Celestia's Flare

by Spica

Apples and Magic

Every day since the shift, Luna had dealt with irregular awakenings, having her internal, nocturnal clock led astray by her new schedules. The task of dealing with both astral entities in such short notice greatly strained her magical reserves; and the pressure of taking Court had added to her load. She cancelled the Night Court and redirected all of its cases at the Day Court. She also looked out for Celestia, being the only one who could ease her pain a little. Even though only a few days had gone by since the beginning, she was already feeling close to her limits. After all, barely two years had passed since she came back from her imprisonment. She would need some more time before completely recovering. The Night Princess was not going to let that get the best of her, however. She had her duties, which she would absolutely carry off to the end. She gazed out of her window at the sky, which shone with the dim light before dawn. The navy blue bright of her horn marked the ascent of the great lamp that reigned In the sky. During night, the heat was present, but manageable. Soon, as the Sun picked up its strength, another day of scorching heat would come over. She casted the thoughts away from her mind for the moment and went to see her sister before heading off to breakfast.

The yellowish glow that encompassed all the area of the castle, in which only she ventured now, as the strength and warm were too oppressive for anypony to endure for extended periods of time. She opened the door to the room and walked inside, sitting at the side of the sick royal mare, who had her eyes closed and was moving in discomfort around the bed, her forelegs flailing wildly. Luna smiled sadly while stroking her sister's pastel colored mane with magic.

A wisp of green flame floated in front of Luna, who was in the throne room discussing with one of the royal counselors, an old, grey-maned unicorn called Grey Horn. He had been part of the Palace’s staff for decades, working primarily as a scribe, as his quill and parchment cutie mark attested. But his loads of experience allowed him to become a valuable advisor to Princess Celestia, and now that she had returned, also to her sister. They were both speaking about the current situation when the letter materialized in front of them. Momentarily taken aback, Luna recovered and brought the letter up to her. It was an announcement by Twilight Sparkle about the possibility of finding a cure She showed the letter to Grey Horn , who read it thoroughly and gave it back. She looked at him inquisitively

“What do you think, wise pony?”

“Twilight Sparkle was the one chosen by your sister. She has been the forefront force against the most recent occurrences in Equestria, which includes your own liberation, as you very well know. This warrants deeper looking into, Princess.”

She nodded after hearing his words.

“I shall arrange for a visit soon.”

She looked at her sister and smiled softly.

“Everything will be alright, Celly.”

The sun glowed dimly above the sky, just beginning to warm up, as Fluttershy made her way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Her friends had been attended to, and her house had been taken care of. She trotted at a slow, but constant pace, and soon found herself at the gates of the apple farm, crossing through them. Approaching the main house, she knocked at it and soon, the door was opened by one her best friends.

“G’ mornin’, Sugarcube! What are you up to this early? Did you have breakfast yet? Come in!”

“Yes, Applejack, I….” Before she could continue, she was carried away by the farm mare into the house. “Ya’ll always feel better after a good Apple Family breakfast. Now come here and don’t you protest none because ya’re goin’ to enjoy it!” The meek pony didn’t so much as present a token protest before being shoved into a seat at the breakfast table, barely avoiding falling over.

All the family now sat around the table, enjoying a nice meal of pancakes with apple syrup, and fresh apple juice. Apple Bloom ate at a breakneck pace; crumbles flying all around her plate. Her family all bore the same look of peaceful resignation, just letting her do her thing. Big Mac was at her side, eating slowly and greeting Fluttershy with a nod of his head. At one side of the table, the elder Apple sat. She waved a hoof at the guest.

“How d’ya do in this mornin’, gal?”

“Oh, I’m very well, Granny Smith. And you?” asked the pegasus with a small smile in her lips.

