Hole Hearted

by Akashic Brony

Chapter 1 First Encounter

They defy destiny and design

What fools traipse before me

Pain to this heart of mine

Why then do I covet and envy?

- Chitania, First Queen of the Changelings

It took months to study the enemy, and months more to infiltrate their ranks. First came unimaginable success, then unfathomable failure. Vanquished now were the dreams of her people. She despaired that she had not been there, even if only to be cast off with her sovereign. She had been in the outskirts when, in a flash, it was all over, sparing her a greater cruelty. Isolated now, she was alone. She could live, but for what end—to fear the executioner’s noose if hunters should capture her? It is said hate and love are opposites, but they are intermingled as passions. Their antithesis is apathy. It was a feeling without feeling, and she felt it now. Without purpose, without mission and without orders, what was there left?

There she was: the Canterlot cliffs. The wicked wind whipped her black hair about as if to beckon her forward. It had always been called a city on a hill, but from up on high, it was more the mountain. A drop assured death. She stepped tentatively to the edge and allowed herself to fall over the edge, closing her eyes, giving herself to gravity and accepting death and darkness.

She hit something, but it was not the ground.

“You’re so light,” whispered a gentle voice.

She opened her eyes. “Let go of me!”

“I will once we’re on the ground,” said the Pegasus stallion holding her. “What were you thinking?!”

She looked at her rescuer, a light brown pony with a reddish mane, and then at herself. The illusion of gray fur was still upon her hooves; she still was wearing her disguise, and to him she was still a pony.

He set her down gently on the ground. “Playing on the edge is dangerous. I swear I talked to them a dozen times about a security rail.”

“Playing?” she asked.

He shook his head of the thought. “Yeah, that’s right, playing!” he insisted, observing her severe expression.

She struggled for a response. “I wasn’t—”

“Hey,” he said, abruptly changing the mood, “let’s get some lunch. My treat.”

She gasped in confusion as the insistent Pegasus grabbed on to one of her legs, pulling her away. She formed a devious grin in her mind. Perhaps a meal might distract her. She could do for some comfort food. Several seconds of eye contact and she could pry open his meager mental defenses like an oyster, and a juicy one at that.

---

They sat at a table outside a quaint little café, sharing a slice of cake. The ritual of eating did not sate her—she only did it under pretense of avoiding suspicion—but this felt somehow different. She did not detect lust; rather, there seemed to be a genuine concern and sympathy flowing from the Pegasus. Behind his smile there was a hint of a deeper inner-sadness. It intrigued her.

“I didn’t get your name,” he said, examining her pouting expression.

“What’s yours?” she countered.

“Dented Armor. Friends call me Den.” Upon his flank was a shield with a dent in it.

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Haha—‘Dented’? Why not ‘Broken Armor’?”

“Well, dented isn’t perfect, but it’s still good. My dad thought so when his armor saved him from a Griffin lancer. I’m honored dear Dad thought me as something worth his life.” She felt his inner trauma again; it made his pleasant emotions that much sweeter. A purely sensual or superficial pony could not hope to produce such flavor.

She decided to dissect further. “Names are but labels. Your kind always attribute such meaning to them where there is none.”

Den smiled. “Okay, miss Unicorn. I still would like to know yours.”

She could answer his counter-question by giving him any name. So who was she? Den seemed to expect a reply, so she gave him one.

“My name”—she chewed on a piece of cake—“is Echo.”

“Echo?”

“Yes, Echo.” She affirmed, nodding.

“Echo?” Den repeated.

“Echo!” She was now shouting, and noticed the other café patrons staring at her. “You’re doing that on purpose!” Echo snapped.

Den snickered. “Yeah, at least you’re not pouting now.”

Echo caught herself. “I must really get back to… whatever I was doing… This has been a delightful diversion.” She stood up, wiping yellow cake crumbs from her mouth with a napkin.

Den’s smile turned to a frown. “Hey, why don’t we do something else? You like scenery? I know the best views in all of Canterlot.”

“I’m not interested in views.”

“It’s better than whatever you were doing at that cliff.”

Echo hesitated. “I… don’t know.”

“I have some secret passages in mind. I could get us into the palace.”

Echo’s ears perked. “The palace you say? Where the Princesses sleep?”

---

Echo followed Den through the winding streets to a dead-end alleyway. Perhaps he was a predator like her. She dared him to try.

“So, Dent, do you have ill intentions for me?” Echo mused.

“What?”

“You’ve led me to this closed off area on purpose, one can only assume.”

“Not all dead ends are as they appear.” Den stopped at a white wall, tapping a hoof at it twice. “Old engineering,” murmured Den.

Echo appeared unimpressed and tapped her own hoof impatiently on the ground.

