The Last Alicorn

by Cerulean Swirl

Blueblood

It was five o' clock somewhere, and he definitely needed a cocktail. Something strong. Something to dull and cloud his senses and make him possibly forget about what was happening to him that moment. But he probably wouldn't be able to escape this for at least another hour. If the crazy pony who was holding him here let him go. And if he decided to behave. Which was pretty unlikely on a regular basis. He, of course, had been very busy when the crystal guards came to collect him. He had been reading the newspaper while drinking coffee and had been enjoying a blueberry danish when they knocked upon his door. Of course the headlines these days had been all in an uproar, especially since the newest crowned alicorn had gone bonkers. It was a shame, really, but it didn't concern him, and therefore he didn't see any point to get his hooves dirty over the matter. Unless either of his aunts asked him to go comfort the weirdo, he wasn't budging.

It was also a shame that he hadn't been able to finish the article he was reading when they came. Today's headline had seemed very interesting. Interesting enough to spend his precious time over, and certainly interesting enough to pick up the paper and actually pay attention to the media for once.

---

PRINCESS TWILIGHT: IS SHE SAFE FOR EQUESTRIA?
by Flashbulb
Princess Twilight, most recently crowned princess and moved to the secluded Crystal Empire until further notice, was reported today by a well known source to have made a rash decision in regarding the investigation of her dear friend's suspected murders. "I was tied to a chair and placed in a dark room," says source. "I thought that the kidnapper had gotten Princess Twilight as well, but when the guards came to rescue me, I realized it was she who was the culprit!"

Twilight, as reported earlier, has been in this state since, as mentioned above, the deaths of her closest friends and now the hospitalization of Princess Cadence, Prince Shining Armor, and their daughter Aria Rosebud. Other sources tell us that the Princess has been placed under tight security during her time in the Crystal Empire, and that she is allowed to continue the investigation, but only under supervision. We're also told that Her Majesty's sanity is also speculated against, along with the deaths being in fact murders.We've heard tidbits of the deaths since they occured, but the police have sealed the cases until further notice.

In other news, word has yet to come from the hospital regarding the three royals. Sources there tell us that hospital employees have not released any information, and have orders not to until they complete the check. Until then, all eyes point to the three princesses, and their actions to deal with their weak link, while....

---

And on it went, winding its way down the cheap parchment like a fairy tale pony's incredible mane. He had thought to himself how much he could be like a fairy tale pony....he was surely handsome enough. And brave enough. And overall everything enough.

Yes, it certainly seemed like the newest princess was the talk of the papers these days. Her friend's deaths had certainly been tragedies, and certainly suspect enough to have cases opened for each.

If the murderer had been him(and in no way was he saying this fact was possibly true) he would have done it a bit more messily, especially with that white unicorn character. Nopony had ever not succumbed to him, and since she acted the way she did, it was better if she wasn't alive. What was she compared to all the mares in existence, after all?

But now he was here, tied up against his will, with his perfectly styled mane going limp because of the freezing temperature in the very dark room he was in. He believed his exceptionally white self was bound to a chair, just like the pony in the paper had been, and because of this, he now knew who his captor was.

The crazy mare herself. And, because of him paying a little attention to the media, he had an idea of what it was that she wanted. She either thought him unbelievably attractive and fall under his spell as she should, or she wanted to question him about her friend's. Unfortunately, he figured it was the latter.

Now, if he was correct and remembered the article, the lavender alicorn would be under supervision. Which made the dark and depressing atmosphere of the room all the more useless. He didn't know how many guards would be supervising, or what she would ask him, but the shred of fear that had found its way into his conscious was now being extinguished.

"Let's start...with your name."
A voice. Hers, most likely. He cursed himself behind his untarnished mask. If only he could toss his extraordinary blond mane at that moment, he would. Mares died for that one.

"His Highness Prince Blueblood the Fourth." he said, and tossed his neck in an attempt to move his mane. He was positive that he looked extremely ridiculous, but he would surely look very attractive in doing so.

