Lysithea never had the chance to truly enjoy childhood thanks to her shortened lifespan. However, when she is reborn as Twilight’s twin sister, she might just get the chance of having a normal life.
Throughout her entire life, Lysithea von Ordelia had always been pushing herself to do as much as she could. She didn’t have the time to lay around, after all, with the shortened lifespan her two crests gave her. This shortened life caused her to forsake many things in the name of pushing herself to greater hights, including her childhood.
However, when she finally passed away, she suddenly found herself given a second chance to enjoy life. Born as the twin sister to Twilight Sparkle, Lysithea plans to use her lease on life to the fullest. In doing so, she might just be able to find out what it is to enjoy life, and maybe show young Twilight there is more to life than books in the process.
Lysithea twitched slightly, a groan escaping her as she pulled the bedsheets to her side of the bed. She might have not been completely awake yet, but it didn’t change the fact that she was cold. Someone had moved the sheets almost completely off of her, and her half-awake brain couldn’t figure out who. All she could think about was how cold she was, and the fact that right after moving them towards her side of the bed, they had been moved off her again.
So, with what energy she could muster, she moved them back to her once again. This time, she had the idea of clutching them in order to keep them in place. It worked at first, though the constant tugging of whoever she was in bed with didn’t help her fall back asleep. In fact, it woke her up more, allowing her to view the room around her and the pink hoof in her vision. If she wanted to ask about it, all of that was immediately forgotten as she looked at the sheets she had clutched.
Suddenly, everything, including where the sheets came from, came back to her.
“Thea,” A voice whined, no doubt coming from the per– pony, she corrected herself, on the other side of the bed. “Stop hogging all the blankets.”
“Wait a minute Twilight,” She said as she turned to face the lavender foal she had come to know as her sister. “These blankets aren- oof!”
Her attempts at reasoning with said sister were ended with a well placed, if accidental, hoof to her muzzle. Lysithea grabbed her muzzle, wincing in pain as Twilight used the opportunity to take the blankets back. Without a second thought, Lysithea reached her own hooves down to Twilight’s tail and gave a small yank, causing her sister to yelp.
“Don’t do that!” Twilight said, facing her sister with a rather large scowl.
“Then don’t punch me, idiot!” Lysithea shot back. She watched as the scowl on her sister’s face turned to a sly grin and she booped the pink foal’s muzzle. “You didn’t.”
“Oh, but I just did,” Twilight said, booping her sister again, causing Lysithea to scrunch up her muzzle in reflex. “Twice.”
Lysithea narrowed her eyes, knowing well that this meant war. With no remorse, she booped her sister back, watching as Twilight crossed her eyes in response. Her satisfaction was short-lived as Twilight returned the boop, which in turn got her booped as well. This continued until, after booping each other more frequently, Twilight jumped on her sister, causing the two unicorn foals to roll across the bed and onto the floor.
No longer did the fight with boops, but instead flailed their hooves at each other. Despite having been the one initially knocked to the ground, Lysithea managed to turn the tides pin her sister instead. With the same sly smile her sister had on her earlier, Lysithea reached her hooves to Twilight’s belly and tickled her sister. Twilight kicked and kicked, the tickles causing her to laugh uncontrollably.
“I concede! I concede!” Twilight finally said after much tickling, and Lysithea stopped. Another satisfying victory. “Seriously though, why were you hogging them this morning?”
“Twi, you mean to tell me you didn’t notice,” Lysithea said, her horn giving a light violet hue as she tried to grasp the blankets in her magic. After much failure, she resorted to throwing them on her sisters face with her hooves instead.
Despite the fact that her voice was muffled, Twilight’s next two words rang through the entire Sparkle household.
“Shining!”
With those words, Twilight bursted out of the covers and ran out of their bedroom, leaving Lysithea to stifle a giggle. Some eight to nine years ago, she would have never thought she would be doing this. Eight to nine years ago, she believed that her duel crests would be the absolute end to her life.
That was before she had been reborn in a land full of colorful horses.
She looked at her hooves, covered in the same pink fur that it had been for the past eight years of her new life. She remembered how confused she was the first time she opened her eyes, and how strange it felt to have all her memories as a newborn foal. Why whatever divine being let her keep those, she would probably never know. Yet, she remembered all of it, from those torturous days of being a blood experiment for those who slither in the dark to joining the Golden Deer at Garreg Mach Academy. All of it was there…
… Even how none of her classmates had ever managed to find a way to cure her shortened life. The crest she had gained from the blood experiments couldn’t be removed, and even now was still in her blood. She could feel them both, the Crest of Charon, her family crest, and the Crest of Glousester, in her blood still. She still had no pigment in her mane or tail, both being as white as they had been for most of her life. All the doctors knew was that they were enhancing her magic in strange ways and that, for some strange reason, they no longer harmed her lifespan.
She had no idea why they no longer were of any harm to her, but she decided not to think about that. In the end, she didn’t need to think about rushing everything now, and that meant she could have something she was never truly able to have in Fodlan: a childhood, or foalhood as they called it here in Equestria.
These past eight years had to be the best years of her life for that reason alone. She no longer had to worry about her life ending too soon. She could play, laugh, and enjoy all the sweets she wanted while taking the time to enjoy life. Even if she was now a talking magical horse, that wouldn’t stop her from having the best time in her life.
Getting up and walking to the door, leading out of the room Twilight shared with her, she was also reminded of how strange it was to have siblings now. The fact she and Twilight were twins didn’t really mean much, but having been the only daughter of house Ordelia, she had never gotten to have the joy of living with a sister or brother. Now, she had both, one of which was no doubt been rudely interrupted by Twilight levitating her.
Looking to the door knob, Lysithea did the best she could to grasp it with her new unicorn magic. She remembered what both Twilight and herself learned during magic kindergarten, urging for her magic violet glow to grasp much like a human would a hand. Her magic, however, refused to obey her, the violet glowi refusing to surround the knob. Such was the story of Lysithea’s luck.
Lysithea von Ordelia, whose name had been feared by soldiers on the battlefield her magic’s strength, couldn’t even do a simple unicorn spell right.
With a sigh, she instead resorted to the means pegasi and earth ponies used: turning it with her mouth. Part of her couldn’t help but scream at the unsanitary nature of such an action, but after four years of it she had learned to deal with it. She made her way to the dining room where her father, Night Light, was currently finishing up breakfast.
“Morning dad,” She called to him, hopping up in an attempt to see what he was making. Just like in Fodlan, however, her small stature left her having to ask. “What are you making?”
“Twilight’s favorite,” He replied, looking down at Lysithea. “You ready for another day of school Valentine?”
“Dad, I told you I don’t like my name,” Lysithea complained, her ears folded.
“And as your mother and I have said, you can change it when you get your cutie mark,” Night Light replied. “Now, go get ready and I’ll call when breakfast is ready.”
Lysithea sighed as she walked out of the room, unable to count how many times she has had that conversation with her new mom and dad. Valentine Velvet, that was the name they had given her at birth, and she hated it. Part of it was simply the idea of not having the same name she had originally been born with, and the one that Twilight was nice enough to call her by. That and Valentine Velvet sound so childish, and Lysithea still hated being treated like she didn’t know anything.
She was, after all, still a prodigy in Equestria. Her magic, despite how potent she had been told it was, might have held her back a bit, but she was still easily one of the most knowledgeable foals at school. While certain things did prove slightly frustrating, having to constantly remind herself of how different technology and culture was from here to Fodlan, it didn’t stop her from acing nearly every test that came her way.
Twilight, in that regard, was actually identical, just with magic as compared to everything else. That wasn’t to say that Twilight had a hard time with other subjects, as she was still easily passing all her classes, but the title Lysithea had once held in Fodlan now more fittingly seemed to belong to her sister. Twilight Sparkle, eight years old, and already a magical prodigy in every sense of the word.
Thus many had referred to them as the “Twin Prodigies”.
-- --
The rest of the morning passed without much worth noting. Her mom, Twilight Velvet, had to leave for work early as usual, and thus breakfast was between Lysithea, her sister, her brother Shining Armor, and her father. After that, she and Twilight headed to school, which Lysithea had learned was actually a lot more rigorous at younger levels than during middle or high school. Their father, as usual, walked with them both for a good portion of the way, but was distracted by a colleague from his work.
Lysithea had stayed with her father, having been paying more attention to him than Twilight had. It wasn’t long, however, until she noticed that Twilight wasn’t with them anymore. Lysithea held in the urge to panic, looking to see that her father was still distracted before wandering down the street. She knew exactly why her sister had wandered off, and should have known better.
A ways down the street, Lysithea finally found a clue as to where Twilight was, but not Twilight herself. It was a book, a textbook at that, which was only something Twilight would ever willingly read for fun. Seeing it without her sister put a lump in her throat, and she scanned around her for any sign of Twilight.
Then she heard a scream for the nearby alley.
Without thinking, Lysithea turned towards the alley and galloped towards the origin of the scream. She didn’t know why, but she was certain it belonged to Twilight, and she was currently in danger. After following the narrow walls for some way, she looked to see Twilight running towards her, a bad bruise on her face. Without even waiting, Twilight jumped to her sister and gripped her in a big hug.
“Twilight, are you okay?” Lysithea asked.
“Lysithea, we have to get out of here. Th-they tried to kill me,” Twilight replied, her words slurred from crying.
