Seeds

by SaintAbsol

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Big Macintosh, Alternate Universe, Main 6, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Adventure
Length: 32330

She is the Element of Magic. She is the Keystone of Harmony. She is Celestia's Personal Student. She... is Applejack.

She is the Element of Magic. She is the Keystone of Harmony. She is Celestia's Personal Student. She... is Applejack.

Story image by laurenmagpie

Published 2013-04-17 22:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-16 14:28:39 UTC

Seeds of Magic 2/4

Howdy!

Thanks fer stoppin’ by again; I’ve been workin’ somethin’ fierce to get more free time fer another o’ these here interviews. Sorry it took so long, but that’s the price I pay fer bein’ me; there are times I miss being ‘just another earth pony’ and not ‘The Earth Pony Sorceress’. Don’ really like that title, but it’s the easiest one fer other ponies to understand. I never really saw mahself as any sorta ‘sorceress’ or ‘witch’, to use what some o’ the other ponies call me, but it’s one of those things that just sorta stuck after a while.

Anyway, I’m ramblin’; let’s actually get this whole thing started, shall we?

Dragon-of-Twilght presents:

A Pony POV Series side-story:

Seeds of Magic; Part 2 of 4

It’s actually really hard to explain how it works, mah spellcastin’ I mean. Even unicorns don’ seem to really get it; I mean... I can try, if y’all really want me to.

It’s sorta like... I don’ see the world exactly like most ponies see it. I mean... I still see everythin’ the way y’all do, but there’s something extra there too. Magic is in everythin’, even if it ain’t always obvious; it’s like with trees and other plants: Magic comes from the world around ya, through yer grub and water and a bit from yerself, and lets ponies and other things do all they can do. When ya die, that magic goes back to the world and ya give the magic ya made for yerself to it as well, I think that’s where ley lines come from mahself; that’s why Equestria and the rest o’ the world is so dang magical, it just gets more and more magical as time goes on. In a way, ya could say that magic is life itself.

Anyway, since I’m an Earth Pony, I understand how to push that magic this way and that to get what I want. It ain’t too different than what I used to do when I could still work on the farm; it ain’t exactly like what unicorn’s do, since they push some o’ their own magic outta their horns to alter the magic in the world. I just use the magic that’s already there and change it around a bit; it’s where those circles come from, I have ta direct and keep track o’ the magic when I change it, and that’s how I do it.

Like I said, it’s hard to explain and that’s the best I got.

Hmm? ‘Teachin’ others to do the same thing’? ...ya know... I don’ rightly know if that could work. I mean, it theory, it sounds like it could since I do it; o’ course, ‘in theory’, it’s also said that any self-sustaining spell o’ adequate power could start producin’ thumatic surges ‘n quirks that would lead to it thinkin’ on it’s own, but that’s about as likely as a hog sproutin’ wings and flyin’ off to Cloudsale.

...whatcha lookin’ at me like that fer? Ya think I wouldn’t know somethin’ like that? I’m the Element o’ Magic, Sugarcube; o’ course I know tons about it.

Either way, we’ve kinda lost the story here; I’m supposed to be tellin’ ya about mah life right now, not givin’ lessons in magic. Where’d we leave off last time?

(Interviewers Notes(Earth Pony): You were about to tell us about when you joined the school.)

Thank ya, Darling.

Though, before I get into that, I reckon I should talk about mah livin’ situation followin’ the Rainboom.

Don’ you go rollin’ your eyes at me, missy! This is about mah family, o’ course it’s important!

(Interviewers Notes(Pegasus): Okay, okay; sheesh! Sorry.)

Anyway... proud or not, there was no way Granny could afford to even rent an apartment in Canterlot; not to mention, she didn’t have anypony qualified enough to look after the orchard that she could get ahold o’ on short notice like that. And I didn’t even wanna think about askin’ the Princess to arrange somethin’; I mean... yeah, she probably would think o’ somethin’, but it just don’ feel right askin’ her fer things when she does so much already.

Turns out, though, we could take a third option. Ya see, Aunt and Uncle Orange, they own their own company in Manehatten, with a lot of branches all o’er Equestria. They’d been lookin’ fer an excuse to move to Canterlot fer a while, and their niece bein’ personal student to the princess was a pretty good one.

Hmm? Oh, their company makes lots o’ things; that’s the big difference between the Apples and the Oranges. See, us Apples, we stayed traditional: Makin’ pies and fritters and cider the ole fashioned way and stickin’ with plain ole apples (and occasionally Zap Apples). The Oranges, they went the opposite way: Findin’ every little product they could make with oranges and monopolizin’ the market on them, it’s what got them all their money. I used to think they were pretty low for that, like they were makin’ a big joke about how much work the Apples put into what they made, but I also used to think unicorn magic weren’t real work either.

Uncle Orange pretty much works his-self to the bone tryin’ to make sure his workers all get paid, even if he has to take a pay cut, and don’ tolerate any shady dealings in his business. He’s always meetin’ with ponies to try and help his company grow, and it’s hard to make everythin’ work for them and still make bits at the end o’ the day. And Aunt Orange, she ain’t too much different; she’s got a good amount o’ sense about her when it comes to business. Mares like her ‘n Rarity, they’re so focused on lookin’ good cause it’s all about makin’ an impression; you can argue this way and that way about it bein’ superficial, and-believe me- the Apples and the Oranges have, but it all boils down to respect.

Fer the Apples, respect is about bein’ true to who you are and not ashamed o’ it in the least; fer the Oranges, respect is about takin pride in what you’ve accomplished and not hidin’ it. Can some o’ both take it too far, o’ course, but that don’ make them bad ponies, it’s just who they are.

Me? ...ya know, I guess y’all could call me both an Apple AND an Orange. I’m true to who I am, since I’m always practicin’ magic no matter what anypony says about an earth pony being able to do it, and I take pride in mahself for being the first one to shake things up so much. Personally, I want to get the families back together; they could learn a lot from each other, if they weren’t so danged stubborn about it.

Anyway, we’ve gotten off the trail again; mah aunt and uncle sold their house in Manehatten, givin’ ‘em just enough money to afford a house in Canterlot. It ain’t some big, fancy mansion like some ‘o the ponies in Canterlot, but it’s a respectable place in the middle class district; ‘corse, ‘Middle Class’ in Canterlot is ‘Upper Class’ just about everywhere else. Either way, it’s a pretty nice place, and they’re making a good enough name fer themselves.

Anyway, about the school.

Once everything had been taken care of as far as living arrangements were concerned, I was set to start mah education.

Now, like the Princess had said, I was her personal pupil, so she would be teachin’ me things that no other pony would be learnin’. O’corse, I still had to get a normal education in it as well; the princess has a lot to do pretty much all day long, so there was no way she could just teach me everythin’ from the ground up. I was really lookin’ forward to it, since I’d spent so much time listenin’ to Page Turner, but... well, mah first day wasn’t exactly what I’d been expectin’.

It was late in the spring, which made me think of the fact that it was only a few months until Applebuck season back on the farm, and Aunt Orange had insisted on comin’ with me to see me off. Uncle Orange had wanted to come, but he had an important meetin’ and couldn’t miss it; I couldn’t hold it against him though, since he had moved here just ‘cause of me. Besides, it was mah first day and I would have been bouncin’ if it weren’t fer my leg; I felt like a pegasus flyin’ all the way to the moon and back and couldn’t wait to get started. Aunt Orange had even bought me a blue bow to wear so I could make a good impression; sorta like the one Apple Bloom’s always wearin’ these days.

Thanks to mah limp, and bein’ apprenticed to the princess, I had been given a special pass to let the teachers know I was supposed to be there, and to help with the fact that I was going to be late to all mah classes, but I’d promised to study hard and make up the difference. They also offered to have a pony carry all mah books fer me; but... well, y’all know how stubborn I am when I get an idea in mah head. I turned ‘em down on account o’ wantin’ to not be a lazy lump o’ a pony; I had learned to walk again just to come here, I weren’t gonna let some books stop me.

I said goodbye to Aunt Orange at the doors, and walked in; and let me tell ya, it was pretty overwhelmin’ to actually be here finally. Back in Ponyville, there was just that one-room schoolhouse for all the colts and fillies to go at different times; here, I swear, I felt ya coulda fit all o’ Ponyville into this school, Sweet Apple Acres included! Part o’ it was me still bein’ a filly, thinkin’ everythin’ was big; part o’ it was it just bein’ that doggone big! I really don’ know how big it actually is, but I know it’s part o’ the palace, and that ain’t small.

I’d been given a schedule the week before, so I had some idea of where to go, and the signs helped with the rest. My first class o’ the day was ‘Advanced Telekinesis 201’, and started five minutes before I actually go there; I could hear the teacher lecturin’ before I’d even opened the door.

“-known if these moments of power speak to magical prowess at a young age, or it they are completely random. Now, if you turn to...” He trailed off as I limped in, lookin’ at me with a cocked eyebrow. He was about Uncle Orange’s age, had a blue coat and a white mane; his cutie mark actually reminded me o’ mine: it was a really complex seal, the kind ya see on warding spells a lot. Still, seemed that nopony had told him he’d to expect company. “Can I help you?”

I really don’t blame him for bein’ confused; I was probably the only earth pony in the whole danged school, and he was supposed to be teachin’ unicorns. But I was still young and excited, so I just reached into mah saddlebags and pulled mah note. He levitated it over and read it, just looking more and more confused as he did. Finally, he turned to me again. “Is this some kind of joke?”

I shook my head at this. “No way, teach; Ah’m yer newest student.” I admit, I had a bit o’ pride there and puffed out mah chest like a showpony; can ya blame me? I was here on orders from Princess Celestia herself, it’s kinda hard not to be proud o’ something like that.

He blinked a few times, still tryin’ to wrap his brain around the whole thing. “But... you’re an earth pony.”

“Uh... yeah; and...?” I’d been through this already with the entrance ponies, I didn’t want to deal with it again. “Look, the princess herself signed that, sayin’ Ah could be here; it don’ matter if’n Ah’m an Earth Pony or not.” I could tell he still wanted to argue the point, but he couldn’t think of an actual reason to back up his argument beyond me bein’ an earth pony.

“Fine,” he finally sighed and floated the note back to me, “take a seat, Miss...”

“Applejack,” I put mah note back in mah bag, “thank ya kindly, Teach.” There weren’t a lot of choices for sittin’, so I took the closest on to the door I could find; the less walkin’ I had to do on mah leg, the better.

“Er... yes, now then....” The unicorn had to take a moment to get his head back on straight, but he managed it. “As I was saying, please turn to page 27 in your books.” I pulled out the book that I’d gotten for the class, then started flippin’ through it. “Now, while telekinesis is a very common magic, it is very rarely given much attention; I can assume that most of you,” I swear he looked at me then, “have used it at least once outside of this school. However, how many of you can tell me the limits of telekinesis as it applies to unicorns?”

The other foals around the class seemed pretty nervous, well, the ones that weren’t just starin’ at nothin’ anyway. None o’ them seemed to be raising a hoof, so I did; problem was, the teacher didn’t seem to be lookin’ my way. He just paced about in front of the class, frownin’ like Granny Smith would whenever she caught us sneakin’ cookies before lunch. “Anypony? Anypony at all?” I tried to sit up a bit more, with mah hoof wavin’ about a bit to get his attention. “At least one of you should know this.”

“Why don’t you ask the earth pony,” I knew that tone o’ voice, and I didn’ like it one bit, “she seems so eager to answer.”

Either way, it got the teacher to look at me; though his eyebrow looked about ready to make a break fer his mane it was so high up. “Er... Miss Applejack? Do you need to use the facilities?”

I dropped mah hoof and gave him a look, followed by one of those ‘Nopes’ that just seemed to run in our family. “But Ah would like ya to clear somethin’ up fer me, Teach.”

“And that would be?”

I took a breath, then started right in on the matter. “Well, when yer talkin’ about the ‘limits’ fer Telekinesis, do y’all mean in terms of the mass one pony could lift? Or the amount o’ stuff they could carry?”

The unicorn started, and tried to get his wits about his-self again, “Er, well...” but I was on a roll.

“Cause, if’n yer talkin’ about how much one pony could lift, that’s determined by the amount o’ mana a pony can channel plus eighty percent o’ their total mana reserves all o’er the mass o’ the object in grams.” He opened his mouth again, trying to say something. “But, if y'all mean how many things you can lift, then you have to take whatever number ya get from the mana calculations and then divide it by the ‘Split Magical Constant’ o’ .656 before takin’ that number and dividin’ it by all by the weights o’ the various things y’all’d be liftin’. So, in theory, y’all could carry more overall weight if ya split it between a bunch o’ little things instead o’ one big thing.

“O’ course, that implies similarly talented unicorns; and, if’n ya add in Cutie Mark skills, then ya have to consider-”

“Thank you, Miss Applejack!” He finally managed to cut me off, lookin’ like he’d just seen a ghost or somethin’. “Th-that was very... very informa- How do you know all this?!” He was starin’ at me like I was hidin’ a horn under mah mane. “I’ve only met one other pony with that much knowledge at a young age, and she was a unicorn. How do you know so much about telekinesis!?”

I just shrugged, “Cause Ah do!”

He opened his mouth a few more times, trying to say somethin’ apparently, but I don’t think he could think right fer a bit. Found his voice in the end, though. “Y-yes, quite.” He gulped, and then turned back to his desk. “As Miss Applejack said, the limit of your telekinetic powers is determined mostly by your own internal mana and how adept you are at channeling it.” He hit a stride as he opened one of his drawers and levitated out some pieces of string. “Now, as you’re all still young, your own telekinetic skills will not be all that developed, even with the qualifications to get into the school. However, this is not an weight intensive exercise.” He levitated one of the strings separate from the rest o’ them, then floated it up fer all the class to see. “I want you to take your strings,” he started to manipulate it with only his magic, “and attempt to tie a knot using only your telekinesis. Now, you won’t be graded on complexity or craftsponyship, so don’t try to get too complex with the work; also, time isn’t a major factor, since this is the focus of today’s lesson: Dexterity. I have a few other exercises planned, but we’re starting simple for now”

He started to float them out, givin’ the class one each to work with fer a bit; until he got to the unicorn next to me and just stopped. I raised mah hoof to get his attention after that. “Uh, Teach; y'all fergot somepony.”

He gave me one o’ those smiles an adult gives a foal when they say somethin’ like ‘Ah wanna be a Guard Pony!’ or ‘Ah’m gonna tame an Ursa Major!’; the kind foals get sick o’ after the first time. “Miss Applejack, while I commend you on your knowledge of the theory of Telekinesis, you can’t seriously expect me to believe you can actually perform this exercise.”

Now, again, he had no way o’ knowin’ any better; it weren’t like the princess had taken time outta her day to make a city wide announcement that I was attendin’ her school and why I’d gotten permission to enter. But, at the time, I was pretty dadgum mad at him fer sayin’ that.

“How about ya give meh one o’ them there strings and Ah’ll show you.”

“Fine, I’ll call your bluff.” It was that same voice from before, soundin’ even more snooty and stuck-up than last time. One o’ the other fillies in the class stood up and walked o’er to me; she was about mah age, maybe a bit older, and had a coat the color o’ slightly stale cream and striped mane with white and light purple. She carried herself like she owned the whole, danged world and tossed her string into mah face when she got close. “Let’s see you do magic, Earth Pony.” She chuckled all condescending-like as I brushed the string off o’ me and glared at her.

Now’s as good a time as any to tell y'all how telekinesis works for me. See, with unicorns, they just push some magic outta their horns and wrap what they want to move up in it to pull it this way and that. Me, on the other hoof, I have to more or less make a ball o’ mana around what I want to move, than use more mana to direct those around; it’s actually a not as complicated as that makes it sound, but it confuses most unicorns when I talk about it.

Anyway, I was there to learn, but I was angry at the other filly for challengin’ me like like that; and, Sugarcube, there ain’t no Apple worth their name that backs away from a challenge.

I looked at the string, then held out mah hooves; I decided to use two, since it would make directin’ two mana balls easier. First step was wrappin’ up the ends; simple enough, but the gasp that went through the class when those runes popped up around mah hooves felt real good, so’d the look on that snooty filly’s face. Next, the circles around mah hooves got a bit more complicated and some more runes appeared around the ends o’ the string and it lifted up. I moved mah hooves around, directin’ the two ends to move with each hoof. It weren’t easy, since I was still a young’n, but I managed.

Eventually, I’d managed to managed to make a bow like what I was wearin’ at the time and set it down. The runes faded away since I weren’t channeling magic anymore and the string floated back down, still tied up. I gave the filly that had gotten smart with me mah best ‘Take That’ look, “That enough magic fer ya?”

Unfortunately, the teacher passed out before I could really enjoy rubbing it in.

I have to admit, I didn’ expect to be sittin’ in the principal’s office in the middle o’ mah first day, especially when I didn’ do nothin’ wrong. The teacher’d woken up after a few o’ the other students started pokin’ him, then he hauled me down to the office while muttering to himself. Couldn’ git a word outta him as to why I was in trouble or nothin’, but I did see a smirk on the one filly’s face that made me wish I could still buck.

Turns out, though, the principal was just as confused as I was over the whole thing. The princess had talked to him, so he was aware o’ what I could do, so he just sat there while the teacher talked about it.

“And she waved her hooves about like some stage magician and it tied itself in a knot.” It was kinda funny that he’d make a big deal out of it, since he was waving his own hooves while he said it. “I just couldn’t take it anymore, so here we are.”

The principal, a unicorn stallion who looked about as old as Granny Smith, just sat there through the whole story without a word. When he finally did speak, he seemed about as talkative with Macintosh around strangers. “And?”

The teacher looked fit to be tied after that. “What do you mean ‘And’? there has to be something you can do!”

He looked at the teacher. “Let me see if I understand this before I do anything else: You want me to punish a filly for displaying adeptness at telekinesis... in a class dedicated to teaching advanced uses of telekinesis?” The teacher did that thing where his mouth moved, but nothing came out again. “That’s what I thought.”

He did eventually find his voice though. “But- but-” he pointed a hoof at me, as if that was all the evidence he needed. “She’s an earth pony!”

“So what if Ah’m an Earth Pony?” The teacher looked at me, since I hadn’t spoke up once in mah defense before then.

