Chapters Prologue
I didn’t know that lives could change in an instant. I never thought that death could creep into your life like some sort of poison. She was my life. My world. The only one who understood me. And she was taken away. Viciously. Her eyes filled with tears. Her coat, dirty and matted. Her brain filled with thoughts of fear. Something she had never experienced. She was a pacifist. She wouldn’t hurt anyone. She would do anything to save somepony, including giving up her own life. That is what she did for me. That was a mistake though. She probably thought that I would move on. Or at least, that’s what she hoped. I will never let go of her though. Never. Every single one of her moments will be remembered. That includes her death. Her heart wrenching, terrible death. How could I forget that? And how could I forget the pony that killed her? I can’t. That’s why what I need isn’t closure. It’s revenge. She would tell me to stop that thinking. Tell me to forgive and forget. But she’s not here anymore. Now there’s no one to hold the leash for this rabid dog. I’m free to do what I want with this situation, and I’m not about to let this murderer get away with this. He will regret his mistakes. And if not, I’ll make him regret them.
I walk through my castle in almost a daze. The ponies in the hallways watch me with sad eyes as they carry on with their duties. Not bothering to speak to me. It has only been four days since they found me chained in that dungeon crying. They pried me away from my lifeless sister, and took me home. I don’t know how they took her to the castle, and just the thought of it made choke down a sob. I step into the dining room and look around. Only the chef stands by the table. He’s a skinny, pearl white stallion, with the brightest blue eyes. And he’s young. So young. He smiled at me as he prepared my meal. Oats. Gourmet of course! As the he would say. I sat myself down in my habitual seat.
“Sugar Spice,” I say quietly. “Thank you, but I wish to be alone.” He stands awkwardly for a second as if he doesn’t know what to do. This was the first time since the incident that I had eaten in the dining room. The last three days I had been in my room. Refusing to come out. I sat in the dark, crying and grieving. The food had been delivered to my room by a soldier. The staff didn’t want to see their ruler huddled in a corner, bawling. Of course the soldier didn’t like it either, but they volunteered anyway. They would open the door and place the plate on my desk, and bring the uneaten food away. I couldn’t eat. All I could do was think about her. Cry about her.
Sugar Spice nods and trots into the kitchen. I hope he understands why I want to be alone. I wouldn’t know though. He doesn’t have a family. Sugar Spice was an orphan. I found him wandering the street as a little foal, and took him under my wing. It was amazing to watch him grow up and earn his cutie mark. It was a sugar cube in a salt shaker. I never knew he could cook until I saw him bake cookies with my sister. I never thought about how much he must miss her too.
“Wait!” I call out. Sugar Spice turns around and looks at me confused. “Eat with me,” I state. It is not an order, but an invite. He walks over and sits across from me, careful not to sit in my sisters spot because he didn’t know if that would upset me or not. It would. If he had sat there. It would be like she’s already replaced. Like she’s not coming back. Which she’s not. That’s just my denial talking. Sugar Spice looked up at me. I was very tall compared to him. Not just because I was an alicorn, but because he was a bit under average in height for an earth pony. Just then, I notice that he didn’t have any food to eat.
“Here.” I say passing him some oats. He smiles and takes them. Then he stuffs them messily yet gracefully into his mouth leaving crumbs all over his coat. Sugar Spice is a bit of a slob, but an excellent cook. He is also quite humorous. When he was a foal, he used to disappear mysteriously, but he would always leave a trail of sugar so we could find him.
“Do you remember that time,” I say staring at his beautiful golden mane. “When you hid in a bush outside the castle. Your mane was filled with sticks and leaves. You looked like a little Christmas tree.” I chuckle remembering how long it took to untangle the twigs from his mane. Sugar Spice blushed. “It took us hours to find you. All the birds had eaten the sugar path you had made.” My smiles fades. It took “us” so long to find him. We searched all day. Heavenly Love started to get nervous that he would never come back. I calmed her down by singing her a lullaby that our mother used to sing to us. We shared a hug and sang together. That’s when we heard a rustle from the bushes. We were so relieved to have him back, but that moment scarred me. What if he had never come back? Heavenly Love would have been devastated. As would I. That night I told her that we should promise to never lose anypony again. I broke that promise when she died. I didn’t mean too, but I did.
