The Broken One

“That came out wrong”, I laughed nervously.

“Jackson, I would suggest explaining”, my furry mom said evenly.

“It was almost two months ago”, I began.
“Before I was released from the hospital, Nurse Redheart asked about it. She also asked what kind of accident I was in.”

“Nurse Redheart”, Celestia asked. “It wasn’t Fluttershy?”

“Yeah”, I laughed. “I guess I should’ve said which ‘she’ I was referring to. But what I’m wondering is how Fluttershy found out and told Pinkie Pie.”

“If she’s not in heat”, Celestia mumbled, turning away from me, “does that mean Cadence was wrong?”

“Who is Cadence”, I asked as I brushed my fingertips across her wing, laughing as she shivered and pulled away.

“Please don’t do that, son”, she gasped with a blush.

“Why not”, I asked.

“Pegasus and alicorn wings are very… sensitive”, she replied somewhat shakily.
“To answer your question, though, Princess Cadence is the Princess of Love.”

“Princess of Love, huh?”

“Indeed”, my mother smiled back.
“Whenever love grows or a new love blooms she would be the first to know. Love is her special talent, after all.”

“Okay, but why did you bring me back here”, I asked.

“You see”, she replied awkwardly, “Princess Cadence felt a spike of love from Ponyville that was unbelievably strong and notified me right before I came to retrieve you.”

“But why did you retrieve me?”

“I was worried for you”, the Princess sniffed.

“Mom”, I chuckled as I turned her face toward me. “I’m an adult; I think I can handle myself.”

“You can’t blame me for worrying”, she huffed as she turned away slightly.

Seconds later several unicorn guards burst through the door, shouting as they unleashed bolts of magic directly at me. Before either of us could react the magic slammed into me, exploding into sparks and flinging me against the wall. I felt something wet and looked down at my chest. I poked the exposed bones and heard shouting before darkness began creeping in.

“Not good”, I slurred as I slumped to the floor, finally giving in to the darkness.

I awoke a short time later to a slight stinging sensation in my chest and a furious Princess shouting at the top of her lungs. I gently touched my chest and felt some scarred tissue beneath my fingertips. I looked over where the screaming came from and saw mom yelling in the faces of the guards, her anger so intense the unicorn on the far side of the group was actually crying.

“Mom”, I croaked as I stood up.

“Jackson, thank the heavens”, she gushed as she leapt over to me and pulled me into a hug.

“Who hit me with magic”, I groaned as I rubbed my face.

“All five of them”, she growled while turning her gaze to the guards.

I disentangled myself from her forelegs and approached the gathered guards. I looked each of them in the eyes. I walked down to the far end to the crying unicorn and just stood there staring. Before long he lowered his eyes and continued crying.

“You five just attacked a Prince of Equestria”, I said evenly. “Mom, what’s the punishment for what these dumbasses did?”

“Death”, the mad monarch replied coldly.

“Dafuq”, I shouted.

“It was attempted murder”, she shouted back.

“These guys obey your orders, yeah”, I asked, pleased when she nodded. “Then order them to stand straight and not move.”

I nodded when she gave the order, held up a finger and approached the crying guard. He looked up at me and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could make a noise I drew back and slapped him across the jaw, dropping him to his knees. My mother gasped as I approached the other four guards and repeated the process. All but one guard had been knocked down by the slaps.

“Now”, I said loudly as three of the guards cried, “I hope you think about what you did. I let you off easy. Mom would’ve killed you for attacking me.”

“Indeed I would have”, she acknowledged shakily. “The five of you have one month of unpaid leave and are confined to quarters. Leave us.”

Four of the five had to pick themselves up off the floor before all of them drooped their heads and slunk out of the door. I heard one of them mutter something about his wife killing him as they went down the hallway.

“Serves you right, ya bastard”, I yelled after them.

“The nerve of those incompetent fools”, she seethed as she paced around the throne room.

“Will this scar ever fade”, I asked as I poked at the rough tissue on my chest.
My mother bent her head and studied the flesh closely, her horn lighting up different colors occasionally. She muttered to herself, her words being transcribed onto a scroll that flew past inches away from my head. She performed a few more tests and slowly shook her head.

“This scar confounds me”, she quietly admitted. I felt my heart drop at her pronouncement. “However, I have a colleague that may know a few things about your wound.”

“Okay, so why am I neither dead nor fully healed”, I asked.

“I’m not sure”, she sighed. “That’s why I was about to send my observations to him.”

“You think he can help”, I asked hopefully.

“Let us prepare for the worst but hope for the best, hmm?”

Her horn lit up and the scroll vanished, leaving the two of us in the throne room. She asked for more details about my time in Ponyville, which I gladly provided. I attempted to gloss over the encounter with Harry, but mom saw through it and made me tell the whole story. I asked her about the clerk’s reaction when she rang up the cotton.

“Oh my goodness”, she laughed. “Mares use the cotton to stem the flow of blood after a heat.”

“Oh, shit”, I groaned, embarrassment soaking in.

At that moment a scroll appeared in front of her and she grabbed it with her magic. Her eyes scanned the paper, flicking to me occasionally as she read. She asked me if I minded a visitor, scribing my response and sending it on its way. Moments later the pop of teleportation announced the arrival of our guest.

He was an elderly unicorn with ruffled black and gray fur and a matching slightly disheveled mane. His movements were slow and deliberate as he bowed to the both of us. His eyes roved over my face and the scar visible through my ruined shirt.

