Something Sparkling

by Captain_Cosmos

Chapter 3

After the hay sandwich plates were cleared off, the three brand-new friends hopped back upstairs to Sparkler’s also-new studio.

Having just added a new member to her friendship circle, now actually making it a circle by having more than two members, Sparkler couldn’t be more excited to continue her second day in Appleloosa. These were times of new beginnings.

In the studio, Sparkler and her two friends finished out the day’s list of tasks by laying down the rest of the backing vocal tracks. Neither of the mares, nor the parrot, could say the song was complete yet, but it was at a far enough point for them to end their work day.

The question then, though, was what was up next?

“So, Autumn, what plans do ya have tonight?” Sparkler asked as they cleared out the studio by returning the equipment pieces to their homes.

“No plans for tonight. I can hang out with you until bedtime!” Autumn exclaimed, leaping closer to her new friend.

“Well then, let’s continue this party! Let’s go do something!” Sparkler replied with a giggle.

Autumn raised an eyebrow; she couldn’t right tell what that party was. “You mean, keep doing music?” She asked, a confused look dominating her face.

Sparkler shook her head. “Nah, let’s do something else.” She replied.

And she already knew what that something else could be. “You ever been stargazin?” She asked.

“I have a few times, but out of loneliness and wanting to see some good sights as a way to distract myself from it.” Autumn replied. “Never done it with a friend before.”

Sparkler felt a light beam inside of her. A new activity was the perfect prospect for a new friendship.

“Wanna go out stargazin’ tonight?” Sparkler asked. “We can have dinner over a fire, talk, and look at the stars.”

Autumn hopped over closer to Sparkler in delight. “That sounds wonderful!”

Sparkler smiled. “I can bring mah telescope so we can really see the stars, and I can also pack a salad fer each of us fer dinner.”

“Ooh, I didn’t know you had a telescope!” Autumn exclaimed. “And yeah, I love the salad idea. Heck, I even could bring my apple pie that I got from Applejack last time I saw her.”

“And maybe to top it off, I can pack my homemade lemonade fer us!” Sparkler said excitedly. The ideas just kept coming and coming.

Flappy sported a wide grin at Sparkler uttering the word “lemonade”. He hovered in front of Autumn for this very important info.

“Squawk! You want to try her lemonade. It’s the absolute best! Squawk!” He chirped.

“Ooh, the absolute best, huh?” Autumn said in a sly tone. “I sure hope it is! Let’s get going!”

“Meetcha back in front of this here tavern as soon as possible?” Sparkler suggested.

“Yep! We just gotta go get the supplies, and we’re off!” Autumn said.

“Then let’s get to it!” Sparkler exclaimed in excitement.

---

The two mares temporarily split off and headed back to their houses, or inn in Sparkler’s and Flappy’s case. Autumn reached into the fridge for that pie from Applejack she hadn’t even opened the box of yet, and Sparkler and Flappy prepared two salads, which they then packed into a picnic basket they just so happened to have.

Adding three bottles of lemonade and a piece of watermelon in there, they then wasted no time running back to the tavern.

Autumn had won the unorganized race back, and Sparkler and Flappy rejoined her, leading to them setting off to a remote area outside of the busy town. Or, in other words, a perfect place for camping.

---

They reached the secluded area, and Sparkler smiled as she scanned the sights with her eyes. “Shoowee. Not a bad place here.” She commented.

“It sure is beautiful.” Autumn said while looking over the landscape. Their campsite was on top of a high hill, so there was sure a sight to behold below. The entire skyline of Appleloosa could be seen, as well as the many dunes, rocks, and whatever else of the Equestria Desert.

Flappy nodded at Autumn’s statement as he took in that same view, which currently also included a vibrant sunset sky painted with orange, pink, and red. “Squawk! And just look at that view! Squawk!” He commented.

Sparkler joined where Flappy and Autumn’s faces were pointing, and had herself absolutely blown away. Being from Saddle Arabia, a sandy desert, something like this had never met her eyes.

She smiled at the view. “Well I’ll be. Sure don’t get a view quite like this back in Kilihima Village.” She said.

Kilihima Village? Autumn had never heard of such a place, and Sparkler talked about it in relation to her past. Sounds like Autumn’s got more info about her new pal.

“Is that where you’re from?” Autumn asked.

Sparkler nodded in response as they walked over to sit down on two rocks across from each other. “Yeah. You heard of it?” She asked.

“No, never heard that name before. Nopony ever seems to talk about it.” Autumn responded.

“I didn’t expect you to know.” Sparkler said with a chuckle.

Flappy nodded in agreement as he perched on a rock of his own. “Squawk! It’s the most remote, rundown, unremarkable village on the planet. Squawk!” He added.

“Huh. So, yeah, that would explain it.” Autumn said.

“Well, I guess it’s time we start the campfire.” She said, changing the topic after nopony said anything further about the previous one.

Sparkler grinned. “Right. Wanna see a cool magic trick?” She asked Autumn.

“Yeah!” Autumn exclaimed, jumping off her seat.

This was always going to be something Autumn would jump at an opportunity to see. The amount of unicorns in Appleloosa was negligible, and even when she was in Ponyville, it was usually within Apple family circles, where the amount of unicorns was basically zero. She was ready to see some magic.

“Ya might want to take a step back then.” Sparkler suggested as she lit her horn.

Autumn heeded the caution and stepped back, maybe even further than recommended. She didn’t pretend to know the upper bounds of what magic could do, so she wanted to be sure.

Sparkler pulsed her horn, and out shot a little blue orb from the tip, which bombed the ground in the middle of where the friends were standing. It burst into a cloud of smoke, smoke, creating a brilliant blue fire burning on the ground.

“And now that fire’ll keep burning til one of us pours cold liquid on it.” Sparkler said with a smile.

Autumn locked her eyes on the fire. Not only had Autumn never been exposed to such magic in action, but the result was also unlike anything of familiarity.

