- =Helios 14=
- >"You can't do this!"
- "Yes I can."
- >The dust crunched underneath your boots as you walked to the edge of town.
- >Your "companion" wriggled and wormed herself in your grasp, but couldn't get her way out of your grip.
- >She sprawled on the ground after you tossed her through the air at the town limits.
- "Get out."
- >She gathered up her wizards hat and tossed it back on her head.
- >"Trixie should have known that such common fold would not appreciate her! Why, Trixie has performed for the Princesses herself in Canterlot castle."
- >Tch...
- "I doubt that."
- >The magician leered at you again.
- >"Honestly, tossing somep0ny out because of a little mishap on stage? What happened to your famous hospitality?"
- "The offer is voided when the mishap involves summoning Duneworms."
- >You turn around and start walking back to town.
- >"W-wait! How is Trixie supposed to survive with these...CREATURES out here!?" She asked worriedly.
- >Oh please...She summoned them.
- >There weren't even that many...
- >You call back over your shoulder as you leave.
- "Walk without rhythm."
- >You head back to town and smack a sign along the way, flipping the numbers on it back to their level from before Trixie blew in.
- >It read "Appleoosa. Pop: 140".
- >You sat on your favorite barstool.
- >Most of your shifts revolved around you sitting here.
- >That was what you did as Appleoosa's sheriff.
- >It had been a couple weeks since your...departure.
- >You had bolted out of the castle as fast as you could, not even bothering to grab any of your gear, just a bag of bits.
- >You just had to get away from the city...away from Her.
- >Away from the constant influx of thoughts that came from Her head.
- >And that day in particular, away from the soul crushing sadness.
- >You had hopped on the first train you saw and ridden it West.
- >And West...
- >And West some more.
- >You got off when the track had ended.
- >Appleoosa.
- >By some miracle it had been far enough away for you to not hear Celestia's thoughts.
- >Just you...
- >Alone...
- >Oh well, you needed it.
- >Needed time to think, to work things out.
- >Or at least drown things out with your new job.
- >Appleoosa had needed a sheriff when you arrived.
- >You have volunteered.
- >Maybe this time when you signed up to protect ponies, you wouldn't end up courting royalty or having your soul decimated.
- >You took a sip of your drink.
- >Dammit...you shouldn't blame Celestia.
- >It wasn't her fault that all this happened...
- >Voices from bar patrons behind you suddenly became louder and more angry.
- >It wasn't long before one of them was tossed over a table.
- >You sigh and finish off your drink.
- >The more things change...
- >You throw the brawlers out of the bar by their manes the same way you had done with Trixie.
- "Come back when you can throw a decent right hook!"
- >They try and crawl to their feet. "This aint over!"
- >One of them falls to his face.
- "Yes it is."
- >You glare at them as they limp away, taking notice to the sound of someone approaching you from the side.
- >"Well darn Anon, first you run that showboatin' street magician outa town and now your clearin' out The Applebarrel?"
- "Just doin' my job Braeburn."
- >Probably time for the rounds...
- >Appleoosa was a fairly small town, you liked to take a patrol every so often to make sure everything was good.
- >You start walking down the road with Braeburn keeping pace next to you.
- >"So, how're ya takin' to your job Mister Sheriff?"
- "It's a good fit."
- >A good distraction too.
- >"Why, I'd say that any crime of roughousin' we had out here dang near evaporated once you showed up."
- >General store was clear.
- "Yeah, I'm good at protecting people."
- >Braeburn chuckles "That must kill with all the ladies."
- >Dammit...
- "I wouldn't know."
- >Post office and train station were fine.
- >Braeburn half-smiles up at you. "Not lookin'?"
- >How the hell do you put this?
- "I got out of...a kinda weird relationship before I came here."
- >Braeburn slowly nodded as his understanding grew.
- >"She a clingy gal?"
- "That's...not too far off."
- >You retreated into your home after you completed your rounds and sat around looking intimidating.
- >It was a modest home, rather similar to your room back in Canterlot.
- >You sat yourself down by the small writing desk.
- >Damn...that got you thinking...
- >You hated abandoning your post.
- >You had always laid into the other guards that you caught shirking their duties, stepping out to a tavern during early morning hours or leaving without notifying someone.
- >It irritated you that you had just LEFT in the state of mind you were in.
- >You let out a deep sigh.
- >Then again...it was a pretty weird situation...
- >You just...
- >It was too much to take!
- >The fight with Blueblood...
- >Your soul...
- >Having someone else's thoughts in your head was just...
- >It sent shivers up your spine at the time.
- >You had FELT Celestia's thoughts.
- >Felt her dreams and ambitions, her wants and desires.
- >And you had felt that she was telling the truth about what she said.
- >The Princess really did love you.
- >You...didn't know how you felt.
- >You just knew you couldn't decide with her thoughts impacting your own.
- >Your hand runs through your hair.
- >This was all way over your head...
- >Just...Just focus on the next few hours Anon.
- >And in a few hours, you'd still be the sheriff of Appleoosa.
- >It was your job.
- -In Canterlot-
- >It had been some time since the incident with Blueblood.
- >He was doing as well as you could ask given his current situation.
- >You only wished you could say the same about yourself...
- >Things had returned to normal all too fast once Anonymous left you that night.
- >You had hoped that a night of tears alone in your room would have helped.
- >They hadn't.
- >This room had become your only environment the last few weeks.
- >You had slept here, ate here, and done your royal duties here.
- >The official reason was that your replacement bodyguard had yet to be chosen.
- >The real reason was because you had refused to get another bodyguard.
- >You couldn't replace him...not so soon.
- >Why!? Why did you say you loved him!?
- >Anon could have possibly taken the news about his soul well enough but to be told that his monarch loves him?
- >You've been alive for so long you've forgotten what it's like to have news like that.
- >And in your ignorance, you had scared him away.
- >You had scared away the first man you've loved in CENTURIES because you were out of touch with reality.
- >You laid yourself down on your bed for the umpteenth time.
- >And your tears stained the sheets.
- -In the nearby hills-
- >You came.
- >You came in small numbers as you followed the scent.
- >It radiated off of this town like that of a warm meal.
- >You had traveled for miles, crossing the Leylands and the entirety of the Mild West.
- >Harried by vultures, sandstorms and worse. All just to follow this scent.
- >And now you found it.
- >Hiding in this little town of Appleoosa.
- >The salty-sweet taste of it.
- >Anguished love.
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