Majestic Intent (River, Eagle)

[Hippo]

Luna chuckled lightly, matching the lightheartedness that the yellow filly couldn't help but expose. "No, I don't think so. The dreamscape is a vast society where ponies spend about a third of their life exploring, and many of them never find what they are looking for in their dreams. My duty primarily rests on urgencies and disturbances that occur over time." Luna spoke as she was pushed by Apple Bloom to wherever they were going next on the farm. She seemed so eager to show the Princess a thing or two about the farm. She admired the filly's wanting to share her lifestyle. "Maybe some day I'll go into your dreams. But hopefully it's not under the circumstances that you're being haunted by a dreadful nightmare." Luna's hooves picked up dirt from the farm's beaten soil. "Um, child, where is it you're taking me next?" Luna wouldn't admit to being nervous, but she wasn't fond of surprises, either.

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom listened to the Princess as they ventured to their destination, but didn't pay a great deal of attention. After she revealed that she hadn't ventured into Apple Bloom's dreams, the filly was significantly more concerned with their destination. It was important that they get in and out pretty fast, and she wanted to show her princess a darn good time out on the farm. It had been an eventful day and there were few things that could make the day better than something nice and colt to drink, which was the goal of the next stop on the Sweet Apple Express. And then she had a few more things to show her but heck, everypony needed to get a nice drink once and a while.

"We're just gonna get ourselves a nice cold drink, Princess Luna. Been a busy day an' am sure after kissin' Ponyville's best pony that Ah'm sure ya need a refeshin' drink," Apple Bloom chortled to herself as they reached what looked like a trap door in the ground 'round back of the barn. It used to be a storm shelter for back in the olden days the Apple family found themselves up against the Everfree with no local weather control to keep it corralled. But now that the weather wasn't much of a problem, the storm shelter was much more important. Very high quality Apple family cider was stored here in specialty, magically coated (Celestia above don't tell Applejack that) barrels that kept the cider cold and fresh as long as they were out of sunlight. And not to mention, the area was highly secured.

Two sundials stood next to the shelter a few feet off the ground with a little bit of reflective surfacing. The storm shelter itself had two hoof inlays carved in, with various hidden metal workings underneath.

"Alright Princess, Ah'm gonna need yer help. We gotta turn the sundials so we can get the sun shinin' on tha iron inlay. Then we gotta put our hooves into the inlay and turn at the same time- and each inlay is just a bit different, so Ah take one, you take one," She licked her lips, "then we have ourselves the best cider in Equestria!"

[Hippo]

Typically, alicorn magic involving special doors and trinkets back at Canterlot Castle required direct use of Luna's horn, either physically entered into a hole, of a system of magic riddles that needed to be perplexed by memory before a lock can be undone. The sundials, though Luna was familiar with them, did not tinker with them casually, especially since her instrumentation which was already little was usually dealt with moonlight. Her scientific instruments usually had to do with the phases of the moon she raised, but also the length of night on that particular evening. So Luna wasn't sure what she was being asked to do.

"Like this?" Princess used her magic to grab the sundial, and she rotated it clockwise about a quarter of a full rotation.

​

[SteelEagle]

For a Princess as gloriously mysterious as Luna, she sure seemed a bit uneven in relation to the mysteries of the sundial that a filly had described. It stumped her for a moment why a Princess would be put off by it, but the realization slowly dawned on her. It was because it was a SUNdial, and not some sort of moondial. That made loads of sense! She probably never saw one. After all, she was the Princess of the Night, a dreamwalker who made her own light where there was none. The sundials must have scared and confused her beyond all measure as she asked Apple Bloom if what she was doing was right. Really, Princess? Somepony needed to get back up to speed on modernization and the phases of the sun. Still, she was a Princess who could maybe possibly probably turn Apple Bloom into a frog and Frog Bloom wasn't going to be getting any sort of cutie mark worth nothing so best to toe the line.

"That's right, Princess. Just turn'er nice'n easy," Apple Bloom soothed her as Apple Bloom turned the dial as well a few times until the sun was hitting just right. She the helped Luna get it just right as well, the angle of the sun hitting her side too. Success! Both of light hit the shelter inlays, one into each hoof. After a few seconds, it glowed an odd blue-orange. Apple Bloom trotted up next to it and beckoned the Princess to follow, staring at the device in front of her. The inlays seemingly pulsed in that color and even as the sun was blocked they did not change their actions. It was a two stage lock. The sundials activated a dull magical barrier and lowered it, allowing a pony to touch the inlays. Earth pony magic was still magic. Then the inlays would only respond to the touch of an Earth pony. In this case, Luna was an alicorn and was technically all of them, so it worked. Apple Bloom placed one of her hooves in an inlay.

