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Helios 14: Getting Away.

By Mandroid
Created: 2020-12-19 13:11:39
Expiry: Never

  1. 1.
    =Helios 14=
  2. 2.
     
  3. 3.
    >"You can't do this!"
  4. 4.
    "Yes I can."
  5. 5.
    >The dust crunched underneath your boots as you walked to the edge of town.
  6. 6.
    >Your "companion" wriggled and wormed herself in your grasp, but couldn't get her way out of your grip.
  7. 7.
    >She sprawled on the ground after you tossed her through the air at the town limits.
  8. 8.
    "Get out."
  9. 9.
    >She gathered up her wizards hat and tossed it back on her head.
  10. 10.
    >"Trixie should have known that such common fold would not appreciate her! Why, Trixie has performed for the Princesses herself in Canterlot castle."
  11. 11.
    >Tch...
  12. 12.
    "I doubt that."
  13. 13.
    >The magician leered at you again.
  14. 14.
    >"Honestly, tossing somep0ny out because of a little mishap on stage? What happened to your famous hospitality?"
  15. 15.
    "The offer is voided when the mishap involves summoning Duneworms."
  16. 16.
    >You turn around and start walking back to town.
  17. 17.
    >"W-wait! How is Trixie supposed to survive with these...CREATURES out here!?" She asked worriedly.
  18. 18.
    >Oh please...She summoned them.
  19. 19.
    >There weren't even that many...
  20. 20.
    >You call back over your shoulder as you leave.
  21. 21.
    "Walk without rhythm."
  22. 22.
    >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.
  23. 23.
    >It read "Appleoosa. Pop: 140".
  24. 24.
     
  25. 25.
  26. 26.
    >You sat on your favorite barstool.
  27. 27.
    >Most of your shifts revolved around you sitting here.
  28. 28.
    >That was what you did as Appleoosa's sheriff.
  29. 29.
    >It had been a couple weeks since your...departure.
  30. 30.
    >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.
  31. 31.
    >You just had to get away from the city...away from Her.
  32. 32.
    >Away from the constant influx of thoughts that came from Her head.
  33. 33.
    >And that day in particular, away from the soul crushing sadness.
  34. 34.
    >You had hopped on the first train you saw and ridden it West.
  35. 35.
    >And West...
  36. 36.
    >And West some more.
  37. 37.
    >You got off when the track had ended.
  38. 38.
    >Appleoosa.
  39. 39.
    >By some miracle it had been far enough away for you to not hear Celestia's thoughts.
  40. 40.
    >Just you...
  41. 41.
    >Alone...
  42. 42.
    >Oh well, you needed it.
  43. 43.
    >Needed time to think, to work things out.
  44. 44.
    >Or at least drown things out with your new job.
  45. 45.
    >Appleoosa had needed a sheriff when you arrived.
  46. 46.
    >You have volunteered.
  47. 47.
    >Maybe this time when you signed up to protect ponies, you wouldn't end up courting royalty or having your soul decimated.
  48. 48.
    >You took a sip of your drink.
  49. 49.
    >Dammit...you shouldn't blame Celestia.
  50. 50.
    >It wasn't her fault that all this happened...
  51. 51.
    >Voices from bar patrons behind you suddenly became louder and more angry.
  52. 52.
    >It wasn't long before one of them was tossed over a table.
  53. 53.
    >You sigh and finish off your drink.
  54. 54.
    >The more things change...
  55. 55.
     
  56. 56.
    >You throw the brawlers out of the bar by their manes the same way you had done with Trixie.
  57. 57.
    "Come back when you can throw a decent right hook!"
  58. 58.
    >They try and crawl to their feet. "This aint over!"
  59. 59.
    >One of them falls to his face.
  60. 60.
    "Yes it is."
  61. 61.
    >You glare at them as they limp away, taking notice to the sound of someone approaching you from the side.
  62. 62.
    >"Well darn Anon, first you run that showboatin' street magician outa town and now your clearin' out The Applebarrel?"
  63. 63.
    "Just doin' my job Braeburn."
  64. 64.
    >Probably time for the rounds...
  65. 65.
    >Appleoosa was a fairly small town, you liked to take a patrol every so often to make sure everything was good.
  66. 66.
    >You start walking down the road with Braeburn keeping pace next to you.
  67. 67.
    >"So, how're ya takin' to your job Mister Sheriff?"
  68. 68.
    "It's a good fit."
  69. 69.
    >A good distraction too.
  70. 70.
    >"Why, I'd say that any crime of roughousin' we had out here dang near evaporated once you showed up."
  71. 71.
    >General store was clear.
  72. 72.
    "Yeah, I'm good at protecting people."
  73. 73.
    >Braeburn chuckles "That must kill with all the ladies."
  74. 74.
    >Dammit...
  75. 75.
    "I wouldn't know."
  76. 76.
    >Post office and train station were fine.
  77. 77.
    >Braeburn half-smiles up at you. "Not lookin'?"
  78. 78.
    >How the hell do you put this?
  79. 79.
    "I got out of...a kinda weird relationship before I came here."
  80. 80.
    >Braeburn slowly nodded as his understanding grew.
  81. 81.
    >"She a clingy gal?"
  82. 82.
    "That's...not too far off."
  83. 83.
     
