“He’s-” She paused. “-a friend.” Twilight nodded, as if she was confirming to herself rather than to Applejack.
The orange country mare stared at Twilight for the longest time. She was a bit suspicious of course, Applejack knew she had seen the stallion before. The Crystal Empire, the mare remembered, the time Twilight had lost her crown and disappeared into another world without the aid of her friends. Applejack took a small peek at the stallion, then smiled at him. AJ reached out her hoof to Flash, wanting to give a more warming welcome than she had when he first got there. The stallion lifted his hoof, left it in the air alone for a second, then accepted the acquaintanceship.
"Good to meet y'all partner." AppleJack smirked and shook hard, gripping Flash’s hoof with all her might and shaking him to the bone.
“A’m AppleJack, y’all can call me AJ, and this here farm is owned by me and the Apple folks. It’s a mighty good thing meetin’ ya here, we ponies here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do love makin’ new friends!” When the strong earth pony let go of Flash’s hoof, he was practically drilling a hole into the ground. Twilight suppressed her laughter toward the guard, and instead rested a hoof on his shoulder to make him stop vibrating.
"It’s nice to see y’all here and ready to be helpin’ with this here project for the festival.” The mare had the most sly smile, her words thick with hardworking country.
“I-I- um, it’s a pleasure to meet you too.” The orange stallion shook his head to make his eyes stop spinning, only to look exhausted. He smiled politely, then sent a pleading eye to Twilight which made her giggle silently. The alicorn soothed the soilder, speaking up at the grace of her guard’s silent pleas.
“AJ, I’m sorry we came a bit earlier than expected, but-”
“Oh, don’t ya fret about the little things Twi,” AppleJack undid her bun and let her long hair fall over her shoulder. She then quickly tied it in a ponytail loosely, as to not confine her hair like it had been in a bun. “I’ve been waitin’ for a moment to rest anyway.” The earth mare smiled at her friend, which filled Twilight with contentment. It was reassuring to always have an understanding friend, and also have an independent and honest pony to look up to at times.
“Lead the way then AJ." Twilight stated determined, she looked out at the orchard and focused her brow while viewing the small red specks in the leaves. AppleJack chuckled throatily and pointed out in the far distance.
“Down yonder.” AppleJack smirked. Twilight’s face fell and she heaved an aching sigh before looking at her friend pleadingly.
“Does it have to be so far?” The alicorn whispered in a voice of annoyance. Flash laughed aloud at Twilight’s rhetorical question before he covered his muzzle and suppressed anything else that might get him into trouble. Spike, however, didn’t hold back, but instead walked up to Twilight, not trying to hide his own chuckling.
“What’s the matter Twi? Can’t walk very far? Have you and Celestia been eating too much cake lately?” Twilight looked at the adolescent dragon with a glare.
“Don’t talk about Princess Celestia that way...or me for that matter…” She scolded.
“You have, haven’t you? During your little ‘meet up’s’ right?” Spike teased. Twilight snorted, stomping her hoof with a bright blush on her face. Then starting on her way down the road with Applejack by her side, her passe in pursuit.
“Twi?! I didn’t say you were fat or anything!” Spike yelled after her, in slight panic that he angered Twilight beyond gem dessert redemption.
“Not then, but now ya did.” Applejack pointed out honestly, of course. Spike only ignored this and walked up to Twilight.
“H-Hey, you know I was just kidding r-right?” He stammered, with a light hearted laugh.
“Really?” Twilight said in mock curiosity.
“Y-Yeah, so please don’t take it personally-” He said defensively. “-and take my gems away…” He whispered finally.
“What gems? You have gems?” Twilight said in surprise, an obvious joke.
“B-But....” Spike begged with crocodile tears. Flash was laughing silently, unable to suppress his wide smile. While Twilight and Spike bantered, the group had entered the orchard, AJ starting up a different conversation.
“Alright you two. So, wha ya here for, Flash?” Applejack asked casually, as she walked straight ahead through the trees on a beaten path.
