Episode 12: Coming Darkness
The bell rang to signal the end of another day at the School of Friendship. Twilight smiled and closed her book. “Looks like that’s the end of class today. Remember to study for midterms next week. It’ll cover everything we’ve gone over this far.”
There was an expected collective groan as the students filed out of the room. Once the last student was gone. Twilight just burst into a quiet squee of delight. “Eee! Finally. School’s over. Just two more hours until Sparkler comes over and I can teach her magic.” She bounced out of the room, more excited then she’d been in recent memory. “This is gonna be so much fun!”
“Somepony’s in a good mood I see.” Twilight froze and turned to see Starlight smiling at her.
She blushed a little. “Starlight...uhm...how much of that did you see?”
Starlight chuckled. “I saw you bounce out of the room, but I heard the squee before that. Excited to teach Sparkler magic?”
Twilight nodded. “Teaching another Alicorn magic, after which we’ll have our regular study session...” She relaxed into a dreamy state. “Sparkler is a mystery in herself. A bright, cheerful, beautiful mystery waiting to be solved.”
Starlight chuckled. “You say you don’t have a crush...yet I feel like you’re just in denial.”
That seemingly snapped Twilight out of her Sparkler induced trance and she raised an eyebrow. “What?”
Starlight giggled. “You were just in a Sparkler induced trance. Dreamy eyed and everything.”
Twilight laughed. “What? That’s ridiculous.”
Starlight’s smile faded. “Twilight, I was right here. I just saw you. You’re falling for Sparkler.”
Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “I’m not FALLING for her Starlight. If anything I’m falling for the mystery surrounding her, she’s an Alicorn with no Alicorn parents. She didn’t ascend, SOMEHOW she’s an Alicorn, and we’re gonna find out what that somehow is.”
Starlight chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Sure. Just keep telling yourself that.”
Twilight groaned. “It’s true Starlight. Now if you’ll excuse me.” She lit her horn and popped away.
Starlight stared at the magenta smoke left in her friend’s wake...and facehoofed and let out an exasperated sigh. “Sweet Faust that mare is oblivious.”
“Tell me about it.” Starlight turned to see Spike leaning against the wall. “You hear her at night. Saying Sparkler’s name all lovingly. I’m telling you it’s mutual.”
Starlight nodded. For the past few weeks, she and Spike had been hearing Sparkler’s name coming from Twilight’s room at night. “Couple that with the constant making sure she and Sparkler get in their regular study session like it’s the most important thing in the world. Either she’s oblivious to what she’s doing, or they’re ALREADY a couple and just haven’t told us yet.”
Spike nodded. “It’s probably the former. Meaning we may need to bring in the big guns if only to make her see that she DOES have a crush.”
Starlight giggled. “Let‘s let this Thunder kicker situation blow over beforehoof.”
TWO HOURS LATER...
“That was awesome!” Kicker exclaimed when Sparkler came back into the living room after seeing Airwave and Lyrica off. “That was so much fun! Airwave’s amazing!”
Sparkler chuckled. Just as she wanted, Kicker had warmed up to Lyrica and Airwave. “I know right? His songs are amazing.”
Kicker nodded. “Can we dance to another Airwave song? Please?”
Flappy heard that and gulped. Oh no. By the stars Sparkler PLEASE don’t let him play the songs over and over! I can’t take another five years of that!
Sparkler chuckled. “If you want to have a dance party later we can. But right now we have an appointment at the Castle of Friendship.”
Kicker raised an eyebrow. “Twilight’s castle? Why?”
Sparkler giggled as she lit her horn, picked Kicker up, and placed him on her back. “Because she’s gonna teach me some magic, and I doubt you want to be left here alone with Flappy.”
At those words, Kicker instinctively grabbed onto her mane and shook his head. “Uhm...I’ll come with you.”
Sparkler giggled and nodded. “Alright. Then let’s go. You coming Flappy?”
Flappy nodded and launched into the air. “Squawk! Let’s fly. Squawk!”
...
Outside, one of the cloaked figures was walking down the street when they noticed a door open, they stopped and watched a few ponies and a parrot exit. Their eyes widened as they recognized the small foal. “Aha.” The figure quickly dodged into a bush to keep out of sight. They peaked their eyes out just in time to see their target and the mare take off into the sky. The figure smiled. “Gotcha.” The figure jumped out of the bush and inspected the house the two ponies and parrot exited. They lit their horn and performed a scan, which revealed a shield. The figure chuckled. “That’s why we couldn’t get an exact reading. This stupid thing was interfering.” The figure chuckled as they lit their horn again and sent a pulse.
Figure: Misty, I found where the brat’s taken shelter. 453 Pony Street. Get here as soon as possible. We may have a problem.
...
