A Spark Ignites

The sun smiled down upon the dirt road that led from Sweet Apple Acres, where two figures were making their way towards the town of Ponyville. The first was an orange earth pony whose work-hardened hooves kicked up clouds of dust as cantered along, the second being a cyan pegasus with a wild rainbow mane who soared erratically around her companion. A gentle breeze tugged at their manes and brought a welcome reprieve from that warm summer’s day, but did little to cool their heated debate.

“I don’t know about this… It is Trixie we’re talking about!” Rainbow Dash stopped abruptly, spinning around in midair and grabbing Applejack by the shoulders. “What if she got the Alicorn Amulet back from Zecora and is using this show as a—“ she paused, her face scrunching up as she searched for the word “—a ruse! To rule Ponyville!”

“A ruse,” deadpanned Applejack.

“Yeah!,” – Rainbow released her friend and flew about dramatically to give emphasis to her words – “a ruse! She probably heard about the Elements! And now she decided it was the time to go back to her evil ways! She’ll use the magic show as a reason to get everypony into the center of town, and then she’ll–she’ll…” she paused, resting her chin on her hoof while racking her brain for something devious enough to prove her point. “Mind control them or something!”

Applejack stared at her for a moment before responding, “I reckon you’ve been readin’ too much Daring Do, Rainbow. Twi’ said she checked with Zecora an’ the amulet’s fine—and since when has Trixie been usin’ ‘mind control’ on ponies?”

Rainbow interrupted her aerial pacing with a huff, crossing her front hooves and glaring down at Applejack. “It could happen! We’re not unicorns, who knows how those crazy horns work? Look, I’m just saying Trixie has been nothing but trouble for us in the past. Somepony needs to be thinking about this stuff.”

Applejack sighed. “I understand you’re worried, Rainbow, but I trust Twi’ when she says Trixie ain’t here to cause trouble.”

“I trust Twilight, it’s Trixie I’m not so sure about.”

“I understand, and I also understood the other fifty times you said it since we left the farm. It ain’t me you gotta talk to if you want this show canceled, and if that’s your plan you’d better hurry, seeing as the show starts in twenty minutes.”

Rainbow’s hooves went limp as she hung, barely aloft, in defeat. “Whatever. If something happens don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Her tirade at its end, the two ponies headed for the center of town where a large stage had been erected.

As they neared the stage, Rainbow could tell that she wasn’t the only one having doubts. There was an aura of excitement and nervousness over the crowd – as Pinkie would say, ‘nervousitement’ – but it only seemed to make everypony more anxious to see what would happen. Half of them are here to see magic, the other half is here so they won’t miss out when everything goes off the rails. She rolled her eyes. Again.

It took them nearly ten minutes to find their friends in the crowd, and by the time they had taken their places in the front row it was just about time for the show to begin. There was a thundering of applause as the curtains opened and revealed the showmare herself, and after a quick introduction—albeit with far less boasting then their last meetings—the magic began.

The crowd was quickly taken in by the well-rehearsed tricks unfurling before their eyes, all except Rainbow Dash. She watched Trixie with crossed hooves and narrowed eyes; though whatever warning she hoped to convey was lost by the bouncing form of the giggling pink mare beside her.

“Wow!” cried Pinkie Pie after a particularly daring stunt. “Trixie is pretty good when she’s not being a big meanie—huh, Dashie?”

Rainbow merely shrugged, she wouldn’t admit defeat so easily. This could still be a ruse.

“I didn’t think Trixie was capable of such powerful magic,” came a reply from Rainbow’s other side. As if to illustrate her point, a brilliant flash of light from the stage illuminated Twilights face as she spoke and the crowd erupted into applause once more. “These aren’t just parlor tricks this time, I guess she really has been practicing.”

Rainbow’s sneering intensified.

The remainder of the show went by spectacularly—not that Rainbow would ever admit it—and soon the grand finale was upon them. There were shouts of excitement and terror as a maelstrom of fireworks erupted from Trixie’s horn and illuminated the evening sky. The showmare curtsied, horn still ablaze, and the curtains came forward again as the crowd roared with approval. Fireworks continued to spew from the stage, though with far less flare than for the finale. With wide grins on their faces, ponies all around them began heading home.

All of them, in fact, except two.

“Something’s wrong,” Twilight said urgently. “She’s not in control of her magic, come on!”

The six mares rushed up to the stage and behind the curtain, and there they found Trixie. Her horn could barely be seen beneath the inferno that surrounded it as it continued to belch fireworks into the sky.

“I knew it!” Cried Rainbow, pointing an accusatory hoof. “Stop… Whatever it is that you’re up to!”

Trixie opened her eyes as much as she could without exposing them to the blinding light coming from her forehead. Her coat was slick with sweat, and the look she gave the group was not one of malice—but of desperation. “Help! I- I can’t-“

Twilight leapt into action, her horn began to glow and the fireworks began to slow, but only slightly. “It’s no use! Something’s using her to dump excess magic, we’ve got to find it before it kills her!”

“Before it what?!” What little of Trixie’s composure remained was gone at the mention of her death. The girls sprang into action, ripping curtains aside and looking under props in a desperate attempt to find the source of the rogue magic.