“Well-” Flash began nervously. “I came here at Princess Cadence’s request...she said she wanted to try a new program...wanting Twilight to be protected. All I was told was to come down here without much else.” Flash walked nervously, he seemed downcast and out of focus all of a sudden. Twilight looked at his face as she walked beside him, she saw pain. It gave the Princess an unsettling feeling, till Flash lifted his chin once more and smiled over at her. All Twilight could account for in that moment was the number of things Cadence must be thinking and the possible outcome of this whole situation. Twilight had already made the decision not to enter a relationship with anypony, mostly because she was an alicorn and her lifespan would be longer than a spouse. She also wanted to center her attention on her role as Princess, even if that meant giving up her dreams.
When thinking about the letter, it made Twilight hope there could be something more, and she couldn’t help but speak up.
“Did Cadence mention anything else to you? Maybe a new task for me?” Twilight said hopefully. Having to do something entertaining, that was as well a responsibility, the alicorn could look forward to. Since Starlight would be gone for some time, Twilight would be left to do more duties than 'fun' tasks.
Flash looked to her, confused for a moment, and pressed his hoof to his chin in thought.
“I’m...sorry. I don’t have anything to give you. I was only instructed to watch over you and give you the letter. I’m sure if she had something for you to do, she'll send ya another letter.” Flash smiled sadly, noticing the disappointment etched on Twilight’s face.
Applejack noticed too, but smiled when she saw they had made it to the other side of the orchard. Trying to get Twilight’s mind off of things Applejack spoke up.
“Well, we’re here...that didn’ take too long, now did it?”
Twilight looked up and saw the weakest of wood standing shakily to hold up a shade with many holes. Vines covered the white painted wood, both dead and thriving. The flowery design etched into the wooden structure was sadly fading, and the structure itself was peeling.
“Wow...it's uh...” The purple alicorn walked up to it hesitantly.
"Ah know, it's a mess. This here thing's been standin' since Ponyville was founded, it's gotta be a century old, so ah'm surprised it's stayed up this long." Applejack touched it tenderly, sadly smiling as he hoof glided down the splintering old wood. "Granny Smith helped her Pa build it, it's been in our family ever since." The orange mare trailed off, lost in thought. Twilight's eyes softened, and she came up beside her dear friend with a sympathetic hoof on her strong shoulder.
"She would love to see it fixed up, I bet. So, when would you like to get started?" Applejack nodded and smiled, determined.
“Whenever suits ya scheduel, Twi."
“And where is it you’d like it to be?” Twilight inquired. The orange pegasus eyed her from afar with a solemn expression, lost in a memory almost as the two mares conversed. Their voices trailed off into a mumbling sound, as his eyes tricked him.
"I'll see you whenever ya want, lil Missy."
"Don't tease me, solider. I'm more than you ought to be messing with."
"You don't seem too scary to me."
Twilight then looked over her shoulder at the armored pegasus, her smile fading at the sight of his frown. He then noticed her concerned look toward him, and he waved with a small smile.
Perhaps he's bored.The alicorn assumed, looking back at her best friend.
"Um...I say we start rebuilding soon. Maybe next week.” Applejack nodded, confirming the date Twilight chose carefully. The purple mare then turned and walked toward the silent dragon.
“Spike, did you bring the paper and quills?” He smiled tenderly at her, then dug through his pack.
“As your number one assistant...how could I forget?” He chuckled and gave to her a yellow checklist with a quill, which was then enveloped in the mare's magic, Twilight immediately scribbling on the parchment.
“Well, I think we're done here then.” The alicorn said thoughtfully, a relieved sigh escaping her. "We'll be back next week to help with reconstruction."
The trio walked slowly on the route to home, the dim light of the sun fading quickly. Twilight, Spike, and even Flash carried several sacks of groceries and miscellaneous, the bags shuffling up against them, or flying gently as magic held them in a tired grasp. After tending to Sweet Apple Acres, the trio had made their way through town to shop and gather supplies, which had taken a lot of time out of their already long day.
"Almost home." Spike said ecstatically, though with a soft yawn.
“It's been a long day, though I do have some reading I can do at home.”
