Orange and Blue, I Do (Book 3)

by LotusTeaDragon


The Rays of the Summer Sun Do Sparkle

CHAPTER NINE
"The Rays of the Summer Sun Do Sparkle"

Several Days Later

Somepony was knocking on the door. The sound it made was slow, and deliberate. It was also quite loud, though from the reaction of the cyan pegasus mare laying underneath a small mountain of covers, one would have never guessed such a thing at all. Fortunately, the mare lying next to her was quite aware of the intrusion upon the morning stillness, shown by her alacrity in scrambling out of bed, and ambling down the stairs.

The percussive knock was almost painful at this proximity, but Applejack pushed the minor inconvenience aside and reached for the door handle, pulling it open to meet their oblivious tormentor muzzle to muzzle.

The tormentor's, or tormentors, muzzle(s) were a light red, and bright green, respectively. Applejack noted, in the slight blur of her vision, that the height difference between the two muzzles was quite noticeable, and that the taller, thicker muzzle was also the owner of the knock in question. She knew this because of the large forehoof that had just placed itself firmly against the creaking wood of the porch.

"Well, Ah'll be tarred, feathered, and plucked!" The exclamation from Applejack received an appropriate response from the larger red muzzle.

"Eeyup."

"Big Macintosh, Granny Smith! You're here! Well, Ah mean, o' course you're here! Where else wouldja be?! Well, Ah mean, ya would be in Coltorado, but you're all here now!" Applejack stopped the fumbling of her words, took a breath, and spoke again. "Where are mah manners? Y'all come on inside!"

She opened the door, letting Big Mac and Granny Smith step into their former home. Applejack wasted no time in grabbing Big Mac by his strong shoulders and pulling him into a hug. Before he could react, she let go and, with a touch of gingerness, pulled Granny Smith into a hug. The old mare just smiled and patted her on her withers.

"Okay, young'un, ya can let go, now. Ah may not need much air, but Ah still need it!" She said with a chuckle, as Applejack pulled back, a warm smile on her face.

Applejack motioned over toward an old rocking chair, and their well worn couch, inviting them to sit. "Did ya all just get in town this mornin'?"

Big Mac nodded as he eased himself onto the couch. "Eeyup."

Granny Smith plopped down in her rocking chair, "That's more like it. Ah missed this old chair. Ah may have ta take it back with me if'n ya don't mind, Applejack."

Applejack smiled. "O' course not, Granny, it's all yours. We was just keepin' it warm for ya."

Granny Smith nodded. "Speakin' of 'we', where is ol' Rainbow Doze anyways?"

"It's Rainbow Dash, Granny."

"Ah know what I said."

"Oh, yeah, well, uh, she's still in the bed-"

"Ha!"

"-right now, but Ah can get her up, if'n ya want ta talk to her."

"Ah do. Ah got something I need ta talk to the both of ya about, and it can't wait until it's too late."

Applejack response was only to raise an eyebrow at this, but soon she was heading up the steps to wake up her fiance.

***

"A summons? That doesn't sound very good. I hope nothing bad has happened with the Princess," Violet said, a note of concern in her voice.

Twilight handed her reply scroll to Spike, who dutifully sent it with a breath of flame, and proceeded to resume gobbling down his sugar gems.

The three of them, Violet, Twilight, and Spike, were sitting at the kitchen table, having breakfast. The stresses and revelations of yesterday evening had become nothing but a memory, one that was easily disregarded in light of the new day.

"I informed her we would leave within the hour, and I wouldn't worry, Violet," Twilight said, before taking another bite of her strawberry creme doughnut. She chewed for a moment before continuing. "I receive these from time to time, usually as a result of some routine fact checking assignment that the Princess would rather deliver in person. Most of the time it involves some dignitary pony who wants firsthoof information from me personally, and while she doesn't do it often, the Princess does grant such requests if she deems it worth my time. So who knows? It could be an interesting experience. Anything that has the potential to impart new knowledge is always worth exploring."

Violet let a smirk form on her face. "You're such a nerd, Twilight."

"You're telling me," their dragon companion said around a large powdered sugar emerald. "She reads Playcolt for the articles."

"Spike!" Twilight choked, her face turning beet red, pieces of doughnut falling to the table.

