Background Pony

XVIII - Crescendo

As the Princess spoke, her voice became muffled between the many crowding bodies. This was because I was presently ducking through the bodies, ribs, and shoulders of the thick group. Peering up, I struggled to clench my clattering teeth shut.

My heart leapt into my throat at the first sight of the Princess' face, her rosy eyes, her starlit mane. She was glorious, she was beautiful, she was a goddess. And a goddess was the one thing I most desperately needed right then.

I glanced to my far left and right. Pegasus guards stood on intimidatingly broad legs. From where I was it looked as though their armored necks stretched all the way to the ceiling. No doubt, with a single flap of their wings they could leap upon any part of the lobby instantaneously. Still, despite knowing all of this, I had to try making my move. The Princess said that she was going to be there all afternoon, but that was no excuse for me to tarry.

Struggling to hold my shivers at bay, I tugged my hoodie's sleeves further down my limbs, curled up onto the floor, and crawled forward through the crowd. I moved my petite limbs slowly, silently, hoping that the shadows of those all around me would obscure my approach to the Princess' seat. I smelled the pensive breaths of the humble villagers; my ears twitched to the beating of their hearts. The Sun Goddess' voice grew louder and louder, shaking my bones, milking tears from my amber eyes.

"...and with a terrestrial spell from Canterlot's Royal Geological Division, the aqueduct should remain structurally intact for the next twenty-five years at least." Celestia leaned her head forward. "Does that sound like a feasible solution?"

"Oh, absolutely, your highness!" Cold Gardens exclaimed with a fervent nod. He smiled, his eyes glistening with joy. "Thank you for your wisdom. Ponyville will make good use of your assistance."

"And perhaps you'll have more of your beautiful sunflowers on display for the next time I visit!" Celestia said, receiving many giggles and cheers. She turned her head towards the town leader. "Mayor?"

"Ahem. Sibsy from the central market had a question for you—"

I stepped on a mare's hoof. A loud shout filled the air and forced me to bump into another pony at my side. Soon, the lobby filled with indignant outbursts.

"Hey, watch it!"

"The hay is wrong with you?"

"Wait your turn!"

I didn't respond. I couldn't. The crowd of ponies was swiveling to look at me already. Every head was turning towards this haggard waif of a unicorn. Soon, the guards were craning their necks too. The world was freezing; I hyperventilated and shivered.

"Uhhh..." The Mayor was finally marching sideways in front of the Princess, squinting my way. "What in blazes?"

I hissed beneath my breath, shoved a pony out of the way, and galloped forward. The world bobbed, then turned into a hazy blur as desperate tears leaked out of me. Celestia's shimmering visage was but a flickering candle in the fog. I shrieked towards her, for fear that I was losing everything already.

"Princess! Princess help me!" I shouted. "Princess, I am cursed! I am cursed and I n-need your blessing!"

"You there! Halt!" I felt the heat of their wings before the guards were on me. It was as though chunks of the ceiling had impaled my body; metal-laced hooves clamped me to the floor from all sides.

I shrieked in pain and wrestled a hoof out from underneath their muscular legs. I sobbed in the direction of the center stage. "Save me, Princess! Please! I'll be lost if you don't help me!"