Memoir of Misery

by Silvak

Chapter XIV: Examination

"Yes, Sapphire, you are in—"

"No no no, that is a bad idea!" Sapphire exclaimed as she sat on her haunches so she could frail her forelegs around. This caused everypony to give her various expressions of befuddlement, with the exception of Celestia who held a bemused smile.

"What do you mean, it's a bad idea for you to be a princess?" Luna asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

"Actually, Auntie Luna, I think that this mare is right. She shouldn't be a princess," Blueblood declared, looking smug until he saw Luna glowering at him, causing him to gulp as he started to wheel his chair back.

However, Sapphire didn't notice Blueblood's comment as she answered, "Yes! I mean, I don't even have an education for... your sakes! I'm pretty sure that if you slap wings and a horn on any foal, they would do a better job than I ever could! I just learned how to read recently, and the only work I had was to put on dresses and look pretty!"

"Not like Blueblood does much else than that," muttered a nurse, to which Blueblood's ears flicked as he looked at her with suspicion as the nurse averted her eyes.

As Luna was about to respond to Sapphire's answer, Celestia let out a chuckle, drawing everypony's attention to her as she walked up to Sapphire. She placed a hoof on her shoulder as she said, "Sapphire dear, the reason Luna stated that you're a princess is because all known alicorns in Equestria are princesses. However, there are some things that are uncertain still, and your current health takes priority over these matters. Hence, I recommend that we put the thoughts of you being a princess aside and let the doctor give you a full examination. Nephew, please return to your quarters in the castle. I'm fairly certain that you have had all the medical attention that you would need for the day. Nurse, can you see if Doctor Clear Heart is awake and available? We have an alicorn who needs her first medical examination."

As Blueblood grumbled while his guard pushed his wheelchair out and the nurse gave a nod to Celestia, Sapphire turned to Celestia as she asked, "Umm... is there a w—"

"No, there is not." Celestia interjected, causing Sapphire's ears to fold against her head as she looked down at the ground.

"Awww..."

---

"...Sister, what do you think of our current situation?" Luna asked as she and Celestia were sitting outside the room where Sapphire, Doctor Clear Heart, and various infirmary staff were currently in. The two princesses were politely told to remain outside, hence the sisters were sitting in some chairs the staff provided, listening to Sapphire's disgruntled comments and occasional utterance of pain.

"I am uncertain since we literally just had an alicorn drop into our lap. It's not like Cadance, who earned her horn through her actions in redeeming Prisma. Furthermore, based on the fact that she might have been an alicorn since she was a mere foal, the possibility of her being born as an alicorn carries great implications," Celestia stated. "Sadly, much of this matter can't be resolved until we discover more of Sapphire's memories. Hopefully, Doctor Clear can find something for us to work with."

"Which means that I must redou—" Luna started to say until the sounds of a commotion occurred from inside the room, bringing the sisters' attention to the door.

"Why do you even have a needle that big‽" Sapphire cried from inside as the commotion went on before quieting down at some point.

"...Something tells me that Sapphire has a rather thick hide beneath that coat of hers," Luna stated as Celestia shook her head at this.

"That may be a possibility, but we have to wait fo—" Celestia started to say before she too was interrupted by the door opening. A gray coated unicorn mare with a peach mane, a pair of thick glasses over her blue eyes, and a doctor's coat came out with a folder held in a blue aura. She quickly walked out of the room before closing the door behind her. As she turned towards the princesses, Celestia asked, "Doctor Clear Heart, judging by the fact that Sapphire is in the room still, I take it that you discovered something important in regards to Sapphire?"

Nodding, Clear replied, "Very astute of you, your majesty," as she opened the folder to bring out its documents. "While some of the tests will take some time, we have gathered some initial data that might be of interest to you. First off, we can determine that the patient Sapphire is indeed an alicorn, as the tests have shown that she does indeed have the magic of all the tribes. These also have all been heightened by the now presence of alicorn magic in her system."

"Well, there goes her hopes that she could be passed off as something like a winged unicorn," Celestia jokingly said, smiling as Luna just rolled her eyes at her sister's humor.

"As odd as that sounds, we do have a current estimate of her magical capacity. Currently, it is below the rating that Princess Cadance has. Not only that, there is a complication behind this magical problem and we believe it is linked to her fading wounds," Clear stated, causing the pair to look at her with somber expressions.

"What do you mean, 'complication'?" Luna asked.

