The Silver Prince
It was a relatively normal day for Princess Twilight Sparkle, until she looked around her room, her new room. She had nearly forgotten about the horrible incident that had happened a mere week ago, a tragedy that she wouldn’t forget again. A terrible monster by the name of Tirek had nearly wiped all of the land of Equestria off the map, destroying almost everything, including her old home,The Golden Oak Library.
Twilight Sparkle couldn’t dwell on the past at the moment, She had many new responsibilities to uphold as the Princess of Friendship. She pulled herself out of her bed, that she still wasn’t quite used to yet, and made her way to her new dresser.
“Too many new things here,” She mumbled to herself.
The Castle she now called home was still so new to her, still so barren, so... alien. She was still not sure if she liked this new Crystal-like palace. Her hooves echoed against the cold stone-crystal floor as she walked from her bedroom to her new throne room. Throne room was a word she would have never thought of to use as hers, she was still getting used to the fact that she was a princess, let alone one with a castle and now a purpose!
Twilight Sparkle made herself ready for the day, combing her mane, preening her feathers (which she finally got used to recently), and placing her crown on her head. When she reached the throne room she found her lovable little assistant, Spike, asleep on his mini-throne, snoring as loud as possible. She smirked and rolled her eyes, Spike had no trouble sleeping after all that had happened, she envied him ever so slightly. She continued to walk out of the throne room, looking at the other six thrones as she passed, each throne represented one of her friends. upon the first throne shone three red apples that represented Honesty, and her friend Applejack. The second throne had on it three pink butterflies that represented Kindness, and her friend Fluttershy. The third throne shone with three balloons on it, it stood for Laughter and her friend Pinkie Pie. The fourth throne had shining on it three blue diamonds, they represented Generosity and her friend Rarity. The fifth throne had on it the symbol of a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt, and that stood for Loyalty and her friend Rainbow Dash. And then there was the sixth throne, her throne, it stood a faction taller than the rest, and set into it was her own six-pointed star, the Element of Magic, and from what she could figure, Friendship.
She finally made it past the foreboding structures toward the main hall, even now, this all seemed too much for her, she knew she wanted to do something with her Princess power, but she didn’t know if this was the right thing. So many doubts had crept into her head as soon as something had been resolved, it was frustrating to her. She managed to get to the door without bumping into it during her internal struggle, she opened the door to see a sight that still pained her to see, her home of Ponyville still in shambles from the cataclysmic event that had rocked their land. She looked around to see houses and shops in ruins, some ponies were still limping slightly, and only small traces of scorch marks were left upon the streets.
As she closed her massive castle doors behind her, ponies began to take notice that their resident Princess was now awake, the flood began.
“Princess, can you please help my shop, it was badly damaged during the attack,” one pony pleaded.
Another begged,”Please, Princess Twilight, My house was destroyed, I need your help”
Twilight Sparkle looked at each of the ponies in turn and assured them that help was going to be given to everyone. It pained her to see them all like this, but she knew that all would be fine, this was not the first time Ponyville had been torn apart by malevolent creatures, she remembered the invasion of the Parasprites, and the time Trixie had managed to convince everypony about vanquishing that Ursa Major. No, She was definitely sure that Ponyville would recover, but how fast, she wasn’t even sure about considering that this was no normal attack.
As the crowd around her began to thin out, a welcome sight caught her eye as a tear nearly came to it. Her friends were trotting up to her with hope and love twinkling in their eyes, each one looked like they had helped somepony on their way over, dirt and debris littered their coats and manes.
“You alright, Sugar-cube?” asked Applejack in her typical Southern twang.
“Yes, Darling, you look simply frazzled,” Rarity added, in her regal, yet caring tone.
“Yes...I’m fine... There is just so much to do,” Said Twilight Sparkle, her gaze drifted across the town as her voice trailed off.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little crown, Twi, we’ll get this cleaned up in no time!” Said Rainbow Dash in her cocky yet tender demeanor.
Twilight Sparkle Smiled at her friends attempts to cheer her up. “Cheer up, Twilight! After all this tidying up we’ll throw one MASSIVE PARTY!!” Twilight Jumped as her friend Pinkie Pie popped out from behind her and tossing confetti into the air.
“It’s not only the ponies that are having a hard time,the animal have been scared senseless... I’m doing my best to help the ones I can, and then sending them into town to help if they can...” Said the small and soft voice of Fluttershy.
“Thank you, Everypony, for all your help,” said Twilight Sparkle,”I am sure that with all of us helping out, we can do this!”
Twilight Sparkle’s confidence always grew when her friends were nearby, Nothing seemed impossible and nothing seemed to be able to stop them. They all began talking about duties for each of them to undertake, a task that would best fit their strengths and talents. But as it would happen something interrupted them and changed their plans for the day.
“Why is it so noisy out here?” Yawned the baby dragon Spike, “I was still trying to get some sleep”
“I’m sorry, Spike,” apologized Twilight Sparkle, “But we are just trying to make sure that Ponyville is safe, and also make sure that it becomes just as wonderful as it used to be.”