“Princess-” Flash spoke up after many hours of silence between the two of them. Twilight turned to him and smiled thoughtfully, awaiting for him to finish. “If you stay up I must too, but I would like to settle my things inside first and get my room situated.” He seemed more dull now, Twilight noticed, a tired smile pulled at his lips, his eyes drooped and his walk was one full of melancholy.
He must be exhausted.Yet, Twilight felt like he was slow-motioned for other reasons, a gut feeling told her his thoughts were disturbed by her or something else. Her brain, however, won her over and she only based his appearance and attitude on how sleepy he must be, like the rest of them. Twilight smiled in understanding and nodded.
“Of course, I’m sorry I’ve had you carry all your luggage the whole day.”
“No worries, as a soldier, we’re built to carry weight in extreme conditions...so this was nothing.” He wasn’t lying, but Twilight still felt guilt for her inconsideration.
“Well, still, we should have stopped by the castle before we left for the farm, but, at least we're here now-” Twilight looked ahead again at the sight of the gleaming crystal fortress. It stood high above Ponyville, and to Flash’s memory, it was almost identical to the rocks of the Crystal Empire. The sun was set at last and the cool night air hit the walls of the castle creating a whistle throughout the stained jewel. Twilight walked in first as Flash, then Spike followed in after her.
While the winter months were creeping in, the day wasn't so cold. However, the castle itself was colder than the Crystal Empire's wasteland. Twilight enjoyed Winter and all it had to offer, but it was better outside than it was inside, and the shaking stallion behind her proved that not everypony liked the cold. Flash shook and his teeth chattered, but he tried to play it cool. The castle was freezing! How could anypony live in these temperatures! Twilight smirked and walked over to him, leaving light clicks behind each step.
“Trained for the most extreme temperatures?” Twilight bit her lip holding back giggles. Spike gave no such mercy and chuckled throatily, but it was all in good fun. Flash only huffed in return, but then looked to Twilight with a teasing smile.
“Who lives here? The pony-eating yeti?” He jested.
Twilight laughed at that.
“You’ll get more used to it the longer you’re here. It's a big castle, so it doesn't warm up easily.” Twilight looked at the shivering pegasus for a moment, before Flash looked at her questionably.
“Am I going to get lost on the way to my bedroom? I don’t need to fight a monster to get across the hall do I?” Twilight only smirked back.
“Well, if you do, I think you’ll manage...being one of the best of soldiers from the Crystal Empire, you shouldn’t have any trouble at all!” She turned and began walking off, down one of the many crystal halls, leaving Flash still standing in the foyer with his luggage. He watched Twilight continue walking without him before she stopped and looked back.
“Are you coming?” She asked with a grin. Flash smiled tiredly in response, and stayed behind Twilight.
“Considering you are my guard I’d think you’d prefer stationing outside my door. There are two rooms outside of mine, and Spike is down the other hall-” Twilight thought back on how much Spike wanted his own room and to be more 'adult,' as he said. It made Twilight dismal, but proud to see Spike growing with little to no assistance from her. At one point Twilight helped him with almost everything, then he grew to be her assistant, and what seemed like over night, he was a handsome drake with potential. It made the motherly alicorn smile at how far Spike and her friends had come.
Twilight frowned at another thought, while her friends and Spike grew more, she was still the same. She had gained a castle, and wings, and of course a title as Princess. Yet, in spite of all this, she was still stuck, unchanging forever. She had thrown away all her dreams of being a teacher and a mage, and of course, finding love. It was impossible for her. She was devoted to a life of Magic and well being of Ponyville and the ponies within it. She saw how Celestia’s past relationship had almost ruined Equestria. A relationship for an alicorn was impossible. Part of it was the fact that they were immortal beings.
Cadence, her sister-in-law, had fallen in love and married Twilight’s brother, Shining, with the knowledge that they wouldn’t be together forever. Yet, through that trial, they both still married and now live in their Empire and watching over it with guidance and love. But the day that Shining dies is the day Cadence will be a lone ruler, unless she finds somepony else to take her heart. Cadence without love was unthinkable.