Those few words were enough to make Lysithea scared. “Who did? Who tried to hurt you?”
“There she is!” Lysithea looked in the direction of the voice, finding three full grown, rather angry looking stallions standing in front of them. Two had knifes, the other looking at her with a look of dissatisfaction. “Look at the boys, both of them in the same place. The boss will be rather pleased.”
“What did you do to my sister?” Lysithea asked, doing her best to sound threatening. The stallions just laughed at her.
“Aw, look at the little foal trying to be all tough,” Said one of the stallions weilding a knife. “Look, kid, come with us and we promise not to hurt you. The kid just fell on her face is all.”
“You’re lying!” Twilight shouted. “You tried to kill me! You said someone wanted me dead and then tried to kill me.”
“Ah, your sis is just over reacting. We’re not bad ponies,” The lead stallion replied, giving Twilight a look that caused the filly to close her eyes in fear. “Now, how about you both come with us, or we’ll make this even more difficult!”
Lysithea, knowing that the stallions meant nothing but trouble motioned for Twilight to get behind her. She didn’t know exactly what she would do, but she had to protect her sister. The Stallions, in turn, laughed at her.
“What are you gonna do kid, hug us to death?” The lead stallion said.
“I am not a kid!” Lysithea shouted. “My name is Lysithea von Ordelia, and you will not harm my sister!”
Lysithea started to however off the ground slightly, her vision so focused on the stallions that she was unaware of what she was actually doing. Twilight, on the other hoof, could see exactly what was happening, looking to the sky in awe as several rather nasty looking spikes appeared out of thin air. The spikes, in turn, had cast a shadow over the three stallions, leading everyone's attention away from Lysithea, who was now glowing, and to the sky.
With a battlecry, Lysithea let loose the spikes, their sudden drop sending the stallions fleeing for their lives. They barely managed to get away, not caring to go back in fear of the little foal that they had greatly underestimated. With her anger fading, Lysithea was lowered back to the ground, the glow from her body fading away. Her worry for Twilight was overridden as she realized what she had just done.
That… that was Dark Spikes! She thought to herself. I did it! I finally cast something!
“T-t-t-thea?”
Lysithea turned around, finding Twilight staring at her, or her flank to be more correct. Curious, as well as slightly uncomfortable, as to what her sister was looking at, she turned her attention to her flank. What she in turn caused her sister to cheer for her in joy, but left her stomach suddenly sick.
She had her cutie mark, which would have been good, if it wasn’t that of her two crests.
The rest of the day refused to be any more normal for Lysithea, though part of that was due to her sisters constant staring. While staring at ponies flanks was a normal thing in equestrian society, Lysithea still felt uncomfortable about it. Twilight refused to leave her side, not speaking unless she asked, in which her sister responded by either saying she was fine or that she simply wanted to be next to her. Lysithea let it slide, knowing exactly who it was that was responsible for this behavior, and hoping it wouldn’t have a horrible reaction upon her future.
Either way, those stallions would fear her wrath the next time they meet.
One thing that hadn’t changed, much to Lysithea’s displeasure, was her magic. She wasn’t exactly ready to test what dark or faith magic could do, on account of still having to go to school after everything that happened. She couldn’t even imagine the amount of panic that would ensue if she used dark spikes in class. Even without that, it had done nothing to fix her ability to use equestrian magic, though she had no idea why. So instead, she took the piece of cake that she had sneaked into her bag and ate a piece of it.
It wasn’t like she had to listen, considering that all of the stuff in this class she already knew. Math was no different in Equestria than it was in Fodlan, or at least in the lower grades. Even if both she and Twilight skipped a grade, it made absolutely no difference. English had been a bit harder, not because of the language (it was the exact same as Fodlan apparently) but because writing with a muzzle was not exactly easy. It had been one of the more shocking changes from Fodlan however, as writing was taught to both nobility and common folk. That wasn’t even getting onto how shocking some of the other class she had learned.
Though she did learn that she had a talent for an instrument called the flute.
All of it made her wonder if Hilda and Lorenz had that school of theirs up and running now. She remembered how much Lorenz had talked it up anytime he had visited her during the time. He would go on about how it would be the pride of his house, fixing the damage that was caused when his father ran at the first sight of Nemesis. It was rather annoying to listen to time after time, but she could appreciate his focus. If she was healthy enough, she would have no doubt visited it while it was still under construction.
Lysithea’s ear flicked as she heard a collective gasp surround the room. She looked to her sister in hopes of asking what she had missed, but her sister was staring slack jawed at something behind them. Her curiosity thoroughly peaked, Lysithea turned around and felt her heart skip a beat.
“I’m sorry for interrupting, Ms. Theorem,” Princess Celestia said from right outside the door. “Would you mind if I borrowed Valentine Velvet for a few minutes?”
“O-o-oh! Of course your majesty,” The teacher, one Standard Theorem, replied. She turned to Lysithea, who read the nervousness on her teacher’s face like a book. “Go on Valentine.”
“It's… never mind,” Lysithea said, sighing. Now was not the time to be complaining about her name.
As Lysithea got up from her seat, she didn’t notice how afraid Twilight suddenly felt. The foal looked around the room, noticing the amount of eyes on her, certain faces giving off mischief.
She was alone, and that no longer made her feel safe.
-- --
“Walk with me.”
Those were the only words that Celestia had told Lysithea when they left the classroom. She had heard many things about the princess, many of them contradicting each other. Some said she was all-powerful, like a goddess in physical form, able to smite anyone who tried to oppose her. Some others called her one of the kindest rulers any kingdom could wish for, though Lysithea simply classified those ponies as patriots. Whatever ponies classified her as, it didn’t help but make part of Lysithea shake at the sight of a pony so tall.
Celestia led the filly to the school steps just outside the building, looking out on the busy Canterlot streets. The princess sat, and motioned for Lysithea to take a seat next to her. The filly did as directed, though she took the top step so the alicorn didn’t look any bigger. She knew that it was unlikely she would ever end up that big, but even being slightly more on level with the princess made her feel better.
“Valentine Velvet, my apologies for taking you away from class,” Celestia told the filly.
“Oh, it’s fine, your majesty, but I would prefer you not call me Valentine,” Lysithea explained. “I’d prefer Lysithea your majesty. Now that I have my cutie mark I plan on actually changing it back.”
“Oh, I see,” Celestia replied, growing curious as she caught the filly’s word choice. “Quiet an interesting name foreign no doubt, but would you mind telling me what you mean by ‘changing it back’?”
Lysithea hesitated at first, but knowing that all of this was probably linked to what she did earlier today, decided to let a little bit of her origins slip. She told the princess that she had been reborn, that her life had been cut short due to horrible individuals, and that Lysithea was her name in her world. Other than that, however, she remained silent. She didn’t bring up the flame lord, or Garreg Mach, or the Professor, or the five year war that ended in the death of the King of Liberation. It wasn’t important right now.
“That is… quite a lot to take in, my little pony,” Celestia replied. The words worried Lysithea, making her think she was going crazy. “However, after what happened today I, I’ll believe it.”
In the street below, the sound of a record scratching could be heard, followed by Lysithea’s brain stopping.
“Wait wait wait, you believe me?” Lysithea replied. She got a nod. “How? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy you believe me, but how? Doesn’t everything I say sound crazy.”
Celestia merely laughed at the filly’s reaction. “Lysithea, when you’ve lived for over a thousand years, your beliefs on what is and isn’t possible are a bit different. Trust me when I say that I have every reason to believe you.”
Lysithea let her jaw hang open as she heard those words.
“My pony, you seem rather… confused at that,” Princess Celestia replied, raising an eyebrow. “Is the notion that I believe you really so confusing… Ms. Lysithea?”
She waved a hoof in front of the filly, but it didn’t grab the foal’s eyes. Celestia then used her hoof to close the jaw. It fell back open as soon as she removed it from underneath. With a sigh, she realized that her answer might have broken the poor filly a bit. Remember what she had once seen a sibling due to their brother in one of these instances, she decided to do the most dangerous option known to all pony kinds.
She booped the filly.
“Eep!” Lysithea’s mind seemed to start back up again at the mere touch. Seeing that the princess was giggling at her, she groaned. “Ugh, can you not do that. I know I may look like it but I’m not a filly.”
“My apologies, Lysithea,” Celestia said, a few stray giggles managing to slip through her words. “Though you may be a filly in body, I’ll treat you for the adult you are.” The filly smiled at that. “Anyways, that’s not why I came here today. Before I get to the main point, however, I would like to say that your father told us what happened this morning. You were very brave standing against such dangerous ponies,” Lysithea felt a witty remark coming along in her head, but kept it down. “That said, even from the castle I could see the strange magic that you had used. Pardon me for asking, but is that possibly magic from your homeland?”
“Oh, yes!” Lysithea explained. “It’s a spell called Death Spikes. It was developed as a means to disable cavalry back home, as unlike here ponies aren’t a sapient species and are mainly used for riding on,” Celestia listened closely as the filly explained it to her, feeling a slight shiver at the idea of some creature use her as a mount. “It was a favorite spell and, well, guess I somehow managed to make it work, which is strange.”
“Because you had not expected to have the ability to use your own magic?” Celestia asked.
“Kinda, but I’ve also had trouble using magic in general,” Lysithea explained. “Death Spikes was the first spell I’ve been able to use here, but equestrian magic such as levitation seems like it just doesn’t want to work for me.”
