• Published 22nd Apr 2012
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Finding Your Elements - RazgrizS57



Celestia recounts the tale of how she brought the bearers of the Elements of Harmony together.

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Honesty

Twilight turned in bed so she was once more facing the alicorn. “So, who did you find next?” she asked. Princess Celestia smiled, rubbing a hoof gently against the elderly unicorn’s forehead in a playful manner. The mare giggled slightly at the sensation, but her chuckling turned into coughing within seconds. Celestia immediately retracted her hoof, patiently waiting for the fit to die down before she answered.

Celestia twiddled her hooves against the floor. “More like they found me, again,” she mused. “Admittedly, I might have been a tad overexcited after finding you, so I aimlessly wandered the surrounding area in a chariot looking for the other elements.”

Twilight gave a delicate, understanding grin. “Is that why you weren’t around the first couple of days?”

The Princess nodded, but after a few guilty seconds she remembered her friend’s condition. “Yes,” she answered solemnly. “I was actually a little zealous to find the next element when things… unfortunate things happened.” A small gasp could be heard resonating from the pillow. An irregular beep from the heart monitor only emphasized this. Celestia gave a small snicker. “Or fortunate things, depending on how you view it.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked with a bit of worry in her tone.

Celestia whispered, “Truth be told, I found the element of Honesty.”









What was she doing? This was so unlike her; to go straight in without any leads, lacking any organized pattern, and with no strategic method whatsoever. Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself. Only a few days ago did she rediscover the element of Magic, and with it came the sign that the other elements were out there just waiting to be found.

Ironically, the sun was glaring in her eyes. Celestia buried her face in her hooves for makeshift shade. There was no technique to this at all and her mind had forever been straining to devise one. So far, chances of finding a pony suitable of possessing the next element were bleak. There were still some years before Nightmare Moon returned so there was time, albeit there wasn’t much.

“Your Highness,” One of the two pegasus guards pulling the chariot looked at her over his shoulder. “Is something wrong?”

“Hmm?” Celestia brought her gaze back up. “Oh, I’m just thinking. Thank you for your concern though, Sabre Wing.”

The soldier smiled, returning his eyes forward. “Not a problem. Just let us know if you need anything.”

The Princess sighed. She threw her front hooves over the side of the chariot and leaned against it, resting her head on her forelegs. Perhaps she should call off the search. Right now her efforts were rather meaningless; an irrational decision she partook based on her emotions rather than her mind. The only thing Celestia had accomplished was wasting time. At the moment she should be with her new student.

Without warning the chariot shook as if it was broadsided by a raging manticore. Caught off guard, the Princess was thrown off her hooves and into the side railing, almost flipping the craft with her momentum. Fortunately the two pegasi pulling at the reins were seasoned, having shuttled the alicorn and other important ponies across Equestria for years. They rightfully compensated direction for the change in weight distribution; however the chariot was now dangerously listing to the right.

“Whoa there!” gasped the other pegasus in surprise. “We’re encountering some heavy crosswinds!”

“Oh really, Silver Star? You think I don’t know that?” Sabre Wing sarcastically barked at his subordinate, struggling to keep the chariot aloft on his end. “We need to lower our altitude and get out of this turbulence!”

With silent coordination the two pegasi skillfully turned into the tilt, spiraling downwards to get low enough to be out of the wind shear. Princess Celestia, although more than capable of flying out of danger or using magic to teleport to safety, was compelled to let the guards do their job. Any minor tweak to the weight of the chariot could offset their concentration and spell disaster for the pegasi. Right now she was involuntary forced to go along with the ride. Although she still prepared a spell that would save them if necessary; hopefully she wouldn’t have to use it.

The chariot continued to circle towards the ground, faster and faster. The two guards pulling long ago gave up straining their wings and instead opted for gliding, doing their best to stabilize their precious cargo. Daring a peek over the side, Celestia noticed a forest canopy below, eerily getting closer with every passing second; her horn flared in response to the primordial fear for one’s life. The party, still metaphorically falling out of the sky, began twisting in the opposite direction to force the chariot to level out.

The two pegasi harshly beat their wings against the drafts. “I think we’re out of it!” Silver Star cried in short-lived joy.

Everypony’s eyes widened in shock. “Pull up, pull up!” Sabre Wing yelled as they descended into the treetops, heaving upwards with all his strength. The chariot rocked once more as the underside scrapped along the tip of a tall coniferous, sending Celestia careening into the other end of the cabin and buckling the pegasi. Still in their violent descent the two guards twisted hard on the reins, avoiding one tree only to accidently throw themselves into the path of another. Without hesitation Princess Celestia set off her teleportation spell, transporting the three of them out of harm’s way just before the immaculate, golden craft crashed headlong into the evergreen.

In a flash of light the three equines suddenly appeared on the forest floor very much alive. However, thanks Newtrot’s laws of motion, they were still going at speed. Simultaneously they splayed their wings to lose airspeed, but in the densely packed forest obstacles were many. Sabre Wing weaved between two trees and narrowly missed another, but a low lying branch smacked him across the face and sent him tumbling into the ground. Princess Celestia was slightly more fortunate and was able to slow down fast enough that by the time she hit a tree, it felt no worse than walking into a wall. Silver Star however was not as lucky as the other two. The pegasus pulled sharply to avoid smashing into the forbidding trunk of one tree but carelessly got too close to another, clipping a wing before cartwheeling into the earth.