  84. 84.
    >You retreated into your home after you completed your rounds and sat around looking intimidating.
  85. 85.
    >It was a modest home, rather similar to your room back in Canterlot.
  86. 86.
    >You sat yourself down by the small writing desk.
  87. 87.
    >Damn...that got you thinking...
  88. 88.
    >You hated abandoning your post.
  89. 89.
    >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.
  90. 90.
    >It irritated you that you had just LEFT in the state of mind you were in.
  91. 91.
    >You let out a deep sigh.
  92. 92.
    >Then again...it was a pretty weird situation...
  93. 93.
    >You just...
  94. 94.
    >It was too much to take!
  95. 95.
    >The fight with Blueblood...
  96. 96.
    >Your soul...
  97. 97.
    >Having someone else's thoughts in your head was just...
  98. 98.
    >It sent shivers up your spine at the time.
  99. 99.
    >You had FELT Celestia's thoughts.
  100. 100.
    >Felt her dreams and ambitions, her wants and desires.
  101. 101.
    >And you had felt that she was telling the truth about what she said.
  102. 102.
    >The Princess really did love you.
  103. 103.
    >You...didn't know how you felt.
  104. 104.
    >You just knew you couldn't decide with her thoughts impacting your own.
  105. 105.
    >Your hand runs through your hair.
  106. 106.
    >This was all way over your head...
  107. 107.
    >Just...Just focus on the next few hours Anon.
  108. 108.
    >And in a few hours, you'd still be the sheriff of Appleoosa.
  109. 109.
    >It was your job.
  110. 110.
     
  111. 111.
    -In Canterlot-
  112. 112.
    >It had been some time since the incident with Blueblood.
  113. 113.
    >He was doing as well as you could ask given his current situation.
  114. 114.
    >You only wished you could say the same about yourself...
  115. 115.
    >Things had returned to normal all too fast once Anonymous left you that night.
  116. 116.
    >You had hoped that a night of tears alone in your room would have helped.
  117. 117.
    >They hadn't.
  118. 118.
    >This room had become your only environment the last few weeks.
  119. 119.
    >You had slept here, ate here, and done your royal duties here.
  120. 120.
    >The official reason was that your replacement bodyguard had yet to be chosen.
  121. 121.
    >The real reason was because you had refused to get another bodyguard.
  122. 122.
    >You couldn't replace him...not so soon.
  123. 123.
    >Why!? Why did you say you loved him!?
  124. 124.
    >Anon could have possibly taken the news about his soul well enough but to be told that his monarch loves him?
  125. 125.
    >You've been alive for so long you've forgotten what it's like to have news like that.
  126. 126.
    >And in your ignorance, you had scared him away.
  127. 127.
    >You had scared away the first man you've loved in CENTURIES because you were out of touch with reality.
  128. 128.
    >You laid yourself down on your bed for the umpteenth time.
  129. 129.
    >And your tears stained the sheets.
  130. 130.
     
  131. 131.
    -In the nearby hills-
  132. 132.
    >You came.
  133. 133.
    >You came in small numbers as you followed the scent.
  134. 134.
    >It radiated off of this town like that of a warm meal.
  135. 135.
    >You had traveled for miles, crossing the Leylands and the entirety of the Mild West.
  136. 136.
    >Harried by vultures, sandstorms and worse. All just to follow this scent.
  137. 137.
    >And now you found it.
  138. 138.
    >Hiding in this little town of Appleoosa.
  139. 139.
    >The salty-sweet taste of it.
  140. 140.
    >Anguished love.

BiE 1: Introductions

by Mandroid

BiE 2: Train, pains, and narcissism.

by Mandroid

BiE 3: Exposition and espionage.

by Mandroid

BiE 3.5: More trains, soon to be back pains.

by Mandroid

BiE 4: Home Improvement.

by Mandroid