*Special Thanks to Tsubaki Rehooved for proof reading*
Anypony that is anypony has their own little fantasy that they keep to themselves, whatever they want to be. Whether it be rich and famous, the mayor of Ponyville, or even being ruler of all of Equestria. Who or whatever they wish to be is their own fantasy to hold onto. Some may find it silly and unobtainable, while others may find them to be an easy and quite achievable feat. There is no telling unless you decide on whom you wish to be.
For one little filly, once the door closes in her room of fantasy, another opens as she lets her fantasy run wild. Truly, for Apple Bloom, she wants to be somepony else.
~~~~
It was a warm and partly cloudy day in Canterlot. The atmosphere was jubilant as the citizens of the mighty and regal city worked in the afternoon light in preparation of the 21st birthday of its princess. Apple Bella was the fairest and prettiest princess of all of her kingdom, she was tall as Princess Celestia yet she didn’t have any wings or a horn; she was just a beautiful earth pony. Her hair was as long and red as fresh picked cherries. Sometimes it would be braided and a small swarm of colorful butterflies would carry the long braids wherever she went.
Normally she wore a long silky dress that would reach floor. The dress had colors that matched her visage perfectly, down to her yellow coat, red hair, and amber colored eyes. She was respected by all of her servants and citizens that came her way. She sat comfortably in her royal throne as her most loyal knight; her commander in chief of her royal guards, Esbin, trotted up to her highness with bold expression on his face. She smiled warmly at her trusted guard as he stopped in front of her and bowed politely to Apple Bella.
“Your highness,” Esbin said calmly.
“Commander Esbin,” Apple Bella replied in her regal tone.
“All of the preparations of the festival are in place,” Commander Esbin said.
“Excellent,” she replied with a smile.
“Shall the fair princess need her most faithful knight to escort her to the festival?” Commander Esbin asked the princess.
“That would be very kind of you, my most loyal of all guards.” Apple Bella said softly as she rose from her throne and made her way to the end of the grand hall with commander Esbin by her side. As two of the guards opened the door for the two earth ponies, Apple Bella said, “Dearest Esbin.”
“Yes, your highness” Commander Esbin said as he slightly glanced at Apple Bella next to him.
“I couldn’t help but wonder if everything will be festive enough for the citizens,” Apple Bella said as she walked down the decorative hallway.
“But of course, the most experienced decorators of all the land have been called upon to meet all the fine designs to create the most festive twenty first birthday of the fairest princess of Equestria,” Commander Esbin said with a soft smile.
“Yes, I understand but…” Apple Bella hesitated as she stopped in the middle of the hallway. Commander Esbin stopped to face the princess and walked up to her.
“Something wrong your highness,” Commander Esbin asked with concern.
“-Sigh- I just feel that there is something missing… is all,” Apple Bella sighed with a depressing expression on her face as she turned to face the window.
Commander Esbin had always been the one to point out what the princess could ever need in her life, but for some reason, he just couldn’t tell what it was this time. He thought as hard as he could for a moment about what the princess could need for her 21st birthday.
“Perhaps…,” Esbin said, catching the princess attention, “Perhaps maybe your Great Aunt’s Apple Cinnamon pudding would cheer you up.”
Apple Bella continued to look despondently over Canterlot.
“-Sigh- No thank you Esbin, I do not believe that pudding will make me feel right as rain this time.”
Esbin started to feel more concern as he tried to think of anything that could appease Princess Apple Bella.
“Hmmm, perhaps thy fair princess may need a massage from the royal Canterlot masseurs,” Commander Esbin suggested.
“No, no,” Princess Apple Bella sighed.
At this point Commander Esbin was starting to run out of ideas of things to say. He suddenly noticed that the Royal Carriage being prepped for the departure into Canterlot for the princess’s birthday. Suddenly, he thought of a new suggestion.
“Perhaps a new Royal Carriage for you will surely please you.”
The princess closed her eyes as she turned her head to look at her faithful knight.
“No thank you commander, I am in no need of a new carriage for myself. I… I want something that cannot be bought with money, or ordered by my authority. I need something like… something like…”
Apple Bella stopped talking as she glanced down at her most trusted knight and stared deeply into Commander Esbin’s eyes. She felt her heart stop as her mind started to travel to the day where she first met Commander Esbin as a young colt back when she was a young filly.
~~~~
Apple Bella accidently tripped onto the pavement on the path in the Canterlot Gardens and scraped her knee. She was too focused on the pain to notice when a young colt had accidently wandered his way into the gardens and noticed the young princess weeping on the grass.
“What’s the matter…why are you crying,” Esbin asked, completely unaware that he was talking to the princess.
Apple Bella wiped the tears from her eyes as she said, “I was just playing and… and then I tripped and then I… I…” She quickly showed her scraped knee to the colt. He examined it for a bit and then pulled out a bandage from his saddlebag. He slipped the sticky bandage on the lightly bleeding area and gave a small kiss on it.
“Feel any better,” Esbin asked in concern, she looked down at the bandage and then back at the brown colt in front of her. Apple Bella smiled innocently as she nodded and asked, “What’s your name?”
“My name is Esbin,” the young colt replied happily.
“Esbin…” Apple Bella said in a romantic tone before she started to fade back to the present day as she realized she was still staring down at Commander Esbin.
~~~~
“Yes your highness…” Commander Esbin asked while looking up at Apple Bella.
“I need something. Something like…you, Esbin,” Apple Bella said softly, giving him a sweet smile at him with sudden realization of what she needed.
“P-princess…” Commander Esbin stuttered not quite sure if he heard her clearly.