"Arright Luna, put her hoof on the other and on tha count of three, you turn left, Ah turn right. Ready?" She waited a second, readying herself.

"Ooonnnnnee....ttwwwwooooo....three!"

[Hippo]

Luna started getting a little uncomfortable as it was apparent that this little filly had a secret up her mane. And this secret involved magical barriers one wouldn't expect to see our on a rural farm. Nevertheless, Apple Bloom got the best of Luna's curiosity, and the princess therefore could not help herself, and instead of asking a question of their safety and integrity proceeded as she was told. All of the night creatures and dreamscapes, the tamed nightmares of the moon and the howling of the dark spirits, their leader was being influence by a blank flank earth pony farmfoal.

As soon as three was called, Luna grabbed her inlay and pushed it down to the left as she was instructed.

​

[SteelEagle]

Princess Luna took instruction well. That was good to see! So many ponies were resistant to just the teeniest bits of advice and fought all the way, thinking themselves better or smarter. But when it came to the workings of Sweet Apple Acres, that orchard around the hill that was obscured by not only treelines but the private work of generations, even a Princess needed to heed the words of the little filly from the trees. It also made Apple Bloom wonder if the Princess of the Night needed help during the day. Maybe she had breakfast at dinner and dinner at breakfast and slept all the time while everypony else frolicked. Did she even know what a schoolhouse was? It was super possible that the reason she seemed so detached from normal ponies was because she only ever saw them in their dreams, in this odd state where reality matters little and the swaying of a psyche was measured in how aware they were of the terrors and their veracity, or the sweets and their probability. But oh well. A weird Princess was still a Princess and Apple Bloom loved her as every true Equestrian loved their Royalty. Even if she did try to destroy them all that one time.

The door made an odd clicking sound as the duo did their part. The lock was indeed magical. It had been placed there decades ago according to the stories by one of the top locksmiths in the region, who magically coded the lock to require Earth pony magic and at least one with a connection to Sweet Apple Acres. Every Apple family member would work as they were all connected by blood to the family that founded the orchard. After a few seconds of small clicks, a few heavy iron thunks were heard as the mechanical workings went into high gear, and then silence. A pregnant pause and then the doors started to open, a blast of ice cold air blasting the pair in the face before they both experienced a slight rush of oxygen leave them before everything equalized. On either side of the barn that was on top of the cellar, small iron doors swung open as well. Apple Bloom didn't hesitate in leading the Princess into the cellar.

It was lined with dozens of barrels of cider as well as thousands of smaller treats that needed to be kept in the same condition. Condensation formed above them due to the temperature, small drops of water occasionally buffeting them as an atmosphere thick with a dry atmosphere had what little condensation it had pooled into the special soil that lined the cellar, which had a soil roof and a soil floor as well as walls. It was actually technically alive, this strange old soil from the Everfree that had an odd habit of sucking in all nearby water and oxygen sources. It existed in a cycle- water would be pulled around all four sides again and again until it was all gone, ad the oxygen levels would drop to almost dangerous levels. Then the two doors on the side of the barn would be opened and new oxygen allowed inside to keep the soil alive, and everypony won. The soil lived and the Apple family had the perfect cellar. It took a lot of hard work to make such Everfree materials work, but the Apples were up to the task.

"Sorry 'bout that little burst of air out thar, Princess. See, air is bad for our storage, same with condensation. Gotta keep everything here dry and free from oxygen! If oxygen got inside of an open barrel of cider, it'd spoil faster than Sweetie Belle after a play. Tha soil 'round us makes sure ta keep it all goin' smoothly, and we keep it alive by feedin' it. 'Course, Everfree stuff can be a mite scary at times so we made sure ta keep all four sides of tha cellar bordered up with some iron an' wood. Gotta make sure t-that," her teeth chattering was put to an end through intense effort, "we don't have wild Everfree soil tearin' apart normal Equestrian soil, right?" She offere rhetorically as she reached some wooden drawers, pulling out two wooden goblets and hoofing over one to the Princess. She then lead the way to one of the smallest barrels which was marked with a date a week prior.

"Gotta use one that's already opened, on account of us not wanting to spoil the whole crop. It should still be really fresh as the conditions are perfect, though," Apple Bloom stated excitedly as she poured two cups of nice, cold cider.

[Hippo]

As the door cranked open, a rush of air came from behind, sucking the princess' mane into the cellar until it pressurized within a couple seconds. When it was done, Luna's ethereal mane was tattered and torn, having split ends that started halfway through the royals' locks. Luna immediately knew there was a problem, her mane never looked like this around other ponies. Fortunately, the pony in audience was only a foal. "Oh, my mane is going to need a groom! I can't go back outside and have ponies see me like this!"

As Luna held out a hoof to illustrate her concern, Apple Bloom placed an empty wooden goblet in it. Luna then leaned the cup over the spigot Apple Bloom opened to fill her cup with what the yellow filly stated was cider. Luna looked at it perplexed and then sniffed it a couple times. "Child, this does not smell like the cider I am used to." Luna's facial expression wasn't disappointed, but she was met with ill expectation. She simple had never seen cider in this fresh of a state.

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom had to stiffle a giggle with all the power in her command as Luna's mane went haywire in the pressurized environment. Heck, if anypony who was anypony would have seen her, Luna'd become a laughing stock. She almost was to her crowd of one. But if anypony should have been able to handle it, Apple Bloom would have thought it would have been Luna. Did her hair do that during her exile on the moon? Didn't matter now, though. She didn't have any of her fancy mane cair specialists who spent decades honing their craft so they could take care of the Princesses' whenever they had the slightest hint of trouble. No, no, she had Apple Bloom, whose attempts to give Big Mac a manecut one time went down in history as the worst job that anyone had ever done. But she had to improve somehow and maybe the Princesses' mane had a certain magoc which kept it from being completely cut off. Who knows- maybe she'd get her cutie mark! First things first, though.

"Ah'll getcher mane all pretty for yer adorin' crowds next. We'll go ta mah room and Ah'll make sure you get a nice makeover, cout'sy of Equestria's best untrained stylist this side of Sweet Apple Acres," She giggled, imaging how she would look in a poofy hairdo. Funny, that's how, which is the exact quality of look that Apple Bloom gave the Princess of the Night as she seemed put off by the cider.

What the hay was she even on about? It took a few seconds for Apple Bloom to respond, but that wa sbecause it took just a slong for her to understand why a pony of her caliber couldn't get the best every day. Then it dawned on her- of course Luna would never have smelled or tsted anything quite so fresh. She wasn't an Apple pony! Only the Apples had access to cider so perfectly maintained. Even if they rolled it outside for just ten or so minutes, the Apples would be forced to admit that it degraded in quality. Only here, in this room, was the cider perfect, flawless, and eternally a reminder of the fruits of Apple pony labor. Since nopony else had access, no wonder the Princess was so put off. Silly Princess.

"Well, that's on account of this bein' tha very freshest cider possible! Unspoiled, unsullied, no oxygen sucking it down and forever tasty. We can't get it to taste this good anywhere else, despite all of our best efforts. Why, this is the most special place in all of Equestria! Drink up!"

[Hippo]

Luna was not exactly relieved to hear that Apple Bloom would offer her services to aide in the Princess' mane. She wasn't sure exactly how far a little one could go with it, but maybe grooming on a rustic farm in Ponyville isn't nearly that bad. Maybe this little foals house has a large powder room full of all the utensils needed to do up one's mane to the best it can be. It would have to do. And besides, Luna needed to look her usual. She wasn't going to a formal event today.

About the cider, Luna went ahead and took a sip. It was very strong. Almost too strong. Very sweet, the foal didn't lie. It was freshest she had ever tasted. "That is... very sweet. I never thought cider could get this fresh. I figured the castle in Canterlot always got first pick of the apple orchards. I can see now that that is not exactly the case." Luna contemplated requesting an apple cellar for the castle. It would be a marvel thing to have and it would impress delegates from nearby countries and every embassy would come to the Princesses to get their private stash of apple cider. What an ice breaker!

"I do not intend to turn this wonderful tour from a farm filly to haste, but I was wondering if a combing would be something that we could get started on immediately?" Luna didn't want to waste any time with her mane looking crazy and unkempt. Who know's what silly ponies will see her from a far. "Is there a way to get to your grooming room in the barn without walking outside?"

​

[SteelEagle]

Thank Celestia- or in this case Luna- that it passed the mister with the Princess of the Night. Apple Bloom didn't really have any doubt that it would succeed tremendously, but she was a filly prone to worries. Sure, they were the very best at what they did and everypony who had a functioning brain knew it, but who the hay would have ever thought that it would work out perfectly all the time? Knowing her luck, it would fail at just the wrong time in just the right place and she would be known as the little apple that most surely couldn't, and that would break her heart. Instead, it worked like a charm and even the usually stonwallin' Princess had to admit how great it was and Abby had to wonder if in order to have a similar experienc Luna would hire out the Apple family to build her a new cellar and stock it. Soon they would be called "Apples to the Stars" and they'd all gt new cutie marks and Apple Bloom would be the most popular filly of all time, just like she had planned!

