//------------------------------//
// So, even if it hurts... have something. Care. 
// Story: Love Fears Loss 
// by SoloBrony 
//------------------------------//

"Stop! Wrong again, snaggletooth!"

That's a new one. I wonder when Spitfire'll run out of nicknames for her.

At the sound of Spitfire's command, Laverna stopped her aerial routine and descended, rolling her eyes.

"Aww, come on! What was wrong that time?"

"The snaggleteeth, for a start!"

Heh. Got a little too used to having those, didn't you?

Ver blinked in confusion, and then held a hoof up to her mouth, verifying that she did, in fact, have two fangs jutting out of the top of her mouth.

"Ponyfeathers."

I just laughed and rolled my eyes, earning me a cold glare from both of them. Spitfire then returned her glare to Ver, and continued her rant.

"Princess Twilight informed us that it's easier for you to stay in form if you have the fangs. That's fine, but during performance, you're going to need to put'em away. Remember, it's 'U.E.P.', that's Unicorn, Earth Pony, Pegasus, not 'three types of fanged pony'!"

Hah. Little harsh, but it's true; Spitfire knows Ver can do better, and she's going to bring it out in her.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Ver saluted, and dutifully transformed, a flurry of green fire passing over her. Once it had passed, a normal-looking earth-pony filly stood before Spitfire, who nodded appreciatively.

"Good! Now, the second thing is, you need to stop accidentally turning into an alicorn on the second step!"

At that, Ver blushed, and put a hoof to her face.

"Oh, did I do that again?"

"Yes! Don't just add the wings, remember to subtract the horn! I know most ponies would love to have that problem, but you need to shape up, bug-breath! You've managed to hide your cutie mark, and I know that's the hard part for you, but it's not enough! Remember, Princess Celestia's coming to see the show, and you're the intro. That means you're the one who makes the first impression for us, cheese-legs! What do you think she'll say if the pony representing the three pony tribes turns into an alicorn mid-performance?"

"Oh, I don't think I'd mind so much, Spitfire. I believe most ponies might think it was a metaphor."

Ver and I froze stiff, and looked behind Spitfire to see Celestia, casually strolling up to us. She had a serene smile on her face, but the slight crease to her eyes betrayed mischief.

Since when does Princess Celestia sneak into the Wonderbolts training hall?!

Spitfire, for her part, turned on her heels and swept into a low bow. She managed to look only slightly very panicked, and quickly cleared her throat before addressing Celestia.

"Princess Celestia, we're honored to have you here. I wasn't informed that you would be stopping by."

"Last-minute decision, I'm afraid. I've been looking for a chance to speak to these two, and my schedule cleared up."

Spitfire nodded, the barest hint of a smile on her lips. With another bow, she excused herself, heading out of the room. With that, the three of us were left alone. None of us spoke, at first; Celestia just watched Ver, a serene smile on her lips.

Then I realized Ver was staring at Celestia's mane.

"Dude. Your hair is, like... crazy."

Celestia snorted in surprised amusement, breaking out into a light chuckle. I just smacked a hoof to me face, laughing.

"What? It's true! I don't think I could do hair like that."

Celestia smiled down at Ver, and walked up close to her. Then she folded her legs under her, taking up the same goose-like stance I had with Ver, months ago.

Though I guess she looks more like a swan.

Celestia leaned her head towards Ver, letting her hair flow near the filly. It took Ver a second to realize what she was doing, but her face lit up once she did, and she brushed a hoof through the aurora-like hair. Celestia quirked an eyebrow and spoke in a tranquil tone.

"Something to aspire, to, I'm sure. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. My name's Celestia."

Ver suddenly stiffened, and giggled in embarrassment. She quickly transformed, a sudden flurry of green fire rising around her. The grey pegasus filly I'd become so fond of – complete with 'snaggleteeth' – stood before Celestia, sticking a hoof out in greeting.

"Right! Happy to meet you, Celestia! My name's Laverna!"

Celestia gently shook Ver's hoof, a deep smile overtaking her features. Her eyes were creased so softly, I almost thought she was going to cry.

Guess she's not offended by Ver not calling her 'princess', heh.

"Twilight has been writing to me about you. She's been teaching you, right?"

At the mention of Twilight's name, Ver's eyes broadened, accompanied by a goofy grin.

"Yeah! I go over there every weekend with Soarin. She gives me a plan for the week."

Celestia nodded, and she tilted her head as she spoke.

"Did you know that I taught Twilight when she was little?"

Ver's eyes widened up, her mouth going a little slack.

"Whoa, seriously? That's super-cool. So it's, like, kind of a tradition, huh?"

Celestia nodded, her smile deepening.

"One could say that. And I have to say, you're carrying on the tradition quite well."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Celestia's smile turned mischievous.

"Well, I hear a rumor that you can already turn into an alicorn!"

"Wha-? Oh, but, that's not, like—I mean, I'm n-not a princess, it's just..."

Ver trailed off as she saw Celestia holding a hoof to her mouth to suppress her giggles. I had a light chuckle at her expense, and she squinted at Celestia with a faux angry expression.

"Oh, you're messin' with me, huh? You'd better watch out, lady."

Celestia suppressed her laughter and set her hoof down, raising an eyebrow at Ver.

"Oh, my. And why's that?"

"'Cuz if you make me mad, I'll just turn into you and, like... I dunno, kick something over? I'll have to think about it!"

Celestia paused for a moment, and then closed her eyes, snickering.

