Sparkling Storytime

by Captain_Cosmos

Chapters

Beating Wings
Flappy Learns What's Up
Never Count Out the Talented Ones
Sledding without Snow
Crash of the Hammer
Fort Sparkler
College Jitters...On Steroids
Al-moqad al-said al-ahtarar

Beating Wings

“Grandma? Grandpa?”

“Yes Kicker dear?”

“Did mom do anything cool when she was my age?”

“Hehe. You bet your flanks she did. Why, I remember back she was just learning to use those beautiful wings of hers.”

“It all started when Flappy first asked your mom to go for a fly.”

Young Sparkler was at her desk in her bedroom, reading a new book she checked out of the School Library. She smiled as she turned another page. “Once I finish this book, I’ll be done with my reading list for the year.” She giggled to herself.

At that moment, she heard a now-familiar squawking coming from behind her. She turned around to see her new Parrot friend Flappy smiling at her from his perch. “Squeak! Wanna go for a fly Sparkler? Squeak!” He asked.

Sparkler bit her lip as she glanced at her wings. “Uhm...” She would've loved to go flying with her new parrot, but there was a problem. “I uh...don’t actually know how to fly Flappy.” She replied.

Flappy raised an eyebrow. Confused at Sparkler’s statement. “Squeak! You don’t? Why? Squeak!” He asked.

“Mom and dad don’t have wings, and we can’t find anypony in the region who can teach me.” She said sadly with a sigh.

Flappy saw his new owner depressed and flapped his wings so he flew over to the desk. He landed and looked up as Sparkler. “Squeak! So, you never learned how to fly? At your age you should already be an ok flyer. Squeak!” He said.

“Maybe I would be if I had a teacher. I TRIED teaching myself but I had to return the flying book to the library before I could make sense of anything in it.” Sparkler sighed.

Flappy glanced at her wings, and then glanced at his own. He smiled as an idea came to him. “Squeak! Sparkler, can you check out that book again tomorrow? Squeak!” He asked.

“Why?” Sparkler asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Squeak! Maybe the reason why you couldn’t make sense of anything in it is because you don’t have somepony to explain it properly. Squeak!” Flappy spread his wings for Sparkler to see. “Squeak! Or, should I say, you DIDN’T have anypony. Squeak!” He said with a smirk.

Flappy’s words ran through Sparkler’s head, and her eyes widened as it clicked with her. “YOU want to teach me Flappy?” She asked in shock.

“Squeak! I may not be a Pegasus or have the horn and wing combo. But when it comes to flying, it’s all the same if we both have wings. So how about we start putting those wings of yours to the work they’re MEANT to be doing? Squeak!” Flappy responded.

Sparkler thought about it for half a second before a huge smile burst on her face and she lunged forward and pulled Flappy into a tight embrace. “Thank you Flappy!” She exclaimed in joy. “I’ve always wanted to fly but mom and dad don’t want me to unless I actually know what I’m doing!”

Flappy giggled as he let Sparkler hug him. “Squeak! We got some work to do since you’re about three years behind but you can do it. Squeak!” He said.

Sparkler nodded as her wings subconsciously fluttered in joy, excited that they were at last going to be used to fly.

“So the next day, your mom paid a visit to the school library, careful not to let any of her schoolmates see her.”

“Why did she want to hide?”

“Because egg yolk on wings doesn’t go well with flying.”

In the school Library, a middle-aged mare was at her desk, going through the records to check what books were checked out and which ones needed to be put back on the shelves. She processed another book, before getting the sense that she wasn’t as alone as she first believed. She looked behind her to at first see nothing, but then her ears picked up whispering.

“Down here.” The voice said.

The mare looked down and saw a sight that she had seen before on quite a few occasions. Hiding under the desk behind her was little Sparkler. Away from the prying eyes of her peers.

The mare took only half a second to smile and approach the filly. “Oh, Sparkler. Your class isn’t supposed to come for their library hour until tomorrow.” She glanced around to see if anypony else in the library looked like they needed her help. She then lowered herself so she was sitting on her haunches to better see Sparkler. “What’re you doing hiding down here today?” She asked.

“Hi Ms. Nook.” Sparkler said nervously. “Uhm...sorry about this. I-I’m just trying to avoid being egged today. More than usual.”

“Any reason why today is special?” Ms. Nook asked.

“You know my new pet parrot I told you about last week? He wants to teach me how to fly.” Sparkler replied.

“Really? That’s great!” Ms. Nook said with a smile. “Wings like yours are meant to let you fly. Not just stay folded against your sides.”

“He said I should check out Flying for Beginners again.” Sparkler explained. “He says I couldn’t make sense of it because I didn’t have anypony to explain it right.”

“That would make sense.” Ms Nook said with a chuckle. “So you’re here to check out Flying for Beginners. As it just so happens I was just about to process it to put back on the shelf.” She stood up, turned back to the desk, located the requested book, turned back to Sparkler, and gently placed the book down in front of Sparkler. “Here you are, little one. Good luck in the sky.”

Sparkler lit her horn, picked up the book, and carefully maneuvered it into her saddlebag. “Thanks Ms. Nook.” She said. “And...again, sorry about hiding like this...”

“It’s ok dear.” Ms. Nook said. She glanced around again and turned back to Sparkler. “Want me to take you back to class? That should deter the eggs.”

“Uhm...that’s ok. You don’t have to—“

“It’s no trouble sweetie.” Ms. Nook said, cutting Sparkler off. “It’s no trouble at all.”

After a second, Sparkler nodded. “O-Ok.” She said as she slowly walked out from under the desk, following Ms. Nook out of the library.

“How long did it take for mom to learn how to fly?”

“Squawk! It took some time. But your mom was, and still is a quick learner. Soon enough, she was ready for a flight from home to school. Squawk!”

Young Sparkler stood in the front door of the house. Wings ready to spread, saddlebags on, and nervous as all heck. This is it.

Her father smiled as he playfully tousled his daughter’s mane. “Nervous Sparky?” He asked.

“Y-yeah.” She gulped as she nodded.

Her mother giggled as she fixed the messed up mane. “Don’t worry dear.” She gave Sparkler‘s horn a tender kiss. “You and Flappy trained hard for this.”

“Squeak! Yeah! Squeak!” Flappy agreed. “Squeak! You handled all the hurdles Flying for Beginners laid out. You do ten laps around the backyard every day to build up those muscles. And you play your guitar with your wings on top of that. The strength is there Sparkler. You just gotta use it. And flying to school is that use. Squeak!”

Sparkler’s confidence boosted at her family’s reassurances. Taking one more deep breath, she nodded. “Right. Ok. I’m ready to do it.” She walked out into the sandy front yard and spread her wings. Ready to fly.

Her mom smiled as she glanced at Flappy. “You’ll make sure she doesn’t hurt herself right Flappy?” She asked.

“Squeak! I’ll make sure she doesn’t crash. Squeak!” Flappy replied with a salute.

“And then she took flight?” Kicker asked.

Aurora nodded. “She did. She fluttered her wings and launched into the air. Oh it was SO adorable!”

“Squawk! Her little wings keeping her in the air. Faust it was cute. Squawk!” Flappy commented.

Sparkler blushed as Kicker chuckled. “What happened next?” He asked.

Sparkler smiled as she answered this one. “And then I flew. I beat my wings as hard as I could and I flew. All the way to school without crashing into anything.” She said.

“Squawk! Until you got to school. Landing was a little rough wasn’t it? Squawk!” Flappy asked.

“You probably gave Ms. Nook the shock of her life when you crashed into her.” Thundercracker chuckled.

“Correction, I hit the ground, and slid right into her.” Sparkler said, unable to keep herself from blushing in embarrassment.

Flappy chuckled. “Squawk! I remember you doing a lot less sliding and more head on collisions. Squawk!”

Sparkler used her wings to cover up her face in embarrassment. “Anyway!” She said. “That’s the story of how I learned to fly.”

Kicker turned to Flappy. “So you taught mom how to fly Flappy?” He asked.

“Squawk! Yep. Taught her everything she knows about flying. And after some practice she wasn’t crashing anymore.” Flappy replied proudly.

Kicker smiled as he hugged his mom. “That’s so awesome!” He exclaimed.

Sparkler smiled as she nuzzled Kicker in the cheek. “Too bad you don’t have wings. I’d love to teach YOU how to fly.”

Kicker smiled and nodded. Then an idea came to him. “Well, that doesn’t mean you can’t take me flying.” He said.

Sparkler glanced at Flappy, silently asking him what he thought of the idea. After some nodding and understanding. She smiled at Kicker. “Well, wanna go flying right now?”

“Yeah!” Kicker grinned and nodded excitedly.

Sparkler smiled as she got up out of her seat. “Then let’s go!” She said.

To be continued...

Author's Note

Sparkling Harmony reached 50 likes so here's the first story in Sparkling Storytime as promised.

A new chapter will be posted when another milestone within this story universe is reached.

THX FOR READING!

Flappy Learns What's Up

“Squawk! Ah this takes me back. Squawk!” Flappy commented.

“What does?” Maddy asked.

“Squawk! Sparkler, Twilight, and their son Kicker sitting at a table, reading and learning about stuff. In a way, it reminds me of early on in my friendship with Sparkler. Squawk!” Flappy explained.