“That's strange,” Celestia replied. One of her hooves tapped the ground below her as she thought on this. “As far as studies show, all magic has the same sort of signatures that allow unicorns to move the air around them. However, and this is merely a theory, if the signatures trying to contact the magic were different from that of a unicorn, it would be ineffective. Like an earth pony trying to walk on a cloud.”
“That could possibly be the case,” Lysithea thought of what she had just been told by Celestia. “So the reason I can’t use unicorn magic is because my horn is given off signals for reason and faith magic.”
“Again, it is only a theory. We have not had a case like you for as long as I can remember,” Celestia responded. “I’ll be blunt, your entire situation is an anomaly the likes of which I’ve never seen before, and you see a lot of anomalies in a thousand years. That said, while I know of some scientists that can help you, I doubt that you would want to be the subject of experimentation after your previous experiences.”
Lysithea’s ears folded back, nodding as she did her best to forget those sights. Those who slithered in the dark, those affiliated with them, and the constant torture she endured from them. Even though all those had happened someplace completely different, the idea of being a test subject felt uneasy to her. With a shake of her head, she did her best to push the screams of her siblings to the back of her mind, and focus on what was currently ahead of her.
“That said, I wouldn’t need to experiment,” Celestia told the filly with a smile.
The words caught Lysithea off guard. “Wait, what do you mean?”
“While I’m no scientist, I know a lot about magic,” Celestia explained. “If you would like, I could offer you a private tutelage to help you learn equestrian magic. It would also give me a chance to learn about this reason magic and maybe, just maybe, figure out a way to join both magics together.”
“If we can do that, then perhaps we can fool one kind of magic signature into thinking it is another!” Lysithea exclaimed, earning a nod from the princess. “It’s a deal, your highness!”
“I’ll inform your parents then,” Celestia said. “Though I do know that this won’t be getting you out of school. Even if you are an adult with a filly’s body, you will no doubt find that much is different about our worlds.”
“Don’t worry princess,” Lysithea replied with a smile. “Unlike some ponies, I like school.”
--------
After talking for another few minutes, Celestia and Lysithea walked back into the school and to the classroom. Looking to a clock she passed, she counted down the seconds until she knew the bell would ring. When it did, they had not yet made it back to the classroom, foals starting to flood into the hallways from classrooms. Telling the princess that she would be fine finding her way to her next class, Lysithea waved goodbye to the princess and made her way to history.
“Thea!”
The all too familiar voice of her sister caught Lysithea off guard, allowing her twin to tackle her to the floor. After shortly rolling across the tile, the two came to a stop with Twilight being the one on top, clutching her sister like a blanket.
“Twilight! What are you-” Lysithea’s anger faded as she saw her sister ready to cry. “Sis?”
“Thea, please don’t leave me like that again,” Twilight told her. “Please. It’s scary without you around.”
Lysithea didn’t realize it at the time, but those few words were the start of her sister’s slight change in destiny.
Two years passed, and things for Lysithea went rather smoothly. Her parents had been beside themselves with joy at the fact that one of their daughters would be the princess’ pupil, Twilight pushing aside her slight jealousy to join in the celebration. Even Shining Armor, whose relationship with Lysithea was rocky at best, came to congratulate her. It was, indeed, a moment to remember.
Yet, it was also the moment that Twilight had undergone a severe change in attitude. The filly for the first eight years of her life had been a ball of energy, outgoing and extremely talkative to those around her. Now, however, whenever Lysithea wasn’t home, she would shut herself away in their room. Only coming out whenever she had to, she would disappear completely unless Lysithea came back. Sometimes, depending on how long she ended up helping out Celestia, that could be days.
Days that, thank Sothis, were well spent. Celestia did fulfill her role as a tutor by filling in some of the things that Equestria’s school system didn’t teach, letting the less patriotic answers be told. She also spent time with the princess at day court, something that she had never seen even as the head of House Ordelia. The alliance’s political system was wildly different from Equestria’s, reminding her more of Adrestia or Faerghus than anything else.
Time went by and slowly Lysithea and Celestia unraveled the mysteries behind the unicorn’s surprising lack of magical ability. After only a year of hard work and dedication did they figure out a way to disguise Lysithea’s signatures as that of a normal unicorn in the form of an enchantment. Even then, however, even simple spells such as levitation seemed to be extremely weak compared to a normal unicorn.
The strange thing about it all was that reason magic actually had little to no interference for Celestia. While the princess had been a little apprehensive about using the magic after learning of it’s more common uses, once she had convinced herself of other uses for it she quickly got the hold. In fact, the princess had zero trouble being able to cast the spells herself, much to Lysithea’s surprise. It gave the two of them a question: why was it so much harder for a former human to use unicorn magic than for a pony to use reason magic?
The answer seemed like it would be simple to answer. It was not, mostly due to a combination of school, tutoring, and making sure her sister actually saw the sunlight from time to time, all taking time out of Lysithea’s schedule. That all led to today, a day that had left her nervous when her sister first announced it. A day that, if certain events hadn’t happened, would have made her confident in her sister’s ability.
“Wait, you mean you’ve been keeping this from me for how long?” Lysithea replied.
“S-sorry Thea. It wasn’t something I felt comfortable sharing is all,” Twilight responded, feeling a little hurt by her sister’s anger. “but can you believe it! I’m gonna take the test for Celestia’s school! I might be joining you there.”
“Please tell me that isn’t the only reason you are…” She sighed, realizing her sister would probably just avoid the question. “Never mind about that. Either way, are you really sure you’re going to be able to do this? We all know you don’t do well around strangers.”
“Well, you’ll be there, right?” Twilight asked, receiving a nod. “Then of course I’ll do well. I don’t need to worry about anyone hurting me with you around.”
Lysithea looked at Twilight in disappointment. “Why are you worried about someone hurting you, it’s just a simple test.”
“O-oh, did I say that?” Twilight replied. “I meant that I’m worried I would hurt myself. Yeah, that’s it.”
Lysithea didn’t push the subject any further, knowing that she wouldn’t get an answer. She didn’t need one specifically, of course. She knew where Twilight’s fear came from. It was those stallions, the ones that had tried to attack her sister. The ones that she had scared off. Lysithea thought about what to do for a moment.
“One sec Twilight,” Lysithea said, running out of their bedroom. She returned moments later with a piece of strawberry shortcake in her hooves.
Twilight eyed it. “Um… cake?”
“No, Twilight, it’s not just cake!” Lysithea said. “It’s the nectar of the gods! Able to provide strength and courage in your time of need, this wondrous sweet has gotten me through many tests in the past.”
Twilight’s eyes went wide. “You sneak food into class?!”
“Not. The. Point,” Lysithea replied, striking her sister on the head with the last word. “The point is that, while I’ll be there, this gift of kings and queens will keep your head level,” she cleared her throat. “Now then, gather your courage dear sister! If you wish to continue studying, then you must first defeat your fears in battle!”
Her sister didn’t respond, looking at her sister with a confused expression. Realizing she had just channeled an old memory of Claude, she cleared her throat again.
“Uh, ignore that. The cake thing still stands though.”
Twilight sighed. “Sis, I think you might be hanging out with Shining a little too much.”
“I said ignore it!”
--------
Twilight, though she didn’t really understand how it would help her, ate the cake as they traveled to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Lysithea had been accepted into the school earlier that year, though she hadn’t undergone the test that most ponies tend to. Celestia, as it had turned out, had actually sent some of the research they had done to the school to show her skill. The discovery of a completely new field of magic was all it took for them to want Lysithea, though it would have probably been enough just being the princess’ apprentice.
When they reached the school, an older unicorn was there to show the family to the exam room. Said room turned out to be at the opposite end of the building, though it looked no different than any other classroom. They waited outside, Twilight tapping the ground nervously, though Lysithea couldn’t tell if it was fear or anticipation that had gotten to her sister. When the door opened the judges, who Lysithea recognized as some of the teachers, led them inside.
“Twilight Sparkle, I would assume,” One of the teachers said, watching as the family came inside. “Ah, and Lysithea as well. I did not expect to see you here.”
“Well, why wouldn’t I come to cheer on my sister?” Lysithea replied.
“Ah, Twilight is your sister. Then I’m sure this shall go swimmingly if you two are anything alike,” A second teacher replied. “Either way, Ms. Sparkle, would you please come to the center of the room?”
Twilight gulped, looking to her sister. Lysithea looked at her with a confident smirk on her face, a silent ‘you can do it’ if she was correct. Standing tall and trying to look courageous, Twilight walked to the center of the room. That courage lasted for all of four seconds as she found herself standing alone, family to one side of the room, teachers standing in front of her, and a door to the other side that anypony could come through.
“Ms. Sparkle, you test is one that, for the magical resume your parents submitted, should be no problem,” The first teacher told her. He directed her attention to the door, where a pony carted in a large purple egg. “This is a dragon egg. All you need to do is prove to us you have the ability to hatch it magically, but know that doesn’t actually mean you need to hatch it. Simply showing you have the knowledge and understanding to do so will be enough.”
Lysithea pondered what had been told to her as her sister stared at the egg. This was indeed a subject that had been gone over in class in some sense, but not greatly. Lysithea, though she wasn’t the one doing the test, thought about how she would end up going about it all. The method would be clear enough: use a specific set of spells to give the egg the sensation of that of one being incubated. Given how her unicorn magic was not as effective as that of a normal unicorn however, it might not have even been possible for her.
