"Uhhh... That'd be great, Mom!" Sparkler nervously flicked her eyes from side to side. "But I was just about to go find Twilight, if that's okay with you."
Derpy cocked her head, her gray ears flopping to one side curiously. Her good eye focused its bright yellow stare on Sparkler. "Twilight? Twilight Sparkle?"
"Yeah, the purple unicorn who lives in the library. I...I recommended a book to her...um... a while ago. And I was going to see if she'd read it yet, and whether she liked it or not!" That wasn't a lie. Sparkler had asked Twilight if she wanted to read the book "I, Cyberpony," and discuss it with her. She'd hoped that they might get to know each other and become friends. It had seemed like a good plan, since both of them loved to read, although Twilight was probably much more advanced in magic than Sparkler was. But Sparkler didn't have many friends, and reading books together seemed like a fun way to make one. Especially if they both shared the same views on the book. Even if they didn't, debating their opinions back and forth could be exciting, too. Oh, this was going to be perfect!
Sparkler was snapped away from the prospect of starting a book club when she noticed her mother's crestfallen face. "Of course, I'd love to bake muffins later!" she added, trying to sound enthusiastic. "It's just...well, you know I'd like to get to know Twilight better, and-"
"Oh, it's fine!" Derpy cut her off, sounding more cheerful than usual. "I know you love to discuss books and things like that, and I can't always read very well..." She trailed off, staring at the ground forlornly. Snapping back to the present, Sparkler's mother beamed at her. "Go meet your friend, and have fun! But don't stay out too late, and don't talk to strange ponies, and you know your way around town, right? ...Am I being ridiculous?" She smiled at Sparkler guiltily.
Sparkler grinned back weakly and nodded. "Just a little." She turned towards the door. "See you later, Mom!"
"Bye, sweetie!" Derpy walked to the window and watched her daughter until she was out of sight.
"She'll be okay." The gray pegasus recognized the British accent and turned her head to see the Doctor sitting next to her.
Derpy sighed. "I know, but to me she'll always be my daughter. And are you saying Sparkler will be okay just because she's a unicorn, or are you trying to make me quit worrying?"
"Yes! No! Uh..." The Doctor tipped his head sideways and tugged on his green tie, considering. "Both?"
Derpy laughed. The Doctor nuzzled her ear and walked over to the kitchen. "I think I might be able to get somepony who will help us with that. In the meantime, let's get started on those muffins! They will have butter in them, right?"
"Of course." Derpy smiled at the Doctor's butter obsession, then rethought his statement. "Wait, how would somepony help?"
"Well..." The Doctor began pulling muffin ingredients out of the cupboard. "Jack could be convinced...if we bribe him with muffins...or something..."
Sparkler trotted through Ponyville, her hooves clicking on the cobblestones. Where was the library again? It'd been a while. She should have asked her mother, but Sparkler didn't want Derpy to worry that she couldn't find her way around town. Library...library...Oh! Now she remembered! The library was in that big tree over there. Yep, that was it.
As Sparkler approached the tree house, she felt nervous, like a swarm of parasprites was eating away at her stomach. Okay...that was a gross image. Taking a deep breath, she knocked.
A purple and green dragon opened the door, burdened with a stack of thick, heavy-looking books. "Hi, Spike!" Sparkler greeted him nervously. "Is Twilight home?"
"Well, yes," Spike shifted the tower of books nervously. "Right now might not be the best time, though. You see-" A crash sounded from inside the library.
"Spike? SPIKE! Where are you? Do you have the books I asked you to pull? Spike!"
"Coming, Twilight! Follow me, Sparkler." Spike turned and padded into the library, his scaly feet making dull thuds against the floor. As the baby dragon navigated a sea of notecards, quills, parchment, and -of course- books, the column of old volumes swayed right and left. Sparkler watched them apprehensively.
"Do you need some help with those, Spike?"
"No, I've got it!" Just then, Spike tripped over a discarded thesaurus and fell forwards, the books tumbling from his short arms. "Whoa!"