"To be honest, I'd probably like to see those headlines. 'Princess Celestia, suddenly much shorter, apparently now hates mailboxes!' "

We need to get some photos of Ver's first few shots at turning into Celestia. I bet it'll be hilarious.

Both of them snickered at that. Celestia sighed, and her expression took on a calm, serene look.

"Speaking seriously, Laverna... how are you? Is everything going well?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Yeah, it's been great! Like, I'm even working with the Wonderbolts now! I may not be on the team, but, like, I get to work around the compound, and I'm even going to be doing an intro act! Wait, you already knew that. But still, like, it's awesome! I can hardly believe so much has changed in just a few months! I mean, I never even... I barely dreamed that things could go so well. I was really worried about, like, just being a pain in the rump for everypony, but I feel like I'm really helping out, here. It's just... really nice. It's good."

I felt a smile break out on my face as she spoke, though my eyes misted over a bit.

... I really did something. We really did something, for this filly.

Celestia calmly sat through the excited filly's barrage of comments, a faint whisper of a smile the only hint of her mood. Afterwards, Celestia just nodded, and gently reached a hoof out to brush Ver's mane. To my surprise, Ver didn't try to swat her hoof away, or giggle. Celestia then stood up, and nodded down to Ver, her expression turning sombre.

"I'm very happy to hear that, Laverna. As a princess of Equestria, I feel I owe you an apology for what's happened to you – and to your brother."

Laverna pursed her lips for a moment, thinking, and then shook her head, speaking.

"You don't owe me anything. Whatever you think you did wrong, don't worry about it, but... thanks."

The two watched each other for a few seconds before Celestia smiled again, her soft voice carrying down to the filly.

"You're a kind soul, Laverna. I need to speak to Soarin, but I won't keep you from your drills any longer. I look forward to seeing you next week!"

Ver nodded, and gave Celestia a little salute. Then she ran off towards the exit, where Spitfire had gone.

D'aww. She wasn't dismissing you, Ver, but I'm sure the gesture is appreciated. Heh. It's hard to believe she's learned so much, so fast...

It's even harder to believe I had a hoof in it at all. What a difference it makes to just... care.

Celestia watched Ver run out of the room, a faint smile on her lips. Without taking her eyes off of the door, she spoke to me.

"You really did something beautiful, Soarin."

I thought over what she said for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Something beautiful happened, but that's because Ver's a good filly – and Twilight and Rainbow Dash are amazing ponies. I could hardly take credit."

Celestia tilted her head, furrowing her brow, though she still didn't look at me directly.

"Soarin, how can you downplay the importance of your involvement when you chose to contribute the greatest gift of all?"

What's she talking about?

I looked to the ground, turning what she had said over in my mind for a few moments before speaking.

"... I cared."

"It must have been hard. There must have been a time where you asked if it was worth it."

"There was."

"So... why was it?"

"I dunno. I mean, it wasn't easy. It costs something to care, but, like... it would have cost a lot more not to."

"It would have been easier if she had been more agreeable."

I scoffed without meaning to, and quickly straightened my face, but Celestia gave no sign of noticing. She continued staring off into the doorway, her face rigid, though her brows were faintly knit with concern. I paused for a second before responding.

"Uh, like, no disrespect, but I think that woulda made it pointless. I was trying to help her, not help her 'my way', or whatever was most convenient for me. Like... I wasn't trying to feel good about myself because I 'gave some kid a chance'. I wasn't trying to put something in front of her and be like, 'you either play by my rules or it's your fault I leave'. Like... does that make sense?"

I grimaced, realizing I'd gone on a rant with the least appropriate company possible. I'd just built up too much frustration over the past few months not to say something when given the chance. Celestia nodded faintly.

"It does. Go on."

I was a little surprised, but I squared my jaw and took a deep breath.

"Her life was full of ponies like that. You know? Ponies who 'did the right thing'. Ponies who were, like... adults, I guess. That's what they'd think; they did the right thing, even though they clearly didn't get the right results. Like the Endicotts; they still thought they were great parents, even after everything that had happened. They didn't care about how things turned out, and that means they didn't really care about her. They just, like..."

"They only cared about going through the motions properly."

"Yeah! It's like, what's going on in their heads? As long as they did what they were told, that means they're fine? Problems must be somepony else's fault? That's insane! I just... she was living on the street! She was living in a box! How could anypony ever think that's okay?! I just..."

I found myself panting heavily, a burning in my cheeks. I hadn't realized how much anger I'd been holding onto until I'd had a chance to vent it. Celestia looked at me, and smiled almost apologetically, one end of her mouth raised, with her eyebrows knit together.

"The sad truth is, many would rather let someone suffer than change their views – especially of themselves. To care about someone else, you have to understand them – or at least try to do so. You have to understand what they care about; you have to do what's best for them from their perspective, rather than from yours."

"It's not really that hard, though, is it?"

Celestia shook her head, sighing.

"It takes humility. That's all, really."

I cast my eyes downward in thought, staring at the floor.

Humility. Is that what it was, all these years? Being willing to admit when I don't know what I'm doing, being willing to be the goofball... 

"Are other ponies really just that scared to admit when they're lost?"

"It would seem so."

I looked up at Celestia, to see that she was smiling again.

What's she so happy about?

"Soarin, I want to thank you."

Thank me? For... helping Ver. Because Celestia cares about everypony, so helping Laverna, was helping her.

So that's what being a princess is really about, huh?

I found myself smiling, as some things started to make sense to me. On an impulse, I swept into a low bow.

"You should know, Princess... it was my pleasure."