A Spark of Magic

by Rammstein45

Pyro and Princesses

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long delay. Trying to balance work and free time isn't easy. I'll try to update as often as possible. But for now, Enjoy!

(CHAPTER 2) PYRO AND PRINCESSES

"7, 8, 9, and 10... 1, 2, 3, 4..." Firecracker stood in the humid mid day sun counting off his mortar racks to make sure he had everything set up properly. Everything was looking good and he was keeping himself on schedule. He only had a few more of the larger 5, and 6 inch racks to set up before he was finished with his side and he could start loading shells. He looked across the field where Sparks was taking care of setting up the finale and a few other rows of mortars. Firecracker was almost shocked. For once he had his section finished before Sparks.

"Hey!" He called out.

Sparks continued fumbling with the racks not seeming to pay attention; he was also moving a lot slower than he usually did.

"Hey Sparks!" Firecracker again called out. "You alright?"

Sparks was shaken from his trance and came back to reality. "Yeah, I'm good." He then seemed to go back to his usual work pace.

Firecracker walked over to a cooler that the guards had provided them. He reached in and grabbed a bottle of cool water. It was very hot and muggy out, maybe Sparks was getting a little dehydrated and not focusing properly. He walked up to his friend and tapped his hoof off his back. "Here". He said as he tossed the water bottle. "Take a break and cool off, you're going to get overheated."

The unicorn caught the bottle with his magic and twisted the cap off. "Thanks, kinda lost in thought and not paying attention."

"About tonight?" Firecracker asked as he took a drink.

There was a pause before Sparks answered. "Yeah. Just trying to plan everything out perfectly. I want to make sure that she likes the show tonight."

"She?" Firecracker raised an eyebrow, "You mean Princess Celestia?"

Sparks caught himself and tried to cover up his comment. "Yeah! Gotta make sure our fireworks are worthy of a princess."

The two sat for a few minutes enjoying their well earned break. Sparks took a sip of water and said, "Alright, my side is just about finished, let me help you get yours done so we can get something to eat before we load the shells."

"Way ahead of you." Firecracker said as he motioned toward all of his hard work.

Sparks looked over toward the other side of the field. His bright blue eyes widened when he saw that Firecracker had already finished. It wasn't like him to be this far behind. Still, he knew exactly what was distracting him, or rather "who". He quickly gulped down the last of his water and went over to the row of lined up mortar racks. He grabbed one under his strong foreleg and carried it over to the line he had been working on. Firecracker did the same, flying over with two of them in his grip.

"What all do we have left over here?" The pegasus called out as he landed and set the two racks into place.

"I have one more row of the 5 inch racks and I have to get the 10 and 12's on the end of the finale."

"Go take care of those and I'll finish this row for you."

Sparks looked up at the large clock tower among the castles many spires, it was nearing 3pm. He still had plenty of time ahead of him, but he wasn't about to let himself start slacking off again. He tried clearing his mind as he finished lining up his last few racks; however, the images of icy blue kept clouding his thoughts.
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It took just shy of 20 minutes for the two to finish getting the last of what they had set up. Storm Runner and another unicorn guard stood next to a wagon that was filled with heavy sand bags. Sparks levitated one of the bags and opened the end, spilling the sand out into wooden boxes that surrounded the larger mortar tubes.

"So why do you only pack in the big tubes in sand and not the small ones?" Storm runner asked as he helped Firecracker lift another sand bag down.

Firecracker tossed a bag of sand next to Sparks and said, "Any shell that is bigger than 6 inches has to have its mortar tube packed down in sand so it doesn't fall over when the shell launches."

Sparks lifted the next sandbag and continued, "The force from the lift charge in the larger shells is so high that if the mortar tubes were standing on their own; like with the smaller shells, they would be knocked over."

"And the lift charge is...?" The second guard asked.

Sparks tossed the empty sand bag aside and said back, "The lift charge is the black powder in the base of the shell that launches it into the air. The bigger the shell, the more black powder you have to use. The 8 through 12 inch shells use a lot of it."

"Think of a large cannons recoil when you fire it," Firecracker added, "It's basically the same thing."

With a nod Sparks continued, "So to keep that recoil from happening, and to keep the concussion down we pack the larger mortar tubes in sand."

Storm Runner looked at the large 12 inch mortar tube and said, "That probably makes a decent boom."

With a grin, Firecracker tossed the two guards small paper packets, "Here," He said, "you'll need these."

The two guards looked down in their hooves and saw small packets of ear plugs.
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"It's just up here." Firecracker called out as he led Sparks down the pristine streets of Canterlot.

"Good, because I'm starving. We haven't eaten since this morning."

"Don't worry." Firecracker continued, "You're gonna like this place. I used to go here all the time before I moved to Ponyville."