“It doesn’t- that’s not-” Honestly, at this point, I started to feel sorry fer him. He could barely make it through a whole sentence without tripping o’er his tongue, and he was lookin’ pretty frazzled o’er the whole thing. “It’s not possible! Earth ponies can’t do unicorn magic!”

“And yet,” the principal spoke up, “she does.” He sighed and rubbed at his head below the horn. “I do realize that this is a lot to take it, I went through it too when Her Majesty explained the situation to me, but- as impossible as it is- there is no denying the evidence in front of us. Miss Applejack is clearly an earth pony, and she can clearly do magic; it may not be ‘possible’ as we understand magic, but it has happened regardless. This isn’t something to be discouraged or punished, as hard as it understand as it may be, it’s something we can only encourage and watch what happens.”

This time, the teacher didn’t open his mouth and seemed to be thinkin’ on what he’d been told, which seemed just fine by the principal. “Now, I suggest you return to your class; leaving magically potent foals alone for a long period of time is generally a bad idea. Miss Applejack, I do hope you have a much better rest of your first day.”

The teacher nodded, and I hopped down from the seat and followed him out; the whole way back, he seemed to still be thinkin’ on what the principal had said. Finally, right as we got back to the door, he turned to me. “Miss Applejack, for what it’s worth, I-”

“Ya dun need to say it, Teach,” I interrupted him, “Ah fergive ya.”

He smiled at me. “That may be, but I still want to say it: I’m sorry for singling you out like that, just because if your... unique situation.” And, with that, we both walked back into the class.

Yeah, it was nice to have him say it, even if I didn’ hold it against him; he was just over-reactin’ to the whole thing, since I’m pretty shocking when you think about it. Plus, he’d been teaching things a certain way for so long, it’s kinda hard fer a pony to just up and change just because somethin’ new pops up. O’ course, just ‘cause the teacher was good with it, didn’ mean everypony else was.

Ya see, after that incident with mah telekinesis teacher, the principal had given me a new note to carry with me that explained things to the other teachers, so there weren’t gonna to be any more issues with them not knowin' what I could do. But that just meant that the students were free ta talk about me without the teachers to correct them.

It don’ matter how big a school is; one a rumor starts, it goes through there like a rabbit through a carrot patch. By midday, literally ever filly and colt in school had heard o’ me and had their own cockimamy theory about what I was: A witch, an alien, somethin’ from the Everfree; I lost track o’ all the things they called me that day, all I know is that next to none o’ them were happy about it.

That one filly who’d try to call mah bluff in class made that clear when she and some o’ her friends waited fer me outside o’ one mah classes just as it let out, and wasted no time in tellin’ me what they thought.

“You should go back to the farm where you belong, Earth Pony.” The filly was glarin’ at me, backed up by three o’ her friends o’ course, and stepped to block me when I tried to get around her. “I’m talking to you!”

“And Ah ain’t listenin’!” I didn’ wanna listen to her anymore, I just wanted to get to mah next class and put her and all her friends behind me fer the rest o’ the day. “So move yer hide ‘n Ah’ll go mah way and y'all can go yers.”

“Ugh, have you heard yourself talk!” She put on a goofy expression and pushed her lip back so her front teeth stuck out. “Ah dunno mah own plot from a hole in da ground!” She dropped the expression and looked like she’d just eaten an over-ripened apple. “Wow, I actually feel dumber for talking like that; I can only imagine how you feel.” Mah face was burnin’ after that, but Granny had always taught me never to feed into a bully’s bad attitude. It still didn’ feel good though, not when I was bein’ insulted to mah face.

“What, are you too stupid to think of something to say?” I ground mah teeth and tried to hold mah tongue; they had other classes, they’d have to leave sooner or later. “Are you even listening to me, Mud Hooves?” Yeah... ya hear about things like that, but it’s always to somepony else. I mean, for all the pride I’ve got in being an Earth Pony, I’ll admit that- more often than not- it’s ponies like us that say things like that about pegasi and unicorns.

I don’ know how I did it, but I still managed to hold mahself back after that comment; my face was red and burnin’ with anger though, so it weren’t easy. Then, one o’ the other fillies knocked mah saddlebags off mah back and the books spilled out. “Oops,” the mean filly giggled, “looks like you can’t even hold onto your books.” Her posse laughed along with her, even if it weren’t funny at all, before they finally got bored and wandered off to their classes.

Me? I just stood there, tryin’ to put on a brave face and pretend I weren’t cryin’. I knew they were all full o’ horseapples, but hearin’ ‘em say stuff like that fer no reason other than me bein’ an earth pony... it hurt worse than mah leg ever did.

(Interviewers Notes(Earth Pony): Do you need a hug?)

...yeah, come’ere, Sugarcube.

Thanks fer that, some o’ these memories ain’t all that good.

(Interviewers Notes(Earth Pony): No problem!)

(Interviewers Notes(Unicorn): Whenever you’re ready to continue, Miss Applejack)

Right, after they left and I’d wiped mah face clean, I hobbled along to the next thing I had to do that day; which, as it turns out, was lunch. O’ course, with mah mood and what had happened, I weren’t exactly feelin’ too hungry. I found a place in a corner, and pulled out the daisy sandwich that Aunt Orange had made and cut-up all fancy like before she’d come with me to see me off; didn’ really eat it, just sorta nibbled on it without really tastin’ anything.

It weren’t until I heard somepony clear their throat that I realized I had company.

I looked up to find mahself lookin’ a purple unicorn filly with a purple mane with a sorta pinkish stripe in the middle of it. She was about mah age and had a book with a star on cover for a Cutie Mark, and she seemed to be starin’ at me with the big, purple eyes. “What?”

She blinked a few times before she said anything at all. “Are you the Earth Pony that the whole school’s talking about?”

After mah run-in with the other filly, I weren’t in the mood for another stuck up pony beratin’ me fer not having a horn. “Yeah, Ah am; so what?” Lookin’ back, I really regret bein’ so mean to her; but mah mind was in a bad place.

She shrank back some, rubbin’ at the floor and lookin’ away. “I-it’s just that... you... I...” She was startin’ to remind me o’ the telekinesis teacher, tryin’ to find words that just weren’t there. “What you do it’s just so... incredible!” Her eyes sparkled as looked back at me, and I got a bit uncomfortable from it. “I mean, there are a ton of claims about witches and alchemy and all these things that Zebras can do; and then there’s the stuff from stories, like the one about the earth pony who grows a giant beanstalk and climbs up to above the clouds and finds a giant living in a castle, or the fact that Starswirl’s descendants have been predominantly earth ponies, say, are you related to him?”

And pretty much all o’ that went right o’er mah head. “Related to who now?”

“Startswirl the Bearded, of course!” I blinked at the name. “Famous unicorn wizard, rumored to have been the first pony to learn from Princess Celestia? Mentored Clover the Clever? First documented and studied the Windigos?”

“Ah ain’t got a clue what yer talkin’ ‘bout.”

The other filly looked like she was liable to fall o’er from that. “How do you not know about Starswirl?!”

“Same way Ah don’ know ‘bout any o’ that other stuff ya mentioned.” Yeah... I shoulda probably mentioned that; I’m pretty smart, even more so lately, but most o’ mah smarts are in things related to magic. I could talk yer ear off about spell theories or mathematics (ya need to know yer numbers to do magic right) and the like, but I don’ have much clue when it comes to other things.

This filly, she was talkin’ things that I had never heard o’ and it was makin’ mah head spin somethin’ fierce. And she was still goin’ too, even as I lost track o’ what was said; somethin’ about legends o’ earth ponies that called themselves ‘Druids’ and used their connection to the land like unicorns used their magic. It was interestin’, but it was still confusin’ me like ya wouldn’ believe; and she didn’ seem to be stoppin’ just cause I pointed out I was clueless

“And I have to take you home to meet Shining, my brother would just love you and-”

“Whoa there!” I finally managed make her hear me, and she looked pretty shocked that I had to be honest. “First of all, who the hay are you?”

“Oh,” she blinked, “I forgot to introduce myself again, didn’t I?” She cleared her throat and drew herself up. “My name is ‘Twilight Sparkle’, and I’m going to be a royal librarian when I grow up.”

I blinked a bit at this, since ya didn’ exactly hear a filly aspire to be a librarian too often. “Uh... nice to meetcha, Twilight. Ah’m Applejack.” We both shook hooves, then Twilight started talkin’ again.

“It’s true that you can do magic then? I mean, you wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t, I guess, but how does it work? Are there other earth ponies like you that can do magic? *GASP* Is it a family thing? Are you from an entire clan of Earth Pony wizards? Does the princess know about this?!” Eventually, I just used the trick that Macintosh had fer me when I just wouldn’t let somethin’ go and shoved part o’ my sandwich into her mouth.

“First o’ all, Ah’m the only Earth Pony Ah know o’ that can do magic; I don’ know why Ah can, but ah can. As fer the Princess, o’course she knows; she’s the one what got meh into this here school. And! She’s gonna be mah magic tutor.” Okay, I’ll admit, I was a bit full o’ mahself at the time, but can ya blame me?

Twilight sure didn’; I thought her eyes were about to pop out of her head and she managed to gulp down the sandwich. “You’re apprenticed to the Princess?!”

The lunch area got really quiet like after that, with a bunch o’ other ponies turnin’ to face us and both o’ us suddenly on the spot. “Er...” There weren’t any turnin’ back now, best come clean. “Eeyup.”

All the talkin’ that had been goin’ on before pretty much doubled after that; hearing the school freak was under the princess’s wing was better stuff than most gossips could hope fer their whole life, but I did feel a bit better when I spotted that one filly that had insulted me lookin’ even more angry.

Twilight sat down next to me, lookin’ real shy o’er the whole thing. “S-sorry about that,” she muttered, “I- I didn’t think-”

“S’alright; ya didn’ mean it.” Granny’d always taught me that holdin’ grudges o’er mistakes weren’t how the Apple Family did things. “Besides, s’not yer fault. Ah wouldn’t believe it neither if’n it weren’t meh livin’ it.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty unbelievable.” She gave a nervous chuckle, like she was still expectin’ me to blow mah top, so I smiled and passed another part o’ mah sandwich over to her.

“Ya can say that again.”

After lunch, things went a lot easier; I had most o’ mah afternoon classes with Twilight, so I always sat close to her when I could. She offered to help carry mah books, but I was still pretty stubborn about that, so she let it go.

Even met her brother when school let out and he came to pick her up; I... uh... well, I ain’t too embarrassed to admit I found him cute. Ya know how us earth pony gals are: We like our stallions big and strong, and Shining was already playin’ hoofball back then, so he fit the bill.

Huh? Nah, I’m over him; it was just a crush, those things come and go all the time. ‘Sides, he’s a married pony now; I’d have to be lower than a grass snake to try and get with him. ‘Who have I got mah eye on now’? Well, a mare is entitled to have some secrets.

So, all in all, it weren’t too bad a first day; had some ups and downs, but ya take the good with the bad when yer the first o’ anything.

Sorry to say though, that’s it fer now; there are a few stories I could tell you about me and Twi when we were growin’ up, but most o’ them ain’t too interestin’ or relevant. Rarity just made a huge sale in Manehatten and invited everypony out fer the night, her treat; so I have to call it quits here. I’ll send ya another letter when I’m ready to talk again, and I can tell y’all about how I met the rest o’ mah friends.

And I hope ya bring a lot o’ paper fer that; it’s a doozy of a story.

Seeds of Magic 3/4

Okay, finally back to where we started this whole thing.

Sorry if I sound impatient, but this's been a long time comin'; we talked a bit about Twi and me last time, but now it's time the rest of mah friends got their time in the spotlight.

Earth Pony Wizard or not, I couldn't have done a dang thing without those five ponies by mah side when all those things went down. I'm tired o' bein' the only one who gets all the attention, the one that everypony focuses on; time y'all knew the whole story.

Dragon-of-Twilght presents:

A Pony POV Series side-story:

Seeds of Magic; Part 3 of 4

I know I said this whole thing started with the Summer Sun Celebration back at the start o' these here interviews, but that ain't the whole truth; it actually started a few days before that shindig.

See, me and Twilight had been friends ever since that day we met; but, fer a lot o' reasons, there were a lot o' times when we weren't around each other. She had different classes than me, or at different times, or she had homework assignments; one time it was 'cause I had to sit with Aunt and Uncle Orange at a dinner with one o' his business partners.

Huh? Oh, yeah; the portions... I gotta admit, I still don' understand how they eat so little and ain't always hungry. The three o' us eventually reached an understandin': I would sit with'em at those dinners, and make mahself another dinner when we got back to the house. It ain't hard to find a compromise when ya look for it.

Anyway, since me and Twi didn' exactly see each other often, we kinda drifted a bit; we were still friends, don' go thinkin' we weren't, but we weren't what we are now. 'S probably why I didn' notice all the time she was spendin' in the library right away.

Near as I can tell from what the librarian at the the school tells me, she'd been going there every chance she got, always looking at books and askin' fer obscure references. Normally, that ain't too unusual; hay, I was there with her a few times doin' the same, lookin' fer some other pony who'd done what I did. No, what was odd is, according to the librarian, she was always lookin' afraid when she was there.

She'd even asked to borrow Spike a few times to request special permission from the Princess to look up certain books most ponies ain't allowed to read. Now, I don' like askin' the Princess fer nothing; y'all know how I feel about things like that, but... well, Twilight was basically mah only friend at the time, so I gave in a few times and got Princess Celestia's approval. I guess y'all could say that was when this whole mess actually stated.

I was at Sweet Dreams's house; she was a sorta friend, but I was closer with her little sister, Star. I'd been helpin' her with her schoolin' and she was one o' the few unicorns that didn't seem to mind that I didn't use a horn to do magic. Either way, all o' a sudden, Spike comes rushin' in, all outta breath and lookin' more than a bit frazzled.

Now, Spike ain't never been the sort o' dragon to waste much time on stuff that ain't important, unless it involved some gems, so he went straight fer me. "AJ, you gotta come with me; you're not gonna believe this."

Me, on the other hoof, I'd been learnin' a bit about 'Social Networking' as Aunt Orange called it: Gettin' connections to other ponies so that, when ya need somthin', ya always have some way o' gettin' it. Sounds a bit low when ya say it like that, but I reckon it's got some use; after all, it's basically about makin' friends with as many ponies as ya can, and friends should help each other out. Weren't as easy fer me as her, though; even when they didn' hate me fer bein' a freak, a lot o' ponies just saw me as more a curiosity than an actual pony, so this was the closest I had to an actual friend outside o' Twilight at the time. So, I weren't really ready to leave just yet.

"What the hay has yer tail in a twist?" I had known these ponies long enough that I could drop the fancy accent around them, "and can it wait 'til later?"

Spike just shook his head, lookin' pretty desperate. "Believe me, AJ; 'later' is gonna be 'too late'. Just please, come on!" He grabbed one o' mah legs and started pullin', and I just gave up.

"Sorry about this; tell yer sister I'll go over her homework later." She seemed to understand and I pretty much let Spike drag me off finally. I'd been livin' with mah bum leg for a while by then, so I'd managed to get him to let go and still kept a decent pace with him in spite of the ache in it I always got from tryin' to run. "I swear, Spike; this had better be an actual emergency. There was gonna be apple pie at that party."

I heard him mutter something as we moved, but couldn't make out what; either way, he did seem to think he had a good reason.

"It's Twilight; she's finally lost it." I frowned as I found mahself pushin' mah leg just a little bit harder. Twilight had been actin' weird lately, and I don't just mean that stuff with the library; she'd been talking to herself a bit, constantly checking the date and the position the stars were supposed to be in, even bugging me to ask the princess to delay the Summer Sun Celebration. Every time I asked her 'why', she'd just start mutterin' about how somepony was comin' and needed to be stopped.

Honestly, I didn' have a danged clue what she was talkin' about, and even the Princess's Student ain't got the authority to tell her nothin'; especially the stuff she was askin' about.

With everythin' that she had been tryin' to do lately, though, I was a bit worried about what she was getting into now. Turns out, she was all but screaming at one of the palace guards to let her in, that she needed to see the princess immediately.

"You have to believe me," she was flippin' through about seven books with her magic, pointin' at some o' them and lookin' like a filly tryin' to talk her parents into believin' her, "the signs are all there, the princess has to be warned before it's too late! Please, I need to see her, now!"

"You and everypony else, Kid." I glared at the guard as I finally reach 'em; yeah, it was his job to make sure nopony got to the princess unless they had an appointment, but that didn' mean he had to be rude about it.

"I'm serious though!!!" It looked like Twi was about to start cryin', so I stepped up.

"What in the hay is goin' on?!" The guard stood up a bit straighter, and I felt a bit smugger since he'd been rude to Twi; I might'a just been an earth pony, but the guards ain't showin' no disrespect to the princess's personal student.

"Er, um; hello, Miss Applejack," stallion seemed to be strugglin' to remember if'n he should be talkin' fancy with me, "it seems that-"

"AJ!" I had to brace mahself when Twilight finally tore herself away from her books; fer somepony that didn' do much in the way o' physical activity, that filly sure has a good tackle. "AJ, you've got to send a letter to the princess and get her to delay the Summer Sun Celebration!"

I had to hold back a groan; it was the same argument we'd been havin' fer over a month now and I was just plain sick o' it. "Twi, even if I had that much sway over the princess- which I don'- you can't just 'postpone' the longest day o' the year."

"Princess Celestia controls the sun and moon, I think she could alter the lengths of a couple days."

"She's a got a point, AJ." I turned to glare at Spike fer that little remark.

"Yer supposed to be on mah side." O' course, he was right; but still, 's the principle of the thang. "And Twi, you know that there's more to it than just that; hay, you start muckin' about with the days, even a lil' bit, and crops'll just go nuts. Some o' them are really delicate."

"AJ, if she doesn't postpone, crops will be the least of our worries!" She floated one o' her books o'er and shoved it in mah face. "Nightmare Moon is going to return!"

I just blinked a bit, pushin' the book back to get some breathin' room. "Huh?"

Yeah, not exactly the response she'd been lookin' fer.... "What do you mean 'huh'? Don't you understand?! She's supposed to return on the longest day of the thousandth year of her banishment; and tomorrow is that day! We have to do something, or at least bring this to the princess's attention so she can; why is nopony listening to me?!"

