Princess Pile Drinking Games

by GaPJaxie

The Fairest in All the Land

Based on the premise "What if Shining Armor and Queen Chrysalis had a child?", this fic was supposed to be a series of fairy tale style interludes, spacing out chapters describing Shining and his daughter meeting in person. The fairy tale was a severe case of unreliable narrator, while the fic itself was going to be about a scared teenager running away from an abusive home in the hope that her father will love her.

I wrote the fairy tale interludes, but the fic itself didn't work nearly as well. Nothing was wrong with the premise, I just dropped the ball. The interludes are nice though. The "sword and shield" it refers to is the Crystal Heart, which the young princess ended up incidentally stealing for the changelings. This fic was definitely going to be tragedy.

Part 1:

Once upon a time, there lived a wicked queen, known throughout all the land for her cruelty. Such was her greed and fury that she made war upon all of her neighbors, until at last only one remained, guarded by an invincible warrior.

Knowing she could never overcome the warrior by force of arms, the wicked queen seduced him, and sought to turn him against his people. But his heart proved true, and she was vanquished, fleeing his lands with the shattered remains of her host.

In the year that followed, it came to be known that the wicked queen was with child, and she gave birth to an heir. The daughter she bore the invincible warrior was known as Princess Amaryllis, and though the wicked queen had many children, all who saw her said that Amaryllis was the cleverest and the strongest of all of them.

The wicked queen did not love Amaryllis. At first, the wicked queen ignored the daughter the invincible warrior had given her, but as Amaryllis grew older, the wicked queen’s disdain turned to hatred.

In her daughter’s strength, the wicked queen saw the strength that had defeated her, and she hounded Amaryllis at all hours with impossible questions and demands. Nothing Amaryllis could do would please her, and while her other children were heaped with praise for the slightest of victories, Amaryllis could earn only scorn.

As she grew older, Amaryllis realized that her wicked mother was indeed wicked, and labor as she might, it was impossible to win her favor. Without hope, she despaired, until a loyal servant came upon her.

He was Mirror Match, the scout who was old and knowledgeable in the ways of the world. He told Amaryllis of the paths and passages beyond the wicked queen’s kingdom, and where she might find the invincible warrior who sired her.

Grateful to her loyal servant, Princess Amaryllis fled her wicked mother’s kingdom, and sought out her estranged father in his distant land.

Part 2:

With the directions given to her, Princess Amaryllis found the invincible warrior who sired her, and presented herself to him as his daughter. The invincible warrior’s name was Shining Armor, and though he was at first mistrustful, he was as wise and true as Amaryllis had known, and in time accepted her tale, and bid her enter his home.

In the years since his battle with the wicked queen, Shining Armor had married. His wife was known as Cadence, and she was a great ruler in a kingdom of crystal, much beloved by her people. She was fecund as well as wise, and had given Shining Armor many children.

Cadence did not welcome Amaryllis. Believing her to be as wicked as her mother, Cadence bid Shining Armor to cast her from their home. Shining Armor refused, and Cadence’s pleas could not sway his heart. Thus it was that Amaryllis again found herself surrounded by half-siblings and the ire of a powerful monarch.

Part 3:

Amaryllis was trouble greatly by Cadence’s ire, for she could see the pain it caused her father. She knew it to be right and just that a ruler should jealously guard her mate, but also knew Cadence to be wise and kind. Amaryllis did not believe a great ruler could harbor hatred in her heart, and so thought to win the favor of her own half-siblings, and Cadence through them.

Amaryllis spoke with her half-siblings at great length, and spent the night with them, but she could not win their favor. Cadence was indeed wise, and so had foreseen Amaryllis’s actions, and poisoned the minds of all around her with doubt and scorn.

Amaryllis was distressed, but knew that her father’s heart was true, and that Cadence could no more sway him than the wicked queen could years ago. Behind his invulnerable shield, she sought protection from Cadence’s slander, and begged of him to reason with his wife.

Part 4:

Despite Shining Armor’s best efforts, Cadence could not be reasoned with. As the wicked queen before her, Cadence could see only those things in Amaryllis she despised, and Amaryllis was again hounded with endless questions and impossible demands.

Shining Armor shielded Amaryllis from his wife’s anger, but Amaryllis could see that doing so caused her father great pain. This pained her in turn, and she wondered what she might do to calm the tempest about him.

Being clever, but not yet wise, she still believed that she might win Cadence’s favor, and thus free her father from his burden. She resolved to steal his sword and shield in the night, and present them to Cadence as gifts. Having thus disarmed the invincible warrior and left his kingdom at her mercy, she thought to prove her loyalty by taking no advantage, save to plead Cadence’s approval.

Part 5:

Amaryllis did steal away with her father’s sword and shield in the night, but upon entering Cadence’s chambers, was greeted with a mighty shriek. Seeing Amaryllis clad in her husband’s aegis, she thought him slain, and leapt into battle.

Amaryllis tried to plead reason, but Cadence’s own hateful poison clouded her mind, and she would not hear. Amaryllis was forced to defend herself, and her father’s sword and shield served her as well as they served him. Cadence was strong, but Amaryllis proved the stronger, and in the temper of the melee, she struck Cadence down.

Knowing that her father could not forgive what she had done, Amaryllis fled, and returned to the kingdom of the wicked queen. There she presented herself to her mother, and offered to her as a gift the sword and shield of the invincible warrior, still stained with Cadence’s blood.

For destroying her most hated enemies, Amaryllis won the wicked queen’s favor. From that day forth, Amaryllis was the wicked queen’s favored child, and was lauded for her deeds. Seeing the strength of arms in her daughter, the wicked queen permitted Amaryllis to carry Shining Armor’s sword and shield into battle. Armed thus, Amaryllis proved as invincible as her father. Thus were the wicked queen’s enemies destroyed, and their kingdoms brought to ruin.

In time, the wicked queen grew old and weak, and her reign ended. Princess Amaryllis thus became Queen Amaryllis, as strong as her mother had been dark. It became known throughout the land that her kingdom was championed by an invincible warrior, as her father’s had once been, and all nations were subservient to her.

Comments

[lazyreader19]

Well shit...that is indeed a tragedy.

[Reese]

What lazyreader19 said. I mean, it has a somewhat happy ending in that Amaryllis is likely a mostly benevolent ruler of the world, but still.

[Themaskedferret]

I can see the story bits being difficult. I think it might be difficult to portray Cadance as so suspicious and distrustful. It really seems like after so much time she would've eased a bit on her feelings.