Sparkler quickly leveled her horn at the books and concentrated. To her relief, the levitation spell worked, even though she hadn't tried it on more than one object yet. The heavy, leather bound monstrosities were caught in her glowing pink magic and gently lowered to the floor in a neat stack. But they weren't the only things falling. "Oh no! Spi-"
A pillow shot out of nowhere, surrounded by a purple aura, and slid in front of Spike just before he hit the ground. Twilight Sparkle cantered into the room, her navy, pink, and purple mane flying out behind her. "Hello Sparkler, it's great to see you again. Nice catch, thank you. Now, Spike, I need you to go find some parchment and-"
"Hi, Twilight!" Sparkler broke in nervously. "I was wondering if you read that book that I recommended to you a while back-"
"Hm? Oh yes, 'I, Cyberpony.' Good book. Interesting storyline. Spike, I'm going to need some more quills, too, and-"
"Did you like it?" Sparkler knew she might be pushing it a little, but she'd been waiting for so long to discuss one of her favorite books with somepony and-
"It was okay. Spike, find some ink while you're at it-"
"Just 'okay?'"
"Great. Sparkler, I'm kind of busy. It's not every day the Princess asks somepony to write a report."
"A report? Great! A report on what?" Sparkler wasn't feigning interest, she loved writing reports. Maybe she could help Twilight with hers.
"On the Crystal Empire."
"The Crystal Empire? What's that? Where is it? I've never heard about it-"
Twilight's temper snapped. "It's a thing, at a place, and I'm very busy! What do you want, Sparkler?"
"Oh. Um." Sparkler shrank into a bookshelf. "I was just wondering if...maybe I could help you...write it? Your report, I mean?"
"Obviously you can't help if you've never even heard of it! Come back later, I'm BUSY!" Twilight's last sentence ended in a shriek.
"Okay." Sparkler headed out.
Spike walked her to the door, whispering, "Don't worry, Sparkler, she's in one of her crazy 'deadline moods.' I'll talk to her once she finishes her report."
"Thanks, Spike. That's sweet of you, but..." Sparkler swallowed a lump in her throat. "It's okay." She walked out of the library, gently shutting the door behind her. Sitting on the doorstep for a few seconds, Sparkler heard Twilight yell "SPIKE!"
"Coming, Twilight!" came Spike's muffled voice from behind the door. "You know you weren't very nice to Sparkler just now, right? All she wanted to do was discuss a book with you, and you're always complaining about how no one else wants to talk about books-"
"Spike, that's not helping! I read the book she was trying to talk to me about, I just didn't like it! Come on, I have to write an introduction and a thesis and-" Sparkler's ears drooped and she turned away, her eyes brimming with tears. Slowly she plodded away from the library, her head down. Maybe her idea that she and Twilight could be friends was far-fetched. Twilight was obviously busier than her, and she didn't like Sparkler's favorite book! Why not? Maybe Sparkler just had no idea of what a good book was. Maybe she was weird, and that's why no one wanted to be friends with her. Twilight was older than she was, but having her for a friend, Sparkler had figured, would be like having a big sister. Yes, it was true that she loved having Dinky for a younger sister, and she loved babysitting the younger foals and being like a big sister, but sometimes she wondered what it would be like to have an older sister instead of just being one. But obviously no one wanted to be her big sister... Sparkler continued her plodding, not looking or caring where she was going. She had no idea that someone was following her, flapping as stealthily as he could from rooftop to rooftop, fueled by the desire of a muffin, loyalty to the Doctor, and pity for the forlorn unicorn who was trying as hard as she could not to cry.
Jack Harness flapped his wings, trying to regain control. Too late. He smacked into a roof, hitting his head. "Oooww," he muttered, shaking his noggin back and forth. How did any of these...things... fly? If anyone (anypony, whatever) besides the Doctor had asked him to do this, he would've chucked them out the window. Bumping around a town of brightly colored pony-things did not sit well with him. The whole thing was so strange! Bad enough were the markings on their rumps, but some of them had horns! And others (like him) had wings. The first thing he remembered was stumbling out of the TARDIS (she had sucked him into some mad portal) and seeing that he had turned into an navy blue pony. With wings. The Doctor called him a pegasus. Brilliant. That didn't mean he could use these bloody things! Those muffins had better be good. If the Doctor's funny-eyed companion could cook at all. He hadn't said that out loud, though. Clump! He hit another roof. This unicorn he was following –Sparkler– had to be the thickest pony around, if she still hadn't heard or seen him. On second thought, she couldn't be that dense. Jack still remembered the first time he had met her...
