//------------------------------// // Coming To Light // Story: My Little Pony: The Brothers of Discord // by mr.myxsiple //------------------------------// CHAPTER 30 COMING TO LIGHT That evening, just as Luna began to raise the moon, her sister had just entered her room levitating a mug of warm milk with her magic. The moon steadily rose past her window as she made her way to her bed and settled herself in. With Luna now in charge of the courts, Celestia now had the whole night to herself. Taking a sip, she levitated a book from a nearby shelf to her and began reading. She had barely gone a single page when a wisp of green flames appeared out of nowhere. As she lowered the book, a small pop echoed as a rolled up scroll came into existence. It was most likely a update from her student Twilight Sparkle. Ever since the first attempt on the Elements of Harmony, she trusted Twilight with protecting them. Maybe she had obtained some new information from the pony they managed to capture. Eager to find out, Celestia quickly unrolled it. Dear Princess Celestia, I managed to gather new information today not from the prisoner but from another pony named Blues claiming to be his brother. He spoke with me today on behalf of all the ponies we got involved in. According to him, Solstice, Ironhead and Scar had no intention of harming us. Our prisoner, as it turns out, acted separately from his brothers. He assaulted Rarity and Applejack out of vengeance for what we did to another one of his brothers. Please understand my decision to release him; one of his brothers was in troubled, and he begged me to let him see him. He left and hasn't bothered us since. Blues told me that they are however still after the Elements of Harmony. Rest assured that I haven't told him about their whereabouts. Before he left, I told him that I would be sending you this letter. He will returning tomorrow afternoon to hear your reply. In the meantime, I was wondering if you had any information regarding his family. According to Blues, they are six brothers all led by their father, the alicorn scientist Equinox- Every part of her froze upon reading that name. The alicorn scientist...Equinox...Equinox...She hadn't heard that name in years. She hurriedly went back to the letter and reread the part about six brothers, the six sons of Equinox. It had to be...them... She slowly set the letter down and stared before her. She took a big gulp of milk to settle herself down before collecting her thoughts. Equinox...what did he have to do with any of this? What was it that he wanted with the Elements of Harmony? Was there an imbalance present? Were Twilight and her friends needed? If so, why didn't she sense it? This didn't make any sense. Why didn't he try to contact Twilight and the rest during the other imbalances? Unless...Unless the imbalance was towards the other side. But if so, why would he need the Elements of Harmony? He already had what he needed to fix whatever imbalance he had to deal with. But all those questions couldn't distract her from what bothered her the most-confronting Equinox. She thought that after that incident several years earlier, she would never have to deal with him ever again. Their last encounter had ended in shouting, accusing, and Equinox leaving to never see her again. Not to mention her heart painfully shattering to pieces. It had been less than half a century since that fateful day when Equinox left, and here he was making a reappearance. She cursed her long life; surely a good load of centuries would've pass before they would have to see each other once again. To alicorns like them, less than a century was all too short a time. It was not enough to fully heal their hearts. The dread that laid heavily within her...Did he feel it too? "Negotiations went rather well I suppose." Blues commented at dinnertime that same day. "Well, aside from a minor incident with Psych that is..." Equinox nodded as he took a drink. "I am just relieved to have Psych back home. A pity he and Ash aren't joining us this evening..." He gazed sadly at the two empty chairs to his right. Psych had only fetched some food for himself and Ash before leaving for his brother's room. "Hey, he's home right? That's what matters." Scar said cheering his dad up a little. "So uh Blues...Everything's cool now with the girls?" "Hmm...I suppose with Twilight and Rarity. The others weren't present when I arrived, but I believe they would spread my message of peace to their friends. Hopefully, relations between our two groups would improve." Blues continued with his meal not seeing Scar's eyes swivel towards Solstice who glanced at Ironhead who looked right back at Scar, an event that also went unnoticed by Equinox. The three brothers wordlessly returned to their meals while Blues continued. "Twilight also mentioned sending a letter to Princess Celestia." The beige unicorn failed to notice his dad freeze for a split second. "I mentioned your name to her father; was that a wise decision?" ... "Father?" "What?" Equinox barely heard his son the first time. "Y-Yes it was. It would be good for them to know just who they are dealing with..." Blues nodded in agreement before going back to his meal. None of the brothers noticed their dad lost in his thoughts. Eventually, he sighed and pushed his plate away. "I believe I've had enough for tonight." His sons gazing at him in surprise, the alicorn slowly rose and left the table. He returned to his study and let out a big sigh. He placed a hoof on his chest and felt something underneath his purple coat. Memories from long ago began to pour in, memories both happy and tragic. Those memories were still so fresh, it seemed like only a few days instead of several years. Ever since he heard of the Elements' involvement, he