.
To the east, behind the Baltimare Mountains, the ponies of Ponyville could see the sun rise. It was one of the last sunrises by Princess Celestia and Ponyville looked forward to it greatly, as the wintriness the windigos brought with them had finally vanished and they had the outlook of a day just as sunny and warm as they were used to.
Sparkler woke up this morning, as the first ray of sunshine – the very first one of the day just barely after the sun had peeked over the mountains – graced her face through the window. Her eyes shot open and, no trace of remaining sleepiness visible, she sat up in her bed and looked outside. “Today must be the day!” she shouted. “Today has to be the day!”
Sparkler threw the blanket off her body, struggled her hindlegs free from it and caused almost the entire blanket to fall out of her bed and onto the floor. She didn't give it a single glance and jumped out of the bed, reaching her bedroom door in an instant. The mare pulled it open with her magic and stepped outside, her movement swift and sharp, and she proceeded through the corridor on the upper floor of the house she lived in with zeal and vigor.
Sparkler rushed past two doors; one of them painted in a bright, greyish purple, the other one adorned with a muffin emblem. Nothing stirred behind them, no sounds came forth from them. It was too early. But not for Sparkler. No, this was the right moment to be awake for her. A moment of fame and glory. At least in her head. But Sparkler was hopeful.
The early mare went down the stairs, aiming straight for the front door, eyes locked on it. She reached it, opened it and hastened outside. It was blinding. Not the sun, since it had just risen, there was still a gloomy morning darkness between the houses. The hope in her heart was blinding Sparkler for everything else except the filly she saw trotting down the road in this moment.
The coat of the filly, white with a tinge of green, shone in the early sunlight and was sticking out from the remaining nightly darkness in Ponyville. Shaded accessories obstructed the view of her ears, her blue ribbons she always wore in her red, slightly coltish-looking mane, whose color could not be seen in the dim morning light. She trotted slow, but at a steady pace, no tiredness in her steps. Her blue eyes were directed at the road in front of her and she was holding a roll of paper in her mouth, the daily newspaper. Sparkler's eyes zeroed in on it.
Rainberry spotted a pony in the distance; coming out of a house, stopping and staring at her. A dark silhouette in front of the opened door and the light that shone out of it. Rainberry could not make out any details of the pony who looked at her, but who that pony was did not matter. She just delivered the newspaper, to each house in Ponyville, and who lived in the houses was not important for her job. Everypony gets their newspaper. This pony was just one among many and there was nothing that gave Rainberry a special reason to take a closer look at them. Besides, since she could hardly make out features on that pony, just the shape, she wouldn't even know who to greet if she had any interest in talking to them. Rainberry shrugged. Just an outline who got up early because it can't wait to read the newspaper.
The paperfilly looked to the side and flung the newspaper next to the house there. Then she reached behind her, pulled another one out of her white saddlebags and directed her hooves to the next house, the house of the black silhouette that still watched her. As Rainberry had gotten closer, she could see that the pony was a mare and that her coat was purple. And those were the only details that got stuck in Rainberry's mind that morning. With skill, she flung the newspaper at the mare and the mare's hoof shot up and ripped the roll out of the air in a sharp tempo. A second later, Rainberry had passed by and the mare was out of her sight. Another second later, before she could focus her eyes on the next house, the mare was out of Rainberry's mind as well.
Sparkler removed the tight, transparent plastic ribbon that was around the newspaper and unrolled it. On the front page was a picture of Cozy Glow, Tirek and Chrysalis in stone, birds perched atop of them.
Sparkler grinned. The day was here! At long last, it had come! She wrapped the newspaper into her magic aura and carried it inside. Sparkler closed the door behind her and trotted into the kitchen with a swing in her step. It was time. It was finally time.
Sitting down at the kitchen table, Sparkler laid out the newspaper in front of her. Her eager horn opened it. Page 2 showed Twilight Sparkle and her friends charging at the three villains from the front page. Sparkler frowned. She turned the page. Page 4 showed the villains in stone, not unlike the picture on the front, but without birds this time. A picture on the top of Page 3, Derpy Hooves in a chef's hat, let a fleeting smile flash over Sparkler's face, before she turned the page back and the seriousness reverted to her features again. Sparkler began to read.
.
Equestria's national heroes have done it again. Only a few days ago, Equestria stood at the brink of destruction. Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis have teamed up with Cozy Glow, a former friendship student of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and put the royal castle under siege. According to reports by castle staff, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the Pillars of Equestria, the appointed new headmare of Princess Twilight Sparkle's friendship school, Starlight Glimmer, Discord and five of the six element bearers have gotten captured by them and imprisoned under Canterlot Castle.
