The Start
Celestia’s Daughter
Chapter 3: The Start
The morning light filtered into the window, trying and succeeding to shine through Celestia’s eyelids to wake her up. A hurried sense of dread went through her as she first thought she had slept in and forgot to raise the Sun. When she realized that the Sun was raised, she felt confused and panicked about why she was not in her own room, rolling off of the bed in a heap of twisted pony and sheets.
“Huh? Wha?” Spike moaned as he sat up and yawned. “Oh, Celestia. Not used to the smaller bed, are you?”
Celestia struggled to untangle herself from the blanket she had been using and was rewarded with a ripping sound as her head poked out. “Oops.”
Spike chuckled and stretched, then slunk out of his basket. “No worries. Twilight still does that with her horn once in awhile.” He twisted and his back gave a satisfying crack.
“Maybe if I just…” Celestia tried to pull her head back in and only made the hole bigger.
“Let me help,” Spike said as he walked up to her. He reached a claw up to her neck and ripped the cloth all the way down.
Celestia blushed. “Sorry about ruining the linens.”
Spike shrugged. “With the amount of stuff that gets destroyed every week, what’s another blanket? You should have seen the groove Twilight worked into the floor awhile ago.”
“Spike!” Twilight shouted. She then looked at Celestia. “Oh, Princess. Heh, heh…” Twilight awkwardly rubbed her mane. “Right. So. Good morning?”
Celestia chuckled. “I don’t know, you tell me. Is it a good morning?”
Twilight gulped.
“Calm,” Spike soothed.
“Right… yes. I wish you a good morning,” Twilight said just a little bit shakily. She jumped out of bed and walked to her mirror, magically lifting a brush. “So, uh… do you have any supplies with you?”
“Supplies?” Celestia asked. “For what?”
“Your mane, for starters,” Spike replied. “You have got some serious bed head.”
Celestia got behind Twilight and peered over her shoulder, into the mirror. Her pink mane was a knotted mess resembling a bird’s nest. “Oh my,” she said aloud. “I haven’t had to comb my mane in… I can’t recall anymore.”
“Also, no offense, Celestia, but your morning breath is as bad as mine.”
“Really?” Celestia asked. Twilight turned around at the moment Celestia said this and was hit with the blast.
“By Clover’s cleverness!” Twilight shouted. She hopped away and coughed. “He isn’t kidding!”
Celestia’s felt blood rush to her face. “I completely forgot about things like this.”
Spike scratched his head. “Wait… you don’t brush your teeth?”
“No,” Celestia said. “I don’t think I ever have. When was the last time I had to worry about that…?” Celestia trailed off, silently cursing that perfect memory was not one of the gifts Alicorns possessed.
“So your magical Sun moving powers cleaned your teeth and mane,” Spike said. “Wow. I didn’t know that.”
“Don’t worry,” Twilight said. A drawer opened and a bag of toiletries flew out. “I keep extra supplies of everything in case of situations… sort of like this.”
Celestia took the bag in her magical grip and looked inside. “I need all this?”
“Hold on, let me see that,” Spike said, taking the bag. He reached inside. “Hmm, nothing ridiculous like reading material or three different types of toothpaste. I’m impressed, Twi.”
Twilight grinned. “See? I’m getting better.”
Celestia stared at the display, her mouth in a questioning ‘o.’ This was a Twilight she had not ever seen before. Was this Normal Twilight Sparkle? Was this how Twilight was when Princess Celestia wasn’t there?
Celestia decided she liked it.
Spike held the bag out to Celestia, who took it after a little hesitation. “Seems legitimate. I’m gonna go make breakfast while you guys do whatever.” Spike made his way down stairs.
“Uh, do you want to use the restroom before me?” Twilight offered. Scared Twilight had returned, Celestia noticed.
“Well, if you don’t mind.”
Twilight pointed to a door. “Take as long as you need to,” Twilight said. “I’ll go help Spike.” She hurriedly followed the dragon. Celestia sadly sighed and walked into the restroom.
She took a good look at herself before getting started. Everything seemed so big now, and Celestia had to remind herself that she was smaller. She gazed at the much larger mirror. Her wings and horn were still where they were before. Just smaller. Weaker. She spread her wings and saw how much less space they took compared to her previous form. She tilted her head and thought she looked so strange with a pink and bouncing mane that was subjected to the power of gravity. When was the last time my mane was like this, she thought to herself.
Celestia turned to the side and wished she could look at an average pony for comparison. Celestia knew she was still larger than most ponies, but wished she could tell by how much. She saw her cutie mark and felt memories prick at her mind. Her once intricate Sun design had become simplified, mere triangles where there had been waving swirls.
In the end, Celestia decided she still looked like herself. She still had a white coat, though missing its almost pink glow, her magenta eyes, still with their refined form, and the little shapes and imperfections that made her face.
Those thoughts done with, Celestia set about the difficult task of brushing her mane. It took her about ten minutes to actually figure out how to get the tangles out, then another five to actually do it. Fortunately, she thought, she wasn’t so out of touch to forget to do her tail as well.
Then she tried to brush her teeth, which proved to be a lot harder. Little thoughts reminded her to squeeze from the bottom of the paste tube onto the brush itself, but she overestimated how much power to use and made a mess on the wall. The second time she was careful enough to only get some on the toothbrush, but then when she raised it the clean her teeth the paste fell off. This happened quite a few more times until she finally decided to just squirt a little directly onto her tongue and begin from there.
Once done brushing her teeth, she looked at the other items in the bag that she had no clue what were for. There was a long metal stick that was an inch wide and had a rough criss-cross pattern on both sides, a small container with very thin string wound inside, a bottle labeled ‘mouthwash’...
If this is mouthwash, what was the toothpaste for?
… Another bottle that said it was shampoo, another bottle that said it was conditioner, another bottle that said it was a shampoo meant for your coat…
“What in Equestria happened to soap?” Celestia asked nopony in particular. She put the items away and tried to figure out how to clean up the mess she made. If she was still Princess Celestia, she would not have even be dealing with the problem in the first place. She tried to use some magic to wipe the paste up and put it in the sink, and this mostly worked. However, there was still an obvious goop smear on the wall. She actually laughed at it once she realized she had no clue what to do. Princesses didn’t really have need of knowing cleaning spells.
With a sigh, Celestia realized this whole thing might not have been as easy as she first thought.
Once downstairs, Celestia was met with an unfamiliar smell. She found Twilight at a table in the kitchen, her face too deep in a book for her to actually be able to read it. Spike stood at the stove, moving pans around in expertly swift motions. Celestia walked up and sat at the table. “Hello, everypony.”
Spike turned. “Hey, Celestia. What took you so long?”