“Wow. It’s completely blue.” She said.

Sparkler chuckled and nodded. “It’s ‘cause this particular spell creates a fire that’s colored accordin’ to the user’s aura color. In this case, since I cast the spell, the fire is blue.” She explained.

“Oh!” Autumn said in slight relief. “That’s really interesting; I never knew about that. Not really a surprise when you live in a town that has so few unicorns.”

“Yeah, a lot of the time with this kinda thing, you have to actively think about the color otherwise it’ll default to yer aura color.” Sparkler explained.

“Magic is interesting!” Autumn responded. “For us Earth ponies, a blue fire means it is an extremely hot fire, the hottest it can be, so that’s why I was appalled. Maybe I should stop at Twilight’s castle and look in her library someday.” She added.

“Anypony knows about magic, it'd be Twilight. Or so I’ve heard.” Sparkler commented.

“Yep. She’s one of the most famous ponies around, and one of the biggest magic experts.” Autumn replied. “I’d say only Celestia and Luna themselves have her beat.”

“Squawk! They’re a thousand years older. Squawk!” Flappy said.

“Yep. And, let me tell you, immortality is a concept that really messes with my head.” Autumn said.

“But… that’s a pretty deep discussion.” She backtracked. “I’d say we get out the salad now.”

Sparkler lit her horn to summon the salad, and the watermelon for Flappy. “Right! Let’s fill up the tank, and then--”

“Howdy cousin!” Shouted a new voice all of a sudden.

Autumn almost jumped at this call. Cousin? she thought. Who’s here?

She jerked her head over to her left, where the voice had come from, and low and behold, yep, there was one of her cousins here. Running right up to her.

Applebloom, the filly Autumn always got to see during her Sweet Apple Acres visits, was coming, and as if that weren’t enough, she was tagging along with her friends. The friends that, with Applebloom, were collectively known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Upon that sight, Autumn ran in their direction at nearly the speed of the fillies.

“Hi there, Applebloom and friends!” Autumn beamed. “What brings you here so suddenly?”

The CMCs stopped when they met Autumn in the middle. “We wanted to celebrate yer win at the tournament with ya, but we couldn’t make it over here til now!” Applebloom reached out and pulled Autumn in for a hug. “Congrats cousin!”

“Aww.” Autumn said, hugging the filly back. “Thanks Applebloom. This means a lot.” She said. “I didn’t know you were going to celebrate with me!” She giggled.

Flappy cleared his throat. “Squawk! Excuse me, but are we just gonna gloss over the fact that these three seemingly knew EXACTLY where you’d be, Autumn? Squawk!”

“Flappy!” Sparkler hissed. “Don’t be rude!”

The sounds of two unfamiliar voices caught the attention of Sweetie Belle. “Wait, hold on a second!” She said.

“Girls, it looks like we’re not just visiting Autumn. There’s a parrot here, and another pony too!” She said, pointing at said parrot and pony.

Sparkler smiled as she walked over and tipped her hat to the fillies. “The name’s Sparkling Medley. Sparkler fer short.” She nodded her head towards Flappy. “And this here’s mah parrot friend Flappy.”

“Squawk! Autumn, You gonna introduce us? Squawk!” Flappy asked.

“Oh, right. Hehe.” Autumn said. “Sparkler here is my new friend; I first met her after I played in a recent open-mic night at the Appleloosa Tavern, and after I finished, she wanted to sit down with me at my table.”

Applebloom grinned as her mind raced with what an event like that meant for Autumn. “Does that mean ya finally got a roommate, Autumn?” She asked excitedly.

Autumn realized this topic had been off her mind for quite a while now. And here was time for an update.

“Well, even though we are calling ourselves friends, this is only our second day together, hehe.” Autumn said. “We’re not roommates yet, but I definitely plan to have a sleepover with her and see if we’re compatible.”

Sparkler raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What’s a sleepover?” She ask.

…

Upon that question, all the talking stopped. This sentence captured the eyes of all four other ponies into looking straight at Sparkler.

However, Autumn then remembered how Sparkler told her she had come from a life of no friends. That’s not a good breeding ground for sleepovers.

There was company who didn’t know that, though.

“Wait, you don’t know what a sleepover is?” One of the fillies said.

Sparkler shook her head. “Afraid not. Wasn’t exactly popular back home. But before we go any further...I don’t think we ever got yer names.” She replied.

Applebloom chuckled and waved, deciding to follow Sparkler’s topic control. “Mah name is Applebloom. Autumn’s cousin. And these here are my friends.” She gestured to her friends.

“I’m Sweetie Belle.” Sweetie Belle introduced herself, placing her hoof to her chest.

“And I’m Scootaloo.” Said Scootaloo, flapping her wings.

Flappy smiled and flapped his wings as well. “Squawk! Nice to meet you girls. Squawk!” He said.

Sweetie Belle jumped over closer to Flappy. “What’s your name, Mr. Parrot?” She asked. “If Sparkler said it earlier, I forgot.”

“Squawk! The name’s Flappy. Sparkler’s very best friend. Squawk!” Flappy replied.

“Flappy. Nice name.” Scootaloo said, shaking her hoof with Flappy’s wing, as did Sweetie Belle afterwards.

Applebloom smiled and turned to Sparkler. “So Sparkler. What was that you were sayin’ about not knowin’ what sleepovers were?” She asked.

“What I was sayin’ was I wasn’t exactly popular back home.” Sparkler said. “The only friend I had ‘til Autumn was Flappy. And he already lived with me. So, if mah imagination of a sleepover is right, I didn’t exactly have anypony to sleepover with.” She explained.

The fillies’ faces switched to sad mode in sympathy. “You never had even a second friend? Not even from school? Oh… I’m sorry, Sparkler.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah. Me too.” Scootaloo added.

But Sparkler didn’t feel as affected as them, even with a sad story about her. “Much obliged girls. I’m just right glad I can put that part of mah life behind me.” She said.