Celestia was the first to come to her senses, shaking off the impact. She stumbled away from her clumsy landing a bit dazed but alright. A quick scan of the surrounding area showed her two guards were missing. Suddenly her back felt a lot heavier. “Silver Star! Sabre Wing!” She called out.

“Over here!” a voice called out from the shadows, bouncing off the wall of trees and giving no indication of where it came from.

“Princess!” came another disembodied yell. Celestia twirled on the tips of her hooves, ears on end. The woodlands fell quiet as she surveyed her environment. She was so alert her muscles were on the verge of tearing from the bone. She was so still she didn’t dare bat an eyelid. The forest was so noiseless she had to hold her breath to make sure nothing was missed.

snap

Celestia immediately kicked sharply at the ground like a coiled spring and lunged in the direction of the faint noise, moving into a full-blown gallop. She effortlessly weaved between columns of trees, leaped over rocks and ducked beneath branches as she closed the distance.

“Princess!” Sabre Wing exclaimed with a sigh of relief. Celestia skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt as she twisted around to see the guard limping out of the shadows of foliage. A large, bloodied gash ran down the length of his foreleg and left an unsettling trail behind him.

“Lieutenant!” Celestia practically cried when she saw his injuries. “You’re hurt!”

The pegasus looked down at his damaged shin. “Heh, don’t worry about me,” he joked, hobbling closer to the alicorn. “It’s just a flesh wound. I’m a bit banged up but I’ll live.” He studiously examined the cut with a smile before bringing his gaze up to the Princess. His grin immediately vanished. “Princess! Are you alright?”

Celestia was taken aback in confusion. “Of course I’m alright! Why wouldn’t I…?” She raised a brow at the concerned look she was receiving. Sabre Wing brought up his injured leg and motioned to his snout. The alicorn mimicked him, bringing up her own hoof and tapped the end of her muzzle. A small spike of pain ran down its length upon contact.

“Oh…” She gulped, examining the new crimson colored splotch on her hoof. She planted it back firmly on the ground and shrugged. “It’s just a bloodied nose. At worst it’s broken,” she reassured with a cautious grin. Sabre Wing opened his mouth as if he was about to speak, but a jarring yelp echoed through the forestry interrupted his thought process.

“Silver Star!” He screamed and galloped off in the cry’s direction as fast as three legs would take him. Celestia’s heart sank and she ran faster, overtaking the guard and appearing in a small clearing not ten seconds later. She stopped running, coming to a halt in front of the body. The alicorn’s legs buckled and she went breathless.

“Silver Star!” Sabre Wing cried again as he emerged alongside Celestia. His eyes snapped at the sight that so dismayed the Princess, but unlike her he was relieved.

“Bless Star Swirl’s beard! You’re alive!” Sabre Wing brushed past the frozen alicorn to his fallen companion. Silver Star groaned, weakly stirring in the dirt. His armor had been dented in several places and his wing shattered at the joint from the impact with the tree. Now the useless limb was drooping over his side like a blanket.

“Hehehe…” The guard wheezed on the ground, coughing up minute quantities of blood. His wing might be crippled, but with the aid of his fellow soldier, he was able to stand himself on all four legs.

“Ow. Er... I’m fine. Just a wing after all,” he shrugged, stretching his neck. Covered in grass stains, he shook his legs and began jogging in place, showing that he could still walk. Just to confirm this, he trotted in a slow circle around his friend while Sabre Star stood in the center stifling a laugh.

“It’s good to see you’re all together,” Sabre Wing sighed, playfully smacking the other pegasus on the helmet.

Silver Star shrugged. “It could have been a lot worse,” he turned his gaze to Celestia. “Your Highness! Thank you for…” he stopped short upon seeing the miniscule and insignificant amount of blood trickling from the alicorn’s nostrils. “Princess! You’re injured!”

Celestia was snapped out of her trance, absentmindedly sneezing and sending tiny droplets of blood everywhere. Her eyes widened in shock and took a step back, examining the guards, each now horrified that they had at least a little amount of the alicorn’s regal blood on them.

“Oh no, I am… fine,” she stammered as the pegasi frantically wiped the blood off their armor. Her eyes nervously glanced between the two as the bewildered guardponies brought their eyes back. The alicorn could'nt help but cringe at their injuries. The fact that she was at fault made her hang head in disgrace.

“Forgive me, my little ponies,” she exhaled heavily, feeling the pressure on her back intensify. “I’m so sorry. It’s my fault that you are injured.”

The two guards gawked at her. “Sorry?” Silver Star questioned, stomping a hoof in the ground for emphasis. “Princess, you saved our lives!”

The alicorn almost choked on the air she breathed. Princess Celestia brought her head back up to the two warm smiles she was receiving.

“Yeah!” Sabre Wing shouted in agreement, wincing as a sliver of pain ran up his leg. “If it wasn’t for you we would have fared a lot worse, not to mention yourself! If anypony we should be the ones to apologize for what happened with the chariot. We failed you; don’t take it out on yourself.”

Silver Star chuckled, glancing at the bent wing that wilted at his side. He clenched his teeth and fought back the pain. “Heck, I’ll take a broken wing any day if I can live for another,” he said in half cheerful tone. He looked back to the Princess. “Thank you, your Highness. You saved our lives.”

