The Sorrow and the Temptation

by Hustlin Tom

Chapter 11

“ORPHEUS,” Princess Luna shrieked as she leapt off the balcony and plummeted to his side. She landed hard on the cobbled surface, all of her glass shoes shattering into pieces. Her joints ached from the landing, but she would not feel it until later. The broken bat pony lay on his side, his right forehoof crumpled beneath him. Having taken the majority of the final impact, it had dislocated his leg altogether and crushed the bones near his shoulder. His right hindhoof had suffered no better with a compound fracture. His ribs had been cracked in both falls, and the second fall had caused one to puncture his right lung. Both of his fine leathery wings were broken.

“SOMEPONY! ANYPONY! PLEASE HELP! MURDER! MURDER IN THE CASTLE,” the Princess bellowed, her voice cracking under the strain of raising her voice to fill the entire castle. The bat pony’s form shuddered, and his left eye slowly slid open. Even now in the throes of deepest agony, the fire had not died from his eyes. “Princess?” he called out weakly.

The azure alicorn quickly returned to her friend’s side, “Orpheus! I’m here!” she half whispered as she choked out the words, “I’m here! Oh thank my stars, you’re alive.”

“Princess,” he spluttered. He began to weakly cough as blood slowly pooled in his lung.

“Hold fast, Orpheus. I know several healing spells,” the Princess quickly used her magic, her horn glowed deep blue as she attempted to reconstruct her dear friend’s broken body.

The Antrozi guardspony’s moaned and softly shrieked as the rib that was occupying his lung was slowly removed and reconnected to his ribcage. “Stop! Please,” he groaned in deep pain.

The Princess quickly stopped her attempts to mend her friend, which she followed with frenetic apologies, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—I wanted to ease your pain! I’m sorry! I’m sorry.”

The night staff that had heard the cries of ‘murder’ had made their way into the Night Princess’ study, and had gathered some distance away from the Princess. In a short while, Princess Celestia joined them as well. She had been awoken by the servants who had heard her sister’s cry, and in her haste to join her sister she had forgotten all her regalia, and her pink hair was a mess.

Everypony was silent but the spluttering breathing of the bat pony and the short sobs of the Princess of the Night. “Princess,” wheezed Orpheus, and he slowly lifted his left forehoof to the sky, “Look.”

She did look up, tears falling from her face, to see her handiwork. The moon was at its epoch, and the North Star was bright upon the dark backdrop of her astral canvas, as were all the others. “Isn’t it beautiful?” he quietly asked.

She looked back to her dearest friend, and she cast a spell to read his condition. His heart rate was dropping, and he was already going into deep systemic shock; he would not survive for much longer. She sobbed silently as she cast one last spell for the battered Antrozi. Lights fell across the sky as shooting stars fell across the horizon; it was the first ever meteor shower. Orpheus softly gasped in awe, as did the other ponies in the room. The night sky was crying, just like its mistress.

Princess Luna saw the joy that filled his eyes at the spectacle she created just for him. “I wish,” he coughed and heaved, “that this..could last..forev—“. Alarm filled her as the last syllable never made it past his lips, but his last breath did.

The fire died. His eyes were misted over. Orpheus, first lieutenant of the Royal Guard, was no more.

The silence continued after his passing. Princess Luna slowly got on her haunches, and she brought his body to herself, cradling his brokenness in her hooves. Her tears were unending as she realized the child and the stallion he had grown up to become, the bat pony she had befriended, was forever gone from her.

Orpheus’ Covenmates, Aequitas and Agathe, had come into the study at this time, and upon seeing the body of their brother, their Covenmaster, they came to Princess Luna’s side and mourned as well, sending their wails to the heavens above. They embraced as one and joined with each other in hooves and tears. They mourned with each other until the break of dawn.

With the rise of Celestia’s dawn came a blood red sun. Aequitas and Agathe gathered up their fallen brother and they meant to fly away.

“Wait! Please! Stay! Please stay,” Princess Luna softly said.

“We cannot,” Aequitas said, “What little this place offered us is gone now. This castle and you are a curse on Antrozi everywhere. We should have never come here at all. Do not follow us; we will bury our own in our own way.” They spread their wings and carried up their brother into the Everfree Forest, and after that day no Antrozi was ever seen in Everfree Castle ever again.

Princess Luna slowly turned away from the balcony. She silently made her way past the servants, past her sister. Her eyes were exhausted from her weeping, and though she continued to quietly sob, no tears would come to her. She made her way to her chambers up above, from which she passively lowered the moon. Exhausted, she collapsed on her bed, praying that the emptiness of dreamless sleep would come to her.

Comments

[PrincessoftheNight]

ORPHEUS!!

Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen
Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen
Let his flesh not be torn, let his blood leave no stain!
When they beat him, let him feel no pain!
Let his bones never break, and however they try to destroy him
Let him never die!
Let him never diiiiiiiiiiiiiie!
Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen
Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka- eleka- Ugh!
What good is this chanting?
I don't even know what I'm reading!
I don't even know which trick I ought to try
Orpheus, where are you?
Already dead or bleeding?
One more disaster I can add to my generous SUPPLY!!