Chronic Reincarnation

Every life for me is always different. Different colors, different talent, different personality, those things are always different, but this time there is something else different. I knew it the moment I was born, and I will always know it. No matter how hard I tried, I knew that I would never be able to fly. I was born with a condition that left the muscles in my wings too week and incapable of supporting my weight.

Not being able to fly really impacted me. I love the skies and I love to fly, but having that denied hurts. For a Pegasus, not being able to fly was like a unicorn not being able to use magic, or an earth pony not being able to run. It was something that affected our lives, but I rose to the challenge and started to adapt. Instead of using my wings to fly I started to use them to help me with tasks at home. With time I was able to use my wings to hold on to things like forks and knives. I was also able to open doors with my wings, though it was still hard to do. This is where I found my talent, I was using my wings to hold a paint brush and paint and that was when my cutie mark appeared. It was a paint brush with a wing wrapped around it. By the time I was done painting and having fun I was covered in paint, quite literally. From head to hooves I was covered in paint. I still have the painting that I was working on when I got my cutie mark. It was a painting of a rose.

The paint was a pain to wash off but when it did I saw my cutie mark. Sitting right there on my white furred flank. I was so happy that I jumped for joy. Of course my main and tail were still wet so I naturally ended up splashing myself with more water. I remember that cleaning the paint out of my golden colored mane was hard, but in the end it was worth it. From then on I painted every day, and I got better each time I painted. Soon I was selling my works and taking commissions and this is where I met Willow again. By this time I had my own studio and was regularly going to art galleries to show off my work.

Willow came to my studio to see about getting a commission and just like that my memories came flooding back to me. Memories about how we met, our times together, the good and the bad of our relationship, all of it came rushing back but instead of fainting like I usually do I just greeted him with a smile, happy to see him again.

From there we began our usual cycle. We dated, we got married again, and then came The Great Canterlot Fire of 592. The two of us worked to help put out that fire. I moved through the buildings near the fire to try and make sure that everyone got out. This is where I met him. The pony that started the fire: Thangre Volekiez. This pony would become one of the most notorious ponies of the time. I had heard of him many times before and Willow had been hunting for him for years before we had gotten back together.

So here he was. The murder himself, Thangre Volekiez, he has killed more ponies than one could imagine. So we fought, and in the light of the fire our skills were tested. While I am no expert at hoof to hoof combat, I am not that bad either.  We fought our way through the buildings as they burned and when I had him cornered, pinned to a wall, and at my mercy, I could not kill him. I just couldn’t, I couldn’t bring myself to take his life. I let him go and soon after he was found, dead, having hung himself. He must have realized what was happening and finally decided that he’d had enough. It was a shame that he never really changed but the fact that I couldn’t kill him stayed with me.

A month after my confrontation with Volekiez, I went to visit Celestia. I remember it as if it was only yesterday. I marched along the halls of Canterlot Castle. Every guard I passed dipped their head in respect. I was Celestia’s reserve captain, her commander in a crisis and that earned the respect of the normal guards. When I reached the meeting hall where Celestia was the current captain of the guard tried to stop me from entering the room.

“You may not enter this room Celestia is in an important meeting and is not to be disturbed.” The Captain said, his golden eyes attempting to pierce my determination. His ghostly white coat and silver mane were left un-dyed as a symbol of his rank.

“Unless every diplomat from every nation is in that very room and they are discussing war, then you cannot stop me, now stand aside. You may be the captain but I am Celestia’s champion and I will see her, now.” I said, my eyes glowed a bit and the captain shivered before moving out of the way. Once he was out of the way I stepped into the room. The sight that greeted me wasn’t too surprising. Celestia’s personal scribe and her personal advisor were talking with her.

“Ah, My Faithful Guard, how may I help you to day?” Celestia said, greeting me in her usual manner.

“I am here to talk about Volekiez, Your Highness,” I said, with a bow.

Celestia turned to her scribe and her advisor, “Would you two leave us for a bit, we will resume work on the law in a bit.” The two ponies nodded and then bowed before leaving. Once they left Celestia focused her expectant gaze on me.

“I encountered him on the night of the great fire. He was the one who started the whole fire and I was forced into the position of fighting him. When I had him beat, and had him staring down his own end, I-I just couldn’t do it. I know the orders of the guard were to kill him on sight, but I-I-” I broke down crying. In that moment Celestia wrapped her wings around me and hugged me.

“It’s okay, I forgive you. He was stopped in the end, and you didn’t have to take another life.” Celestia said as she comforted me, her eyes had a motherly gleam to them.

“B-but I-I failed, I had a duty and I failed and… and I, I cannot continue to do what I once did. I cannot protect you like I use to. I feel like I have failed you.” I say my voice trembling slightly.

“You haven’t failed me, but I can tell that this isn’t the only reason why you’re here, is it?”

“No. I am here because I no longer wish to be the reserve captain. I will always help where I can, but I can no longer fulfill that role.”