Twilight without love...was doable. She didn’t want to suffer with living on, when her “lover” had long since past, and the thought of remarrying over and over was disheartening. Besides that, Twilight had given up her dreams for her Princess duties, so what’s to say she shouldn’t give up her romantic life too? Her being Princess was important, and if she had to suffer grief through her reign as Celestia does, she wouldn't be able to control her emotions well enough to lead.
It didn’t escape her that she would outlive all her friends, Spike did have an exceptionally long lifespan, but loss in itself was heart breaking and grievous. At least she would be able to live on with them in her memory and it would be easier to find friends alike, but for a lover, a special somepony, it would be harder to find romance and to keep it without crying as she watched them age without her. Them, fading and growing old while she remained young for an eternity. She couldn’t live with that grief too, much less bear it more than once.
So she decided to give it up, on both love and her passions. It was her decision, and she knew she would be happier with it than she would with loss, but she still craved for that particular affection from somepony. Maybe that’s why it was so hard to keep herself from associating with her new guard.
“Here’s your room...bathroom is at the very end of the hall, turn left and there’s the opening to the kitchen. turn right and you'll see the Library. Tomorrow I’ll show you where the Council Room is, other than that it’s mostly spare bedrooms and a lot of closets.” Twilight watched Flash as he put his sack down and eyed the room. It was crystal, of course, but purple unlike the rest of the castle, assuming most of the bedrooms were color coded differently. It had a large bed that looked fit for a king, the lavish veronica colored cloths dropped off the side of the bed elegantly, and the pillows were even darker and silkier for extra comfort. The bed also had a large white canopy above it that draped down the posts of the structure. There was a dresser painted mauve to the side of the room on his right and a large closet to the left embedded in the walls. Mirrors and ribbons adorned the ceiling and the large bench that lay under the shadow of drawn window curtains. It was indeed a gorgeous bedroom.
“My friend Rarity wanted to decorate six bedrooms closest to the front of the castle, each has a theme for each Element Bearer. This is Generosity. The others are scattered along this hall and Spike’s, near the Council Room. The room next to mine is Pinkies, and I’ll warn you to not go in there...you’ll be ‘surprised’.” Twilight then noticed Flash’s look of worry and her face fell out of concern. “What’s the matter?”
Flash held his tongue for a moment, but then he sighed heavily.
“Not that I’m complaining but...do all the guest bedrooms...uh...are they all mare-like?” He looked to his assigned Princess and saw her brow furrow.
“Well, every other room that is furnished is mare-y because they’re for mares. Any other bedroom is unfurnished and is further away from my room.” She frowned as she said this.
“Oh, it’s fine....” Flash shook his head and flashed her a small smile of understanding. The alicorn mentally slapped herself for getting worked up. Of course a stallion wouldn’t want to stay in some purple princess room!
The mare laughed.
“Follow me, and bring your pack-” She turned in a hurry down the hall and to her left, where Flash recalled the kitchen to be. They saw the opening at what would have been a dead end if it weren’t for the rustic looking kitchen past the archway in the wall. For a moment Flash looked curiously at Twilight from behind thinking how strange it was to be going to the kitchen.
Is she making me stay in the cabinets? He suppressed a chuckle.
Twilight then turned suddenly to the left wall and disappeared within. Once Flash caught up with her, he soon realized it was an open door to a country styled bedroom.
“This is AJ’s room the mare you-”
“-met earlier, yeah I remember her, the cowpony.” Flash finished Twilight’s sentence as he massaged the wooden dresser to the right wall beside the door. The room was a clash of many different colors but the orange hinted everywhere amongst the walls and windows and bed covers gave it it’s own personal touch.
“Applejack insisted on helping Rare’s with decorating so it’s a bit more...original than the other rooms.” Twilight smiled nervously. “It’s more of a unisex room, so this might be better for you than Rarity’s ‘Purple Regalia’ guest.” She was right. Flash seemed more at home in the room, it gave a warm comfort and really made him feel less out-of-place than he was. The bed was decorated with five different colored green quilts and white laced pillows, the comforter underneath being a pantone orange. The bed had four simple wooden posts instead of curtains, while the windows were covered by yellow scratchy fabric.
Flash smiled approvingly.
