“Your tea Princess, Miss Apple” The servant, an elderly stallion with a ridiculously big, white moustache which moved up and down as he moved his head, frowned, glancing at the earth pony mare wearing a stetson sitting on the other side of the table form his mistress and ruler.
“Thank you, Mister Scroll. I’d now like to be left alone with my guest now, and tell the guards to not let anypony disturb us, understood?” Celestia told the elderly servant, who nodded, walking out the door backwards and closed it behind him.
As the door to the balcony closed behind them, Celestia lit up her horn and produced a golden magical aura which enveloped the teapot and the two couples standing on the plate which the servant had left on the table. Levitating the teapot and the tea cups, filling them with the hot brew in the can and putting on in front of Applejack while trying to figure out what to say to her.
“Sugar?” Celestia asked, smiling awkwardly while waiting for the apple farmers reaction, all the while levitating the cup of sugar and a spoon above the other mares tea cup. She had no idea why Twilight had insisted she’d spend time and try and bound with Applejack, as she as far as she could tell shared no interests with the simple, down to earth mare.
“Yes, two please, your highness princess Celestia.” Applejack answered, the voice matter of factly, but the glittering emerald green eyes which had refocused from the cup of tea in front of her to Celestias face revealing a feeling of respect and devotion towards the alicorn.
Celestia could only guess that this deeply rooted emotions Applejack had was something her grandmother, Granny Smith, a very eccentric mare Celestia remembered very well, had beaten into her. The by now elderly mare and leader of the Apple family had never underestimated what Celestia had done for her family, and every family reunion Celestia got a photo of the current Apple Family, a sign of there ever-lasting gratitude towards her.
“Could I get some sugar in my tea before it goes cold, your highness?” Applejack asked, snapping Celestia out of her own thoughts.
“Yes. Sugar. Right.“ Celestia answered, quickly letting down two sugar cubes into the other mares tea cup before dumping three into her own and taking a big sip without steering just so she wouldn’t have to say an other word.
The two mares continued sitting in silence, sipping their tea and awkwardly glancing at each other across the little pink table, until the uncomfortable silence stretching out between them finally broke as a loud smacking noise echoed across the balcony.
Looking forward, they saw a big, black bird splayed out across an invisible surface obviously surrounding the balcony.
“Security thing...the guards insisted on installing it after the wedding fiasco..." Celestia explained, once more smiling a painful looking smile as her eyes darted around and looked for something else to talk about.
With a sigh, Applejack put down the barely touched cup of tea with three sugar cube which Celestia had provided her with earlier on the table beside her, closing her eyes gathering her thoughts for a couple of minutes before opening them again and facing Celestia.
“Look,” Applejack started. “With all due respect, I don’t think this is going to work. Not you nore me is enjoying this, and I just don’t think we got enough incommon to be able to establish the kind of relationship Twilight wish for us to have!”
Finishing what she had to say, Applejack got up from her seat and headed from the balcony door and just about to open them and walk out of the Canterlot Castle, heading back home to ponyville to break the news to Twilight, when she out of the corner of her eye saw a white hoof adored with a golden shoe landing on her shoulder.
“Wait. I know something we got in common...something that would make Twilight happy with this meeting.” Celestia exclaimed, smiling a happy passionate smile as she saw just relied Applejack looked. She might be the Element of Honesty, but even she knew some things was just not as good when you were being honest. Therefore, a chance to save Twilight’s feelings was without question a perfect idea.
“What is it? Tell me!” Applejack exclaimed happily, becoming silent for a minute before, almost as reflex or deep running habit instead of an active choice, added. “Your highness.”
Celestia smiled again, pointing for Applejack to take a seat once more, which she oh so happily did, still wondering what ever it might be Celestia had come to think of which she had in common with this immortal goddess.
“Well, I’ve read all the friendship reports you girls sent, and listened to so many stories about you from Twilight, but it only just now hit me that there thing about you that keep appearing throughout all of stories, and that it’s something I can relate to!”
“What? What so very distinct trait in me is you can relate to in a way that would make Twilight satisfied and convinced we’ve reached the level of friendship she wish for us to reach?” Applejack asked, getting more and more curious by the minute. it really sounded like Celestia had a real great idea going, and if it would get Twilight, the slightly ‘aggressive’ Princess of Friendship to get off their backs, too, it’d be the ultimate solution.
“Well, we both sisters that we love very much, although we might be a bit over protective sometimes, no?” Celestia smiled a motherly smile, feeling that she really outdone herself this time, and as a bonus, Applejack was finally getting more comfortable around the princess she had adored her whole life and now had ended up alone with on a balcony in Canterlot Castle.
