The winds rushed past his ears, sounding loud like rushing wild waters and drowning out all but the sound of his heavy panting. No longer even trying to hide himself from anypony, the stallion Chance gave up his pony form in favor of his true chimera form. Claws and hooves beat the ground in a dead sprint.
No!
He didn't know how long he had been running, didn't even know when he had started running. All he felt was the heavy pit in his chest sink further down into his gut. Chance ignored the burning in his lungs and the rising aches in his arms and legs. He ran past other ponies, leapt over carts and carriages alike and even bumped into cantankerous dragons, whose roars and fire breathing did little to impede in his frantic pace.
Please no!
Concerned ponies tried to call out to him, flag him down and some even tried to run alongside him. However, none were successful in getting so much as a sideways glance from the creature. It was like Chance had invisible blinders, unaware of everyone and everything except for where he felt he needed to be.
No no no no no!
Chance scaled hills, open fields and thickets, the thorns within getting stuck in his fur and scoring his flesh. He was numb to the pain as he willed his body onward, giving no reprieve to his singing muscles or fresh wounds. Greens and oranges and browns flew past his sights in wide blurs, until they faded into blue and blue-ish white shades. His paws and hooves stung as they crunched the fresh snow packed on the ground. The blustering snow storm announced the nearing of the crystal kingdom, with a determined Chance fighting against the very force of the storm to reach it.
They're wrong...They HAVE to be!
"Oh no..." Twilight Sparkle muttered under her breath as everyone stood in Cadance's throne room. All present were anxious and uneasy. They had been en route for a visit to the castle when Chance had suddenly burst out of Celestia's castle, so when they all gathered in her chambers, concerned, Celestia simply teleported them all directly over to the crystal empire.
"This is terrible. I knew we should've delivered the news to him in a more...gentler way." Celestia bowed her head as she spoke. Luna came up to her sister and laid a gentle hoof on her withers.
"It could not be helped, sister. Chance needed to know, and as bad as this all is, he was bound to find out sooner or later."
"She's right." Cadance stepped down from the center of the throne room and joined everyone at the steps below. She's greeted by Shining Armor, who had little Flurry Heart in his careful grasp. They exchange a brief and gentle nudge.
"He would've heard or read about it eventually. As...horrible as it was to be the one to tell him, I think it was better to hear it from you, auntie, from a dear friend rather than the cracked pages of a book or scroll."
"You majesties!"
A gaurdspony came charging in through the double doors, spear in hoof. "Something is coming towards the castle! Reports have come in that-"
"We are well aware of the situation, captain." Shining Armor carefully floats Flurry Heart over to her mother and steps up to the armor clad crystal Pegasus. "Make sure nopony gets hurt or is in the way of it. Er, him, actually. Clear the way and have your troops direct our guest to this location if you can. Otherwise, be on standby."
"Yes, prince Shining Armor!"
As he resumed his place by his wife's side, Shining Armor whispered a question to her. "We won't have to use force, will we? Should I take Flurry Heart away for the time being?"
Cadance loops her hoof around his and gently tugs him to her. "You won't have to, Shiny. This is an old friend of theirs, who just found out--"
A commotion outside signaled the arrival of the distressed Chance. A collective gasp rang out from the group as Chance burst through the double doors leading to the throne room, his chest and shoulders rising quickly as he fought to keep breathing. Though he was far from it, Chance's imposing height, beastly features and bedraggled state made him look quite...monstrous. Flurry Heart shrunk in her mothers' arms, whimpering lightly. Celestia takes a step forward in the hopes of calming her friend down.
"Chance...Please, listen-"
"Show me!"
Chance huffs the words out on a harsh breath, having sprinted all the way from Canterlot to the crystal empire. His body was tense and taut, paws, fur, mane and hooves dirty and caked with mud. He looked tired and hurt, physically, but his weary look of determination remained. "Please!"
Celestia clenched her lower lip between her teeth and looked to Cadance, who gave a single brief nod to her. Cadance then produced a hoof-sized gold box with the crystal heart emblazoned on its front. Chance limped towards her and watched as she used her magic to unlatch its holdings and open it to him.
Everyone waited, the air thick with tension and anticipation. Not a sound was made. A dim light gave off within the box and died down to reveal a dark, broken crystal. Dread welled up in his chest as Chance felt the faint and familiar energy it gave off. His shoulders slowly sagged as realization took a dagger to his soul and ran it through.
"No...."
The single word was barely a breath, but it caught everyone's ear, the gravity of it wrenching their hearts. The edges of his mouth were tugged into a mournful frown, nearly a pout. With great care, Chance gently slid his worn and bleeding claws under the crystal and lifted it up to the level of his eyes. It's heft was akin to that of an average sized gem, but for Chance, it signaled the destruction of a part of his heart.
Thick tears welled up in his golden eyes as he held the crystal in his paws, and ran heavily down his dirtied cheeks, his chest and throat unbearably tight. His chin quivered as he examined the crystal, taking in every painful detail and committing it to memory. Chance fell apart when he turned it over, finding the familiar outline of a crystalline heart cutie mark on its surface. His strength left him then and Chance collapsed to his knees as he loudly sobbed, clutching the dark crystal to his hurting heart. Celestia, Luna and Cadance surrounded the grief-stricken Chance and draped their wings around his quaking shoulders in a feathery veil of comfort and support.
As Chance openly grieved, Twilight and her friends gathered around the princesses and bowed their heads, weeping as well. Even little Flurry Heart, a new born(?), felt the overwhelming sadness in the room and cried against her mothers' breast(?).
[A millennia prior...]
"Princess Amore! There is unrest in the market!"
