• Published 17th Jun 2019
  • 6,641 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 7: Stealth Drives Engaged

Morning arrived in Ponyville with the rise of the sun in the East. As light began to shine through the window across the room, Spike stirred in his sleep, turning over in his bed. He couldn’t manage to keep his eyes shut any longer, and a lingering growl in his stomach told him that it was time for breakfast. With no holdups left to keep him in bed, he turned over one final time and opened his eyes at last, and what he saw caused him to jump out of his skin.

Sparks stood in the corner of his room like a statue, utterly motionless as she watched him in his bed. When she saw that he was awake, a huge grin came over her face, and the orange visor that covered her eyes flickered as though it were rebooting. “Good morning, Spike!” The artificial mare sounded eerily cheerful. “Did you have a pleasant rest?”

Spike slowly nodded his head as he sat upright. “Yeah, I did... Until just now...” Then, his frightened and bewildered look soured into a glare. “Sparks, what are you doing in my room? Wh-Why are you just... just standing there?”

She could tell that he was upset at her, now. Her ears folded back, and she even appeared to cower a little, making herself look small as though she were ashamed of angering him. “Error... I apologize for causing you distress, Spike... I was merely interested in observing you.”

Spike looked down at his body beneath the covers before looking back at her, gesturing to himself. “You wanted to watch me while I slept? Why?”

Her ears perked back up, and she approached his side of the bed. “Twilight Sparkle had imprinted into me numerous behavioral patterns regularly exercised by organic beings, sleep being one of them. I was at first fascinated by this concept. It is amazing to see the bodies of organic beings shut down temporarily while their brains remain active. Initial scans of your brain showed that you were having a frightening dream, Spike. The relevant data has been stored accordingly.”

The little dragon scratched the top of his head. He didn’t remember what his dream was about of if he’d even been dreaming at all. Most times, dreams were forgotten very quickly anyway. Then, his gaze shifted again to Sparks. She must have known. If she had been scanning his brain and while he slept and known he was having a nightmare, she probably knew what it was about. “Hey, Sparks... Do you know what I was dreaming about?”

To his amazement, she nodded her head, though she didn’t exactly look thrilled about it. “Affirmative, Spike.”

He’d expected her to tell him more, but he supposed that he had to ask for that directly too. “Could you tell me?”

Again, she nodded her head, but the look on her face told him she didn’t want the conversation to continue. “I could, but I think it would be unwise. Experiencing such a dream-sequence again, now fully awake, could prove to be traumatic and damaging to the brain.” She looked genuinely concerned for him. “I cannot refuse you if you persist, Spike, but my best advice would be for you to forget about your dream and begin your day. Scanning... You require sustenance. Moderate quantities of protein and calcium would be appropriate.”

Spike thought about it for a few moments. It was clear that she was trying to avoid the subject and move him along to other pressing issues. Then again, she did say that she’d have to tell him if he asked. He ultimately decided to follow her advice. She hadn’t lied to him yet, though her little invasion of his bedroom was very much unwanted. He made a mental note to talk to her about that when they got another chance to see each other.

They approached the door together, and Spike poked his head out to see if the coast was clear. When he was sure it was safe, he stepped out with Sparks following close behind. “So... What else were you doing this morning? You know, besides watching me sleep... Does Twilight know you’re walking about?”

Sparks nodded her head. “Affirmative, Spike. Twilight Sparkle has allowed access to a few select parts of the palace while not under her direct supervision.”

Spike raised an eyebrow at her. “Was my bedroom one of them?”

This question caused her to turn away and blush, if that was even possible for a synthetic mare. “Ne-Negative... My need for additional data on organic behavior patterns temporarily superseded my restriction to privileged areas of the palace.” Then, she looked him directly in the eyes, pleading almost. “Please, Spike... Do not tell Twilight Sparkle...”

He had no intention of telling the princess anything. He wasn’t supposed to know about Sparks, so telling her that the robomare had been spying on him in his sleep would only hurt them both. “Wait a minute... Where is Twilight, anyway? I can’t be seen with you yet, remember?”

Sparks didn’t look as concerned as he must have. “Twilight Sparkle is currently located in the throne room with Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Scans show that they are still there. I can listen in on their conversation, if you would like, Spike. The range of my audio receptors is impressively large.”

He shook his head. “No... Please, don’t do that. Seriously, Sparks, we’re going to have to have a long talk about respecting other ponies’ privacy.”

She looked slightly disappointed but nodded her head anyway. “Very well, Spike...” Then, her face lit up, and she boasted a huge grin. “Would you like to see some of my new features? Twilight Sparkle installed them into my core last evening, after you had taken my gown to hide it.”

Now, he was intrigued. Spike stopped to look at her in the middle of the corridor. “New features? Like what?”

Sparks looked proud of herself, like she had just received an award for something and was being given a trophy. “In addition to numerous bug fixes within my software, I was installed with a beacon and several loud noise devices that could be activated in case myself or anypony nearby was in need of assistance. Would you like a demonstration, Spike?”

He thought about it briefly, but flashing lights and loud noises might bring more attention than he wanted, especially from Twilight. “Not right now, Sparks... What else did you get?” She didn’t answer. “Sparks?” When he turned to face her, she was gone. The artificial pony had vanished from sight. “Sparks? Wh-Where’d you go?”

“I am here, Spike.” He heard her voice echo throughout the corridor, but she was nowhere to be seen. “You were looking right at me just now. You have passed me again, Spike. This is most disappointing. I was under the impression that dragons possessed more acute senses than ponies.” Then, she materialized in front of him. Where before, there was nothing, she stood with a silly grin on her face.

Spike was amazed, to put it plainly. He reached out, thinking his hand might pass through her, but it landed squarely on her chest instead, confirming that she was really there. “Whoa... You can turn invisible? That’s cool...”

She stared at his hand as it pressed against her chest plating. “Affirmative, Spike...” Then, she met his eyes again. “I am equipped with a highly advanced stealth drive. The stealth drive projects a small shield around my body that allows light to seemingly pass through me. Though I am still present, it will appear that I have, as you said, turned invisible. Twilight Sparkle installed this, along with numerous other self preservation processes to ensure that I can defend myself and her closest friends should anything happen.”

Spike was still having a hard time getting over the fact that she could turn invisible whenever she wanted. “Self preservation? You mean, like, fighting?”

Sparks nodded her head slowly as she wore a grin look. “Affirmative, Spike, but I am shackled by my coding and cannot use many of these features unless specifically ordered by Twilight Sparkle.” She then managed to force a smile. “The likeliness of a situation arising that would require such a show of force is low. There is no need to worry over such things.”

Maybe there wasn’t, but that didn’t stop Spike from wondering just what exactly Sparks was capable of. The growling of his stomach turned his thoughts away from her, and he realized that he still needed to eat. “Alright, well... I gotta get going. It was fun hanging out with you.” Then, he began to walk down the corridor, towards the kitchen.

From the spot she was standing, Sparks watched him go. “Spike, will we... hang out more? My data stores are still incomplete, and I can learn a lot from spending time with you...”

He thought about it, but there was still Twilight to contend with. “Maybe, Sparks... We’ll see... For now, just go do whatever you normally do. Have fun, or something, I don’t know.” Spike didn’t really want to leave her behind. He liked her just fine, but his fear of upsetting Twilight far outweighed that of disappointing Sparks.

***Up Next: Calculated Trust***