Whatever Happened to Princess Sparkle?

by Algorhythm

Chapter 4

-4-

In the main hall of the gala, the party had finally begun to wind down. The general nobility of Canterlot had only stayed so long as to enjoy hobnobbing with the political elite and whatever expensive snacks they happened to line their pockets with. Opportunities to save money on food and dining were never missed by the stingy, it seemed. Once the snacks were removed, it hadn't taken long for the first few to shuffle out.

Of course, some of those that stayed were there to meet the Princesses themselves. Tickets were within reach of the middle class, so there was a light dusting of up and coming business ponies looking to find either a royal contract or endorsement. Failing that, the well-established entrepreneurs were more than willing to buy their ideas or partner in their companies. One pony in particular seemed eager to enlist the services of the Royal Alchemist in creating a potion that would renew the body and reverse the effects of aging. Obviously, that tread on very thin ice as far as Dew Point was concerned, and he politely declined.

Quicksilver, however, was on her own for the majority of the evening. Most of her time she'd spent dodging the nobles where she could, which meant she spent an exorbitant amount of time by the punch and cakes until Sir Dew gave her one of his classic cautious stares. Taking almost an entire pitcher of punch from the table, she slunk off to one of the tables setup out of the way of the festivities. Needless to say, she had enough sugar to last her until tomorrow morning. It was a miracle she hadn't spilled anything on her dress.

Her eyes danced across the room, looking for something else to focus her attention on. The two statues on either side of the ballroom gleamed in the light of the chandelier, towering over the remaining dignitaries. Each of them was polished regularly, so that their reflections would add some much needed extra light to the room. Behind them, far to the back, the stage was emptied of the quintet that had been providing the music for the evening. They had been gone since the Wonderbolt performance, but a record player behind the stage was still being magically amplified throughout the room.

She sipped another cup of punch. Over in the corner she could see the Wonderbolts laughing amongst one another as they gathered their suits to leave. They only took them off after the party was really over. No sense in walking around in sweaty clothes after the midnight performance. To that end, she would do the same if she were in their horseshoes.

One of the doors to the hall opened, drawing her attention away from her attempt at keeping distracted. Her eyes went wide in recognition and she stood immediately. Dressed in his golden armor and helm, the Captain of the Guard was an unmistakable sight. It didn't take long for the room to take notice of him, and the sounds of chatter slowly died out.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts. Royal Dignitaries and Ambassadors: Princess Luna and Princess Celestia cordially invite you to the throne room, where we may present the newest members of the Royal Services."

Quicksilver stayed in place while many of the group began to move towards the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dew Point cross the room. He motioned for her to follow him. She swallowed hard and hesitantly joined her mentor for their walk to the throne room.

Once in one of the back hallways, Dew cleared his throat to speak. "After your presentation, you will need to stay. All of the invited guests will see the general members of the Castle, but once they leave, then the guard will present their newest candidates."

Quicksilver nodded idly, looking down at the ground. Her only real focus was warding off the sense of impending failure that always came with public presentations. Like the one time she was asked to brew a particular potion for headache relief, and ended up adding a chunk of granite. They were wiping the walls of burn marks for weeks–

Dew grabbed her by the shoulder. "Quicksilver, please! This is extremely important,” he hissed. “If you cannot be respectful and pay attention, then remember this. One of these ponies can save your life someday. You should know guards of your age, as they will be the ones who will watch over you during your time now and until you leave this place for good. We are licensed by the Princess' good will to let somepony carry on Princess Sparkle's legacy of discovery and research. If you can't make friends, then you risk making easy enemies."

Quicksilver looked at him quizzically. What was he going on about?

Dew Point stopped in the hallway, rubbing his head as if trying to rid himself of a migraine. "Quicksilver. Being a Journeymare means that you will have to discover your path on your own."

Quicksilver gave a hesitant nod. "I know that."

"That also means that there will be ponies looking for your success." He frowned. "There will also be those that want your utter downfall. Our position is one that the apprentice always returns to replace the master. One day you will have my position in the castle, and when that day comes, I fear you will be woefully unprepared for the kind of politics I have shielded you from."

Quicksilver raised an eyebrow. This most certainly wasn't making sense. She couldn't stop herself from spurting out, "Then why wait until a few hours before I graduate to tell me I was graduating?"

"Because–" He started angrily.

Dew licked his upper lip. Quicksilver knew that he was on the verge of losing his cool and she shut her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was to make him angry before her presentation. If the nobility was going to notice her anxiety, they would be blind or deaf not to notice his irritation. He practically glowed with it when he was angry.

