//------------------------------// // Blossoming Flowers // Story: It's Got To Be My Destiny // by 1Bluefur //------------------------------// “The mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon,” Twilight Sparkle spoke dramatically as she read from Prophecies and Predictions in her study. “Aw come on Twilight, that’s just an old mare’s tail,” a small purple and green dragon gently argued. “Let’s just go and enjoy Moondancer’s party, okay?” “But Spike, what if this is true? We have to warn the Princess immediately! Please, take a letter,” the unicorn snapped back. The dragon sighed, defeated, as he went to grab a quill and paper. “Ready when you are Twilight,” he said. “Dear Princess Celestia….” “Hoo!” Twilight paused, blinking owlishly at her assistant. “Did you just… Hoo?” “Hoo! Hoo!” Twilight sat bolt upright at her desk; the paper that had been stuck to her cheek was dislodged from the motion and fluttered away. Owlowliscious sat next to her, hoo’ing urgently. Her mind swirled with lingering images from the dream. It wasn’t the first time the study or the dragon had appeared during her slumber. The dreams were infrequent but they felt so real. The unicorn still felt a lingering sense of urgency from the dream. “Hoo!!” Twilight looked at her owl, wondering why he was being so frantic. The truth hit her like a bag of bricks. “Oh no my meeting!!!” she cried out. “Oh ponyfeathers I am definitely going to be late!!” the unicorn frantically sorted her notes out with her magic while simultaneously levitating her saddlebags over so she could stuff them in. She groaned in frustration when she realized she still had her travel books and snack wrappers in them. She swiftly dumped them out and shoved her notes inside. Twilight spun to race out the door; “I’ll feed you when I get ba- oof!!” the purple mare was cut off mid sentence as she ran straight into somepony at the door. They collided with a painful sounding smack! Twilight’s notes spewed everywhere as she stumbled back onto her haunches. “Oh sugarcube I’m so sorry!” Applejack apologized, rubbing her chest where Twilights shoulder had been. “Are you okay?” she offered her hoof to help the other mare up. Twilight, however, was not okay. Her breathing sped up as she grabbed all her notes with her magic and shoved them back into her bag. “Oh nonononono,” she frantically muttered scrambling to her hooves, completely ignoring the mare in front of her. Applejack slowly lowered her leg watching while Twilight shoved her last bit of papers away. She was still in the doorway when Twilight almost smacked into her again. “Applejack move, I’m late!” Twilight whinnied. “Now just hang on there!” Applejack said firmly, holding her hoof back up. “I came up here to tell you that Miss. Cheerilee is waiting for you downstairs, so you really don’t need to rush. Besides…. Twilight?” Applejack trailed off when she saw the blood drain from Twilight’s face. It made the unicorn look almost pastel in color. “Ch-Cheerilee is… here?” she gasped, suddenly feeling very weak in the knees. “Well yes,” Applejack replied, a bit confused by Twilight’s reaction. She opened her mouth to continue but was interrupted by the other ponies panic. “This is such a terrible first impression!” Twilight looked devastated. “How could she possibly think it was a good idea to agree to this when I’m so late, she had to come all the way out here herself?! She’s probably going to tell me to forget it I blew my chance! I-” “Twilight Sparkle,” Applejack firmly interrupted “I need you to do me a huge favor, okay? I need you to listen to me for a moment. Can you do that?” Twilight opened her mouth, but shut it again when she noticed how serious the earth pony was. “Ugh, she talks to me like a foal sometimes,” she grumbled mentally. “Thank you. Now I know Cheerilee is waiting and you’re very eager to make up for lost time. But you need to breathe okay? I promise she’s not going to be that upset over you possibly being late, which you aren’t. Now just take a deep breath all right? Always helps me when I’m worked up.” Twilight sighed, figuring it was best to listen to Applejack. As she was breathing in, she instinctively held her hoof to her chest and closed her eyes. The outside world faded… Twilight’s face was wet with tears. Her chest was aching from all the yelling and crying. There were few things that made her this upset; today’s problem was that she ran out of crayons to mark her favorite doll’s homework. The purple filly hiccupped as her new foalsitter, a beautiful pink pony named Cadence, was rubbing her back. As Twilight struggled to keep her anxiety at bay, her brain helpfully reminded her of the difficulties at school. “Everypony makes fun of me for being upset about stuff,” she