A Spark of Magic

by Rammstein45

Start Again

Author's Note:

I was going to split this chapter but I couldn't find a good place to do it, so you get a long one this time!
A little bit of language in this chapter, nothing to crazy.

Enjoy~

(CHAPTER 8) START AGAIN

Amethyst... Those gorgeous, serene amethyst eyes. That was the only thing that Sparks could think of at that very moment. Those Amethyst eyes, with their bewitching spell kept the stallion locked in place. He heard her delicate lips speak...

"Trixie has been searching everywhere for you..."

"For me?" Sparks was amazed the words formed.

The icy blue unicorn nodded and continued, "Yes, after everything you did for me back in Canterlot, I couldn't just leave that kindness go unappreciated."

Sparks froze. His fear of being confronted by a pretty mare was starting to get the better of him. His hoof reached up and he rubbed the back of his mane. He then fought his own nerves to speak. "I-it was nothing... Really... I just saw that you were in trouble and I couldn't... well... you know... I couldn't just leave you to... You... that is, alone... without anypony to help..."

The scene was painful for Firecracker to watch. He knew exactly what was going on in Sparks head, he had seen this far too many times every time he would try to introduce Sparks to a suitable mare. He watched as Trixie stood, almost looking confused while Sparks stumbled and tripped over every word that came out of his mouth. The pegasus spread his wings and flew behind Trixie and towards the entrance to their firework company. He then called out, "Hey Sparks, I'm feeling energetic this morning so why don't you let me handle the work here today."

Through his mumbling, Sparks looked at his friend who had his usual smile on his face. He continued. "I can handle the shell building, why don't you take the day off..."

Sparks was confused. Trixie looked back to Sparks and said almost half embarrassed, "Oh, I'm sorry, Trixie didn't know that you needed to get to work... It's just that I really appreciate what you did for me and I wanted to thank you for everything."

Behind Trixie, Firecracker stood up on his hind legs and with vividly open arm motions and with a face that said, "Are you kidding me right now?!" He motioned Sparks to take Trixie into town so he could spend the day with her. Naturally, with Sparks nerves driving him insane, he didn't catch on. He stole glances passed Trixie while she spoke and tried to focus on what Firecracker was doing. The Pegasus made more hoof motions. He started rubbing his stomach and then acted like he was quickly shoveling food into his mouth. Then he began to skip and made it look like he was arm and arm with somepony. Sparks gave another confused look.

Firecracker face hoofed. Under his breath, he yelled, "She's right there! Your dream mare! Take her on a date you idiot!!"

Sparks almost looked shocked. His shyness always got the best of him over things like this. Finally, Firecracker made the move that would give him no choice. He looked at the two and said, "Alright, I'm heading in, Sparks, you have the day off! Why don't you show this lovely filly around town!" And without another word, Firecracker quickly flew off and went inside the front office leaving Sparks to fend for himself. "Time to face that fear, buddy!" Firecracker mentally told his friend.

Sparks watched as Firecracker flew off. He wanted to protest but couldn't. He looked back towards Trixie who stood looking confused.

"What are you waiting for!" his mind screamed. "Reach out and grab her before she's gone!"

Mustering up all his courage, Sparks took in a breath and said, "Are you hungry?"

Trixie seemed to be almost caught off guard by the sudden question. "Well... I haven't eaten yet today." She admitted.

"I know a nice little cafe in town if you'd like to go. Their food is pretty good for a morning meal."

A smile appeared on Trixie's lips. "That sounds nice. But do you mind if Trixie get's something first?"

"No." Sparks blurted out nervously, "Not at all."

Trixie motioned for him to walk with her. They both strolled down the small path that ran along the outer perimeter of the Firework plant. It was a path near the edge of the rolling hills that bordered Ponyville, and mostly obscured by large oak trees. Up ahead, Sparks saw something that he had never seen in the area before, something that almost looked out of place. As they approached, he saw it was a caravan. It was neither large nor small, clean nor dirty. It was a simple 4 wheeled caravan with a blue flag hanging over the front door that had Trixie's cutie mark on it.

"What's this?" Sparks asked.

With a shrug, Trixie said without much enthusiasm, "This is Trixie's home."

