Princess Celestia sat upon the dais in her throne room, humming under her breath as she read through the notes her assistant had just hoofed over to her. These had been recorded earlier by the stenographer. A fairly easy day; no real big conflicts. Though I am going to need to make a note here to do a check in on that dispute over who invented that new searching spell. She made a few notes in the margins and smiled, hoofing the completed paperwork to her assistant, who rolled the parchment and placed them in her saddle bag.
“I’ll file these away and head home with your leave now, Your Highness?” Raven bowed her head as she levitated her saddle bag over her back.
Celestia nodded with a smile. “Of course. I will see you in the morning, Raven.” She watched as the dark unicorn mare trotted from the hall, head held high. Celestia moved her neck back and forth, allowing it to crack. She closed her eyes with a happy sigh. It was times like these when Celestia missed being able to neigh; it would have been much more comforting than a simple sigh. Oh well. Now I can have a small snack, head to my office, tackle some paperwork and be done before joining Luna for dinner! The sound of hooves on the floor caused her to open her eyes. Upon seeing one of her trusted solar guards she smiled, encouraging him to speak.
"Your Highness, Lady Applejack Apple from Ponyville has requested an audience with you."
An audience? How odd. Applejack knows that I would be happy to speak with her in a more pleasant setting. Hopefully I can convince her that we can move to my sitting room to discuss whatever is bothering her. "Of course. Allow her to enter immediately. No guards will be needed for this meeting. If I can’t trust the Element of Honesty, then who can I trust?"
The solar guard nodded and left the hall as quickly as he entered. A few moments later Applejack walked in slowly, and while her stetson was still upon her head, there was something different about the straight-to-the-point pony whom Celestia considered a friend.
Her mane has been brushed and her coat curried. Her hooves are clean. I doubt she was even in the field today. Which means... Celestia sighed under her breath. This isn’t a friendly visit; Applejack has something important on her mind.
"Am I to assume this is not just an ordinary visit, then?” Celestia smiled softly, trying to reassure the nervous pony who bowed her head in reverence. Someday... someday, at very least, I’m going to get Twilight and her friends to treat me like a normal pony.
"Begging your pardon, your majesty," the earth pony began, carefully speaking in a calm clear voice, her usual country twang subdued as she spoke to one of the supreme rulers of her land. "I don't want to sound out of place, but the new transportation and usage taxes are an unfair burden dropped right on the back of Earth Ponies. Now I’m making a formal protest for redress.”
Celestia frowned in confusion. Not fair? Celestia prided herself on her fairness and reasonable judgment. “While I have never claimed to be beyond error, I must say that I’m not quite sure I understand the grounds of your grievance, Applejack. As I recall, the new tolls and transport duties are based on a ‘per use’ basis and are intended to ensure the proper maintenance of Equestria’s roads and bridges. Surely a per use basis is fair?”
"Begging your pardon, Princess Celestia, but no. Simply put, the law taxes the volume of goods shipped. For example: a small cart is charged two bits on a bridge. A wagon is charged ten, regardless of whether the wagon is even empty or full. A load of industrial grade diamonds pays the same fee as a load of my apples, or even if I’m returning home afterward. Clearly the end return on my apples is going to be a lot less.
“That’s the thing; agriculture is a bulk industry. It just isn’t profitable to sell in small amounts like finished goods. So, in effect, any tax which rates only on volume rather than the value of goods penalizes farmers. Farmers; whom I might add, are almost entirely Earth Ponies. You'll get a couple of pegasi growing flowers here and there and a couple of unicorns experimenting with growing magic, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Even if it didn’t hit farmers as hard as it does, think about it: Pegasi handle the shipment of smaller loads completely in circumvention of that same infrastructure. I’m sure the laws look fine on paper, here in Canterlot, but I don’t run my farm on paper. And from where I’m standing; in the real world, this just doesn’t work. We farmers only have two choices: One is to see the laws changed, and the other is to raise our prices. Imagine how many ponies would be hurt if that happened! Blueblood would still get his apple quiche but higher food prices would hit every family in Equestria.”
