//------------------------------// // Episode 8: New Toys // Story: Sparkling Harmony EQG: Agents of SMILE: Yule Tide Assistance // by Captain_Cosmos //------------------------------// Lunar Trench Celestial Sea December 22nd, 2022 2200hrs “Midnight, how’s this thing coming?” Sundown asked. “Nearly done. But this magic generator is being stubborn.” Midnight responded as she tinkered with the generator. “Well hurry up.” Sundown responded. “The sooner we get this weapon online the better.” “Don’t you think I know that?” Midnight asked. “You know full well who’s out there that could possibly stop us.” “Which is why we need to finish this weapon before THEY get wind and come knocking.” Sundown said. “Relax.” Midnight responded. “We’re at the floor of the deepest trench on this planet.” She said. “They don’t have the capability to come down here.” “Still, sooner is better.” Sundown responded. “I know. Now shut up and let me work.” Midnight responded. “As soon as we get this weapon finished, no one can stop us.”  North Pole December 22, 2022 2200hrs “Cornelius?” Alexander asked. “What exactly are we doing here?” Cornelius smirked in response. “I think there might a way to traverse the entire Lunar trench safely. And it involves a little magic.” He said. “Magic? Cornelius, I wouldn’t be able to get down there. My power was limited when I was pulled out of Sunset.” Daydream responded. “Maybe YOU can’t.” Cornelius responded. “But perhaps the Sparkmobile can.” “Sparkler said it couldn’t.” Twilight interjected. “Maybe not now. But with a little magic, it just might.” Cornelius responded as a cylindrical object appeared in schematic form on the main screen. Everyone stared at the screen in confusion. “What is that?” Santa asked. “A little invention of mine. A mini magic generator.” Cornelius explained. “A mini magic generator?” Sunset asked. “20% of our main generator’s power in 5% the package, not powerful enough to power our operation here. But more than sufficient for a small vehicle like the Sparkmobile.” Cornelius explained. Twilight widened her eyes in realization to what Cornelius was getting at. “If that was installed in the Sparkmobile, it might allow it to go anywhere in the world.” She said. “And traverse any region it enters.” “Exactly.” Cornelius responded. “Sounds like we have our way into the Lunar Trench.” Daydream said. “Do we?” Alexander asked as he and Santa shared a glance, both thinking the same thing. “Cornelius, there’s a caveat to your idea. Any magic generator, the main one or THIS one, needs someone with a magic organ to draw its magic from.” He explained. “Not other dimension originated magic or magic coming from a geode. It has to be someone from this universe and coming from the person themself.” He added quickly when he remembered Daydream and Twilight and Sunset “Magic organ?” Sunset asked. “What’s that?” “An internal organ that myself and all the Elves possess.” Santa explained. “It enables us to use magic while also providing the Generator a source to draw from. Essentially, while the Generator channels it into energy, it’s us that provide the magic.” He said. “Whoa.” Sunset responded, unbelieving of what she was hearing. “That’s insane.” “Yeah.” Twilight said. Cornelius nodded. “Yeah. Now take a look at this.” He said. Everyone looked at the screen again. And saw a Picture of Sparkler. The picture changed to an X-Ray, zoomed in, and revealed a star shaped organ tucked away in her ribcage. Santa and Alexander’s eyes widened as they recognized the organ. “A magic organ.” They said. “That’s a magic organ?” Twilight asked. “Located right where it’s supposed to be.” Cornelius responded. “That little organ should power the mini magic generator.” “Should?” Daydream asked. “Obviously we won’t know for sure it’s gonna work until we actually do it.” Cornelius responded. “Just need to program it to only accept the magic coming from Sparkler’s magic organ.” “Would that be enough? Because Sparkler used the Sparkmobile a lot.” Twilight asked. “Magic efficiency, plus the insane recorded output of magic from the average magic organ should be more than sufficient to power this thing.” Cornelius assured Twilight. “Meanwhile we’ll go find Sparkler.” Sunset responded. “Cornelius could you send that X-Ray to Twilight’s phone?” “Done.” Cornelius responded as Daydream, Sunset, and Twilight left the control room. When they were gone, Santa turned back to Alexander and Cornelius. “She has a magic organ. That should be impossible.” Santa said. “At this point I’d say anything is possible.” Alex responded. “Should we tell her the truth?” “It’s not our place to tell.” Santa responded. “That falls on Derrick and his contacts.” “Shouldn’t we at least tell her about her biological family?” Cornelius asked. “We don’t need to tell her about her origins but that’s what Christmas is all about. Family.” “Again. Not our place to tell.” Santa responded. “Though…I guess it couldn’t hurt to tell her that they ARE out there. Alive, and well.” “In my opinion we should give her more info than that but you're the boss.” Cornelius responded as he worked. Meanwhile, Sparkler and Clear Cut were at the Sparkmobile, Clear-Cut showing Sparkler what her ring could do. “The ring is an extension of your mind.” Clear-Cut said in Sparkler’s head. “Whatever you can imagine, the ring will create in Crystal Form, with some concentration.” “Just like a Lantern Ring from DC Comics.” Sparkler responded. “Is there an emotion attached?” “No. You are only limited by your mental capacity.” Clear-Cut responded. “Are there ANY limits to this ring?” Sparkler asked as she thought of a small cube, focused the thought being created by the ring, and the ring created the small cube in her other hand. “If used nonstop for 4 hours, it will require a one hour charge.” Clear-Cut responded. “However, since it has been dormant for 17 years, it has built up an absurd reserve of power to draw on.” He revealed. “And how do I recharge it?” Sparkler asked. “Just don’t use it.” Clear-Cut responded. “That simple.” “Good to know.” Sparkler responded. “Sparkler!” Sparkler and Clear-Cut heard a trio of voices call out. They turned to see Sunset, Daydream, and Twilight approach. “There you three are.” Sparkler said. “I came back to see the Sparkmobile abandoned.” “Yeah. We were in the control room.” Sunset responded. “We may have a way down the Lunar Trench.” She announced. “You found a way?” Sparkler asked. “Found more than that.” Twilight said as she handed Sparkler her phone, with the X-Ray pulled up. “You’ve seen X-Rays of yourself, correct?” She asked. “Yeah. I have.” Sparkler responded as she glanced at the phone screen. “Wait, how did you get an X-Ray of me?” “Cornelius had it. But for good reason.” Sunset responded. “Turns out you had a secret internal organ this entire time.” She told Sparkler. “What?” Sparkler asked. She watched as the picture zoomed in on her rib cage and she saw the magic organ…except she coulda sworn it wasn’t there before. “The heck is this?” She asked. “Around here they call it a magic organ.” Daydream explained. “This is the true power source. The generator draws from each magic organ here.” “Does it now?” Sparkler asked. “Huh. Interesting. So why do I have one?” “We have no sweet clue.” Twilight responded. “But I guess it’s a good thing for us since Cornelius made a mini generator that can be installed in the Sparkmobile, and with any luck, that will allow the Sparkmobile to traverse any environment possible.” She said. “Even the bottom of the Lunar Trench, that’s genius.” Sparkler responded as she gave Twilight back her phone. “It is.” Sunset responded. “So, what happened with Clear-Cut?” She asked. “Well, I can’t get us there myself even with his help…at least in the way I had imagined.” Sparkler said. “But he did tell me why I had this ring this entire time.” She added as she held up her ring, which glowed with but a thought and a beam of light projected from it. Twilight, Daydream, and Sunset all gasped and stepped back as they watched her ring come to life. “Oh my Lantern!” They all said. To be continued…