Our whole kingdom was under attack by windigos after these three enemies of Equestria have sown distrust and hatred between us. But Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who could escape the villains' clutches, fought for us all once again and tried to protect our land from one of the most dangerous threats Equestria has seen in its more than thousand year long history. But the defeat of these villains has not been caused by Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends alone.
.
Sparkler's face brightened. It was here that it would come. The line she was waiting for, the line she was hoping to read here. One sentence would be enough. No matter how short. If she could read only this one sentence that her heart desired so much, then she would feel accomplished for a long time. It had to be there. It was going to be written here. There was no chance that the sentence she had interrupted reading after wasn't leading up to that one, special line that would make her day, her week, her month. Maybe even her year. Sparkler read on, anticipation making her heart flutter.
.
Our heroes stood at the verge of defeat, the deadly magic of their enemies coming towards them, as they suddenly found themselves protected by a strong shield spell, cast by a group of unicorns who had come to their defense.
.
Sparkler leaned forward in her chair and bit her lip.
.
These unicorns had been led to the battlefield by one of Princess Twilight Sparkle's youngest students, Raspberry Dazzle. “Princess Twilight taught us that the magic of friendship is the most powerful magic there is, so I immediately knew what I had to do!” the young filly proudly speaks of herself.
Among the unicorns who had gathered for the rescue were Chancellor Neighsay, head of the EEA, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, the parents of our future ruler Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Great and Powerful Trixie and Sunburst, Princess Flurry Heart's royal crystaller.
.
Sparkler swallowed. Her face turned desperate.
.
“Of course it was our duty to come and help our kingdom! My brother and I feel nothing but love for Equestria!” Flim, a travelling salespony who happened to have been nearby when the crisis happened, explains his reason to help.
“My dear brother is right! Equestria is the place of our business and there is no way we would ever let our loyal customers, who have supported us for years, hang when a threat endangers them all! And to celebrate the defeat of these ghastly villains and our wonderful new princess, everything in 'Flim and Flam's Travelling Curiosities' will be 10% off until after the coronation!”
.
Sparkler's stomach twisted.
.
And the unicorns were not the only ones who came to the defense of our great group of heroes! “I couldn't stand and watch how the other pegasi abandoned everypony below Cloudsdale, rallying them together to help fight our enemies was the only right thing to do. We all need to stand together and protect our kingdom!” is what Hyper Sonic, another heroic student of Princess Twilight Sparkle's school, says.
The unicorns and pegasi who came to protect our heroes and us all were helped by a group of brave earth ponies, convinced to join the cause by friendship school star student Sandbar: “Eh, it was no big deal!” is what the humble teenage colt has to say about his deed.
And even more help came from Equestria's foreign allies! The rest of Princess Twilight Sparkle's six star students; Yona, Smolder, Gallus, Silverstream and Ocellus, convinced their people, the yaks, dragons, griffons, hippogriffs and changelings, to come to Equestria's aid!
Everypony and everycreature was a hero in this battle for the future of our homeland and their efforts were all made possible by these eight exceptional friendship students who did not hesitate to do the right thing and who led their people right into the face of danger to protect the unity of our beautiful Equestria from all the enemies that threatened it that day!
The defeat of Lord Tirek, Cozy Glow and Queen Chrysalis, alongside the windigos, is a victory for friendship and harmony and it brought us all closer together than we were ever before. And not only is it a victory, it is also a passed test for Princess Twilight's Sparkle's friendship school. Or, as the princess herself puts it:“I am proud of each of my eight students who made this possible. Their intervention, how they did what needed to be done to save Equestria in the name of friendship, proves that my idea was right. A friendship school to help strengthen the bond between Equestria and the outside nations and kingdoms is exactly what Equestria needs. Thanks to the friendship school, new generations of ponies and creatures will live in complete peace and harmony together and we will never have to fear a threat like the Storm King ever again!”
Wise words from a wise princess. Equestria has changed in this fateful battle and now we all look at a safer and brighter future.
Thank you, Elements of Harmony. Thank you, Pillars of Equestria. Thank you, Chancellor Neighsay, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Trixie Lulamoon, Sunburst and all the other unicorns who saved Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends from certain death.
Thank you to all the ponies and creatures who came to help and, most importantly, thank you Raspberry Dazzle, Hyper Sonic, Sandbar, Yona, Smolder, Gallus, Silverstream and Ocellus!
Thanks to all of you, Equestria can see many more mornings and the Magic of Friendship has grown!
.
And so it was over. There was no mention of what Sparkler desired so much. She didn't bother to read the article again, in case she had missed what she was looking for in all her excitement. No amount of excitement could make her miss that one word, so there was no need to double-check. Instead, Sparkler went ahead to Page 4 again and let her eyes fly over the other article that was related to the attack from a few days ago. It turned out to be an editorial about the morality of turning the three villains to stone, mostly focusing on Cozy Glow, written by a concerned editor. Nothing there either.