"Aww, y'all do get tha pick of the freshest on all tha land, Ah'm sure. But it wouldn't matter when and how ya got it, the only place in Equesria where it is as fresh as we have is right here in this very room. Even when we take it outside for just an hour, it isn't nearly as fresh," Apple Bloom replied as she finished her cup off, cleaning it with a nearby towel and placing it in a currently unused sink. She'd wash it later.

Then the Princess turned to questions of grooming, but who the hay had a grooming room? They had bathrooms and bedrooms and probably other rooms that started with b that may have been appropriate for grooming, but they had nothing set aside for it. Of course it made sense that a high and mighty Princess might, what with her overlarge castles made up of thousands of rooms that they never used, would have had a grooming room. She probably had multiple rooms for different types of naps she wanted to take, and one room each for each bioard game she felt like playing. Not that Apple Bloom could argue against tha, it all sounded incredibly fun! She wanted thousands of useless rooms. Maybe then she'd have a dozen different types of grooming rooms. That'd be the bees knees!

But for now, the Princess would have to deal with the Mangler of the Manes.

"Well, we can go right ta mah bedroom and getcherself all tidied up! We don't have a fancy grooming room but we have enough to get ya looking as pretty as a lilly on sunday," She stated confidently, trotting up the cellar stairs and beckoning the Night Mistress to follow, manipulating the seal at the top so it all shut once they were out.

[Hippo]

Luna saw that there was no way out other than to the yard from where they came from. Ponies could possibly see her, and it was always important for princesses that had the blessing of magical manes to keep them from looking bad. A single pony seeing this could possibly start a horrible rumor, or damage the image that the princesses have for Equestria. This must be corrected, but until then, Luna had to do something to conceal the issue. She found a large burlap sack that was full of apples in the corner. She grabbed it with her magic, and opened one end and pulled the apples out. She then levitated the sack over her mane so it hid what damage was done to it. Now instead of a messy mane, Luna had a burlap sack on her head. The appearance wasn't great, but it was better than revealing an uncoiffed mane to the world.

"OK, child, let us make haste to your bedroom." Luna hurried out of the cellar and started following the yellow earth pony filly. Luna looked around nervously to see if anypony could see her with a sack.

​

[SteelEagle]

What the hay was going on with Luna? Apple Bloom had already surmised the importance of keeping the Princess' mane a secret from any potential prying eyes earlier, but this was bordering on the silly. There wasn't a single pony between here and the kissing booth and that was several hundred yards away at the least, maybe a full mile. They would be bound to see or hear anypony that approached long before there'd be any trouble. And instead of just being a normal pony and accepting the fresh air and the terrible manestyle interacting for all of three minutes, she wemt ahead and put a burlap sack over it. She looked like the most insane Princess ever and it was a much worse look than a bad mane! Luna was a weird Princess all right, but Apple Bloom loved her all the same. So exotic and cool and weird and silly! She giggled as she watched the ruler of the moon play the part of a poor filly during Nightmare Night.

"Luna, yer the silliest Princess Ah've ever met and Ah've met all of 'em! you look really silly with that sack 'round yer mane. Hehehe, good thing nopony's gonna see that either!" Apple bloom said with a chuckle as she trotted hastily ahead of the Princess, making a determined beeline for the front door of their barn. It took a little under a minute before they arrived, the door cracked open from Abby's earlier return exploits. She opened it fast and wide for the Princess, breathing in deep the warm family air that hung around like a particularly comely fragrance. She led the Princess upstairs, the floors creaking no worse under Luna's strain than Apple Bloom's, and before long they were in her room. Noe time for the brushy mane!

"Yer only tha second Princess who's ever been on tha second floor. Congratulations!" She offered as she waved indistinctly towards the floor, beckoning the Princess to sit down as she started looking for her mane care supplies in her overstuffed closet, costumes and petticoats flying out as she did so.

"Hey Luna, what was yer bedroom like as a filly?"

[Hippo]

The filly was having fun while the Princess terrorized herself with the conceptual possibility that an onlooking pony would see her take pictures of the silliness. Luna remembered that picture those pesky tabloidal ponies took of Celestia eating cake, and it always served as a reminder to Luna that though your subjects are always generally good citizens, the rotten few will always exploit your bad side for a good laugh. And Luna could not let that happen. She needed all the best positive public relations as possible.