“That’s good to hear.” Scootaloo said. “I mean, yeah, you do have friends now!”

“So, what is your imagination of a sleepover?” Sweetie Belle asked, with the environment regaining its happiness.

“Literally sleeping over at another’s home and having a fun night with them.” Sparkler replied.

“And you’d be right!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“First try!” Scootaloo added, taking a jump.

“Ya sure are a smart gal.” Applebloom said.

“She really is.” Autumn chimed in. “I was recording music with her in her studio earlier today; she runs her own record label.”

“Sparkling Harmony Records.” Sparkler said with a proud nod.

“Squawk! We’ll record any song and make it releasable. Squawk!” Flappy added.

“Oh wow! That’s really useful for Autumn!” Scootaloo said.

Applebloom nodded. “Yeah! Do you play instruments too Sparkler?”

“Yes I do.” Sparkler replied.

Applebloom’s belief that Sparkler was the perfect friend for Autumn only grew at this discovery of a great friendship connection. She looked over at Autumn. “Say! You and her could be a musical duo!”

Autumn and Sparkler looked at each other and chuckled.

“Interesting you say that, because Flappy said in the studio that based on the way we sounded together, it sounds like we’ve already been a duo for years.” Autumn said. “For reference, we recorded one of my songs, and she performed the backing vocals. Really well, at that.”

“Squawk! Her talent involves having the most wonderful singing voice you’ve ever heard. Squawk!” Flappy said with a smile.

“That’s awesome! In that case, I’d love to hear you sing, Sparkler.” Scootaloo said.

“Well, I just so happened to bring mah guitar.” Sparkler said. “How’s about we all have dinner and then we can sing some campfire songs.”

Sweetie Belle ran up to Sparkler. “That sounds like a wonderful idea!” She exclaimed.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders campfire with Autumn and her new friend! Yay!” All three of them said in unison.

Autumn giggled at the feature of this CMC classic, and what they described it as absolutely lit her up inside. “I’m so excited for tonight.”

Sparkler nodded and lit her horn to summon the two salads she had brought from her saddlebags.

“Can’t say I was expectin three cute little fillies to show up when I made these here salads. But don’t worry. We can fix this.”

She set the two salads, out of five needed, down on the ground in front of Autumn and herself, and then lit up her horn again. The salads glowed blue, and burst into five. She then levitated three of them over to the CMC.

“Just a little magic and a dinner fer two is a dinner fer five.” She said.

Applebloom smiled with wide-shot eyes. “Sweet Celestia! That’s some fancy magic, Sparkler!” She complimented.

“Yeah! I’m not even close to learning spells like that!” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah. It’s a pretty advanced spell.” Sparkler said with a giggle.

“But useful.” Applebloom commented.

“It really is.” Autumn said. “Alright, shall we dig in?”

Flappy nodded as a watermelon piece was levitated in front of him on his rock perch. “Squawk! Let’s eat! Squawk!” He said.

While Flappy dug into his watermelon, the five campfire ponies dug into their fresh garden salads, filled with lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and the like. A classic Equestrian salad.

“Where did you find these from, Sparkler?” Sweetie Belle asked, thinking it was one of the best salads she had eaten.

“I actually made them mahself.” Sparkler replied.

The fillies all looked at each other. “Wow! Another talent from you!” Scootaloo said.

Flappy nodded. “Squawk! She’s a master cook. She actually invented her own version of lemonade. Squawk!” He said.

“Her own version of lemonade. Hmm… did you, by any chance, bring that lemonade here, Sparkler?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Sparkler nodded. “Sure did.” She said as she lit up her magic and summoned, from her saddlebag, the three plastic clear bottles of her signature lemonade that she had brought.

Another pulse of the salad-splitting magic from earlier turned three into six, and she levitated one bottle to each participant in this camp-out. “Enjoy.” She said happily.

All the other ponies here, including Autumn, had never tasted Sparkler’s lemonade before. They all popped off the bottle cap and took their first sip, and after just that first sip, they all sat there with no motion. Stunned in silence.

The lemonade was just perfect, in every factor that affects its taste. It had just the right amount of sugar, not too sour, not too sweet, and used well-grown, juicy lemons.

The lemonade tasted like it was made out of magic, but its very natural flavor clearly revealed that it was made in an Earth-pony-like way. All the more impressive.

“Shoowee Sparkler!” Applebloom exclaimed. “This is the best lemonade I’ve ever had! You did amazing!”

“I’d have to agree with Applebloom.” Autumn said. “This is exquisite lemonade. It could be at a fancy wedding.”

Sparkler blushed a little and smiled sheepishly. “Y’all think so?” She asked.

“Totally.” Scootaloo said. “I have definitely never tasted lemonade like this.”

Sparkler beamed with pride, no longer doubting the result’s reality. “Thanks. I’m glad y’all like it.” She said.

From there, the group continued with the classic salad and Sparkler’s master lemonade dinner, as the beautiful sun continued to set. Perfect recipe for a great time.

---

The salad and watermelon were now completely gone. All eaten up. The lemonade was only half gone, but the players here didn’t see a reason to not move on.

“I’d say it’s now it’s time for dessert.” Autumn said. “And I got this dessert from no place other than Sweet Apple Acres.” She said, holding out a pie boxed in Sweet Apple Acres branding; the brown color with a large apple logo over the pie window.

Applebloom smiled and skipped over. “An apple pie! Mah favorite!” She exclaimed.

“My favorite too!” Autumn exclaimed. “Specifically, this apple pie. It’s made by Applejack, who is a pie expert.”

“I don never tried a pie from Sweet Apple Acres.” Sparkler commented.

Flappy shook his head. “Squawk! Me neither. Squawk!”

“Well, you’re in for a great first-timer today!” Autumn said, eager to see their reactions to the pie.