“Are you ok Lovely?” Sugar Spice asks as I wipe tears from my eyes.
“I’m fine.” I state getting up from my chair. “I just… have to be alone.” I gallop out of the room leaving Sugar Spice sitting by himself.
Old Rooms
Tears roll down by cheeks as I lock the door to the dimly lit room. I could hear ponies chatting outside. They had seen me run out of the dining room. The ponies that didn’t speak to me this morning. The ones that practically ignored me because they didn’t want to tamper with my emotions. Do any of my subjects actually love me? I turn up the lights and look around. I scream as I recognize the bed, the posters, the closed curtains. This was her room. Heavenly Love’s room. I back up. My tail pressed against the door. Why did I run to this room? It was a habit. Whenever I was sad, Heavenly would beg me to talk to her about it. “Expressing your feelings is a good thing.” She would say. “Come on. You’re the princess of emotions. You should know.” I could visualize her laying on her bed saying that. Love in her eyes. Happiness in her smile. My legs started shaking. “She’s not there! She’s not there!” I shriek as I collapse to the ground.
I wake up in my bed feeling nothing. Not physically, but emotionally. This moment seemed familiar. My curtains were open. The blinding sun shines through. I use my magic to swipe the curtains closed. Now the room is dim, like the rest of the community. Since I am the queen of emotions, most of the pony’s feelings are slightly imitating mine. The weather, not so much. I don’t control the ponies emotions, but when I am sad, it seems as if a dark grey cloud is hanging over Saddle Brooke. Suddenly I notice muffled voice talking from behind my door.
Slowly, I pull the covers off of my bed and toss them to the floor, being careful not to make a sound. I don’t want the ponies outside of my room to notice I am awake. I creep to the entrance of the room and place my ear against the oversized door.
“Died. You’ve got to admit it Crissy. This place will never survive if we keep referring to her as “unavailable”. She is gone! Dead! She’s passed on! And I’m pretty sure she’s not coming back. Who would want to after the ways things have been for the past several days. Our town has fallen critically ever since that sick tyrant has been alone.” Golden Dart fumes. His words are so ugly I can spit. I would burst through these doors and throw him across the room with my magic, but I can’t. I need to know what they’re talking about. What it is their keeping from me.
“How dare you insult Lovely Light! How dare you! I know we all are a bit… apprehensive about what happened, but there is no need for such disrespect. She’s doing the best she can.” I hear Cristal sniffle. “She just lost her sister.”
“She’s in pain!”
“I’m in pain! I’m piled under a million ponies problems. Since the queen hasn’t done anything about anything, I’m forced to solve all the conflicts myself! I’m the only pony who seems to be doing anything around here! Maybe I should be the ruler.”
"Talk about a tyrant!”
The rumors. The lies. By the next day, probably everypony will know. They’ll know about what I’ve been doing for the last four days.
Attention all of the pony community. We have gathered you hear for some depressing news. Our Princess, Heavenly Love, is dead. She was found about two hours ago in an underground cave. She and her sister were held hostage there for over twelve hours chained in a prison cell. After we tracked them down, we found Heavenly Love dead. Queen Lovely Light was found by her still alive, but temporarily in shock. Queen Light was recovered and brought to a nearby health center while Heavenly was buried in the Ancestry Cemetery. Everypony is allowed to visit and give their final thoughts to Heavenly Love, as she continues off to paradise.
I was not there for the live reading, but I read the scroll. I have no idea how everypony reacted. Were they sad? Depressed? Angered? Happy? Happy about her death? No. Heavenly was an angel. She was kind, forgiving, and beautiful. She was absolutely flawless. There was only one person who would have enjoyed the death of Heavenly Love. The murderer. Their haunting cackles echoing off the walls of the cave. That wicked smile as it tortured my sister. I flapped my dirty wings and pushed off the ground, but I was weak and frail. I forced magic through my horn, but nothing came out. I was powerless.
