Whatever Happened to Princess Sparkle?

by Algorhythm

Chapter 3

-3-

Trumpets sounded their triumphant call through the halls of the castle. Guards on either side of the entrance hall to the ballroom were dressed in newly polished steel and gold trim. Nobles from all sides of Equestria came in their finest fabrics – luscious flowing garb in all types of colors and design. The hall felt like a journey through the rainbow fountains of Cloudsdale.

As the group in large turned their heads to see the precession of the Princesses, they instinctively bowed forward to greet them. In their normal royal attire, they gleamed in the light of the hall.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts, welcome once again to the Grand Galloping Gala,” Princess Celestia began. Her smile beamed down like a ray of morning sunshine, filling the crowd with elation. The gathered guests stomped their hooves and cheered for a good minute before she could get control of the hall. “My sister and I are humbled that you have decided to join us once again in our centuries old tradition. As a token of our gratitude, each guest shall be provided with the stone of this occasion – a fire ruby – in celebration of thirteen centuries of continued peace and prosperity.”

The nobles in the entrance hall stomped their hooves in applause and excitement. Cheers erupted from the crowd as they looked on in admiration at their immortal rulers.

Off in the wings, individuals of higher station were preparing themselves for their formal introductions to the nobility. The Captain of the Guard was already standing to Luna’s side on the stage, going unannounced until it was appropriate. However, royal advisors were already adjusting their finest for their presentation.

“Quicksilver!” Dew Point hissed.

The silver mare shook herself from her stupor and looked up at her mentor. His magic was already hard at work, ensuring she and her styled mane would stay in one piece. The braid was much longer than she had expected it to be. Her lavender mane was coiled tightly with royal purple and navy blue ribbons. Golden hairpins in the shape of stars were placed in fashionably random locations to keep her mane from unraveling, and it seemed like the random factor bothered Dew Point greatly. Her purple dress covered much of her torso and the entire back half of her body. The streaks of silver were in a classic curled design used for several hundred years. It was a statement ponies still couldn’t avoid reusing and paying homage to, something that confounded her greatly.

“Please try to be focused on formal appearance. I will not have you making a poor example of yourself in this environment.”

She rolled her eyes while he had his head turned.

“I saw that.”

She looked a little startled. He’d have to have eyes in the back of his head to see that. That or he had very good peripheral vision. Considering that he had caught her dozing off a few times while working on potions, all while his attention was focused in a different direction–

One click on the stone from his horseshoe snapped her back to attention. “Honestly. Your attention this week has been less than I expect from somepony I plan on claiming as a Journeymare of alchemy. Know that your actions can decide your fate and I cannot help you if you destroy your public image.”

Quicksilver’s mouth dropped open.

“Don’t look so surprised. You finished over a hundred potions and formulas for your exam and managed a perfect score. You’ve practically – and sometimes I think, literally – consumed the entire textbook on advanced alchemy which I gave to you to study and learn. Did you even read the papers I gave you?"

She scoffed as his magic grabbed the un-tied clasp on the front of her dress. The slight choking feeling from having it tightened had her swallow to make sure that she still could. “I’m sorry I spilled Cream Carton’s Corrosive Concoction on the cover–”

“–which is the perfect story to shift the blame from a desire to eat my book, to that of a harmless spill which would have made it much better to digest.”

“Ew!”

Sir Dew chuckled softly and smiled. “I will miss your inability to understand humor."

Quicksilver frowned and looked away. There were always two sides of the coin to Dew Point: angry mad scientist, or warm and fatherly. If he had a middle ground, she'd be much more upset about his admission than she was. That in itself was difficult for her to understand, but being moved to the rank of Journeymare? Much more difficult.

When she turned back to face her mentor, she found it was difficult to understand the frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. Strangely enough, he seemed... upset.

He cleared his throat. "You will find that the world is a dangerous place, smothered by beauty and peace. Hold your head high, but never forget to look down."

She raised an eyebrow at his cryptic 'good luck' wishes. But that was all that she could do. The trumpets began to play their second march signaling the presentation of the royal advisors and staff. Dew Point flicked his cloak behind him with his hoof and began his walk towards the entrance hall.

--*--

"There is no way that we can accept her into the Royal Service."

