//------------------------------// // Shimmerwood // Story: A Spark of Magic // by Rammstein45 //------------------------------// (CHAPTER 12) SHIMMERWOOD It all felt so surreal. 24 hours ago, Sparks was a single stallion with the ambition of working up the courage to confess his feelings to his dream mare. He still couldn't believe that all it took was for him to lose himself in her emotions. To Sparks, it seemed like he was an entirely different stallion when a mare was in trouble. He experienced the same feeling back in Canterlot when he first saw Trixie upset and crying over not being able to get into the gala. All he could think about was making her happy and chasing away her sorrow. The same thing had happened yesterday when he took her back to see what was left of her caravan. He wasn’t complaining, Trixie had accepted his feelings and returned her own to him. Today, the stallion definitely felt as though a tremendous weight had been removed from his shoulders. Sparks stretched his legs with a groan and pulled himself out of bed. One thing hadn’t changed though, Sparks room was still empty. Though he and Trixie were a couple now, they both wanted to take things slow and not rush into anything. Trixie slept in his spare guest room. The room was basically hers now anyway since she had been living at Sparks house for several weeks now. Eventually the two would share the same bed, just not until they both felt the time was right. He went out into the hall. It was still early and Trixie’s door was still closed, she usually slept until around 8. That was fine, Sparks had his usual morning routine anyway. Quietly he cracked open her door and looked inside. Trixie seemed to sleep better when she cocooned herself in her blankets, typically only her mane and the tip of her horn were ever visible from beneath her blankets when she slept. Her blankets were rising and falling softly, a sign she was still deep within Luna‘s dream world. Sparks smiled and slowly closed the door so he didn’t disturb her. Quietly going down the stairs; as he did every morning, Sparks levitated his saddle bags onto his back and headed out the door to work. Sparks stepped outside and took in a breath of the fresh morning air. He hadn’t been this eager to go to work in quite a while. He walked to his front gate feeling the cool morning dew on his hooves. From up above, the grey and blonde mail pony landed softly at his letter box. “Good morning, Sparks.” She greeted. “Good morning to you too.” She reached in her mail pouch and pulled out a small stack of letters that were held together with a rubber band. “Are you feeling better today?” She held out her hoof with the bundle of letters. Sparks levitated them into his saddle bag, “Much.” He told her. “Now it’s back to getting caught up with my work.” She smiled at him. “Well I wont hold you up. Have a good day!” The mail pony spread her wings and took off. He returned the wave and set off into town. After a quick stop at Sugar Cube Corner for his raspberry muffin, and his cup of iced tea Sparks made his way right to the Ponyville Firework Co. With still a solid weeks worth of work, plus overtime ahead of him, Sparks walked through the security gate with his mind full of determination, and his focus on nothing more at that moment than shell building. The door knob lit up with a blue aura as Sparks turned it with his magic. “Good morning Feather Quill. He called out as he stepped inside. The pegasus had just finished poring her first cup of coffee for the morning. “Morning Sparks. Feeling better today?” The unicorn set his saddle bags on the front desk. “Much.” He said. He opened one of his pouches and pulled out the stack of letters. “I’m eager to get back to work so I can finally start to get caught up. By the way, are you sure you can’t make it to Shimmerwood? It’s really nice there, and I’m sure my mom and dad would love to have you at their anniversary party.” “It would be nice but there’s no way I could. My boys have to much going on at school, and I have to be around the house while Black Gold is out working on the oil rigs.” “Alright, but if you change your mind let me know.” Sparks sifted through his stack of letters. A few bills, some junk mail, the usual. The next one had Firecracker’s return address in the top corner. Sparks raised an eyebrow as he opened the envelope. Firecracker usually never sent him anything. It read… Hey Sparks, I let my mom know about the firework shoot coming up in Shimmerwood. Her and dad are excited to see it. She also wanted to know if you were feeling better. In my last letter to her I told her about what happened, and I said not to worry because Trixie was looking after you. She said your mom was upset that you didn’t tell her you got hurt. Sparks felt his eyes widen in shock. He didn’t want his mom to know he had gotten hurt because of how much she worried. On top of that, if his sister found out, she’d go berserk. Now, not