It had become a sort of tradition. For the past ten years, she had arrived at the orchard each morning before sunrise. The sun would always rise at six o’clock on the dot, so getting there early let her settle down on the hill overlooking the apple orchard. The hill was the perfect vantage point for watching her sunrise. She loved how the sun would bath the trees in an amber glow, making the ripening apples reflect the sunlight as if they were small gems.
The hill was also a wonderful place to meet an old friend.
In all honesty, raising the sun up on the hill was a bittersweet moment. She loved how her sunrise would bath the orchard in a wonderful light, and she loved getting to share that moment with her close friend everyday. But the fact that her friend was there made her feel guilty.
Celestia knew it wasn’t her fault, it was just an unfortunate situation that kept her friend separated from her loved ones. Celestia could tell that her friend was troubled, but she would always take a positive outlook. Celestia wondered if her friend was just trying to delude herself. But she decided that delusion, in this case, was better than depression.
Celestia flew high above the clouds, avoiding the sight of any still awake pegasi. She smirked. It was like she was a young filly, sneaking out at night and trying to return without alerting another soul.
The princess angled her wings automatically, starting her slow descent. She could have flown the route in her sleep. After all, she must’ve done it hundreds of times.
Once, over one of her dinners and Luna’s breakfasts, her sister had asked her why she didn’t just teleport to the hill. At the time, Celestia couldn’t give her an answer. But when Luna woke her up the next morning, she knew why. The reason had emerged while she was dreaming.
She dreamt of flying to the hill. She didn't actually dream of leaving her castle, she just recalled it starting with her in mid-flight. She dreamt of flying over Ponyville, seeing the former homes of her faithful student and her friends. She dreamt of the crisp smell of the apples as she glided over the fields. And of course, she dreamt of talking and relaxing with her dear friend on the hill.
The reason she flew to the hill was because the journey reminded her of times gone by.
In the life of an immortal, very few things seem to last long enough. But even though the best of times were short, she would remember them forever.
The moonlit town of Ponyville held a special place in her heart, and on the occasions Luna had accompanied her, she agreed that it was a beautiful sight and that it brought back fond memories for her as well.
Celestia broke through the clouds above Ponyville. As always, she stopped her descent and hovered, her eyes passing over the peaceful town. She was drawn to the town’s library. It had definitely grown since the first of the family had moved in there sixty years ago.
She flapped her wings slowly and moved like a whisper towards the tree. She gently touched down on the balcony and silently moved to the bedroom window so she could see one of her favorite families. In the bed, a purple unicorn stallion slept with his forelegs wrapped around a smaller, white unicorn mare. They never knew she was there, but one pair of eyes had seen her for the past year and a half.
From the cot beside the bed, two large purple eyes stared cheerfully at the princess. The little filly cooed happily at Celestia. Her dark blue mane was starting to grow in the same style as one of her grandmothers, curling upwards and framing her face, giving her a very cultured look. Her grandmother would have been delighted to give the filly advice on how to style her mane when she was older. But it was not meant to be.
The young pony yawned, revealing her few teeth, and she rubbed one of her eyes with a purple hoof. Celestia could tell that this adorable little foal would do great things when she was older. From above, both her grandmothers will be smiling proudly at the filly.
As little Amethyst succumbed to her exhaustion, Celestia’s horn flashed, ensuring her dreams would be sweet and peaceful. It was a small gift which she repeated each night, giving the filly a good rest and the parents an even better one. Celestia stole one last glance at the parents, focusing mainly on the stallion. She could see so much of his mother in him, both in his appearance and his personality. Celestia looked up at the heavens and with a powerful flap, climbed into the night air.
The princess took one more look over the quiet town, paying particular attention to a certain few houses, as she fluttered in the air. A fond smile graced her lips. Still smiling, she flew towards the orchard on the outskirts of the town.
The familiar smell of apples hit her nose. She touched down gracefully and inhaled deeply, making her sigh blissfully. She had landed amongst the trees nearest the hill. For some reason, she always wanted to climb up the hill, perhaps it was to fully appreciate the panorama from the summit. Regardless of the reason, she kicked off her golden shoes and used her magic to remove the rest of her regalia. With her jewelry lying on the ground, she started her ascent.
Celestia loved the feeling of the soft soil beneath her hooves. She really preferred the rural environment to her stone floored castle. As she reached the top of the hill, her eyes wandered over the fields. She couldn’t help but smile at the dimly lit fields of apple trees. She tore her gaze away from her surroundings and looked towards the east. As always, her dear friend lay there, staring absentmindedly, reminiscing about the past.
