To Bear the Loss
It was a wonderful afternoon in the nearby town of Harvestia. Compared to the busy city of Canterlot, Harvestia was a rather quiet town where the farmers grew their crops from carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, onions and spinach, to fresh fruit like lemons, grapes, oranges, pears, and even tropical fruits like mangos. But the one crop that often was the eye of the land was apples, grown by Great Apple and the Apple Family. They were the first to settle down in Harvestia, one of the few towns surrounding Equestria.
But there was one that my late family grew in this town: Olives. We grew olives back then for ponies to put into their side dishes, or for the exquisite olive oil. When my family died in that tragedy, some of the olive crop survived that disaster. One member of the Apple family named Nectar Apple, who was Great Apple’s sister, felt sorry for the loss of an entire family, and volunteered to grow the Olive crops in their memory. And since then, she erected a monument towards the Cinch family for the hard work they put in their crop.
On that late afternoon, Great Apple, Granny Smith, Nectar Apple, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and I were at the memorial for my lost family. Though the others looked up to my late father and mother in pride, I kept my eyes closed and sunk my head down, reminded by the tragic fire that took their lives.
“It’s a real shame what happened two years ago,” Fizzie said. “When I heard about the fire that burned down the house and took their lives, I was horrified. Who in their right mind would pull a sick stunt like that?”
I didn’t know what to say. Though I understood Fizzie’s frustration over my family’s death, my focus was more on mourning their deaths.
“We don’t know who it was,” Nectar Apple said. “One thing I know was that it was no accident. As a farmer of Harvestia, a loss of another farmer is a tragedy unto itself. No one deserves to lose a family member like that.”
Those words ‘As a Family, we are one together,’ rang true when I heard what Nectar Apple said. Even though they put out different products on the market, like Apples from the Apple family or Olives from my late family, we all stand by together like we know the lay of the land. The two years I spent under Celestia have caused me to lose my farmer roots. But the memories of living on that farm still stuck to me.
“Agreed, Nectar,” Great Apple said. “A loss of one is a loss for us all.”
“So what happened that night, two years ago to this day?” Granny Smith asked.
“They say a group of bandits came by, demanding that Cinch’s father give up their olives and their possessions,” Great Apple said. “When old stallion Cinch refused, they came back that night and torched the place.”
I’ll never forget what happened on that night. The words of Great Apple reminded me of the fire that swept up through the entire house, and how I had to run out the window to escape. Though I survived back then, the thought of losing my own folks brought me down like an emotional tidal wave. And had it not been for Princess Celestia, I would have been in a lot worse shape, or maybe share my family’s fate. But just thinking about what happened made my eyes water.
“Abby,” Fizzie said to me. “Are you alright?”
“No,” I cried. “These painful memories still flow within me.”
“Then it’s okay to cry,” Fizzie said as she wrapped her arm around me. “Sometimes we cry to help toughen us up, and to remind us that we still have a long way to go.”
The words that Fizzie told me weren’t a sign of weakness. They were a sign of strength. We cry to help us get over our pain. So I did exactly that and cried into her chest as loud as I could. I felt my tears roll down my cheek and onto Fizzie’s chest. But all she did was comfort me by rubbing the mane on my head.
“Don’t worry,” Fizzie said. “Until that day comes, I’m going to be with you. Promise.”
But my crying began to stop when I heard the sound of wings flapping. I turned around and looked up to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna fly down from the sky and land right next to us. Great Apple looked up at the two alicorn princesses, took off his hat and bowed.
“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna,” Great Apple said. “I didn’t expect you both to come by.”
“Well we weren’t either,” Princess Celestia said in an energetic tone. “But for some reason, our meeting with Chancellor Creme Dream went faster than usual.”
“That’s saying a lot since we don’t care for politics,” Princess Luna said as she and Celestia landed their hooves on the ground.
“True,” Princess Celestia replied. “In fact, if I had things my way, I would step down from my position and open an orphanage.”
Back when I was young, I was too naive to understand the whole purpose of politics, nor did I care enough for it. But I was still glad to see Princess Celestia show up back when I once called her mommy. Her presence always filled my heart and melted away my worries. So the moment I saw her land in front, I ran up to her and gave her a big hug.