All of the shops, and restaurants in the area were all very posh, and aristocratic. Sparks definitely felt out of his comfort zone. He also took notice of the fact that he, and Firecracker were far from clean and looking well enough to even go into any of these places. After working outside all day in the humid, muggy heat, the two stallions were in desperate need of a shower before they should even consider going into any of these places. "How do you expect us to even get in the door as dirty as we are right now?" Sparks called out.

"You need to relax. Canterlot isn't as stuck up as you might think."

Sparks still couldn't help being self conscious among the high society. His coat was sweaty, and his mane and tail were a ruffled mess for working in the heat all day. "I'm just saying, we kinda stand out right now."

The two stopped outside of a restaurant. The sign read, Fritters. Firecracker walked up to the front door and said, "This place is like any normal diner, and they even have a balcony with tables out back that we can eat at so our smell doesn't offend anyone." He walked inside and let out a sigh of relief from the air conditioning. He held the door open for Sparks and said, "Relax."

The two found a seat on the outside balcony. It was nice and shaded with an overhanging roof that had spinning ceiling fans; a very much welcomed relief from the summer heat. The view offered an overlook of a small grassy park with a gold and white water fountain in the center, with a city street running parallel. In the distance, a clock tower chimed 4.

A younger earth pony with a white coat and candy green mane approached the two. "Welcome to Fritters." She chimed as she set two menus down on the table. "Our special today is the 5 bit meal deal. You can either choose the hayburger and fries, or the oat topped fritter platter. Can I get you something to drink while you decide?"

"Water for me please." Sparks told her.

"I'll have the same."

With a nod and a smile, the waitress pony went to get the two their drinks.

A few quiet moments passed as the two looked at the selections.

"What are you thinking?" Firecracker spoke while looking at a menu. "About 2 hours to get the shells loaded plus our final checks before show time?"

"Yeah, the shells never take long to load; we just have a lot more of them this time." Sparks set his menu down and leaned back in his seat and allowed himself to relax. Once we're done here we'll head back to the train depot and get the shells to the site. It shouldn't take that long."

"Sounds good to me."

The two heard the sound of hooves walking towards the table. The waitress returned and set two glasses of water on the table . "Have you two decided?"

"Hayburger and fries for me." Firecracker said.

"Sparks shrugged, "I guess I'll have the same.

With a smile, the waitress pony took the orders and headed to the kitchen. Sparks tapped his hoof off of his glass of water as his thoughts began to wander again. He simply could not get the icy blue mare off of his mind. Sure he had seen many attractive girls in his life, but for some reason she stood out among all the others. Plus the thought of seeing her in her Gala dress was driving him crazy.

Firecracker saw Sparks staring off into space. "Hey, what's with you today?"

Shaken back to attention, Sparks said back, "What are you talking about?"

"You're never this distracted. Even at the other big shows we've done you're always at least talkative. Today it feels like I should be getting a prize every time I get your attention."

"I'm fine. I'm just... making sure everything is going to go perfect tonight."

Firecracker took a sip of his water and raised an eyebrow. "You sure? You're not really being yourself today."

"I'm fine, really." Sparks replied as he tried to drop the subject. "I'm just thinking about the show tonight."

"You know everything will be perfect," Firecracker told him, "When has something ever gone wrong with one of our shows?"

Sparks leaned back in his chair and shrugged, "I don't know, I got blown off my hooves when a shell blew up right out of the tube at our last show. Does that count?"

Firecracker laughed to himself. "Nah, that's happened to us a bunch of times. The point is that sure, sometimes things go wrong or we have a few shells that are duds, but have you ever once heard anypony booing us? We always get cheered for after a display. Tonight won't be any different. You seriously need to relax. If you keep this attitude up, then something will end up going wrong."

"Yeah, you're right." Sparks agreed. I just gotta clear my head..." Sparks attention shifted toward one of the shops in town. From the balcony he was sitting at, he could see a mane salon across the street, and a certain icy blue unicorn walking out of it with a very well done mane styling.

"What's up with you?" Firecracker asked as he focused on what Sparks was looking at. He saw the blue unicorn walking down the street. "Hey, isn't that the girl I saw you talking to earlier...?"

Sparks looked back at Firecracker. A grin appeared on the pegasus' face. "Oh..., I see what's got you so distracted today!"

"It's not like that!" Sparks tried to defend himself.

"Yeah right!" Firecracker snapped back with a smile, "Nothing ever makes you this distracted. You think she's hot, don't you?!"

"I'm telling you, it's not like that!"

"Pff! Yeah! What is it then?"

Sparks didn't want to answer, it already felt awkward enough that he nearly ran her over earlier in the day, but he couldn't imagine telling her that he thought she was pretty.

"Sparks, come on! It's me! Firecracker! Your bestest best friend that you can tell anything too."

Sparks let out a sigh. "Yes. I like her..."

