The Broken One

I had just started packing when my door opened and Celestia walked in. She glanced around the room and nodded as she saw all of my possessions on the bed. The alicorn I now call mom paced around the room muttering worriedly, drawing my attention.

“Something wrong, mom”, I asked.

After Fluttershy had left we had a long discussion. I mean long. As in we had over a month to go over everything. We discussed everything from what was expected of me as a Prince of Equestria to my mommy issues, which we resolved amidst gallons of hot cocoa and more gallons of tears. One of the more worrisome parts of the discussion was The Shiver as I called it.

To summarize, The Shiver is a physical manifestation, sort of like a nervous tick I have when I “learn” a new spell or type of magic. As it was I had learned to teleport, materialize and summon items, and to use healing magic. The teleportation was easier with line of sight, but the range was greater with visualization. The process was also easier when I was going somewhere I had been before. Teleporting inside the castle would quickly result in being chased by the guards. But it’s not like I know firsthand.

One interesting magical tidbit is that summoning and materializing are two totally different things. Summoning, the easier of the two actions, pulled whatever you were summoning out of its physical location and filled that void with the displaced blah blah blah. Basically you’re just moving it.

Materialization, however, is a whole different story. Materializing something consisted of a bit of transfiguration mixed with a dash of transmutation with a dash of insanity thrown in for good measure. It had taken me two hours to materialize a simple chair.

Much like teleportation, healing magic worked better when I had eyes on my target. Not having a horn did make it difficult to channel magic at first, but I learned that a mental aid such as pointing my palm at my target helped. Another neat tidbit is that pointing a single finger at my target gives pinpoint precision, a necessity for healing magic.

I wish I could describe the look on Celestia’s face when I asked about fireballs and lightning. About the closest I can get is constipation mixed with a stroke followed by being punched in the gut. I had never heard her Canterlot Voice sound as loud as when she screamed at me about the dangers of combat magic. Unfortunately she had to repeat herself after healing my bleeding ear drums.

She sat beside me and calmly explained why she thought it best if I avoided combat magic and focused on the “lighter magics” as she called them. Some of the dangers involved did sound quite horrifying, especially the never ending disembowelment. I wouldn’t promise to avoid it, but I did promise to only practice under supervision which mollified her.

Anyways, back to the present.

“Hmm”, Celestia hummed distractedly.

“Mom”, I said as I grabbed her cheeks and made her look in my eyes. “Mom, I asked what was wrong.”

“Nothing”, she squeaked, her eyes darting around the room.

“Okay”, I laughed while stroking her cheek, “I promise to take care of Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and all of her friends. I promise to write every Friday night. I will definitely try to eat a balanced diet. Is that everything?”

“I hope so”, she worriedly sighed as she pulled me into a hug. “I know you can handle yourself, but Twilight Sparkle is so young and naïve!”

“You said she was twenty”, I laughed.
“Yes, but what’s that compared to six thousand”, she urged.

“I’ll watch over her as best I can”, I promised again. “But wouldn’t it be easier if I lived in that library with her?”

“Jackson”, she sighed, “grow up. So what if you kissed Fluttershy? The two of you can coexist peacefully.”

“If you say so.”

Once again we discussed my backstory, which we had developed with Applejack, Fluttershy and Mayor Mare. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be a problem because I had threatened her before my history could begin. Rarity, the prissy sounding pony I never saw, was oblivious as well.

The official story is that I was accidentally summoned from another dimension but suffered amnesia during the transition, which was mostly true. The fact that we chose not to disclose who was responsible didn’t sit well with Applejack, but her concerns were assuaged with the mention of preventing mass hysteria and severe discrimination.

“Mom, I think I got this”, I smiled as I hugged her again. “Besides, I learned something new.”

I grinned at her and looked over my shoulder as she cocked an eyebrow. The faintest white aura surrounded my belongings and finished the packing quickly. Celestia praised my quick understanding of levitation and smiled widely as I hugged her yet again.

“I’ll send you a letter as soon as I get there”, I said quietly as I picked up my travel bag and headed out the door.

I heard the barest hint of a stifled sob from my room as I made my way down the hallway. It was difficult not to turn back, but I had tasks that needed accomplishing. What I was wondering is why my mother wanted me to make friends. I thought that was Twilight’s task. My other task was to learn more about magic. That was the task I was looking forward to accomplishing.

I made my way through the palace greeting random servants and guards, who all somehow knew I was a prince and just barely bowed their heads, and thought about the tasks ahead of me. I had tried my best to get out of living with Fluttershy, but mom had better counterarguments than I did. I wish I could say I knew what I was going to do about that kiss, but I had no clue.

I should have known better than to think and walk at the same time, because when I finally paid attention to my surroundings I found myself lost. I looked around until I found a guard and slowly approached him. He bowed his head slightly and granted my sheepish request for directions, actually smiling as I headed on my way.

I followed his directions and found myself at the train station in less than five minutes. I approached the ticket window and used two of the gold coins, called bits, to buy a ticket to Ponyville. As I waited for the train I decided to have a seat and watch the crowd.

The first remarkable pony I saw was a rather unique one. The white unicorn had a two tone electric blue mane and tail and purple lensed sunglasses on her face. I noticed musical notes on her flank. She nodded her head in time with the music coming from the headphones over her ears. She noticed me staring and gave a little sloppy salute. I returned the salute and she smiled slightly before going about her business.