I lean my head away from the door and stare into the distance deep in thought. I sat almost calmly. Tears flow down my cheeks. Tears of sadness. Heavenly Love is on my mind of course. I’m not angry anymore though. The old me probably would have been. But now there are two versions of myself. Two completely different ponies. The old me was strict. Not a bully, but strict. Also stressed. All I could thing about was paperwork and ruling. Heavenly would always take me out for dinner to clear my mind. It never worked though. If something wasn’t finished, I was definitely worried. The new me is almost… nonexistent. It seems as if I’m not actually here. I’m just a ghost. Alone, depressed and, horrific. The old me would have been angered by the doubt of my leadership, but now all I can think of is that… he’s right. I can’t do this! I’m unstable! I’m destructive. I’m practically a ticking time bomb. And if I don’t do this right, I’m going to explode and bring everypony down with me.
I’m not fit to rule this kingdom. At least not on my own. Heavenly Love was always by my side to guide me. She would show me how to handle a situation… peacefully. In return I would teach her things and show her things she didn’t understand. We were a team. We can’t do anything without each other. Could we? If I were the one who had died, would our kingdom stay the same? She would have found closure eventually. She would have been a graceful, elegant ruler. The kingdom would probably have been better than before, because I wasn’t there to lock myself in a room and shut my entire empire out. It’s my fault that our kingdom is falling. It’s my fault that our community is drowning in misery, and it’s my fault that she’s dead. Heavenly Love is dead because I didn’t save her. I let her die.
It’s my fault. It’s my fault.
I look out of the crystal window upon the ponies below. They wander around the sweet little town, not knowing that they may soon be driven into poverty and dept. Somepony needs to save them. Somepony. I watch as they chat with friends and laugh with family. Right now I wish I could be them. I wish I could walk the grounds without a giant weight on my shoulder. A massive heavy weight. No stress. Just smiles and laughter. Or maybe that’s just how I see them through the window of depression I’m looking through. Maybe they are wishing that they could stop smiling plastic smiles. Stop laughing stiff laughs. Maybe they wish they could be me.
The sun falls behind the mountains, leaving the sky a dark lustrous purple. After looking out the window for practically all day, I swing the blinds closed and lay on my bed. My room is clean, neat, and organized, like always. Heavenly was never like that. She was a bit of a slob. Heavenly always seemed to be doing something new. Some creative little project. It seemed like she was trying to accomplish every single do it yourself project before… before she… died. I stuff my head into my pillow and let out a sob. “It should have been me.” I whisper. Maybe it sounded like a cliché, but it was true. I don’t deserve any of this. The kingdom. The money. I didn’t even deserve her.
Suddenly I hear a knock on the door. I pull my head out from the pillow and stare at the entrance. A couple seconds later it opens revealing a stallion wearing golden armor. He is carrying a tray of a porcelain bowl of soup and a cup of tea. He looks directly into my eyes before pulling his gaze away from my tear stained face. The soldier sets down the food directly in front of him and slowly walks away, closing the door behind him.
I stare at the food deciding whether to eat it or not. I want to starve. Cripple up and die. But I am so hungry. And the hay soup looks delicious. I slowly trot up to the soup and take in the scent. It smells luxurious! Of course it would though. It was obviously cooked by Sugar Spice. I sip some tea and take a spoonful of the soup. Magnificent! Then I smile, which is very rare from the experiences this week. Then I hear somepony talking from outside in the hallway.
“How did she look?” Cristal Glitz asks wirily. Her voice slightly shaking.
“She looked… fine.” Fine? No I was not fine. I was crying into a pillow. And right now I’m… smiling. No this isn’t right. I’m smiling. What kind of evil pony am I. Where is the grief? Where did it go?
“Really? Because Viridian wants to see her. You think she’d handle it?”
“Possibly. I guess it’s up to her.” The unicorn answered.
“Your right Hex. Thank you.
Hex hesitated. “Your, uh… welcome.
Hex ambles away from the room as if he never wants to visit again. I don’t really blame him though. As suspected, a few seconds later, I hear a light knock on the door.
“Yes.” I call acting as if I hadn’t heard their conversation.
“How are you feeling?” I stop at this question. Do I want to see her? What if I start crying? I wouldn’t be a very good role model as Heavenly Love told me too. But being locked in my room, ignoring them as if they don’t exist. Am I good role model then?
“I’m… alright.” I say only loud enough for her to hear.
“Well that’s good. I was wondering…” She pauses for a brief second before rushing her tense question. “Would you like to see the girls?” She lets out a deep breath she had been holding. Obviously she wants my answer to be a yes. The girls were probably grieving too. Something we really needed to do was have a long talk. The girls were damaged and they need me to fix them.