Violet giggled as she watched Twilight use her magic to hurl the half eaten doughnut at Spike's head. The dragon ducked at the last possible second, sticking his tongue out at his assailant, only to feel the squishy texture of pastry coat the back of his head.

"Ha!" the purple unicorn called out in triumph, as Spike tried, and failed, to reach back far enough to remove the smashed baked good from his scales.

"Oh, great, it's going to be all sticky, now, Twilight, and I have to help Rarity with a dress delivery today! I can't go with pieces of doughnut on my head! The birds will attack me again!" he called out as he ran for the bathroom.

"The birds will what?" Violet asked Twilight, who had just finished gulping down a glass of water to clear her throat.

"Oh," she began, setting the empty cup aside, "Spike and Pinkie Pie got in a doughnut fight about six weeks ago. Pinkie is using this new batter that makes donuts stay moist longer, in such a way that a pony can eat them throughout the day, or store them out in the open, without their becoming stale."

"So why did birds attack him while they were having the fight?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly like that, and they weren't exactly birds in the general sense." Twilight said. "You see, Pinkie Pie got him right on the tail, and apparently, some of the sticky residue remained. As you know by now, the scent of Pinkie's baked goods can attract all kinds of animals. Spike, being himself, didn't pay much attention to making certain he was thoroughly clean. It didn't help that it had been an unusually warm afternoon, the warmest over the course of several days, and it reached the point where even I could detect the strong scent of pastries emanating from Spike. I told him as much, and he dismissed it. Spike can smell gems from a kilometer away, but he seems to have some trouble with baked goods.

So as we were walking home, the scent of the doughnuts attracted a flock of geese that had been passing overhead. Next thing you know, Spike was covered in geese. It took three applications of my repel magic to shoo them away. I found out that geese rarely listen to reason in cases involving Pinkie Pie pastry crumbs."

She gave a lopsided grin as Violet began giggling. As she dusted the crumbs from her hooves, she heard the telltale sound of a chariot pulling up outside the door. She waited a few more moments for Violet to calm down from her fit of laughter, and patted her gently on the shoulder.

"We better get going," she said, her words punctuated a moment later by the sound of knocking on the library door.

***

"Hey, Granny Smith! Good to see you're still up and kicking!"

"Rainbow!" Applejack hissed.

"What?"

"Ya gotta respect yer elders!"

"Oh, ain't no worryin' about it, Applejack. Eh, hello, there Rainbow Dash, good ta see ya! Are ya up fer all day, or just fer now?" The old mare retorted. Her voice was full of biting sarcasm, but her eyes were twinkling with unrestrained mirth as she said them.

Rainbow leaned in and gave the old mare a hug. As she backed away, she waved to Big Mac. "Heya, Big Mac. Things going alright for you and Granny?"

"Eeyup."

"That's cool. So, Granny, you got me and AJ standing here, what did you want?"

Applejack rolled her eyes at Dash's way of getting to the point. I mean, she was the same way, but not to her elders.

"Well, young'uns, while Applejack was upstairs a-draggin' ya out of bed, Ah had Big Mac bring in the suitcases. I also had 'im grab this here old box, and I was wantin' ta give it to the two of ya."

She handed the box over to Rainbow Dash, her hoof shaking just a bit as she did. Dash took it gingerly, as not to excite the old mare, who probably didn't need an awesome faster-than-lightning pegasus just snatching things from her old, trembly hooves.

Once she had it in hoof, she began looking it over. It looked like an old wooden box, about 10 centimeters long, and 5 centimeters wide. As she flipped it over, she saw that there was a carving on the bottom of the box that read, 'JA ♥ DG Always and Forever'.

"This is pretty cool, Granny Smith, but, um, what are we supposed to do with a box?"

Granny Smith bopped Rainbow Dash on the head with a cane. "That ain't just a box, ya nitwit!" she said.

"Ouch! You didn't have to smack me in the head, Granny!" Dash called out, rubbing her head with one hoof.

"Oh, honeychild, don't get all upset. I do it out of love."

"Yeah? Well love me a little less, will ya?" the pegasus retorted.

Applejack sighed. "Let me see that box, sugarcube."

Rainbow Dash offered the box to Applejack, who took it in her own hooves and examined it carefully. The box had a very thin band of silver around the middle.

