"Then You Shall Be Glad to Know That She Is under My Care."
Celestia ceased her magical aura that saw to the safe landing of the orange cowpony; said pony vigorously rubbing her hoof along the shaft of the leather handle to absorb every tingent of moisture with her fur.
The hoof strafed for one last sweep before for flying up in the direction of the sunlight, leaving an totally hopefully clean malice in her other hoof. Applejack then dropped down to the knees of her hind legs as she cradled the weapon atop her forehooves, presenting it before the princess.
The Princess of Day lowered her mouth just before the leather handle, opting to instead levitate it off the hooves with her golden magic. “I never thought you were one with a flair for the dramatics, Applejack.”
“Only when I feel like my life hangs in the balance.” The aforementioned mare rose to her hooves and looked to the other princess. “An’ thank you, Princess Luna, for savin’ our behind back inside the bar.”
Luna blinked in surprise from hearing a compliment paid to her by one of the Elements, who she long thought had disliked her. “Twas a pleasure, Element of Honesty.”
A roar from below the bottomless circled rocked the foundation they all stood upon. The familiar shakings coursing further and louder.
“It appears we’ll have to exchange complimentary at a later time.” Luna looked up to her sister who nodded in response, before dipping her head before the cowpony. “Though I thank you for quite the amazing kick that drew the dragon’s attention away from my fallen form.”
The three mare turned to the bottomless circle and stood together. Backs straight with their chests puffed out they awaited the dragon’s return.
“Not a problem,” Applejack replied to the princess earlier statement. “I only wish my kick were strong enough to knock ‘em out – now that would be somethin' to tell Applebloom back at the farm.”
“I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic to know that you managed to kick him out of the ring.” Celestia’s eyes were drawn to the two quivering forms approaching her. “Unlike some members of my Royal Guard whose sole purpose was to protect the bar.”
The two stallions outfitted in golden armors swallowed the lumps that had formed in their throats. “Our apologies, princess. Our cowardice overloaded us into running away, though we hope to make up for our insurgency by returning the Element to the others.”
Celestia glanced down at the orange earth pony. “Is this your wish?”
Applejack briefly considered rejoining her friends to assure herself of their safety but knew events would repeat themselves. “Nah – er – no, princess. I’d rather be out here doin’ what I can alongside ya.”
She then looked to the two guards. “But I left my friend Rarity to rest behind the counter inside the bar. If ya could pick her up and escort her to the others, I’d be in your debt.”
“You’ll pay back no such loan.” Celestia made the authority in her tone well known to the two guards her eyes bore down onto. “These guards owe me a debt that will be equivalently paid by their assurance that the other Elements are tucked away safely. Should their word be faulty or lies, they shall incur a debt unpayable even with their lives.”
The younger of the two guards couldn’t suppress the trembles incurred by his ruler's foreseeable wraith, squeaking his next lines. “B-But we can’t be accountable for protecting Miss Applejack if we’re escorting the others.”
The princess allowed a smile. “Then you shall be glad to know that she is under my care. Now get a hoof on.”
The guards didn’t hesitate to salute, spin around, and dash to their next objective. They leaped up into the air at hearing the dragon’s roar just below, who made his fury known in his cadence.
An influx of fear coursed through the company's veins as she finally comprehended the reality of the ensuing battle with the dragon. Her eyes drifted from the archer units stations atop the windows and blocking the stairwell with their bows readied, while the guards on the platform fell into formation with weapons erected upward.
Applejack peeked over the edge of the bottomless circle to find a patch of smoke, enshrouding the area due to the heavy impact against the mountain side. “Think you were a little too harsh on those stallions, princess?”
The quiver in her hind leg went noticed by the ruler, who made no mention of it in her reply. “Not if I want those two to enforce the full extent of their duty. The fact that those two are the sole protectors of the Elements displays the futility of my planning.”
“Planning?” Applejack came back to the princess's side.
A golden glow faded into existence around the alabaster horn, not but a second into existence it began to flicker, as Celestia saw with her magic infused eyes the yellow silhouette of the climbing dragon amidst the smoke.
Whistling, she gained the attention of all of her guard, as she pointed a hoof at the circle and use the other to gesture in a circle. Those familiar with the commander began filling around the circle while does who didn’t stayed in place.