“I bet it was just as cute.” Maddy commented.

“Squawk! Eh…you could say that.”

“What was it like early on? For you and Sparkler to be friends?” Maddy asked.

Squawk! Here’s a tale from those days. It all started the day after she fixed me up…Squawk!

Six year old Sparkler was busy running around her room, gathering her books and stuffing them in her saddlebag.

Flappy, her new parrot, watched his new owner scurried around the room. “Squeak! What’re you doing Sparkler? Squeak!” He asked curiously.

“I’m getting ready for school, Flappy.” Sparkler said.

“Squeak! School? What’s that? Squeak!” Flappy asked, intrigued.

“It’s where foals like me learn things. Math, Science, English, that kind of thing.” Sparkler explained. “And my favorite subject, Music.”

“Squeak! Sounds fun! Squeak!” Flappy said, flapping his good wing. “Squeak! Can I come? Squeak!”

Sparkler’s smile faded at that. “Uhm…” Sparkler hesitated. She knew full well the school’s rules about pets, they weren’t allowed. But at the same time, for the first time ever, she could say that she had a friend in school, something that had never, ever happened before.

“Sparky! Y’all ready in there? Come on, you gotta leave for school.” They heard Sparkler’s dad call in.

Sparkler glanced at the door, and then back to Flappy. After second’s thought, she made her choice. He’s small enough to fit in my saddlebag, I just need to make sure none of those stupid idiots take my bag.

“Sure. You can come along.” Sparkler said. She lit her horn and encased Flappy in her magic. With as much care as she could possibly muster, she moved him from his place on her desk and settled him into the saddlebag. “Just make sure to not make too much noise.”

When Flappy was safe in her bag, Sparkler trotted out of her room where her mom and dad were waiting by the front door.

“Got everything Sparks?” Aurora asked.

“Yep.” Sparkler replied. “Homework, lunch, books, all ready for another day at school.” She rolled her eyes at that.

Thundercracker smiled and ruffled his daughter’s mane. “Hey, don’t worry about those featherbrains. Don’t let them get to you.” He said.

“Ok.” Sparkler replied.

Her parents smiled and both kissed her horn. “Have a good day sweetie.” Aurora said.

“I’ll try.” Today should be better since I’m now gonna have an actual friend in that joint. With that thought in mind, Sparkler smiled and trotted out the door. “Bye mom! Bye dad!”

“See you when you get home sweetie!” Thundercracker replied.

When their daughter turned off their property, Aurora and Thundercracker turned into the house. “Hey Flappy! You here?” Aurora called out.

There was no response. Thundercracker smiled and shook his head, knowing Flappy would’ve responded. “I called it last night, she took him to school with her.” He said.

“We’ll let her have this one. Leave it to the school to handle if they catch her.” Aurora replied giggling.

They both knew full well the situation with school and their daughter, the other students straight up hated her guts. So they weren’t surprised in the slightest that Sparkler would take a risk and bring her first ever friend, their new pet parrot, to school, so that she could finally feel like she did have a friend in that place.

“Now I’m glad I added an extra little piece of watermelon.” Aurora commented.

“Wait wait wait, I’m confused. Sparkler didn’t have ANY friends before you came along?” Maddy asked.

“Squawk! That’s right. Squawk!” Flappy replied.

“And from the sound of it, she was desperate enough to break the rules just so she could finally feel like she had a friend there…I’m almost afraid to ask how she came to that decision.” Maddy commented.

“Squawk! I didn’t understand it at first either. But when we went to the library during her lunch, THAT’S when I understood exactly what was going on. And it was nothing pretty. Squawk!” Flappy explained.

Squawk! We had just gotten to the library and sat down. At a table isolated from everypony. Squawk!

Sparkler set her saddlebag on a table in the library, as well as the few books she retrieved from bookshelves around the place. She glanced back at the rest of the room to make sure nopony was watching, then carefully opened her bag to let Flappy walk out.

Flappy happily walked out of the bag and smiled up at Sparkler. “Squeak! So. What’s for lunch? SqueaK!” He asked in a hushed voice.

“Let’s see.” Sparkler extracted her lunch box from her bag and opened it up. Inside she found a sandwich, and a small piece of watermelon. She smiled as she extracted both food and set the watermelon down for Flappy. “A sandwich for me, and a piece of watermelon for you.” She said.

“Squeak! Awesome. Squeak!” Flappy replied as he started eating the watermelon.

While that was going on, and while she ate her sandwich, Sparkler took one of the books she got and started to read it. Flappy became curious after a moment. “Squeak! Whatcha reading? Squeak!” He asked.

“Basically how to take care of a parrot. Now that I have you to take care of I have to learn how I can best care for you—“

“Hey! Horned Chicken!” They heard a colt call out from another table.

Sparkler resisted the urge to answer. Just ignore them.

Flappy noticed his owner’s mood drop, but he also noticed a foal from another table frowning when they didn’t get an answer. He watched curiously as the colt took out an egg, and was surprised when the colt threw it at Sparkler, landing it’s target.

Sparkler felt that and winced at the impact. Almost immediately she heard the colt again. “Hey! I’m talking to you.” They said.

Sparkler gritted her teeth before deciding just to get it over with. “What do you want Galvin?” She asked.

“Oh, I was just wondering where your friends were, but then I remembered that you couldn’t make friends to save your life.” That caused everypony who heard it to erupt in a bout of snickering.

Flappy raised an eyebrow. What the heck was going on? Why was this colt being mean to his new friend?

The colt named Galvin calmed down from his snickering, and whispered something to his table mates. After which they all started pulling out eggs from their bags.

“Squeak! Sparkler? What’s going on? Squeak!” He whispered.

“Just some foals being idiots. Ignore them.” Sparkler whispered back.

Flappy glanced back to the table and saw the foals there clearly lining up their shots. “Squeak! Sparkler, you might want to—“

Too late, Flappy watched as those foals swung their hooves and the eggs went flying. All of them hitting Sparkler. The foals started chuckling.

“What? You’re not even gonna try to make it hard?” A colt asked.

“Yeah. Don’t you know how this game works you featherhorn?” A filly asked.

To Flappy’s surprise, the bombardment continued. He stood there, shocked. What the flap is going on here? Clearly whatever was going on wasn’t good, but he couldn’t understand WHY it was happening. From what he’d seen Sparkler had done nothing wrong.

Sparkler meanwhile was trying to keep it together. To not give her assailants the satisfaction of seeing her break down in tears, but it was really hard when the eggs just kept on hitting her.

“Hey!” A new voice suddenly called out very sternly.

Everycreature turned their attention to the source and saw a mare standing in the middle of the room, sending glares to a certain table.

Ms. Nook walked over to the table full of assailants. “What is going on here?” She asked the foals.

“Nothing Ms. Nook.” All the foals said, which was an obvious lie.

“Pelting one of your fellow students with eggs is NOT nothing. Neither is calling them names for no reason. I have told you this before, have I not?” Ms. Nook asked.

“Yes Ms. Nook.” The foals replied, realizing they were caught.

“And now you all can go to the principal's office…again.” Ms. Nook told them.

The foals just nodded and left the library. Ms. Nook watched them go as she lit her horn. Sending a horn pulse along to let the principal know they were gonna get visitors. After that was done, Ms. Nook turned back to where Sparkler was.

Flappy saw her coming and immediately moved towards the backpack, he didn’t know if she had seen him yet but—

“It’s ok little fella.” He heard Ms. Nook said. “You don’t need to hide.”

Sparkler tensed up a little as Ms. Nook arrived at her table, and she turned her head to see a concerned and caring face. “M-Ms. Nook…” She trailed off, her eyes watering.

Ms. Nook sat down and embraced Sparkler in a comforting hug. “Shh. It’s ok.” She cooed, soothing the distraught filly. “We’ll talk about the parrot later. Right now, do you want to go to the nurse and get cleaned up?” She asked.

Sparkler could only nod, not trusting her words right now.

“Ok, now this is getting ridiculous. I mean, name calling is one thing, but pelting her with eggs? Are you serious right now?” Maddy asked, appalled.

“Squawk! I’m dead serious. Squawk!” Flappy replied. “Squawk! And to say I was more than a little mad would be an understatement. Squawk!”

”It wasn’t til we got to the nurse where I learned EXACTLY what was going on. Squawk!”

“There ya go kiddo.” The nurse said as she helped Sparkler out of the large sink in the nurse's office and set her down on the floor, all cleaned up. “All nice and clean.”

“Thank you Mrs. Joy.” Sparkler replied.

“No prob. Just stop by anytime you need something.” Mrs. Joy said.

Sparkler nodded and walked out into the waiting room, where Ms. Nook and Flappy were waiting. She gulped. Knowing that she had some explaining to do.

Ms. Nook saw Sparkler come out and smiled. “There we are.” She said, getting out of her seat. “All nice and cleaned up. Sure beats the eggs doesn’t it.”

“Yeah.” Sparkler replied.

“Now. About the parrot…” Ms. Nook said, glancing at Flappy.

Sparkler gulped. “I…I’m sorry. I know the school doesn’t allow pets.” She said. “But…I just…” She trailed off, too scared to explain what she was thinking.