“Wait, you mean like… Apple Bloom and Luna? “ Applejack asked, quite obviously shocked.
“And quite possible Granny Smith… I mean, even YOU must have noticed how special your dear granny is?” Celestia added, giggling but stopping immediately as she saw Applejack’s facial expression. “Hehe, anyhow, you care for Apple Bloom, I care for Luna, and it haven't really been easy for any of us…”
As Celestia finished what she had to say, Applejack still seemed mad at her earlier remark concerning her grandmother, but her frown had been replaced with a smudge smile as she snarkily gave her comeback.
“You’re mistaken, your highness, it is not the same. My sister did not try to kill the planet. Ponyville, maybe, and by mistake, but not the world and certainly NOT because of her sister neglecting her!” Applejack saw her words sinking into Celestia, hurting her deeply. She once more rose from her chair and made herself ready to leave.
“Applejack please…” Celestia tried, once more stopping Applejack at the door, who simply turned her head at her and gave her a look that could closest be described as combination of spite and empathy for the princess and her
“I’m so, so sorry for this princess, but it is better to just Twilight we can never be as close as she want us to be. I don’t like it, either, but at least I’m ready to do it without sacrificing my hole honoure in a spiteful attempt to try and make it work first!”
Applejack tried to open the door, only to discover it was magically locked, and she was now starting to feel a growing frustration at the fact that celestia just wouldn’t give up on trying to create a close friendship between them. However, she was not given a chance to say so seeing as Celestia had something she needed to say.
“Applejack, listen to me i know we have something in common because I also had to raise my sister all on my own! So please sit down and we can have pleasant if it a bit sad discussion about life!” Celestia exclaimed in one breath, seemingly not being able to stop until the end.
Applejack sighed. “Okay.” She stated simply, staring blankly at Celestia, the meaning of her words slowly settling in her mind as she for the second time this day gave up her thoughts of fleeing and sat back down across the table from Celestia.
“So you’re saying, that Luna and you grew up without any parents, and were crowned princesses when you were fifteen and Luna ten? That’s horrible...though I can absolutely relate…” Applejack said, looking at Celestia with saddened eyes. The last half an hour, she had listened to a story, so vastly different form he rown that she couldn't even imagine being in it, yet so very familiar she almost couldn't separate it from her own in some places.
“Well, when you have thousands of years to live, most things turn out for the better in the end still, and if it’s something you miss doing as a child, like building a snowman with your sister one year so the guards had to it while you had some kind of important meeting, you can always do it wiht her a thousand years later, it’s never to late.”
“Wish it was the same for us mortals sometimes...with Apple Bloom it just feels like everything go too quick...one single time, you miss out something, and you never get the chance to redo it…” Applejack sighed, hanging her head low .
Instead of answering, Celestia put on of her hooves in under Applejack’s cheek, lifting up her head so that Applejack could see her face. She wanted Applejack to see her understanding eyes and comforting smile, gestures that said far more than any Celestia had ever heard in her long life could explain, and most certainly better than anything Applejack had heard in hers.
“Thank you... Celestia.” Applejack said, smiling an ever so slightly happy looking smile, and hugged Celestia tightly, a hug which Celestia promptly returned by wrapping her wings around Applejack and pulling her closer.
“And? Spike, what happened then? TELL ME!” Twilight screamed, staring at Spike with angry eyes and making herself ready to get up from her pile of pillows on the floor and show Spike what she did when her assistants failed her.
“It was nothing more, after the servant came back and called for Celestia left.” Spike explained slowly backing away from the raging Twilight.
“Well, that’s good I suppose...WAIT! Celestia and Applejack bounded over sisterly love,, right?” Twilight asked, just as Spike was getting out the door, turning around and looking evilly at him.
“Eh...yes?”
“That means that they’re bonding over something deeper than ME and Celestia, which means maybe I need to take you out of the equation in order to preserve me as the pony who bound deeper with Celestia!”
“But what about Princess Luna? No one can bound deeper with Celestia than her sister, right? And Cadance, she’s been around longer than you!” Spike asked in confusion.
“Oh don’t worry Spike, I’ll take care of them...hehehe…”
Spike sighed, walking out the door and closing it behind him, sitting down on the floor and leaning against it. Once he was as comfortable as you could get on cold stone floor, he started writing.
“Dear Princes Celestia
Twilight is probably going to try and assassinate Luna and Cadance. Again.
Yours truly, Spike, number 1 assistant of the Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle.