//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: Euchomai // Story: The Assumption of Applejack -or- Appletheosis // by Blue Print //------------------------------// Chapter Four: Euchomai An extremely angry Applejack toweled herself dry while a chagrined Princess Luna stuttered her apologies from the corner of the room. “We, I crave your pardon if I have committed a breach of privacy.” No answer. “If it makes a difference, most bath houses in my day were quite public.” Indistinct grumbling. “We merely desired to give thee our regards and ask how it felt to fly for the first time.” “Yes, well, Princess, however things were back then ya still don’t go bargin’ inta ponies’ houses, or bathrooms, without so much as a how d’ya do!” “We did knock.” “And then ya jest teleport in when ya get no reply?!” Luna had no answer for this. An awkward silence reigned while Applejack finished grooming herself. “Well? Y’all are welcome ta leave any time ya like.” “Please, Lady Applejack, don’t push me away. Our kind are so rare. I simply want to help… I’m sure thou must have many questions we could answer.” Applejack sighed, “A’right, you are a Princess. Ah guess y’all can stay and chat for a spell. Come on, Gran probably has sumthin’ on fer supper.” Luna perked up considerably at this. “Oh, lovely! We do enjoy thy family’s cooking. So much more like what we ate before our imprisonment than the strange dishes our sister’s chefs make now. Did we… I ever thank thee for catering our niece’s reception?” “Heh, not a fan a them gourmet chefs huh? Ah gotta say though, Ah never figured ya one fer down-home fare.” “Excuse me?” “Well, when y’all were like: The Night Shall Last Forever! An’ all tha thees ‘n’ thous thou puttest in thine speech. It all feels like y’all oughta be drinkin’ wine outa somepony’s skull an’ dinin’ on flowers that only bloom once in a hundred years or somethin’.” “We… I don’t fantasize about that anymore…” The princess looked away with a blush. *** Granny Smith, true to form, hadn’t batted an eye when told that one of the princesses was coming to dinner. She merely tossed another plate on the table and poured a bit of applesauce into her cobbler to stretch the portions. Seated across from each other, the two alicorns dwarfed the table. Big Mac hadn’t felt this small since he was a foal and poor Applebloom felt like she was a midget in a realm of giants. The last of the dishes were placed on the table and Granny Smith had taken her place at the head of the table. Turning to Luna she asked, “Since y’all are a guest, would ya like to offer grace?” “Grace?” “Yep, grace. Prayer to tha princesses? Y’all ain’t one a them godless heathens are ya?” she said with a suspicious glare. “N-no. Of course not. Um. Ok. Here I go. Dear princesses, we offer our thanks to Celestia and… me… for the bounty given… May our grace be upon us and, um, may thy sun and my moon watch over us all. Amare.” A chorus of amares followed this, with varying degrees of amusement and piety. “So, princess,” said AJ, “Y’all said ya wanted to know how it felt fer me ta fly?” “Yes, it was so very different, flying after I had changed. I know it was even more of a revelation for our sister, but she is so much older than I, I never got the chance to get her first impression of flight.” Something about the way that last sentence had been structured bothered AJ, but she chalked it down to Luna’s old-fashioned speech. “So, y’all weren’t born alicorns either?” “Neigh, I was a pegasus, and Celestia an unicorn.” Applebloom’s eyes went wide at this. “So, y’all’re sayin’ anypony can jest up an’ turn inta an alicorn?” Visions of the Cutie Mark Crusader Godhood Seekers danced in her head. Luna chuckled at the ambitious filly. “Neigh, little one. There are only a select few at any one time. A pony does not simply claim such power for themselves. One is chosen by Harmony and thrust into it. A princess’s duty is to preserve the balance of the world and to shape it.” Luna finished her little discourse with a meaningful glance at Applejack. Applejack returned her gaze neutrally. “Ah do plenty of shapin’ tha earth right here in mah orchard.” “That’s not what we meant and thou knowest it.” “Ah can’t rightly say Ah do.” “Applejack, there is a duty expected of thee. Thou art more than a mere mare and art destined for more as well.” Applejack simply shoveled a bit more of her dinner into her mouth, chewing noisily. “Applejack, we-“ “Luna. Ah’m only gonna say this once. The hospitality of the Apples is open ta anypony. But that don’t mean Ah gotta sit at my own table and get told what ta do with myself or where to go. Eat’cher meal in silence an’ mind who y’all have to thank for it.” Big Mac couldn’t hold himself silent any longer. “AJ! Princess. Ah’m mighty sorry fer mah sister’s manners, yer goddessship.” The night goddess’s eyes were locked on AJ’s. “Fear not for thyself, Sir Mackintosh. Our ways are forgiving to those who know to whom they speak.” The rest of dinner was concluded in a sort of nuclear armistice, neither side willing to back down or resort to something everypony now living might regret. Luna praised Granny Smith’s cooking profusely and offered Big Mac and Applebloom an open invitation to visit her in Canterlot at any time. Applejack was afforded only the slightest nod of the head in parting. The princess of darkness swept out her majestic wings, pausing for a moment to listen to the passage of the ethereal winds that blew her mane aloft. With a blast of pure night she rocketed deep into the sky, trailing a universe of stars behind her. Big Mac watched her contrail for a moment before pressing a hoof to the bridge of his muzzle. “Sis.” “Eeyup?” “She didn’t deserve that.” “Nope.” “Y’all were downright un-neighborly.” Her rage and pride spent, Applejack deflated a bit. “Yeah, Ah know. Ah jest can’t help it. Ah know they want what they think’s best fer me. Fer Equestria. Heck, the whole world. All Ah can think of though, is how they’re gonna drag me away from y’all. If Ah am gonna live fer millennia… Ah’d rather spend as long as Ah can with y’all. Ah want ta be happy when y’all go, knowin’ that y’all lived full an’ happy lives an’ that Ah was there fer y’all in good times ‘n’ bad.” Big Mac softened at that. He walked over to the mare who, no matter her size, would always be his little sister and threw a hoof over her withers in a gentle hug. She sighed and leaned into him, gazing with little comfort at the night sky.