Second Best
It was late at night in Ponyville as Luna’s luminous and enchanting moon shined in the darkened sky over the landscape of the little town. The town had recently been cleared of the snow and ice that had once been remains of winter that needed to be cleared out if the ponies were to properly move on with their lives in the oncoming seasons and grow their food.
From the way things had been going a day earlier though, nopony would’ve guessed that the end result would’ve been as amazing as it was. The grass seeds had gone missing, the ice on the lake was cut wrong, Rarity had been fussing over a single bird’s nest the entire time instead of worrying about the rest. Probably the worst thing of all was that none of the three groups could agree on how the snow should be melted.
To be frank, it was a disaster.
That all changed though when the new pony in town, Twilight Sparkle, decided to step in and got the residents of Ponyville to stand and deliver with her organization skills. If it weren’t for her, Spring probably would’ve come late once again.
Twilight herself was now trotting through Ponyville’s park that night, taking another look at the townsponies’ accomplishment that was Spring. Spike needed bedrest after he had fallen into the freezing cold lake, and she didn’t want to disturb his sleep. So, she figured with the time she had to herself, to take a nice, nighttime walk through the park, now cleared of all the snow that had once been there.
“Aaaah. It really is nice to have some time to just appreciate the coming of a new season.” Twilight said with a smile. She took a big whiff of the air, which seemed to smell like freshly-cut grass, and exhaled. Even the air was near-perfect.
“I’m just glad that I could contribute to such a nice Spring. If I hadn’t stepped in, who knows how late it would’ve been.” Twilight said to herself.
It was true that Twilight had been looking the entire time for ways that she could contribute to Winter Wrap Up. Many of her attempts had been…fruitless to say the least. She had actually made the one horrendous nest that Rarity spent all day obsessing over, her ice-skating skills were abysmal, her attempts at helping Fluttershy with the animals nearly resulted in snake-bites (never let Twilight near snakes) and a pretty nasty smell. Her worst blunder though, was when she actually halted progress on clearing the fields of snow when she tried to use magic.
Looking back on it, Twilight giggled a bit at her previous attempts. “Well, since I’m lead organizer now, I won’t be making those mistakes again; that’s for sure.” She said. The whole thing did turn out to be kind of funny actually. She had spent the entire day looking for a way to contribute when it was right in front of her face the entire time.
Just as Twilight was reminiscing on the previous day’s events, she heard a rather quiet noise coming from a corner of the park. She couldn’t quite make out what it was, but it was loud enough to hear and make her ears flick.
“Huh? I could’ve sworn I was the only one here.” Twilight said to herself. Curiosity starting to take hold, Twilight moved in the direction of the sound to hopefully get a better idea of what she was hearing. From the sounds of it, there was indeed somepony in the park with her, and whoever this pony was was…
Crying?
Twilight was pretty sure that’s what she was hearing at least. Somepony in the corner of the park crying. Still curious over the matter, and hoping to find this pony so she could help with whatever problem was ailing it, she quickened her pace in the direction of the sound, hoping to soon find some answers.
“Oooh I hope nopony around here is hurt...” Twilight said worriedly to herself as she continued to trot toward the direction of the crying. Eventually, Twilight came upon a small bench that sat right under a large tree that would ordinarily give it quite a decent amount of shade from the sun; although the purpose it served right now was seemingly just to make the already dark area even darker around said bench.
The pony sitting there was a unicorn mare with a light purple coat and a two-toned purple mane, and a cutie mark of three gems adorning her flank. She seemed to have her head in her hooves and crying softly as she sat down, a few of the tears slipping through her hooves and onto the grass below.
She didn’t look like a happy pony in the slightest.
Of course, Twilight approached the pony to see what was the matter. “Ummm…miss? Is something wrong?” she asked. The pony perked up a little and turned around, showing her tear-flooded eyes were also bloodshot and tired. How long had she been crying?
The mare looked at Twilight with a questioning look added onto her sad face before replying. “…T-Twilight? W-What’re you doing out this late?” The mare asked her own question.
“Just thought I’d come and admire the scenery while my assistant rests up.” Twilight said. “And I see you know my name. That’s nice…Can I get yours by any chance?” Twilight asked the mare.