I gave the guard a look, since he looked about ready to give a few reasons o' his own fer that, then turned back to Twilight. "Twi, I get that yer upset o'er whatever the hay this is... but ya might as well be talkin' in reverse; who's this here 'Moon' pony yer talkin' 'bout, and what about her nightmares?"

"No, no, no!" Twilight had this look about her that I'd seen her get when she was explainin' some obscure history fact that I just weren't gettin'. "Nightmare Moon; here, just read this." That book was shoved into mah face again, though far enough away that I could read it this time. It was just some old 'Origin o' Equestria' stories, they're a bit-a-bushel really, but I pretty much had to read this one. Nothin' too special, talkin' about two sisters and how one o' them got jealous and ended up turnin' into Nightmare Moon.

And, as far as I was concerned, it was nothing but a bunch o' hogwash.

Don' get me wrong, I know it's true now that I've met Princess Luna; but, at the time, I had heard and read so many as part o' mah classes that they'd all sorta just run together and gotten a bit cynical about'em. Once I'd read it, I just looked at Twi with an eyebrow raised. "Uh... Twilight? Don'cha think yer over-reactin' to a story?"

Her face fell when I said that, and I saw some tears shinin' in her eyes. "You don't believe me either. Why does nopony believe me?!" Now, bein' raised on a farm with a brother and grandma that really like honesty, I'll be the first to admit that I'm too danged blunt for mah own good at times. But Twilight was mah friend, and I don' like to see mah friends upset.

"Er, uh..." I tried to think o' somethin' quick, "well, I didn' say that."

"But you impl-" I stuffed mah hoof in Spike's mouth before he could finish that sentence.

"Look, Twi; you're always tellin' me to write a letter to the Princess, how about we do that now? Get her opinion on the whole thang." I didn' even wait fer her to say anything, best to take charge o' things and get them down before she tried to do the same. "Spike, take a letter." He grumbled something about mah hooves, but pulled out his usual quill and parchment. "'Dear Princess Celestia, Howdy! I know yer probably busy, what with the Summer Sun shindig comin' up and all, but I was wonderin' if I could bother ya for a moment. My friend, Twilight Sparkle, has been puttin' her nose in the books a lot, and she's talkin' about this pony called Nightmare Moon that's supposed to be comin' back then. Now, I dunno if it's true or not, but I figured y'all'd know more about it; try to get back to me when ya can. Signed, yer faithful student, Applejack.'"

Spike rolled the scroll up and blasted it with a bit o' magic flame; it's actually pretty interestin' to see how dragons work magic with mah eyes, but that's a tangent fer another time, either way, the letter was on it's way.

"There; now, how's about the three o' us go get a bite to eat somewhere? I'm sure Star Dreams wouldn't mind havin' ya over at her party, they've even got some apple pie there." ...don't look at me like that; after apple fritters, apple pie is the best danged food ya can make! And besides, Twilight weren't havin' any of that anyway.

"How can you think of food at a time like this, AJ?!" Even if she wasn't as upset anymore, she still looked pretty panicked. "Once the princess reads your letter, she's going to want everypony who can help to be ready; we have to prepare for whatever it is she'll have us do!"

"Twi, I don' think-" And Spike let out a flamin' belch that interrupted us and turned into a letter from the princess.

"You see?! I knew she'd want to take immediate action!" Twilight jabbed a hoof into mah chest, then turned back to Spike. "Read it!"

He rolled his eyes, mutterin' about 'Bossy Ponies', but unfurled the letter and cleared his throat. "'My Dearest Student; while I commend your friend for her zest for knowledge, she simply must stop reading those dusty old books all the time.'" Twilight's jaw dropped, but Spike wasn't done yet. "'Furthermore, I think you could do with some time away from Canterlot to return to your roots; I am in need of ponies to assist with the final preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Therefore, I am sending you both to supervise Ponyville.'"

Now I was right there with Twi, mah mouth just hangin' open. I'd expected the Princess to ease her mind, not send both o' us off to Ponyville outta nowhere. So, I felt pretty justified when both me and Twi pretty much shouted out "WHAT?!"

O' course, after I'd had a few hours to pack, say goodbye to Aunt and Uncle Orange, and report back to the palace fer our ride, I'd calmed down about it a lot more.

"Think of it like a vacation, Twi," she was still sulkin', so I tried to help her, "get away from school and the city fer a while. And remember, there was another part o' that letter as well: You and I are supposed to make some friends. I don' think y'all want to miss out on an assignment."

She still didn' look too happy, but I had been tryin' fer most o' the flight and was fresh outta ideas, so I just left her be while I glanced down and watched everythin' as we flew. Truth be told, I was really lookin' forward to it; between mah studies, mah leg, and livin' so far away, it'd been a really long time since I'd been back to the farm. I love Aunt and Uncle Orange, I really do, but I couldn' help but think the Princess was right: I needed to get back to mah roots before I completely fergot'em.

And, while I'm not proud to admit it, part of me was just glad to see other earth ponies and even pegasi fer a change. I don' have a problem with unicorns, I was just sick o' feelin' like me and mah aunt and uncle were the only earth ponies in the world. "Doncha worry, Twi; this'll be just fine, you'll see. Ponyville ponies are some o' the friendliest pony y'all'll ever meet." I turned to a pink pony that had stopped in front of us to make my point, and waved at her. "Howdy!"

She gave Twilight, Spike and me a quick once over, then gasped and jumped higher than my head and dashed off.

Twilight turned to me and gave me one of her disapproving looks and I blushed somethin' fierce while I rubbed the ground with mah hoof. "Er... well, most o' them are anyway."

After that little scene, I managed to convince Twilight that we should at least get on with the job the princess sent us here to do; that, at least, got her movin', but ain't nothin' I could do to take her mind off o' Nightmare Moon.

"How can she celebrate when something so serious is about to happen?"

I rolled mah eyes as I hobbled along the dirt road, occasionally noddin' at some of the other ponies I vaguely remembered from when I was growin' up. She had been going on and on about finding more information about Nightmare Moon fer a while now, and I was just barely listenin' to be honest; and Spike looked about ready to fall asleep on his feet. "-can't believe she would take this so lightly, sending us away from the Royal Archives to this town. I bet it doesn't even have a library!"

"Now you take that last part back, Twi!" She might be my friend, but I don't cotton to ponies insultin' mah hometown. "There is too a library here, the librarian was the one who told me about the school in the first place. I wouldn've even gone to Canterlot if it weren't fer her! Hay, the princess even arranged fer us to stay there since Page Turner wanted to retire."

Twilight didn' sound too impressed by that, but she at least quieted down; I still heard her mutter about findin' out more about somethin' called the 'Elements o' Harmony', but I still thought she was seein' a timberwolf where there was just a tree and didn' pay her much mind. Besides, we were almost to the one place I wanted to see more than anythin' else that day.

"Okay," Spike finally woke up and pulled out the list o' thing needin' checked, "first up is the Banquet preparations; from... 'Sweet Apple Acres'?" He blinked, then looked up at me. "Friends of yours?"

"Family, actually," I was pretty glad mah family had been picked to cater the whole thing, us Apples take a lotta pride in our food, "it'll be good to see'em again."

"Well, I suppose you know who we should see about the whole thing then?"

That made me slow a bit more than I already was with mah leg; that was a good question, actually. I hadn't had time to get in touch with the rest o' the family, so I didn' know who had taken o'er general operations on the farm; I know it shoulda been obvious, but ya can sometimes ferget how much ponies can change growin' up.

It weren't till I saw a familiar red pony kickin' trees with one leg that I put things together.

"Macintosh!" He paused, then spotted me and cantered over with a huge grin on his face. Next thing I knew, he'd managed to pick me up in a hug; and I'll even give him a bit o' credit, he didn' mess with mah leg when he did either.

"Long time, no see, AJ!" The big lug finally finished tryin' to break me in half with a hug and set me back down. "Y'all coulda told us ya were comin' by; Ah woulda put somethin' together."

"Sorry, Mac," I couldn' stop grinnin', "whole thing was last minute; didn' even know it was happenin' mahself until earlier today." Twilight cleared her throat, remindin' me this weren't just a family reunion. "Oh, right; Macintosh, this is Twilight Sparkle, mah best friend, and Spike, mah #1 assistant. You two, meet mah brother: Macintosh Apple."

"Mah friends call me 'Big Mac'," he held out his hoof and both Spike and Twi shook it, "nice ta meetcha; any friend o' AJ's is a friend o' mine."

"Yes, well," Twi weren't really interested in this, "we're here from Canterlot to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration; you're in charge of the food, correct?"

"Y'all better believe it," Macintosh smiled, "Wanna sample some?"

I jumped in before Twilight could; there was no way in Tartarus I was gonna turn down the first real meal I'd had in a long time. "O' course we would, wouldn't we, Twi?"

She looked like she wanted to argue the point, but she'd known me fer a good part o' mah life by then; she knew that I weren't one to bend easily when I got somethin' in mah head. It was what got me into the school in the first place, after all.

"Fine," she sighed out, "as long as it doesn't take too long."

That was all Macintosh needed to hear; he let out a whistle louder than I'd ever heard from him and called out, "Soup's on, Everypony!"

I had the sense to get outta the way just in time fer the rush; Spike and Twi weren't so lucky, but they got dropped off at one o' the tables we had around and I was left with Macintosh while the rest o' the family introduced themselves with Apple Bloom leadin' the charge. "Nice to see ya found yer voice finally, Macintosh."

Havin' a red coat really helps him hide his blushes, but I could still see it; he'd always been shy growin' up, never speakin' more than he had to and pretty much standin' back while other ponies took the lead. The fact that he'd raised his voice like he had, and hadn't shied away from Spike and Twilight, it really showed he'd changed as much as I had o'er the years. "Well, with you away in Canterlot, somepony had ta step up and be the face o' the Apple Clan 'round here.

"Apple Bloom's still too young, and Granny Smith needs her rest; Ah didn' really have much choice in the matter, AJ." He put a hoof around mah shoulders and gave me a light push toward the tables. "Now, lets get some grub 'fore it's all gone." I had to chuckle at that; pretty much all o' the family tends to eat a lot, so that was a real danger. It woulda been a simple (and filling) meal, if'n one o' mah cousins hadn' decided to start flappin' his gums at me.

It was Red Delicious, one o' the Apples that had managed to make it in a big city, Manehatten to be exact, and one that I hadn't seen for quite a while. I didn' know all that much about him, still don' really, but... well, I'll just tell y'all how it all went down.

He turned to me about halfway through mah second plate and just jumped right into the matter at hoof. "So, Applejack, finally comin' back to the farm?" If'n he weren't family, I mighta caught his tone and figured out where this whole thing was headin' before it got there.

"Nah, not yet anyway." I was busy chowin' down, so I just answered without much thought, "just here to check up on things fer the princess and the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Hm, I see." He took a bite o' a fritter, then continued. "And here I thought you'd go back to doin' some real work."

I heard Macintosh sigh, but I was suddenly fixed on Red Delicious and how quiet the rest o' the table had gotten. Part o' me wanted to believe that he hadn' just said what I thought he'd said, since he was family, but I was feelin' somethin' burnin' inside o' me. "I do real work all the time, Red."

He scoffed, rollin' his eyes. "Oh please; unless they installed a garden at that school, you're just readin' books. I'm talkin' 'Git yer hoofs dirty, rough and tumble, come home tired at the end o' the day' work. Not just those fancy lights and floaty stuff you do."

"Fer yer information, Red Delicious," I could feel that something buildin' up in me, "magic is work."

"You need to stop hangin' around unicorns so much, yer startin' to sound like one." And he said it casually, like a parent talkin' down to a foal that didn' know any better.

I couldn' believe what I was hearin', from mah own cousin on top o' that! "What in the hay is that supposed to mean?"

He sighed, finally payin' more attention to me than his food. "Look, AJ; yer smart, everypony here knows it, don' waste it on somethin' like magic." I was too busy gawkin' at him to reply, though I was glad Twi and Spike where well away from us then. "It's a bunch o' lights and sparkles, that's all; fine fer unicorns, they wouldn' know a day o' hard work if it came up and bit 'em in the rear, but yer an earth pony. Ya need to actually start focusin' that brain o' yers on somethin' that actually has some value."

He went right back to eatin' while I just sat there and stared at him. Like I told ya last time, us earth ponies tend to be the ones that say that because o' how stubborn we can be, but I still never expected to hear it outta the mouth o' one o' mah own family. I liked to think the Apple Family was better than that; but, well, I guess we can all be wrong about some things.

I didn' eat much more after that; I was too angry over him implyin' that what me and Twi did weren't real work, just 'cause it was magic and not physical labor. That was the first time I'd ever been glad to get away from mah family once the meal was over; at least Twilight hadn't had any problems where she was sittin', just a few o' the others shovin' more food into her without realizin' she didn' eat as much as we did.

"Ohh... I ate too much pie." Judgin' from her belly, she had, and she weren't lookin' all that happy about it. At least Macintosh had walked us to the edge o' the farm, and taken the time to apologize fer Red Delicious to me.

"Ah told him ta keep his mouth shut," he grumbled alongside me, "he's been talkin' outta his plot like that fer three reunions now, Ah almost didn' invite him ta this one 'cause Ah'm so sick o' hearin' it."

"Yeah...." I just glared at nothin', still ticked o'er the whole thing. "Almost wish you hadn'."

He didn' really respond to that, just got all quiet-like while we walked and stayed that way until we got to the edge o' the farm. "AJ, before ya go, there's one more thing." He reached back behind him and pulled out Pa's ole hat and I stopped short; he just reached up and put it on mah head without a word. "Ya know he always wanted y'all to have it; Ah think it's about time ya did." And with that, he walked back. I won' say it completely made up for all the things that Red Delicious had say to me, but it sure as a sugar helped take some o' the sting away; so, all in all, not too bad a reunion after all.

"What's up next?"

Spike, pretty full himself, finally pulled out the list again. "After food is... weather." He looked around the sky, takin' stock o' it. "There's supposed to be a pegasus pony named 'Rainbow Dash' clearing the sky."

Twi and I joined him in lookin' up, findin' a sky full o' clouds.

Twilight said it best, really: "Yes, she's clearly working herself to the bone with that."

"Where in the hay is this pony?" I looked around for any pegasus as best I could, but weren't findin' one. "I'm gonna give her a piece o' mah mind so big when we find her she'll probably-"

And then, WHAM!

It'd been a good long while since I'd actually felt some real pain in mah leg; the aches I'd git in the winter, or when I was tryin' to run, those weren't anythin' too bad and I could even put 'em outta mah mind when I had other things to focus on, but gettin' full on hit by a fast movin' pegasus was a whole other world o' pain.

I crashed into Twi and the two o' us ended up gettin' knocked for a loop and into some mud, Pa's hat even got knocked offa mah head cause o' it. And, me havin' just got it, that meant I really didn' want it to get dirty; thankfully, telekinesis and some quick reflexes helped with that. Even if'n I made it out like it's somethin' really complicated last time, I'd had years to practice by then and could do it second nature; just like pegasi don' think too hard 'bout flyin', speakin' o' which....

"Whoa! How the hay are you doing that?!" I brushed some o' mah mane outta mah face to finally get a look at what had hit me and Twilight; and, well, y'all can guess what I saw.

I'll admit, it was pretty odd to see Dash when we first met; ya'd think that, with as colorful as some ponies can get, there wouldn' be a pony that stood out as 'Most Colorful'. But Dash, well, she'd at least be in the top five o' a contest like that; only pony I've ever met that had more than two colors in her mane was the princess, and I'm pretty sure that's 'cause I'm pretty sure her mane is made o' magic.

Anyway, back to Dash.

After runnin' into us, and tossin' us into the mud, neither o' us were really all that pleased to see her. "Never you mind," I snapped at her question about mah magic, "You 'Rainbow Dash'?"

"The one and only!" She puffed out her chest and actually tried to strike a pose, like she was some sorta celebrity. "Here, I'll get you cleaned up; anything for my fans." She zoomed up, then came back with a cloud that looked a bit grey.

Some memories from the farm came back just as she started jumpin'. "Wai-" and the rest just sorta got lost in the rain. I was glad that Pa's hat wasn' gonna be ruined by somethin' like water; but I also weren't too happy about bein' soaked to the bone from a rain cloud, and Twi looked right there with me.

Dash chuckled overhead, "oops; guess I overdid it." Truth be told, she didn' sound all that sorry o'er the whole thing, I think she was jist lookin' for another excuse to show off. "Maybe this'll help." And, before either o' us could stop her, she was zoomin' around us fast enough to make a tornado around the both o' us. "My very own, patented, 'Rain-blow Dry'."

Why do ponies always say that? 'S not like she actually patented it.

(Interviewer's Notes(Unicorn): Actually, she did.)

...

Say WHAT now?!

(Interviewer's Notes(Pegasus): Yep, take a look at this.)

...Well, I'll be... 'Rain-blow Dry, patented to Rainbow Dash'. Well fry mah tail and call it a 'fritter', I wouldn'a believed it if'n I didn' see it with mah own eyes.

(Interviewer's Notes(Unicorn): A lot of ponies say the same about an Earth Pony Wizard.)

...point taken.

(Interviewer's Notes(Unicorn): Shall we continue?)

Er, yeah; let's do that.

Anyway, Dash was tryin' to dry us off with that tornado, and... well, she was too busy braggin' to see we'd turned into somethin' that looked like one o' them poofy dogs rich ponies have. It weren't so bad fer me, I've always kept mah mane and tail tied up and that meant that- even poofed up like it was- I could press it down some and not look too different than I usually do; never been on to keep up on the latest mane styles and all that really.

Twi had it worse though; her hair was always combed and straightened with magic, and it's longer than ya'd think just lookin' at her, so she had poofed up somethin' fierce. And Spike and Dash didn' really bother hiding how funny they found the whole thing.

But, she did manage to stop laughing long enough to stroke her own ego again. "So, I've never seen either of you around town," she struck another of her poses, "how'd you hear of me?"

"Because we're supposed to be overseein' preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration; and ye'r supposed to clearin' the clouds." I pointed a hoof up to the sky, "wanna explain why it ain't clear?"

"I'll get it done," she waved her hoof like it weren't nothing important, "it'll be a cinch; right after I get done practicing."

