Twilight couldn’t believe it. Here she was, surrounded by her friends and her teacher, everypony staring at her. At her! All over some piddly little spell she fixed. She couldn’t get over how quickly things had changed. Her mentor nudged her.
“Say something, Princess.” She prompted. Twilight felt a little giddy at the word being used to describe her.
“Oh. Um...” Twilight started, but coughed daintily before she continued. All of the ponies in the audience were waiting patiently for her to continue. “A little while ago, my teacher and mentor Princess Celestia sent me to live in Ponyville. She sent me to study friendship, which is something I didn't really care much about.” Twilight could remember her chariot ride down to Ponyville, telling Spike how confident she was that she wouldn’t make any friends and how the two of them were going to be in and out. She looked back at her friends, smiling at her from the back of the balcony. “But now, on a day like today, I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for the friendships I've made with all of you.” Twilight looked at each of her friends, with each of them smiling back at her lovingly. “Each one of you taught me something about friendship, and for that, I will always be grateful. Today, I consider myself the luckiest pony in Equestria. Thank you, friends. Thank you, everypony!" She finished. The crowd of ponies below her started cheering again, exuberant at her words. Twilight walked back inside. She saw her brother and Cadance approaching. Shining pulled Twilight into a tight hug.
“Twilight, I’m so proud of you!” He exclaimed. A tear ran down his face.
“Are you crying?” She smirked. Shining wiped it away, smiling.
“Of course not, it’s... It’s liquid pride. Totally different thing.” He covered up. They shared a laugh together. Her friends caught up to her.
“Way to go, Princess!” Applejack congratulated. Pinkie sprung out of nowhere, exuberant as ever.
“Best coronation day ever!” Pinkie proclaimed. Fluttershy crept up from behind Pinkie.
“We love you, Twilight.” She told Twilight, about as happy as a Fluttershy could be.The
rest of her friends gathered around.
“I love you too, girls!” Twilight smiled, bringing all her friends into a hug. It was about as good of a day as there could have possibly been.
~
Twilight was sitting in her new bedroom in Canterlot, reading through one of her favorite spellbooks. Apparently, Princess Luna knew the wizard that wrote it! She turned through the pages, loosing track of time. Some time later, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in.” Twilight said. The door creaked open slowly.
“Twilight?” She heard a soft voice. She looked up from her book to see a small sliver of pink through the door.
“Cadance? Come in, please,” She told her fellow Princess. Cadance trotted in meekly, sitting down right next to the new Princess. She wasn’t wearing her regalia. Twilight looked through the window, seeing a thin line of morning sunlight peeking over the horizon. She must have really lost track of time. She turned back to Cadance. The pink pony looked sullen and withdrawn, a far cry from the perky, bright Cadance of Twilight’s childhood, or even Twilight’s earlier afternoon. Twilight was suddenly worried.
“What’s wrong? Did Shining-”
“No, no. It’s not him. But there’s something that we need to talk about.”
“Anything, Cadance. You know you can talk to me.” Twilight assured her. Cadance bit her lip.
"We're new at this, Twi. You and me. We're not like Luna and Celestia. We still have ponies around that care about us. We’re still young. You have your friends, and I... I have my husband." She explained slowly, carefully. As if she was afraid that she would say something wrong.
"What are you saying, Cadance?" Twilight asked. Cadance inhaled deeply, and then exhaled carefully.
"We live forever, Twilight. You know that, right?"
"Yes... but-"
"We live forever, Twi. We last so long. It's so painful. I was so close to not marrying your brother. But I did, and it's going to be the happiest few decades of my life. I don't regret it, but I'm not going to kid myself. It's not going to last. I'm going to have to watch him as he gets older. He's going to have to watch me while I don't." She rattled off, like she had it all pent up and was waiting to say it. Twilight sat there for a moment, feeling the knowledge trickle down.
"You mean..." Twilight trailed, feeling the sadness when she realized the repercussions. Cadance nodded.
"That's the tradeoff. We get the full set and eternal life. But we have to say goodbye to everypony we love." She confirmed. Twilight sniffed. Cadance stood and walked, sullen, to the door.
"Of all the ponies that this could have happened to, I never, ever wanted it to be you. I'm... I'm so sorry." She whispered. She quickly left, leaving Twilight, suddenly lonely, with a heavy heart.
Eighty years later
“All of us know how Applejack was larger than life.” The minister told the assembled ponies, waving his hooves over the pulpit and enunciating the phrase. It could have been a wedding, or even a sermon if it wasn't for the casket. It was covered in so many chrysanthemums that a pony could barely see the pale knots of the ancient burl.
“She was vibrant, strong, and she knew exactly how to speak her mind.” The robed pony declared. He enunciated every word, taking the time to place emphasis where it needed to be and paused, tenderly, at the end of each sentence. At funerals, he had a habit of making eye contact with one pony in the audience every time he said one of his well-thought-out sentences. But this wasn’t a regular funeral. The pony had never presided over a funeral- Well, presided over an anything with a princess in attendance! When he saw her at the reception, he almost fainted. He dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. He nervously glanced at the purple alicorn, sitting by herself near the back of the church.
“A-Applejack was a strong mare, taking sole receivership of her family farm at a very young age w-with the help of her late brother, Chester MacIntosh.” The pony continued, reading from his notes. He ran his hooves over the page, trying to find the right life event. He was distracted by a pony sobbing in the audience. The pony re-adjusted his glasses and looked up for a split second before looking back down at his notes. It was the Princess in the back. He dry-swallowed.
“Sh-She is survived by her younger sister, Applebloom, and her niece and nephew, Pink Lady and Apple Butter.” he read, waving in their direction with a hoof. It was a little family, with the aging mother and her two children. One of them was a slender pink mare, while the other one was a heavyset pegasus, dressed in a suit and tie. Applebloom herself was sitting next to her husband, a wrinkly grey pegasus. Applebloom was dabbing at her eyes with a napkin from the reception, and her husband had a foreleg around her.
“Her m-most notable achievement was her career as the Element of Honesty, where she protected the realm from-” The pastor read off, but there was a sob that cut him off. He looked up from the notepad. The Princess, in the back row, was crying her eyes out. She wiped her eyes with one of her hooves. A nearby pony held out a tissue to her, but she shook her head and stood up. She fluttered her wings and ran out of the church. The pastor got one last look at her through the front door before she disappeared into the sky.
~
Twilight rocketed through the air, watching the countryside blur underneath her. The tears stung her eyes and the wind whipped at her mane. She knew that this would happen. She knew. But she still lost it. She didn’t have to leave for Rarity’s, Rainbow’s, or even Pinkie’s. But, somehow, Applejack’s was the worst so far. She climbed higher to avoid a flock of geese. They quacked in annoyance as she passed. Twilight remembered her last few days with Applejack. She wasn’t in bed at all. She was out in the field, bucking apples to the end. She even picked the tree that would be cut down to make a casket for her. Twilight choked silently while she remembered her last conversation with the earth pony.
“There ain’t no harm in goin’ to look, Twi.’” The old mare said, getting up from her rocking chair. I frowned.
“It’s plain morbid, Applejack! Picking out your own coffin?” I objected, nervously shuffling my wings. Applejack scowled, staring me down with her bright green eyes.
“We’re jes’ lookin’ at trees, Twi. Ain’t nothin’ to get worked up about.” She assured me. I pouted and sat down. It was unfair of Applejack. I waited for Applejack to get her jacket on before I walked outside. Soon the two of us were out in the orchard, looking at the trees. Applejack did most of the talking. We walked past Big Mac’s stump, taking a moment to read the inscription.
“That tree’s gonna be the end of me.” I read out loud, almost laughing. I remembered back when I was a unicorn, laughing with Applejack when we overheard Big Mac swearing about the damn oak tree in the middle of the orchard.
“Y’weren’t here for his, uh, funeral, were ya?” Applejack asked struggling to say the word. I nodded.
“I had to go with Luna to Whinnypeg. I would have come, but-”
“It’s allright, Twi. Y’know how he passed?”
“No.”
“He was tryin’ to saw it down. All by his lonesome. Th’ doctors said that his heart jes’ couldn’t handle it. But I know Mac. The tree knew that it was the end of him, and the tree made sure, too. We cut it down after the... Y’know. It’s a shame. But he’s somewhere else now, kickin’ down them oaks like nopony’s business.” Applejack told me. She placed a hoof on the ancient stump and ran her hoof over the glossy surface. She stayed like that for a moment. Suddenly, she drew her hoof away and walked off, deeper into the orchard. I could smell the sweet leaves that she was stepping on.
“Come on, Princess. Let’s git goin’.” Applejack prodded, starting to trot. I smiled and followed her.
~
We came to the Tree after an uneventful and silent walk through the orchard. Applejack made a beeline to it, and I knew she would. It was the oldest, tallest, thickest tree in the whole orchard. And Applejack hated it.
“Applejack...” I warned, but the she shook her head.
“You know I’m gettin’ on in years, Twi.” She started, but I shook my head back.
“Don’t you dare start with me, Applejack. You have years and years left.” I told her. She sighed.
“Ah looked in the mirror this morning, Twi. And Ah’ll be a monkey’s uncle if Ah didn’t look the spittin’ image of Granny Smith. It’s almost mah time.” She told me. I kept shaking my head.
“Please, Applejack. I don’t think I can bear another one. Not again.” I pleaded with her. She frowned.
“Ah wish it was up t’me. But it ain’t. Ah’m gonna be goin’ soon.”
“Please, Applejack. Don’t talk like that. You’ve got plenty of trees left to buck.”
“I ain’t got many left in me, Twi.” Applejack said. I could feel the sadness seeping in through the edges. I sat down on the leafy ground and started to cry. It wasn’t fair that she had to go. I had suffered too much. Applejack came over and sat next to her, putting her hoof on her shoulder
“It happens. Ah cain’t stop it from happenin’. I feel jes’ awful about you and your predicament. T’aint right to have to see all yer friends die. But Ah’ve seen it too. Pinkie Pie was a right shame, dyin’ so young. But the others have been jes’ as bad. I couldn’t handle Rarity’s funeral. Just ate me up seein’ her in that casket, all peaceful-like. Ain’t what Rarity liked. Them ribbons in her mane and all that, didn’t go with her dress at all. She would have done thrown a fit if she knew they sent her off with them orange ribbons.” Applejack warbled. I turned and looked at her. Tears were running through her wrinkles. I knew that it was hard on her too, and it was wrong to make it all about me.
“I’m sorry, Applejack. I didn’t mean to-” I started, but Applejack shook her head. She wiped her tears away and looked out at her trees.
“Don’t be sayin’ sorry, Twi. I want you to do somethin’ for me when Ah’m gone.”