This talk about Sweet Apple Acres suddenly brought Autumn to a must-do future fun activity with Sparkler. She could see a future chapter of their friendship.

“Hey Sparkler, one thing we should do together is go visit Sweet Apple Acres.” Autumn said. “I’d love for you to meet Applejack, and the farm in general.”

Sparkler agreed with this thinking. “A trip to visit yer family. I’d definitely be interested.” She replied.

“Squawk! I wouldn’t mind either. Squawk!” Flappy added.

“Awesome! And, in fact, I have another idea!” Autumn said, smiling widely. “Since Applebloom is here, maybe we could go back with them when they leave? Maybe we’ll be too busy for that, but putting it out there.”

“Depends on when they leave and what we have goin’ on then.” Sparkler shrugged.

“We leave on Monday evenin’, ‘cause it’s a three-day weekend.” Applebloom replied.

“Ooh, a three-day weekend, huh?” Autumn said. “That’s awesome!”

Autumn sounded off her and Sparkler’s recent activities to hopefully get a schedule going. “Sparkler and I have been working on music, and in fact, she just moved into Appleloosa, so in addition to being busy with music, I’m wondering if Sparkler would want to spend more time in her new town. Would you agree with that, Sparkler?” She asked.

Sparkler tapped her chin, thinking. “I reckon some time to adjust to Appleloosa in in order.” She replied.

“Okay. We’ll go to Sweet Apple Acres another time then.” Autumn responded.

“Understood.” Scootaloo said. “But the three of us are here, so you get to spend time with us!”

“Right. It’ll be something.” Sparkler chuckled.

A new topic showed up again, courtesy of Sweetie Belle remembering a great piece of info to tell a new friend.

“So Sparkler, if you don’t know, the three of us together are known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Sweetie Belle said. “We became friends after none of us had our marks, and it turns out that our special talent was finding cutie marks. And now that we have ours, we help other ponies get theirs.”

“That sounds amazin!” Sparkler said. “Y’all use your talents to help ponies.”

“We have been having lots of fun with it. I consider it a good life to be living.” Scootaloo said.

“And by the way, Sparkler, you’re wearing a thick poncho.” Scootaloo continued. “What does your cutie mark look like? What is your special talent?”

While Flappy froze and gagged on the latest sip of lemonade in response to this “uh-oh, what do we do?” question, which amazingly wasn’t noticed by anypony, Sparkler successfully beat down a gulp of the drink before answering.

“Ahem, mah special talent. Woo, how do I explain this...Mah special talent is music. I can play music, I can sing.” Sparkler said. “And I have something that ya might not have heard before. I call it mah Sparkler Sense. Basically I can tell if a musician, like Autumn, is a good musician just by listening to a few notes of any of their songs.” Sparkler explained, trying to remain calm and just explain the details.

“Sparkler sense. That sounds like Pinkie sense.” Scootaloo said. “A little different, but still with the sense aspect.”

“Something tells me you and Autumn are a good fit for each other, as she’s a musician too.” Sweetie Belle said.

“And what does your cutie mark look like?” Scootaloo asked.

Oh darn. Sparkler still wasn’t out of the woods. Gah, somepony just had to ask her this question.

She bit her lip, pondering ways to answer it while still concealing her secret. And fortunately, one did come to her.

Can I get away with describing...Wait! I have magic!

Sparkler smiled in victory and lit her horn again. “It’s a microphone ontop...Or beneath, I don’t know, a music staff. Like this.” She explained as she floated a two-sided picture of the aforementioned Cutie Mark in front of the fillies, also spinning it around really slowly so they could get a good look at it.

Applebloom looked at the black microphone-music staff pair with awe. “Wow. Amazin’!” She said.

“It is really cool-looking.” Scootaloo added.

“Thanks gals. I’m right proud of it.” Sparkler said, cancelling her magic and shrinking away the picture.

“Great!” Sweetie Belle said. “A pony not liking their cutie mark is something that still gives me nightmares.”

“Yeah.” Scootaloo added. “But, Sparkler, why did you show us a picture of your cutie mark? Why not the real deal?” She asked.

Oh, come on! Sparkler had to beat down an even bigger gulp this time.

“Uhh…” She trailed off as she glanced at Flappy, the only one there who knew full well what the reason for Sparkler keeping her flank hidden was.

Her mind was racing hundreds of miles a second, trying desperately to come up with an excuse and firing with anxiety about her ongoing coming out issue.

I’m not ready fer this! I’m not!

After a moment’s thinking, she had a possible answer that she predicted wouldn’t work, but given that she would eventually be called out on her silence, she just had to settle for.

“I just, uh, didn’t want mah poncho to get dirty. Hehe.” She chuckled nervously.

Yeah…that wouldn’t do. Flappy resisted the urge to facewing, while Applebloom raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Why wouldn’t you just--”

“Hey now.” Sparkler cut her off, wanting to quickly get away from this topic before it reached the danger zone, which it was dangerously close to. “Ain’t there a pie y’all would like me to try?”

Scootaloo figured that while Sparkler was acting weird, she didn’t want to be disrespectful and put pressure on her. Well, if she wants privacy, gotta respect that.

“Yeah. Let’s just go to the pie.” She said.

Applebloom nodded. “Right, and what she said about trying it. We gotta make sure Autumn’s new roommate likes Sweet Apple Acres products!”

Sparkler and Autumn heard that and blushed, but chuckled. “We aren’t roommates.” They both said in unison. They stopped, glanced at each other, and broke down into fits of giggling. Autumn even dropped down to the ground in the process.

“Where did that come from?” Sparkler asked loudly, still with her voice sounding higher-pitched than normal.

“I don’t know, but it sure was funny.” Autumn said, catching her breath and lifting herself back onto her hooves.

“Anyway, interesting you say that, Applebloom, because Sparkler offered to be my roommate after I told her about the boxes I want checked.” Autumn continued. “I think I talked about this earlier; I plan to do a sleepover with her and see if we’re compatible. So we might be roommates in the future.”

