//------------------------------// // Chapter XVII: Gone Forever (Part 3) - Loss in the Royal Family // Story: The Young Prince of Equestria // by GoebelTron //------------------------------// Silver Spear and his guards flew for hours, until there was no sight of any zeppelin, but he was not ready to give up, so they flew near the crash site to investigate. When they landed on the ground, the squadron started investigating, but suddenly, one by one, a few guards were unexpectedly swiftly attacked by a combination of teeth and claws. Silver Spear was now by himself as he continued to look for Bowen and the zeppelin, by proceeding with extreme caution. As he got closer, there was a wrecked big zeppelin laying on the ground with some piles burning from fire. It was obvious it crashed minutes ago, but what really took him out of guard, was that he suddenly heard something from behind. Silver Spear turned around and looked around for the perpetrator, until nothing else happened, not even his voice. Bowen suddenly came out of the wreckage, and coughed a few breaths of air, and looked around for a safer route back to Canterlot but he was somehow lost, and in a different location. Before he could move on, Bowen suddenly saw a pony guard lying on the ground, realizing that he or she needed help, so he went over. As he got closer, he saw the armor of somepony familiar, until what shocked him was the deceased body of Captain Silver Spear. Bowen walked over and then tried to help him. “Captain? Captain? You gotta get up. Please get up,” he said, as the boy tried to help him up, but the captain wasn’t moving. “Come on. I wanna go home,” he said after shaking his body, until he realized that Silver Spear, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and his mother’s high top commanding general and drill sergeant, was dead. “No…” Bowen said, as he began to shed tears, and then he kept calling for help, but with no reply, until he began to cry more since the captain almost felt like a friend, or maybe family to Bowen, so he went back over and hugged the dead captain one more time, but made it a little bit longer. Suddenly, after a few minutes of hugging, he grabbed some tarp from the zeppelin and wrapped it over the captain as a blanket to keep his dead body warm and not get cold, and then started running off with a broken heart. Suddenly, Silent Dagger came out with himself covered in blood, ash, and dirt, but was still able to run. He then ran after Bowen with anger in himself. Bowen’s locket was placed next to Silver Spear’s body. Bowen was now running through the dark forest, after escaping the wreckage of the burning zeppelin, and was now scared and hurt, but he didn’t care about that. Because for the moment he was already in, the only thing he cared about right now was to stay away from that mean unicorn who took him away from the only ones who he called a family. He didn’t know how he could’ve survived that huge crash on the zeppelin, but he somehow didn’t have the time to think about it. The only thing he cared for now was running for his life and to a safer distance. Bowen suddenly stopped near a pile of logs, until he turned around and saw Silent Dagger coming towards him. Bowen then climbed onto the logs and made it over carefully before Silent Dagger could grab him. He still could hear him, running after him and screaming, “YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE FROM ME, YOU LITTLE FREAK! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! AND NOW MY CREW IS DEAD, NO THANKS TO YOU! YOU ARE SO GOING TO PAY!” That mean pony Silent Dagger wasn’t joking. Bowen feared what he would do to him if he managed to catch him, but ignoring the immense pain, Bright continued running, until he tumbled down a hill and through a few thorny bushes, leading to another route out of the forest while Silent Dagger started looking without him noticing the boy was in the bushes. After struggling his way through carefully, Bowen finally got out of the forest and found himself in the open meadow fields. He kept running, but suddenly, a stun beam hit him in his back, causing him to trip and fall. It didn’t hurt him, but he now couldn’t move. With much effort, he turned his head and saw that unicorn behind him with a glare on his face. “Gotcha!” he said. “Now, what am I going to do with you?!” Bowen was close to peeing his pants when he saw him approaching closer, until Silent Dagger lit up his horn. “This’ll be easy! Say goodbye, you little twit!” Silent Dagger shouted, ready to give Bowen the final blow. Suddenly, he saw something else coming from near him and Bowen. It was a heard of rhinos eating grass and drinking water, but one saw Silent Dagger and turned towards him. Silent Dagger grabbed Bowen and then screamed, “Stay back! He’s mine! I’m the one who kills him! You hear me?! You hear