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

by Cardinal Dan Productions

Part 9: Apple Pulverizing

By the time they had reached the outermost border of Sweet Apple Acres, Spike’s fingers had grown numb from clutching so tightly onto the little device, but he didn’t dare loosen his grip. On the other hoof, Sparks’ attention was everywhere else besides the place where she was standing. She looked in awe at everything around her, from the rows upon rows of apple trees, to the great red farmhouse down the dirt road.

As they walked in between the first orchards, Sparks let out a gentle gasp. “Ah! So many sights, smells, and colors! My sensory modules are becoming overwhelmed… My processing units cannot keep up with the influx of new data. Error… Error…” Her orange visor flickered substantially, and her head began to twitch to the side repeatedly.

Far up ahead, Applejack and her little sister, Apple Bloom, had spotted them and waved to get their attention. Thinking an emergency shutdown would make a bad first impression, Spike firmly nudged Sparks’ rear to get her attention. “Hey… Come on, snap out of it. Applejack’s coming.”

The push from behind seemed to get her attention, and she pulled herself back under control. “Apologies, Spike…” She sighed, followed by a short pause. “Thank you…”

They shared glances and smiles, but there wasn’t time to say anything else. Applejack approached them with Apple Bloom following closely behind. They met in the middle of the road, and orange pony tipped her hat towards Spike. “Well, good mornin’ to ya’ Spike!” Her eyes then shifted towards the synthetic mare, still boasting a country smile. “And just who is this tall glass of water?”

Sparks frowned, but she raised a hoof to meet Applejack’s extended offering anyway. “Records show that you are an educated mare, Applejack. It is unlike a pony with even the most basic education to know that I am indeed not a glass of water.”

The sisters both looked equally perplexed by what she said, and Spike was quick to put himself between them. “Applejack, Apple Bloom… This is Sparks, a project Twilight’s been working on. She’s an artificial intelligence, and she’s still learning how to behave socially…” At that last word, he fired the synthetic pony a brief glare before turning his attention back to Applejack. “She actually wanted to come down here to meet you guys and see the apple orchards. Is that alright?”

Once the initial shock had worn off, Applejack’s usual, friendly smile returned, though she was still a bit taken aback by the sight of the artificial pony. “Well, of course, Spike! If Twilight made her, that would explain the shiny exterior. You and your friend here are more than welcome to visit for a spell. I was just about to join our brother, Big Mac, in the West orchard and knock a few apples loose.”

Sparks’ eyes lit up. “Brother… Meaning family... This is most fascinating.” She turned to Apple Bloom. “Existing data shows that you are family to Applejack as well. There is another direct relative, a Granny Smith. Is she present?”

Applejack looked puzzled by the question, but despite the increasingly strange behavior coming from the robomare, she nodded her head and gestured to the homestead up the road. “Yeah… She’s in the kitchen fixin’ lunch right now. You can meet her later, if ya’ want.”

Again, Sparks was blown away. “Food preparation… Fascinating.”

Spike couldn’t help chuckling and rolling his eyes as he coaxed her to follow Applejack into the orchard. “Come on, Sparks. This will be better than that, I promise.”

It was a breathtaking sight, the late morning sunlight shining through the branches of ripe apple trees. A gentle wind came through the orchard, shaking leaves from the trees that came down in a flurry. One fell onto Sparks, hitting her in the face as it passed through her visor and landed on her snout. At first, she appeared concerned by the little leaf. She shook her head and took several steps back, effectively dislodging it. “Curious…” She then looked back at Spike, realizing that he had been staring at her.

The little dragon quickly averted his eyes to avoid appearing rude, but Sparks didn’t look bothered. Instead, she smiled at him. His face felt hot under her gaze. If she could sense it, which he was almost certain that she could, she would be able to tell that his heart had skipped a beat when she expressed her sweet grin.

Up ahead, Applejack had stopped underneath a tree. Apple Bloom and Big Mac were there too. The stallion had just kicked a nearby trunk, causing all of the apples on its branches to fall into baskets placed carefully around the base of the tree.

Sparks turned her gaze from Spike just in time to see him kick another tree, eliciting the same result as before, as seemingly dozens of apples fell from the tree into the baskets. “Remarkable… The force required to cause every ripe apple on the tree to fall at the same time must be extraordinary.”

Applejack shared a glance with Big Mac and shrugged. “I don’t know about all of that, Sugar. We just give ‘em a good ol’ buck.” To demonstrate her point, she quickly spun around on her forelegs and gave the trunk of the tree behind her a firm kick. Sure enough, more apples rained from the branches above.

The synthetic mare’s visor flickered a little as she eyed another nearby tree. “Scanning… This tree has approximately twenty-one appropriately aged apples ready to be harvested. There are many more that have not yet reached this stage of development, however.” She then turned to face Applejack. “May I try to harvest them?”