Sparkler slumped in her chair and a sullen expression overtook her face. She had slept enough, but now bags appeared under her eyes. Mechanically, her magic turned the page back to the article and she looked at one particular sentence again.
“Everypony and everycreature was a hero in this battle for the future of our homeland–“ Sparkler read out loud, then stopped mid-sentence. “Yeah?” she asked the writer of the article, fully aware that he could not hear her, letting sarcasm run free. “Everypony? Really? Why is my name not mentioned here then?”
It wasn't fair. She had done her best. Not only had she been one of the unicorns who cast a shield spell to protect Twilight and her friends, she also was making sure to stand in the front row, where everypony could see her. And yet, there was nothing. She had shown how brave she was, by not only joining the cause, but standing at the top. She was one of the first unicorns to charge. Sparkler had been convinced she would get noticed for this. But now, there was nothing. No interview. No photo. Not even a tiny mention of her name in the newspaper article that reported about the defeated threat. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Sparkler slumped some more, then she slowly got up. She left the newspaper where it was, not even bothering to close it, and trudged out of the kitchen, up the stairs and back into her bedroom, head hanging low all of the way. Her face looked broken and depressed, even more so than it did in the kitchen.
Sparkler trotted past the small table in the middle of her bedroom. It stood there for visits of her friends or was used if she and Dinky just hung out in her room with a batch of muffins and talked about Dinky's video games or what has happened at school. And Sparkler had plenty of friends who visited her, yet, something was always missing during each of the conversations she had with them.
The depressed mare brushed with her flank over a chair while she aimed for her bed, bringing it into slight disarray compared to the other chairs, and she paid it no attention, did not try to fix it. All she used her magic for was to close the door behind her, then she climbed into her bed with lethargic, lifeless movements.
Sparkler crawled into the middle of her bed, then towards her pillow. She slipped her forehooves under it and tightly grasped it from below, while simultaneously collapsing onto her stomach and burying her face into the soft, comforting bunch of fabric, hiding it from view. Her mind attempted to form thoughts, but her head felt hazy, and so the thoughts slipped away before she could really voice them. It went on like this until the thoughts turned into dreams and she fell into a fitful sleep.
One room to the right and not much later after Sparkler had fallen asleep again, Dinky got herself ready to leave her own bedroom this morning. She placed her hoof on the doorknob and pulled her bedroom door open, stepping outside into the corridor. Twee was sitting on her back, nibbling on a lettuce leaf, and Dinky flashed her pet turtle an affectionate smile.
As Dinky faced the corridor again, she instantly noticed that something was different. She turned her head around, mouth pursed in surprise and her right forehoof lifted from the floor. Dinky closed the door of her bedroom, then listened intently. There were the sounds of her mom down in the kitchen as she prepared breakfast. She could hear birds singing outside, the woodwork of their house creaking and, of course, Twee's quiet munching that came from her back. But other familiar sounds she was used to hear at morning were not present; the running water in the bathroom that indicated that the shower was on or the quiet music from her sister's room. Sparkler was still sleeping, something very uncommon for her big sis, who usually got up earlier than she did.
Dinky turned at Sparkler's bedroom door, feeling a tinge of worry in her chest. She listened for another few moments, but still couldn't hear any sounds from inside the room. “Why is Sparkler still sleeping?” it went through Dinky's mind and she approached the door with quick steps. The concern for her big sister dictated the tempo of her hooves.
“Sparks?” Dinky raised her hoof and knocked on the door. “Why are you still asleep? Are you okay?”
No response came. After a second, Dinky decided to open the door and check. The lights in the room were off. She tapped to the right and hit the light switch. The lamp in the middle of the ceiling flared up and clad the room in a warm light that chased away the gloom. Something remained, though. Moving into the room a bit and looking past the table, Dinky could see her sister lying in her bed, the backside of her head pointing at her. She did not move.
“Sparkler? Why are you still sleeping?” Dinky repeated her question from a moment ago.
Sparkler's body stirred and she turned around at her little sis ever so slowly. As Dinky could see her face, she gasped and brought a hoof to her lips. There were heavy, dark bags under her sister's eyes, which were barely opened enough to see her, Sparkler's mouth showed a deep frown and her mane was a complete mess, the individual hairs sticking out at more angles than Dinky could count. It was a horrible and slightly scary sight.
“Sparks?” Dinky whispered. “What's wrong?” Her ears dropped and she came closer, taking up position at Sparkler's bed. “Are you sick, Sparks?”
“No.....” Sparkler finally opened her mouth to say something. And that was all she said.