thought, more tears welling up in her eyes. “Now Cadence is going to think I’m stupid too!” “Oh Twilight, sweetie, it’s going to be okay,” she gently reassured the sniffling filly. “No! You’re going to say I’m dumb aren’t you?! That there’s no problems and I’m just being a baby!” she cried, tears flowing a little faster. The mare gasped, “Twilight! I can’t believe you would think that! Who told you that you were stupid?” “Mrs… Mrs…” the filly tried to respond but her hiccups and tears made it near impossible. “Okay Twilight, it’s okay. Here, let me show you something,” Cadence’s tone softened immediately as she went back to comforting the little pony. “I want you to breathe with me okay? Breathe in nice and deep, like this: In,” the mare straightened and breathed in, placing a hoof on her chest. “Out,” she extended the same hoof as she released her breath. Twilight hiccupped once more, her tears finally slowing as she watched her babysitter repeat. Slowly, she got up, “In,” she placed a hoof on her chest “Out...” Back in the present, Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes. She was feeling calmer, but the knot of frustration in her chest hadn’t vanished completely. “There ya go,” Applejack said with a smile. “I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of anxious ponies,” Twilight sighed “It’s kind of hard not to feel anxious when, as far as your concerned, your job is on the line,” she said. “I mean, how was I supposed to know Cheerilee wasn’t strict? Can you really blame me?” “Well I guess I can’t,” Applejack conceded “But let me tell you something else about Cheerilee. She’s one of the sweetest mares you could ever meet. She came to the house not because you’re late, but because she thought you were going to be tired after your journey. She figured it would be easier for you. So seriously, there’s no way in hay she would fault you for sleeping in a little.” Twilight looked away for a moment, a part of her was genuinely grateful Applejack was trying to help her out. But another part of her was just a little bit irritated that she was wasting time lecturing her. “Well, I appreciate the explanation,” she said. “But I think it’s about time I head down to meet her.” “Sure thing Twilight,” despite her response, Applejack didn’t move. “Just indulge me for an extra moment.” “What?” Twilight huffed, her patience slipping. Applejack was unfazed and finally stepped aside to point to a mirror conveniently hanging in the hallway. Twilight gasped in horror. “My mane!!” “Oh it’s really no big deal,” Cheerilee said to a still slightly flustered (but fully groomed) Twilight Sparkle. “I love coming over to Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac and I were classmates, it’s nice to catch up sometimes.” “Eeyup,” the stallion at the table confirmed. Without another word he left the three mares in the kitchen. As he retreated Twilight tried, and failed, to imagine Big Mac actually having a conversation with Cheerilee that consisted of more than two words. She gave her head the smallest of shakes; trying to refocus on the magenta mare she was meeting with. “Right, well, I still really appreciate your understanding. I’m very eager to get started with you.” Cheerilee giggled “Oh it’s so exciting to have such an esteemed scholar helping me teach at our little school house. If anything I should be thanking you for reaching out to me!” the earth pony beamed at Twilight. Twilight had no idea how to respond; she felt the slightest warmth in her cheeks at the compliment. “Oh! Uh, well, it’s no big deal really…” she paused “I mean, ya know, I just figured Ponyville would be the perfect place to learn how to teach. The school system here may be very different from Canterlot, but it’s the kind of system used by most of Equestria. If I actually become a teacher, I want to be prepared to teach anywhere.” “Well I’m still flattered. Besides, we are a majority earth pony town and I’ve been trying for the past year or so to figure out how to best accommodate our unicorn students.” Cheerilee explained, “So even if you weren’t an esteemed scholar, your presence is still very much appreciated. See, the local pegasi usually attend Cloudsdales summer flight camp since the city is usually pretty close by. So even the little ponies without pegasi parents still learn pegasus things,” the mare paused to take a sip of her tea. “But the unicorn foals without unicorn parents don’t have too many places to go that are close by. In the past most of them wound up moving to Canterlot if they were interested in magic. Thankfully unicorns born to non-unicorn parents are rare around these parts, I’m fairly new to teaching here myself and haven’t encountered it yet.” Twilight blinked, “Oh, well, then