After a long while, Dew refocused his eyes on her and his facial features seemed to relax. For the first time, perhaps since she knew him, he seemed to be showing his age. The bags beneath his eyes from long nights behind a research desk, seemed to droop dangerously close to his cheeks. She noticed the grey tufts of fur growing in around his muzzle were more clear than ever, as his ears drooped slightly from their normal alert position.

"I'm not asking you to understand my decisions, Quicksilver. I do what I must, because I don't want you having to wade through the muck caked onto the proverbial swamp that is Equestrian politics. If the circumstances were different, I would have waited until next year to better inform and prepare you. I simply don't have that luxury. But what I can do, is give you an edge." Dew Point reached into his coat and pulled out a scroll no bigger than his horn. He carefully tucked it into the shoulder of her dress. "Keep that hidden until your darkest hour of need. Tell no one of its existence that you cannot trust. I can't say more, but please... at least consider what I've said."

Quicksilver tucked the scroll into a more comfortable place in her dress. "S-Sure–"

Dew Point stopped her. "You have to promise me."

"I-I don't understand–"

"Tartarus, Quicksilver!" He quickly looked around to make sure he wasn't too loud. Taking a deep breath, he looked her in the eyes. "You must swear to me that you will make a friend."

"Ok!" Alarm bells were going off left and right in her mind. She had never, ever seen her mentor look as scared as he did right now. He was trembling from head to hoof and his eyes were like spears, trying to pierce her very soul for the truth. She wasn’t much better. Under the pressure of his gaze, she began to go into a cold sweat. She bit her lower lip, trying hard not to break eye contact.

After a moment, he relented, rose, and rubbed his hooves together. His entire demeanor changed like the track on a record, returning to his normal posture and manner of speech. "Well, come now Quicksilver. We don't want to be late."

She looked at him dumbfounded. He simply rolled his eyes and turned on his hoof. "If you are hungry, I assure you that flies will not satisfy your need." His horn lit up as he adjusted his tie.

Equestria will not wait until next year for you to graduate. Act normal or else you threaten to imbalance everything.

Quicksilver looked at him with a sense of terror and confusion. The earlier feeling of panic became stronger, her chest beginning to tighten. Her ears began to grow hot and tingled. A small spike of pain began to stab at her beneath her forehead and her vision began to swim. She took in deep breaths over and over to try and calm herself.

Dew tapped his hoof as his magic ceased with his tie. He patted her on the back which caused her to cough and sputter in her exercises. But it had the intended effect. Her panic subsided and she looked up at his cheery smile.

“Be excited, Quicksilver,” he chuckled. “Being a Journeymare will be the best time of your life.”

--*--

Twenty minutes was all it took for Willowisp to get to the fitting room. After being made to wait outside the festivities of the Grand Galloping Gala for almost the entire night, she was ecstatic and even a little bit surprised to find that she had been accepted into the guard. Of course, her immediate reaction of joy was brought to a halt when her superior got involved.

“Rookie! You’re not shadowing me to jump for joy, you’re here to learn! If you can’t do that, not even a pardon from the Princess will keep you here for your incompetence!” She rolled her eyes. So much for being able to celebrate anything in the castle.

At the moment, she was being measured from head to hoof by one of the castle’s few seamstresses: Golden Thread. Initially hired on by the castle for repairs to old tapestries and to uniforms, she was commissioned to create a gown for Princess Luna for the Hearth’s Warming Ball. So stunning was her creation, that she had started a trend in noble fashion to include more night-related colors in winter fashion. Darker blues, purples, and whites became the new norm, all thanks to her.

If only they knew what she actually did in the castle. Follow designs, make clothes for the guards that have stood relatively unchanged for hundreds of years – there was very little room for her to create during her job. But as she’d heard, Luna’s dresses for formal functions were left entirely to her design. But that was a rare occurrence at best.

“Hold still, please. This shouldn’t take more than ten minutes to fit.”

Willowisp rolled her eyes and tilted her head to the ground. She was bored – beyond bored. It was a change from being bored and having something boring to do – here it was agonizing. She couldn’t watch the Wonderbolts perform while she was here, she couldn’t read a magazine because she lacked a horn to flip the pages, and she couldn’t do something idle like preen because – of course – she didn’t have feathers.

Instead, the batpony cast her eyes on the table piled with spools of thread. She counted each of them as she passed, trying to find out how many the seamstress really needed in her room. As soon as she hit thirty, the first piece of clothing appeared rather suddenly on her body and she nearly jumped from the touch of rough fabric. She looked down, but her head was firmly pushed back up into a regal pose.