“Much better, thank you. I’ll unload my things.” He dropped his sacks on the bed with a thump and began organizing the few clothes he had and all the books he had brought. Twilight’s curiosity peaked and she felt it was a better time to ask, anything that she could find in common with the guest stallion.
“That’s-uh-a lot of books you’ve got...what genre are they?” Flash put one of the books on the dresser and looked over at her hopeful eyes. He smiled, but then it saddened when he realized what she was hoping for.
“These? They’re only manuals and thick pamphlets. They’re for my training as a guard, one of them is for Wonderbolt exercising. They’re not exactly for magic or fun like you would probably be used to.” Twilight’s glee only faded to a matching sad smile. Of course he wouldn’t study things like she did, or have a deeper understanding of the world around him. He was a guard, he only studied for physicals and how to maintain emotional balance or develop acute skills. Twilight knew some things of combat training from the times Shining Armor studied for it. He studied magic too, but even then her own brother didn’t understand as much as she did.
The magic moved constantly like a little heartbeat that could accelerate, or slow down with large breaths. It was a delicate force that could be an instrument of either great power or destruction. All these things she knew and studied, the deeper science of it all, that no one else would understand as much as her. With the exception of the Alicorn Princesses. However, even then, Twilight knew more from wielding the elements and understanding all three magic fractions. Even Celestia found it hard to understand her own student at times.
While Celestia did teach Twilight personally, the once young unicorn dwelled in books and from less experience practicing it. Celestia tried to teach her more about wielding it first hoof, while Twilight tried learning more from literature, which did make her more knowledgeable of certain outcomes. Twilight’s teacher wasn’t as intellectual as Starswirl, but Twilight’s vast knowledge was very much comparable to his. It was before Twilight had become one of the Alicorns that she wanted to be a mage as great as Starswirl himself.
In the end, she gave up the thought. Though she dismissed a lifelong dream, it didn’t mean the knowledge of books and years of hardcore study vanished from her mind. All the learning from mages Gaia wide had not escaped, which made her the smartest Alicorn in the room in almost every aspect.
Twilight sighed heavily and smiled behind Flash, not willing to look him in the eyes.
“I see, either way, you must be pretty second-nature when it comes to your reflexes and senses. So don’t think you're less of a genius than someone else.” She came to the bedroom door and was about to leave until a thought on Flash’s previous statement, her backside in the hall and her head poking into the room. “You said you were still learning...I thought you had been a Leutinent for a few years in the Crystal Empire?”
Flash frowned slightly, his mind sluggishly computing what Twilight had asked. He didn’t want to think back on it, the times that he had traveled and had trained. He looked at Twilight from the floor to her eyes and he smiled sadly again.
“Actually, I do remember when we first met.”
Twilight looked at him questionably, curious why he was bringing that up instead of answering her question.
“You were there on a visit..that was the day...your crown was stolen...right?” Flash sighed.
Twilight nodded, she was looking at him with a concerned look, her brow furrowed. Flash had sat on top the bed, petting one of the manuals as he spoke, the alicorn watching him attentively.
"You're always learning, at least, that's how I feel. Sometimes, we make mistakes, and we try to learn from them so they never happen again." He whispered low, a hint of anger slithering through his words. She listened, a bit concerned at his tone of voice, and wondering what could possibly have happened to him.
“Was there some sort of accident?” Twilight asked suspiciously, not considering if it would be wrong to inquire about his personal life. This may be Flash, but the boy she knew was from a parallel universe and had different events transpire in his world than in Equestria. Flash looked up at that question and looked at her in surprise.
“N-no."
“Ah, sorry. That was rude of me, I shouldn't have asked.” Flash thought about it for moment and smiled, nodding.
"It's alright." Twilight didn't understand, and hoped that maybe at some point she could learn more about the mysterious pegasus.
“Well, uh...your watch starts after you finish getting everything settled. I’ll be in the library whenever you’re ready.” Twilight gently closed the door, sighing sadly, but continued walking down the hall toward the Library.