“AJ, please-”
“Don’t be talkin’ like it ain’t gonna happen. It will, and I need you to do somethin’ for me when Ah ain’t here to do it m’self.” Applejack rebutted.
“What do you need?” I rasped out.
“Don’t let those damn in-laws get th’ farm. Keep it between Apples. Could you do that for me?” She asked, plaintively. I nodded, trying not to let the tears flow.
“Anything for a friend.”
“Keep it between Apples.” Twilight mouthed. Between the wind and the tears, her cheeks were nearly frozen. She looked around, noticing herself a few hundred feet above where she should be. She locked her wings into place and settled into a glide, coming back down to Equestria slowly. Many ponies that knew her would think that she would just walk everywhere if they knew she hated being an alicorn so much. She got over not flying decades ago. Ponies expected a Princess to fly from place to place, and they thought it was unbecoming to just teleport to an event. Twilight settled in for the flight, not wanting to disappoint the numerous ‘princess spotters’ that she knew dotted the countryside.
~
She wanted to see Mom and Dad. It was a sudden urge, and she really didn’t expect it. She had to angle off from her approach to Canterlot and flap her way over. After a few minutes of flying she found herself over a plain filled with short, rounded stones. She could see a little pink speck near one of the stones. As she got nearer, she could tell that it was Cadance. She flapped her way closer and landed a bit away from the other princess. She walked up to the plot slowly. All three sparkes shared a gravestone. Shining was in the middle, with mom and dad flanking him on either side. Above their names and dates, a large plaque said the family name. Everypony wanted it to say 'Family of the Princess', but Twilight wouldn't stand for that at all. The whole thing was made out of green marble, with handsome brass furniture. Cadance turned, hearing Twilight's approach.
"Hey." She said quietly. Twilight smiled back. Cadance turned back to the gravestone.
"Our anniversary is next Thursday." She said, stiff. Twilight sighed. Cadance was always sullen this time of year.
"I know." Twilight confirmed softly.
"Did you want to ask me something? " Cadance asked. Twilight was surprised and stuttered for a moment.
"I-I just wanted to see Mom and Dad." Twilight admitted. Cadance nodded. Her horn glowed a faint blue, just for a moment. A bundle of white roses appeared in front of Shining's plaque. She adjusted her wings, flexing the feathers. Cadance spreaded her large wings, batting the air and lifting up into the sky.
"I'll leave you alone. See you at home." She promised. Twilight nodded, and Cadance streaked away. Twilight watched her fly away, and steeled herself for a moment. After a shaky sigh, she turned to her family. After all these years, it was still hard. She looked down at the three little plates.
"Hey, Shiny."
"It's been a while."
"I went to Applejack's funeral today. I'm the executor of her will. The lawyers notified me this morning. I'll have to be in Appleoosa to piece everything out in a few days." Twilight told her brother. He didn't say anything back, laconic as he was.
"I haven't been to Appleoosa in years. Last time I was there was about ten years ago, for the summer sun celebration. You know that."
"But I'm still worried, because I haven't ever been in a place by myself. As a Princess. I've always been with... With other ponies." She stumbled. She almost said 'my friends.' It was too soon to be talking about that.
"I would get to see Fluttershy again, too. I haven't seen her in a few years. Her wedding was amazing. Almost as good as yours. Well, it actually might have been better than yours, because of the whole 'queen changeling trapped me in a crystal prison' thing. That wasn't so fun. Besides, I might be able to convince Braeburn to get some of his kids to take over the Ponyville orchard."
"That's what Applejack asked me to do. She said to 'Keep it between Apples'. I guess she doesn't really like Applebloom's husband. I don't know why. I've only seen him a few times, but he seems like a nice enough Pegasus. I'll honor my agreement with Applejack, but I think I'll do a little bit of digging.
"Other than that, there's not much going on right now." Twilight finished. She looked at the two other plaques that read 'Star' and 'Night'. Mom and Dad. Twilight could feel something in her stomach, but she stayed strong. She looked over at Mom first.
"Hi Mom."
"I miss you."
"You've said that you're proud of me a million times. That made everything so much easier. All of my new duties, my first week of being a princess, you were there. You must have known what would have happened from the beginning. But you stayed quiet and let me have my fun."
"Thank you. You let me finish being a kid. I-" Twilight tried to continue, but she felt a lump rise up in her throat. The tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to break loose.
"I wish that you didn't have to go." Twilight whispered. "All three of you." She struggled to say. She sniffed. She unfurled her wings and flew away
Cadance was on her balcony, looking up at the sunset. Twilight swooped past once before turning to land. She touched down softly on the glassy marble with barely a sound. Cadance was leaning on the bannister, watching the last dregs of the day. Twilight walked up and sat next to her.
“It’s been a long day.” Twilight said. Cadance nodded.
“It’s been a long day,” She agreed. The pair were silent for a long time, watching the sun sink below the horizon. Finally, Twilight decided to break the silence.
“Why did you marry my brother?” Twilight asked. Cadance closed her eyes and sighed. She rubbed the base of her horn with a hoof.
“That’s a loaded question.” Cadance complained.
“I couldn’t bear to watch you after he died. I could tell it was so hard on you. You even told me, after I became a princess, that you knew what you were getting into. What were you thinking?”
“He’s the one that came on to me, you know. I was never planning on going off and getting married. The Sparkles just popped into a Royal Charity ball one day and never left the limelight. Shining would never let me be alone with other stallions, either. He was just amazing...” Cadance trailed off, resting her head on her hooves. Twilight thought that she could have actually been swooning. Twilight did a little ‘ahem’, bringing Cadance back to the real world.
“But why did you marry him?”
“To be honest, I didn’t even want to date the guy.” Cadance admitted. Twilight’s mouth fell open.
“Really?”
“Yep. He would always try to corner me into talking to him while I was foalsitting you. He was so persistent. So I agreed to go out with him just to get him off my back.”
“And?” Twilight pressed.
“I fell in love with him. He was charming. He wasn’t intimidated by me because I was a Princess, either. He took us to a french restaurant and ordered for me. I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, but he was just amazing. I couldn’t imagine a better stallion.”
“That’s it? You fell in love with him after one date?”
“Well, yes. We knew just about everything about each other, and we were pretty good friends since he was little. I used to foalsit him too, you know.”
“Why were you reluctant, then?”
“I could have gotten close to him.” Cadance admitted in a monotone. The conversation suddenly got cold. Twilight could feel the chill of the summer night sink in slowly. She shivered slightly, looking around.
“Princess Sparkle.” A strong voice stiffly stated. Twilight jumped, turning around with a hoof to her chest.
“I swear, Luna, you’re going to give me a heart attack.” Twilight admonished. The dark blue Princess’ lips seemed to get thinner, and she lifted her head a little bit higher. Twilight noticed that Luna was all dressed up to go out for the night, with her shoes, necklace, and tiara. Her starry mane fluttered slowly in the still air.
“Sister requests your presence as soon as is possible.” Luna ignored Twilight’s comment, not offering an apology. The dark Princess lept into the air. Just as suddenly as she appeared, she was gone. Twilight felt the dry heat from the day return just as quickly as the elder Princess was gone.
“She scares the life out of me.” Twilight swore, turning back to the railing. It was cool to the touch, even though it was out in the sun all day. Cadance nodded.
“She gets to me, too. You better go, though. ‘Sister’ doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Cadance warned. Twilight rolled her eyes and scoffed.
“I know. I'll talk to you later!" Twilight assured before teleporting to her room.
She had long since gotten over the shock of finding yourself in a completely different place than the one that you were just in. Twilight had even done studies and published articles about teleportation's effect on the equine mind. But she wasn't concerned about that now. Now it was a mad dash to get into her regalia and into the throne room as fast as is literally possible. She jumped into her studded shoes. The shining gold necklace and tiara floated through the air and into their proper places. No sooner had the clasp snapped shut on her necklace that she was standing right in the middle of Celestia's throne room. The throne room. Twilight had her own throne room, but it was just a glorified library. This was the real deal. Twilight stood as straight as possible, adjusting her feathers.
"You asked for me, Princess?" Twilight started. Celestia didn't look up from a letter she was writing, longhorn. Twilight recognized the golden-red quill as one from the Princess's phoenix. Twilight shuddered a little bit at the opulence.
"Three seconds deviation, Princess Sparkle." Celestia said dryly. Twilight gulped. This could be bad.
"No excuses, Princess." Twilight said calmly, keeping her eyes locked on that expensive quill. She heard that the feel of a phoenix feather was the best feeling in the world. She wouldn't know. Celestia kept a stranglehold on all of her spare phoenix quills.
"Do you think my time is... worthless, Princess Sparkle?" Celestia inquired, stiff. Twilight listened to the rasp of the nib, collecting her thoughts.
"No ma'am."
"Good." Celestia agreed. Twilight relaxed, but didn't show it. She dodged a fireball, just then. Celestia finished writing a last sentence. She waved her hoof. A pony streaked out from a side door, snatched the letter, and ran back. She levelled her piercing eyes on Twilight. Both of her eyes.
"I need you to be in Trottingham tomorrow. There is a horde of dragons on the way there. I must keep up relations with them. You are to go and renegotiate a treaty." Celestia ordered. She then appeared a book into the air and flipped it open to a silken bookmark. Twilight stood stock still, thinking about the disastrous course of action she was about to take. When Celestia noticed that Twilight was still in the room, she stared at her, puzzled.
"Is there something I said that confused you, Princess Sparkle?" Celestia talked down to Twilight. Twilight gulped.
"I-I have a previous obligation in Appleoosa that requires my presence that day." Twilight announced, but immediately regretted saying it. She should have just walked right out of the throne room and curled into a ball. Celestria frowned.
"Appleoosa?"
"Yes ma'am."
"What requires you to be there?"
"I am to be the executor of a will."
"Ah. Applejack, correct?" The Princess asked. Twilight felt her insides squirm at the reminder.
"Yes ma'am."
"This is a surprising turn. I was to send Luna to Appleoosa to chastise the governor on the same day.” Celestia trailed off, turning inward to her thoughts. There was a horrible pause while Twilight’s plans hung in the balance. The eldest Princess started back up as quickly as she stopped. “Plans have changed. Arrive in Appleoosa tomorrow by train. Take a compliment of six guards. Wait for a letter with further instructions. You have one day of free time in Appleoosa to execute the will. I shall be expecting you when you are done. You may leave." The white Princess ordered. Twilight bowed deeply before turning to leave. She closed the monstrous double doors behind her, letting out a sigh of relief. She did it. She stood up to the Celestia and won! She was giggling like a school-age filly as she walked back to her room.