Applebloom smiled. “From the sound of it, you two are compatible. The music, the boxes bein’ checked, I’m thinkin’ you two will be roommates.”

Autumn’s heart warmed at Applebloom’s proclamation. It made her feel super accomplished; nopony had ever been so optimistic at a potential pairing for her before. She was used to the skepticism and eventual failure.

“Squawk! I agree. The only question is, am I, the pet, OK. Squawk!” Flappy said.

“Yeah!” Autumn said with excitement. “You sound fun to live with, Flappy!”

“Squawk! In that case, we’re good. Squawk!” Flappy exclaimed.

Autumn was already imagining herself speaking with Flappy after waking up in the morning. Maybe something is sparkling here!

“On what day are you going to have the trial sleepover?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Sparkler was about to answer, before something held her back and reminded her of a problem facing this trial sleepover. Two feathery somethings under her poncho.

Her face lost its smile. I don’t want to disappoint Autumn, but at the same time...I ain’t ready to reveal mah wings… Shaking her head clear at the noticing of another awkward delay, she decided to just answer the question and smiled. “I’m free whenever.”

Flappy nodded. “Squawk! Me too, unless you two don’t want a guy at a girl’s sleepover. Squawk!” He said.

Autumn giggled. “Nah, I never intended this to be a girls’ sleepover. And in fact, I would like it if you came, because you’d be living with me too, and I’d like to test out what it’s like to room with you, as well as Sparkler.”

“In that case, we’re free whenever you may want to have this party.” Sparkler said.

“Good!” Autumn said.

“Do you two want to keep the trial sleepover between the three of you who would be rooming together, or could we join too?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Sparkler glanced at Autumn and shrugged, giving the choice to her. “Yer idea. Yer call.”

Though preferably, NO! She shouted in her mind, knowing that the more ponies included, the greater the risk of somepony finding out about her wings.

But she got lucky again.

“I think the first sleepover would be best with only the three of us.” Autumn confessed. “But, we could then run a second trial sleepover to determine how we do as roommates when guests are around.”

Sparkler held a smile on the outside, but was racing on the inside and starting to sweat. Not totally what I had in mind...but I’ll figure something out.

“I can get behind that plan.” She said.

“Good!” Sweetie Belle said. “We’ll leave the first one to you, and join for the second one.”

“In the meantime, Autumn, can we stay with just you tonight?”

“Yeah! That’ll be awesome!” Autumn exclaimed.

The CMCs ran up to her again for another big group hug.

Sparkler watched the adorable scene from afar and smiled warmly. “Always warms my heart a scene like this does.”

“It is beautiful.” Autumn said. She hugs the fillies tighter.

Applebloom nodded as the hug broke. “Right. Apple Pie time!” She exclaimed.

“Yes!” Autumn said. She set the brown pie box down onto the ground, and let Sparkler handle the rest, given that she had magic. Sparkler used her magic to summon a pie slicing tool out of thin air, and out came five equally-sized pieces, all onto five paper plates.

“Bon appetit!” Autumn said.

---

After the delicious, sweet pie was gone, Applebloom found herself laying back-down on the ground, and everypony else couldn’t run or leap anymore. Their tanks were full if you’ve ever heard of a full tank.

Sparkler, with an activity in her mind that she and Autumn had agreed to back in the studio and had not been done yet, plus the advantage that it wouldn’t make them feel worse, looked up and saw that the now-black sky was totally clear. It was a very starry night.

“Well looky there. Not a cloud in the sky. Perfect stargazin’ conditions!” She exclaimed as she brought out her blue telescope from her saddlebag, a telescope that fit really well with her, as it was the same color as her magic aura.

“Oh wow. That is lucky.” Autumn said in response to Sparkler’s activity idea, looking up where she was looking.

“You have a telescope, Sparkler?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Sure do.” Sparkler replied. “Stargazin’s a hobby of mine. It’s why Autumn and I thought to come out here in the first place.” She said.

Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that! Autumn thought.

“Actually, that brings up an interesting point.” Sparkler continued. “How in the hay did you gals find us? We didn’t see ya follow us.” She asked.

“You’re right; we didn’t follow you. We had to look for you.” Scootaloo said. “We asked some ponies around town where they had last seen Autumn, which ways she walked and things like that, and eventually, after quite a tiring journey, we looked up at this hill and very luckily spotted her.”

“Squawk! You did, huh? Squawk!” Flappy said slyly.

“Good thing you eventually found me.” Autumn said. “It was a visit I wasn’t aware would be happening until it started, and it would’ve really stunk for the day to end without you finding me, because then you wouldn’t be at home and wouldn’t have anypony to stay with.”

“I’d be more worried if they were wanderin’ aimlessly out here. One wrong turn and they’d get lost and be exposed to the dangerous night elements of the desert.” Sparkler said with a chuckle.

“Oh yeah. That too.” Autumn said. “But since you did find me, we’re having a sleepover tonight.” She said to the fillies.

“Yay! Oh, can we visit Braeburn tomorrow, since I’m here?” Applebloom asked.

“Sure! I know Braeburn is good with you three too.” Autumn replied. “In fact, it’s probably ideal, since Sparkler and I will want to do some one-on-one things tomorrow.”

Applebloom deflated a little. “But… I kinda wanted fer the three of us to hang out together tomorrow. Ya know, the three cousins together?”

“I’d like to do that too, but it depends on if Sparkler is able to watch your friends for a while.” Autumn said. “Can you do that, Sparkler?”

Sparkler nodded. “If’n it’s OK with you two, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.” She said.

The two fillies looked at each other. “Why not?” Scootaloo said. “It would be a great way to get to know each other better.”

“It really could.” Sweetie Belle added.

“If’n ya like, I could take y’all to mah studio.” Sparkler suggested.