The orange mare heard approaching the hoofsteps and chuckled. “Perfect timing as always princess,” she said without turning her head.
Celestia chuckled at their regular greeting as she moved to lie down next to the farmpony. “Habits are hard to break,” Celestia replied warmly.
The pair lay together in silence for a minute, just enjoying the others company. The orange mare broke the silence first.
“Ten years today right?” she asked, even though she knew the answer.
“Yes. Yes today’s your memorial service,” Celestia said, her voice wavering despite her best efforts to keep hold of her emotions. Her friend noticed and turned to smile sadly at the princess.
“None of that now sugarcube, I’ll get enough of that later,” she said with a chuckled.
“I know Applejack, it’s just that... well I wish... I... I’m sorry,” Celestia whispered.
Applejack’s face twisted in confusion. “What for?”
“Well, this.” She gestured at Applejack's body.
“Come on now, we’ve talked about this before. This weren’t your fault. Heck, I ain’t blaming anypony. It’s just what happened,” Applejack replied with a shrug.
“You always say that,” Celestia said with a sniffle.
“Heh, I’ve had a lot of time to think about things.”
“Like what?”
“Well, why I’m here and what’s keepin’ me here.”
“Oh?” Celestia’s curiosity peaked through her guilt.
“I think that because I put so much of my soul into the orchards, somehow I’ve ti-”
A shrill shout of an elderly mare made the princess rise with a start. Applejack stood up too, but shifted uncomfortably when she recognised the voice and sat down again.
“Who’s trespassin’ on my land?” a grey-maned yellow mare with a red shawl and hairbow shouted from the base of the hill.
Celestia wiped her eyes and walked over to the edge.
“I’m very sorry. But I wanted to arrive well before the service,” Celestia calmly announced as trotted down the hill.
The elderly pony squinted at the approaching figure, trying to determine if her eyes were deceiving her in the dark. “Princess Celestia? Is that you?”
“Indeed it is, my little pony,” She answered, slipping back into her regal tongue.
Applebloom’s eyes widened in surprise as Celestia stopped in front of her. She hurriedly tried to bow but was stopped by a white wing. Applebloom looked up to see the unadorned monarch smiling lovingly at her.
“There’s no need for that my dear,” she said reassuringly, “truth be told, I’m not really supposed to be here for a few hours officially but I just love to visit my favorite orchard.” Applebloom swelled with pride. “I thought I’d raise the sun from this hill if that’s okay with you?”
“No problem at all, your highness,” she said as she shook her head.
“Would you like to watch?”
Applebloom’s eyes lit up like a filly. “You bet I would!”
Applebloom started to climb up the hill but stopped when she heard the princess tutting. She nervously turned around and gulped when she saw the annoyed face of Celestia.
“Now that just won’t do,” Celestia said sternly.
“What won-” Applebloom yelped as she felt herself enveloped by Celestia’s golden magic. It was an interesting feeling, being ponyhandled onto the princess’ back. Her magic was both confining and inexplicably rejuvenating. Applebloom didn’t think long about the conflicting sensations. Magic is as magic does after all.
Celestia giggled as she started to walk back up the hill. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t want you to push yourself on today of all days and, well, I couldn’t resist messing about a little.”
“I’m a big pony. I can walk by myself,” Applebloom complained lightheartedly. “But thank you anyway.”
At the top of the hill, Applejack watched her orchard as she patiently waited for Celestia to return. It wasn’t like she had to go anywhere soon. Applejack’s ears twitched when she heard a pair of voices laughing. She bit her lip as her eyes started to water when she saw her elderly sister perched on Celestia’s back.
Celestia walked back over to Applejack and lowered herself so Applebloom get down. Unbeknownst to Applebloom, she sat down next to her big sister. Applejack shifted closer and tried to wrap a foreleg around her sister. It just passed straight through. With a defeated sigh, she settled for just sitting as close as possible to her.
“I used to watch the sunrise with my sister here,” both Apples said together, both on the verge of tears.
Celestia smiled and nodded. She sat herself down next to the sisters and closed her eyes. She could feel her sister’s magic reach the moon. It was time for the dawn.
“Would you like me to raise the sun dramatically or normally?” Celestia asked Applebloom with a smile.
“Normally if you don’t mind.” Applebloom wiped her eyes and returned the smile.