But… it’s because of her they’re hurt! True, things could have been worse, but they could have been so much better! She could have teleported them elsewhere; a large clearing, a river, anywhere but the densely packed forest! Regardless of what they say it’s her fault things turned out the way they did.

And oddly enough, they didn’t blame her.

She sighed. They were likely just saying that because of her position as ruler of Equestria. Nopony would even consider being impolite in the Princess’s presence. Embarrassed by the ‘praise’, she turned her head away. “Of course…” Celestia mumbled under her breath, turning back around to the pegasi with the falsest of smiles. “Very well, then. I’m thankful your injuries are not too severe.”

Sabre Wing beamed. “I’m thankful yours aren’t either. Come on, I think I saw a settlement to the north.” And with that he slowly led the way through the thicket of foliage, Princess Celestia and Silver Star following close behind.





Not twenty minutes later, the three equines emerged at the forest edge. Sabre Wing’s wound had stopped bleeding, but it still hurt to put his entire weight on. The Princess was unsure if her nose was truly broken, but the bleeding stopped so that was good enough. Silver Star frowned with everything his broken wing brushed up against, but Celestia was more than eager to clear as much foliage out of his path as possible.

“Where are we?” Sabre Wing asked to nopony in particular as he emerged out of the woodland thicket. Celestia used her own wing to raise a low hanging branch for Silver Star to slide under and the two of them appeared alongside him.

By the looks of things, it wasn’t a longshot to say they plainly walked out of one forest and into another. Except with the unpredictable terrain of the jungle they came out of, this one was much cleaner and organized. Rows upon columns of trees stretched on before them, covering a significant amount of acreage. They happened to have just appeared on its outer edge, the crest of a hill nonetheless, where a wide and well-used dirt path went in either direction, presumably along the whole perimeter.

“Looks like an orchard,” Silver Star deadpanned. “An apple orchard at that,” he said looking up to one of the trees, tempting and pristine red orbs dangling from its branches. The orchard had a soothing quality about it, something that seemed like it didn’t quite belong here but she warmly accepted that it was. The air was crisp and lively, quite unlike the shady forest behind where its atmosphere was pressuring down on Celestia. And now, the burden was uplifted. Sunlight penetrated through the gap between orchard and jungle, basking her and her guards in its embracing rays.

Celestia pondered for a moment. “There’s only one apple orchard in the Canterlot area, so we must be in Ponyville," the Princess thought back. It was a little over fifty years ago when she first gave a family of pilgrims some land to settle in. Right about then, the apple industry took off and a small town formed alongside the farm. If she remembered correctly from the censuses, the town hasn’t grown much. Over the course of fifty years it grew from a just a few families to roughly four thousand ponies.

However if this was Sweet Apple Acres, which the Princess was positive of, the farm itself had grown exponentially since the pilgrims planted their first apple trees. The produce market is always a strong one, so it only makes sense that they expanded but she was a little surprised just how much it had. She hadn’t given the family that much land, so business must be good for them to now own several dozen acres.

Sabre Star spoke up, “Which way do you want go?” He motioned down one end of the dirt path.

His voice brought Celestia back to the present. The two guards were busy scrutinizing the two possible directions, deciding which way would bring them to civilization the fastest.

“Well, can’t the Princess just teleport us back to Canterlot?” Silver Star asked. The two pegasi dumbly looked at each other before bringing their heads towards Celestia.

She shook her head. “Forgive me, but Canterlot is roughly forty miles away. Even with my magical abilities, such a distance would be a strain on my mental capacity, especially if I were to transport the three of us. I might not have enough stamina to raise the moon tonight.” She glanced into the comforting shade of the apple orchard. “I would send a letter alerting the Guard of our conundrum, but I don’t have anything to write with or on. There are some miracles magic simply can’t do,” Celestia sighed, rubbing some dried blood off her sore muzzle.

Sabre Star frowned, inspecting his own wound. He knew that if the Princess could heal their injuries she would have done so already. “Drat. Well, I could fly and scout…”

“I tell ya Macky, reckon we’ll finish this here season in record time!”

“Eeyup!”

Celestia’s ears flicked at the sound of two new voices. The guards heard them too and the three craned their necks down the trail, where the steady groan of the wheels on a cart could be heard. Gradually, a pyramid of buckets filled to the brim with apples appeared on the horizon as the creaking of wood got closer and closer. As the wagon and its cargo made its way up the hill and towards the peak the ponies at the reins came into view. Much to the surprise of everypony, there were two kids hauling the massive load of apples; a red colt and an orange filly.

Sabre Wing and Silver Star, even in their obviously wounded states, quickly took up positions on either side of the Princess as customary in the presence of commoners, taking on the blank yet strong glares expected of the Guard.

Slowly the two younglings got closer to them, oblivious to their presence and deeply wrapped in conversation.

The orange one kept talking, “Hmm… shucks, I can’t remember the last time we worked this fast. And Granny Smith said we could do it too!” She said with a grin on her face. Her peach blonde mane, even though tied at the end, was getting in her eyes but with a whip-like snap of the neck later it was thrown out of the way.

“Eeyup,” plainly agreed the red colt, a grin over his face as well. His orange mane was cut short so unlike his friend it never could get in his way.

“Reckon’d we work hard enough we’d finish lickety split, and just look at…” the farmfilly’s eyes wandered in front of her, widening in disbelief as the ruler of Equestria stood before her. The red colt addressed as Macky followed her gaze to the white alicorn, himself sporting an expression not too dissimilar. They quickly tried to bow from within the restraints of the reins, more or less successful.