Captain Fine Point stood in front of a small horseshoe table in the basement offices of the Royal Guard. Built below the staff tower, it was worked by no less than twenty trained guards, many of which were sent below to patrol the dungeons. Even if they were relatively unoccupied, it was important for the transport of high level prisoners.

The meeting room of the lower complex was the only one that was newly fortified with magic and steel. The walls were covered in strong stone, hewn to be simple but strong. The floor was polished stone of the same nature, speckled with naturally occurring iron and crystal.

Around the table sat five individual ponies. To the left was Captain Glimmer Sheen, head of the Magical Guard. His magical prowess was unmatched in the castle, save only for the Princesses and perhaps the Royal Alchemist.

Next to him was White Lily, the head of the Night Guard. Luna's personal guardian, the batpony mare was tough and built like the other stallions in the room. She drew a hoof through her navy colored mane and stared at the others at the table with disinterest. A few of the guards stationed for protection couldn't help but stare at the missing chunk of her right ear.

On the other side of the table sat the remaining two heads – Captain Fortress, the head of the Earth Pony division, and Captain Whiplash, Head of the Pegasus Guard, and personal guard to Princess Celestia for excursions.

Fine Point was focused on none of these figures. Since he was in charge of recruit training, he only needed to answer to Star Strike, the Captain of the Guard. He stood above all of the other gathered ponies as the undisputed protector of the castle. Despite being a pegasus, he had training against magical effects from none other than Princess Luna. Tales from his past were legendary in Equestria. The most notable was single hoofedly bringing down a pair of manticores without his armor on. That is, if the tales were to be believed, of course.

Fine Point swallowed. "I have watched her train on the castle grounds. She is agile, quick on her hooves, and given any circumstance – including combat – she can analyze a situation with excellent accuracy."

Fortress frowned. He raised a hoof to his muzzle and scratched the underside of his chin. "That is not what the other officers have attested to." The grey coated earth pony lifted his clipboard in front of him. "Unable to cooperate with other recruits, physically unable to meet standard benchmarks in combat armor, barely meets vital statistics required for enlistment, cutie mark incompatible with position... Need I continue?"

Fine Point looked away from Star Strike and met Fortress' steel-blue eyes. The earth pony was more than skeptical about Willowisp being affirmed to the force.

"Actually, yes, Fortress," Glimmer Sheen began. Fine Point removed his gaze from Fortress and turned back to his superior. "Let's talk about her cutie mark."

Glimmer Sheen lifted his own copy of her records. The sound of pages being turned was the only thing keeping the room from being left in utter silence.

"Ah, yes. Here we are. A column shrouded in mist. Let’s see what the official cutological report says about our recruit." Fine Point shifted uncomfortably, but Glimmer didn't seem to notice or care. "Mist represents the ability to move about undetected, a good indication that stealth is part of her special talent. The empty column, especially its stout height represents a display of some sort, perhaps from a museum. The fact that it is empty suggests that her stealth allows her to take what she wants in life. This also suggests that she has stolen something before, perhaps of great value, and if not now, the potential remains for her to do so. Your recruit is a thief."

"The column is broken."

The group turned to look at White Lily, shocked that she had spoken at all. She stared off into space as if she had no interest in the conversation. "If you are going to read the report, include all of the details."

After regaining his composure, Glimmer glared at her. "This is all that is relevant. She is a threat to the castle if left unattended as patrols usually are."

Lily turned her head and fixed a stare directly at her comrade. "Read the next line." Glimmer narrowed his eyes. Lily held his gaze.

"Read it, Glimmer," Star Strike said. He shifted forward in his chair and added his gaze to the battle of wits. "If I may remind you, this is a pony's life we are talking about. A cutie mark is a representation of hopes and dreams, as well as their upbringing."

Glimmer backed down and returned his eyes to the clipboard. "Breaks in the column suggest that she discovered her special talent out of necessity, not out of greed or malicious intent. It also suggests that she may have shared with others since the breaks cut the column into symmetrical pieces."

Lily returned to staring at the far wall, leaning back in her chair. Glimmer placed a permanent scowl on his face.

Fine Point had since relaxed in his position before the group. The only thing he was trying to do now was hide his smile.