me?!” The rhino then began to charge towards the unicorn until Silent Dagger lit up his horn, but the rhino stopped itself and then saw something that was probably scaring it. “Yeah?! That’s what I’m talking about, you wimp! Not so tough now, are you?! Huh?!” Silent Dagger asked, until the rhino ran back to the herd. “That’s right. Just keep running your sorry butt back to mama! Yeah, you’ve got nothing! Just keep running! Maybe next time, you bring one of your friends, huh?!” Suddenly, they heard a growling sound behind them, as Silent Dagger turned around and saw a huge dark brown sabertooth cat behind them. It let out a ferocious thundering roar that almost sounded like a manticore. It suddenly pounced onto the ground and went towards the rhino herd, but the herd defended themselves against the predator, by stomping on the ground and moving their heads up and down. As the sabertooth cat turned around, it spotted Silent Dagger standing but shaking in fear. The sabertooth cat then started to attack the unicorn, who dropped the boy on the ground. He defended himself by throwing beams to them and casting shielding spells. They didn’t help him very much since he was too weak, so he was doomed if things were kept this way. Bowen watched them fighting for a minute, until he finally started to feel his body again. It seemed Silent Dagger was suddenly weak after all. After the stunning spell wore off very fast, he then stood up and started to walk backwards, before Silent Dagger used all his strength and fired a powerful bean to his ravenous opponent before it scratched him on the hind leg, leaving a bleeding claw mark, until the sabertooth cat landed on the ground and got back up. As Bowen saw how Silent Dagger beat the sabertooth cat, he suddenly stood on a twig, until the sabertooth cat turned around and saw him about to run, then it started to make a stance with low growling noises. Seeing this with one final glance to the sabertooth cat about to go after the kid, Silent Dagger then chuckled and smirked, and ran back to the forest as he screamed, “ENJOY BEING A SNACK, KID!” Bowen then started running until the sabertooth cat started chasing him. Bowen slid through the root of a tree as the sabertooth cat rammed through and tried to bite him with its teeth. Bowen then ran through the forest again with the sabertooth cat following the boy smashing through more dead trees, and then made it through smaller and thinner trees which Bowen was running through. The sabertooth cat was about to bite Bowen but chomped on one of the trees instead. As Bowen slid through another root of a tree, the sabertooth cat almost bit off his leg, but missed again as it got through with its strength and kept chasing Bowen from the bushes, roots, and rocks until he reached a bigger tree and his underneath the roots so that the sabertooth cat wouldn’t get him. The sabertooth cat then jumped forward and as Bowen crawled deeper into the roots, the sabertooth cat smashed some roots with its claws three times, and then tried to grab the boy claws but couldn’t reach, as Bowen crawled to another corner, until the sabertooth cat snarled at the boy before it lunged onto a different side, scraped onto a root and bit onto it and tore it off before reaching towards Bowen again. He crawled backwards, but the sabertooth cat missed with one chomp of its jaws. The sabertooth cat then dug through the roots like before and tried to grab him, before Bowen jammed a rock onto its paw, letting the sabertooth cat let out a painful roar. Bowen then crawled out of the roots as the sabertooth cat dogpiled onto the roots and tried to claw and bite him, but Bowen suddenly made it out alive and made another run for it. While the boy continued running, the sabertooth cat jumped onto Bowen and held him still, but the child crawled out of its grasp after kicking its leg and stomping its paw. Bowen then ran forward, after losing the sabertooth cat, before he reached a huge waterfall. He then realized for his bad luck, that there was no way he could survive or make it to the other side on the big stepping stones without falling, but not to mention he didn’t even know how to swim. He felt even colder than ever, as he saw his life running in his eyes while he started to regret all the things he didn’t get to do with his mommy, Cadance and even his friends, until it broke his little heart. “Nopony is coming for me… right?” Bowen said. Thinking one way to safely cross over the path up ahead without noticing the thunder and rain, he heard the angry sabertooth cat coming right behind him. He turned around and saw its eyes, satiny dark brown fur, and sharp teeth. This was it. His fateful end. Bowen then started walking backwards carefully without hurting himself. The sabertooth cat noticed how Bowen was staring with fear in his eyes. Not wanting to lose