“Yes. Yes I would.” I open the door to a nervously smiling Crystal Glitz.
“Come with me.” She said leading me to the girls’ bedroom as if I didn’t know where it was.
Their room wasn’t very far from mine or Heavenly’s. We wanted to make sure they were always available. Not just for their case, but ours too. It felt as if the walk was asking forever though. My brain pondering with questions if this was a good or bad idea. I attempted to push the thoughts out of my mind, but every time one disappeared, another one came to fill its place. What if their angry. What if they really didn’t want to see me? What if they are in a worse condition then I am? These questions are going to be answered by the opening of the door. As we approach the entrance, I notice the door is opened slightly. They were expecting me. Or at least Viridian was. That doesn’t surprise me. She’s always had the most hope of the bunch.
Crystal rushes to the door and knocks. I hear a voice say something from behind it. Something like, “come in” or “it’s open”. I’m not positive though. Crystal pushed open the door, blinding me with pastel colors. The entrance led to Viridian’s side of the room. To the left was Divine Show’s and to the right was Virtues Ace’s. Their rooms have always been a bit darker then Viridian’s.
I enter the room, but Crystal stays behind. She wants to give us our privacy probably. Viridian sits at her desk drawing a picture. Her art was beautiful and often meaningful. It made you feel expressive when you saw it. Viridian put down her pencil and turned around. The look on her face almost made me cry. Her eyes are puffy and red. Her brown main is knotted and unkempt. Yet, she is smiling.
“Lovely!” She yells running up to me and burying her face in my long main. “I love you. I love you.” She repeats over and over as she chokes down sobs. Then she looks up at me. “I never got to tell her. She didn’t know I loved her. I took her for granted. I’m so sorry.” She says stuffing her snout back into my mane. She was crying now. Out of instinct I sat down and hugged her.
“She knew that you loved her so much. You didn’t need to tell her. She knew.” Viridian deeply looked at me with her big hopeful eyes.
“Really?”
“Of course. And she loved you too with all of her heart. She never doubted that you didn’t love her back.” Where were these words coming from? How could I say these things? How did I absolutely know they were true? I didn’t have any kind of research of them. I just knew.
Viridian hugged me tighter. “I miss her so much. Please. Bring her back.” I start tearing up at the thought. Why can’t I bring her back? What is the point of levitating objects when I can’t even get my own sister back? Magic was useless in this case. All we could do was sit in the castle and grieve until we’re over her. No. I don’t want that. I will not stand for that.
“I wish I could, but I can’t. It’s impossible. The only thing we can do is try to make her proud.” Proud. No that is not exactly my plan. She probably won’t even love me after this, but this is the only thing that will satisfy me. It may not be what she wants, but it’s the right thing. And now there is no one to stop me.
While walking down the hallway, Crystal Glitz acknowledges me for being so good with the girls. That obviously means she was watching and completely invading our privacy. But right now, I’m willing to let that slide. As we approach my door I thank Crystal for her accompaniment and trot into my room. When I hear her hoof steps reach the maids dorm, I go to my tall bookcase and look for what I need.
“The History of Saddle Brooke. The aerodynamics of pegasus wings. Diary. Diary. Diary. Ahh Subpoena charms.” I quickly fiddle through the book looking for the page on magic impermeable rings. This was how he stopped me before. I wasn’t making that mistake again. I analyze the repeating symbols. I close my eyes and focus on each one deeply. Suddenly, my horn turned a burning white as a shining ring was summoned. Then my eyes open and everything is back to normal. Except of course for the purple ring was now lying on the floor. I levitate it and place it over my horn. Now I am practically invincible. This ring gives me the power to repel signals that infiltrate my magic. I am ready. Tonight, I will avenge Heavenly Love. Tonight the pony will die. Tonight I change from Lovely Light. Because tonight… there is no love.
Flower Shop
I turn to my large window and stare out at the dark maroon sky. Then I take my horn and smash the window to pieces. Luckily, my room is pretty far from any living pony. Except the girls, but they sleep like rocks. I unfurl my wings and soar out into the open sky. This flight would have been exhilarating. The wind through my wings. The beauty of the night. But any happiness right now is drained or converted into venomous determination. No doubts. No thought. Just gritting my teeth and slicing through the air as quickly as I can. I want this over as soon as possible. I don’t care for flaunting or bragging. This for me after all. And I don’t care what anypony has to say about it. Especially Heavenly.
