Chapter XIX: Coronation
I can't believe this is happening Sapphire thought to herself as she felt the light gray dress around her, shifting around as Rarity helped Sapphire into it. It had been two weeks since Sapphire's flight, where she spent the entire time receiving instructions on how to act as a proper princess by Cadance, as well as more attempts done by Luna to recover her memories. However, even with the five recognizable figures, all they found was memories where Sapphire was still a foal playing with one or more of the five. Though, one memory did involve a meal that consisted of something called grass cakes, which caused Luna to be somewhat disgusted at the idea, much to Sapphire's confusion.
However, in the first week, Photo Finish actually arrived at the castle for a meeting with Sapphire, probably hearing of her being there and her ascension due to word slowly slipping out by either the castle staff or the nobles that had encountered Sapphire. Upon seeing that the rumors are true, Photo announced that Sapphire could no longer be a model due in part that no pony could be like an actual princess, that and princesses aren't supposed to be fashion models. However, she did mention that the negatives taken when Sapphire was modeling would be worth a fortune now, so she was actually happy when she left the castle.
Since word was also leaking out to the general populace and been spread like wildfire, Celestia decided that Sapphire's coronation would have to take place soon, which was at the end of the two weeks. The plans were made and the preparations were soon completed, the Elements arriving the day before to give Sapphire moral support. She then learned that while she was at Canterlot, even though Sapphire couldn't participate, Photo did go to Rarity's home where after a short photo shoot. It turned out that Fluttershy ended up being Photo's latest fashion model.
"Hmph! Ignoring my dresses like that, I wonder how Photo Finish would react when she finds out that I was the one to have made your coronation dress!" Rarity said with a huff as she gently tugged at the dress's golden frill to get it to properly fit Sapphire.
"Don't be too mad Rarity... I think she was just more interested in getting a fashion model to replace me at the time," Sapphire replied, groaning as she felt a bit uncomfortable in the dress. "Augh, why must this dress be so... complicated compared to the other ones I wore so far?"
"That's because this dress is meant for your coronation, and isn't one to be taken likely. The crowning of a princess is a once in a lifetime event, so we can't take this lightly. Though, I don't think you'll be wearing this dress after today though, so you can bare wearing it for just one afternoon, right?" Rarity responded. Thankfully, when Celestia planned the event, she took into account of Sapphire's distaste of the whole event, opting for a simple showing of Sapphire on the castle balcony over the castle grounds where the crowds of ponies would gather. Unfortunately, Sapphire couldn't get out of a chariot ride throughout the rest of the city so that more ponies could see the new princess.
Letting out a sigh, Sapphire said, "Yeah... just one afternoon couldn't hurt, though you might want to make sure that Twilight is nearby to teleport me out of this dress the moment this is all over," as Rarity just rolled her eyes at that.
"Oh, will you relax already? You're putting up far more than a fuss than necessary. One little ceremony and then you can go back to the life of languishing in the castle, eating all sorts of delicacies to satisfy that pit you call a stomach," Rarity replied, causing Sapphire to laugh at her joke.
"Good to see that you're back to making jokes about me instead of bowing down and calling me 'your majesty' or 'Princess Sapphire'," Sapphire stated with a faint smile.
"Well, I saw how you reacted when I treated you that way with our visit a couple weeks ago, and I realized that even though I was paying you the proper respect that you deserve, it only served to bother you in the end. And being your friend, I knew that I should treat you as a friend instead of treating you like a princess," Rarity explained with her own smile before finishing her last adjustments. Stepping back, Rarity then continued, "And behold! Equestria's newest princess!" before she giggled at Sapphire who was rolling her eyes at her comment until they stopped at the sight of her jewelry to the side on a cushion.
Turning her head towards them, Sapphire looked upon the silver shoes and the silver crown with a large sapphire socketed into it. It was far less impressive than her fellow alicorns' crowns, but that was due in part that she wanted something less eye catching compared to three. Slipping her hooves into the shoes as she levitated the crown onto her head, Sapphire took in a deep breath before saying, "Alright, let's get this over with."
"Remember how we rehearsed this. It'll just be like one of your modeling shows."
"Are you kidding me? I didn't have to say a thing in those, only to walk and pose."
"But you're just smiling and waving instead of posing. Besides, Raven will have the note cards out there for you to read. Just try not to make it too obvious to the crowds."
"...You're sure that you can't send me to some part of the world that has no idea what an alicorn is?"