Celestia chuckled. “Would you believe brushing your teeth is harder than it looks?” She sniffed. “Mmhh, what is that?”
Spike placed some of what he was cooking on some plates. “Hash browns and my own patented cabbage wraps.” He placed the plates on the table. “Not what a princess who eats the height of fancy cuisine would eat, but I thought it would do.”
Celestia magically lifted the stuffed bit of leaf and sniffed, noticing diced tomatoes, carrots, rice, and some spices she did not recognize. She took a bite and smiled. “Well, it might not be ‘fancy,’ but I think I’d take this over what my usual chefs make.”
Spike smiled proudly and sat down with his own food. He looked over at Twilight, still stuck in her book.
*ZRRT*
“Stop that!” Twilight screeched, sending her book flying. Spike gave her a deadpan look and motioned at Celestia.
“Oh, right. Uh, so, how did your mane brushing go?”
Spike slapped his face.
“That part wasn’t so hard once I got the technique down. Brushing my teeth, however, proved a challenge. I couldn’t figure out how to get the paste to stay on the brush. And I did accidentally leave a stain on your wall. My apologies for that.”
“That’s okay. I’ll clean it up later.” Twilight flinched and looked over at Spike. The dragon nodded his approval. Twilight sighed in relief. “So, Princess-”
*ZRRT*
“Come on, I’m still getting used to that!”
“Spike,” Celestia gently chastised. “I think we can forgive that one.”
“Fine, fine.” He shrugged.
“Who?” something cooed.
Celestia craned her head to the side and noticed an owl sitting a perch clearly made for it. “Oh, hello there. You must be Owlicious. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Who?”
“I’m Princess Celestia. Well, minus the princess part. I gave up the title temporarily.”
“Who?”
“Just Celestia will do.”
“Who?”
“Oh, that’s right. I’m the one Twilight sends her friendship reports to. You know, the big white pony that’s normally a lot taller.”
“Who.”
Celestia patted her mane. “I like it like this, too. It will take some getting used to, I admit, but I did enjoy brushing once I figured it out.”
Spike and Twilight blinked.
“Who.”
“Absolutely not. You go on and sleep and we’ll enjoy breakfast.”
Owlicious bowed his head slightly. He then closed his eyes and slightly compressed into himself.
“You understand owl?” Spike asked.
Celestia nodded. “And most any other species. I couldn’t ever learn most types of fish, though, since they can’t be out of the water long enough to teach anypony.”
“Uh… wow,” Twilight said. “I didn’t know that was even possible.”
Celestia shrugged. “Believe me, it wasn’t easy. I’m quite jealous of Fluttershy being able to do it now when it took me about twenty years just to learn mouse.”
“But mice hardly make any noise at all,” Twilight said.
“Exactly.” Celestia ate a forkful of hash browns. “Hmm, greasier than I’m used to.”
Twilight convulsed but kept her mouth shut tight. Spike laughed and almost toppled over on his stool.
Celestia raised a brow in confusion. “Am I missing something here?”
“Nah,” Spike said. “Just be glad we don’t have to get rid of any mustard.”
Celestia titled her head to the side, but decided to let it drop.
“So Princ-Celestia,” Twilight began. “What are your plans for the day?”
Celestia smiled, excitement evident on her being. “I’m going to apply for a job.”
“A job?” Twilight guffawed. “You’re going to go out and work a normal job?”
“Neat,” Spike said. “Where are you applying to?”
A flyer popped into existence in front of Celestia and floated over to Spike. The little dragon grimaced. “Are you sure this is a good idea? This has ‘disaster’ written all over it.”
“What? Let me see.” Twilight took the flyer and read it over. “Looking for manual labor at Sweet Apple Acres. 60 bits a week. Room and Board provided. Must be willing to perform odd jobs. I admit to being ignorant about these things, Spike, but aside from the rather low amount of bits, why is this a problem?”
Celestia looked startled for a moment, then proceeded to laugh quite loudly. “Oh my goodness, she doesn’t know yet.”
“Guess I forgot to tell her,” Spike grinned. “Stay seated where you are, Twilight. Have we got a story for you.”
“Apples,” Applejack said to herself. “So many apples. An’ not a pony to buy a one.” She let out a breath as the farmhouse came into her view. “All the apples ya could ever want… an’ then a little bit more.” Applejack felt a familiar ache in her body that came from lack of sleep. But there was work to be done. Work that always had to be done.
Applejack cursed her luck. “Ya promised me, pa…” she whispered to herself. “It’s the mare with integrity that comes out on top. It’s the dependable pony that doesn’ quit who gets her reward. Ah keep doin’ what Ah’m doin’, an’ it jus’ keeps getting’ harder an’ harder. Ah still ain’t got that reward, yet.”
She lifted her head and stopped for a moment. A pony she did not recognize was standing on the porch, doing nothing but waiting. Applejack grinned. Thank Cel- Thank goodness! Somepony answered the ad! A little less stress fer me tah deal with, Applejack thought with glee. She hurriedly pulled the cart up, taking notice of the pony’s features. Pink mane and tail, white coat, wings… horn…
Applejack jerked to a halt. “What in the…”
Celestia turned her head and smiled. “Oh, hello, Applejack. Nice day, isn’t it?”
Applejack’s jaw was slack for a minute before she was finally able to get her mouth working again. “Princess… is that you?”
Celestia nodded. “It is, minus most of my power and the title of Princess. I am just Celestia at the moment.”
Applejack shook her head and warily lowered her eyelids. “What the hay do ya’ll think yer doin’? Here tah muck mah life up even worse?”
Celestia’s smile melted to a frown. “No… Applejack, I’m sorry. I now realize what I did was wrong. I wasn’t thinking about you. I wasn’t even really thinking about the ponies there, either. I just need to–”
“Save it,” Applejack grunted, turning her cart. “Fine, yer sorry. Ah’m sorry Ah bucked ya in the teeth. Let’s call it even an’ move on. Ah’m sure that ya got some important royal stuff to do, Princess, an’ ah got mah lowly farm work. Ya’ll jus’ go on about yer business, ‘cause Ah’m not ready tah be having a heart-tah-heart with somepony who comes into mah life and suddenly wants tah be my mother an’ make me royalty when she doesn’t have a lick of respect fer other pony’s feelings.”
Celestia sighed but walked alongside Applejack. “Fine, I understand that. You don’t want to talk to me.”
Applejack said nothing.
“I get the feeling that if I tried to talk about us, Alicorns, or royalty, you’d stuff some apples in your ears.”
Applejack still said nothing.
“That’s fine. I didn’t come here to talk. I came here to work.”
Applejack stopped again. “Beg yer pardon?”