Celestia closed her eyes and felt the tugs of the heavenly device. She latched onto to pull and felt the sun. She felt the heat, unbearable to a normal pony, but to her, it felt divine. She gathered her magic to coax the sun into movement. It was like getting a drowsy child up out of bed. But Celestia had years of practice in awakening her sun. When she felt the sun begin its journey, she opened her eyes.
Instead of watching the sunrise like she usually did, she turned her head to watch the Apple sisters. Tears were glistening on both of the mares cheeks. Applejack was leaning close to, but not touching, Applebloom. Both of them had fond smiles on their faces, remembering the times when two sisters had sat together on the same hill and watched the sunrise long ago.
Celestia turned her attention to the horizon, satisfied that she had brought momentary peace to the hearts of the sisters. The three sat together in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying being on the hill.
“Thank you princess,” the sisters whispered in unison.
“You are quite welcome.”
“I think I’d better go and start preparin’ for the service,” Applebloom said with a twinge of sadness.
“I’ll stay here a while longer. I’ll see you at the service later.” Applebloom made to bow again, but was stopped by Celestia’s muzzle. “Come now, we’re friends, there’s no need for that.”
“Sorry Prin-” Applebloom stopped herself when she saw Celestia raise an eyebrow. “Celestia. I’ll make sure you get a front row seat next to the Sparkles.”
“Thank you Applebloom.”
“No problem.” Celestia made to stand up but was stopped by a yellow hoof. “Don’t trouble yourself, I need the exercise,” Applebloom said jokingly as she made her way down the hill.
Instead of sitting down, an idea played in the princess’ head. Celestia went to the edge of the hill and called after Applebloom.
“I come here everyday to raise the sun. Please feel free to come any morning if you wish to watch and chat a bit,” Celestia called cheerfully. Applejack had followed the princess and was grinning ear to ear.
At the base of the hill Applebloom made a scene of tapping her hoof to her chin in mock consideration. “Could I fit it in to my busy schedule?” Applebloom mused out loud. “I’d love to Celestia. See you at the service,” she said before trotting back to the farmhouse under the dawn’s golden glow .
Celestia smiled and walked back to the same spot with Applejack next to her. When the two sat down, Applejack turned to face the princess.
“I can’t thank you enough. You’ve done so much for little old me,” Applejack said with tears of joy running down her face.
“Nonsense my dear. You look like a twenty something year old mare,” Celestia playfully chided as she looked Applejack’s form up and down.
Applejack snorted and inspected her figure with a slight blush. “I’m mighty glad that I look like this. I don’t think I could stand looking like that old thing I used to be for this long,” Applejack chuckled.
Instead of laughing, Celestia sighed sadly, prompting a worried glance from Applejack. Applejack forgot how Celestia felt responsible for her still being on Equestria.
“Aww shoot, I’m sorry. I know you want to help me but honestly, I’m happy here.” Applejack held up a hoof to silence the princess before she could object. “Hold up a second, let me explain myself. I could be all negative like and look at my situation like it were some curse. But that won’t do anything ‘cept make me feel all sorry for myself. Now don’t get me wrong, I do feel a bit sorry for myself. I wish the old gang or my brother or my husband were here, but that’s just me being selfish."
Applejack paused to listen to the chirping birds. She tilted her head in thought and clicked her tongue. "I actually think I might be keeping myself here, ‘cause of how much I love Sweet Apple Acres. Ponies always said that when you pass on you go to paradise. Well, I never thought of a place I’d rather be than right here.” Applejack looked towards the farmhouse. “In a way, it’s a blessin', that I’m still on Equestria. That I can be near my family and watch them tend my lifework. My magnum opus. I think that’s how Rarity described the apple orchard. But what's better is that I can be with my family while they grow. I get to watch my grandkids growin' up, right over their shoulders. I get to see Applebloom’s and Big Mac’s grandkids grow up too. I’ll get to watch my family grow and grow. And I don’t really mind that they don’t know I’m here, at least you and Luna can talk with me. I guess you could call this a blessin' in disguise.”
“A blessing in disguise,” Celestia repeated softly.
“Eeyup. But I think... I think if I really wanted to, I could move on. But the thing is, I don’t think I really want to, not yet at least. I love being this close to my family, but I know I’ll want to move on someday. But I just can’t bring myself to leave. Not yet. But when I do go, I’ll get to be with my friends and the rest of my family again,” Applejack said happily. She titled her head in thought and looked Celestia in the eyes. “Come to think of it, if you can see me, can you, you know, talk to the great beyond?”