"What are you practicin' fer that's so danged important that it can't wait?" I'll admit, she was a bit hard to get used to at the time, so I weren't bein' too polite; she didn' seem to notice though.

"The Wonderbolts!" That was the most excited I'd seen her since we crashed into each other. "They're gonna perform at the celebration," she did a few flips then flopped on a cloud, "and I'm gonna show'em my stuff."

And me... well, I was just lost.

Like I told ya, mah head is full o' stuff about magic and the like, some other things just sorta fall to the wayside. Thankfully, that's where havin' a friend like Twilight comes in handy.

"The Wonderbolts?" The way she was talkin' I knew she already knew the answer. "The most talented in all of Equestria?"

"Yep, that's them."

Twilight scoffed. "Please, they'd never accept a pegasus that can't keep the sky clear for one, measly, day."

That seemed to get Rainbow's feathers in a twist. "Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat."

Now it was mah turn to scoff at her. "I'll call that bluff." There were a lot o' mundane spells that I had learned, just to make things easier; one o' them was a timer spell that could also work as a stopwatch. I can keep time pretty good in mah head, but- well- sometimes books can be distractin' and I needed a reminder.

I held up one o' mah hooves and concentrated until I'd pulled together enough mana to make a floating clock and set up the spell matrix to do what I needed it to; simple stuff, only took about a second. "Start kickin', Rainbow Dash."

I started the clock, and she zoomed around the sky with a rainbow trail followin' her. I'll give her this: I'd never seen a pony move that fast, and she sure as sugar made quick work o' the clouds; it actually reminded me a bit o' what I remembered o' Applebuckin', truth be told. Either way, I had to be quick to stop the clock when she kicked away that last cloud; and... well....

"Hah!" She did a bit o' a dance in the air as me and Twi stared at the clock; she hadn't done it in ten seconds, she'd done it in 9.85!

"What'd I tell you?" She still sounded smug about it... but, after that, she kinda had a right to. "I'd never leave Ponyville hanging." Neither o' us could think of a single thing to say, and she seemed to get a chuckle outta that. "You two are a riot; never got your names."

I finally managed to close mah mouth before I started catchin' flies and swallowed. "Mah name's 'Applejack'; this here's 'Twilight Sparkle'." Twi just gave a bit of a wave, still a bit shocked by the whole thing.

"Awesome," she slapped us both on the back like we were old friends, then fluttered off. "See you two around; I'll make it an even nine seconds next time."

After that, well, we just kinda stood there. Not every day you meet a pony who could probably outrace the princess.

It was Spike that finally got us back to reality.

"She's amazing!" And, really, she kinda was; but she still had left us lookin' like a couple o' idiots.

Yeah, we were still upset about that, and she never really seemed all that sorry about it in her apologies. "Come on, we still have two more stops to make."

Twilight grumbled as we walked off, Spike trailin' behind us and tryin' to tell us that we didn' look as bad as we did. He's never really been that good o' a liar.

Next, we had to look in on the decorations; like I told ya last time, lookin' good and takin' some pride in yer appearance are just as important as bein' who ya really are, so- when we got to the town hall- I could really appreciate all the work that had gone into makin' it look as good as it did. Even more once I realized it was just one pony workin' on it.

"Beautiful...." Spike seemed to be pretty impressed himself, and even Twilight didn't seem all that bitter.

"Yes, the decorations are coming along smoothly. We might be able to actually get to that library you mentioned after all, AJ."

I was about to tell her to drop the whole Nightmare Moon thing, then Spike spoke up again. "Not the decor, her!" Remember how I mentioned there was just one pony handlin' the whole thing? Well, seems somethin' 'bout her caught Spike's eye. I dunno what it was, though, she just reminded me o' some o' the unicorns back in Canterlot, managed to look just as fancy as them without wearin' any o' their frilly dresses too. She was goin' through a bunch o' ribbons and things fer the decorations, not lookin' happy with any o' them.

"No, no, Goodness no!"

I hobbled up to her, tryin' to at least make sure she was on top of things. "Excuse me?"

"Just a moment," she held up a hoof as she continued to go through her ribbons, "I'm 'in the zone', as it were." She finally picked out a blue one; it didn' look too fancy, but it did look pretty good when she finally tied it on one of the curtains. "There we go; sometimes, simple is better. Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now," she turned toward us, "how can I help yooOOOOW!" She looked pretty shocked as she looked the pair o' us o'er. "Oh my stars! What in Equestria happened to you both!"

"Ya mean the manes? It's... well, don' worry about it; we're just here to have a look-see at the decorations and we'll be outta yer hair."

"Out of my hair? What about your hair?!" It'll never stop surprisin' me just how much magic Rarity actually has when she gets her mind set on something. I can usually get a good bead on how powerful a unicorn is when I see'em in action; but, Rarity, well... I still don' really have her down. So, the last thing I was expectin' was fer her to pick both o' us up and literally carry us outta there with her telekinesis.

"Whoa there; what in the hay?! Lemme go!"

"Help! I need an adult!"

"That doesn't work when yer already an adult, Twi!"

And Spike, the lovestruck dragon, weren't any help at all; he woulda followed that mare right into Tartarus if she led him. Plus, I think most o' the other ponies we passed knew better than to get involved.

Once she'd dragged the two o' us over to her shop, we pretty much had our own impromptu, three pony fashion show. Twilight got the worst o' it really; once Rarity'd figured out I had a bum leg, she didn' really put me in any o' the really tight outfits, but Twi didn' have any excuse. Even if I was wearin' a very loose dress, I couldn' help but wince in sympathy watchin' Rarity pull a saddle tighter than it had any right to be on a pony.

"Go on, Darlings," she pulled a bit more and I swear I saw Twilight startin' to cry, "you were telling me where you were from?"

"Well...," it was really hard to look at Twilight like that, "I was born here in Ponyville; but, I left when I was really young. So, really, I guess we're both from Canterlot and-" And Rarity let go of the strap so Twilight finally had some release.

"Canterlot?!" She was suddenly remindin' me o' Twilight whenever she found out somethin' she didn't already know. "I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication; I have always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it!" She sighed, putting her hooves around me and Twilight. "Oh, the three of us are going to be the best of friends!"

She suddenly glanced at mah dress, then looked shocked by somethin'. "Rubies? What was I thinking? Let me get you some emeralds!" She all but bounced away, and I turned back to Twilight and loosened the strap on the saddle with mah teeth.

"Let's get while the gettin's good!" I pulled off mah dress and were made tracks away from Rarity like two mice runnin' from a cat. Twilight remember to snag Spike when we passed him, since he still was lovestruck and wasn't movin', and we managed to get gone before she came back with mane dyes or somethin'.

O' course, just 'cause we were gone, didn' mean Spike had left it behind yet.

"Wasn't she wonderful?" He was actin' all wistful and the like, still head o'er hooves fer some mare he'd just met.

(Interferviews Notes(Pegasus): Like you were for Shining Armor when you first met him?)

...hush up.

Anyway, we still weren't done fer the day, so we needed to stay on topic.

"Head outta the clouds, Lover Boy; what's next?"

He pulled out the list that we'd been goin' by all day and glanced through it. "Music; it's the last one."

I heard Twilight mutter somethin' behind us, but, after everythin' that had happened by then, I was too drained to tell her to drop it fer the nth time. I just wanted to get the whole thing done and dusted and finally rest mah leg; after walkin' around as much as I had, it was startin' to hurt more than usual.

(Interviewers Notes(Unicorn): They do make carts to help ponies in your situation.)

I don' need some cart to get around, I can manage just fine on mah own!

Besides, once we got close, the singin' of the birds really took mah mind offa mah leg. I'd grown up in a city without a lotta animals, so I'd almost fergotten what it was to hear a bird sing; felt real good to hear them. And, though I probably shouldn'a been, I was pretty surprised to see it was a pegasus who was directin'em. Most o' them had talents related to sports and things like that, and workin' with animals was an earth pony thing; but, seein' as I'm an earth pony wizard, I probably shouldn' judge like that.

Either way, I walked up to the other pony to get things o'er with.

"Howdy!"

And, like ya'd expect, the birds all flew off.

"Er... um... sorry 'bout that. Didn' mean to scare away the birds; just here to check up on the music, and I loved what I heard."

She didn' say anythin', just looked at anythin' but me. "Er... I'm Applejack." Still nothin'. "Um... what's yer name?"

"I'm... uh..." she muttered something real low, with an already pretty quiet voice.

"Huh?"

"My name is..." and she trailed off again.

"Can ya speak up a bit?"

And, after that, she just squeaked. I finally gave up; I was a bit used to ponies not sayin' much, growin' up with Macintosh and all, but there was a point when even I couldn' do much with so little. "Ohhhh-kay then... well, looks like yer birds are back, so I'll see ya around." She squeaked again and I sorta hobbled off; I didn' miss the look o' pity when she saw that I had a limp, but I was too used to that sorta thing to care by then; either way, I was just gettin' back to Spike and Twilight, when I heard her gasp.

"A Baby Dragon!"

And, fer the second time that day, I found mahself eatin' dirt.

"Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before! He's soooo cute!"

Ya could almost hear Spike's ego growin' with the compliments. "Well, well, well."

"Oh my, he talks! I didn't know dragons could talk! That's just so incredibly wonderful I... I don't even know what to say." Thankfully, before she could get so excited she asked him out on a date, Twilight picked him up and I managed to stand up.

"Well, in that case, we'd better be going." She was anxious to get to the library, and I was gettin' sick o' this whole thing mahself. Turns out, though, that mare had more than just a passin' interest in dragons.

"Wait, wait! Uh, what's his name?"

"I'm Spike."

"Hi, Spike, I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon! And, what do dragons talk about?"

"Well, what do you wanna know?"

"Absolutely everything."

And that was about the point that both me and Twilight resigned ourselves to a very long walk to the library. Spike was still a dragon, baby or not, so he had more than his share o' pride in himself; and, if there's one thing someone with a lotta pride in hisself likes to talk about, it's hisself.

The only time I even paid attention to anythin' he was sayin' was when I corrected him right at the start, when he said he came from a purple and green egg; I still remember the day he hatched, his egg was purple, just different shades in places. After that, though, I couldn' be bothered; I was right there with Twilight, wantin' to get to the library and put the whole day behind us.

The sun was goin' down by the time that we'd all gotten there, and Spike had finally finished his talk. "And that's the story of my entire life; well, up until today." Spike had jumped from Twilight's back to mine at some point; I didn' mind it as much as you'd think, but I was just so sick o' listenin' to him talk that it was pretty annoyin' this one time. "Say, do you wanna hear about today?!"

"Okay, that's enough talkin' fer one day," I was pretty far passed the point o' politeness, "I think y'all need a nap, Spike; you are a baby dragon after all." I made a point o' lookin' to Twilight when I said that.

"But I'm not-" Thankfully, Twilight was plenty smart herself and figured out what I was going fer; she gave his tail a bit o' a yank and he fell right off mah back.

"See what I mean? So sleepy, he can't even keep his balance." Don' give me that look; dragons can play around in lava when they're still Spike's age, a little fall like that ain't gonna to anythin' to him. Plus, like I said, I was way passed politeness after all that I'd had to put up with this day. Besides, Fluttershy bought it lock, stock and barrel; she actually picked Spike up and carried him inside fer me.

"Poor thing," she sounded just sincere enough that I felt a bit guilty fer trickin' her, "you simply must get him to bed."

But Twilight didn' seem to have that problem, she pushed Fluttershy right outta the library by herself. "Yes, yes; we'll get right on that. Well, good night!" And she slammed the door right in the pegasus's face.

Spike weren't too amused by the whole thing. "Little much, you two?"

"Sorry, Spike," Twilight was busy feelin' around fer a table with a lamp, "but I need to convince the princess that Nightmare Moon is coming; and I need a place to study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time."

Even I had to agree with her after all that had happened that day. "I'm beginnin' to remember why I wanted to leave Ponyville in the first place." I weren't proud to be talkin' bad about mah hometown like that; but, well, after havin' lived up in Canterlot fer so long, their way o' doin' things rubbed off on me more than I was willin' to admit. I eventually joined Twi in lookin' fer the lamp, since I needed to find a place to rest mah leg. "Where'd Page Turner put that lamp again?"

The lights suddenly turned on, and what looked like about half the town suddenly shouted 'SURPRISE!'

I got a sinkin' feelin' as that pink pony we'd run into at the start o' this whole thing bounced o'er to us with a smile on her face. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised?! Were you?! Were you?! Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Ya could... say that, yeah." I was still tryin' to work out how this pony, who didn' seem to know how to sit still, could have all this energy... or get so many ponies, supplies and all the other things together in such a short time... or how she knew where we stayin'. "But... ain't libraries supposed to be quiet?"

"'Quiet'? What's the fun in a quiet welcome party? See, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all 'Howdy' and I was all '*GASP!*'; because I'd never seen you around town before, and if I'd never seen you around town before that meant that you were new, because I know everypony- and I mean everypony- in town. Then I remembered where I had seen you before." Before I could get a word in edgewise, she pulled out one of the magazines with an article about me in it and shoved it in mah face. "But the article didn't mention anything about your friends; and that made me sad, since that meant you didn't have any friends," Twilight looked a bit indignant there, "but you came to town with this pony, so you had to have one friend. But, if you only had one friend, that meant you just needed more friends; so I threw this party, because, this way, you could meet everypony in Ponyville and have lots and lots of friends!"

It actually took me a bit to realize that she had stopped talkin'. "...huh?"

I can't say fer sure what happened with Twilight after that; she just sorta sulked away at some point, and I didn' wanna put the effort into climbin' stairs after havin' been on mah hooves all day. I just found a corner o' the main library and pulled a sittin' pillow over to rest on it; that woulda been the end o' it, but it just weren't that kinda day. See, Rarity had snagged that article from Pinkie, and Dash still wanted to know how the whole 'Magic Earth Pony' thing worked; with Mac around to confirm that I really could do all those things, I had to show them off fer an audience.

Yeah, I know I sound bitter about it, and I sorta am.

I really don' like bein' made a spectacle of; I'd been treated more like a picture than a pony by a lot o' ponies in Canterlot, even takin' into account all the articles about me and mah magic, there were a ton more about mah apprenticeship with Princess Celestia. They put me on a pedestal, made me into somethin' like a statue that was to be admired, but never a pony to be treated like one. It's just one o' those things with me; I ain't somepony special, even with mah magic, but it seems like they all treat me better than the princess at times. It ain't fair; it ain't fair to the princess and it ain't to all the other unicorns that worked their plots off to get into the school.

*sigh* Look, sorry; it's a thing with me. I'm good now, don't worry about it; I can keep going.

Anyway, the party weren't too much fun fer me; between me bein' paraded around like a showpony and havin' to cast spells at the drop o' a hat, there weren't much to enjoy. Spike was havin' a blast, o' course, tryin' to flirt with Rarity most o' the night and gettin' nowhere. I was glad when it all ended and everypony headed out to the town hall to watch Celestia raise the sun; it was good to see her gettin' some recognition fer what she did.

Spike was on mah back, like usual, but I was zoned out; Pinkie Pie had popped up next to me at some point, but I weren't payin' much attention to what she was ramblin' about this time. At leat she stopped talkin' when the mayor got up on stage.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts! As Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" That got a cheer from all the ponies present, and I let mahself have a bit of a smile. "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise; and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!" Another, smaller, cheer followed that. "And now, it is my great honor to introduce the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day; the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria: Princess Celestia!"

Right on cue, Fluttershy's birds started whistlin' and Rarity pulled her curtains aside on a balcony to show... absolutely nothin'.

Almost immediately, ponies started whisperin' and talkin' amongst themselves, since they all knew this weren't part o' the show. "Remain calm, Everypony," though the mayor didn' look too calm herself when she said it, "there must be a reasonable explanation for this."

Pinkie immediately started bouncing again. "Ooh, ooh! I love guessing games! Is she hiding?"

Up on the balcony, Rarity had stepped inside the li'l room behind it to check fer the princess, only to come right back out. "She's... gone!"

Even while everypony else was having varying degrees of panic attacks o'er this, me included, Pinkie Pie just nudged me with an elbow. "She's good." Then, things went south enough to make even her gasp.

Up on the balcony, this big ole plume of blue smoke appeared; I could tell it was magic just by lookin' at it, even without the way I see the world with these eyes. It almost reminded me o' the princess in a way... just, different; but there was somethin' else in there, somethin' I didn' like the look o'... and that really made me nervous. Magic, no matter what kind or where it came from, had always looked pretty danged beautiful to me; but this magic... it just looked... there ain't no other way to say it; it just looked wrong.

Then, all o' a sudden, it zoomed away; and left behind an all black alicorn with a moon right on her flank. Spike fainted right off mah back and I stiffened pretty badly, unable to believe what I was seein'. She started speakin', lookin' around at everypony like we were a bunch o' apple fritters. "Oh, my beloved subjects," I swear I could feel her voice tricklin' down inside me like syrup, "it's been so long since I've seen your precious, little, sun loving faces." This was... it was....

"Nightmare Moon." It was so quiet that everypony, Nightmare Moon included, turned toward the door; and to Twilight standin' there. "The mare in the moon."

Right then and there, I regretted ever doubtin' her.

"Well, it seems there is somepony that remembers me." She turned into that smokey stuff from before, and pretty much slithered over to Twilight. She turned back into an alicorn, and walked around her with a hungry grin on her face. "Have you been watching the signs, my little pony?" I couldn' help but shiver, since that was what Celestia said all the time and- hearin' it outta her mouth- it just felt so perverse with that tone. "Awaiting my return with bated breath?"

Twilight looked really nervous now, figitin' something fierce; but she was saved from havin' to respond when Dash decided it would be a good idea to try and fly at her. "Alright, 'Nightmare Moon'; what've you done with our princess!" I made to stop her as quick as I could, but Mac beat me too it and actually tackled Rainbow like he was playin' hoofball.

Nightmare Moon, if anything, seemed amused by the display. "Such a foal; now, you," she turned back to Twilight, "you intrigue me. You know my name, do you know my goal as well?"

Twi gulped, her eyes dartin' all around. "Y-you're here to... to...."

She started laughin', her mane flarin' up as she stepped around Twilight. "Remember this day, Ponies, for it will be your last. From this moment forth, the night! Shall last! FOREVER!" She laughed as the amount of magic she was pourin' out actually made thunder and lightnin' appear outta her mane.

