Millennial Heartstrings

by The Apologetic Pony

Chapter 1: Mercy's Rebuke

I was so free back then, when my liberty was my own and captivity was spoken of in hushed voices, at least in front of the young ones. I remember how it felt to fly unburdened, on a whim; without reason. The joy of flying with those of my kin was, to an infinite degree, (naturally youth being wasted on the youthful and all that) beyond my appreciation at that fleeting moment in time. The Everfree forest housed many creatures, including a small family of phoenixes. All was well. Until they came...

The squawking of my distraught parents was my ultimate torment before the curtain of black defined my crude incarceration. My own calls failed to cease, until I couldn’t make any noise at all. The gait was sickening. I didn’t wake. I didn’t sleep.

After a passing of time: separated from them, the significance of which was an effective century, the shroud was removed. Exhausted and resigned to my fate, I mutely observed that this was a very, very strange place indeed. I'd heard of these so called ‘buildings’ that would remove one's view of the sky, although, the ceiling was far higher than I’d expect. Unfaltering swathes of light were spilling as perfect rectangles onto the pristine marble floor.

I began to noticed hoofsteps accompanied by an exaggerated shadow approaching from behind me. A soothing voice spoke ‘Oh? What have we here?’ while somepony who I presumed to be a guard on my distant right who explained ‘We found this one wounded, she likely wouldn't have survived without the given medical attention...’ My head dropped slightly in a sort of mild anger. I stoically waited for the impending, inevitably gullible response, whereas the silence expanded tremendously, crushing us, in its iron grip. The guard abruptly left the room by means of loud hoofsteps and of no vocality. Leaving me alone with an oddly large shadow of a pony... oh. She was an Alicorn. I realised it as she strode a few paces ahead of me and found myself rightfully embarrassed at my feeble powers of observation. She had an ever flowing chromatic mane: a coat akin to the hue of snow, wore regalia and carried the most gracious mien I'd ever had the fortune to come across. It was... regal, yet not imposing. Nor awing, for her stance was too low.

‘Does he lie?’

It came out sharply, as the recently appointed monarch grimaced, so that it was no question at all, while she simultaneously approached the cage. I, being somewhat impressed at her astuteness yet unsure of her intentions, cocked my head and looked up, into her queerly sorrowful gaze. So queer was it that I came somewhat close to skepticism; wondering if they were intended solely for myself. She suddenly stopped right before the cage; her eyes became misty. And, after long pause, her majesty whispered, ‘sorry.’ before solemnly opening the cage door, not with magic I noted. Instantaneously, my fellow immortal was gone, leaving a lonely teardrop behind.

The sun dwindled slightly, apparently reflecting my doubt, the shadows shifted with my temperament and the moon watched stoically on. One could certainly tell when somepony in particular felt guilty. Or, at least, I could. Whatever my decision, I was to be forever wrapped within her solar embrace just as there would be no cage, for either of us. I snatched the illusion of freedom and flew away, away from the paved roads, away from the bustling streets; away from change, as much as I thought I was able to.

I roamed aimlessly for seven dawns; grimly, I would not have found my family even if I had wanted to. I had been explicitly (fore)warned of the dangers of forming meaningful attachments with all creatures that did not live as long as oneself, let alone those with significant intelligence. My parents told me over and over ‘To become attached to another was natural. To leave bonds behind was unavoidable. But to witness those attached you: however irrational or slight in nature, wilt until their consciousness blips out of existence, is heartbreaking.’ My conclusion was that if I was even remotely involved in the life of royalty, I’d experience exactly that: heartbreak. Of course I didn’t want that. It would be infinitely worse than the simple numbness of my abduction. But was solitude to be any fairer? Was there a purpose if none were there to reassure as such? Even if there was, how could I expect to convince myself of it? Will I ever stop irritating myself with platitudes? Only yet another dawn later would I begrudgingly accept the inevitability of the inevitable. Time to get my heart, broken.

Returning to the palace, I was bemused to find, that the same pony who had given me choice, now chided me for making one, delusionally seeking a reason for my return. Bizarrely, still in this state, Celestia told her name, though she knew that I already knew it. Barring the natural elevation of royalty, the recently transpired banishment of her dear sister had been heard by all creatures of Equestria, not only the apparently egotistical creatures who had decided to name the land after themselves: for themselves. Yet my cage had remained stationary during my absence; I couldn’t see a princess’s use for a redundant memento like that...

My brightly feathered self finally realised the reason of the Celestia's capriciousness; I immediately backed off, out of mercy, if nothing else. The thought of even attempting to empathise with an inflicted damnation was terrifying. Presumably, the only reason I hadn’t noticed beforehand was my emotionally deprived state, or, perhaps my shock of her immediate discern of my abduction. As such, I could only reduce my presence to a tentative observation, vainly believing in a concealment against the omniscient. Indeed, my monarch (she’d prefer Diarch no doubt) made it quite clear that I was to be allowed no closer for a lengthy degree of time. Which was fair enough, I suppose. That didn’t mean that observing wasn’t fun in itself though, there was much to be learned of Ponykind, after all.

Comments

[Bronzedragon]

Excellent start with an unusual point of view. Will watch to see how this develops. Oh, by the way, did a word get dropped in the first sentence of the last paragraph? " My brightly feathered finally realised --- " seems to be missing something.

[The Apologetic Pony]

>>Bronzedragon Thanks for the feedback, it's all very much needed for my first fic! There was indeed a word missing there, it's since been amended. Much more more to come.

[Bronzedragon]

Little old nit picker here, did you mean “My brightly feathered self'” Murphy is an sob.

[The Apologetic Pony]

Eeyup.

[Periphery]

Not bad so far, but to be honest, the phrasing feels a little heavy. I can't really think of a better way to put it than that, but it feels almost reminiscent of antiquated literature from previous centuries, or something. If that's the style you want to go with, then okay, but to me it feels kinda stiff, and it's hard to imagine how it will lend itself to that comedy tag.