A familiar flier was magically lifted in front of Applejack. “This is you advertisement, correct? You need a pony to do manual labor around your farm.” Celestia made a pose “Well, here I am.”
Applejack didn’t say anything for a moment, staring incredulously between the ad and the weakened Celestia. “Yer here fer the job.”
“That’s right. I need some honest bits, you see, as I find myself a little down on my luck. When I asked Ms. Smith, she told me to wait outside for you, as you are the one who runs Sweet Apple Acres.”
Applejack scratched her head under her hat. She took in a breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. “Let me see if Ah understand ya correctly. Ya’ll stripped yerself of yer title, yer position, and most of yer power if’n the fact ya look kinda like Luna when we first saw her is anythin’ tah go by.”
“That’s true so far.”
“So now ya can’t move the Sun, an’ Luna’s doin’ that fer you so ya’ll can be out here.”
“Yes, correct.”
“An’ now, without any of yer fancy magic or titles, ya’ve come down to Sweet Apple Acres to apply for farm work, all just tah talk tah me.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Celestia said. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll learn something about integrity along the way.”
Applejack closed her eyes and knitted her brow together. She took a deep breath and rubbed a temple. “Ah’m the Element of Honesty for a reason, Princess.” Celestia winced. “So Ah ain’t gonna lie; Ah’m pretty sore with you right now. All this time, you knew who Ah was an’ never said a thing. Ya knew Ah was here and ya never thought it was important that Ah knew. An’ what do you do when ya finally do decide Ah need tah know? Ya just blurt it out an’ let everypony know so that I’m suddenly the talk of the town, an’ not in a good way. It’s gonna take somethin’ pretty special tah make me listen tah anythin’ ya wanna say.”
Celestia became crestfallen.
“That said… yer headin’ in the right direction.”
Celestia raised her head back up, smiling against Applejack’s hard stare.
“Now don’t get all excited. Like Ah said, Ah ain’t gonna lie. Ah’m impressed yer goin’ through all this jus’ tah talk tah me. But yer still a long ways off. Maybe ya understand what’cha did was wrong, but there’s no way ya understand how, or understand normal pony life yet. Let’s see ya prove how much Ah’m worth tah ya.” Applejack started heaving the cart. “Come on an’ we’ll get ya situated.”
Celestia gleefully followed Applejack to the barn, where she parked and unhitched herself from the cart. “Let’s take ya fer a test drive, then. Yer first order is tah clean out the barn.”
Celestia blinked. “But… isn’t it Applebuck Season?”
“Sure it is, but we do a lot more than harvest apples,” Applejack said smugly. “What, did you really think that was all we sold?”
Celestia looked completely lost.
“We also have a corn field, wheat field, alfalfa field, grass field, potato field, zap apple orchard, and a few pear trees sanctioned off somewhere.”
“Grass field?” Celestia asked.
“Yep, fer the hay. An’ the wheat is fer the straw.”
“There’s a difference between hay and straw?” Celestia said, eyes widening.
Applejack ‘tsked’ and mocked an affectionate pat to Celestia’s head. “Now you don’t worry yer precious pretty princess head over this stuff. Let the boss ponies handle it. Yer jus’ grunt work ‘til we know you can handle actual farmin’.”
Celestia grimaced. “What all does grunt work include?”
“We’ll talk about that when we know ya ain’t a whiner like Rarity,” Applejack said with a chuckle. “Jus’ clean what’cha can in the next hour or two. Sweep the floors, get the dust out, put all the straw in a pile, and organize the tools, that kind of stuff. Go over to the river if’n ya need water to wash anything out.”
Celestia gulped, looking at the absolutely filthy barn. “I had honestly thought I’d be bucking apple trees…”
“You an’ everypony else that comes here,” Applejack deadpanned. “Speakin’ of which, Ah gotta get back tah work. You get started and Ah’ll check on ya later.” Applejack started to leave, but stopped and sighed. “An’… don’t be afraid tah use yer magic if it’ll make it easier fer ya. Let’s jus’ see ya what you can do, however you want to do it.” With that, Applejack strapped herself to an empty cart and began to trot back into the orchard.
Celestia looked at the disheveled piles of stuff and put on what she hoped was a brave face. “For my daughter,” she said, and set herself to work.
Rainbow Dash and Rarity peaked over the fences of Sweet Apple Acres, casting their gazes all across the grounds.
“Are you sure you saw what you think you saw?” Rarity asked.
“For the last time, yes!” Rainbow shouted. “I saw a white pony with wings and a horn fly by and land here about two hours ago. I’m telling you, the Princess has another relative we don’t know about, and I bet she’s up to something.” Rainbow used her wings and flapped over the fence, while Rarity rolled her eyes and walked around the gate.
“Dash, two hours ago gives them plenty of time to do who knows what, even leave. Besides, maybe we shouldn’t get into the, uh, ‘family business’ at it were.”
“Come on, aren’t you curious? It’ll be more secrets you can spill to the Mayor or something.”
Rarity blushed. “I’m not a gossip!”
“Uh-huh, whatever.” Rainbow wiggled her ears. “There’s something going on in the barn. Come on, let’s check it out.” moved on the tips of their hooves, trying to make as little noise as possible.
“Howdy, girls!” somepony shouted. The two sneaking ponies jumped at the noise.
“Jeez Louise!” Rainbow cried. “Applebloom, you really freaked me out.”
“Oh, sorry, gals,” Applebloom said as she limped up to them.
“Er, Applebloom, sweetie, do you think you should be walking with that leg in a splint?”
Applebloom waved her off. “Tain’t nothin’ an Apple can’t handle. Is Sweetie okay?”
“She’ll be fine soon enough. She’s staying at home until it’s healed.”
“That’s good. Ah’ll tell ya, that was really scary when we crashed. Ah was so glad that Applejack came so quickly. Anyway, what can Ah do fer ya’ll?”
Rainbow Dash had her eyes lidded as she scanned what she could see. “Have you seen a big white pony around here? Kinda tall, pink mane, has wings and a horn?”
Applebloom frowned. “Uh, well, Ah thought Ah saw her talkin’ tah Granny, but Ah’m not sure Ah was supposed tah listen tah that.”
“Well, who is she?” Rarity asked.
“Ah’m not sure, but Granny seemed tah know her. Ah saw Applejack take her to the barn, so she might still be there.”
Dash grinned. “Awesome. Come on, Rares, let’s check it out.”
Rarity stomped a hoof. “Now hold on a second, I think this is an invasion of privacy. Fine, I’m a gossip, but I’m not a snoop.” Rarity’s mouth scrunched a little. “On most occasions.”