Golden Thread raised an eyebrow. “I said, hold still.”

Willowisp sighed in exasperation. “A little warning next time?”

The unicorn mare responded with a smile. “Of course.”

After a few more minutes of counting the cracks on the tiled floor, Willowisp looked up at Golden Thread. She wasn’t much to see, surprisingly. Her coat was a clean cream color with brown spots in random locations, including one of her ears. Gold’s black mane was brought back tightly into a bun, and a pair of glasses dangled dangerously on the edge of her snout. It was as if her gold eyes were trying to see over the glasses, rather than through them.

Willowisp looked away quickly before the other mare returned with more cloth.

“Next piece,” she said, levitating several cloth cutouts to the outfit.

The inevitable hum of magic tugged at the edges of the batpony’s ears and she flicked them out of irritation. It was as if she was in the woods swatting at mosquitoes, or in one of the bakeries trying to avoid the flies. Thankfully, the small buzz subsided as Gold stepped back to look at her work. A gentle nod was all she gave before going back to her table.

“You know, I’ve never actually created formal attire for a batpony before. I was expecting it to be more difficult.”

Willowisp raised an eyebrow. “Uh... sorry?”

“No need to apologize. I’m just making conversation. You seem bored to tears, and I’d rather not have you go into a ceremony with ruined formal dress.”

Willowisp blushed. So she was being considerate? That was certainly unexpected. Most of the time she was just below everypony else. It was comfortable when that feeling came, as it was what she expected. Here... she wasn’t sure how to consider the change in attitude.

“Where are you from?”

Willowisp cleared her throat. “Uh. Tall Tale.”

“Ah. Beautiful forests, if I do say so myself. One of only two homes to the mysterious night trotters.” She spun around and walked back to Willowisp. A trail of cloth and brass buttons followed her in her wake. “It’s rare for most ponies to even meet one of your kind. I find that fascinating.”

“We, uh... don’t get tourists much.”

“Next pieces." The clothes began to float towards the batpony mare. Gold focused on its placement as she continued her conversation. "I can tell. It’s very hard to be able to go there and see your suburbs. Most ponies are too scared of what they hear. The only real exposure to batpony culture is in Hollow Shades – the life of the party, it would seem.”

Willowisp had heard that before. Her ears stopped flicking once again after Gold stepped back to observe her. “Tall Tale is really a resort town.”

“Oh, I know that. Who wouldn’t want to be there for the clean air and the woods? I’ve heard the heir to the family that owns the place has a private residence overlooking the whole valley. What was his name...?”

“Extra Rich.”

“Ah, yes. Interesting fellow, although his public manner is a bit... fake.”

Willowisp stared at her with curiosity. She knew the self-proclaimed ‘Master’ of Tall Tale?

“I think the hat is all that remains, according to this design.” Her drawing lifted from the desk and floated in front of her. She nodded. A navy blue beret lifted from one of the tables and landed on Willowisps head. “Perfect! Now tell me if anything is too tight.”

Willowisp hesitantly walked towards the mirror. Her eyebrows raised in surprise. Unlike the uniform’s armored components, this particular outfit incorporated a purple vest with the Lunar Crescent over a black moon as her heraldry. Beneath that was a dark blue jacket that stopped about halfway down her barrel. There were no armored shoes or leg plates for her to wear, nor was there a helmet involved, but the addition of the navy beret made her smile. In the center, the ‘Eerie Eye’ – the light blue eye of the night guard – stood out, almost glowing.

“Cool.”

Gold rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yes, ‘cool’. Now off you go. You have an important meeting to line up for. Wear those colors with pride, Miss...”

“Willowisp,” she said. A smile tugged at the edges of her face. “I’m Willowisp.”

--*--

Quicksilver stood stock still in the back of the line. Of course she was the last pony to be called. It made logical sense – she was the apprentice to one of the highest positions in the entire castle. But considering her mentor’s strange demeanor and the hidden scroll tucked against her side by her dress, last place was the worst place to be. She had spent the whole opening of the ceremony doing breathing exercises just to be able to be in the same room as the princesses.

Don’t panic, she thought to herself. If you don’t panic, everything will be fine. You’re only being displayed before both of the Princesses, the Captain of the Royal Guard, several mayors, and the diplomats to seven different foreign countries. Nothing to worry about! Her eye twitched a little bit and she returned to taking steady, deep breaths.

“Now presenting Cream Pop, apprentice to Dutch Oven, the Royal Baker, and head chef of Canterlot Castle. She will be studying under the famous griffon Chef Sous-Sans LaFrommage for two years, before returning to Canterlot as a Sous Chef.”