Celestia listened in silence. Applejack had always shown a knack for being both respectful and brutally honest, as her element might suggest; and sometimes even somewhat cheeky, as an old letter of hers during ‘Cider Season’ had proved. But she had never spoken so bluntly to the princess, and her honesty hit a nerve. Not one of anger, not at all. But one of… shame. For the Element of Honesty spoke the full truth.
The real world. Something so obvious when she tells it from that perspective, and yet it didn’t even occur to me. It should have. And yet from these walls in Canterlot, I never saw it. It dawned on Celestia that she was woefully unaware of the lives of her subjects. Especially earth ponies. Over the many years that she had been teaching, Celestia had taken on fillies and colts of both Unicorn and Pegasi races; all of them talented. They all went on to serve Equestria in their own way. Celestia smiled as she thought back, then frowned. Wait, that’s not right... That couldn’t be right!
She swallowed hard as she realized the awful truth.
Thousands of years... Hundreds of students and not one of them was an earth pony… I am an Alicorn; I embody all three races equally, yet I know nothing about my Earth Pony heritage…
"I guess I had best be going, then." Applejack nodded her head towards Celestia, having said her peace. She tilted her hat and turned to leave.
Celestia chewed her lip as an idea hit her as hard, as if she had just been bucked. "Please wait, Applejack. You were right to bring this to my attention and it has forced me to realize something.”
Here goes...
Celestia sighed. “I do need help. I need it desperately. I’m ashamed to admit that. Applejack, I’m ashamed to admit that I have never considered how things must be for an earth pony and if I am to be one-hundred percent honest with you, as I know you’d want me to be, I have to admit to you that I-I think I may…” Celestia shook her head, not sure exactly what she was feeling. “Please, Applejack, help me to understand what it means to be an earth pony?”
Now it was Applejack's turn to be stunned into silence. As she pondered, she slowly nodded in consideration. “I’ll be happy to show you.” She raised a hoof. “But there’s a problem: I can tell you all day long… But until you’ve lived this way? You can’t really understand what I’m telling you deep inside, where it counts.”
Celestia considered for several moments before she rose from her throne and walked down the dias. She smiled down at Applejack a bit nervously before sitting down on her haunches. “Well, I am unsure when or if I’d have the chance to live as you do, but please humor me. Tell me what you can?” She felt her stomach gurgle and blushed. “Ahem, I was about to have a snack. Would you like to join me before my first lesson?”
“I have to admit that I’m just a little hungry myself, so yes, Princess. I think I would.”
“Wonderful!” Celestia got up. “Follow me? My sitting room is much more comfortable to eat in than this throne room.” She hesitated, “Besides, you are my fr-my student’s dearest friend and an Element of Harmony. You deserve and have earned the best I can offer.”
Applejack noted the careful phrasing of Celestia’s statement and smiled inwardly. She supposed it was a necessary part of Celestia’s duties to maintain a careful separation, but in Applejack’s world, a pony knew her friends. This was one of the most basic lessons she hoped Celestia would learn.
Celestia led Applejack to a small cozy looking room, which held a fireplace and several cushions. In another time, she and Twilight spent time together in this room every day after her lessons. Celestia’s eyes went to the unused chessboard and she smiled. “Applejack, have you ever played chess?”
“On occasion. My brother taught me but I’m still not up to his level of play, I’m afraid.”
Celestia nodded as she levitated the board between them, setting it up. “Do you mind playing black?”
“Sticking to type, Your Highness?” AJ teased just in the slightest. “I’ve no problem with that. I usually play white, but I think this’ll work better. Your opening, Princess. Smoke before fire.”
Celestia considered and moved a pawn forth. “Oh, while we are in my sitting room, please call me Celestia?” She smiled as she levitated her crown off her head and onto the floor.
“I’ll try. My granny would tear a strip off my hide if she heard I was referring to you quite so intimately, but I owe you the courtesy… Celestia.”
