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// 1 -  Sparkle 
// Story: Re:Harmony 
// by starcross7 
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Chapter 01 - Sparkle
 
This was her playground--a dark and epic subterranean chasm stretching farther than the eye could see with a mile-high ceiling. 
 
The unicorn mare Sparkle had no problem with a lack of light in the Great Chasm.  Without a regard to the rules beset by her tribe--or rather, the Chieftain--she fired into the air from her horn magic flares to illuminate the precariously narrow pathways to the many alcoves and ledges of the Chasm.  Happily she hummed when she trotted out of the cavern entrance and down to the lower levels, hoping to find any new treasure that might have washed up below in the murky shores of the Chasm’s polluted river. 
 
"Sparkle!  Come back!"
 
Turning her head, Sparkle saw Trixie cowardly peering over the edge of a crystal-rock platform.  Obviously, the Chieftain had again reminded Trixie to watch over her only daughter, but nothing would stop the purple unicorn from sating her curiosity of the world that lied across the Great Chasm.  Sparkle allowed Trixie to follow after her, bless her loyal heart.  To the pair of unicorns, the dangers of the Chasm were nothing compared to the punishment the Chieftain would impose onto them. 
 
"Sparkle, please!  This is the sixth time already!"
 
"Then seventh's time a charm," smiled Sparkle.  "After that tremor from yesterday, I'm sure we'll find some awesome technology on the bottom."
 
"Oh, what is it with you and technology?  Why can't you be satisfied with just magic?"
 
"There's more to this world that our home and magic.  Remember that miniature pony automaton I brought to the village?"
 
"Who could forget?  It nearly burned a house down, that accursed thing.  Your mother--I mean, the Chieftain was furious.  After that punishment, you're still coming down here and picking up junk?"
 
"They're not junk Trixie.  We don't know much about the surface world, and this is the only way we can ever know."
 
"Sparkle, what is there to know about the surface?  It's full of racist Earthians who are always at war against the Pegasi."
 
"The treasures that wash down here aren't all that bad if you put it to good use.  Shh!  I hear something."
 
Trixie flinched as Sparkle fired another magic flare from her horn.  Surely by now a monstrous abomination lurking in the Chasm would have been aroused by Sparkle's magic.  Gruesome stories of giant serpents, ravenous mutant crocodiles, and hydras preying on unicorns, and in rare cases, devouring them, had been told throughout their village.  Yet the beasts’ dreaded reputation paled in comparison to the vicious Earthians that were said to have come from the other side of Chasm.  Then again, the reputation of Earth Ponies only made Sparkle’s curiosity grow stronger.  Without magic, how did they become the dominant race of the surface world? 
 
Below, a curious transport rubbed against the rocks of the rapid and murky river waters of the Chasm.  It appeared alive, if not enchanted, but Sparkle knew that a wheelless hover truck was powered by non-magical means.  If she could get down, she could discern whether its main power source was gasoline, batteries, or fuel cells.  Regardless, Sparkle was excited to have a working hover truck. 
 
"I knew something fell here!  Trixie, help me pull it to towards the cave."
 
"Pardon me if I lack any interest in your technological pursuits, but why in heaven would you need an enchanted slab of metal?"
 
"First off, it's not enchanted.  Second, it's called a hover truck.  Third, we can use it move around rocks and other heavy items for our village."
 
"Why do we need these things when we have magic?"
 
"We can't always use magic for everything, Trixie.  After all, you were the first to pass out during the advanced level magic test we had last week.”
 
“I still say that bowl of sand was enchanted, but I don’t see how that has to do with anything.”
 
“Never mind about that, the truck is getting away.  Now let's start casting."
 
"We can't!"
 
"Why not?"
 
"The thing might have enchantments that will react to our spells."
 
"For the last time, it's not enchanted."
 
"But this is from the other side, isn't it?  You heard about the Earthians and their weapons, haven’t you?"
 
"Of course I have.  Look, I really don't want to waste the power that's left in this thing.  We need to use our powers to lift it up."
 
"I don't want to.  Besides, if you like it so much, why don't you use your precious technology to fly this back up to the entrance?"
 
"Fine."
 
Sparkle probably asked too much from her friend anyway, and despite being forbidden to venture into the Great Chasm yet again, she would be partly to blame if Trixie were to be hurt in process of lifting the hover truck from its stuck position.  Cautiously, the purple unicorn lowered herself until she could tap the operational hover truck with her rear hoof.  There was some resistance, thus ensuring confidence that she would be able to drive this thing back to her own personal cave to be nestled along with the many other technological trinkets she collected throughout her life. 
 
She settled her haunches on the driver's seat, and pressing the pedal to hear the spinning roar of the engines made her smile with glee.  Sparkle really wanted to take a joyride in the hover truck, but Trixie's worried and watchful glance made her reconsider.  This truck was too new.  The fuel level was still more than half full.  How did it end up here?  
 
From her basic understanding of machine controls she learned through old Earthian manuals, Sparkle managed to pull the truck off the edge.  The hovering boosters rumbled low, but none of the vibrations had transferred to Sparkle's cabin.  To float without magic was an enjoyable experience.  She then shifted the gear into ascent-drive, and pressed her front hooves on the steering wheel. 
 
Just then, she spotted a body clad in a dark brown duster coat and a Stetson hat floating by the Chasm shore.  Sparkle had seen bodies wash up like this, but the bodies had already been decomposed after days of floating in the murky river waters.  Often most of these dead Earthians had the look of common criminals, as if they deserved the fate to be lost in the Chasm.  She had gotten used to such morbid sights, and when she would spot one she muttered a short prayer to the Sun and the Moon, and a few times compelled Trixie to join her. 
 
But if the hover truck was new, what of this body?  The curious unicorn inched her vehicle closer so that she could get a better look. 
 
"Hurry up!" Trixie cried.  "There are Mimic Sirens lurking in this area."
 
"I saw a body."
 
"Forget about praying for it.  I don't want to be eaten by a river monster or worse--be punished by the Chieftain."
 
"I think the pony is alive."
 
Once she was close, Sparkle leapt off her hover truck and magicked a rope to tie it down to stable rock.  Then she used the same magic to telekinetically lift the pony's body out from the water so she could feel it with her hooves. 
 
The body was still warm.  Sparkle immediately flipped the pony over and saw a rather pretty and freckled orange mare with a blonde mane wearing a blue neck scarf that covered a golden necklace.  One, two, three pumps the chest, and thus Sparkle applied CPR to the mare.  One, two, three, she applied her lips onto the orange pony's mouth to give her a deep breath of life.  The process went on and finally the orange pony coughed, hurling out the gross water from her lungs and stomach.
 
The orange pony barely opened her green eyes after she sat up, widening them as she stared hard and in shock at her unintended savior.  Sparkle did not notice or care to notice that the pony she saved was one of them: an Earthian. 
 
"Sparkle!" cried Trixie.  "Get away from that pony!"
 
Trixie had suddenly teleported before her friend with her charged horn pointed at the resuscitated victim.  Then at the same time, the orange pony suddenly backflipped behind Sparkle and poised the sharpened edge of a long katana blade against her neck.