knew that he would have to deal with Celestia. He sighed once again and ran a hoof through his mane, remembering the day he left her. The decision had been painful for both of them, but he had his reasons. Besides, with all the shouting and arguing that went on that fateful day, as well as the last thing she ever said to him, Celestia seemed almost glad to be rid of him. Even after all these years, he was still upset with her. He left because she had...changed. When he first met her, before she assumed the throne, she was such a lovely mare, and even when she did become ruler of Equestria, she was still such an amazing pony, somepony with whom he could spend hours and hours just being with. But then, as the centuries went by, she began to change. Ever since they discovered those things, she had begun to show small changes in her personality. As more time went on, he watched her slowly become a new pony, a pony so different from what she was before. She was no longer the Celestia he knew. No longer the Celestia he loved... *knock!*knock!*knock!* "Father?" Blues' voice said from outside the study. "Father, may I enter?" Equinox took a deep, shuddering sigh and shook away the painful memories. "Y-yes. Come in Blues." His blind son entered the study. "Solstice told me you looked rather depressed earlier at dinner. Is something the matter?" Despite how gloomy he felt before, Equinox felt a lot better now. Just hearing the love and concern in his voice made the pain more bearable. The very same day he lost Celestia, he gained something else-six wonderful ponies who became his sons. Caring for them had done wonders on his already wounded heart. He trotted over to his son and pulled him into a tight hug. "I...I was depressed a moment ago...but not any more..." he said with a soft smile on his lips. Blues eventually got over his surprise and returned the hug. He broke away after about half a minute and cleared his throat. "Well I'm glad to know that you're feeling better." He gave out small a yawn. "Perhaps we should both get some rest. I have to be in Ponyville again tomorrow." Equinox nodded. "Oh, that reminds me." He lit up his horn, and a test tube rack on a nearby table flew towards him surrounded by a silver magical aura. It held five test tubes each half-filled with a strange black liquid. "I managed to finish these earlier. These are magical catalysts Blues. Each contains a spell that will suppress the amount of Light entering Ponyville's soil. It's not a perfect solution, but it should buy us more time." Blues nodded. "I'll pick them up tomorrow before I leave for Ponyville." He yawned once again. "Well, I suppose she should both get some rest. Good night father." "Good night Blues." his dad replied with a soft smile. After his son left, Equinox looked around at his empty study and let once another sigh once again left alone to wallow in his memories. The next day... After hearing three gentle knocks upon the library door, Twilight opened it. "Oh Blues...Are you here for the princess' reply?" "I am Twilight. Has there been any so far?" he asked. "No, but I told her you'd be coming back today. Why don't you come it; it shouldn't be long before she does reply." Thanking her, Blues stepped into the library. "Today's re-shelving day for us. Sorry if everything's a little messy." "It is?" Blues asked. Now that she pointed it out, he could sense several small objects scattered around the floor. He took a step and trod on one of them; it felt like a book. Nearby, he sensed a bipedal figure, most likely Spike busying himself with some cleaning. "It looks like you brother's keeping his word so far." Twilight commented getting his attention. "What? Oh yes; Psych spent the rest of yesterday tending to Ash. I still wonder if that will make any improvements on his condition..." he remarked sadly earning a look of pity from Twilight. "Listen-" *Blurp!* Spike had been carrying a large stack of books when he belched out green flames causing him to drop the stack on his foot. As he yelped and hopped on one foot, two scrolls tied with golden ribbon popped into existence. Intrigued, Twilight geabbed them with he magic and examined one of them. "This one's addressed to me and my friends." She held up the second one. "This one's addressed to you and you family." "It must be Princess Celestia's reply." Blues said. "But why would she send you a letter as well." "I guess we'll have to read it to find out." Twilight said offering the scroll addressed to the brothers to Blues. The latter stared at the floating scroll for a few seconds before staring at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. Confused, Twilight stared back for a few seconds. "Oh!" Embarrassed, she pulled the scroll back towards her. "Sorry; forgot you were blind." She laughed nervously leading Blues to stare at her again. "Aheh...I'll just read it to you..." She untied the ribbon allowing the scroll to unroll, an action that caused several small things to all to the ground. Blues stared at them in confusion, but Twilight did so in shock. What had fallen to the floor were seven strips of golden paper all inviting the bearer to attend- "The Grand Galloping Gala!?" Now Blues' eyes widened in surprise. "The Gala? The princess is inviting us?" "A-Apparently." Twilight replied a still a little surprised. A thought crossed her mind leading her to unravel the other scroll whose contents made her gasp as well. "What is it?" Blues asked. Twilight was staring at six golden tickets hovering before her. "W-We're being invited too? Why would the princess want that?" "Perhaps she would like you to be present when she speaks with us." Blues suggested. "But why would she chose to do so at the Gala?" "She must have her reasons." Twilight answered