Ms. Nook saw the fear in the little girl’s eyes and smiled warmly. “Hey.” She cooed as she knelt down to Sparkler’s eye level and offered a smile. “I think I know why you did it. Flappy here said how you found him yesterday and patched him up, and then offered him a home with you.” She said.

“Yeah.” Sparkler replied. “I did.”

“Squeak! And we’ve become fast friends. Squeak!” Flappy commented. “Squeak! We had a blast last night. Squeak!”

“Wait.” Mrs. Joy chimed in, she had just connected the dots. “If I’m hearing this right, Sparkler here made a friend yesterday.”

“She did.” Ms. Nook said. “She finally made a friend.” She happily proclaimed.

The nurse smiled and ruffled Sparkler’s mane. “Ha ha! Way to go kiddo!” She exclaimed.

“T-Thanks.” Sparkler replied, smiling sheepishly.

“Squeak! It doesn’t SOUND like that big a deal, does it? Squeak!” Flappy asked. “Squeak! Doesn’t Sparkler have other friends? Squeak!” He asked.

Much to his horror, all three ponies shook their heads. “You’re her first ever friend, little fella.” Mrs. Joy said.

“Squeak! Seriously? Why? Does it have to do with what happened in the Library? Squeak!” He asked.

“It does.” Ms. Nook said. “And it’s been going on from day one.”

“Squawk! And that’s when I was told everything. How all the other students hated her guts, how they never wanted her around, and how they all put her down by calling her names and throwing eggs at her. Squawk!” Flappy finished his story.

“Sweet biscuits.” Maddy responded. “They put her through Tartarus and she didn’t do anything to deserve it?!” She asked. Her anger boiling hot by this point.

“Squawk! Exactly. Squawk!” Flappy replied. “Squawk! All she ever did was try to be their friend, and she got egged for her trouble. Squawk!”

“Grrr. If I ever meet ANY of those pinbrains, I’ll show them how much of an attack dog I can be!” Maddy declared.

“Squawk! Ooh. Please do! Those featherbrains are long overdue to get their just desserts. Squawk!” Flappy responded.

Maddy took a deep breath. “So. Sparkler broke the rules when she took you to school, what happened on that front?” She asked.

“Squawk! The teachers understood that she brought me so she could feel like she finally had a friend in that Tartarus hole and they just let her off with a warning. Because rules are still rules. Squawk!” Flappy explained. “Squawk! Speaking of, I heard there was a celebration in the teacher’s lounge when word spread that Sparkler had finally made a friend, even though I was only a parrot. Squawk!” He added.

“I don’t blame them.” Maddy responded. “I would too in their position.”

“Squawk! Me too. Squawk!” Flappy replied. “Squawk! But believe it or not, this isn’t the worst of it. Squawk!”

“You’re kidding.” Maddy replied. “It got WORSE?”

“Squawk! Not necessarily. Squawk?” Flappy replied. “Squawk! What I mean is, those idiots actually did something far worse. Something that haunts Sparkler to this day. Squawk!” He explained.

“Do I even want to know?” Maddy asked.

“Squawk! No. You don’t. Believe me. Squawk!” Flappy said.

“Duly noted.” Maddy replied. “Let’s just see what Kicker’s learning.”

“Squawk! Sure. Squawk!” Flappy replied.

To be continued…

Author's Note

Ok, So I know I said this chapter would be written at the next milestone, which Sparkling Harmony Season 2 reached with 50 likes, but that was a little bit ago, basically life got in the way.

But now It's out as your reward for upvoting Sparkling Harmony Season 2.

New chapter will be released at the next milestone.

Remember, whenever Maddy talks normally instead of Barking, we're hearing what Flappy and other Animals hear.

THX FOR READING!

Never Count Out the Talented Ones

“So you got your Cutie Mark when doing a school assignment Mom?” Sprinkle asked.

“Yeah.” Sparkler responded. “That was a proud moment in my life.”

“Tell us the story!” Sparkler’s Nine Kids, and Lucky, said.

Sparkler glanced around at all the ponies around her and smiled when she saw her old music teacher.

“Well, it all started when Mr. Rhythm gave us his famous group assignment…”

“Now, for the rest of class. I have your next project.” Mr. Rhythm said.

His class let out a groan while little Sparkler actually smiled. True she was the typical kid who didn’t really like getting homework, but this was for her favorite subject so she let it slide.

Mr. Rhythm rolled his eyes. “Oh come on. This is a fun one. I promise.” He said. “It’s when you can really let your creativity flow through you and really show the world what you’re made of. This will be a group project.” Sparkler’s smile wavered a little when he said group. “Groups of four have one of two options. Either cover a song, or create an entirely new song from scratch. In one month all my classes that have the assignment will perform live on stage for the entire school. I’ll pass out the rubric but your grade will be based on contribution, readiness, and energy during the performance. Here are the groups.”

Mr. Rhythm began reading names assigned to each group, while Sparkler gulped. I hope we’ll get individual grades as well. She thought. She could see from a mile away what her “group” was gonna do. They would either effectively kick her out and leave her hanging, resulting in a zero, or they’d let her stay with the group, but take all credit they could away from her, making it look like she didn’t contribute anything. Sparkler heard her name along with three others as she was trying to think of ways she could cover her butt and save her grade. Mr. Rhythm called out the last group’a names and smiled. “Alright. Those are the groups, take the rest of class to brainstorm with your group. Hey Sparkler, mind if you and your group brainstorm up here in the front of the class?” He asked.

“Why can’t the horned chicken just come back here?” Called out one of Sparkler’s group members from the back.

Mr. Rhythm sighed and facehoofed. “That’s why Galvin, I want to keep an eye on you to make sure you guys actually get some brainstorming done, rather than pick on Sparkler.” He said sternly. “Now leave your saddlebags at your desks and come up here.” He said.

“Why?” Galvin asked.

“Call it ensuring that you don’t have any ammo that will end up on Sparkler.” Mr. Rhythm replied. “Up here, now.” He said sternly.

Galvin and his two pals rolled their eyes as they walked up to the front of the class, without their Saddle Bags.

“Yeah. I had a feeling there were eggs in their Saddlebags, and I was not about to let you go back there where I couldn’t keep an eye on you as easily.” Mr. Rhythm said.

“I appreciate it Mr. Rhythm.” Sparkler said. “It might have been the only reason we got ANY brainstorming done that day…if you could call it that.”

“What actually happened?” Pedal asked.

“Basically, they just talked about whatever and wouldn’t even bother listening to me. And at the end, what the group had was this. I would write the song, they would then come and take over the instruments and we would practice.” Sparkler said. “And I actually believed them.”

It was about a few days later when I had the song all written. I had made copies and given them to my group mates. That was my first mistake, my second was not going to their houses and dragging them to mine to practice when another week came by and they hadn’t shown up for any practices like they said.

“Hey Sparkler, mind if you and I chat for a moment? If need be I’ll write you a late pass.” Mr. Rhythm said.

Sparkler nodded and walked up to Mr. Rhythm’s desk while the other students left the class. “What is it Mr. Rhythm?” She asked.

“Your group mates made a complaint about you. They claim you aren’t doing your part of the assignment.” Mr. Rhythm said.

Sparkler’s eyes widened. “What? No, that’s not right.” She said.

“They say you refused to write the group song after you said you would, and then you’re not showing up for practice. That doesn’t sound like you at all Sparkler.” Mr. Rhythm said.

“I DID write the song!” Sparkler countered. She pulled out the song sheets from her saddlebag and put them on Mr. Rhythm’s desk. “This is the song the group is doing. You can clearly see that it’s MY hoofwriting.” She said.

Mr. Rhythm smiled as Sparkler pulled out the song sheets. “And let me guess. They were supposed to come to YOUR house for practice.” He said. Putting together that Sparkler’s group mates were the ones lying.

“Yeah. And THEY haven’t shown up for any scheduled practice.” Sparkler said. “So it’s not ME. It’s THEM.” She said. Furious, but not the least bit surprised that her classmates would pull this on her.

Mr. Rhythm nodded and leaned back in his chair. “So, which one do you think it is? Them trying to get you to do ALL the work and use your magic to make them look good? Or trying to make it so you’re the reason the group failed?” He asked with an amused smiled.

“Either way, clearly they don’t want to work with me and seem to think they’ll get a good grade anyway.” Sparkler responded.

“It sadly looks that way.” Mr. Rhythm responded. “If you want I can let you go solo.” He said.

“Thanks, but I’ve got a plan B already.” Sparkler responded.

“Oh?” Mr. Rhythm asked. “What is it?”

“Seriously? Are those pinbrains actually that stupid?” Lucky asked.

“Back then? Yes.” Sparkler responded.

“So what was your plan B mom?” Crystal asked.

“I had a little help from my dad. But it went a little something like this.” Sparkler responded.

The day of the concert arrived. And I have to admit that every musical act that came before me was decent. And then it was my turn.

Sparkler smiled as she walked to the stage with her guitar. With a Pegasus mare tailing her. Sparkler saw her other “group mates” all snickering at her as they tried to join her. “And now you fail you horned chicken.” Galvin said.

“Yeah. We already told—“ Was as far as another of the group got before Sparkler used her magic to stop them in their tracks.

“No, you three aren’t walking out on that stage with me. Maredosa is.” She said.