his snack, he pounced with its claws sticking out of its paws and then opened its fanged mouth to bite Bowen’s little head. The boy then lost balance, until he fell from the cliff before the sabertooth cat could grab him, watching Bowen fall into the mist of the waterfall. Bowen then landed in the water, as he in the bottom of the big river, struggling to come out with no success, but as he swam up, the raging river began to drag him with full force. As he was in the flow, he felt like if all his body was crushed and exhausted, as the pain was now unbearable, but he didn’t feel it for much time, until he tried to stay alive, before he bumped into a river rock that broke the bones of his arm, and then before he could feel more pain, another river rock hit his head, knocking him out unconsciously, and as he made it towards the shoreline, everything went black. Back at the crash site, Shining Armor and a few guards arrived as it landed onto the ground safely before they started investigating the site. “Sir!” a guard called. “What is it?” Shining Armor asked, as he gasped in shock at seeing the terrifying sight, revealing Silver Spear lying on the ground dead and wrapped up in a makeshift bundle. “No…” Shining then saw Bowen’s pendant, and held it in his hoof, before he lowered his head in shame, but then stood back up, until he and the guards saw none other than Silent Dagger walking forward. He jumped in shock, and then tried to escape due to an injured leg, “YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!” Shining then shut him up and stopped him from fleeing with a stunning spell, making the crook pony collapse. “Guards, seize him!” The two guards nodded and cuffed him with chains and shackles. “You won’t get away that easily!” Silent Dagger shouted. “In the name of Princess Celestia and the Royal Guard, you are under arrest and are hereby given the right to remain silent,” Shining Armor said, until he thought up something to tell the princess. Everypony was waiting in Celestia’s throne room. While Twilight Velvet and Sweet Rose were hugging their crying daughters, the waiting was killing them, Cadance, who was comforting her aunt, said to her, “I still hope they’re okay. Bowen’s the bravest little kid I know, but with a strong heart.” “So do I, dearest niece. So do I,” Celestia said. Suddenly, they saw a guard entering the room. “Your highness! They have returned!” he said. As soon as he said those words, everypony ran to the palace’s entrance. They waited a little while until finally, all the royal guards started to enter. Celestia looked at their faces, as the mere sight of them told her everything she needed to know and she started to cry, until the last one to enter was Shining Armor. His eyes were blank and were showing sorrow and loss, as he was walking in three legs since he was holding something in one hoof. They all approached and then felt concerned about what happened, until Twilight Velvet, Sweet Rose and Cadance kept the fillies back while Cadance was holding Spike against her chest in her right hoof positioned in a cradle. Celestia then spoke to Shining Armor, “Please, tell us. What have you found?” Shining Armor then began, “We couldn’t find Bowen, or anything that belonged to him… except this.” He showed her his pendant as Celestia held it in her hoof, before sitting down on the ground with a broken heart, and holding the necklace on her hooves. “I’m sorry. I did the best I could.” Celestia then felt tears in her eyes, until Shining Armor spoke again, “Princess, we also captured the culprit and put him in the dungeon, so we can await your orders on what to do with him, but another thing. Well, it also pains me to tell you this… but Captain Silver Spear… is dead.” Celestia gasped, as she saw his body being brought in by the guards, and then uncovered some part of him to show his wound. When Twilight and Flying heard those first words, they started to feel tears in their eyes like they never did before. “No! This can’t happen!” Twilight shouted. “You’re lying! He can’t be gone! He can’t!” Flying shouted back. “BOWEN CAN’T DIE! BOWEN CAN’T DIE!” Twilight and Flying then started to cry again, as their parents did their best to calm them down, but they kept crying until Cadance, who saw Spike whining and crying underneath her chest fur, used a sleeping spell on them, since they needed to rest for now. Once the kids, including Spike, were taken to their room by Twilight Velvet, everypony else gathered in the dining room and Shining Armor proceeded to tell them how they found this evidence, as Celestia, who was literally broken into pieces remained there feeling hurt, as Cadance started crying in Shining Armor’s shoulder, who was also sharing some tears. Sweet Rose felt broken-hearted as well, and Twilight Velvet was comforted by her husband. “There, there, Cadance. Let them come out,” Shining said, while doing his best to comfort his girlfriend. But there was nothing else in the world that could do that for her before she began to think to herself, ‘My cousin is gone! But why?! Why does somepony as sweet as him has to have such a horrible end?! It’s just too cruel! Now I’m never going to see him again, not see any of his smiles, no more hugs or kisses, no more playing with him and Twilight, no more slumber parties, no more comfort cuddles during the night, not being able to see him grow up and reach his true potential, NO NOTHING!’ She was going to faint for sadness as well, but then she heard somepony entering the room. “Agh, what is going on around here? Owwww… my head…” Cadance then looked up to see who it was. It was none other than Blueblood. At that very moment, without thinking straight due to her broken heart, she quickly flew over and then tackled him to the ground with her hooves and stared at him with daggers in her tear filled eyes as she placed both her hooves onto him. “YOU! YOU DID THIS, DIDN’T YOU?! DID YOU?! ANSWER ME!” Blueblood felt how his head was very dizzy, but risking for a blast in his face, he said, “Wha… what are you talking about, sister? I swear… I don’t know what you mean.” “LIAR! YOU… YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WHO NEVER LIKED HIM! AND WE KNEW HOW MUCH YOU WANTED HIM GONE! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO SUCH A THING LIKE THIS! IF IT WEREN’T FOR ME, I SWEAR I WOULD…” Cadance was then stopped by Shining Armor, who hugged her from behind, “CADANCE, STOP! Listen to me! I know you’re hurt, but I’m sure we’ll have a chance to find out about everything, so we’ll have to be patient. I promise we will find answers.” Cadance then started to calm down, and released Blueblood before she casted the sleeping spell on herself, and as she couldn’t take it for much longer, Shining Armor with her in his hooves nodded to the princess, who nodded back. “Please! Aunt Celestia! Have mercy!” Blueblood pleaded while hugging his aunt’s leg, until she yanked it off his hooves. Celestia then spoke up, “Until I decide what to do with you afterwards, then we’ll talk about mercy. Guards, take Prince Blueblood into custody, but until all the investigations are over, everypony else is a suspect.” Every guard nodded, and used their magic to restrict the prince, which he didn’t seem to oppose, but he was too shocked after seeing his sister acting that way. While he was taken to his room for house arrest, Celestia then walked to her throne and sat down in depression, still hugging the pendant, until she started having more tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, my son. I’m so sorry. I failed you. I promised to protect you… but I failed you.” Later on, everypony made a private funeral for Bowen by placing a picture frame of himself but kept his stuff in his bedroom, and then others carried Silver Spear’s coffin while a few ponies played the bagpipes and the guards including Shining Armor, who was now promoted to Captain of the Royal Guard, saluted their fallen comrade. Celestia’s voice then narrated, “Captain Silver Spear’s death is a terrible tragedy we must endure. But to lose my son, Bowen Mockingjay, the Young Prince, who had barely begun to live for 10 years... For me, it is a deep, personal loss. So it is with a heavy heart that I assume the fact that I will continue my sworn honorary duties as a princess of Equestria to ensure the safety of our subjects, and that my son will always be in our hearts for all eternity, no matter wherever he may hide among the stars. Let us now lift up our hearts and bid our dear friend and our faithful member, who I humbly made part of my family bloodline farewell and bless them both with good will.” After the funeral, Celestia laid on Bowen’s bed in his room and drowned her sorrows in depression, until she looked out the window again and then lowered her head in shame. Suddenly, she saw a visual memory of Celestia playing with younger Bowen and them laughing together until it disappeared, which made her heart shatter more. The POV then panned to outside her balcony in dark rainclouds and then resolve to the Muses. “It was tragic. Princess Celestia led all the guards on a frantic search that night.” “But by the time they would find her son, it was too late.” “Young and dear, sweet, cute little Bowen was already marooned away from home.” But since he was confirmed dead, without any proof. He was still alive but barely made it from that river- So thank his lucky star! But poor Celestia wept, Because her son could never come home. She’d never get to watch her precious child, Grow up from afar. Though no one else knew he existed, That secret was nearly hatched before Bowen cut his tooth, The boy would grow up stronger ev’ry day, And that’s the gospel truth!