Cherry’s mind refused to work.
Here she was face-to-face with Princess Celestia, her entire reason for putting herself through all that had happened in the past several hours.
And she couldn’t even speak. Not even a single word.
The princess hadn’t spoken in a while. She just looked towards the night sky with a warm, loving smile on her face. Occasionally she would glance at the filly, but otherwise didn’t move. It seemed she was waiting for Cherry to make the first move.
Eventually, Cherry found her voice.
“P…Princess Celestia!?” she squeaked. It may not have been an especially strong voice, but it was better than nothing. Celestia giggled.
“Indeed, my little filly.” She said. “Why don’t you sit with me, and we’ll talk for a while?”
Not really knowing what else to do, Cherry sat down. Pain stabbed through her injured leg, causing her to winch. Princess Celestia had obviously noticed her pain, but didn’t say anything.
“How…How do you know my name?” Cherry asked, starting to become a bit bolder.
“I make it a point to learn the names and descriptions of missing foals. Especially ones that seemed to have packed their worldly belongings before suddenly appearing miles away from their home.” Princess Celestia’s expression shifted to one of great concern. “Care to tell me why you ran away? Are you unhappy there? Do your parents…mistreat you? In ANY way?”
Cherry blinked. She had expected Mom and Dad to upset that she’d left, but what was with these questions? Cocking her head to the side, she tried to make sense of all this.
“No, why would they? I like being with them. Sure, I have to do homework when I want to play, and I still think my bedtime is too early, but I know they do that because they love me. And I love them, too.”
“I see. So then, why is your leg hurt?”
“Well, I hurt it when I…” Cherry hesitated, not really wanting to admit what she had done. She looked away in shame, and her ears folded down on her head. “When I snuck through the fence. One of the bars hit me really hard.”
The princess studied her for a minute, looking between Cherry and the fence. Eventually, she seemed to relax and sighed.
“That fence has been a rusted mess for years.” she whispered, half to herself, “I’m honestly surprised no pony’s been hurt before now. It’s time for a long overdue conversation with Raven about getting that ugly thing removed.”
She addressed Cherry once more “Come here, please. And hold still.”
Cherry obeyed, limping to her princess’ side.
Golden light flared from her horn, enveloping the filly’s leg. The pain quickly faded away. Amazed, Cherry jumped up.
“You...you fixed it!?” she gasped.
“Not quite, I only numbed the pain. I am afraid my proficiency with medical magic isn’t what it used to be. You should take it easy for now. Once we’re done talking, we’ll get you to a proper doctor.” the princess replied warmly.
Her tone changed, becoming more serious.
“So, if there are no problems at home, then why did you run away? Why worry your parents so?”
No words came out. Despite opening and closing her mouth a few times, Cherry couldn’t manage to form the words, and she couldn’t understand why. Here she was, with Princess Celestia herself, miles from home, and she couldn’t even tell her why! Tears began to well in her eyes.
Princess Celestia noticed her internal struggle, and placed her hoof on the filly’s back, softly rubbing up and down. Cherry sniffled, hot tears streaming down her muzzle.
“It’s alright. You’re safe here. You can tell me anything.” She cooed, her voice as soft as a lullaby.
Maybe it was the rubbing, maybe the princess’ soothing voice, maybe it was the fact she’s been running around in an unfamiliar city for the past few hours, but she couldn’t take it anymore.
She broke down.
“It’s this stupid cutie mark!” she screeched, causing the alicorn to flinch back in surprise. Cherry began pacing in from of the princess, and let everything out.
“All I ever wanted to do was draw, or write, or do was Dad does, but NO! I’m stuck in with this dumb mark telling me that I have to be a stupid, boring accountant! Now I can’t draw AT ALL, and I can’t even tell Mom and Dad about it ‘cause they’re just soOOoo proud of their little ‘Accounting Starswirl!’ If I told them, they’d be so disspapointed…”
She sat down, not knowing what else to do.
“I’d rather be a blank-flank forever…”
Princess Celestia scooted closer to her.
“Surely you don’t mean all that…A cutie mark is a wonderful thing; surely you must know that?”
“Well, maybe I don’t mean ALL of it. But I do hate this mark.” Cherry admitted, indicating the offending image. Princess Celestia paused, studying the pen and its golden trail.
“I think it’s a beautiful cutie mark. It’s rare to see one as detailed as yours. Besides, it’s not as if you can change it.”
“I can’t change it,” Cherry said, jumping up with renewed hope. “But YOU can!”
The princess blinked.
“I-…Excuse me…?”
“You’re Princess Celestia! Strongest, nicest, most powerful pony ever! If anypony could change it, it’s you!”
“Cherrywood, I-“
“Please do it! Pleasepleaseplease!”
“I’m genuinely sorry, but- “
“I don’t’ even care what turns out to be, just not this!”
“Please listen I can’t-”
“I’ll do anything! If you wanna get paid, I have bits!”
Cherry dove for her saddlebags, and began collecting the loose coins within.
“I know it’s not much, but I’ll pay you back, I promise I- “
“Cherrywood.” Princess Celestia’s voice boomed, silencing the filly. She didn’t shout, but she didn’t need to.The air went still, and the creatures of the night fell silent. It seemed as if the world obeyed the Sovereign of the Sun’s command for respect. There was a long, soundless moment as the princess composed herself.
She spoke.
