Second Best

by Discorded SheepcityUSA

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sparkler, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 1915

Twilight has an interesting conversation with Sparkler when she finds her sitting on a park bench all by herself, looking very depressed. To Twilight's dismay, SHE'S the reason Sparkler is so upset.

Twilight had done it. Spring had come on time for apparently the first time in quite a while in Ponyville thanks to her stellar organization skills...

What Twilight DIDN'T realize, was that Winter Wrap Up actually already had an organizer in place and that she basically took her position right out from under her.

Just a feelsy little one-shot I decided to write after it was revealed in episode 100 what Sparkler used to do in Ponyville before Twilight. Seriously, nopony finds it kinda sad?

Also, kinda, sorta spoilers for the 100th Episode, but takes place after Winter Wrap Up.

Edit: Now with an Audio Reading!

Edit 2: Featured in Equestria Daily's Pony Spotlight #5

Published 2015-06-14 01:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-06-14 01:50:02 UTC

Second Best

It was late at night in Ponyville as Luna’s luminous and enchanting moon shined in the darkened sky over the landscape of the little town. The town had recently been cleared of the snow and ice that had once been remains of winter that needed to be cleared out if the ponies were to properly move on with their lives in the oncoming seasons and grow their food.

From the way things had been going a day earlier though, nopony would’ve guessed that the end result would’ve been as amazing as it was. The grass seeds had gone missing, the ice on the lake was cut wrong, Rarity had been fussing over a single bird’s nest the entire time instead of worrying about the rest. Probably the worst thing of all was that none of the three groups could agree on how the snow should be melted.

To be frank, it was a disaster.

That all changed though when the new pony in town, Twilight Sparkle, decided to step in and got the residents of Ponyville to stand and deliver with her organization skills. If it weren’t for her, Spring probably would’ve come late once again.

Twilight herself was now trotting through Ponyville’s park that night, taking another look at the townsponies’ accomplishment that was Spring. Spike needed bedrest after he had fallen into the freezing cold lake, and she didn’t want to disturb his sleep. So, she figured with the time she had to herself, to take a nice, nighttime walk through the park, now cleared of all the snow that had once been there.

“Aaaah. It really is nice to have some time to just appreciate the coming of a new season.” Twilight said with a smile. She took a big whiff of the air, which seemed to smell like freshly-cut grass, and exhaled. Even the air was near-perfect.

“I’m just glad that I could contribute to such a nice Spring. If I hadn’t stepped in, who knows how late it would’ve been.” Twilight said to herself.

It was true that Twilight had been looking the entire time for ways that she could contribute to Winter Wrap Up. Many of her attempts had been…fruitless to say the least. She had actually made the one horrendous nest that Rarity spent all day obsessing over, her ice-skating skills were abysmal, her attempts at helping Fluttershy with the animals nearly resulted in snake-bites (never let Twilight near snakes) and a pretty nasty smell. Her worst blunder though, was when she actually halted progress on clearing the fields of snow when she tried to use magic.

Looking back on it, Twilight giggled a bit at her previous attempts. “Well, since I’m lead organizer now, I won’t be making those mistakes again; that’s for sure.” She said. The whole thing did turn out to be kind of funny actually. She had spent the entire day looking for a way to contribute when it was right in front of her face the entire time.

Just as Twilight was reminiscing on the previous day’s events, she heard a rather quiet noise coming from a corner of the park. She couldn’t quite make out what it was, but it was loud enough to hear and make her ears flick.

“Huh? I could’ve sworn I was the only one here.” Twilight said to herself. Curiosity starting to take hold, Twilight moved in the direction of the sound to hopefully get a better idea of what she was hearing. From the sounds of it, there was indeed somepony in the park with her, and whoever this pony was was…

Crying?

Twilight was pretty sure that’s what she was hearing at least. Somepony in the corner of the park crying. Still curious over the matter, and hoping to find this pony so she could help with whatever problem was ailing it, she quickened her pace in the direction of the sound, hoping to soon find some answers.

“Oooh I hope nopony around here is hurt...” Twilight said worriedly to herself as she continued to trot toward the direction of the crying. Eventually, Twilight came upon a small bench that sat right under a large tree that would ordinarily give it quite a decent amount of shade from the sun; although the purpose it served right now was seemingly just to make the already dark area even darker around said bench.

The pony sitting there was a unicorn mare with a light purple coat and a two-toned purple mane, and a cutie mark of three gems adorning her flank. She seemed to have her head in her hooves and crying softly as she sat down, a few of the tears slipping through her hooves and onto the grass below.

She didn’t look like a happy pony in the slightest.

Of course, Twilight approached the pony to see what was the matter. “Ummm…miss? Is something wrong?” she asked. The pony perked up a little and turned around, showing her tear-flooded eyes were also bloodshot and tired. How long had she been crying?

The mare looked at Twilight with a questioning look added onto her sad face before replying. “…T-Twilight? W-What’re you doing out this late?” The mare asked her own question.

“Just thought I’d come and admire the scenery while my assistant rests up.” Twilight said. “And I see you know my name. That’s nice…Can I get yours by any chance?” Twilight asked the mare.

