The Four Seasons

BEEP......BEEP........

Big Macintosh groaned as he woke up to the beeping.He sat still for several minutes keeping his eyes shut while trying to remember what had happened to him. The memories of the assassin trying to kill the princess and him getting shot came flooding back to him. The last thing he remembered was the assassin being taken down, and after that it all went black.

BEEP......BEEP........

Several more minutes went by as he tried to piece together his surroundings. The air was chilly and the strong smell of medicine was present. The beeping of some kind of machine was the only sound that could be heard. His chest rose and  fell delivering a small sting each time. He slowly opened his eyes where he found himself staring directly at the white ceiling above. He was also in a bed with an I.V. Bag that had a clear tube of water running into his arm.

BEEP.......BEEP.......

He attempted to sit up right ,but the jolting pain in his chest served as a reminder that he had been injured. Although the pain was excruciating he managed to fight it long enough to prop himself up into a slightly more elevated position. He wondered how long he had been in the hospital, if the princess was okay ,and Many more questions arose.

BEEP.........BEEP........

Big Macintosh first turned the volume of the life support machine down so he didn't have to hear it anymore. He then surveyed the rest of the room. There was a couch to the right of his bed and a Large painting of the everfree forest hanging from the wall opposite of his bed. The last piece of furniture was the night stand beside his bed. there sat a lamp, flowers, and a button. The button had a slip of paper beside. With curiosity over powering him he picked it up and read.

'Big Macintosh, if you are reading this you must be awake. When ever you're ready hit the button and a doctor will be with you as soon as possible.'

Big Macintosh reached over ignoring the pain and tapped the button twice. He then recoiled back to his sitting position to avoid any more pain then was needed. The door to the room clicked as  a unicorn holding a clip board walked in. He then walked the life support machine and flipped a few buttons and switches before returning his attention to Big Mac.

"So how are we doing Mr. Apple?" he asked looking at his clip board.

"Good ah guess, but my memory is a bit blurred, can ya tell me what happened after ah passed out?"

"We'll after you were hit by a magic bolt you were immediately brought to the emergency room.when we found you you were in critical condition"

Big Macintosh recalled how he had leaped in front of the princess to take the magic blast, but he never learned of the princess's fate. He had only hoped that she escaped unharmed. But the bolt of magic that it him was very powerful, how could he have survived it if it was intended for immortals, and yet he was only a mere mortal.

"is the princess alright?" Big Macintosh asked in a panicked voice.

The doctor didn't want to answer at first, fearing his response. but knew he would learn of what happened eventually.

"We'll Mr. Apple,although you took most of the spell some of the magic from the spell did bounce off of you and hit the princess's front left hoof. So yes she did get hurt but with only a minor injury."

That did little to calm Big Macintosh, knowing he failed to do his duty hit him like a ton of bricks. He was ashamed in himself for letting the princess get hurt. He scolded himself mentally and frowned.

This frown did not go unnoticed by the doctor as he was taking Big Macintosh's blood pressure. He tried to think of something to cheer Big Macintosh up.

"And if it means anything,you did save the princess's life. Even if she got hurt in the process.And besides if you hadn't been there it could have been much worse."

Big Macintosh could be seen visibly relaxing as the news had calmed him down a bit. He had many more questions but decided to get the important ones over with first. One question stained his mind more than others.

"Hey doc, how long was ah out?"

"Oh well , you were in a coma for two weeks after getting shot. I believe the only reason you survived was because of your strength and excellent health. Other then that there were no complications. I expect that you will be able to make a full recovery. The only mystery is how you survived dark magic..."

This was a mystery that Big Macintosh himself hadn't figured out. Although he knew he had great health he to did agree that the magic itself should have killed him.

but it didn't.

The door opened again as a white alicorn with a sun for a cutie mark entered. She had a bandage wrapped around her hoof. Although the princess didn't limp when she walked it brought a frown on Big Macintosh's face to see his ruler hurt because of his mistake. Big Macintosh was mentally beating himself up over this.

"Excuse me Dr. Mane can Macintosh and I have a moment, please?

"Of course, your highness. I will be outside if you need me for anything."