Spike mumbled to himself and suddenly began to look like he would become ill. The six mares stood and watched as they knew that Spike was just fine, he was just about to receive a letter from Princess Celestia. Spike doubled over as a rumble came from within him, he raised his head and belched green fire that swirled and took form, as the fire dissipated, a scroll of parchment replaced it, unburned. As the rolled up parchment began to fall, Twilight Sparkle’s horn began to glow as too did the parchment, the paper instead of continuing to fall, it now floated toward Twilight and her friends.
“Dear Princess Twilight,” Twilight Sparkle read, “I know that many things have happened very shortly for you. You have come a long way from my studious little unicorn, buried in her books in Canterlot. You are now the Alicorn Princess of Friendship, the wielder of the Element of Magic, and also the Bearer of Rainbow Power. Even after all these tasks have been forced upon you, I have one more favor to ask of you. Something incredible has happened, something even I did not know. I request that you and your friends make your way to Canterlot Castle, post haste. There is something here that you all must see. Sincerely, Celestia.”
The six mares looked at each other with wonder and worry in their eyes. Something the Princess didn’t even know about had to be something big, very big! The mares began to make preparations for their trip as quickly as they could, they would all meet up at the train station in a few minutes.
Twilight Sparkle asked Spike to stay behind and watch over the castle, much to Spike’s dismay. She packed a few things into her saddlebags that she figured she might have need of, in case this turned into an epic quest, that it had before. Books, quills, scrolls, ink bottles, and even her crown on the off chance she needed it. In a flash, she was out the door and heading for the train station to meet up with her friends.
The other five mares where quick to show up, their saddle bags full to the brim with trinkets and bobbles for the adventure that may await them ahead. The train pulled into the station, shortly after and the six friends shuffled aboard the train and took their seats near the front of the cabin. As the whistle blew, they noticed that very few, if any, ponies were aboard the train. It made sense considering that Ponyville was still in ruins and most, if not all, of the townsfolk were helping rebuild the once thriving city, it was as if they were abandoning the city, but they knew they would soon return.
The ride to Canterlot was smooth and quiet, maybe a bit too quiet, considering that Pinkie was still on board, but even she didn’t seem her usual chipper self. An air of sadness had fallen upon the mares and neither of them knew why. It was at least an hour ride up to Canterlot and it had only been five minutes, They all had the feeling that this was gonna be a very long trip, until one of the six broke the unbearable silence.
“So! What do you think the Princess is calling for us for?” Pinkie Pie shattered the mood with one simple question, and then turned it around 180 degrees,”I’m so nervecited!”
The mares giggled and snorted at the remark. It felt so good to laugh at a time like this, leave it to Pinkie Pie to uplift everypony’s spirit, it was her element and talent after all.
“That still isn’t a word ya know,” Applejack chimed in, “But, it does bring up a good question, what could be so important that Princess Celestia called us all here while she knows we are tryin’ to rebuild Ponyville?”
“I hate to admit it, but, even I am wondering what could worry the Princess so greatly that it would warrant all of us post haste!” Said Rarity, seeming talking more to herself then anypony else.
“Who said she was worried?” interjected Rainbow Dash, “I mean, Come on, this is the Princess we’re talking about here! She probably just wants to give us some awesome reward for saving Equestria, Duh!”
“I’m not sure, Rainbow Dash,” began Twilight Sparkle, “She doesn’t really need to give us any kind of reward. We did what any citizen of Equestria would do, if they could. So I don’t believe that it would be that, but it must be something very important. We will see once we get there, I just hope that we will be ready for whatever occurs!”
Rainbow Dash looked defeated and a bit disappointed, and the others began to throw ideas amongst themselves to pass the time away. Fluttershy kept mostly to herself, constantly worrying about her animal friends back in Ponyville, hoping that would be okay. Rarity and Applejack were talking to each other and passing situations to one another, debating on which one had the more reasonable answer. Rainbow Dash hung her head and mumbled to herself about why couldn’t they get at least some kind of reward for all the times they had saved everypony. Pinkie Pie bounced around the cabin like her usual self, chatting to the nearest pony as she bounded past them. Twilight Sparkle glanced out of the windows of the train, she watched the fields, forests, and mountains as they passed by. So many thoughts were running through her head, as per the norm, every situation and every response planned out in her head just in case she needed them. Another thought different from the others popped into her mind, all of the planning and tactical ideas inside her head made her feel that she really was falling into the role of a Princess... But what kind? This idea troubled her more then it should have, and she didn’t know why, she tried to push that thought out of her head as she saw the Castle peaks of Canterlot come into view.
Moments later the mares were departing the train and stepping onto the platform of Canterlot station. The scene that awaited them baffled them to no extent, instead of citizens and guards running about in panic like a few had speculated, they were meet the entire opposite. The guards were lined from the train up to a coach waiting for them on the street ahead, each guard dressed in his best armor and shining brightly in the midday sun. The mares stood there in stunned silence. One of the closest guards leaned in and spoke to Twilight Sparkle.