Rainbow was about to spring into action when she stopped. What was that? She shook her head, no time for that, Dash, time to prove how awesome you are by- there it was again. Rainbow felt something, some sort of pulse. She waited for a moment, the shouting ponies and roaring of fireworks seeming to die out around her. This time she was sure of what she’d felt, and more importantly she knew where it was coming from.

A twitch of her tail was the only warning Pinkie got as a streak of rainbow crashed through the stage where she had stood only a moment before. Rainbow Dash emerged from the hole no worse for wear, holding… something. She examined her treasure: a large red orb crisscrossed with bronze lines with a small bronze sphere at each intersection, and marked with a strange symbol of a sun. For a moment she was confused, but when the pulse rippled through her again she knew she’d found the source of the trouble.

Evidently Twilight knew it as well, because a familiar purple aura surrounded the object and pulled it from her grasp. “I think I can cut the connection, just give me a… there!”

Trixie’s horn was suddenly extinguished, and she dropped to the floor, exhausted. Fluttershy went to check on her as the other girls approached the orb.

“What is it?” Applejack asked.

“You mean other than the most hideous object I’ve ever set my eyes on?” Rarity gave the object a scornful look. “Not to mention dangerous.”

“Oh! I know! It’s a fireworks machine, we could put it on top of the mayor’s office and have fireworks all year round! Can we borrow it, Trixie? Can we, can we?”

There’s that pulse again… But we turned it off! Rainbow shook her head and tried to pay attention to what her friends were saying.

“Don’t look at the Great and Powerful Trixie! She has no need for help to perform her magic! I’ve never seen it before in my life!” Trixie got back on her hooves as she joined the group.

“Umm…” Rainbow glanced at Fluttershy before her attention was torn away by Twilight.

“I think it’s some sort of magical battery! If we could harness this energy, even the weakest unicorns could wield magic the likes of Starswirl the Bearded! Imagine the possibilities!” Twilight’s eyes lit up as she gave her theory to the group.

Pulse.

“I don’t know, sugarcube. I don’t reckon Equestria could handle every unicorn usin’ that much power.”

“Twilight…”

“Of course it would have to be regulated, but power of this magnitude made portable! Shining Armor could keep his shield up in his sleep! Imagine how much could get done if was in the right hooves!”

Pulse.

“Hmm. I see your point, dear, and surely we could do something about the container. I wouldn’t want to turn customers away by having something like that in plain sight.”

“Should it really be–“

Pulse.

“Hang on! It was under Trixie’s stage after all, surely there is–”

Pulse.

“You ain’t suggestin’ you hang on to it after it nearly killed you, are you?”

Pulse.

“Well obviously not, but I mean if there’s some sort of compensation…”

“Everypony SHUT UP!” Five pairs of eyes turned upon Rainbow Dash, who was clutching her head with her hooves. The pulsing was happening every other second now, and it was driving her insane!

A meek voice cut through the silence that had followed Rainbow’s outburst. “I don’t think it’s supposed to be glowing like that…”

The orb had taken on a glow of its own. Twilight dropped her levitation spell, but it continued to hang in the air as a sickly orange light surrounded it. Small cracks began to form on its surface as it began to get brighter and brighter.

“Oh no! Something must have damaged the container, the magic inside is breaking it apart—It’s going to explode!” Not a moment had passed after Twilight had finished her revelation before the curtains parted and the Scared and Cowardly Trixie was fleeing.

“What do we do? There must be some way to contain it!” cried Applejack.

“We’re not doing anything. You girls have to go,” Twilight said grimly. “I think I can stop it from leveling the town, but anyone in the immediate blast area is at risk,” she lit her horn and began concentrating on the spell. “Run!”

“Consarn it, Twilight, we ain’t going nowhere!”

Rainbow barely heard the rest of her friends chime in with their own arguments. The pulsing was too intense, it shook her to the very core. She knew that it was somehow tied to that orb, and that it was far more powerful than Twilight realized. She knew that Twilight’s spell wouldn’t be enough.

“I appreciate your concern, everypony, but I can–“

Rainbow shook her head. “No, you can’t,” Twilight was about to argue the point when Rainbow dove. She snatched the floating orb from the air and dashed through the curtains, up and away from Ponyville. She heard the shocked cries of her friends behind her, but they were soon drowned out by the rush of wind.

Good, she thought,I wouldn’t want them getting in the way, anyway. She reached a sufficiently high altitude before leveling off, putting all her energy into finding somewhere appropriate to drop the bomb. Because she was going to drop it, right? But every time she looked down she spotted something, some sign of equine life that she couldn’t bring herself to wipe out. She took a moment to glance back to the shrinking speck that was Ponyville behind her.

Still too close. I’ve got to go faster.

Rainbow felt the barrier of air forming before her, indicating that she was reaching Rainboom-level speeds. But there was no exhilaration here, only the dread of watching Rarity fall from Cloudsdale all those months ago- multiplied for each friend she had back in Ponyville. Rainbow’s wings were beating in time with the orb’s pulsing now, and as she forced her way through the cushion of air before her the world froze.