“Mommy,” I said as I had my arms wrapped around her leg. “I’m hoping you won’t be mad at me.”
“Now why would I?” Celestia giggled. “After all, you did say you were going to pay your respects to your family today, and I wanted to give you the chance to do so.”
“Princess,” Fizzie said as she walked from the memorial to the both of us. “Even back when we adopted my little sister, I still couldn’t understand why bandits would want to set the house on fire and traumatize little Abby here. She did nothing wrong.”
Though Fizzlepop was Celestia’s adopted daughter, she referred to her as Princess out of a deep respect. It was something I couldn’t understand why.
“It’s something that has still puzzled me for two years,” Princess Celestai replied. “As horrible as the incident was, we still haven’t found out the motive behind that senseless attack.”
I was hoping Princess Celestia would have the answers. But I was disappointed to find out. My fear started to churn back up over her words, which caught Celestia’s eyes in almost an instant.
“But don’t you worry, little Abby,” Princess Celestia said. “We’ll find out who did this, and we will bring them to justice.”
I cracked a little smile as Princess Celestia slowly lifted her arms from me. Fizzie walked up to help me walk a few steps away from the memorial, all while Great and Nectar Apple looked up at the carving of my late family.
“You know what’s horrible about this madness?” Great Apple asked as he looked up at the monument with a tear in his eye.
“I do,” Nectar Apple said. “These punks have been at it for more than ten years. No matter how many guards we hire, how many defenses we have in Harvestia, and how many of us fight back, they always seem to come back for more. It’s like a never-ending fight.”
“And the worst part about it is that they don’t even try to steal our harvest,” Great Apple said. “They want to destroy everything that we hold dear. Our food, our livelihood, everything.”
Nectar Apple stood by her big brother, observing the memorial of my late family while Fizzie and I observed next to Celestia and Luna. Though their voices were a bit quiet, I could overhear Nectar saying “No matter what happens, we need to keep Harvestia protected from these vicious bandits. If we fail, Equestria could fall into a food shortage.”
I have heard about the food shortages that have occurred throughout the legacy of Equestria. The bandits that have been attacking Harvestia are only a small sample of the various famines that have enveloped our history. It did make me worry a bit, as I imagined an Equestria under a food shortage. But Fizzie stood beside me, putting her arm around behind my back.
“Don’t you worry, little Abby,” Fizzie said to me.
“Fizzie?” I said in confusion.
“I’m not going to let any food shortage get in between our sisterhood,” Fizzie replied. “Nor am I going to let those bandits take you away.”
“Really?” I replied.
“Promise,” Fizzie replied. “As long as I’m by your side, nothing will bring us down.”
I stood by Fizzlepop Berrytwist, embracing her warm hug with a comforting smile. But just as my mind was about to drift off into a positive trance, my ears picked up something horrible, like the sound of hooves running through dirt at a brisk pace. This also alerted Princess Celestia, who turned her head towards the horizon.
“They’re coming,” Princess Celestia said with an alarmed tone, which alerted Great and Nectar Apple.
“The Bandits,” Great Apple said in a cold tone. “They want to destroy Harvestia.”
Princess Luna immediately walked up to Fizzie and I with her wings extended out. Judging by the look on her face, I knew what was going to be done.
“Fizzie, Abby,” Luna said to the both of us. “Get on my back. I’ll get you both back to the castle.”
Luna turned around and sat down, allowing FIzzie to get up on her back. But just as I was about to get up, Celestia put her hoof on my shoulder.
“Be very careful,” Princess Celestia said to me. “The Bandits may not be powerful, but they are crafty.”
I nodded to Princess Celestia as I jumped onto Luna’s back. Luna flapped her wings and began to fly up from Harvestia while Celestia, Great Apple, Nectar Apple, a number of villagers and guards marched up towards the front of the village and stood ready.
“Sister was wise to bring in the calvary to ward off this invasion,” Princess Luna said.
“Do you think they’ll hold them back?” I asked, having remembered what happened two years ago to that day.
“They will,” Princess Luna said. “Those bandits are no match for the best soldiers in Equestrian History.”
