//------------------------------// // A Change of Scenery // Story: A Spark of Magic // by Robsa990 //------------------------------// A Spark of Magic Hey readers and writers of different fanfics, I’m Robsa990 and this is my very first fic. What actually inspired me to try writing one is Thunderhawk and his stories of ‘The 7th Element’. I’m more of an artist than a writer as I have created artwork for Thunderhawk’s stories. I’ve created a cover for my story to motivate me to write haha. Feel free to comment and share constructive criticism. MLP:FIM belongs to Hasbro. Chapter 1: A Change of Scenery I walk through the streets of Manehattan towards the train station. Not many ponies are up during this time of day; it is 5:30 AM, after all. I'm on my way to Ponyville so I can take a break from all the posh ponies in this town. I arrive at the Manehattan train station and I wait at the ticket booth. “Good morning, Silver Spark! Off on that trip you’ve been planning for so long?” asks the station manager. “Yes, yes I am, Ray. How much is the ticket?” I ask. “That’ll be 20 bits.” I levitate 20 bits out of my saddle bag, the bits encased in a silver glow; I set them down and slide them under the booth window. Ray gives me the ticket and I board the train. Levitating my grey saddle bag off of my back, I sit down on one of the side beds. Surprisingly no pony else is traveling to Ponyville today. “Looks like I have this whole cart to myself!” I say in a happy tone. Opening my saddle bag, I levitate a navy blue book in front of me. ‘Astronomical Astronomer’s Almanac to all things Astronomy.’ These sorts of topics always interest me. The train starts moving and the train driver announces “Next stop Ponyville. Estimated travel time 2 hours” This time I decide not to read because I’ve done that ever since I’ve lived in Manehattan. I gaze out the window at the fast paced scenery of mountains and grassland that stretch for miles. Because of the fast motion of the train, I start to feel a little motion sick, so I close the curtains with my magic and lie down on the bed. I close my eyes and I feel the vibrations of the train on my back as it travels along the tracks and I start to relax. Before I know it, I fade into a light sleep. I awake to the sound of the train’s wheels screeching to a stop. “All passengers please make your way off the train and into Ponyville train station. Thank you for traveling with us today.”Announces the driver. I quickly pack all my belongings into my saddle bag and levitate it onto my back. I step off the train and smell the fresh morning air in Ponyville. The scent of freshly baked goods fills the air. I look around trying to figure out where this wonderful smell is coming from. There, in the distance is a large colourful building which itself looks like it’s made of baked sweets. The sign above the building reads 'Sugar Cube Corner'. A bell atop the door frame makes a chiming sound as I push the door open. The smell of baked sweets surrounds me in the bakery. Wooden tables and benches are setup alongside the walls. I approach the counter, and out of nowhere a pink blur shoots up at my face. “Hi! Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner!” says a bouncing pink earth pony. Then all of a sudden she stops in mid-air, touches down back onto the wooden floor followed by a very long gasp. Then she zooms off out of the building making the door almost fall off its hinges. “Well, that was interesting...” I mutter. From behind the counter appears a light blue pony with a pink swirly mane and tail. “I’m Mrs. Cake and Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner!” She chuckles upon seeing my confused expression. “Oh, don’t mind Pinkie Pie. She’s just a little strange at times.” “A little?” I say sarcastically. I look towards the food stands on top of the counter. There are cupcakes, muffins, cakes and cookies; all being of different colours and flavours of icing. “Well Mrs. Cake, I’d like to have a dozen chocolate chip cookies please!” I say, licking my lips. “Coming right up! That’ll be 5 bits, please” She says. I levitate 5 bits from my saddle bag and place them on the counter. “Anything else?” She asks. “No thanks, I’m good. I’ll enjoy these!” I reply, licking my lips once again. “Have a nice day!” She says from behind me as I leave the store. I levitate my bag of cookies into my saddle bag. The sun is high in the sky and it places a warm glow over the citizens of Ponyville as I watch them go about their daily routines. Food stands, restaurants, and what looks like a large tree in the distance. As I get closer I read the sign 'Ponyville Public Library.’ “Is that a library in a tree? I have to check this out!” I say. I trot up towards the library door and push it open. I walk inside and the door closes behind me. Hundreds of books situate themselves on all the wooden shelves of the hollow tree. A table in the middle of the room with a carved wooden head of a horse is placed on top. As I observe the library I notice a cyan Pegasus pony with a rainbow mane and tail sitting on a chair with her back facing me. “Uh, hello there.” I say to the Pegasus. “Huh?! Whoa!!” She exclaims in a raspy voice as she falls off her chair and lands with a thump. She stands up on all fours and looks at me blushing slightly. “You can’t just barge in here like that!” She snaps. “Forgive me, but this is a public library, isn’t it?” I say to the cyan Pegasus, who’s now looking at my flank with a puzzled look. “Hellooo, any pony in there?’ Waving my hoof in front of her face. “I’m Silver Spark. Do you run the library?” She snaps out of it and looks back at me. “Me? The one and only Rainbow Dash running a library? Hahahahah! No way! I’m just here to read the new editions of Daring Do is all! Nice to meet you, Silver Spark!” She looks at my flank again, quizzically. “What’s with your cutie mark? It looks just like my friend Twilight’s.” She asks. I walk over to where she dropped her book, levitating it in front of me the cover reads ‘Daring Do: The Crypts of Horror’ “Who’s Twilight?” I ask her as I give her back the book. “Twilight Sparkle runs the library here in Ponyville. Are you new here?” She asks “Yes, I’ve just moved here about an hour ago from Manehattan.” I reply “I’d like to show you around town sometime, but I’ve got a pretty busy schedule today so I’ll catch you later Silver” She says as she zooms out the door. Thinking of what she just said about my cutie mark I decide to seek out this ‘Twilight Sparkle’. “Hello? Is any pony here?” I call out, and after a few seconds I hear some pony reply. “Coming!” I look to my left and see some pony making their way down a staircase. A purple unicorn with a stripe of indigo and pink running through her dark navy blue mane and tail approaches me. “Can I help you?” she asks. “Hi, I’m Silver Spark. Are you Twilight Sparkle? The one who runs this library?” I question. “I'm also Princess Celestia’s most faithful student!” She adds cheerfully. “And yes, I do run this library.” She answers my question. She starts to notice my cutie mark. “Uhhh, Twilight?” “Oh, sorry.” She says, blushing. “So Silver Spark, what can I help you with?” She asks me. “Would you mind showing me around Ponyville? I just moved here from Manehattan about an hour ago.” “Actually, I’d need to eat breakfast first, but I’d love to show you around.” She says. “Oh, that reminds me!” Levitating my bag of chocolate chip cookies out from my saddle bag I place it on the table with the wooden horse head. I levitate one cookie out of the bag and munch down on it. “Want some Twilight? I insist.” “I’d love some! Thank you Silver Spark!” She says with delight. I levitate another in front of her and she accepts it with her magic and bites into it. We share the rest of the cookies when Twilight notices a familiar looking book in my saddle bag. “What’s that in your saddle bag, Silver?” “Oh, it’s just a book I decided to bring along on the train ride.” I use my magic to place the book down onto the table. “Astronomical Astronomer’s Almanac to all things Astronomy! I used to have a copy of this book, but my number one assistant, Spike, accidentally sneezed on it.” She says, sighing. “Did you throw it away just because it was sneezed on?” I asked. She shook her head. “No silly! My assistant is a baby dragon; his sneeze incinerated the book’s pages.” She said with a laugh. “Oh, hehehe. Now I get it. In that case, would you like to have my copy? I've already read through it several times.” “Really!? Oh thank you, Silver! I haven’t been able to find a replacement copy!” She says excitedly as she levitates the book into an open space in the shelf where her previous copy had been. “So, where is your number one assistant, Twilight?” I ask curiously. “Spike? Oh, he’s in Canterlot right now on royal business.” She says as she trots over to the door. “Now, about that tour. Shall we get going?” She asks with a smile. I smile back to her and nod. On my way to the door, I notice Twilight staring at my cutie mark again with a puzzled expression. I can't help but ask why she's interested in my cutie mark. “Hey, Twilight? Would you mind telling me why you're so interested in my cutie mark?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. “I-uh, well, it does look so much like mine, after all.” She gestures her head in the direction of her cutie mark. “I might write a letter to the princess about this.” She investigates my cutie mark again. “I can't help but feel there's something strange about your cutie mark.” She says, but then shakes her head and gets back on topic. “Anyway, I'll introduce you to my friends. You've already met Rainbow Dash. She's not much of a reader, but since she found the Daring Do series, she's been hooked on it.” “Yeah, the way she sped out your library, I can tell she's an athletic pony. Not to mention her cutie mark.” I say, chuckling. We walked alongside each other until we arrived at an apple orchard. “This is Sweet Apple Acres! My friend Applejack lives here. This is where the best tasting apples in all of Equestria are sold as well as the equally famous Sweet Apple Cider.” Twilight says proudly. We walk past the white arch gate when I spot an orange earth pony with a blonde mane wearing a light brown Stetson hat. “Well, howdy there, Twilight! Who's the new colt?” She asks as she trots over to us. Twilight introduces me. “Applejack, this is Silver Spark. He's from Manehattan, and he just moved to Ponyville today.” Applejack approaches me and shakes my hoof vigorously. “Why, it's a pleasure makin' your acquaintance! Ah sure do like makin' new friends!” She says. Letting go of my hoof I greet her with a smile. “Y'all say yer from Manehattan? My Aunt and Uncle Orange live there, but I never liked it there. Too many posh ponies fer mah liking.” “Funny you should say that because I moved out of Manehattan for the same reason.” I respond with a smile. “Ah'd love to stay 'n chat, but I gotta get back ta work! It's nice meeting ya, Silver!” Twilight and I say our farewells as we head off to our next destination towards the edge of the Everfree Forest. “Fluttershy lives near the Everfree Forest, and she