"You live in a caravan?"

"Trixie led him to the door and said back, "Trixie traveled a lot when she was a performer so this was her home and stage. Now it's just something I'm thankful that gives me a roof over my head."

She opened the door and allowed him to follow her inside. Sparks walked in and saw small boxes of stage props stacked in a corner along with several posters that hung on the wall. They showed pictures of Trixie in a purple cloak with blue and yellow stars, and big bold lettering that said, "The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

He also saw a small vanity with long forgotten cases of stage makeup, and small costume storage drawers. The last thing he noticed was a small bed. It looked like it was one of the few things that Trixie took the effort to take care of. The blanket was made neatly over the pillow and mattress, and sitting on the edge was the purple cloak and witchy hat with the blue and yellow stars that she wore in all of her posters.

"So you're a performer, huh?" Sparks asked.

"Trixie was a traveling Magician, but things happened, and times changed. Now I travel around, making ends meet for myself as I go."

Sparks tapped his hoof off of the wooden floor, unsure of what to really say. "Oh..." He said softly. He looked toward her bed where her cloak and hat were sitting. "Was that your magicians costume?"

"Mhmm." She admitted softly. "It's very special to me." Trixie walked over to it and her horn began to glow. She levitated her cloak over her back, and her hat onto her head. "Trixie has always loved this cloak and hat. When I was still a filly, my grandmother made it for me. Of course it was too big for me back then but she always told me I would grow into it. She was really the only one who ever supported my dream of sharing my magic all over Equestria. So I wore it on every show I performed. I know this sounds silly, but I always felt that this cloak and hat gave me the confidence to share my magic on stage."

Trixie did a small twirl in front of Sparks as if to show if her attire. With a smile, Sparks said, "I think it looks really good on you. It really brings out the color of your mane." Sparks quickly gave himself a mental beat down. "Pff, yeah, real smooth Casanova!"

He heard a small giggle. Trixie levitated the cloak and hat back to their place on her bed and said back, "Well thank you, that means a lot to Trixie."

She then opened a small cupboard and pulled out her purple saddle bags and a small coin pouch. She put on her saddle bag and said to Sparks, "Shall we?"
_____________________________________________________________________________________

It was almost 9 in the morning when the two walked into Ponyville. The sun was up and whisping away the last of the morning dew, and Ponyville was abuzz with its citizens who were out to start their day.

To Sparks, this still all felt like an impossible dream. Another set of mind games toying with him. It was so hard to believe that it wasn't. As the two walked, Sparks stole glances at the beautiful mare walking next to him. He couldn't help but admire her. The way the sun made her frost silver mane and tail shimmer, and her flawless icy blue coat that only enhanced the color. He even watched the way her flank made an elegant and sassy swish as she walked.

So many thoughts were running through his mind. He thought about everything he could treat her to today. Thoughts of showing her around town once they finished their early morning meal. Thoughts of the conversations they could have. Even thoughts of maybe getting another kiss from her like she gave him at the Gala. He felt like he was in middle school again with his first crush. So many thoughts of so many different things. It wasn't until he heard a loud voice call out, "The Jackson Park Express will be departing in 5 minutes! All aboard!"

He hadn't realized that they were already near the train station. He had wasted so much time thinking of things to do, that he hadn't even started a simple conversation. He looked over to Trixie and said in the most confident voice he could manage, "So, is this your first time to Ponyville?"

He noticed Trixie lower her head slightly. "Not exactly..." She replied.

"Oh? So you've been here before?"

"Let's just say that Trixie's last visit to Ponyville wasn't a pleasant one."

"Oh..." Sparks replied as he quickly tried to remedy the situation. "...Well, I'll do all I can to help make this time better for you! I know a lot of fun places we could go!"

Trixie looked up at him. In shock, thinking he may have sounded too pushy, he quickly said, "I mean if you want to! We don't have to go all over the place if you don't feel like it."

Trixie let out a small giggle. She could sense a bashful stallion a mile away. She found it charming. She gave him a reassuring smile and told him, "Trixie would love to be shown around."

Sparks let out a silent sigh of relief. He then motioned ahead, "Well here's our first stop."