A few moments later, Sparkler came in for a landing and touched down at the door of Twilight’s castle. She folded up her wings and turned her head to check on Kicker. She gave him a smile. “You alright Kick?”
Kicker nodded. “Yeah.”
Flappy smiled as he came up beside them. “Squawk! Flying’s a lot of fun isn’t it kid. Squawk!”
Kicker nodded slowly. “It’s ok.”
Sparkler couldn’t place it, but something about the way he said that didn’t sit right. “You—you aren’t scared of heights are you?” DARN IT! Why didn’t I ask that BEFORE I took off, when I first took him to Twilight!
Kicker quickly shook his head. “No. It’s not that. It’s just...”
Flappy and Sparkler realized what he was getting at. “Squawk! Was it your mom or your dad that was the Pegasus? Squawk!”
Kicker sighed. “My mom.” He stated simply, with his eyes watering.
Flappy saw this and immediately landed on Sparkler’s back in front of Kicker. “Squawk! Hey, it’s gonna be ok Kick, and remember, if you ever need to talk. Just come find me. Squawk!”
Sparkler nodded. “Or me. We’re both here for you.”
Kicker nodded. “Thank you.”
Sparkler flashed him a warm smile and turned back to knock on the door.
...
Twilight set several objects in a line on the table in the library. She was grinning madly. “Any minute now. This is gonna be awesome!” At that moment, she heard the knock on the door. She beamed. “I got it!” She shouted before teleporting to the door. She swung the door open to reveal Sparkler, Flappy, and Kicker. “You’re here! I’m so glad to see you Sparkler!”
Before Sparkler could do anything, Twilight pulled her into a tight hug. A tad too tight as Sparkler could barely breathe. “Gah! Twilight...too tight! And precious cargo riding on my back!” Indeed, when Twilight pulled Sparkler in, Kicker had to hold on tight to keep from falling off.
Twilight let go of Sparkler and blushed, chuckled nervously, and nodded. “Right. Kicker. Sorry.”
Sparkler couldn’t help but chuckle at Twilight’s enthusiasm. “Sweet Celestia Twilight. What’s gotten into you?”
Twilight chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. “I guess I’m just a little excited to teach you magic.”
Flappy chuckled. “Squawk! A little? Squawk!”
They heard chuckling from inside the castle and turned to see Spike trying not to outright laugh. “This is the most excited I’ve seen her in years. She hasn’t even gotten this excited over a book as far as I can remember.”
Twilight blushed and cleared her throat. “Ahem. What can I say? The chance to actually teach another Alicorn something is too good NOT to get excited over.”
Spike nodded. “Yeah yeah. Sure.” He noticed Kicker slide off Sparkler and land on the floor and he smiled. “Hey Kicker how’s it going?”
“It’s going good.” Kicker replied.
Spike nodded. “You know, my friend Gabby, Starlight and I are gonna play some Ogres and Oubliettes. You wanna join in?”
Kicker raised an eyebrow. “Ogres and Oubliettes? What’s that?”
“A tabletop fantasy game. It’s lots of fun.”
Kicker hesitated, on one hoof, he was genuinely interested in what the game was, on the other hoof, Sparkler probably wasn’t gonna go wherever Spike and his friend were gonna play. Sparkler saw him hesitate, and, wanting him to have fun as well, came up with an idea, but before she could say something...
“Squawk! Hey Spike, got room for a parrot player? Squawk!” Flappy asked. He had noticed Kicker’s hesitance as well and was trying to ease his nerves.
Spike nodded. “Sure. The more the merrier. Plus it gives the two Alicorn lovers a chance for some quality time together.”
Sparkler and Twilight blushed like mad and both shouted in unison. “We aren’t together!” Their eyes widened and glanced at each other. “Seriously? Ugh!”
Sparkler shook her head clear. “We have GOT to stop doing that.”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah. We do.”
Kicker, after chuckling, nodded at Spike. “It sounds like a fun game. If you guys really don’t mind, I’ll play.”
Spike nodded. “Great. Then come on. Gabby’s waiting.”
While Kicker nodded and started following Spike, Flappy, before launching into the air, shot a wings up at Sparkler, winked, and then took off after Kicker and Sparkler.
Twilight watched them go and shook her head. “Why is it that all our friends think we’re together? I mean. Come on. We’re friends. Just friends.”
Sparkler nodded. “Yeah...just friends, hehe...” Sparkler was laughing it off on the outside, but on the inside. If only you knew Twilight.
TELL HER! You have a PERFECT opportunity!
I can’t. Not yet. Kicker still needs us.
Remember what Vinyl said last week? Don’t wait too long?
She wasn’t counting on Kicker. Who, by the way, might not WANT me to get into a romantic relationship due to his previous experience in relation to the concept.
