The Lost Spark

by SkyFlare

Chapter 6

Once the ship was docked and tied off, everypony on board disembarked. Hoofwind bid his passengers farewell, suggesting that Gale accompany them as he made his way to a bar where he could get himself what he had called, “Some well-deserved cider.”

Gale gladly obliged to Hoofwind’s request of her and led Spark and Star Swirl across an open, uncultivated area of the island before reaching a small village that, at least to Spark, looked no bigger than his own. There was very little to see aside from the inhabitants of the village, which included pegasi, gryphons, and even hippogryphs. Spark had always heard that gryphons and ponies didn’t quite get along and that it had always been that way, but clearly, on this world, there was a significant difference. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been any hippogryphs, after all, they are part pony and part gryphon.

Spark was amazed to see all of the sights around him. He had never seen a sky as clear as the one above him at that very moment. Back home, it was up to Violet and his parents to maintain reasonable weather, but they also had other tasks that they would need to handle on a day to day basis. In a place with so many pegasi, there was bound to be at least one weather team working at pretty much any time.

“So, how many times have you been here?” Spark asked, breaking the lasting silence that had started when they had left the port.

“I was actually born and raised here. I joined Hoofwind’s crew a couple of years ago out of the need to see the rest of the world, sadly because of the Constellar ponies, he’s been talking about calling it quits and staying up here.” Gale explained as she led the pair into a small building that had a sign hanging over the door. The sign depicted a balloon.

“Why would he choose to stay up here? Doesn’t he have a home back down closer to the ground?” Spark asked, following Gale around a counter in the store.

“Yes, he does, but you see, the Constellar ponies don’t usually come up here.” Gale explained as she looked at an assortment of keys hanging underneath of the counter.

“Is there any reason why?” Star Swirl inquired.

“No reason that I know of. They just don’t come up here.” Gale shrugged. “Some ponies have theorized that they gain their powers from being closer to the ground, what other reason would they have for descending from the stars?”

“I read about that.” Star Swirl replied. “What can you tell me about when they first arrived on Equus?”

“Not much, I was only a filly at the time, but I do remember a lot of ponies were scared. Some ponies left here and never came back.” Gale continued. “Now’s probably not the best time to talk. I’m going to get us a balloon and take you to the next island over, Ravens Isle.”

“How long do we have until we set out?” Spark asked, looking around the room.

“I’m not certain, but you should have some time to explore, just make sure that you come back here within a couple of hours to check in.” Gale explained as she lifted a key from under the counter. “It will take a little while to get the required supplies for taking one of these things out to Ravens Isle.”

“Are you certain that you can just take one of them?” Star Swirl asked, seeing as Gale was almost making it out to seem like a covert operation.

“Yes. My family owns the store. My dad should be back before we go if you want to check with him, but he’ll just agree with me.” Gale smiled confidently.

Spark nodded before heading out of the store with Star Swirl. They weren’t entirely sure what the differences between this world and their world were, but it was clear that there would be a lot of learning involved.

Star Swirl headed off into a small bookstore that was next door to the hot air balloon rental that they were just in. Spark was more interested in exploring the world and learning about it first hoof. He made his way to the edge of the floating island and looked over the side, seeing the dark storm clouds that separated him from the surface of Equus. The clouds would light up with the occasional bolt of lightning.

There was some familiarity with this world, while at the same time, it was completely foreign. There were so many things that both Sonnet and Violet would love to see. The open skies and scenery that was far beyond anything that anypony in Stable had ever imagined; something that Sonnet would have loved to see. As for Violet, the magic alone would have fascinated her, the flying ships and the accuracy of the pegasi during the manipulation of the weather would have inspired her to improve her own weather magic.

“Hang in there Sonnet, I’ll save you.” Spark whispered to himself as he made his way back to the hot air balloon building. He would rather be there as soon as possible than explore this new world without Sonnet by his side.

As Spark walked back into the building, Gale stepped out from a back room. She looked at him silently for a few seconds, unable to hide her sympathy for what he was going through. It was clear that she wanted to say something, but she remained silent, as though the words were lost to her. In the end, it was Spark who initiated the conversation.

“I was told that the Constellar Ponies were taking Sonnet north. Is there any reason why they would go that far before doing anything?” Spark asked.

“I don’t know if it’s true, but I’ve heard that they are stronger up there. I don’t know exactly why, but I’ve always assumed that it has to do with the clearer skies in that area.” Gale explained as she approached Spark.

