//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: Royal Harvest Festival // by Featherdust418 //------------------------------// Applejack and Granny Smith stood by their booth, ready for it to be inspected. A few other ponies also stood by, ready to go- while others still frantically made final touches, wanting their booths to be perfect for when the princesses arrived. Applejack looked over at the next booth- and noticed that it was Buck and his father's booth! She also noticed- to her amusement- that Buck was fussing over the stall quite a bit, while his father appeared to be telling him to stop fussing and relax. "Whoo, that colt can't seem to sit still! He must be awfully excited about the princesses arrival!" A.J. turned to her grandmother, as she had been the one to speak, and noticed that she was looking at Buck, also. Granny then looked at A.J., and said, "A.J., maybe you should go and see if you can help him relax a bit- you two are friends, after all!" A.J. blushed slightly at the comment, and replied, "well, I don't know if I can make him relax, but- I guess I could see what I could do... okay, then- here I go!" And with that, she trotted over to her friend's booth. "Now, Buck- can you please calm down? Our stall is fine! What do you think the princesses would do if our stall wasn't up to code? Wait- that doesn't matter, because it is!" Seed told his son. Buck, however, responded, "C'mon, dad- I don't just want a "safe stall", I want to impress the princesses! I mean, what if they're disappointed with how it looks, or something? I will not have that happen!" "Well, it looks fine to me." Applebuck turned around when he heard the new voice, and, when he saw the mare who spoke, he smiled. "A.J.! It's good to see you! And... do you really think it's good enough? Maybe a touch-up there would be nice..." Applejack, however, started to laugh. Buck looked at her with a perplexed look, and said, "what?" "Ha ha, oh, it's nothing... you just reminded me of my friend Rarity... 'just a touch-up'- oh, that's good. Look- it's great, really. You'll do fine." "Well, if you say so..." Buck said slowly. Then, all of a sudden, a voice cried out, "The princesses are arriving!" A chariot was descending from the sky, and the ponies stood in front of their booths, all standing stock-still. A.J. looked away from the chariot, and looked back at Buck... who looked like a royal guard. Appleseed groaned a bit at his son's behavior, while A.J. shook her head and sighed, then put a hoof on Buck's shoulder. He flinched at first, then smiled half nervously- half sheepishly at her, then sat down in the soft grass. The voice that had called out earlier once again spoke: "I have been informed that princess Celestia has pressing matters currently, and will be unable to attend this inspection. Princess Luna is here, however, and she will therefore be the sole inspector of this event." At these words, some ponies appeared to relax- Celestia wasn't going to be there, just the younger sister that was defeated so long ago, while others tensed up more- it would be the more intimidating sister they had to deal with! A.J. looked at Applebuck, who had a look of slight disappointment. "Aww... I was hoping to see both the Royal Sisters...," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. He then perked up and said, "well, one princess is better than none! Hey, speaking of princesses, are you going to tell me about the first time you saw them?" A.J. smiled and replied, "well, my the first time I met them was more like a reunion." Buck looked at her in confusion and asked, "what do you mean?" "Well- after Nightmare Moon had returned, I went with some new friends into the Everfree Forest, to find the Elements of Harmony! Then, after we-" "Wait wait wait! You don't mean to tell me... th-that you're one of the bearers of the Elements?" "I sure am, sugar cube! You're looking at the Element of Honesty!" said A.J. Buck worked his jaw, trying to say something, anything, but nothing could come out. Finally, he said, "No. Way. That- you can't be... well, you could, but- is it true? Really?" "It most certainly is." Applejack and Applebuck both turned to see where the new voice had come from, and they and Seed all bowed. "P-princess Luna!" exclaimed Buck. Princess Luna chuckled and said, "Rise, my little ponies. Applebuck, and Appleseed, it's nice to see you in this contest." Buck stared at her in shock, then asked, "wait- how do you know our names?" "Oh- well, I read the attendance sheet before I started the inspection. After that, it didn't take me too long to match names with creatures. And, Applejack," said Luna, as she turned to face A.J., "it's wonderful to see you again." "So- it's true, then? You really are the Element of Honesty... t-that's amazing!" "Ah ha! I knew you looked familiar!" Seed suddenly spoke up. As they all turned to look at him, he continued, "see, I went to the 'knighting' ceremony after you and your friends had defeated Discord. I was invited because... well, it was more that I was hired to do some catering, but still! I couldn't pass up a chance to see Equestria's new heroines!" A.J. chuckled a bit and said, "Well, thank you! Just doing our part, is all!" "I have to say- while A.J. was afraid of me at first when I returned to Ponyville for Nightmare Night, she was willing to show me a good time, and even taught me about 'fun'! I am grateful to her, and all of her friends," praised Luna. A.J. blushed a bit and replied, "Aww, thank you, princess! I was glad I could help." Luna smiled and nodded, and then walked over to the stall. As she looked it over, she noticed Applebuck holding his breath, while Seed shook his head, and Applejack chuckled a bit. Luna then smiled knowingly, and said, "hmm... well, this booth is... alright. It will do, I suppose." Applebuck's lip quivered, and he said, "I... I'm... I'm so sorry, princess! Please, tell me- what can I do to make it better? There must be something! Y-you've gotta give this booth your one hundred percent satisfaction! P-please..." as he groveled, he threw himself into a kneeling position, and put his front hooves together. Soon, he heard laughing behind him, and saw that it was his father and A.J.! At first, he was upset- why weren't they taking this seriously? Then, he realized that the princess was teasing him. He began to blush furiously and let out a sheepish chuckle, which slowly turned into a groan as he sunk down to the ground. "Forgive me, Applebuck, but your behavior of the situation warranted for me to not pass up the opportunity for a little prank. Truly, your booth is wonderful... though, it could use a touch up right... there." Buck then got up and turned to A.J., and mouthed a silent "told ya!" to her, while she just shook her head. Luna then spoke up again, "do you mind if I..." "not at all princess, go right ahead," Seed answered her. The princess of the Night nodded, and a small zap of magic blasted the upper banner. It began to change from a simple design of a few apple trees to a stunning, more realistic design of a cloudless night sky, with a vibrant moon and stars, and an orchard full of bright red apples hanging from the trees. She stepped back, and looked at the ponies behind her. "There! Now, I hope this is..." she started to say, then noticed the shocked expression on their faces. Their pupils had shrunk, and their jaws hung open. Soon, Buck started to speak: "p-princess... this is amazing! Wow, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this- thank you so much!" "Well, would you look at that! I bet you have the best-looking stall out of all of 'em now!" A.J. congratulated her friend. "However, looks alone will not win you this contest- it's your food that needs to be good. Though, I have a feeling your food will be excellent. And, Buck- I am sorry about earlier." "Thank you, princess- your words and kindness mean a lot to us. We hope to do the best we can in our attempts to show you the best-tasting food possible," Appleseed replied. "And, princess- you are most definitely forgiven! And thanks for your approval of our booth- and everything else, too," said Buck. Luna then nodded, and said, "well, I better move on- the're still more stalls to be inspected! In fact... A.J., I believe your's is next!" Applejack looked over, and responded, "well, so it is! Okay, then, I'll take you there, princess- if that's alright with you." "Excellent." And with that, Applejack and Luna said goodbye to Buck and Seed, and then left to continue with Luna's work. Buck and his father stared in wonder at the new banner, and then Seed gave a low whistle. "gotta admit, that design is really somethin'! It was awfully nice of the princess to go and do that for us." "Yeah... you know, I can hardly believe I met a princess, and an Element Bearer, all in one day. I-I think things are going to be a lot better, from here on out." Buck told his father. "I hope so, son. I really hope so."