The Broken One

I growled in frustration startling the sweet nurse before I poofed out to the courtyard. As I made my way toward the portcullis I stopped and grabbed the dead unicorn’s leg and dragged his corpse to the front gate. My mother gasped in shock when I came into view and Blueblood’s eyes widened.

“Heavens, Jackson”, mom whispered as the gate opened and rushed to pull me into a hug. “Are you okay? Wait, your blood isn’t red.”

I motioned to the dead unicorn and she looked behind me. Her eyes went wide and she turned to the side emptying her stomach as she gagged and coughed. I began stomping toward Blueblood but a white wing around my chest stopped me. I looked into the teary eyes of my mother and I felt her pain but I was not going to be deterred from having my revenge.

“Let me go”, I said icily. “That was the second assassin that piece of shit sent.”

“The second”, she gasped as she turned her eyes on the trembling prince.

“He sent a Pegasus with a knife the first time”, I said as a small smile quirked the corner of my mouth. “I mailed the severed wings back to him. I guess he didn’t get the message.”

“While your brutality disturbs me”, she said coolly before turning to the prince, “my nephew has done some truly atrocious things.”

“Cindra and Shadow were in the tower when it collapsed”, I growled.

“Sh-Shadow”, mom gasped as she stared over my shoulder.

I turned and saw Twilight and Umbra galloping toward me and groaned.

“That isn’t Shadow”, I sighed. “That’s Umbra, Shadow’s clone.”

“CLONE?!”

I sighed and explained a small part of what I had been up to, but only the parts pertaining to Shadow. She listened with slowly widening eyes and dropping jaw as I explained how I cloned her and why. When I finished she stared at me in shocked horror.

“You murdered clones of yourself”, she asked with a sickly expression.

“No higher level brain activity”, I countered.

“You stopped three hearts from beating”, she gasped.

“It’s basically suicide”, I shrugged.

“THAT DOESN’T MAKE IT ANY BETTER”, she shouted with tears in her eyes.

“Mom, I know what I’m doing”, I said testily.

“You’re performing necromancy”, she hissed. “You could be put to death if anypony else finds out!”

“Who would challenge the Prince of Chaos”, I shouted as I spun and held my arms out wide. “Who among you would try to apprehend me?! Show me somepony with the fortitude to try to bring me down!”

Every single pony that met my gaze cowered in fear as I paced back and forth. I turned my eyes to the bound prince and began walking toward him slowly.

“You”, I snarled. “You attacked my family twice, nearly killed my changeling-“

“Your changeling”, the white alicorn asked.

“Yes, MY changeling”, I shouted. “Just like those are MY vamponies. MY alicorn daughter! NOPONY harms my family!”

“I will not allow you to harm Blueblood”, my mother said sternly.

“Audrey, is Blueblood within your range”, I asked nonchalantly.

He is.

“Terminate with prejudice”, I grinned darkly.

Black fire rose from the ground and engulfed the spoiled prince and in her shock my mother lost control of the spell binding Blueblood. Instantly he screamed pitifully and fell to his knees.

“That’s enough Audrey”, I grinned.

Target has not been eliminated.

“Let him suffer”, I grinned.

The dark flames ended as abruptly as they had begun and the charred form of Blueblood crawled away from me as he begged for mercy. His blond mane hung in ragged charred clumps and I couldn’t help but laugh. I strode forward and stomped on his back leg causing him to scream in agony as the bone snapped. I laughed again as I grabbed what was left of his mane and pulled his head back.

“I’m not going to kill you”, I hissed in his face. ”Matter of fact, I think I’ll heal you. I may be a horrible person, but I don’t go after innocent mares or foals.”

I slammed his face into the ground before I stood up and flooded his body with healing magic. His blackened skin and charred mane healed slowly and I stopped just shy of fully healing him. I turned my gaze to my mother as she stared in confusion.

“Listen to me and listen well”, I shouted. “Anypony that wishes ill will to me or my family step forth and die where you stand! I am the Lord of the Dead and have no qualms about adding another soul to my collection! STEP FORTH AND FACE THE REAPER OF SOULS!”