Quicksilver watched her bounce happily across the stage, bowing deeply in front of the Princesses. They followed in kind before she ran off to hug her mentor on the other side of the room. She noticed one of the Griffons in the audience giving a standing ovation, while the rest of the gathered ponies simply stomped on the ground in respect.

“Presenting Tongue Twister, apprentice to Lady Elegance, the Royal Translator. Of his many accomplishments, this young stallion has mastered seven languages and four distinct dialects of Equestrian. His first task as Journeycolt Linguist shall be to accompany Ambassador Quill Tip to Saddle Arabia as his translator.”

Quicksilver ignored the announcer and poked her head around the side of the line. Seven candidates were still in front of her, which put her slightly more at ease. She shifted back and forth on her hooves, biting her lower lip.

What would the announcer think of her non-existent duties after her advancement to Journeymare? Would she be laughed at? Called a mare with no ambition or goal in life? Springing her advancement of position on her last minute was the most bizarre thing she could think of her mentor doing.

Her mind flicked back to his moment of panic in the hallway. No, it certainly wasn’t the most bizarre thing he had ever done. But it certainly came close. It was curious that both of those things would occur in the same night. In fact, it was almost too coincidental for her to overlook it.

“Presenting Ironworks, apprentice to Cold Cast, the Royal Blacksmith. His..”

Quicksilver snapped back to attention. Cold Cast was directly in front of her in line. Panic began to brew in her chest. She could feel the gaze of her peers, the elite, the Princesses, and her mentor’s drilling into her skin from seemingly all directions. If she flubbed this ceremony, everything would come crashing down around her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she swallowed hard.

Summoning what strength she could manage, she forced herself to focus. Perhaps it was the sugar she had imbibed during the night, or perhaps she had control over herself for once, but what she was sure of, is that she held her ground. The oncoming waves of panic subsided to that of a twinge of discomfort in the back of her mind. Hopefully it held up, or else she’d be in trouble.

“Finally, presenting Quicksilver; apprentice to Sir Dew Point - Royal Alchemist of this Court.”

Quicksilver began the customary walk to the stage, crossing from the empty corner of the room, towards the waiting hooves of her mentor. Her steps were carefully planned to the counting she forced herself to continue while she walked. By the time she reached a hundred, she stopped to the right of the stage, bowed to the audience, and continued towards the red carpet to face the Princesses.

“After this evening, Quicksilver will be tasked on a royal envoy to the City of Paris, in an exchange of knowledge and discovery.”

Quicksilver nearly fell over in her bow to the Princesses. Her brain was trying to keep up her composed act, but that was like trying to hide a bonfire inside a wooden storehouse – eventually it would come crashing down on her in a blaze of glory. Her best bet was to have it happen while she was standing with Sir Dew.

She rose with a smile as the Princesses rose from their bows as well. Something must have caught Princess Luna’s eye, however, because there was just the slightest hint of a frown as Quicksilver turned away. She made her way over to Dew Point who placed a hoof on her mane. The overwhelming panic ready to burst beneath the surface subsided just enough for her to stay put.

The announcer nodded to the Princesses, and took his position at attention by their side.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts. Royal Dignitaries and Ambassadors. It has humbled my sister and I that you have been able to witness the next steps of our most prized pupils.” Princess Celestia beamed her smile over the crowd and looked over towards Quicksilver and her peers. “Their time here in the castle has been spent perfecting their talents to the utmost of their abilities. We are pleased to present them before you, so that you may watch them grow into mares and stallions of the highest caliber in their trades. Thank you for attending. We look forward to seeing you next year.”

There was another huge round of cheers and applause from the audience. Quicksilver let out a deep breath. It was over. She had survived, despite her immeasurable uncertainty. That didn’t stop her concern for her earlier discussion with Sir Dew.

If anything, the look Luna gave her made her extremely uncomfortable. Did she know? Was Princess Luna able to see right through her charade? Or… did she know about the impending doom for the castle? Her eyes looked over the audience in their cheers. She couldn’t understand how a place like this could be in danger.

That’s precisely why it’s absurd to think that Luna has anything to do with this, she thought. But was it really?

...mine...

Quicksilver’s ears shot to full attention. She couldn’t pinpoint the source of the noise, but she listened closely to try and catch it a second time. Her ears swiveled in every direction, alert and focused. Her eyes drifted across the room, but once again to her dismay, it seemed like nopony else had even heard it. In the process of sweeping the room, Luna’s eyes caught hers.