Then, with a stomp of a royalty, those who had gathered around the circle began to fire off their arrows into the fray.
“That should buy us some time.” Celestia’s eyes scavenged the battlefield for a suitable weapon for the sister and friend standing at both of her sides. “Applejack, do you require a weapon?”
The aforementioned mare cracked a grin. “Nah, I’ve always been just an hooves kinda girl. Though I’ll mostly be running’ decoy to keep the heat off of you too.”
Celestia turned her attention to her sister, who she did not find at her side, rather out by the railing where the two guards had fallen before. She secured an axe her size in weight inside her dark aurora, before magically fastening its length to the metal of her back.
Luna returned a moment later with a slight bow. “Please excuse my absence – something had caught my eye.”
The next barrage of roars from below sounded even closer than before, though its tone held not the pain of being rained upon with arrows, but of the irritation of realizing its raining outside, extending the time it takes to get to work.
Celestia glanced at the two mares, earning both of their attention, before sealing her own eyes. “Our time is scrapped, but there is an important message I must bestow upon the two of you, should I fall during the course of this battle. There’s been a disturbance amongst the peace of Equestria that seeks to change the planes of our lands.”
The steady streams of arrows being plucked and voices being yelled were soften into whispers by the serenity of the solar ruler’s voice, creating a pocketed bubble relaxation that carried the two mares as they listened intently to the frail words expanding the bubble.
“Are the changelings up to mischief once more?” Applejack couldn’t suppress the question as she slammed her two hooves together in determination. “Because if we gotta quell the troubles they're bringing’ to the lands, so be it: we’ll head on over to their hive once we’re done this here fight!”
“No, nothing like that.” Celestia shook her head as her eyes remained closed. “A calamity such as the one I feel approaching in the near feature isn’t something that can be brought on by but a single nation. I fear this ever-expanding disturbance will instill a restless into our loyal subjects at its approach.”
The Princess of Dreams looked up from her hooves and into the contemplative face of her dearly beloved sister. “In our slumbering subjects, I’ve sensed a weariness for the future unprecedented in our times of peace. Their subconscious minds held no further details or origins of these fears, so I considered it just another occurring phenomenal.”
Celestia shook her head once more as she tried to smile. “I wish this were a spontaneous occurrence as well, for I wouldn’t feel the same weariness as I too slept, yet the tendrils of this disturbance shower their influence over the lands as they continue to reach outward to the center of the world.”
Even though the Princess couldn’t see it, Applejack took her hat off to display the respect accompanying her next question. “Y’all have to forgive me for being a simple farm pony, but could you be more exact in what’s happening to Equestria?”
Celestia opened her eyes for the sole purpose of displaying the glint of honesty adorning them. “I’m afraid I’m unaware of those details as well – only that dormant forces in my history may now be seeking revival. There are too many possible contenders at play, and so, for the last few months, I’ve been trying to plan for every contingency possible.”
Celestia looked past the faces of her two listeners to the glow of the flames clearing away the smoke, sighing as her head and shoulders fell. “I suspected that these forces would desire to procure the Crystal Heart due to its power and lack of formidable defense. You’ll notice my lack of guards as of late to ensure that power doesn’t fall into the wrong hands so early into the game.”
“So I’m gussin’ none of these forces which-em-you-calls-it has no reason to attack this land, which is why you were so surprised and called for our help immediately.”
The alabaster alicorn could finally manage a proper smile. “You’re quite the clever one, Applejack, more than what you let on.”
Applejack threw back on her hat with a grin. “I try to hide my smarts whenever I can.”
Celestia only smiled more, before finishing her speech. “But yes. This attack on Canterlot is unexpected, though I can ascertain that this dragon is no brute. There is a treasure hidden deep within the depths of this mountain, but it serves no purpose to anyone in its present state, especially to a dragon.”
The last and final roar accompanied the flames shooting upward past the circle, burning those who stood around it into retreating. The air bubble that had protected the three from the oncoming stress burst from the heat, as they all came to stand together once more.
“If I see Twilight after this,” Applejack said to the princess while looking up at her, “I promise to carry on the message. But until then, let’s beat this dragon down and tie him up, and get him to talk about whatever it is he knows.”
The other two mares cracked a grin, as they simultaneously spoke their next lines.
“Agreed.”