Preparation

—(Zap Apple)—

I sit in my rocking chair outside, enjoying the shady day. Pegasi have sure put their work into this. Even if one of them seems to like sleeping more than working. I swear, I don’t know how that Rainbow mare is a athlete, she sleeps more than me! And yet she gets a lithe, agile, and strong body. Fate is a cruel mistress, and we’re all her sub.

It’s around eight, if the sun is correct. My granddaughter comes walking out of the house, and starts to eat breakfast next to me, “So, it’s been a week. When are we going to start?”

I look over to her, “Well, since you’re so incessant, we can start today.” I smile as I see her do a little celebration, “After you get home from school, missy. You were given a week out, now you gotta go back.”

I hear her sigh, “We don’t even learn very much useful. Today we’re learning about ‘meridians’ ‘inlets’ and ‘outlets’ whatever those are. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, right grandpa?”

I shrug, “Never went to school. Orphanage couldn’t well afford that.”

She looks up in suprise, “Wait, orphanage?! You are an orphan?”

I nod, “Parents didn’t even have the heart to die as an excuse, they just left. Best decision of their life, and mine. If not for the orphanage, I might have never met your Granny or became a master.”

She finishes up her breakfast, “What do you mean by all that? Was Granny an orphan to?”

I shake my head, “No, no, she had fine parents and siblings. It’s a long story, one that I can shorten significantly by cutting significant meaning. Come on now, I can walk you to school. Give you the shortened version.”

She bolts inside to gather her saddlepack, before coming out in an instant, “I’m ready to go!”

I smile at her youthful energy, and stand up. We start to walk down the path, “So, there is one big fact that needs to be marked with this story. Masters of these arts are immortal.”

She stops in her tracks, “So that means you and Granny...”

I nod, “We’re immortal. In fact, I’m older than the Princesses themselves, reaching year two thousand soon. You will be immortal when you become a master. I’m about two hundred years out of my prime. Just like me, you will have eighteen hundred years of prime time.”

She has a far away look of wonder in her eyes, “I’m gonna be like the princesses.”

I smile, “Oh, Luna would be fine to act like. Not Celestia, she is the angsty teen to ten. Now, my parents left me at an orphanage about two thousand years ago, in lower Canterlot. Back then, it was its own kingdom before King Chronos united us into modern Equestria. But that’s a history lesson for another day. See, lower Canterlot was crime infested, on a level worse than even the darkest alleyways of Manehatten.”

She nods, “And what did that do to you?”

I reminisce on the bad old days, “I saw a kid, another orphan, being assulted with a knife wielding maniac. I chose to rush to save him. It was that moment I got my cutie mark.”

She looks at my flank, before looking back at me, “Uh, you don’t have one. Does this mean I won’t get one as well?”

I shake my head, “No, I got my mark, I just never saw it. I knocked the maniac over, allowing my fellow kid to run. The maniac didn’t like that, not one bit. I tried to run, but he eventually caught up with me. Smeared makeup on his face, dirty green hair and eyes, and scars to look like a smile in his face.”

She is completely trapped by my story, “And what did he do?”

He got me down, stuck a knife in my leg so I couldn’t keep running. He then walked up to me, and I will never forget what he said. ‘You wanna know how I got these scars? It’s because little brats like you kept on stopping my fun, until I made my smile permanent. Now, how about we do some impromptu surgery on that blemish you have on your flank. That mark, a shield? How boring, let’s get a fresh start.’ So, he took his knife to me. That’s why I don’t have my mark anymore, he took it away. He was about to kill me for real, but when he put the knife in my mouth, he was blasted away. His name was the Joker, and my savior was my teacher, and who I held like a father. Starswirl the Bearded, master of Arcane Weave, cruel old coot that forced me through tests even worse than your own. It was because of him teaching me that I eventually met the other students of the other arts, including your Granny.”

She smiles, “So you had a family in the end!”

I shrug, “I have a family now. Starswirl was killed on a mission. It’s impossible to identify how he died, only that he was quite scattered. I still plan to find whoever did that to him. But, talks of revenge are not appropriate for the ears of children.”

She looks around to see that we’re at the schoolhouse already, “Aw, we’re already here. Ugh, class will be so boring, why don’t you just teach me everything?”

I smile, “I’m near two thousand years old, I take afternoon naps. Believe me, when you reach near my age, you’ll understand why we love them rocking chairs so much. Either way, I know next to nothing about current sciences. Now, if you need help on magical theory or history, then I got you covered.”

She sighs, “Fine.”

I pat her on the head, definitely embarrassing her, “Now now, that’s no way to act. Your friends must be worried about you, and you probably have a ‘sorry you got kidnapped’ card signed by the class. Now, get in there, and do the Apple family proud. You can learn practical arts when you complete your homework.”

She looks around, and sees a pegasus and unicorn waving at her. She rushes off, “Goodbye, grandpa!”

I wave, “Have a good day, my dear Bloom!”

I smile, and take in the town for the first time. Rustic, charming, magical thread is at peace. Pockets of concentrated thread, must be the Elements. Oh, and that extremely strong Weave next to me- wait, what?

I turn around to a facefull of pink, “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie! You’re new around here, because I know everypony, and I haven’t seen you before. What’s-“

I stick a hoof in her mouth, to stop her talking. I concentrate on the thread she carries, “Yes, that Elemental energy is there, but there’s something else.” I take a strong sniff, concentrating my eyes on hers, “That power, something I haven’t felt for a long time. Chaos magic? No, something else. That smell... the Cold Union.”

I take my hoof out, and she starts speaking again, “What’s that your all talking about?”

I look at her very intensely, “You aren’t an alicorn.”

She giggles, “I’m not a Princess, obviously! I’m Pinkie Pie, earth pony party planner!”

I shake my head, “You, you are a master of the Cold Union. That was supposed to die out with Stranger, how could you have that? I don’t think he had any children. You make no sense, my dear.”

She smiles, “Nothing makes sense when Pink is applied, lesson number one of this town! Do you want a tour of Ponyville, I’m sure my friends would love to meet you!”

I look at her once again, before smiling back, “Sure, that would be lovely. Pinkie Pie, my name is Zap Apple.”

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