//------------------------------// // Episode 13: Love in many forms // Story: My Little Pony: Sparkling Harmony: Season Two // by Captain_Cosmos //------------------------------// “You got it this time Sparkler. Just remember, picture the thing you want to protect in your mind.” Sparkler nodded. “Alright.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She pictured the thing she wanted to protect in her mind, which in this case was an apple. She pulsed her horn, and shot a ball out. Twilight watched as the ball traveled across the library and stopped above the apple. The ball exploded into a barrier that covered the apple whole, and then disappeared. Twilight beamed. “That’s it! You did it!” Sparkler opened her eyes and at first didn’t see anything. She raised an eyebrow. “I did?” Twilight nodded and lit her horn. “Watch.” She fired a low powered magic bolt straight at the apple. The bolt hit the barrier and the barrier became visible while absorbing the blast, before disappearing again, leaving the apple completely fine. Sparkler smiled. “Holy smokes! I did!” She did a little victory dance. “Third time really is the charm!” Twilight grinned. “I’m so proud of you Sparkler!” She rushed in and gave Sparkler a hug. “I knew you could do it!” Sparkler chuckled as Twilight hugged her. “I had a good teacher.” Twilight nodded as she let go of Sparkler and bounced over to a whiteboard, she crossed off Barrier Spell. “What spell do you want to learn next? Transformation spell? Projection spell? Ooh! How about...” Sparkler couldn’t help but chuckle at Twilight’s enthusiasm. The same enthusiasm that was there every time the two got together for a study session. She inwardly sighed in content as she basked in this moment. Look at her. She’s just so adorable when she’s excited. There is literally NOTHING stopping you from asking her out, right now. And what about Kicker? Say I end up adopting him, would he be ok with it? He’s not our foal yet. But he IS living with us. If I were to ask Twilight out he may not approve. And he has the final say why? The last couple he lived with treated him horribly! I’m not gonna not include him in something like this. He’s gonna be a part of the discussion unless he moves out. He’s not gonna move out because you’re gonna adopt him. Admit it, you want to adopt him. ...We’ll see what he says. “Sparkler?” Sparkler blinked out of the conversation with herself and noticed Twilight looking at her with a perplexed look. “You ok?” She asked. Sparkler nodded quickly. “Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking.” Horseapples! I wasn’t supposed to say that! Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What were you thinking about?” Sparkler’s mind raced with what to do. You don’t need to tell her about your crush...at least not yet. Just mention Kicker. “I was just...thinking about Kicker, and how one might go about adopting a foal.” Twilight smiled. “You’re really gonna do it?” Sparkler sighed, and nodded. “Yeah. I’ve decided I’m gonna adopt him...if he wants.” Twilight giggled. “I don’t think you need to worry about whether he wants you to adopt him. You’re doing a great job taking care of him Sparkler. I’m sure he’ll say yes.” Sparkler let a small smile come out. “You think so?” Twilight nodded. “I do. You’ll be a great mother Sparkler. I just know it.” Sparkler didn’t know why, but that brought a tear to her eye as she reached out to hug Twilight. “Thank you Twilight. That means a lot.” Twilight returned the hug, before backing away and gesturing to the whiteboard. “So, which spell do you want to learn next?” Sparkler glanced at the board. “Hm....the projection spell sounds useful.” Twilight beamed and pulses her horn to summon a host of books from the shelves, the books zipped down and floated around them. “Let’s. Get. Studying!” She flipped open the first book while Sparkler chuckled. Shaking her head. Hehe. Never change Twilight. Never change. “So, I roll the dice and then you tell us what the results mean Starlight?” Kicker asked. Starlight nodded. “That’s right.” Kicker nodded and rolled the dice. The dice came to a stop and Starlight smiled. “Ooh. Nice. Looks like you saved Flapperina from the monster.” Flappy smiled and raised his wing for a High-extremity. “Squawk! Nice. Thanks Kick—Thunder Striker. Squawk!” Kicker nodded. “No problem.” He raised his hoof and gave Flappy a high-extremity. Spike chuckled. “Now you guys are clear to catch up to Dracon and Griffindora.” Gabby nodded. “The duo shall become the quartet.” Kicker smiled. “This really is a fun game! Flappy we should get mom in