The mayor finally regained some o' her senses and called to the royal guards that had shown up as part of the ceremonial preparations. "Seize her! Only she knows where the princess is!"

I tried to speak up, but Nightmare Moon was just too fast fer me. "Stand back you foals!" She lashed out with her magic, and they were sent flyin'; thankfully, most royal guard armor is enchanted to resist lightnin'. They wouldn' be feelin' good when they finally woke up, but at least they'd actually wake up. "Now then," she turned back to Twilight with a voice that was just so sickly sweet it made me feel on edge, "what to do with you? You seem to know a lot about my royal self, and a queen such as myself should have a captain of the guard." She lowered her head to Twilight's level, and lowered her voice, but I was close enough to hear what she was sayin'. "I sense great magical potential in you, my little pony; join me, and I can help you achieve that potential."

And, at this point, I decided she'd said enough.

Thanks to spendin' enough time around Shinin' Armor, I'd managed to pick up a few shield spells; so I threw one up between Twilight and Nightmare Moon. "I think it's about time you shut yer yap, 'yer Majesty'." I did notice that Twilight blinked a few times, lookin' a bit confused and a bit shocked; at least it shifted her focus away from her and to me.

"An earth pony? Using Magic?! How is this-?!" She stopped, then glared at me for a moment and turned back to Twilight. "Remember my words, Pony; I do not make offers like that to just anyone." And, with that, she slipped away as a stream o' smoke just as Rainbow finally managed to get outta mah brother's grip. She was out the door less than a second later, and me and Twilight weren't far behind; but we had a different plan than tryin' to follow Nightmare Moon.

After we'd gotten back to the library, and made sure that Spike was tucked away in a bed upstairs (he is still a baby dragon after all), the two of us were basically turnin' that library upside down. "Elements, elements, elements; we've gotta find somethin' about those elements o' Harmony, Twilight!"

"And just what are the 'Elements of Harmony'!" I don' know when Rainbow Dash had busted in, but she was the last pony I wanted to deal with right now; even less so since she started hasslin' Twilight right after me. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?! Are both of you spies working for her!"

"Mah sister ain't no 'spy'!" Mac grabbed her tail with his teeth and pulled her to the floor with a thud, "and anypony she trusts ain't one either!" Twilight seemed relieved at the vote o' confidence from him, but got nervous again when he turned to her. I don' know why those five ponies showed up in the library that night; but I'm sure glad they did. "But y'all know somethin', doncha, Twilight?"

It took her a moment to answer, but she finally seemed to resign herself. "I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon; some mysterious objects called 'The Elements of Harmony' are the only things that can stop her. But, I don't know where they are, how to find them; I don't even know what they do!"

"'The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide'." Everypony else suddenly turned to Pinkie Pie, and then Twilight knocked her away to get at the book.

"How did you find that!"

"It was under 'E'~"

Yeah... I still don' quite get how that worked either; but, after all this time, one of the best things I've learned is to not question Pinkie. It never works out well, ever.

Either way, with a book to read, Twilight was a lot calmer. "'There are six elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty; the sixth is a complete mystery. It is said that the last known location of the five elements was the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now-"

"The Everfree Forest?!"

I ain't gonna lie, I'd fergotton about this place since I'd been gone; and, really, I was glad that I had. The Everfree was one o' those places that parents told their foals about to stop 'em from misbehavin' and pretty much everypony in Ponyville had a healthy fear o' the place. So, I don' think any o' us were lookin' forward to goin' in there.

Though, Pinkie Pie mighta been the exception.

"Whee! Let's go!"

"Not so fast." Twilight stepped in front o' us and looked into the forest. "I appreciate the offer but-"

"Whoa there, Twilight; I know where this is headin'." He hobbled up next to her, lookin' her dead in the eye before she could recover. "Yer not goin'; I am."

That got her somethin' good. "What?! But, AJ, your leg-"

"I don' wanna hear it, Twi. The fact is, between the two o' us, I know more magic; and I have a better chance in there thanks to all those lessons I got from the princess. Plus, we need a pony here to let Canterlot know what happened; see if you can get ahold o' yer brother and get him to send some guards down or somethin'."

"But he's leaving on a trip with Cadence today," she started pacin', "I don't know if I can get to him in time."

"Try wakin' Spike up if you can; tell him it's an emergency and the Princess is in danger. I think his fillyfriend will understand." At the time, it was somethin' o' a joke that they were datin'; talk about ironic, huh? "Either way, you need to stay in town and make sure everythin' gets taken care o'; I'll be fine, trust me."

"And she won't be alone, either." Mac stepped forward, and spoke up again before I could open mah own mouth. "Don' ya say a danged word, AJ; no sister o' mine is gonin' inta some haunted forest by herself; where stickin' with ya like caramel on a candy apple." Everypony else seemed to be behind that, with Pinkie makin' a remark about candy bein' involved; and, really, I knew better than to talk mah brother outta an idea once he'd gotten it in his head. All Earth Ponies can be stubborn when they want to be, but the Apple family is always stubborn.

Twilight was silent for a long time, but she eventually nodded. "Okay, I'll try and get a letter to Shining Armor, see if I can get some help. But you be careful in there, okay? The elements are still our best chance."

"Doncha worry, Sugarcube; it's me, remember?"

"Yeah," she smirked at me, "that's why I'm worried."

The two o' us chuckled a bit at that, but it didn' last long; we both had a job to do, and we were gonna do it. It might seem a bit weird, but- even while I was walkin' right into a haunted forest, lookin' fer some lost trinkets that were supposed to stop an evil alicorn- I was more worried about Twilight than mah own safety.

We're gonna have to stop here though; I said it was a doozy, and this is all the time I can spare fer a while. I'll try to get some more, but it'll take some time.

If you want some more info, why doncha talk to Twilight? She deserves to tell her side o' things.

Anyway, see ya around; and thank ya fer yer time.

Seeds of Knowledge

Oh, hello!

Sorry, I was just tidying up since, well, this is my first real interview with you three. I know Applejack said you would probably be coming over, and I’ve been tidying up since then, but... well, I have a lot of books to keep organized, and I don’t have an assistant like AJ does to help. I mean, Spike comes over now and again, but I can’t really rely on him to be there if I need something done quickly. And that’s not even counting of the fact that I would have to teach him my methods of organization; I mean, Applejack is pretty good at precision, but you’d think she’d be organized as well and-

Oh! I’m sorry, I’m rambling. I do that sometimes; AJ’s pointed it out to me more than once.

Anyway, from what I’ve read, I’m supposed to state my name for the purpose of this interview. *Ahem* My name is Twilight Sparkle, and thank you for this chance to be interviewed.

Dragon-of-Twilght presents:

A Pony POV Series side-story:

Seeds of Knowledge

Anyway, where should we start? With my foalhood? Or would we start with what the problem is? ...wait, there isn’t really a problem right now; this is supposed to be something of an informative interview, since Applejack was pretty adamant about her friends getting their fair share of the credit for everything that’s happened since the Summer Sun Celebration. Though, truth be told, I didn’t really have anything to do with the whole ‘Elements of Harmony’ thing outside of researching it; and, even then, it was Pinkie that actually found the book, and AJ and her friends that actually went out and found them. I just stayed in Ponyville until they came back, really.

...well, okay, there’s a bit more to it than that, if you want to hear the whole thing.

‘The whole story’? What exactly do you-

Um... could you be a bit more specific? ‘Whatever I feel appropriate’ is pretty broad, and I’m not sure I could fit it all in here in a timely fashion. Not to mention, with all the stuff I would have to cover, you’d probably run out of paper for this whole thing before I could even get out of Magic Kindergarten.

(Interviewer’s Notes(Pegasus): Oh, for the love of-)

(Interviewer’s Notes(Unicorn): Miss Sparkle, how about we start simple? Tell us how you got your Cutie Mark.)

Oh! I can do that.

See, I’ve always had something of a talent for magic; well, maybe not always, but for a good portion of my life at the very least. It all started when I started read what I consider my first real book; it wasn’t even a book for research, just something I picked up as a curiosity: ‘Another Fine Myth’. It’s a work of fiction, but it’s a pretty good one; the main character even has a pet dragon like Applejack does.

But that was my first real exposure to magic on a complex level; I am a unicorn, so I had already seen my parents using it and done a tiny bit of it myself. Nothing worth noting, of course, just some of the usual sparks you see fillies letting off when they get really excited over things and events. But this was the first time I’d ever looked at magic really and truly in depth and I was instantly hooked; it was just so... fascinating.

All these things that magic makes possible; all the things that we still need to learn; the various ways that magic manifests in different ponies, in different species!

Yes, I did go to the Summer Sun Celebration when I was still young; it showed me what a pony could do with magic, what it was truly capable of doing! That just made me all the more interested in learning everything I could; I can’t say I was a prodigy like Applejack was, but I was most certainly above average for my age group. I was already using basic magic by the time I’d gotten out of magic kindergarten, and I’d even started using telekinesis for various activities in my day. Hehe, I think I sound like my grandmother; always going on about how it was when I was young and-

(Interviewer’s Notes(Pegasus): *ahem*)

Oh, yes, of course!

Thanks to how magically adept I was, my parents decided that it would be a good idea for me to enroll in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. It was... well, it was something of a birthday present to me... I’m a nerd... don’t judge me!

*ahem* ANYWAY!

I was always top of my class, so grades weren’t an issue, and I was the proper age, the only real issue was having to pass the entrance exam.

Hm? Why, yes, I was there when Applejack took hers; I was actually next in line for testing purposes since we’d both registered on the same day. The Sonic Rainboom was rather frightening, I will admit, but so was the insanity that followed it. Unicorns, magically potent ones anyway, can sense magic and large concentrations of mana; there was some in the Rainboom, I’m not going to deny it, but the thaumatic surges that started coming from the testing room put just about anything I’ve ever seen from a non-alicorn to shame. I didn’t even know what was happening, and it was rather frightening; even more so when I felt myself turn into a paper statue.

...oh... right... I never told Applejack that... these interviews are private, right?

Okay, good... I’d rather not have her know about that; it wasn’t really her fault, so I don’t think she needs to know about it. It would just make her feel guilty over something she had no control over.

Of course, even after things settled down, the testing center was still a wreck and the examiners were in no condition to objectively grade my performance. They were nice enough, however, to promise us an appointment once the repairs had been made though, since my parents had gone to the trouble of arranging it the first time. I was fine with that, personally; nerves can really affect your performance, and I didn’t want to attempt to follow up an Earth Pony that had bent the laws of magic to her whim. Plus, it gave me more time for research.

Since the dragon egg secret was out, I finally had a direction to focus my studies. Dragons, while patently fascinating, aren’t exactly something that’s been heavily researched; in fact, I think Celestia had to actually meet with Tiamat to get information about raising Spike until he was old enough to look out for himself and could be AJ’s assistant. However, if you know where to look, you can find information that can still apply to them.

There are a few other creatures in the world that are at least related, and it’s not hard to extrapolate what dragons would need to hatch from studying those creatures.

Fire drakes, while only distantly related to dragons, tend to live in similar environments, and have similar temperature tolerances. They also require a constant temperature of at least 600 degrees centigrade to hatch; that’s why fire drakes often nest close to volcanoes and other geologically active areas: for the extra heat. Then there are rock lizards; their eggs are hard as diamond and tougher than any metal we can produce right now, so they have grow a special horn while still developing and, when they reach a certain point, they start using it to wear down and weaken the eggshell from the inside. Then, there are the basilisks, whose eggs have their own magic and only hatch when certain conditions are met; there’s that old pony tale about them coming from a rooster egg hatched by a toad, but that’s been debunked by now. It’s actually a special enzyme in venom, which basilisks can produce at birth, that helps to weaken the eggs so they can be broken following development.

Granted, none of those are dragons, but they are at least related to them tangentially enough that certain information can be extracted from studying them.

So, when they had finally made the repairs, I walked in with about as much confidence as I could muster for the situation. I mean, it’s not everyday that you get a chance to get into the princess’s personal school! Of course, I had the unfair advantage of knowing what to expect, with the dragon egg and all, but I was still so nervous. I had no idea what their grading criteria were, nor what they were actually looking for when it came to trying to hatch the dragon egg. I mean, since there weren’t ponies walking around with dragon familiars, I figured that it wasn’t actually a requirement to pass the test; but, still, that did beg the question as to what the school - or the princess for that matter - was doing with dragon eggs in the first place.

Were they some sort of gifts from Tiamat? Did they get pony foals to adopt and raise by their standards? Was there a tribe of ponies in dragon territory that lived as dragons did and only ever saw other ponies when they were taken in as part of some sort of trade? Was it part of a plan on the princess’s part to acclimate the two species together so that Equestria and the dragons could somehow unite? Why did nopony know about it if that was the case?

(Interviewer’s notes(Pegasus): *Ahem*)

Right, right; over-thinking it! Sorry, it’s just something that I do; pretty much everyone except Shiny has called me on it at one time or another. Anyway, I was finally ready for my test, but I was still so incredibly nervous!

I mean, yes, I had prepared to the best of my knowledge and ability with the limited information that I had, but that simply wasn’t enough to make me calm. Not when it was a membership in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns on the line. I just wanted so badly to get in, to learn all that I could about magic; I can very truthfully say that it was the most stress I have ever felt regarding a test. It didn’t help that the information on dragons was, as I have stated, very limited in scope and most of what I was basing my hypotheses on was information related to other species.

There wasn’t time for any more hesitation, though, since I was standing with my parents in front of the examiners at long last.

The repairs had been pretty well done; there weren’t any real signs that a dragon had grown through the roof, or done serious structural damage to the floor in the process. Credit where it’s due, the contractors really know their stuff. Of course, my noticing that was likely a function of how nervous I was and my subconscious trying to focus on anything other than what I was supposed to be focusing on due to the stress it was causing me.

The instructors gave me the basic instructions, that I was to use any and all magical skills I possessed to hatch the dragon egg as it was wheeled in, then they all raised up some clipboards and I was immediately self-conscious.

My horn sparked when I tried to use it for the first time, which happens sometimes when a unicorn can’t fully concentrate on the spell they’re trying to cast at the time. That wasn’t too big a deal by itself, however, in a setting such as it was, it suddenly seemed like a big deal, even more so when the examiners started writing on their clipboards. I don’t normally do well when I’m put on the spot, and it was showing; if not for my parents giving my half-whispered words of encouragement, I probably would have just given up and run back to Smarty Pants and all my books. As it was, it was still a pretty close decision; I didn’t want to be there anymore, it just suddenly seemed too hard, and I couldn’t remember anything that I’d looked up, my mind was totally blank.

Thankfully, I managed to close my eyes and think at long last.

The first thing to come back to me was the information regard the fire drake eggs, so I started with that. Just about every unicorn foal can do a simple prestidigitation spell for altering the temperature of things, usually for cooling off something too hot to drink, or warming up some cold food, and this was just an extension of the basic concept. It was also quite a bit more draining, since I was trying to heat up the egg a lot more than just to make it warm enough to eat. However, before it could really have an effect that I saw, one of the examiners spoke up.

“Miss Sparkle, while the use of a heating spell to hatch the egg would - eventually - work, it would take far too long to be a viable method.” I was blushing after that, embarrassed over the whole thing, but I decided to keep going. I couldn’t imitate the enzyme that was in basilisk venom, so I was down to my last bit of research.

My telekinesis wasn’t the best at the time, I was still just a filly after all, but I would have to make do; this was my last shot at hatching the egg, time to put everything I had into it.

My horn glowed as I put up two telekinetic holds around each side of the egg and got ready to pull. But that was the easy part, now I had to emulate the egg tooth that rock lizards used to weaken their egg; I also had to hope that the dragon was fully developed, but I wasn’t thinking of that at the time... I probably should have been, but I was nervous and slightly panicky, it just slipped my mind is all.

There’s a spell, mostly used by unicorns in the guard, that’s got the unofficial name of ‘Magic Missile’; to not get overly technical, it’s a mass of thaumatic energy shaped into a projectile, then compressed so that it’s far denser than normal and finally launched in a direction of the caster’s choosing. It’s actually not the basic spell that guards are taught when they first join, it’s just the best known one for some reason. Either way, I’d been reading up on the guards, and that was one of the spells that I’d found that had the chance of weakening the shell enough for my telekinesis to pull it apart.

Now, the spell itself isn’t terribly complicated, I’d actually managed to cast it several times in the days leading up to this test as practice, but there was another problem now that it was actually in the moment. See, it might not be a pony, but it was still a child; I’ve been called... cold... by a lot of ponies from the way that I act, but I wasn’t going to risk the life of an unborn dragon just to pass a test.

I’d found out - in my research - that there was a spell that created a light inside of an egg to check on development. It was mostly used by exotic animal owners and traders that wanted to check and see how the would-be hatchlings were developing, but it would have been fine for what I was attempting.

Still holding onto both halves of the egg with my telekinesis, I concentrated a bit more. On some level, I was aware that the examiners were making a bit more noise than they had been before, but I couldn’t really spare much attention for anything beyond what I was already doing; good at magic or not, there was only so much I could actually do as a filly. Of course, when the egg didn’t light up, my concentration went away entirely.

From what I had researched, the spell should have worked, even if there was almost nothing really developed in the egg. I tried to cast it again, but the effect was the same, and I was getting somewhat annoyed. Something wasn’t adding up, and that was something of a pet peeve of mine. Before I’d even realized it, I was walking up to the egg myself to see why my spell - which I was sure was working - wasn’t having the effect that it should.

Of course, once I actually touched it... well....

“This is a rock.” It was pretty obvious once you actually touched it, it was too solid and rough, even for the egg of a rock lizard from what I’d read. And the semi-guilty looks on the examiners’ faces pretty much confirmed my thoughts.

One of them cleared their throat, apparently trying to end this quickly now that I had figured things out. “Well, we seem to have reached the end of this exam, thank you for your-”

“I still have 4 minutes.”

“Er... That is...” he was struggling to think of something to say now, I could almost see him sweating from my spot next to the cart. “We... uh... we-”

“What my associate is trying to say,” one of the others came to his aid, “is that - following the... incident several weeks ago - we don’t actually have a dragon egg any longer. More to the point, considering the damage that was caused by it, we feel it prudent to do our best to avoid such things from happening again. However, seeing as you have more time left in your exam, why don’t we discuss some of your choices?”

