//------------------------------// // Four: Ruby // Story: Stereoheart // by FimFan14 //------------------------------// Authors Note: Well, here we return to the plot in a chapter I have dreaded to write for about nine or ten months now. All that I ask is that you don't kill me after this. -/\-\/-/\- How could this happen to me? Stereoheart cried into the silk pillows of his Canterlot suite. Who, after finding out that their much loved brother might not even be their real brother, wouldn't be crying. Is he really my brother? Is he really a pegasus? Is he related to them? Thoughts like these plagued him all night. He hadn't been allowed to be present when Frisky was tested by Twilight and Luna. Neither was Rainbow Dash. He'd requested his own suite, even though Luna had offered to get a two-bed room to share with Frisky. No, a night with Frisky would just drive him to insanity at the moment. Don't get him them wrong; Stereo and Frisky still loved each other very much. They were still brothers at heart. But physically and genetically? I'm not even sure anymore... Why would he be, anyway?" Stereo thought. Sure, we were kidnapped together... but were we ever brothers? More and more thoughts... Stereo wished he had a tranquilizer on hoof. Stereo heard a soft rapping on the door. "Go away!" He said morosely. "It's Leadin' Edge, from da Royal Genetics Association!" A female voice with a heavy Manehatten accent called through the door. With a sigh, Stereo wiped his face and trudged across the dark room to open his front door. A pastel-blue pegasus stood at the threshold, carrying with her a clipboard. She had a pair of glasses balanced on her nose. Stereo recognized her; she had been the one to take his DNA sample earlier. He absent-mindedly rubbed the sore spot where the needle had been injected, also recalling the kindness that she showed while performing her task. Her cutie mark was an electroencephalograph. "Hi, Miss Edge," he said with both tiredness and sullenness. "What's up?" "We got back da results from da medical wing," Leading Edge said. "Da unicorns said dat da results were negative. You bot' show zero percent relation to da two pegasi in jail. They also compared yo' DNA wit' each otha." Stereo leaned in closer, anticipating the results. "You two share so much genetic material dat dere's no doubt dat yo' related. Medically speaking, yo' physically about eighty-two percent da same pony." "What does that even mean?" Stereo asked tiredly, not sure if he didn't understand the accent or the material itself. "It means dat you two ah both brothas, 'n' we still don't know who ya parents ah. It also means dat yo' very tired." "I can't sleep, and I won't sleep until I see my brother." Stereo said firmly. "I want to know what's going on so that I can sleep." The pegasus at the door tried to make use of her meager stature to block the doorway, but relented after seeing the pleading look in his eyes, which had turned a sullen, dull grey; reminiscent of storm clouds. "Ugh, fine," she sighed. "I'll take ya to dem." "Them?" "Your brotha's wit' Twilight Sparkle," she explained. "She outta have an explanation fo' you." The two ponies walked a short distance before stopping in front of a fairly small and simple door; stocking out like a sore thumb in the large and decorated corridor they now stood in. "Dis is da medical centa," Edge explained. "Dey should be a'most done in da examination room. First door to ya right once you walk in." "Thank's, Miss Edge," Stere said gratefully. "Go'night, mah shift's ova," Edge said. "I'll probably see yo' tomorra, though." "Goodnight," Stereo replied, sincerely hoping that goodnight was what she'd said. She seemed to be happy with the answer, and continued down the corridor. Before long, she turned a corner and left his sight. "Okay, let's go," Stereo said to himself. Walking slowly into the medical center, he took no time to take in his surroundings as he made a dash for the first door to his right. He walked in, and was greeted by a surprised Twilight. "Stereo?" She said. "What are you doing here?" "Leading Edge let me in," he explained. "She gave me the results and I asked to come here." "But why?" "I really want to know what's going on. Why's my brother got wings and no horn? Are we...?" "No, you're not Alicorns," Twilight said. Stereo actually breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good," he said. "I couldn't handle that kinda stress in my life right now." "While I believe that there may be a way for both of you to turn from unicorn to pegasus, and back again, you have no more knowledge, power, or capacity than a regular pony." "Wait," Stereo said. "We can turn into pegasi and unicorns?" "It's one of many theories," Twilight said. "If it is correct though, then you would, at the cost of your horn until you turned back. Also, it would probably be fairly painful, and taxing." "Can we prove it?" Stereo asked. "I don't think It's a good idea," Twilight said. "But Princess Luna did have some interesting supporting theories." "That we did," Luna said from behind, startling everypony. "We apologize, we just finished taking the criminals back to their guards." "What sort of theories did you have?" Stereo asked curiously. "Well, first of all, we believe thou to be of a kind of diluted nobility," Luna explained. "Not quite alicorns like we are, physically just lesser than Princess Cadence." Twilight took over. "Cadence is an alicorn princess, but she has a magic level pretty standard for any old unicorn. I could overpower her in that regard," she said. "Princess Cadence also doesn't have the immortality of the other two alicorns, or amy increased longevity to speak of at all. She holds as much power and stature as Prince Blueblood with wings." "What