~
It had been like that for years. Celestia ruled over her palace with an iron hoof. Twilight was used to the glowing, friendly, benevolent Celestia, and was shocked to no end when she realized the change. It had been about a decade before Twilight came to terms with it. She still resented Celestia, only slightly, for committing her to an eternity of subservience. She didn’t really appreciate the way that she was ordered around daily. Twilight settled down in her room, curling up in her bed. She floated a quill and some paper over and started to write. It was one of her last simple pleasures. But she wasn’t writing for pleasure now. She wished she didn’t have to write this letter, but she did.
Dear Spike,
I’m very, very sorry that I couldn’t tell you this in person, but Applejack died this past Sunday. Her funeral was just today- I was told by Princess Celestia that you were on assignment in Saddle Arabia and could not communicate. I’m going to zap you this letter straight away- I would rather you know now.
I couldn’t stay at her funeral. You know I’ve been able to stay for the other ones. It was this one that really got me. Maybe it was the time I spent with Applejack in the weeks before. I don’t know what it was. But I had to run out on her funeral. It made me feel awful. Applejack deserved for me to be there for the entire thing.
I’m tired now, I’ll write the rest in another letter.
Your favorite Princess
Twilight Sparkle
Twilight rolled the letter up and sealed it, pressing a metal emblem to the liquid wax to put her royal seal on it. She called upon her magic. The letter crackled and zapped, suddenly disappearing in an ozone-scented cloud. She fondly remembered the days when Spike would send the letters for her. She smiled groggily, sinking into her silky sheets, remembering all the good times she used to have. She drifted, ever slowly, into her dreams.
The morning sun peeked through her window, warming up the room and playing on the floor. Stained glass threw colors all across the sumptuous room. The light played on many piles of books, stacked on top of each other and under everything, jammed into bookshelves, and anywhere else books could fit. A splotch of red light landed on Twilight’s face. She rolled over. Twilight was a big bundle of blankets with some hooves sticking out of it. She was a mess in the mornings. Finally, it became too hot in the blanket ball, and Twilight had to get out of bed. A bunch of untangling, a quick brushing, and a shower spell later, Twilight was ready to face the new day. She ran through a checklist for the day. Tickets to Appleoosa, find spare guards, send a letter ahead, finish letter to Spike.
Letter to Spike? Letter to Spike?! Twilight spread her wings and bounded through her apartment, tipping over books left and right. As she got closer to her balcony, she could catch a whiff of the brimstone. She sprung right out of her doors and onto her balcony. She saw the slightly singed scroll resting on her railing, She picked it up with magic and ripped it open. It was a full sheet of parchment, but Spike barely wrote a sentence.
I’m on my way.
The letter wasn’t signed. Spike wasn’t one for signatures. Twilight could always tell Spike from anypony else because he always insisted on writing everything himself. As he got bigger, his handwriting became worse and worse. Twilight was pretty sure that she was the only one what could read his scrawl. But, everything else aside, this was big news. Spike was leaving assignment in Saddle Arabia, directly disobeying Princess Celestia’s orders. That was huge. Nothing, pony or dragon, ever disobeyed Princess Celestia. Not without picking their epitaph first. Twilight was worried. Spike wasn’t somepony that she felt should be running around foreign countries as a fugitive. Especially not in Saddle Arabia. He would stick out like a sore thumb in all that sand. Twilight was suddenly very, very nervous. She was running down the slippery slope of possible consequences, and it wasn’t looking good. She muttered a quick spell and the scroll disappeared into bright light, leaving behind a pile of ash. Twilight blew the pile away and turned back to her messy rooms. She walked through to the hall, magicking books back into order. Twilight was trying not to be visibly nervous. If anypony saw her nervous, they might start looking around. But her eighty years of princess-ship was not wasted. She closed her eyes and inhaled deep. She exhaled, feeling all of her worries float away. Feeling suddenly confident, she collected all of her jewelry and walked out into the hall.
~
Twilight was reading the timetable of trains to Appleoosa over breakfast. She was leaning towards the Cross-country Comet, but she had doubts between bites of toast. Maybe she should take one of the slower trains, taking the time to get there. She could interact with other ponies on the train, maybe. Make the Princesses more... Equine. Twilight finished her last bite of marmalade toast, shaking her head. Princess Celestia would rather her take the Comet. If Twilight took the slower train, the Princess would wonder why, and she didn’t want to explain. Twilight was about to get up when she heard some very familiar fanfare. She looked to the front of the dining hall, watching the ponies blow on their trumpets. One of the ponies lowered his trumpet and cleared his throat.
“Announcing Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!” He shouted clearly, his voice ringing throughout the hall. Twilight watched, a little bit bored, as Cadance made her entrance. She turned back to the timetable. She wrote a quick confirmation on the back, ordering seven tickets for the five A.M. Comet. She zapped it back to the train station while Cadance was looking for a seat. Twilight started on her eggs as Cadance sat down next to her.
“Busy morning?” Cadace asked playfully. Twilight shook her head.
“I have to get ready for my trip tomorrow, but other than that, I’m free for the day.”
“Sounds absolutely riveting. What’s for breakfast?” Cadance joked. Twilight rolled her eyes.
“Dirt.” Twilight played along. Cadance sniffed over Twilight’s plate.
“Smells great. I might get some dirt, too.” Cadance ribbed her. Twilight giggled a little bit. Cadance waved her hoof at a passing food pony. He gave her a menu, bowing profusely.
“What about you?” Twilight ignored the waiter.
“Hmm?”
“What are you doing today?”
“Oh, I’m going out in the town, running around and asking for charity for the Foal’s hospital. Big press day. Apparently, when a Princess asks you to save the foals, ponies just can’t help but throw money at you.”
“You better learn how to dodge, then. I would imagine that it would hurt.” Twilight quipped. Cadance laughed. Twilight took the last bite out of her omelette. She got up
“Well, I should go get some guards for tomorrow.” Twilight said. Cadance nodded. Twilight walked out of the dining hall, feeling ready to go about her business.
~
She loved eating lunch out on the balcony. It was simply beautiful. Right now, she was watching a thunderstorm that was forming miles and miles away over the southern Salt Flats, leaving her safe and dry. She blew on her soup, scattering the steam on the top. It really was a great day. Everything went right. She had her tickets to Appleoosa, she had her guards picked out, she had her reservations for the hotel. Everything was ready. All she had to do now was-
“Boo!”
Twilight screamed, jumping up and spilling her soup all over the balcony. She looked around, nearly scared to death. She looked up to see an enormous purple dragon clinging to the side of the palace.
“Why would you do that, Spike?” She shouted. Spike chuckled, unfolding his wings. He jumped down to the balcony very quietly. His talons clacked on the smooth marble.
“Because I haven’t seen you in, like, ever.” Spike explained, rolling his eyes. Twilight rushed up to him, grabbing him with her hooves. She snuggled up to him, rubbing her face on his warm, dry scales.
“I was so worried, Spike.” Twilight childed. Spike hesitated, and then hugged her back.
“You’re always worried, Twilight.” Twilight pulled back and hit him with one of her hooves. It bounced off and almost hit her in the face. Twilight frowned, shaking the hoof at Spike.
“You need to write more in your letters, Mister." Twilight admonished. Spike groaned, scratching the back of his head.
“Come on, Twi. Give a dragon a break.” He complained. Twilight took a look at him for a moment. She was surprised to see how much he had changed along the years. From a short, pudgy kid to the real, full-blooded dragon he was today. It wasn’t the same as when he got bigger collecting things. He was greedy and ugly. But now, he was lithe and sinuous. He got down on the ground and wove himself around the bars in Twilight’s railing. Twilight smiled. He was the same kid that Twilight grew up with. Spike flicked out his tongue and tasted some of the spilled soup.
“Ew, gross! Tomatoes!” Spike grimaced.
“It’s red, Spike! What did you think it was?” Twilight asked. Spike just grumbled. They were silent for a while. Spike untangled himself from the balcony and came back to Twilight. He curled around her like a snake and watched the thunderstorm brew.
The pair were silent for a long time.
“I can’t believe she’s gone.” Spike said. Twilight didn’t say anything. Spike continued. “Wherever I went, whatever I did, Applejack was always there when I got back to Ponyville. She was always there to give me some pie and a bed for the night. I knew it would happen. I just can’t believe that it actually did.” He told Twilight, curling tighter. Twilight tried to swallow back tears. Spike was right. Applejack was always there. Twilight wiped the tears away. Spike’s head twisted up to her level.
“I-I’m going to Appleoosa tomorrow. I have to execute her will.” Twilight told Spike.
“Oh.”
“Can you come with me?” Twilight asked.
“I have to talk to Princess Celestia. She could send me away again.” Spike copped out. Twilight grimaced.
“I haven’t been very pleased with her, Spike. I know I’ve told you before, but she’s just been so mean since I became a princess.”
“Yeah.”
“I mean, she’s just so... bossy! She orders everypony around like she owns the place!”
“She does own the place, Twilight.” Spike interjected. Twilight scowled at him, and he leaned away. “Sorry, sorry.” He apologized. Twilight shook her head.
“I don’t feel like I can get through the next eighty years, Spike.” Twilight confessed.
“You could go off and get a doctorate.”
“Another one?”
“It could be something fun. You know, I heard that Princess Luna has one in interpretive dance.”
“If you’ve lived with Luna for eighty years, you know she wouldn’t dance to save her life. She’s too stuffy.” Twilight rebutted. Spike grunted. They both sat on the balcony, watching the sun sink. Spike shuffled, slithering out from around Twilight.
“Celestia will be back soon. I should go talk to her.”
“Let me come with you?” Twilight asked, hoping. Spike straightened up. He smiled a toothy, fanged grin.
“Sure.”
Waiting outside of the throne room was always Twilight's least favorite thing to do. She just sat there, waiting and waiting for Spike to come out with the verdict. She sat just outside of the elaborate doors, all by herself, just waiting. She was all dolled up in her regalia just in case Celestia walked with Spike to the door. She didn’t want Celestia to catch her running around the Palace naked. It is unbecoming of a Princess, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight could hear Celestia criticizing her in her mind. The horrid thing was that she could just barely hear the pair talking past the doors, but Twilight didn’t dare eavesdrop. She’s heard stories that made her stay up at night. So all Twilight did was wait. She looked at her reflection in her tiara for the millionth time, she rubbed the carpet wrong so it reflected the light differently, she licked her top teeth. Wait, wait, wait. She stretched. She fluttered just so with her wings, standing weightless on the tips of her hooves. She made trifling little spells to entertain herself. Twilight was watching a little magical squirrel declaim its love for a mouse when she heard the sharp clack of the opening door. She quickly ended the budding romance and tried to look as regal as possible. Twilight saw Spike’s purple claws reaching around the door, opening it.