That was how the rest of my time was spent, going into detail about the various creatures I’d researched, as well as the spells that I’d looked up as part of that research. I have to say, it did feel good to talk about what I’d learned, even if I wasn’t the most social of ponies; we all have some environments where we’re most comfortable, explaining things just happens to be mine. Even if it hadn’t gone exactly like I had been expecting, I was reasonably pleased with how everything had turned out in the end.

“I hope I get in....” I said I was pleased with it, not that I was confident. It was still one of the biggest things that I’d ever attempted to do, and it still meant a lot to me.

“I don’t know about the school,” my dad ruffled my mane, “but, you did get something from all that.” I blinked a bit after that, and he nodded at my hindquarters. It’s somewhat embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t even notice that I’d received my Cutie Mark until he had pointed it out to me. Of course, I was pretty excited after what... I... sorta... bounced home after that... I was really happy, I wasn’t thinking!

(Interviewer’s Notes(Unicorn): No one is judging you, Miss Sparkle.)

Er... right, sorry about that, it’s just really embarrassing for me to admit I act like that sometimes....

Anyway, I’m sure AJ told you about the two of us meeting in school, so you already know that I did pass the entrance exam. And you know that I was her friend growing up, so I don’t want to reiterate what she’s already told you. And I assume she’s already told you about the Summer Sun Celebration as well.

(Interviewer’s Notes(Earth Pony): She told us part of it, but we were hoping you could tell us some more.)

Um... like what?

(Interviewer’s Notes(Unicorn): How about what happened after Miss Applejack and the rest of the future Elements of Harmony went into the Everfree?)

...that would work.

I have to admit, even if I knew she was fully capable of defending herself, and was still really nervous about her trotting off into that forest. Anypony sane would have been nervous, it’s the Everfree; ponies tell horror stories about that place! That just gave me all the more incentive to get back and send a letter to Shiny.

Of course, that was easier said than done once I made it back into town.

I really should have expected something like this: The princess had vanished, what amounted to the boogymare had appeared in her place, attacked the royal guards, and the sun wasn’t rising; if I didn’t have some sort of a plan in mind, I would be running around screaming my head off in fright. It shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was that pretty much all the town was doing just that.

I was almost bowled over when a pony galloped by, shouting apocalyptic sayings, and then ran off down the street. Even if they were getting a bit ahead of things, I couldn’t say they were wrong; Nightmare Moon’s magic was powerful, I’d had the... ‘honor’ of experiencing it firsthoof to know, but even it couldn’t maintain a land of eternal night. I’m not proud to admit that I was barely holding it together myself, and seeing the state the town was in didn’t help matters.

Ponies were screaming and running around; I counted at least twenty-three buildings that had been damaged by panicked ponies trying to grab something for what they thought was the end of the world, I could even hear some fights starting to break out over items that ponies felt were important. Several ponies screaming, and not the kind of screaming that came from being angry; ponies were hurt, and I didn’t know enough to do anything about it.

Time was a factor, of course, since I knew that Shiny would be leaving no matter what the situation; that was just the type of pony my brother was: Always following orders, even if the world really was ending. But, even knowing that... I couldn’t just do nothing. Like I said, I’m not like the other ponies say, I still care about others, even if I don’t... always show it. Either way though, if I was going to help them, then I would need help myself.

And, I would need a clear head.

Applejack liked to talk about farming, so I had started to research it a bit in my spare time; obviously, that had fallen to the wayside with the impending coming of Nightmare Moon, but I did still remember a few things. For instance: The flower of the passiflora plant acts as a natural sedative when ingested. Not a strong one, mind you, but enough of one that I could think a bit more calmly and clearly, and I remembered seeing one when AJ and I were running around with that preparation list, the problem was actually finding it again given the state of the town.

I galloped through the streets, dodging around the mobs and other ponies that were just running about in blind panic, it was almost scary how quickly civilized ponies could descend into the most basic of instincts when frightened. Of course, that quickly turned into fear for my own well-being when somepony nearly bucked me in the head as I was trying to run around them; not only were they scared, they were turning violent as well. I needed to find one of those flowers, now!

I finally spotted what I felt was the right building, though it was obviously damaged from all the madness that was happening around it. Thankfully, it also meant that the windows were an easy entrance for me.

Of course I felt guilty about basically breaking into a shop, but there were multiple extenuating circumstances at the time, and I couldn’t think clearly without something to calm me down. Though it didn’t occur to me that there might be somepony inside already.

“These are MY flowers!” I found myself thanking Shiny for all those times he’d dragged me out to play hoofball when we were foals, since I managed to move and brace myself when the other mare slammed into me. Still, she did knock me pretty far away when she hit; it made sense, since she was an Earth Pony when I got a look at her, but I at least managed to stay on my hooves. She was a dark magenta in color with a mane stuck between brown and blond with three lilies for her cutie mark, matching the one that that was in her hair; I really shouldn’t have been surprised that she worked with flowers. Of course, she also had the same crazed look about her as any other pony did when they got frightened.

“MINE!” I had to jump away as she tried to hit me with her forehooves, the found myself staggering back from a headbutt she’d managed to pull immediately afterward.

“Please,” I tried to get her to listen to me, “I just need a-” and immediately had to dodge a buck that probably would have left me with a cracked skull.

“THESE ARE MY FLOWERS, NOPONY ELSE’S!!!” She managed to rear up and I just barely managed to put up a shield to protect myself from her hooves coming down. Seemed that talking wasn’t going to get me much of anywhere with her in this state, I would have to be a bit more direct.

Still maintaining the shield as best I could to hold her off (she still hadn’t stopped trying to hit me), I attempted to telekinetically grab her and simply hold her aloft while I took what I needed. Only... I forgot something rather important....

This isn’t exactly common knowledge, since no unicorn wants to admit it, but... Earth Ponies - thanks to their magic being internalized - have a natural resistance to spells that affect them directly. It’s not much, only a 1:1.4 ratio as compared to other ponies, and can usually be overcome with a bit of effort, but I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. My telekinesis failed to lift her up, and my shield spell faltered thanks to the lapse in concentration that followed due to shock; again, it wasn’t much overall, but it was enough for a fear driven earth pony to shatter the spell and leave me vulnerable again.

“STAY!” She kicked at me and I just barely avoided it thanks to some lessons from Shining. “AWAY!” That one was too close for my liking, but I couldn’t concentrate enough to make another shield while she was pressuring me like she was. “FROM!” Now, her hooves managed to hit me, and that was pretty much it for my dodging around. “MY!” She reared up. “FLOW-”

And another pony suddenly slammed into her like a linebacker.

The newcomer was another Earth Pony, cream colored coat with a mane and tail two shades of pink and a Cutie Mark that was a single rose. She also seemed to be in a bit more control of herself than pretty much anypony I’d seen up until then, given that she was making an effort to only restrain the other pony right now. “Sorry, Lily,” she managed to get her forehooves around the first pony’s neck, “this is for your own good!” The two of them continued to struggle, but the pink pony was putting up less and less of a fight; eventually, she just passed out and the newcomer finally got off of her.

“Right then,” she turned to me, “what about you?” I’m... somewhat ashamed that I spent the entire time watching the fight when I could have been getting the passiflora flower, but there was nothing I could do about that now that the moment had passed. Instead, I just shook my head and pointed at the very flowers that I had come here to acquire.

“P-passion Flower; it-it’s a natural sedative, I need it to-” I couldn’t get it out before the stranger had managed to snag one and stuffed it into my mouth. I chewed it up, making sure that I swallowed all the juices and the chewed up flower itself. It was pretty fast acting, since I could already feel my body relaxing and my heart-rate slowing down, and a deep breath took care of the rest. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, now, how’s about you fill me in on what’s going on?” That was about the first time I noticed her accent; it was similar to the Trottingham area, but I couldn’t entirely place it. “I was in the town hall, you knew about the boogeymare showing up, and you had a lot of answers nopony else seemed to; time to clue me in.”

That would have taken far longer than I was comfortable with, especially give the state of the town at the moment. “The passiflora, I need to get them to other ponies. They need to calm down before they hurt themselves or something worse. Please, I can explain to you, but I have to help them!”

“Well, grab some and let’s get started.” She was already grabbing a saddlebag for herself and filling it with the flowers. “Lily’s going to be out for a while, don’t think she’ll mind too much until then. You got a plan?”

It was rather... odd; she didn’t know what was going on, but she was acting like she did and seemed to have more than a little experience with being a leader. Still, I’d never been in much of a position where I’d had much experience with leadership myself, so I found myself falling into line pretty quickly. “Um, the mayor; she might be able to get everypony to listen to her.”

“Maybe,” the Earth Pony mare finally finished filling her saddlebags and a few extra satchels, “but we’re still gonna need some help. I know a few ponies that might still be thinking straight, so we’ll go get them first. Roseluck, by the way,” she tossed her name out like an afterthought, “what’s yours?”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

“Nice to meet ya, Twilight; now, grab a bag and some flowers, we’ve got a lot of ponies to force feed.”

Even though I still remembered the path we took through town prior to all this (no, I don’t have a photographic memory, just a very good one), Roseluck was moving with a purpose and seemed to actually have a direction in mind, so I ended up following her as I attempted to explain the situation as best I could.

“So, you’re telling me that- not only is Nightmare Moon the real deal- your friend and some other ponies all went into the Everfree to find some magical trinkets that may or may not actually exist or be there and those are the only chance we’ve got of seein’ the sun again. That about right?”

“They’re not ‘magical trinkets’, they’re the Elements of Harmony, and they’re the most powerful magical artifacts that are mentioned in history!”

“Sure he’s involved somehow,” I heard her mutter, “it’s right up his alley.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“That’s not important right now,” she suddenly turned down a side-street, “we’re nearly there; just a heads up, the friend we’re going to is a bit... well, let’s just call her ‘eccentric’ and leave it at that.”

A bit more abruptly than I had been expecting, she skidded to a stop in front of one of the houses and I only just managed to pull back before I hit her. “Wha-”

“This is her house.” Roseluck was already on her way up to the door, digging out a flower to balance it on her hoof as she went. “Now, let’s see if the reflexes are as good as ever, and if you’re right about these flowers.”

I opened my mouth to say that I was, only for her to suddenly slam her shoulder against the door. The door violently burst open, a cream colored Earth Pony charging out with a shout and looking ready to do some serious damage to the two of us.

Or, she would have, had Roseluck not suddenly shoved the flower right into her screaming mouth.

The shock was all that was needed, even if it wasn’t all that good for her; some minor chewing was all she managed to do before reflexes took over and she gulped down the Passion Flower. Through the combination of the shock of having something forced into her mouth and the natural sedative of the flower, she slowly came down from her violent rage, looking at the two of us with some minor confusion. “...huh?”

“Hey, Bonny,” Roseluck slipped off one of the satchels she’d filled up and tossed it to her, “suit up, we’ve got work to do.”

The other mare blinked, but managed to catch the the satchel. She stared at Roseluck, then looked at me, and finally slipped the strap over her neck. “I’m trusting that there’s an explanation in here at some point.”

“Yeah, but first, mind telling us why Lyra isn’t out here with you?”

“Well, Tootsie was going to be staying at a friend’s house tonight, since she’s never been able to stay up all night, but - when that mare showed up - Lyra went of to get her.”

Now it was my turn to look confused. “I think we’re both going to need an explanation for this...”

Thankfully, we could both explain as we ran. I filled Bonbon in on the Elements of Harmony, as well as Nightmare Moon, and she explained a few things to me: Lyra was her wife of some years, Tootsie Flute was their adoptive daughter who had elected to spend the night with a friend and Lyra had gone to get her following everything that happened in the town hall. Needless to say, both of us had our reasons for hurrying after Roseluck through the streets.

“How are you taking this so calmly?” I finally asked Roseluck as we galloped, I actually noticed her smiling a few times. Just what was wrong with this mare?

“Trade secret, Twilight.” That smile turned into a smirk just before she turned the corner. “Maybe you’ll learn it someday.”

I didn’t have an adequate response to that, so I just followed Roseluck around the corner; I was then summarily tackled by another pony immediately afterward. Another earth pony (I was starting to realize they were the majority here), but a stallion this time.

...why are you chuckling?

Huh? Did I wh-

*GASP*

THERE IS A CHILD PRESENT! You don’t ask things like that!

(Interviewer’s Notes(Earth Pony): I don’t get it.)

Good! You’re too young to understand! Honestly, the nerve of some ponies...

(Interviewer’s Notes(Unicorn): As you were saying, Miss Sparkle?)

*Ahem* Yes, quite.... Anyway!

I was tackled by the stallion and knocked to the ground; this was something I’d expected though, and was why I had been so intent on getting the Passion Flowers before anything else.

My magic was very precise, something I do like to pride myself on, grabbing a flower and directing it into his mouth wasn’t all that difficult, even given the circumstances. After that, it was a matter of simply holding his nose to force him to swallow it and letting the chemicals in the flower take care of the rest. It wasn’t even held down for half a minute before he was off me and helping me back to my hooves with an apology.

“No time for that,” I telekinetically shifted one of the extra satchels to him, “we need to get these to other ponies.” I don’t know where that sudden bit of confidence came from, but it might have had something to do with Roseluck’s presence giving me someone to model myself after. Either way, it got a salute out of him and sent him off to force-feed some of the other ponies that were still in their blind panic. Bonbon had been doing the same, though she usually just knocked down anypony that came too close to her and shoved the flower into their mouth, and Roseluck just seemed to be treating the whole thing like she was in the middle of a hoofball game.

I swear, I saw her smiling at one point.

Of course, I wasn’t the most physically fit of ponies; the life of a bookworm tended to not improve one’s endurance. “How much longer until we get to this friend’s house?” It felt like I had been running from one side of the town to the other, and all the ponies we had been encountering weren’t making it any easier on me.

“Ditzy’s house is just around the next bend,” Bonbon finally let another pony up following the flower meal, “just be glad she doesn’t live in a cloud house.”

Cloud house, so she was a pegasus then; I hadn’t met too many of those in my life, only five, and two of them were from earlier today. I’m... somewhat ashamed to admit there was a small part of my mind that thought of taking the time we had to learn more about their own inherent magic, see if it could be used like Applejack had somehow managed to use her’s, but I managed to repress it.

I may crave knowledge, but there’s a time and a place for everything, and in the middle of a town-wide riot while my best friend was risking her life was neither.

Thankfully, my little mental lapse went unnoticed by the other two and we continued on; Roseluck was still showing a lot of skills that made me wonder what she did when she wasn’t working with flowers, and Bonbon was determined to get to her daughter no matter who was in her way. I just did my best to keep up with them; I still don’t know how I kept finding it in me to push myself like I was, I just knew that - as long as they were still running - I’d be doing the same.

The house we were looking for wasn’t too much farther, as Roseluck had said, but it still took us far longer than it should have thanks to all the ponies that we were forced to force-feed to clear a path. We did, eventually, make it through, but Bonbon was getting rather worried about her wife and daughter by that point. I can’t say I blame her, given the state of the town at the time, but I lacked the necessary experience to comfort her at the time, so I just made sure to stay out of the way when we got within sight of our destination.

“LYRA!” Bonbon took off at full gallop and left Roseluck and I to clear the general area. Thankfully, as herd animals, ponies tend to stick with a group when they revert to their baser instincts; even with all that insanity around town, the end of the street would be clear for some time yet.

I honestly expected Bonbon to kick the door in when she got to it, considering how she had been acting, but she simply picked a rock up from in the garden and retrieved a key from beneath it. It’s actually rather interesting to watch earth pony dexterity in action; I’d see some of it in the time I spent with Applejack, but she still uses telekinesis at least as often as she manipulates things with her mouth and hooves. Bonbon and Roseluck were my first real experiences with Earth Ponies doing complex actions without any magic, and I did feel a tiny urge to study the process in a more controlled setting, but I pushed it aside like I had with my pegasus curiosity.

Again: Time and place.

Either way, once the door was opened, the three of us were greeted by a mint-green unicorn with a white and pale-green tail and mane. There was some part of me that recognized her from back in Canterlot, but that part was easily silenced by the part that noticed she was holding a rather large rolling pin in her magical grip that even Bonbon recoiled from.

“Put that thing away, Lyra,” Roseluck just pushed the other earth pony aside and showed no fear of the weaponized culinary instrument, “it’s just us.”

Lyra, whom I had to assume this was, blinked a bit and looked around somewhat nervously. I found myself subconsciously reaching out with my magic for another of my (somewhat dwindling) supply of flowers, but she finally lowered the pin and took a breath before she snapped.

“Bonbon.” She all but threw herself onto the earth pony, suddenly looking very drained now that she wasn’t riding the fear. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.” Bonbon reached up and patted her on the back with a hoof, much more tender than I had seen her act since our rushed meeting not long previous.

“Lyra, Tootsie, is she…”

The unicorn nodded, hugging her a moment longer before she finally pulled away. “She’s inside with Dinky.” Her golden eyes glanced over Roseluck, then finally moved on to myself. “Who’s she?”

I opened my mouth to give my name, but was cut off by Roseluck. “A friend, who’s helping get things back in order here.”

That wasn’t the first time I’d heard that word since I’d come to this town, especially whenever Pinkie Pie had been around, but… I’m trying to think of how I want to phrase this, and if it’s the correct way to do so.

I had friends… I mean… there was Applejack, she was my friend. And I certainly was… aware of other ponies, it’s not like I was completely isolated from society. And, it wasn’t like I had anything against other ponies either; I just… well, I usually had other things to do.

It was finally starting to dawn on me, just how close-knit this small town was, and the fact Roseluck was calling me a friend…

I know I probably seemed overly standoffish and hostile when I first came to town, and I probably was, but I was more concerned with trying to find a way to stop Nightmare Moon. When I’m focused on a task, I tend to exclude all other things due to wanting to get the task done; this can include, much to my regret, things like politeness and even basic etiquette. I never mean for them to happen, they just… do, and there isn’t really all that much I’ve been able to do to compensate for it.

At that point, however, having Roseluck call me a friend… it just felt… right.

And Lyra, she just seemed to take the idea at face value. “Okay then, is there a plan?”