Den shoved the wall. He groaned under the strain. “It’s hard, I know.” The wall section gave slightly with his exertions. “Sometimes you’ve just got to push on.” His efforts were rewarded when the mechanism behind the door finally opened to a staircase. “Follow me.”

---

How perfect: this hapless fool would take her to the enemy’s keep. Vengeance at last. Even for her sovereign, it took months of masterful, malicious planning to do the same. Her heart sunk when she realized this information was wasted. There would be no more planning, as her people’s army was scattered and shattered.

The winding maze of passages took them to an alabaster tower.

“What is this place?” asked Echo.

“Princess Luna’s residence,” answered Den. “She sleeps during the day.”

“Ah, yes.” Echo nodded. “Nice and defenseless.” Of course, the invasion force had counted on that. Even her mighty sovereign may have been thwarted by the combined might of the Sun and Moon. The Guards that would have awoken Luna were among the first to be silenced.

“You coming?” asked Den, walking up the steps.

Echo arched her neck, glancing around the corner. “What of the guards?”

“They’re trading shifts. We’ve got a short opening.” Den led the way. “Come on!”

---

As Echo reached the top of the tower, her eyes widened as she saw all of Equestria before her: everything from the frosty caps of the Crystal Mountains to the red wastes of the Badlands, clearer and more majestic than any map. To see cities as tiny dots was empowering, yet the true scale humbled her. It was a transcendental experience to nearly touch the heavens themselves and to be beholden to the splendor below.

Den held his hoof out when she walked too close to the edge, not wanting a repeat of earlier events. “Like it?”

“Yes, I do,” Echo said, still mesmerized by the sight.

“Perhaps there is still enough beauty in this world to make it worth living?” Den suggested.

Echo found herself smiling. She saw Den try to wrap his wing around her and jumped back.

“I’m sorry—too forward?” inquired Den nervously.

“No, you’re not. I just don’t like to be touched.”

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Come on,” Den said, “We’ve got to go. The sun’s setting and Princess Luna will be awake soon.”

“Wait, where does she sleep?” asked Echo, smiling nefariously.

Den motioned with his head at the door behind them. “Come on, her guards will soon be here.” He gave Echo a slight push, leading her back to the steps returning down.

---

Den escorted Echo through the streets, which were now illuminated by dim lanterns. She allowed the Pegasus to lead her. The fate of the Princesses could wait. After all, she now knew the route. However, her plans were distracted as she thought of the events of the day and of her new acquaintance.

“Thank you for this…” Echo paused then spoke his name out loud: “Dent.”

He winced slightly at the ugly shortening of his name. “Friends call me Den.” Nevertheless, he managed a smile. “It was no problem, Echo. I thought you needed it.”

“No. Before, at the cliff, I was—”

Den put his hoof to her mouth. “I know. We’ve all been there at some time or other.”

Echo looked at Den incredulously. In their ignorant, blissful lifestyles, what did ponies know of pain? How could he presume to know hers? She bit bitterly, scoffing. “You know of pain?”

He lowered his head. “Yeah, when my dad died.”

Echo took back her bitterness. “I’m sorry. When was this?”

“The invasion.”

Echo gasped. “No.”

“Or, should I say, just after,” Den clarified bitterly. “Dad was a guard captain, one of the last to be captured by the changelings. Following the invasion, the Royal Guard’s prestige fell. The failure shook him up; it was yet another weight on his back. He got drunk and threw himself off the cliff. No wings, you see. He was an Earth Pony.”

“I’m sorry,” Echo said sympathetically. She thought of a parallel to his situation. “I’m missing my mother, so I can relate. She died during the invasion as well.” Echo had seen the motions, and somehow they felt right: she leaned against Den, and they stood together.

Den chuckled lightly. “I thought you didn’t like to be touched?”

Echo jumped again, coughing. “This is my house over here.” She trotted up to the door. “It was nice meeting you, Den.”

“Likewise, Echo,” Den responded warmly.

She surprised herself when, without thought, she made her way back down the stairs and stood close to him, face to face. “When can I see you again?”

“We could meet again at the Grape Café for lunch,” offered Den. “They’re famous for their juice.”

“Why not in the morning?” asked Echo.

“I have morning duties.”

“What duties?”

“Guard duty. I’m a Royal Guard—a Vice Captain, in fact. Today was my day off.” Den smiled as they took leave of each other.

Comments

[Akashic Brony]

5308997
Backstories and motivations, lol. I'm not going to front load them to you just in the first paragraph. That would be as you said "telling" and not "showing". Read on, you may be surprised. Each character has their own "why". Such as in life there are different perspectives. Don't judge a book by its cover.

[Akashic Brony]

5308997
Also because I don't like "telling" the audience. Later chapters become ruthlessly dialogue heavy.

[tsaukpaetra]

He did that on purpose!