“And no pony will ever need to again. We are entering a time of pure peace, that… pony that you fought was the last major criminal and the crime rates have dropped so much that such a position is not ever going to be needed again. Though I know you will always be there when I need you, I just want you to have a good life, and for every life you live after that to be just as happy.” She said with a smile. Her hooves wrapped around me and held me tightly, “after what happened with my sister I had lost everyone I cared about, everyone except you. Just knowing that you are living a happy life and that you will always be here for me is enough to make me happy. Since you truly seem to wish to leave your position then how about you take on a new role, no longer a guard, but a friend, will you be my friend?”

Tears come to my eyes again, this time they are tears of joy, “Yes, I will be your friend Celestia.”

We sat there, talking about the past, reminiscing about the good times. We talked late into the night and when it came time for me to head off and rest, Celestia asked me to stay with her that night. She wrapped me up in her wings and held me as we slept. In the morning I woke to find that Celestia had left already. I was kind of sad that she was gone before I could even wake up but as I started to get ready to go a guard came in and informed me that Celestia was waiting for me in the dining hall. I headed to the dining hall and found Celestia sitting at the main table, patiently waiting.

“Thank you for joining me,” Celestia said before she took another sip of her tea.

“I’m sorry if I made you wait,” I replied as I sat at the table with her.

“It’s no trouble at all,” she said as she looked at the assortment of things that sat on the table.

When I looked at what was on the table, I was surprised. The table had a golden table cloth, with red stripes along the center of it, and on it was a spread like no other. There were pancakes, fruit salads, scones, fruit slices of just about every imaginable fruit, and to top it all off, there was perhaps the most amazing thing I had ever seen, at least food wise, it was a perfectly layered pomegranate coffee cake, with warm butter, delicious oats and a gentle spreading of frosting on top of it. “Celestia, did… did you have this prepared specifically for me?” I asked, still somewhat shocked by the sight before me.

“Well, I know how much you love pomegranate and since I knew you would be heading off to your studio I figured that a nice breakfast would be a good way to see you off,” Celestia said as she started to dish up her plate.

I swear that was the first time I have ever really heard Celestia sound so unsure of what she was saying. I know that after I woke up to her shaking and shivering from a nightmare, I helped her relax and we spent some time together. “Thank you Celestia. This breakfast looks amazing,” I said as I too started to dish up my plate. Using my wings to hold a fork I moved a couple of pancakes, a bit of fruit salad and a slice of the pomegranate coffee cake, on to my plate.

“Why do you not use your magic, it’s not like you have to hide it from me.” Celestia inquired before she took a bite of her pancakes.

“I have simply not bothered to learn magic in this life. My wings, while incapable of holding me up for flight, are able to hold onto things like a unicorns magic would, so I see no need to learn magic.” I took a bite out of my pancakes, using my right wing to hold the fork. “I must say, the palace cooks are as good as ever.”

“Yes, they most certainly are. They were handpicked from the best culinary academy in all of Equestria.” Celestia said as we continued to enjoy the cooking. After the meal was over we said our goodbyes and I left the castle for my studio. When I arrived I found Willow waiting for me.

“So, did you get a chance to talk to The Princess?” he asked as I sat next to him on the couch.

“Yes, and I am no longer the reserve captain. She and I are friends, no longer soldier and Princess, but friends.” I said as I snuggled closer to him, a small pang of guilt perking up in me.

“I’m sorry Willow.” I say as I hang my head a bit.

Willow doesn’t say anything right away, but just wraps his hooves around me. “It’s fine, I know about it, and I’m not mad at you.” Willow’s reassuring gaze and loving hug helped me feel a bit better.

“Thank you for being so understanding Willow,” I nuzzle his neck. We spent hours in each other’s embrace. The day turned to night and back to day and life moved on.  Soon news came out of the castle about Princess Celestia becoming pregnant. To this day no one knows who the father of her child is. Being Celestia’s friend I was allowed to come and see her even when she was pregnant. I spent a lot of time visiting her and when her daughter was born I was there to help her take care of her. I would watch over the beautiful daughter of my friend while her mother was busy dealing with things that required her direct attention. Willow even came and joined me in watching over the little princess.

With time we became like uncles to the sweet little Rose Bud. When I asked Celestia why she named her daughter Rose Bud, she told me that it was because it was her daughter’s father’s favorite flower. When Hearth’s Warming Eve came around I painted a picture of Celestia and her daughter for her and I also gave her a painting of a rose in a vase. Rose Bud had a yellowish-gold mane and a white coat, which made it hard to tell that she was even there when she was being held by her mother, but that little sweetheart was always happy.

With time she grew up into a fine young mare and even when I fell deathly ill she would come to see me. She was right there with me when I died, right next to Willow and Celestia. I remember saying that I was proud to have been her “Uncle” even if I wasn’t Celestia’s brother. I made my peace with death and so to ended my fifth life after the banishing of Nightmare Moon.