The next day, the winds began to pick up. On the weather station, a pegasus said, "Citizens of the Crystal Empire are encouraged to refrain from going outside from six o'clock this evening to 12 o'clock tomorrow. We'll keep you updated on the chain of storms in store for next week."
"Come on!" Clarity heard one of the guards say, "I just polished my house!"
"Maybe that's why you should've gotten a smaller house," his partner said.
"Have you seen my wife?" The first guard said, "She always insists on having the best of the best. Hayseed, I wouldn't be surprised if she was chasing Prince Blueblood right now!"
"Sounds like the two of them would be mirror images of each other, if you ask me," a voice behind Clarity said. The young alicorn shrieked and turned around, only to crash into Raven.
"Geez, Raven!" She said, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"I'm sorry, Clarity. I thought you heard me coming!"
The two began to burst out laughing.
Then Raven saw Clarity with a small tear in her eye.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah," Clarity said, still smiling, "This just reminds me of old times. Back when we used to laugh about almost anything."
"Yeah," Raven said, "It feels like over a million years ago..."
"Well, it was over a thousand years ago," Clarity said.
"Oh, right," Raven said. Then the siblings began laughing again.
"But this is how it can be," Clarity said, "We may never be the innocent foals we used to be, but I'll always see you as the brother I can trust to brighten my day. I always have. Even when you-know-what happened, I still saw the Raven I know and love, simply taken hostage by a monster."
"Okay, can we please change the subject?" Raven said, cringing.
"Sure," Clarity said.
"But I'm sorry for letting myself get blinded by my own hatred."
"I forgave you long ago," Clarity said, "I always blamed myself for it."
"I just want to forget about it," Raven said, "But now I don't know what to do."
"What do you mean?" Clarity asked.
"What's my place here? I'm not going to rule, and I've broken my false destiny of an evil tyrant. So, what is my path in life?"
"To be honest," Clarity said, "I don't know either. It's going to take some time for us to let go of what happened all those years ago, and we're going to have to retrace our destinies, but please know that I'll be at your side. Every step of the way."
Raven hugged Clarity. "I will, too," he said.