Life is Beautiful

Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the ponies gathered; the thunderous roar that followed a few moments later drowned out the words being spoken, though the downpour soaking those gathered already made them difficult to pick out.

Twilight Sparkle glanced to her left as she heard a little squeak, Princess Cadance was standing there, her face drawn, and pale, her hide soaked, water running own her face like tears, though her wings were slightly spread, and it was from beneath these that the sound came. A tiny little unicorn filly, barely more than a yearling stood shakily beneath her mother’s wings, her coat white, and her mane and tail a lush, blood red, with a streak of gentle sky blue running down the middle, surrounded by a beautiful shade of pink, her damp curls hanging damply. The little filly was standing close besides her mother, half pressed against the alicorn’s gravid belly, and sheltered from the rain beneath her wing

This is no place for a filly, Twilight thought to herself, but turned her gaze back to what lay before her, her eyes catching on what any other day would have filled her with joy to see, her mentor and friend, Princess Celestia was standing across the small clearing of the other ponies gathered, and besides her, Princess Luna, both soaked in the rain. But not even the presence of both of the princesses could lift the mood this day, as her eyes were drawn back inevitably to the reason they were here.

Set on a pyre of logs, decorated in the garb of a captain of the royal guard, polished till it shone like a mirror whenever the lightning flickered across the sky, decorated in badges and medals of honor, lay a still form. The stallion’s coat shone white, and his two colored blue mane and tail were arrayed beautifully around him, but with the care taken to present him… that was still Shining Armor laying there, and Twilight had trouble choking back a strangled sob as she lowered her head.

The words of the priest fell silent, the only noise the distant rumbling of thunder, and the pouring rain, when a soft voice, melodically beautiful, but tiny rose besides Twilight, drawing the attention of those gathered, “M-mommy? When is daddy going to get up? He’s been laying there a long time.” The little white unicorn besides Twilight asked, causing Twilight’s throat to tighten.

“Hush little Heart-“ Princess Cadance began, only to be cut off by the filly again.

“No mommy! Stop telling me to be quiet,” with all the impudence of youth, and it struck Twilight Sparkle that her niece was too young to even understand, the filly continuing, “Daddy is getting all wet! I want to go home and get warm by the fire with him!”

“Heart Song…” Princess Cadance began softly, but she didn’t know how to continue, her voice catching in her throat, looking to Twilight for help.

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but even she was at a loss, how do you explain to a filly so young, that her father would never be coming home? An older, wiser, and gentler voice answered, “Your father won’t be able to come home today little one,” Princess Celestia said, stepping closer to the trio, her approach unheard. “Sometimes something bad happens… and the spark that makes us who we are is taken away… you’ll understand in time.”

“I don’t want to understand!” retorted the young filly, “make them give it back! I just want my daddy!” starting to move forwards, trying to head for the pyre, only to be caught by Princess Cadance’s hoof. Heart Song struggled, and slipped free, only to be caught in the purple glow of Twilight Sparkle’s magic as the unicorn slowly pulled her niece back. This only set the young unicorn to struggling and fighting, calling for her daddy to wake up, and to come home, her voice rising to cries, her untamed power breaking the hearts of every pony in the gathering as her wails rose.

Even Princess Celestia was affected by the foal’s cries, the tears of the most powerful unicorn in the world falling to hear the heartbreaking cries of a child who lose her father. Slowly the princess of the sun turned back to the pyre, lifting her head as her horn lit up, radiating power and light to break the gloom and rain that pervaded the day.

The sky lit up as the princess called on the sun, the clouds splitting open as a pillar of light fell from the heavens into the pyre, consuming it in light as the gathered ponies shielded their eyes from the sudden light as the pyre hissed, and burst into flame a few moments later, before the light faded.

All around silence reigned for a few blessed moments, before the heartrending cries of Heart Song rose again, fighting to get free, to run to the pyre, only to be held back by her mother, and Twilight Sparkle as they both sobbed in grief.