only did his mom find out what had happened, but she knew that Trixie was taking care of him. The Trixie part wasn’t a bad thing, but his mom had a habit of jumping to conclusions before she knew the whole story. I guess I should have asked you if you told your mom before I wrote about it to mine. Oh well, she had to find out sooner or later. Okay, that’s it, we just made it to Featherville. See you in a few days. Firecracker Sparks felt his eye twitch. He looked at the next letter and saw the name Nova along with his mothers return address. He took a deep breath. Sparks! How could you not tell your own Mother that you had gotten hurt?! Expect a slap when I see you in a few weeks! That being said, I’m glad you’re alright. You already make me worry enough as it is with how dangerous your job is. I would have been on the very next train to Ponyville had Firecracker’s mother not told me you had a pretty young mare looking after you. That’s another thing! Why didn’t you tell me that you had a mare friend?! Is she coming with you to Shimmerwood? She better be! I can’t wait to meet her! This is so wonderful! Now that you finally met a nice young mare I can finally start thinking about having Grandfoals! We can’t wait to meet her! And don’t worry, I’ll make sure Flame behaves herself around her. She threw quite the tantrum when she found out you had a filly friend and didn’t tell her about it. Your Father is excited to meet her too. Don’t worry, I promise that he’ll behave. I just hope the little cutie doesn’t mind your father’s heavy metal music and the rest of the band being at our party. Your cousin Breezy says hi too, and she can’t wait to see you and your special somepony. See you soon, Love Mom~ There was a slight tremble to his hoof as he reached for the third letter. He already had an idea who it was from. Sure enough, the envelope was pink, smelled of perfume, and had hearts drawn all over it. He saw the name Flame with his home in Shimmerwood’s return address below it. He took in a deep breath as if he was about to get yelled at as he opened it. Sparks!! Why didn’t you tell me that you almost died because of some random girl! It’s bad enough that she almost got you killed but what’s even worse is that she’s living in your house! Had I found out about this sooner I would have been on my way to Ponyville and given her a piece of my mind! Mom won’t let me come see you though… She says that you’re already being taken care of. What care could possibly be any better than the love of your younger sister? All you need to do is say the word and I’ll be on the next train to Ponyville. If you ask me, it’s not a good idea letting a total stranger live in your home, especially one that tried to murder you! Breezy was being stuck up about the situation too. Her and mom keep telling me not to worry, but I know better and I know what’s best for my big brother. You know I’ll always be there for you Sparky. Please don’t bring her with you when you come back home. She’ll probably try to ruin the party or worse! XOXO Flame Sparks dropped the letter on the desk and flopped down in an empty chair with a blank, and bewildered look on his face. Feather Quill looked up from her accounting book on her desk. She saw the stack of envelopes and the look of distress on the pyro ponies face. Without missing a beat she asked, "Your mom and sister just found out about Trixie, didn't they?" With a lazy nod, he said back, "Uh huh..." Feather Quill got up from her desk and pulled a bottle of hard cider from the cabinet behind her. She brought it over to Sparks and said, "Just breath, and take your medicine." "You keep booze in your office?" Sparks asked. "Working for you two maniacs, and dealing with your sudden loud booms, it helps keep me calm." She set a glass down and poured out a shot for Sparks. "Come on now! Bottoms up!" Without thinking, Sparks took the shot. He swallowed and set the glass down. "I'm gonna kill Firecracker when he get's back... He KNOWS how easily my mom and sister jump to conclusions." "Well, it's probably for the best that they found out now instead of you showing up at their door with her. At least now they have some heads up." "Feather Quill you don't understand!" Sparks said out of desperation. "Oh I understand perfectly, Sparks. Your mom wants grandfoals like there's no tomorrow, and your sister has an older brother complex. I have sisters too that I deal with, they're just not as dysfunctional as your family. Pretty close! But not as bad." Without really reacting, Sparks took a bite out of his Raspberry muffin. "I just don't want Trixie to be scared off by them you know? We're still a new couple, I was hoping to let her tip toe around the family pool, not push her right into the deep end." "Trust me, if I could survive meeting Black Gold's family for the first time, I think Trixie will do fine with yours. I come from a family of bankers and accountants, you can't