Suddenly I spot the house. It’s not like an old rusty shed that has cleavers hanging from the ceiling and dirty metal floors. It’s quite… normal. That’s the scary part. Though the basement is a bit like a dungeon. It has cages and chains and things like that, but the house is just a plain old cutesy flower shop. That’s how we got lured there in the first place. Heavenly saw an ad in the paper that this florist was naming a flower after her. So naturally, she wanted to thank the nice ponies and see the flower. When we arrived one of the workers outside was showing us the new golden rose like flowers. The ‘Heavenly Loves’. When Heavenly Love asked to see the owner so she could thank her straight up. The worker opened the door and led us inside. The room was filled with all types of smells and colors. From the ceilings hung rainbow chandeliers completely made of growing pixie plants. The worker pony pointed across the hall before returning to her business. I noticed a pink wooden door and guided Heavenly Love. She was so excited she raced in front of me and knocked herself. A voice called from inside. It sounded friendly so Heavenly invited herself inside. I followed her closely. The whole visit was just odd and too coincidental. A famous crown from the past millennium was being presented at the grand hall so most of the security guides were there. Only two came with us. One decided to wait outside while the other followed us into the room.
When Heavenly Love opened the door, all three of us crowded into the medium sized office. I thought it was strange because the office didn’t at all resemble that of a florist. It looked more like a lawyer worked here. Or financer or something. There was a wooden desk jammed in the middle of the room. While full bookcases surrounded us.
“Hello?” Heavenly called out. That’s when the lights turned off and I heard somepony scream.
“Heavenly!” I shrieked as fifty pounds of book dropped onto my back, leaving my wings useless.
“What’s that smell?” The solder asked as the room filled with the scent of peppermint and vanilla.
“It’s malo blossoms!” I yelled as I heard somepony crash to the ground. Suddenly I felt dizzy and my legs went numb. Another crash. Then I was last to go.
I fly to the cottage and stand upon the ground my sister had walked on four days ago. The house is covered with police lines but its night so most the officers are probably cozy in bed. I leap over a line of tape and trot up to the door quietly. I place my horn on the handle causing it to melt into a liquid. Then I push the door open and step inside. It’s dark and all the flowers had been taken out of the shot. Yet it still smelled like roses. I walk to the office feeling total Déjà vu. The room looked practically the same except that he shelves were missing so that the hidden tunnel to the basement was obvious. I walk down the steps softly, but there is a slight echo as I clop each hoof. That when I notice the cages. My mind floods with memories
“Lovely! Lovely!” I picked up my aching head from the floor and looked around as my vision cleared. I saw Heavenly locked in a bared cage across from me.
“Heavenly!” I shouted as I pushed myself to the door, but chains held me back. Heavenly, held up her hoof and she just shushed me. Then she pointed to a door.
“Lovely.” Heavenly looked deeply into my eyes. “I’m scared.” She whispered. I felt awful. I needed to get us out. I touched my horn to the lock on the cage, but nothing happened. Something was blocking my magic. I thought that the lock was probably magic proof. But when I tried to teleport out, nothing happened again. That whole house must have been magic locked. I was powerless. Helpless.
All of a sudden the door slammed open and the abductor walked out. They were cloaked in black, but I could see their white marked hooves clop at the ground. It was a strange kind of thing. Almost a tattoo. It was a circle sliced in two halves. Probably some strange gang symbol or something. Suddenly a voice spoke in my head. And from what I could see, it spoke in Heavenly’s too.
“I’ve got you. Now both of you will pay for your sins.” My eyes turned wide as I stared at Heavenly.
“Please don’t.” Heavenly stated peacefully. “You don’t want to do this.”
“Yes I do!” Suddenly my cage door opened, and the masked pony stepped inside.
“Stop this! Take me Take me!” Heavenly’s cry’s echoed across the room. My cage slammed shut as the masked pony moved towards Heavenly.
“NO! GET AWAY FROM HER!” I screamed. But he didn’t listen. He didn’t listen.
