Memoir of Misery

by Silvak


Chapter XXVIII: Plans

"I'm in my early thirties‽" Sapphire cried out in shock as Twilight let out a groan before lighting her horn up for a teleport, disappearing with a pop.

Nodding, Celestia stated, "Yes, you are in your early thirties. While we don't know the exact age for you, I think you will eventually remember it. Though, I’m guessing that you weren't expecting around another decade of memories to sift through..."

"You think?" Sapphire replied with her right eye twitching.

"Well, it is better for you to know about it sooner instead of waiting for an end," Celestia declared with a smile before looking back at the front door. "Anyways, I can't keep the mayor waiting, so enjoy the party!" Celestia said before trotting out of the bakery.

As the ponies watched Celestia leave, they all looked at Sapphire, who had her head in her hooves until she noticed the silence that had taken hold of the room. Looking up at the ponies that were staring at her, Sapphire stated, "What? The party is still going on, right?"

After a bit more silence, the ponies nodded before resuming their activities as Sapphire decided to start eating the rest of her cake. Though that also came to a screeching halt when the Cakes suddenly arrived before her, where Mrs. Cake asked, "Hello Princess Sapphire, are you enjoying the party?"

Giving the pair a confused look, Sapphire swallowed the chunk of cake in her mouth before answering, "Yeah... why do you ask?"

Giving Sapphire a forced grin that was matched by his wife, Mr. Cake replied, "Oh, it's just that we didn't treat you with the respect owed to a princess when you were a unicorn, so we're tr—"

Holding a hoof up, which cause the pair to clamp their mouths shut, Sapphire said, "Mr. and Mrs. Cake, it's fine. You shouldn't worry about how you treated me when I was a unicorn cause nopony would have known that I was actually an alicorn. So relax, and you don't have to worry about me treating you wrong since I do have this stack of food in front of me," as she pointed a hoof at her plate of desserts.

Nodding, Mrs. Cake let out a breath of relief as she replied, "Thank you, your majesty. After a little incident with Pinkie and Princess Celestia, we didn't want to have any more problems come up," as she and her husband backed away.

Shaking her head, Sapphire said, "I'll never get used to this," as she stuffed the rest of the cake into her mouth before moving onto the caramel apples. As she began, she then spotted Fluttershy walking out with the cage that Celestia brought in earlier. "Huh? What is Flut—" Sapphire started to say before a pop interrupted her, causing her to jump back a bit with her wings flaring out as she saw that Twilight had teleported in.

"Okay, I'm back Prin... cess... Princess Celestia left already, didn't she?" Twilight stated, initially looking excited before it fell into a look of disappointment.

"Yeah... she didn't stick around for long... and sorry for spitting that cake all over you, Twilight," Sapphire apologized, only for Twilight to give her a forgiving smile as she waved a hoof off at Sapphire. Oddly though, off at the edge of Sapphire's vision, she saw Rarity slowly backing away from the crowd as she was heading towards the front door for some reason.

"It's fine Sapphire. You were just surprised by Celestia while you were eating. I mean, realizing that you're a decade older than you thought you were would be startling to most ponies. Though... how are your princess lessons going?" Twilight replied, her eyes shining with curiosity as she awaited Sapphire's answer.

Staring at Twilight in disbelief, Sapphire sighed as she replied, "It's been peachy. Its so much fun learning all the proper interactions with the nobility, as well as what things I can do as a princess, including what I may do if I decide to take on more political power, and what I can't do."

Ears lowering at Sapphire's answer, Twilight said, "Oh... but I heard you went to Vanhoover. Wasn't that a good Royal Visit?"

"Eh, it was more attending some royal functions, a tour of the Pear Fa—"

"You visited some Pears‽" Applejack shouted, causing both Sapphire and Twilight to back away from her in surprise.

"Umm... yes?" Sapphire answered as she and Twilight shared a glance with one another. "Is there a prob—gah!" Sapphire asked before Applejack grabbed her shoulders and brought her muzzle to muzzle.

"Don't mention the Pear family when Granny Smith is around," Applejack growled out before letting go of a shaken Sapphire, who numbly nodded her head. Straightening her hat, Applejack then said, "So, how was the rest of your trip to Vanhoover sugarcube?"

"Umm... it was fine... I guess," Sapphire replied as she shuffled a bit away from Applejack, who was solemnly nodded before resuming her own feasting. Looking at Twilight, Sapphire asked, "Did... did that just happen?"

"Yeah... hey, have you seen Fluttershy? She was here before I left to clean myself," Twilight asked as she was searching the room for the shy pegasus.

Pointing at the front door, Sapphire answered, "Oh, she just left with the cage that Celestia brought in for some reason."

"What‽ What in Celestia's sake was she thinking‽" Twilight cried out before rushing out the front door, much to the surprise of everypony present as they all started at Sapphire like they were expecting her to do something.

Glancing at all of them, Sapphire simply shrugged as she grabbed a chocolate chip waffle, holding it up in the air as she shouted, "Let there be waffles!" Receiving silence at first, Sapphire's ears started to tilt a bit before the partygoers shrugged before returning to their activities. Shaking her head at that, Sapphire promptly stuffed the waffle into her mouth as she decided to try to enjoy the party while it lasted.