Celestia smiled. “Thank you, Applejack. How do sandwiches and tea sound for a snack?” She watched as Applejack carefully bit down on her knight and moved it. How is she able to do that? Theres not even a sign of a bite mark.
“That sounds just fine.” Applejack nodded, setting her stetson on the ground beside her in a position that mirrored Celestia’s own crown.
Celestia levitated a bell over to her and rang it twice. The door opened and Celestia smiled at the mare who entered the room. “Hello, Sunflower. Would you go to the kitchen and fetch my guest and myself a platter of daisy sandwiches and a pot of jasmine tea?” The green unicorn bowed her head.
“Of course, Your Highness. I'll return promptly!” She closed the door and hurried to obey.
Celestia sighed and turned back to the chess board. For several moments they played in silence. Is this a comfortable silence? Or am I just so nervous I’m not able to say anything? She stared at the board in puzzlement. Somehow, Celestia, the greatest chess master in history, was losing.
“Check.”
Celestia groaned internally and moved her king, sacrificing her second bishop. Her ear flicked at the sound of knocking. “Enter.” A unicorn carried a platter and tea pot in her magic, setting everything on a small table. She bowed and walked out without a sound. Celestia took a sandwich in her magic and took a bite as Applejack grabbed one in her hooves as she continued to study the board. Celestia watched as Applejack ate, marveling at how she used her hooves so dexterously, losing track of her plan until she looked down to see her king trapped. Not in check, but no place to go. With no choice she used her right fore hoof and tipped the piece over on its side. “I surrender. Good game, Applejack.”
“You too, Celestia. Now I suppose we should start on our first lesson?” Applejack picked up the cup of tea in her hooves and took a sip. Her shoulders relaxed. “Darn good tea.”
Celestia nodded, summoning parchment and a quill, ready to take notes. Oh my, I must look like a giant white version of Twilight! With a nervous smile she set the parchment down. She glanced at Applejack, who had a lifted eyebrow at Celestia. After a few moments she shook her head.
"Right," Applejack began, clearing her throat. "Without magic or wings, earth ponies live on our sweat and wits.You should know how much respect I have for Twilight. As for Rainbow Dash, she can be trying, but she’s tops in her field. But the point is that the ground doesn’t bend to the skies or to magic. By the sweat on our backs and our hooves is how our farms yield.”
Applejack paused and then raised a hoof. “But for all that is the part that unicorns and pegasi most have trouble understanding. Even after all that, an earth pony needs patience: The land gives its bounty on its terms alone. You can till it, water it, tend it, but you can’t ever rush it.”
Celestia listened as her ear flicked while Applejack described earth pony magic in such simple yet concise terms. I already feel lost. I’ve heard all of this before, so I should be able to get this. What else can I do?
"Is there anything else you would like to hear about today? It's a brief lesson, I know, but..." Applejack began fiddling with her stetson. When she came to speak with the Princess about the new tax, she never expected to be sitting in her parlor playing chess and giving her a lesson on earth ponies. Mac ain’t gonna believe what happened when I get back to the farm!
Celestia stared at the floor. This isn’t working. I could listen to her or to any earth pony lecture me for hours and still feel as lost as I am now. But what else can I do? Celestia sighed. As she was about to speak up to thank Applejack for her help, but also to request no more lessons, it suddenly hit her.
There is something I can do! No wonder I didn’t think of it sooner.... He’s only been redeemed a few months, after all! “Applejack, thank you for the lesson, but I just don’t think it will be enough. I think... no, I know that for me to understand earth ponies, I’m going to need to be one.”
Applejack stared up at Celestia as she levitated her crown back onto her head and rang a bell. “Uh, Ma’am?”
Celestia ignored the very confused pony as a solar guard entered. “Honed Edge, please escort Lady Applejack to the train station and have a thestral guard wake my sister. Tell them I’d like to speak to her in my quarters and that it is urgent.” She turned to Applejack. “I apologize that our meeting must be cut short, but something urgent has come up.”