The kids brought their heads back up to Celestia, where she simply smiled at them. Her guards stood firm, looking the best they could with their injuries.

“Uh… why… Princess… here… ya…” Words stumbled out of the filly’s mouth as she tried to form a coherent sentence. The colt just simply gaped. “Uhm… howdy there… uh, yer Highness!” The filly finally strung a few words together. “Um… why are ya’ll in Sweet Apple Acres? Can I help ya with anythin’?”

“Yes…” out of the corner of her eyes, Celestia saw her lieutenant’s injured leg reflex, making her flinch herself. She looked back to the two kids who were visibly awestruck at her presence. “We had a… ‘mishap’ earlier and we appear to be a bit lost. My guards are also injured. Do you know the way to town, more specifically the mayor’s office?”

“Why, I’d be downright ashamed if we didn’t assist the Princess!” The farmfilly beamed. “My brother Macky here can take ya’ll to town if that’s what yer needin’!”

“Eeyup!” Macky said in eager contentment. He undid his harness but curiously kept the yoke around his neck. The colt cautiously trotted forward, largely sidestepping around the guards and behind them, waiting to fulfill his role as lead. Smiling, the orange filly grunted as she got back to work, pulling the cart along the ground slower than before.

“Mighty fine meetin’ ya, Princess! Truth be told, I never woulda expected ya to come visit!” She exclaimed towards the party before pouring all her concentration into the cart.

Something ticked in Celestia’s mind. Behind her Macky hesitantly waited for the Princess to turn around and follow, as were her guards as they stayed at her side.

Celestia turned to the two pegasi. “Silver Star, Sabre Wing?”

“Your Highness,” they answered in unison.

She contemplated her thoughts, making sure whether or not her hunch was justifiable. Actually, this was her first encounter with another pony since Twilight, so she might as well investigate. “Follow Macky into town. After you send a message to Canterlot about what happened, I want you two to go admit yourselves to the local hospital. That’s an order.”

Her guards uncomfortably fidgeted. “Your Highness? What about yourself, your injuries?” Sabre Star asked worryingly.

“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to do… some more exploring. I’ll be sure to meet up at town hall in an hour.”

The pegasi looked at her like she was mad, especially after how their previous trek went, but they had just received a direct order from the Princess herself. They had no choice but to follow through. Grumbling, the guards turned around and followed Macky down the road, the colt smiling the whole way as he happily hopped towards town. Celestia watched idly as they wandered away.

“Um… Princess? Not to intrude and stuff, but why ya’ll still here?”

Celestia brought her gaze back to the attention of the filly. The little workpony continued to pull the mighty load of apples all on her lonesome, stopping to catch her breath when she reached the crest of the hill. Droplets of sweat reflected light reflected off her coat, almost illuminating her in an aura.

“Well, I couldn’t just let you pull that heavy cart all by yourself,” Celestia said with a smile. Her horn shined a soft turquoise and a similar aura enveloped the wagon, pushing it along the ground at a much steadier pace.

The orange earth pony quickly snapped forward in her reins so she didn’t get run over. “Why, thank ya kindly, but I don’t need any help.” She smiled and trudged onwards. “After all, Granny Smith says that an honest day’s work is the best kinda work.”

Perhaps Celestia was on to something. Even with her in complete control of the cart the orange farmfilly continued to push herself. The Princess snickered at the determination yet still held the cart in her aura, trotting alongside it.

“But Miss…” she stopped herself. The filly’s eyes snapped in sudden realization.

“Consarnit! I never told ya my name, did I?” The filly hissed at herself. “My name’s Applejack, Princess. This here farm’s Sweet Apple Acres and this is our orchard.” Applejack swung a hoof out to present the immense numbers of apple trees. “Me and my brother Macky manage the trees here year ‘round.”

Celestia was a little surprised by this. Albeit she didn’t expect a large workforce, two children handling an entire farm was baffling. However they didn’t seem to have any apparent problem with it. “You and your brother run the farm all by yourselves?” she questioned.

The filly beamed. “Well, the orchard anyways,” she corrected. “Granny Smith is too old to help us, Ma sells at the marketplace and Pa tends to the other crops. My parents are usually around but they’re in town today talking to the mayor about business stuff.”

The Princess glanced at the towering load in the cart she still held with her magic. Either the filly accepted her aid or simply didn’t notice it. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?”

“Well, if ya want to I suppose ya can.” Applejack shrugged. “No way can I stop the Princess from lendin’ a hoof. But I’m tryin’ to get better at this so when we expand I won’t be so reliant on Macky or Pa all the time.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Expand? You already have several dozen acres of apple trees by what I can tell. Why would you need any more?”

“Well, it’s all about supply and demand,” she said naturally, pulling harder on the reins. “Ma says the apple market’s blooming and we need to swing accordingly. Hehehe… ‘apple market’, ‘blooming’…”

She smiled at the filly’s pun. More so, she was completely pleased by Applejack’s comfort around her. Ordinarily when in public, especially in crowds, ponies went out of their way to gratify the Princess even if it was something trivial, making so much as going into a store to buy something a very big event. But here she was being treated like anypony else, casually having a conversation without the hassle of public admiration.