Because of the amount of contrast Luna's attitude had with Apple Bloom, Luna didn't take too kindly to her relaxed comment, although she was not so surprised. She is a filly. "Little Apple. This is serious! How dare you make light of a situation that is critical of my proper exposition. I cannot let this situation rise to higher trouble that will open opportunities for improper ponies to rule over my image!" Luna wasn't scornfully mad, but she refused herself silence. The filly needed to know the importance of the situation, even if she was a little filly that couldn't possibly understand the risk of such a faux pas.

As Luna walked into the barn, she took the burlap sack off and she breathed in the wooden aroma that filled a country family's lifestyle. The residue of home cookie was baked into the walls, and it smelled good. It was hard to clean out the scent of rustic laid back lifestyle on a farm. And since Luna rarely had the pleasure, she rather enjoyed all of it. Her steps causing the stairs to creek as she nervously expected them to fall out. When she reached the top, Apple Bloom exclaimed on how she was the second princess to come to the second floor of the Apple Family barn. Figures. Luna was used to second place, her older sister always being the older one, and had about a thousand years of experience on the lunar mare as well. But, Luna was content.

Luna made it into the bedroom. It was smaller than what she was used to, but she felt it was large enough for any pony, especially a small filly of Apple Bloom's size. Luna cracked a smile as she recollected her past. She sat down on a pillow in front of a mirror. "Well, my room was much bigger I think. Of course. You always remember places being bigger when you are younger and smaller. I spent a lot of time with my sister then. Yours truly and Princess Celestia had shared a room for a while. Our beds against the wall so we could play our games in the middle. The curtains and decorations were pretty. Mostly pink and purple, to match our manes." Luna exhaled. "That was a long time ago."

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom felt herself withdraw under the Princess' light rebuttal, her worry over not wanting to be seen by ponies in her state overriding her natural good cheer and any common sense. Of course, maybe common sense was a rare commodity for a Princess of Equestria, raised and trained by standards that made common sense seemingly very quaint. That made Apple Bloom appreciate her rearing in an entirely different context, a pleasurable existence where up was up and down was down. In weird backwards Princessland, it made more sense if up was down and down up...and you got worried about impossibilities, like anypony seeing you when you were a mile away from anypony and only needing to be exposed for a minute. All about the mane. Oh well. Now she was in Apple Bloom's manedome and there was nothing the Princess could do but accept it.

So Apple Bloom continued hunting for her mane-care supplies. It was a hard search as she had somehow accumulated a whole saloon's worth with little effort, but as she listened to the Princess she started to get closer to the end of the line. It made sense that they shared rooms but all Abby could imagine was that the sun and moon got too close every night ad caused wild weather, which was why they eventually took different shifts. It must have been a crazy time! In all likelyihood that wasn't the case, but she wasn't up to date with ancient Equestrian history. Maybe it was just one long spell of nutty weather broken up only when they matured and moved out of the same room and sleep schedule. Even if it wasn't true it provided a good story, another nugget of fiction to toss into a rather limited headspace. In any case, she found her supplies and set them down her bed. Luna's mane wasn't terribly ruffled. Just needed a good combing and brushing. Apple Bloom slipped her hoof through the brush handle and climbed on top of Luna as she started to brush her mane.

"Alright, yer worries are at an end, princess. Ah'm the best mane-care specialist in this house right now an' H can make you look tip top in just a few strokes of mah brush," Apple Bloom said as she smoothly started to go to work, "so, how're ya likin' Sweet Apple Acres so far, Princess? Anythin' else yer interested in seein'?"

[Hippo]

Luna stared into the small mirror in front of her. Her smile from remembering her past slowly turned into her natural frown as she remembered she was being helped by a filly. Of course, it did dawn upon Luna that she could comb her own mane, but she was so used to having another pony do it as her castle workers were very much in the interest of making her look better, and a short visit to them every morning proved to be a better use of her time. They would style her long auric mane while she looked at her schedule and read letters and briefings. Win win. But here, Luna was so impulsively asking for a correcting to her mane being messed up that she assumed the closest style pony would only be within an earshot. But she was not at the castle she was at a farm. And that pony as the filly who was giving her the tour. And since the filly was so confident in her own ability, and having such a beautiful locking mechanism that Luna might take inspiration from, she didn't want to immediately deny her the pleasure of helping the Princess with her wavy mane. And who would want to be denied?

"Oh, I just love the farm, little Apple." Luna was honestly taken back by the rustic nature of the farm. She had seen photos and paintings of such places, but she never imagined that they would feel as gritty and earth as they did in the depictions. And it didn't disappoint. Some ponies weren't down to earth and they would rather see what technology could do, or what magical spells are capable of. And Luna could do that too, but today she was far more invested in the orange, red, and green hues that filled the experience from a simple trot across the orchard. Even inside the barnhouse, the magical feeling of the earth lived inside of it, as if the wooden fibers in the walls and floorboards themselves were organic with the rest of the farm's harvest and prosperity. "After we successfully get groomed, we should go see the animals."