“Was it a bad dream, then?” Dinky reached out with a hoof and stroke over Sparkler's mane. She tried to tidy the hairs, to no avail.
“No.....” Sparkler repeated. “But I wish it would be one.” She finally moved more and sat up in her bed.
Dinky's eyes followed her movement.
Slumping and hooves placed between her hindlegs, Sparkler stared apathetically into the room. A yawn left her mouth after a few seconds. It was short and passionless.
“Sparks? What happened?” The young unicorn stared at her sibling with a frown.
“It's what not happened,” Sparkler replied, mysteriously.
Puzzled, Dinky blinked, not sure what to make of this response.
Sparkler got up from the bed and trotted past her little sister, not speaking any more words. Through the open door, Dinky could see how Sparkler headed for the bathroom and disappeared inside. She frowned some more.
“Finally tell me what's happening!” Dinky's worried and upset voice sounded through the kitchen. “Sparks!”
Sparkler sat right next to Dinky. She was absentmindedly chewing on a bare piece of toast. Another piece lay on the pink plate in front of her. It seemed like she could not even hear Dinky, so distant was the look in her eyes.
Dinky's expression, that had shown such eagerness to get an explanation for her depressed mood out of her big sister, faltered now and the eagerness became replaced by fear and resignation. “Sparks.....” Dinky sunk into her chair, eyes closed and head dropping.
Derpy approached them now, a deep frown on her face. She put down a plate with muffins in the middle of the table and looked at Sparkler intently.
Sparkler chewed for a few more seconds, then put down her toast, closed her eyes and sighed. “It's because nopony notices me.....” it came forth from her, weak and without any energy in her voice. She finally looked up again and flashed a pained grimace at Derpy.
Derpy sat down and looked into the eyes of her older daughter. “Who doesn't notice you?” she asked, slightly confused over the sudden confession.
“Nopony.....” Sparkler repeated, with a bit more urgency in her voice. “Nopony ever notices anything I do.”
Dinky turned around at Sparkler and rubbed over her back with her left hoof. “I always notice everything you do, Sparks.”
Sparkler gave her little sister a smile. It was shortlived. She looked in front of her again, a few tears building in the corner of her eyes.”Whatever I do, it never matters to anypony. They don't notice. I help Berry Punch to look after her sister when she's drunk or sleeping away a hangover. And all I get is a short thank you and then she never mentions my help ever again.”
Sparkler lifted the cup in front of her and sipped from her coffee. “Or I'm helping out at Sugarcube Corner when the Cakes are busy with their babies. All the customers who come know that I've overtaken their shift, but nopony acknowledges it. Most of them aren't even surprised about seeing me behind the counter and act like everything's normal. I've helped organizing Mathilda's wedding and after the ceremony, she trotted past me without saying a word or even looking at me. And nopony ever thanks me for it that I volunteer for waking up the animals during Winter Wrap Up each year. They all take my help for granted, but at the same time, don't notice how much I am helping them all.”
Derpy and Dinky exchanged a dismayed look, then presented Sparkler with said look, the full scope of her problem dawning on them.
“And now, I defended Equestria and saved the six element bearers from their doom and I am not even mentioned in the newspaper article.” She let her eyes glide over the table and gave the newspaper, that still lay in the middle of it, a frustrated glare that spoke of all the pain she had felt while discovering its content. “I even stood right at the front, to make sure I'll be seen, and I was sure that somepony would notice this. But now there's nothing..... No photo, no interview, not even a single mention of my name anywhere..... Nopony will find out what I did.” A sniff escaped her nose and she rubbed a hoof over it. Sparkler got up and took her cup with her. At the kitchen counter, she was sniffing some more while filling her cup with new coffee.
Back at the table, Sparkler remained silent. She looked down at her plate and nibbled at her piece of toast, as absentmindedly as before. Her face showed that she was mulling over her situation. The tiny blood vessels in her eyes were slightly more red than usual.
Derpy put her muffin aside and got up from her chair. She took seat again next to Sparkler and wrapped her arms around her chest and back. Derpy rested her chin on Sparkler's mane and squeezed her daughter. “I am sure they have noticed, Sparks. Maybe they were too busy to say thank you or distracted by something, but I'm sure they've noticed what you did for them.”
“Thanks, mom.” Sparkler touched her mother's hoof and squeezed it. “But it's not true. They didn't notice anything. They are happy when I help them, but I'm still just a shadow for them and nothing else.”
“That's not true, Sparks!” Dinky's voice chimed in from the right. A second later, she had wrapped herself around her sis in the same way as her mom. Dinky lifted her head and looked up at her. Her own eyes were slightly teary now. “You are a great big sister, not a shadow! I always notice it when you help me with my homework! And I'll always remember how you brought back my video games after Aunt Millie sold them and how you defended me against her!” Dinky did her best to cheer her sister up, but a look into her eyes confirmed to her that Sparkler's mood did not become much better.