“Yeah, like I was sayin’ we hope to expand soon. Preferably after this season. The farm will need me more than ever when we do.” Applejack frowned. “Heh, a few days ago actually, I left the farm life behind for the big city, if ya can believe it.”

Celestia curiously furrowed her brow in confusion. The determination the filly was putting into her work was evidence enough she loved the farm life, or how Applejack put it, her ‘honest work.’ Celestia looked at the tower of apples and smiled, releasing her magical influence on the cart. The farmfilly’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden weight added, but she giggled and kept pressing forward.

“You don’t look like a pony who would live in a city,” Celestia mused. For somepony as dedicated to the farm as Applejack was it must have been a life changing event; this she’d have to hear.

Applejack laughed. “Yeah, it took me a whole day to figure that out. Leavin’ the farm was the worst decision of my life. I was so plum tuckered that after a day in Manehattan I wasted no time runnin’ back home. Oh! And that’s also the day I got my cutie mark!”

Celestia caught a glimpse of her cutie mark: three red apples. It would seem appropriate for somepony like Applejack.

“Yeah… it represents that I’m destined to be an apple farmer. Hey, ‘apple’ is in my family’s name after all!” Applejack smiled and then frowned, thinking hard about something. The steady pace she had been pulling the cart with slowed down as the filly continued to ponder. “However, Ma says it means something deeper, but I don’t quite understand what she means by it.”

Slowing down herself to match the cart’s speed, Celestia tilted her head. “How so?”

“Well…” Applejack held her tongue, trying to recollect her memories. “I have three apples for a cutie mark, and Ma says three is the number of trust, meaning I’m a reliable, hardworkin’ pony and such. And I guess she’s right. I don’t like lying after all but I don’t think it can be somethin’ fancy like that.”

Princess Celestia smiled. “You know Miss Applejack; a cutie mark can mean more than one thing.”

The cart stopped, sending an apple tumbling out of one basket only to get caught in another beneath. The orange filly scratched a hoof against her chin. “I guess so. I can’t really see why one can’t.”

Applejack undid herself from the cart and unlike her brother she opted to leave the yoke connected. The filly wandered around to the rear of the wagon and jumped up on it, fumbling about in the portion not occupied by produce. Celestia followed, watching curiously as the farmer skillfully toppled several empty buckets off where they clattered onto the ground. Leaping back down, Applejack landed beside the containers and in a fluent motion she twisted on her front legs; rear ones coiled like a spring. In three quick motions she accurately kicked at three separate targets, sending the wooden buckets sailing off towards the nearest apple tree where they landed around its base.

“Hey Princess!” Applejack shouted, looking up the alicorn as she trotted over to the tree. Sunlight failed to penetrate the canopy of the orchard, shrouding the tree the filly was now standing under in darkness. “I really appreciate yer company and all. Not every day the Princess comes to talk with ya, and it can get pretty lonely. Wanna watch me applebuck?”

Still illuminated by light from her position however, Celestia simply smiled. The warm rays of the sun only emphasized her comforting presence. “Sure,” she said calmly.

Applejack beamed and trotted closer to the tree. Her brow furrowed and she stuck her tongue out, trying to spot the best way to attack the hardened bark. Finding the appropriate angle, the filly reeled around on her front legs, charging her hind legs for a brutal strike. In three sequential motions she kicked out, planting her back hooves in the same spot on the trunk each time. With every powerful kick the tree vibrated brutally, shaking its branches so its red treasures popped off and harmlessly fell into the awaiting containers below.

Much to her pride, not a single apple missed the buckets. And by the looks of things the tree was now completely absent of apples too.

“Impressive,” Celestia applauded. It wasn’t the best work she’s seen but for a farmfilly her age it was an extraordinary feat.

“Thank ya kindly, Princess. Coming from ya that means a lot. If I get really good, I bet I’d be able to do it in one kick.” Applejack smiled. “Here, want an apple? Freshly bucked!”

The orange filly picked up an apple in her hooves and tossed it over to Celestia. She caught it midway with her magic and levitated the shiny orb closer to her snout. “Thank you, Miss Applejack,” she said calmly. As the fruit passed out of the shade and into the light, its glossy texture became more defined and all the more tempting. Still holding onto her prestige, Celestia took a bite out of the apple.

The first thing she noticed was pain. A sudden shock of it shot down her muzzle as her jaws clamped down. However the pain was absolutely worth it as the apple juices flooded her mouth, igniting her taste buds into a pomaceous-fueled craze.

Celestia was shocked by what he just tasted. Applejack beamed with excitement at her reaction. Not even bothering to swallow the alicorn gluttonously took another bite, fighting back the pain in her snout as she relished in the fruit’s flavor.

“Mmm…” she hummed, finally moving the bits of fruit into her gullet. “This is divine! I don’t think any of the apples in Canterlot taste half this good!”

Applejack’s adorable grin should have split her face in half. “Ya for real?!” she said, hopping up and down in place. “That’s the honest truth?!”

Celestia nodded her head, taking another bite out of the apple. Let the sun be damned, this was delicious! “How do you grow them like this?” She asked, swallowing another bit of pure delight.

“Why, it’s all about the land!” Applejack said, balancing one of the buckets on her back as she went to load it into the wagon. “Granny Smith always says to give to the land and the land will give back. So we tend to our trees with as much respect as anypony deserves. That combined with the good ‘ol earth pony way of applebucking—no fancy machines and the like—and ya get the best apples this side of Equestria.”