The princess suddenly turned so she was now facing Esbin; she kept the same expression on her face.
“It’s you Commander,” Apple Bella said as she removed his helmet to reveal his face and ran a hoof along the side of his face.
“It’s been you this entire time, and I… had no idea… until today.” The only thing Esbin could do was listen to the princess talk. He literally was at a loss of words.
“I know that you are not of royal blood,” Apple Bella continued, “But I don’t care about that. The only things I care about are you and the good for my kingdom. What I am trying to tell you my most trustful knight…is that I… I love you.”
Esbin stared wide-eyed at the princess and was completely stunned. She began to take notice that he wasn’t saying anything, and she started to regret revealing her deepest affection for him. She started to feel uncomfortable by his gaze and turned away so she wouldn’t look at him.
“You… you do not feel the same for me, do you?” Apple Bella asked, her eyes downcast.
“WH-what, princess I…” Esbin stuttered as he snapped out of his trace.
“I am sorry Esbin… I just… believed that…” Apple Bella voice left her as she started to let out tears. She turned away from the stallion to run away.
“Princess! Princess…wait,” Commander Esbin exclaimed as he began to chase after her.
She didn’t stop to look back but Esbin was much faster than her and he quickly caught up with her. Esbin gently grabbed Apple Bella by the shoulder and swung her around.
“Princess PLEASE!” Apple Bella stopped to open her tear soaked eyes at the stallion looking up at her. He then continued after taking a deep breath.
“I… I too share such feeling for you princess. Ever since we were children, my heart has fallen head over hooves for you. I… I just never excepted that you, of all ponies, would feel the same for me, a mere soldier of your glorious kingdom. I love you with my entire heart princess, and don’t you ever doubt that.”
Esbin then reached up to place a hoof upon her majesties cheek. This all became too much for Apple Bella, as she soon fell to her knees and embraced Esbin tightly as she wept with joy for saying such a thing to him earlier. Esbin held Apple Bella closely to him as he slowly ran a hoof through her mane to console her. Once she seemed to have stopped crying, Esbin turned her head to look at her face to face.
“Bella, my only wish for you is to be happy.”
“-Gasp-. You… you haven’t called me Bella since…since we were children,” Apple Bella spoke softly.
“I know…” Commander Esbin whispered softly in her ear.
“E-Esbin I… -gasp- I mean Commander Esbin, I…” Apple Bella corrected herself but the stallion only laid a hoof to her mouth.
“Please Bella, call me Esbin,” Esbin ordered in a gentle tone.
“Esbin,” Apple Bella said softly as she maintained eye contact with the brown stallion.
“Bella,” Esbin said warmly looking deep into the princess’s eyes.
“Esbin…” Apple Bella said in a softer tone was she slowly leaned closer toward Esbin.
“Bella…” Esbin said as he began to lean in as well to the beautiful princess.
Both of them were inches away from their faces as each of them closed their eyes and just at the very moment they were about to kiss…
~~~~~
“APPLE BLOOM!”
Apple Bloom suddenly snapped awake to see that she was in her own bed room holding a pillow closely to her. When she realized that she was about to kiss one of her own pillows, she tossed it and swung her head around to look at her bedroom door.
“Y-YEAH,” Apple Bloom called out through her door to whomever at calling her. “YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE; COME ON DOWN,” Applejack called out from downstairs. Apple Bloom sighed and said, “COMIN'!”
Just as she was about to unlock her door, she glanced at her mirror on the wall and suddenly realized that she was still wearing the frilly dress that she bought from the Carousel Boutique.
“APPLE BLOOM,” Applejack called out again. Apple Bloom turned to the door again while she was trying to hop out of her dress
“Give me a second.” She tripped over the lower part of her dress and hit the floor with a thud. She quickly picked herself up and managed to get the dress off of her and stuff it in her dresser.
She unlocked the door and heard Sweetie Belle call out while she opened the door.
“Come on Apple Bloom, we’ve got Cutie Mark Crusading to do!”
Apple Bloom dashed down the stairs to see that Esbin, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were waiting for her at the front door of the house.
When Apple Bloom stopped in front of her friends and older sistershe sheepishly began to apologize.
“Sorry ah was busy with something.”
But she realized that all of her friends and big sister looking at her with an unusual expression, she looked at them and asked, “What?”
Esbin then asked, “What did you do with your hair?” Apple Bloom’s eyes shot open as she realized that her hair was still braided up from pretending to be a princess.
“Ahh well… ya see ah was uh,” Apple Bloom fumbled, as she tried to think of something to say.
“Ah was…” Just then Applejack said, “Apple Bloom said she wanted somethin' different, is all.”
“Uh…YEAH, do y’all like it,” Apple Bloom chirped as she asked her friends opinion about her new hairstyle.
“It looks…great I guess,” Scootaloo said with an uncertain look. She certainly wasn’t used to seeing Apple Bloom with a different hair style.
“It’s definitely different than what you normally go with,” Sweetie Belle said while rubbing her head.
“I really like it, it suits you,” Esbin chirped with a smile.
Apple Bloom blushed at Esbin’s comment.
“Thanks ya guys, it really means a lot tah me.”
“Okay enough talking about hair,” Scootaloo said, “Let’s head to the park to try and get our cutie marks.”
“YEAH!” the four ponies cheered as they made their way outside, Applejack waved to the small dust cloud that charged down the path making its way toward Ponyville. She sighed and couldn’t help but ponder.
“Why in the world was that silly filly doin’ tah be takin’ so long in her room?”