Much to Luna's fear, Apple Bloom was going to work on Luna's mane, but it didn't seem she knew what she was doing. Is it possible the filly had never combed an ethereal mane before?

​

[SteelEagle]

Luna was a big fan of saying we. We this, we that. We need to be groomed? Apple Bloom was as well groomed as she could stand to be outside of a fancy looking party or Celestia forbid a date. She had even made sure to take an extra nice bath at the start of the day on account of how busy she was expecting it to be. And her extra washing had held up rather well. Her mane was still as pretty as ever, bow as gorgeous as usual, and look at her adorable smile! Well, adorable may be different than groomed but she felt like a thousand bits. And soon, Luna would look like a MILLION bits! Apple Bloom wasn't some well-trained stylist with a thousand degrees regarding the same simple subject but she had brushed her mane and the mane of her friends and family enough to get the basics down. Luna's mane was something else entirely in the way it moved and behaved even at rest, but it was still just a mane.

So she went to work at it while she imagined what it would be like showing off all the animals they had to the Princess. The pigs were nice and clean today as their mud was getting stale- she was gonna have to wet a whole new batch for them tomorrow. The cows were having one hay of a hoedown over by the north orchards' barn and had borrowed a few bales of hay, so who knew what crazy cow fun they were having. Best to leave them alone to their kookiness. But the chickens? The chickens were always super nice and Marebeline was bound to have laid a few more eggs by now. The Princess could help Abby feed them and cuddle them and fend off little red foxes and all sorts of fun things, maybe even get pecked a whole bunch affectionately! It was a darn good thing the Princess said animals because Abby was thinking more along the lines of a board game and Abby wouldn't have shown any mercy. None.

"All done!" Apple Bloom blasted excitedly as she leapt down to the ground, wiggling the brush off of her hoof as she did so. They were making good time today but if Luna wanted to see the animals, they had to make good time and rock it out. Apple Bloom, Manecare specialist to Royalty and imaginary Applebuckin' champion ten years runnin', was beside herself. Soon they'd be having even more adventures! Luna was a pretty alright Princess, even if she got a bit prickly about her mane. Which looked beautiful to Apple Bloom, by the way.

"How'd ya like it?"

[Hippo]

When Apple Bloom asked how Luna liked her mane after the filly was done doing her best to brush the auric mane, Luna was mostly happy with the results. Although, it wasn't perfect, Luna could hardly ask for perfection even thought she may have desired it. When Apple Bloom looked away, Luna would probably quickly straighten out the locks behind the ear that every new stylist at the castle forgets to tend to. But there was no reason to give Apple Bloom, any notice of failure. Luna stood up, stomped her hoof once, and closed her eyes. "It is satisfactory."

Luna started walking out of the bedroom and down the stairs. "You must know, little apple, all of Equestria's creatures should be embraced with the friendship and harmony that should exist with all ponies. I'm excited to see what kind of living arrangements the animals get, as well as what they are feed, and what they do on their days off." Luna knew that farm animals were a resource to whoever their master ponies were. But she also knew that the farm animals shared an understanding with their pony as a resource, and in exchange the animals would receive love, care, and attention to celebrate their own freedoms.

​

[SteelEagle]

Huzzah!

That sounded like something Luna would say and it fit Apple Bloom's sense of accomplishment. She worried that she hd combed it too poorly ad brushed it imperfectly for the Princess but it turned out that she had done a bang up job. Or a satisfactory job, which wasn't as bang up as a bang up job but rated well on the bang up scale regardless. Se quickly scanned her flank for her cutie mark- nope, nothing. Darn. Okay, so she hadn't done a super duper good job and earned her mark but at least the Princess was happy with it, and that was all she could have honestly hoped for. Well, that and a cutie mark. But oh well. She'd get it soon enough- tomorrow was her current bet- and when she did, she'd look back at this and laugh at how silly she was thinking she'd get her cutie mark just like that! Please, her as a mane-care specialist? She'd probably have to deal with rarity all day and as much as she liked that mare, that could be considered a form of torture in some regions.

What she could be however was the best little farm filly honesty and hard work could buy. Luna wanted to see the full suite of animals they had? Then Luna would see the full suite of animals they had.