“That sounds fun!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, leaping closer to Sparkler.

“Squawk! Then consider it done. Squawk!” Flappy said.

Sparkler nodded as she finished setting up her telescope, which she had been fiddling with the whole time, making sure it was optimal for stargazing. “Right. Telescope’s set up. Not a cloud in the sky...Anypony up fer a little game?”

Applebloom cocked her head to the side. “What game?”

“How much do y’all know about constellations?” Sparkler asked.

Constellations. An interest of Sparkler’s that the CMC didn’t know a lot about.

“The three of us know a little bit.” Sweetie Belle said. “We just had an astronomy class in school that we recently finished the unit of.”

“I hardly know anything about them.” Autumn chimed in. “My school never had a unit like that.”

Sparkler smiled. “Alright then, who’s up for a game of Spot That Constellation?” She asked.

“Us!” the CMCs said in unison.

Autumn didn’t have quite the same excitement. “I think it would be better for me to be on the sidelines during this game.” Autumn said. “I’m not qualified for a competition of spotting constellations when my knowledge of them is paper-thin.”

“No better way to learn about them, I say.” Sparkler told Autumn.

The five ponies gathered around Sparkler’s telescope for a game of spotting the shapes made by stars.

Sparkler smiled. “Alright, here’s how it’s gonna work. I’ll point this here telescope towards a shape, and then ya’ll have to guess what the name of the constellation is.” She explained.

“Alright!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

Sparkler smiled and fiddled with the scope, then looked through the viewfinder, double-checking that the constellation of her chosen challenge to find was in good view. “Alright, Let’s start with somethin’ easy.” She said as she locked the telescope into place and smiled at the others. “Who’d like to go first?” She asked.

“I can go first.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Then look through the scope and tell everypony whatcha see.” Sparkler replied, gesturing Sweetie Belle over to the telescope.

Sweetie Belle peeked through Sparkler’s powerful blue telescope to play a game of connect-the-dots with the stars.

Not too much later, she announced an accomplishment. “I think I’ve found the Big Dipper!” She exclaimed.

Sparkler smiled and looked through the telescope herself. “That’s right!” She exclaimed.

“One point for Sweetie Belle!” Autumn said, drawing a stick through the dirt. Being outside of the actual game, Autumn had decided to be the scorekeeper.

Sparkler giggled. “Now let’s let Autumn take a look. That way she can learn what the Big Dipper looks like, so she can actually play next time.” She told Sweetie Belle.

“Good thinking.” Sweetie Belle said, moving away from the telescope.

Autumn walked over and peeked through, taking a real-life look at a constellation for the first time. She had only otherwise been exposed to them through photographs.

“Oh wow. It really does look like a dipper.” She said.

Sparkler nodded. “If’n you already know what something looks like, it’ll be pretty easy to see the shape in the stars. Kinda like cloud watchin.” She explained.

“That’s good to know.” Autumn said. “In that case, I should be playing the game in not too long.”

“If’n you want, I would be happy to loan ya mah stargazin book. It has all the constellations in it, with clues on what to look fer.” Sparkler offered.

“Ooh, that sounds cool.” Autumn said. “Thanks for the offer! I’ll decide on that some other day.”

Sparkler smiled and nodded. “Sounds good.” She said. “Right. Onto the next one!” She looked through the telescope to adjust it slightly and stepped back. “Who’s next?” She asked.

“I’ll go next.” Scootaloo said.

She steps up to hopefully tie Sweetie Belle’s score. She carefully scanned the sky for any connection, seemingly without much luck at first, but then…

“Oh! I think I just found something!” She exclaimed.

She took a second close look to make sure, and she was correct.

“Fittingly, I found the Little Dipper!” She beamed.

Sparkler smiled and nodded, looking through. “Correct. Fun fact for Autumn over there, The Big and Little Dippers share the North Star.” She said.

“Wow. Now that’s fitting if I’ve ever heard of it.” Autumn said.

Sparkler smiled as she went to adjust the telescope again. “Right. Yer Up AB.” She said.

Applebloom smiled and walked on over. She peered through the telescope in hope of scoring a point for herself. After a moment, she frowned. “Sparkler, you just pointed the telescope back to the Big Dipper. Sweetie already got that one.” She said in confusion.

Sparkler chuckled and shook her head. “It’s a common mistake, but what you’re looking at is a new constellation, Applebloom. It’s called the Ursa Minor.” She explained.

“Huh? Ursa Minor?” Autumn asked. “I’ve never heard of that one.”

“It’s a similar constellation to the Big and Little Dippers, but with little differences.” Sparkler lit her horn and showed Autumn a picture of the Big Dipper. “In the Big Dipper, there are only two stars in the ‘handle’.” She changed pictures to an Ursa Minor. “The handle of the Ursa Minor has a lot more stars.”

“Ooh, sounds interesting!” Autumn said. “I didn’t know constellations could be like that.”

“They sure do have more to them than I thought.” Sweetie Belle added.

Sparkler giggled as she canceled the magic and the picture poofed away. “I’m sure y’all will learn more about them in school.” She said.

“I hope so!” Applebloom replied. “They’re fun to learn about.”

“Yeah, that would be a really cool topic for school to include.” Autumn said.

Sparkler nodded. “Now, let’s move on shall we?”

---

After a few more rounds of Spot the Constellation, where Sweetie Belle came out as the winner, scoring five points, it was time for the next activity.

Sparkler smiled as she ran down the list in her head. “Alright, did stargazin’, made a little game out of it, anypony up fer a campfire song?” She asked as she pulled out her blue guitar. Something else matching the color of her aura.

“Yes!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, without a leap as she was still full of pie. “That will be great!”

All of the other ponies agreed to enter this activity, following Sweetie Belle into a circle-shaped gathering around Sparkler and the roasting blue fire. “Ready?” Autumn asked.

Everypony else nodded. Sparkler smiled. “Alright, Here’s a little tune I wrote mahself...when I was 7. Autumn, care to count us in?”

