Burning, Bleeding, Loving

I found myself down on my knees, head laying against the table. The hard surface printing valleys on my forehead.

But you don't know me at all. I could be anyone.

If that's a game she wanted to play, so games will be played. You see my face in the tar pit, while the crimson surprise streamed down that open chest. I was not the surprise you thought it'd be.

Cadance stared down at me, a wing brushing against my back, one of its feathers reaching my exposed neck. She looked at the face of her deceased lover as if it was a piece of exotic meat. It was intact, nonetheless. We could sew it in a mannequin and pretend he was alive until the bugs started to decompose his face.

"Where's the rest?" I asked under my breath, raising from my knees and dusting the sides of my dark coat with a hand.

"The rest?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes Cadance, the remaining pieces of Shining Armor." Those were strong words, even more so was to pronounce them in the same sentence. I guess there's not a way to be polite when asking about the missing parts of a corpse.

The raw fact was that Cadance was clearly a delusional murderer, and my options narrowed down considerably with each wrong word. Now the shit was done, and there was nothing I could do to glue Shining's head back to its proper place. The prince was dead, and the princess insane.

I trembled considerably when I decided it was time to close the ivory chest again. I trembled because I had to touch it. But I did not hesitated. It would burn in a corner of my mind for a very long time, anyway.

With an almost inaudible clank, all the horror seemed to disappear. Ivory always made things look the prettiest.

"I buried it." She said bluntly. Turning around to face the windows again, as if no murder had ever happened. Of course, it must be a cultural tradition to mutilate heads and present them to your guests.

"You can't simply kill your fucking husband and get along with it. Someone will find out sooner or later." I stated.

"My little Shining was attacked by terrorists in Saddle Arabia." She sobbed, a tear running down her cheek. "They sent me this... This horrible box. I j-just wanted a chance to see my hubby again..." Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she tried to cover her bloodshot eyes with a hoof.

As the princess rubbed her head against mine, a frightening smile formed on her lips.

It was very difficult to find a single point to focus my thoughts, I just pulled a chair from the table and sat down. Do I wanted Cadance? What for fuck's sake was I thinking? She had sent a prince to the guillotine. My coat felt like a cloth prison around my body, so I unbuckled the belts holding the vest together, breathing deeply in relief.

"I was tired, Henry." She muttered.

"And killing your husband provided great relief."

"It's not a matter of relief." She turned around, her messy mane covering half of her face, a teary eye looked up at me. "It's a matter of freedom."

"You're a sick bitch, that's what you are." I snickered sarcastically.

"And you're my little psycho..." Tenderly, she ran a hoof over my chest, nuzzling my cheek. "I don't know what'd be of me without you." She whispered in my ear, my hand groped for a piece of fur to grab. I buried my fingers into her mane, exposing her face as I pushed the bangs of hair away. Her tears evaporated.

"You'd be a happy princess." I smiled. Planting a kiss on her forehead. Cadance chuckled, curling around on my lap, her head resting against my neck. I caressed her sleek body, thinking to myself that never in Equestria, a spell went so wrong.

"Did you enjoyed my surprise?" She asked, rolling on her back and poking my nose with the tip of her hoof.

"I loved it."

It was late at night, when I finally managed to return to my room. The undisturbed quietude of the castle was only disrupted by the panicked screams I let out inside the bathroom. I punched the mirrors, feeling the glass shards spattering against my face.

My hands bleed, together with my spirit. It bleed in shame, in cowardice.

It was too much.

This time Cadance had gone too far, and no superglue would fix the behemoth-sized problem she created.

I was a human, not a machine. I needed time to think, although not even the train station's giant clock would be enough time for me. I had to be realistic in an unrealistic world. And several times that proved itself to be impossible

I had to think straight, when all my paths were crooked and bent.

Landlocked in an isolated outpost of this world, surrounded by a permanent winter. I wouldn't dare to write a letter, I don't trust magic, or the ponies who deal with it. I trust no one, and even my shadow is doubtful about me.

Soon the news would scream in the headlines, and the little princess - poor princess - would be the victim.

The future scared me, but I couldn't fight against it. I'd be waiting for the royals to step in the situation, the shit will hit the fan sooner or later.

I hoped.