• Published 17th Jun 2019
  • 6,640 Views, 358 Comments

S.P.A.R.K.S. - Cardinal Dan Productions



Created from a magical experiment to help Twilight around the palace, Sparks is an all-knowing hard-light entity in everything but her social skills, at least until she meets Spike.

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Part 1: S.P.A.R.K.S. Online

Author's Note:

This chapter is a pilot. If y’all like the way this story is heading, please let me know through likes or the comments section below. If it gets enough positive feedback, the story continues! This is a new idea for me, so I hope y’all enjoy it. :twilightsmile:

***A Cardinal Dan Production***

Using the magic from her horn, Twilight Sparkled gathered her things and made her way down the grand hall to the main doors of the palace. “Bye, Spike! I’ll be back later tonight, so don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone!”

With one last friendly wave goodbye, followed by the closing of the door, she was gone, and Spike was now alone in the palace. He’d just eaten breakfast, still sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Now, the whole day was ahead of him. Without Twilight or any of their friends around, the place would get really dull in no time at all, though. With nothing on his schedule, and already becoming bored at the sheer thought of having little to do, he considered going into town. It was possible he’d run into somepony he knew, likely Rarity or Pinkie Pie, who both worked near the square.

The palace would be fine without him. With no one there to make a mess, there’d be no need to clean or perform any other chores. Before he could muster up the nerve to leave, however, something in the back of his mind gave him pause, and his eyes shifted to a small device on the counter by the fridge. It was a little gray box with an orange light softly blinking on top, very mysterious in nature.

Twilight had been packing her things for a day trip to Canterlot on that very counter before she left, causing Spike to now wonder if she’d forgotten something important behind. If that was the case, he was sure she’d come rushing back or even write him a letter through their personal delivery system. In the meantime, the best thing to do seemed to be relocating the device to a safe place, like Twilight’s private study.

He hopped down from the stool he was sitting on and grabbed the little box from the counter, all the while being extra careful not to scratch it with his claws. Now eager to get out of the palace and visit his friends in Ponyville, he hurriedly traveled out of the kitchen and down the corridor to Twilight’s study. Spike then opened the door with his free hand and walked inside.

As he approached the princess’ desk, he saw stacks of papers that towered over him, looming in an almost menacing way. The whole place seemed to be in disarray, like Twilight had left in the middle of a huge project. Not wanting to increase the risk of damage to the device by holding it between his claws any longer than he had to, Spike quickly set it down on the desk before glancing curiously at a paper facing up at him.

S.P.A.R.K.S.

The first thing he noticed was the title. Below that was a seemingly endless collection of drawings of what looked like a pony and hastily scribbled notes that vaguely resembled writing. Upon closer inspection, he saw the almost every paper on Twilight’s desk, every stack, contained similar drawings and notes. He looked back at the title on the first piece of paper and scratched his head. “Hmm... Sparks?”

Suddenly, the soft orange light on the little device came to life, glowing brightly in such a way that it made the entire room appear to be on fire. Spike let out a groan as he shielded his eyes from the blinding light, but as quickly as it appeared, it soon after faded into nothing. When he opened his eyes again, the device was completely dark, as was the room.

Frightened beyond all belief, the little dragon silently vowed never to peek at Twilight’s notes again and turned to leave her study, coming face to face with a tall mare. Already on edge, he let out a terrified scream, flinching in fear as he backed towards the desk.

She had no fur, instead sporting gray and black plates that complimented her similarly colored mane and tail. The mare simply stared at him through the orange visor that covered her eyes. She stood before him, motionless, unblinking. Spike wasn’t even sure if she was breathing. He waved a hand in front of her face to extract a reaction from her but received no such success. Puzzled, he scratched his head and considered trying to talk to the mysterious mare. It was a long shot, but at this point, he was willing to try anything in order to find out more about the pony before him.

Spike cleared his throat. “Um... Hello?”

