Ponystar Celestia

T minus one hour. Ponystar Celestia, sickbay.

“Now you stay warm under them covers,” Applejack said. Spotting a loose corner, she gripped it in her teeth and tucked it back under Rainbow Dash. Once her mouth was free, Applejack added, “Don’t wantcha to stay sick the whole trip.”

Rainbow just glared at her sourly.

Applejack pulled her hat off with her hooves, then used her mouth to extract a battered, dog-eared, much-loved book from within. She set the copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone on Rainbow’s belly, but when Rainbow made a grab for it Applejack held it down with one firm hoof.

“Well lookee here!” she said with mock surprise. “An’ here Ah could’a sworn somepony was recently tellin’ me how she was too tired to take her medicine!”

“Reading duh’int tek mush strenf!” Rainbow protested through a muzzle full of phlegm.

“Neither does swallowin’,” Applejack countered, pointing at the pill and glass of water on Rainbow’s nightstand. “Now get to it.”

Rainbow crossed her forelegs. “Dno way!”

Applejack could feel a headache coming on. “An’ why exactly not?”

“I muft be allerdic to it, or somefin. I alway feew worse when I tek it!”

Applejack groaned. At least nopony else in their group was here right now; they had let her take Rainbow straight to the Celestia’s hospital, where she had been stuck ever since in an effort to get Rainbow to take her medicine. The doctor and nurses were giving them their privacy, which was good of them. Applejack was firmly convinced that Rainbow was the most stubborn pony she’d ever met; worse than Rarity, worse than Big Macintosh when he got a notion into his head—heck, even worse than Apple Bloom when she had been little.

Thinking back, Apple Bloom’s foalhood gave Applejack an idea… “Tell you what, Rainbow: Ah’ll take one’a them pills if you do.”

Rainbow’s light cerise eyes studied Applejack suspiciously.

“Far as Ah know, you ain’t got no allergies ta speak of. The way Ah see it, if Ah can take one’a them pills an’ be right as rain—even though Ah don’t need ‘em—that’ll prove that they’re fine an’ you’re just a big fat wimp!” Applejack said. She shot Rainbow her cockiest smirk, the one she wore whenever she teased Rarity about Tom. “It’ll be a bet: if Ah win, you start takin’ your medicine without whinin’. If you win, uh…” Her idea deserted her for a moment; she had told Scootaloo she’d get Rainbow to take all of the pills, after all, and no way was she going to go back on her word. “Uh, well, then we’ll look inta other ideas.”

Rainbow looked dubious, but eventually she nodded and hwarked a fat glob of bright off-green phlegm onto a hoof. She held it out for Applejack to shake.

As soon as Rainbow had started her hwark, Applejack had done the same. Now she stood paralyzed, her spit slowly running off her own hoof. She could never be called a prissy pony—unlike a certain absent unicorn—but that… thing on Rainbow’s hoof was disgusting.

Rainbow smirked evilly, clearly enjoying her psychological warfare. She turned her hoof sideways, but the glob barely moved. Applejack stared for another long moment.

Well, what the hay, she thought. It ain’t like earth ponies can get the feather flu; I’ll just have to wash up after. She took a deep breath. Real good.

Applejack shook hooves with Rainbow, trying not to shudder at the feeling of the greenish glob on her hoof. When the deed was done she didn’t set her hoof down; it wouldn’t be neighborly of her to track that stuff all over the ship’s hospital. Instead she pointed with the blighted hoof to Rainbow’s pill and water. “You first.”

Perhaps sensing that she couldn’t push the issue farther, Rainbow leaned over and swallowed the pill off of the plate, then grabbed her glass in both hooves and washed the pill down with all of the water.

It was a challenging task with one hoof “disabled” but Applejack eventually got another pill out, which she swallowed dry. By the time she’d choked it down, Rainbow had already started on her Daring Do novel. Applejack smiled at the sight. Rainbow always liked to re-read that particular volume during her mercifully rare hospital visits, but the fact that she’d jumped right in—instead of watching Applejack take the pill—also showed Applejack how much Rainbow trusted her to follow through on her word. It would’ve been ridiculous if she hadn’t trusted Applejack, of course, but it still warmed the farmfilly’s heart to have that trust shown so clearly. Heck, there was a lot about the brash blue pegasus that warmed Applejack’s heart.

“Ah’ll check on up ya in a couple’a hours,” she said fondly.

“Hokay,” Rainbow grunted.

Applejack chuckled to herself; once Rainbow was in a book she was almost as bad as Twilight Sparkle. “See ya later, sugar cube.” She walked quietly out of the hospital—

Oh, right, they call it a sickbay here.

—and once in the passageway, she considered her options. She wasn’t sure where the others had gotten to, but she felt it was likely that somepony in her group would be at their quarters, and she was pretty sure she remembered—

“Haa-choo!”

—the directions there.

Huh. Must be all of this stale air.

She set out at a trot.

