Plantation awoke with a scream; what little of one she could manage, at least. Her throat was ferociously dry, she had a tight feeling in her chest.
A mare who was sitting next to the bed looked at her, and gave her a weak smile. "Ah… Good morning, Princess," She greeted softly.
Plantation gaped and weakly pointed in the direction of the bowl of water on the nightstand, blinking her eyes to try and wet them.
The mare gently lifted the bowl and brought it to the panicking filly's lips, "There you are… Fresh water, for our fresh Princess," The mare said, voice warm.
Plantation gulped the water down needily. It was cool, and most importantly, a source of moisture. Her body nearly threw up the water at first; it was as if it had no idea what it was doing.
Plantation did eventually get the entire bowl of water down.
She flinched as the mare gently stroked her mane, "There you are, dear… Do you want some more to drink?" The mare asked.
Plantation nodded weakly, "Y-yes…" She heaved weakly.
The mare nodded, pouring some more water into the bowl and once again offering it to Plantation.
Some strength returning to her, Plantation shakily took the bowl, tipping it up and hastily gulping the contents.
"Ah, not so fast, young one… You'll get hiccups," The mare said gently.
Plantation nodded a little, horn igniting as she settled the bowl back on the bedside. Her focus shifted to the half empty jug of water; she magicked it to her lips and began guzzling it in large swigs, panting lightly.
The mare smiled gently, stepping away and setting some more wood in the fireplace. "The doctor will be pleased; only a few minutes awake, and you're already very strong," She said softly.
"Who's the doctor?" Plantation asked weakly. The last time she'd seen a doctor, it was because she was very, very sick… And the prognosis wasn't very positive.
The earth pony mare walked back over, "Doctor Thanamus," She explained, "He's the one who healed you."
Plantation blinked, "Because I was sick?" She asked.
The mare nodded, "Yes, Princess," She replied.
Plantation coughed lightly and set the jug down; she had already drank most of it.
When she coughed, she felt a strange sensation on her back…
Two warm mahogany wings stretched a short distance from her back. She turned to look at them. "W-wings? But I'm a unicorn…" She stammered softly.
The mare smiled warmly at her, "You're an alicorn, now," She explained, gently helping Plantation out of bed, "Come, let us show you to the doctor; he will be thrilled."
Plantation simply nodded, wings folding back to her side. It was a strange feeling… Especially because it came so naturally to her.
"What's your name, miss?" Plantation asked as she was led down a cold stone hallway.
"My name is Heartful Surrogate, Princess; I'll be in charge of taking care of you from now on," She explained, "At least when the doctor isn't helping you train."
Plantation nodded a little, "Okay," She replied softly.
Plantation looked around as she was led into an office full of large books.
A unicorn spun to face her; he had a white coat, with a spiked back black mane, his chest covered in small red smears.
"The Princess is awake, Doctor," Heartful said softly, gently pushing Plantation forward.
"Ah, excellent," The doctor smiled and approached Plantation. He towered over her; though his frame wasn't imposing, there was something about the crooked way he stood, as if he were always preparing to lunge at her. Plantation shrank slightly on her hooves.
"Good morning, dear girl," He greeted, a crooked smile still all over his face, "I take you had a good rest?" He asks, laughing to himself, "You must have slept like a corpse!" He laughed more.
Plantation cowered slightly from the loud, laughing stallion before her.
"Oh, come now; don't be such a foal. You are a princess, now; and princesses need to be strong in the face of someone imposing," He sneered.
This did not encourage any more confidence from Plantation.
"Now, first things first: You are a princess, and you need a more fitting name. You will be Gustopha from now on," He christened.
The filly looked confused, "G-Gustopha?" She asked.
The doctor nodded, "Yes; because you will bring a great gusto back to our lands. Prophetic, is it not?" He asked.
Princess Gustopha nodded slowly, "Y-yes Doctor," She replied softly, taking the name as her own.
"Now, I'm sure Heartful Surrogate has already introduced herself, yes?" Doctor Thanamus asked.
Gustopha nodded. "She did," She replied.
The doctor smiled and waved Heartful away, "Good; you are dismissed for now, Heartful. I will be taking care of the new Princess today," He explained.
