Jesus Manson: The Broken Alicorn

Life never goes the way you originally intend it to. There are mistakes that are made, and some places you wouldn’t find yourself at. I’m no exception. In fact, I never expected myself to be where I’m at today.

I’m a former pegasus who worked for the Royal Guard of Canterlot, but unlike the guards who remain on the royal grounds or near royalty, I was more of a field agent. Being a pegasus, I could fly to anywhere in Equestria to serve under the Princess, which was exactly what I did. I would perform my duties anywhere at any time needed, but my approach to handling my duties weren’t as subtle as most other guards.

My upbringing in Canterlot began peacefully, living with my mother, my father, and my younger sister. Unfortunately, as higher class and scale most ponies depict the city as, we lived in the less fortunate section, plagued by cold attitudes and cruel behaviors. Nopony was nice, unless you had something to get on their good side. At first, being so young, I didn’t mind it, and just thought that I’ll find nicer ponies to meet. Life killed that hope for me.

It was a typical day for me, walking my sister home from the park so I could show her flying fundamentals. She was only three years younger than me and at the time was becoming a great flyer, but she lacked some common sense when it came to looking where you’re going and watching for other airborne pegasi. We got pulled into an alley by some thug unicorns who tried to rob us. I tried to protect my sister, but they used magic to shove me aside as he went after my sister.

The thing was, her birthday was about a month before, and my parents scraped enough bits to buy her a golden heart locket. My parents had good jobs, my mom and café cook and my dad a construction grunt, but they would always get passed up by up-and-coming guys, and they couldn’t afford to quit and go elsewhere. She had enough hard times having a blank flank, even from the adult ponies in the neighborhood. I went through the same thing, but I didn’t care as much. That locket, with a picture of our family, was her reminder that it doesn’t matter what others say, because she had a family that would always love her no matter what.

But that day, the thugs – three of the worst ponies in our neighborhood – decided to take the locket from her. She tried to resist, but she couldn’t fly away fast enough to be caught by their magic. One of them made sure she couldn’t run and punched her in the stomach excessively, taking the locket off her as she was out of breath. I did what I could to fight back, but another bucked me against the wall. I recovered at the worst possible moment, when the lead unicorn kicked her not once but twice in the stomach, and used her magic to chuck her against the wall by me, right on her head.

I couldn’t believe it. Three young stallions, mugging kids, and treating my sister like a punching bag. A part of me changed that moment, and I became very, very angry. That’s when I did it – I attacked the lead unicorn, punching his horn with all my strength and weight, and snapped it off his head.

We were taken to the hospital when our parents found us, but at the same time, so did a couple Royal Guards. It was the worst night of my life. My sister’s hit on the wall was too hard to recover from, her young skull shattered and her brain too damaged to properly head. She died in attempted surgery to save her. My family was heartbroken, and I was livid, to say the least.

The unicorn I hit was helped, but not as well. I broke his horn so badly that there was no way to just reattach it and access his magic again, so he was told he was unable to get it back. He and his goons eventually got charged with assault and my sister’s death, even showing regret. The Guards said they got what they deserved. I told them they were wrong.

I was treated like a criminal most of the night. The doctor and Royal Guards were interrogating me about what happened and what my actions had caused, and I did not care. Just before it all, they told me my sister was gone. I told them that I regretted nothing, and wanted to do more. My parents did what they could to keep me in line, but it was no use. I gave my say that I didn’t care for what I did, that I was proud of harming that scum of the earth. And I promised to do it again if necessary.

That’s when she walked in – Princess Celestia. The tall white alicorn who ruled over Equestria, standing right there in the doorway. Everypony bowed to her presence, everypony but me. I didn’t even look up at her. Instead, the stubbornness in me just let my eyes point away from her sight without a damn given that I was being disrespectful to a Princess. She spoke to my parents first, apologizing for the loss of their daughter. Then she spoke to me, her voice soft and elegant, but at the same time, demanding and gaining my attention.

“I understand how you must be feeling, young colt. You did what you had to do to try and protect yoru family, and I admire you for that. However, you did cause something very serious that’s changes others’ lives, including your own. I’m afraid I cannot leave your actions overlooked.”

My mother broke into tears, harder ones that were built from the crying she had from our family losing a member, begging to not have me punished. I have been in a few fights in the past with bullies around our neighborhood, but it never reached this magnitude before, and it scared my family. The two Guards stood close to each side of me, too close for comfort so I tried shoving one to the side. He didn’t like it at all.

“Why you little…”

“Stand down, Guard. I will handle this.”

Celestia’s orders were obeyed, but he still stared at me with a mad look. My face remained the same – mad, cold, and empty inside. Hell, the white pupils in my eyes weren’t even there anymore to show any little innocence, or soul. The Princess talked to me again, regaining my attention, and it was almost too unbelievable to hear.

“You have nobility in your actions, but I’m afraid how you handle things is not what I approve of. You need to learn how to control yourself and not let your frustrations command your actions like what they did today. As such, I have decided to have you placed in training to become a member of the Royal Guards. It is my hope that through that will you be able to control your anger better, and so that we may avoid circumstances like this where I will not be as lenient as I am now.”