Siblings
Why did he listen to Heavenly? I don’t know. I shake the terrible memories out of my head. No time for emotions. No time for sadness and grief. No time for love. I scout the room looking for anything that this pony might treasure or cherish. I needed something special to summon this pony. Nothing. How ridiculous am I to think I he wouldn’t have expected this. No. I will not give up. I walk up to the room that he had come out of the first time I saw him. I set my horn to light and search the room. It’s almost as if it’s a mini deserted library. The books looked dusty. Except for one. It was a banned atlas filled with ways to get out of Saddlebrooke, but of course they were illegal. He must have been looking for a place to go where I would never find him. Good try, but I’m not going down without a fight. Nothing can keep me from punishing this murderer.
All of a sudden, I hear hoof steps on the stairs. He’s here. How lucky am I. I didn’t even need to use the calling charm. Maybe he forgot something, though I doubt it. I couldn’t find anything he possibly could have loved. Unless… I look down at the atlas smirking. He still needed the way out.
I turn around and face the entrance just in time to catch the pony looking in through the door frame. He is wearing the black cloak he had had when he killed my sister. When I’m finished with him. I’ll burn it, because I never want to see it again. The pony swiftly runs out the way as I charge for him. Horn first. He makes quick turns before rambling up the stairs, but I my magic grabs him by the cloak and pull him down the steps. After landing on his back the pony recovers and jumps towards the library for cover as I send a wave of burning light at him.
I huff as I chase him into the claustrophobic book filled room. He opens a book that apparently encased a shiny bauble. The pony quickly pitched it at my head before dashing out underneath my legs.
I am blinded from the unknown trinket, but I shake my head hard and my vision starts to reappear. Behind me I hear the stairs creak, so I turn around and pull him back.
“You’re not getting away that easy.” I spit as he once again tumbles down the staircase, but this time I rip the cape off his back incidentally, leaving him falling down the steps without anything close to be a cushion.
Everything stops. The pony was practically past out, facing me on the floor. The pony’s legs crumpling close to its body like a dyeing spider and its face wincing in pain. But all I can do is stare at the now unmasked mare. Her mane is dark golden color and her coat is pure white. Then her eyes open. A bright blue. The brightest blue.
“What?” Confusion drifted through my mind. She looked exactly like Sugar Spice. Exactly. Except for the symbol on her hoof. The strange strange symbol. Then her raspy voice called out.
“Well… what are you waiting for? Finish me.” Right. Finish her. Kill her. Avenge your sister. Take one less threat out of this world. Just do this. Finish this.
My horn ignites in a dark blood red color as I start to cast the killing charm. The charm that casts pain and misery throughout your entire body. But then I open my eyes and stare into her eyes and the spell just dies.
“I can’t.”
“Why not. I’m already dead. You killed me a long time ago.” What is she talking about? I didn’t do anything. Not yet at least. Then she continued. “Do it. Come on. If I were you I would. Why do you think I killed Heavenly Love? Huh?” My glassy eyes stare into hers as I try to talk bravely.
“Why did you do that?” I crack waiting for her reply. But she doesn’t say anything. It is silent. My patience is running out. “Why!” I shout. Suddenly she starts tearing up.
“I wanted you to feel the pain I felt when you took him away from me. He was all I had.”
“Took who?”
“My brother!” She cries trying to stand. “You took him away from me. I loved him and you just snatched him away! I wanted you to know what it feels like! I wanted us to be even!”
“Sugar Spice?”
“That’s not his real name. That’s just what you call him!
“I didn’t kill him like you did my sister. I found him wondering alone on the streets. He’s better now than he ever would be with you. And I never even knew you existed until now. We will never be even! She’s gone because of you!” I screech. My horn turning red again.
“It felt like he was dead to me. The last time we talked was eighteen years ago! Then he just went missing! When I found out you’d been taking care of him, I tried to visit, but he didn’t even recognize me! I explained I was his sister from a long time ago and he laughed! He laughed! You brainwashed him with your fancy royal life and now he doesn’t even know me! Why do you think I killed your sister? I wanted revenge. You would’ve done the same thing! As a matter of fact you’re doing it right now! She screams as tears run down her face. I raise my two front hooves and slam them to ground filling the room with a red light.