"Follow me Princess an' we'll head out and meet tha pigs!" She squealed in excitement. The pigs were a fun bunch, willing to roll in the mud and play rough. Luna would love them too! She trotted ahead of the Princess and led the way.

"So, ya have any questions 'bout pigs before we meet Cassidy, Willie, Wilbur, Cassie, Cas, Wilburtson, and Butch?" Apple Bloom asked her Princess of the Night as she opened the door outside, hit by a blast of fresh air. The pigs wouldn't be too far from the house and maybe the Princess needed a bit of a mud bath to go along with her new mane. That was what all the fancy ponies liked, right?

[Hippo]

Luna follow Apple Bloom with a slow walk, the filly's bounces only getting as high as Luna's face. On the way out and around the barn, Luna herself was excited, but it was a strange sensation. Maybe it was because the ponies valued the animals so much that they gave them real names and treated them like ponies, too! "So you have names for them all? That sounds adorable." Luna pitched a very slight smile as they wandered towards the pig pen.

Ahead, Luna could see the pink skins, their round faces and bodies, smothering the air around them and apologizing with a subtle squeal every time they ran into something. They were muddy to say the least. "Oh. Wow. They are quite the creatures." One of the pigs seemed overjoyed to see the princess, but Luna wasn't sure if the pigs even knew who she was. So she leaned in towards the pig. "Hello there, loyal swine. Do you know who I am?"

​

[SteelEagle]

They trotted up to the pigs to meet the little critters in their well-stocked sty. It was a large enclosure fit for a family of seven, with a newly built wooden hut for them and a large muddy ground area for them to play and frolic in. Apple Bloom had many tasks on the farm and one of them was keeping the pigs well fed and she did that exceptionally well, cleaning and filling both troughs every two days. Usually they got apples that weren't fit for sale with a healthy helping of whatever else they had in stock tossed in as well as grain feed, all to make the pigs happy and healthy and ready for fun. That came whenever Apple Bloom had to clean the pen, which basically turned into an entertaining one on seven pig wrestling match. One of the pigs, Cassie, approached the Princess as the duo closed in. Luna asked the piggie a question, but all Cassie did was stare up at the Princess and stamp about in place as it tried to negotiate the fence. What a silly Princess!

"Princess, they don't speak an' they sure as heck don't know who or what a Princess is. Just little ol' piggies. Here, Cassie!" Apple Bloom said, smacking her hooves together. Cassie turned around in place and saw Apple Bloom, squealed, and ran over to Apple Bloom. It hit the fance and fell down because pigs were stupid. Stupid but cute. Apple Bloom reached through the fance and pet Cassie on the head, who in turn sniffed the hoof in expectation of food. Nothing. Maybe next time the little filly came around she would bring food. until then, Cassie just squealed and hurrumphed in place as Apple Bloom beamed and took care of Cassie's possible snout itch with a good pat. Good times for the little piggies!

"This here's Cassie. She's Cassidy's baby and only three years old. Her mama is ten. She's a little cutie, aintcha Cassie? So sassy! Such a sassy piggie! Who's a sassy piggie? You are! You are!" Apple Bloom cooed as she continued to pet Cassie, some of the other pigs wallowing nearby coming by to join in the sassfest.

[Hippo]

"Oh." Luna looked puzzled at the pigs. It was obvious the pigs knew who Apple Bloom was, but they were only curious for the princess as in the way a stranger is familiar with another stranger. When Apple Bloom started explaining who Cassie was, she had this strange verbal usage that Luna could only describe as some strange enchant that ponies say to pigs. But more than anything it was just strange. Luna looked at the exchange with lack of curiosity, crimping her nose at the appearance of such low-life form communication, not to mention the smell that started to become more obvious by the second.

Still, Luna wanted to share the enthusiasm, as she would feel more out of place had she not. So she stuck her hoof out into the pig pen for the pigs to explore her extremity. One of the pigs walked up to the princess' hoof, sniff it a couple times, and then bit onto the slipper Luna's hoof was wearing. "Ah! Release me at once, you beast!" A few violent wiggles of the hoof, and Luna broke free of the pig's snout. But her shoe came off and was still lodged in the pig's mouth. Luna's eye sockets started to darken and magical swirls of storm clouds started forming around her. Her eyes started glowing. "Giveth back my royal shoe or we will be forced to take compelling force!" The pig just stared back chewing on her shoe.