Another sound pricked his ears. The sound of somepony frantically scribbling something down on a fresh sheet of parchment. Obviously documenting every precious second that he stayed there, for future reference.

"Okay...and do you know why you've been asked here today?" she asked again, and he noted that no note of longing or desperation was added to her recognizable voice yet. He considered trying harder for a short moment, and then, in his brilliance, an idea sparked.

"A slight idea. It's WONDERFUL to almost see you again, your majesty. It has been such a long time since I've seen your beautiful face."

He was careful to choose his words here. Perhaps if he charmed her, she would fall all over him, just as every other mare in existence should. Why, he was too exquisite and too wonderful not to be embraced by every mare there was. Surely each mare out there wanted to burn his image in their minds, to want him more than anything, to wish for his crown, his power, his money, and, on a more obvious note, his-

"Then you do know who I am." her voice changed here, interrupting his self wallowing. Not in it's usual pitch. It was a pitch that had never fallen upon his ears before...and certainly not one that he considered to be a good mood. Fear prickled at his senses, and he quickly shoved it back down behind his pristine outer shell.

"Yes, quite so." he replied, filling this statement with it's usual flair.
"If that is the case then you must have some idea why I have called you here." The strange note in her voice grew ever so slightly, causing a shiver to creep up his spine, chilling him more than he already was.

"Correct again." he repeated, flashing the most dazzling smile he could muster at that precise moment.
"Very well. I suppose you wouldn't recognize something if I showed it to you?"

"I will do my very best, your majesty." he said, laying it on thicker than it should have been.
"Then what is this?" she asked, coolly, the strange note ever present.

Before he could respond or think, something foul and unfamiliar to him was shoved in his face by an unseen presence. An unfamiliar unicorn's horn ignited, piercing the dark, and illuminated the something, just enough to where he could see clearly. It was a letter, and quite possibly one of the most hideous things he had ever laid eyes on.

"UGH!" his flair was shattered as he thrashed his head this way and that, in an attempt to rid his perfect self from the awful letter. It carried a stench that would surely latch onto his exquisitely smelling coat, and then he couldn't possibly make all the mares in existence yearn for him and only him!

Luckily the hideous thing was levitated away, back into the abyss, before any further damage could be done.

"So, you have seen this object before?" her voice implied, returning.
"Of course not! Such a foul thing...would never be near or even in my line of sight!" he said, frantically, sweat beginning to find its way onto his brow. He breathed heavily for a few moments more.

No. Stay cool, Blueblood. She might still release you, his mind soothed.
His original flair returned, as if it had never been broken.

"Did you write it?" she inquired.
"No, silly mare." he said, trying to be kind. Then, in an instant, the bonds that held his two front hooves tightened to a most unpleasant level, causing pain to shoot up his hooves in tiny pinpricks.

"Don't......don't lie to me. Did you or did you not write the letter that I showed you?" the note in her voice was at a more fearful pitch now. Perhaps it was the hinting insanity the papers so often spoke of.

"I did not write the horrible thing. Nor do I know anypony who did." he said, and tried not to show his desperation for getting out of the increasingly tight bonds. Then, as quickly as the bonds had tightened, they returned to their original firmness. Pain stopped pulsing through him, and he relaxed, panting slightly and softly.

"Very well, then. A pleasure as always, Your Majesty." her voice had become gravelly, as if it had been run over a thousand sharp boulders. She addressed him properly, and yet it sounded as if she were referring to him as nothing more than common pond scum. Which he certainly was not.

"Take him away."
And before he could respond or tell her how stunning he thought she looked, a dark thing, darker than the very room he was in, came over his perfect head from behind, and silenced him. It was then and there, before he dramatically sought to faint, that he recognized that strange note in the Princess's voice. Festering but ever present insanity.

Even now it was beginning to prove difficult for him to stay enthusiastic while she stayed depressed. It was becoming contagious, and at times unbearable.