Every eye was turned down either in fear or respect and silence met my proclamation. I used my magic to lift the dead unicorn to the outer wall above the portcullis. I stretched his limbs out and willed the very stone to surround his hooves holding him fast. For added benefit I placed a stasis spell on his remains and materialized a sign warning all of the fate of would-be assassins. I turned and dismissed my staff back to their tasks and stared down at the disfigured form of Blueblood.

“Challenge me again and my mother will not be able to save you”, I snarled. “Leave this place or die in the street like a common dog.”

He disappeared in a flash of light and I made my way back across the courtyard. Halfway to the castle I was met by Twilight and Umbra who both hugged me tightly. My mother silently followed me inside and I led the way to the throne room. Once I was seated on the throne my mother took a breath and sighed before speaking.

“That was a rather harsh punishment”, she said quietly.

“You haven’t seen harsh”, I muttered as I summoned my pouch of foalflower and a Mooban cigar.

“Jackson”, she sighed, “Are you trying to get thrown in the Canterlot dungeons?”

“Who’s going to arrest me”, I scoffed.

“Me, if I have to”, she replied sadly. “Jackson, what you’ve done is torture!”

“Torture”, I repeated as I leapt from my throne. “You have yet to see what happens when I torture somepony. That was a kindness I did for Blueblood.”

“KINDNESS?!”

“By all rights he should be rotting in my dungeons with nothing but his own agonized screams to keep him company”, I shouted. “I did him and his mind a kindness letting him go!”

“What has happened to you, Jackson”, she whispered with tears in her eyes. “These past six months I have seen such a darkness growing in you and it terrifies me.”

“It isn’t darkness”, I muttered. “It’s Chaos.”

“What did you say”, my mother asked with narrowed eyes.

“Nothing”, I sighed as I shook my head.

“Jackson, what has happened to you”, she whispered.

“Let’s see”, I hissed as I advanced on the great white alicorn. “I’ve been alive for a little more than a year. I have no soul. I became a prince right after I came into existence and was forced to marry because of royal bullshit. I impregnated my personal guard. I killed Cindra, then had to kill the Grim Reaper to get her back. My wife, whom I had come to love deeply, died giving birth to my child. I spent countless hours trying to bring her back, even going so far as to clone my own wife! Then I thought my whole world was taken away! NOW YOU TELL ME WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME!”

“Jackson, I-“

“ENOUGH”, I boomed in my Voice. “I refuse to answer to anypony else! I AM THE LORD OF THE DEAD! I AM THE PRINCE OF CHAOS!”

My head jerked to the side as a gold plated hoof slapped me across the face. I felt a shift inside as I slowly turned back to the mare before me and grinned.

“So we’re gonna play that game”, I hissed. “Would you like another turn or shall I?”

In one motion I drew my hand back and filled it with magic. As I began swinging forward I felt a body slam into my side and my vision went red. I turned to the foolish beast that would dare attack me and struck as hard as I could. I struck again and again until blood splattered my face angering me further.

I lifted my assailant and threw them as hard as I could. Their gray body slammed into my throne shattering it. I leapt after them to make sure they never touched me or my family again but as soon as my feet left the floor I felt a familiar stinging sensation as my muscles locked and I fell to the floor.

“Is she breathing”, Twilight gasped.

She? What is she talking about?

“Cindra, get help”, my mother shouted.

Help?

“Audrey, get Nurse Redheart here NOW”, Cindra shouted.

Why are they helping an intruder?!

“Twilight Sparkle, take Jackson away”, my mother ordered.

What’s going on?!?

I stared at the floor as I was floated through the castle behind Twilight. We quickly made it to my chambers and I was turned over midair and Twilight settled my stiff body on the bed. I tried to break free but it was useless. Twilight appeared in my field of vision with tears in her eyes. My confusion must have been visible because she stared at me with pity and sighed.

“Well, fuck.”