetie nodded.

“Eh, I’m not really following you guys.” Fire muttered, her shoulders sagging. “I mean, we see those things all the time whenever we go to sleep or stay up! What’s so cool about seeing all of that?”

“Probably those who can actually git what’s so pretty ‘bout the nighttime.” Apple Bloom replied bluntly with a deadpan expression aimed at Fire. “One o’ th’ main reason why you an’ me will probably never really understand why.”

Crescent winced. “Ouch…”

“Well, whether you guys like the night or the day more than the other, or both at once, it doesn’t necessarily matter.” Sheton sighed, flexing his bat wings. “If you love the night more than the day, or the day more than the night, than I can respect that. All I’m saying is that I have my own reasons for liking the night more than the day, and not just because I’m a Thestral.”

“Don’t worry Sheton, we weren’t tryin’ t’ start anythin’.” Apple Bloom assured, putting a hoof on his shoulder. “We were jus’ sayin’ our own thoughts on the night and day it is all. Nopony said that ya had to change yer opinion, all we were doin’ was given ours.”

The Thestral colt smiled gratefully at the sun yellow filly. “Thank you, I appreciate that Apple Bloom.” He looked over at Spike and the other fillies. “So, what do you guys wanna do now that I’m here?”

“Oh, I know!” Sweetie suddenly cried. “We can take you up to the higher part of the clubhouse outside! The part that’s in the trees up above with the flag that you saw!”

“W-wait, what?!” Sheton cried, backpaddling. “Y-you have another room connected to the clubhouse that’s a part of this one?!”

“M-mhm…” Scootaloo replied, smiling modestly. “I-it can’t r-really b-be seen o-outside, b-but the higher room a-above the c-clubhouse i-is j-just as d-decorative and s-spacious as it is i-in here. P-plus i-it has a s-stethoscope that l-lets us l-look out i-into the s-sky and o-out into t-the town too.”

“And that is the part that I love about it most!” Crescent chirped, giggling merrily. “Well, other than the fact that it’s just as spacious and allows me to take plenty of notes on things.”

“And it’s just as fun up there as it is here!” Dinky added, swishing her tail excitedly. “Don’t forget that!”

“We know Dinky, you’ve said that over a million times.” Fire sighed. “You’re starting to sound more like Melon Cake the more you say that.”

“Well somepony’s gotta fill in for Melon Cake since she’s not here!” Dinky huffed. “She’d be the one saying things like how fun it is here and how much of a blast it would be! I’m just trying to make up for her absence, especially given what happened at the Town Square!”

“She is right you know Fire.” Apple Bloom murmured. “The atmosphere is jus’ th’ slightest bit dull since Melon Cake ain’t here. So somepony’s gotta make up for the absence.”

“Yeah, you make a good point.” Fire sighed again, more guiltily this time. “I’m sorry Dinky.”

“It’s okay Flashy.” Dinky cooed, before turning to look at Sheton. “So Sheton, do you wanna see the upper part of the clubhouse now?”

Before Sheton could reply, they all heard a knock on the door, causing them all to jump. As they looked over, the knocks came again, this time slightly louder.

“I’ll get it.” Spike said, trotting over to the door and turning one of his hooves into a claw so he could open it. Upon seeing who it was, his expression went as bright as his scales. “Oh, hi there Apple Grove!”

“Howdy t’ you too Spike.” Apple Grove said softly, smiling gently at the draconic colt. “Are you an’ th’ other youngin’ doin’ okay here?”

“Uh-huh, we sure are!” Dinky replied happily. “We were just goin’ to do some drawing with Sheton, we wanna see if he’s got a good dose of art skills like the rest of us do! What’re you doing here.”

“Oh, I just came to check up on you all.” Grove replied, blowing her mane from her face. “Ah was hopin’ that there was nothin’ bad goin’ on here, an’ that nothin’ got any o’ y’all.”

“O’ course nothin’s got us here.” Apple Bloom said, somewhat perplexedly. “Why would ya think that?”

Grove ran a hoof through her mane. “D-don’t worry about it cousin, i-it ain’t really that big of a deal. A-Ah jus’ have this really uncomfortable feelin’ brewin’ up in me right now…” She replied as she locked eyes with the smaller farm filly. “…Ah don’t know why, but Ah do.”

“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked worriedly. “What’s bothering you?”

“...Do y’all know ‘bout that invasion from those Tantabus things that attacked us a little more than half an hour ago?” Grove asked tentatively, earning grim nods from the foals. “Well, when they came, Ah had th’ exact same feelin’ as Ah did now, except this time…it’s a lot worse.”

“Worse?” Spike repeated, one of his ears flicking. “How?”

“Ah honestly don’t know.” Grove replied, rubbing the back of her head. “Ah know everythin’s quiet now, but…Ah’m still not feelin’ entirely safe right now. Ah jus’ keep gettin’ this outta th’ ordinary feelin’ that somethin’ ain’t right. like, what happened just now is only jus’ th’ start o’ somethin’ else that’s about t’ happen.” A shiver went down her back as her wing gave a slight twitch. “An’ it’s really startin’ t’ scare me.”

“O-oh, t-that’s not good.” Scootaloo said, looking at Grove worriedly. A couple of minutes of silence passed, before she lifted her forehooves up and spread them out invitingly. “Do…d-do you want a hug?”

Grove smiled kindly at the bright orange filly. “No, Ah don’t need ne but thank you sugar lump, Ah jus’ came t’ let y’all t’ keep yer eyes peeled ‘round here. Them Tantabuses may be gone, but Ah wouldn’t get too comfortable if Ah were y’all. Not that Ah’m trying t’ spoil yer fun, just try t’ keep a lookout fer anythin’ fishy, ‘kay?”