Rainbow shook her head. “We aren’t snooping, Rarity.” Rainbow jerked Applebloom next to her in a quick, fluid motion. “We are good friends of Applejack’s, and we are welcome here anytime. Applebloom, who is just as curious, is showing us the new pony, who is on her property.”
“Ah am?”
Rarity blinked. “That’s… fairly cunning, actually.”
“Been reading some detective novels,” Rainbow shrugged. “Come on, Applebloom, you’re our ‘guide,’ capiche?”
“We don’t have any quiche,” Applebloom replied. “What the hay are ya talkin’ about pie’s fer?”
“No it– never mind. Are you coming or what?”
Applebloom gave an eager nod and they made their way to the barn. Rainbow poked her head through a window.
“Well?” Rarity implored.
“Rarity, take a look for yourself. I think my eyes might be broken.” Rainbow lowered her head, looking a little dazed.
“Lemme see, lemme see!” Applebloom whispered so loud it might as well have not been a whisper.
Rarity looked inside that barn. “Oh my goodness…”
“What, what? Is it that pony?”
Rarity got back down. “Rainbow Dash, did you see a shorter, pink-maned version of Celestia cleaning up a barn?”
“Yep. So I guess I’m not completely crazy yet.”
“Really?” Applebloom asked excitedly. She started to run towards to barn door, but had apparently forgotten about her sprain and tripped over herself. Tears filled her eyes and she bit back a moan.
“You okay, kid?” Rainbow said.
“Hello?” a familiar voice said from above them.
The three of them jumped at the sound. They looked up at the window to see Celestia’s head poking out.
“P-Princess!” Dash said, hoping her smile didn’t look at fake as it felt. “What a coincidence meeting you here!”
“Oh, um, yes,” Rarity added hastily. “You’re looking particularly… er…”
“Sweaty?” Celestia smiled wearily.
“Well, I, um…”
Celestia turned to Applebloom, who was lightly sobbing and doing a poor job of hiding it. “Are you alright, little pony?”
Applebloom sniffled. “Ah ain’t little. Only babies cry, an’ Ah ain’t no baby.”
Celestia giggled. “Of course not.” Her horn glowed and Applebloom was lifted up to meet her face. She gave Applebloom’s sprained hoof a little peck and allowed her to float to the ground. “Feel better?”
Applebloom blinked at her hoof. “Ah… guess…”
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m very busy.” Celestia pulled her head back into the barn.
Rainbow walked around to the door and let herself inside, and Rarity and Applebloom followed. “Hey, Princess, what exactly are you doing?”
“I’m cleaning the barn,” Celestia said as a magically moving pitchfork was gathering bits of hay and tossing them into a pile. She picked up a rusted bit of metal in her mouth and put it in a pile with some other pieces. She shuddered at the taste after she had spit it out. “And please call me Celestia. I’m not a princess at the moment.”
The three onlookers didn’t say anything for little while as Celestia continued to clean. “What a second,” Applebloom said. “Yer the honest tah goodness Celestia? What happened tah ya?”
“It’s a long story,” Celestia said quickly, bending down to pick up another piece of scrap. “I need to get this place cleaned as soon as I can, so if you don’t mind…”
“Come on, what’s going on?” Rainbow insisted as she got in front of Celestia. “Princesses don’t just suddenly start cleaning barns without a reason.”
“True enough. But then, everything has a reason, doesn’t it?” Celestia said as she walked around Dash.
“Come on, ya gotta tell us.”
Celestia sighed. “Had you said that yesterday, I might have agreed with that statement. But I think I’m supposed to keep some things to myself.”
“What’s that mean? You can’t just leave a friend hanging like this,” Dash implored with a raised brow and a cheeky grin.
Celestia suddenly turned to Rainbow, her expression blank. “Are we friends, Rainbow Dash? Are we?”
Dash’s knees wobbled under the scrutinizing eyes of Celestia. “Uh, well… y-yeah. We’re friends. Right?”
Celestia’s gaze became a little harder, but then she smiled. “Good. In that case, you must know that friends respect other friends’ privacy.”
Dash blinked. After a second of contemplation, she chuckled. “Alright, you got me there.”
“This is rather curious, Princess,” Rarity added.
“Celestia.”
“Pardon?”
“My name is Celestia,” Celestia said, not unkindly, but not with a pleasant tone.
“O-of course,” Rarity stammered. “Does this have to do with what happened at Town Hall?”
“What happened?” Applebloom asked. “Ah didn’ get tah go ‘cause of the accident, an’ Applejack cooped herself in her room an’ wouldn’t tell me anything. Granny said Ah was too young to understand.” She kicked at the ground with her good forehoof. “Ah hate it when grown-ups say stuff like that.”
“What’s happenin’ is between me an’ Princess over there,” Applejack said from the barn door.
They all turned to the farmer. “Oh, hey Applejack,” Dash said as she rubbed the back of her head. “We just, well, happened to notice a pony on your property—”
“Save it, Ah already understand.” She got up close to them, Rarity in particular. “Ah would kindly ask ya’ll not tah say anythin’. Got it, Rarity?”
Rarity smiled and her face became red. “My lips are sealed. Honestly, this time.”
“Next time Ah’ll get glue,” Applejack said as she pulled back. “Can Ah help you, or are ya the peanut gallery for the evenin’?”
“Peanut gallery,” Dash said, earning a look from Rarity. “What? At least I was honest.”
Applejack sighed. “Look, jus’… Hold that thought.” Applejack looked around the barn and began to inspect the various piles of stuff. “Ah see ya didn’t get the whole place cleaned.”
Celestia wiped the sweat from her brow. “I couldn’t, Applejack, and you know that. A fairly clever test, to be certain, but rather obvious after the initial panic settled.”
Applejack begrudgingly nodded. “Guess Ah should’a guessed that the all knowing Princess would pick up on it.”
Dash scratched her head. “I don’t get it. Everything is still a disorganized mess.”
“‘Course it is,” Applejack said. “Nopony could get all the junk we keep in here tidied up. This is what Ah do tah all the ponies lookin’ fer a job. Gotta make sure they got the right stuff; don’t crack under pressure, strong, able to mediate tasks. She’s lackin’ the strength part, but she didn’ waste her time tryin’ tah do what she knew she couldn’t.”
Celestia took notice of Applejack purposefully not talking directly to her. She, with some sorrow, realized this was how she was talked to, or rather, about, most of the time. She cleared her throat. “Erm, yes, so. Did I pass?”
Applejack let out a grunt. “Yeah, ya passed. Come into the main house an’ we’ll get’cha situated.” She turned to Dash and Rarity. “Ya wanna stay for dinner?”