setting the tickets on a nearby desk. "I'll give these to my friends later. You should get yours to your family." "Very well then." He looked down and began to pick up the tickets. "I should probably leave right away. I have something else to attend to and would like to start it soon. Is there anything else Twilight?" All he got as a response was silence. "Er, Twilight? Is something the matter?" Still Twilight didn't reply. He turned to Spike who had gone back to dusting a nearby shelf. "Er Spike, something seems to be wrong with Twilight." "Really? Maybe she's just a little-GAH! What's that thing sticking out of your head?!" Blues' eyes widened upon hearing that. What Spike and Twilight saw was a long navy blue tendril sticking out of the back of his head. The other end was coiled around the gala tickets and was in the middle of picking them up. As they stared, Twilight noticed several light blue flecks along the tendril. "I-is that you mane?!" she exclaimed. "What?...Oh..." The tendril retracted back into his mane taking the tickets with it. Embarrassed, he coughed; he had gotten so comfortable, he wasn't thinking when he used his powers. "I'm sorry for startling you both; I should have explained...This is...my power..." "So you can move around your hair?...That's pretty lame." Spike told him. "Not as cool as any of your brothers'-Whoa!" Spike suddenly found himself dangling upside down, a long strand of Blues' mane holding him by the ankle. "I am not known as the Tendrils of Greed for nothing you know." He gently lowered Spike to the ground and retracted his strand of hair before turning to Twilight. "I'm sorry for that. Perhaps it's time I left..." He quickly bolted before Twilight could react to his little feat. Unbeknownst to him, a pony saw him leave. She was a pegasus mare, blonde, blue eyed, light amber coated and bore a gardening spade as her Cutie Mark, a pair of saddle bags slung on her. Upon spotting the blind pony, she instantly recognized his as one of the ponies accompanying Twilight as they escorted Psych out of town. Ever since those three guys with strange powers showed up, she had been looking into them. She heard from her partner about another pony with strange powers and saw Twilight take him home. This beige pony was in with them and was now her only lead to what they were all up to. She spread her wings and took to the skies making sure not to draw Blues' attention to her. She silently followed him as he made his way through Ponyville. Blues eventually reached a park and trotted over to a clump of trees that would hide whatever it was that he was doing. As he disappeared into them, his stalker landed in one of the trees. Upon detecting the movement, Blues stopped and looked around. Dismissing it as nothing, he got to work while the pegasus mare watched eagerly. He eagerness turned into surprise as a test tube popped out of his head on its own. She was further surprised by the long tendril that came with it. Her eyes wide, she watched as the tendril uncorked the test tube and pour its contents onto the soil. Being blind, Blues didn't notice it, but the ground beneath him suddenly glowed with silver light. The glow lasted for a few seconds before disappearing. By then, Blues had already placed the test tube back in his mane before leaving to find someplace else to pour the catalyst. Now alone, the pegasus flew down and examined the area. Everything seemed normal, but she still felt uneasy. She didn't know what Blues did, but she didn't like it. She reached into her saddle bag and pulled out a spade which she used to scoop up some soil. She placed it in a leather pouch before flying off. She eventually in front of an ordinary looking house in Ponyville. After knocking, she was greeted by a unicorn stallion. He was rather old; he had whitish grey hair, a crimson body, yellow eyes and a cluster of beakers, bottles and test tubes for a Cutie Mark. "It's you...What is it? Did something happen?" he asked. I'll explain when you let me in." she answered seriously. The unicorn blinked twice and looked around as if he were checking if somepony was watching them. He then stepped back and let the pegasus mare into his house. "Something happened." she told him tossing the leather pouch which he caught with his magic. "Some guy that's connected to those colts put something wierd in the soil. I wanna know what." The unicorn said nothing as he opened the pouch to peer at its contents. "My analysis shouldn't take too long. Give me until tomorrow, and I'll find out what it was." The pegasus nodded, and the unicorn set the pouch on a desk. "How's your partner fairing? I heard that he was almost caught up in that screaming mob a few days ago." "He's fine. You don't have to keep looking out for us y'know. We can handle this." the pegasus answered grumpily. This made the unicorn laugh. "My dear, you two are still new, still young. It would take time before you two are full members of Libra. It was wise for our leader to put somepony like me in charge of you two." The pegasus scoffed. "Well it's a stupid decision. We don't need a-" "Are you doubting our leader's actions?" he asked her warily. "Perhaps I should inform-" "N-no! I'll shut up." the pegasus said quickly. "I'll follow whatever we're told to do. We all want the same thing don't we?" The unicorn nodded. "Indeed we do. All members of Libra are united by a common desire: to restore balance to Equestria under our leader's name. If our organization is to succeed, we can't afford doubts." The pegasus looked fiercely at him. "I don't doubt. I'm a Libra agent dammit. I know what has to be done for balance to return to Equestria." The unicorn smiled evilly as the pegasus turned to leave his house. "We have to take that bitch on the throne out..."