Maredosa waved at the stunned group before she and Sparkler walked onto the stage. Mr. Rhythm introduced them and Sparkler took the mic. “Hello everypony! I’m Sparkler and this is Maredosa. Our song is called Play It Loud.” With that, she started jamming out on her guitar. After a few beats, she started singing.

Thankfully, the crowd didn’t only consist of students as it was made a public event so the ones who didn’t go to school, and the teachers, were going wild as Sparkler and Maredosa performed their song.

By the end, the aforementioned audience cheered and applauded. Sparkler and Maredosa bowed and made their way off the stage. Once they were off the stage, Sparkler turned to Maredosa and smiled. “Thanks for doing this Flappy. I really appreciate it.” She said.

“Maredosa” smiled as she began to morph. She shrunk, and turned into Flappy, finally dropping that disguise.

“Squawk! Any time pal. Squawk!”

“Hey Horned Chicken!” Came an angry voice. Sparkler turned and saw her “group mates” marching up to her.

“What the hay was that about?!” One of them demanded.

“Yeah! And where’s that Maredosa chick? She doesn’t go here!”

Thankfully they hadn’t noticed Flappy yet so Flappy quietly slipped away to go get Mr. Rhythm. Sparkler meanwhile just smirked. “You all thought you would get me to fail eh? That I would just back down and accept the F. Sorry to foil your plan but Mr. Rhythm knows the TRUTH. That YOU effectively cut me out of the group the moment I hoofed over the song.” She told them. “And he’s the one who let Maredosa and I do this.”

“Liar!” Galvin shouted. “You’re just saying that to cover your own stupid flank!”

“And what if she is Mr. Galvin?” Asked a very ticked off Mr. Rhythm.

Galvin glanced at Mr. Rhythm. “Mr. Rhythm, she wouldn’t let us perform with her!” He proceeded to whine.

“Yeah I know. And I will tell you that I DID allow her to do that. With some help from a very special friend.” Mr. Rhythm said.

“Squawk! Yeah! Squawk!” Flappy said from Mr. Rhythm’s back. “Squawk! If you thought you’d get away with it you have another thing coming. Squawk!” He said.

Galvin and his two pals blinked. “...Maredosa was a PARROT?!” One of them shrieked as they put two and two together.

“Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t. But that really isn’t your concern. It’s your turn to go on stage. And for your sake, I hope you did SOMETHING to prepare.” Mr. Rhythm warned.

Seeing no other options, and seeing that their plan had failed, Galvin and his pals gulped and made their way to the stage. Sparkler smiled as Flappy transferred to her back. “Thank you so much Mr. Rhythm. I really do appreciate you, and Principal Lampshade, allowing Flappy to pose as a mare for this.”

“No problem Sparkler. I think it goes without saying that you get an A for the assignment.” Mr. Rhythm told Sparkler.

“Squawk! As she’s rightfully earned after having to put up with their crap. Squawk!” Flappy commented.

Mr. Rhythm smiled and shook his head. “Speaking of earned. You might want to check your flank. I saw you glowing up there on stage during the second half of the song.” He told Sparkler.

Sparkler raised an eyebrow as she craned her neck, and what she saw on her flank made her eyes go wide in shock.

“And that’s when I discovered my cutie mark.” Sparkler finished the story. “Not only did I get an A for the assignment, I also found my special talent.”

“How in the hay was Flappy a mare to begin with?!” Trail asked.

“Yeah! How?” All the other kids asked.

“Squawk! Her dad turned me into a pony temporarily, and we managed to get a potion to turn me into a Mare in that time. Squawk!” Flappy responded.

“Whoa!” All the kids said. “That’s so cool!”

“My reaction exactly.” Mr. Rhythm commented. “Your mother was a bright mind even back then.”

“So, what happened to your garbage heap of a group?” Lightning asked.

“Naturally they were the worst performance of the bunch because they were too busy trying to make me fail. And Mr. Rhythm actually gave them detention for a month for passing my work off as their own.” Sparkler responded. “So those three got Fs and a month’s detention for their trouble.”

“Serves them right!” Lumber said.

“Yeah!” Lucky said. “Seriously. It sucks that they couldn’t just be nice to you.”

“Yeah. It did suck. But hey. I got my Cutie Mark, an A, and I got some rare and sweet revenge against the bullies so overall it turned out fine.” Sparkler said.

“Can you play the song you sang? Please?” Melody said.

“Yeah! Please?” All the kids were giving Sparkler the puppy dog eyes.

Sparkler laughed, and got out her guitar. “Hey Flappy, remember the song’s drum part?” She asked.

Flappy smiled and started beating the table with his wings, in a beat. Sparkler smiled and launched into the song. Singing the song that got her her Cutie Mark.

To be continued…

Author's Note

Yeah that's right, Sparkler was able to get revenge every once and a while. A little Life Lesson, if you don't plan on doing any work, don't effectively kick out the only pony in the group with any talent or work ethic. they may have a parrot willing to help them pull through, and then your plan backfires spectacularly. Lol.

Sparkling Harmony got 75 likes. THX FOR READING!

Sledding without Snow

“So what you’re gonna want to do is get a running start, and then hop on the sled and ride it down the dune.” Sparkler explained.

“Squawk! It’s called Sand Sledding. Squawk!” Flappy said.

“Sand Sledding eh?” Twilight responded. “Neat.”

“Yeah.” Fleur De Lis said. “Where did you learn to do this Sparkler?” She asked.

“My parents actually, back when I was 7.” Sparkler responded.

”It was around Hearths Warming when I was on break from school and from being the resident egg target...”

Little Sparkler walked up to the door to her home and opened it. Letting herself in. “Thank Faust it’s winter break now.” She said. “I’m home!” She called out as she went straight to the bathroom for a bath.

“Squawk! Hiya there Spark—They couldn’t even give you one day? Squawk!” Flappy asked.

“Nope.” Sparkler responded as she hopped into the tub.

Flappy sighed as he landed on the toilet. “Squawk! Not even one day? Where’s their holiday spirit? Squawk!” He asked.

“Oh I’ll tell you where it is. Their holiday spirit didn’t want to be with them so they fled to the North Pole with Santa Hooves.” Sparkler responded.

Flappy laughed. “Squawk! I second that. Squawk!” He responded as he got a brush ready, used to the routine of Sparkler having a bath after school and him helping to clean her up. After several moments, Sparkler was all clean. “Squawk! I’ll say this. Least they use ammo that’s easy to clean off. Squawk!” Flappy commented.

“If only they wouldn’t do it at all.” Sparkler responded.

Flappy nodded as the two left the bathroom and headed into the kitchen, where Aurora and Thundercracker were sitting. Thundercracker smiled when he saw Sparkler all clean. “Good thing Egg yolk is easy to clean eh Sparky?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Sparkler responded. “Thankfully now it’s winter break.”

“Any homework over break?” Aurora asked.

“Just an assignment from Mr. Rhythm.” Sparkler responded. “Attempt something you’ve never done before.” She said.

“That’s it?” Thundercracker asked.

“He says making music equates to trying stuff never before attempted. So he wants us to do just that. Do something we’ve never done before, and then report on it.” Sparkler explained.

“Squawk! Hehe. Well now’s the perfect time for those featherbrains to have a change of heart. Squawk!” Flappy commented.

Everypony chuckled, immediately seeing what Flappy was getting at. “I highly doubt all of them will change in an hour.” Sparkler responded. “Meaning I’ll have to think of something else.”

“Shame we can’t afford to go on a vacation.” Aurora commented. “We could go to a ski resort and get you cruising down a snowy hill.”

“Huh?” Sparkler asked, confused. “What’re those things?”

Thundercracker chuckled. “Just a thing you’re mother and I used to do before you came along and we moved here.” He said. He lit hist horn and summoned a scrapbook. “Ah the stories we could tell you.” He said.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that I was never there for you back then.” Fleur commented. “Clearly you needed a sibling who’d look out for you.” She said.

“Well at least we’re together now.” Sparkler responded. “And with the kids off at Summer Camp we have time to do things like this.” She said. “Follow me!”

Sparkler took off in a running start and hopped on her sled, moving fast down the sand dune in the Appleloosa area. Fleur and Twilight followed suit, as did Flappy and his kids. All 7 of them slid down the dune. The kids were having fun.

At the bottom, Fleur and Twilight got off their sleds and smiled. “That was fun!” Twilight said. “I never realized you could sled on sand!”

“Just not something you think about.” Fleur responded.

Sparkler nodded. “Yeah. I certainly never realized. But Aurora and Thundercracker thought it could be fun.” She said.

“So I can just ride this sled down the sand dune?” Little Sparkler asked.

“That’s right.” Aurora responded. “Usually there’d be snow but sand is kinda like snow.” She explained.

“Squawk! Is it safe? Squawk!” Flappy asked.

“Perfectly safe.” Thundercracker responded.

“Ok. Well, here I go.” Sparkler responded as she hopped on the sled and the momentum from that pushed the sled down the sand dune. Immediately she started having fun. It was exhilarating, the speed, the wind blowing past her. “Woohoo! This is awesome!” She exclaimed.

Flappy smiled as he soon followed Sparkler’s lead and rode his little bowl down the dune. “Squawk! This is awesome! Squawk!” He exclaimed.