Her sister, however, should have been more than capable of doing just that. Yet as Lysithea watched her sister, she realized that the magic her sister was using wasn’t meant to keep the egg from dying. Twilight was actively trying to hatch the egg early, and in trying to do so was being extremely ineffective at it. Lysithea always knew her sister was an overachiever when it came to academics, but this seemed like it would actively hurt her chances more than anything.
By all means, if her sister couldn’t turn it around soon, she would likely fail.
That was before an earth shattering sound came from outside the building. Looking out the window, Lysithea’s jaw dropped as she saw a rainbow wave stretch through the sky. Her focus was so caught on it, that she didn’t watch Twilight, being just as panicked by the sound, focused a blast of magic onto the egg in front of her. The former human finally looked back as she saw a purple hue starting to cover the room, and looked behind her.
Her vision went out for a few seconds, leaving her unaware that she had momentarily turned into house plants. When she came back, she saw Princess Celestia in front of her sister, the former looking at the filly calmly. Twilight looked around the room, ignoring the fact that a baby dragon now sat in the middle of a now cracked egg. Before the princess could even get a word in Twilight shuffled back.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” She pleaded, body shivering. Feeling the entire room on her, she turned out the door and ran.
“Twilight, wait!” Lysithea said, but Twilight was already on the other side of the hallway.
Celestia walked up to the filly, concerned being the main expression on her face. “Lysithea, go to her.”
She didn’t need to be told twice.
--------
As Lysithea exited the school building, she looked to see Twilight crying on the steps. The filly was trying to say something, but it was all coming out as a jumbled mess of syllables and sounds. Taking a seat next to her sister, Lysithea tapped her shoulder.
“Twi?”
“The princess was there. Of course the princess was there,” Twilight said, her words just eligible enough for Lysithea. “Sh-she saw the entire thing, didn’t she. Probably thinks I can’t control it and thinks I’m a danger to everypony.”
“Twilight, what are you talking about?” Lysithea asked. “Princess Celestia is not that kind of pony. She cares for ponies, and I know she cares for you too,” That got Twilight’s attention, though she refused to look at her sister. “Everyday that I come into the castle she asks me about you. I think she’s concerned for you more than anything.”
“Y-y-you say that, but what I d-did just now…” Twilight didn’t finish that sentence, instead lunging at her sister and gripping her in a tight hug. “Thea, p-please tell me you’ll always be with me. Ever since those stallions you scared off the whole world have wanted me dead and you’re the only one I trust to be there,” She looked to the steps. “You were the only who was there.”
Lysithea sighed.
“I should have known that this all looped back to them,” She muttered. “What happened Twilight? What did those stallions do to you?”
“I-I-I can’t tell you,” Twilight replied. “Th-they said they would kill you all if I said anything. No, I probably just endangered you by saying that didn’t I? Oh sweet Celestia what have I done?”
Lysithea was at a loss for words at the way her sister was acting. Even after two years, she had never seen her sister crack so horribly. Her body was a torrent of different emotions. Worry, anger, fear, and discontent all flooded her mind like a raging tsunami. Most of all though, she remarked on how familiar this all was to her. A name came to mind, one that had once spoken in this same horrified voice daily back in Fodlan.
“Twilight, listen to me,” Lysithea said as her hooves grabbed her sister’s face, forcing Twilight to look at her. “Whatever those stallions told you, whatever they did to you, I won’t let them hurt you. No matter what, I’ll make sure you are safe. Understand?”
Twilight’s only response was a nod, followed by two weak words. “Thank you.”
Despite everything that had happened that day, there had been cause to celebrate. Unknown to Twilight at the time, she had managed to gain her cutie mark, which was a purple star surrounded by smaller white stars. While she didn’t find much cause to celebrate it, she was nonetheless congratulated by those around her. To her, though, it meant a lot of uncertainties, especially about what the cutie mark actually meant.
It also came with the great news that, despite one teacher trying to fail her for her behavior towards Celestial, she had passed the exam. All it had taken was a stern word from Celestia that trauma is not a reason to fail a pony for the teacher to change her mind. That did end up being something to celebrate, even if it only ended up being between the two sisters.
Time passed, and lots of things happened in that time. eight years after Twilight’s entrance exam, Lysithea officially moved out of her parents' home and into the castle. Twilight, of course, followed near days after her, finding the closest property to the castle so that her sister was never far away from her. The pony barely left her home, only leaving when absolutely necessary. Didn’t matter what it was, if it wasn’t on fire from the dragon that she had been left in charge, then it could wait.
Said dragon, who was given the name Spike, had been a rather unexpected addition to Lysithea’s life, especially when she learned Celestia was the one who had decided to give it to Twilight. According to the princess, the decision had been made due to two factors. The first was that Twilight was the one that hatched it and, whether the mare accepted it or not, was by all means Spike’s mom. The second and bigger reason, however, was in order to give Twilight some feeling of responsibility. She didn’t say it directly, but Lysithea knew that there was another reason: to make sure Twilight had somepony else she could come to trust.
Lysithea herself spent most of her free time doing all she could to enjoy Equestria. Even if she didn’t leave the city often, Canterlot itself offered more than its fair share of destinations she loved. The library was one of them, of course, as she could always be sure that Twilight might just sneak over there. However, easily her favorite place in the city was the bakeries, where she currently sat enjoying a lovely piece of cake.
She wasn’t alone, however, as an alicorn with a coat just as pink as she was currently sitting before her.
“Is the cake to your liking, your highness?” Lysithea asked one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadance as she preferred to be called.
“Lysithea, as your former foal sitter I would ask that you please stop calling me ‘your highness’,” Cadance replied. “Though there are a lot of ponies who should call me that, our relationship is far more than just ruler and citizen.”
“Oh, sorry,” Lysithea replies. “It’s just strange, you know? That pegasus that had been a foal sitter for me and Twilight when we were only six or seven is now a princess. Kinda weird how the world works sometimes.”
“Believe me, I’m well aware of how strange this all is,” Cadance replied. “I mean, apparently you play matchmaker enough and suddenly you not only have a talent in it, but you’re the princess of love,” The alicorn couldn’t stop herself from giggling. “I still remember how the noble houses were when they learned. Especially the Blueblood household.”
Lysithea had to roll her eyes as she listened to Cadance, not even bothering to remind the alicorn she had been there when it happened. She held in her laughter as she remembered the look on their faces, and how shocked they had been when Celestia introduced a commoner as her niece. It had been one of the most satisfying things she had ever seen, especially considering how the prince had treated her.
That was also the day that said niece somehow managed to wrestle Lysithea’s secret from her aunt’s mouth, which was much less satisfying.
“I swear, that entire family has the ego of four Ferdinands combined,” Lysithea replied. “Always talking about how incredible they are, how much better they are, and comparing themselves to the princess. At least Ferdinand seemed to get the message across.”
“Ferdinand, that is a name you haven’t mentioned to me before,” Cadance said, pondering what Lysithea had just told her. “Let me guess. You’ve already told me about everypony in your house so… the kingdom then?”
“Nope,” Lysithea answered, shaking her head. She took a bit of the cake in front of her before continuing. “Empire actually. Son of the prime minister. I’m… not entirely sure what he’s doing anymore.”
“Never stayed in contact with him after graduating?” Cadance asked.
Lysithea nodded, choosing not to mention Ferdinand’s death at her hands. She briefly found herself brought back to the battle on the bridge between alliance and empire territory, as she has still not told anyone of the war. She hated admitting that she had been here so long, the name had slipped out of her mind. It didn’t change the fact that she felt guilty for killing someone who had once been a member of her graduating class, but that was war. Nothing else she could do about.
“Actually, speaking of this old school of yours, Garreg Mach right?” Cadance once again questioned, getting another nod. “I mean, I had a high school crush, your brother had a high school crush, Twilight… is Twilight, but what about you. Did you have anypony you liked in Fodlan?”
“W-well, um, yes,” Lysithea replied. “Though I guess it doesn’t really count as a high school crush, since I didn’t fall in love with her until after graduating from the academy.”
“Oh really now?” Cadance gave the unicorn a smile that seemed almost menacing. “So you swing that way, that will be good to know,” Lysithea’s heart skipped a beat as she heard the princess say that. “Now, please Lysithea, tell me about this mare.”
“Uh, first of all, the proper term is women but um…” Lysithea did her best to conjure the courage, her face turned fiery red. “Sh-she was very kind and thoughtful. When I told her about my two crests she did her best to comfort me and would bring me sweets sometimes in her off time. She also had the sort of sixth sense that kept me protected at all times, like she knew when danger was going to strike.”
“Ah, so she was always there to protect you when it was needed,” Cadance chimed in, taking a sip of some tea before continuing. “It’s always nice to know somepony has your back. Sounds like a wonderful individual. What was her name?”
Lysithea waited for Cadance to start taking another sip before continuing. “Byleth. She was my homeroom teacher.”
The unicorn merely watched as Cadance nearly spat out the tea she had just sipped, keeling over onto her side. Lysithea did everything in her power to keep herself from watching, having long ago found out just how fun it was to mess with ponies. She could only imagine how shocked Claude would be if he saw her now, and how much he would fear her.
“Oh, and she is also basically a demi-god,” Lysithea said again, a gagging sound confirming for the pony that her words had reached the alicorn. “Yeah, apparently the arch-bishop did some things when she was born to keep her alive and implanted a goddess inside of her. I would have asked her out if she and Claude hadn’t started dating and well.”