“Er, no thank you,” Rarity said hastily. “I believe I promised to visit Sweetie Belle and dine at my parents’ home. “
“Uh, yeah,” Dash said. “I got, uh… dinner defrosting at home! Yeah, that’s it. I’ll see you later, alright?” Rainbow Dash and Rarity made a quick retreat, moving at what they hoped was a conspicuous speed.
Once outside the borders of Sweet Apple Acres, they sighed in relief. “Geez, good thing we got out of there before we were holed in.”
“Oh, I know,” Rarity agreed, dramatically bringing a hoof to her forehead. “Can you imagine how awkward that dinner would be?”
The dinner was beyond awkward at this point.
The meal itself was fine. Simplistic in nature, yet grand in proportion. Oats, corn, cabbage, a stew of some kind. Surprisingly, there was a severe lack of apples on the table.
But the food was not a problem for Celestia. She could not remember the last time she had dined in company that wasn’t Luna. Somewhere in her foggy memory, she recalled merriment and festivities that filled her with sorrow now that she thought of the Grand Galloping Gala. To be fair to the Gala, though, it was a lot more lively than this. “So, Big Macintosh…” Celestia began, “this is the first time we’ve met.”
“Eeyup,” the large stallion replied before taking a bite of his corn on the cob.
“Is it nice here on the farm?”
“Eeyup.”
“Will you be the one showing me how things are done tomorrow?”
“Nope.”
Celestia held back a grimace.
“Applebloom will be showin’ ya,” Applejack bit out.
“Ah am?”
Applejack huffed. “Hurry up an’ eat, you’ll want tah get tah bed as early as ya can. Need as much time as we can get tah teach ya the ropes.” She attacked her meal, shoveling food quickly. Celestia could tell she was trying to keep her mouth full so she didn’t have to talk.
Applebloom stared with wide eyes at Celestia, the questions the child wanted to ask easy to see but staying locked in her throat Celestia wondered whether or not she should answer Applebloom’s queries unprovoked.
Granny Smith snored lightly at her end of the table, utterly useless to Celestia’s cause at the moment.
Celestia tried to think of how to approach this as diplomatically as possible. She shuddered at the realization that it would have been easier fighting a hydra than fit in at this table. Celestia wondered if this intimidation she was feeling was what ponies felt around her.
“Applejack?” Applebloom said at long last.
Applejack replied by looking at Applebloom.
“Why is Princess Celestia at our dinner table?” Applebloom said.
“Just Celestia,” Celestia said.
Applejack gave the Alicorn a harsh glare and swallowed. “The Princess answered the job openin’. She’ll be workin’ on the farm ‘til she gives up an’ goes back tah Canterlot.”
Applebloom furrowed her brow. “Ah hate it when ya ‘word play’ me. Ah mean, why did she answer the – hey wait.” She turned to Celestia. “Can you tell me what ya’ll are doin’ workin’ on the farm?”
Celestia smiled. “Thank goodness, somepony talked to me. I was afraid I’d become a part of the furniture.” Applebloom giggled a bit. “Well, Applebloom, it’s a complicated matter.”
“Go ahead,” Applejack said. “Ya’ll have already told the rest of the town; might as well tell mah family too and ruin that as well.”
“If you don’t want me to—” Celestia started, but realized how completely stupid that sounded.
Applejack’s eye twitched. “Sure as heck didn’t matter at the meeting, Princess.”
Celestia’s face flushed. “Right then… To answer your question, Applebloom, Applejack is… is my daughter.”
Seeing the filly’s eyes widen in response churned Celestia’s heart. Celestia suddenly got it. Applejack wasn’t Applejack at that second, as far as Applebloom was concerned. Applejack was only Celestia’s daughter.
“Yer Applejack’s mama?” Applebloom said in awe.
Celestia opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a snort from Applejack.
“Yeah, that’s right. She made sure everypony knew about it, too.”
Celestia closed her eyes in regret. “Yes, Applebloom, I did something foolish. I let all of Ponyville know at once instead of keeping it between us.”
Applebloom shifted the bare cob around on her plate. “But Princess, I didn’t think you could even make mistakes.”
“Everypony makes mistakes,” Celestia said.
“Yeah, mistakes like me,” Applejack interjected. “Ah’m done. Big Macintosh’ll clean the dishes tonight, so just hurry tah bed. I’ll meet you in the morning. Goodnight, ya’ll.” Applejack got up from the table and made her way out of the dining room.
Celestia sighed. “I suppose I deserve this.”
“Hey, Celestia?” Applebloom asked while giving the bigger pony a poke. “Is Applejack still mah sister?”
Celestia smiled. “You tell me? Does knowing I gave birth to her instead of your mother change any of the memories of Applejack?”
Applebloom scratched her head. “Ah guess not…”
“A sister is a lot more than blood, or a word. But she is, technically, your half sister, if that’s what you meant.”
Applebloom frowned, not looking convinced as far as Celestia could tell. “Well... Ah’m goin’ tah sleep. Ah guess... Ah’ll see you tomorrow?”
Celestia nodded. “Of course. I need my teacher well rested if she’s to actually teach me anything.”
Applebloom froze for a second, then became incredibly giddy. “Ah’m Celestia’s teacher!” she squealed as she ran to bed.
Big Macintosh had wordlessly started to collect dishes without Celestia noticing.
She rubbed her temples, her legs resting on the table for support. “Well, it could have been worse for a first day.”
Granny Smith snorted and coughed, jolting awake. “Wuzzat? Who’z there? Oh, it’s you, Celly.” Granny Smith twisted her neck and received a few cracking noises in response. “Wha’d Ah miss?”
“Not much. Applejack hating me, awkward silence, and dinner. Compliments to the chef, by the way. It was a… filling meal.”
Granny Smith chuckled. “Give it a few days an’ it suddenly won’t seem so fillin’.”
Celestia cleared her throat. “So… how much does she know?”
Granny smacked her dry lips as she frowned. “Ah haven’t said a word about it. Iffin’ she learns anything ‘bout Apple Core, Orange Sherbert, an’ you, it’s gotta be from yer mouth.”
“That’s how I would like it. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Hardly did anythin’, just had tah keep mah trap shut. Now mosey on tah bed, yer gonna need all the rest you can get.”
Celestia smiled. “I’ve been raising the Sun and the Moon for the past one-thousand years. Waking up on time is hardly a problem.”
Granny Smith chuckled. “Oh, trust me, Celly. This time tomorrow, yer gonna be begging you had gone tah bed much earlier. Ah’ll bet mah dentures on it.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.042 seconds
Total duration
735 users online
925,507 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
A whole lot of nothing happened in this chapter. Sorry if it's a little disappointing. I've been busy with Real Life and all its woes. Hopefully I can get back on track. So much for National Pony Writing Month, huh?
Getting interesting....