loves taking care of her animals. She's even convinced a cockatrice to turn me back from stone once.” Twilight says. “Sounds like quite the ordeal, Twilight.” I say, amused, as we reach a small cottage. Twilight and I walk up to the door and she knocks on the wooden door. “Fluttershy, are you home?” Twilight asks. No response. “Oh that's right, she's at the boutique today to drop off Opalescence, Rarity's pet cat. Lets go.” I follow Twilight away from the edge of the Everfree Forest and back into the heart of Ponyville. “You see that fancy building over there? That's where my friend Rarity lives. She's a fashion fanatic”. We approach the purple door. “Rarity, is Fluttershy here? There's somepony I'd like you to meet.” She says knocking on the door. The door opens and a white unicorn with a curly well-styled purple mane and tail welcomes us in. “Fluttershy, Twilight's brought a guest! Would you like to meet him?”Asks Rarity. I spot a nervous looking yellow pegasus mare with a long flowing pink tail and mane in the corner of the room. She nervously steps out to towards us. “O-ok...” Fluttershy replies in a soft, quiet voice. “Nice to meet you, Rarity and Fluttershy.” I nod at each of them respectively. “My name's Silver Spark, and I just moved here from Manehattan.” I say. “You certainly don't look like you're from Manehattan.” Says Rarity as she scrutinizes my features. “Thank you.” I say, taking that as a compliment with a smile. “I've never wanted to be like one of those posh ponies. It's just not my style.” “Um...i-i-if you don't mind me saying, um, your cutie mark looks interesting...” Says Fluttershy from behind her pink mane. “Yes, it is intriguing, isn't it?” Says Twilight. All three of them are now observing my cutie mark. I feel my cheeks starting to flare up due to this awkwardness, not to mention the attention my cutie mark's been getting. “Um, girls? You can stop now.” They all stop staring immediately and all of their faces show a hint of red. “It's nice meeting you Rarity and Fluttershy.” I say. They both smile awkwardly. Rarity approaches Twilight and whispers something in her ear. Twilight's face lights up with a smile. “Silver, lets go to Sugar Cube Corner to meet another friend of mine.” Says Twilight. I follow Twilight and the others to Sugar Cube Corner. As we approach the sweet shop Twilight tells me to stand outside until she says to come in. Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy all enter the shop closing the door behind them. A few seconds later, Twilight says, “Come in!” I open the door and to my surprise a pink blur shoots up from behind the counter. “Surprise!” She yells as the lights switch on. Ponies from around Ponyville crowd the shop and different colours of balloons, streamers and other sorts of various party objects decorate the shop along with what looks like a cannon. “Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party, just for you! Were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Huh? Huh? Huh?”She says as she bounces around me. I chuckle with disbelief at the party pony's speed. “Very surprised! Well done, Pinkie.” I reply. “You see, I saw you when you first entered the shop, and you were all 'hello' and I was like ::gasp:: remember? If I never saw you before, that means you're new! I know every pony and I mean every pony in Ponyville, you see?” “This is the best welcome party I've ever been to, Pinkie Pie.” I say with a delightful smile. “Oh, thank you, Sparky!” She replies. I'm greeted by Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack as we sit around one of the wooden tables by the wall. “Wow, you guys! All of this, just for me?” I ask. “Of course, dear! After all, you are new here.” Rarity says. I levitate a chocolate cupcake in front of me and start to eat it, when practically everyone in the room gasps. I look towards where every pony was looking to see Princess Celestia entering the bakery. Judging by the shocked look on her face something doesn't seem right. “Twilight Sparkle, I need you and your friends to meet me in the library. At once!” She says in a harsh tone. A blinding flash of light occurs and she disappears immediately. Every pony starts to panic at the Princess's abnormal behaviour and arrival to the party. “Every pony, join hooves! I'm teleporting us to the library!” Twilight says. Confused and puzzled at what's happening and having no time to say anything, Twilight grabs my hoof. "What's going o-" I'm interrupted as a blinding flash of light engulfs the 7 of us and the next second we're back in Twilight's library. We all look towards the Princess who's standing on the stairs. “An old foe of mine has returned! Queen Chrysalis!” She says in a distraught voice. We all gasp. I know exactly what she is talking about. The changling attack on Canterlot a few months back was led by the changeling queen, Chrysalis. “She's weaker since the last time we encountered her at the royal wedding, but she has compensated for this by bringing along more changelings. They are attacking Canterlot as we speak!” I notice she isn't accompanied by her royal guards. 'But can't Shining Armor and Princess Cadence banish her like they did before?” Asks Rainbow Dash, alarmingly. 'They cannot!” She pauses, then looks down at the library's wooden floor. “Not anymore...” Says the Princess, a tear falling from her eye. Well guys, I hope you enjoyed the story and didn't find it too boring at the start. I'll start another chapter based on others' decisions on how this one went :) And Special Thanks to Thunderhawk7865 for editing the chapter!