“Lysi, please,” Cadance managed to say, coughing as some of the tea went down the wrong part of her throat. “Don’t do that to me. You almost had me believing you for a second their. I mean, that last part is so ridiculous it couldn’t possibly be true.”
“Ah… yeah,” Lysithea replied, realizing that she had actually almost given more information than she had desired. “I wasn’t kidding about the fact she had been my teacher though. Though my crush on her didn’t develop until after graduation. By then it was too late anyways.”
“R-right, of course,” Cadance said, shaking her head free of all the nonsense Lysithea had thrown at her and focusing on what she knew was facts. “So she likes mares, specifically those older than her. Someone who was kind and protective, though I don’t know why Lysi would care for protection given her magic. Lastly, she is incredibly cute when flustered,” She giggled. “Not important for finding somepony for her, but adorable nonetheless.”
Cadance hadn’t been talking quietly to herself, allowing Lysithea to take in every word she said. In slight panic, the unicorn cast a teleportation spell. A spell that, due to her inhibited magic, only got her as far as the door. Rushing out before Cadance noticed she was gone, she got as far away as possible before confirming that the princess of love had not followed her. She let out a sigh.
“Don’t worry Lysi!” Cadance said, having somehow managed to teleport straight to her. All the unicorn could let out was a yelp before being dragged into a hug. “With my help, I shall no doubt find somepony like you describe. With my help, you shall find somepony to spend the rest of your life with. I give you this promise as not just your friend, but the princess of love!”
“C-Cadance,” Lysithea replied, trying and failing to pull out of her former foal sitters hug. “Don’t you have more important things to do?”
Cadance thought for merely a moment before responding with the simplest of words.
Lysithea sat in the corner of the grand Canterlot library, humming a tune that Celestia had taught her some time ago absent minded. It was a rather simple one, but catchy, and she managed to get stuck in her head on almost a daily basis. She flipped the page of the book she was reading, one that her sister had shown to her some time ago. Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone it was called, not the kind of book she usually read, but it intrigued her.
Fodlan had it’s one large array of fictional or fantastical stories, though many of them focused on the same thing. Accounts of soldiers in war, political intrigue, or legends based on the many tales and teachings of the Church of Serios. Not many choose to indulge themselves in stories about ancient cities and daring adventurers, at least when they didn’t cross with the aforementioned subjects. Equestria, however, was full of new and intriguing reading material, and A.K. Yearling was just one of the authors she had come to love. It wasn’t the main one, however.
She closed the book as she finished the chapter and looked to a book she had placed to her left. On its cover was a strange red and white circular pattern, off center with most of the white circles being not completely finished on one side. The tiniest circle wasn’t a circle at all, but the silhouette of a pony. The title of the book: On a Griffon’s Front Door by Solitaire Patience, a thriller focusing on an equestrian spy. It was a long running series she had found out about two years ago, and had instantly gotten herself hooked.
As she reached for the book, however, she heard the sound of a falling book, or books she corrected in her head. She heard the librarian sigh, the clip clop of her hooves only adding evidence to what Lysithea already knew. After first levitating each book into her saddlebags one at a time, she trotted around the corner and found herself doing everything in her power to keep herself from laughing.
Before her stood a fallen shelf, book’s cluttered on the ground under it. Under those books, she could spot two purple hooves, which disappeared as soon as she touched them. Hearing footsteps approaching, Lysithea turned to see a young purple dragon, her nephew (as weird as it was) Spike walking up to her. He stared at the fallen book case, and she did the same.
“I should have known. I should have known they would try to end me like this,” Came the pony underneath the bookcase. “Please, whoever you are, I forgive you! Whatever I did, I didn’t mean it. Whatever you want, just take me! Just… just please don’t kill me!” As she got louder, the pony around her shushed louder too. Taking the sound as her coming demise, she squeaked. “Please?”
“Mom, you dropped the bookcase on yourself again, didn’t you,” Spike said, bending down to remove the pile of books she was using to hide. After some time, he managed to uncover enough to see the pony who he saw as his mother cowering. “Nopony is going to hurt you.”
“That’s exactly what they would make you say,” Twilight replied, earning an eye roll from both her son and sister. She looked over and saw Lysithea’s hooves, though was so panicked she didn’t put two and two together. “Whoever you are, stop using my son to do your dirty work. Finish me, I dare you! Kill me and feel my sisters wrath.”
“You mean this sister?” Lysithea replied, kneeling down so her own sister could see her face.
The smile that Twilight got on her face at seeing her sister could almost be classified as terrifying. “Th-th-th-thea!”
Lysithea waved to Twilight in response as a rather unamused librarian came from the other side of the library and simultaneously picked up both the cases and the books inside of it at the same time with her magic. As soon as the timid unicorn was freed, Twilight charged towards Lysithea like a blur, wrapping her sister in a hug. The sudden force against Lysithea was enough to send her tumbling backwards.
“Oh thank Celestia, I’m so glad you’re here,” Twilight replied. “I mean, I knew you were probably here but I wasn’t sure so I came to see and make sure you were here. Th-that’s not important though. I mean it is import-”
“Twi, calm down,” Lysithea said. “You’re not going to get anywhere talking like that.”
“R-right, got… gotta calm down,” Twilight repeated to herself. She took a few deep breaths in and out, but it did nothing. “No, this isn’t the time for calm! Lysithea, I need you to go to Princess Celestia and-”
“Ahem.”
Twilight and Lysithea turned to see the librarian staring at them. Frightened by the lack of fucks the librarian’s expression gave off, Twilight hid behind her sister. The librarian sighed, and pointed to Lysithea. Said unicorn’s ears flattened as she awaited the librarian’s wrath, but all they did was point to the door. Completely forgetting that she had books she hadn’t checked out in her saddlebags, Lysithea dragged a terrified Twilight to the door.
“It amazes me she hasn’t banned us from coming in,” Lysithea said as they exited the library. “You know, considering the amount of times we’ve been thrown out like this.”
Spike looked back for a second, seeing that the librarian was watching to make sure they left. “Aunt Lysithea, I’m pretty sure we just were.”
--------
After a long walk that involved both Spike and Lysithea practically dragging Twilight throughout Canterlot, they reached Twilight’s home. Said home was practically a library in it’s own right, considering that shut in who owned it pretty much just did that as her main activity. Even Twilight’s bed was in the room, sitting near one of the bookshelves and standing out like earth pony in Cloudsdale.
Twilight let out a sigh as she entered her home, the one place that she felt safe. That calmness was immediately followed up by the unicorn bolting to the nearby coach and stuffing her head under the pillow. Lysithea looked to Spike, her expression and silence being all the dragon needed to know about what she was asking. He pointed to a room at the far side of the living room, which Lysithea realized was most likely his room.
“Point taken,” Lysithea remarked before walking over to her sister. “Hey sis, is everything okay?”
“Do I look like I’m okay?” Twilight replied, giving her sister a look of pure fear. “I thought that was the end until you showed up. I thought I was gonna die under there,” She let out a gasp. “Of course it would be the librarian. Only someone like that would use my own love of books against me.”
“Sis, how many times do I have to tell you that the librarian does not want you dead?” Lysithea asked.
“But she does!” Twilight shouted, grabbing her sister’s face and squishing it slightly. “You saw her face. You saw her eyes. Pure. Evil.”
Lysithea sighed. “So… were you looking for me or-”
“Oh, right!” Twilight said, before teleporting off the coach and over to one of one of the bookcases. When one didn’t have what she was looking for she would immediately teleport to another one. “Starwhirl, Elements of Harmony, Sombra, no, no, something else useless. Jeez why do I have all of these books,” Finally she pulled a book out. “Ah, here we go.”
Teleporting back over to her sister, she plopped the book on the ground before them. Lysithea looked down, seeing a book with a golden horse head embedded into it. The side of it also had gold in the shape of bindings, which kept the leather cover together. Before Lysithea could ask about the book, Twilight opened it and started flipping through pages. Her eyes scanned them with such speed that they looked like they were simply twitching.
“Ah, here we go,” Twilight said. “It’s a book of legends and myths from throughout Equestia’s history. I was reading it earlier today under my covers when I came across a specific myth that caught my attention and… well,” A shiver went through the unicorn’s body, which started to make her tremble. “I think it might be real.”
Lysithea didn’t completely buy it, but decided to take a look at what her sister had put in front of her. The particular myth talked about two alicorns from some thousand years ago, one of which she quickly recognized as Celestia. The other, however, was new to her. Hearing some pony force a cough from behind her, she looked to see Spike watching them both with interest. Lysithea took the vague hint to mean that Spike had not been told about any of it.
“Want me to read it aloud?” Lysithea asked the dragon, getting a nod. She turned back to the book. “Ahem. Long ago, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. The eldest of the sisters did this by using her magic to raise the sun, while her younger sister did the same with the moon,” Lysithea stopped. “Raising the sun... Celestia right?”
“Keep going,” Twilight pleaded.
With an eye roll, Lysithea continued. “However, in time, the younger sister grew jealous of the elder one. Though ponies played during the daylight hours, they slept through the marvelous night she had made. In time that jealousy consumed her, and one day she refused to lower the moon. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the younger sister was far beyond reason at that point. That bitterness and jealousy then, in front of her own sister’s eyes, turned her into…”
Lysithea stopped reading, looking to Twilight with a look of disappointment.