Finishing her apple to the core, the thought crossed the alicorn’s mind if she should eat that too. However she wasn’t that ambitious, so the thought passed without a second mind.

“So anypony could just copy your methods and produce an apple like this?” Celestia mused, twirling the core around in the air.

Applejack snorted as she loaded the bucket into the cart. “Well I guess so, but not just anypony can. Ya gotta love what ya do, be honest about it and take pride in yer work. That’s why I hate lyin’.” The filly shot a sorrowful glance into the thicket of the orchard. “If I were to lie I would just be hurtin’ myself, but I’d hurt the apples too. And yer work reflects how ya live, so I’d be hurtin’ myself double if I lied.”

The regal alicorn couldn’t help but think over the farmfilly’s philosophy. It was so simple and down to earth, yet elegant and sophisticated all the same. In truth, she could relate those words to her position as Princess in countless areas. Yes… in ‘truth’…

“Excuse me, Miss Applejack?”

The orange filly was now balancing a second bucket of apples, ready to make the trek out of the shadows and back to the wagon. “Yes?”

“Could you come here for a second? I want to see something,” Celestia mused. She brought up a hoof and glanced at its underside, right where a black gemstone was slowly materializing. Even with the heavy load on her back, Applejack wasted no time trotting over to her.

“Erm, what’s that?” The farmfilly noticed the black gem in her hoof and pointed to it. Celestia simply brought it up so the filly could clearly see it.

“This is a soul gem,” she answered justly. “They let me find out which ponies are the strongest when it comes to certain things.”

Applejack had wandered over the wagon and heaved the second bucket of apples among the others. “What kinda things?” She asked quizzically, now putting all her attention onto the Princess.

Celestia approached her and smiled. “In this case, honesty.” The gem latched onto her hoof like glue as she brought it downwards and onto the farmfilly’s snout. Much to her delight, the gem slowly began to turn a bright orange color.

“Heehee! That tickles!” Applejack snorted, trying her best not to break away from whatever it was the Princess was doing. In less than ten seconds the whole ordeal was over, and when the alicorn took her hoof off her Applejack reeled over into the dirt, giggling ecstatically.

Shifting her attention from the laughing filly to the gem in her hoof, Celestia could only smile as it shone a vivid orange. She keenly stored it away in her mane for safe keeping.

“Whoo! What was that?” Applejack asked nonchalantly as she regained her composure. Princess Celestia turned back to see that the earth pony was back on her hooves, brushing dust off her coat. “That was real funny feelin’. Can we do it again?”

Suddenly the farmfilly’s eyes widened as she hit a realization. “Oh! Look at me talkin’ to the Princess like she isn’t the Princess! I musta been doing that this whole darned time.” Her mood swiftly changed from her previous comfortable tone into one of self-pity. She looked up to Celestia with large, glass eyes that tugged at her heart.

“Ya aren’t mad at me for bein’ so disrespectful, are ya Princess?” she asked solemnly. “I didn’t mean anythin’ by it.”

Much to the filly’s surprise, Celestia snickered. “Oh no, not in the slightest,” she said with a grin. “In fact, I actually like it. It’s nice for a Princess to be treated like a common pony every once in a while.”

Applejack heaved a mighty sigh of relief. “Heh, I guess work can get the best of everypony sometimes,” She said, drifting off to stare into the mass of apple trees. “But I love my work.”

Celestia smiled and lifted the remaining container out of the shade with her magic, floating it over the cart to set it among the others. “And I love mine,” she chuckled. “Even with its downsides I still love my job.”










“And you should have seen her face when I said I wanted to place an order of apples,” Celestia snickered. “It was truly an adorable sight.”

The aged unicorn smiled. “I can only imagine,” she said without the faintest hint of pain in her words. Celestia felt her heart jerk at the possible insult she accidently made, but Twilight didn’t appear to be offended by it.

“Yes…” she cleared her throat. “Ever since then, the only apples I’ve allowed in the castle kitchens come directly from Sweet Apple Acres.”

Perfectly timed, right as Princess Celestia finished her tale there was a knock at the door. The hospital room fell silent again save the regular beeps of the heart monitor. She glanced between the wooden portal and Twilight who, still smiling over the story, gave a little nod.

“It’s alright,” her student said before coughing again. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Celestia frowned at the thought of leaving the bedside even if only for a second. Twilight however continued to give her the most encouraging of smiles she could manage. Sighing in defeat, the Princess stood up.

“I’ll be gone for just a minute,” she cooed. The aged mare’s ears flicked in acknowledgment and Celestia found herself slowly trotting up to the door, careful not to make a sound with every step she took. Her horn softly flushed a smooth turquoise, twisting the handle and opening the door just enough for her to silently slip through. The door softly shut behind her with a heavy click as the alicorn found her being in the hospital’s hallway, flanked on either side by two unicorn guards.

The hall was dimly lit. What little daylight that seeped in through the window at the far end did little to illuminate the passageway. She looked down at a doctor who nervously stood before her, a clipboard hanging from his mouth. Celestia dismissed the two guards to give the two of them some privacy and with a salute, they quietly shuffled out of the hallway. The alicorn brought her gaze back to the earth pony.

“Ahem,” the stallion cleared his throat. “Princess Celestia,” he spoke without fault through the clipboard held tight between his teeth.

“Yes?”

