The Broken One

Prince Jackson, Princess Celestia is requesting entry to the castle.

I groaned and opened my eyes. The sun was riding high in the sky and I was covered in ponies. I squirmed out from under the pile and dragged myself to the edge of the bed. I let out a yawn and gave my blessing for her to enter as I strapped my leg braces on.

“Why were my leg braces on the floor”, I asked groggily as I shoved Cindra’s flank.

She jolted awake and held a hoof to her head as she stared at me.

“You stumbled in drunk last night and were raving about some kind of dogs”, she groaned and buried her face in the bed.

I grunted through the throbbing pain in my head and stood up to get dressed. I reached for my armor but froze when I saw the dried blood. The previous day flashed through my mind and I changed my mind, reaching instead for another tunic and flowing pants. My gait was uneven as I stumbled into the bathroom to relieve myself.

“Jackson, your mom is here”, Cindra groaned from the bedroom.

I stumbled out of the bathroom and was met by a concerned white alicorn. She eyed me with a mix of fear and disbelief before she turned her gaze to the bed. I followed her gaze and smiled when I beheld the twin vamponies and changeling. I looked back to my mother and sighed.

“Jackson, what happened yesterday”, she asked quietly.

“Does it matter”, I groaned as I rubbed my eyes. “We rescued Rarity, everypony’s happy, end of story.”

“It is not the end of the story”, she said sternly as she stomped her hoof on the floor. “Applejack told me about the blood on your armor. I can smell it now.”

“So what”, I spat. “They kidnapped one of the Elements of Harmony and assaulted a Prince of Equestria. They deserved to die.”

“Jackson”, she gasped. “What is wrong with you? When did you become so hateful?”

“There is nothing wrong with me”, I said as a calming sensation came over me.

I stared at my mother and wondered how she could insinuate that I had mental issues. Anypony that would allow such foul creatures to live after trying to harm anypony close to them was a fool and a coward. I didn’t care what anypony said, I was going to protect those close to me.

“Jackson, you murdered those Diamond Dogs”, she uttered as she stared at me. “Six lives, Jackson. I can’t overlook this anymore.”

“Are you here to arrest me”, I asked as I shifted my feet. “You here to haul me off to the Canterlot dungeons?”

“No”, she replied tearfully.

“So you’re here to kill me”, I sighed as I shook my head.

“I’m sorry”, she choked out through sobs.

Her horn shone for the briefest second before chains wrapped themselves around me. I threw my hand forward and the faintest spark flew from my fingertips. It was then that I realized I had no magic. I stared at my mother in shock as she charged forward with her horn lowered.

“MOM”, I shouted as her horn pierced my chest.

I looked down and saw my golden blood flowing around her horn as a burning pain ripped through my chest. It was getting harder to breath and everything sounded like it was half a mile away. The Great Conqueror pulled her horn from my chest exposing my pierced heart. I fell to my knees and heard sobbing as everything began to go fuzzy and dark.

So this is what it’s like to die, I thought. It fucking sucks!

I felt an agonizing heat spread over me as my mother’s magic went to work. The pain was so great that my voice ripped from my chest in rapid unholy howls of torment. I lost feeling in my entire body when the nerve endings were finally burned away. There was nothing I could do as I bled out in the floor. I saw the tiniest spark before everything went dark.

I bolted upright in bed yelling out in fright and launched a geyser of fire at our chamber door. The flames hit the stone wall and vanished. The three mares piled around me jolted awake and all took different actions. Shadow threw me to the bed and covered me with her body. I heard Umbra’s hooves hit the floor as she took up a protective stance in front of the bed. Cindra, on the other hand, zipped up to the chandelier and looked around with wide eyes as her teeth chattered in fright.

“Lemme go”, I shouted as I struggled against my wife.

She placed her forehead against mine and I felt a soothing aura wash over me. My muscles relaxed and I collapsed in on myself panting. My heart slowed to a normal pace as Cindra dropped from the chandelier and bounced on the bed. A small giggle escaped her and it flashed through my mind how odd it was that the changeling found joy in the simplest of things.

Umbra let loose a string of what sounded like profanities and when I asked Audrey to translate I actually blushed a time or two at the inventiveness of her obscenities. She ducked her head before I chuckled. I was suddenly amazed by how quickly my little “herd” as I came to describe the castle denizens had come to rely on me as I had on them. For a moment I felt giddy at the thought of the size of my growing circle.

“Quid est”, Umbra asked as she saw the look on my face.

“Nihil”, I absently responded before I shook my head to clear it. “Wait, what?”

“I just asked what was wrong and you answered”, she muttered with her slightly lilting accent.

“So what”, I shrugged.

“We spoke in Old Ponish”, she replied. “I did not know you spoke it.”

“Huh?”

“Jackson, you spoke another language”, Shadow said quietly as she stared into my eyes.

“Huh.”

I scratched my head and pulled one of the tiny braids into my line of sight. I stared at it moment before dropping it.