The mare sniffled a bit, presumably trying not to cry anymore than she already was. “S-Sparkler” she said quietly. “I…saw all the work you helped put into Winter Wrap Up. N-Nice job.” The mare now known as Sparkler said with what looked like a bit of a forced smile.

‘…That’s strange. She almost looks like she’s pained to say that.’ Twilight thought to herself. She’d have to remember this if she was going to find out what was wrong.

“Well…thank you. I’m glad you noticed.” Twilight said, trotting out to the front of the bench and sitting down next to Sparkler. “…You know, you still haven’t answered my question.” Twilight said, trying to push the matter further.

Sparkler’s forced smile seemed to harden at Twilight’s statement, and started to look a lot less genuine by the second. “Ehe, w-what’re you talking about? Nothing’s wrong. I’m just fine, see?” Sparkler said, pointing to her obviously fake smile.

Of course, Twilight wasn’t having any of it. “Sparkler, it’s obvious something’s bothering you. You look like you’ve been crying for a long time…”

Sparkler seemed to go a long while without responding before she quickly brought a hoof up to her face and wiped all the tears from them, hoping in vain to fool Twilight. “Hehe, no tears here Twilight!~” She said in a sing-song voice.

“…..” Twilight wasn’t fooled in the slightest and the fact that Sparkler was continuing to deny it only made her concern even worse. “Sparkler please. You don’t need to hide this. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong…”

Sparkler’s happy façade fell at this point, and she simply resolved to return to her depressed frown with a sad look in her eyes; no tears this time. Just what seemed like disappointment and sadness. She let out a long and exhausted sigh of defeat.

“…A-Alright…I…I really think you did a great job organizing Winter Wrap Up…but…” Sparkler hesitated a little. “…The truth is…I’m…jealous of you…” Sparkler said finally.

That wasn’t what Twilight was expecting at all. When she resolved to ask Sparkler about her problems, the last thing she had thought was that she would be the one responsible for her crying. “Huh? Jealous of me? But…why?”

Sparkler sighed again, obviously not wanting to answer. “It’s…just….everything. When I look at you, I see everything that I wish I could be. You’re smart, a student of the princess, very skilled in magic; who WOULDN’T be jealous of you?” Sparkler asked, starting to look even more depressed as she spoke of her troubles. “…But…it got especially bad yesterday….you see Twilight…..” Sparkler started to tear up again, trying with all her might to hold back tears. “…Before yesterday…I was the organizer for Ponyville for a lot of events…like Winter Wrap Up.”

Twilight was taken back more than before at this one, and she put a hoof to her mouth. “W-Wait…so…I-“

Sparkler only nodded before Twilight could even finish. “Yes, you did…but…I’m not mad at you…I’m just…depressed.” Sparkler said sadly, looking down at her hooves at this point. “It’s just…Winter Wrap Up was going so badly with me in charge. I’m normally pretty good at organizing, but I guess trying to get an entire town in on working certain things is just…beyond my skills in such an important and hectic time. That’s a LOT of ponies to move around and…you did it no problem…I’m happy for you…but it’s like nothing I ever did as Ponyville’s organizer even mattered…” Sparkler whimpered, starting to cry even more as the tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Twilight was at a loss for words. She was only trying to help Ponyville bring Spring in on-time. She didn’t mean to take Sparkler’s position right out from under her. She just wanted to help, that’s all.

She couldn’t even imagine what it felt like for Sparkler to watch Twilight be given the organizer vest.

Starting to feel a big pit of guilt rising in her stomach, Twilight started to tear up herself, and gave Sparkler a big hug. “I-I’m sorry Sparkler. I-I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to take your position…” Twilight said, whimpering a little.

Sparkler, although a little confused at first, eventually hugged Twilight back. “I-It’s alright Twilight. I know you didn’t mean it…you really did a better job at it than I ever could. Ponyville deserves a better organizer than me…”

“Sparkler, don’t talk about yourself like that. I’m sure you’re a great organizer!” Twilight quickly broke the hug and looked at Sparkler with a hardened look on her face, a few tears still present in her eyes. “…Hey…as a matter of fact, I was going to organize my books when I got home, and I could use a little help. I’d ask Spike, but he’s a little sick and needs his bedrest.”

Sparkler looked confusedly at Twilight. What was she asking her for? Twilight was practically perfect; what would she need her help for?

“…Really? But…Why would you need my help? You’re Twilight Sparkle, the most organized pony in existence…”

Twilight smiled a little. “I can always use the help of fellow organizer to get things in gear. I can’t do EVERYHING by myself. As much as some ponies might think otherwise, I’m not perfect.” Twilight said, hopefully lifting her spirits a little. “I can also get some hot chocolate for us if you’d like to.”

For a few moments, Sparkler was silent. Twilight Sparkle, one of the best ponies Sparkler had ever seen, was actually asking her over to her home. And to help her organize her library no less. Overall, she was both stunned and confused at the same time.

“…I think I’d like that.” Sparkler said, smiling a little.

Author's Note

Just something cute and a little feelsy I decided to write after I found out Sparkler was the go-to organizer before Twilight. Kinda makes Winter Wrap Up a little sad in that sense doesn't it? Twilight didn't mean to cause anypony any emotional harm, this stuff just kinda happens and it stinks.