Like a switch had been flipped, the mare smiled and cocked her head to the side as she stared directly at him. “Hello! Scanning... Dragon, adolescent, Designation: Spike. Social status to Twilight Sparkle: Assistant, close friend, family. Physical Status: Healthy, late digestion period, light dehydration. Recommendation: Drink twenty ounces of water hourly to relieve symptoms.” Then, she fell silent, returning to her statue-like stance.

Spike blinked several times before shaking the bewilderment from his head. In less than a minute, the mare in front of him had gone from mysterious and frightening to creepy by summarizing his current state of existence. “Wh-Who... What are you?”

The mare broke into a smile once again. “I am a Synthetic Prototype Artificial Research Keeper Servant. Designation: Sparks. I was created by Twilight Sparkle to keep all records of her research and experiments while providing useful data to assist in her endeavors.” She blinked at him several times as her smile vanished. “Is Twilight Sparkle in need of my assistance?”

Spike was stumped. He wasn’t prepared for her to start asking him any questions. He shrugged casually as in truth, he wasn’t sure. “I don’t really know. I think Twilight meant to take you with her when she left, but she’s gone now.”

Sparks looked at Twilight’s desk, then back at Spike. “Noted. I will make the necessary changes in my data stores. Twilight Sparkle. Physical Status: Deceased...”

Spike’s eyes shot open wide and he crossed his arms back and forth as he shook his head. “No! No! Oh, Celestia... I didn’t mean that! I meant she’s... Twilights just not here right now. She’s only gone to Canterlot for the day, but she’ll be back sometime tonight. She’s not dead...” He wondered how she could have taken his words the wrong way and misunderstood him to that extent.

Through her visor, he could see her expression change. She looked relieved, if that was even possible. Sparks slowly nodded her head. “Very well. Deleting updates.” She paused for a moment taking back what Spike assumed was the error in the information he gave her. Then, she looked directly at him again. “Are you in need of my assistance, Spike?”

The dragon shook his head. He wasn’t the brainy type like Twilight, and he definitely didn’t want to spend his whole day in a stuffy room talking to the strangest animatronic pony in Equestria. “Nah... That’s really just Twilight’s thing. I was just about to head out.”

Sparks looked puzzled. “Head... out? I do not understand, Spike.”

There was a breakdown in communication once again. Spike shrugged as he struggled to put into words his intentions and motives to leave the palace. “I don’t know... I guess I’m leaving too, like Twilight did. That doesn’t mean I’m dying, though! I’m just going outside for a while and heading into town.”

She paused for a moment, appearing to process what he said as her eyes flickered behind her visor. When it stopped, she looked back at him and nodded her head. “I see... More data is required on this ‘town’ you speak of. I will accompany you, Spike.”

The dragon was taken aback by her response. “Wha-What? No. You can’t come with me. Twilight wouldn’t want that.”

Sparks smiled intently. “Actually, I am perfectly capable of accompanying you. I have an effective operation range of fifteen miles from my core.” She gestured to the little device on the table with a nod. “I will be operational but ineffective at sixteen to twenty miles from my core, and beyond twenty, I will be inoperable.” She stared at him, almost like she was daring him to come up with an excuse for her not to come along.

He let out a sigh. “You really want to come with me?”

She nodded her head again. “Yes, Spike. This is my first field test in a fully autonomous body. There is useful data to be acquired from a real field test from sensory feedback to interactions with organic beings. I will not benefit from these findings from here, so accompanying you is necessary if I am to be a successful assistant to Twilight Sparkle.”

Her logic was sound enough. Spike found it increasingly difficult to form any kind of argument. Plus, it simply sounded like she really, really wanted to go. Reluctantly, he gave in and nodded. “Alright... Let’s go, but I don’t want to keep you out for too long. Twilight’s going to be looking for you, and she’d be mad at me if I let anything happen to you, so stay close.”

Sparks grinned as she turned to follow him out of the study. “Affirmative, Spike.”

***Up Next: Hugging Subroutines***