Trixie looked ahead and saw a small bistro. It was a tiny shop set up with a few tables inside, and outside was a small fenced in area with more tables and chairs. Sparks led Trixie inside and the two sat down at a table outside near the fence. Trixie levitated a menu and began to read. Sparks then told her, "This place has a great dandelion sandwich. I get it every time I come here."

"Well if you recommend it, Trixie will try it." She said with a smile.

"And don't worry about the bill, everything is on me today!" Sparks said suavely.

Trixie looked at him. "I can't ask you to do that. I mean, the whole reason Trixie is here is to pay you back for everything you did for me at the Gala."

Sparks looked at her and told her sincerely. "I already told you back in Canterlot. You don't need to worry about it. I was glad I could help you. Besides, what kind of gentlecolt would I be if I didn't help a lady in her time of need?"

Trixie gave a light laugh. "You're quite the charmer, aren't you?"

"I try."

The waiter approached the two. He was an earth pony with a khaki colored coat and a brown mane. "Good morning to you both, may I take your order."

"A water for me please." Sparks told him.

The waiter then looked at Trixie. He was almost surprised at who he saw. "And for you, Miss?" he asked almost coldly.

"A water is fine for me too, please." Trixie saw the look he gave her. She expected this, especially after what happened during her last visit. Princess Twilight had made it known that she was to be forgiven, but Trixie expected that not everypony would be so willing to abide to what their Princess had told them.

The waiter nodded and turned. He then said under his breath. "I'm amazed you even came back." Trixie heard it, but she didn't allow herself to react to it. Sparks ear twitched and he shot a confused glance at the waiter. Trixie felt her nerves rise. She didn't want Sparks to find out what she had done. Not like this. She then saw him give a slight shrug and go back to what he was doing. She let out a light breath of relief.

A short time later, their food arrived. Trixie took a bite of the dandelion sandwich and was instantly glad that she took Sparks advice on what to order.

"So how is it?" He asked.

With a nod and a mouth half full of food, she replied, "It's very good."

Sparks took another bite, then asked, "So when was the last time you were in Ponyville?"

Trixie thought... She was surprised at how fast the time had passed. "It was about this time last year actually."

"Oh," Sparks said, "So it was before Firecracker and I had our firework business here."

"When did you open?" She asked.

"We first opened about 6 months ago. Firecracker and I left our hometown of Shimmerwood to come here and set up. We're still trying to get everything the way we want it. We need to hire more help, but until we start pulling in the extra bits, it's just me, Firecracker, and Feather Quill, she handles all the paperwork for us."

"I doubt it will take you long to start getting the extra money you need." Trixie told him, "After the fireworks I saw you set off at the Gala, you'll have ponies wanting your fireworks for every celebration they can think of."

Sparks smiled, "I'm glad you liked them. I'll be honest, I was really hoping that you got to see them that night."

Trixie leaned in and smiled, "And why is that?"

Sparks again rubbed the back of his head nervously. "...I don't know why exactly." The stallion admitted. "I guess after I found out that you couldn't get in the Gala, I just wanted to do anything to cheer you up and make you smile..." Sparks felt himself tapping his hooves together nervously as he spoke. "Then once I helped you get inside, I guess I just really wanted to make your night complete by making you forget about what had happened and making you happy with my fireworks."

Sparks felt a hoof rest on his and the nervous tapping stopped. He looked and saw Trixie holding his hoof and she smiled at him. "You made Trixie very happy that night." She told him calmly. "Happier than Trixie has been in a long time."
_____________________________________________________________________________________

After they finished eating, Sparks led Trixie back into town and towards the market square. All of the vendors were busy peddling their wares to potential buyers. It was a typical busy weekday morning as the two made their way through the crowd. Sparks was looking around at the gift stalls, seeing if there was something that Trixie would want. "If you see something you like, tell me and I'll get it for you." He told her happily.

"You don't have to get me anything."

"Don't worry about it." He told her as if he were an eager colt with his first special somepony. "You came all this way to see me, the least I could do is get you something."

"But you don't have to, I'd feel guilty."

Sparks smiled, "I know I don't HAVE too, but maybe I want to get you something. Think of it as a souvenir for your visit."