The keening wail of the child only rose, Heart Song’s horn glowing as her cries sang a symphony of pain and loss no pony that young should even be able to understand. The song ripped into the hearts of everyone present as the fires rose, gripping them and clawing at them with grief. It was the two closest to Shining Armor in life that felt it the deepest however, the power of the grief ripping deeply into the hearts of the two mares.

Twilight’s eyes closed as a shudder of anguish ripped through her, all the preparation, all the time she had had to try and deal with this before the funeral was ripped away. Like a wound freshly opened, memories came pouring forth, the way they played together as children, the way they shared, the way they worked together for their goals, the pride they felt for eachother when they achieved them, the good times, the little times, the bad times when they had cried together, the time when Shining Armor protected her from bullies, earning his cutie mark, the elation when she received hers, the sadness of being apart for so long, and the horrific grief when she had learned of his fall in battle, playing the hero. It was too much for Twilight, like the claws of a griffon were ripping into her chest, she collapsed to her knees as her own wail of pain joined that of Heart Song’s, even as Cadance’s voice rose in a wail besides her.

Princess Celestia could do nothing as she watched both of the mares, and the power of the child’s song as it swept over those gathered. Everyone knew the proud knight, everyone was touched by his loss, but none more than Cadance and Twilight Sparkle. As Princess Luna managed to gather herself, her wings flared as an indigo aura surrounded her horn, an all at once, the crying of the little filly fell silent as she fell asleep beneath the princess of the moon’s spell, leaving only the sobbing of the two to fill the air.

The others gathered were in stunned silence, drowning beneath the thunderous downpour, and finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, as the sobbing of Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Cadance began to die down, they slowly started to depart, until it was just the three, silent beneath the storm’s fury as the pyre burned on, until it too fell silent, and the pyre burned out.

Twilight looked up from her stupor as the pyre was reduced to glowing embers and melted metal, her voice weak and shaky, “goodbye Big brother best friend… Forever.”

* * *

Hours later saw the two back at the palace, lying on a number of large pillows in front of a large, ornately decorated fireplace. Little Heart Song was still asleep, wrapped up in towels, and curled up at her mother’s side, while a number of other towels lay strewn about haphazardly.

The storm had died down finally, and a silver ghost of a moon was rising over the departing storm front as Cadance used a brush to work through her drying mane, out of something to do more than anything. Besides her sat Twilight Sparkle, still having much of her mane and tail wrapped in towels, melancholy and quiet, staring into the fire that didn’t seem to give her any warmth.

Princess Cadance had insisted Twilight stay with her, and Twilight had understood the reasons. The sheer stress of losing Shining Armor had made both of them a wreck, and with Heart Song needing looking after, Twilight had understood that the company of family would make the process easier.

Now if I only had someone to make the process easier for me, Twilight thought to herself, but their parents had passed away a few years before, and her friends in Ponyville were busy with their own lives, and Twilight felt she didn’t have anyone she could turn to right then, a huge whole resting in her chest where her heart should be.

The purple glow of magic surrounded the towels covering Twilight’s mane and tail, pulling those away as she shook her mane out, levitating the brush besides her that had gone neglected, and working on her own mane and tail quietly, hardly noticing as Princess Cadance finally fell asleep besides her, her mind still lost in the memories of her far too brief childhood, regret filling her heart for all the years she could have… just spent time with her brother, and his family… time that felt wasted now, time that would never come again.

It was approaching near midnight as this fire too burned down, as Twilight stirred from her reverie, dim moonlight filtering in through the window. Twilight looked to the sleeping forms of Cadance, pregnant with her nephew, and little Heart Song, whose powerful voice had caused so much pain. Shared, not caused, Twilight reminded herself, trying not to blame the child who she knew was suffering as well.

