Chapter Eight

It has been a couple hours since the two ponies had left the cottage. Fairy Ring wasn't believed to be too far from home, but even though Starburst couldn't speak, Fluttershy felt that her presence alone could keep her company. She was even happy to hum a couple of songs to break the silence. It was strange, though. She usually shies away from singing to other ponies aside from her friends. She wonders if she's starting to grow more comfortable with Starburst around. Maybe it's just a fluke…It's not like the ashen pony is aware of it. But knowing that she had lost her memory, there's no possible way she could make all this up.

Suddenly the white pony had stopped walking, which made the pegasus stop as well.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She notices that her ears were twitching, as if she was picking up on a faint sound. Soon, Fluttershy heard it too. The sound was soft and harmonious, yet sweet and subtle.

…As if there was singing…

This gives the pegasus the realization that the two have almost reached Fairy Ring.

"Oh my," she says, smiling. "This must be what the saccharites sound like. Twilight did say they tend to sing. That means Fairy Ring is just over that hill." She starts for the hill. "Shall we?"

The singing grew gradually louder as they move up the hill, and they were in for a bigger treat once they reached the top.

The two ponies have never seen Fairy Ring before. Everything about it was astounding from top to bottom. If consisted of a valley with vegetation so lush and plentiful. Several rivers flow through the valley, leading to a vast lake away from what gave Fairy Ring its name: fairy circles. Dozens of Fairy circles made up of uncommon mushroom species cover a large patch of the valley. The crisp, sweet breezes that wisp by the ponies' noses couldn't smell any cleaner. They could still hear the singing, but the Saccharites were nowhere to be seen.

"It must be almost time for them to arrive," the pegasus said, pointing a hoof at the fairy circles. "Let's watch closely!"

The space within the circles began to glow, appearing like little puddles across the field. The initial sounds of the saccharites were muffled until all of them arose from their world.

Both mares were astounded by their appearance. Each were varied in color and grouped by the shape of their petals. Their petals appeared closed, but had opened to reveal their droplet-like heads. It was as if they resembled little angels, minus the haloes. Their voice carried like a mellifluous chorus singing sweetly within the ponies' ears. They waited patiently for them the finish before Fluttershy began to greet them.

"Why, hello saccharites," she says softly. "We've been expecting you to arrive. My name is Fluttershy, and this is my friend, Starburst. We are here to take care of you all for the day, so I really hope you can accept our hospitality."

All the saccharites fluttered close to them, giving the best happy expression they could give.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but do you have a leader?"

"That would be me!"

A light blue saccharite with subtle purple petals resembling that of a water lily came before the others in a pronounced female voice. The only thing that made her different from the others was a red princess-cut ruby embedded into her forehead and chest.

"Greetings! You can call me Gluco. We are very happy to accept your care. I just hope we won't be a burden to the two of you."

"Oh, that's all right. I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." She looks over to Starburst. "You see, Starburst had mysteriously lost her talent and memories, and my friends and I were given the job of teaching her about the elements of harmony to restore them. I'm teaching her about kindness."

"Oh?" The head sugar sprite analyzes the white pony. "I see…I'm sure it must have been difficult from the beginning, but I'm glad you're doing whatever you can to help!" She then nods. "Well! I hope you both can take care of us with the best of your ability!"

"We will do our best! To start, what can we do to make sure you'll have a wonderful afternoon?"

"Well, I rather not have all of the attention. I want to ensure my sugarlings get the warmest hospitality, so please look this over, if you don't mind."

With a little magic, a long piece of parchment was placed before the ponies' hooves.

"This is a list showing the preferences of my sugarlings. I hope this isn't too much of a burden for you both."

The parchment listed every saccharites' name, and preferences covering their favorite food, activities, and sleeping arrangements. It was quite a list for about forty-nine sugar sprites, but the pegasus had no time to hesitate.

"Absolutely," she smiles. "Don't you worry about a thing, Miss Gluco. We'll take care of everything!"

"Wonderful! Although, there's no need for the formalities. Gluco is fine."

"Alright then." She turns her gaze towards the sugar sprites. "How about all of you get yourselves settled? There's only two of us, so we'll get to all of you as quick as we can!"

The Saccharites cheered happily before fluttering to their distinctive fairy circles.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Fluttershy says quietly. "I can't wait to get started!" She turns her head towards Starburst. "I know you're unable to talk yet, but you can still be kind without it. Just remember to be the best you can be."

The ivory pony felt very determined, so with a simple nod they got to work. The yellow pony noticed a minor note written at the top of the parchment and read it aloud.

"Each saccharite is sectioned by color," she smiles. "Well, that should be easy to identify each of them. Let's get to work, Starburst!"

As the saccharites chatted and played till their assistance came around, the two ponies took turns helping each other out. Some of the preferences were a bit too excessive due to lack of supplies, but at least they were satisfied with the alternatives given. It was near sunset when they've completed the list.

"They didn't seem needy at all," Fluttershy says resting beside Starburst, watching the sugar sprites play close by. "Did you think so?"

The ashen pony shook her head. She was happy that the saccharites respected her help. It was as if she finally felt normal and a part of the family.

"Oh, Fluttershy?" Gluco fluttered over to them. "I really can't thank you enough for everything you both have done for my sugarlings."

"Oh, it was no trouble at all! They were happy to accept it. I was actually worried they would be too needy…"

"Their preferences do seem a bit extreme, but you both found a way to cope."

The pegasus continued to talk while the white pony looks away to skim through the parchment to help remember names. She read each name until she came across a small scribble at the very bottom. It appeared hard to read from a normal distance, so she had to squint to get a better look.

"Shugo"…Is that a name?