“Sure Sparkler!” Autumn said. “3, 2, 1…”

Sparkler began strumming her guitar, playing a progression of open chords. After a few strums, she began to sing.

Sometimes the road looks kinda long
And you’re super scared to run

🎵Sometime you fail
and it makes you feel
Like you’re just a featherbrain.

When the buckballs don’t come your way
Or you’re afraid to sing

Just find yerself a friend and then
You can weather anything

Ooh ooh ooh ooh

Looks like we’re out of the woods now
Salvation’s right, ‘round the bend
Looks like we’re out of the woods now
And I think I see a friend.

That turn was wrong and the night was long
I thought it would never end.

But I think I’m out of the woods now,
Cause I think I see mah friends.

Everypony!🎵

Everypony, through cartoon logic, joined in with a layer of backing vocals.

🎵Looks like we’re out of the woods now
Salvation’s right, ‘round the bend
Looks like we’re out of the woods now
And I think I see a friend.

That turn was wrong and the night was long
I thought it would never end.

But I think I’m out of the woods now,
Cause I think I see mah friends.🎵

Sparkler sang the next part solo.

🎵Yeah I think I’m out of the woods now.
Cause I think I see mah friends.🎵

Sparkler strummed out the last chord, and it was followed by a round of applause around the fire.

Applebloom smiled. “That was awesome Sparkler!” She commented.

Flappy nodded. “Squawk! And she wrote that at seven! Seriously! She was destined for musical greatness! Squawk!” He exclaimed.

“Oh yeah. Writing that at age seven, she really was destined.” Autumn said.

Sparkler blushed at the compliments. “Thanks. Should I say it’s the first song I ever wrote? On the hope that I might actually get to sing it at a camp?” She added.

Autumn’s eyes had another wide-open shot at this crazy combo.

“What? That was your first song, and you intended for it to be a campfire song?!” She asked.

“Yeah. And sadly this was the first time I got to use it as I intended...somewhat.” Sparkler said.

Autumn switched to having a look of concern. “What caused the long delay?”

“Never been to camp, and I didn’t have anypony other than Flappy to have a campfire with.” Sparkler replied.

“Oh… right.” Autumn said with sadness in remembering this. “Going to a camp wasn’t really feasible for you, from what you told me.”

“How come you had no friends other than Flappy til now, Sparkler?” Applebloom asked.

Sparkler’s eyes shot open and she bit her lip at the return of this classic struggle. What should I say?! I can’t tell the truth...At least not yet! “Um...I-I don’t really wanna get into it right now. It wasn’t exactly a bright chapter in my life.” She said as her eyes began to water, the painful memories coming back to her.

“Squawk! Let’s just say she woulda rathered been homeschooled and leave it at that. Squawk!” Flappy said, flying up to Sparkler to comfort her.

“Aww.” Sweetie Belle said empathetically. Sparkler letting out a sniffle with her eyes still watering, Sweetie could tell help was needed. “Sparkler, even if we don’t know the whole story, would you still like a hug?”

Sparkler nodded without saying anything, and without thinking.

“Group hug?” Autumn suggested.

Applebloom nodded. “I don think I saw a nod for Sweetie’s hug, but this calls for a group hug big time.” She said.

So that’s what they did. All three CMCs ran and jumped onto Sparkler’s rock and tightly hugged her simultaneously. The different sizes of their bodies due to age rendered the four-way hug to work so well. With four adults, it would be a bit difficult to do.

Autumn then walked over to Sparkler’s backside, where none of the CMCs were, and half-way wrapped around her midsection from there, so as to not get in their way.

“We love you, Sparkler.” Autumn said.

Flappy smiled as even he flew in and got in on the action. “Squawk! And we’re with you all the way. Squawk!” He added.

Sparkler relished in the feel of all the hooves, and the pair of wings, wrapping around her, and it felt so, so good. Finally, Sparkler knew what it was like to be loved… by ponies outside her family and Flappy. Something she was sorely lacking up until recently.

“Thanks y’all, that means a lot.” She said.

“You’re welcome, Sparkler. This is one of my things; I have to let ponies know they are loved.” Autumn said.

“Yeah! In the Apple family, we make sure everypony’s loved. Friends and family alike.” Applebloom added.

Friends and family alike. Does that mean they would accept me for my wing and horn combo weirdness? Sparkler thought to herself.

After what seemed like hours, but only a moment, the hug broke away and everypony returned to their original seats. Sparkler felt much better, enough to return to the list of fun activities.

“Right. Any other songs we could sing?” She asked.

“Well, we were talking about the Apple family; they have a song about themselves and their family bond called ‘Apples to the Core.’” Sweetie Belle said. “What about that?”

“That sounds like a right time.” Sparkler said. She glanced over at Autumn. “Hey Autumn.” She held out her guitar for Autumn to take. “If it’s an Apple song an Apple should provide musical accompaniment.” She said.

“Oh, okay.” Autumn said, bringing Sparkler’s guitar to her lap. “I do know this song on guitar, so good choice… but wait! Which parts are we going to sing? The only one who performed on this song’s recording here is Applebloom.”

Applebloom chuckled and just assigned everypony a role without much thinking.

“Autumn, you do Applejack’s part. Scoots, you can do Big Mac’s part along with Flappy there. Sweetie, you can do Granny’s part, and Sparkler, you can do Pinkie’s part. And I’ll do my own part.”

While Sparkler and Flappy had no sweet clue in tartarus who Granny and Big Mac were, and having only bare-bones ideas as to who Applejack and Pinkie were as Elements of Harmony, they both nodded. “Sure.”

“Squawk! Let’s rock this campfire! Squawk!”

“Yes!” Autumn said. She imitated the squeaking-wheels start of Apples to the Core by playing the corresponding notes on guitar, and then the pan banging by hitting her hoof on the ground. She then imitated the banjo part through her guitar, and started singing.