does this have to do with us?" Stereo asked, before catching himself. "I'm sorry Twilight, I'm just very confused and tired. I didn't mean to be rude." Luna actually laughed at this. "Thou art related quite closely to this subject, Stereoheart," she said. "Thou art, as we said before, a diluted nobility. You aren't alicorns, but appear to have some alicorn DNA in your bloodstream." "Blueblood does as well, slightly less than you two," Twilight explained. "He's born into the royal family." "Who's this Blueblood, anyway?" Frisky asked, piping up for the first time from the examination bed in the center of the room. "We wouldn't recommend you get too 'chummy' with our nephew," Luna said bitterly. "A crass, brash, rude, arrogant Prince he is. If not for his blood, he'd not be allowed anywhere near the castle. The royal family is supposed to be kind and fair." Twilight kept talking. "We believe that maybe you once had more alicorn blood in you." A sudden realization hit Stereo. Flash backs of his time in Cloudsdale. "Cornu Remotionem Magicis..." he muttered. "Fictus Infirmitate... Of course!" "What?" Frisky shouted, recognizing the words. "What is it?" "Cornu Remotionem Magicis in an old equestrian term referring to a procedure that would hide a unicorn's or alicorn's horn," Luna explained. "The prescription with that jar of stuff that hid our horns, back in Cloudsdale!" Stereo cried excitedly. Frisky came to the same conclusion. "I hereby give the order that the Pegasus colts Stereoheart and Frisky undergo the medical procedure 'Cornu Remotionem Magicis', as response to the condition of 'Fictus Infirmitate', signed Dr Kalpiko." Frisky quoted. "He wrote pegasus colts," Stereo said quickly. "They wanted to hide our horns..." Information flew to his head, the puzzle solving itself before he could form comprehensible speech. "Won't believe them... kidnapped... They kidnapped us as baby alicorns... hid our horns so they could carry us around without raising suspicion... nopony believed that we were royalty..." He gave a gasp. "The necklaces! They sucked away our energy!" "Yes," Twilight said. "They must have tried to permanently turn you into pegasi by draining you magic, but it made you into unicorns! It diluted your already weak alicorn DNA strands so much that your body and magic supplies couldn't figure out how to support both your horns and wings at the same time!" "But there's enough to have turned Frisky into a pegasus," Stereo noted. "This is amazing! I'm a prince?" "Yes and no," Luna said. "Thou may petition to obtain princeship, but it was never granted upon thee, and thou alicorn DNA may be too dilute to allow for it. If thou did, thou would have to move to Canterlot Castle, become educated in politics, law, and diplomacy, along with a plethora of other duties. You are however still considered, by bloodlines, royalty." "I would prefer to stay with my friends in Ponyville," Frisky said with certainty. Me too," Stereo affirmed. "Unless they can all be princes, too." "The blue one, maybe," Luna said. "But the wild-maned one is too feisty and unpredictable." "Did you just make a joke?" Stereo asked. "Yes," Luna said. "We did." Rainbow had been quiet the entire time, but chose this time to speak. "Do I still get to keep them with me?" she asked. "Can I adopt them?" "Miss Dash, we are sorry to say that adoption is impossible for anypony at this stage," Luna said sincerely. "There are laws detailing this. "Thou can still be their legal guardian, just not adoptive parent." "I get it," Rainbow said. "That's why I was here waiting for the papers to process for so long. You knew all along, didn't you?" "Of course," Luna replied. "While this has been, as thou callest it, "quite a doozy,' there is also yet more to come. I've set these two up to change lives and make wonderful friends. Twilight Sparkle would recall a friendship lesson she learned; always follow the directions of those who know best." "How about those that say, or think they know best, huh?" Rainbow asked. "You may think that you know best, but stuff can still go wrong. Them two are my responsibility! If you let them get into danger because of their destiny, or just because you planned, and foresaw it, I swear I'll do something!" "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled rather harshly, making her flinch. "While her methods may seem obscure, I have full confidence that she does know best! It does nothing to help anyone by you being rude to a Princess!" "Both of you, calm down," Luna said, nearly slipping into the royal canterlot voice. "Rainbow Dash has made an acceptable and reasonable amendment to that friendship lesson. We applaud her foresight and loyalty to her family." "In agree," Frisky said. "Rainbow's smart, Luna knows some stuff, my old parents did a lot more than we thought, the necklace was bad, we're still brothers, he's a unicorn, and we're both royalty. Thank you everypony, and goodnight!" Frisky walked out the door, assumably to his suite. "Wait Frisky, I'm coming with you!" Stereo called out, following suit. "I guess it's bed time," Rainbow said with a yawn. "I'm kinda sleepy anyway. Goodnight, everypony!" She walked out the door. Twilight followed in a similar fashion, and Luna flew out the nearest window, and into her night. -/\-\/-/\- "You ready?" A female voice asked. "It's going to work, hun. Stop worrying." A male one replied. "I'm sorry, but I'm scared! What if they kill us?" "Really? Under Celestia's rule? Not likely." The fear in the mare's voice disappeared. "Fine then... let's do this." "We've knocked out the guard," Autumn Breeze said. His face was full of evil and rage. Hi eyes were blood red, like rubies. "Now we've just got to climb a bunch of stairs and take what's ours."