“What?” Twilight asked.
“Nightmare Moon,” Lysithea replied. “Twilight, I understand that you get nervous about prettymuch everything, but really? Nightmare Moon? You’re worried about some holiday mascot?”
“If you continued reading… actually, give me that,” Twilight said, using her magic to yank the book away from her sister and towards her. “Listen to this: ‘on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and Nightmare Moon will bring everlasting night once more!’ Longest year of the thousandth year, that’s tomorrow!”
“Twi, isn’t it you who said that this was a book of… what was it again?” Lysithea asked rhetorically. “Oh, right, myths and legends! Nightmare Moon is just that, a legend meant to scare little fillies and colts.”
“Says the one who locks herself in her room in the castle every Nightmare Night,” Spike replied, who had grabbed a comic book at some point in all this.
“T-that is for a very different reason!” Lysithea said, giving Spike a glare. He was too absorbed in his book to see it. “Either way, Nightmare Moon is just like a ghost. They don’t exist and it’s silly to believe otherwise.”
“How do you know? Hell, how does anypony know?!” Twilight responded, shaking her sister to the point where she nearly collapsed the moment Twilight let go. “Tomorrow is the Summer Sun Celebration, the longest day of the thousandth year. Whether it is real or not, tomorrow could be the day Nightmare Moon returns. You have to warn the princess!”
“Alright, alright, but I’m not going into the castle to do so,” Lysithea replied, shivering as she remembered Cadance constantly stalking her. That was not counting the fact that, if her sister, was wrong, she would look stupid in front of the princess of Equestria. “Spike, you remember how to do that letter thing Twilight taught you. The one she uses to send me letters.”
Spike sighed, putting a single claw up as he put his comic down and ran to a nearby drawer. After some searching he came back with a quill, an inkwell, and a piece of parchment in his claws. He put the inkwell down, dipped the quill in it, and then looked to Lysithea in hesitation. Lysithea calmed herself, gave her brain a few moments to let the words come to her head, and spoke.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” Lysithea started. “Forgive me for the sudden message, but this is Lysithea. My dear sister, Twilight, has informed me that one Nightmare Moon might return tomorrow,” She waited for Spike to finish before continuing. “While I personally don’t put much stock in her existence, I felt that it was still worth informing you. If she does exist, I would suggest caution during tomorrow’s ceremony. You student, Lysithea Velvet.”
With the letter itself finished, Lysithea quickly checked the letter. She pointed out and helped Spike correct any punctuation or grammatical errors he had made before okaying him to send it. With a puff of dragon fire, the letter was engulfed in a green essence and slipped out the door. Twilight put her hooves together, silently praying that the princess believed her. A good ten to fifteen minutes later, Spike burped out a letter.
“Huh, didn’t think she would send it to me like this, or that quickly,” Lysithea said. “Thanks Spike, and I got to ask, does it hurt?”
“I feel like I just had the wind knocked out of me,” Spike replied, sitting down in front of the coach.
“I’ll find a way to make it less painful,” Twilight replied, levitating and unfolding the letter. “Now… to hope she believes me. Please believe me.”
Twilight read the letter quietly to herself, but it wasn’t long before the letter was unceremoniously dropped to the floor. Lysithea looked at her sister, noticing that her face was once again frozen in fear. In hopes of bring her sister back to reality, Lysithea waved her hoof in front of her sister’s face. Nothing happened.
I appreciate your sister’s concern for my well being. It is always nice to know that my little ponies care so much for me, and it lessens what insecurities I tend to feel as a ruler. That said, please tell your sister that she must get her head out of old fairy tales. I am more familiar with that tale than anyone, and I can assure both you and her that, even if she does return, there is no reason to worry.
That said, I’ve actually been meaning to ask you a favor. It has come to my attention that neither you or your sister have that many you can call friends outside the city. So, I am sending both you and your sisters to Ponyville. While part of this is to make friends, as I just mentioned, I would also like you to check on certain things in preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow. The addresses are on the back of the letter.
Your teacher, Princess Celestia.
P.S. I hate to butt in on such personal things, considering I wasn’t present for the experience, but I know somepony in Ponyville who could help your sister. I know you wish to help her yourself, but there is only so much a normal pony can do before needing others.
“She didn’t believe me. She didn’t believe me. Why didn’t she believe me?” Twilight asked herself as she, her sister, and Spike traveled by chariot to the small town known as Ponyville. “It all made sense. The date, the circumstances, everything lines up to say that Nightmare Moon is supposed to return. So why doesn’t she believe me?”
Lysithea did her best to tune her sister’s words, not because she didn’t want to hear them, but because this hadn’t been the first time her sister had talked in such a manner. In truth, it had happened more and more frequently as the years went on, causing the mare to grow obsessive over certain topics to the point where she wouldn’t talk about anything else. It was like being with Raphael all over again, though at least with him the obsession was always food or training.
Looking over the edge slightly, Lysithea peered down to the countryside below her. Compared to Canterlot, the countryside reminded her a lot of Fodlan. Large green fields made a majority of it, with farms dotting the landscape every now and then. Those fields were joined by forests, one in particular seeming to span for a large part of the journey. The only real change she could make out was that of the railroad. Sometimes she found it hard to believe that something like steam could be used to power a machine, but she was proven otherwise as a train passed below her.
“You know,” Lysithea said to herself. “Somehow, this feels more like home than Canterlot ever did.”
Her words seemed to bring Twilight out of her rant, drawing the timid unicorn to join her at the left edge of the chariot. It didn’t last long before Twilight let out a squeak, tumbling backwards..
“W-w-why are we so high up?” Twilight asked.
“Uh, because we are being taken there by Pegasus and… never mind,” Lysithea replied. “I got to ask Twi, you’ve been a lot more jumpy than usual, and that is saying a lot.”
“I-I guess it’s because I’ve been trying to get out more recently,” Twilight said. “I-It’s just, you’ve been saying to me for a while that I need to work past that experience and I was trying to do just that. It’s been successful, or at least I believe it is.”
“Successful in this case meaning trying to hide from nearly any pony that comes across her,” Spike replied. “It’s as if she is trying to get better and yet not at the same time.”
“Well who knows when somepony is going to come after me,” Twilight said, looking away as she continued to speak. “That and… I can still remember their faces. It’s like I see them on everypony I meet besides you, and every word they said is still there as well. Their threats, their terrifying promises...”
“So you’ve been trying to do this all on your own?” Lysithea asked. “Is this why you keep on refusing to see somepony about this? You want to do it on your own?”
“Well, if I only feel comfortable with you around, then I have to learn to start feeling comfortable without you around, right?” Twilight replied, trying to look as determined as possible. Her shaking form did nothing to help that. “It’s just, I want to be able to go to a store without thinking I’m going to die. I want to be able to visit you without making you worry. If I don’t do it on my own…”
“Thus why you came to look for me instead of sending a message,” Lysithea whispered to herself. “Twilight, I understand that you want to deal with this all on your own, but please listen to me for a moment. While I do admire you trying to do it by yourself, you shouldn't feel bad relying on others. I’m your sister, let me help.”
Twilight didn’t reply with words, giving a shake of her head instead.
“We don’t have time to focus on this,” She said. “Celestia may not believe me now, but I have to make sure she does. We don’t have time to make friends or do anything like that. Nightmare Moon is real, and she is coming back, I’m sure of it, and that means that we focus on her after we finish checking on the celebration.”
--------
At some point during the ride Lysithea had given up completely on getting Twilight to listen to her. The mare had returned to theorizing how she should explain to the princess how Nightmare Moon was real. She couldn’t help but wonder how her sister ever expected anypony to believe her in the first place, considering how paranoid she was about nearly everything. It made her wonder how her sister had never decided to leave the city altogether, though she quickly reminded herself that she was the reason Twilight stayed.
As the chariot got lower to the ground, Lysithea found herself sighing in relief. Though the trip had been rather enjoyable outside of her sister’s ramblings, it hadn’t been fun to constantly have to move her mane out of the way. That was even getting to the wind, but that was to be expected. Either way, she found herself feeling joy when they touched solid ground in the middle of town.
Lysithea guided Twilight out of their ride, the latter lowering her head and eyeing the passersby that had watched them land. When the chariot took back off, the stares left, but the unease the unicorn felt didn’t. She took a few deep breaths in and out, telling herself to not cause another incident like what had happened at the library. Grabbing the princess’ letter from her sister, she gave it one look over.
“So, what do we need to check out,” Spike asked. “Don’t know about you guys, but I never had anything to eat before the ride.”
“Well, um,” Twilight checked around to make sure nopony but Spike and her sister were listening. “We have food to check up on, which is being handled by Sweet Apple Acres. Decorations are by Rarity. There is a weather team being led by the Dash twins, wasn’t really specific there, and music will be by one Fluttershy Breeze.”
“Well, might as well go from top to bottom, right?” Lysithea replied, turning around only to have her eyes covered in pink. She let out a small yelp in surprise, which in turn sent her sister. Backing up a little bit, the pink that she had seen ended up belonging to the face of a pony “Uh.”
“New… faces…” The pink pony said, first staring in awe at the two of them. The quickly turned into one of the longest and loudest gasps that Lysithea had ever heard. “Ohmygosh. New ponies!”