Taking a deep breath, Clear answered, "Princesses, I'm not certain of what I found exactly, but we have detected traces of some kind of magical residue in the patient's old wounds. While we can't properly identify the nature of this presence, we were able to determine that they have a similar nature to... dark magic."

As the two sisters reared their heads back in surprised, Celestia asked, "Dark magic? Are you certain about this?"

Nodding, Clear said, "Indeed. From what we gathered from the magical residue we detected, they had some kind of suppressive effect on Sapphire's magic, hence we can't get an accurate reading on her magic levels. But, we do detect that her body's magic is working on purging this foreign presence from her body."

Glancing at each other, Luna stated, "This complicates things far more than we expected. To think that there is something out there that is not only capable of harming an alicorn, but wields something similar to dark magic?" only to blink when Clear cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Princess Luna, I hate to correct you, but from what we gathered, it's not a something, but somethings," Clear declared, causing the princesses to widen their eyes in surprise as Clear she lifted up an outline showing Sapphire's body, with her wounds marked in different colors. "It was hard to tell, but we were able to determine that invasive magical residue bear signatures that are slightly different from one another yet still bearing the same effects on Sapphire's body. Furthermore, we discovered that the residues actually permeate throughout her body, yet are concentrated in her wounds. The marks on her side came from one source, the one on her chest from another, and the one on her left rear leg and mark traces on her head from a third source."

As they resisted their urge to gape for a third time that night, Luna stated, "That is... beyond troublesome. To have three beings having the potential to harm an alicorn?"

Composing herself, Celestia took on a thoughtful look as she stated, "We can't say that yet Luna. While we can't simply dismiss that these threats could still be around, there may be a possibility that Sapphire vanquished them, as slim as it sounds. Still, we will have the Royal Guard scour the land for any potential dangers just in case. Doctor Clear, is there anything else you can tell us?"

Levitating some other documents before her, Clear answered, "Well, it appeared that while Sapphire is displaying some signs of malnourishment, she appears to be quite fit. In fact, it appears that her physique is similar to a scout of the Royal Guard, albeit with some signs of muscle atrophy from what I assume to be from the lack of exercise needed to maintain them, or from the magical residue. So far, based on the information we gathered so far, if Sapphire was given time and proper nutrition, she would be a healthy alicorn."

"I see, but one thing you told me has drawn my attention to it. Did you earlier say that you detected this magical residue on her head?" Celestia asked, causing Luna to blink as she recalled that bit of information as well.

"Yes your majesty. Based on statements that Sapphire gave to us, along with this detection of this residue, we can determine that it might be the most likely cause of her amnesia. We will be able to determine if that is true when we get her medical records from the Ponyville hospital," Clear explained.

Letting out a sigh, Celestia said, "Thank you for your debriefing of Sapphire's condition. Would it be permissible for us to speak to Sapphire privately?"

"Most of the more sensitive tests have been completed, so we can finish the rest after you have your discussion with the patient," Clear replied as she went back into the room, before shortly exiting with the rest of the staff along with some medical equipment.

Rolling her shoulders, Celestia said, "Well then sister, let's see how our newest alicorn will take these new revelations. Hopefully though, a feast would serve to calm her down," before she chuckled at her own joke as Luna rolled her eyes at that.

---

"Wow... that's... um... I don't know what to say," Sapphire said after hearing Celestia tell her about what Doctor Clear had said as she rubbed her left foreleg.

"Yes, but don't fret dear Sapphire, for we will assure your safety if whoever assaulted you desire to return to harm you," Luna declared as she pointed a hoof forward, confusing Sapphire as Celestia shook her head at this.

"Regardless, since Doctor Clear has officially declared you to be an alicorn, it is time to discuss your status of a princess," Celestia stated as she took a step forward, only to pause with Sapphire jumping forward.

"You two have thought of a new disguise that hides my wings and I can return to Ponyville?" Sapphire asked with a hopeful smile, only for it to fade as the pair just gave her a flat stare until Celestia reached out and placed a hoof on Sapphire's shoulder.

"Sapphire, you're an alicorn, and if you haven't noticed yet, ponies tend to revere our very presence. Furthermore, you're an alicorn for a reason, hence you shouldn't be hiding from the world and whatever your destiny might be," Celestia stated as Sapphire took on a downcast look. Noting that, Celestia continued, "But, as you have obviously stated, you aren't prepared for the duties of a princess. So, while we desire for you to take on the title of princess, we do not expect you to handle its duties until you believe yourself to be ready."

Cheering up a bit, Sapphire said, "You really mean that?" as she thought that maybe she wouldn't be given a duty where she might fail and lead to some poor city burning to the ground around her.

