Nervous grey hooves gently hit the stained marble floors of the palace, sunshine gently shining in through the stained glass windows and flooding the giant room with multicolored little twinkles of lighting that glinted and gleamed off the polished rock. Her fur felt uncomfortable on her skin as she became hyper aware of her own body, the way that strand from her mane rubbed against her neck, the uncomfortable clink sound her earrings made when they hit each other with every step, even her eyelashes seemed out of place and odd as they hit her cheeks. Perhaps it was the guards that stood around her with their unblinking eyes the same color as the unicorn that sat on the throne, the weapons they held at the ready, or the knowledge that they were powerless to fight her off. Maybe it was the fact that Canterlot was silent, that the castle was empty of the Princesses and their staff, that no one could save them now and Doodle Bug was left to pick up the pieces.
Ahead of her, lounging on the throne her Majesty the Princess Celestia should be on, was a mare Doodle Bug always had an odd feeling about from the moment she wiggled her way into the library to critique her book selection. A white face encompassed by a pastel blue mane stared back at Doodle Bug with glaringly bright mismatched eyes that seemed to gleam even in the daylight, magic sparking in a sharp horn that seemed nothing short of a weapon now and sliding a glorious stool in front of the throne so the unicorn could step down onto the floor.
“Doodle Bug.” The mare greeted her, voice cold yet so smooth and gentle at the same time, “My favorite librarian! How do you do? Enjoying the new world?” She had a gentle smile on her face, like they were talking about a book, like they were having a casual conversation, as if Canterlot wasn’t burning.
Doodle Bug wanted to say something, anything, but her voice was caught in her throat. She had hundreds of questions just like everyone else did, a mind to beg Smoky Waltz to explain. Where did you put them? Will you fix it? What do you want?
She said none of this. Voice hoarse, shaking violently as she spoke barely louder than whisper, “Why?” It was a basic question, unknowing and simple, confused, full of sorrow and fear.
Smoky Waltz flicked her long tail, a beautiful tuft of blue and white curling at the end as she made slow, casual strides around Doodle Bug, glasses clipped around the neck of her dark blue sweater, the bags under her eyes and innocent appearance making her seem almost like a normal pony, someone you’d have a conversation with. Smoky clicked her tongue in reply, speaking almost cathartically with a hint of amusement under her tone, “What do you mean, DB?” She said it like she didn’t know, as if the chaos she’d created was unknown to even her. She strode towards the window, Doodle Bug standing firm and shaking on her hooves as Smoky Waltz looked over the burning city of Canterlot, lifeless and cold as compared to what it once was.
Ponies fought, they certainly tried to keep their way of life, tried to fight off a spell so simple and failed because it got under their skins in all the right ways and dragged them down to her.
Silence filled the room, the guards not even seeming to breath as Doodle Bug held her breath in a quiet but known terror, ears flopped and head hanging, staring wide eyed at the mare that came into the library every Tuesday as she stood in the throne room, Princesses missing, cities burning, Equestria in shambles with the rest of the world soon to follow.
“It’s simple, DB.” Smoky finally spoke, her voice oddly cheerful despite the grim look on her face that broke way to a forced smile, “If you think about it, it’s really simple. There’s a balance to everything, even villany, even chaos. Without a little bit of dictatorship, a little bit of evil, where would your precious Princesses be? Bogged down in paperwork, balancing between being a dictator and a pawn, navigating meaningless politics.” She turned, making her way back to Doodle Bug, exhaustion written all over her face, “But now, now they’re fighting, they’re wishing, hoping, and so is everyone else. I made them icons again, everyone wants them to show up, to save them! I did that! I made them!”
Her tired look gave way to something near anxiety before she masked it with a grin, “And now, Bugs, now I get to unmake them. You can’t rely on the monarchy forever, can’t rely on masters and leaders and stupid Princesses to keep you safe. Sometimes you have to keep yourself safe.”
Doodle Bug spoke before she thought, voice breathy and squeaked in a rage, “You’re a monster, ponies are hurt, you’ve ruined the country and we’ll never be the same.”
“A country that can be torn down by a college drop-out isn’t worth saving.” Smoky said, making her way back to the throne, horn sparking with magic as she placed her glasses back on her face. “It’ll be stronger next time, once they rebuild. Safer. Better. No Gods, no masters, no kings nor queens nor princesses, just one little unicorn and the people.”
Doodle Bug took a shaky step back, blinking slowly as she tried and failed to understand what this meant, throat sore from fighting back screams and eyes filled with tears. She felt something creeping her leg, and without looking she knew what it was because she’d watched it happen to Hoop, to Cipher, watched as crystal colored magic enveloped them and their eyes turned that unnervingly bright mismatched color, stared wide at Doodle Bug with nothing to say as they moved to stand guard as Smoky made her first public speech.
Something whispered in her ear, far away and quiet at first until it got louder and louder, shouting in her ear and strangling her as it spoke of never being loved, of being useless, about how there was a reason father never loved her. But that could change, just open your mind, just let me in.
Doodle Bug shook her head as if she thought she could beat the voice out, shake the thoughts clean like that foalhood toy, and her resistance just seemed to push it to go further, get louder, say whatever it could.
“Doodle Bug, please.” Smoky laid silently on the throne meant for someone much larger than her, front legs slung over one side as her head hung over, expression nothing but boredom. “Just let me in.”
“Get out.”
The command was spoken with such ferocity, something never quite heard of in the usually quiet librarian, it took the unicorn off guard and she lifted her head, eyes narrowing. The guards twitched. Smoky narrowed her eyes more. Things moved so slowly yet so quickly as Doodle Bug stomped her hooves, shook her head, looking like a feral animal more than a civilized mare, and finally she spoke again, the same command but shouted, and suddenly she was no longer in the throne room.
Where was she? Where was she?
“Bugsie?”
Hoop was here.
Doodle Bug hit the ground before she could blink.