“More of one than usual,” Roseluck replied with a chipper tone. “We’re trying to get to the mayor’s office and see if she can help us out keeping this place in one piece. The flowers are part of that; pass her a bag, Twi.” I blinked at the nickname, since it was usually Applejack using it, but tossed her one of the few flower satchels I had left. “Right then, let’s get going.”

“What about Dinky and Tootsie though?”

“Ditzy isn’t here?”

Lyra shook her head as she slipped the bag into place. “I saw her leaving just as I got here, with that one pony.”

“Mommy’s doctor friend came by to get her,” I looked passed Lyra, to see a unicorn foal with a mostly gray coat that was tinged with purple and a blonde mane and tail. She couldn’t have been older than Applejack’s sister, if that, and she seemed rather calm for the whole situation. “He said you would be along in a bit, Miss Heartstrings, and you were!”

“Doctor?” I questioned, “what doctor?”

“I’m sure you’ll meet him eventually, Twi,” Roseluck chuckled slightly, “you seem the type.”

Bonbon’s face took on a decidedly sour look. “And you’ll regret every moment of it.”

“Speak for yourself, Bonny,” Roseluck nudged her with an elbow, “I enjoyed it more than anything I’ve done before or since.”

“Can we get back to the matter at hoof?” Lyra managed to get between the two of them before they could derail the conversation entirely. “What are we going to do about Tootsie and Dinky?”

“W-well,” it wasn’t my best start, but it got their attention, “you and Bonbon could stay and watch them, while Roseluck and I go-”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” I blinked a few more times as Lyra interrupted me, even more so when I finally processed what she’d said. “Just the two of you on your own with the town as crazy as all this? Yeah, that’s not going to end well, no matter how confident Roseluck thinks she is.”

I blinked at that, but couldn’t think of an adequate response without flatly ignoring the statistical facts. It was a simple truth of the matter: Two ponies had a significantly reduced chance as compared to four, even considering what I was suddenly thinking was our only option.

“Well… then I guess you’ll have to come with us… all four of you.”

Yeah… you can imagine how well the idea of taking her daughter out into the streets appealed to Bonbon, and even Lyra didn’t look too happy about it. I’ll spare you hearing what was said to and about me afterward, but there really wasn’t another option that any of us could see. We eventually settled on the idea of keeping the two foals between us at all times; Roseluck at the front thanks to her familiarity with the area, Lyra and Bonbon on either side to make sure nothing happened to them, and myself bringing up the rear so that I could help them if they tripped.

My magic is very precise, it is quite capable of putting a foal back on its hooves.

Once we had everything settled, and had retrieved Tootsie Flute from the house, it was going to be pretty much a straight gallop off to the town hall, to see if we could find the mayor. We were all ready with what remained of our flower supply, so it was just a short countdown for the benefit of Dinky and Tootsie before we were off and running.

We ran into several ponies along the way, all of whom we were quick to force-feed flowers, but the number - compared to not so very long ago - seemed to be significantly less than I was expecting. Indeed, as we got closer to the town hall, we actually stopped encountering any ponies that tried to jump us, and it wasn’t long after that we discovered why.

Around the town hall, ponies were running back and forth, the majority of them either carrying ponies that bore some sort of injury on their backs, or leading foals to ponies that greeted them with tight hugs and kisses. The four of us were immensely confused, until I spotted something on one of the ponies that seemed to be directing things: A set of saddlebags.

Apparently, while we had been sending ponies off, they had listened to our comments about the town hall and finding the mayor. Town hall had becoming something of a makeshift hospital and day care, with foals that couldn’t find their parents being taken care of by several ponies, I even recognized Applejack’s grandmother among the latter.

Lyra and Bonbon eventually joined that group, taking Tootsie and Dinky with them, and Roseluck was moving towards the cots set up for injured ponies, apparently she had spotted Lily and wanted to check on her.

I simply went to speak with the mayor, and make sure everything was under control before I left to send the letter to my brother. I wasn’t expecting to suddenly have ponies applauding me as I stepped forward; not a loud applause, since this was still a very somber time all things considered, but it was enough to get the attention of others, who joined in a moment later. I have to say… it was rather disconcerting to be put on the spot like that. I’m not used to being the center of attention, I’m more used to being left to my own devices while Applejack is the one everypony focuses on for whatever reason.

I did my best to not look as nervous as I felt, but it was an act I could already tell I wouldn’t be able to maintain for an extended period of time.

Still, the mayor’s smile when she walked up to me was some measure of comfort.

“I understand we have you to thank for helping our town pull itself together.” I was suddenly struck by how… young she looked. They say that being a leader ages you, but I just couldn’t see it with her, outside of her hair color; she clearly had signs of long term stress, likely unavoidable, but she just looked… happy, I suppose. I mean, she was clearly not enjoying the situation like Roseluck was, but she seemed to be handling it with the efficiency and poise of one who was… well, to borrow a phrase from Rarity, ‘in the zone’.

I, on the other hoof, was having hard time doing anything but look at my own hooves as they shuffled around. “I- I just helped a bit.”

“‘A bit’ nothing,” Roseluck was back now, throwing a hoof around my shoulder, “this whole thing was her idea!”

“We-well, I- I’m sure that anypony could have done it,” I tried to deflect the attention away from me, but Roseluck simply wouldn’t have that.

“If anypony coulda done it, then you wouldn’t have needed to, give yourself a bit of credit Twi!” She pushed her hoof into my mane and ruffled it, which I immediately tried to fix to not look like a complete idiot in front of so many ponies.

“Either way,” the mayor interrupted us, “Ponyville owes you deeply for what you’ve done tonight, Miss, and we thank you for it.”

I paused, not sure of what to say to that, but all that came to mind (and all I eventually said) was a simple “You’re welcome.” Still, the mayor seemed satisfied with that and walked away to perform other duties. I was starting to feel rather good about myself, until I happened to spot something that made me freeze up where I stood.

Due to the sun not rising, some ponies had brought out a clock to tell the time; it was well after seven in the morning, the time when my brother’s flight out of the country would have departed.

I started to panic, thinking that - thanks to my delays in helping everypony else - I had failed Applejack and doomed all of Equestria. I was already berating myself mentally, when I felt a hoof tap me on the back.

It was one of the nurse ponies, an earth pony mare with a white coat and a red cross for her Cutie Mark. “Miss?” she questioned, “I just wanted to thank you, personally. If it hadn’t been for you, a lot of these ponies could have been left with some pretty crippling injuries before we could have ever got to them, and I’m not sure some of them would have survived. Thank you, I know we just met, but… if you ever need something, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. I owe you that much for helping my patients.”

She walked away, back to her duties, and I was left standing there.

‘Regret it’? ...there are days that I do wonder how things would have gone if I had taken care of that letter to Shiney first, then gone to help everypony; maybe things would have turned out different, maybe they wouldn’t have… but… do I regret helping all those ponies?

No, I can’t say I do.

Thank you for your time, but that’s pretty much all I have to say right now.

(Interviewer’s notes(Unicorn): That’s quite alright, Miss Sparkle, you’ve said all you need to.)

Seeds of Magic 1/4

Greetings, and I thank you for this meeting. It has long been a dream of mine to have my story written down so that others may find inspiration from it, I merely lacked the time. Now then, I am the Personal student of Princess Celestia, Element of Magic and Leader of the Elements of Harmony, Abigail Jac-

Hm? I don’t need to talk so formally here?

…

In that case, y’all can call me ‘Applejack’! Nice ta meet ya!

Dragon-of-Twilght presents:

A Pony POV Series side-story:

Seeds of Magic; Part 1 of 4

Yer not the first, to look that surprised I mean.

The accent’s bad enough fer most o’ these here Canterlot ponies, ‘s why I learned to talk all fancy-like from mah Aunt and Uncle Orange. I dun care what some o’ the other Apples say, thems good ponies and still family; some of it’s even stuck, y’all shoulda heard me growing up if ya think this is a thick accent. Y’all shoulda seen how proud they were when I told’em what I’d done. Uncle Orange darned near broke my back he hugged me so hard, and all those fancy dresses o’er there in mah closet? Half o’ them are presents Aunt Orange bought fer me outta pocket; boy howdy, she gives Rarity a run fer her element some days.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of mahself; I’ll still probably tell ya about mah family, gonna have to really, but let’s take this one step at a time. I didn’t ask fer this just to talk about mah family tree (though that could be a book all on its own), this is about mah story. Hopefully, some other Earth Pony’ll read this and try to be something more than they thought they could; or maybe some Unicorn or Pegasus’ll do the same.

Yeah, I know what some of the magazines say about me: ‘Pride of the Earth Pony race’, ‘Herald of a New Era’, ‘The Unicorn Without a Horn’, ‘Canterlot’s Most Eligible Bachelorette’; yeah, even that one. They all make me out t’be some ‘Savior’ o’ Earth Ponies; but, really, I dun care about who I inspire. Now that I’m actually doing it, I know just how hard magic like this actually is, and I can’t imagine Pegasus stuff is any easier. That’s about the only thing I really regret though: Everypony and their brother is making this huge fuss o'er me and mah friends ain’t gettin’ nothin’; they worked hard to get where they are, same as I did!

Um... sorry; didn’t mean to shout like that. It’s just... mah friends, they mean a lot to me; and I dun like how everypony thinks that I’m better then them just cause I do what I do... it just doesn’t seem fair to them.

...no, no, I’m okay now; sorry about that, got all caught up in mah emotions there. Can’t turn back now, this is why I called ya here: To make sure all mah friends get the credit they deserve; sorry fer rambling about all that other stuff, lets get to this!

Okay, it all started during the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration, I’d gone to Ponyville because-

Huh? ‘Earlier than that’? Whatcha gettin’ at there, Missy?

...back when I first started gettin’ into magic; that’s it, ain’t it?

*sigh* I suppose there’s no helpin’ it; can’t really help inspire other ponies without lettin’em know how it happened with me. Okay, I’ll tell ya about me first, then we’ll explain how my friends helped me.

Back when I was still a young’in, didn’t even have mah Cutie Mark yet, I was horsin’ around on the farm. I’d told Macintosh (he weren’t too ‘big’ back then) and Granny Smith about wanting to visit Aunt and Uncle Orange a couple o’ days before and they weren’t none too happy about it, but they said they’d think about it. Still, I figured I’d still get in some apple bucking before I went, one last yee-haw before I was gone fer good.

It wasn’t really harvest time yet, I was just messin’ around; Macintosh’d come along to play too and was showin’ me how it was done. There’s always a few dead trees fer practice.

“Yer buckin’ too hard, AJ,’ he told me, ‘’s not ‘bout how hard ya hit, it’s where ya hit it.” Every kick o’ his just seemed to shake the whole danged tree; me, I could barely get some twitches out of it.

“Ah’m trying, Macintosh!” I was just kickin’ an kickin’, but nothin’ seemed to work. “Ain’t no kick from me gonna buck any apples.”

“Yer jus’ not used ta it,” he said, “Ah’ll show ya how it’s done.” He pulled his legs up an’ kicked the tree so hard the both o’ us heard something crack. ‘Course, when we looked up, we didn’ see nothin’ fallin’, so we kinda just fergot about it.

“Ya see? Ya gotta hit the trunk right in the middle and with both o’ your hooves at the same time. ‘Kay? Git it? Now you try.”

He moved off to the side and I pulled back fer another go at the tree. Problem was, even with all the tips in the world, I weren’t nothin’ more than a little filly who hadn’t really built her strength up too much at the time. I did better, fer sure, but not enough to do much more than make it shiver just a bit. “Dagnabbit! I ain’t never gonna git it right; maybe I’ll do better in Manehatten.”

Lookin’ back, I can tell that was probably why what happened next happened; family is important to the Apples, and Macintosh weren’t no different. Musta figured that, if I learned to buck, I’d stay instead’a leave. “Give it one more go, AJ, Ah know ya can do it.”

Never could say no to him when he looked all sad like he was, I think Apple Bloom learnt it from him growin’ up. Anyway, I went to buck again, and- while I was lookin’ the other way- so did he; he managed to hit at the same time as me and the whole danged tree shook like it was stormin’.

“AH DID IT! AH DID IT!” I was all bouncin’ and happy, so was Mac, then, we heard that crackin’ sound again and looked up.

Near as I can tell, one o’ the larger branches on the tree had rotted and all o’ our buckin’ managed to break it. ‘Course, at the time, all I saw was about half a tree comin’ down on me.

Now, y’all’ll probably hear ponies talk about how ‘I shoulda just moved’ or ‘why did Mac just stand around?’ All o’ them don’ know nothin’; when it happening right in front o’ ya, ya don’ really think as fast as ya should.

I did move some, but not quick enough; a branch about the size o’ a support beam landed right on me. I felt a lot o’ things break, especially in one o’ back legs; but, after that... it gets a bit foggy. I know I was cryin’, and Mac was hollarin’ fer Granny Smith, but after that, nothin’.

Doctors said I passed out from all the pain and I believe’em; I ain’t never felt pain like that afere or since, and I don’ want to neither.

Darnest thing too, while I was out, I was dreamin’; or rememberin’, I guess. It weren’t nothin’ fancy, just a meal with me, Macintosh, Ma and Pa all sittin’ at the table and talkin’. I don’ even think it was that important, we were just talkin’ about whether or not to make some apple fritters fer dessert, but it was a happy memory. Made me remember just why I liked the farm in the first place: It’s where I really learned what it meant to be a family....

Next thing I knew, I was layin’ on a bed in Ponyville Hospital; one o’ the unicorn doctors there was standin’ o’er me with his horn glowin’. “Oh thank Celestia, she’s waking up. Applejack, Applejack; can you hear me? Just nod, or move your hoof or something to show you can-”

“Doc, yer givin’ me a headache.” Yeah, it was rude, but I weren’t feeling too good at the time and, well, he kinda was givin’ me a headache. Though it was more o’ ‘Everything-ache’, since I couldn’t find no part of me that didn’t hurt just a bit; mah leg, the right one on the back, it was the worst. I didn’t have to move it to make it hurt, and the few times I did made it even worse.

“Sorry about that, Applejack,” the doctor used his horn to pick up a clipboard and looked at it, “you gave us quite the scare fer a while. You’ve been out fer nearly three days.”

Let me tell ya, that there was quite a shock fer me, the doctor could tell just by lookin’ at me. “Indeed, we were starting to worry you’d never wake up. It’s a miracle you survived that accident.”

While I was glad o’ that, I was sorta lookin’ to get back to work. ‘Cause o’ the dream, I felt like I should just stay on the farm and help out. “Thanks doc, can ya get me outta here, Ah have buckin’ to do.”

The doctor... well, he just looked down at the floor; like he’d heard something similar from ponies who just didn’t want to face the truth. “I’m sorry... You won’t be doing any bucking with that injury... ever again.”

Celestia as mah witness, I swear I felt something inside me break then and there.

“W-WHAT?!” I made the mistake o’ movin’ and paid fer it when my leg moved too and I felt just how badly it was broken, but I didn’ care; I just pointed at his horn, thinking it would solve all mah problems. “U-use your magic or s-something!”

He just shook his head at this, looking even sadder. “I’m sorry. I’m a doctor, not a miracle worker. The techniques to repair this kind of damage simply don’t exist yet. Medical magic is ten or twenty years away from that.”

I slumped in the bed, not caring about the pain I still felt in mah leg. “T-That’s ... that’s not fair.”

The doctor put a hoof on my shoulder, but could only say ‘I’m sorry’ again.

Granny Smith and Macintosh came in after that, but I weren’t really in the mood to talk; ‘specially with Macintosh. I don’ like to admit it, but- at the time- I sorta... blamed Macintosh fer what happened. It weren’t really his fault, there was no way he coulda known, but I was young and I felt like everything had to have somepony to blame fer it. They just talked about how they hoped I got better soon, Macintosh said he was sorry, but I didn’ listen to any o’ it. I was just so... angry; all I could think about was how unfair it was, that I couldn’t do the one thing I’d decided I wanted to do just because o’ some accident.

I was only in the hospital a few days, us earth ponies can really spring back, but I still ended up havin’ to be carted home by Macintosh. I probably coulda walked, at least into the house from the porch, but I didn’ want to; honestly, I didn’t want to do much o’ anythin’ but just lay there fer the rest o’ mah life. Yeah, it was stupid, o’ course it was stupid; but hindsight is 20/20, I thought mah life was as good as o'er at the time and didn’ care what happened from then on.

“Welcome home, AJ.” Macintosh was still trying to get me back to mah ole self, and I was still basically bein’ nothin’ but a big ole jackpony about it.

“Whatever.” I drug mahself o'er to mah bed and just flopped out on it, face down in the pillow. I don’t really remember much o’ what happened after that; Macintosh tried to make some conversation, but I just grunted and tried to ignore him.

“Ah’ll bring up some food once Granny gets it cooked up, kay?” I didn’ say anythin’, wasn’t really all that hungry, but he could be as stubborn as me sometimes; he brought it up a few hours later, but I just nibbled at it to make him go away.

That’s pretty much how I spent the better part o’ three months; just layin’ in that bed lookin’ at mah ceiling. Actually found time to count the knots in the wood- there’s 6 o’ ‘em, by the way- but never really moved; they even had to help me to the bathroom, and I didn’t even have it in me to be embarrassed by that.

Anyway, one day, mah brother came in about lunchtime with the usual grub; but there was somethin’ else on the tray.

“What's this thing?” I picked it up and gave it a once o'er, vaguely rememberin’ somethin’ like it from when Ma and Pa were still around.

Macintosh looked at me with an eyebrow cocked. “It’s called a book.” From the tone he took, ya’d have he was talking to a foal... don’ gimme that look! Y’all know what I mean!

Either way, I weren’t too interested in no book. “I don't want it,” I shoved the thing away and turned mah back to him.

But, like I said, Macintosh could be as stubborn as me when he wanted. He picked it up and dropped it on the other side of the bed, right in front o’ me again. "But you need it."

I pushed it hard enough to throw it against the wall, gettin’ angry with him. “It won’t make my leg better.” It was a low blow, I knew that, he still blamed himself fer causing the accident, and so did I sometimes. I still don’ like to admit that, it weren’t fair to him, but it is what it is, nothing in the world can change what happened.

Still, even hit hard, Macintosh didn’ give up without a fight; or, at least, a final jab. “But it might make you better.”

