Heart Piece doesn't want the throne. But will she take it because it's her duty, or will she deny it and find herself?
Heart Piece was born into an unusual situation. The Elements of Harmony separated, Equestria in a time of silent peace, and new contacts from outside lands. Oh and did I mention that Twilight Sparkle is her mother? Yes indeed, Heart Piece seemed to have been born with everything... But it appears as if she doesn't want it all. She is a princess that quite frankly, doesn't want to be a princess. Is this weird peace the silence before the storm. Heart Piece must decided- Her true passion, or the throne.
Her name is Heart Piece. She was born in a very peaceful era. A time when Equines lived in harmony with one another under the gentle care and protection of the Elements of Harmony... For the moment.
She grew up under the care of her mother, and a few other castle companions that basically taught her all she would ever need to learn; her morals, general education, and how to live like a princess. She was a princess; an alicorn that is.
Until one day, Twilight Sparkle -the Princess of Equestria- noticed something peculiar. There were flickers in the candlelight at darkness. There were small, violent winds that whispered secrets in the day. The stars shook at it’s foreboding shadows. Evil and chaos lurked somewhere unknown under the drapes of broken harmony… Twilight knew not why. But soon she was to find out.
She feared that the elements were somehow fading from her power, just as it had for Celestia when Luna was banished. She knew something had to be done. She set out to find the next successors of the elements of harmony, and save the future of Equestria, at any cost.
Something More Heart Piece rustled in her silky sheeted bed. It was made of swan feathers and opal boarding, and felt like heaven. Despite that, she couldn’t sleep lately. The boredom of her mundane, repetitive life had started to make her feel sick inside. She sat up, feeling the sun rays hit her coat, and rough and tossed mane as it peeked through the top of her drapes. The room was dim, as it would be before the maids came in to wake her. It was half six, and the sun had just started to peek from the horizon. Celestia brought on yet another day, just as she had every day; Heart was… sick of it.
She rose before her maids had the chance to come and wake her slowly and prepare her bath, along with the schedule of her daily routine. She could recite it forwards backwards, and in three different languages. She picked herself out of bed, hearing the first clip of the floor, and feeling the fuzz hit her hooves. She walked over to the curtains and pulled one away from the center, letting a small flow of newly peaking sunlight hit her room, and light her body up. The sunrise was beautiful; almost as beautiful as the night. The only part of the day she truly appreciated were the sun’s rising and setting. Then she had more colors to work with. She tied the curtains up, leaving all her lights out, and grabbed her easel, paints and brushes, and sat in front of the window- looking out on the beautiful waking mountains.
It felt like hours had gone by before she had finally painted a rough draft of what the sunrise had looked like. By then, the sun was almost all the way above the mountains. She yawned, and looked upon her painting, and adding small splotches here and there, changing small things. The door behind her burst open, and the maid came waltzing in- unaware of Heart’s consciousness.
“Good morning Princess-” She stopped upon noticing how light it was in the room, and first laid eyes on the bed, then on the princess beyond the foot of it. “Oh, I see you have already woken, milady.” She said, approaching the curtains, and retying the holsters. She approached Heart Piece and looked at the vibrant colored creation and smiled. “Very good milady. How nice it is to see that you rose early enough to capture the beauty of such a thing.” She giggled a little. Heart looked up from her canvas and greeted the mare, “Good morning, Silver Shilling.” She smiled, closing her bagged eyes.
Silver examined her for a moment. “Oh dear, Princess have you not gotten any sleep? Again?” She asked, worried. Heart looked down a little, nodding unhappily.
“Oh dear… Perhaps we can call a doctor to come and see if you’re alright milady. A princess must always be well rested to face each day. You know, sleep depravity can cause clouded perception- I heard that’s why a Queen Beth was usurped- she was making rather rash decisions.” She rambled on. Noticing this she caught herself, putting a hoof swiftly to her snout, and cleared her throat. “Ehem, anyways, shall we go to that bath now, milady?” She asked.
Heart sighed, examining her canvas once more, and nodded. Silver Shilling went over to a small rope near the entrance of her bedroom and pulled on it. She went back over to Heart Piece, helping her from her sitting position, and moving her paints and brushes back to where they belonged. Moments later, two bigger butlers walked in, and Silver gave them a command, “Please pick up the canvas and easel and let them dry over near those other paintings.” The two butlers did just that, and Silver led Heart into the hallway and into the large royal bath.
Heart sleepily slid herself into the heated bubble water of the bath, and yawned, leaning with no posture against the side. More mares came into the room, and began their routine. Silver came to Heart Piece with a scroll of paper in her hoof and asked her, “Will you allow the maids to bathe you today milady?” She asked, sounding somewhat expecting of her answer. Heart shook her head, and sunk into the bath water, exposing only the top half of her head. She stared on to the distance above the water, knowing what was coming. Silver Shilling began reading from the scroll and telling Heart of her daily schedule. While that was happening, the rest of the servants were pouring coffee, and adding soap to the bath. When the coffee was presented to Heart just the way she had always loved it, she sat up, and floated the cup to her using her horn, and started sipping at it.