Celestia: Hey I'll have you know that I grew up on a farm!
Ambrosia; Ah'm pretty sure that Applejack is mah daughter, can't forget that pain.
*glances at the two mares* Ok you two stop right there, this ain't my story so not my headcanon. Sorry TCW character tend to get minds of their own and will speak their minds. And those two *points at the mares* pretty much speak their minds.
Ok then enough of that, pretty damn good story so far. I do see a bit of Mommy Nearest/Alicorn as influence, but even then that just the back story and the "Walkabout" for Celestia is your own thing. With the whole ponies fearing Celestia thing... I'm not quite sure what to think about that, yes I can see it happening but it seems so odd to me since Celestia tries to be open. But you are still doing a good job with it, and adds another aspect to her character. And making her a better pony, which I approve.
Keep up the great work, I hope to see more.
In the Name of Her Serene Majesty Celestia Everfree,
Celestia's Paladin: From the Sun and Moon, Providence and Prosperity
I like how Celestia's trying to connect with Applejack, but she's still missing what Applejack seems to understand. Celestia can't just stop being the princess any more than she can stop being the one who controls the sun. Oh, she can give the power up temporarily, but it does nothing to change what ponies expect and believe.
Also, this whole Spike shocking Twilight thing; not something I am enjoying story or character wise.
Good story and the writing is rock solid, looking forward to more.
I can understand Applebloom's confusion. The bonds of family vs. blood, where they are different and where they are irrelevant is hard for some adults to handle, let alone a young filly. I've no doubt that she'll do something silly at least once in response to a perceived notion that either she or Applejack don't "belong" anymore.
I wonder how long it will take Applejack to pick up on the subtext of Celestia's presence. She isn't just there to talk; if she wanted to, she could just grab her magically and hold her still and silent, forced to listen. The fact that she is there on the farm, sharing the family's life, is nice but it is naive to assume she's just doing it just to connect with Applejack. I think she's decided that, given she's kicked her own schedule to splinters with her foolishness, she's going to have to stick close to Applejack to make sure that, if she starts turning into an Alicorn or something, she's there to help her.
As I suspect, Granny Smith knows everything; she knows enough that the Princess is 'Celly'. She knows enough that she can casually name-drop Applejack's father and foster mother and imply very strongly that they were a lot closer to the Princess than most people realise. I wonder if 'Celly' stayed on the farm to help AJ settle with her family. I wonder just how close 'Celly' was to Applejack's parents.
I'm going to keep following this intreging story.
Applebloom: Ah'm Celestia's teacher! 4.bp.blogspot.com/-cxZ0qcfwXTM/T_3lLI_1f0I/AAAAAAAAv2I/H1budOqO9yc/s1600/apple-bloom-juggler.jpg
Applebloom being Celestia's teacher is going to be hilarious. Just saying.
Also I love how Celestia is trying to connect with Applejack by humbling herself, knowing she does make mistakes, and is trying to rectify that.
Also Applejack needs to get that rotten apple out of her *** and buck up, life is hard sometimes, AJ, get over it.
1186829
Easier said than done, though I would love to see how Applejack is at the end of all this
Also with Spike and Twilight, I wonder if their relationships is going to be handled in this story as a subplot?
1184031
What, so it wasn't interesting before?
1184089
Hmm, I'd like to hear this head cannon. I just love alternate views of characters.
Also, I've never read Alicorn or Mommy Nearest, so I have no idea what you're talking about. I wrote this partially because I'm sick of all the "Twilight is Celestia's daughter" stories and because I don't think Applejack and Celestia get the right attention.
Anyway, speaking of head cannon, remember that this is an alternate view of Celestia, and not fact. It's arguable, but it's fun. I just like to see Celestia's openness as proof of her ignorance; surely you've noticed how ponies act around her. Fluttershy, the Cakes, the haughty ponies of Canterlot. But Celestia doesn't do anything about it. Why? Take any answer you want, I just picked the one that seemed the most fun; ponies are scared of her and she didn't notice because she was blissfully unaware. And like you pointed out, it adds depth and gives her a reason to grow.
Thank you, Sir Paladin, I'll be working hard for the Prince- I mean, Celestia.
1184177
Ahh, so you understand what Celestia hasn't truly grasped yet. The fact that ponies expect thing and thus have a biased perception before even seeing something is what is going to make Applejack's (and also Celestia's) life hard.
And the shock joke won't last too much longer. But expect some of Pavlov's theories to be used...
Thank you very much!
1185917
Bah! Adults. They can say some silly things once in a while themselves simply because they think that being older makes them smarter than children. I speak from experience, so forgive me if I sound bitter. One thing I can say about family and blood is that the only thing worse than finding out someone isn't related to you is being told it's supposed to matter. It's hard to explain without going in depth about it, but children can become confused because of the dumb things adults sometimes say.
Went on a tangent. Anyway, we'll see how long Applejack's stubbornness lasts. You have, of course, picked up on what Celestia is really doing, more or less. Thing is, though, I don't think people realize something about Applejack. She's the least interesting character because of her "Plain Jane" personality. But not many people realize just how hard being a "Plain Jan" can be...
As for your questions about Granny and 'Celly,' you'll just have to wait and see. All will be answered in time.
Glad I still have your interest, but expect a little meandering around from this point on.
1186177
You could practically feel the little filly's heart rise, couldn't you?
1186829
Glad you're enjoying yourself. I think you'll like Celestia's and Applebloom's interactions later on.
Also, don't be too hard on Applejack. This is a hard thing for anyone to go through. Believe me, I would know...
1186950
That's for defending Applejack. Actually... she's kind of my author avatar for this story. I've been in her position, sort of.
And as a matter of fact, yes, there will be a subplot or two in which Spike and Twilight deal with some family issues of their own.
1188155 Hehe, no worries. I'm a very forward, brash individual. People get offended by it sometimes and my wife says I need to work on that.
Heck I have characters in my original work that drive me nuts because they are not like me. So here, have a pinkie pie.
1188155
I'll gladly discuss headcanon with you, how about I shoot you a PM so we don't clutter up the reviews
You've never read them? Damn, well Alicorn is on this site and EqD, Mommy Nearest is on EqD as well, both tie into each other and long story short Rainbow Dash is Celestia's daughter.
Everyone has their own view, and you are quite correct. fear is one way at looking at it, but at least you aren't going over board by making Her Serene... *thack* Sorry, Celestia being a tyrant.
And please just call me Paladin, no Sir. The Equestria Federation has no knights.