Thanks to cartoon logic, everypony, even the unfamiliar-with-the-song Sparkler and Flappy, nailed every pitch, every note, and all the timing, making them sound like they had been working on a cover version of the song for a while. Which they never had been.

At the end of the song, Autumn strummed the last chord and finished things off. Sparkler and Flappy gave applause, making for a flipped-around situation from the last song.

“Shoowee cowgirl! Yer family’s sure got the beat! Squawk!” Sparkler said.

Flappy nodded. “Squawk! That was awesome! Squawk!”

Autumn closed her eyes with a smile. “Thanks.” She says. “We are a very musical family, and I’ve taken it to the next level. Most Apples, although many of us are musical, still work on a farm.”

“But it’s a real party at every Apple Family Reunion.” Applebloom commented.

Sparkler chuckled. “I’m sure it is.” She said.

“Oh yes!” Autumn exclaims. “The reunion is like, the best day of the year for the Apples.”

“Squawk! Wish I could say it is, But Sparkler and I never been to a family reunion. Squawk!” Flappy commented.

Autumn raised an eyebrow. “Well, I hope that’s only because you didn’t want to go or your family has never had one. If you wanted to go and couldn’t, that sucks.”

Sparkler sighed. “Sadly, mah folks and I are the last of our family tree. Everypony else passed before I was even born.” She said sadly.

...

It was completely quiet. The completely unexpected answer sent the area into a cloud of silence. Nopony had any clue what to say.

After a solid minute, Sparkler sighed and decided to delay this topic to another day. “Anywho, anypony know any more songs we could sing?”

Autumn looked up at the now almost-black sky and felt a yawn coming along, so she, following Sparkler in avoiding talk about death for now, figured that this day had run its course.

“I think it’s time we head back home for bed actually.” Autumn said. “These girls especially; I let them stay up late tonight since it’s a special occasion, but they need their rest for their hangout with Braeburn tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” Sweetie Belle says. “Even I’m feeling tired too.”

“Alright. We can pack it up fer tonight. I can handle the trash.” Sparkler offered.

“Thanks.” Autumn said.

“Want another hug?” She asked. “I had such a great time with you today, Sparkler.” Autumn said, holding out her front legs.

Sparkler nodded and brought her in for a sweet, bye-for-now hug around each other’s necks. “It was a right time hanging with you too Autumn.” She glanced over at the CMC. “And it was great to meet yer cousin and her friends.” She said with a wink.

“You too, Sparkler!” Scootaloo beamed.

“I think I can say that you and I are definitely friends now, Sparkler.” Autumn said, the hug still going.

“I don thought we already established that at lunch today?” Sparkler chuckled.

“Well, back then, I was still a little skeptical because of the short incubation period.” Autumn said. “But now, with the night we just had, it’s clear to me.” She said, hugging Sparkler tighter.

Flappy chuckled. “Squawk! It was clear to me by lunchtime you were friends. Squawk!” He commented.

“Hehe. Sometimes I wonder if you and Sparkler have a friendship radar in you.” Autumn joked.

Everypony chuckled at that. Sparkler smiled as she and Autumn broke from the hug. “I guess we’re just real good judges of character. That and the writers of this here story put us together so we could be friends.” She added.

Autumn didn’t respond to this. She didn’t think of responding to it. Sparkler was starting to sound like Pinkie Pie, who, as anypony knew, was not to be questioned.

“I hope you and Flappy have a great night at the Inn, Sparkler.” Autumn shifted the topic with. “And I will see you tomorrow.” She and the CMCs, who also said their goodbyes, walked off down the hill, fading away from Sparkler’s view.

“You have a good night too Autumn.” Sparkler said, even though she knew Autumn was out of earshot.

Flappy smiled. “Squawk! Oh yeah. She’s perfect for you, Sparkler. Squawk!” He said.

“I can see this friendship of ours goin far.” Sparkler chuckled, and then sighed. “That is, If I can ever…” She trailed off as something clicked in her. Something she did during the hangout that set off red flag after red flag, alarm after alarm.

“No.” She said as her irises shrank to near invisibility.

Flappy raised an eyebrow. “Squawk! What is it Sparkler? Squawk!” He asked rapidly, worried.

Sparkler became stock still as her mind raced. “W-When they hugged me...They hugged mah midsection...Where mah…”

Flappy’s eyes widened as he caught onto what Sparkler was saying. “Squawk! Oh. Squawk!”

Sparkler gulped. “Alright, stay calm.” She told herself out loud. “Yer poncho’s thick; m-maybe they didn’t notice.”

But what if they DID?! Autumn’s forelegs ESPECIALLY where RIGHT on top of them!

Is she just keeping it silent?

Something tells me she would’ve brought it up.

“...Would she?”

---

Autumn walked the CMCs through the Appleloosa night back to her house; a place Applebloom had been before, but not Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. This was their first sleepover with Autumn anywhere, in fact.

“Oh, tonight’s gonna be awesome now that I have ponies to be with.” Autumn said as she unlocked and opened her front door.

“Yeah! That’s right, Autumn!” Sweetie Belle said. “We’ll be keeping you company!”

“We sure will.” Scootaloo added. “And hopefully you won’t be dealing with lonely nights for much longer. I think Sparkler would be a really good fit as a roommate for you.

Based on what happened tonight, Autumn couldn’t help but agree with that statement.

“I think so too. She’s the most promising candidate I’ve had so far. I think I’ll run the trial sleepover as soon as this time with you three is done. And in the meantime, here I am with you three!” She said.

Autumn brought out an extra, three-filly mattress from her closet and laid it down in her bedroom. She and the fillies settled in for the night, closing this amazing day out.

To be continued...

Author's Note:

Feel free to leave a comment letting us know how we're doing for our first collab together.

THX FOR READING!

Comments

[Bronycommander]

lovely with the magic spells of sparkler