imagine what it's like going from that to being part of a family that works in the oil fields. Talk about prim and proper getting thrown into the rough and tumble." Sparks felt a small smile form on his lips and he allowed a small sigh of relief. "Feather Quill, I'm so glad we hired you." "M'hmm." She said with a grin. "Need another shot Pyro Boy?" He shook his head. "No thanks. I better get to work." "Alright." She said as she took her own swig out of the bottle. "Well it's here if you need it, and I'm always here to talk." ____________________________________________________________________________________________ The record Sparks had playing of the music from his dads band faded to static as the needle ran past the end of the last song. Sparks finished tying a fuse into a shell looked up at the clock. It was already nearly 2 in the afternoon. The one thing about the firework making process was that it made time fly. Every now and then Sparks would find he had worked an entire day without even taking a break simply because he got so caught up in what he was doing. He debated on taking a break, but he didn't want to lose time when he was already so behind as it was. Sparks wiped the black powder off of his hooves and went to his record player. He pulled the album out and put it back in the small shelf underneath. His horn began to glow as he sifted through his other albums. He pulled out another record of his fathers band. Mareilyn Manesen - Mechanical Ponies. One of his favorites, and one where he thought his dads drumming sounded particularly good. He put the album on the turntable and set the needle down. The first song Great Big White World began to play and Sparks went right back to work. Sparks picked up the next shell and started to attach the fuse to it. It took no time at all for him to get back in his zone. He had a smooth rhythm of levitating fuses out of a box and then attaching them to a shell and repeating the process. To Sparks, he was his own personal assembly line. At the rate he was going he would be back on schedule in a few days. A knock came from the door. Without turning, Sparks called out, "Come on in, Feather!" The door opened and he heard a different voice. "It's me." Trixie's voice. Sparks turned. She was holding a bag in her hoof and said, "Trixie saw you didn't take a lunch with you this morning. I figured you would be hungry. Feather Quill said it was alright for me to run this back to you." He smiled. "Sure, come on in." Trixie walked inside the small building and shut the door behind her. She walked up to her pyro pony and gave him a quick kiss. "Trixie won't stay long, I just didn't want you to go without eating all day." Sparks took the bag from her and set it on one of the tables that wasn't covered in black powder. "I appreciate it. I get so caught up in my work that I forget to eat sometimes, and yet I'm still fat." "Oh please." she scoffed, "Trixie doesn't want to be with a stallion that could be blown away in a gentle breeze. Besides, Trixie likes a stallion who has a little size to him." "That doesn't make it sound much better." He joked. Trixie rolled her eyes. "Just take Trixie's compliment. If anything it makes me feel safer when I'm around you." "Fine... Fine..." Sparks said back. "Thank you for bringing me lunch." Trixie stood proudly and let a little bit of her bravado show through. "Well get used to it, one of the benefits of being my colt friend is you get to eat Trixie's fantastic cooking every day!" Sparks smiled at her in approval. Her ear twitched. Trixie heard the music Sparks had playing. They were to busy talking she didn't notice the song when she came in. "Ooo, Mechanical Ponies! Trixie loves this album!" `"You'll be hearing plenty of it and the other ones when we get to my parent's place. The rest of the band will be there too, I'd be happy to introduce you." She gasped, "You would do that?" "Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Trixie let out a happy squeal and threw her forelegs around Sparks neck and she kissed him again. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" He felt giddy inside from seeing her so happy. "Geez, had I known you liked my dads band so much I would have told you I knew them back in Canterlot." "Oh please," Trixie said with a matter-of-factly tone, "You were so shy around Trixie in Canterlot that even if you did know, you probably couldn't even bring yourself to tell me." "I'm sorry! You were just intimidating!" "Yeah, says the stallion who towers over me." Spark let out a laugh as she let go of him. Trixie looked at Sparks. His hooves were covered in black dust, his coat wasn't it's usual blue, but darker from all of the black powder. "Geez, as dirty as you are now, how does your house stay so clean?" "Trust me," He said back, "I wash up here as best I can so I don't track it all home. You're seeing me on a clean day. You should see me and Firecracker when we're making