It was now shameful to face his fellow guards; as they often approached him and jokingly inquired as to how he could take it, looking over a depressed royal every single day while still keeping his own happiness intact. His answer was simple, and not detailed. Something to keep them from laughing too much at his post. It was to keep happy memories in his own mind, and not let the royal's bad ones cloud them.

He was back in her chambers, just as always. With her still lounged on her bed, thinking everything to be hopeless, and with her still needing his assistance. It wasn't like it was the end of the world, but around her, it may very well have been. It was a rude awakening for him; it was every day he sought to be around her. He had never been around a pony of her state, and after this ordeal he planned not to be for a very, very long time.

That day he was in charge of escorting the pompous and air-filled prince out of the Crystal Palace. He had come out of the endeavor scathed, covered in bruises and exhausted beyond his limits. The prince, though filled with his over-inflated ego and pure arrogance, sure knew how to fight. The royal was obviously taught self defense, in case somepony tried to 'pickpocket' him. Which, as he reasoned, was nearly impossible.

However those bruises and his extreme fatigue could not take him from what he was summoned there to complete. She was what he was guarding now, and he would guard her, as he promised himself, even from her very self. Shoving his frustration down deep, he concentrated every ounce of happiness he had left into his next statement.

"So Blueblood wasn't the culprit. There's always tomorrow, right?" He was back beside her bed, pain lacing its way up his body, and still forcing a smile onto his face.

"I guess." she said, softly, violet eyes turning downward. She looked, as always, terrible. And today, it seemed she was worse than usual, if that were even possible. No matter how much he coaxed, begged, and asked nicely, she still had no motivation, even to brush her mane. He had had to resort to to calling in attendants to do it for her. Taking a bath was usually even harder a task.

"He's probably gonna die too, in a little bit." she said, softly still.
"Come now, your majesty. That can't be the truth." he said, trying to be comforting. It was almost as if she had two go-to moods nowadays: inexplicable anger, or the state she was in now. The state that always made him feel sorry for her, no matter how many times she kicked him in the face or spit on him or burst his eardrums from screaming so loud.

"And yet we both know it is. How can I ever hope to find U if he/she keeps killing all my suspects? Innocent ponies that....won't ever be able to go home....and see their families again....." her voice was on the edge of breaking.

"Now, now. Don't start up the waterworks again. It will be alright."
"How can it be?" she said, and pushed her face into the comforter once more. He despised it when she did that.

"You have to believe." he replied.
"Yeah, I believe. That everypony I know one day will be gone the next. Even you." her muffled voice declared from its prison through the comforter. He sighed, heavily, letting his voice echo throughout the room. Sitting in silence for a moment, he thought desperately for something good to say. As he was just about to say he would go get her something to eat, his memory flooded to him, and he perked up again.

"Your majesty, I almost forgot! There's somepony here to see you!" he said, not keeping the enthusiasm out of his voice as he crossed the carpeted floor to the entrance.

"What is it?" she inquired, not removing her muzzle from the comforter.
"Somepony I think that you might remember. She arrived this morning, when you were questioning Blueblood."

"MMmmm." was the reply.
Rolling his eyes, he sidestepped the two crystal-armor-clad guards that stood at attention by the grand double doors and opened one of them.

He poked his head out, far enough past another two guards to where the princess's visitor was waiting patiently. He smiled at the visitor, who returned this smile, and he showed the visitor inside. The guards at their posts looked inquisitively at the intruder, but didn't say a word. He had made sure to tell them that the visitor was alright before he had allowed her into the Crystal Palace. The visitor followed him inside, and he smiled as the stranger's face filled with awe at the magnificent suite.

"Here we are. You have a guest, your highness." he said, and smiled what felt like the surest smile he had smiled in days.
Her prison was to comfortable to leave. She did not want to remove her head from its place. When would he learn to stop smiling? To leave her in the state that she was forever? When would he learn to let her be at peace?