“We sure will Grove!” Dinky chirped, her forelegs reaching out and bringing Sheton and Spike in closer. “And we have two amazing colts here that’ll help us keep an extra sharp lookout if Apple Bloom’s farm gets invaded again!”

“They sure do!” Spike chirped, smiling. ‘Finally, somepony other than Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Sheton and Melon Cake who remember to include me!’

“And if we do see somethin’ Ah’ll be sure to send one o’ mah girls t git one o’ y’all.” Apple Bloom winked. “If not, then we’ll be prepared t’ lay th’ smackdown!”

Grove giggled at her cousin’s and her friends’ antics. “Ah’m glad t’ hear it AB.” She said, letting out a soft sigh. “Anyway, Ah gotta go, Ma an’ Ah ‘r almost done with yer next batch o’ fritters, an’ she’s even added a lil’ treat that we’re sure y’all will like.”

“Really?” Sheton asked, his tufted ears perked. “What treat is that?”

Giving Sheton the same sly grin that Apple Bloom did, Grove replied. “You’ll jus’ have t’ wait an’ see baby. You’ll jus’ have t’ wait an’ see.”

Crescent Shield, Sweetie Belle, Fire Flash and Apple Bloom giggled as Grove winked at a blushing Sheton before leaving, closing the door softly behind her. After making sure his cheeks were back to their normal color, Sheton looked at Apple Bloom and asked, “I know that she got that form you Apple Bloom.”

“Eeyup, she sure did. The farm filly laughed. “Jus’ goes t’ show ya how big of a surprise th’ treats that Grove an’ Fritter ‘r makin’ will be.”

“Of course it does.” Sheton sighed, pulling his fedora over his head. “Anyway, you guys said that you wanted to show me the upper part of the clubhouse?”

Scootaloo nodded, happy for the swift change in subject. “Oh, y-yes, we do! L-l-like we t-told you b-before, t-the upper b-base o-of our c-clubhouse i-is j-just as big, i-if not a b-bit bigger t-than this p-part. Y-you can’t really see it b-because it’s b-blocked by the l-leave and a-apples, b-but it i-is p-pretty b-big.”

“It sure is.” Crescent nodded. “Even after all this time I’m still somewhat trying to theorize how something so big like that can be hidden inside a tree. Then again, this particular tree in general is consistently bigger than the rest, so I guess it does make sense.”

“Your damn right it does!” Fire Flash, roughly slapping the ocean blue filly on the back.

“Well then, what are we even waiting for?! Let’s show him upstairs already!” Dinky said as she encased Sheton in her magic and heading straight for the front entrance. “The sooner we get Sheton up to the higher base, the sooner we can get to playing!”

“Whoa Dinky, take it easy!” Spike said as he and the others raced after her. “I get that your excited and all, but be careful! Your magic is powerful, but it’s not properly controlled yet, and your excitement might cause you to lose control!”

“I don’t care!” The grayish violet filly cried as she ran to the stairs nestled at the back of the clubhouse. “I’m not wasting another minute showing Sheton every inch of our clubhouse!”

“That doesn’t mean you have to zap Sheton!” Sweetie shouted. “It’s happened a lot with me and Rarity whenever I get too excited! Trust me, I’ve burnt more than a few shades of my sister’s fur in the process, and I don’t wanna have the same thing happen to our new friend!”

“Then you’re just going to have to catch me before that happens!” Dinky taunted playfully, before glancing back up at Sheton. “Don’t worry Sheton, I’m not gonna zap you! And even if I do, it’s not going to hurt at all, if you live that is!”

Sheton paled. “What do you mean if?!”

“Oh nothing!” Dinky replied just a little too sweetly. “Let’s just say a lot of my mommy’s muffins didn’t survive my excited magical surges. Don’t worry though Sheton, you’re not a muffin, so that means you have a much higher chance of surviving all the way to the top! If I don’t manage to drop you that is!”

“How is that supposed to make me feel any better?!” The Thestral colt demanded. “Especially with the possibility that you might zap me?! At full power?!”

“Because I’m taking your safety into consideration.” Dinky replied as if Sheton should’ve known that. “So that should let you know that you don’t need to be scared, because I’m making sure nothing bad happens to you! As long as I don’t get too excited, but then again, I might do just that!”

“NOT HELPING DINKY!” Almost all of the other foals shouted while Scootaloo just whimpered concernedly.

“Oh, Faust please help me…” Sheton whined pitifully, going limp as he cried a river of anime tears.

Author's Notes:

Alright, now, before any of you say anything in the comments about what I just posted, and just to clear any confusion, I didn't necessarily say that the tender scene and the terror that ponyville was going to face was going to be into one chapter. Neither did I say that either one or the other was going to be in the next chapter either, so please don't throw any hate towards me for not combining the two into one, especially since I had done a thorough run through of this chapter. All I will say right now, is that I had decided to add a bit of a tender scene, this one involving the CMC, before I went back to things going downhill for ponyville once again. That and while I did have plans for adding that into this chapter, I once again believed it would be better for them to be split and put in separate chapters rather than one. While I'm sure that this one wouldn't really be called, tender, I know many of you can agree that it was pretty cute, and a nice little uplift as well, something I have so much fun doing.

Anyway, that's all for now. Next chapter we'll really be getting into some deep shit in Ponyville, with said town getting another darker, more monstrous, and intellectual visit than with the Tantabuses.