Wait a minute, this wasn't just some box.

Granny Smith saw the light dawning on her grandchild's face. "That's right, honey."

A trembling that decided to shake her up and down her entire body decided to focus on her hooves, so it was with great care that Applejack, sitting on her haunches, pulled the two halves of the box apart. In her left hood was the bottom half of the box, in which there contained two golden hoof bands, something that a married couple would wear to show their commitment to one another. The golden bands were simple affairs, lacking any ornate design, or precious gems, but they still shone like the morning sun when the light hit them.

She began breathing heavier as she turned the lid over to look at the underside. It took her a moment to register, but then the feelings came rushing forward as she stared at the photograph; a handsome light brown stallion, in a cowpony hat, was standing next to a beautiful deep red mare, her blond mane tied up into a ponytail. The stallion had his left forehoof around the mare's right forehoof, their heads together, and smiling.

"P-Pa. Ma." Applejack looked into the box at the two hoof bands laying there in repose. "These were their weddin' bands?"

"That's right, young'un," Granny Smith said, her tone subdued, "these were your Pa and Ma's hoof bracelets, and I want you ta have 'em."

Applejack touched one of the gold bands, the contact with her hoof causing a slight ring to emanate from it.

"Granny, we can't take these. Ah mean, these were, these are somethin' too special-"

Granny Smith cut her off. "Now ya listen here, young'un, and ya listen good. Yer Ma and Pa were good folk. They didn't do nothin' ta nobody that ever caused anypony any harm. They lived by their wits, and their hard work. All they wanted was ta make a family, and have somethin' they could be proud of, and Ah can tell ya right now, darlin', that they'd be mighty proud of ya both. I ain't havin' no argument about it, yer gonna take these here weddin' bands, and yer gonna wear 'em, and yer gonna make the whole Apple family proud." She tapped her cane on the wooden floor for emphasis.

There was silence for a number of heartbeats, and then Applejack heard a brash, colt-ish voice weigh in. "I don't know about you, AJ, but that sounded like a challenge."

Without looking at her fiance, Applejack reached down and touched the golden bands once more, as if drawing strength from them. A small smile began to form on her lips, as she looked up at Granny Smith, sporting an expression of defiance.

"'Zat what this is, Granny? Is this a challenge?"

"Yer darn tootin' it is."

Applejack glanced at Dash, who was smiling at her. She knew that look in her marefriend's eyes. She had seen it every time they raced, every time they wrestled, every time someone told either of them they couldn't have something, or worse, that they couldn't win something. She turned back to the old, green mare rocking back and forth in her chair.

"Challenge accepted."

***

"Princess!"

"Twilight, it's good to see you again. Your visits have become much too few and far between."

"Well, you know how it is with my studies." Twilight said as she trotted up to Princess Celestia, and outstretched her neck, which the Princess nuzzled warmly.

"I understand quite well, my faithful student." she said gently, low enough that only Twilight could hear. "Of course, there's somepony else who might not be quite as understanding if you don't visit her before you leave today."

They stepped away from one another, the Princess giving a blushing Twilight a knowing wink. She looked up to the other visitor standing in the giant throne room. "Hello, Violet. I don't believe we've had the opportunity to meet."

Violet was awestruck. She was standing in the throne room of the Princess of the Sun, and the Princess had just spoken to her like they were equals.

"Princess Celestia, I am at your service." Violet said as she bowed low before the Di-arch.

"Oh, don't do that, please. I get enough of that from my other subjects."

It took a moment to register with Violet that the Princess had just told her to stop bowing to one of the most powerful authorities in all of Equestria, which was slightly distressing, considering it also came from one of the most powerful authorities in all of Equestria. Slowly, with uncertainty, she stood from her bow, not knowing what to do next.

Princess Celestia smiled.
Twilight Sparkle giggled.
Violet Tempest continued standing, rubbing a forehoof and looking around the throne room casually. It was quite massive. Oh, hey, purple drapes. That's... interesting.

Finally, after another moment of awkward social silence, Princess Celestia cleared her throat. "Now," she began, "let me explain to you just why I brought the both of you here."

She called out for a messenger.

"Please bring Doctor Von Bridle at once."

The messenger saluted, and then raced off to fulfill the command.