Twilight laid her head down, and closed her eyes, but memories of her brother hovered before her eyes, haunting her, taunting her, and threatening to bring her to tears once again. After a half hour of futile attempts to clear her mind, Twilight slowly rose, carefully stepping off of the pillow, and doing her best to muffle her hoofsteps as she made her way to the door, not wanting to wake either Cadance or Heart Song, her telekinesis carefully turning the doorknob, and slowly opening it, before slipping outside, and closing it just as quietly behind her.

“is there something I can help you with, Miss Sparkle?” the sudden voice, soft as it was made Twilight jump a good three feet straight up, and spin about, power lighting her horn, and casting a lavender glow about the corridor, her eyes wide for a moment until they alit of the form of a night guard standing down the hallway.

“My apologies Miss Sparkle, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the stallion said softly.

“I-its alright,” Twilight muttered sheepishly, her cheeks a bit red with embarrassment.

“Is there anything I can get for you?” The stallion repeated softly.

Twilight shook her head, “n-No, thank you, I just felt the need for… for some fresh air.”

“Would you like an escort Miss?” the stallion asked helpfully.

Twilight shook her head after a moment, “no thank you sir, I have been roaming these halls since I was a little filly myself,”

The stallion nodded, “very well, and you have my deepest sympathies, he was the best of us.”

Though the guard did not mean it, it felt like a twist of the knife in Twilight’s heart, and she nodded glumly, her voice weak as she murmured, “thank you,” in response, turning and walking her way down the hall, an out of the guest wing.

* * *

Walking did little to brighten Twilight’s mood, but the cool air, and silent streets helped to soothe her a bit. The lavender mare wandered aimlessly for what seemed hours, lost in thought and remorse, not even noticing where she was, or where she had wandered to, her hooves softly clopping on the cobble stones.

“Well well well, what do we have here?” Came a heavy, deep sounding voice, that finally made Twilight stop, her head jerking up as a strange edge to the voice made her blood freeze in her veins, spinning to find a large pegasus stepping from the shadows of an alleyway, the colors of the form washed out in the dim moonlight, so it was hard to pick out what color he really was.

Twilight started to back up, uncertainly, her ears flicked back, “l-look, I don’t want any-“

“Any what? Trouble?” a voice asked behind Twilight, “ya should have thought of that before ya came down here in the middle of the night.” A dark coated unicorn sneered as he stepped out of the shadows behind Twilight, causing her to spin again, backing away from him to the middle of the street, her purple eyes flickering this way and that, picking out other shapes emerging into the ghostly light of the moon.

“It’s one of those nobles from the upper city! I bet her fur tastes like grapes,” came a slightly cackling voice from Twilight’s left, causing her eyes to widen in fear, turning and bolting down a side street that looked like it offered a good escape route.

Much to Twilight’s dismay however, the street narrowed, and looked like it came to a dead end, though she noticed a smaller opening off to the side, that she sprinted through as she heard hoofbeats behind her, the voice of the large pegasus calling, “we’ve got a runner boys! Cut her off Shadow!”

Twilight Sparkle didn’t know this section of town, and the other ponies had the home turf advantage, as Twilight burst out of the narrow ally into a small sides street, just to see the dark coated unicorn step out around the end of the ally. Twilight’s horn began to glow with magic as she charged towards the unicorn, purple light flooding the area for a moment as the stallion’s eyes widened in surprise, lowering his horn to meet the charge, his own beginning to glow a greenish black.

At the last moment, just before hitting the stallion, there was a burst of magic, and Twilight teleported behind the stallion, out into a more open street, turning and bolting, looking back as she heard shouts, “She teleported past me! She went that way!”

Seeing that glow of greenish black behind her, she threw herself to the side just before a bolt of power raced past her, thudding into the cobbles and sending a few up. But Twilight was so involved in running, and trying to dodge any more attacks coming her way that she failed to see the one standing in her way.

With a thud and a yelp of pain, Twilight ran neck first into a well built pegasus stallion in front of her, falling back as she whipped her head around to focus on him, her wide eyes meeting the shocked, golden gaze of the pegasus before her, before whipping her head around to the sound of hooves thundering closer.