A turquoise aura eclipsed a quill as it gracefully swept across a page covered from header to dotted line with tax forms. Finally, after searching, the quill violently scribbled a signature on the bottom of the scroll.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza~
The pink alicorn smiled tiredly as she dropped her quill in it’s home inkwell. A longing sigh escaped Cadence’s lips as she sat back in her chair with her eyes blissfully closed. She sat at her desk all throughout that day writing and filling out scrolls, luckily her spa day was tomorrow.
Then I can relax in peace and serenity-
Cadence’s previous daydreaming stopped abruptly when her ears picked up the soft whimpering next to her. She opened her eyes slowly and got up to the bassinet beside her desk.
“Oh, did somepony wake up so soon?” Cadence placed her hoof on the small filly wrapped up in lace covering. “Goodnight, Chrissy…” She cooed motherly, then nuzzled the infant till she fell asleep. She looked down at her offspring, the young filly was a light pink unicorn with a messy short blue mane and tail. Cadence smiled down at her second born proudly, before a knock on the door was overheard.
The Princess turned behind her, opening the door with her magic.
“Who is-Celestia?” Cadence’s aunt walked in with a smile etched on her face. “I-I didn’t realize you would be here so soon! I had only sent the message two days ago, I didn’t think you would come till the week was over! How was the Dragon Festival? Did you have to-” Celestia’s giggling interrupted Cadence, but the young alicorn didn’t mind in the slightest.
“Any excuse is a good one to visit my niece...and the news was extremely important as it was. But tell me, before we go on any further of most recent events-” Celestia mindfully looked over to the bassinet and leaned down to Cadence’s eyes and whispered. “How do you fare, my niece?”
Cadance's eyes sparkled at that.
“As well as I can, but I’m proud of my growing family.” Cadence nodded thoughtfully.
“So I take it Crystal is well?” Celestia, again, whispered.
“She is, and Flurry has been learning to control her magic better thanks to Sunburst’s lessons. He has really made our lives easier by helping Flurry.” Celestia nodded approvingly, then stood back up, and walked quietly over to Cadence’s desk. The young alicorn smiled as Celestia read through some of the scrolls and viewed the Empire’s progression.
“I’m happy to see everything is in order here. I knew sending you to govern the The Crystal Empire was a good decision.” Celestia made her way back to her niece who stood proudly, hearing such praise from her aunt. Cadence smiled brightly and hugged her aunt out of respect and love. She squeezed the tall white alicorn the tiniest bit, before loosening her embrace.
“Thank you, but if it wasn’t for Shining, Twilight and the group, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”
“You’re humble Cadence, that’s a lovely trait, but don’t forget your importance and what you do. At some point not everypony will be there for you.” Celestia smiled sadly as Cadence’s cheerful smile turned to one of grief.
“I-I know...but I should treasure what they do for me while it lasts-” Cadence looked to the floor as she said this, before she looked up at Celestia with sad eyes and a smile. “They’re important to me. I love them all.”
Celestia’s smile brightened and she hugged her niece tighter than she had when she arrived.
“I know, as do I. It is how I felt when my sister had left. That the grief almost took me away from my duties-” Celestia stood back from the embrace and looked down on Cadence, resting a comforting hoof on the young alicorn’s shoulder. “Yet, without her memory and the hope that I could bring her back, I never would have been able to run a nation on my own. It is these times you remember and never forget so you can always pull through.” Cadence felt the presence of love swimming in the atmosphere around her and Celestia.
Her horn tingled and her eyes could see a bright glow illuminating from Celestia. Her love shining through brightly from both pride and memory of her loved ones. Cadence smiled at the fierce affection, she was grateful for her family. Then a question came to mind.
“So Aunt Tia, if you're here because of my message, does that mean Aunt Luna is here too?” Celestia smiled at Cadence's question and nodded.
“She is indeed-” Celestia concentrated with a frown. “We believed it was necessary to have all the Princesses but one, present for this. We wouldn’t want anything to go wrong.” Celestia said as Cadence nodded in agreement.
“Yes, I understand. I hope to deal with this as soon as we possibly can.” Cadence whispered determined.
“Me too, my niece. Now tell me-” Celestia leaned in and whispered low for not even the scrolls on the desk to hear. “Where is he?”