A regal crystal unicorn stepped down from atop her throne and went to address the guard. "What's going on?"
"A monster is trying to break into the kingdom, your majesty!"
Princess Amore furrowed her brow slightly, sensing no dark or malicious magic anywhere. "Hmm. Take me to the trouble please, we can sort it out there."
"B-But your grace--"
Amore would hear none of it and proceeded to exit the throne room. Outside, there was a crowd of crystal unicorns out in the center of the market, brandishing brooms, sticks and switches in their magic and bringing them down on the "monster". Near them were other guards, spears and shields at the ready. And at the center was a massive creature, curled on its side and growling with each strike it received. The whole thing felt...wrong.
"Is that the creature?" Amore spoke in an even but firm tone, a slight difference to her normal, more nurturing tone. The guard looked in her direction and saw her expression was unreadable.
"Yes, princess. From what reports say, the creature tried to come in through the front gate. When met with opposition, it ran through and destroyed a few of the stands."
Wordlessly Amore nods her head in acknowledgement of the situation and proceeds to make her way down to the spectacle. Ponies make way as she draws near, resting their makeshift weapons and glaring towards the monster they've subdued. Amore's eyes widen as she sees the extent of the damage done.
The creature lay pathetically on its side, curled into a ball and the arms raised up in defense. Vicious welts and angry red marks wept crimson streaks all over its body as they remained on the ground, shaking and growling weakly even after the attacks have stopped. Princess Amore steps up to the creature. "Can you speak?"
It flinches, despite her softened tone, and cautiously nods. Amore sees into its eyes, wide with fear and moist with tears, and immediately she feels a sickening wave of sadness and confusion coming from it. She brings her magic to life and slowly, gently, engulfs the beast in it, only to find that her magic slid off of it like water off an oily surface.
Other crystal ponies begin to mutter in hushed tones, only to be silenced by a stern look from their benevolent ruler. Amore drops onto her knees and lays a gentle hoof on an undamaged spot on their shoulder, doing her best to mind the wounds inflicted upon it by her subjects. The creature, in turn, appeared to visibly relax by a slight fraction. It was a start at least.
"My name is princess Amore. Do you have a name?"
Eyes still wide and wary, she sees it nod. Golden eyes, she noted. "C-Chah….Ch-Chance..."
Her heart sank from the shaken fear this Chance emanated. Amore regarded her guards then. "Bring him into the palace and have his wounds tended to."
"Princess-"
"Have one of the guest rooms made up and prepare a meal for our guest. Those of you who are still around in the square, lend a hoof to those who need assistance with repairs to their stalls and wares. Use whatever resources we have available to get it done." Without missing a step, Amore turned on her hooves and returned to the castle, guardsponies using double cots to bring in the wounded creature.
It was the dead of night when the creature, Chance, stirred awake. He was no longer in the middle of the shiny pony place, but now in a fancy and clean room. At least it smelled clean, what little moonlight that was trickling in through the curtains wasn't quite enough to get a proper visual of his surroundings. The second thing he noticed was the dull thrum of pain singing all over his body. He groaned in discomfort.
"Ah, you're conscious. I feared you'd never wake up."
It was dark but the voice that suddenly came up, seemingly, out of nowhere was soft and very gentle. Not like the angry ones from before. Caution remained at the forefront of his mind, but Chance let himself sink into the bed, feeling at ease somehow.
"Whuhh...mn, where am I?"
His voice was deep and gravely and sounded so tired. The sudden sound of liquid being poured caught his ears. "You're in the crystal castle of the crystal kingdom. Here. You must be parched. Drink as much as you want."
The sound of magic softly hummed as Chance felt something cold and metal touch his chops. He tilted his head up slightly and took in a greedy drag of water, some spilling at the sides and wetting his coat. As he gulped down the cool water, a gentle hoof dabbed a cool wet cloth across his brow and cheeks. The creature Chance flinched once more at the contact but quickly relaxed as a soft hum filled the air.
Question after question bubbled into his mind, wanting to be answered, but he felt so tired. And for the first time in his life...he felt safe. This one was not like the others. They were angry, fearful. This one...She was so gentle and kind, even to one such as himself. A stranger, and a chimera at that. But here was this pony...this princess Amore, tending to his wounds and speaking so softly to him, even humming a tune for him to relax to. It was all new to him, and even if he died right then and there, it was the happiest Chance had felt in a long, long time.
Presently, Chance chose seclusion over company, sitting at the crumbled remains of the royal sisters old castle. Everyone showed their concern and even volunteered their time and resources for his recovery. Truly, Twilight and her friends were just amazingly nice and it was kind of them, all of them. But Chance politely declined every single one. I want to revisit the memories Amore gave me all that time ago and process this on my own. I apologize, ladies.
They were so understanding and patient with him. Chance truly felt fortunate to have them all in his life.
As the sun began to set on the horizon, Chance brought a paw up to his chest and gently touched the crystal locket he wore around his neck, looking out to the distance. Celestia, Luna and Cadance carefully took a piece of the dark crystal and made it into a locket for Chance to have with him. He smiled at nothing in particular and let out a sigh.
"Lulu and Cellie were my very first friends...but it was you, Amore, who was my first love. Without you, I never would have befriended them all that time ago." Chance swallowed to try and loosen the rising lump that threatened to silence him.
"I...I didn't get to say how I felt, or even 'goodbye'. I'm...I'm so sorry, Amore! I wanted...to repay the kindness you showed me. I wanted...to spend the rest of my life repaying you, for everything."
Chance looked down and held the crystal locket reverently in his claws. "Thank you...for everything, Amore. My dearest friend...My only love."
-End