the stars for inside the shells." Trixie looked past Sparks at his work table. On each side were tall shelves, all were filled with unfinished firework shells. "So what are you doing with these ones?" "Come over here and I'll show you." Trixie followed Sparks up to his work table. The wood surface had no hint of a normal wood color, it's was covered in black dust, dried paste, and everything else involved with the firework making process. "What I'm doing here is taking the shells that are finished and putting the fuses in them." His horn began to glow as he pulled a finished shell off of the shelf to his right and set it down on a piece of brown paper. Next he pulled out a fuse from the box under his table. "This is the fuse that sticks out from the mortar tubes that we light to set it off. Inside is a special fuse called black match, it's burns so fast that we don't have much time to get out of the way before the shell goes off." "Isn't that really unsafe?" She asked as he examined the fuse he was holding. "Well see at the top here?" Sparks held it out for her to see. "Under this red cap is normal fuse. It burns much slower and it goes into the black match. It gives us about 3 seconds to light it and move out of the way. Sometimes though, if it's real humid and the black powder is being fussy about the moisture in the air, we just light it below the fuse right on the black match. That's when things get interesting, and when manes get singed." "This probably isn't stuff that you should be telling me." Trixie said, "You're going to make me worry every time I see you setting them off." "Better get used to it, honey! The risk comes with the territory." She let out a sigh. "Fine... I just don't want to see what I saw happen to you at Canterlot when that one firework went off right on the ground. Trixie thought you were dead!" Sparks set the fuse down on the brown paper and snug against the side of the shell. "That was just a shell with a bad time fuse that sets of the shell once it‘s in the sky. Sometimes they burn through way to quick, or the lift charge breaks through the shell casing and sets it off right away. It happens." "Stop! Just stop! You're going to make Trixie paranoid every time you go to work." "That's the pyro life." He told her with a smile. "Fine... just stop talking about it and show me what you're doing now." "Okay... Okay..." Sparks went back to what he was doing. "Anyway, we wrap the fuse and the shell up in another layer of paper and paste over it. When this paste dries, it forms a thick skin that gives the shell extra strength. The stronger the shell, and the more compact the stars and black powder are, the better the break in the sky. If it's to lose, when the black powder ignites it can't make the right amount of pressure and the firework will just fizzle." He folded the paper closed at the top and tied it around the fuse. He held the wrapped up shell for her to see, "Both ends will be tied off, the bottom is still open for now so when it's dry I can put the lift charge in, and that's what's going to send the shell into the sky." She looked at it the same way the Princesses did back in Canterlot. It was the look of "I had no idea so much went into this". Sparks had seen it many times before. He set the shell on the opposite shelf to let it dry. "And then we repeat!" "Well, all that puts Trixie's spell cast fireworks to shame." She told him. "Nah." He said back as he started work on the next shell. "There's just a little more TLC involved with these ones." She stood and watched him make a few more shells. Not wanting to bother him while he was busy, she said, "Alright, I'll let you get back to it. I'm going to pick up a few things at the market. Will you be home in time for dinner?" "I might be a little late again. I'm sorry but I'm just trying to get all my work caught up while Firecracker is gone. After Shimmerwood I promise the chaos and late nights will slow down." "It's fine." She told him. "Your job is important, and it is Trixie's fault that you're so behind." "I told you, I ran into that fire on my own. You didn't force me." "Still..." Sparks turned to her and smiled, "Don't worry about it, the important thing is I'm all better, I'm back at work, and not to mention I scored a really attractive mare out of this entire ordeal. If you ask me, I'm the winner here." Trixie let out a simple laugh. "Fine... Fine..." She walked up to Sparks, "I'm going to head out, I'll hold off on dinner until you get back." She leaned in and gave him a final kiss before she left. "Trixie loves you." He returned her kiss and said back, "And Sparks loves you." ____________________________________________________________________________________________ (One week later) The sun was just starting to set over Ponyville when Sparks and Trixie walked onto the platform of the train station. Up ahead, Sparks saw Firecracker talking with the station manager. All the standard procedure