From atop Luna’s back in the sky, I looked down at the soldiers and villagers that stood by Princess Celestia, Great Apple and Nectar Apple. It was the first time that I saw an acting army in person, and I felt like I had some confidence in them.
“Wow,” I said, amazed by how dedicated they were to defending their village. “I have never seen this many ponies fight.”
“As long as they defend the town to their very core,” Fizzie said to me. “They won’t let this village fall, and nothing bad will happen to us.”
But as Luna was about to fly away from Harvestia, she looked over the horizon at the bandits galloping towards the village. Though the invaders were small in numbers, they had something ferocious right behind them. A giant bear-like creature ran by their side towards the village. I turned my head towards Princess Luna, who’s pupils shrunk down in complete fear.
“AN URSA MAJOR!” Luna screamed in total panic. “I NEED TO GET YOU BOTH OUT.”
Luna immediately turned towards Canterlot and began to fly as fast as possible. Fizzie and I held on for dear life while Luna dashed through the air as fast as possible.
“What’s an Ursa Major?” I asked.
“A bear-like creature whose presence reflects the Polaris North Star,” Luna said. “They are docile. But some ponies tend to raise them to be vicious attack dogs. And judging by that Ursa Major marching towards the town, I’d say someone decided to turn it into a rampaging war beast. ”
I did not like what Luna said about the Ursa Major, and neither did Fizzie. We held on for dear life as Luna flew us far away from the village, all while we saw Princess Celestia, Great Apple, Nectar Apple, the villagers and the guards brace for the advancement of the bandits and the Ursa Major.
“Aunt Luna,” I said. “Has Princess Celestia ever faced down an Ursa Major?”
“Unfortunately yes,” Luna replied. “There was that one time where Princess Celestia had to put down an Ursa Major after the Windigo’s Guild used it as an attack dog. And judging by what’s going down, I fear she may have to do so again.”
I wanted to bury my face into Luna’s mane. But my eyes were focused on that Ursa Major making its way towards Harvestia. Nearby, Princess Celestia, the guards and villagers held their ground as the bandits advanced, armed with weapons and lit torches. Celestia leaped over the barbaric invaders and held her ground against the Ursa Major, using her magic to hold that beast back as it lashed out with its claws.
“Don’t look, Abby,” Fizzie said as she shielded my eyes. “Whatever you do, keep your eyes away from the fighting down there. I don’t want you to be traumatized even further.”
Though my eyes were covered, I did exactly as she said as I allowed Fizzie to hold my face to her chest. I wanted to keep my face buried in her fur all while we both held onto Princess Luna. My ears picked up the fighting going on down below in the town, from the clashing of metal to the burning crackles of fire. But when I heard the roar of the Ursa Major, I buried my head deeper into Fizzie’s chest and covered my ears.
“Hang on,” Luna yelled. “The sooner we get back to Canterlot, the safer you both will be.”
I kept my focus on Luna’s voice and wings as I kept my face buried in Fizzie’s chest. I kept my eyes shut completely tight as Fizzie held onto me. But without a warning, Fizzie and I were violently knocked off of Luna. Somehow, a blast of magic came out of nowhere and hit us when we least expect it. Fizzie lost her grip on me as I fell down towards the forest below me, with Luna and Fizzie right above me. I screamed in terror at the horror of it all, catching the attention of my older sister.
“I’M COMING FOR YOU, ABBY,” Fizzie yelled as she inched closer to me. “HANG ON!”
Try as I might, I couldn’t even reach the tip of her hoof, let alone grab onto it. Fizzie descended closer towards me as I reached out with every inch of my body, hoping to grab her. But just as I was about to grab her arm, something swooped out of the sky and grabbed Fizzie and I, slowing our fall towards the forest. I looked up, and there was Princess Luna. She had grabbed both me and my sister and held us in her arms.
“Are you both alright?” Luna yelled.
I was about to say something when I noticed her right wing. It was badly bruised from the impact of a magical blast.
“What happened, Aunt Luna?” I asked.
“Something hit me when I was flying you two back to the castle,” Luna said. “All I can do is to slow your fall.”
We held onto Luna tightly as the Princess of the Moon descended into the forest. But the moment Luna landed on a thick tree branch, Fizzie and I lost our grip and fell downward from the Alicorn, and we both yelled until we landed into a bush, cushioning our fall from the sky.