The mare sniffled a bit, presumably trying not to cry anymore than she already was. “S-Sparkler” she said quietly. “I…saw all the work you helped put into Winter Wrap Up. N-Nice job.” The mare now known as Sparkler said with what looked like a bit of a forced smile.
‘…That’s strange. She almost looks like she’s pained to say that.’ Twilight thought to herself. She’d have to remember this if she was going to find out what was wrong.
“Well…thank you. I’m glad you noticed.” Twilight said, trotting out to the front of the bench and sitting down next to Sparkler. “…You know, you still haven’t answered my question.” Twilight said, trying to push the matter further.
Sparkler’s forced smile seemed to harden at Twilight’s statement, and started to look a lot less genuine by the second. “Ehe, w-what’re you talking about? Nothing’s wrong. I’m just fine, see?” Sparkler said, pointing to her obviously fake smile.
Of course, Twilight wasn’t having any of it. “Sparkler, it’s obvious something’s bothering you. You look like you’ve been crying for a long time…”
Sparkler seemed to go a long while without responding before she quickly brought a hoof up to her face and wiped all the tears from them, hoping in vain to fool Twilight. “Hehe, no tears here Twilight!~” She said in a sing-song voice.
“…..” Twilight wasn’t fooled in the slightest and the fact that Sparkler was continuing to deny it only made her concern even worse. “Sparkler please. You don’t need to hide this. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong…”
Sparkler’s happy façade fell at this point, and she simply resolved to return to her depressed frown with a sad look in her eyes; no tears this time. Just what seemed like disappointment and sadness. She let out a long and exhausted sigh of defeat.
“…A-Alright…I…I really think you did a great job organizing Winter Wrap Up…but…” Sparkler hesitated a little. “…The truth is…I’m…jealous of you…” Sparkler said finally.
That wasn’t what Twilight was expecting at all. When she resolved to ask Sparkler about her problems, the last thing she had thought was that she would be the one responsible for her crying. “Huh? Jealous of me? But…why?”
Sparkler sighed again, obviously not wanting to answer. “It’s…just….everything. When I look at you, I see everything that I wish I could be. You’re smart, a student of the princess, very skilled in magic; who WOULDN’T be jealous of you?” Sparkler asked, starting to look even more depressed as she spoke of her troubles. “…But…it got especially bad yesterday….you see Twilight…..” Sparkler started to tear up again, trying with all her might to hold back tears. “…Before yesterday…I was the organizer for Ponyville for a lot of events…like Winter Wrap Up.”
Twilight was taken back more than before at this one, and she put a hoof to her mouth. “W-Wait…so…I-“
Sparkler only nodded before Twilight could even finish. “Yes, you did…but…I’m not mad at you…I’m just…depressed.” Sparkler said sadly, looking down at her hooves at this point. “It’s just…Winter Wrap Up was going so badly with me in charge. I’m normally pretty good at organizing, but I guess trying to get an entire town in on working certain things is just…beyond my skills in such an important and hectic time. That’s a LOT of ponies to move around and…you did it no problem…I’m happy for you…but it’s like nothing I ever did as Ponyville’s organizer even mattered…” Sparkler whimpered, starting to cry even more as the tears started to roll down her cheeks.
Twilight was at a loss for words. She was only trying to help Ponyville bring Spring in on-time. She didn’t mean to take Sparkler’s position right out from under her. She just wanted to help, that’s all.
She couldn’t even imagine what it felt like for Sparkler to watch Twilight be given the organizer vest.
Starting to feel a big pit of guilt rising in her stomach, Twilight started to tear up herself, and gave Sparkler a big hug. “I-I’m sorry Sparkler. I-I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to take your position…” Twilight said, whimpering a little.
Sparkler, although a little confused at first, eventually hugged Twilight back. “I-It’s alright Twilight. I know you didn’t mean it…you really did a better job at it than I ever could. Ponyville deserves a better organizer than me…”
“Sparkler, don’t talk about yourself like that. I’m sure you’re a great organizer!” Twilight quickly broke the hug and looked at Sparkler with a hardened look on her face, a few tears still present in her eyes. “…Hey…as a matter of fact, I was going to organize my books when I got home, and I could use a little help. I’d ask Spike, but he’s a little sick and needs his bedrest.”