“There is no power in this world, of pony make or not, that can change your cutie mark.” Cherry tried to speak, but a raised hoof silenced her once more. “Many before you have tried to alter their marks and the marks of others, even in the tiniest of ways. All of them failed. A cutie mark is tied to a pony’s soul, their very essence. Even if an alteration could occur, the consequences for doing so could be far greater than what could ever be gained.”
“But…that’s not…” Cherry whispered, a quiver entering her voice “No…No you’re lying! You have to be!”
Noticing that one of her pencils had fallen out of her bag, Cherry grabbed it in her mouth. Her body was acting on instinct, with her mind taking a backseat. Brandishing the utensil like a knife, she pointed it at the princess.
“You have to change my mark, or I’ll…I’ll…” Cherry stammered, only now realizing what she’d just committed to. She began to panic, and her legs began to shake.
This had gone too far. It has some time ago, she realized.
Princess Celestia said nothing keeping her gaze locked with Cherry’s. It was intense, concerned, and compassionate, all at the same time. After a few tense moments, the alicorn ignited her horn. Cherry shut her eyes, expecting to something horrible to happen, some powerful spell to reduce her to smudge on the ground.
Instead, she felt the pencil being gently tugged from her mouth. She didn’t resist, and let it tossed aside. Opening her eyes, she met Celestia’s gaze.
Celestia gave the weeping filly a compassionate, loving smile. Still silent, she opened her forelegs welcomingly.
Without thinking, Cherry accepted the offer, running over and burying herself into the alicorn’s chest. She barely noticed when the pair of hooves gripped her, and a pair of wings wrapped on top of them. Her chest fur was soft as a cloud, and the hug was warm against the crisp night air. The princess simply letting the filly bawl to her hearts content, ever patient.
Time stopped mattering. Cherry didn’t know how much time passed, and she didn’t care. Eventually, the tears and sobbing slowed and eventually stopped. She wiped her eyes with a hoof, and looked up to the one holding her.
“Feel better?” Celestia asked softly. Cherry nodded. “That’s good, because there’s something you should know.”’
The princess wiped the last remaining tears from the filly’s face.
“A cutie mark does not change anything about you. It only shows what is already inside of you. Just because your cutie mark is one thing, doesn’t mean you can’t do something else.” She glanced at her own flank. “I may move the sun with ease, but I like to do other things in when I can.”
The alicorn leaned in and whispered, “I enjoy playing the occasional prank on the castle staff, and I think I’m quite good at it.”
Cherry couldn’t help but giggle, but quickly frowned in confusion.
“But…why can’t I draw anymore? Ever since I got my mark…” she trailed off.
Celestia paused, placing a hoof on her chin in thought.
“Well over the years, I’ve often heard of many artists experiencing this same thing. I believe the term is ‘art block.’ And if I recall, the only cure is to give it time.” she smiled “Your inspiration will come back eventually, I promise.”
“Art…block…” Cherry slowly repeated. So, it wasn’t just her that was going through this? Others like her had had gone through the same thing? She supposed it sounded reasonable. It wasn’t as if she had anything to lose at this point. If even Princess Celestia couldn’t change her mark, waiting a while longer to see if her drawing skill came back wouldn’t hurt.
“I guess…all this seems a bit silly, huh?” she said, looking at the princess meekly. “I packed all my stuff, came here and-“
A realization stuck her, stopping her mid-sentence.
“ROBEARTO!” she shrieked, causing Celestia to jump in surprise. “I FORGOT ABOUT ROBEARTO!”
“Rob…bearto?” Celestia repeated slowly, not fully understanding.
“Robearto! He’s my bestest friend in the whole world! I brought him with me, but then those scary guards chased me, and I lost him…” Cherry trailed off, new tears beginning to well up.
“Scary guards…chased you…?” the princess repeated again, mostly to herself. Suddenly she made a connection, and disappeared in a flash of golden light. Cherry sat there in the garden, sad and confused for a moment, before another flash brought the monarch back.
And in her hooves was-
“Robearto!” Cherry yelled, grabbing her friend tightly.
Robearto said he was worried about her, and that he was glad to see her again.
“Those guards looked all over for you, they were so worried.” Celestia explained. “When they lost track of you all they found was your little friend here, so they brought him to me. He was very brave, and told me all about his bestest friend in the world, a spunky little filly named Cherrywood.”
Cherry looked at Celestia in amazement.
“You can understand him!? I thought I was the only one!”
Robearto agreed, saying he too was amazed that she could understand him.
“I have a lot of experience with these things.” Celestia said, winking.
As Cherry hugged Robearto tighter, she felt herself being picked up by Celestia’s magic and placed on the royal’s back.
“Now let’s get your leg looked at, then off to bed.”
“You’re not taking me home?” Cherry wondered. Celestia shook her head, and started into the castle.
“I’ve sent word to your parents, and they will be here in the morning to take you home. For the moment, though, you need to rest.”
Cherry yawned.
“Oh…okay…” Cherry looked away, “…I’m going to be in trouble, aren’t I?”
Celestia giggled.
“Yes, I’m afraid so. Many fillies have gotten in trouble for less. This too, will pass.”
“Hmm…” Cherry squeezed Robearto closer, and felt her eyes growing heavy. “I guess I can live with that.”
As she drifted into sleep, she felt a tender kiss on her forehead.
“Sleep well, Cherrywood.”