The doctor continued, “About Twilight Sparkle’s condition… we have, um… got the first of the x-rays developed and…” He hesitantly opened his jaw as Celestia’s magical aura enveloped clipboard, levitating the document close to her face. Her head snapped backwards, eyes widening in shock.

He timidly attempted to stand still. “As you can probably see, the tumor is nestled inside the marrow of the horn, where the base connects to the rest of the skull,” the doctor said. Celestia’s pupils narrowed, focusing on every bit the piece of paper would tell her. She read the entire analysis in twenty seconds. Then she reread it to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. Then she double checked to make sure hadn’t misread what she didn’t miss.

The doctor gulped. More than anything he always hated this part of his job, and having to address the Princess of all ponies wasn’t making things any easier. He did his best to maintain eye contact, but it’s rather difficult when the receiving party is feverishly occupied elsewhere. But right now he was more than willing to let the formalities pass.

“Um, Princess,” he tried to interject yet the alicorn ignored him, eyes glued to the clipboard. He continued anyway, “Although it has dug into the skull, we do believe the tumor itself is not in contact with the gray matter of the brain.”

Celestia’s eyes shot up to stare at him, making him flinch. A bit of hope gleamed in her eyes. “Is… t-tell me there’s something you can do,” she weakly asked, almost begging.

The stallion was about to hang his head but forced himself not to back away. “There are a few things…” he began. Princess Celestia continued to stare, fighting back the impulse to whimper like a foal.

“We can attempt to remove the tumor, however there are repercussions…”

She watched his mouth move, halfheartedly urging him to carry on.

“If we are to be successful, we’ll have no choice but remove the horn entirely. She’ll lose the ability to use magic for the rest of her life. However that’s the best case scenario; several things can go wrong…”

Celestia’s eye twitched.

The doctor took in a deep breath of air. “For starters, there’s the slim possibility that the tumor is already in contact with the gray matter. If we were to remove the tumor under such circumstances, parts of the frontal lobe might come with it, potentially resulting in death or at the very least mental incapacitation and likely paralysis of some kind. We won’t know for sure until we… try it.”

The alicorn’s own horn pulsated, dropping the clipboard a few inches before she caught it again with her magic.

He hesitated to continue but pushed onwards. “Secondly, horn-removal surgery is a dangerous procedure in of itself. Because unicorns are so active with their magic, simply removing the horn can result in paralysis; regardless if there’s a tumor or not. And the more adept the unicorn is with their magical abilities, the higher the odds for something to go wrong. And being an Element of Harmony and all…”

She was just about ready to give up. The clipboard clattered to the ground and she fell backwards on her haunches, causing the doctor to raise a hoof over his eyes in reflex. The Princess landed on her rump with a dull thud, blankly staring at the opposite wall.

The stallion held his breath. “Miss Sparkle has no immediate family,” he reluctantly sustained with the most basic, jarring, and important of speeches. “And because the two of you are technically family, after her brother died you became her legal guardian. With her current state and all, the decision of whether or not to follow through with the surgery is… yours.”

The alicorn pressed her front hooves into the floor, trying to steady her being but opted for simply leaning against the wall. Her lips quivered, her legs shivered, yet the Princess refused to cry. She couldn’t just make a decision like this! One that could easily kill her friend! Her… best friend…

Celestia brought her grief-stricken eyes back to the ones of the doctor. “And… if we don’t go with the surgery?”

He bit his lip. “Erm… I can guarantee that Miss Sparkle will have another four months, but we won’t know for sure until the blood results get back. Some medications and therapies might add a few weeks, but if her condition worsens in the meantime… there’s no telling when.”

The alicorn returned her gaze to the floor.

“However!” The doctor said in a cheerful tone, quickly regaining Celestia’s attention. “If we do go through with the surgery and it’s a success, I can guarantee that Miss Sparkle will live much longer! A unicorn at her age, especially one as strong as she is, should have another happy ten years of life on her.”

Somehow, after absorbing all these grim facts, she brought herself to smile. Celestia stood back up on firm hooves, straight as the trunk of a tree and just as solid. She took a moment for some very gluttonous breaths of air, regained her composure, and looked back to the stallion.

“Thank you for this information doctor…”

“Stables, Miss. Dr. Stables,” he said with a small grin of his own.

Celestia was amused he didn’t address her as ‘Princess.’ It’s been a long while since somepony she didn’t know formally had done that. “Thank you, Dr. Stables,” she repeated. Her horn once more illuminated the clipboard on the ground and she motioned it to him to take back.

He grabbed the document in his teeth with a half-assured grin. “There are some things magic simply can’t do,” he joked. “Miracles are one of them.”

Princess Celestia smiled a bit wider. “Believe me, I know.” She turned her attention back to the simple door that separated herself from Twilight. It couldn’t be more than a few meters, yet it felt like a mile away and a distance of only a few inches at the same time. She couldn’t explain this feeling otherwise; to be so close yet so separated.

Celestia made up her mind. “I think I’ll let Twilight choose if she wants to have the surgery,” she said plainly to the doctor. After all, this wasn’t her life. She shouldn’t have a say in how it ends.

The stallion tilted his head in concern. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Don’t you think it might be a little… much for her to handle?”

Her smile grew ever so slightly. “She’d find out one way or another and besides; Twilight is a strong pony. I would only hurt her more if I lie.”