Sparkler looked confusedly at Twilight. What was she asking her for? Twilight was practically perfect; what would she need her help for?
“…Really? But…Why would you need my help? You’re Twilight Sparkle, the most organized pony in existence…”
Twilight smiled a little. “I can always use the help of fellow organizer to get things in gear. I can’t do EVERYHING by myself. As much as some ponies might think otherwise, I’m not perfect.” Twilight said, hopefully lifting her spirits a little. “I can also get some hot chocolate for us if you’d like to.”
For a few moments, Sparkler was silent. Twilight Sparkle, one of the best ponies Sparkler had ever seen, was actually asking her over to her home. And to help her organize her library no less. Overall, she was both stunned and confused at the same time.
“…I think I’d like that.” Sparkler said, smiling a little.
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I didn't read the story (yet), but when it was said that Sparkler was Ponyville's organizer before Twilight showed up, the first words out my mouth were 'If you were so good, how come Winter Wrap-Up was never on time?' Hell, it was still going to be late that year if Twilight did step in.
Short, sweet, to the point. It's definitely a keeper.
maybe tag this as a sad story?
As soon as this was mentioned in the episode, I knew on the spot that it would be a fic in the future. This was really sweet.
Cute story :)
6090346 I kinda like to think of this more as a "Feelsy" story and not "Sad" exactly, but the kind that makes you feel good in the end when Sparkler is offered to help Twilight. It takes a LOT more for a story to warrant an actual Sad tag from me. This was actually re-written from a version I already had done where Sparkler took this a LOT worse.
I like this story
Short, touching and sweet..
We all go through life, thinking we are the best at what we do, until someone shows up and actually does a better job at it. And while it hurts to think about it, we forget that these people go through life thinking the same way too.
What Twilight did at the end was really nice of her and I can just imagine that Sparkler is now working at Twilight's castle, organizing her books and other important stuff while he's out on important matters.
Was anyone else disappointed at how little air time Sparkler got? I loved the episode but she it seemed almost pointless for her to be introduced and then not mentioned again.
PS: Broke the 69 likes for those with dirty minds.
And... Likey!
oh look.
a 100th episode bandwagon fic - check
in the featured box - check
me not surprised one bit - check, check CHECK
6090260 She was only responsible for the animal team.
6091261 Oh, look. A guy who's never gotten even close to the feature box with their creepy gore/clopfics crying about someone else's success. CHECK
6091359
i.imgur.com/tLMKLym.gif
6091355 Well unfortunately the fics description at least goes with the premise that she was, in fact, the organizer for the Make Earth Ponies Feel Special Wrap Up.
this was the fic i was hoping to see come out ^^
The true mark of a great organizer, delegation. I just get the vibe from the show that micro management is just an unicorn THING, something they all do to some degree. Sparkler's problem was likely that during Winter Wrap Up she just HAD to manage everything herself, she couldn't delegate responsibility and was over whelmed. We can assume Celestia saw Twilight's potential to ascend to Alicorn status early on, and knew she would be thrust into a role of leadership and being one of the ponies responsible for raising her purposely taught her about delegation, most likely though allowing Twilight to witness her doing it. Because of how she grew up the idea of delegating responsibility was ingrained in Twilight's behavior. Take two Ponies with equal skill at organization and the one who can delegate gets more done.
I thought her name was Amethyst Star (according to the credits).
6090260
She was only in charge of the animal waking team though. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in charge of the other two teams and they were late every year too. The problem was the conflict between the three teams itself, and what Twilight did was manage those conflicts.
6091438 Eh, I prefer the name Sparkler here. Just cause Derpy's official name is Muffins in the credits isn't gonna stop people from using Derpy instead, so I don't see why I need to use Sparkler/Amethyst Star's official name.
6091434 That was pretty much exactly Sparkler's issue, yes. She's a good organizer, but she can only handle so much arguing and ponies messing up their jobs before it just gets out of hoof for her.