Snorting, Luna replied, "As my sister has stated, you aren't ready for the duties that come with the role of being a princess. However, your actions will still have consequences, hence you will need to be educated on the duties of a princess, as well as what kind of political impact you will have on the world due to being an alicorn. Furthermore, you will still need to be present for some ceremonial duties, but that would be more of smiling and waving, which my sister can instruct you on what you would need to do. Lastly, we will be announcing you to the public through your coronation as a princess of Equestria," causing Sapphire to look downcast once more.

Seeing Sapphire's expression, Celestia smiled as she said, "Well, you should look at the bright side of your coronation, Sapphire."

Glancing at Celestia, Sapphire replied in a saddened tone, "I doubt there could be anything bright when my life is being turned upside down."

"Well, if you're going to be crowned as a princess, there's going to be a feast thrown for your honor," Celestia stated, causing Sapphire to jerk her head towards her. Chuckling a bit to herself, Celestia added, "You don't have to look at the negatives all the time, Sapphire. Sometimes, you should appreciate the little things of life, such as all the wonderful meals that would be provided to you in your honor. All those dishes and delicacies that you would have a chance to experience."

As Sapphire blinked before looking up at the ceiling in silence, though with a bit a drool showing up on the side of her muzzle, Luna let out a sigh as she leaned towards Celestia and whispered, "We might want to figure a way for Sapphire to not be manipulated by the idea of a good meal."

"Perhaps, but let her have this moment for now. Besides, you should look at this in a different light. After all, you could probably bribe her to take on the responsibilities of a princess with a plate of homemade cookies," Celestia whispered back with a cheeky grin, causing Luna to jerk her head back with a disapproving frown as Celestia laughed at her reaction.

Comments

[RP422]

All hail Princess Sapphire, Princess of Food!

[KingJoltik]

8699687
No no no, its the Princess of Gluttony.

[RP422]

8699699
And now I can't get the image out of my mind of Sapphire holding court in a Burger Princess.

[Kevin Lee]

8699839

And now I can't get the image out of my mind of Sapphire holding court in a Burger Princess.

[voice=John Cleese]And now, for something completely different:[/voice]

Sapphire, holding court as a clown with golden arches is brought in: "Off with his HEAD!"
Ronald the Clown: ""

[Kevin Lee]

Rarity: "Oh, there goes Sapphire's career as a model... .... but as PRINCESS SAPPHIRE! SQUEEEEE~!!!"
Sapphire: ""

*later*
Twilight Sparkle: "wait...she's going to be 'Princess of Friendship'!? Wasn't that supposed to be MY future title!?"
Celestia: "Well, look on the bright side, my faithful protege. At least you won't have to waste your time smiling and waving at all those diplomatic functions."
Twilight Sparkle: "Yeah, that kind of crap would be such a bore. "
Sapphire: ""

[Glados Aperature]

I'm more inclined to smack Celestia and Luna. Sapphire's an alicorn, so what? That doesn't mean you need to force her into becoming a princess/queen/etc like you're doing. She clearly doesn't want it, and yet they are openly not giving her a choice in the matter. She wants a calm life in Ponyville(relative I know because it gets events so often), BUT! My point stands. She's an alicorn, doesn't want a thing to do with the things that come with it, and both Celestia & Luna are basically shoving it down on her head without giving her any chance to refuse.

[KingJoltik]

8699839
Oh, that should be Sapphire's first order as princess. Opening a Burger Princess restaurant.

[Lady Lightning Strike]

take on the responsibilities of a princess with a plate of homemade cookies

Now I want Cookies!

[Black Ash]

8700115

[voice=John Cleese]And now, for something completely different:[/voice]

It's nice to know i'm not the only one still around who remembers the classics

[The Pyropath]

8699839
You've all heard of the Burghers, now it's time for the rise of the Burgers!

[Silentwoodfire]

My compromise wouldve been simple: Allow her to go back into her disguise, let her recover her memories peacefully and work to support herself while she works on her education, when she is finally ready she can drop the disguise and approach princesshood without any hindrances

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

Sapphire is gonna have a field day now that she has wings...and not in a good way.

[Asolem2]

"Not like Blueblood does much else than that," muttered a nurse, to which Blueblood's ears flicked as he looked at her with suspicion as the nurse averted her eyes.

Well said

[Asolem2]

"Not like Blueblood does much else than that," muttered a nurse, to which Blueblood's ears flicked as he looked at her with suspicion as the nurse averted her eyes.

Burn