Heart Piece somewhat tuned her schedule out… She knew today would be a busy day. Today is when the royal officials from the country of Abraxas would be here to sort out some things. Heart Piece had to attend the meeting, unfortunately. She would rather be inside, painting, or singing, or something of that sort. She was born an artist, a powerful magical artist, but it seemed as if destiny did not want her to really use her talents. Instead, destiny flaunted her with all the possibilities of destiny and freedom, but restricted her from ever doing so.
Heart Piece sipped more at her coffee, enjoying every last drop of it; savoring it’s sweet flavor. The servants approached again and began scrubbing her back and she started to care less. the only thing she cared for at the moment was the coffee she held. After a while the cup had run empty, and the time had grown long. her coat and mane had been washed and scrubbed thoroughly through, and she was told by Silver to remove herself. She did so, and the servants again came to her and began to dry her off. They took three towels and worked her down as quickly as they could.
“Ah cheer up dear. You’re a princess, and although you have responsibilities, you still have so much privilege. Be glad to have servants attend to your every whim.” Silver told Heart as they started to exit the tub room and into a separate room carved of mother of pearl and gold. In the room stood mirrors, drawers, and many vials and bottles and beauty items. Heart sighed upon entering the room for a few reasons. She wasn’t happy about anything.
“Silver… You know how it is. I never wanted this sort of thing. I want a simple life with simple things. Mother got to live that way, why can’t I?” She rolled her eyes, and sat on the satin cushion that lay just before a large beauty table.
“Because, she may have lived a simple life for some time, but at one point she realized, she wasn’t equipt to be the Princess of Equestria. She hadn’t a clue on how to run things like these. Which is why she is working you so harshly.” Silver stated in a matter-of-fact tone. She smiled and called in the stylus.
A pink and white pony waltzed into the room, and greeted the two mares, “Good morning Princess. How would you like your mane styled zis morning?” She asked, picking up some barbers scissors, as well as a bottle of hair spray.
“I don’t know… Just normal I guess?” Heart shrugged. “Can’t I just do it for once?” She asked, swatting at the closing scissors and hairspray can. The pink and white pony stood back with a shocked face, shaking her head and dramatically gesturing as if she were having a heart attack.
“Oh no no no Madmousel.” She had cracked her voice from the sheer drama put into the phrase. “I cannot simply let you do such a thing.” She said, turning from Heart Piece as if to face a crowd and whipped her hand out, “I was hired to make you…” She paused and slowly pulled her hand in to her chest and finished her sentence slowly and in a dramatic tone, “Beautiful.”
Silver Shilling and Heart Piece sat there observing her for a moment before Shilling started clapping her hooves, and Heart rolled her eyes looking back into the mirror before her messing with her hair. Shilling approached the still-in-character pony and placed her hooves on her shoulders.
“Oh my dear Star Spray, you should have been an actress.” She said, smiling and squeezing the pony a bit. Star Spray put a hoof to her forehead again and looked up and simply said, “I know my dear. I should have.” She said, “But if you are around zem long enough, you start to develop a certain, flare.” She explained.
Heart Piece mocked them from behind and spoke sarcastically. “Oh yes my dear, she has a certain… Gene se quoi.” Heart giggled to herself. Star turned around and pointed her hoof out at Heart excitedly. “Ahh, she speaks!” Heart put a hoof to her mouth still sarcastic about it, “Oh yes!” She lowered her hoof and looked at Silver and Star with a sardonic face as they approached her. “You know I’m not mute, right?” Heart asked, rolling her eyes at them again.
Star puffed Heart’s hair with her hooves, looking into the mirror at her and nodded. “Oh yes Madmousel, and you are naturally beautiful, however today is… Special, no? Why not spice it up, as you say.” She smiled, lifting the bottle of spray and the scissors again.
Heart rolled her eyes and nodded. “Well… I guess if it’ll make mother happy and if it’s really that important.” She said in a downstruck tone.
Heart never really liked that sort of thing; accentuated beauty and such. She felt it was a little, well, fake of ponies. She thought it masked who you really were. Not all that wore makeup were, heck when Heart isn’t doing anything she’d spot some eye liner, but to this extent was a little extreme. It was almost like becoming someone else. But since it was that important to represent well for the delegates, then she supposed she had to.
I guess Silver made a good point… I have everything I would ever need… Maybe I should just… Tolerate it. Heart thought to herself. She smiled looking at Silver and Star talk to one another cheerfully, and thought to herself, Their shenanigans is what makes it bearable. She giggled to herself.