“Abby,” Fizzie said as she got out of the bush and shook the leaves from her mane. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I said with my mane now covered in leaves and tree branches.
The moment I got out of the bush, I looked up to see Princess Luna still stuck up in the trees. She was covered in vines and struggled to break free, screaming for help. I was about to yell up to her when I overheard a horrifying roar.
“Oh no,” I said as I cowered in fear. “That can’t be good.”
Fizzie and I turned to our right to see the Ursa Major staring down at the both of us. Its teeth and claws were razor sharp, and its eyes glowed a crimson red. I stared at that giant bear, too afraid to even move an inch.
“Fizzie, Abby,” Luna yelled, snapping me out of my trance. “RUN NOW! SAVE YOURSELVES!”
Without a second thought, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and I turned tail and ran the opposite path, with the Ursa Major chasing after us. We ran through the forest as fast as possible, hoping to escape the jaws of this giant beast.
“KEEP RUNNING, SIS,” Fizzie yelled to me. “WE CAN’T LET HER GET TO US!”
I said nothing as I continued to run through the vicinity of the forest, dodging trees left and right as that giant bear ran through, knocking down every tree in its path. Though we were ahead of the Ursa Major, we saw some of the trees fall near us, showcasing a testament of its brute strength. It was enough to startle me, but not to cause me to stop running.
“I wish we were back at the castle,” I chanted repeatedly as I kept running.
I quickly jumped onto a dead tree branch in hopes of staying by my sister. But the moment I did, another tree landed right on the opposite end of the branch, sending me flying away from Fizzie.
“ABBY!” Fizzie yelled as she watched helplessly.
I landed nearby in an open part of the forest, twenty feet away from Fizzlepop Berrytwist. The sound I made when I landed caught the attention of the Ursa Major, who made a beeline towards me. Without a second through, I got back up and made a run for it.
The beast continued to chase me throughout the forest as I ran as fast as I could. I didn’t even bother to look behind me, knowing what was chasing after me. Trees continued to fall with every step the Ursa Major took as it inched closer to me.
I saw a light at the end of the forest. And I knew it was a way out into the valley. So with all of my strength, I ran as fast as possible, hoping that where I was going would be either a group of ponies awaiting my rescue, or even Princess Celestia who was made aware of what happened.
But when I reached the end of the light, I came to a complete stop. There were no ponies at the end. In fact, where I reached was the end of the line. A cliff was directly in front of me, positioned right next to the top of a waterfall. Below the waterfall was a powerful river waiting to swallow up any unlucky younglings who would be foolish to jump.
I turned around and made my way back, only to stop instantly. The Ursa Major stood in front of me as saliva poured from its teeth. I backed up all the way to the cliff, completely helpless and at the mercy of the giant beast. I tried to yell, but I was too afraid to even do just that. The Ursa Major inched closer towards me as my fate was to be a filly fricassee to that creature.
“ABBY!” My ears picked up the voice of a familiar sister. I turned to my right to see Fizzlepop Berrytwist run out from another part of the forest and towards me and the Ursa. She continued to yell as much as possible, making it look like it was trying to attract the bear. But it was laser focused on me, ignoring the loud voice of my older sister. I shifted my eyes from Fizzie back to the Ursa Major, who looked like she was about to swing her paw back.
All I could do was to duck down and cover my face, assuming the worst that would happen. Thoughts about my family, my sister, and both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna flowed into my head, as I was about to face my fate. But suddenly, I heard the sound of Fizzie screaming in pain. I looked up, and saw Fizzlepop Berrytwist take the blow of the Ursa Major’s attack. She had somehow ran up and defended herself from the beast’s attack.
But I was also in shock. The tip of her horn broke off and landed next to me as Fizzlepop Berrytwist was knocked off the cliff and fell into the river. I screamed out her name as she disappeared into the waters below.
“Fizzie,” I cried. “Please be okay. Please don’t leave me like this.”