6091355
6091450 I thought Fluttershy was in charge of the Animal Team? That would make the most sense.
6090891 Not a cool story, bro.
Thought her name was Amethyst, not Sparkler?
6091745 Refer to my earlier comment regarding her naming.
6091680 Season One Fluttershy in charge of something!? No way.
Here's a shot of the team leaders:
img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120502205825/mlp/images/5/50/The_Team_leaders_S1E11.png
Nice.
6090260 Presumably because anypony else would have done even worse.
At least Sparkler was organizing the evacuation of Ponyville while Twilight was organizing its defense
Plus, with more organizers, you don't have to shoulder the responsibility alone
Wouldn't surprise me if any future Winter Wrap Ups finished earlier than usual with those two working together
And we get an Ender's Game like sequel where we find out that Sparkler is kinda like Bean: Good with small groups but terrible with big ones
Funny how Twilight conveniently left out the fact that it was her fault that winter wrap up got so screwy.
6092607 Usually I get downvoted when I'm nasty to people.
6092778 I was being snarsty.
Alright, here we go on the theory:
Ponies thought Sparkler was doing a bad job of organizing the Winter Wrap Up, so they eventually forgot about her, leaving Sparkler depressed and sad. Even Mayor Mare forgot, so when she gave Twilight the organizer vest, Sparkler was heartbroken. She knew every pony forgot about her, but it hurt her that they replaced her. None the less, she liked Twilight and wasn't mad, she was just depressed.
That's what I think. Judge if you must, but it ran through my mind that maybe that happened but it wasn't so friendly for the show.
Anyways, it's a very good story, and we need more Sparkler fics. Like and fave!
Very good.
One nitpick is how you use periods at the end of quotes.
Shouldn't there be commas instead of periods?
6091261 Mate your list of stories appears to be
Edgy
Anthro
Gore
and finally Clop
You have no right to talk about "Bandwagon fics"
Especially when your most recent fic is Doctor "Whooves"
6093626 Actually my most recent fic is Wildfire - Lighting the Flame
It's a bit of a missed opportunity to write a fic about Sparkler and Winter Wrap Up and not include any exploration of the detail that she had a specific leadership role in the episode.
D'aaaawwwww!
I thought this was an absolutely great one-shot. Nice work!
Personally, my theory when she said that in the episode was that organizing was a secondary skill she used, but she was always out of town for WWU. When she got back, everyone forgot she also did organization and so she moved on to... whatever skill a Triforce of diamonds represents. Your theory definitely made for a better story, though.
6090673 I would honestly be interested in seeing that original version. That being said, I still enjoyed this one. Though I do have to ask what her duty as the team leader of the animal team would involve.
6093670 My apologizes I had the mature filters on
Your latest story is Watersport footfetish gore porn.
GG
I say GG
But it wasn't GG
Acually BG
Dear Author, while there's nothing too bad from the story, regardless of mediocre plot, I still want to say that the large amount of ellipsis in this story is annoying and it made reading the story to be quite unpleasant.
6093704
Very True. And also explain WHY Winter Warm Up was never in time...
Well, there are different types of organizing things. Just because your good at organizing small events which require a more personal approach doesn't mean your good at organizing larger events which require more delegation of responsibility. Honestly she's probably the one to organize everyone when disasters strike while the main six deal with it. Besides they still got it done in the past, although maybe Sparkler could use some help with dealing with larger events.
This is EXACTLY what I thought when I heard Sparkler say that (okay I didn't know her name was Sparkler but still....). I was hoping someone would write something like this cause it did make the whole Winter Wrap Up thing seem rather sad.
D'aww, don't be sad, Amethyst.
What I liked best was that Sparkler didn't get hateful of Twilight over the matter which shows good character and they began to work towards solving the problem instead of having a pouting or screaming match. Oh, I wish more people could be like that.
Well I don't know about any of you but I can now sense a new shipping thanks to this and the 100th episode.
6090891
Cool story bro
6090891 You better write that as a full story, I'd read the hell outa it.
I don't find it sad. Since well from Winter Wrap Up, we can see how basically nothing was in order