“ENOUGH!” I shout staring down at the shaking pony. I close my eyes and breathe deeply. Why can’t I just stay here in this dark dimension? Why do I have to go back to the painful reality? Suddenly, I see a bright light moving closer to me. “Heavenly?” my voice echoes through the void. She smiles at me. I well up in tears just watching her smile. I missed that smile. I still miss it.
“Lovely.” She says brightly staring at me. Her cropped golden hair laying against her rosy cheeks as she walks closer.
“Heavenly! I missed you.” I say running up to her and attempting to hug her. But I fall. I look more closely at Heavenly Love and notice she’s just a ghost. “You’re not here.” I say my voice fading away.
“You’re dreaming, just dreaming for a fraction of a second. You’re blinking. It just seems longer because fantasy seems to go on forever.” She says looking down at her hooves. Then she looks back at me. Her face filled with concern. “Do the right thing. Not for me, for you. Guilt is not something you want to live with. Or die with.”
“Please don’t leave me.” I cry attempting to grab her one more time. I want to feel her comfort. Feel her to know that I’m not alone.
“I’m not really here.” She says faintly. “Don’t make the mistake she did. I love you and want the best for you big sis.”
“I love you too.” I sob watching her fade away. Forever. Suddenly my eyes open and I’m back to actuality. I lean down next to the terrified pony. “Come with me.” I whisper. She nods quickly and raises herself from the ground.
Remember?
It is morning when we finally arrive at the castle. We walk since Lemon Heart is just an earth pony. When we appeared at the entrance, the guards were shocked that I had snuck out without them knowing. Honestly, I’m a bit embarrassed by all of this. We’ll probably have some sort of meeting later about all of this. I’m not really in the mood to talk about it now though. Probably will never be. The whole ride to the castle was a bit uncomfortable. Standing next to my sister’s murderer. All I could keep telling myself was that I was doing the right thing. The truth is I can never forgive her for that. Even if I tried. The only thing I can try to do is keep myself under control.
I decide to go into the kitchen first. After all, Sugar Spice has known me for a lot longer than he has his sister.
“Sugar Spice.” I say as he turns to me smiling.
“You seem to be doing well.” He says politely as he offers me some apple deluxe cups.
“Sorry if this is a bit personal, but did you have any family? Before I found you.” He sets down the tray and looks away.
“I don’t think so. I don’t really remember though. It was a while back. What? Twenty years ago?”
“Eighteen.” Lemon states harshly as she stomps into the room.
“What?” Spice asks confused. He blankly gazes from Lemon to me searching for some sort of explanation.
“I’m your forgotten sister. The one you don’t remember. What’s wrong? Did you not like me? Was I not good enough for you? Why did you leave?” She cries getting a bit too close to Sugar Spice for my taste.
“Lemon. Calm down.” I say trying to split them up.
“Here.” she says throwing a bag onto the floor before leaving the room. Sugar Spice looks from the bag to me scared that it might have some type explosive or something. So I use my magic to open the bag and pull out whatever was inside.
It was a locket. A golden heart locket. Sugar Spice took it from my magic’s grasp and stared at it curiously. Slowly, he latched the hook and looked at the picture inside. I step behind him and peek over his shoulders. Unlike a common locket, it wasn’t some sentimental photo of his old family or his sister and him on a swing. It was a drawing of a circle that was a mixed pattern of white and gold. All of a sudden it all made sense. The circle represented Sugar Spice and Lemon Heart being so connected. It was a meaningful sign for both of them. The only question was, why did him and her have a falling out? Right then Sugar Spice’s eyes seemed to glow an even more vibrant blue.
“How could I forget her?” he says wearily turning his head away from the drawing to me. “Eighteen years ago,” he explains. “Lemon and I were the best of friends. But then we got in a fight because I told her that I was tired of her calling me some weird nickname. She got mad because that nickname was cute and she loved to call me that. It was a little fight, but for some reason it made me so angry. I decided to go for a hike alone. I didn’t even tell my parents. That’s when you found me and asked me if I’d like to be taken in. In all the tension, I thought I would be happier here. But all I could do was think about my sister and family I was leaving behind.” Suddenly he cringed a bit. “That’s when I went to Madam Crisp and I…” Sugar Spice held his head in shame. “I asked her to make me forget about all of this. That’s why I didn’t remember her.”