Dr. Mane bowed respectfully to the princess before trotting to the door. As soon as the thump of the door hitting the door frame could be heard Princess Celestia walked over to Mac's bed side and looked at Big Macintosh. He was avoiding eye contact with her and looking down in shame, a frown visible on his face.

"Is something the matter Macintosh?"

"A-ah guess ah just feel ashamed about how you got hurt when it is my job to make sure your protected."

"Macintosh, no pony could have foreseen an assassination attempt against me. You hadn't had any training and it was you first day in Canterlot. I will never be able to fully repay you for your heroic actions."

This was a very shocking statement to Big Macintosh. Not only did he not get yelled at, as expected but he was being called heroic by the princess herself.

"Princess if that magic's purpose was to kill immortals then why did ah not die?"

This question was hard for the princess to answer herself, she had no idea why he was not killed. The magic was indeed meant for alicorns and other immortals. But there was no logical answer for Big Macintosh's survival. The dark magic should have killed him instantly. This matter would require more research and studying.

"I do not have a answer for you at the moment Big Macintosh, but I will look up on it as much as I can. But for now I think you need your rest, until next time."

Princess Celestia stood up and slowly paced through the room to the door and walked through to go to her study to research the matter.

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(POV switch to Celestia)

For the next two days Celestia had spent a majority of her time in her study looking at books to find the cause of  Big Macintosh's survival. So for she had found nothing, as she quickly became frustrated at the lack of answers.

She begun to poor herself some tea thinking it would calm her down a little bit.

"I don't get it! I have read everything from the wildlife health section all the way to mystic creature health section with little to no information!"

She finished pouring herself a cup of tea, and then added two sugar cubes to it. As she levitated the cup towards her she got to thinking.

Where have I heard of this. I know it was in a book, but I just cant remember the name of it for the life of me. I think it had something to to with the seasons and....

CRACK

Princess Celestia dropped her cup with her jaw dropped not even bothering to look down at the broken cup.

"Could it be.....no, it cant be......its impossible!"

She stood up and trotted to her private library to find the prophecy's and legends section.

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fifteen minutes later she returned to her study and went to sit back down at her desk. The broken cup had been picked up  by one of the servants, and a new cup of tea in its place. She set the book down on the table revealing the title.

The Prophecy Of The Four Seasons

She took a deep breathe before she opened the cover. She then began to read the first chapter.After a while a certain section caught her attention she had found what she was looking for. She had confirmed her theory and as shocking as it was she didn't know what her next course of action would be.

She was interrupted by the opening of her study door. She looked up to see a blue alicorn with a moon for a cutiemark. They hadn't spoke in a few days due to Celestia spending most of her time in her study and Luna's very different sleeping schedule. Luna took notice of her sisters odd expression.

"Sister has something happened?" Luna asked afraid equestria was in danger

"Sister I need you to take a look at this" she said pointing towards the open book on her desk.

Luna approached the desk with caution not knowing what this was all about. She got to the desk and looked down at the book her eyes went wide as she read.

the prophecy has it that the prince/princess of the four seasons will have an

unbreakable bond with the earth and a natural resistance to dark magic.

The prince/princess of the four seasons will have special abilities having to do with

the seasons themselves......Luna read aloud

"Hold on one moment sister. Let me get this straight."

"You think that Mr. Apple is the Ruler of the four seasons?"

Princess Celestia could only nod at her sisters accusation. They had both been taught about the ruler of the four seasons and how no pony knows when they will be found, if found at all. The more Luna thought about it the more it made since.

Big Macintosh did have an unbreakable bond with the earth but she just thought it was due to the fact that he was an earth pony. And it would explain how he wasn't killed by the dark magic

"Tia, are you absolutely sure of this. If we public with this finding then there is no turning back."

"I am sure of this, but we shouldn't go public with this quite yet. We should wait and observe Macintosh to prove or disprove our theory."

They were both very uncertain of the situation, but then again who wouldn't be. They both had their beliefs and doubts about the situation. If they went public then surely the news would spread to every corner of the globe like wild fire. This decision was like a double edge sword, it could either turn out to be a miraculous discovery and every pony would celebrate with joy, or they could be wrong and the whole situation blows up in their face and bring shame upon them for their false claim.

But one thing was certain.

Big Macintosh Apple could very well be the ruler of the seasons.