The two heard the waitress pony return with their plates of food. She set them down in front of them and happily said, "Enjoy!"

Firecracker thanked her then picked up his hayburger and took a bite. With a mouth full of food he said, "Then let's make sure our fireworks really impress her tonight!"
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After the two finished eating, they headed back towards the train depot. It was nearing 5 o clock. They only had 4 hours before show time, and they had a lot of shells to load. The two took notice of all of the citizens of Canterlot making their final preparations before the Gala. Most were at the mane salons and clothing stores, others were already in their formal clothing and stunning dresses.

"I'll bet you want to see her in her Gala dress." Firecracker said as he jabbed his hoof on Sparks shoulder.

Sparks couldn't lie. "I really do actually."

"Do you know her name at least?"

"It's Trixie. ...At least I think it is..."

Firecracker raised an eyebrow, "You think?"

"Yeah, she was talking in the 3rd person, so I'm pretty sure that's her name. I mean she didn't correct me when I called her that."

"Well that's a start I suppose."

The two made it to the train depot. They walked up onto the platform and saw the guards standing around the last car which held all of the shells. They saw Storm Runner talking to some of the other guards. He heard their hoof steps off of the platform and he turned. "There you two are. I have a heavy load wagon ready for you to load the these boxes onto, once you're ready we'll escort you to the firing site."

"Sounds good." Sparks nodded as he walked up to the train car. Using his magic, he opened the door and said to Firecracker, "Let's get to it!"

The guards brought the empty wagon over and set it outside the train car. Sparks and Firecracker made short work of unloading the boxes and stacking them onto the large wagon. There were a lot of boxes, it would take them a few trips to get everything to the launch site.

Firecracker flew a box and loaded it into the last free space on the wagon. "That's it for this one!" He called out. With a nod, Sparks pulled out an orange hazard sticker with the symbol for "Explosives" on it. He placed one on each side of the wagon. He and firecracker then hooked themselves into the harness at the front. "Ready when you are." Sparks said to Storm Runner.

With a nod, the head Guard called out, "Alright Stallions! Form up and let's get moving!" Storm Runner went to the front of the wagon along with two other guards. Two others formed up at the back while the remaining Guards stayed behind to make sure no one messed with the train car.

Sparks and Firecracker struggled to get the heavy wagon moving. "C'mon Firecracker!" Sparks called out as he struggled to get the wagon moving, "Work that flank!"

Firecracker pulled with everything he had, "I'm workin' it!" After a few good tugs, the two got the heavy wagon moving and they followed their guard escort through the city. As they went, ponies stopped and looked on at the two pulling the wagon filled with boxes that were covered in hazard stickers. They could hear the occasional "Ooo's" and "They must be the firework ponies."

"I feel like a celebrity." Sparks said to Firecracker. "All the attention, and the armed guard escort. We should do fireworks in Canterlot more often."

Through his heavy breaths, Firecracker said back, "Yeah, but let's bring a lighter wagon next time."
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It took 3 trips to get all of the shells to the firing site. Both Sparks and Firecracker wiped sweat from their foreheads. Pulling the heavy wagon left the two winded. They both took a quick 5 minute break to catch their breath before they started sorting the boxes and going through the shells. Sparks levitated several boxes off the wagon and said, "The finale is going to take the most time so I'm going to get that loaded first, while I do that can you start on some of the other rows and I'll help you when I'm done?"

"Sounds good." Firecracker remarked as he helped with the boxes.

Sparks brought several boxes over to where he had the finale mortar wracks set up. He opened up one of the boxes and pulled out a string of 10 shells that were all linked together and started loading the mortar tubes.

A few minutes later, from across the field, he heard Firecracker call out, "Umm, Sparks!"

"Yeah?"

"We have some visitors!"

Sparks was confused, "Who?! Only guards are allowed back here."

"Oh, I think they're allowed back here!"

Sparks turned and his eyes widened. He instantly bowed down. "Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! I'm sorry, we didn't know that you were coming!" Sparks felt himself go into panic mode. He was a mess. His mane was unkempt and sweaty from working in the heat all day. He and Firecracker were in no position to be in front of Royalty.

Firecracker flew over to Sparks and bowed down alongside him as the two alicorns approached them. Celestia then spoke in her calm voice. "It's quite alright. If anything it should be the two of us apologizing for coming here unannounced."

Princess Luna then added, "We were curious about the fireworks for the Gala this evening. My sister and I wanted to see what everything looked like."

Both ponies got back on their hooves. Sparks smiled and said, "Sure! We would be happy to show you everything. We were just about to start loading the shells."

Celestia looked at all of the mortar tubes and said, "You know, I've never actually seen what a firework shell looks like, I usually only see the spell cast ones."