It sounds like one when compared to all the others. She could have sworn she and Fluttershy had too care of everyone…How could they have missed one? The name didn't have any preferences listed, and that was strange. She stood up and searched the entire field. It was difficult to search because she couldn't tell if anything fell out of place…not until she noticed something unusual take place.

There was one saccharite that stood out more than the others. It matched a lily style similar to Gluco. The resemblance was uncanny. It too had a sphere ruby embedded in its chest, but the sprite's size was a bit smaller than the others. The pony notices that it had been trying to communicate and play amongst the others, but most have either dispersed or pushed it away. A rose, daisy, sunflower, and orchid sprites respectively took turns picking on it.

"Learn how to speak, mind reader," the rose said.

"Yeah, I hate the way you talk to us!" the daisy followed.

"I nearly jump out of my body every time you say something!" the sunflower spoke.

"Leave us alone. You're just too different." the orchid complained.

One of the sugar sprites grabbed the lily's arm and started to twirl its body around.

"Not to mention tiny," the rose said. "I bet you can't even produce up to help of our sugar magic. Surely you'll be the blame for the world's crops this year because they won't be as sweet."

The sunflower shoves it down to the ground.

"Mute and puny…What a joke!"

The teasing sprites laughed as they fluttered away, leaving the little one to slowly move to a fairy circles farthest away from the others to sulk. Starburst couldn't be the only one who saw this, right? She looked over to Fluttershy and Gluco, and they were still talking the day away. Perhaps she should get their attention, but something is telling her not to. She heard the sprite calling the little one "mute", so it couldn't speak?

Nor could she! To think she might have something in common! There's no way that could be a coincidence!

Starburst didn't want the pegasus and sprite leader to notice, so she stood up and trotted near the larger groups first to meet and greet before moving over to the lonely sprite. It's very unfortunate for her to speak, but she had to find a way to communicate somehow.

The sugar sprite continued to stare at the ground until the ashen pony's hooves were picked up in its peripheral and looked up. After seeing its eyelashes, the mare discovered it was a girl. The name on the parchment had to be her! She attempted to wave her hoof and give her most welcoming smile she could, but the sprite kept her saddened expression and looked back at the ground.

Once again, it was very unfortunate. It's not like she can use sign language…How could she communicate with the given situation?

'I really wish you could hear me…' she thought.

'…I can hear you.'

The pony jumped slightly to the sudden voice heard in her head. Now she understood how the others treated her. She looked at her and noticed the sprite had made eye contact again.

'Did…Did you say that?'

'Yes…That was me.'

The little lily perked up from sudden realization and started to apologize.

'Please, forgive me from reading your mind! It is the only way I can communicate!'

'Oh no, it's all right! Please, you don't have to apologize.'

'…Are you sure?'

'I am. Really!'

The saccharite gave a sigh of relief.

'I appreciate your courtesy.'

'I saw a name scribbled in small letters on the list. Is your name Shugo?'

'Yes, and you must be Starburst. I'm surprised you noticed it.'

'How could I not? You're just like the others, aren't you?'

'Yes…and no. I bet you saw what happened to me earlier.'

'I don't understand…Why did they do that?'

'It's because I'm unable to speak. The cause is unknown, but at least I can speak telepathically. The other saccharites dislike it because they don't expect it.'

'Well, it was a surprise at first,' the pony thought. 'But that's no excuse for them to bully you like that. I mean you've been traveling with them all year, right?'

The sugar sprite nodded.

'Then there has to be another reason.' Starburst notices the ruby embedded in her chest. 'That ruby…It looks just like Gluco's.'

'I've had this since birth. She was born with it, too.'

'Oh, really?'

'Yes. In fact, every leader I've seen has one, but,' She stares at the ground. 'None of them have a disability like me.'

The white mare thought to herself for a moment.

'Every leader has one, you said?' She asked, then followed by a smile. 'If that's true, then you will surely become a leader one day! I bet that's exciting!'

'A leader…You really think I can be one?'

'Of course! It doesn't matter if you're small or mute. Anyone can be a leader as long as you believe in yourself. I'm sure the other saccharites will look up to you in no time!'

The little sprite felt as if it was the first time her eyes had smiled since the past few seasons. The sensation had brought tears to her eyes.

'Thank you…! You're so kind…' The ashen pony smiles.

'Anything for a friend.' The sprite perked up to that word.

'Friend…?'

'Of course! You look like you could use one. I want to make sure every saccharite has a wonderful time! Would you like that?'

The little one nodded without hesitation.

'Yes…I would love that!'

Fluttershy was the first to notice Starburst interacting with Shugo. She soon realizes the possibility of missing a saccharite on the list.

"Oh my…That saccharite is a little one!" she said. "I can't believe I missed it…I'm so sorry…!"

"Relax, Miss Fluttershy," The leader said. "I should be grateful of Miss Starburst for noticing. She has had difficulties getting along with the other sugarlings because of her size and how she communicates."

"I understand her size, but how she communicates?"

The pegasus wondered how the white pony appeared to interact with the little sprite, but then it clicked.

"She can't speak?"

"That's right. Shugo can only communicate telepathically. I remembered that your friend cannot speak either, so it's possible that Shugo is allowing her to speak her mind as well."

"Oh my…That's an amazing power."

"I'm glad you think so. It's rare for her to find a friend with something in common…"

It's hard to blame the tiny sprite. She has had this problem since birth, and was unable to fully enjoy common interactions with the other saccharites. It felt awful to be different, and Starburst could somewhat relate. It's possible the white mare thinks about it since she landed in Ponyville, but it won't be long before she would have to walk through there again with her head held high.