You’re letting a foal—
Kicker’s happiness is more important than mine. End of story.
We’re continuing this talk later.
Sparkler nodded, to Twilight not the voice in her head and gestured onward. “So, Twilight, what spells are we gonna learn this evening?”
Twilight beamed. “Onward to the library!”
Kicker glanced behind him to see Sparkler and Twilight trot off to another direction. He turned back and raised an eyebrow at Spike. “Hey Spike, what was that about with the Alicorn lovers thing?”
Spike chuckled. “Oh, nothing much Kicker. They just have a mutual crush on each other.”
Flappy gasped. “Squawk! Twilight has a crush on Sparkler top? Squawk!”
Spike nodded. “Oh yeah. She’s fallen head over hooves for her. She just doesn’t realize it yet.”
Flappy laughed while Kicker raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
Spike chuckled. “I’ll leave that for Sparkler to explain. Just don’t tell her that Twilight loves her.”
Kicker and Flappy nodded.
...
Outside in Ponyville, the two cloaked figures met outside Sparkler’s house. One of them raised an eyebrow. “So our tracking spell was going AWOL because of an Alicorn? Sparky, an Alicorn wouldn’t live in this house.”
Sparky shook his head. “I’m telling you I saw that pink Alicorn with my own eyes Misty. And that brat was riding her.”
Misty chuckled. “So he thinks he’s safe with royalty.”
Sparky nodded. “We’re SO proving him wrong. Tonight.”
Misty nodded. “Heck yeah we—“
“You know Nosey, this town is actually pretty nice.”
Misty and Sparky froze. “Nosey?”
“Hide!”
Sparky and Misty immediately jumped into a bush and peaked their eyes out to see a familiar pony talking to somepony else. And walking down the street.
Nosey nodded. “Yeah. It is. Ponies are friendly, clear skies, easy to navigate. I can see why somepony would want to settle here.”
River nodded. “Plus I saw a bunch of foals playing at the park so somepony like Pearl wouldn’t have any difficulty making friends.”
Nosey nodded. “Maybe one day—“ At that moment, something shot out of Nosey’s horn and constituted into a scroll.
River raised an eyebrow. “Somepony just sent you a scroll.”
Nosey unfurled the scroll, and read.
Investigators Nosey Pants and River Song,
I hope your investigation into our Thunder Kicker situation is proceeding steadily. I hope to finally be able to permanently close the case this time.
The situation here in Canterlot concerning that new Alicorn in Ponyville is not good. The Nobles are on the warpath, and I fear that they may try something against Miss Medley. For this reason, Princess Celestia and I have decided to transfer you two to the Ponyville Police Department. Your reputations precede you so with any luck the Nobility will think twice about any actions they may be planning once they are made aware of your new assignment.
I will allow you all the time you need to make all the necessary arrangements for your new assignment. And I wish you luck.
Happy house hunting,
Chief Quill
River’s eyes widened. “It sounds like Sparkler’s in danger.”
Nosey sighed and nodded. “Quill’s right. The Nobility are wealthy, and influential. There really is no telling what Sparkler could be facing. Especially now that she’s involved in the Thunder Kicker case.”
“What do you think Nosey?”
Nosey looked around, then nodded. “We did say this was a good town to settle in. Guess we’re doing it sooner than expected.”
River chuckled. “I believe I saw a few for sale signs.”
Nosey chuckled. “We can take a look after our patrol.”
River nodded and they both continued on their journey.
From the bush, Sparky and Misty were sweating. “Horseapples! It’s THEM!”
“We had to move all the way to Apploosa because of them.”
Sparky grumbled. “They are NOT keeping us from the brat. As soon as we get ahold of him, we’ll take him somewhere and show him how bad of an idea it was to run away.”
...
In the throne room, a grey griffon, and Starlight were setting the Cutie Map for their game of Ogres and Oubliettes. Starlight smiled. “Hey Gabby, I don’t think you ever told me how Spike got you into this game.”
Gabby chuckled. “He invited me to play with him, Big Mac, and Discord once. It sounded interesting so I gave it a chance, and by the end I was hooked.”
Starlight chuckled. “I don’t blame you. This game is pretty fun.”
They heard the doors open and they turned to see Spike return, with a parrot and an Earth Pony colt, both of whom Gabby didn’t recognize. Starlight though just smiled. “Oh, hey Flappy, hey Kicker. Did you two come here with Sparkler?”
Flappy nodded. “Squawk! Yep. Squawk!”
Spike nodded and waved at Gabby. “Hey Gabby. Come over and meet these two. They’ll be joining us.”
Gabby smiled, hopped off one of the thrones, and approached. She flashed a smile at the two newcomers, but she saw the colt tense up and hide behind Spike, making her stop.