“Ah’m doin’ just mighty fine with this family of me here,” said the old mare, contently. Applejack set a plate and glass in front of Fluttershy and she began eating as she took in the conversation going on around the table. All the Apples –even the normally quiet Big Mac – talked eagerly about their chores and plans for the day. Apple Bloom rose from the table, took her plates into the kitchen, and waved a cheerful goodbye to everypony, rushing out of the house, going into the road leading to Ponyville. Soon she was followed by Big Mac and Applejack; the red stallion excused himself and set towards the orchards for another day of apple bucking. Fluttershy and Granny Smith were the last ones to finish, and despite Fluttershy’s offers, the elder pony refused to allow her to help in the plate cleaning. After a couple of minutes she went to find Applejack, who was just outside the house.

“Hey there, Sugarcube! So ya’ll tell me what did brought ya here this early?”

The yellow pony smiled nervously. “Um, yes, Applejack. I was just wondering if… if you could let me bring my little animal friends in here to take advantage of the greenhouses. My hut is becoming hotter every day and this would be a great help to us. If you don’t mind, that is… I promise I’ll make sure that they don’t eat any of your crops or cause disaster around your farm.”

The farm mare turned to look at Fluttershy; her serious look making her want to retreat and pretend everything was just a mistake…

“Why, Sugarcube, if you say you’ll keep an eye for them,, you certainly can bring them around here, and be here yourself. You’ll be our guest!”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t dream of imposing myself on you like that, I just…”

“Shush, take it easy, Fluttershy. It’s no problem for us, and we’ll be happy to help you.”

Both mares embraced softly, with Fluttershy profusely thanking her friend’s attentions. They soon separated; Applejack went towards the orchards to continue her chores and Fluttershy headed back to her cottage to prepare everything.

The sun now hung almost vertically over the sky, casting its powerful rays over Ponyville and its adjacent locations, such as the Everfree Forest. Deep into said forest, lied the small tent arranged by Twilight and Rarity to stay in, not very far away from Zecora’s hut. Both unicorns were busy. Twilight lay down, a folded blanket supporting a huge book before her. She passed the pages every few minutes with her hooves, and clumsily wrote down notes with her mouth, something she was absolutely not accustomed to. At her side, Rarity fiddled with a needle in her mouth, working on a small side project, a dress for the next Grand Galloping Gala. The fact that the last one had not gone exactly as she expected it to was hardly a deterrent for her, but she was making sure to have proper expectations this time around. After a few minutes, she dropped the needle, ensuring it fell in a place where it would be easily found, and turned to her friend.

“All this sewing by mouth is simply unseemly, dear. It have been years since I did it for the last time, when I was an apprentice filly, and though I can work with it with time and patience, it is the less ideal method. I can barely imagine how you must be feeling. “

The purple unicorn lifted the gaze from her book, and marked the page before closing in, standing on her four legs and stretching, looking at her friend. She briefly picked on the currently weak, but just noticeable –at least for Twilight. She doubted Rarity could feel anything of the sort- magic aura that currently leaked from the white unicorn, before talking to her.

“I miss my magic, too. I try to distract myself here with theory and studies, but the fact is that I’m missing the practice. I try not to think about it, I don’t want to have any more breakdowns.”

Rarity shuddered involuntarily at these words. “Yes, I can certainly picture what you mean.”

Twilight looked at her and smiled.

Noon fell upon Ponyville. In the small town, businesses closed for lunch break. In a certain tent, a couple of unicorns prepared to eat a lunch given to them by a small dragon. Said dragon, and a zebra, accompanied them in that hour. In a bakery near there, a pink pony devoured sweets while a toothless baby alligator hung from her hair for dear life as she bounced around. A rainbow-maned pony napped away in a cloud, having a couple hours before having weather duty.

In a farm at the edge of town, five ponies sat down to enjoy lunch; lettuce and pineapple salad accompanying daisy and peanut butter sandwiches and the sweet aroma of an apple pie baking in the oven. Outside, a multitude of animals played and ran around, some even taking tentative steps into the house.

“What d’ ya reckon we should do with the apples that come out of this harvest, then? If the weather continues like that we might find ourselves having some mighty losses…” Applejack talked, her voice loaded with worry, casting glances to her family.
Apple Bloom jumped cheerfully on her chair, up and down.

