Bits, Pieces and other Scrapped Ideas

by FoolAmongTheStars

In Which There's Allegories

Author's Note:

Summary: She knew that one day he would meet his princess, for who would ever choose to be with a witch.

Warnings: Poetry, angst, and a happy ending.

A/N: Sunburst and Starlight and fairytales, enough said.

There is something achingly beautiful in the curve of Sunburst's cheeks when he smiles; in the crinkle at the corner of his eyes; the upward turn of his mouth. It is something that seems to reach out to you, mouthing words like hey and you and I and you don't understand. You're drowning, your vision blurred and ears blocked and water is a terrible conductor of sound because Sunburst's voice sounds so garbled and wrong.

Once upon a time, your mane falls over your eyes as you turn away. Once upon a time, there was a Prince who fell in love with a Princess. But the Princess was locked away in a tower of rags, guarded by dragons named Duty and Propriety, and an evil witch who only wanted the prince for herself. Sunburst is a Prince through and through in your eyes, with hair spun from sunlight and gentle cobalt eyes that look as if they had been plucked straight from the night sky. His Princess is a beautiful mare, with large luminous eyes that see through everything, and a laugh that is as contagious as a plague.

You cannot bring yourself to hate her; she makes him so happy—you can see it, clear as day.

Sometimes you think you might reach out and grab him, but your hooves always fall back to the ground halfway through. You have forgotten how to speak this language because you have given it up for power and bitterness and the need to hide from the pain of a lost childhood. You have forgotten how to smile without smirking. There is no kindness in your world, no compassion, only the cold words of ambition and lukewarm praise.

The evil witch was trapped as well, locked in her castle of obsidian in the forest of darkness. There was no light; what little light that pierced through the trees are swallowed up greedily by the witch’s eyes, hard and dark as diamonds. The witch built herself a throne on a castle turret and believed herself to be Queen.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, the witch spied the Prince and the Princess, walking through the grass of the palace. The evil witch smiled, and fell, and fell, and fell.

All the King's Horses, and all the King's Soldiers, you thought to yourself wryly, your lips twisted into something that is in disguise, upside down.

Your heart is empty: you had drained it and sold the insides like a pretty trinket to avoid the pain, in hopes for something akin to camaraderie and a step up the ladder. Your heart is empty and ever so fragile, for there is nothing inside to support the gauze-thin glass. You had given it to him the day you ripped off your Princess mask and became the evil witch, and he, ever the gentlecolt, held it carefully in his hooves like it is a jewel, priceless.

You had known; you had always known. You know that he will meet his Princess one day—no Prince will ever choose the evil witch, after all. You knew, yet—yet you had given him your heart, because, well.

If you did not give it to him, who else could you have given it to?

Your heart is missing, emptied, and fragile in his hoof. You had given your voice away for the icy fingers of power and wickedness cradling your soul. You had not given up—it is not possible to give up when one had not taken a step in the first place—and you had already decided that it is impossible.

One day, the Prince and his Princess visited the forest. They tripped over the tree roots, ran from the snakes and the beasts, and fought against the darkness with the brightness of their eyes and their hope. They stood close to the other, shoulders brushing, warm enough to fight the icy chill of the forest at night. They walked and walked for days, or perhaps years before they finally reached the obsidian castle where the evil witch lived (was trapped in).

The Prince reached out his hooves, and the Princess smiled. There was something in the light in their eyes, the witch realized, something that enchanted others more than her spells ever did or would. The Princess looked behind her and motion at something in the shadows, one by one ponies of different kinds walked into the clearing. They all wore gentle smiles, not one of them was angered or resentful, they simply gazed at the fallen witch and helped with what they could. But it was the Prince who had the final piece.

There was light.

Sunburst has not thrown her heart away; has not crushed it. He places it close to his chest, next to his own heart, and fills the empty, frail glass with love with every smile he gives you and every word he speaks. He holds you close, holds you dear, and this time his smile is like sunlight breaking through the water. You are still drowning, still gasping for breath, but there is a hoof.

You reach out yours.

The Prince held out his hoof for the fallen witch. The witch's eyes squeezed shut as the forest suddenly filled with bright sunlight, chasing all the darkness away. Animals and plants shook themselves, darkness and sorrow melting away like snow in spring.

The Prince's eyes were a brilliant blue, like twin suns. It almost hurt the witch, so used to the darkness, to look at the Prince, but she had to, for the Prince had taken her hoof.

"You're not alone," the Prince spoke, and he smiled.

The witch (no longer evil, for her robes turned a beautiful purple, like the sky before dawn) took the Prince's hoof and stood up. She took a step, then another.

Behind her, the castle of obsidian fell.

Sunburst returns your heart to you with a hoof over your withers and a small smile. You rest your head against his neck, your bodies pressing close together and his warmth permeates every inch of you, chasing the cold away.

The curve of Sunburst's cheeks says I miss you; the warmth and light in his eyes say I love you; the hoof on your neck says I want to be with you. It is a moment of startling recognition, and you can only ask—how could you have been so blind? Just like before, you had given up before you had even taken the first step; just like before, it is Sunburst who pulled you through. He leans in to kiss you, but misjudges the distance and ends up kissing your nose.

You laugh.

For the first time in your life, you can breathe.

Comments

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Wow. Starlight's lack of self-confidence is painful to read.

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

So Starlight was afraid to lose Sunburst to Twilight, but Sunburst chose her?

[FoolAmongTheStars]

9777158
First and foremost, thanks for leaving so many lovely comments! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
As for this chapter, is more about Starlight having so little confidence and too much guilt to ever believe she could be happy, so she more or less self-sabotages any chance of happiness she gets. Sunburst and Twilight see this and save her from her self destructive ways, it takes them quite some time to get through to her but in the end she finally accepts their help, learning to forgive herself and accepting Sunburst's feelings.
Hope this clarifies things a bit.