* * *

T minus one hour. Passenger airship Morning Glory, first class lounge.

“Your Highness?”

Her employer grunted, not turning from the window.

“Your Highness, you asked me to let you know when we caught up with the Celestia… we have. In fact, it’s visible from the port-side windows if you’d like to take a look.”

He turned now, glaring at her. “I’m aware that it’s visible from the port-side windows, Spoon. That’s why I’m looking out the starboard-side windows. Where there’s an actual view, rather than a tacky flying brick.”

The sheer, foalish petulance in Prince Blueblood’s voice took Silver Spoon by surprise. He was a hoofful on a good day—

And I used to think Diamond Tiara had entitlement issues—Ha!

—but in public Blueblood usually managed to maintain a façade of dignity and grace.

His blue eyes were still locked on her purple ones. “Was there something else, or did you come here solely to tell me something I already heard from a stewardess?” he sneered.

Silver Spoon allowed herself the luxury of one deep breath before replying. Something was clearly bothering Blueblood; while Silver Spoon didn’t care in the least about the prince’s feelings it was her job as his personal assistant to fix whatever was agitating the stallion, and losing her temper wouldn’t help anypony. First things first, though.

“Actually, I also came to update you on current events and work out a new schedule for your evening,” she said. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a much-abused day planner as well as a few other items of paperwork. She set them down on the table by Blueblood—careful not to get any spittle on the forms—then used her hooves to spread them out for easy viewing.

Blueblood grimaced. “I thought that you and Lieutenant Caramel had already sorted all of that out.”

“Yes, Your Highness, we had. However, Dame Rarity won’t be aboard the Celestia tonight,” Silver Spoon said.

For a moment the prince’s face was a study in dismay, but it quickly changed to indignation. “What do you mean, ‘won’t be aboard’? This is Rarity we are speaking of! Even if she were not an Element bearer and a knight of the realm, she would never pass up an opportunity to attend an event of this magnitude!”

Magnitude, thought Silver Spoon, acutely aware of how Blueblood’s outbursts must be attracting attention. Negative attention that would have to smoothed over by a particular gray-coated earth pony. Right. That’s why you’re here instead of a Princess or two, because this is such a big deal.

Aloud she replied, “Dame Rarity was delayed at Canterlot Central Station, so she missed her sky chariot up to the Celestia. The rest of the Element bearers have arrived on time.”

“I don’t care about them,” Blueblood said with disdain. He frowned in thought for a moment, one hoof to his chin. “Send a scroll to the Palace instructing them to find an alternative transport for Dame Rarity. If need be, I hereby authorize a sky chariot pulled by at least eight pegasi of the Royal Guard.”

“That, uh, won’t be necessary, Your Highness,” Silver Spoon said. And thank Celestia; I’d never hear the end of it if I tried to push that order through! “Apparently she’s already arranged a flight on the Golden Luxury. She’ll be late, but she’ll be there.”

Blueblood chuckled quietly. “I’d hardly be surprised if she got them to pay her way, as well…”

Silver Spoon’s curiosity had been gnawing at her all day. “Your Highness, if I may ask: what is Dame Rarity to you?” she asked quietly.

“Why, she is my closest friend,” the prince replied, as though that should have been obvious.

“Huh?” Silver Spoon blurted. “I thought you were a couple until she dumped you.”

“Excuse me?” Price Blueblood asked softly, his eyes like little chunks of glacial ice.

“Uh, well, that’s how I heard it when I was a filly in Ponyville…” Silver Spoon lied. She’d actually heard the tale just a couple of weeks ago, when she started to research the Element bearers; the only ponies harder to deal with than nobles were celebrities, and the Element bearers were technically both. She’d only recently gotten past her shock at learning that two of the classmates she’d picked on as a filly were related to Element bearers. If only she’d known! She would have been nicer to them—and thus higher up in Canterlot’s social circles now.

“I see,” Blueblood replied. There was a cold pause wherein Silver Spoon could feel her job—and her actual Canterlot connections—slipping though her hooves. “It’s no business of yours, Spoon. However at the moment I’m inclined to reminisce, so I will allow your faux pas to pass this one time.”

Silver Spoon started breathing again.

“As you seem to have heard, I met Dame Rarity some years ago at the Grand Galloping Gala,” the prince began, settling himself more comfortably on his cushion. “She and her friends had not yet been knighted—Celestia was attempting to downplay the return of Night Mare Moon—so Twilight Sparkle was the only member of the group with any proper social standing. Rarity was simply a fashion designer with stars in her eyes and too many romance novels in her head.”

Silver Spoon nodded. So far the story was as she had heard, although the Palace servant she’d gotten the rumor from had described Dame Rarity in a more flattering light.

Blueblood used his magic to snag a flute of champagne from a passing steward before continuing. “When she laid eyes on me, she was convinced that I was her one true love.” He smirked, one eyebrow raised. “Which I must admit was a flattering change from the usual gold-diggers and social climbers, though I’m sure she would not have declined wealth or influence had I offered them to her. At any rate, she spent the evening trying to ingratiate herself to me. Though she was most attractive, I was a jaded soul even then.”