“Ah know, Ah know, sis! We, the Crusaders, have an idea!”

“Now ya slow down right there, miss, before ya’ll break down th’ chair!“ The small pony stopped jumping and a sweet smile appeared on her face. Her sister chuckled at this attempt; she had more than enough experience about Apple Bloom’s antics.

“What’s this all about?”

“Well, we’ve come out with a plan for this excruciating heat.” Everypony at the table, except Fluttershy, tilted their heads at the use of such a word. “It means unbearable, scorching heat!” They all nodded, pressing for her to go on.

“So, anyway, we were thinking about what we could do for our next Crusading, and Ah suggested selling apple juice, seeing as how this weather is awful and everything. What d’ya think, sis?” The little filly looked at her, hopeful.

The orange mare blinked. “Well, Ah don’t know, Apple Bloom…” The filly’s ears deflated a little. Applejack was about to speak again when Granny Smith interjected.

“Ah fer one think that’s one hay of an idea, if ya’ll ask me. Ah say we let the girl do what she wants. After all, we’re only going to report losses in at this rate; is not cider or zap apple season, sending apples away in this heat is only gonna damage them and we won’t be able to sell everything. So let’s go with that!”

Applejack turned her head towards her sister and nodded approvingly, after which, Apple Bloom jumped off her chair, almost like propelled by a rocket and celebrated.

“Just wait, Ah’m goin’ to tell the other Crusaders now!”

With that, she sprinted out of the house before anypony else could get a word in.

“Well, that solves a small part of the problem. We still got ourselves a lot of produce to deal with.”
Fluttershy lifted her head and addressed her friend with her soft, low voice. “Um, excuse me, Applejack. I could buy some of your vegetables…”

“That sounds pretty good for me. What d’ ya guys think?”

“Eeyup!”

“Hay yes!”

“You’ve got a deal there, Fluttershy!”

The yellow pegasus smiled, and went outside to check on her animal friends. Feeling a presence near her, she jumped forward and hid behind her mane as was characteristic of her, before turning and confirming the company of the elder Apple sibling. The gentle red stallion approached her.

“Ah’m mighty sorry, Ms. Fluttershy. Ah was just seein’ how well do you get along with them critters.”
Fluttershy slowly came out of her hiding spot and near Big Mac.

“Well, yes… I’ve been taking care of them for most of my life and know them pretty well. But you’ve also got some nice friends in here, don’t you?”

“Eeyup. But they are mostly here for their produce or as farm animals, and besides, Applejack is the one that is mostly in charge o’ them. I almost don’t get to them.”

While Big Mac spoke, a little rabbit, smaller than Angel, had been coming closer to him, sniffing and looking at the –from his point of view- gargantuan pony, first with some fear and now with curiosity. Fluttershy gave him a broader smile.

“I think he wants to know you better, Big Mac.” The red earth pony lowered his head until it was at level with the small rabbit and gave him a small nuzzle.

“Eeyup!”

The sun fell down and the moon rose, casting its pale light upon Equestria. Ponyville prepared to lie down. In the forest, Twilight and Rarity were assisted by the light of a single candle in the tent. For both, it had been quite a long day, and they knew longer ones would come. Cold breezes flew around and the two unicorns stuck one against the other to provide warm for the night. Twilight covered them both with a thick cover. Rarity smiled at her.

“Good night, Twilight?” whispered the white unicorn, her voice soft and melodic, reverberating like an echo.

“Good night, Rarity.”

The purple unicorn blew the light away and felt how her friend rested against her side. As if she had been switched off, sleep came over to Twilight like a shower of water falling down her. She could not help but notice just how warm the night was at Rarity’s side….

Comments

[tilkau]

She briefly picked on the currently weak, but just noticeable –at least for Twilight. She doubted Rarity could feel anything of the sort- magic aura that currently leaked from the white unicorn, before talking to her.
Putting a full stop inside a - interstitial comment - makes reading things very confusing. I suggest you replace it with a semicolon.