Aurora chuckled as she and Thundercracker watched Sparkler and Flappy sled down the dune. “If only we could go back. Back to where all three of us came from…maybe they wouldn’t bully her there.”

“I know honey.” Thundercracker responded. “But we tried. And we haven’t found any trace of our home nation. It’s as if it never existed.”

“Think it’ll return one day?” Aurora asked.

“Hopefully.” Thundercracker responded.

“Oh yeah. We really need to get the kids in on this someday.” Twilight said as she, Sparkler, Flappy and his kids and Fleur headed back into town for the day.

“The only downside is that it messes up wings. Have to preen them every time you come back from Sand Sledding.” Sparkler commented.

“Squawk! At least Sand comes out better than Egg Yolk. Squawk!” Flappy commented.

“I’ll bet. Thanks for teaching us how to Sand Sled Sparkler.” Fleur said. “It’s fun learning what you did for fun growing up.”

“Woulda been even more fun if you were there with me.” Sparkler responded. “But can’t change what happened.” She added.

“I’m still itching to head to the Crystal Empire right now and finally solve the mystery of you two.” Twilight commented. “That could very well answer all our questions.”

“When a second reason presents itself we’ll go Twilight.” Sparkler said, still believing going all the way to the Crystal Empire just to look through some books was more trouble than it was worth. “Still, I won’t lie and say that it’s not relieving to know some answers.”

“Squawk! Oh for sure! Squawk!” Flappy responded as they headed to the train station.

To be continued…

Author's Note

Sparkling Harmony Future Incursion reached 25 likes. It did so a few days ago but Life work and other crap kept getting in the way. I apologize for the delay.

THX FOR READING!

Crash of the Hammer

“I’ll tell ya Brad, I’m relieved you and Sparkler are friends now, I thought for sure that spark died after that incident.” Mark commented.

“Yeah. Remind me NEVER to tell anypony anything ever again.” Brad responded.

“Especially since it got all but four students detention for the rest of the time they were in school.” Hanzal commented.

“Detention for the rest of their school careers?” Sparkler asked. “I heard everypony got detention but I didn’t know for how long.”

“Right, you weren’t there that day.” Candy responded. “Ooh boy was there ever a fallout at school when you failed to show.” She said.

“What…what DID happen?” Sparkler asked. “My adopted parents never talked about it.”

Sparkler’s four schoolmates glanced at each other, before looking back to her. “Well, it all started when you failed to show up for school.”

“Ok, Brad.” A KiliHima school teacher said.

“Here!” Brad responded.

“Candy.”

“Here!”

“Sparkler.”

There was silence when the teacher called Sparkler’s name. The teacher raised an eyebrow. “Sparkler?” The teacher asked again. They looked to where Sparkler SHOULD be sitting, but all they found was an empty seat. “Uh…does anypony know where Sparkler is?” The teacher asked. “She’s never been absent before.”

“Maybe she decided to stay with the chickens where she belongs.” One of the students responded, causing a round of laughter from most of the class.

The teacher frowned and whistled so the class would be quiet. “Mr. Galvin, it is not nice to make snarky comments like that about other students.” They said. Though they had zero confidence it wouldn’t happen again. After finishing the rollcall, the teacher told the students to read the next chapter of their textbooks. While that was happening, she dialed the main office to let them know who was missing, as was protocol. “The only one missing from my class this morning is Sparkler.” She told the receptionist.

“Sparkling Medley? She’s never absent.” The receptionist responded.

“I know, it’s weird. I hope she’s ok.” The teacher responded.

Sparkler was not in fact fine, she hadn’t been fine since the previous night nearly saw her end. Sparkler walked the streets of KiliHima, having decided to run away. Never again. She told herself as she used her hoodie to conceal her face and her wings, hoping to avoid recognition.

“The news that you weren’t in school that day spread like wildfire in the school, and of course it left the faculty worried because you never were absent before.”

Principal Lampshade paced in the teacher’s lounge with all the other faculty members in the building. All of them having one thing on their minds. “So NOPONY has seen hide nor tail of Sparkler?” She asked.

“Not since the end of the school day yesterday.” Ms. Nook responded.

“Could she be sick?” Mr. Rhythm asked.

“Possibly.” One of the teachers responded.

“But why wouldn’t her parents call to let us know? It’s standard procedure so we don’t worry anymore than usual for a sick kid. But we have received no such call.” The receptionist asked.

“Something fishy is going on here.” Lampshade responded. “I’m gonna give Aurora and Thundercracker a call. Make sure Sparkler’s alright.” She reasoned.

“And that’s when all Tartarus broke loose I’m guessing.” Sparkler responded.

“Yep. Lampshade called and that’s when they discovered you had run away from home.” Mark responded.

At the KPD station, police chief Hard Case had just gotten off the phone with a very irate property manager who had called to complain that punks trashed his building the previous night. Hard Case was about to assign an officer to visit the building to check the CCTV cameras when his phone rang again. “Chief Hard Case.” He said.

“Hard Case? It’s Thundercracker.” Thundercracker responded.

“Cracker? Well this is a surprise. What’s going on?” Hard Case asked.

“I’m reporting a child missing. Sparkler’s gone.” Thundercracker responded.

Hard Case’s eyes widened. “GONE?!” He exclaimed. “What do you mean gone?” He asked.

“She left the house for school this morning and they just called saying she was a no show.” Thundercracker responded. “And this is following an incident last night where her schoolmates played a cruel prank on her.” He added.

Hard Case didn’t know why, but as soon as Thundercracker added that prank bit, he had a sneaking suspicion the building manager’s complaint was related to that prank. “I’ll be at the school soon to investigate, see you there.” He said. He turned to the officer he was about to assign. “Go to the building and check the CCTV camera footage, watch out for a pony with both a horn and wings, if you see a pony like that, radio me at once.” He said.

“Yes chief.” The officer said before trotting off.

Hard Case grabbed his coat as he exited his office. “This is gonna be a LONG day.” He predicted. “Everypony! We have a situation. I’m ordering a full scale ponyhunt for a pony with a horn and wings. I want her found as soon as possible let’s go!” He called out to his officers.

“That pony hunt remains the most famous in KPD history. No other pony hunt was issued as a full scale hunt.” Mark commented.

“Figures the most famous would involve the only Alicorn in the region.” Sparkler responded.

“Yeah. And of course when you were discovered in the CCTV footage, that‘s when the whole school heard a shouting match.”

“So Sparkler was PRANKED last night and it nearly drove her to end her life?” Lampshade asked. Thundercracker, Aurora, and Hard Case were in her office when the officer at the building radioed saying Sparkler was indeed there last night.

“Yep. From what we can infer, her fellow students lured her into a trap with the hope that maybe she’d finally have a friend in this place, and then they pelted her with food once she was surrounded.” Hard Case deduced.

Thundercracker let out a groan. “I had a sneaking suspicion something was going on. Of course I wanted to be wrong, but alas.” He said.

“Do you two know who she was going out with?” Lampshade asked Cracker and Aurora.

“The only name she gave us was Bradford.” Thundercracker responded.

Lampshade’s eyes widened. “Bradford.” She repeated. “Excuse me while I make a call to his parents.”

“I know this is probably not going to work but would you consider a harsher punishment than detention?” Aurora asked.

Lampshade sighed. “Aurora, you know what would happen if we issued expulsions and suspensions. Your daughter is sadly the enemy of the entire school body and if we sent all of them home or expelled them, we’d be effectively shutting ourselves down.” She explained. “I’m afraid we’re stuck.” She said as she called Brad’s parents.

While she was doing that, Hard Case took Aurora and Thundercracker aside. “Look, I know you’ve said before that this school is her only option for getting an education. But for real, I honestly don’t think it’s a good idea for her to remain a student here. She has now spent 10 years being tormented by these kids.”

Aurora sighed. “It’s not that we don’t WANT her to be safe and happy, we just can’t afford any other options. Both of our incomes are needed to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table, so homeschooling is our, as is being able to send her away to boarding school. That and there’s the added emotional risk. If we sent her away that could only further damage her by saying we don’t want her either.” She explained.

Hard Case facehooved, before an idea came to him. “Flappy…”

“What?” Aurora asked.

“Sparkler’s parrot, Flappy.” Hard Case responded. “Right now he can’t be with Sparkler during school hours because pets aren’t allowed in the building. But he’s small enough to fit into her saddlebag, and there’s no specific rules on WHAT animals can serve as Service Animals.” He explained.

Thundercracker blinked. “You're thinking he gets certified as an emotional support animal.” He deduced.

“Bingo.” Hard Case responded. “And even if Lampshade can’t allow it, if she ever goes to college, that would be a different story.” He added.

Aurora and Thundercracker looked at each other, and nodded. “It shouldn’t take too long to get him certified since he’s a smart bird and can talk. Let’s do it.” Aurora responded.

“So THAT’S why Flappy is a registered service animal!” Potion Nova said.

“Squawk! Yep. Thanks to Hard Case’s good idea. Thank Faust Lampshade let me come with Sparkler from that day forward. Squawk!”

“Ok so what was going on in the meantime?” Sparkler asked.

“We got a chewing out from the teachers.”