Spike felt Kicker hide behind him, and saw Gabby stop, and just smiled as he turned around. “Kicker, it’s ok. She won’t hurt you.”
Gabby smiled as she resumed approaching, slowly, agreeing with Spike. “Yeah. It’s ok, I’m a friendly griffon. I promise.”
Kicker glanced between the griffon and Spike, and nervously nodded. “Uh, are you Gabby? Spike’s friend?”
Gabby nodded. “Yeah. That’s me. What’s your name?”
“Thunder Kicker, most just call me Kicker.” Kicker replied.
“Squawk! And I’m Flappy, Sparkler’s pet parrot and best friend. Nice to meet you Gabby. Squawk!” Flappy commented.
Gabby beamed. “Nice to meet you two too.”
Starlight smiled. “You guys here to play Ogres and Oubliettes?”
Kicker nodded. “Spike made it sound like a fun game.”
Gabby and Starlight nodded. “SUPER fun.”
“You get to make your own character and your actions directly affect the overall story.”
Flappy nodded. “Squawk! Sounds like a good time. Squawk!”
Spike nodded and gestured to the table. “Come on. We’ll show ya how to play.”
Flappy and Kicker nodded, and while Kicker took a seat at one of the thrones, Flappy landed on the table itself. Starlight smiled and magically floated over a piece of parchment for each of them. “First step, you create your character. Let your imagination run wild.”
To be continued...
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Didn’t know chapter 11 came out but OH NO. But hey lore!
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You mean more?
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Meant lore but I know realize that doesn’t work here.
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Oh, it wasn't a typo then.
If you want lore I've got something BIG planned for this series that will change everything for Sparkler. Forever.
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:0
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All I'll say is stay tuned.
Bold villains wonder if they think the alicorn is Twilight or do they not even care
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They won't care.
But now that you mention it, There COULD be a moment where they think Sparkler's Twilight.
Not sure if that would be appropriate but man would it be funny.
Okay, biggest question I have: why do these two want Kicker so bad? He has no family so it can't be for ransom.
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Wouldn't you want to make sure the only living witness to your crimes never said anything?
Also they had kidnapped him and treated him like a slave so they're also ticked that a five year old managed to get away from them.
Picture the scene.
Evening.
A lone boat in the middle of the lagoon.
A low music starts.
Sparkle and Sparkler look each other in the eyes.
Fireflies start lighting up around them.
....
And Spike in a crab costume yelling "Kiss The Girl!"
Is it bad I read that in Spongebob meme's voice?
That's... an astounding level of empathy right there. I wouldn't have guessed it so fast.
Stop the synchro-talking or stop saying you're not togheter?
Or both?
Also, are they more or less the same age? I'm beginning to form a theory here...
... what?
Detail not found in my mind.
WHY NOT?
That would solve it once for all, so... why should it be a secret???
Make Kicker say
"Hey, Mom, Spike told me Twilight loves you. She keeps repeating your name at nights, but she doesn't realize it yet"
and that would shot down almost all Sparkler's major worries.
So why Spike wants to keep it a secret???
Flappy! Not you too! You are more intelligent than Spike and know exactly the situation on BOTH SIDES!
...
Ok, I'll start calling him Bird Brain from now on.
-> Not fearing alicorn powers
-> terrorized by a policema..re
keeping your priorities in order I see.
*Appleloosa
Also, see this? They are annoyed that they might have to move again, but not afraid to take a permanent one-way trip to the moon.
How does that work?
uh, maybe with the right spell, the Cutie Map could become a good hologram maker for the game. Probably you could also represent graphically the events.
And probably Starlight knows how, considering her... past meddling... with that glorified table.
Yes, and also drive the game master crazy in the meantime. Every time they played in the show, the story unfolded thanks to Discord. Now who's the GM?
"Just... don't cast too many fireballs. Please."
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They want Sparkler and Twilight to confess their love themselves. they don't want to take any of that magic away.
They need to stop synchro talking
And I'd say they're around the same age. What's your theory?
Appleloosa. I gotta remember that. Thanks.
And about the cutie map, Twilight would kill Starlight if she messed with it again.
Also, that Little Mermaid reference. MAN that would be hilarious, but I already have their hook up scene planned out...And it involves Silver-Mane.
and by big guns, they mean Cadance.
And about the fear, It's the police officers that actually catch bad guys most of the time. Not the Alicorns themselves.
And what Sparkler now has to contend with is a foal who's past experience with a pair of caregivers leaves A LOT to be desired. And she doesn't want him to feel like his bad luck on that front is gonna continue.
Something i noticed
I take this is a leftover of the planned script?
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That is a Horn Pulse. A short range communication spell that I came up with.
As a 12-year game master veteran I can say with certaintity that is very mugh IS fun.