Helios

by Mandroid


Getting Away.

"You can't do this!" she shouted.
"Yes I can."
The dust crunched underneath your boots as you walked to the edge of town. Your "companion" wriggled and wormed herself in your grasp, but couldn't get her way out of your grip.
She sprawled on the ground after you tossed her through the air at the town limits.
"Get out."
She gathered up her wizards hat and tossed it back on her head. "Trixie should have known that such common fold would not appreciate her! Why, Trixie has performed for the Princesses herself in Canterlot castle."
Tch...
"I doubt that."
The magician leered at you again.
"Honestly, tossing somepony out because of a little mishap on stage? What happened to your famous hospitality?"
"The offer is voided when the mishap involves summoning Duneworms."
You turn around and start walking back to town.
"W-wait! How is Trixie supposed to survive with these...CREATURES out here!?" She asked worriedly.
Oh please...She summoned them. There weren't even that many...
You call back over your shoulder as you leave "Walk without rhythm."
You head back to town and smack a sign along the way, flipping the numbers on it back to their level from before Trixie blew in.
It read "Appleoosa. Pop: 140".

-Music-
You sat on your favorite barstool. Most of your shifts revolved around you sitting here. That was what you did as Appleoosa's sheriff.
It had been a couple weeks since your...departure.
You had bolted out of the castle as fast as you could, not even bothering to grab any of your gear, just a bag of bits. You just had to get away from the city...away from Her. Away from the constant influx of thoughts that came from Her head. And that day in particular, away from the soul crushing sadness.
You had hopped on the first train you saw and ridden it West. And West... And West some more.
You got off when the track had ended.
Appleoosa. By some miracle it had been far enough away for you to not hear Celestia's thoughts.
Just you... Alone...
Oh well, you needed it. Needed time to think, to work things out. Or at least drown things out with your new job.
Appleoosa had needed a sheriff when you arrived. You had volunteered. Maybe this time when you signed up to protect ponies, you wouldn't end up courting royalty or having your soul decimated.
You took a sip of your drink.
Dammit...you shouldn't blame Celestia. It wasn't her fault that all this happened...
Voices from bar patrons behind you suddenly became louder and more angry. It wasn't long before one of them was tossed over a table.
You sigh and finish off your drink. The more things change...

You throw the brawlers out of the bar by their manes the same way you had done with Trixie.
"Come back when you can throw a decent right hook!"
They try and crawl to their feet. "This aint over!"
One of them falls to his face.
"Yes it is."
You glare at them as they limp away, taking notice to the sound of someone approaching you from the side. "Well darn Anon, first you run that showboatin' street magician outa town and now your clearin' out The Applebarrel?"
"Just doin' my job Braeburn."
Probably time for the rounds... Appleoosa was a fairly small town, you liked to take a patrol every so often to make sure everything was good.
You start walking down the road with Braeburn keeping pace next to you.
"So, how're ya takin' to your job Mister Sheriff?" he asked.
"It's a good fit."
A good distraction too.
"Why, I'd say that any crime of roughousin' we had out here dang near evaporated once you showed up."
General store was clear.
"Yeah, I'm good at protecting people."
Braeburn chuckles "That must kill with all the ladies."
Dammit...
"I wouldn't know." you say.
Post office and train station were fine.
Braeburn half-smiles up at you. "Not lookin'?"
How the hell do you put this?
"I got out of...a kinda weird relationship before I came here."
Braeburn slowly nodded as his understanding grew. "She a clingy gal?"
"That's...not too far off."

You retreated into your home after you completed your rounds and sat around looking intimidating. It was a modest home, rather similar to your room back in Canterlot. You sat yourself down by the small writing desk.
Damn...that got you thinking...
You hated abandoning your post. You had always laid into the other guards that you caught shirking their duties, stepping out to a tavern during early morning hours or leaving without notifying someone. It irritated you that you had just LEFT in the state of mind you were in.
You let out a deep sigh.
Then again...it was a pretty weird situation...
You just...It was too much to take!
The fight with Blueblood...Your soul...Having someone else's thoughts in your head was just...
It sent shivers up your spine at the time.
You had FELT Celestia's thoughts. Felt her dreams and ambitions, her wants and desires. And you had felt that she was telling the truth about what she said.
The Princess really did love you.
You...didn't know how you felt. You just knew you couldn't decide with her thoughts impacting your own, bluring the lines between where you began and she ended.
Your hand runs through your hair. This was all way over your head... Just...Just focus on the next few hours Anon and in a few hours, you'd still be the sheriff of Appleoosa.
It was your job.

-In Canterlot-

It had been some time since the incident with Blueblood. He was doing as well as you could ask given his current situation. You only wished you could say the same about yourself... Things had returned to normal all too fast once Anonymous left you that night. You had hoped that a night of tears alone in your room would have helped.
They hadn't.
This room had become your only environment the last few weeks. You had slept here, ate here, and done your royal duties here. The official reason was that your replacement bodyguard had yet to be chosen. The real reason was because you had refused to get another bodyguard. You couldn't replace him...not so soon.
Why!? Why did you say you loved him!? Anon could have possibly taken the news about his soul well enough but to be told that his monarch loves him? You've been alive for so long you've forgotten what it's like to have news like that. And in your ignorance, you had scared him away.
You had scared away the first man you've loved in CENTURIES because you were out of touch with reality.
You laid yourself down on your bed for the umpteenth time. And your tears stained the sheets.

-In the nearby hills-

You came. You came in small numbers as you followed the scent. It radiated off of this town like that of a warm meal. You had traveled for miles, crossing the Leylands and the entirety of the Mild West. Harried by vultures, sandstorms and worse. All just to follow this scent.
And now you found it.
Hiding in this little town of Appleoosa.
The salty-sweet taste of it.
Anguished love.