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qwmWhRuHc3A/UD_GKTy2W9I/AAAAAAAAEbA/Zj1oc7l2j4E/s1600/PrincessofHonesty.png
1188168
It's alright. I'd tell you to put yourself in her (or my) shoes, but I'm not stupid enough to say that. People respond to situations differently, and you have your own set of shoes that I don't know about. Just trust me when I say that it's not finding out that your mother isn't related to you by blood is the problem; it's what this person's reputation does to you that's making this hard.
1188210
Sure! Aim a message my way and we'll take farm work and Ambrosia.
Hmm, I'll have to give them a read sometime, then. But I can swear that they didn't inspire any part of this story, so and resemblance between this or any fiction is purely coincidental. ...Boy, that sounded fake.
Yep, everyone has a view and I'm not gonna be a jerk and say my way is right, only that I'm having fun. That said, there can be a right way to make Celestia look like a tyrant. Is everyone going to enjoy that? Of course not. If someone doesn't want to read that, they won't. I approach fear in a friendly way, because that's what I like.
You can include this in your message; if there's no knights, what was that thing Celestia did with her horn and Twilight's shoulder's that looked like a quick knighting ceremony, in your opinion?
1188240
...
...
... My God, she's beautiful. Who drew this?
1188401
LeviosaRose
on Deviantart
Here
1188240 1188401
I really like his/her work.
I have a 'Mane 6 become Alicorns' type story slowly cooking in the back of my brain and those really fit. 
I wonder/hope your story ends up with an Alicorn Applejack. 
=. .=b
1189109
I want to read that story, now. I need to watch you so I can see it.
You'll just have to cross you fingers about Alicorn Applejack. We'll see when we see.
1189202
Thanks for the Watch! It's not going to be ready for a while. Also, it's pretty dark in terms of subject matter, since there are a lot of Greek mythology themes in it. There are also a pair of other stories I want to finish before really tackling 'Unnamed Alicorn Story'.
I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for Alicorn Applejack!
Conflicted Guy,
y u no indent your paragraphs?!
1197323
I keep forgetting to do that when transferring it from Google Docs to here. There isn't an easy way to do it, or at least I don't know about it. I'll get to it eventually.
Gah!
1200205 Just select all your text and hit the indent button. Then go back and de-indent the first paragraphs in each scene and align the center align the scene breaks.
1200347
Are you sure you don't want to reconsider that "I'm a dummy" comment I made?
Why?! Why isn't there more?! By Starswirl's beard!
1363647
Read my latest blog post. It will tell you.
1364463 Ah, thank you.
When can we expect the next chapter?
1481611
I'm a homeless bum, sadly, but I will write this story dammit! I swear it!
With any luck, about a month, and that's being generous.
1482325 Now I feel sorry for asking
1482359
Don't feel bad, you didn't know. I'd want to know how my favorite story was going to continue, too.
Make the best of it
1499016
What happened to the Department of [Prussian] Homeland Defense? Oh well, that stuff changes constantly.
The crazy thing about so many of your corrections it that they are ones I can easily see in others, but not in my own work. How does this work? I'm so very at myself angry, now.
Okay, the bastard child thing; THIS IS A SHOW FOR LITTLE GIRLS. I had to shove that down my own throat and I don't know if it's a good idea. I know, the show wouldn't even really deal with parenthood, in all likeliness. Second, like you said about the haggling, the moment they see it's the Princess of the Sun, they aren't going to question it. It's a hand wave, I know, but a fairly logical one, I think. I'm trying to force myself to write in this manner to practice ignoring such jarring details. And, besides, I've found it's too annoying to ignore. I'll address this in a few ways. I mean, why do you think AJ is so pissed? She's the only one with the gumption to let it show, to acknowledge that Celestia is all powerful and full of perfect moral fiber. Part of the story's progression will deal with that issue, and Celestia trying to find some way to make up for it. I COULD spoil how she does that, if you particularly care to know and give your opinion on it.
And, yes, there should be more blood when she loses her teeth. Again, I tried to reel in my over-analyzing mind for this story and make it more like the show. The closest we've ever seen to a mortal wound is Celestia's horn getting blown off. I'm just trying to keep with the show's writing, here. Oh, and yes, I have lost teeth and tasted blood. Like you, they were baby teeth.
Nice, I'm tracking this. Good luck and keep it up.
1500720
As a fellow Applejack appreciator, I appreciate this. Thank you!
They say the sun also rises. This would probably be relevant if Hemingway's novel wasn't about a man who got his thing shot off during WW1 and is pretty much just really sad now. With that in mind, let's dig into chapter the third!
I hope he used the hand that the joy buzzer wasn't on. [Random thought]
The name is a pun off the name "Aloysius"; it's the Provencal French (Southeast France) form of the name "Louis". I should know; this is the middle name of my cousin, and also the name of my favorite literary character (Aloysius X.L. Pendergast), and thus an important name for an important character in my works. Point is, it's not English but Provencal; his name would be spelt "Owloysius".
You used a hyphen ( - ) when you should have used a dash ( – ). It ought be "Princ–Celestia". The Hyphen implies they are one word or two adjectives put together to prevent ambiguous syntax, like man-eating chicken, since man eating chicken is something entirely else. (To type a –, you need to have numpad enabled, then hold down ALT, then type in "0150" on the numpad.) The only time I would say to use a hyphen is in the case of stuttering. "P-P-P-Princess Celestia!" Watch those hyphen/dash issues
We do not say " doesn' ", we Southerners will usually say "don't" in place of "doesn't". EG, "Yeah, he don't know 'bout that." But never in my life have I met the
manmare who said " doesn' ". Without that hard T at the end, this word is literally gibberish in spoken English.What a lovely day to forget to drop the G but still pretend like you have.
I'll tolerate the horrific "fer" (which sounds more like the German für then you know, hence why this sentence is an abomination[ at least, I would pronounce "fer" like the German für {or fuer}]), but I refuse to stand by the "word" "tah". Por favor, make it "me t’deal with". Unless you're Sylvester Stallone, you can't really say "tah"
*Grumbles* Damn Westerners *Grumble* The Queen of England got severely offended when I called her "y'all"! (But we have since became bros.) How was I supposed to know that her use of the royal "we" didn't give me the right to nonironically call her "y'all"?
Either capitalize all the "ah"s or don't. Also, I feel as though this sentence would glow better if it were in the Present Perfect tense; that is, have a "have" after "ah", or preferably an "Ah've".
Oh, hello there sentence, What's that? You had your period stolen? Was it that... oh! Oh. The punctuation kind. Well, I'm sure the nice Conflicted Writer could set you up with a sexy period right after the word "pose", huh?
Until and till are both different words with the exact same meaning. Until is actually a modification of the word "till", having and added/evolved form of the Norse "unz-" prefix, meaning "up to, as far as". ’Til is a spelling error, since the word is "till". I don't care what advertisements say, ’til is not the shortened for of until, bit till is the word you'd use. However, til is the Hindu word for the sesame plant (don't ask me how I know this).