“Alright guys, settle down, before we get into our lesson we need to have a serious talk.” Mr. Rhythm told his students. “About this war on Sparkler that’s been going on for years.”

“You mean the horned chicken?” Asked a student, followed by laughter from the others.

“Quiet! This is not an open discussion Mr. Galvin. I am going to talk, and all of you are going to listen.” He growled. “We have a problem in this school. A problem that REALLY crossed the line this time. For YEARS, students at this school have been putting a young mare through tartarus just because she looks different from us. And last night that bullying escalated to a truly intolerable level. You all think that little prank was funny, it wasn’t. In fact it was the exact opposite of funny. Because it caused her so much emotional stress that it nearly killed her. Literally, we needlessly nearly lost a good student last night because of what happened. I hope you all are proud of yourselves, because myself and the rest of the faculty are not. We have never been more disappointed in our students. Never before have we seen bullying at this level. And for what? Because she’s different from us? She may have both a horn and wings, but she’s no different from us where it counts. She has just as much right to be here as you do. She shouldn’t need to be afraid to come to school and learn. She shouldn’t need to worry about if somepony is gonna steal her saddlebag or pelt her with food. She should feel safe in this building. It’s honestly heartbreaking that she doesn’t feel safe here. It’s heartbreaking that she has to endure needless abuse every day in order to get an education.” He explained. “Now, I do not expect any of you to tell me WHY you all put her through Tartarus every day, but this school has zero tolerance for it. So starting immediately, all after school activities like sports teams and clubs, are effectively shut down. Instead, you all will be spending that time in detention until you graduate.” He announced.

That of course sparked an outrage with the students. After Mr. Rhythm got them to settle down, he spoke again. “We are done messing around. If you cannot treat another student the way you want to be treated, which, by the way is rule #1 here at Kilihima school, then you can deal with the consequences of those actions. This decision is final.” He announced. “Now, onto today’s lesson.” He said as he started teaching like he didn’t just drop the hammer hard.

“So THAT’S why I didn’t hear anymore sports announcements in school.” Sparkler commented.

“Yeah. They were not messing around.” Hanzal said.

“Yeah.” Bradford said. “And meanwhile I had just gotten yelled at by Lampshade and sent to clean out my locker since I was expelled and being transferred to boarding school.”

Bradford sighed as he cleaned out his locker. “Gah. Stupid, that was stupid. I should never have told them about my date with her. It was stupid.” He said to himself.

“Oh for sure it was.” Said a voice beside him. Bradford turned and saw Mark Hasnworth leaning against the lockers, and he had a sour expression on his face.

“Mark!” Brad squeaked in fear.

“Yeah. Me. What the frax were you thinking.” He said. “Leading her to a fake date for a prank? Are you kidding me?” He asked.

“Ok, I know what it looked like, but I didn’t intend for it to turn out that way, I genuinely, honestly did want to…at the bare minimum, show her that not everypony in this blasted school hated her. I wanted her to see that she COULD have a friend in this place.” Brad defended himself.

“Oh really? Why the sudden interest?” Mark asked.

“Don’t act like you don’t know Mark. Since I didn’t see you, or Hanzal or Candy, reach out to her. I can deduce that like me you all are affected by peer pressure. Well I wasn’t gonna let that run my life anymore.” Brad responded. “No, I wanted to break free of the status quo. To maybe, just MAYBE, turn Sparkler’s life around. But no, my coltish instincts drove me to tell my “friends” and that ruined any chance I may have had.” He said.

“You do realize she’s not straight right? Or even bi.” Mark responded.

“I know that Mark. But you can’t blame a guy for trying. I knew I wasn’t going to win her over in the romance department. But I still had hope we could be friends.”

“After this she’s not gonna want to even hear your name anymore.” Mark responded.

“Oh I know. And you know what? I’m ok with that. Because I deserve it. For being such a freaking idiot I deserve to be expelled, transferred, and probably grounded until I turn 18.” Brad took a deep breath to calm down. “Just…can you do me a solid Mark?” He asked.

“What?” Mark asked.

“Can you make sure she doesn’t go through that again? Last night nearly destroyed her and I don’t ever want her to go through that again.” Brad asked.

Mark sighed. “I’ll do what I can.” He said.

“Thanks Mark.” Brad responded as he closed his locker for the final time and walked away.

“And that was what is now referred to as the Crash of the Hammer.” Maek said.

“Whoa. I sure missed a crapshow.” Sparkler commented.

“I’m still trying not to laugh at the fact that this is what got Flappy to become a certified service animal.” Amber commented.

“Squawk! It could ONLY take that incident to show the officials why Sparkler needed a service animal. Squawk!” Flappy responded.

“For sure.” Sparkler said, hugging Flappy.

“Well, at any rate, I’m glad we’re friends now Sparkler.” Brad said. “Even if it did take a bit.”

“Thank the map for sending me to Saddle Arabia otherwise we still might not be friends.” Sparkler responded.

“Here here.” Hanzal responded.

That got everypony to chuckle. That incident several years ago may have left some of them emotionally scarred, but at least they were able to come together eventually as friends.

To be continued…

Author's Note

Seeing Triple got 25 likes

Moving into college delayed this chapter’s release.

THX FOR READING!

Fort Sparkler

“Thanks for coming out to help me with this Dad.” Sparkler said.

“Not a problem kiddo.” Thundercracker said. “I’m excited for my grandkids to have as much fun on this fort as you did.” He said.

Applejack, who was working with them, poked her head out from behind a pile of wood. “So you built this in just SEVEN hours Mr. Thundercracker?” She asked.

“Yep. I did.” Thundercracker responded. “For Sparkler’s 7th birthday.”

“I loved this thing when I was a kid. Flappy and I would play on it every day.” Sparkler said.

“Squawk! Ya know it! Squawk!” Flappy said as he and his three kids flew out from within the fort wearing hard hats.

“How did this thing come about if I may ask?” Applejack asked.

“Well, it all started the day before. When the kids were being extra mean to her…” Thundercracker said.

In KiliHima Village, years ago, little Sparkler was out at recess with her fellow students. Her class was playing on the playground, and Sparkler was sitting at a table away from the crowd using her magic to manipulate a pair of plushies that she had brought with her to entertain herself. “Come on Space Ranger. Let’s save the galaxy.” She said in a lower voice. Switching to a higher pitch for the next bit of dialogue. “Yes sir Commander Star. We’ll beat those bad guys no prob—“

That was as far as she got before she felt the all too familiar impact of an egg in the back of her head. The egg broke and spilled egg yolk on her, and left the shell pieces stuck to her mane. “Hey horned chicken! Here are more of your eggs back!” She heard a familiar voice.

Sparkler winced when she heard that. “Leave me alone Galvin.” She told her assailant.

“Aww. But I just wanted to make sure you knew where you came from. You’d probably forget otherwise.” The colt named Galvin responded.

“I know where I came from. Mommy and Daddy brought me into the world.” Sparkler said.

“Is that so? I bet they were disappointed when they saw they didn’t have a normal filly. Instead of being stuck with a horned chicken.” Galvin said. “I bet they wanted to put you up for adoption but took pity on you.” He said.

Sparkler gasped and her eyes watered, the colt had never said anything like that. “Th-they love me. I know they do.” She said, resisting the urge to cry as she felt more eggs hit her.

“I bet you they don’t. They just feel sorry for you.” Galvin responded.

And that got tears to come out of Sparkler’s eyes as Galvin just laughed. “In fact, I doubt they’re even your real parents. It’s more likely your parents are a pair of chickens.” He added.

Galvin proceeded to taunt Sparkler and make fun of her while still pelting her with eggs.

Later that day, after school had ended and she could get away from the bullies. Sparkler ran home as fast as her little legs could carry her, eyes wet.

She made it home, and before Flappy, her mom, or her dad could say anything to her, she ran into her room and slammed the door shut.

Flappy saw his owner disappear into her room and immediately became concerned. “Squeak! Ok. What did those idiots do to her this time? Squeak!” He asked as he flapped his wings and took to the air. Thundercracker and Aurora approached the door and knocked.

“Sparkler?” Aurora asked. “Can we come in honey?” She asked.

No response, but the three of them could hear the little filly crying her eyes out. Flappy grabbed at the doorknob and turned it to open the door. The door opened and they saw Sparkler hugging her pillow, crying into it.

Flappy immediately flew and landed near Sparkker’s head. “Squeak! Hey. Sparkler, please don’t cry. It’s ok. Squeak!” He said.

Aurora and Thundercracker walked in and approached the bed. “Sparkler? What’s wrong sweetie?” Aurora asked.

They heard muffled words in between sobs. Flappy raised an eyebrow. “Squeak! What was that Sparkler? Squeak!” He asked.

After a few seconds, Sparkler lifted her head off the pillow just enough that they could understand her. “Do you love me?” She asked her parents.

Aurora and Thundercracker glanced at each other, before giving Sparkler confused looks. “W-what?” Thundercracker asked. Not sure if he heard right. “What was that sweetie?” He asked.

“Do you love me?” Sparkler asked.

Flappy, Aurora, and Thundercracker all gave each other surprised and perplexed looks. By golly they actually heard right! “W-what kind of question is that of COURSE we love you.” Aurora responded. Pulling Sparkler into a hug. “We’ve loved you since the day we found out you were on the way.