Prince Jackson, Princess Celestia is requesting entry to the castle.

Memories of my dream flashed through me as I allowed her entry and hurried to get dressed. I strapped my sword on and stood near the window staring into the courtyards. When the chamber door opened I turned around to face my mother. her gaze flicked to my bloody armor before turning back to me.

“Are you hurt”, my mother asked quietly.

“Nothing I couldn’t heal”, I replied as I rested my hand on my sword.

“Jackson, what happened yesterday”, she asked, sending a jolt of trepidation through me.

“We rescued Rarity”, I answered carefully.

“Son, Fluttershy told me about the blood on your armor”, she said sadly.

“Wait, Fluttershy”, I asked. “Not Applejack?”

“No, it was Fluttershy”, she responded. “That poor sweet mare was so terrified the entire time.”

“Yeah, she’s a marshmallow”, I smiled but my face fell immediately. “Are you here to kill me?”

“WHAT”, she gasped. “I WOULD NEVER DO THAT!”

“So you’re here to try to imprison me.”

“What in Equestria for”, she gasped again as she jerked her head back.

“You don’t know”, I muttered. “Fuck.”

“You might as well tell me now that you brought it up”, she said nervously as she stepped toward me.

“Rarity’s rescue wasn’t exactly… clean”, I hesitated.

“What does that mean”, my mother asked as fear crept into her eyes.

“I may or may not have ended the lives of a few of the Diamond Dogs in the process of getting to Rarity.”

“You killed them”, she asked.

“Yes”, I replied as I squared my shoulders. “They kidnapped one of the Elements of Harmony and assaulted a Prince of Equestria.”

“I am aware of that”, she said quietly, “but I wasn’t aware you went on a killing spree.”

“So what was I supposed to do”, I growled.

“Bring them in to face Equestrian Justice”, she shouted. “There is such a thing as due process! You can’t just appoint yourself judge jury and executioner!”

“I saw it as an act of war”, I countered.

“WHAT?!”

“Rarity is a citizen of Ponyville which is in my domain”, I replied as I crossed my arms over my chest. “The Diamond Dogs are a separate sovereign race that has their own hierarchy and as such the kidnapping of such a high profile member of the community was a willful act of war and was handled with due force.”

“You asked the castle about it, didn’t you”, my mother groaned.

“Eeyup”, I nodded. “Huh. Now I see why he says it that way!”

“Though it was legally justified, it still horrifies me”, she said quietly as she closed the distance between us and hugged me. “I’m worried about you, son.”

“I’m fine”, I whispered as I returned her warm embrace.

“Don’t be afraid to visit”, she smiled as she pulled away. “Besides, it’s almost Summer Sun and the decorations are beautiful. You could use a little color in your life.”

I looked over at the bed and realized she had a point. Everypony closest to me was some shade of gray or black. The curtains over the windows and around the bed were a deep gray. There were no tapestries. I looked back into my mother’s eyes and saw deep concern.

“Mom, what else is bothering you?”

“Oh, Jackson”, she sighed as she hung her head. “I’ve heard of your… behavior as of late. I’m worried about your wellbeing, both physical and emotional.”

“You think I’m crazy”, I said defensively as I pulled away from her.

“No”, she urged quickly. “I’m not saying that at all! I’m saying you’re sick and need help! Please let me help you!”

“I don’t need help”, I growled as I walked away. “I’m not sick! I was doing my duties as the Lord of the Dead!”

“Jackson, listen to yourself”, my mom shouted. “Listen to what you’re saying!”

“I did what I had to”, I said quietly. “I took the vengeance Rarity deserved. I should have killed them all.”

“Jackson, please”, she gasped. “You’re the Prince of Chaos, not the Prince of Vengeance! Don’t go down that dark path!”

“Mother, I think it’s time for you to leave now.”

“Jackson-“

“Audrey”, I sighed and nodded when my mother vanished.

“Master”, Umbra whispered as she eased toward me. “I think she was wrong. You’re not sick. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Umbra, shut up”, Shadow scoffed as she trotted over and threw her forelegs around me. “Don’t worry, we’ll get through this.”

“There’s nothing to get through”, I said nonchalantly as I shrugged her off and went to relieve my bladder. “Besides, I don’t feel bad about killing those mangy mutts.”

I stepped out of the bathroom and glanced at my armor. I waved a hand at it and the dried blood vanished instantly. I changed into my armor quickly and strapped my sword to my side. I looked out the window just in time to see Silver creep up on Discord’s statue and cautiously poke it. A chuckle slipped from me as I took to the air and glided silently toward him.

“BOO”, I shouted as I landed hard beside him.

He jumped three feet in the air when my hand struck his flank and he was trying to run before his feet even hit the ground. I doubled over in laughter as he bolted away as fast as he could go. I fell over and cackled as a disappointed Shadow came to a gentle landing.

“That was mean”, she said with visible irritation.

“But it was hilarious”, I gasped.

“Jackson”, she growled.

“Well, fuck.”