Afterlife

• Chapter Four •

Her feet made no sound as she headed down the long corridor.

     The tips of Arielle’s fingers brushed against the frill end of her white dress, the green vines wrapping her leg brushing against the other every so often. She breathed in deeply, blue eyes staring ahead at nothing. She breathed out, her stomach churning at the thought of the future. Arielle had to put on a brave face, with or without the presence of Celestia, she didn’t want to return in a pool of her own tears. 

She didn’t know what she was doing.

     Queen Aurora’s mood shifted at the littlest of things, or sometimes, not at all. Arielle knew her mother wouldn’t be too keen on seeing her, and, in actuality, she definitely didn’t want to see Celestia either. She knew what her mother saw in Celestia. The short wavy red hair, the blue eyes, the overly wide smile, the… no. It wasn’t the time for that. Arielle just had to go through the door. The door, right in front of her, waiting. She didn’t realize she had reached her destination so soon. Her mind was like a broken mirror, the shards, pooling around her naked feet. 

     A shaky hand reached out, resting against the cool surface, tracing the luna moth design engraved into the wood. Arielle ran a hand through her long wavy red hair, gently tugging at it before she pushed the door open, wings fluttering from the rush of nerves flowing through her. 

Eyes.

     There were two sets of eyes locked on her, she could feel the venom surging through each one. Arielle didn’t dare look up, keeping her attention on her bare toes. 

“I told you she’d come back, didn’t I? I was hoping you’d bring your new friend, but I heard she’s having fun ‘meeting new people’ outside the castle walls.”

     Blue’s voice rang through her ears. She shot the person a nasty glare through the red hair covering her face. From her peripheral, Arielle could see her mother’s hand raise to silence her before she could make a comeback. “At first,” queen Aurora started, her voice sending a chill down Arielle’s spine, “I was disgusted at how miss Celestia talked to me.” The queen’s rapid approach did not go unnoticed by Arielle. “But, allowing myself to think it over, I quite admire what she did.” 

     Arielle’s head shot up in surprise, mouth hanging open in shock. “Such language towards me should be punished. Actually, any kind of attack towards me should. Your little friend didn’t care, she spoke her mind despite knowing who I am and what I can do.” Arielle sputtered, searching her mother’s blue eyes for any hint of a joke. She didn’t find any. “W… you’re not punishing her?” Arielle asked, her brows slightly furrowing.

     A slight chuckle escaped her mother’s lips, her feet stopping right in front of Arielle. “Is it truly that strange?” the queen sighed, “her words… struck something within me that hasn’t been struck in decades.” Blue, who was standing near the queen’s throne, scoffed at her words. “I suppose it is time to ‘throw out the trash,’ wouldn’t you say? Your time to take the throne is soon, Arielle. I want you to be a better queen than I ever was. I want future generations of rulers to look up to you.” The nervous feeling began to creep into the back of her mind. “I’ll do what I must for the kingdom,” she started, “for you and the people.”

     Her mother nodded her head with a smile, using a hand to guide Arielle towards the door. "I want you to go out and show everyone what you're made of!" She beamed, pushing Arielle through the door, "I know you can do it.” And suddenly there was a door in her face, with her on the other side, looking utterly bewildered. 

     Bewildered. Perplexed. Confused. She felt everything but relieved if she were being honest with herself. Arielle had expected her mother to lose a fuse and go off on her in a million different ways. But this… this was almost worse. Her mother isn’t mad at Celestia, which in itself is a relief. And her, Arielle, being the best queen there ever was? A sour taste filled her tongue as she pried herself away from the door. It was barely an issue to her that she hadn’t blinked in a while. How could she? How could she when she knew that wasn’t her mother? Well, it was her mother, but it definitely wasn’t her.