“Thank you, Princess.” Spike said. Twilight could almost hear him bowing.
“Your services in Saddle Arabia were excellent, Spike.” Celestia praised, her voice as cold as ever. Twilight shuddered a little bit.
“Thank you, Princess.” Spike reiterated. His claws squirmed, waiting for permission to leave. He would never ask to leave, not ever.
“Truly, you’re one of my best assets in the region.”
“Thank you, Princess.” He said yet again. There was a rustling, like somepony was ordering papers.
“You may go now, Spike. You have your orders.” The Princess said. Spike opened the door and slipped out, shutting it quietly behind him. Twilight was looking up at him, waiting for his answer. He turned and sighed.
“I can come with you to Appleoosa.” Spike admitted. Twilight lit up, bursting out in a smile. Her wings fluttered with happiness, lifting her up a little bit.
“That’s great, Spike! We can-"
“On assignment.” He qualified. Twilight deflated. She sank back down to the ground.
“Oh.”
“I’m going with you instead of the six guards. I have to have a ‘conversation’ with the governor.” Spike explained. Twilight walked away from the opulent doors, making the trek back to her room. She was cross. Celestia had to make the trip work. Work, work, work. That’s all Princess Celestia ever did. Twilight, go work. Twilight, go to this city with Luna. Twilight hated it. Twilight was steaming by the time that she got back to her room. Spike stood by the door, not wanting to risk the book tower gauntlet. Twilight flapped to her bed, flopping down.
“Can you believe that damn Celestia?” Twilight shouted. Spike’s eyes grew big.
“Twilight, come on, it’s not-”
“It is, Spike! It’s awful! You have to go with me to Appleoosa to scare a poor pony half to death!”
“Somepony has to do it. The Princess-”
“It’s horrible, just horrible! You were just a little kid, and she scooped you up and sent you overseas! Now you’re doing who knows what over in other countries!”
“Come on, Twilight. It’s not that bad.” Spike reasoned. Twilight groaned to herself helplessly, collapsing into a princess-pile on the bed. She kicked off her shoes. The priceless treasures flew across the room, knocking over piles of books and clattering on the hardwood floor. She shook off her tiara. It plopped onto the smooth sheets. She looked at it. The flawless purple gem, the opals, the gold, all of it. It was gorgeous. It represented Twilight herself. The sole wielder of the Elements of Harmony. The Purple Princess. All of it was represented by her tiara, the damn dainty thing. Twilight thought about it. It was all blind chance, or a sick machination. If only she had friends back in Canterlot, all those years ago, Princess Celestia would never have sent her off to live in the library. She would be an old mare with a family. Or Princess Celestia knew the whole time. She knew that Twilight would go to Ponyville. She knew that Twilight would go off and revive the ancient Elements of Harmony. She knew that everything would happen. She did it all so that she would have an extra hoof to help around the Palace! Twilight felt the anger, but it was useless. She couldn’t do anything about it. She was still an Alicorn, all of her friends were dead, and Princess Celestia still ruled everything. Twilight sighed.
“Spike.” She called for him, not opening her eyes.
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go out tonight. Like we used to.”
“Okay, Twilight.”
“Good.” Twilight felt sure. She closed her eyes and remembered. She remembered that first day in Ponyville. All the ponies she met, all so chipper, would die. All of them. Rainbow Dash, so confident in her abilities as an athlete, would drown in a pond. Pinkie Pie, the pony so nice she threw Twilight a surprise party, would hit her head on the edge of the bathtub. Rarity, the chic fashionista, would choke to death with pneumonia. Applejack, the pony that offered her lunch without a second thought, would live and live until she just didn’t wake up for breakfast one morning. Twilight didn’t even want to think about Fluttershy. If Twilight knew a single bit of what she knew now, she would have just stayed at home in Canterlot. Friendless. Twilight’s tears stained the silk sheets as she fell asleep.
“Twilight”
“Nooooo...” She groaned, turning away from the noise.
“Come on, Twilight. We have tickets to a pla-ay!” The voice tempted. Twilight groaned again, rolling out of the bed. She landed in a clump on the bedroom floor.
"What." Twilight croaked.
"We have reservations at Chevaux Mangent in an hour, and the play after that. You still have time to pick out a dress if you still want to go.” Spike explained. Twilight remembered, nodding.
"Yeah, let's go." Twilight grumbled. She magicked on her shoes and tiara, floating some dresses out of her closet. Spike was trying to sneak out of the room. Twilight let him. She decided on a dark navy dress that she had been hoarding for a few decades. She tried not to think about the pony that made it as she slipped it on. Earrings were picked out much the same way. In no time at all she was spiffy and ready to go. As she was walking out of her room, she heard somepony clip-clopping their way down the hall. Twilight turned in surprise, looking down at a little pocketwatch. At this time of night, there was usually nothing going on. She saw the pony as it rounded the corner. It stopped dead in its tracks, just as startled as Twilight was. Twilight stepped away from the door and into the middle of the hall.
"Ma'am." Twilight said, bowing her head slightly. Princess Celestia walked closer, inspecting Twilight. The princesses were a few feet away from each other when Princess Celestia stopped. Princess Celestia only looked at Twilight with one of her eyes, for which the younger princess was thankful.
"Are you going somewhere, Twilight Sparkle?" Celestia asked. Twilight gulped.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Dinner, ma'am. And a play."
"Why? You have a very busy day tomorrow, do you not?" Celestia asked, starting to walk around Twilight in a circle. Twilight looked straight ahead and shook her head.
"On the contrary, Princess. It is only a train ride, and I am to wait at the station for further instructions. A very empty day." Twilight contradicted. The steady beat of Celestia's hooves stuttered, and then picked back up.
"Do not assume, Twilight. I could have very important and complex orders for you upon arrival."
"Of course, ma'am." Twilight conceded. She smirked on the inside, knowing that she won this particular battle. Celestia trotted away from Twilight.
"I expect you to be ready for your duties tomorrow. No exceptions." Celestia said. Twilight trotted off herself, knowing that she just earned tonight.
The restaurant was far too fancy. It was the kind of place that required reservations months ahead of time. If Twilight wasn’t a Princess, there wasn’t a prayer that she would have gotten in. Spike would have never gotten in by himself. The maitre’d almost turned them away, but Twilight flashed some wing. The look on that pony’s face was absolutely priceless when he recognized Twilight. The pair were snickering as they were led to their table. Sadly, it was a table right in the middle of the restaurant. Of course. That was where they put the up and ups. Twilight took her seat, and Spike took his. They ordered drinks, and then the waiter was gone. Twilight sighed, trying not to notice all the ponies that were trying to look at the odd pair secretly.
“Everypony’s looking at us.” Twilight complained quietly. Spike nodded, looking around.
“Yeah, but they’re only looking at me because they’re afraid I’ll eat them.” Spike grumbled, getting close to the table. Twilight frowned.
“Spike, don’t scare anypony, please. I don’t want this to be in the papers tomorrow.” Twilight told Spike. Spike nodded.
“I wouldn’t do that, Twi.” Spike assured her. Twilight relaxed a little bit.
“It’s good to have a night away from the Palace.” Twilight commented. Spike nodded.
“It’s good to have a night away from ponies that want you dead.” Spike agreed. Twilight almost shouted at him.
“You’re in danger? I thought you were a bodyguard! For an ambassador!” Twilight burst out, trying not to rise above a whisper. Spike’s eyes grew big and he backed away from Twilight a little bit.
“It’s a cover!” Spike explained unwillingly. Twilight looked around, making sure that nopony was staring at them. She leveled on Spike again.
“Spike... You know I always worry about you.” Twilight said, sitting back in her seat and rubbing her head with a hoof.
“Twilight, I-”
“When you go off to these places I have to trust Celestia that you’ll be safe. I have to take her word on where you are, when you come back, and what you’re doing. Spike, she’s lying,” Twilight emphasized by tapping her hoof on the table, “And I can’t say a single thing.”
“I know, but-”
“Spike, if I can’t trust her, I can at least trust you. But when you lie to me, I don’t know what to do.”
“I can’t tell anypony. It’s a state secret. I could be executed for saying anything else.” Spike edged around the topic. Twilight sat back in her seat and seethed. Even when she was out on the town, Celestia managed to butt in and ruin it. The waiter arrived, drinks trailing behind him in a cloud of bright green magic. They floated to their proper spots.
“Does Her Highness need more time to decide?” The pony said in a perfectly not-french accent. Twilight smiled and nodded.
“Yes, please.” Twilight said, picking up her menu with magic. She skimmed it as the pony walked away. An awkward silence formed as the pair read, intently avoiding each other’s gaze. Twilight peered at Spike over her menu. She saw his tongue flicking out from his menu and tasting his drink. She smiled in spite of herself. She was still trying to be mad, but she always warmed up to Spike when he was in town.
"Spike, I'm sorry." Twilight apologized. Spike knew her well, staying quiet. "I never get to see you. The only thing that helps is that you're safe. I'm really at the mercy of Princess Celestia, you know. I have to trust her word. And now that I know she's been lying to me, it's something that I can't really deal with. I'm sorry that I was short with you." Twilight expounded. Spike lowered his menu, his eyes soft.
"Aw, you know I can't stay mad at you, Twi. You're like a mom to me." Twilight grimaced at the strange comparison.
"I must have been the worst mother ever. I worked you like a slave!" Twilight remembered. Spike scoffed.
"It wasn't that bad. Besides, I got to hang out with Rarity a lot, so it made up for the crushing workload." Spike slipped. Twilight looked down at the napkin on her plate, feeling a sadness wash over her. It was like she just ate something bad. Rarity had passed a few years ago, but it was still hard. It felt wrong in the pit of her stomach. Spike realized too, and fell silent. The waiter returned to draw the pair from their sadness.
“Are you ready to order?” The waiter asked. Twilight gulped.
“Excuse me?” Twilight asked.
“Your order?”
“Oh! Uh... Let’s have some gougeres to start with.”
“Of course.” The waiter approved. Twilight looked over the menu one more time.
“And I’ll have the... Buckwheat crepes. But instead of the Feta, can I get them with extra spinach?” Twilight asked. The waiter nodded. Smiling, Twilight handed over her menu and looked at Spike. He was still nose deep in his menu, trying to figure out what he wanted. He lowered his menu, about to order, then screwed up his face in indecision. He leaned closer to the waiter, and the waiter did the same.
“Now, I’m kind of split. The Ratatouille looks pretty good.”
“It is my favorite.” The waiter offered. Spike shrugged.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t have any meat in it.”
“Excuse me?”
“There isn’t any meat in it. Can we change that?” Spike asked, hopeful. The waiter hesitated.