I gotta tell ya, that bit stung something fierce; granted, I probably deserved it fer what I’d said to him, but it still hurt. To hear yer own brother say something like that... it ain’t like when some stranger talks down to ya, that ya can just ignore and hold yer head high because they don’ know the real you. But Macintosh did know the real me, if he thought there was somethin’ wrong with me....

That’s probably why I ended up pickin’ up the darned thing in the first place; just to take mah mind off how much it hurt. Weren’t nothing too fancy, just one o’ them ‘Darin’ Do’ books; gotta tell ya, they got away with some pretty dark stuff fer books meant fer colts and fillies.

Weren’t too sure about readin’ a book about some pegasus; didn’t really hate ‘em persay, just... well, when yer whole life had been spent waitin’ on rain that didn’t always come, there was a bit o’ bitterness that tended to crop up. I gotta tell ya, though, them books are some o’ the best I ever read; and I’ve read a lot o’ books. Didn’ even realize that time was passin’, I just sat there readin’ it and occasionally munched on some o’ the food; then, Macintosh came back.

“Huh; ya actually ate yer food this time.” I looked up and was just plain surprised that he was right; fer the first time in a long time, I’d eaten everythin’ he’d brung me. “Seems that book helped after all.”

I just looked at it. “Yeah... Ah guess it did.”

After that, things started to get a lot better; I’d read a book every meal, and I’d finish everything on the plate. I actually started to get back to mah old size, not eatin’ too much befere then had really slimmed me down somethin’ fierce. Then, I just started readin’ more and more; the books were just... well, I couldn’t run or jump around anymore, so they let me remember what it was like, ya know?

Got to the point that, once those books were done, I actually started readin’ the borin’ books. It weren’t as to make sense of them, but I still tried. Took me longer then I’m gonna admit to make it through Macintosh’s math books, never had much o’ head fer numbers, but I’m every bit the stubborn earth pony they say I’m am in Canterlot; I finished them eventually, and some o’ Granny’s old romance novels, got to the point that I’d read pretty much every book in the house.

“You got any more books from the library today big brother?” He’d been promisin’ to get me the next Daring Do book as soon as it came out, and I’d heard it was due any day.

“A few more actually.” He pulled a saddlebag off and put it next to me on the bed. “Ya know the librarian is lookin’ to retire in a few years.”

“Really?” I was still pretty young, still didn’t even have a Cutie Mark, but it was always good to have a plan. I loved books by then, and probably read most o’ the library anyway, so workin’ there just made sense to me. But there was one thing that put a bit of a stitch in mah giddy-up.

I’d stopped being a complete layabout by then, I could hobble around to get the the bathroom and back by mahself, but this was an entirely different haybale. I had to learn to walk again.

Well, not entirely, I knew how to walk; but I had barely used mah leg since it got ruined. It just hurt so badly to walk on it, even moving it weren’t too fun; but, like I said, stubborn earth pony. I would walk, no matter how much it hurt.

Managed to rope Macintosh into it, but I think he was just glad to see me doing something again. I could stand on three legs just fine, the problem was walkin’ with them; every time I’d go to take a step, I’d have to basically hop with half mahself. Works fer gettin’ to and from the bathroom, but anythin’ more than that is just too much. I had to work on how much it hurt to use mah leg; I had some pills from the doc, but they didn’ really do all that much when I put weight on it. Hay, first time I tried to actually walk, I pulled mah leg up while I was still using it and fell flat on mah side.

Hurt like Tartarus too, since that meant hittin’ mah leg on the floor.

I’m not gonna lie, I thought about just givin’ up then and there, but Macintosh weren’t havin’ any o’ that; his baby sister was finally actin’ like her ole self, so he wouldn’t let go o’ that without a fight.

“Come on, AJ, git up and we’ll try again.” He pushed me to mah hooves and stood next to me. “Just across the room, you can do it.” He matched me almost step fer step, right up until I got ready to put my bad hoof down; I started to put weight on it, and it jerked right back up. Thankfully, I only ended up leaning against Macintosh this time. “Push yerself, AJ; ya never let somethin’ git in yer way before now.” That actually made me glare at him, since I was pretty sure he’d never had to deal with this much pain just standing.

I put mah foot down again, grittin’ mah teeth and fighting to not just pull it up again. Took me nearly a minute, but I finally managed somethin’ that looked like a step anyway. Hurt almost as bad as the branch fallin’, and I almost fell o'er from how much it took outta me, but I still did it and was pleased as punch about it. Of course, it still took us o’er twenty minutes to get from one side of the room to the other, but that was the start of me walkin’ again and I treated it like I’d just won a marathon; it was about tiring as one too....

Took me another month before I could walk by mahself; and even then, I still had a limp that wasn’t going to go away. Still do have it, actually; every doc I’ve talked to tells me it’s always gonna be there since the bones healed wrong or somethin’. But it was enough to get me ta the library; didn’t much care fer all the starin’ they were doin’, but can’t say I blame ‘em either. Not every day ya see a filly with a limp, probably could help but feel sorry fer me, but I didn’ really care; I had places to be and I wasn’t gonna just hide away from the world anymore.

Thankfully, I made it to the library on my own- even though I saw Macintosh followin’ me, don’t tell him- and sat down with the librarian. She was a nice ole unicorn, ya kinda remind me o’ her, ma'am, but she was gettin’ on in her years; it was just gettin’ hard fer her to keep goin’.

Anyway, talkin’ with her was actually kinda fun; she really knew her stuff about books, even had a cutie mark in it and was a published author. I told her what I was lookin’ to do, and she seemed all for it; just had to wait fer my to get a bit older. Until then, she’d be teachin’ me everything she knew about runnin’ the library whenever I could stop on by fer a visit.

Yeah, I didn’t really have much else to do, so I was there a lot.

That’s actually how I found out about Princess Celestia’s school; turns out, she taught there herself. The princess don’t have enough hours in her day to meet and teach every pony that goes there, there are other teachers that teach some o’ the other students; I’m the exception, not the rule.

But she had been one of the teachers when she was younger, taught advanced magical theory and could go on for a long time once you got her started. She was the one the first got me interested in magic and what it could do; took away a lot of misconceptions I had ‘bout it too, like that it wasn’t any effort. She was always struggling to lift the heavier books with her telekinesis, like I would’ve if I’d been able-bodied; and anything too advanced would leave her needin’ to sit down for a while, like Granny Smith when she did too much fer her age.

Still, all she had to say, it got me really interested in that school... maybe a bit too interested. Once I found out that you could just apply for it, I actually begged Granny and Macintosh to take me to Canterlot so I could apply; they both tried to tell me that it wasn’t going to work, but I didn’ wanna hear it. I just begged and begged and begged them until they finally agreed to take me to Canterlot.

It was like nothin’ I’d ever seen; I dunno if you really get just how shocking it is, when ya grow up all yer life somewhere where the tallest building ya’d ever seen was wasn’t much bigger than a barn and ya come someplace like Canterlot. It was... well, put it this way: I remember bitin’ into mah first Zap Apple when I was still a real young’in, and- fer the longest time- that was the most wonderful thing I’d ever experienced. Then I came here, and it was every bit as exciting inside me like that Zap Apple was; there ain’t no other way to say it, sorry.

We asked around about the school, and a lot ‘o the ponies were too snooty to even talk with us, but the ones that did pointed us in the right direction. Did ya know the school is actually part of the palace? Yeah, it surprised the heck outta me when got there; it’s one thing to be going to a school with the princess’s name on it, it’s another bale of hay entirely to go to one in her palace.

O’course, you can probably guess how it went when we actually got there.

I’ll give the stallion handlin’ admissions this: He didn’ outright reject me, and actually looked at the transcripts I’d brung with me; all that talkin’ with Page Turner (the ole librarian) had really helped mah schoolin’, so I was doin’ pretty darn well in class, but... well....

“We’re sorry. While you are within the proper age range and your grades are all above average, the fact remains this is a school for gifted UNICORNS. As an Earth Pony you simply don't apply.”

I took it pretty hard, called him some names that I still regret to this day and limped outta there with tears in mah eyes. Macintosh and Granny tried to cheer me up on the way home, but I was just too broken up about it; as far as I knew, I was turned away just cause I didn’t have a horn. I mean, now I know that it was just common sense at the time; everypony thought only unicorns could do magic after all, so lettin’ an earth pony into a school all about magic didn’ make a lick o’ sense. But back then, I was just angry about it.

“It ain’t fair!” It pretty much screamed that at Granny, Macintosh and Page Turner every chance I got after we got back. “Ah’m just as smart as all o’ them! Ah study hard, Ah know everythang about magic that you told me, Ah even tried ta talk fancy when Ah was there! It’s not fair!!!”

Page Turner gave me a hug, nuzzling up against me while I kept on throwing mah tantrum. “Applejack, life isn’t something that usually is fair,” yeah, she said that to a foal who lost her parents, “it’s just something that we have to accept. Sometimes, our dreams don’t work out like we had hoped they would; we just have to find other ways to use our talents.”

Now, I get that she was tryin’ to get me to let go o’ that whole thing and focus on things I actually could do; but, well, you try tellin’ a foal lookin’ to get their cutie mark anythin’ and tell me how it goes.

...no offense, sweetheart.

Anyway... fer some reason, I took it to mean that I had to get creative with gettin’ inta the school; and, well, Ponyville has a costume shop that sells all sorts o’ fake things: Wings, claws, teeth... and horns.

Macintosh ain’t never been one to sugarcoat things, even back then. Once he saw what I’d bought with mah allowance, he didn’ waste any time tellin’ me exactly what he thought of it. “AJ, this idea of yers is just plain stupid.”

I was too busy trying to get the string to hold it in place over mah head to really listen. “Ah gotta try.”

“No pony’s gonna be fooled by that there fake horn. And ya can’t do the floaty stuff!” There wasn’t really anything to say to that, but I was a foal on a mission and wasn’t going to be stopped by words.

“Ah’ll think of somethin’.” I finally got it to stick and started limping toward the door, he got there first and blocked me in. “Darnit, Macintosh,” I tried to push him outta the way, “Ah gotta do this!”

“AJ, yer not listening to meh: It won’t work!” He was bigger than me, even back then, so he stood firm. “Yer not a unicorn, yer an earth pony; stop tryin’ to do all that fancy magic and just worry about what ya can do.”

“Ya mean just sit on mah bed and read?!” He flinched at that, I think we were both still touchy about the whole thing back then.

“Th-that ain’t what Ah-”

“But it’s the truth, ain’t it!?” I didn’t let up, I wouldn’t let him brush it away. I still don’t like how mean I could git when I got all riled up back then. “Ah can’t buck trees, Ah can’t keep up with everypony else durin’ harvest, Ah can’t even help Granny Smith with sellin’. All I can do is sit around here and do nothin’! AND THAT AIN’T WHAT AH WANT!”

He looked down, I’d hit him pretty hard with that little rant and he was showin’ it; I don’ care what sorta reputation he has, or how strong he gets, Macintosh is always gonna be nothing but a big ole softie. Hay, he once had to switch classes in school to one that had more fillies than colts after he brought in a doll when they asked them to bring in their favorite toy for show’n’tell; they wouldn’t stop makin’ fun o’ him for it.

Huh? O’course Pa didn’ care he played with dolls. Who do ya think bought him those?

Anyway, he did let up some after that. “Ah’ll go ask Granny about it.”

“No!” I stamped one o’ my good hooves at that, “she can’t come. And neither can you; they might recognize ya and figure out Ah’m not a unicorn.”

“Ya really think Granny’s jist gonna let ya go all the way ta Canterlot by yerself?”

“O’course not,” I said, grinnin’ like an idiot, “that’s why yer not gonna tell her.”

Yeah... that didn’ go over as well as some o’ the other stuff. It didn’ matter how much I tried to guilt him into lettin’ me go, he wouldn’t cotton to me leaving alone. He said he’d talk to Granny about it that night, but I had other plans.

I never actually let ‘em know just how much o’ mah allowance I kept around, somethin’ to go to in case I needed somethin’ and didn’t want ‘em to know I was gettin’ it. I had enough to buy a train ticket and- since Macintosh and Granny had chores to do- I also had enough time to get on the train before they even realized I was gone.

Took me a few hours to get to Canterlot, but I still had time to get to the school again. Granny and Macintosh still had to wait for the next train, so they wouldn’t be there for a while at least; not to mention, that gave me time to come up with a new name fer the school.

Don’t look at me like that! Macintosh is the Element o’ Honesty, not me.

Anyway, I hid mah accent and mah limp as best I could as I walked in; it seemed be goin’ good so far, so I really should have expected a curveball like I got.

“All right then ... ‘Magica De Apple’? Since you seem SO eager, it’s simple, hatch this dragon egg as your entrance exam.”

Yeah, the test to get into the school is all but infamous with the students. It weren’t till later on that I learned yer not supposed to be able to do it; it’s a test o’ creativity and ingenuity when faced with a task ya couldn’t solve. But, at the time, well, I was desperate; Macintosh was right, I couldn’t do any unicorn magic, and I didn’t have a cutie mark in animal care, so I didn’t know what to do.

I figured I could try to use earth pony magic, since that’s all about life, to do somethin’; I mean... dragons are life, so maybe I could help it along like I used to do with trees and other plants. It made sense in my head, but I was really reaching for it

I had to do somethin’, anythin’, that I could do to pass. Somethin’ to prove I was worth somethin’....

And then... KAAAA-BOOOM!

What I’d later learn was Rainbow Dash doin’ her Sonic Rainboom shook the entire castle, and shook somethin’ inside o’ me.

All o’ a sudden, it was like I was seein’ everythin’ again fer the very first time. There was magic, livin’ magic, inside o’ everythin’ around me: The egg, the cart that it was wheeled in on, even the air I was breathin’! It was just so... overwhelmin’.

No, I mean literally overwhelmin’; it was like tryin’ to force a bunch apples into a bin too small to fit ‘em all. It hurt too, like that time I got zapped from kickin’ a Zap Apple tree too early, only this just kept on going. I can sorta remember somethin’ like a circle appearin’ around me, as my mind just went everywhere. I looked at the egg, rememberin’ how I was supposed to hatch it, and it hatched; it wasn’t even an effort, it was just a thought. I looked toward the teachers that were givin’ me the exam and they started floatin’ since I was thinking about how high up they were; then one swapped his horn for some wings since he reminded me of a pegasus back home and another turned into a tree.

I looked back at the baby dragon, still sitting in the cart, and wondered what he’d look like all grown up. And then, he was; all big and huge and actually kinda scary lookin’, but I wasn’t scared o’ him. No, I was too busy bein’ in pain.

It was just gettin’ worse and worse as it went on, especially in mah bad leg, and I couldn’t stop it; I saw the circle around me getting fancier and fancier, with runes and lines and Celestia knows what else appearing in and around it. It hurt, it hurt so much and I couldn’ stop it, I didn’ even know how to stop it!

Then, I felt a hoof on mah shoulder and I looked back.

I have to say, with the way I was seeing everything at then, it wasn’t like how most ponies see things. I really dunno how to explain it, not even sure I even could explain it, but it was something so different from what things normally looked like that ya might as well try comparin’ black to white. The princess, well, she looked beautiful with the way I was seein’ her. I mean, not that she doesn’t all the time, but I mean... it don’t make any sense to compare the two ways; I can’t explain it, I really can’t. I’ve tried, since the way I saw her is something that ponies really should see; then they’d know why I’m so loyal to her, why all her guards and every pony who was ever loyal to her acts like they do.

But seeing that, it calmed me down. The princess wasn’t castin’ a spell or anything, but it still worked; the circle around me faded away and everythin’ just sorta snapped back to the way it was before. The dragon went back to bein’ a baby, even started sucking on his tail, and the interviewers I had changed went back to bein’ unicorns while the rest stopped floatin’.

I slumped to the floor, pantin’ and wincin’ from all the pain in mah leg; but, either way, I wasn’t castin’ all that magic anymore.

“Abigail Jacqueline,” I didn’t question how she knew mah real name, “That’s a very special gift you have there.”

“It’s ‘Applejack’,” I corrected outta habit, “Yer Majesty. And thank ya kindly.”

“Applejack, then.” She gave me a smile, seemingly amused that I had corrected her at all. “But even so, I’ve never met a unicorn with all your raw power.” She reached up the the fake horn I’d bought, and then pushed it up so the string slipped away. “Much less an Earth Pony.”

I remember the examiners going a bit nuts at that, can’t say I really blame ‘em either.

“However,” she continued, “You need to learn to tame that power through focused study, and I’m not sure that a normal teacher will do for a pony in your position.”

I was still a little out of it at the time, so I wasn’t quite gettin’ the message. “Huh?”

“Applejack, I’d like to make you my own, personal protege here at the school.”

“Huh?!” And that time, I was just completely flabbergasted.

“Well?” She was smirkin’; hoof to Luna, I swear it. The Princess was smirkin’ like yer parents do when they know ya can’t say ‘no’ to somethin’; and, really, who in their right mind woulda?

“Yes!” I actually managed to get to mah hooves for that. “Yesyesyesyesyes!” It was everythin’ I had dreamed o’ and more; and, turns out there was one more surprise comin’ that day.

“Oh, and one more thing.” I stopped my one pony celebration and stared open-mouthed at the princess.

“More?!” I didn’t know what to expect; fer all I knew, she was gonna give me wings and a horn next. Instead, she just pointed at mah flank; and that’s when I saw this ole thing.

(Interviewer’s Notes(Unicorn): Let the records show that Miss Applejack is pointing to her cutie mark: A Zap Apple inside of a Rune Circle.)

Yeah, thank ya fer that. Anyway, it was pretty much the cap to a great day; it was also about the only thang that kept Granny from tannin’ mah hide once she and Macintosh finally caught up to me. I was gonna be taught by the princess herself, who else could say that about themselves.

Once I started school, though, well-

Whoa Nelly! Is that the time?! Sorry to do this, but I’m gonna have to stop here; I’m supposed to meet mah friends for a party, and I’m gonna be late if I dun leave right now. I’ll get Spike ta send a message when I have some free time for another interview; I still got a heck of a lot to tell y’all, not to mention I still have to tell ya about the Summer Sun Celebration and how I met all mah friends.

‘Kay; see ya around; and thank ya fer yer time!