Sparkler put a hoof around Dinky. “Thank you, Dinks. I know I can always count on you and mom.” She put her other hoof around her mother. “But it's different with them. Even my closest friends don't notice anything..... They come visiting and we talk and play games, but when I need their attention the most, I'm not getting it.” Sparkler wrapped the newspaper into her magic and hovered it in front of her. It was still opened at the dreadful article. “I hoped that this article would mention me. If it did, they would notice what a hero I was that day..... But nopony will sing about me now.” Her magic crumpled the newspaper and she flung it across the kitchen into the bin that stood there. Sparkler closed her eyes and a single tear dropped out and onto the table.
Dinky gave her big sister a deeply worried look. “But somepony noticed it!” she shouted, unable to take her sibling's grief any longer.
Sparkler sniffed and looked at Dinky. “Who?”
“I don't know, Sparks, but somepony did! You should go outside and ask around! At least one pony will have noticed what you did!”
“Dinky is right. Everypony in Ponyville is talking about the events, there is somepony who noticed your help, maybe there are even a few!” Derpy released her embrace and brought her face in front of Sparkler's. Her crossed eyes contributed to the naïve optimism they formed together with the smile she gave her daughter. “Go out there, Sparks, and find a pony who noticed you!”
“Are you sure, mom?” Sparkler wasn't sold on the idea.
“Yes, I am! You did such a wonderful thing to protect us all, I know ponies are talking about you!” Derpy's smile grew and she laughed cheerfully to underline her conviction.
“You should go”! Dinky added and squeezed her sister tighter.
Sparkler sighed a third time this morning. “Fine..... I will try to find somepony who knows.”
Dinky stopped squeezing and retreated into her chair as she felt Sparkler stirring. The young unicorn mare got up and left the table. Her coffee stayed behind untouched. “But if I don't find anypony who did.....” Sparkler turned around at her family one last time and looked at them with insecurity.”
“You will!” Dinky assured her. She left the table and gave her sister a pat on the back.
Derpy nodded on her seat. “You are going to find somepony, Sparkler!”
“I hope you're right.....” There was still doubt in Sparkler's voice, but her heart felt a little lighter now. She leaned down and hugged Dinky, then gave Derpy a wave before she cantered out of the kitchen. A few seconds later, Derpy and Dinky could hear the front door closing.
Outside of her home, Sparkler steered her hooves with renewed vigor into a certain direction. She already knew exactly who she would ask first. A mere few minutes had went by as she knocked on the door of Lyra's and Bon Bon's house.
After about a minute of waiting, the door opened and Lyra poked her head out. “Sparkler! You're here so early in the morning! What do you need?”
“Attention,” Sparkler almost said, but she bit her tongue. “Not much,” she said instead. “I just wondered, did you read the newspaper already? About the three villains who worked together to take control of Equestria?”
“Of course! How couldn't I?” Lyra piped up, even more cheerful than before.
Sparkler beamed. “So you heard about–”
“They made an entire article about mine and Bon Bon's wedding!” Lyra squeed and bit her lip.
“That's not what I meant.” Sparkler's voice took on a less optimistic tone. “The other article. You know, Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis?”
“Oh, that one..... I skimmed over it, yeah,” Lyra said. Her eyelids lowered. It was a sign of disinterest. “Why? Did they say anything special in it?”
“No, they didn't..... I just wondered, do you know which unicorns were there to save Twilight and her friends?”
“Hmm.....” Lyra scrunched her face in thoughts. “Moondancer was there..... She was right next to me. And the unicorn without a horn who invaded Canterlot a few years ago, I think her name is Tempest. And I saw Trixie and Chancellor Neighsay..... oh and Sunburst!” She tapped with one forehoof onto the other while she counted down the names. “I think those are all the unicorns I remember.” Lyra put her hooves down again.
An expression of baffled disbelief emerged on Sparkler's face. “That's all?” she asked, struggling to keep herself composed. “Do you really not remember any of the other unicorns?”
“No.....” Lyra said, moving her head back a little. “I know there were many others, but I only remember those five.”
“What's with the unicorn who stood next to Sunburst? Do you know who that was?” Sparkler continued to probe, ignoring what Lyra just said.
“No, I don't.” Lyra flinched. “Is everything okay? Why is that important?”
“It's not, just forget it..... Where is Bon Bon? Maybe she knows.” The determination in Sparkler's face turned into despair.
“Bon Bon? She's not here, she is hunting a monster for the agency. Which I'm not supposed to tell you, so just forget what I said!” Lyra gave her a sheepish grin, sweat trickling down the side of her head.