“I thought that they gained more power from being closer to the world itself. Isn’t that why they left the stars?” Spark continued, gaining more questions for every answer that he was given.

“It is, but it isn’t. They gain power from the earthly magic that your kind has. The reason that they need clear skies is that the stars have healing properties for them, although I’m not sure what good that does. After all, the Constellar Ponies are immortal, they can’t even be injured.” Gale paused, noticing that this information visibly distressed Spark. “But don’t worry, there has to be some reason for them killing the earth ponies in the past, otherwise they wouldn’t have.”

“I feel that hearing that information is probably the last thing that Spark wants to hear. I think that I may have found the weakness of the Constellar Ponies.” Star Swirl stated as he walked into the building, joining in with the conversation.

Gale became silent again for a few seconds before opening a door and gesturing for Spark and Star Swirl to follow her through it. On the other side there was a hot air balloon, filled up and ready to go. Once everypony was on board, Gale tugged on the rope that held the balloon to the ground, letting it lift up into the air.

As the balloon gained altitude, Gale began to manipulate the gases that the balloon was taking in, forcing it to move in the direction that she wanted it to. It wasn’t long before another island came into view. It was smaller than the first and was comprised entirely of woodlands. Spark could faintly make out what appeared to be a bridge on the far side of the island.

“This is where I have to leave you. I promise that if I find anything out about your marefriend, Spark, I’ll send word to you straight away.” Gale stated as she lowered the balloon so that the edge of the border touched against the stony cliff of the floating island.

Spark and Star Swirl climbed out of the balloon and onto the grassy ground of the island. “Anything else before we head on out?” Star Swirl asked, checking to make sure they could be ready for anything.

“You’ll need to make your way across the island to the bridge on the western side. From there, you can cross over onto the third island, Ibis Island. You can find a pony there by the name of Mist Chaser. She has a meeting in the Crystal Empire in two days, so she should be setting sail by nightfall, so hurry.” Gale said, leaving them with just the short parting message.

“Aye.” Star Swirl state with a nod as Gale drifted out of earshot. “Now, that leaves us with three hours by my guess. As to who would want to set sail at night: that much is beyond me.”

“Come on!” Spark shouted back, having already traveled a short distance into the underbrush.

“Relax, by my estimation, it should only take us about half an hour to traverse this island.” Star Swirl stated, galloping up to Spark’s side. “You didn’t test to see if you had any magic while we were on Hawks Island, did you?”

“No.” Spark replied, still moving forward at a continuous rate. “Why?”

Star Swirl shook his. “No reason other than the fact that you were told that your magic might work better on land. We’ve got the time and the privacy, so why not give it a go?”

Spark stopped. As much as he wanted to avoid distractions, if he could use magic, than he could gain that much of an advantage on the Constellar Ponies. He would have a better chance of saving Sonnet. It wasn’t like getting to the ship two and a half hours early would make it leave earlier.

“Fine.” Spark said, a sting of resentment in his voice.

Spark closed his eyes so tight that they began to hurt as he attempted to use the magic that Hoofwind had mentioned. He wasn’t sure about how to cast it, seeing as he had never been able to before, but unicorns could do it from birth so there couldn’t have been that much to it. Or at least so he thought. Violet had always told him that in the beginning, it required a lot of huffing and puffing with some concentration thrown in for good measure.

A few minutes passed as Spark grew tired from the effort that he was putting forth. He wasn’t feeling any different than he was before he started trying to use the magic. It wasn’t like there was any guarantee that he would even be able to, after all, he was from a whole other world. The hope for using magic left Spark as he slowly opened his eyes, only to see Star Swirl staring at the ground.

“Incredible…” Star Swirl stated, nodding to the ground so that Spark would look down. “You managed, not only to affect the ground around you, but to lift a chunk out.”

Star Swirl was right, there was, what appeared to be a crater between the two ponies. Spark began to look around for the missing piece of stone, confused as to what happened to it, until he looked up. There was a stone the size of a full grown mare sitting in the upper branches of a nearby tree.

“Did I… did I do that?” Spark asked, unsure of what to think.

Star Swirl nodded. “Yes, it would seem that you’re a natural when it comes to this stuff.”

Spark dug a hoof into the ground and tried again, keeping his eyes open this time, hoping to see his work in action. Just as Star Swirl said, three or four small stones lifted off of the ground and began circling around Spark before launching into the sky. He then turned his attention to the large stone that was still resting in the tree, carefully lowering it back into its place in the ground, going so far as to make it seem as though the stone was never moved in the first place.