She watched as the rainbow-shockwave began billowing out around her, creeping millimeter by millimeter. She saw the orange glow of the orb she held, so bright, she was sure to anyone looking on would think she appeared to be a star falling from the heavens. The light forced her eyes closed and through their lids it projected a cascade of familiar images.

She saw her parents.

Sorry, mom, looks like you’ll have to wait a little longer for those grandfoals. And dad, I’m sorry I was never the Wonderbolt you said I’d be.

She saw Twilight.

I’m the one vanishing in the burst of light this time, can’t let you have all the fun.

Rarity.

Keep your eyes open, you won’t want to miss this one…

Fluttershy.

Take good care of Tank for me-- what am I saying, of course you’ll take care of him. I want you to take good care of yourself, too.

Pinkie Pie.

Keep on smiling, Pinkie.

Applejack.

Keep it together, AJ. Keep it together for everypony. And please don’t name a tree after me, but if you do make sure it’s on a hill somewhere. Somewhere touching the sky.

Scootaloo.

Sorry, kid, I guess I wasn’t big sister materiel after all...

She had done it: Ponyville was safe. The pulsing in her head was gone, and clarity like she’d never experienced overwhelmed her. She allowed her body one final moment of rest.

So this is it then. Everypony always said I’d go out with a ‘bang’. I wouldn’t want to disappoint.

~~~

Back in Ponyville, two earth ponies and a unicorn watched the sky. Twilight and Fluttershy had taken off after Rainbow, leaving their earthbound friends behind.

“Think she’ll be alright?” Applejack jogged in place nervously, watching the two distant (and one not so distant) shape disappearing into the horizon.

“Of course, dear, Rainbow is the fastest pony in Equestria. If anyone could do it… And Twilight is right behind her, I’m sure she has some sort of spell to…” Rarity couldn’t keep it up any longer. Her head drooped and she fought back tears. Applejack placed a hoof over her shoulder, and Rarity looked up with an expression of gratitude.

The two of them looked up to the heavens, and watched as they were torn asunder.

At first it looked like a classic Rainboom, its multicolored shockwave further solidifying the fact that neither Twilight nor Fluttershy ever had any real hope of keeping up with Rainbow let alone stopping her. But something was different, something was wrong. Behind the first wave came a second, angry and crimson like a cloud of flames. It seemed to be guided by the Technicolor wave, for they stuck together as they tore through the sky as far as the eye could see.

It was beautiful, and it was terrible.

Time seemed to slow around them. The world remaining unchanged. The silence between them was broken when Fluttershy returned. Her eyes downcast, she didn't speak, most likely unable to. She walked next to Rarity and stood, waiting. When Twilight arrived the girls could tell she bore no good news.

"Twilgiht?" said Pinkie Pie. Twilight tore her eyes from the ground and looked at Pinkie. Every second Twilight continued to look upon her she deflated.

"I..." Twilight's voice broke. Her eyes slammed shut and she screamed "I couldn't save her!". That was when Twilight broke, sobbing on the ground. Fat tears rolling down her muzzle only to meet their end on the ground. Pinkie was completely deflated. Rarity was speechless. Fluttershy was crying silent tears.

It was Applejack who broke the silence. "Now wait just an Apple-buckin' minute!" she yelled in Twilight's direction. Startled, Twilight looked up, momentarily stopping her sobbing. Applejack trotted up to Twilight. "There had to be somethin'! Anythin'! This is Rainbow here! Rainbow Dash!" she poked Twilight's chest with a hoof. "She can't be gone! She jus’ can't be!" Tears were pouring down Applejack's face. "She’s.." Her voice broke. "She’s mah best friend..." she choked out a sob. She reached up and pushed her hat down over her eyes. Hiding her tears.

At this Twilight begin to cry again, not the racking sobs from before. Tears of sadness. Burning down her face. "There was... there was nothing" she managed. "No trace of her..."

Applejack straightened "No!" she yelled to no one in particular. "It ain't true! I refuse to believe it!". She looked to Twilight, her eyes already bloodshot, "Tomorrow, we are gonna go to make sure— you hear me?! I ain’t givin’ up so soon on her. She’s out there somewhere, I just know it!"

Twilight looked at her in the eyes. "Okay" she said. Her eyes fell back to the ground. In a lavender flash she was gone.

Rarity turned in the direction of the library, only to see a purple force field erected around the library over the rooftops. "I suppose she has the right idea darlings" Rarity sighed. “We shouldn't give up hope yet though. Tomorrow is a new day and we will find her... if there is anything left to find.. that is..." She realized her mistake and turned away. She started walking to her boutique, her usual canter gone. In its place a depressed trot remained.

The remaining three could see that her tail had lost a curl or two. Without a word, both Applejack and Fluttershy began to walk in separate directions. Fluttershy's were eyes glued to the ground, while Applejack's stared defiantly ahead.

Pinkie watch her friends go, a look of utter sadness upon her face. Her face fell, only an eye could be seen between her straight locks. "Dashie..." she squeaked out, as the first of her tears hit the ground.