With that, the pink pony was off like a rocket, speeding down the street and accidentally taking out a poor stallion’s marefriend in the process. Lysithea watched, baffled by everything she had seen and yet somehow not surprised by any of it. She had seen a particular unicorn rush off like that before, though the reasons seemed to be very different. This one seemed more out of excitement than fear.
“Uh, mom?” Spike said, causing Lysithea to turn and see that her sister had decided to hide in a nearby fountain. “She’s gone.”
“A-a-are you sure?” Twilight replied, sticking her head back out. She shook herself out, taking another deep breath in and out as she climbed out. “S-s-sorry Thea. She just came out of nowhere and–”
Lysithea sighed. “It’s fine. Perhaps we should start outside of town before working our way in. Work you up to interacting with a smaller group of ponies, like a family that owns a farm for instance.”
“Aunt Lysithea, are you sure that is a good idea?” Spike asked. “I don’t know much about what is outside of Canterlot, but isn’t Sweet Apple Acres the largest supplier of apples in Equestria.”
Lysithea rolled her eyes at the dragon. “Doesn’t mean that it’s a big family. Probably the size of ours if anything,” She turned down the road and motioned for her sister and Spike to follow her. “It’s a farm, how bad can they really be?”
Twilight and Spike looked at each other, both gulping as they heard Lysithea say a phrase that was known to cause much chaos throughout Equestria. Nevertheless, in order to not get left behind, they followed.
The way to Sweet Apple Acres proved to be rather uneventful, which for Lysithea was a large sigh of relief. While they did get a few glances from ponies, most of which caused Twilight to take to either one side of her sister or the other, they encountered no one like the pink mare they had seen earlier that day. As the buildings led away into a small path south of west of town, Lysithea watched as Twilight seemed to grow more at ease.
With the buildings gone, Lysithea found herself surrounded by more trees than she had ever seen inside of Canterlot. It wasn’t that much of a surprise, but it was a nice change of pace from the environment she had been around for the majority of her life here in Equestria. In fact, it almost reminded her of home a little, and she had to keep herself from tearing up at the thought of that. It would be more than a little embarrassing to say the least, especially when said sister didn’t know anything about her being from Fodlan.
As they went on, they came across a bit of a clearing in the trees, and were greeted by a large red barn not far in the distance. Between the barn and themselves was an apple orchard, which in turn was separated from the farm it no doubt belonged to by a fence. Lysithea had to keep herself from drooling as she looked at the fruits hanging from the trees. She may not have cared much for anything that wasn’t sweets, but this wasn’t like other fruits or vegetables. It was nature’s candy.
“I’ll have to get some before we head out,” She muttered to herself. “Twilight, you know who it is we are looking for exactly?”
“It said that, uh... one second,” Twilight replied, reopening the letter that Celestia had sent them. “Applejack, her name is Applejack. Apparently she is the one who is in charge.”
Lysithea nodded and looked out to the barn, only for her heart to skip a beat as she looked out at the barnyard in front of her. It seemed that Twilight had noticed it too, because she had stopped a good two feet behind her. In front of them, much to Lysithea’s shock, was a large gathering of earth ponies going around the place, doing one thing or another. This wasn’t a farm like she remembered from Fodlan.
“Uh… Lysithea?” Twilight replied. “I thought you said there wouldn’t be many ponies here.”
“That’s what I thought as well,” Lysithea replied. “Th-there has to be some sort of illusion or something. Perhaps a unicorn is somewhere nearby?”
“Yeah, like these farmers need to use illusion magic,” Spike replied, receiving a rather pissed off look from his aunt. “Probably just some family gathering. I hear it's normal for most other families.”
Lysithea sighed, giving the point to Spike. She scanned the ponies before her, trying to get a good look at who she might possibly think is Applejack. That was when she saw an orange mare maybe a year or two older than her yelling. No, yelling wasn’t the right word, directing was more like it. If Celestia wanted them to talk to somepony, it only seemed fit that it would be the one in charge, and as such this Applejack pony was likely the pony she had just found.
“Stay close, sis,” Lysithea replied. “I promise that nopony here will hurt you, but don’t try and just watch me for right now.”
Twilight nodded, and Lysithea took the lead. As the unicorns entered the farm, they looked around, taking in everything happening around them. Apples were being peeled, some carted in the barn, others were working on making pie crust. Twilight hugged her right side, keeping her eyes on the ground. Lysithea forced her head to look up as they reached the pony they believed they were looking for.
“Uh, hello there,” Lysithea called out, drawing the orange ponies attention. “Sorry for interrupting, this seems like a pretty bad time to–”
Lysithea was interrupted as the pony in front of her took her hoof and started to shake it. Just from the force used in shaking alone, she could tell that this must have been one of the strongest ponies she had ever seen. Even more so than some of the guards, probably, which concerned her a bit. Without that, however, Lysithea still felt like her hoof was being turned into jelly by the sheer ferocity of the shaking.
“Nothing to worry about, and it’s nice meeting you,” The mare replied, finally ending the hoof shake. “Name’s Applejack. You would be?”
“L-Lysithea,” Lysithea replied, looking down and forcibly stopping her hoof from shaking any more. “My name is Lysithea, this is Twilight, my sister, and Spike,” The dragon waved while Twilight did her best to look up and give a smile. “I’m here to check on preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. You were in charge of food here, right?”
“We sure are, but I’m not the only pony as you can likely see,” Applejack replied, with a nod and tip of her hat. “How about some introductions real quickly? And I doubt the princess would be happy if you left with sampling some of it. We got some fine sweets and deserts planned for the celebration.”
Twilight’s eyes shot open in fear and looked to her sister, seeing that Lysithea was doing all she could to not drool at the simple mention of the word ‘sweets’. She looked around, seeing that literally everypony around them had stopped what they were doing and rushed to grab things. Whatever those things were, Twilight didn’t want to find out, starting to mouth the word as she looked to her stary eyed sister.
“Lysithea, no,” Twilight pleaded, but her words went unheard.
“Of course, who could say no to sweets!” Lysithea replied. Realizing that she was acting unprofessionally, she shook her head and started again. “I-I mean, yes. A sampling should do nicely.”
Applejack giggled at her. “No need to hide the sweet tooth sugarcube, but anyways…” She turned behind her to the farm house. “Alright apples! Let’s show these here ponies what we here at Sweet Apple Acres are known for.”
Before Twilight could even begin panicking, the three of them were rushed over to a nearby table and sat down. Lysithea didn’t bother to ask about the table, too enticed by the idea of sweets. Instead she looked on as earth ponies appeared around them, each placing a small piece of food on the table as Applejack introduced them. The plates continued to pile up, Twilight’s concern no longer being about the large crowd in front of them, but how her sister was going to eat it all.
“... Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith,” Applejack finally finished. She looked around, noticing that the last pony hadn’t joined them and turned back to the house. “Hey Granny get over here.”
After a good five minutes and much mumbling from a rather old mare, Applejack turned back around… only to look confused. Lysithea was nearly about to dig in herself when she noticed the earth pony’s face. She looked around for anything that could be out of the ordinary, but couldn’t find anything.
“Ms. Applejack, is something wrong?” Lysithea replied.
“Yeah, uh, one second. I don’t see my sister,” Applejack replied, the crowd dispersing around Applebloom. “No, my other sister. Has anypony seen Annette?”
Any thoughts of sweets disappeared from Lysithea’s mind as she heard that name but immediately erased all doubt in her mind. It could be that Annette. She hadn’t seen them since Edelgard’s attack on Garreg Mach, and from what she heard had died in a rebellion against Cornelia. There was no way that this could be the same pony, it had to be some kind of coincidence.
Yet, all doubt was erased as a pony stumbled out of the house carrying a plate of shortcake on the top of her head. She rushed her way to the rest of the ponies, only stopping every once in a while to make sure the cake stayed balanced. Her coat was near the exact same as her Applejack, maybe a shade or two lighter. Her mane and tail were the exact same shard of orange, and the way it was stylized left Lysithea without any doubt in her mind.
“This… this can’t be happening,” Lysithea muttered to herself, the only pony hearing it being her own sister who looked at her confused. “This can not be happening.”
“Sorry sis, sorry Mac, sorry everypony,” Annette replied, her voice sounding exactly as Lysithea remembered it. “I got a bit carried away and maybe sorta kinda burned some of the apple shortcake. Don’t worry, I saved the rest,” She pointed to the piece of cake attop her head, still having not taken notice of the unicorn in front of her. “So, Applejack, who is–”
The two met locked eyes, Annette nearly gasped at the unicorn in front of her. Lysithea knew that face, because it was the same one she was wearing as well. Light blue met velvet purple, two faces that neither side thought had ever seen each other before looking at each other for the first time in years. It was like a dream, or a nightmare, but Lysithea couldn’t tell which one was which anymore.
“So… I’m sorry, this is just a lot for me to believe, especially from ponies I’ve only just met,” Twilight replied, looking at Annette and Applejack. The crowd had dispersed some time ago after the latter had realized how uncomfortable the timid mare was. “Wh-what you are telling me is that my sister, who I’ve obviously known for my entire life, had another life on another planet before that,” Annette nodded. “Yeah, um, that sounds like a lie if I ever heard one.”
Annette simply laughed at Twilight.