Dr. Stables gave a warm grin himself through the object he clenched in his teeth. “Even so, it’s probably best she doesn’t try to do any magic for the time being. The strain could do something unexpected.”

“Probably…” Celestia mused. An awkward silence filled the hall as the two equines’ minds wandered.

“Very well then,” Dr. Stables said with a nod, thereby bringing an end to the conversation. “I do believe I have used up enough of your time. Have a good day Princess Celestia, and on my behalf please tell Twilight Sparkle the entire hospital wishes her the best of luck.”

Celestia nodded and watched as the stallion left, rounding the corner at the end of the hall. As the doctor slipped out of sight the two guardponies from before exposed their heads around the bend; awaiting permission to return to their posts. Celestia only smiled at them as she wordlessly slipped back through the door, gently closing it behind with a soft click. The two guards took the hint and quietly trotted over to the doorway, once more flanking either side with blank stares expressed firmly across their faces.

Comments ( 24 )

So... this chapter was originally intended to be 3500 words long. As you can see, it's more than double that. :pinkiecrazy:
Hopefully the other chapters won't be so lengthy, but no guarantees.

Also, I'm going to try to get on EQD. So if you see any errors, please alert me so I can fix them.

the first chapter was sadder this one is kinda sad but not grim sad which is a good thing so in other words LIES!!!
(thanks for lying by the way)

518120 Ooh, I found one!
Applejack undid herself the cart and unlike her brother she opted to the leave the yoke connected.
Other than that, no glaring errors. There are probably more, less annoying ones. Good luck getting onto EQD! :pinkiehappy:

518370 Depends of the person. I wasn't necessarily lying and I don't intend for this to be grimsad.

518425 Thank you!

Very good. There's one thing that I want to point out:

"However the pain was absolutely worth it as the apple juices flooded her mouth, igniting her taste buds into a citrus-fueled craze."

Apples are not citrus fruits. Innocent mistake, I know.

Also, did you get one of the lines from "The End of Ponies" fic? The one about giving to the land and the land giving back?

519678 Hmm... I'll have to fix that about the apples.

As for your second question, that was entirely unintentional :trixieshiftright:
However, perhaps you saw the reference to another fiction in 'Magic' :raritywink:

but you just said it yourself.... ''celestia was out in her garden reading........'' when said events happened.... therefore she would of seen/herd the sonic rainboom! which BTW gave everypony puberty :rainbowlaugh:

damnit i have to wait for the next one:raritycry:. alwell, just like celestia said about the apple, its worth it. now to fav!:pinkiehappy:

536489 A good story can distract us from anything. I should know.

Damn you various fanfictions! :pinkiecrazy:

I'm pretty sure there was a "he" instead of a "she" in there somewhere...

This is great! I love the concept of Celestia hoof-picking the ponies that best represented the Elements. Of course she did, Celstia sees and knows all. :trollestia: I also like how you made her a bit more vulnerable and less godlike.

I noticed a few mistakes though:

"Gluttonous", "not "glutinous", unless you meant full of gluten. :twilightsheepish: That's in there twice, with the apples and after the doctor gives Celestia the bad news.

“Why, I’d be plum tuckered if we didn’t assist the Princess!” Tuckered means exhausted. Maybe something like "I'd be doggone if..." or something silly like "a bug in a rug" or "I'd pick apples in the Everfree Forest afore I let the Princess go without help!" I have no idea, I'm not Southern so I'm not familiar with the slang. Anypony else have ideas? :derpytongue2:

The alicorn could [not] help but cringe at their injuries.

“Thank you [for] this information doctor…”

Eagerly awaiting more! :pinkiehappy:

537184 Thank you for that. :twilightblush:

I like this a lot! It shows her vulnerable side and expands on the immortality thing; she's probably lost a lot of friends in the past :raritycry:

"That combined with the good ‘ol earth pony way of applebucking—no fancy machines and the like—and ya get the best apples this side of Equestria.”

Yeah, none of that highfalutin' uppity hi-tech nonsense.
Like plows. Or fertilizer.

I hate ludditism, no matter how diluted. It's the fanfare of the idiot.

I've always had this theory that Celestia had a hand in shaping all of the Mane 6's 'destinies' so seeing someone writing on that is really interesting to read, so far it's been really good cannot wait to see the rest

550890 Thank you for that. :twilightblush:

But with your second point, "If so she was drastically unprepared to face the draconequus, but whoever was inside was currently at his mercy." This sentence is grammatically correct. The following sentence, "And mercy isn't something Discord fondly gave," expands on the former, meaning that the ponies inside are at Discord's mercy. Celestia is not the one threatening them, so in this context it's about Discord, or him. However I appreciate your concern.

For some reason I am violently opposed to the idea of cancer in ponies. I dont think it has anything to do with your story though. I just despise the idea of beloved ponies falling victim to something as mundane as cancer.

562400

This is MAGIC cancer though.

Why haven't you posted? D:

And because the two of you are technically family, after her brother died you became her legal guardian. With her current state and all, the decision of whether or not to follow through with the surgery is… yours.

She's conscious, seems fully in possession of her mental faculties, and surely she's old enough to control her own life. Why isn't it legally her decision?

:raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry::raritycry:
WHY?!?:raritydespair: IT'S NOT FAIR!!!! HOW COULD YOU WRITE THIS?!? :flutterrage:HOW COULD YOU?
it's not fair.....:ajsleepy:

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