“I know what Bon Bon does.” Sparkler narrowed her eyes.
The mention of Bon Bon's work for S.M.I.L.E. lifted Lyra's spirits again and blew away her nervousness. “Bon Bon left last night,” she started gushing about her wife “right in the middle of it! The agency sent her a signal and she immediately packed her equipment, kissed me and left. Bonnie never waits when Equestria is in danger, she is such a hero and always there when ponies need her help, I love her!” Lyra's eyes turned dreamy and little, yellow hearts left the tip of her horn and floated into the air around Sparkler.
Sparkler gritted her teeth. She engulfed the door in her magic and slammed it shut in front of Lyra's face, then turned around and galloped away.
“Sparkler?!” it came quietly from behind the door, but the upset mare did not stop.
Sparkler galloped until she was out of breath. She stopped and panted, head hanging low. The ill success hurt in her heart. Anger was taking hold of her mind.
As a door got opened not too far away from her and she could hear the sounds of something heavy being carried, Sparkler got distracted from these emotions again. She looked to the side and her eyes fell on the flower shop. Daisy teetered out of its front door, balancing an elongated, black planter in her forehooves. It was equipped with flowers in various colors that stood in black soil. Groaning, the earth pony mare heaved it onto a rack that stood next to the door, placing it there safely. She moved a hoof under her green mane and wiped some sweat off her forehead.
After her, Lily and Roseluck came out of the shop, as well. They carried the same planters and, like Daisy did, placed them on the rack, which was full then.
Seeing the three flower sisters lit up Sparkler's face. They always had many customers, which meant they were chatting with a lot of ponies each day. Her mom said that ponies talk about her help. If she was right and there were ponies who talked about the heroic deed she was so proud of, then they must have heard about it.
Sparkler lifted her head and took a deep breath, calming her racing heart. She approached the sisters as they were just about to head back into the shop. “Hey,” Sparkler said simply, not quite knowing how to start the conversation.
Daisy, Lily and Rose turned around. “Hey, good morning! How do you feel? Can we do something for you?” Lily greeted her warmly, a contagious smile on her lips and a glow in her eyes.
Daisy and Rose wished her a good morning, as well.
“Thanks. Uhm.....” Sparkler struggled with finding the right words for a moment. “Did you have any customers who talked about the battle in Canterlot during the last few days?”
“Sure, plenty of them!” Lily chimed. “It's the #1 talk in town at the moment. It was impressive, wasn't it? Everypony came to help!”
“Yeah, it was,” Sparkler agreed. “Did you meet anypony who mentioned what the unicorns did?”
“Yes, all of our costumers said there was a group of unicorns who cast a shield spell to protect Princess Twilight and her friends.” At Lily's side, her two sisters smiled and gave confirming nods.
“And..... they also mentioned some of the unicorns specifically, right?” Sparkler gave it a shot. Her heart began to race again.
Lily shook her head. “No, they only mentioned a group of unicorns. They talked a lot about the Pillars of Equestria, the element bearers and Princess Twilight's six star students, though!” Lily's smile widened and excitement arose in her eyes.
Sparkler's ears dropped. She wasn't done yet, though. “And what about you?”
“Us?” Lily asked, a little taken aback by the unexpected question. Rose and Daisy, who had passively listened to the conversation so far, rested their eyes on Sparkler.
“Yeah. Like, who do you remember? Who impressed you the most?”
“Oh!” Lily giggled. “Definitely the young students!” she shouted. “Not Princess Twilight's six star students, I mean the two fillies! Hyper Sonic and Raspberry Dazzle are their names. It's so amazing how they talked to the pegasi and unicorns and got them to help us and how they even led them into battle, quite a feat for such young foals! We earth ponies owe them something!”
Not satisfied with this answer, Sparkler directed her eyes at Rose, who just began to speak.
“The Pillars impressed me the most!” Roseluck gushed in awe. “They got defeated quick, sure, but only because Tirek had sucked up extremely powerful, ancient magic. They gave all in the fight against him and if hadn't been for Grogar's magic, they would have won the fight, too!” Her face radiated the admiration for the six ancient heroes that her answer implied.
The words were a cue for the bags under Sparkler's eyes to return. Pushed by her last hope for this conversation, Sparkler looked at Daisy. “And you?”
“The element bearers, of course, no contest!” Daisy spoke with conviction.
“Of course.....” Sparkler snarled.
Daisy didn't seem to notice the reaction. “Like Rose said, the Pillars haven't done much. Besides, they are outdated, their hero times are long gone.” She waved a hoof and presented a slightly smug expression. “But the element bearers have saved us and all of Equestria, even the entire world, countless times ever since Princess Twilight came to Ponyville and they reactivated the Elements of Harmony. They are our true heroes!”