Heartful nodded, giving Gustopha a gentle pat on the head, "Take care, Princess," She bade softly, leaving the room.
The door was locked as Heartful left, Gustopha squeaking slightly from the hard thunk of the deadbolt locking.
"Now," The doctor began, magicking over a large book, a pot of soil, and a single seed over to them, setting the three items before the confused Princess, "You are to be a princess of the land; to rejuvenate the earth salted by war," He explained, "So, you will scour this book, front to back, and you will only leave this room for food once this seed has been grown into a flower. Do you understand?"
Gustopha blinked, "W-wouldn't that be a job suited for an earth pony?" She asked softly; not a haughty way, of course. That was simply what she had been taught.
"We are out of time for the mud ponies to scrape together what little magic their bodies don't expend on strength," Dr. Thanamus sneered, "It will be your job to heal the earth that is too poisoned for them to cultivate."
Gustopha winced slightly at the doctor's harsh tone. She opened the book and began to read it, hoping his words would not be followed by action.
The doctor thankfully just smiled and sat back at his desk, allowing the confused filly to complete her task.
It was a very opaque book; highly advanced information about what plants needed to grow. Chemicals she'd never heard of before suddenly clicked in her head.
Her horn illuminated as she began to work at the composition; she had to dowse for what was already in the soil, first, of course, but then it became clear as she kept reading. It had been salted; extremely heavily, no less.
The soil glistened lightly as it was slowly altered and tilled; the filly expected her magic to give out, but it came easily. Heartful had been right; she already was "so strong". It scared the alicorn a bit.
She looked at the soil one more time after a few moments.
She then gingerly picked up the seed, lightly tucking it in a fold of what should've now been loamy, fertile earth.
She squeaked a bit as the plant sprang forth in a matter of minutes. A thin, green stem, spreading into leaves. She carefully lifted the pot and brought it to the sill, so the young plant could bask in the fresh glow of the afternoon sun.
"D-Doctor, the plant is growing," She said softly.
The doctor turned to her and observed the now blooming flower closely. "Very good," He said contently, "You have exceeded my expectations; perhaps you will do, after all. How do you feel?" He asked.
"I-I'm m-mostly confused," Gustopha admitted.
She squeaked as he stamped his hoof before her. "I do not care about your emotions, filly! Your body; is it weak? Do you feel a draft anywhere?" He asked harshly.
Gustopha shook her head, "N-no, Doctor… I do not feel weak or drafty," She answered weakly.
The doctor nodded, and the door unlocked with a pair of heavy thunks. "Good. Now, go see Rolling Simmer in the kitchen, on the other end of this hallway. You will eat, and then return to your room to rest," He instructs.
Gustopha nodded, carefully trotting out of the room.
Gustopha walked down the long hall, shivering a bit. It would be a long walk… But she had wings, didn't know how to fly… Then again, she didn't know how to grow plants, either, and yet she knew how to fix the soil only after briefly reading the book.
She picked up her pace in a gallop and took a deep breath in, wings flaring. She then took a hop, and tried flapping…
She looked as the ground slowly fell away from her. Hard flaps at first; but then she allowed her small wings to carry her a bit longer. Then she flapped more. "I-I'm doing it!" She exclaimed excitedly.
Then she hit her head on the ceiling, and tumbled to the ground, squeaking as she rolled along the hard stone.
She groaned softly and rubbed her head. "Ow… Okay, falling hurts," She whined, standing up hesitantly and shaking herself off.
She walked the rest of the way to the kitchen, stumbling a little on her hooves. Her one leg felt strange, though she couldn't quite figure out why.
She pushed open the door to the kitchen, watching as it swung shut behind her.
The kitchen was a strange place. Large vats of nice smelling liquids bubbled over large lines of fire. It was unlike anything the filly had ever seen before.
A flustered-looking unicorn, who Gustopha assumed was Rolling Simmer, dove over to her, "G-good morning, Princess!" Rolling Simmer stammered, "The Doctor told me you were in order for something special this morning."
Gustopha squeaked a little. She was still unused to being referred to as "Princess". It wasn't an unwelcome title, however; it made her feel a little special.
"U-um… Yes?" She replied unsurely.