"Just get out there already," Celestia stated with a slight frown as she walked alongside with Sapphire as she wore a yellow dress with an orange trim to it. The pair was in a hallway that led to the balcony where Sapphire could hear the sounds of the crowd below it, as the other alicorns were already on the balcony as they looked down at the crowds. Cadance was wearing a deep blue dress that had a gold trim to it, while Luna was wearing an elegant black dress that had silver trim to it as well as wearing some diamond earrings. However, when Sapphire and Celestia finally stepped onto the balcony, the two turned to look at them as Luna started to show signs of regret over being the sole one to go far more formal than the other two.
Stepping forward as Sapphire hanged back for the moment, Celestia looked upon the crowds of ponies with a well-practiced smile. "Hello my little ponies, I am here today to address you all of a special occasion. As some of you may have heard, a new alicorn had appeared in our world just over two weeks ago. Some of you may have seen her as something else, but in truth, she was an alicorn from the very beginning. Her story is complexed, and unknown to all of us due to a loss of her memories, hence why many of you had to hear about her from your fellow ponies. But today, she is ready to reveal herself to all of you. So, it is with my great pleasure that I present to all of you, the alicorn of water, Princess Sapphire Rain!"
It was agreed telling the truth about her past was better than fabricating a story that Sapphire would certainly have difficulty in maintaining under the tough scrutiny of the press and nobles, even if Sapphire didn't like the idea that the world would soon know that she's an amnesiac before too long. Furthermore, Sapphire being called the alicorn of water was far better than being called the alicorn of the seas since it would cause issues with the other nations in Equus. Taking a few deep breaths, Sapphire walked out onto the balcony, remembering her lessons from Photo Finish as a model, only for them to be dashed away from the sight of the crowd before her. Sapphire had to urge her ears to say upright as she stared at the mass of ponies before her until her leg was nudged by Celestia who was looking at her in expectation.
Regaining some of her composure, Sapphire cleared her throat as a pack of note cards wereas levitated before her in Raven's pink aura. Looking upon the crowd, Sapphire declared, "Ponies of Equestria, it is a great honor for me to address you all today. Some of you know me as a model that once worked with the fashion photographer Photo Finish, which I will admit is true. Now that would cause many of you to think that I have ascended to the status of alicornhood like Princess Cadance was, but in reality, I have been an alicorn since I was very young, but I have suffered... injuries that forced me to adopt the form of a unicorn so I could recover. These injuries were also the reason for my amnesia, but even in light of these revelations, I will not be deterred from my duties to Equestria. I intend to lend a hoof to my fellow princesses in ruling Equestria. It may take some time before I'm truly ready to assist this great nation, but I will do my best in the meantime to help you all, till the near future where I will be finally ready to lead you. Until then, I hope to do what I can for you all, and I hope to be the princess you all envision me to be."
At first, Sapphire was greeted with silence, making her believe that she was going to be dealing with an angry mob until the crowd finally broke into cheers. Forcing on a smile as she practiced for the past few days, Sapphire raised a hoof as she waved at the ponies before her as Celestia commented, "That was a very good first royal speech, Sapphire. I told you that you're capable of such things."
"Yeah, when you're the one that wrote most of my lines for me," Sapphire muttered from behind her teeth.
"Well, your use of the Royal Cantorlot Voice was quite admirable, young Sapphire," Luna declared, smiling that her few lessons with Sapphire had born fruit. Giving Luna a brief glance along with a short nod, Sapphire turned her attention to the crowd, only to be shocked by seeing the crowd screaming in pain as a green flame was consuming them. Looking a bit shock, Sapphire blinked in surprise only for the crowd to return to back to normal.
"Is something the matter, Sapphire?" Cadance asked, having noticed the brief look of shock on Sapphire's face as the other two alicorns glanced at Sapphire.
"I... I don't know... I'll tell you two later..." Sapphire said as she resumed her smiling facade, waving to the crowds as she waited for this to end.
"Wait, you saw the crowd screaming while on fire?" Luna asked in surprised after the coronation ceremony came to an end and the four alicorns and the Elements were gathered in the dining hall.
"Yeah. It was for a brief second, but it was... horrible... and it wasn't just on fire. They were covered in a green flame of all things," Sapphire clarified, causing Luna and Celestia to glance at each other.
"That is quite... ominous," Celestia stated as Luna nodded in agreement. "Hopefully it's not a vision of the future and instead something related to your memories, but even that is still unpleasant to think of."
"Indeed, we should reexamine your mind for any hints what could have caused this vision of yours. Hopefully, my sister's theory is correct. For if it is a vision, I shudder to think what cause be the foe that we would have to face," Luna added.
Sapphire half-heartedly nodded and was about to comment when she felt a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to turn around to see that the hoof's owner was Twilight, who said, "Don't worry Sapphire, the princesses know what they doing. They'll get to the bottom of what you saw," which caused Sapphire to smile at Twilight's supporting words.