“Um, Princess?” said the guard a bit nervously, “Princess Celestia is waiting for you and your friends at the castle. Please take the carriage and it will bring you strait to the castle.”
Twilight Sparkle and her friends snapped back to reality and trotted to the awaiting carriage, they felt their muzzles and ears get a bit hot and hurried to hide themselves. As the last of the mares jumped into the lavish coach, it began to move to the castle of Princess Celestia. The mares looked around outside of the traveling carriage, the citizens of Canterlot were abuzz with work and repairs, they all were trotting about trying to fix the damage that had been done there as well. Canterlot wasn’t spared from Tirek’s wrath, nothing was, but Canterlot had been hit the hardest of all the cities in Equestria, some buildings were barely standing and some buildings weren’t standing at all. Twilight Sparkle now understood why nopony from Canterlot came to help in the rebuilding of Ponyville, they needed all the help they could get, she had never seen the City in this much disrepair. Twilight made a mental note to send Canterlot a work force from Ponyville as soon as they could spare one.
“This is not what I expected at all!” Rarity whined, “I feel underdressed... I’m sure I brought a change of outfit for this kind of occasion!”
“Hold yer curls, Rarity,” said Applejack,” I’m not sure whats going on, but don’t go making a fuss when ya might not need to make one.”
“Applejack’s right,” Said Fluttershy’s quiet voice, “This might be just a slightly formal visit... Oh... But, Then again, she did sound urgent when she summoned us... Maybe-”
“A reward! Yes!” Interrupted Rainbow Dash, “I told ya she wanted to thank us!”
“Rainbow!” said the other five mares in unison.
“What?” said Rainbow Dash, “It was just an idea.” She looked defeated again.
“Whatever Princess Celestia has called us here for, we will ready,” Began Twilight Sparkle, “I’m just as clueless as you girls are right now.”
After a few more moments, the Carriage came to a stop in front of Canterlot Castle. Twilight Sparkle took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, she used her magic to retrieve her crown from her saddlebag and placed it firmly upon her head, she then proceeded to open the door of the carriage and stepped into the sun. What the six mares saw reflected with what they meet with when they departed the train, a line of guards on either side of them all the way up to the castle gates and beyond to the castle doors, each guard in their sparkling best. The mares walked swiftly to the castle gates as horns and trumpets sounded, it signaled the guards at the castle doors to open the massive ornate thresholds. Out of the doors stepped the wondrous sight of Princess Celestia, her multi-colored mane twinkled in the sunlight and her pearl white coat glistened with regality and care. She slowly moved forward with a smile on her muzzle, clearly pleased to see her wonderful fellow princess and her friends, she bowed slightly as she spoke with a voice as soft cream.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the six mares bowed in response to her own bow, ”And you all, I am so pleased to see you all here. I am also glad to see you all unharmed, you all were here so quickly. I’m sorry if my sudden message worried you, but I needed your presence here for such a momentous occasion!”
“Oh, no, Princess... You don’t need to apologize to us, ”Twilight Sparkle spoke with as much resolve in her voice as to not allow it to quiver, “We are happy to be here. We are wondering why we were called so unexpectedly. I hope nothing is wrong, I don’t know how well Equestria would handle another attack.”
Princess Celestia laughed. It made the tension in the air dissipate, but also it made everypony curious, if the Princess hadn’t called them here to the Castle for some sort of disaster, then what were they needed here for?
“No, no, my little ponies,” reassured Princess Celestia, “I have called you here to witness a miraculous event in history! But before we get to that, I have somepony I would like you to meet!”
Princess Celestia moved aside and the massive decorated doors of the castle opened again, the six mares watched in amazement as something stepped through the opening. Out stepped a figure as tall as Celestia, and just as stunning. A Stallion with a shinning silver coat to rival that of the guards armor, a mane of the darkest raven black that did not look as though it should be possible. His matted, yet managed, mane gave him a bit of a rugged look, and the fact that it almost covered his ocean blue eyes gave him an air of mystery. A long red scarf was wrapped around his neck billowed in the gentle breeze of the day, and at its ends shone the glint of gold filigree. His wings were outstretched as to display the magnificence of the steel colored feathers on each tip, his wings folded to his side as he walked and nearly completed his daunting appearance. One more thing that made all of the mares gasp in bewilderment was his horn, he had a horn as well, an Alicorn, Pegasus wings and a Unicorn horn were the signs of an Alicorn. The horn itself was as steel colored as the rest of him, in the spiral of the horn seemed to be a bit lighter in color like the color of platinum. The mares stared at the Stallion Alicorn with utter disbelief, and he let loose a melting snicker, he smiled with the power to melt everlasting ice and spoke.
“Hello, everypony, I am Prince Quicksilver.”