The pegasus nodded, "Alright, I-I'll cook you something right up; come with me," She said, darting off.
Gustopha followed the pegasus to a large wooden table, hopping up with some effort.
"A-alright, just s-stay there, I'll get you something nice a-and yummy," Rolling Simmer stumbled, patting Gustopha a little hard on the head before darting off again.
"What a strange mare… I hope I don't get that strange when I grow up," She mumbled.
She squeaked as a meal was brought to her in parts; a very large plate of rice porridge, some sliced vegetables, and something… Very unusual. It was a deep brown brick of some kind of material, with light char marks on either side. She sniffed it… It was a slightly metallic, unusual scent.
Then, a large glass of a deep purple fluid.
Rolling Simmer panted, "Th-the doc says you need to drink every last drop of the purple stuff; and don't skimp on y-your mea- uh, protein! Doc says you're a growing Princess; you need all the compact nutrition you can get," She explained.
Gustopha's ear twitched. She poked the brown slab with a fork. "Wh-what is this?" She asked, trying to pinpoint the smell.
"House specialty, don'tcha worry! I-it's, y'know, c-cooked all the way through," Rolling replied, patting the girl's back. "O-okay, gotta run! You eat up! Holler for seconds!" Rolling Simmer darted back into the turbulent field of cookware, leaving Princess Gustopha to ponder her meal.
Gustopha magicked her utensils up; a fork like any other, and a very large knife with what looked like teeth. She ate some of the porridge, first; it was actually quite tasty, despite being… Well, porridge. The vegetables were also quite nice, and she finished them before moving onto the enigmatic brown hunk.
She cut into it. It leaked thin brown juice. It took some effort to cut a proper piece off, but Gustopha managed with her newly empowered magic, and took a bite.
It was tough, and fought her teeth as she chewed. The taste reminded her of the time she had cut her lip and licked the subsequent bleeding wound; sweet, and somewhat metallic. For as unusual as it was, her body decided it didn't oppose another bite. Then another. Before she knew it, she'd eaten the entire slab of sinewy brown material. It sat like a rock in her stomach; but not in a necessarily bad way. She felt full.
Gustopha then finished the porridge, washing her meal down with the purple drink before her. A cloyingly sweet taste caught her off-guard; she had assumed it was a potion of some kind, and expected it to taste foul, like the awful cure-alls the doctors had attempted to give her before she… Fell asleep? She didn't really understand what happened before she "woke up", as the doctor had put it.
She coughed lightly and set the now empty glass down. She shivered; a wave of light aching washed over her body.
Rolling Simmer would dart over to the Princess' side. "Still h-hungry, Princess? I have a-a pot full of porridge if you need more!" She offered.
Gustopha shook her head, "I-I'm full, thank you," She replied softly.
"Alright, off to bed with y-you, th-then," Rolling simmer said, grabbing up the dishes, "You say h-hi to Heartful n-now, will you?" She requested.
The young princess nodded and hopped down from the chair, trotting back through the kitchen towards her room. Her body ached in protest at the movement, but she managed to force herself to her room, where Heartful Surrogate was diligently coming the carpet with a stiff brush.
Heartful looked up at the princess gently, "Ah, there you are. Did you have a good lunch, Princess?" She asked.
Gustopha nodded and yawned, "I did," She replied softly, horn drawing the covers back as she crawled into bed.
Heartful gently rubbed the tired filly's mane. "Have a good sleep, Princess… You will need your rest," She expressed.
Gustopha wanted to ask what Heartful meant by that, but was cut off by another yawn, before sleep claimed her.
"Doctor, isn't there anything we can do?" Asked Plantation's mother.
"Ma'am, every other pony who's eaten blighted crops has fallen deathly ill," The doctor replied, "I believe all you can do is, well… Make peace with her before it's too late."
Plantation's mother began to sob, "O-oh, my dear, sweet filly… Why must this war claim her and not me?" She asked.
The doctor sighed softly, "It has claimed plenty, ma'am. You need to remain strong for her… Even once she is no longer here."
Gustopha squirmed a bit as she awoke, stretching her aching muscles.
Once again, Heartful Surrogate was posted dutifully next to her bed. Her presence comforted Gustopha, if only barely, considering the muscle aches.