“You want... meat?” The waiter almost shouted. Spike chuckled a little bit and shushed him.
“Hey, don’t lose your cool. This is a pretty fancy place.” Spike joked. The waiter scoffed, disgusted.
“Sir, I regretfully inform you that this is an upright establishment and we pride ourselves on serving food. If you would like to go out and get this...” The waiter stopped to grimace, “meat, then I suggest you go out and hunt it yourself!”
“Hey, calm down, alright? How about gems?” Spike offered an alternative.
“Excuse me?”
“Gems? You know, the little sparkly things.”
“I-I would have to ask. Do you have a preference on the type of gem?” The waiter asked, hoisting his little order pad.
“Sapphires.” Spike said. The waiter nodded and walked off. Spike watched his water, twisting the glass around in a circle. Twilight blew some hair out of her eyes.
“So do you have a girlfriend?” Twilight asked. Spike coughed, releasing a jet of green fire. It singed the flower arrangement. Twilight giggled.
“Jeez, Twilight.”
“I just want to make sure I didn’t mess you up when you were a kid, making you grow up around ponies. I’d be happy to see you with other dragons.” Twilight joked. She fiddled with her napkin, rearranging it around her neck.
“Twilight.” Spike said, somber. She looked up from the napkin. Spike was serious, his eyes grave. Twilight screwed up her face, trying to get some sense out of the gangly dragon. She drew a conclusion.
“Oh, Spike! You aren’t running around with ponies, are you?” Twilight cringed, thinking of the possible harm it could do to the Palace. Spike shook his head.
“Not ponies, per-say. Just... Just the one.” Spike fessed up. Twilight stared at him, the cogs meshing in her head, making the connection.
“Spike...” Twilight groaned. Rarity was so happy those last few years. Twilight always thought she found some kind of inner peace, but this? This was a whole new can of worms.
“She didn’t want to tell you, and she didn’t want me to tell you either. We were happy together for at least a few years. She really needed me, Twilight.” Spike explained. Twilight shook her head, taking her napkin and putting it on her plate. She stood up and walked calmly out of the restaurant. Not too fast, not too slow, just right. She passed by the waiter on the way out. He was carrying a bowl of sapphire jewelry, covered in thin slices of squash and red sauce. She reached out a hoof and touched his shoulder.
“Bill the Palace, give yourself a big tip.”
“Y-Yes, your Highness.” The waiter bowed. Twilight continued her way out, going through the big double doors and out into the frigid night air. Twilight breathed deep, feeling the cold air in her lungs. She looked up into the sky, seeing the unblemished panorama. One of her best friends, a pony she trusted without reservations kept such a huge secret from her. She couldn't believe it. If anypony but Spike told her, she would have laughed at them. She heard the big doors behind her open and close.
"Twilight, look, I-"
"Spike, it's not that Rarity and you were together. I'm a proponent of inter-species relationships as much as the next pony. It's that neither of you told me in all these years. I can’t believe it took you this long!"
"Twi, I would have told you if I could. But she had a business to keep up. She had very... conservative clientele. If anypony knew about the two of us, it would have been a complete disaster! Her career would have been over, and I would have never gotten my job at the Palace.” Spike pleaded with the Princess. Twilight fumed, silent. She kept her gaze ahead at the horizon.
“I understand, but you know your secret would have been safe with me. Or can’t you trust me after all the years we’ve been together?” Twilight accused. Spike slouched a little bit and looked away from Twilight.
“I love her. She made me promise not to tell. You’ve never loved anyone, so I don’t expect-” Spike started, but Twilight stopped him, raising a hoof.
“Excuse me? Never loved anyone?” Twilight shouted. Spike looked around nervously,
“Well, you know, not like- I don’t think- I mean, It’s not like-” Spike fumbled. Twilight scowled. This evening was going downhill so fast.
"I'll call the chariot. We'll be early for the play." She told Spike. Spike turned to the railing of the patio, grasping it with his claws. They clacked softly on the cold metal.
"Okay, Twilight." Spike conceded. Twilight felt bad about treating him this way, but her guilt was overwhelmed by her annoyance over the spoiled evening. She trotted off to go get the chariot, Leaving Spike by himself on the patio.
The doorman to the actor’s entrance bowed deeply, opening the for the Princess and her Dragon. He watched the regal, strong Princess pass by him, in awe of her powerful stature. He remembered the stories that his grandmother told him about the Elements of Harmony. He was always skeptical, but he could definitely see power like that attached to such a strong mare. She looked cold. The Dragon passed next, and the doorman tried not to be afraid. The Dragon was just as stiff, just as strong. He might have been even more intimidating than the Princess because of the teeth. The Dragon was murmuring something to the Princess while they were walking past, revealing the deadly fangs in his mouth. The doorman stared at them, afraid for his life. He wondered in terror about who inside earned a visit from the dragon, shuddering when he thought of somepony he knew getting eaten. The pair finally passed, and then he noticed the ground moving very fast towards him.
“Come on, Twilight, I’m sorry.”
“I know.
“Twi, just forgive me already.”
“You were mean to me, Spike.” Twilight reminded him, walking past the bright green doorman. He bowed deeply and opened the door. Spike grumbled to himself. There was a slight groan and a muffled thump. Twilight turned and looked. The doorman was collapsed in a pile behind Spike. Spike bent over and scooped up the pony.
“Better bring him inside.” Spike reasoned. Twilight nodded. She noticed, quite offhandedly, that the pony matched Spike’s dorsal scales perfectly. She turned away and went off through the innards of the stage. Ropes, wooden frames, pianos were abound. She saw ponies every now and then, rushing around, preparing for the performance. She managed to sneak up on one of them and ask her a question. She was a pale yellow pony with a green mane, levitating a small silver flute.
“I’m looking for the Princess’ Colts.” Twilight told the pony. The pony scoffed. She turned to face Twilight. She had a bandana wrapped around her eyes. Twilight realized that she was blind. She had a small green pouch tied around her neck.
“You and everypony else, sister. Look, they’re pretty busy right now and I don’t think that they would want to see you or anypony else. Miss...?”
“Miss Sparkle.”
“Miss Sparkle. Thank you for your enthusiasm, but I-” The pony paused. The pause grew.
And grew.
And grew.
“Is there something on your mind?” Twilight asked. The pony frowned, thinking.
“Is Sparkle your family name?”
“Yes it is.”
“You’re not related to...” The pony looked around and leaned in to whisper, very close now. “Thee Sparkle, are you?” She asked, trying to be quiet.
“I am thee Sparkle.” Twilight said. The pony’s face turned from confusion to complete surprise.
“Oh! You’re- You’re- Oh my goodness, I never thought I would meet a Princess! It’s an honor!” The pony spouted, holding out a hoof to Twilight’s left. Twilight grabbed it and the pony angled towards her. She shook the Princess’ hoof vigorously. Twilight was sure that it would pull the leg off of a lesser pony. Twilight emerged from the experience unharmed and smiled at the pony.
“So where are they?”
“Oh, they’re still in their dressing rooms, the performance isn’t for another hour, I think.” The pony explained. She pulled a small brass bauble out of the pouch and held it to her ear. It buzzed multiple times in rapid succession, making a rather discordant beat.
“An hour and a half, to be exact.” The pony said, placing the little disk back in her pouch. “Come on, I’ll show them to you, Your Highness.” The yellow pony said. Twilight smiled.
“You can just call me Twilight.” She suggested. Something akin to horror came to the blind pony’s face.
“Oh, I could never call you by your first name.” The pony said, aghast. Twilight smiled even wider.
“Tell you what. You can call me Twilight, and I’ll call you...”
“Lime. Lime Light, but nopony calls me that unless I put salt in the coffee.”
“Lime. How about you call me Twilight and go meet up with the actors. Does that sound like a deal?”
“But You’re-”
“Lime.” Twilight stopped her, a little bit stern. Lime gulped.
“T-Tw-”
“Twilight. Say it with me. Twi-light.”
“Twi- Twilie- Twilight” Lime stuttered. Twilight nodded.
“Good. Now let’s go meet those actors.”
“I’ll lead the way.” Lime said, pulling a toothpick from her pouch. “Dressing rooms.” She told the stick. She put it in her mouth and she started walking down the hall. Twilight followed her. She looked over her shoulder to get Spike, but he was nowhere to be found.
Spike was staring at the bright green pony. He had an orange mane and tail. His cutie mark looked like some kind of hat. Spike couldn’t really tell. The pony snored, twitching in his sleep. Spike turned to the other doorman.
“So, Uh... Does he usually do this?” Spike asked. The other doorman just shook, his hooves clattering on the marble floor of the lobby. Spike grunted. He eyed the conscious pony suspiciously. He was dressed in a red felt jacket that was completely covered in polished brass buttons. He wore a matching hat. He wasn't an ornate pony- his mane and coat were two nice shades of brown, but the extravagant uniform suited him. Spike rummaged through the lost and found crate, pulling out a princess cut emerald ring in a four-point mount. Spike pried the gem away from the gold, tossing the metal aside. He held the green gem up to the light, looking at the way the light played through the clouds in the gem.
"It's an old excavation. Over ninety years ago. I can tell by the smell. I was just an egg back when this was getting dug out of the ground. Old cut, too. You can see," Spike explained, scooting closer to the clothes horse, pointing at the gem with a sharp purple claw "You can see, by the slightly rounded edges. When it was first cut, you could slice through paper with one of these. That wear and tear doesn't happen in stronger gems, like sapphires and diamonds." Spike summed up. The doorman was leaning away from Spike, still shivering. Straightening up, Spike tossed the gem into the air, catching it in his mouth. He ground the gem up into little pieces, swallowing the dust. Spiked relished the flavor.
"You know, dragons almost never eat ponies. We're supposed to only eat gems. We can survive on meat and things, and most dragons only ever eat them because we can’t find any gems.” Spike commented, trying to draw some words out of the shaky doorman.
“Are you cold?” Spike asked. The doorman shook his head, trying to shake a little less. Spike scooted closer to the doorman, slithering a long purple arm around him and tugging him close. The doorman tried to skitter away, but Spike held fast.
“I’ve been running a temperature for most of my life. You’ll warm up in a little bit.” Spike assured. The doorman whimpered, watching his unconscious friend snore.
Lime stopped suddenly in front of a door. In a hallway completely filled with plain white doors, Twilight was caught off guard, almost running into the sightless mare. Lime turned to the door and pulled a key ring out of nowhere. She started removing one key at a time from the lump of keys and licking it. Twilight almost swatted the keys away from her.
“What are you doing?” Twilight asked, a little creeped out. Lime licked one more key before pausing to answer.
“The key to this door is made out of brass. Tastes different than the other ones.”