They rounded a corner around one of the shop stalls and Sparks froze. He saw a pony wearing a protective suit with a breathing respirator, and a fiery red and orange tail coming out of the back. "Sweet Celestia she has the suit on!" He said to no pony in particular.

Before he could escape with his life, he saw the pony make eye contact with him. He felt his adrenaline rise as he heard the bubbly voice call out, "Sparks! What are you doing here? I thought you would be working..."

Habanero took notice of the pony who Sparks was with. "Hey! I know you!" Hally chimed, "You're the pony I talked to last night when this yahoo's fireworks scared us both half to death!" Habanero pulled off her protective hood and glared at Sparks, "You really need to give me some heads up when you, and Firecracker randomly shoot off fireworks. It scares me you know!"

Sparks was about to defend himself when the thought clicked in Hally's mind as she noticed that Trixie was with Sparks. "Hey now Sparks! I didn't know you were seeing anypony!"

The stallion felt his heart skip a beat. "No! It's not like that!" He quickly tried to defend himself, "We met in Canterlot during the Gala, and I helped her..."

Habanero's eyes widened with glee as she cut Sparks off, "Oh! So this is the girl that Firecracker said was driving you crazy all week."

Instantly, Sparks called out, "Hey! Are those new peppers?! Haven't seen ones like that before!"

Habanero turned to her pepper stall and true to her nature, lost focus on what she was doing and said, "Oh, these orange flame peppers? They're ones that Daddy grew a while back, still a new type of pepper that..."

Sparks let out a sigh of relief as Habanero went on her pepper rant. He didn't want Trixie knowing she had been his main obsession over the past few days. He then heard Habanero say something that shattered his own thought. "Would you like to try one?" She asked sweetly.

"NO!" Sparks called out as he tried to defend Trixie from Habanero's fiery evil. "The last peppers you let me and Firecracker try nearly killed us.

Hally scoffed as she pulled her hood back over her head. "Yea, like I was going to offer your marefriend one of my super hots. Those are only for you to try." Habanero walked over to her stand and held out one of her sample trays that had Habanero's homemade salsa's on them. "Try as many as you like." she chirped, "These are my more mild and sweet salsa's."

"Trixie would love to." Her horn began to glow as she levitated a tortilla chip into one of the salsa's. Trixie took a bite and was amazed. She had never tasted anything like it before. It was sweet, very sweet in fact, almost like biting into an orange. Then there was a spicy kick. Nothing to crazy, just enough to give her mouth a slight bit of heat.

"What do you think?" Hally asked.

"This is amazing!" Trixie admitted.

With a light laugh of approval, Habanero held the tray back out, "Please, try another!"

While Trixie sampled each of Hally's salsa's, Habanero looked at Sparks and whispered, "She's really pretty!"

Sparks gave a light grin and nodded at Hally. He again felt like a colt with his first crush. Hally nudged him and said, "You should take her to a movie. I recommend something funny. Then you should take her to the park to watch the sunset later."

Trixie levitated a small glass jar of one of one of Habanro's salsa's. "Trixie would like this one please." She then levitated her small coin purse out of her saddle bag.

Sparks walked up to her and said, "Don't worry about it, I'll get it for you."

"It's not that expensive," She protested. "I can at least get this for myself."

"Maybe I'd like to get it for you though."

Habanero saw her way into the conversation. "Or she can just have it."

"Really?" Trixie said with surprise, "I couldn't just take it."

Hally smiled behind her protective hood, "Don't worry about it. I have plenty left to sell. Besides, if it's for Sparks marefriend I don't have a problem giving one away."

Sparks took in a sharp breath out of sheer shock. He already felt awkward enough around Trixie, he didn't need Habanero to make it any worse. He readied to defend himself when he saw Trixie simply smile at the comment.

"Trixie appreciates it. Thank you."

Habanero trotted over to Sparks with a slight bounce in her step. "I hope you two have fun today. Sparks is a great guy," she commented as she roughly hit her hoof off of his shoulder. "I'm sure he'll show you a good time."

Sparks felt himself flush with embarrassment. He shot Hally a look that simply said, "REALLY?!" To which the spicy pony grinned mischievously.