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom instinctually took a few steps back as Luna went about her temper tantrum. It struck Apple Bloom how primal and scray it was to watch a being so completely powerful lose herself just as completely over something so minor. It reminded Apple Bloom of when she was just a little pony and Applejack was in her teenage years and angry more often than she should have been. One time she had a date with some pony that Big Mac didn't like. He had scared the pony off so quickly that Apple Bloom could hardly get a square look at her face. the argument that ensued was the first and only time Abby had ever seen Applejack scream out of anger, and her attitude seemingly called down the lightning and the thunder that penetrated the skies around the house. Neither Apple had turned out very well for the matter once Granny Smith got involved but it left Apple Bloom with the lasting image of grace and power being overrun by anger. It wasn't pretty then and it wasn't pretty now.

Apple Bloom slowly but surely reached in and took the shoe away from Wilbur, who gave it up without a fight to the little filly. Funny thing about pigs is that they were as dumb as rocks and only cared about how much he loved the little filly. He oinked a few times jovially as he pushed up against the fence, dissapointed terribly as Apple Bloom instead turned to face the Princess. Well, not her eyes. They scared her when she took a quick glance. She quickly and dutifully put the shoe back on Luna's royal hoof with her teeth, then quickly pulled back, head low to the ground along with her ears. Hopefully with her dang shoe back she'd feel better and not cause a storm to destroy the sale and the farm all because a pig was trying to play with you.

"Okay, yer shoe's back on Yer Majesty! Sorry!" Apple Bloom asked, eyes half shielded.

[Hippo]

Apple Bloom placed the show back onto the Princess' bare hoof. When Luna felt the unpleasant saliva aroud the shoe on her hoof, she grimaced a bit, but then warmed up to Apple Bloom's ability to settle the situation. Luna's eyes started turning color again, and the blackened skies around their small region dissipated. "THANK Y-," Luna coughed, "I mean, thank you, filly. I.. do not like having things taken from me in that nature." Luna looked away as if to say she was better than everything around her, although it wasn't meant to be an act of elitism, it was just the way she was. "My shoe will dry in time, I suppose. Where to next, youngling?"

​

[SteelEagle]

What was next on the schedule, she asked. What the hay could be next on the schedule? Apple Bloom ws frightened half to death by that show of magical force! She couldn't do a darn thing about it either. She had rarely felt so impotent or weak nor had she ever seen something so casually frightening displayed by a mare who had seemed so nice. No wonder she one freaked out and tried to shroud the world in eternal night. Did somepony mess up her bagel in an especially cruel fashion or something? Apple Bloom had a half a mind to shut the tour down right then and there lest her Princess grow incredibly angry at some other aspect of farm life and turn Apple Bloom into a newt or some other useless creature of the pond.

On the other, if she cut it down now and just walked away, Luna might get a poor impression of the farm and that was worse than any possible world-ending cataclysm that could result from an enraged Luna. Better dead than dishonored. Apple Bloom hushed and pushed the pigs away as Luna's haughty demeanor was displayed in force, the pigs not paying her any heed as they ran deeper into the pig pen to roll around in the mud some more. Carefree animals, Apple Bloom had to envy them. Not a care in the whole world except eating, sleeping, and pooping. Unlike Apple Bloom, who had too worry about a temper tantrum throwing all powerful alicorn princess. Before Luna had come back, the mare in the moon had many fables and legends attached to it as flies to stink. One of them said that bad fillies who stayed up too late and looked at the moon would be turned into statues made from moon stone. Apple Bloom wasn't gonna tempt that or any other fable from having a slight basis in a secret fact. She was content to remain mobile, thank you very much.

"Err, yer welcome, Yer Majesty. Ah-ah think, Ah t-think we'll just go ahead on and skip tha animals. Some of them have a smell, too. Animals out here can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but we still love 'em! Best we just skip them this time, though. 'sides, the majority should be sleeping. I got a lotta of other things to show you instead anyway," Apple Bloom whispered, summoning her intestinal fortitude in ever greater amounts to satisfy the desire to change the subject. Once that happened she started to feel a bit better and less liable to be turned into a newt. Or a parisian croaking rock. Moon stone was still in play, however. As was being mentally bound to her as a mind slave. Many fables, no investigation required.

"D-do you like history, Yer Majesty?"

[Hippo]

"History? Of course." Luna gave a prideful pose without showing a smile. "I am history, in a way. I may not be able to go into the details of what has happened in the last thousand years, but I'm well-versed in anything prehistoric. Why do you ask?" Luna was a little curious about why the filly would ask such a question. Even the biggest historian ponies fell short of Luna's prehistory knowledge, but when it came to recent history involving times when Luna was kept far away, she could easily be schooled by a filly in magic kindergarten. Luna hoped that this wasn't a case of the filly being a show-off and rather was willing to educate the Princess on a few things of recent. Luna could only hope. She also wondered if it was be about apples.

​