He paused, staring at his drink. Silver Spoon thought that it was just for dramatic effect, but when she looked more closely the prince actually seemed to be struggling for words. Finally he looked up and met her eyes.

“This may be hard to believe, Spoon, but in my youth I was rather a boor.”

Sometimes an emotional reaction will come on that’s so strong that its subject freezes up. Deer confronted by timber wolves can do this, as can a mouse when it feels an owl’s presence overhead. That’s what was happening to Silver Spoon; she was laughing inside so hard that her body didn’t move. Luckily for her Blueblood appeared to interpret this as shock.

“And so,” he said, his voice laden with gravitas, “Rather than gently decline her obvious intentions like the gentlecolt I was raised to be, I treated her horribly. I’ve treated servants better than I treated her that night." He shuddered daintily. "By the end I’d used her as an equine shield against a flying cake.”

He paused again and smiled to himself. “That was when matters took a turn for the surreal. First Rarity told me exactly what she thought of me, in front of half of Canterlot’s elite. I had had no idea, but my standing in court was rather… precarious, and Rarity’s outburst provided all the excuse needed to make me a pariah. I certainly wasn’t going to take that lying down—I am of the Blood Royal, after all! Stupid little stallion that I was, I confronted Celestia on the subject of her protégé’s impossibly uncouth friends.”

The phrase “confronted Celestia” rattled around in Silver Spoon’s head; her mind wouldn’t—couldn’t?—process the concept.

“Celestia was—as ever—the epitome of grace and reserve,” Blueblood continued. “She politely informed me that she had invited those ponies as a favor to Twilight Sparkle. She then informed me that they were the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and that the rumors of Night Mare Moon’s return were true.”

“That must’ve been... awkward,” Silver Spoon said recklessly.

The prince chuckled. “Oh, indeed. And I continued my streak of utter brilliance by accusing Celestia of lying to me.”

Silver Spoon was pretty sure her jaw didn’t actually hit the table, but it did drop as if it were trying to abandon her. “What did she do?”

“Why, she proved that she was telling the truth, of course—by sending me to meet Luna. I was smart enough to be concerned by that, especially since Celestia immediately had me escorted to Luna’s chambers by a pair of royal guards,” Blueblood said. “There were more guards at the door; at the time I thought they were keeping Luna inside, but I later learned that they were there to provide her with a degree of privacy.

“Celestia hadn’t told Luna that I was coming—or why—so I had to do so. She’s clever, that one: even though she appeared to be no more than a filly she phrased her questions in such a way that I quickly revealed more than I’d intended… including the part where I was an absolute beast to the bearer of Generosity.

“She took the news… poorly. Yelling was involved, as were flying objects.

“As it turned out, she felt nothing but the utmost respect and gratitude towards the Element bearers. Which makes sense of course, but at the time I hadn’t given the matter any thought. By the time I left Luna’s chambers I had gained ample motive to seek reconciliation with Rarity.”

The prince laughed to himself again.

“I remember asking Luna at the end whether there was even a chance that Rarity would forgive me. She called me a foal and said, ‘Yea, verily, for is not forgiveness an act of Generosity? Thou shouldst hasten to receive this blessing! Go to her now, colt; waste not another moment of Our night!’”

“What did you do?” Silver Spoon asked breathlessly. She had forgotten about the other passengers, about the need to update Blueblood’s schedule, about everything.

“I thanked her for her advice, left, and proceeded to drink myself comatose in my chambers.”

“What?!”

Blueblood winced at how loud Silver Spoon was, his ears folding back. “I was intimidated! Partly by my encounters with the Princesses, and partly by the prospect of seeking forgiveness. I’d hardly had to do that when I was a colt, and never as a stallion. It was almost inconceivable.

“The things Luna had said to me haunted me, though, and when Rarity appeared in Canterlot some months later—as Fancy Pants’ newest discovery, no less—I sought her out. She was less than receptive at first, but I persisted and she eventually forgave me. She even accepted my invitation to the launching of an airship. When she returned to Ponyville I began to write to her, and gradually a deep friendship blossomed between us,” the prince concluded.

Silver Spoon was still a little too caught up in the story to choose her words professionally. “So you two never dated?”

Blueblood smiled. “No. I doubt she wanted to think of me in that light, even after forgiving me for the Gala. As for me, I find it refreshing to have a mare in my life who is neither my employee nor angling to be my bride. Besides, I’m reasonably certain that I’d literally have to battle a dragon to gain Rarity’s hoof in marriage.”

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at that, but Prince Blueblood suddenly changed the subject: firing questions at her about his new schedule, demanding refreshers on which major players would be at the decommissioning and how he could recognize them, and generally being his normal demanding self.

Still, even in the midst of the chaos she made a mental note to find out what had been bothering him before she had mentioned Dame Rarity...