Big Mac offered his little sister a wary look, but she ignored him. With her usual kind smile, she took a step back and gestured towards the tree Sparks had been referring to. “Be my guest, Hon’. If it’s alright with Spike for ya’ to be doin’ this kind of stuff, it’s alright with me.”

Sparks then searched Spike for approval. He certainly didn’t have a problem with it. He thought it might even be fun to see her try to buck a tree, so he nodded. “Go on, Sparks. Show us what you’ve got.”

She looked eager to impress as she lined up her rear with the trunk of the tree, just as she’d seen Applejack and Big Mac do. She put all of her weight on her front hooves, raising her hind legs up into the air and drawing them in close. Then, Sparks extended them with force, and she kicked the tree.

A shockwave emanated from the initial point of contact, traveling all across the orchard and even over the hills surrounding Sweet Apple Acres. Then came a crack of thunder as the tree exploded into a shower of splinters, causing everypony to be blown off of their hooves.

When the dust settled, Spike let out several coughs as he rose to his feet. He then gave his wings a few flaps to shake off any bits and pieces of wood that might have been stuck to them. Applejack helped Big Mac and Apple Bloom to their hooves, all of them looking wide-eyed at the destruction caused to the tree.

Then, there was Sparks. She looked shocked by her actions, and upon seeing the ruined tree and the looks on the Apples’ faces, a wave of intense distress came over her. “I… I am… I apologize… I did not mean to… I did not…” Sparks had begun to shake uncontrollably, her visor flickering wildly.

Surprisingly enough, Applejack didn’t look angry, just concerned. In an attempt to comfort Sparks, she approached her with an outstretched hoof. “It’s alright, Sugar, calm down… It’s just one tree. Ya’ didn’t mean no harm…”

Sparks shied away from her, shaking her head as her orange visor began to flicker even more. “Negative… Error… Error… Error…” She began to back away slowly, flinching as she stepped over ruined apples and scraps of wood. Her eyes met Spike’s, if only for a moment. Then, she turned and bolted into the orchard.

Spike looked down at the core in his hands which had been safely shielded from the blast. Then, he looked back up to see the artificial mare leap over the fence bordering Sweet Apple Acres and disappear into the trees. “Sparks!”

He took off after her on foot, but Applejack ran up from behind him and hoisted the little dragon onto her back. Together, they galloped through the orchard in the direction Sparks had ran until they too crossed over the fence, but she was still nowhere in sight. Instead, the Everfree Forest stood before them, dark and foreboding.

Applejack gave him a worried look. “Do ya’ think she went in there?”

Spike didn’t answer. He simply stared into the sinister woods as they stared back at him. Something had scared Sparks and caused her to run. Now, she was lost, and he needed to find her. He was her friend after all; her family. “I’m going in after her…”

Before he could take a step forward, however, Applejack stopped him. “Easy there, rolling stone. You ain’t going in there all by your lonesome.” Then, she flashed him a reassuring smile. “I’m comin’ with ya’.”

He immediately felt much better, knowing that he’d have a pony as tough as Applejack watching his back. Together, they crossed through the treeline and into the Everfree Forest.

***Up Next: Defense Protocol***

Comments

[Solana Vin Neighpal]

Seems like Sparks needs to take things slower. All of those errors are going to start a stack overflow.

***Up Next: Defense Protocol***

Do I sense a timberwolf about to look like a certain Apple tree?

[DavisSentoV5]

Up until poor Sparks scared herself so horribly that she ran away, she so adorable taking in sights that the Apple had to offer. Also, seeing Spike all starstruck, when Sparks had that leaf on her nose of the gentle breeze, was my favorite moment.

I'll give you credit, where credit is due. This was a great chapter & has made me starting to like the new direction of the story, but I still need more for me to forgive you.

[redandready45]

Poor Sparks. Still trying to get used to the world around her.

[Anon E Moose]

Poor Sparks forgot to calculate earth pony magic into the equation. Impressive force behind that kick, though.

[Pharaoh]

Sparks frowned, but she raised a hoof to meet Applejack’s extended offering anyway. “Records show that you are an educated mare, Applejack. It is unlike a pony with even the most basic education to know that I am indeed not a glass of water.”

YES YOU ARE!

[hellfiredarkness]

9700966
Probably. Timberwolves beware!!!!

[SuperSaiyanTeemo]

Nobody asked this so i will, wouldn't sparks be fine as long as the core spike's carrying is fine? So no reason to run after her, and she can only run off so far before having to return to core.... granted spike probably hasn't figured that out, but chasing after her into the forest is honestly pretty dumb. Even if spike doesnt make that connection, he does know she has a cloaking device