“Squeak! And do you really think I’d submit myself to domestication if I didn’t LOVE being your pet? Squeak!” Flappy asked.

“R-really?” Sparkler asked. Sniffling.

“Of course Sweetie.” Thundercracker responded. “And we always will. No matter what might happen.” He added.

Sparkler looked up at her parents, who were smiling at her. She sniffled again before nodding, burying herself in her mother’s embrace.

After a moment, Flappy spoke up. “Squeak! Now, what the hay did those idiots do to make you question if we loved you or not? Squeak!” Flappy asked Sparkler.

Sparkler shivered and gulped, before telling them what happened.

“He actually said that to a 6 year old who was already being chastised by basically everypony around her?” Applejack asked. “I’m surprised ya didn’t deck’em Sparkler.” She said.

“Oh I WANTED to. You have no idea how many times I wanted to turn all those idiots inside out for everything AJ.” Sparkler responded. “But I also knew that if I did I’d be in just as much trouble.” She said.

“Darn.” AJ responded. “Well at least you had Flappy Aurora and Thundercracker.” She said.

“Yeah. Shame that Fleur wasn’t around back then.” Thundercracker responded. “Sparkler sure as hay coulda used her in school.”

Sparkler nodded. “Yep. That is accurate.” She said. “But hey. Least I know she’s my sister now. Better late then never.” She said

AJ nodded. “So how did this fort come into play?” She asked.

“To show Sparkler how much we loved her, Aurora and I worked for hours to put this fort together so that when she came home from school the next day, she’d be able to play on it right away.” Thundercracker responded.

“I was so happy when I came home that day.” Sparkler responded. “Granted I was already in a lighter mood because that colt was absent and I had gotten to eat a very nice cupcake made by Ms. Nook at recess. But the moment I registered who this thing was for I was so excited. All the imaginary adventures my little 7 year old brain could come up with.” She said.

“Squeak! And now it’s time for a new generation of fun imaginary adventures. Squeak!” Pecker said.

“Squawk! Precisely. Squawk!” Flappy responded.

“Just needs a few upgrades to account for the 11 ponies and three chicks that’re going to be using this thing.” Sparkler responded.

“Well I’m sure yer kids’ll love it Sparkler.” Applejack said.

“Oh I hope they do. And if Sprinkle, Pedal, and Mystic DON’T tell their siblings about this I’ll be surprised.” Sparkler chuckled. Wondering how long it would take for her three clone daughters to peer through the mental link.

To be continued…

Author's Note

As apparently right as the colt is that Aurora and Thundercracker arent Sparkler's biological parents, That is still NOT OK to say to anyone at all.

THe Harmonic Medleys reached 25 likes. Real Life and the desire to get Operation Sundown done delayed this. So I apologize.

THX FOR READING

College Jitters...On Steroids

“Huh. I didn’t know there were so many things you could get a degree for.” Melody commented to her sibling.

“Well, I mean mom has a bachelors in music production so it kinda makes sense.” Sprinkle responded.

“Ya know. This makes me want to ask about Mom’s time at college.” Light mused. “Maybe we should ask tomorrow morning when we have our daily video chat.”

“Or Sprinkle Pedal and I can talk.” Mystic responded. “We have all the details.

“You do?” Crystal asked.

“We have access to all of Mom’s memories. Hive mind.” Pedal responded.

“Oh, then what was Mom’s first day of college like?” Trail asked.

Sprinkle, Pedal, and Mystic chuckled. “Well, it all started when Mom left home…”

“You have everything right?” Aurora asked.

“Yes mom. I do.” Sparkler responded.

“Are you sure?” Thundercracker asked.

“I’m sure.” Sparkler responded.

“Squawk! And she has my bird cage. Squawk!” Flappy said.

Aurora and Thundercracker nodded. “Alright, well, send us a letter when you get there.” Aurora told Sparkler.

“I will mom.” She said as she hugged her parents. “Gonna miss you guys.”

“We’ll miss you too Sparkler. See you when we come visit in a couple weeks.” Thundercracker said.

Sparkler nodded. “Yeah. See ya in a few weeks.” She said.

With final goodbyes, Sparkler and Flappy took off in the sky, flying through the sky towards Saddle Arabia University. Aurora held it together for five seconds before bursting into tears. “She grew up too fast.” She sobbed.

Thundercracker pulled Aurora into a hug. “We always knew this day would come.” He said. “I just hope Flappy can help her keep her emotions in check.” He added.

“Wait a minute, this was four years after the great Date Disaster wasn’t it.” Lumber said.

“Yep. And it was still fresh in everypoy’s minds.” Pedal said.

“And if you recall, that’s what got Flappy certified to be Sparkler’s support animal.” Mystic said.

“Ya know, Before that trial, I had wondered what that certificate hanging on the wall of Sparkling Harmony Records was for.” Melody commented.

“So what happened when mom got to college?” Lightning asked.

“Well, the first thing she did was go incognito…”

At Saddle Arabia University, students were converging on the dorm building, moving in for the school year. Everypony was so focused on their stuff and moving it that they didn’t notice a parrot fly and land behind a rock.

Flappy glanced out from behind the rock, before smiling. “Squawk! Clear. Squawk!” He said.

Next to him, hiding behind the rock, Sparkler rematerialized, lowering the invisibility spell she had cast on herself. “Alright. Now remember Flappy, if anypony asks, I’m a Unicorn Sweater lover.” She told him.

“Squawk! You sure about this Sparkler? Squawk!” Flappy asked. “Squawk! New school, new ponies, it could very well be different here. Squawk!”

“I Can’t go through that again Flappy. I just can’t.” Sparkler responded as she lit her horn, and a sweater appeared over her wings, hiding them from view.

Flappy sighed. “Squawk! If you say so pal. Squawk!” He said as he took position on Sparkler’s back.

Sparkler took a deep breath, and stepped out from behind the rock, and walked toward the building. Despite her knowing they couldn’t possibly know she had wings, she still could not shake the feeling that any minute now, she was going to be pelted.

“Squawk! Sparkler, calm down. Remember, all new students. Squawk!” Flappy whispered into her ear.

Sparkler nodded and took deep breaths to calm herself down…Before a thought came to her. Wait…He would have graduated too…Oh crud what if HE’S here!

Suffice to say, it was a miracle that Sparkler managed to make it all the way to reception, get her dorm assignment, and actually get to her dorm without breaking down in fear. Although the Nanosecond she was in her actual room, in the suite that she was going to share with two other mares, She lit her horn, cast a soundproofing bubble over the entire room, and once she was certain nopony would hear her, she dived under the bed, lit her horn and grabbed the blanket she packed in her duffle bag, and covered herself with it, shaking violently and holding back tears.

Flappy, who had noticed Sparkler on the verge of panic but couldn’t be sure, landed on the ground in front of her. “Squawk! Whoa. Sparkler. Are you ok? Squawk!” He asked.

“Y-you don’t think HE’S here…d-do you?” Sparkler asked shakily.

That was all Flappy needed to know to deduce what happened. Sparkler managed to think back to the colt that betrayed her during her freshman year of High School, and came to the very real possibility that he was a student at SAU too. As per his duties as her emotional support animal, Flappy wiggled himself under the blanket and cleared his throat. Beginning to sing their special song.

You always got a friend, always got a friend
Always got a friend in me
I always got a friend, always got a friend
Always got a friend in you too
You always got a friend, always got a friend
Always got a friend in me
Always got a friend, always got a friend
That's the way it's gonna be

Me and you (ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh)
So glad I've got a guy like you
Me and you (ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Always got each other's back we do
'Cause everything's a little bit better
When you and I stick together
Stuck on you (ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Me and you
Me and you (me and you)

(Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh) always got a friend, always got a friend
(Oh, yeah) always got a friend in me (me and you)
I always got a friend, always got a friend
Always got a friend in you too
'Cause everything's a little bit better (yeah)
When you and I stick together
Stuck on you (ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Me and you
You

Just as he thought, Sparkler eventually started singing along, calming down by the end of the song. After the song, Sparkler took a deep breath. “Ok.” She said as she got out from under the blanket. “I’m good.” She said.

“Squawk! Good. Squawk!” Flappy said. “Squawk! IF he is here, just ignore him. Squawk!” He told her.

“Might not be able to.” Sparkler responded. “If he’s a music major, we could have the same schedule.” She said.

“Squawk! Let’s not jump to conclusions. Squawk!” Flappy said.

Sparkler was about to respond, before she and Flappy heard a knock on the door. Followed by a mare’s voice. “Hello…Sparkling Medley? It’s your two new roommates. If you’re here, we’re having lunch in the kitchen. In case you’d like to join.” The voice said.

Sparkler and Flappy glanced at each other. Flappy nodded. “Squawk! You’re going to be living with these ponies for the next year. Gotta at least spend SOME time with them. Squawk!” He said.

Sparkler gulped, before nodding. “You’re coming too.” She said as she got out from under the bed.

“And that’s when mom met her roommates. A pegasus named Cozy Glow and an Earth Pony named Autumn Leaves…Huh, I wonder if Mom ever noticed they both have Mommy Twi’s mane and tail style.” Sprinkle commented.

“Did mom ever make friends with them?” Crystal asked.