His dream had finally come true, but he wasn’t nearly as happy as he had imagined that he would be. What was the point in being happy without Sonnet there to share his joy with? Star Swirl may have been his hero, but he wasn’t the kind of friend that a pony would just casually hang out with, he was more of a supervisor, the adult who you spend some time with, who makes sure that you don’t get into too deep of trouble. If Sonnet or Violet were there then he would be feeling an entirely different emotion. As it was, she would probably never believe him about any of what had transpired over the past couple of days.

If Sonnet was there to share that moment with him… But without her having been lost, he might have never been able to use the magic in the first place. He was torn by guilt; enjoying something that came as a result of losing her was unforgiveable in his mind.

“We don’t have time to enjoy the moment.” Spark said, stomping a hoof to the ground. “Maybe if we get there early, Mist Chaser can set out early. If he knows what’s going on, he’ll have to help us.”

“I understand. You miss her terribly. I swear to you, I will not stop until the two of you are home, safe and sound.” Star Swirl stated, galloping ahead of Spark, leading him toward the location of the bridge.

Luckily for both ponies, there was a clear path down the middle of the island, leading straight to the bridge on the western side. This kept them out of the way of the hazardous roots that crawled across the forest floor. They could afford to pay all of their attention to their forward progress as opposed to constantly watching where their hooves came down.

The forest sang with the songs of birds and frogs, creating a familiar ambience to what could be heard in Equestria. This familiarity was welcomed by both Spark and Star Swirl, as they made their way toward the next island. For Spark, each step brought him closer to Sonnet and home. For Star Swirl, he had sworn to help Spark, and that was a very serious matter. Some ponies would deviate from their vows, but Star Swirl was not one such pony. A promise was something sacred, and he would never turn his back on one, nor would he stand by idly and watch somepony else do the same.

The bridge came into view before too long, and with it, a single pony, hovering over one of the side rails. The bridge itself was a marvelous construction, stretching what appeared to be three to four hundred meters, sustained only by the pieces of land it connected and the shimmering of magic that appeared every few meters. The stonework consisted of a glossy white marble, and enchanted gems on the railing to produce light as a safety precaution.

The pony waved into the distance, beckoning Spark and Star Swirl nearer. There was a certain air about him, something was off, and Spark knew it. It wasn’t like there was anywhere else for them to go though, the pony was blocking their path, and the only way off of the island that wouldn’t result in death.

Star Swirl was the first to speak, approaching the mysterious pegasus. “Is there something that you need?”

“Cap’n Hoofwind sent me up here with some news for you two. A couple ponies from a northern city arrived on the island shortly after our ship did.” Spark then realized that he had seen the pegasus onboard the ship that they had used to go to Hawks Island. “After talking with them, he sent me straight here to meet with you two.”

“Why?” Spark asked impatiently. They didn’t have the time to waste on somepony who was going to beat around the bush as opposed to getting to the point.

“The couple saw Constellar Ponies dragging along a cart.” Spark’s heart sank in anticipation of the next words. “Inside was a blue earth pony mare. She was… she was dead.”

“No!” Spark screamed at the pegasus. “She isn’t dead! Sonnet can’t be dead!”

As Spark shouted, rocks began to rise from the ground, spinning around the earth pony at dizzying rates. A cloud of dust began to rise, covering up the continued screams from the pony within. The pegasus backed off, letting the wind push him away until he felt he was at a safe distance. Star Swirl tried to shout to Spark, but his voice was unable to reach him.

After a few minutes, the storm of rocks died down, revealing Spark lying on the ground, curled up and crying. Star Swirl waved the pegasus away before trying to approach Spark in hopes of comforting him. He gently placed a hoof on the earth pony’s back, hoping to get his attention, but was unable to get a response.

“Spark, listen to me, you have to get up.” Star Swirl stated as he used his magic to lift Spark off of the ground. “The least that we can do is find her. With any luck, she might still be alive. I’m sure that those ponies only saw from a distance, surely the Constellar Ponies didn’t let the check for a pulse. For all we know, she was just sleeping.”

Spark looked up at Star Swirl, his vision blurred by the streams of tears that continued draining from his eyes. He attempted to nod and stand up, but was unable to find the strength, simply falling back to the ground when Star Swirl let go. Another attempt to stand ended with Spark on his hooves, but stationary for a few minutes before Star Swirl gave him a nudge forward.

“What’s the point in trying… if she’s already dead?”