Applejack mutely nodded, not certain what had just happened as the pegasi guard led her to train station. Not long after arriving, she sat and stared out the window as the train pulled away. Well, at least it can’t get any weirder than that...
Please continue this story -_-
4760531
Not to worry ^^
What about Earth Pony magic? You know, the stuff that the writers keep flapping their lips about but never show?
4578140 Well i mean... theoretically speaking, they have other holes to use besides their mouths.
This is going to be interesting.
Hm, what's the pairing gonna be?
Odd. It said this updated.
Glad to see this story up and running again. Where'd you go?
4760675 the chapter was rewritten
I beg to differ.
Earth ponies are as much infused with magic as are unicorns and pegasi. Case in point, they specialize in at least 4 types of magic: biomancy (accelerated growth, as we saw in "Hearths Warming Eve", when that shoot grew in AJ's hoof), geomancy (infusing nutrients into the soil, excavation), petromancy (Maud's abilities), and malliamancy ("hair" magic, I hope that's the right term, giving their manes and tails dexterity and the ability to grab objects, when they should by all means just hang limp, since the tail of a horse or pony is bone and muscle only for the first 6-8 inches from the rump, and the rest is hair).
So:
Yes, it does. One reason why AJ was so adamant against Twilight using magic to clear a crop field of snow. Earth ponies would not only clear it, but also infuse it with growth magic.
AND that of Earth Ponies. How else would an apple orchard be able to grow in a DESERT like it does in Applealoosa?
Repeating: the shoot that grew in AJ's hoof during the play. That wasn't a stage prop, but an actual demonstration of Earth Pony magic.
Sure, Celestia is out of touch, but the next chapter should be interesting.
4760823 Ah.
Cool. It's so much better now. I hope the next chapter will come out soon.
4760623
Oh don't worry was only a first lesson ^^
4760666
Ain't tellin
4760676
Dunno was an odd place that consisted of getting off my butt and gutting an adopted story.
4760838
First lesson AJ wasn't ready to tell her exactly everything.
4760933
Gimme 2-3 days to add and doctor the second chapter. I'm pretty happy with it over all but it does need some work soooo Wednesday? Thursday at most. *nods*
4760631
4761294 I knew one kid in school who could write pretty well with his nostrils.
4761264 AWESOME!!!!!! Can't wait for the chapter!
I approve of this. Carry on.
The apple in her name kinda doesn't belong here
This is at the top of my updates despite knowing that i put it in my to read list a long time ago and there doesn't seem to be a new chapter. So what happened?
4761253 and I presume your also working on mother, which is really good so far by the way
4761539 I think the author is making up a last name for Applejack, seeing how one isn't mentioned in the show. It may not be canon, but I've seen other authors do that also, especially for Rarity, who gets referred to as Rarity Belle occasionally, just to give her a first and last name.
4760838 But it is still going to take time to reach maturity. Perhaps that is what Applejack is referring to: while Unicorns and Pegasi magic have a pretty instantaneous effect, Earth Pony magic has an effect, but it just takes longer for the payoff. While they can infuse the land with magic and get things going, its possible that trying to rush things along can have a negative result on the final product, such as hurting the plant or the ponies who use/eat them. You can help things along, but you have to go slow to get a good result.
EDIT: Perhaps it could be seen as Earth Pony magic guiding, helping and encouraging towards a desired result, rather than forcing things towards a resolution. Attempts to do so may result in undesirable and unforeseen side effects.
This was interesting
I thought I had read the first chapter awhile ago. Was it revised? EDIT: After reading this I am certain I have read it before. It is well done. But what was the update?
4761967
4761591
This is a total re work of the first chapter. I direct you here. Orginal first chap.
This is a adopted story and the first author never took it down.
4761725
Yep, if I don't work on Mother... they'll find me...
4762123
Can you transfer people who put the story in the read later folder? Cause I no longer have that one in it and this one seems to have taken its place.
