A spark

"This is on the house. How are you doing nowadays?"

Pity. That's all I get anymore. No matter what there's that pity. They treat me like a kicked puppy and not a sentient pony. There's anger behind that mask of concern though. When the incident occurred, I denounced her which would never go well. Every single citizen in this town acts like this except for the guards. They skipped the pity and went straight to anger. Needless to say, I sometimes end up in bad shape.

"No, that will be all." Purposefully dodging interactions, I walk briskly out of the store. There was some sort of parade going on so the streets were flooded with people. But when I walk they all part ways for me and leave a clear path. I've gotten used to the stares and whispering long ago, so this was just the usual. Sometimes I wonder if their yelling in a whispering tone since everyone of them was audible.

Ten minutes of this and I'm finally home. Climbing the stairs to my old house I gaze up at it. This used to be filled with so many good memories. When I first moved in, when she moved in with me, all the games, and her . . .

But now it is filled with nothing but sorrow. My house looks like it will fall apart at any moment, but it's still sturdy enough to stand. Unlocking my door I quickly shut it behind me breathing a sigh of relief. I decide not to look around one last time because it was unnecessary. I knew it all by heart. Looking down at the back of my hand, I scowl at the film that's been there ever since I was a child. This Mark of mine was a blessing in my younger years but a curse as time went on. The main side effect was perfect memories from birth to now.

Dropping off my keys I head upstairs with a sharp pain in my gut. Walking past the bedroom I can't help but look at the box. This time I just had to look at it. Looking at the cardboard box with her name across it, I begin to cry. "Angel Ardor". That is the name of the prettiest Pegasus in the world. When we were in high school she was one of the cool kids and I was just the loner. She never told me why she came to talk to me or even allowed me to take her out on dates.

I open the box and see exactly what I expected. There were many pictures of us throughout the years. I couldn't bare to look at them. Then there was her flying goggles that she used to wear all the time.

Having to wipe my eyes of the tears to see the next item of hers. There was a box that was filled with clothes but her favorite scarf laid on top.

To the right of it was the fedora that I wore on our first date. Closing the box in a hurry I had to turn around to gather myself.

When I got myself together I looked up to see a full-body mirror. Once she left I just became worse and worse and now I look like the definition of sorrow. My eyes have bags under them along with permanent tear marks. The black hoodie I was wearing didn't hide my ribs well or my disheveled hair. Taking a step forward it I punch the mirror with all my might over and over again. When I stop I can't see my reflection in any of the shards.

The next room is the trophy room. She was very competitive when challenged and mostly won too.

"Best Haunted House." "# 1 Best Flyer Competition." "The Key to the City"

Angel was always doing whatever she could to help. That's one of the reasons we bonded so well. Angel and I were trying to make the world a better place, but she had done so much better then me. Both of us believing it was the least we could do for our princess. Back then we could have been considered zealots to her.

Walking into the next room the bad memories came at me hard. This was our child's room. We had left it untouched. Nine years ago when I was twenty-five, we had our beautiful daughter. When she came into the world she didn't scream or cry she just looked at me and smiled. This blessing of ours was with us for six years and we just adored her, but she was different. When she was born we were expecting a unicorn or a pegasus but out came out our sweet pink alicorn. Cadence was are most treasured possession, but then word reached Celestia's ears. Before we knew it the guards burst into our house and Celestia personally took our daughter telling us it was for the best. How dare she tell us what's best with are daughter!! But there was nothing we could do. No matter what we said or did she didn't budge and took her from us.

Six years and we weren't any better. The town was concerned about us. They new Celestia came, but nothing more. The world could fuck off for all we cared but Celestia place in our hearts shifted. That is what caused them to silently despise us but they didn't know what happened so they couldn't act out on us. But that didn't help in the slightest for either of us. Angel took it the hardest though. Sadly, as much as I tried to keep her from doing anything she'd regret I was also grieving. I came home from shopping one day and she didn'tn't answer my calls. When I walked into the child's room I found her . . . hung. When I cut her down I buried her in the backyard. I wouldn't let Celestia's guards touch her. But I did have to tell them refusing to let them see her.

The fan she hung herself with broke but I haven't moved it off the floor. There was only a hook holding up shiny things that twirled. Reaching into the bag I tie the rope I bought to the hook. As I tried the hangman's knot I felt oddly calm. Using a step stool I put my head through the rope.

"I love you both and I'm so sorry." Knocking the stool over things didn't go as planned. Instead of blissful darkness, the roof caved a and I fell to the floor. Looking up at the hole with a scowl I notice what looked to be an attic. That was strange. I never knew we had an attic. Getting a ladder and a flashlight I crawled through the hole and I see something weird. Walking up to it it appears to be some sort of shrine and at the center of it was a ring

I had a tremendous urge to pick it up. Looking closer I see there are three words enscribed into the ring....."less is more". Looking back to the altar my head was filled with images. There was only one word to describe them and it was true madness. They caught me off-guard but they were just so beautiful. Then I felt it. The room spun as I felt another mind join my own consciousness. Fear was the last emotion I felt at the time. I just knew that I would see my daughter again with its help.

Putting on the ring gave me a cold chill. Feeling so much power coming from this object was invigorating. But the new guy whispered something important and exciting. He said there is more to get and even more to do. Cadence, I will see you soon. Just hold on a bit longer.