Trixie held her jar of salsa up with her magic, "I'm looking forward to..." She was cut off as she felt a hard bump hit into her from behind. Trixie lost focus of her magic from the hard shove and the jar of salsa fell from her grasp and shattered on the ground. Trixie stumbled and Sparks quickly held out his hoof to keep her from falling.

He looked up and saw two mares walking with smug looks on their faces. "Hey!" Sparks called out, "That was ignorant."

One of the mares, a pegasus said back with a shrug, "Yeah, didn't see her." and she kept walking.

"You could at least apologize!" He called back.

Both mares turned and the other, an earth pony shot back, "After what she did the last time she was here, she doesn't deserve any sympathy from anypony!"

The pegasus then added, "Princess Twilight may have forgiven her, bet that doesn't mean the rest of us have."

Sparks only felt anger, "What are you even talking about, she's done nothing wrong!"

"Oh really?" The pegasus continued as she and her friend turned to walk away, "Why don't you ask her about it."

The two mares walked away, and Sparks turned towards Trixie who was slowly using her magic to try and clean up the mess. He didn't understand anything that had just happened. He walked over to her.

"Don't even worry about it." Habanero told her calmly. "I'll give you another."

Trixie simply nodded while Hally went back to her stall. Sparks wanted to say anything to make the situation better. Before he could, Trixie uttered out, "I told you... Trixie's last visit to Ponyville wasn't a pleasant one... I knew no pony had forgiven me for what I did."

The stallion sighed. "What's done is done, and what's happened, happened. No point in letting your past keep you from moving on."

"But I..."

Sparks held his hoof up to silence her. "You're back in Ponyville now. I don't know what happened the last time you were here but it doesn't matter. It's your chance to start again. Do everything over, but it's your chance to do it right this time."

Hally opened Trixie's saddle bags and put 4 different jars in them. "Here," She said, "I gave you one of each."

Trixie smiled at the fiery pony. She thought about everything that had happened to her in the past year. Everything she had done wrong, everything that had gone wrong. She knew what had happened here the last time wasn't in her control, and everything else was out of pure bad luck. She thought about what Sparks told her. Start again. This was her chance to make everything right in her life. She was going to make a fresh start.

"Thank you." Trixie told her. Hally just gave her usual cheerful smile, even if it was hidden behind her protective hood.

Hally then said, "You know, after all the excitement, I think you two should go relax. Sparks, be a gentlecolt and take this lovely mare to the movies. I hear The Hayngover is really funny. And Trixie, don't worry, Sparks is paying for everything today!"

Before Sparks could reply, Hally looked at Sparks and whispered, "Your welcome!" She then trotted back over to her stand and said, "Now get going! You're crowing up my shop and I got customers!"

Sparks looked around, there weren't any ponies even near her shop at the moment. "But you aren't even busy."

"I said go!"
_____________________________________________________________________________________

It was definitely a day worth remembering. Sparks took Habanero's advice and took Trixie to the movies. They even did a double feature. Both were comedy movies to help cheer Trixie up. He was pretty sure it had worked. After the movie, Sparks had taken her to Ponyville's finest restaurant. Nothing on par with anything in Canterlot, but still pretty good. Thankfully their dinner was uneventful. No problems with any other ponies, no hurtful comments towards Trixie, and nothing unexpected.

Now that it was late in the evening, the two slowed things down and went for a simple walk in the park. A few ponies were out doing an evening stroll, much as they were. The street lamps were coming on, and moths were beginning to flutter around them. Up ahead, Sparks led Trixie to a park bench near the large lake in the center of the park. The bench offered a view of the fountain in the center of the lake as well as gave a front row seat to the sunset.

Celestia's sun was looming low in the sky as the evening began to slowly creep its way over Ponyville. It had been an interesting day for Sparks. It still almost felt to surreal to be reality, he was still trying to convince himself that Trixie was sitting right next to him as they watched Luna's moon slowly rise into the heavens. It was if his mind was in a lock, and unable to be broken away from its focus, still, one pony had the key to free it.

"I really meant it you know..." He shook his thoughts and looked down at the icy blue sorceress. She was looking up at him with her bewitching amethyst eyes. "Everything you did for me at the gala, and here in town today. Trixie knows that word travels fast in small towns like these, and that not many ponies are thrilled that I'm back here." She let out a sigh. Neither sad, nor comfortable, it was just a simple sigh. She then rest her head on Sparks shoulder. She wasn't trying to be flirty, it just simply made her feel secure. "Still, Trixie is glad that she saw the pony that she tried so hard to find."