"T-Twilight? Is that.........is that you?"
That voice. She KNEW that voice. She had heard it.....she knew she had. Somewhere. Long ago.....before.....before they died. When they still lived. When life pulsed its way through their veins.

Her head snapped up before she could instruct it not to. Her violet eyes found the visitor before her mind did, and for a few moments, her eyes did not look at anything else. They did not see anything else but that visitor.

The visitor turned out to be a very familiar sunset orange pegasus, with a stylish but short purple-magenta mane and tail. A recognizable cutie mark was adorned on her flank, one that she had so tirelessly sought for. Her own pale violet eyes found the deeper ones, and almost instantly the paler began to tear up.

It was then that the visitor knew for absolutely sure who she was staring at. Quick as a blink she galloped over to where the alicorn was lounging, and threw her two front hooves around her old mentor, tears beginning to flow down her face and lacing itself into the other mare's unbrushed mane.

"It is you!"

It was pitch black. He couldn't see a single solitary thing in his path. He knew he shouldn't be afraid of this place, and yet he couldn't help it somehow. There was no light. Not even shreds of it from the dank and raging night outside. If he stumbled slightly, the other somepony there would have laughed. Such was the way of his employer; whom he still had not had the pleasure of meeting or even gazing upon.

The cold was bone chilling and frigid, so much so that he would need at least four layers of warm clothing just to walk around. It felt like ice growing on his coat, and the simple parka he wore was freezing on the outside. In a matter of moments, if either pony did not speak, he would surely be dead within the next twenty minutes. To make matters worse, a howling wind had found residence there, screaming up against the tiny place, obscuring any noise unless he yelled at the top of his voice.

He still couldn't believe that they had chosen to meet here, of all places. But, since it was abandoned, and in the least populated area they could think of, it was, in its own way, perfect. In his employer's eyes, at least. Whatever his employer said went. And nopony had the guts or the mind to argue against him. He knew that if anypony did, they might as well cut their own throats, to save the employer time.

"So you did decide to show up."
It had been three months...and he still was hearing the voice of his employer for the first time. It was a low and raspy sort of voice, one that sounded as if his employer had swallowed an entire desert. He saw a dark figure move ten feet from where he stood shivering. A shot of fear injected itself into his very bloodstream, causing him to shiver even more than he already was.

There were times when he sat down and asked himself why he of all ponies would get tangled up with somepony such as his employer. In fact it wasn't even his idea at first; his mates thought it would be fun. He had been drunk; the room was dim, and everything had brightened and distorted itself. He had felt happier than he should have been in a long time. But one word out of the strange pony's mouth had him convinced, even in his stupor. Freedom.

It was the taboo word not spoken anywhere near Canterlot castle. The word that could tip the scale between royal and rebel. The word that had churned inside him for months now, building and building and boiling and boiling until he knew inside him that he was destined to be a part of this. This was the one thought that kept his hooves firmly planted in the shack. The thought that stopped him from running away.

"Y-Yes.....I came....just.....as you....i-instructed." he said, his teeth chattering from the lack of heat, trying not to sound fearful, but proud.

"Good, good." His employer sounded pleased.
"What......do y-you w-want me to d-do?" he chattered, helplessly.

"Prepare yourself." said his employer simply, as if the answer weren't an illusion or being evaded from.

"F-For what?" was the inquiry.
"Simple." The dark figure moved closer to him now. So much in fact, that he could no longer see his employer's outline as it moved closer. He whipped his head this way and that, desperate to get a glimpse. Then, a breath behind him. A slight bit of warmth. Something to put his mind back on the track of his pride. And yet...when his employer said nothing, fear bled into the fragile layer. He whirled around, panting, as a venomous tone answered him.

"Your death."

Author's Note:

Enjoy! Hope you all haven't been waiting too long.

Comments

[Bronydragon]

Well, it sucks when your employer kills you. That guy must have been one hell of a failure.

Dragon

[Cerulean Swirl]

4952536 Exactly. Good note!