it’s not a big issue then right?” “Oh it may not be a big issue but I want to be prepared!” Cheerilee replied, sounding fairly determined. “The only problem is, I don’t know where to start! That’s where I’m hoping you can help,” “Hm,” the unicorn hummed in response. “Well… Does this town have a library?” “Oh yes! The loveliest library in all of Equestria! Well I like to think it is,” Cheerilee giggled. “It’s the Golden Oaks library, it was built inside the oldest tree in Ponyville. It’s absolutely beautiful.” “Well, have you considered doing research at the library? A basic magic curriculum should be easy to construct with a little research on beginner’s magic theory,” Twilight said, ignoring for the first time in her life the opportunity to discuss history. “What kind of teacher doesn’t automatically go to a library?” she asked herself. “That’s true!” Cheerilee said brightly. “But of course, as an earth pony born to earth pony parents, I quickly figured out that books couldn’t provide much in the way of enlightenment if you don’t know the first thing about being a unicorn. The theoretical ideas involved, even on the basic level, are a little too much for me to grasp. I mean you know how tribe magic works right?” Twilight nodded “Of course I do,” “Then you understand why I might be afraid that I won’t be able to provide enough guidance if I don’t know how using magic feels. If a student struggles or encounters a unique problem I want to be able to just help with a good foundation instead of needing to grab a book. After all, imagine you had to teach a pegasus how to fly. Ask any Wonderbolt and they will tell you that learning the theory is far different from the practice.” Twilight frowned slightly, furrowing her brow. “Of all the books on magic out there I don’t know if there are any that describe unicorn magic for non-unicorns… Unless…” “What about parenting books? Surely somepony has written something for non-unicorn parents before.” Cheerilee’s eyes widened in surprise, “Oh my goodness! I didn’t think of that!” she paused “That’s a really unique solution to the problem. I think this is going to be perfect! I’ll check with our librarian right after our meeting! Oh, would you like to come with me?” Twilight hesitated, weighing her options. She loved libraries but the thought of going with the permanently bubbly Cheerilee seemed almost… daunting. She forced a polite smile. “No thank you, I prefer to study alone and if I’m going to a library I’m definitely going to be lost in some books,” she said. Cheerilee smiled “Understandable. Anyways, I’m sure you have some questions for me right? Let’s get started!” ---- “It was lovely meeting you Twilight Sparkle! Why don’t you stop by the schoolhouse tomorrow at 10? I can show you around and maybe you can help me start getting things ready!” “That sounds great Cheerilee. It was good to meet you too, bye!” With that, the magenta earth pony was trotting away. As Twilight watched her retreating form from the doorway she reflected briefly on the meeting. “That went really well aside from the beginning, but even that wasn’t that bad,” she closed the door and was heading back into the kitchen when she felt a small tug on her tail. She turned to see Applejack gazing pointedly at her. “I don’t appreciate the way you were condescending her at times back there. Particularly the stuff about magic,” she scowled. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Look, she’s a teacher, it’s not my fault if she doesn’t know how to research anything. I mean, come on, there’s no way that she couldn’t get enough information to help unicorn foals with basic spells. I mean, I get the whole wanting to know how magic feels but I can’t see why she couldn’t at least try.” “She is an earth pony Twilight. Not all of us have the privilege of being in a big city with lots of resources. It’s one of the first things I had to re-learn coming back home,” Applejack responded. “Besides, you’re just learning how to teach aren’t you? I’m betting you’ve never had to show another tribe how to use their magic.” There was a tense pause as Twilight tried to figure out how to respond. “Well…” she started, but she never finished. Instead the two ponies let the silence stretch itself taught. Then Applejack sighed. “Look, I’m sorry if it seems like I keep getting on your case. I’m not sure what’s gotten into me but I promise I mean no harm. In this particular situation, I could tell you were being judgmental, just like I was last night. I’ve always felt that a street has to go both ways, ya know?” Twilight did, at least, in theory. But in practice… She felt like interacting with other ponies was probably harder than teaching another tribes magic. She was also getting a bit tired of