Sometimes he felt Glimmer needed to be put in his place. There were occasions when it was clear he was disappointed that he wasn't captain of the guard. Although nopony in the castle talked about it openly, his ambition to take Star Strike's place was possibly more than mere words and impressions. Several security incidents from miscommunication had already fallen on the aging Captain, of which could not be explained.

Whiplash cleared his throat. "What do you make of her abilities to work with others, Fine Point? Her cutie mark suggests a generous and friendly demeanor, but the reports speak in contrary."

Fine Point cleared his throat, "With all due respect, there is a serious lack of respect among a few of your subordinate officers towards her and her kind. By that, I include all divisions of the normal castle guard, except for Lily's. I know little about Captain Lily's Night Guard as they are illusive and few on patrols."

Lily cast her gaze on Fine Point.

He quickly added, "It is no judge of your force, Ma'am. Princess Celestia's many divisions have had this responsibility for over a millennia and that still has yet to change."

"Our force doesn't do well in public," she said lazily. Her gaze shifted back into space. "There is no need for an apology, but I appreciate the notion."

"Your force doesn't really do well anywhere does it?" Glimmer growled.

Fine Point froze. Whiplash quietly slid his chair back from the table in anticipation, while Fortress' eyes shifted from one to the other.

"Our force does what we do, because nopony else can. I would be happy to tell you more, but I don't know if Princess Luna will give you the clearance."

"There is no honor in spying on ponies and other countries for a living. We have been at peace for centuries–"

"Including when Princess Luna returned under the influence of the nightmare? Or perhaps we were at peace when the changelings invaded? Or any event in which the Elements of Harmony needed to be used to avoid catastrophe?"

Glimmer quickly shut his mouth. Fine Point noticed Lily now had her full attention focused on the meeting. Her eyes were wild with anger, but her body seemed calm and restrained.

"Because of us, all of your training has never had to be used. Ever since Princess Sparkle's time we have been utilized to slow down other countries from overtaking us, monsters from overrunning our borders, and stopping threats to Equestria from the outside as well as the inside. So while you get to sit on your flank and criticize my methods, I get to fight and maneuver my troops to give you the right to continue."

Star Strike interrupted, "Off topic, Lily. If your quarrels with one another need to be settled, you can arrange for a tournament on the grounds." He placed his clipboard on the table. "Now, about Willowisp. Those who approve of her joining the service, say I."

"I," Lily said.

"I," Whiplash chimed.

"Those opposed?"

"I," Fortress said.

"With the utmost conviction," Glimmer snorted.

Fine Point looked to Star Strike for some kind of final verdict. He closed his eyes and waited for the blow. Star Strike would never take a tactical risk, but Fine knew that he had a history with the illusive batpony mare. He hoped that maybe that would win out over assumptions based on Willowisps poor performance.

When he opened his eyes, Star Strike was idly flipping through the clipboard.

"I would be happy to take her into my service," Lily added. "She could do some real good for Equestria."

"Or you could be risking priceless and dangerous artifacts to a pony whose talent provides her with the opportunity to get away relatively unnoticed," Glimmer added.

Star Strike placed the clipboard back on the table. "It also says on the report that she refused to talk about theft as part of her cutie mark. It seemed to upset her greatly, which leads me to believe that she is no threat to this castle. She will be placed under Captain Lily for further instruction and training."

Fine Point breathed a sigh of relief. Glimmer stared, open-mouthed at his superior. He seemed dumbfounded at the decision.

"I suggest, Captains, that you re-evaluate your officers and punish them appropriately. I do not tolerate discrimination of any kind as we are all pledging to fight, protect and die for the Princesses and Equestria." The silence was palpable. He licked his lips and rose from his seat. "Captain Fine Point, please lead all of the approved recruits to be fitted for armor and dress clothes. Once they are in their current formal dress, bring them to the throne room for an audience with the Princesses."

Comments

[Redric Carrun]

Oh, well hello, Princess Celestia! Fancy meeting you here. I wasn't expecting you.
Ha ha.

Boy, cutie marks are pretty detailed here, aren't they? Just looking at them, you can tell if someone ever stole something, how they felt about it, what they did with what they stole, and how likely they are to steal from whoever employs them.

How do thieves manage to stay out of prison?