"Good evening, Princess," Heartful greeted gently, rubbing the princess' head.
Gustopha slowly blinked her eyes open, leaning into the mare's gentle hoof, "G-good evening, Heartful," She replied softly.
As if on cue, Dr. Thanamus walked in. "Unhoof the princess, Heartful," The doctor sneered, "You are to take care of her; not coddle her like an infant."
Gustopha crawled out of bed and sat before the doctor, wiping her eyes.
Dr. Thanamus eyed her over, examining her chest and wings. The doctor's roughness did not ease her aches and pains, and she winced as he manually pulled out each wing. "...And no signs of necrosis, good," She heard him murmur, "You are a strong child, Gustopha. This is good; you will need this strength. Come with me," He ordered, leaving the room.
Gustopha gave Heartful a curt, "Goodbye," And followed the doctor out into the hallway.
The doctor led her outside, to the front of the doctor's abode. "Now," He began, "You demonstrated aptitude for the task of repairing soil, and your body has taken to its new power well. So, for your next test, you will mend this," He stamped his hoof against the side of a large stone basin, filled with dirt, "Planter box."
Princess Gustopha nodded slowly. It was a simple enough task; bigger, yes, but the doctor seemed to have faith in her capacities.
Then, the doctor gestured to several vagrants sitting near the end of the stone path. "Your task is to sow the hay on the side of the planter, so it grows here. If you fail, the starving vagrants will continue to starve, until they are too weak to move, or prolong their own existence."
Gustopha froze. "Th-they'll die if I fail?" She asked nervously.
The doctor nodded, "Not certainly and immediately, but yes. However, I'm sure you won't fail me," He said, smiling at her. It was that crooked, malignant smile again. The smile of someone who wanted to hurt her.
Gustopha shivered and looked at the planter box, avoiding the doctor's gaze.
She lightly touched her horn to the soil… More salt, and now a mix of blight and ash. There were already some nutrients here, but with the blight, she'd have a lot of soil cleaning to do.
It slowly clicked in her head, and a glow began to illuminate the subsurface of the dirt; faint shimmering cracks formed as Gustopha's influence spread along it.
The doctor smiled, "Yes, that's it, Gustopha. Heal the land… Bring life back to our once-great world!" He cried, voice raising to a maniacal tone.
Gustopha didn't like his voice. It was scary. She just tuned it out, focusing on her work. The salt faded away, converting easily into the nutrients the ground needed; but the blight persisted.
She pulled away with a wince, the light of her influence fizzling out. She coughed hard. The creeping feeling of illness seeped into her hooves.
"Why did you stop, filly?" He sneers.
"...The land is blighted," Gustopha wheezed, "I don't know the right spell."
The doctor snorted in annoyance, but poofed away in a blink of light. Gustopha stared at the land.
Then, another flash. A large book was set before her.
"Then you will learn the spell, and cure the blight. The sun won't remain up forever, Gustopha; Celestia's will weakens every hour," He instructs.
Gustopha shivered. Celestia? Princess Celestia? Her will was weakening? That was an uncomfortable thought; even though she didn't entirely understand what said thought was.
Regardless, Gustopha leafed through the book. She needed a way to purge the blight, both from herself and the soil. She found what seemed to be the right passage.
She touched her horn to the dirt again, spreading her influence through it. She focused hard. She could feel the blight now creeping through the dirt… And into her instead.
Black and green bruises crept along her mahogany brown fur. Then, her eyes opened, and her horn flashed a blinding light.
She panted softly. The oozing wounds were gone, and when she dowsed the soil, she felt nothing. The blight was gone, replaced with rich, nutritious soil.
Carefully, Gustopha tilled some of the plucked hay seeds into the dirt, and waited.
The hay did not take as readily as the potted plant had; the dirt was clean and nutritious, but it wasn't as high a quality as the carefully moderated sample.
But, in the waning sunlight, the hay did grow. It sprouted small, green strands, which then climbed some feet into the sky.
She planted more hay, and watched it grow. The doctor grinned in delight. "That's it, Gustopha. You make me proud," He said, "I can see it in your eyes; you will heal this land. Now go, bring your subjects to food," He instructed, pointing to the starving ponies at the end of the way.