Celestia blinked back her tears and winked at Applejack. She looked up at the orange sky and smiled. “Some things, I’m not really supposed to say. But... a certain few ponies are waiting patiently for you. One stallion in particular can’t wait to hold you again.”
“Thank you Celestia.” The princess smiled back at Applejack, who sighed sadly. “But I will tell you something.” Celestia’s face dropped. “I really miss my hat.”
Celestia burst out laughing in a very un-princess like manner.
“Hey! I’m serious. I loved that hat!” Applejack cried indignantly, but in the end, couldn’t help but follow Celestia’s example.
When the unlikely pair had calmed down they both just laid there, watching the clouds roll over apple trees. Applejack stood up first and stretched her nonexistent legs and sighed again.
“I wish I could buck apples though. But last time I tried I just ended up with half of me stick out of the tree.” Celestia giggled softly at the mental image. Applejack nodded sagely with an amused expression before speaking. “It was pretty funny.”
“Shall we head over to the farm?”
“Lead the way Celestia.”
Together, they made their way back down the hill. Celestia picked up her regalia at the bottom and put it back on. She paused and examined the golden tiara floating in her magic.
“It’s a shame I have to keep up the royal appearance. I love the feel of the dirt underneath your hooves,” Celestia admitted somewhat guiltily.
“I know what you mean. That’s one of the small things I loved about this place.”
Celestia placed the tiara on her head, and the two friend’s walked to the farmhouse side by side.
The pair stood under the farm’s sign, admiring the hard work of the Apple family. Despite it being early, a lot of tables and tents were all ready set up. There was a sombre but also serene and jovial atmosphere as the members of the Apple family busied themselves all over the place. Applejack’s son and daughter were smiling sadly as they put pictures of Applejack showing different points of her life on some tables with daisy wreaths positioned on either side of the mahogany frames.
There was a picture of when she had just earned her cutie mark, showing a young, beaming filly, posing with her big brother and grandmother. Another showed her as the blushing bride, dressed in a pure white wedding dress and her prized Stetson, marrying the stallion of her dreams. There were lots of pictures of her, her husband and their children, smiling in each frame, but growing older and older in each one.
One picture stood out though. It stood alone on one table, proudly being displayed for all the guests. It was a large group photo of Applejack and her family, smiling contentedly with her friends and their families next to them.
“It’s amazing to see how many ponies cared about me and my friends.” Applejack sighed happily, reliving each moment as her eyes passed over the various images. “Twilight organized that photo perfectly,” she chuckled as she nodded in the direction of the group photo.
Celestia was about to reply when she saw a red-maned orange filly wearing a Stetson that was a too big for her, running over excitedly. Applejack smiled proudly when she saw the approaching filly. She must have only been about five years old.
“Funny how my daughter named her youngest after me. She even gave her my hat.”
Little Applejack bounced with joy when she got to the princess and her spectral grandmother.
“Howdy Princess! Are you here for the memeri... memo...” the filly frowned in concentration as struggled to finish her sentence.
“Memorial service?” Celestia finished for the filly with a caring smile. “I am.” Little Applejack’s face lit up in excitement, Celestia tapped her chin with her hoof. “You remind me of somepony. A very incredible mare,” Celestia said as she furrowed her brows pretending to think hard.
“Who? Who?” little Applejack shouted, her eyes wide and eager.
Celestia gasped melodramatically. “Your grandmother Applejack!”
“Really? Yay!” The filly bounced up and down excitedly, unknowingly making the original Applejack laugh.
The filly stopped bouncing and looked glumly up at the princess, her emerald eyes glistening with tears. In a way that only an innocent child could, she felt a strong compassion for her deceased grandmother. Celestia sat down next to the filly and draped her wing over her. She murmured soft reassurances, trying to coax the filly into speaking.
“Is Granny Applejack happy?” the filly asked between sobs.
Celestia lifted her eyes and saw Applejack, her eyes watering, truly touched by the concern of a granddaughter she had never actually spoken with. She walked over to sit on the other side of her granddaughter. Applejack leaned in to nuzzle the filly, hopelessly trying to calm her with physical contact.
Celestia’s horn flashed without the weeping filly noticing. For a few seconds, little Applejack felt nuzzling on both of her cheeks, after that she only felt the nuzzling of the princess. Celestia leaned away from little Applejack, showing her tears to the filly. She looked past the child for a second, then turned her attention back to her.
“Today’s the happiest she’s been in a long time.”