"Twilight, I have been reading your reports with great interest. It pleases me to see you have resolved the Everfree Forest anomaly."

"Thank you, Princess."

"You're quite welcome, my dear. Now, I notice that you didn't solve this particular problem on your own, but that you did, in fact, have some significant assistance from our young friend here, Miss Violet Tempest."

"That is correct, Princess. Violet was instrumental in helping me formulate the magical equation used to detect upper tropospheric anomalies. I'd also like to add that she willingly put her own safety at risk to carry out our experiments, including the field experiment that nearly cost her to lose her life."

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow as she looked at Violet, who was blushing, and absent-mindedly tracing circles on the alabaster tile floor with a forehoof.

"Is this true, young Violet?" asked the Princess.

Violet, who was already withering under the Princess' gaze, simply eeked out a 'yes'.

"Which is why she's the perfect choice." A strong, masculine voice cut through the throne room. Everypony turned to see a chestnut brown unicorn stallion, with a white mane and tale, walking into the room, wearing a labcoat, and googles around his neck.

"Ah, Doctor Von Bridle, I'm glad you were able to step away from your work long enough to join us." said the Princess, who seemed oblivious to the prospect where a subject might casually tell their godlike ruler 'no', when asked to perform a task at her convenience.

"It is a pleasure, your highness, and hello Twilight," the doctor said as he shook her hoof. "it is a pleasure to see you again. We missed you in Meteorological Sciences."

"Twilight used to work in the Royal Climatological Sciences Department?" a shocked Violet asked the scientist.

He chuckled and turned to Violet. "Oh my, no. Twilight here was still a filly when I worked in that department. However, she used to stop by every day to watch our progress on various studies, and would offer her own advice on how to properly get things done, and my goodness, the lecture you would get if you didn't do it 'right'."

"Still, it isn't the reason why I am here and, more importantly, it isn't the reason why you're here."

He gave a wordless glance at the Princess, who nodded. Von Bridle turned back to Violet, and indicated the door with a foreleg. "Would you please take a walk with me, Violet?"

With a quick look to Twilight, who said nothing, Violet turned and followed the scientist into the hall.

***

Over the course of an hour, Dr. Von Bridle gave Violet a tour of the Royal Sciences wing of the castle. He showed her the Life Sciences Research department, the Astronomical Sciences complex, the Agricultural Concepts division, and now they were standing in front of the entrance to the Meteorological & Climatological Research center. Violet took a minute to watch the activity going on in the research area, filled with busy scientists moving about in their tasks; some examining test tubes, others writing data on work pads. Some were standing in front of large machines with spinning reels, and they were reading results from a ticker tape printout that would periodically appear from a slot in the front of each machine.

"Violet," said the white maned unicorn, "this is the laboratory where I started my apprenticeship more than 30 years ago. In those 30 years, I have seen amazing, wondrous things. I have witnessed phenomena that has turned the world of science on its proverbial ears; I have taken part in experiments that have put me in harm's way countless times, but not once have I ever considered any other field of research. It can be dangerous, but it is such a rewarding kind of danger. It takes devotion, study, skill, and a lifetime in which one can make better that which is known, and to uncover that which is unknown. It is also why I want to offer you an opportunity to attend the Royal Academy of Sciences as an apprentice."

Violet's attention was now firmly on the good doctor. "I'm sorry, Dr. Von Bridle, but could you repeat that?"

The scientist smiled as he repeated himself. "I would like you to attend the Royal Academy of Sciences, as an apprentice. As my apprentice, to be exact."

Thoughts flooded Violet's mind. Had it been less than two weeks since she had started working for Twilight as her 'lab assistant'? Is this what she wanted to do? I mean, it was a fantastic opportunity, but how many pegasi actually succeeded as a scientist in what was, predominantly, a unicorn's career path? She asked the doctor this question.

"Dr. Von Bridle, as I'm sure you're well aware, I'm a pegasus. When I worked with Twilight, she still did most of the work. Her magic operated the machines, and experimented with the various chemicals we used to come up with a solution. I'm not certain I could keep up with all of these unicorn scientists. No offense."

The doctor chuckled a bit to himself. "Oh, that's nothing to worry about, my dear. There's more to the meteorological sciences than machine work, and test tubes. Follow me."