“Oh, so it’s that one.” Twilight said, levitating the shiny gold key out from its’ fellows. Lime yanked it away from Twilight.
“No, I got it, can’t be too far now-
“Please let me-”
“Your Highness, it’s fine-”
“Stop licking the keys!” Twilight shouted. Lime paused, mid-lick. Twilight pulled the keys away from her and picked out the correct one, unlocking the door. She levitated the keys back to Lime. Twilight opened the door. The keys fell to the floor with a jingly clatter. Twilight turned to Lime, slightly surprised. Lime’s lower lip was trembling, and her breathing was shaky.
“Mom was right.” Lime whimpered. She picked up her key ring in a cloud of pink magic and ran away from Twilight.
“Princess?” A deep bass voice asked. The voice made Twilight shiver. She turned around and saw Clark, the backbone of the Princess’ Colts. The hulking maroon pegasus was nearly as big as Princess Luna. As it was, Twilight was barely eye-level with him. Twilight looked back at Lime, running away. Twilight turned back to Clark.
“I should go after her.” Twilight said. Clark laughed, booming in the tiny hall.
“Lime is always very moody. She’ll think nothing of it in a few minutes. What are you still doing out here? Come on in!” Clark stressed, waving the Princess into the already cramped ready room. Five other actors and actresses were also stuffed in there. They all cheered when Twilight entered. She couldn’t help but smile.
“And that’s the fifth time I got kicked out of the Thousand Nights. How was I supposed to know they were so protective of ALL their wives?” Spike wrapped up. The guard that Spike had trapped was now openly weeping, desperately afraid for his life. Spike sighed. The guard that was unconscious woke up and ran off what felt like hours ago. Spike got up, his limp arm trailing off of the doorman. As soon as he was free of Spike’s arm, the pony fled, sprinting out of the marble covered lobby as fast as possible. Spike sighed, slinking to a different part of the building. He didn’t pass any ponies. Spike shuffled his wings, feeling his dry membranes scratching over each other. He sighed and kept shuffling. Marble changed to carpet, carpet changed to hardwood, hardwood changed to concrete, concrete to cobblestones. Spike walked and walked, trying to shake off his gloom. He looked up. He was on a bridge, looking at a small yellow pony balanced precariously on the railing. Spike was shocked out of words for a moment. He tried to stay away from the pony, in case she actually jumped off because she was afraid. He stepped back, intending to The pony flicked her tail, and one of her ears swiveled towards the Dragon.
“Don’t come any closer!” She shouted. Spike could tell that she had been crying. He picked out her warble and how hoarse her voice was.
“What are you doing?” Spike asked softly, not wanting to startle the mare. She sniffed.
“M-Mom was right. I could never make it on my own.” The mare moaned. Spike inched a little bit closer to the mare. He could at least try and catch her if she fell.
“What’s your name?” Spike reached, trying to stall.
“It doesn’t matter. Nobody cares about me.” The mare sighed.
“I care. Can you tell me your name?" Spike asked. The mare hesitated.
“L-Lime.” The mare said, shaking. Spike stepped a little bit closer.
“You look cold, Lime. Want to go somewhere?” Spike asked, reaching, hoping that she didn’t jump. Lime shook her head.
“Nobody cares about me anymore.” The pony declared. Spike shook his head
“No, don’t say that, you’re-” Spike started, but Lime teetered forward. Spike watched her tip precariously over the railing, lunging to catch her. He was too far away, Lime lost her balance and started to fall. Spike clawed into the uneven pavestones, throwing himself towards the mare even faster. He grabbed the rail and plunged down to the tumbling pony. Spike flew down, arms extended. It was a good thirty feet down to the water. Spike had time. He pushed himself faster, flapping his wings to grab Lime before she hit. He reached, straining with his arms. He finally got his claws around the mare. He grabbed her, flaring his wings and pulling up from his steep dive. He held Lime close, flapping his way away from the river. Lime shivered in his arms, not saying a word. Spike didn’t say anything either. He felt that Lime didn’t really want to talk. She shivered.
“You’re not a pony.” She murmured. Spike huffed.
“I suppose you’ll run away from me too.” Spike grumbled. Lime shivered.
“I’m not afraid of dragons.” Lime whispered to herself. Spike was sure that she was saying it to herself- if it was a different species, they wouldn’t have heard it. Spike looked away from the sky ahead of him to the pony, slightly shocked. Other than the ones Spike grew up with, every pony Spike met as an adult was deathly afraid of him. Spike took time to look at the pony. Her green mane was mussed, and her coat was matted, but there was still the way that she looked in the moonlight... Spike shook his head, bringing himself back to the real world, but he couldn’t get the sheen of the mare’s mane out of his mine, the bounce of her mane. Spike felt his courage getting the better of him.
“Would you like to come get dinner with me?” Spike blurted out. He immediately regretted his impulsive nature when the mare wrinkled her forehead in disgust.
“You’ve got some nerve, guy.” She mumbled, stiffening in his arms. Spike fumbled, trying to recover.
“Look, I mean- I know this one place, north side Canterlot, they have some good coffee. You look pretty cold, you might want some.” Spike tried to fix the situation, naming some restaurant he knew off-hand. Something must have worked. The mare’s forehead smoothed out and the corners of her mouth picked up.
“You mean the Ajax, on greater 110th?” She asked, shrewdly curious. Spike nodded.
“Yeah, you know it?” Spike asked, surprised she knew about it and relieved that she wasn’t mad. The mare nodded.
“It’s the family business.” She noted. Spike nodded.
“I tried to get a job there washing dishes when Twi and I lived in Canterlot, but they wouldn’t hire me because I wasn’t a part of the family.” Spike remembered, getting turned away by the robust owner. Lime giggled a little bit.
“Granddad always was on to us about that. Everyone had to help doing something. He had me fill the mints.” Lime told Spike. Spike blinked
“Granddad!?” Spike reeled. Lime nodded.
“I’m taking you home to meet the family.” She said, turning away from spike to the horizon. The way she said it was dull, as if lost in thought. Spike flew in a daze, thinking about everything and how it happened so fast.
Lime struggled with the keys, trying to find the right one to go to the door. Spike had forgotten the time, and he had to fly from lesser to greater Canterlot, which was quite the endeavor. Crossing a mountain was easy by himself, but it was a bit of a stretch for Lime. She was a little bit tired after the journey. She went through the door to the coffee shop first and Spike hobbled in behind, trying not to break anything. It was the same old place that spike remembered from way back when he was a kid. The same chairs, albeit worn out and creaky. The same bar, without the tobacco pipes on the wall, replaced by glass bottles filled with different syrups. The tin tiles on the ceiling, so bright and shiny when Spike came here as a child, were stained bronze by all the years of grime. The brilliantly carved taps were all worn and polished by use. Spike remembered walking past Antonio every day as he carved those taps on the sidewalk. Spike laughed and told him that Sarsaparilla was a fad, it would never catch on. Antonio would laugh and tease, saying that there was no future in being an assistant. Eighty years later they were both wrong. Those shiny, ornate taps filled the bar, lined up in a row like strange soldiers, ready to dispense fizzy drinks. Spike snaked up to one, threading himself between the cramped tables and chairs. He reached out and touched it, running one of his claws through the carved grooves. Lime shuffled behind him.
“You know, I think can still pour a glass.” Lime supplied. Spike turned in surprise.
“You worked the bar?” Spike asked, unbelieving. Lime nodded, making her way through the tall chairs to behind the counter.
“I did everything. Grandpa was a slave driver, but it was fun. Ponies always thought it was a joke, blind girl at the bar, but I did good. What do you want?” Lime inquired. Spike wistfully smiled.
“Sarsaparilla and cranberry, with a little bit of vanilla.” Spike said. Lime lifted a few bottles from the wall and a glass, pulling it all around a single tap. She masterfully poured a perfect glass, pouring in the syrup. She saved the vanilla for last, pouring in a perfect jigger. She smiled and floated it to Spike. He grabbed it and took a hearty gulp, savoring the amazing taste. Spike’s eyes bulged, amazed by the taste. He gasped, blinking.
“That’s amazing.” Spike exclaimed. Lime giggled.
“I still have the touch, after all these years.” Lime said, still giggling. There was a huge thump from upstairs, followed by pounding hoofbeats. An aged pony appeared at the stairs, completely bewildered. Spike turned, but Lime didn’t.
“Hi, Dad.” Lime greeted. Spike gulped.
Twilight peered down at the performance from her own personal balcony, toting a small pair of opera glasses. She thought they were silly. She could have just cast a magnification spell on her own eyes and foregone the silly binoculars. To add even more insult to the frivolity, she even had to hold them with her hooves! It was outright slavery. But Celestia had her rules. And Twilight, cringing slightly, knew that Celestia’s rules were law. So she held her opera glasses daintily in one of her hooves, using them to get up close to the actors on the stage. Twilight kept her eyes on one of the actors, who somepony decided it was a good idea to cast as Leporello. He was absolutely gigantic, completely dwarfing the lead role. His loud booming voice made sure that not a single pony didn’t hear him in the entire opera house. He reminded Twilight of Clark, one of the largest pegasi she’d ever met. He was simply massive. The Princess leaned to her left, trying to getting the attention of Madame Montesquieu, the director of the opera house
“Who is that pony down there?” Twilight murmured. The Madame nodded immediately, knowing which pony she was talking about.
“He’s our newest, I believe his name is Dancer or some such. I have not been around the actors much, I have been busy with the remodel. Forgive my lapse.” The Madame explained. Twilight nodded, returning to her upright position. She leaned forward, intent on watching the play. Especially this... ‘Dancer’. She lifted her glasses and stared at him. She had a strange feeling while she was watching him gesticulate. She almost felt like she was doing something... something that was wrong. She smiled and continued to watch, glancing to make sure the Madame wasn’t watching, the great pony heaving and bellowing his lines. Twilight shivered, feeling the great rumble of the pony’s voice in her bones. Earth ponies always had a certain air about them that she just couldn’t figure out. They just exuded strength and confidence. Twilight watched the rest of the play, imagining what ‘Dancer’ was like in a less formal setting. Twilight grinned for a second. There was absolutely nothing keeping her from taking Dancer back to the palace later. Her smile fell an instant later, realizing that there was. She was leaving at four in the morning to board the Comet, and would likely be out all night. She most certainly couldn’t leave a colt snoozing in her room, no matter how brawny and attractive he was. The Princess sighed, impotent, and settled in to watch Don Giovanni get dragged to hell. The pony scratched on the floor and wailed as he was pulled towards his unwanted afterlife.
“And the chicken was in the cupboard the whole time!” He said, hitting his hoof on the bartop and laughing. Spike and Lime burst out as well, all three of them laughing along. The mirth eventually settled, and a silence settled over the bar. Lime’s father broke the silence.