Looking down at her, Sparks gave her a kind smile. He put his free arm around her and held her close. She didn't back away from it, if anything it made her snuggle closer. With Luna's moon becoming dominate in the evening sky Sparks told her, "I'm glad you found me. I didn't even know where to start looking for you after I couldn't stop you as you were leaving the Gala."

"You saw me leave?" She asked almost confused.

Sparks gave her a nod. "After we finished with the fireworks, the first thing I did was go inside the castle to try and find you. I looked all over for you all night until I finally saw you getting on one of the carriages that was heading out of town. I don't know how many ponies I knocked over trying to get to you before it left. I'm sure you can guess the ending." Sparks motioned towards his knees that he had scraped up which were now all but healed. "I got down there too late and the only thing I managed to do was trip and fall while I was trying to stop you."

Trixie tilted her head as she looked up at the unicorn. "Why do all that for me? If anything it should have been the other way around. You did nothing but get Trixie out of trouble all night. The same as you did today."

"I already told you." Sparks said with a smile, "I couldn't just leave you in those situations. I mean for starters, I almost ruined your dress when I ran into you, and after I saw how upset you were that you couldn't get into the Gala there was no way I could have just ignored you."

"But I was just a stranger you barely knew..." She told him, "Every other pony who's been around me when I've been in trouble never even gave Trixie the time of day. Why were you the exception?"

Sparks felt his heart race and could feel his stomach tie itself in knots. He tried to answer but once again, his words didn't return. With a mental slap he told himself, "It's now or never, don't blow it!"

He summoned his courage, "Trixie... It wouldn't matter if I had seen you before or not. When I first saw you walk out of that dress shop, and I could see the look of excitement on your face when you talked about going to the Gala it made me happy to know that you were about to have a dream come true. The fact that you were interested that I was doing fireworks just added to that." Trixie's enchanting stare only heightened as he spoke. "Then when I saw how upset you were that you couldn't get in, I only wanted to help you so that you could live your dream. Just seeing you happy made me happy."

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his mane, "Plus, I'm glad you got to see the fireworks I set off. I really meant it when I said you were the only pony I was hoping would see them, even more than I hoped the Princesses would see them." He looked back down to her. "Then when I saw you leave and I couldn't catch you to tell you goodbye... I don't know... I just felt lost after that..."

Trixie felt touched, "Sparks..." She uttered as she hid her blushing cheeks.

The pyro pony took in a deep breath. "...I guess you could say I felt that way because... well... Trixie... I really like..."

Sparks was cut off as the sound of a loud sired screamed through the town. From behind them, the towns fire whistle was blaring, and they could see ponies looking towards the northern end of town.

"What's going on?" Trixie asked.

"I don't know..." Sparks stood and motioned for Trixie to follow him. The two walked back towards the more populated area of town and the closer they got, the more smoke they could see.

As they walked toward the crowd, Sparks heard a familiar voice...

"Sparks!"

He looked over and saw Habanero with a worried look on her face.

"Hally!" He called back, "What's going on?!"

Before she could reply, Firecracker quickly landed, scraping the ground under his hooves. The pegasus looked at Sparks and said, "We have to get to the Firework plant, now!"

With wide eyed fear, Sparks looked towards the smoke and realized it was looming near their Firework company. Sparks could see one of the members of the Ponyville Police. He looked like he was headed for the fire station. Sparks stopped him.

"Get everypony away from here!" He called out. "If the firework factory is burning then most of the town is in danger!"

The officer nodded and he began to call out. "Alright! Everypony is to move across the river near Sweet Apple Acres! Keep calm and move as quick as you can!"

Sparks looked to Trixie and Habanero. "You girls go with the others."

"But what about you two?!" Hally cried out with worry.

"We'll be alright," Firecracker told her, "But we gotta make sure the rest of the town will be okay before anything else." With that he quickly gave Habanero a kiss and said softly with a reassuring smile, "Go on, we'll be okay."