before they traveled with fireworks. Both would fill out a few forms explaining that they were both licensed pyrotechnicians, and were allowed to transport explosive materials. By now the two stallions knew just about every pony that worked at the train depot from how often they would travel to do shoots in different towns. The two walked up to Firecracker and heard the station manager saying to him, "Alright, that's your passenger car with sleeping bunks, your three box cars of equipment, and your hazardous material box car. You know the drill, sign both sheets." Firecracker signed, "There you go, see you in a few days." He saw Sparks coming. "There you are. We're pulling out in twenty minutes, you two ready to go?" Sparks nodded as he walked up to the train. “Yeah, where’s Habanero?” “She ran to the grocery store to get some food for the trip while I got all of our paperwork finished. She should be back any minute.” “Alright, we’re going to get settled in, we have a long trip ahead of us.” Sparks said. He levitated Trixie’s saddle bags onto his own back and said to her, “Go in and relax, I’ll be there in a minute.” With a nod, Trixie said back, “Alright.” And made her way into the passenger car. Sparks levitated the clip board from Firecracker’s hoof and signed his name on the lines of the paperwork. Firecracker walked up next to him and nudged his friend with his hoof. “So, how’s life with your dream mare?” “Really good.” Sparks said back as he finished signing his name. He levitated the forms back to the station workers and continued, “She’s getting settled in and she’s looking forward to meeting mom and dad.” “Well that’s good! Your mom will be thrilled that you’re finally bringing a mare home.” “Yeah, I know. Oh! And by the way!” Sparks leaned into Firecracker and said, “You got some retaliation headed your way for going behind my back and telling my Mom and Sister about Trixie, you know how they get!” “Please Sparks…” Firecracker said back as he readied to get on board the train, “If I hadn’t said anything you would have waited until the last minute to tell them. I went ahead and broke the ice for you” “Yeah! You broke the ice while I was still standing in the middle of the frozen lake!” From behind the two stallions, a familiar voice chirped, “Hey guys, I bought lots of snacks for the trip!” Habanero trotted onto the station platform with several grocery bags clipped to her luggage saddle. “I got cookies, chips, those cheesy tortilla chips that you like so much, Sparks, there’s some soda in there…” She paused and then said, “I didn’t know what to get Trixie so I’ll just share my stuff with her. She likes apple fritters, right?” “Yeah,” Sparks said back, “I haven’t really seen her not like a certain type of food, she should.” “Alrighty then!” Hally chimed, “Let’s get a move on.” She trotted into the passenger car with Sparks and Firecracker not far behind. A while later, once everypony was settled in their own bunks, one of the platform workers called out to the trains engineer, “Alright, you’re clear for dispatch, next stop, Shimmerwood.” The trains whistle blew and the ponies felt the cars jerk as they set underway. “How far is it to Shimmerwood?” Trixie asked. Firecracker looked at the clock hanging in the car, “Well it’s 8pm now, we should be there by around this time tomorrow morning.” “Yeah,” Sparks added, “It’s a long trip, but at least we can sleep through most of it.” “Speaking of which,” Firecracker yawned, “I might have to do that soon. We have a lot to do tomorrow, we’ll be at your parent’s before noon and then we have to set everything up for tomorrow night.” Sparks pulled a notebook out of his saddle bag and looked through everything he had written down for the firework show for his parents. “Yeah, I’m going to go over this for a little bit, then I won’t be too far behind you.” Trixie sat next to Habanero in the tiny bunk. Each sleeping compartment was large enough to hold a single pony. Firecracker flew up into one of the top bunks and pulled his curtain closed. “I’m starting my early night,” He said, “keep it down some if you please.” Sparks looked at the girls. “Are you two going to be up for a while?” Habanero took a bite out of one of the fritters she had bought for the trip. “I’ll be up for a bit, I can’t sleep until it get’s dark.” “Trixie will stay up with Hally for a bit. I’m not that tired yet anyway.” With a nod, Sparks went to pull the curtain of his bunk closed. “Alright, good night you two.” “Goodnight.” Habanero said with a mouth full of fritter. “Goodnight, Trixie loves you.” “And Sparks loves you.” With a smile, he pulled his curtain closed and settled in for the long trip. Sparks knew he wouldn’t be getting much sleep. Aside from the loud rumble of the train rolling down the tracks, he had to much else on his mind. He had his usual jitters of worrying about the firework shoot. This one was very special. He wanted to really wow his