Sparkler breathed in deep, then sharply exhaled the air she just took in. It wasn't unlike the flower sisters were looking at a dragon.
“Is anything wrong?” Lily asked, now feeling concerned.
“Everything's fine,” Sparkler spoke in a cold voice.
“Do you want some flowers?” Lily offered. “Flowers remove any kind of bad mood and replace it with happiness and you don't look good today, so they are on the house!” She reached behind her and picked some flowers from the top planter, then held them in front of Sparkler's face.
“No, it's fine,” Sparkler rejected her. “I don't need flowers.” Having spoken these words, she trudged away from the sisters, not giving them one more look.
Daisy and Rose looked after her in confusion, Lily's face showed disappointment and a bit of sadness.
Sparkler's mood had returned to the condition from earlier this morning, after she read the newspaper article. She felt like lying down right where she was, on the street, and not moving anymore. And she would have done so, if she hadn't bumped into Berry Punch, who suddenly appeared right in front of her. Sparkler stumbled to the ground by the impact.
“Hey, pal!” Berry Punch shouted. She reached down and picked Sparkler up with her strong earth pony hooves. Berry Punch gave her a grin before she put her back down, making sure she was standing securely again. “There we go! Just as good as new!”
Sparkler swayed slightly. But the crash with the bigger mare had driven the newly risen depression out of her for a moment. Sparkler reinstated her balance, then looked into Berry Punch's face. “You are awake this early?” she asked, saying the first thing that came to her mind.
“Yep!” Berry Punch answered. “Just brought Pinchy to school! How are you doing?”
“I'm doing okay. Hey, did you hear anything about the battle in Canterlot?” Sparkler wasn't in the mood to ask that question anymore but, somehow, it slipped out of her before she could stop herself.
“Sure!” Berry Punch shouted, with an enthusiasm that was rare to find this early in the morning. “You hear a lot of things in the bar, don't you know?” She laughed and gave the unicorn mare in front of her a strong pat on the back, nearly knocking the air out of her lungs.
Sparkler coughed. Then she cleared her throat. “And what do you like about it the most?”
“Sandbar!” Berry Punch responded with delight.
“Sandbar?” Sparkler heaved an eyebrow.
“Yeah! One of Princess Twilight's students!” Berry Punch laughed again. “You should have been there when it happened! That dude is awesome, he picked me up when I was down like that's nothing and he stopped the panic of all the earth ponies in Ponyville! It was so impressive how he did all that!” Berry Punch's face became one huge grin. “And I heard his five friends have done the same thing for their people! These six are awesome, if they hadn't visited Princess Twilight's school and received friendship lessons there, Equestria wouldn't stand anymore today! We owe them and we also owe Princess Twilight for teaching them everything she knows!”
“Yeah. Princess Twilight.” Sparkler took another deep breath and exhaled sharply, like she did just a few minutes ago. All of a sudden, anger was flaring up in her. Sparkler felt hot. She became furious. She exposed her teeth and growled. And before Berry Punch could say more, Sparkler turned around on her hooves and dashed away in a mad tempo.
“Hey, where are you going?” Berry Punch shouted after her with much surprise over Sparkler's sudden departure.
“To Twilight's castle!” Sparkler shouted back, in a loud volume.
“Wanna go to the bar tonight?” was the last thing Sparkler heard behind her and she did not respond. The words did not even reach her; her mind was suddenly filled with hatred, despair and anger, all mixed together.
Soon, the castle came into Sparkler's view. As she ran up the stairs, she did not stop to open the gate and instead flung it open with her magic while she was still running. Spike was close to the gate and Sparkler sent him into a spin as she went past him, hardly more than a purple and green blur for her. The entrance hall of the castle was littered with moving boxes and Sparkler dodged them with ease in her fury.
Her instinct led Sparkler into the library of the castle and, sure thing, that's where Twilight was. The princess stood there with her back pointing at Sparkler. She was sorting books into a shelf, not noticing Sparkler's presence.
“I came to talk to you,” Sparkler hissed at the princess. She could have yelled and screamed right away, but she wanted to save her emotions for the right moment.
Twilight startled a little as she heard the sudden voice coming from behind. She shook slightly as she turned around, then her nerves had already calmed down again as she spotted Sparkler standing at the entrance of the library.
“Sparkler!” she cheered. “Oh, it's good you're here!” Twilight flapped her wings and flew towards her. She put the books she was holding on a table near them after landing in front of Sparkler. “I was going to visit you today.”
“Not necessary anymore,” Sparkler spoke cynically. “You get a visit by me instead. There are a lot of things I am going to tell you.”