“Sugar Spice. It’s never too late to reunite with you sister. Go to her.” He smiles at me.
“Thank you.” He hugs me before dashing away. I smile at the thought of him being so happy with her. Then I realize I’m all alone. What did I do to deserve this? I scuff my hoof on the ground lay myself against the fridge. It’s simply not fair. The murderer gets her brother. And I get nothing. Right? Or was I wrong. Did I not get the satisfaction of bringing someone back to life? But that life was exchanged for Heavenly Love. My sister. Now Sugar Spice is probably gone too. I’ve lost so much and got nothing in return.
“Hey.” A young voice calls from behind. “Are you ok?” Viridian asks quickly proceeding to my side.
“I’m fine.” I say kindly as I flash a fake smile at her. Obviously, she could tell I am bluffing. She knows I’m upset. Maybe she can even tell emotions better than me. Sitting by my side, Viridian leaned her head against me gently.
“Do you miss her?” It’s a simple question with a simple answer. Yes, I miss her. But it seemed that Viridian was looking for something deeper than just a plain, yes.
“I miss her with all my heart. As I’m assuming you do too. But I know she is probably… content with the choices we’ve all made after her death. I know right now she’s happy in Heaven with all of our past loved ponies.” Viridian sniffs and wipes her eyes.
“I love you so much!” She says wrapping her petite hooves around my chest.
“I love you too Viridian.” I say returning the hug. I know Heavenly Love’s death was tragic and depressing. But it seems to have brought so many ponies together. No. I’m not going to say it was for the best and it was meant to be. All I’m saying is that her memory lives on and with it, she brings reunions and love to share with everypony. Everypony.
Epilogue
As Viridian, Divine Show, Virtuous Ace, and I trot through the hallway, chat and laugh about random things. For the last three months, we all developed a deep connection that I never thought we would ever have. Heavenly was always the child pony and I was the manager, so I never spent much time with them. Now though, we had a bond that was unbreakable. Untouchable. Something that I will never let go of. But that scares me. It terrifies me.
“I hope for dessert we get orange sherbet!” Viridian squeals excitedly. I smile as she does a little happy dance.
“I like vanilla.” Virtue states playfully bumping into Viridian.
“Maybe he’ll make both.” Divine suggests sliding in between the two other fillies. Then all three of them walked together like triplets. Happily, adorably, and almost exactly in synch.
Sugar Spice greets us as we walk into the dining hall.
“So glad to see you all again. My vacation took a bit longer than expected. Lemon Heart wanted to stay a couple extra days for a scuba diving event they were having.” The girls and I seated ourselves around the rectangular table along with Sugar. Lemon walks out of the kitchen carrying a tray of smoothies.
“Cherry, blueberry, banana, and chocolate. I think that’s it.” Lemon Heart turns around and heads back to the kitchen to be alone. Our relationship has always been quite… tense. Naturally you won’t become “besties” with the pony who murdered pony you’ve known forever. A part of your family. So our connection is damaged. It’s slowly healing over time but there will forever be a scar. The only thing I can do is try to treat her kindly. That’s what Heavenly would have wanted me to do.
“Lemon Heart?”
“Yes?”
I clear my throat and push out the words with all my might. “Would you like to sit with us?” I rush.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude-” She says softly.
“No. Come sit.” I pronounce slowing my pace. She smiles kindly.
“Thank you.” Lemon says taking the seat next to Sugar Spice, leaving Heavenly’s seat empty.
After the magnificent dinner, I get tired and decide I should get ready for bed. I thank Sugar Spice for the meal and proceed to my room. I close the door and lay against the round wooden door.
“Two families fixed. Lemon Heart and Sugar Spice reunited, and the girls and I started to bond. Well done.” I say through silence. “If only you were here to see it.” Tears form in my eyes. “You would have been proud.” My voice cracks as my eyes fall to the floor. “Thank you so much. I love you.” I gather myself into bed and lay my head on the fluffy pillow. “Goodnight my sister. Goodnight.”
Author's Note
Thank you so much for reading through my story!! I really appreciate your time to read something I enjoyed writing so much!! If you find any errors or confusing sections, please tell me and I will respond as soon as I can!