parent’s and show them just how amazing his firework displays were. Then there were his worries about Trixie meeting his family. He knew they were excited to meet her, but his family was one giant tangled web of dysfunction. His mom; while was thrilled to be meeting Trixie, liked to jump to conclusions about things before they even happened. His dad could be rude at times, though Trixie was a huge fan of his music. Then there was his little sister, Flame. He already knew that she would go out of her way to make things difficult right off the bat. Why did she have to be so clingy with him…? The unicorn let out a sigh, and tried to fall asleep to the clacking of the wheels rolling on the rails. “That was really cute.” Habanero said with a smile. “What was?” Trixie asked. “The way you and Sparks said I love you to each other, in the third pony.” Trixie felt her cheeks flush. “It’s just a habit of mine,” She exclaimed, “Trixie’s always talked in the third pony ever since she was a filly. I try not to do it all the time though, it’s just second nature for me I suppose.” Hally giggled. “Well it’s cute. Don’t ever stop doing it.” The two girls sat silent for a moment until Habanero spoke up. “Are you nervous about meeting Sparks parents?” “A little.” Trixie admitted. Sparks has been looking forward to seeing them again over the past couple of days. I just want to make a good first impression.” Hally leaned back against the wall of her bunk, “You should have nothing to worry about. I’ve met them before, they’re all super nice, just stay on your hooves around Sparks little sister. That filly has issues!” “You’re going to make Trixie nervous if you tell me that.” Habanero let out a small giggle. “Sorry. Just stay near Sparks and his mom and you’ll be fine. Nova is super nice, you’ll really like her.” Trixie looked out the window as the train sped through the rural farm lands on the outskirts of Ponyville. The sky was all but dark by now. “I hope so.” She thought to herself. She wouldn’t admit it, but Trixie would have been lying if she had said that she wasn’t nervous. Aside from meeting Sparks family, she had just hoped that her bad reputation didn’t follow her all the way out to Shimmerwood. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Hours had passed. It was the middle of the night when Trixie was awoken by a sound that wasn’t coming from the train. She heard the sound of hooves pacing back and forth. She pulled her blanket off of herself and with a sleepy yawn pulled her bunks curtain back. Down below she saw her pyro pony pacing back and forth. “Sparks?” She asked with a yawn, “What’s wrong?” He looked up, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” “It’s fine,” She told him as she hopped down out of her bunk, “What’s wrong?” He let out a low sigh. “Just got a lot on my mind right now.” “Like what?” “I’m just a little nervous about going back home I guess.” Now with genuine concern, Trixie walked up to Sparks. “Why? Trixie thought you were excited about going back.” “I am.” He admitted, “I’m just… just worried about you when you get there.” “You’re still worried about Trixie meeting your family?” Sparks sighed and sat down on the edge of his bunk. “I just hope everything goes alright I guess. Everypony’s excited to meet you, I just hope my family doesn’t scare you off. They aren’t normal compared to other families.” “Is that all you’re worried about?” She asked as she leaned in close to him. “Sparks, don’t worry about it. Trixie can handle herself in a crowd. And trust me when I say that I’ve probably dealt with ponies much stranger than your family. Besides, families that are normal are usually boring.” “I just hope my sister isn’t ignorant to you.” “She’s the one that’s really attached to you?” Sparks rolled his eyes, “Yeah! Way too attached!” Trixie turned Sparks head so that he was facing her. Her bewitching amethyst gaze had him instantly entranced. She then gave him a comforting kiss. “Sweetie, Trixie will still love you no matter what. Don’t worry about all of these things that probably won’t even happen. As long as Trixie’s by your side, Trixie won’t care what happens.” He let out a sigh. “Thank you.” With a smile she said back, “Of course.” The two embraced for a while, then Trixie calmly said, Why don’t you try and get some sleep. We both have very busy days tomorrow.” The two exchanged their good nights and both climbed back into their bunks. Trixie’s words were a welcomed comfort, and Sparks felt his nerves slowly starting to ease. He looked out of the window in his bunk as the world passed by. He knew his family better than anypony. Trixie was probably right and he was probably making a bigger deal out of all of this than he should be. Still he wanted everything to be perfect when he introduced her to his family for the first time. Sparks let out a sigh and forced himself to fall asleep. The sun would be up soon, and Shimmerwood was fast approaching.