I was so shocked by what my sister did, that I did not pay attention to the Ursa Major behind me, who was about to hit me with her paw. But before she did, a blast of magic hit the Ursa Major and sent her flying right into the forest, knocking her out and catching my attention. I looked to the right and saw Princess Celestia marching towards the beast with her horn glowing brightly, saying completely nothing.
“MOMMY!” I yelled out, catching Celestia’s attention as she ran up to me.
“Abby,” Celestia said. “Where’s Fizzie?”
WIthout a second thought, I pointed to the river below. Celestia’s face turned pale white as she immediately flew down into the cliffside.
I looked down and saw Fizzlepop Berrytwist’s horn piece that landed next to me. I picked it up and looked right at it as tears flowed from my eyes.
“Fizzie,” I said, holding the horn. “Please be alright. Please be okay.”
I stared at the horn for what felt like hours when Princess Celestia flew up next to me. I looked up at her face and noticed something was wrong with her.
“I’m sorry, Abby,” Celestia said to me. “I couldn’t find her.”
I struggled not to cry. But I couldn’t hold it in. I grabbed onto Celestia and cried right into her, holding the horn piece of Fizzlepop Berrytwist. I couldn’t believe that she was dead, but I had lost my adopted sister, two years after losing my original family. The emotional wounds that I carried with me had grown worse on that day.
Later that day, Celestia walked me back to Harvestia, or rather what’s left of it. The entire village was razed to the ground and most of the crops were burned completely. Great Apple and Nectar Apple looked down and cried at the destruction of their crop, while Granny Smith dug around to find any surviving plants. Even the monument dedicated to my family was destroyed as well.
To make things worse, there was Princess Luna, with her wing all bandaged up and her pride struck down. She looked down at me and smiled a bit, only for her smile to disappear.
“What happened here?” I asked.
“The bandits didn’t just come with an Ursa Major,” Celestia said to me. “They came fully prepared with weapons of war. Some of our troops and a few villagers didn’t make it. Harvestia is no more.”
Princess Luna nudged at Great Apple, who approached me with Nectar Apple and Granny Smith. I looked up at Great Apple’s face as he saw me right next to Princess Celestia.
“Is it true?” Great Apple asked. “Is Fizzie gone?”
A tear fell from my eye as I said “Yes. She’s gone.”
“Then our worst fears have come true,” Nectar Apple said. “Not only have those bandits destroyed Harvestia, but they have claimed the life of one of Princess Celestia’s daughters.”
“Daddy,” Granny Smith said. “What are we going to do now?”
Great Apple took off his hat and held it to his chest. He looked at his sister and said “When I said I wanted to take it easy, it was to be a free and easy life, with a lot of hard work to help feed the ponies of Equestria. But with Harvestia gone, I don’t know if we should stay here anymore. Even if the Apple Family has been here for hundreds of years.”
“Considering that you lost your own wife long ago, Great Apple,” Nectar Apple said. “I agree. Those bandits have gone too far this time. To be armed to the teeth and to sic an Ursa Major on us just to destroy what we all treasure. We cannot stay here for our own safety.”
“Come on, Granny Smith,” Great Apple said, turning his head towards his daughter. “Let’s find whatever is left of our supplies, pack up and find some new place to settle down.”
As I watched the three members of the Apple walk off, Granny Smith turned around and looked at me. She ran up and gave me a hug, all while I heard her cry.
“I’m terribly sorry that you had to lose so much,” Granny Smith said, as I held onto her.
I said nothing as I let Granny Smith cry into me. I’ve barely known her since that day, and to see her leave Harvestia because of the bandit attack just dug into me. It was like losing another sister. But as I reflected on losing Fizzlepop Berrytwist and having to watch Granny Smith move out, I felt a warm touch on my shoulder. I looked up to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna look down at me with a comforting smile.
“Abacus Cinch,” Celestia said to me. “No matter what happens, I will remain by your side and help you get through this pain. Never forget that.”
I said nothing as Princess Celestia reached over and gave me and Granny a hug. Tears flowed from my eyes, having been through what was now another worse day in my life. Two years ago to that day, I lost a whole family to those bandits, and now two years later, I lost a sister, and a whole village to those monsters. It would take a long time for me to recover from those wounds and grow up to be the Chancellor of Equestria.
To Be Continued in
A Chancellor’s Revelation