“Prince Jackson”, he greeted in a gravelly whisper. “I am Lightning Hoof, Arch mage of the Equestria Magic Academy on the outskirts of Canterlot. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s mine”, I replied as I accepted his offered hoof and shook it. “So what can you tell me about this scar?”

He came closer and examined my chest, poking and prodding with hooves and horn both while he muttered to himself the whole time. He made mention of the shape, which my mother and I realized matched my mark closely. I nodded at my hip, raised my eyebrows and jerked my head at the unicorn questioningly. Her eyes went wide for a second before she seemed to debate with herself and nodded.

“Lightning Hoof”, she called, drawing his attention. “Can I trust you with a national secret?”

“Discretion is necessary for my position”, he grinned at her.

“My son Jackson is not a pony”, she began.

“I realize that, your Highness.”

“Then how”, she asked, nodding for me to pull my pants down, “does my son have a Cutie Mark?”

He murmured his amazement and leaned in for a closer look. He studied my mark for a few seconds before concerned understanding seemed to dawn on him. He looked from my mark to me then my mother before refocusing on my mark.

“This is Discord’s mark”, he muttered in shock.

“You are one of the very few who would recognize it”, she said quietly. “That is why I called on you for help.”

“There is nothing I can do”, he admitted. “If Prince Jackson truly was created by Discord, then he is a being of magical origin and untold potential and opportunities.”

“Explain this, please”, she asked warily, squinting her eyes.

“For all intents and purposes”, he said nervously, “being created by Discord means that Prince Jackson is the rightful Prince of Chaos.”

“Fuck that”, I laughed, walking away from the unicorn. “Ya know what, I’m out of here. Mom, I’m getting something to eat.”

“Go ahead”, she smiled as she approached the unicorn to have a technical discussion.

I left the throne room and turned down the hallway, asking a guard for directions to the kitchen. After questioning my identity momentarily he outlined the quickest path for me. I thanked him, feeling uncomfortable when he bowed to me. I followed his directions and quickly found myself surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the royal kitchens.

“Can I help you”, some random pony approached, bowing slightly.

“Does everyone in the castle know I’m a prince”, I asked, then groaned as the pony nodded. “Fine, fuck it. I was looking for something to eat.”

“Whatever you wish, your Highness.”

“If you have any meat, cook it until it’s pink but not bloody”, I requested. “Also a Celestia salad, a couple rolls and butter with a mug of mead would be awesome.”

“Of course”, the pony bowed and began barking orders as he showed me to a table with cushioned seats.

The mug of mead was served right away, the sweetness washing over my tongue before the barest hint of a burn kicked in. I smiled as I took another drink and sat back to wait for my food. I hadn’t finished my first mug of mead before my platter arrived, steam rising off of the sizzling meat and water droplets clinging to the salad. I poured the vinaigrette provided over the salad and cut a piece off of the steak.

“Oh shit”, I groaned after popping the morsel into my mouth.

The flavors exploding on my tongue took me to a whole new level of happy. I contentedly sighed as I ate, occasionally switching to the salad and back. Before long my plate was empty, as were three mugs. I thanked the kitchen staff on my way out, shocking a few of the workers, and began heading back to the throne room.

“I wonder what Fluttershy’s doing”, I said quietly. “I hope she’s okay.”

I looked at all the tapestries, statues and stained glass windows I passed on the way to the throne room, smiling every time I saw mom in one of them. I just wish I had met the dark alicorn that shared a particularly beautiful tapestry with her. I decided to let my mind wander as I continued on my way.

I entered the throne room and saw that Lightning Hoof was still deep in discussion with his Matriarch, his mannerisms almost comically animated. My footsteps echoed across the hall and drew their attention to me, both of them smiling for different reasons.

“I’m so glad you returned”, she smiled.

“Lightning Hoof has a request for you.”

“With your royal permission”, he bowed, “I would like to search your mind for clues of your past.”

“Pass”, I said immediately, much to my mother’s distress.

“Yes, your Highness”, he replied sadly. “By your leave.”

I nodded and he immediately teleported away. The slight ringing in my ears was new, but it vanished in seconds so I wasn’t worried. I turned my eyes back to my mother and took a deep breath.

“So what did he say”, I nervously asked.

“There are multiple reasons for the scar”, she began quietly. “You are a being created by chaotic magic. Your Cutie Marks are a testament to that. You must understand something, Jackson.”

“What’s that?”

“You died momentarily”, she whispered. “I had to mend your heart. You lost so much blood. The healing magic kept pouring into you, but the wound wouldn’t close. When you finally did heal, that scar appeared on your chest. Jackson, your body is somehow being sustained by magic more than blood.”

“Cool”, I laughed as I stretched my arms up.

“No it is not”, Celestia said sadly. “In order to save your life, I may have just doomed you to a much longer one. To make matters worse, the Summer Sun Celebration is in two days and Twilight Sparkle keeps bantering on about Nightmare Moon returning or some nonsense.”

“I’m immortal”, I asked.

“No, you can still die”, she warned quickly, “but dying of old age would take tens of thousands of years. And there’s something more.”

“More?”

“Lightning Hoof is convinced your magic could very well rival my own in strength”, she said proudly. “However, he has not had the chance to test your ability.”

A well-dressed servant approached us and informed us that it was time to make preparations to raise the moon, whatever that meant. We followed her to a balcony and Celestia made her way outside first. I followed her outside and watched as she turned her eyes toward the setting sun. Her horn lit up brighter than I had seen it before and the sun sank below the horizon. On the opposite horizon a nearly full moon slowly rose into the sky. Her horn stopped glowing and she turned her gaze to my stunned face.

“Well, fuck.”