Applejack making a big deal out of things. The more they interacted, the more mixed Twilight’s feelings got. Still, she was far from the most annoying pony Twilight had met thus far. The unicorn briefly recalled the multicolored mane of a certain obnoxious and lazy pegasus. “At least Applejack has some sense… Even if she can be really hard to deal with sometimes,” Twilight mused to herself. “Besides, she’s not exactly wrong here. I really haven’t tried to teach another tribe’s magic to a pony of that tribe… Maybe I am underestimating how hard it is”. Twilight sighed, “Yeah,” she finally said. “I understand, it’s just… I guess I got the impression she wasn’t trying hard enough to look for a solution.” Applejack let out a half-amused snort. “I’ve never met a pony who so easily underestimated somepony else,” she said. “Cheerilee is extremely caring and smart. She would do anything for her little ponies. I would easily trust her with Applebloom’s life. If she says the solution wasn’t at the library than it just wasn’t there.” The two mares lapsed into yet another silence. Twilight got the impression the orange mare was waiting for something. It was another moment before it struck. “Oh! Right… I’m sorry. I was rude and I… shouldn’t make so many assumptions about a pony I just met,” she awkwardly apologized. “I’ll talk to Cheerilee in the morning I guess. So she knows that uh… Yeah.” Applejack smiled, ponies seemed to do that lot in response to an apology. It was puzzling to Twilight; aside from her family (and her foalsitter) she had learned apologies didn’t mean much growing up. Yet the ponies in this town seemed to act like they did matter and actually meant something. It was… Nice? “I’m sorry too, I guess I forgot how confrontational I can get,” she said much to Twilight’s surprise. “Why are you apologizing?” Twilight asked, “I was the one in the wrong right? I don’t even think you were that rude to me or anything…” Applejack laughed, “Like I said, a street goes both ways. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Even if you don’t think I was rude, I feel like I could have voiced my concerns a little more elegantly.” Twilight was flabbergasted. “Uh, okay, uhm… Thanks?” “I say this affectionately now, but you sure are a strange one Twilight. I think you might benefit from coming out a little more. Meeting some ponies who aren’t… For a lack of a better term… Total snobs.” Applejack seemed very amused at this point. Twilight was unsure of how to respond. “Uhm… Well… I’ve got to study these notes a-and my studies usually take a lot of time…” Applejack shook her head. “Well, I can’t tell ya what’s best but I know the more you shut yourself in, the harder it’s going to be to get along with others,” she paused for a second, emerald eyes briefly looking past Twilight in thought. “I used to be like that believe it or not. I went through a period of time where all I cared about was my craft. Never gave anypony the time of day…” the mare trailed off for a split second, then she seemed to snap back to the present. “I want you to meet the pony that helped me realize it wasn’t a healthy way of life. Her name is Pinkamena, she lives on a rock farm not too far from Ponyville. The train leaves in an hour, it’s a short ride, maybe 20 minutes max. I would love for you to come; you should have plenty of time to study when we get back. You could even study on the train if you’d like.” Twilight wanted desperately to be alone. She wanted to go into her room and study. She did not want to talk to anypony else, let alone meet somepony new. Yet, as she was about to open her mouth to decline, something stopped her. Before she knew what she was doing she started to talk. “I’ve never been on a rock farm before. It’ll be an interesting experience, as long as Pinkamena is okay with me taking notes and asking questions that is,” Twilight found herself responding. “What am I doing? This is crazy, I should take it back right now,” Twilight Sparkle did not take back her words. Instead, she was completely silent as Applejack grinned at her. “Excellent! I’m certain she won’t mind at all! Not many ponies are as interested in rock farming like the Pie family! I’m certain her sisters wouldn’t mind answering some questions either.” Twilight gave her the tiniest smile back. “That’s great, I’m uh… Going to gather my notes from today and get a head start on studying, just let me know when it’s time to leave.” “Sounds good to me. I’m heading back into the kitchen too, gotta take care of Cherilee’s tea cup!” Twilight watched the earth pony trot happily into the kitchen. She wasn’t directly in front of the door so she stood still as the tip of the pony’s tail vanished from view. “What in Celestia’s name did I get myself into?!”