This is the full sentence you used. The M should be capitalized, or perhaps you need to add a "They" before "moved"; in fact, yes, this sentence desperately longs for a pronoun.
As is the case with the word ’tis, you need an " ’ " before this word; it should look like ’tain’t, since it's one of those rare English double contractions, like the word y'all've or hadn't'd or wouldn't've... you get the idea. You see it more in informal speech, since double contractions aren't something your English teacher was proud of.
*gasp* Could it be? I daresay it is as I see! A proper usage of the word y'all! Hallelujah! [Random thought]
Dios mios, these are becoming grating. Must. Hold Back. Southern. Rage! I mean, I'm lead to believe by this that Apple Bloom (Yes, the wiki lists it as two words) is secretly Sylvester Stallone... or Sylvester Stallion... whatever. [Random thought]
Just a side note, but I often hear it pronounced "y'all're", else it sound too close to the local pronunciation of "holler"... ignoring how that's the wrong pronoun to use here...
There's a space between Cider and "," , which thou ought see to correcting.
Ach, wie gut dass niemand weiß wer ich bin und wie ich heiß. But as I read this, I couldn't help but thing one thing over and over again: ‘Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein’, or ‘It is not easy to be a God.’ S'pose it don't hurt that that's a line from one of my favorite songs (Megaherz's Gott Sein [Being God], both versions), but still. Though I can't find myself feeling bad for Celestia. At all.
Regardless, this has been a message from the Prussian Zentraler Nachrichtendienst, the Central Intelligence Agency.
1502530
Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. Applejack would be disappoint in me.
If you can say 'is is not easy to be a God' and still not feel sorry for Celestia, I win. By no means am I trying to make anyone feel sorry for her. As you pointed out, Applejack is the only one acting remotely logical to the situation. I'm want people to feel sorry for the farm pony, not the goddess. I think I was quite clever with the name of this story. It's explored from Celestia's point of view and deals with her stupidity, while it is about her dealing with her daughter, and not the daughter herself. One of the challenges I set was for Celestia to be sympathetic, stupid, and relateable, without you feeling sorry for her. In fact, her suffering later on will be a source of humor.
1505834
I got a funny feeling Celestia is going to do something very stupid and break AJ's heart...
Giving this a shot since you commented on Applethesis or whatever, so I'll read it in the morning and try to give some criticism, good and bad, when I read it. XD
1505834
Celestia is focusing not on the roots but rather on the branches of a tree... she's not taking her time to get to know her daughter better and doing something for her daughter, she instead is trying to improve herself... she's being selfish and she's too prideful and ignorant to see that
Hey, I'm just curious Where are all these supposed twilight is celestia's daughter/rainbow is celestia's daughter fics? I've only read one of each.
Also, good job on your story.
I like where you are going with this and I only regret that now I will be anxiously waiting for more!
1650122
Hopefully it won't be too much longer.
1650995
I saw the entry on your mainpage about the loss of words to a dying computer. I have felt that pain and you have my sympathies. Hopefully, the rewrite will be even better for you!
Please finish this; it's the one good "Celestia has a daughter" fic I think I've ever seen.
1720610
I swear, I'm trying. My life is just so hard right now.
Well I finally got around to reading this story and I can say that In chapter one, I totally thought it was twilight. Near the end though I could see it hinting towards our favorite tree bucking mare
. And yes, Celestia did seem true to her character whilst still being relatable. I did think that AJ did seem a little off with that jab to the face, but that's just me. The alliteration Zecora makes about Celestia being as distant as the sun seemed very clever to me, and I can tell it's an important point in the story. I think that this chapter thus far is my favorite. I really like this story and I'm glad you recommended it to me; I am definitely gonna follow this story and keep an eye on you.
P.S.
I don't think this "y'all" was necessary.
P.P.S. Alicorn Applejack for the win!
1948257
Thanks for reviewing! Yes, real Texans have complained to me about that, as you saw. As for AJ seeming off, well, it ought to make more sense in time. But you have to look at it from AJ's point of view. She's so hard working and honest, her parents dead. Suddenly Celestia shows up wanting to take that place, after Celestia caused her so much harm. It'll become more clear as the story goes, but I think Celestia is an idiot. A kind, gentle, well meaning idiot, but an idiot. I'm not trying to get sympathy for Celestia, I'm trying to get sympathy for AJ. Plus, it helps if you have parental abandonment issues. When you have that, AJ's response makes more sense.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to have more soon.
Real Texans?
But I'm Texan... Born, raised, and living there currently. I'm about as real as you're gonna get.
Well she is around 1,000 years old. One would hope to assume she is wise and clever having seen the world a million times over. I understand what you mean, but I think a better fitting word would be tactless. I totally get how you're trying to portray her as less god-like and more
humanpony. I do wish more people would respect Celestia though, instead of forgetting her entirely in favor of Princess Luna. I honestly don't get the hype surrounding her. I'm probably one of the few people who is still loyal to Celestia instead of jumping on the Lunar Republic bandwagon.Take as long as you need to finish the next chapter I'm very patient and could wait weeks for it.
1976142
Exactly, real Texans, like yourself.
Well, maybe idiot is a bad word. But consider this; In the gala episode, Applejack wanted to earn bits for her family, and her friends wanted to go for various reasons. Celestia didn't bother telling them the gala is a royal bore, leading to the destruction of the party. And Celestia, despite the destruction of everything, she says it was the best ever. In the wedding episode, look at how she treats Twilight. But does she say sorry? No. Out of all of them, Applejack is the only one who says sorry. So I think Celestia is too motherly and mortal to be treated as ponies treat here. That's just me.
1976307 To me she came off as real smart. She planned ahead. Celestia knew that they weren't going to like the gala (and eventually lighten it up with their craziness). She even tells Twilight herself this. I'd show you a video of it, but Hasbro took them down. She wanted it to happen,
I'm pretty sure that the apology thing at the wedding was either a lack of foresight on the writers part, or was intentionally written like that to bring out Applejack's characteristics. Because I'm pretty sure that even if the princess didn't apologize, Her friends would've at least.
1977420
Oh, I'm sure that's how she REALLY is. This is just a twist on the usual idea, is all. I like to "think" it's that way, for the sake of the story. So, please, suspend your disbelief, for Celestia will be treated as though she is ignorant in this story. And, besides, that's the point about the Gala. Celestia wanted it, even though no other pony did. Applejack lost bits, several ponies probably lost their jobs assuming Celestia doesn't organize the whole thing herself, which seems far fetched. Please, read this story to see more of this from my point of view.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/58321/exit-through-canterlot