//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: Something Sparkling // by Captain_Cosmos //------------------------------// That blue glow was in their vision. The fact that it was getting brighter and brighter by the minute only came to show that Sparkler’s breakdown was worsening, though it had the silver lining of Autumn and Flappy being able to easily see where she was going. As they sprinted after Sparkler with every ounce of speed and strength their bodies could possibly muster in the attempt to save their loved one, Autumn felt like she would be having this breakdown too if she were an Alicorn. Never, ever could she believe this was happening. It was nothing short of a living nightmare. More than a living nightmare. She had to run, run to the point of huffing, puffing, muscles aching… and keep going. She couldn’t afford to lose a single second, all the while… feeling she was the one to blame for this. “I knew I shouldn’t have done that!” she yelped. “Why did I listen to Luna?! I knew I was violating Sparkler’s privacy! Just like she said, right to my face! Flappy, my nightmare came true! I had a dream where this exact thing happened!” Autumn was leaving a trail of tears on the ground as she ran. Flappy groaned in annoyance. “Squawk! Look, for the sake of focusing on the task at hoof, let’s just agree to pin the blame on Luna for coming up with the idea in the first place and move on! Squawk!” He told Autumn. Autumn wanted to respond “I was the one who carried it out, though!” But she sighed in agreement that this stuff could wait until later. For now, they had to put every last ounce of both mental and physical energy into making sure Sparkler did not perish. And as that came into Autumn’s focus, well, the tears kept going. There was a very real chance of her losing her best friend tonight. Scenes of her visiting the gravesite and returning to the sad roommate-less life flooded her mind. It was awful. For Flappy, he gave his wings the hardest workout he ever had in his life. I can’t lose Sparkler, not after everything. I can’t! He continued to flap with all his might, hoping like hay that they could reach Sparkler in time. “Squawk! I will say that at the very least, now there are no more secrets between us. Squawk!” He commented. “I just hope we can get to see our lives without those secrets! Because if Sparkler dies…” Autumn couldn’t finish that sentence as she panted and cried her eyes out. “Squawk! If we put our backs into moving, then HOPEFULLY we will! Squawk!” Flappy replied. “Yes!” Autumn said. She worked her muscles even harder than her perceived max power, in pursuit of that blue glow. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was taking a relaxing late night fly in the sky, before a certain bright blue magical glow entered her view. It was coming from the desert below. “What in the world?” She raised her eyebrow as she changed course to investigate. … The pair of Autumn and Flappy were making progress in catching up to Sparkler; she seemed to be getting tired. Or, what if it was actually the breakdown magic that was taking away her agility? Rainbow landed alongside them and could see who was clearly Sparkler in the middle of that glow, as well as the intensifying cyclone of wind blowing the dirt around. “What in the...is that Sparkler?!” She called out. Flappy saw the unfamiliar pony and raised an eyebrow. “Squawk! Who the hay are you?! Squawk!” He asked. “Rainbow Dash, Sparkler’s new friend.” Rainbow replied as she ran alongside them. “Let me guess, you two know about the wings?” Rainbow asked. “We do! But I wasn’t supposed to!” Autumn cried. “I found out behind her back!” “What?!” Rainbow shrieked. “How?!” “Squawk! Explanations later, SAVING SPARKLER NOW! Squawk!” Flappy shouted at the two. “Saving Sparkler now? What?” a soft voice called out. She saw the group of sprinting ponies behind a blue glow that…yep, it surrounded a pony. Fluttershy in its direction and caught up to the others, joining the chase. Flappy glared at Fluttershy. “Squawk! Fluttershy? Get out of here! It’s dangerous! Squawk!” He told her. “But you said we had to save somepony!” she responded. Rainbow sighed. “Ya know Autumn’s roommate Sparkler? She’s in that windy cyclone glowing!” She explained to Fluttershy. “Oh no! That doesn’t sound good!” Fluttershy said. “It’s a magical breakdown!” Autumn shouted. “This could kill her! And I don’t know how to get it to stop!” “Squawk! We better find a way fast! It’s getting worse! Squawk!” Flappy shouted. Indeed the wind threatened to lift their entire bodies off the ground, and the light was brightening by the minute, losing its blue and becoming more white. But they were very close to her now. And she could barely run anymore. This was their one and only chance. Rainbow stared at Sparkler for a second, before something came to her mind. “Wait a minute! I think I know what she needs to do!” She declared. Autumn had to know. “What? What is it?” “Twilight mentioned how sometimes unicorns have magical