Von Bridle took her through the research area, and down a corridor off to the side of the room. As she was walking behind the good doctor, Violet could have sworn she heard thunder, but that was ridiculous to hear it when the nearest outside wall was hundreds of meters away. After two minutes of walking in companionable silence, they stopped in front of a door that read 'Atmospheric Stabilization Testing'. Opening the door, Von Bridle moved to the side to let Violet see inside.

What she saw astounded her. The room was massive! The ceiling alone looked to be about 4 stories high. There were about 50 meters between where she was standing, and the far wall, and the room appeared to be roughly 25 meters in width.

"We reused the old castle gymnasium as a field testing facility for atmospheric research," he explained. "We needed a place where alpha testing could be performed in the relative safety of a secure location, without the chance of the experiment making its way into the domain of the unsuspecting public. As you can see," he said, waving toward a dark bank of clouds near the ceiling, in the center of the room, "this is where we make it all work."

"Doctor," Violet asked, "doesn't Cloudsdale's Weather Factory create clouds to be deployed over this region of Equestria?"

Dr. Von Bridle nodded. "Indeed they do, my dear, however, it is the Royal Academy that conceives of the various working formulas that the weather factory uses when creating new cloud forms. We depend upon one another to bring shade when the sun is fierce, rain when the crops are dry. We work together."

Violet took in all that she had witnessed. Dr. Von Bridle was certain she was a good candidate for apprenticeship, and she couldn't lie, being a part of something this awesome was just too fascinating to pass up.

"I'll do it."

"Pardon me, my dear?"

"I'll do it, Dr. Von Bridle. I would love to be your apprentice, if you'll have me."

"Wonderful, my dear! I believe we shall now let Princess Celestia, and young Twilight hear the good news!"

He closed the door to the testing facility, and they made their way back to the throne room.

***

As they approached the throne room, Princess Celestia met them outside the entrance. "Well, Doctor," the Princess said, "have you completed the grand tour of our research facilities?"

Dr. Von Bridle nodded, "Indeed I have, your Highness. Violet?"

Violet smiled as she looked up to the Princess. "I have accepted an apprenticeship into the Royal Sciences Academy, your Highness. I will be apprenticed under Dr. Von Bridle."

Princess Celestia smiled at the young pony's enthusiasm. "That is wonderful. I promise you that you will never find a better mentor than Dr. Von Bridle. He has served Equestria very well these many years."

The elderly scientist blushed, "Eh, I, thank you, your Highness. I shall do my best. I, eh, should return to my work. It was a pleasure Violet, Princess."

The two mares giggled at his rapid onset of modesty, followed by his rapid departure, lab coat flowing behind him as he made a beeline down the corridor.

The Princess turned to Violet. "He was never one for praise. Sometimes I laud him openly, just to see him turn that interesting shade of red. Though I will say those compliments are always true, and you, my little pony, have a bright future ahead of you."

She turned to walk away. "Now, I have some work in my office to attend to, but you will be contacted when all is ready. Until then, keep working with Twilight. She is an invaluable resource."

"Oh, I agree, your Majesty."

"'Celestia' will be fine, Violet."

"Oh no, your Majesty, I could never call you by your first name."

Celestia smiled. "Perhaps in time. Meanwhile, if you wish to see Twilight, she is in throne room with Princess Luna."

With that, the Di-arch walked away from Violet, a phalanx of guards behind the Princess.

Violet turned toward the door, and walked into the throne room. As she looked up, she froze in place. There, in front of her, was Twilight and the Princess of the Night, sharing what appeared to be a very passionate kiss.

Slowly, Violet backed up, trying to exit the room without being seen. Unfortunately for her, she didn't noticed the large porcelain vase next to the door entrance, and bumped into the unseen obstacle. A second later, a loud shatter filled the room, and suddenly all attention was on her.

"Violet!" called out Twilight in surprise.

"WHAT DOES THOU WANT, CHILD? YOUR PRINCESS IS ENGAGING IN A ROMANTIC ENDEAVOR WITH HER SIGNIFICANT OTHER, AND THOU ART POTENTIALLY WRECKING THE MOOD!" came Princess Luna's voice.

Violet waved her hoof and grinned a toothy smile, her face blushing hard. "Hey, everypony! So... have you heard the news?"

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