After faceplanting out of the TARDIS, Jack had found the Doctor. In a pony house. With more ponies. The Doctor himself was light brown (how come he got the normal color?) and had a spiky chestnut mane. Then there was the little lavender unicorn (her name was Doinky or something), the Doctor's gray pegasus companion (Derpy) with the kooky yellow eyes, and the Mad Queen herself.
He still didn't know if her coat was pink or lavender-ish, like her sister's. Her mane and tail were divided into sections of light and dark purple. Her horn was purple. Even her eyes were purple. She scared him, mainly because the first time he saw the Doctor's cross-eyed companion, he had asked him, "What's wrong with her eyes?" He could tell that he had hurt the funny-looking pony's feelings, she turned red and swallowed hard. But she had stayed where she was.
The purply-pink unicorn, on the other hand (hoof, sure), had moved faster than he thought possible. In the blink of an eye she had him pinned to the wall, her hooves grinding into his shoulders (if ponies had shoulders). "There is nothing wrong with my mother," she had hissed through gritted teeth.
"Yeow!" he'd yelped, as his wingblades (?) scraped against the wall. That bloody hurt!
"There is nothing wrong with my mother, and if you say anything like that again, I will-" The Doctor had pulled Sparkler off of him at that point and carried her by the scruff of her neck up to her room, with her still screaming threats at him. Later, the Doctor had explained to Jack that Derpy was his companion, and there was nothing wrong with her. "Except for her eyesight," Jack had joked. He could still feel the Doctor glaring at him.
"Her eyesight is just fine, thank you very much," he had growled defensively.
In time, Jack had learned to accept the companion's funny stare, and she never seemed to hold his first comment against him. She was nice enough, he guessed. But Sparkler still scared him.
Jack was shaken out of his reverie by noise from down below. The unicorn had been cornered by a small group of...fillies? Were those ponies her friends? Not likely. He'd just seen how sad the Mad Queen looked after that other unicorn basically booted her out of the library. It had been tricky, but Jack had managed to find a perch in the branches of that enormous tree. Seeing how sad and lonely she had looked almost made him feel sorry for her...but his still-aching wingblades begged to differ.
"So, Sparkler," began the leader of the pack; a yellow unicorn with a wavy brown mane and tail streaked with purple. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Not long enough, Cassandra," grumbled Sparkler. "What's up? Come to torture me again?"
"Torture you, sweetie? Not at all!" simpered Cassandra. "I–we–were just coming to see how you were doing. You know, since we've all missed you so much..."
Jack felt a prickle on the back of his neck, as if someone was watching him. Looking up, he saw a light blue pegasus with a rainbow mane sitting on a cloud. She was staring at him with narrowed magenta eyes. Jack grinned at her nervously. Her gaze didn't waver. Suddenly, she sprang backwards off the cloud and soared through the air, landing at a building that looked as if it was made out of sweets. Pushing open the two-part door, she stepped inside.
"So, how's your life going?" Cassandra was asking Sparkler.
"It's going well," replied Sparkler shortly.
"That's good! How's your family life going? You know my little sis, Diamond Tiara? Well, the other day she was saying how she won the spelling bee at school. And she said that your sister, Dinky, came in second place. Is she doing okay?"
"Dinky is fine. She's actually making straight As in all of her classes. And, you know, she won the math-a-thon. Also, she said something about a certain pony cheating in the spelling bee..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, honey." Cassandra's giggle sounded fake. "How's your mom?"
Sparkler's ear twitched, but her reply was even. "My mom is wonderful, thank you very much. How's yours?"
"Oh, she's great! But Sparklie, your mom. How's her...condition?"
"Don't call me Sparklie. And you're talking nonsense. My mom does not have a condition."
"Well, then, what do you call her..." Cassandra rolled her eyes around in her head madly. Sparkler's ears flattened against the sides of her head and she growled in the back of her throat. But Cassandra wasn't done. "Does she have trouble reading? Did you read Dinky's report card to her? That's so sweet of you, hon. Is it hard with your mother? How does your father deal with it? Oh, that's right. Your father left. You don't have a father. Poor dear!"
"You horse apple!" screamed Sparkler, slamming her hoof down into the road. "I have a father!"