Gustopha nodded.
Carefully, Gustopha walked to what seemed to be a family of five. "E-excuse me," She stammered softly, "There's some fresh hay in the planter box there," She explained.
A couple of the ponies looked up at her. A mother nudged her colt in the direction of the hay, "Go eat, little one," She requested.
Gustopha took gentle care to lead the family to the box. It took some effort, but she eventually got them to graze.
The townsponies ate hungrily; one planter box shouldn't have been able to feed a family, but in fairness, it was a large planter box, and fresh hay began growing from the earth as soon as the first crop was uprooted by hungry mouths.
"Thank you," Said one of them; a stallion, "You have saved my family," He expressed with pleading eyes.
The doctor glared at him, "You will bow when you address Princess Gustopha," Dr. Thanamus instructs sternly, "She could just as easily feed some other family; there's no shortage of starving ponies," He sneered.
The stallion's ears flattened, and he bowed, "Th-thank you, Princess!" He chirped nervously.
A few of the other ponies followed suit.
It was praise! Genuine praise! Yet, Gustopha felt awful. These ponies shouldn't be praising her just for being allowed to feed.
The young princess just softly said, "You're welcome."
Dr. Thanamus sneered. "Now, are you tired, Princess?" He asked.
"Yes," Gustopha admitted, "The blight spell uses a lot of magic."
Dr. Thanamus huffed in annoyance. "Very well. You come inside, and we will feed you. I will be ensuring your magic is thoroughly trained from here on out," He stated, walking back inside the old fort, magicking the spellbook along beside him.
Gustopha nodded and followed him, tail drooping slightly. She felt the light headache of magic exhaustion come on; it joined the cacophony of other pains she was in.
She looked around Dr. Thanamus' office as she was brought inside. Once again, the door was locked. The book was returned to its shelf, and the doctor turned to the filly.
She watched him approach, cowering slightly. There was something about the look in his eyes… Childish glee, layered carefully over malice.
"Stand up straight, Gustopha," He ordered with a slight sneer.
Gustopha hesitated, but obliged as he stamped his hoof impatiently. She flinched at the sharp crack.
The doctor then went about examining her, roughly twisting her limbs in uncomfortable directions to get a better look.
She watched a sickening smile flicker across his face. It made her uncomfortable. "Yes, yes, you are already very well-healed," He said gleefully, "A fine young filly… A suitable one."
Gustopha squeaked as he began to laugh maniacally, "Look at me now, beast of the moon!" The doctor cackles, "From the death you bring, I wrench forth our strongest warrior! Look upon her and see your own shallow victory crumble in your grasp!" He laughs loudly; a deranged, maniacal cackle.
Gustopha cowered in the corner. His loud, unhinged rambling frightened her.
Then he darted to her, taking her hooves with his own, "Did you hear that, Gustopha? You will be our champion; the one we finally need to win this war once and for all," He expresses.
Gustopha whimpered nervously. His gaze felt like a thousand needles being driven into her; parasites, burling into her flesh.
The doctor seemed dissatisfied at her lack of response. "Bah! Who am I kidding? You are still a child. You do not understand the power you hold in your horn, now. To the kitchen with you! Feast and grow strong!" The doctor bellowed, his horn igniting.
Gustopha squeaked as a flash enveloped her. She wound up on the floor of the kitchen. She shook her head off, groaning as the sparkles of teleportation dizziness receded from her peripheral vision.
She looked around, "H-hello?" She squeaked.
A familiar pegasus darted to her side, "Evening, Princess! I-I heard you had a big night tonight! Doc w-wants me to s-stuff you silly!" Rolling Simmer said.
Gustopha nodded a little, allowing Rolling Simmer to lead her to the table.
"Y-you want something special? I have the usual goods to give you, b-but the D-Doc said I could treat y-you with something sweet," Rolling said.
Gustopha nodded, "Th-that sounds nice, thank you," She said gently.
Gustopha watched the pegasus dart off into the kitchen. After the experience with the doctor, Gustopha understood the cook's skittishness… She wondered if the doctor had tried to hurt her.