Trixie stood stunned, not really sure how to react. Sparks gave her a reassuring nod. He then said, "You two stay together." Before they could argue, both Sparks and Firecracker took off running towards the Ponyville Firework Co.

"I really hope it's just the office burning and not one of the shell rooms!" Firecracker panted as he ran full tilt.

Through his own heavy breaths, Sparks called back, "I really hope it isn't anything in the plant at all!"

The two stallions kept a watchful eye, waiting to see if any shells were launching into the sky, and listening for any type of explosion. It would not only be disaster for their company, but for the town as well of one of their large storages of fireworks went off.

"I can see the glow!" Firecracker called out.

Sparks looked ahead and saw an orange light dancing in the distance, mostly obscured by trees. "It's in the back of the plant!" Sparks yelled, "near the 5 inch shell storage!"

Firecracker cursed under his breath. "That's gonna do some damage, be careful when you go in!"

The two made it to the front of gate of the Ponyville Firework Co. As Sparks began to fumble with the lock, Firecracker spread his wings. "No!" Sparks yelled. "Stay out of the air incase shells start flying!"

Firecracker flew into the air regardless. "I just want to see what's burning!"

"Well make it quick! I don't want you getting killed!"

From behind, the Stallion heard two sets of hooves running. "Firecracker! Be careful!" Came a familiar voice. Habanero and Trixie ran up with looks of fear on their faces.

"What are you two doing here?!" The unicorn yelled, "It's too dangerous!"

"We were worried!" Habanero protested. "We just wanted to make sure you two were ok!"

Before Sparks could protest, Firecracker called down. "It's not anything in the plant that's burning." A momentary wash of relief came over Sparks, until Firecracker called back, "It's something on the path that's on fire!"

Behind Sparks there was a gasp. He turned and saw Trixie with her eyes as wide as saucers. "No!" She cried out as she took off running.

"Trixie wait!" Sparks yelled. It did no good. Trixie sprinted off down the path towards her caravan. "Buck! Firecracker, tell the fireponies where to go!" Sparks cursed as he sprinted off.

The unicorn was already winded from his sprint across town, it was only his raw adrenaline that kept him moving. In the distance, he could see the flames dancing among the trees, and the silhouette of Trixie rushing towards her home. As he got closer, he could hear her frantic cries. He pushed himself to run harder.

It felt like it took him hours to reach Trixie. The sheer chaos of the situation seemed to make time stand still. Glowing embers began to flutter around him as he approached the burning caravan. He could see it. The roof was burning and the fire was slowly creeping down the outer walls. As he approached, he saw Trixie frantically trying to use her magic to get the door of her caravan open. It wouldn't budge, even with her magic. Sparks slid to a halt and yelled out, "Trixie! Get away, it's to dangerous!"

With tears streaming down her cheeks, she cried out, "My cloak! It's the only part of my family I have left!" She again tried to get closer to the caravan and pry open the door. "I can't lose my cloak! It means everything to me!" A rush of flame erupted form the caravan and Trixie had to shield her face with her forearm to protect herself from the heat. She again pleaded with herself. "I can't lose you! Not again!"

Sparks took a deep breath and stomped his hoof on the ground. He ran forward and called out, "Stand back!" With a gasp, Trixie watched as Sparks rushed passed her and up to the door.

He forced his front hoof against the door. It wouldn't budge. Without a second thought, Sparks quickly turned and with all his strength, reared up his hind legs and bucked the door as hard as he could. He felt the wood splinter and heard the latch pop. It was still closed. He reared up again and forced all of his strength into another hard kick. The hinges ripped from the wall and the door collapsed inside. Instantly Sparks was hit by a rush of heat. He held his hoof up to shield his face as glowing embers fluttered around him. He quickly examined inside the caravan. Inside, the roof was completely engulfed, and the furniture was beginning to burn. Except for a few burning pieces of debris, the floor was mainly clear. Without a second thought, Sparks leapt inside over the burning rubble that was blocking the door.