on this!” Flappy, and everycreature else stopped and raised an eyebrow. Did Kicker just say mom? “What was that Kicker?” Spike asked. Kicker seemingly realized what he said and blushed a little as he shied away. “Oh, uh, Sparkler. I meant we should get Sparkler in on this hehe.” Flappy, Spike, and Starlight all glanced at each other, all three of them thinking the same thing. Was that on purpose or a slip of the tongue? About three hours later, Sparkler, Flappy, and Kicker were heading out. Sparkler smiled at Twilight. “Thank you for teaching me magic Twi. You may be a total egghead when it comes to teaching. But you know your stuff.” Twilight blushed and smiled sheepishly. “It’s nothing Sparkler. I’m just happy I got the chance to teach an Alicorn magic. Usually it was the other way around.” Sparkler chuckled. “Didn’t you create a new kind of magic right before ascending to Alicornhood?” Twilight chuckled. “Touché.” While Sparkler and Twilight talked, Kicker and Flappy smiled at Spike. “Ogres and Oubliettes is a fun game. We have to play again sometime.” Flappy nodded. “Squawk! Definitely. Squawk!” Spike nodded. “Flapperina and Thunder Striker definitely need to help Griffindora and Dracon again.” Kicker nodded. “For sure.” All three of them high-extremitied. Twilight smiled. “You wanna come back tomorrow? I still got several more spells I can teach you.” Sparkler giggled and nodded. “I’m always up for a magic lesson. Five o’clock?” Twilight nodded. “Five o’clock.” Sparkler nodded. “Alright.” They both raised their wings and high-winged. Starlight hung back a bit and watched the goodbyes. She smiled and shook her head. She may actually be oblivious to the fact that she apparently can’t go 24 hours without seeing if she can hang out with Sparkler. She watched as Sparkler, Kicker, and Flappy waved goodbye and left. Twilight watched them go and she closed the door behind them. She turned to Spike and Starlight and nodded. “If anypony needs me. I’ll be in the library cleaning up. And thinking about what spell I can teach Sparkler next.” Before Starlight and Spike could say anything, Twilight lit her horn and popped away. Spike watched his friend go. And groaned. “And the most oblivious mare on the planet award goes to...” Starlight nodded. “Have you noticed that she can’t even go 24 hours without seeing if Sparkler can hang out anymore? She’s head over hooves for her and doesn’t even know it.” Spike nodded. “When this whole Kicker situation blows over, I’m sending word to Cadance. This is honestly getting ridiculous.” Starlight nodded. “Agreed. I’m not sure how much longer I can watch this.” Sparkler and Flappy flew side by side over Ponyville on a course for home. Sparkler smiled. “So Kicker, Flappy. I take it you two had a fun time with Spike, Starlight, and Spike’s friend Gabby.” Kicker nodded. “We had a lot of fun! Ogres and Oubliettes is an awesome game!” Sparkler giggled. “That’s a tabletop game right?” Flappy nodded. “Squawk! Correct. I think you’d like it Sparkler. Squawk!” Sparkler smiled and nodded. “I just might join you guys for the next session.” Kicker nodded. “You should.” He bit his lip before continuing. “Hey Sparkler?” Sparkler raised an eyebrow. “Hm?” “Flappy and Spike say that you have a crush on Twilight. What does that mean?” Kicker asked. Sparkler’s breath hitched in her throat and she shot a glare at Flappy. For REAL Flappy?! Sparkler sighed, slowed down to a hover, and turned her head to look at Kicker. “Well...it means I want to get to know her better...maybe take her out for dinner sometime. And if things go well...maybe down the line...” Sparkler’s mind was racing. What the heck do I tell Kicker? That I want to spend the rest of my life with Twilight and if things go well he’ll have two parents again? Kicker listened to what Sparkler was saying, and nodded. “You mean you’re in love with her?” Sparkler nearly fell out of the sky when Kicker said that. She hadn’t expected that to come out of his mouth. “You know what that is? To be in love?” Kicker nodded. “Mom and Dad would always show affection for one another. Before they...” Sparkler’s mood fell and she leaned in and nuzzled Kicker. “I’m sure they loved each other very much.” Kicker nodded. “Just like you love Twilight?” Sparkler nodded. “I think so...is...is that ok with you?” Flappy, next time keep your beak shut! I was NOT ready for this! Kicker nodded. “If she makes you happy then go for it. You deserve to be just as happy as you’ve made me.” Sparkler‘s heart swelled with joy when Kicker said that. Not because he was ok with her and Twilight, but because