Sparks walked over to one of the boxes and opened it. He reached in and pulled out a round, cardboard ball that was tightly wrapped in brown paper with a long fuse attached to it. He held it up in front of the two regal sisters and said, "This is a basic 5 inch shell. At the bottom it's loaded with black powder that's called the lift charge. It's what sends it up into the air. Inside it's filled with tiny flammable black balls called stars, so when the shell breaks in the air, the stars ignite and burn in whatever color chemical they're made from."

Princess Luna leaned in and pointed her hoof at a small black cylinder attached to the top of the shell. "And what, pray tell, is that?"

"That's the tail." Sparks explained. "When the shell is launched, this piece ignites and makes the long glittery tail you see as it rises into the sky."

"I didn't know that so much went into fireworks." Celestia said. "I've never gotten the chance to actually see them up close like this before."

With a nod, Sparks replied, "Oh yeah, there's a lot of work that goes into each shell. Each one is a work of art in its own way."

"I can only imagine how much hard work went into this entire display." The alicorn princess remarked. "Can you tell me, how is it that you do the finale? I can't imagine you light each one that quickly."

Firecracker flew over to one of the boxes that had the shells for the finale. He pulled out a string of 10 shells and flew over to the princesses. "The finale shells are all linked together like this in strings of 10. We load them into the tubes and then link the fuse to the next string of shells. All we have to do is light the lead fuse and it's a continuous string. Basically when one goes, they all go as the fuse burns down the line."

"I see." Celestia said. "And which of you gets to light the finale?"

"We take turns." Sparks said.

Firecracker then added, "Each show we switch who gets to set off the finale."

Princess Luna looked at the shell that Sparks was holding. "How does one set off a firework?"

"Would you like to see?" Sparks said with a grin.

"Would it be alright to do so?" Luna asked.

"Absolutely." Firecracker told her. "We'll do a test fire. It's a way for us to see which way the wind is blowing so the smoke doesn't block out the show."

Sparks walked over to one of the mortar tubes. He read the label on the shell which had a description of what effect it had. He looked at the Princesses and said, "This type of shell is called a salute. It doesn't really have any fancy colors, it just makes a loud boom. We use them a lot at the very end of the finale."

Sparks then loaded the shell down into the tube. Using his magic, he levitated a wooden rod and tapped it down onto the shell. "Once it's loaded into the tube, you have to pack the shell down to make sure it's snug on the bottom." Sparks explained. "If there's too much of a gap, the shell won't get the proper pressure from the lift charge. It will lose momentum and start to fall back toward the ground. You don't want to risk that happening and potentially hurting somepony."

He set the rod down. "Alright!" Sparks called out, "Here we go!" The tip of Sparks horn began to glow red from a heat spell. He pulled a small red safety cap off of the fuse and tossed it aside. He leaned his horn in and touched it to the fuse. It ignited and Sparks quickly ducked down. No sooner had he gotten out of the way, there was a loud concussion as the shell rocketed into the air. Both princesses flinched from the sudden loud noise. A few seconds later a loud boom popped from above in a white cloud of smoke.

Sparks stood back up and walked over towards the two sisters. He had a little peppering of soot in his mane. "And that's how we launch fireworks!"

"That was most enjoyable!" Luna beamed. "However it does seem rather dangerous."

Firecracker nodded and said, "It can be, but that's why we went through all of the safety training and are very careful when we're doing shows."

Sparks then added, "You just have to know what you're doing. You saw me duck down after I lit the fuse, we call that being below the blast cone. Once a shell launches, the explosion from the lift charge goes up and out, so being below it keeps us out of harm's way."

Firecracker began walking next to the line of mortar wracks. When we're shooting, we're always moving. I'll light one fuse then move down the line. That way the blast is happening behind me. I'll light one, then skip down about 5 shells and light another, then I just keep circling around until they're all launched. It's the safest way to launch them."

"I must say, it's all very impressive and involved." Celestia remarked. "I had no idea everything that went into setting off fireworks, it all seems like it would be very simple when in fact it isn't."

"Most ponies have the same idea." Firecracker told her. "It's a lot more involved than the spell cast method."

From behind them, the clock tower chimed. Celestia looked towards the clock tower and said, "We should probably let you two get back to work, and we should really get back to the castle so we can get ready for tonight."

Luna then added, "We both thank you for showing us everything and for the demonstration. We look forward to seeing the full display tonight."

Both Sparks and Firecracker bowed. "The honor was all ours, and tonight will be a firework show you won't soon forget."

Comments

[The Real McCoy]

"Yeah, she was talking in the 3rd person, so I'm pretty sure that's her name. I mean she didn't correct me when I called her that."

How many other performers came to Ponyville, talked in the third person when doing their stage show, had an Ursa Minor led to their wagon, got showed up because they didn't expect the Ursa Minor (that is my theory, and I'm sticking to it), and then got chased out of the town? Of course it's Trixie!