“Oh, I bet,” Twilight responded, not realizing what Sparkler was going for. “You've done a lot for Equestria and for me and my friends. Without you and the other unicorns, we would be dead and Equestria would be doomed.” She stopped and thought for a moment. “Or, at least it would be much harder to defeat those villains then.”
The words washed over Sparkler's face like a frosty wave of arctic water. Her pupils contracted. Suddenly, there was a cold feeling in her chest. Instead of letting the burning speech she had prepared in her head rain down on the princess, she stayed silent.
“You look surprised,” Twilight assessed. “I understand, I would be surprised, too. You probably didn't expect I would be talking to you about this. In fact, I am surprised that I do. That all of Equestria would get together like this, it definitely wasn't something I could have seen coming.” She interrupted herself and gave Sparkler an apologetic look. “But I am talking too much. It's not polite to let you stand here the entire time while I am gushing about your exploit. Come, sit down with me, Sparkler.” Twilight pointed to a table that was surrounded by soft, cushioned seats and sat down on one of them.
Sparkler staggered after her and took seat at the opposite side of the table. She kept being silent.
Seeing that Sparkler had sat down, Twilight continued. “As I said, I am glad you came here to see me. Spike and I still have to pack so much for my move to Canterlot and this saves me a lot of time. It's my plan to visit all the unicorns who saved mine and the lives of my friends, to thank them personally. And I noticed that you were standing at the front of the ponies who saved us, so I wanted to come to your house first thing today.”
During this explanation, Sparkler had listened in silence, while the arctic waters raged inside her head. Now, she attempted to voice her thoughts, but only opened and closed her mouth like a fish. No words came out.
“Sparkler?” Twilight leaned in. “Is something not right?”
“I..... Uh..... Y-Yeah, it is right. I-I guess.....” Sparkler finally stammered a few words.
“Great! So, don't let me waste more time with expressing how surprised I am that you are here. There are far more important things to say.” Twilight left her seat and trotted around the table, until she stood at Sparkler's side.
“Sparkler, I want to say thank you. You are one of those ponies who selflessly came to save me and my friends. You brought yourself in great danger to save us and for this, I owe you something, Sparkler.” Twilight bowed down in front of the surprised unicorn mare. “Thank you, Sparkler, for coming to our rescue and for saving my life and the lives of my friends.”
Sparkler's mouth gaped open wide. Her eyes got stuck on the princess below her. Only slowly, Sparkler found her ability to speak back. “Is this..... Is this why you wanted to visit me? Just to say thank you?”
“Yes. But not just to say thank you.” Twilight looked up at Sparkler, then she rose back to full height. “Soon, I will move to Canterlot. I will have to leave Ponyville. And I need somepony who will be in charge after I'm gone. A pony who will keep things organized here.”
Sparkler's mouth opened again. Her pupils widened.
“Just a little while ago, I found out that you were Ponyville's organizer before I arrived here.” Twilight's eyes took on a pleading, guilty expression all of a sudden. “And I am sorry, Sparkler. It never was my intent to steal this job from you. If you had told me that you were the organizer here in Ponyville, I gladly would have let you organize everything instead of doing it myself.” Twilight put on a composed face again. “Now it's too late for that and I can't give those years back to you..... But now that I have to move away, Ponyville needs a new organizer and I think it should be you. Do you still want this job, Sparkler?”
Sparkler looked at Twilight in disbelief. She had been on a journey to find a pony who has noticed that heroic deed of hers..... and now Twilight turned out as that pony? And she even apologized for taking from her what she had loved, all those years ago?
Sparkler's eyes filled up with tears. Before they could run down her face, though, she rubbed them away with her hoof. She was moved, but everything inside her also screamed not to show this to Twilight. That she didn't deserve it. She couldn't fix everything that easily.
As her eyes were dry again, Sparkler gave Twilight a cold stare.
Twilight looked into Sparkler's eyes, that suddenly were judgemental and hostile. She waited for her response. As none had come after a couple seconds, Twilight finally asked: “Sparkler? Are you accepting my offer? I will understand if your answer is no, but I ask you to at least think about it. It was always you who organized everything in Ponyville before I arrived and you deserve to get your old job back.”
Sparkler took her time to answer and kept looking at Twilight with her stern gaze. She enjoyed the view of guilt and servitude in Twilight's eyes. It was nothing she could fix that easily..... but the pleading, the apology and the offer she made her were a start.
She waited one more minute before she finally gave Twilight her answer.
“I take it.”
Sparkler got up from her seat and trotted away without regarding the rueful princess any longer. Only as she was at the door, she turned around and gave Twilight one last, intense stare.
As tears appeared in the corner of Twilight's eyes, Sparkler nodded and left.
.