Inside was like an oven. Everything was alight with flame and embers fluttered around him like a hellish snow. For the most part the pyro pony could handle the heat. He always had to deal with it when he shot fireworks, but this was too much even for him. Not wanting to waste any time, he quickly looked around and saw Trixie's cloak and witchy hat sitting on her bed. He didn't hesitate. The blankets were beginning to burn and the hat and cloak already looked scorched. With a quick trot, he rushed to the bed and levitated Trixie's cherished items with his horn. They were damaged, but nothing that couldn't be repaired.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Sparks quickly turned and headed for the door. From up above, there was a loud crack followed by a crashing noise. The front half of the roof of the caravan collapsed in front of him and cutting off his escape. The unicorn quickly turned to look for another way out, there wasn't one. It took every ounce of his mentality to keep himself from panicking. Holding Trixie's belongings close to his body he ran though every option he could think of in his head. He cursed himself for never learning a teleport spell.

There was another loud crack as another section of the roof came down. Through a thick shower of glowing embers, Sparks felt something hard slam into the back of his head. He saw stars and his vision blurred. Without realizing it, the stallion felt himself falling to the floor.

He lay there stunned. The roar of the flames was muffled and from outside, he could hear the echoed sound of Trixie frantically calling out his name. He slowly looked over and saw the hat and cloak still in his magical aura. A distant thought ran through his head. "Well... at least those are still ok..."

He knew he had to move, but he couldn't. The impact on his head left him in a daze, it felt like a large firework shell had gone off right next to him.

"GET UP!" He mentally yelled. He tried to force his legs to move but nothing happened. "Come on! MOVE!" Still nothing. He could see the flames completely engulf Trixie's bed where he had been only a few moments before. "Dammit! GET UP!" The burning heat began to wash over him. He couldn't believe this was how he was going to go out. He wanted to shake that thought from his mind, but he couldn't. He couldn't mentally force himself to do anything. He simply lay his head down on the scorched floor.

In front of him, he saw a pair of red hooves land hard on the floor. He slowly looked up and saw Firecracker. It felt like slow motion as he heard Firecracker yell to him in a muffled voice, he couldn't understand what he was saying. He felt his friend reach down and grab onto him, and then he felt himself lift off of the burning floor and into the air. It all felt like a dream as he watched himself being flown out of the burning roof of the caravan and away from the danger. He could at least see that he still had Trixie's cloak and hat in his grasp. "Well, I got what I came for at least..."

He felt himself being set on the ground away from the danger and in front of two other ponies. He saw Habanero's vivid fiery mane, and the calming ice blue of Trixie. Both girls were crying. He then felt something warm running down his face. In his mind he knew it was blood. He must have gotten a gash on his head when part of the roof fell on him. The cool night air slowly began to clear his mind now that he was out of the inferno.

"Come on buddy! Stay with me!" He heard Firecracker say.

Good. His hearing was starting to clear.

"Sparks, come on now! Snap out of it!"

Sparks slowly shook his head to clear the rest of the fuzz out of his mind. In the distance, he heard the wailing sirens of the fireponies carriage as it rushed up the path. As they approached, he saw Firecracker raise his hoof up to alert the fireponies. It all still felt like slow motion as he watched the fireponies leap off of the carriage and quickly start to unravel their hoses. He then saw a firepony kneel down next to him, along with a white mare with a pink mane and tail. He could see her cutie mark was a red medical cross. She quickly knelt down and began to examine him.

Sparks again tried to shake off his daze but the white pony held him back. "Just take it easy." She said in a calming voice. Sparks looked at her then saw Firecracker motioning for Habanero, and Trixie to stand back. "He has an injury to the top of his head, and a possible concussion." He heard the nurse say. "I can see some minor burns too." Sparks still couldn't process what was happening around him.

The next thing Sparks knew, he was being lifted onto a stretcher and being placed inside an ambulance carriage. Another unicorn mare was inside along with the white and pink nurse who had first tended to him. The unicorn's horn began to glow and she said calmly, "This will help you relax." The next thing he knew, a spell had been cast on him and he was asleep.

Comments

[Cursory Note]

Woah... Did not see that coming, at all. Well done, I really like how you portrayed how the ponies in Ponyville would treat Trixie if she came back. As always, good job and can't wait for more!

[breezybells]

Awesome chapter!!!! Loved the ending.....and I still can't believe you referenced the Jackson park express...!!!! Hahahaha