Slowly, plates were brought; much more food than earlier. Two slabs of the strange brown substance, then a large bowl of porridge. Then, a tray of steamed veggies. Then two glasses of the thin, purple drink. Then, lastly, a curious bowl of fried, flaked corn, sprinkled with some icing sugar and milk.
"H-here you go! Doc wants all of that gone b-before I send you off to go do some more studying," Rolling Simmer stated.
Gustopha nodded. It was a daunting meal… She took it slow and steady, however. Spoonful after spoonful of porridge, then some veggies, then a few cuts of the strange slabs of brown. She wanted to save the sugary treat until last; even if it did look good.
She drank her first glass of the purple drink after some time, then ate some more, then downed the second glass. She was surprised how easily the eating came to her; she had hardly felt hungry when she had first gotten to the table, but now consumed with wild abandon.
Then, she got to the bowl of sugared corn and milk. It tasted quite nice, even if it was unusual. She couldn't help but wonder why she was being fed so much when other ponies were starving. Though, it was her job to feed other ponies, so she didn't think about it too hard.
After eating, the young alicorn wiped her mouth and walked to the study; she had seen it on her first trip to the kitchen. It opposed her room; being on the side of the main entrance, closer to Dr. Thanamus' office.
Gustopha gently shut the study door behind her and sat before a lectern. Several books pertaining to agriculture and transmutation spells had been set next to it.
Gustopha levitated a book onto the stand and began to study.
What should have been a challenging read for such a young filly made a surprising amount of sense to the burgeoning princess.
"Is this part of being an alicorn?" She asked herself, "Do I learn faster?"
Gustopha shrugged. She did, however, notice a small flower in the corner of the library. It was a bit wilted.
She flipped through one of the books, finding a page on wilting, and her horn illuminated as she read.
The flower soon perked up, basking in the gentle shimmer of the alicorn's magic. Gustopha smiled. When she had a chance to quietly tend to plants of her own accord, it was kind of nice. She just wished she didn't have the weight of starving families slowly crawling onto her mind.
Gustopha yawned after some time. She was beginning to feel sleepy, and the aches no longer succeeded in keeping her from nodding off. The alicorn stood up and slunk to her bedroom, huffing gently in the cool night air.
As she lightly closed the door behind her, she saw Heartful Surrogate tending to a large, warm fire in the fireplace.
Gustopha plodded over and sat next to her, and yawnes gently.
Heartful gently smiled at her, "Did you have a good evening, Princess?" She asked gently.
Gustopha nodded, "I did… I cleaned one of the planters out front, and then Rolling Simmer made me a big dinner… Now I'm tired after studying," She admit, eyes closing as she enjoyed the heat of the flames.
Heartful Surrogate smiled, "Your first day of being a princess, and you're starting to make life better for everypony," She said, gently hugging Gustopha with a leg, "I'm very proud of you, even if I'm not your mother."
Gustopha nodded absently, "Why aren't you my mother? You take care of me and tuck me in like one," She asked, only somewhat lucid.
Heartful sighed a little, "The doctor doesn't want me getting attached to you… If you were to call me 'mother', I'm almost certain I'd have failed that notion," She admitted.
Gustopha bit her lip, "But… Isn't love and harmony the source of all magic?" She asked.
Heartful nuzzled her tenderly, "It is, dear… But the doctor is very particular about his patients. I promise you, dear, just because I'm not your mother doesn't mean I won't care for you," She insisted gently.
Gustopha nodded and yawned, leaning against the mare, "Okay, Heartful…" She replied tiredly.
Gustopha felt sleep creep into her again, feeling comfortable around the fire, and she leaned against her caretaker. She felt safe, and, despite what seemed to be the doctor's efforts, loved.
Heartful smiled gently as she heard the filly snore softly against her. "Oh, dear…" She murmured softly, helping the sleeping alicorn into bed.
"Mom… I don't feel so good," Plantation whined gently.
"Sweetie, what's wrong? You've been out in the field again, haven't you?" Her mother asked, gently rubbing the filly's head.
Plantation nodded and coughed a bit.
"Come on, sweetie… Let's get you to bed, okay?" Plantation's mother said, gently nuzzling her and leading her upstairs.