breakdowns. They need to release the magic in one fell burst!” Rainbow explained. “And how do we get her to release it?” Autumn asked. “I don’t know. Maybe tell her first? I don’t know if she knows.” Rainbow said. Flappy had listened to RD, and didn’t waste anything as he forcibly bypassed that wind and swooped right in front of Sparkler. “Squawk! Sparkler! Listen to me! You HAVE to release the built-up magic! Squawk!” He yelled over the wind. Sparkler heard him, and shook her head. “I--I can’t!” She said. As Sparkler’s speed decreased more and more, having lost nearly all ability to move forward at all, the ponies prevented that anyway by standing in a line right in front of her. And they were able to brace themselves against the wind. Their love for Sparkler gave them the strength. “Sparkler! I don’t care that you have wings!” Autumn shouted. “In fact, it’s cool! Your wings are beautiful! You are not a freak! You’re my best friend and I can’t lose you!” Sparkler squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “But...others…” She trailed off, tears falling down her face. “Sparkler! I’ll tell you right now that you’ll get a very different reaction than in the past. I KNOW at least two towns that are pro-Alicorn!” Rainbow told her. Sparkler shook her head. Appearing to not listen. “Sparkler, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but let me tell you right now that ponies are nice here! They will accept your wings! Rainbow is right!” Fluttershy said. Sparkler opened her eyes and continued breathing heavily, but the magic still wouldn’t release. Autumn didn’t know if it was safe to touch Sparkler, with all that magic… but words by themselves weren’t enough here. In Autumn’s mind, the only way to cure this… was a hug. So she went full in, wrapping around her friend’s neck. Sparkler wasn’t really paying attention, staring off into space, so she didn’t see Autumn wrap her forelegs around her neck. But she heard Autumn’s voice that came next, right in front of her face. “I repeat, Sparkler, you are NOT a freak! Those bullies were wrong! Wrong as they could possibly be! They’re… they’re lunatics! You’re beautiful, with your wings! And I love you so, so much! You’re my best friend ever and the perfect roommate! Please! Release the magic!” Autumn said through crying noises. The next moment was either life or death. And it was all a blur what happened next. Something clicked in Sparkler’s brain and her eyes started glowing bright white and a massive beam of magic burst out of her horn, shooting into the sky. The gathered ponies and parrot had to shield their eyes from the light. Before anypony could collect their thoughts, it was dark again, they didn’t have to fight with wind, and Sparkler’s eyes returned to normal, then drooped closed as she fell unconscious, going limp in Autumn’s forelegs. Autumn could swear that the magic had released… but this didn’t look good. Autumn panted hard with everything flowing her mind. “Is she… is she alive?” Autumn hovered her ear close to Sparkler’s chest, searching for a pulse. Rainbow approached as Autumn gently eased Sparkler down to the ground. She lightly pressed her hoof against Sparkler’s neck, and did feel a pulse. “She’s still alive, just out like a light.” She announced. “Squawk! Oh thank bucking tartarus! Squawk!” Flappy let out a sigh of relief. Autumn laid in the dirt and cried everything out. She was in both relief and anguish. A total blend. She could never in a thousand years believe what had just happened. Flappy looked to Fluttershy and Rainbow, deciding to get it out of the way. “Squawk! Don’t say a word of this to anypony. Got it? Squawk!” He told them. “I already promised Sparkler that I’d keep it under wraps. And I stick by that.” Rainbow replied. “Promise, Flappy.” Fluttershy said. At that moment, they all heard a pair of hoofsteps running towards them. They turned and saw Applejack and Applebloom approaching. “Hey Y’all! What’re you doing out--holy carriage!” Applebloom stopped when she saw what was undoubtedly Sparkler, with wings! “She’s an Alicorn.” Applejack finished the statement. “Squawk! Tell nopony! Squawk!” Flappy auto-said. “What the hay is going on here?” Applebloom asked. “Well, as you can see here, Sparkler is an Alicorn. She only appeared to be a unicorn… because she hid her wings under a poncho. She was ashamed of being an Alicorn, because some stupid kids at school bullied her for it.” Autumn really had to gulp at this next part. “And then… after I was pressured into secretly finding out about her wings without her knowing… and she found out… she got filled with so much stress that she had a magical breakdown. It’s something only happens to Alicorns, hence why you or I have never been engulfed by magic in that way. She literally could have died, had we not just gotten her to release it, less than a minute ago.” Applebloom’s mouth was agape. “What the hay…” She said. “Squawk! Ok, before anything else, let’s get her back to the house. Squawk!” Flappy suggested. “Yes.” Autumn said.