“So, uh, Spike, What brings you over to this side of Canterlot?” He asked. Spike drew a blank, not wanting to actually rat Lime out.
“I was just around, thought I would just drop by.” Spike lied.
“And what about my little Lime?”
“Oh, she was actually right out front. She let me in.” Spike lied again. Lime’s dad, even more confused now, turned to his daughter.
“Honey, I thought you were downtown helping with the theatre.” He retorted. Lime nodded.
“I was, but they changed the schedule at the last minute. I was on my way home when I saw Spike.” She lied along. The evening devolved into laughter and reminicing.
~~~
Twilight walked hurriedly through the terminal, tragically Spikeless. He was taking a huge risk, not even showing up to catch the Comet. She rushed along the side of the train, looking for her car.The Comet itself was an absolute marvel of Equestrian engineering, a sleek chrome bullet built for speed. It was an amazing achievement, and Twilight had the honor of giving the inventor a medal for it a few years ago. There was almost nobody at the station due to the early hour, and she only had to pose for two pictures. She finally found her car and boarded it. It was sumptuous, like everything else on the Comet. The velvet curtains covered the windows, and the chairs were extremely plush. Everything was made out of dark hardwood. She picked her cabin from the number on her ticket. She slid open the door and sat down, relaxing. Casting a spell to darken all the windows, she kicked off her shoes and threw off her tiara. She slumped down, groaning. Being a princess is still hard, even after all these years. She had an hour or so to relax before the train started moving. She was just about to fall asleep when she heard a thud and creaking. The train car was rocking back and forth. She grumbled herself up to a seated position and poked her head out of her cabin. Spike was worming his way inside of the too-small train car. Some of the other train patrons had heads peeking out of their compartments.
“Spike!?” Twilight chided. Spike turned to her. He grinned, showing all of his fangs. Some of the other onlookers squealed and hid, slamming their doors shut.
“Twilight! I made it!” He said, breathless. Twilight scowled.
“Get in here! You’ll scare somepony to death!”
“Okay.” Spike twisted his way into the train car, all coiled up. He slithered his way closer to Twilight, finally managing to get all of himself into her cabin, taking a seat across from her. He kept on his big grin the whole time. Twilight kept scowling at him.
“Do you know how close you were to missing the train?” Twilight asked. As if to emphasize her point, the train lurched forward, starting on its journey. Spike panted some more.
“Yeah, but I made it.”
“Do you know what Celestia would have done if you weren’t on the train with me?” Twilight admonished. Spike finally sobered a little bit, his smile slipping away. The train’s wheels screeched against the rails for a second before gaining traction. Spike lowered his head, folding his hands.
“I know.” He mumbled. Twilight looked at the window and, remembering it was opaque, reflecting her attention back to spike.
“We’ve lived in the Palace long enough. We know the consequences of disobeying orders.” Twilight leaned forward, and Spike turned away from her. “You should know better, Spike. After all of these years.” Twilight reached out with her hoof and touched Spike’s hand. “I don’t want to lose you.” She said softly. Spike didn’t look at Twilight, but she could tell that he was softening up. “We both said things we regret, and I’m sorry for what I said. I know you feel bad, but this weekend has to be perfect. We can’t mess up here, or Celestia will never let either of us out of the castle again. Okay, Spike?” Twilight pleaded. Spike sighed, sinking a little bit in his chair. Twilight knew he would have to stew for a little bit. She leaned back in her chair and looked to the window, making it clear again. The train station slipped away, revealing the vast holdings of the Equestrian Royal Family.
“How much of this do you think I own?” Twilight wondered, a few hours into their trip. Everything outside of the window was a light brown blur. Spike stretched his back, eliciting a few loud pops.
“How much of what?”
“Equestria.”
“You own the Library, right?” Spike supplied. Twilight rolled her eyes.
“Of course I own the library. I meant holdings. You know, how Celestia owns all the phoenixes, and how Luna owns all the orange trees. What do I own?” Twilight wondered. She leaned her head against the window, her cheek pressed against the glass. Spike frowned.
“Well, you could own all the books.” Spike answered. Twilight smiled.
“That would be nice.” Twilight mumbled wistfully. Equestria zoomed past her window.
Breakfast was continental, even for Twilight. There was a biscuit with butter and jam, complete with a carrot. Spike, sadly, got exactly the same thing. He was idly destroying his biscuit with one of his claws. Twilight was chewing on her biscuit, enjoying the taste.
“But it’s all ceremonial, right?” Spike asked suddenly. Twilight looked at him, mouth full of breakfast. “You know, all the ‘owning’ stuff. I mean, Celestia can’t take all the phoenixes away, can she?”
“She reserves the right.” Twilight said, completely serious.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. She won’t let anyone else in the kingdom use phoenix feathers for quills.” Twilight told Spike. Spike frowned.
“Really?”
“Yes. She’s never let me have a phoenix quill as long as I’ve lived in Canterlot. I’ve always wanted one, but she’s never let me have any.” Twilight confided. Spike scoffed.
“Really? She doesn’t let you use any phoenix feathers?”
“Not a single one. I’ve been asking for years and years, but she’s never given me one. Every birthday I’ve asked her for one, but she hasn’t given me one. It’s almost always socks or books or jewelry, but never a phoenix feather.” Twilight continued. Spike scratched his head.
“Couldn’t you just go out and buy one? Spike asked.
“Spike, you can’t just go out and buy a phoenix feather. There’s barely any phoenixes other than those owned by the Royal Family, and those that aren’t are feral. There’s not a single privately owned phoenix in all of Equestria. It has to be gifted to you by the Throne.”
“Sounds like a problem. Maybe if I do good in Appleoosa, you’ll get a feather.” Spike assured. Twilight took another bite out of her biscuit.
Equestria flew past the window.
Appleoosa was only a few minutes away. Twilight was facing a perfectly reflective mirror, getting herself ready for the big entrance into the city. Appleoosa was famous for having barely changed in the 80 years since Twilight had been there last. She was brushing her hair in front of the cabin window, which was turned into a mirror for Twilight’s purposes. She was already in her shoes and her tiara, and the necklace she packed was lying on top of its velvet bag on the seat next to her. The opal studded shrine to flamboyance sparkled and threw tiny rainbows all around the cabin. Twilight put down her brush and picked up her necklace with magic, levitating it right in front of her. She saw how wonderful it was- Endless hours of craftsmanship went into the necklace, and it was made from the biggest opal in Celestia’s treasury. She oversaw most of the making of it, watching it day by day as it slowly became amazing. But now, Twilight hated it. All it is now is a symbol of Celestia’s power over Twilight. Twilight rued the day that it was completed, because it was a collar around her neck. She cringed as she secured the clasp around her neck. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. There was a few sharp raps at the door, startling Twilight.
“What is it?” Twilight asked.
“Uh, we’re a minute or so away. You ready?” Spike asked. Twilight nodded to herself.
“Yes, I am. I’ll be out soon.” Twilight answered. The princess levitated all of her things into her day bag and, closing her eyes, zapped it to her hotel room. She opened her eyes and walked out of the room, avoiding Spike.
“Alright, Twi, here’s the plan. I’m going to be flying above the station. If anything happens, teleport back to Canterlot. I have colts in the press corps that will stop anything from happening, but just in case.”
“Aw, Spike, nothing is going to happen. I’m just a b-list princess on my way to see friends in the middle of nowhere.”
“Twilight, I was in charge of security for Ambassador Kelly in Saddle Arabia. Anything can happen anywhere.”
“Alright, spike. If it makes you feel any better.” She said. She walked out of the cabin and right to the door, just as the train screeched to a halt. She turned back to Spike, climbing out of one of the windows.
“Don’t hurt yourself, Spike.” Twilight joked.
“Heh heh heh.” Spike pretended to laugh, slipping out of the window. Twilight walked out of the door into a big puddle of reporters, cameras flashing.
“PRINCESS SPARKLE! PRINCESS SPARKLE!” Was the overwhelming response. She was more than used to it by now. Many of them held microphones up to her.
“Princess Sparkle, what brings you to Appleoosa today?” One of them asked. Twilight remembered the official story.
“I am here to oversee the maintenance of Princess Celestia’s holdings in the region.” She said calmly, looking directly at one of the reporters. He shrunk away, intimidated by the Princess. The reporters squeezed together to fill the gap.
“Princess, Governor Chancey has been under intense scrutiny by the Throne for weeks now. Does he have anything to do with your visit?”
“Not to my knowledge. I’m here to oversee the Orangestone National Park restoration project for the next few days.” Twilight recited calmly. All the reporters groaned.
“Come on, Princess, give us somethin’ to put in the paper.” One of the reporters complained. Twilight looked right at him and stared angrily.
“I will not lie so you can make more money.” She said. The reporter gulped and gathered his things. He waved for his photographer to come with him and they both ran out of the train station. Twilight just now realized that the heat was absolutely baking. She was about to start sweating.
“One more question, gentlecolts. I have a schedule to upkeep.” All the other reporters were bumbling around, flipping through their tiny notepads, but one pony burst through and held a cob of corn up to Twilight like it was a microphone.
“Are y’all goan’t visit yer good ol’ friends back at th’ Apple Homestead?” A very wrinkly yellow pony said. It took Twilight a moment to realize who it was. She exploded into a huge smile as she did.
“Braeburn!” She shouted, wrapping him up in a big hug. He laughed, hugging her back. Twilight pulled him away. She looked at him, amazed by how youthful he still was at his extreme age.
“Y’look great, Twah.” Braeburn drawled. Twilight giggled.
“You do too, Braeburn. I can’t believe that you’re still walking around, doing stuff like this.” Twilight remarked. Braeburn laughed.
“Yess’m. Sure is good, bein’ able to go around, doin’ things. Y’all are comin’ back to th’ farm, right?”
“Of course I am.” Twilight assured. Braeburn cocked one of his elbows, and Twilight snaked one of her hooves through.
“Princess, what about the Gov-”
“Please, Canterlot would be able to answer your questions better than me.” Twilight said, walking off with Braeburn.
Spike was flying high above Appleoosa, noticing how little has changed. The roads were paved and the buildings were all made out of brick, but the town was still as small as ever. By far the biggest part was the Apple Homestead, taking up twenty acres on the north side of town. Spike knew that Twilight would go there first. He knew that Twilight would want to check up on Fluttershy first before anything else. Spike kept his eyes on Twilight and Braeburn as they walked through the town. He was nervous. Twilight was walking through the middle of town, exactly where he didn’t want her to. If she didn’t blow Spike off when she was getting off the train, he would have told her not to go straight through town. Spike watched vigilantly as the pair wandered through town.