“No.” Pedal responded. “They did co-exist together but they never reached friendship. Not that Cozy and Leaves didn’t try. If I didn’t know any better I’d say they were related to Pinkie.” She said.

Melody sighed. “Those darn idiots. They nearly get mom killed because of that prank and she’s STILL healing from being in their midst for 13 years. Seriously, I would REALLY like to know what they had against her.” She commented.

“Well, least they’re all in jail now. As they should be.” Sky said.

“Yeah.” Light said. “I wonder where Cozy and Leaves are now. I bet they would love the new Sparkler.” She said.

“Yeah. Wouldn’t that be nice.” Pedal said, all the Medley kids chuckling.

To be continued…

Author's Note

Song belongs to respective Owners

EQG SH: Agents of SMILE: Prologue got 25 likes. So here's the reward.

Now that I am caught up. Time to write some mature content about Sparkler and Twilight. Heheheh

Also, Yes. Cozy Glow is now a Twilight lookalike in SH. Deal with it.

THX FOR READING!

Al-moqad al-said al-ahtarar

“Our first Hearths Warming together. It’s so wonderful.” Twilight said

“Yeah. And with Kicker. It’s sure to be a fun time.” Sparkler responded.

“What’s your fondest memory of the holiday?” Twilight asked.

Sparkler chuckled. “When I was a kid and I experienced a Hearths Warming I’ll never forget.” She said.

“Tell me about it?” Twilight asked.

Sparkler smiled. “Hey Flappy! Twilight wants to know about THAT Hearths Warming.” She called.

“Squawk! Ooh I love that one. Squawk!” Flappy said.

“It must have been pretty special.” Twilight said.

“Is it story time?” Asked their son Kicker.

“Gather around y’all. For I shall tell the tale of the most special Hearths Warming of my life.” Sparkler said.

“It all began the week after I turned 7. And suffice to say, I thought it was going to be terrible for one reason.”

“You’re leaving?” Little Sparkler asked.

“Yeah. Company has us going to the capital or Saddle Arabia for a business meeting Sparks.” Aurora told the filly.

“Can I come?” Sparkler asked.

“Afraid not kiddo. We have nopony there to care for you while mommy and I are at work.” Thundercracker said.

“Aww. But I want to come with you.” Sparkler responded, clearly seeing a chance to escape her tormentors at school for a bit.

“I wish we could sweetie.” Aurora said. “But don’t worry. Ms. Nook agreed to come foalsit until we’re back.”

“Squeak! Will you two be back for Hearths Warming? Squeak!” Flappy asked.

“That’s the plan.” Aurora said. “And if something happens we’ll Scry Spell you.” Aurora said.

“Ok.” Sparkler responded, disappointed.

“Hey. Don’t worry Sparky.” Aurora said as she hugged her daughter. “We’ll be back to celebrate Hearths Warming with you. I promise.” She said.

“Ok.” Sparkler responded as she hugged her mother back.

“What company do your parents work for again?” Twilight asked.

“They work for a company providing financial consulting for other companies and the like.” Sparkler responded.

“Huh?” Kicker asked.

“Squawk! They work with money Kicker. Squawk!” Flappy responded.

“Oh. Ok.” Kicker responded.

Twilight nodded. “So. Ms. Nook foalsat you for your parents. Did she do that often?” She asked.

“Whenever they needed to go out of town for business.” Sparkler responded.

“So what ended up happening?” Twilight asked.

“Several days later, a day before Hearths Warming Eve, we got the news.”

“Bas news Sparks.” Thundercracker said. “The trains were disrupted by a sandstorm covering the tracks. We’re stuck here in the city.” He told his daughter through the Scrying Spell.

Sparkler gasped. “Wait…what does that mean?” She asked.

“It means we’re not going to be able to be home for Hearths Warming.” Aurora said.

“What?” Sparkler asked, clearly getting upset. “But…but you’re always here for Hearths Warming.” She said.

“We know. I’m sorry Sparky.” Aurora said.

“Nothing we could do. It was out of our hooves.” Thundercracker said.

Sparkler nodded, but it was clear as day she was upset. Ms. Nook agreed to take care of her until they returned. And Sparkler ended the Scrying Spell, before retreating to her room.

Flappy watched her go and sighed. “Squeak! Well that’s not good. Squeak!” He said.

“I know.” Ms. Nook responded. As somepony who had to watch Sparkler suffer in school, it broke her heart to hear that Sparkler only had Flappy to spend Hearths Warming with this year. And Even though she knew Sparkler and Flappy were close, friends came second to family. Poor kid…

“Squawk! I’ll tell this next part because Ms. Nook filled me in ahead of time. Squawk!” Flappy said.

“Sure. Go ahead.” Sparkler responded.

“Squawk! The next day, Ms. Nook was in the teacher’s lounge, Mr. Rhythm was with her. Squawk!” Flappy said.

“You’re kidding. Her parents are stuck in Saddletopia?” Mr. Rhythm asked.

“Yeah. Sandstorm covered the train tracks.” Ms. Nook responded.

“Ouch. No wonder she wasn’t smiling in my class.” Mr. Rhythm responded. It shocked him when he didn’t Sparkler smile ONCE in his class that day, and that NEVER happened. “So she’ll be spending Hearths Warming with you then?” He asked.

“Yes. My family practically begged me to bring her, especially when I told them she only had her parrot.” Ms. Nook said.

“How kind of them to invite her.” Mr. Rhythm responded. “Poor kid. She gets enough crap here in school, she doesn’t deserve to suffer at home too…” He commented, his mind slowly coming up with an idea.

Ms. Nook saw Mr. Rhythm’s expression start to change and raised her eyebrow. “What’re you thinking?” She asked.

“Just thinking how we can make her Hearths Warming as special and memorable as possible.” Mr. Rhythm responded, nodding his head. “Right, I got an idea.” He said.

Kicker raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t grandma and grandpa say they NEVER missed a Hearths Warming?” He asked, confused.

“We’re getting to that part.” Sparkler responded. “But before that, Hearths Warming Eve Comes and Flappy and I are with Ms. Nook and her family. All wonderful ponies and some of the best food I’ve ever had. Ahem, anyway. We hear a knock on the door…”

Ms. Nook’s mother answered the door when they heard the knock. After a moment, she called for Sparkler.

Sparkler and Flappy walked up to the door and Sparkler saw Mr. Rhythm at the door. “Oh, Mr. Mr. Rhythm.” Sparkler said.

“Good evening Sparkler.” Mr. Rhythm responded. “Come outside for a moment. Got something cool to show ya.” He said.

Confused, Sparkler walked outside with Flappy, and she saw what amounted to the whole of Kilihima School faculty and staff. Mr. Rhythm signaled for them to start, and pressed play on a portable record player.

Sparkler, and actually everypony in the house, came out and saw the performance, and at the end of the song, Everypony all called out in unison “Al-moqad al-said al-ahtarar Sparkling Medley!”

Sparkler’s eyes widened. They called her name specifically. That meant they did this for HER. “Wait, this was for me?” She asked.

Principal Lampshade nodded. “We heard what happened with your parents. So we thought we’d do something special to make this Hearths Warming one you’ll never forget.” She said.

Sparkler smiled and nodded. “Thank you.” She said. “I’ll definitely remember this for a long time.” She responded.

Mr. Rhythm smiled, before a pair of voices called out over the crowd. “Did we miss a memo about a Hearths Warming Carol?” They asked.

Sparkler’s eyes widened as the crowd parted to reveal, much to the shock of everypony, Aurora and Thundercracker!. “Mom…Dad?” Sparkler asked, unbelieving that it was really them.

“Happy Hearths Warming Sparky.” Aurora responded, inviting her to hug them.

That was all the invitation Sparkler needed as she galloped towards her parents and crashed into them in a group hug. “You’re back!” She cried out, tears of joy in her eyes.

“Squeak! How? Squeak!” Flappy asked.

“The train tracks were just…Cleared all of a sudden.” Thundercracker responded.

“I’m calling it a Hearths Warming miracle.” Aurora said. “However it happened, it happened.”

“This is the best Hearths Warming ever!” Sparkler cried out, clearly happy that her parents were back in time for Hearths Warming.

“After that Ms. Nook’s mother invited my mom and dad inside and we spent Hearths Warming together.” Sparkler said.

“Wow. It really IS a Hearths Warming Miracle that the train tracks were cleared WAY ahead of schedule.” Twilight responded.

“Did you ever find out how that happened?” Kicker asked.

“There WERE reports of a mysterious creature sighting that aligned with the track clearing. Leading some to believe that creature cleared the tracks.” Sparkler explained.

“Strange.” Twilight responded.

“Yeah. But hey, I wish I could thank them if that were true.” Sparkler said.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and when it was opened, a group of carolers started singing a Hearths Warming Carol. Sparkler smiled as she glanced at Twilight and Kicker, her family. Here’s hoping Twilight and I aren’t put in the same situation as My parents were.” She thought.

To Be continued…

Author's Note

Al-moqad al-said al-ahtarar means Happy Hearths Warming in Arabic. I had WANTED to write the lyrics of the carol in arabic too but I didn't want to delay this chapter anymore when I had another Christmas Special to write.

Season 3 got 25 likes. And how appropriate was the timing. Lol.

THX FOR READING! All rights to their respective owners.