"Well, now that the coronation is over, you can start planning your vacation!" Cadance declared, causing the Sapphire along with the Elements to look at her in confusion. Rolling her eyes, Cadance continued, "You've been dealing with stress of being a princess for over two weeks up to the coronation, you deserve some kind of break after all."
Narrowing her eyes, Sapphire turned to look at Celestia, saying, "There has to be more to that than just a break. What's your game, Celestia?"
Smiling, Celestia answered, "Well well well, it seems that you're starting to learn to look for any hidden agendas. And as to your statement, it's nothing major. It's just that you can't remain in Canterlot forever since there are already three princesses here already. So, in between princess duties and lessons, you could take breaks to visit the cities of Equestria, where if you ever grow fond of one of them, you could one day set up your seat of power there and rule that city."
"Figures there's a catch to this," Sapphire stated with a snort as Cadance looked at her with an amused expression.
"It won't be that bad, Sapphire. This is one of those things that just is beneficial to you overall with little cost," Cadance replied before looking off to the side in an idealistic fashion. "And just imagine the sights you can see, like Las Pegasus, Equestria's casino city that floats on the clouds, high ab—"
"No clouds!" Sapphire roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice as she pointed a hoof at Cadance, the sheer volume of her voice actually pushing Cadance back a few feet as she looked at the pink princess with pinprick pupils.
Raising her hooves up to fend of Sapphire, Cadance cried out, "Okay okay! No clouds!" As Sapphire started to calm down, Cadance looked at everypony else as she asked, "What's her problem with clouds?"
Giving Cadance an awkward smile, Celestia answered, "Sorry dear, I think that something very important may have slipped my mind," as Luna gave her a deadpan stare, one that was partnered with an annoyed one from Sapphire.
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Tia, stop it. Seriously stop it. Your pushing will only alienate Sapphire.
Hoping Chrysalis knows Sapphire.
I can only hope that something happens to make Celestia regret this decision. It's no wonder Equestria gets invaded every week when the rulers practically go shaking their ass at every passing baddie. I mean seriously, Celestia might as well be actively begging to have Sapphire's inevitable old enemies (let's face it that's the only reason this arc happened.) to go and invade Equestria, kidnap important people, etc, etc.
8713818
Push. Force upon. Ignore Sapphire's wants to be OUT OF IT. Etc Etc. I'm surprised she isn't trying to actively avoid everyone heaping it upn her already.
8714012
Yeah . She is lucky Sapphire isn't like another character i know who literally tased her Celestia.
8714386
What story? I wanna read it! xD
8714392
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/254824/distorted-fate
another Silvak story
8714413
Wait a minute. I recognize that profile picture for the story. I read that a long time ago. Man I need to refresh myself,
so it's good that it's over 40+ chapters
8714453
Two sequels Asa's well.
8714413
Well, chairs are still an option.
Or rail guns.
oooooooohhhhhhhhh! I dare say we've already just been introduced to what Sapphire will be using here....
Neutronium-water balloons!
8714568
I approve.
I predict saphire comes from a nation filled with alicornions
8714012
The problem is that Sapphire is an Alicorn, and by the description of her being taller than Celestia an old and powerful one, even if she doesn't remember most of that.
That much power is going to be felt as an awakening world-wide, and Sapphire is pretty easy to manipulate (food, food, food) so Celestia either has the option of manipulating Sapphire herself, or letting any enemies of Equestria use Sapphire against her little ponies.
The best option is for Celestia to be open and honest about this, which she is, even if it's a shitty situation all round. Celestia has to try and be positive because if she isn't then it'll seem like a punishment for simply being an alicorn, she can't let Sapphire not be a Princess because then the rule of "All Alicorn's are Princess's" will go challenged and some idiot will be like "Well she [Sapphire] isn't a Princess, why should you two {Celestia & Luna] be our Princess's", and she can't not keep an eye and a hoof on Sapphire's actions in case she does something stupid or harmful.
You guys act like Celestia wants to do this (and let's be fair she probably does want another Alicorn, simply for company through the centuries) political pantomime, when the fact of the matter is she's probably tearing her mane out when no pony's looking because it means another endless load of paperwork for her, with far-off promises of jam tomorrow.
8716354
Wait, how is she taller than Celestia when she's only got a few inches taller when she got revealed?
8716606
Must have been a misread, but I could have sworn I read she grew a couple of inches taller than Celestia. I'll reread the chapter...
And on reread, "Both Celestia and Luna appeared slightly shorter", which yeah, my mistake, although it does imply they shrunk slightly, rather than Sapphire growing.
Celestia you had better stop this right now...you are not doing Sapphire any good...at the rate you are going you will alienate her from everypony
!
green flames...
oh, wait, Candace hasn't married Shining Armor yet, so maybe Sapphire is having a premonition about Changelings?