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Helios 14: Getting Away.

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

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