The Princess's Title

Goose Chase

“I never knew all that about how you became princess, my lady,” I mentioned after we’d returned home. She’d cleaned the filth off her hooves again and again, showered twice, cleaned her hooves again, until finally, she brought out a bottle of her favorite fermented apple family whiskey, and downed about half of it.

“Course ya didn’t. Could ya imagine what ponies would do if they found out the truth? They’d never let another princess sit on the throne again. Ah ain’t no different than the scum that Ah deal with every day. What a crock of shit, Princess of Justice. That wasn’t justice, that was vengeance. He killed Fuji and Oxford along with all my other ponies, and even through everythin’, Ah didn’t think of anythin’ but my descendant’s faces when Ah pulled the trigger.”

Though she’d asked me to make some fresh pancakes after we got back, I turned everything off, finished what I could, and then went to my lady. “Princess...”

“Don’t y’all princess, me! Ah ain’t said nothin’ but the truth all day, and Ah hate it! Things fall at my hooves because Ah decided ta take it up. Ah have ta put up a facade of bein’ somepony better than the rest when Ah know deep down that Ah’m the worst of them all. Ah stand on a throne of corpses and preach ta the masses outta one side of my mouth and lie out the other.

“Friendship is magic? Bullshit. Unity is what makes magic stronger. Ya can use magic fer the sake of somepony else ta kill plenty. So long as both parties harmonize, ya can do anythin’, all the way ta movin’ the sun and the moon. When Ah met with Celestia ta figure out what Twilight wouldn’t ask, she told me the truth. Hollow Shades wasn’t an accident, it was what made a princess. Our lives are extended by the lives of those we sacrifice, the more ponies ya take, the more lives ya have ta spend. We’re not immortal, but the worst of us could be.

“That’s why King Sombra tried so desperately ta get Celestia. She knew the spell ta make an alicorn, and he wanted it. He would’ve been the worst tyrant the world had ever seen if he knew the spell, and she had ta do everythin’ she could ta stop him, even if it meant exposin’ her sister ta the blackest magic there is. And of course, what does that do but corrupt her and give her the same goal? This blasted spell is gonna die with me, and Ah pray ta the goddess every day that nopony else ever accidentally happens upon it.”

“Princess...” I managed to put my hoof on her cheek, and before I knew it, she brought me in like a bear trap.

“Goose… if Ah told ya some of the things that Ah’ve been hidin’, would ya still love me?”

I frowned. What could she tell me? No, I already know the answer to this. “Princess… I don’t think you could tell me anything that would make me stop loving you. There’s nopony you hurt more than you by doing what is necessary to keep your people safe.” I smiled. “You know, you do this every time, right?”

She sniffed. “Ah do what?”

I wiped her tears away. “You cry, you drink, you wash yourself again and again and again. And you wake up the next day, and you go out there with a smile on your face, and you tell everypony that things are fine, and things will be fine. I wasn’t sure why I wanted this job so badly when I was young, and even as I grew older, my desire to be here with you always confounded me.

“But, after our first mission together, all the way back when I first became your consort and you had to… exact justice, I knew. If my purpose in life is to be the one that you allow yourself to cry on, that you allow yourself to feel in front of, then I am satisfied with just that. The weight of the crown is heavy. That finally struck me today. So long as I’m here though, I can help you bear it.”

She wrapped herself around me tighter and cried a little harder. I didn’t understand it when I was a child, but as a stallion, now I know. It was never because she was sad, but because she was relieved that I was there for her. When she’d finally settled down, she cleaned her face, blew her nose, and came to the table. I finished the requested stack of pancakes and came to sit with her while she ate.

“Ya know,” she finally spoke up, “When Ah saw ya as a colt, Ah was damn near sure ya were the reincarnation of my husband.”

I nodded. “I know, princess. I never forgot what you called me all those years ago, and I looked into it when I was finally given clearance to look at your family history. If I were in your shoes, I probably would’ve thought I was looking at a ghost.”

She nodded. “Ah figured. Ah know you’re a smart one, and Ah also know how devious ya are. Usin’ a back door, an encryption, and a server outside of the country. Tried real hard ta hide yer tracks.”

I shrugged. “Guilty as charged. But, I suppose it would be hard to hide anything from you. If I am as similar to him as you say, then you’ve known me longer than I’ve known myself. We even had the same cutiemark. If anything could be a physical representation of the soul, it would have to be that.”

My lady nodded, then continued on her cakes. It’d been bothering me since we talked about it Thursday, so finally, I asked. “Princess, if I may...”

She shuddered. “Oh, please don’t remind me of that man. Ah shoulda taken care of Aznabal while Ah had the chance. That griffon scares me. He even agreed ta let me remove everythin’ Ah said about my past from his memory. No normal creature would do that.”