Across the platform I saw a gray furred mare with black mane and tail holding some kind of instrument case. That made sense, considering her cutie mark was another music symbol. She opened the case while we were waiting and pulled out a cello, of all things. The size of the instrument forced her to stand on her hind legs to play, but when she drew the bow across the strings pure magic seemed to flow forth. The beauty of the song was striking. I contentedly listened to her play until the train came, jogging over and tossing a couple bits into her cello case.

I quickly gathered my travel bag and bedroll and made my way onto the train. I noticed most of the ponies staring at me, but all the stares were of curiosity instead of fear. I nodded and smiled at a small cluster of ponies, relief flooding me when they smiled back and said hello. Slowly I wormed my way through the crowd and took up a spot in an empty car.

Eventually the train started moving, the jolt shaking me from my thoughts. When I looked up I found myself staring at a gigantic smiling wad of bubblegum with bright blue eyes. I jolted back as the smile got impossibly wide and just kept growing. Just when I thought its face would rip the creature before me pulled in an impossibly large gasping breath.

“A NEW FRIEND”, the pink thing shrieked. “Ohmygoodnessit’sjustsonicetomeetyoumyname’sPinkiePiewhat’syournamewhereareyoufromdoyoulikepartiesI’mgonnathrowyouthemostPinktasticpartyeverand-”

“Pinkie, what the heck are you doing”, a scratchy voice called from the hallway.

“Oh, shit”, I sighed.

“In here with a new friend”, the one called Pinkie answered, wagging her tail like a dog.

“Oh cool”, Rainbow Dash said as she flitted in. As her eyes met mine her pupils shrank and her wings snapped against her sides causing her to crash to the floor.

“Oh, shit”, I repeated.

“H-hey Jackson, what’s up”, she laughed nervously.

I reached my hand down to help her up, flinching as she squinted her eyes and pulled away.

“I’m not gonna hurt you”, I sighed.

She looked from my hand to my face several times before carefully accepting the offered hand. When she was on her hooves she didn’t let go of my hand, somehow gripping it and turning it every direction she could.

“Huh, cool”, she said as she finally released me. “Thanks.”

“No problem”, I replied. “By the way, sorry about the hospital wing.”

“That was my fault”, she blushed. “I overreacted. I’ve never seen a… whatever you are before, so I thought you were attacking Fluttershy.”

“I’m a human”, I grinned. “I gotta say you knocked the fuck outta me.”

“Yeah, Fluttershy chased me for two days for that”, she shuddered. “She’s scary when she’s ticked off.”

“Well, guess I better avoid pissing her off”, I laughed.

“Dude, gross”, the rainbow one groaned. “Besides, she’d never let you in the bathroom with her!”

“It means mad”, I said with a cocked eyebrow.

“Okay, well why do you need to avoid that?”

“I’m going to be living with her”, I said solemnly.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot wide open, her pupils slowly shrinking as she seemed to process that. For several seconds she sat like that, making me think I broke another pony before she burst into full blown cackling and rolled around on the floor.

“I’m so glad you’re amused”, I grumbled, turning my attention to the pink pony. “So, you’re Pinkie Pie? Fluttershy told me a bit about you.”

“She told me all about you”, Pinkie Pie smiled and pounced on me to hug me. “Is it really true you were born without a sheath?”

“WHAT”, I shouted, shoving her off of my lap. “WHY WOULD YOU ASK ME THAT AFTER MEETING ME FIVE MINUTES AGO?!”

“I was just making small talk”, she giggled. “But from what Fluttershy says there’s nothing small about-“

“Okay, that’s enough”, Rainbow Dash shouted, shoving a cupcake in Pinkie’s mouth. “Seriously chick, you gotta learn to watch what you say.”

The rest of the ride was quite peaceful, even if the zany antics of one Pinkie Pie interrupted the peace often. It really was quite disturbing how confetti and streamers kept exploding out of thin air, so I decided I would ask mom in my first letter. Before much longer the train began slowing down as it pulled into the station.

“Hey Jackson, it was good seeing you”, Rainbow Dash waved on her way out. “I saw a balloon on the way in and wanna check it out before work, but we should definitely hang out.”

“Yeah”, I smiled and waved before she left.

“Well, I have to get to the bakery”, Pinkie said with her normal huge smile.

“Bye Pinkie”, I called, waving as I made my way out of the train.

I took a good look around and pulled a scrap of paper out of my pocket to read the directions to Fluttershy’s cottage. She had visited me every couple of days while I was in the castle and had told me several times how to get to her cottage, but she left directions for me on her last visit. I read them through twice just to be sure and set off for her cottage.

I noticed almost every single pony staring at me in curiosity or possibly fear, hard to tell which. I didn’t want to accidentally start a panic so I hurried on my way through town. As I reached the other side of town I slowed my pace since the road was empty. Within minutes I found myself outside of the quaint little cottage, the smells of the wildflowers growing nearby flooding me with happiness. I steadied myself with a deep floral breath and knocked on the door. I heard shuffling inside before the door opened to reveal the biggest damn bear I ever saw that snarled and charged me.

“Well, fuck.”