"So, how was the party, Sapphire?" Celestia asked as she and Sapphire were sitting on the 'princess chariot'. It was late afternoon when the party ended, with Sapphire sitting on Celestia's left while eyeing the phoenix that was flying nearby them.

"It was... good. Rarity left for a bit, but that was so she could put her dress away for safekeeping. Though, did you really have to bring that bird when it was about to die and be reborn?" Sapphire replied as she continued to stare at the bird that let out an amused caw.

"Oh, it's no real harm in the end. Besides, Philomena just wanted to have some of her own amusement, and Fluttershy did get a chance to interact with a phoenix," Celestia answered as she held out a wing where her pet phoenix landed on it.

As Celestia was petting Philomena with a hoof, Sapphire directed her attention to Celestia as she asked, "Alright, Celestia, there’s something I need to know."

Turning her head towards Sapphire, Celestia lifted one of her eyebrows as she responded, "And what would that be, my fellow princess?"

Resisting her left eye's urge to twitch as Celestia smiled at her, Sapphire stated, "You're a schemer, Celestia. You've been insistent on me being a princess even when I didn't want to be one, as well as planning my false vacation as a Royal Visit to another city. So, just what are you trying to do with me?"

After a moment of silence as Celestia and Sapphire stared at one another, Celestia let out a sigh as she said, "I honestly don't know."

"Huh?" Sapphire said, tilting her head in confusion as Celestia looked forward towards the sight of Canterlot.

Taking a deep breath, Celestia said, "To be honest Sapphire, you're an enigma. In more ways than one. I... had some plans for the future of Equestria, but your sudden appearance has... introduced an unknown element that might disrupt them. Though, your lack of desire to obtain power is quite a welcoming change compared to the nobles that are always looking for a chance to expand their influence. At first, I thought you were simply an alicorn like Cadance, who gained her wings at a young age. Hence, I was hoping to at least groom you to some political function that you may agree to after getting used to being an alicorn, possibly setting up a court in another city. But when evidence started to grow that you may be more like Luna and me rather than Cadance, that whole plan went out the window as I tried to pick up the pieces.

So now I have an alicorn that could potentially become... another 'nightmare' for me if I push you too hard, but could also have ties to one of Equus's ancient mysteries. And to top it all off, those infernos in your nightmares. There is some hidden importance to them than just being linked to what may be ancient words and some memories. I just... feel like they're some ominous warning to you, and possibly to us as well. So, you're really a wild card to all of us still, Sapphire. I suppose, in the end, you hold the ultimate choice to your future."

Giving Celestia a surprised look, Sapphire asked, "Really? You don't have a plan for me?" Receiving a nod in response, Sapphire turned to look at Canterlot as well, before continuing, "Then what do you think I should do?"

"Well, if you don't want to focus on your past for the time being, perhaps you should look to the future. One thing for certain though, you're still a princess due to being an alicorn. Ponies will always rever you, and coupled with the power you demonstrated in Vanhoover, other nations will fear you for what you can do. You could remain in your figurehead role in Canterlot, learning more about magic or being a princess, or tour Equestria some more to find a city that you might like to settle down in. Or you can even explore the world if you so desire. You have an independent spirit Sapphire, so maybe take this is your chance to take the reins of your future as a princess. Just no scheming to find someplace to go into hiding," Celestia answered with a smile.

Snorting at the jab that Celestia made, Sapphire rubbed her chin as she thought about what Celestia said for a moment before recalling something. "Hey... you have the Royal Guard and Luna has her Night Guard, but why doesn't Cadance have her own guard?"

"Well, it's simply because she doesn't have any desire to form her own guard when both Luna and mine are sufficient enough. There is also the fact that she's engaged to Shining Armor, so it may look bad for her to be fraternizing with the captain of another guard force that isn't her own," Celestia answered, cocking her an eyebrow as she turned her attention towards Sapphire. "I take it you asked cause you were wondering if you can have one now?"

"No... just idle curiosity...maybe..." Sapphire replied as she tapped her chin a bit. "Or maybe some planning for the future... which I really don't do much of."

"Well, you're still young Sapphire, so you're more likely to think about the now than the later. Give it time, and you may end up planning for the next year in just one day. Though, do you want an unrelated word of advice?" Celestia responded, to which Sapphire simply nodded in return. "Cadance doesn't know your true age yet, it's just been kept between my sister, the doctors and me. So... this is a chance for you to have a little prank on her if you can pull it off."

Humming to herself in thought, Sapphire glanced at Celestia as she asked, "Are you one of those ponies that like to pull pranks every so often?"

As she turned her attention back to Canterlot, Celestia had a mischievous smile on her muzzle as she answered, "Let's just say that sometimes you need to spice up your day to day life when you start getting centuries years old. Though I would much appreciate it if you make certain that I'm in the same room as Cadance when you try to pull a fast one on her, I'm certain that it would be a memorable time for me to witness. Along with the fact that I can always use more times to embarrass Cadance at private get-togethers."