To Twilight’s surprise, instead of attacking her, the stallion she had run into frowned, and after glancing over the filly for a moment, he moved to step around her, wings flaring.

The small herd, five or six ponies came to a stop, starting to circle, “Hey! What gives man, get out of our way or we’ll mess you up too!” the large offending pegasus, who seemed to be the leader of the gang growled.

“I hate to spoil your… fun, but I thought it fair to warn you, this isn’t just some lost filly that’s stumbled down here, this is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Twilight who?” asked one of the stallions.

“Twilight Sparkle! One of the most powerful ponies in Equestria?!”

“That is right,” said the golden eyed stallion, “you were about to assault a national hero, and a pony that could have pulled you limb from limb if she so wished.”

Twilight was shaking, still half laying where she had fallen, though even she blanched at the suggestion that she would have pulled them apart by the limbs. But the golden eyed stallion wasn’t done talking, “Now you should apologize to the lady, and get lost before the guards find out what you almost did,” The stallion taking a firm, aggressive stance in front of Twilight.

The large pegasus in the lead took a step back, nervously, “we… we are sorry, we didn’t mean… anything by it… Miss Sparkle… come on guys,” turning tail and cantering off quickly.

The golden eyed stallion stood there for a few moments, watching, before turning back to Twilight Sparkle, offering her a hoof up, “I am so sorry about that Miss Sparkle, the name is Hot Shot, are you alright?”

“no… I mean yes… please, call me Twilight,” the lavender mare said softly as she reached up and took the hoof, which pulled her to her feet, “thank you, I don’t know what they would have done if…” her voice trailing off fearfully.

“Think nothing of it. It is the least I could do, your brother was a hero to us… all…” the stallion trailing off as he saw the look of pain and anguish slide across Twilight Sparkle’s face, the mare lowering her head as her lip trembled.

Hot Shot didn’t know what to do for a moment, looking down at the filly as she looked like she was about to burst into tears, “I’m… I’m sorry. What are you doing out here? This is a dangerous part of town.”

It took Twilight a moment to regain her composure, slowly lifting her head again, “I… couldn’t sleep, I needed some air… I guess I didn’t pay attention to where I was wandering.”

“I’ll say. I can take you back to the castle… but can I offer you some tea first? You just had an awful scare… on top of… what happened at the funeral…” Hot Shot offered.

Twilight blinked, not expecting such hospitality in this section of town, though her eyes lowered again at the mention of the funeral, “you heard what happened?”

“I think almost everypony in Canterlot has heard. You know, if you are having trouble sleeping, I’ve got something that might… take the edge off of things, and let you rest.”

“That… that sounds wonderful actually, and the tea as well,” Twilight responded, trying to manage a weak half smile, as the stallion smiled wider back down at her, nodding his head, and turning to trot slowly off back towards his house, Twilight turning to keep up.

Author’s Notes

This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic, an my ideas for this one are… downright frightening. I am not sure how this story will be received in the end, but while this chapter seems a bit light… my plan is for this story to touch on some of the crueler and more graphic nature of the world. The inspiration for this is from the Heroine Diaries by Nikki Sixx. This story will possibly border on clopfic within the next few chapters, or likely blow right past that into some horrible, twisted place. I do not feel that I am writing this just for ‘shock value,’ as I feel the line ‘write the story you want to read’ going through my head when I write. This is a story I want to tell, one that explores the horrors of the world. I have no personal experience with many of the things I will write about, I’m just sayin’. Please feel free to leave feedback, but if you are going to criticize, please do so constructively. I have been roleplaying for the past 15 years, but I rarely write stories on my own, this is one of my first adventures into writing stories on my own. I hope that you enjoy what I write, but also I cannot guarantee any haste to my writing, I usually need some level of inspiration to write, such does not always come quickly.