“While I understand the sentiment, I don’t think Aznabal is a threat to Equestria. He was… a griffon with a drive to do something. Though it’s vengeance tainted by wrath, when he finally does finish what he set out to do, I think he’ll lose purpose and wander. He’s talented, but his drive stems from hate. He’s not the kind of man to see what he wants beyond his goal.”

She thought on that for a moment. “Ah suppose you’re right. He’s not the first of his kind, and he certainly won’t be the last. At least, so long as greed exists in the heart. All we can do is try our best to end the cycle, knowin’ there there will always be people that slip through the cracks and repeat it. He was right, ya know. About utopia. Fer as gross as his desires are, he understands how sentient creatures operate. Such a… damn shame he’s so hell bent on revenge. He could be so much more...”

“Yes, it is a disappointment. The king Griffonia deserves, but not the one it will ever see. Oh well. The nobles will scrambled for power, the armies will split, and Griffonia will fall into chaos now that their throne is open. Is it… right that we allow this?”

“That is a question Ah have been askin’ myself ever since Ah set on my campaign ta make Equestria the dominant power in the world. When Yakyakistan collapsed, Ah did try ta intervene. But the party that Ah gambled on ended up unfit fer rule, so Ah tried ta talk them inta lettin’ me take care of it. Took seventy years ta get them under control and stop the fightin’, and that only worked because most of the yaks that remembered a self governed Yakyakistan died off. Give ‘em luxuries and comforts, and creatures will abandon their desire fer freedom. It’s disgustin’ and another thing Ah wish Ah never did, but here we are, two hundred years later, and Yakyakistan celebrates me fer puttin’ their pieces back together.

“Meritocracy works, but Ah shouldn’t be the one ta make them see that, they should see it fer themselves. If creatures just bow ta whoever feeds them, then they’re just another dog waitin’ on the next bowl of food. Diamondia went the same way, and that time, it was Flurry who decided ta pick ‘em up. We let the chaos drag itself out fer a few years, but it was when she said this ta me, that Ah ultimately decided ta allow them into the Empire.

“‘Creatures have every right ta be free. They have their own unique souls that makes them a creature of value because they can love and be loved just like everyone else. But they are also violent things with vices that rule their hearts and interests that only serve themselves. The creatures who lose when the powerful play are the weak, and no one else. So when we have the chance ta step in and give the weak a chance, we should. If they reject us, then that is their choice and there is nothin’ more we can do fer them. But if they accept us, and allow us ta help, then we should.’”

“Her mother raised her right. She bears this curse unlike anypony else, and there is no pony who will ever suffer more than she does. As much as she is a connivin’ little slut, she’ll break character every now and again and show the truth of her title, the Princess of Purity. So, now Ah let things happen, knowin’ that it may all fall back ta me. Griffonia was on this track ever since Degwin killed Zeon, and it was only a matter of time. Course, Garma went and pissed me off and moved the date up fifty years, but that was always a possibility too. With the way things are goin’ in Abyssinia, we’ll likely see future where they tear themselves apart and fall inta ruin. I’ll just make sure that they can’t do anythin’ stupid ta my family next time.”

I nodded and took a piece of cake off her stack to nibble on. The ones I made weren’t as good, but I suppose that comes with practice. “Yesterday, we played a game.”

She swallowed a hearty amount and nodded. “That we did.”

“To be quite honest, I still haven’t figured out what you wanted out of me. Could you tell me?”

She sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Ah really hate ta do this ta ya, but Ah suppose you’ll find out eventually anyways. Just a minute ago, Ah lied ta ya.”

I frowned. “You did? About what?”

She looked down and put a hoof on her stomach. “Flurry… ain’t gonna be alone in how she bears her curse. The reason Ah’ve been feelin’ things Ah should be too old fer, the reason my emotions have been runnin’ wild, the reason’ Ah haven’t been sleepin’ well… is because, you’re gonna be a father, Goose. And just like the rest of us, Ah’m about ta bring another life inta this world that will suffer our curse.”

She must’ve been surprised when I started laughing, because next she said, “Goose? What in the world is wrong with ya?”

This time, I took her in my hooves. I planted the deepest kiss I could manage before I needed air, and held my princess. “Has old age degraded your brain? What could possibly be more joyous than this? When the day comes that I can no longer be by your side, now I have the assurance that somepony will. And it won’t just be anypony, it will be ours, that stays with you. Even if eternity keeps us separated, and my soul can’t always find its way back to you, this will be our bond that lasts forever. There is one thing that I disagree with that you’ve said, princess.”

She blinked. “And what would that be?”

“If not Friendship, then at least Love, is magic. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far we are apart, our bond will never be broken. And this foal of ours will be proof of that.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Well, maybe somepony can finally prove Twi right. If this little pony is the one that does it, then Ah won’t be nothin’ than happy fer it.” She sighed and picked me up. “How did Ah ever get so lucky as Ah did, ta find ya again?”