4762195
I don't think so theres only that one chapter. The other two chapters that were written by Chaos2012 are going to slightly doctored edited then put back up everything further on Gods will be here. In fact the original author left the site some 30 odd weeks ago.
4762195
4762238
the site does it when a story is adopted by a new author
Without rereading the original, I am pretty sure this is much better. But I do have a few nitpicks:
Firstly, I was quite surprised to find myself in the position of saying that you use too many semicolons. I seldom see any, and here you are littering the page with them! But, unless you are using them in a list, they should only be used when the stuff on either side could stand on its own as a complete sentence if you wanted it to; and that's just not true for a lot of examples in this chapter.
"Farmers" is not a complete sentence. (Also, I'd recommend "who" instead of "whom" here, since if I'm interpreting this correctly Applejack is saying "who are almost entirely Earth Ponies", "I might add" being merely parenthetical. Of course, Applejack could simply be misspeaking; ponies do that.)
"And from where I’m standing"
"and sometimes even somewhat cheeky, as an old letter of hers during ‘Cider Season’ had proved" (though this one could be fixed by something like "and sometimes she was even somewhat cheeky...")
"all of them talented"
Other than semicolons:
piece
either
"hit her hard, as if she had been bucked"
or
"hit her as hard as if she had been bucked"
depending on what is closer to what you meant.
And finally, not a nitpick but a question:
Celestia can't neigh? But she used to be able to? What is this about?
4762460
The editing I can't really respond the the neighing however is simple. physically she can neigh but it isn't seen as proper for her to do so as the Princess of the sun. Thus no neighing for poor Tia.
4761248 F/F or F/M?
4763395
Both
4763399 Which one for Celestia?
4763482
Now why would I let that out of the bag so early?...
Ah thought I recognized you ^^ I'm a huge Twilestia fan and really the romance could go either way either Twilestia or Celemac it really depends.
4763494 Hm, this comment said F/M for Celestia earlier, or am I misremembering? Oh well, thanks for the answer. I shall wait for the paring and reserve my judgement til then.
4763678
It did originally however like I said i'm not sure. All I do know for sure is that Tia is going to fall in love.
Wow, huge props for actually having an economic issue in Equestria that's not blaringly obvious. Even the most witty and nuanced stories reduce the law-passing and tax policy of Equestria as "tax the poor" no blueblood we're taxing the rich yada yada yada. But your example could actually happen, it is a legitimate problem and the solution is not super simple either. That gives me good vibes about the rest of your story.
4761819
It could also be a philosophical mindset. Yes, Earth Ponies are using their magic to accelerate growth and improve the land, but they respect the limits of the land and see themselves as working with it, not against it. Though Applejack has her blind spots; see Bats. She's a farmer who depends on her orchards, so she takes a dim view towards anything she thinks is vermin. Though she probably listens to Fluttershy more nowadays.
4761786 Kinda redundant. Ponies don't really have last names
4763981
Yeah! Tax the rich and don't tax anyone else! Even though the majority of money lies in the middle and lower class even if we were to kill all of the rich and take all of their money for ourselves and no government hungry for tax money would ever ignore any of the classes that have the majority of the money to steal and use on boondoggles and various frauds except in a fictional girls television show! Down with the one percent! Tax them to death! Viva le short sided and dumb policies!
4764089 I like your idea of Earth Ponies viewing themselves as the land's partners rather than its master. They're helping things happen, not making them happen.
4764102 True, it may be redundant, but a number of ponies (such as Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, etc.) have two names and I think this may be an attempt to give one named characters (such as Rarity and Applejack) a second name/family name also.
Much better story build-up than last edition. Celestia's reasons became more believable.
4764121
You do realize that the top 5% of the country has nearly 2/3rds of the net worth?
An interesting concept. Most stories which have Celestia or Luna trying to be a "normal pony" have them take on the role of a Pegasus or a Unicorn, so having Celestia try to live as an Earth Pony will be interesting.
4777944
I hope you continue to enjoy!