“The town sure has changed since I last saw it.” Twilight remarked, feeling the wonderful pavement beneath her hooves. Braeburn nodded, gumming.
“Sure as shootin’. We got it jes’ last month. Had’ta fight like hell with city council t’git it.” He said. Twilight turned, surprised.
“Really? They didn’t want to upgrade from dirt?”
“Sure as shootin’ didn’t. They done said that it was ‘Historically valuable’. Tell ya what, even when Appleoosa was new we done hated the dirt roads. To preserve ‘em now’d be jes’ awful.”
“That is horrible. Ponies could get diseases from dirt roads. I’ll have to talk to someone on the city council.”
“Well, that’s the thing. Warn’t the council that wanted it. That lil’ sumbitch Chancey was behind th’ whole mess.” Braeburn swore. Twilight was surprised by the profanity from Braeburn, but there was another reason.
“Wait- Governor Chancey?”
“The only Chancey in th’ whole town.” Braeburn grumbled. Twilight scowled, pulling the elderly pony away from his destination
“Y’cain’t tug me ‘round like that no more, Twah. Ah’m fragile.” Braeburn complained. Twilight blushed.
“Sorry Braeburn. I have to go talk to Chancey before we go to the homestead.” Twilight decided. Braeburn took it all in stride.
“Alrighty, Twah.”
Twilight looked up in the sky. Spike was flying too high to see, but Spike could see her perfectly.
“What else has he done?”
“Twah, can we do this some other time? We really need’ta go back to Flutters.” Braeburn. Twilight stopped walking, turning to the earth pony.
“What’s wrong?
“She tain’t doin’ too well. We got some doctors lookin’ after her at home.” Braeburn told Twilight. She sighed.
“Alright, let’s get back to the homestead. Chancey can wait.” Twilight sighed.
“Y’know, she’s been all excited about you comin to town since she heard ‘bout it.”
“I was excited for it too. I almost never get the chance to go anywhere anymore.”
“If Ah was a princess I would be busy too.” Braeburn joked. Twilight didn’t laugh. For her, Celestia’s rule was no laughing matter. The pair walked on wordlessly to the Apple Homestead.
“Wow.” Twilight remarked. The farm was much bigger than it was the last time Twilight was there.
“Yess’m. We had t’expand. We even got some’th kids from town helpin’ out.”
“What about your kids?”
“Well, some’m done stuck around. Leroy lives with us up at th’ house, n’so does Betsy Flitter done moved’t cloudsdale few years back. Lawyer, Celestia bless ‘er. Fitzroy done left fer Trottinham, owns Apple Records.”
“Really?”
“Yep, doin’ good for ‘imself. Comes down t’th’ farm evry chance he gits. Good kid.” Braeburn finished, pushing open the gate to the farm. Twilight marveled. She could see the tops of the apple trees off in the distance, and there was a pen full of pigs right next to the barn. The house itself was off by itself, on top of a hill and secluded from the farm. Braeburn made a beeline for the house at a brisk pace. It wasn’t hard for Twilight to keep up, tall as she was. Twilight was suddenly very nervous about entering the house. It loomed before her as they approached
“How bad is she, Braeburn?” Twilight asked, quiet and harrowed. Braeburn frowned, the wrinkles in his face deepening.
“She’s bad, Twi. Real bad. She ain’t got much left in her. Doctors say she don’t have more’n a week or two left.” Braeburn admitted. Twilight clenched her teeth. They were already walking up the porch stairs, the screen door wafting cold air and a faint disinfectant smell. Twilight’s nose crinkled. Braeburn, always the gentlecolt, held open the door for Twilight. Twilight walked through the doorway, stopping dead in her tracks halfway inside. She turned to Braeburn, who pointed to Twilight’s left somberly. Twilight took a deep breath and headed that way, hearing the beep. beep. beep. of some medical machine. She turned a corner and saw Fluttershy, wrinkly as could be, lying on a bed. The bed was in the middle of the living room, and all of the furniture was hastily moved out of the way to accommodate the addition. Twilight edged around a sofa to get closer to Fluttershy. Her beautiful pink mane had long since turned a wispy grey, and her light yellow coat was matted. She was breathing heavily, covered in electrodes and wires. She was painfully thin- Twilight could see Fluttershy’s ribs through the thin sheet that covered her. She had a plastic tube hung around her face for oxygen. Twilight felt cold despair grip her, twisting her stomach. Twilight gulped.
“F-Fluttershy?” Twilight whispered, afraid that if she spoke too loud she would break the old pony. She stirred in her bed, her body hauntingly pantomiming movement. She turned her head to look at Twilight.
“Twilight” She rasped. Twilight was mortified, but did her best to hide it. Fluttershy groaned and coughed, moving a shaking hoof up to cover her mouth.
“H-How’s it been, Fluttershy? It’s been a while.” Twilight tried to start up the conversation to distract herself from Fluttershy’s broken body.
“Bad.” Fluttershy responded. She inhaled, taking in a great wheezing breath. Twilight nodded.
“You’ve been better.” Twilight joked, trying to lighten the mood. Fluttershy started to cough, stabbing Twilight’s effort to death. She was retching up something stuck in her throat. Braeburn rushed his way around Twilight to hold Fluttershy, rubbing her back. Fluttershy kept coughing. A brown doctor pony wormed his in from another room, hurriedly walking to Fluttershy’s IV bag. He levitated some ampoules, getting a syringe ready. He filled one of the syringes and injected it into Fluttershy’s IV. She started to calm down, her coughing becoming quieter, less violent, subdued. She finally stopped, wheezing. Twilight kept looking at Fluttershy, unblinking. Braeburn was holding her, rubbing her back, trying to comfort her. He turned, looking at Twilight with his big teary eyes. Twilight’s stomach flipped over. He wasn’t looking at her like she was a Princess, or even a friend- He was looking at someone that could help. Twilight’s mouth fell open, and she backed away slowly, shaking her head.
“Braeburn, you know I can’t.” Twilight whispered, tears of her own beading in her eyes. Braeburn sniffed.
“Please, Twi. She cain’t- N-Not like this.” He gasped out. Twilight, horrified, kept shaking her head.
“You know why I can’t. Please don’t ask me to.” Because I would. Twilight didn’t say. Fluttershy groaned, and Braeburn held her tighter.
“You don’t want her ’t go no more’n I do.” Braeburn tearfully reasoned, his voice raw. Fluttershy stirred, turning to Twilight
“Don’t- Don’t listen to him,” Fluttershy groaned. “He’s been so stubborn for... As long as I’ve known him. Fluttershy tried to sit up, leaning forward in her bed. She gestured for Twilight to come closer. She did, reluctantly.
“Let me go, Twilight. It’s... The best thing you can do. For yourself.” Fluttershy said to the Princess. Twilight closed her eyes, shaking her head. Fluttershy touched her face.
“Twilight, you’re still so young. You’ve seen so much, but you can’t ever grow old, like me.”
“Fluttershy, I-” Twilight objected, but Fluttershy’s piercing teal gaze, honed by years of practice, stopped Twilight.
“Oh, Twilight. Knowing you’ll die makes somepony Equine. The rat race doesn’t make sense when there’s no finish line.” Fluttershy surmised, removing her hoof from Twilight’s face and reclining back onto her deathbed. Twilight’s tears were flowing freely now.
“I’m sorry, excuse me.” Twilight apologized, walking away from the couple. She wandered into another room. She approached a wonderfully large bay window, looking out over the Apple family’s holdings in Appleoosa, including the second largest apple orchard in Equestria. She stared blankly out at the rows upon rows of trees, feeling numb.
“Princess?” A voice asked. Twilight turned. It was the doctor from earlier. He was holding a handkerchief for her. She grabbed it with magic and dabbed her eyes with it.
“Thank you, Doctor...”
“Malloy. Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“Twilight is fine. I’m doing okay.”
“You don’t look fine, Miss Sparkle.
“Twilight.”
“Your Highness.” The doctor insisted. Twilight sighed.
“Do you know what’s wrong with Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. The doctor sniffed.
“Well, in addition to being older than most trees, she has unusual fluid buildup in her lungs.It might be pneumonia, but it’s strange to have a case so out of season. But, it definitely could be a symptom of something else. Her throat is red and inflamed- That’s why she can’t speak normally. It looks like a very severe reaction to something she ate, or smelled. I had her on antihistamines, but it didn’t clear up like it should have. I’m thinking it’s some kind of bacterial infection.”
“And is she on antibiotics?”
“Yes, she is. She’s not responding the way I would like, but it’s early. She needs another few days, and plenty of rest.” The Doctor explained. Twilight nodded, trying not to be worried.
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me. Money is of no object.” Twilight assured the doctor. He nodded.
“Of course, your highness.” he acknowledged. Twilight nodded, turning away. She walked past the living room on her way out the door
“Braeburn, I’ll be back soon.” Twilight said to the room. She couldn’t see braeburn, but she was sure that he heard her.
“Alrighty. Twah. We’ll be here.” Braeburn responded. Twilight walked out of the door. angling towards the rest of Appleoosa. She walked past all of the infrastructure that Braeburn and Fluttershy built together. The Apple Family holdings were massive, to say the least. Fluttershy and Braeburn have some of the largest apple orchards in all of Equestria, second only to the orchard in Ponyville. Twilight could see some ponies far out in the orchard, bucking apples. Twilight took a moment to look up into the sky. She could barely, only just see a tiny little sliver fluttering around up there.
“Okay Spike. We’re going to talk to Chancey.” Twilight said. She kept walking in the direction she was going. She could hear the steady beat of Spike’s wings growing louder. Before she even cleared the gate he was walking along next to her.
“So what’s the news?” Spike asked.
“It’s Chancey’s fault that Fluttershy is sick.” Twilight explained. She could feel her anger bubbling up.
“How do you know?” Spike asked.
“She has some kind of respiratory infection. Her doctor thinks that she got it from something she could have smelled. I think it was Nightbrush.”
“Aw, Twi, come on. Nightbrush is just a weed.”
“Foals get sick eating it all the time, Spike. Elderly ponies should know better, but I think Fluttershy might have just sniffed some.”
“That couldn’t have made her so sick.” Spike rebutted.
“She’s very old. It might not have made her sick, but it could have weakened her. She could have caught something else.” Twilight explained to herself.
“I guess. I have to go talk to him anyways, and I suppose it doesn’t make any different if you’re there for it.” Spike told the purple pony. Twilight frowned.
“I might kick him myself a few times.” Twilight said. Spike exhaled loudly, almost laughing.
“Nobody would ever believe him when he says he got beat up by a Princess.” The dragon joked. Twilight nodded, still slightly upset about everything.