he confirmed that she had indeed made him happy. “Aww!” She leaned in and kissed his forehead. “That was sweet of you to say.” Flappy watched Sparkler and Kicker have their moment, and cursed himself for not bringing a camera. That’ll teach me to always bring a camera. Their first mother/son moment and I didn’t capture it! He smiled all the same. Knowing that this was a massive step towards the two being official mother and son. Sparky and Misty hid in a bush, staking out the Alicorn’s house. Misty raised an eyebrow. “I still don’t think an ALICORN lives there Sparky.” Sparky groaned. “I’m telling you that mare has both wings and a horn. When she comes back with that brat you’ll see!” Misty rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say Spark.” At that moment, through the bushes, they saw a pony land at the house. Misty squinted her eyes, and then they widened as she saw that the pony DID have wings and a horn. “Holy Tartarus.” Sparky smirked. “I TOLD you.” Misty gulped. “Ok, maybe we should at least wait for her to leave the brat by himsel—“ “No!” Sparky snapped. “Every second we delay is another second we could be discovered. We need to grab him tonight, then get the heck out of here before those cops see us.” Misty sighed, then nodded. “You’re right. That brat is the only witness to our...deeds...we have to make sure he never says a word.” Sparky smirked. “Then how about we permanently take care of that problem?” Misty nodded. “Agreed.” Pretty soon, the night came and Sparkler tucked Kicker into bed. She smiled down at him. “There we go. All nice and cozy?” Kicker nodded. “Yeah.” Sparkler nodded and leaned down to kiss Kicker’s forehead. “G’night Kick. Sweet dreams.” She backed away and started for the door, when she heard Kicker say “G’night mom.” That caused Sparkler to stop at the door and turn her head back to look at Kicker...who had gone to sleep. Her mind raced. Did...Did he just... Sparkler shook her head and let a small smile take her muzzle. She was CERTAIN she heard right. With that smile, she walked out of the room and closed the door gently. She walked to her own room, where Flappy had just settled on his perch. “Flappy, Kicker just said something...interesting.” Flappy raised an eyebrow. “Squawk! What’s that? Squawk!” “Kicker...he just called me MOM. He actually just...” Sparkler trailed off. A slew of emotions racing through her at the moment. Flappy smiled. “Squawk! So he IS thinking of you as a mom now. I was wondering if his earlier statement was on purpose or a slip of the tongue. Squawk!” Sparkler raised an eyebrow. “What?” Flappy nodded. “Squawk! Oh yeah. He said, and I quote “Flappy we should get mom in on this!” When we were playing Ogres and Oubliettes. Squawk!” Sparkler didn’t know why, but that caused her smile to grow. “He really thinks of me as a mother...” Flappy nodded. “Squawk! Why WOULDN’T he? Think about this Sparkler, before he met you he was in an alleyway eating garbage after he escaped from horrible ponies. You gave him shelter, healthy food, and all the love a mother would give her foal. It’s actually surprising it took THIS long for him to start calling you mom. Squawk!” Sparkler blushed and smiled sheepishly. “When should I bring up adoption to him?” Flappy smiled. “Squawk! The sooner the better. I’m sure it’ll make his day. Squawk!” Sparkler smiled and nodded. If he really did want her to be his new mom, bringing the option to the table would surely bring a smile to the foals face. “Squawk! One thing I’m doing though is duct taping a camera to my body though. Squawk!” Sparkler raised an eyebrow as she looked at Flappy. “Why?” Flappy chuckled. “Squawk! Because had I done that, I would’ve been able to capture your guys’ first mother/son moment! Seriously. Who in their right minds WOULDN’T capture that?! Squawk!” Sparkler laughed. “If all goes well there will be plenty of other moments like it.” Flappy nodded. “Squawk! So, tomorrow you’re gonna bring it up. Squawk!” Sparkler nodded. “Yes.” “Squawk! You aren’t gonna chicken out like you did TWICE when you were coming out? Squawk!” Sparkler chuckled. “Hey, this isn’t NEARLY as scary as that.” “Squawk! Just making sure. Squawk!” Flappy replied. Sparkler nodded as she climbed into bed. “G’night Flappy.” Flappy nodded. “Squawk! G’night...mom. Squawk!” Sparkler laughed as she turned off the lights and drifted off the sleep. A smile on her face. Outside. Sparky and Misty watched the house. Specifically the windows. They watched as the last light went out. Misty smirked. “The coast is clear.” Sparky nodded. “Let’s roll.” To be continued...