"Oh, that's right, there's that crazy stallion who lives in a phone booth! He calls himself what... the Doctor? And watch your language, Sparkler. I think you're starting to..." –she did her mad-pony impression again– "...develop a condition, too-" Cassandra broke off as Sparkler let out a screech, tackled her and knocked her over. The rest of the group scattered. Jack tensed, but questioned himself: whose side was he on? Technically, he should try to stop Sparkler from committing murder, but Cassandra pretty much deserved whatever she got. He resolved to refrain from jumping in on Sparkler's behalf, but to stop her if it looked like she was going to kill Cassandra. For now, he would just see what happened.
Unfortunately, Cassandra did not get what was coming to her. Sparkler's horn lit up with glowing pink magic. Her face was twisted in rage. "You leave my mother alone," she growled.
Cassandra smirked. Her own horn lit up with light yellow magic and she disappeared, only to pop back into existence right behind Sparkler. She swiped a front hoof at the back of Sparkler's head. It connected, and Sparkler face-planted hard. Judging from her surprised expression, the yellow mare hadn't meant to hit Sparkler that hard. But that didn't mean she was sorry. Daintily, Cassandra strolled away from the unicorn sprawled out helplessly in the street. "Yeah, right," she tossed back over her shoulder.
Jack felt himself growl, and guessed that his blue tail was lashing back and forth. His wings spread out and flapped once, and he knew that they would work this time, just well enough to get him down so he could slap that pony across the face. But just then, a high-pitched voice behind him squealed, "Hi!"
"AAH!" Jack shot up into the air.
"I got him!" shouted another voice and he slammed into... a gray cloud? As he watched, it turned white. There was a splashing noise, and someone(fine, somepony) shrieked down below. "Oops, wrong cloud," the voice chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, Sparkler!"
"Sparkler?" questioned the high-pitched voice. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."
Sparkler. Oh, bloody- A muffled voice called out something. "Sorry? I can't hear you! Your face is kind of stuck in the ground," the annoying voice continued.
"I saib," Sparkler repeated, peeling her head off of the ground, "bat I'm fine, Binkie Bie. But bat wasn't funny, Rainbow. Amb-" her voice wavered. "Amb I bink by nose is bleebing. Which way is by house?"
"That-a-way!" Pinkie chirped. "But why is your nose bleeding? Were you practicing your face-walking? 'Cause I'm the world champ at that, you know." Looking down, Jack saw a pink pony with a crazy, even pinker hairstyle standing on her head, traveling with just her nose and ears. She bounced off of her pink mane and landed right on her feet...er, hooves. "Whee!"
"And that wasn't me!" a voice protested from behind Jack. "It was him! Well, Pinkie scared him, and he jumped up, and I tried to catch him in a cloud, but I grabbed a raincloud and..." This time looking up, Jack saw the blue rainbow pony that had been watching him earlier. She was pointing her hoof at him. "He was watching you, too, Sparkler. Do you know him?"
The game was up. Jack peeked over the edge of the cloud and waved, grinning meekly at Sparkler. The pink pony next to her waved back enthusiastically with a big grin on her face, like she couldn't wait to see Sparkler pop him in the face. As soon as he saw Sparkler, though, Jack's weak grin faded. Her nose was bleeding (badly) and her face was bruised. She was dripping wet, her mane and tail plastered down with rainwater. But the worst part was her murderous glare.
"JACK HARNESS!" she hollered.
"That's me," he called down.
"Hi, Jack!" called the mad(der) pony. "Is that your name? My name's Pinkie Pie! Are you new to Ponyville?"
"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Pinkie, although I think I'm about to die."
"Why's that, silly-willy?"
"Eh, no reason. Just the pony next to you."
"Sparkler won't hurt you! She's just been practicing her face-walking and screaming, that's all! Right, Sparkler?"
Next to Pinkie, Sparkler looked as if she was about to spontaneously combust any minute from anger. Eventually, she collapsed. "Sure, Binkie. I just bant to go home." Slowly picking herself up, Sparkler began the slow trudge back to her house.
"Well, I should probably go with her," Jack said. "Nice meeting you, Pinkie. And-?"
"The name's Dash, Rainbow Dash," announced the blue pegasus, putting her hooves on her hips and striking an epic pose.
"Right. See you later, then."
"Bye, Jack!" squealed Pinkie. "Bye, Sparkler! See you later!"