She froze. Luna did know. Whether it was her fault or not for the noise, coincidence was untenable as an excuse for Luna’s sudden interest in her. A frown passed the Princesses features as she seemed to acknowledge the noise by the tilt of her head.

If she’s not responsible… Quicksilver continued to stare back until the Princess of the Night looked away, over the now dispersing crowd. Dew Point shook her a little.

“How much of that punch did you have?” He looked at her, his eyebrow raised. “A sugar crash in front of the Princesses would be most unpleasant for your appearances and for the floor which you would be collapsing onto. I don’t think it would appreciate the drool. Neither would Squeaky Clean.”

“I’m fine,” she lied. She reconsidered immediately. “A little too much maybe. F-For the record, I don’t drool.”

He looked at her for a moment as if to argue the point, but then nodded. “You will get to sleep soon. Just– Please don’t make a fool of yourself.”

The front doors to the throne room closed with a noisy thud. The sound echoed in the room as a large bar was brought down into its holder behind the doors. Above, the chandeliers dimmed as small magical fires began to pop up around the room, suspended in the air. Quicksilver nearly jumped when one formed beside her. She reached out to touch it, but Dew pushed her hoof to the floor.

“Watch.”

From the back doors of the throne room, four ponies entered the chamber. Quicksilver followed their movement to the stage, but her eyes fixed themselves on the batpony on the far end of the line. The mare was one of the few ponies her age that she hadn't had contact with in the castle. In fact, she was the only one she knew nothing about.

But mainly, she'd just never seen a batpony around her age. She knew that there had to be batponies around her age to be any at all–

Sudden realization hit her. The mare that she helped in the library last week was a batpony mare around her age. She looked on excitedly, curious as to who this pony was.

"Princess Celestia. Princess Luna." Captain Star Strike was now standing in front of the Princesses. "I present to you these recruits, who have trained for the last six months in the name of the service of Equestria."

Princess Luna cleared her throat. "Have these ponies met the requirements of service and do they understand the risks in which their duty entails?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Proceed."

Star Strike moved forward and turned his back to the Princesses. He nodded to the announcer, who cleared his throat once more. "Presenting Recruit Gilded Shield. Hailing from Canterlot Proper, her skill with protective spells has earned her a place in the castle under Captain Glimmer Sheen. She will continue to further her magics under the watchful gaze of his purview."

Gilded Shield moved forward and bowed. The Princesses nodded to her when she rose, and she joined the others.

"Presenting Surefire, hailing from Manehatten. He comes to the service with knowledge of hoof to hoof combat, as well as combative spells. He will also continue his service with Captain Glimmer Sheen."

Quicksilver rolled her eyes. There were a lot of unicorns as part of the guard these days. She rarely came across pegasi, and even less so with earth ponies. At least there was a pegasus and a batpony this time around.

"Presenting Flash Fire, hailing from Cloudsdale. Her training on the front lines of forest fires has lead her to pursuing a career in your services. She will be training under Captains Fortress and Whiplash, before being officially stationed under Captain Whiplash."

Quicksilver raised an eyebrow. That was certainly unusual.

"Finally, presenting Willowisp, hailing from Tall Tale. Her talents have earned her a place amongst the Night Guard, under Captain White Lily."

Quicksilver watched Willowisp adorn the stage with a gracefull bow. Her movements were sure and confident, regardless of the pressure of the situation. This continued to be the case as she strode across to her new mentor.

As the new recruits settled in next to their new captains, the Princesses straightened up and looked them over. Luna was first to speak. "Congratulations on your new positions. Your devotion to Equestria has brought you into the ranks of the elite. Your training will be hard, but the rewards are only offered to the few who can reach them. I wish you good luck on your journey, and I will now leave you with Captain Star Strike's administration of the oath of service."

Comments

[Redric Carrun]

which meant she spent an absorbent amount of time by the punch and cakes until Sir Dew gave her one of his classic cautious stares.

*exorbitant ? Maybe? I don't know, absorbent might work.

“Presenting Ironworks, apprentice to Cold Cast, the Royal Blacksmith. His..”

*His..."

"Quicksilver, you're graduating early. I would have waited until later to tell you, but something vague and disastrous is about to happen. Take this scroll. Now, you must promise me."
"What?"
"Promise me!"
"I don't know what you want!"
"Swear you'll make at least one friend, Quicksilver! Our lives depend on you having a social life! Promise me!"

Oh, mysterious old teacher folk. Will you ever stop being amusing and / or frustrating with your cryptic knowledge?

[Algorhythm]

@Redrick

Thanks for the heads up. I guess it was missed in the editing process.