“Yeah, that’s how most of them reacted, but one thing you should know about the Apple family,” She told the unicorn. “We don’t… typically tell lies, and we can see straight through others,” At Twilight’s confused glance, Annette realized her words hadn’t done anything. “Look, I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”
Twilight looked to her sister, and then back to Annette, thinking there must be some better explanation for this. It wasn’t like her sister had acquaintances, but considering Annette’s background, it seemed unlikely that the two had met. It was then that a thought suddenly hit her, one that made her shrink and back away from the earth ponies. If it was impossible for Lysithea to know Annette through normal means, and nopony else here had recognized her as the princess’ student (much to her surprise), then only one option remained.
“No… no no no no,” Twilight replied, not noticing that her sister was starting to get back on her hooves. “You’re with them, aren’t you? You’re part of the group that… that…”
“Sis, is something wrong?” Lysithea asked, drawing everyone's attention to the former human. She shook her head, finding herself looking in Annette’s direction as she did. “Sorry, I just need to make sure I wasn’t going crazy. Annette?” The former Blue Lion nodded in reply. She then turned to see her sister curled up against the tree. “Annette, what did you do?”
“Nothing! I just told her why I knew you,” Annette replied.
“Wait, what?!” Lysithea yelled at her former classmate. “Annette, ponies are going to think you’re crazy if–”
“Don’t worry, nopony here will call you crazy Ms. Ordelia,” Applejack said, catching Lysithea off guard, mostly due to the fact that she had been called an Ordelia for the first time in years. “Sorry, it’s Velvet now, right? Lysithea Velvet, your sister said so earlier when you collapsed.”
“No, it’s fine Ms. Applejack. Honestly, there is a small comfort in being called an Ordelia again,” Lysithea replied, turning back to her sister. “Twilight, everything is fine. They’re telling the truth.”
“R-r-really?” Twilight asked, getting a nod in return. Spike came to help her back onto her hooves, though the unicorn refused to meet the eyes of the ponies in front of her. “I-I’m sorry Ms. Annette and Ms. Applejack. It’s just… I jumped to conclusion. If you hate me for it–”
Applejack sighed, walking over and wrapping Twilight in a hug. The unicorn initially resisted it, feeling a little scared at a complete stranger hugging her, but that feeling quickly melted away. The hug, it felt really nice. The insecurity she initially felt faded away as she leaned into Applejack's chest, an action which initially took the farmer by surprise. It was as if she was looking at a foal in the body of a mare with how scared she had been.
“It’s alright sugarcube, we all do it from time to time,” Applejack told the unicorn. “The important thing is that you realized and apologized. I don’t hold it against you.”
Lysithea, Annette, and Spike all watched from a distance, each one smiling at what they saw. Twilight’s sister felt especially happy at what she saw in front of her, marking in her mind how big of a step this was. Part of her worried that her sister might pull away in panic, but that had proven unnecessary. In fact, if it wasn’t for her sister’s slight mumbling, she would have thought Twilight had fallen asleep right then and there. After a good three minutes, Applejack let go of Twilight, revealing a rather embarrassed Twilight rushing to her sister’s side.
“I feel like I also need to apologize, Lysithea. I should have been more careful,” Applejack said. “I didn’t realize how much my family had scared your sister, and I should have been more thoughtful.”
“You couldn’t have known Applejack, but thanks,” Lysithea replied, giving the farmer a nod. “I’m curious, how much did you tell my sister about…” She looked around, seeing that there were still some of the other members of the Apple family within hearing distance. “You know.”
“As much as Annette told me when I found out about her and the others,” Applejack replied. Noticing the look of shock on Lysithea’s face, she elaborated. “Yes, there are more of you. Honestly, those who were present for it had about the same reaction your sister did. Probably would have called them crazy if I wasn’t there to authenticate it all.”
Lysithea looked to Annette, hoping for further detail. “Only the parts that we all were absolutely sure about. Garreg Mach, Professor Byleth, Edelgard’s declaration of war, that stuff. We didn’t want to talk about the war,” She looked away. “Some of us would rather not think about it.”
“Right, sorry,” Lysithea said, feeling more than a little ashamed. No doubt all of the other former humans had died in Fodlan just like her. “Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat for some time longer, I do have other ponies to check on. We got these Dash sisters, Rarity, Fluttershy, and a few others I believe as well.”
“Oh, so you’ll probably meet everypony on the way,” Annette chimed in. “If my sister doesn’t mind, I can show you around a bit, since you’ll probably be staying in town till tomorrow.”
“Of course!” Lysithea replied, looking at Twilight and Spike. “You wouldn’t mind if she came along, right?”
Spike nodded, Twilight following after a few seconds of thought. The unicorn still felt like doing all of this was wasting precious time they could be spending trying to convince Princess Celestia, but there was nothing she could do. Perhaps, if everything Annette had mentioned was indeed correct, and these ponies were part of a war, they could help. It was a stretch, but since Princess Celestia didn’t believe her, what other choice would she have.
Besides, getting closer to Annette would mean getting closer to Applejack, and that felt really good for some reason.
“I don’t see why you can’t show her around, as long as you’re at the old shut down library in time for the you-know-what,” Applejack told her sister with a wink.
Annette just laughed. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,”
The smile suddenly fell away from Annette’s face, a question resurfacing that she might finally have a concrete answer to. An answer she felt could only be trusted if it was from a member of the alliance.
“Lysithea, before we leave, can I ask you something in private first?” Annette asked. Motioning for the unicorn to follow her.
Lysithea nodded, only turning back to give her rather uncomfortable looking sister a confident smile. A smile that said not to worry, and that she would be right back.
--------
After a good few minutes of walking, Annette and Lysithea stopped under a pair of apple trees at the edge of the orchard. They couldn’t see Twilight, or Applejack, or any of the other members of the apple family. The only two ponies within eyesight were themselves, and Lysithea knew by the look on her former classmates' faces that what she was about to ask was hard on her. Knowing that, she allowed Annette a few seconds to think over the correct words.
“I’m sorry, Lysi, I didn’t want to ask this as soon as I saw you again, but I don’t have a choice,” Annette replied, her voice sounding more somber than Lysithea had ever heard. “But, it’s about the rebellion that I was a part of. You know of it right?”
“The resistance group against Cornellia? Yes, I’m very much familiar with it,” Lysithea said, making sure to watch her words in case she might bring something too painful up. She said no names, no events, or anything related to the resistance group itself. “After we dealt with the Empire and some other things that popped up out of nowhere, we aided them in fighting Cornellia. Your death wasn’t for nothing.”
“I wasn’t concerned about my death meaning anything,” Annette explained with a shake of her head. “It’s my friend, Mercedes, that I need to know about.”
Lysithea felt her entire body stop working for a second as she realized exactly what it was Annette was about to explain. Her heart skipped so many beats it was amazing she was still standing, her brain seemed to cease functioning and yet she hadn’t died. Her stomach churned, and a gasp got caught in her throat. To Annette nothing seemed wrong, all signs from outside showing Lysithea was simply listening, but that was a lie.
“I’m sure you’re more than aware, but I died a week after the alliance retook the Monastery,” Annette replied, a tear already rolling down her face at the very thought of it all. “We were retreating, I remember that much. Both Mercedes and I had been asked to send a force to aid you all and ask for help. My group… we didn’t make it.”
Annette’s voice became slightly muddled as the memories returned to her. Lysithea finally showed some outwards sign of regret, grinding her teeth.
“Lysi, be honest with me, because even if I wouldn’t have known then, I would now. Being part of the apple family has for some reason allowed me to see right through lies, so as much as I would appreciate the notion of you to hide it,” Annette looked to the ground, to overcome the memories to look her old schoolmate in the face. “No, I’m just stalling by explaining. Tell me Lysi, Mercedes didn’t make it, did she? Your words early implied as much.”
“Annette…” Lysithea stopped herself, the first thought being to hide the truth. As the earth pony had implied, however, lying wasn’t an option. The truth was what she wanted, and it was wrong to hide it from her. “I’m sorry Annette, she never made it to us. We found her group on the border, where the Valley of Torment is.”
“I… I see,” Annette said.
After a few moments of silence, Annette sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes. She forced a smile and looked to Lysithea. By that point, her eyes were already covered in tears again, most trailing down her face. So, she wiped them away again, only for them to come back in a matter of seconds. Despite it all, she kept smiling that same somber smile.
“Thanks, Lysi,” Annette replied. “Thanks for being honest.”
“You need a moment?” Lysithea asked.
Annette waved a hoof in front of her. “No, it’s just… even though it’s nice to have closure, it doesn’t make it any easier,” She slowly walked closer to Lysithea, and the two wrapped each other in a hug. “Thanks, Lysi. It means so much to finally know, even if it hurts so badly. Thank you.”
“Of course,” Lysithea said, looking to the side. Her last words were almost quiet to the point of only being mouthed. “It’s… what friends do.”
After some time, Annette and Lysithea met back up with the others at the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. Annette bid her sister goodbye real quickly, once again being reminded of something that was going on at a shutdown library in town. With that, they were off, the apple twin having to wipe her eyes another time as the tear trails were still visible. Twilight and Spike didn’t ask what was wrong, the former too shy to do so, and the latter knowing it wasn’t his place to ask.
The group talked as they made their way out, Twilight staying mostly silent and only talking when specifically called upon. Lysithea kept in eye on her, though making sure not to stare in rudeness. Part of her couldn’t help but notice the odd glances that her sister in turn gave to Annette. She would have to ask if something was bothering her, though just thinking that told her exactly what was going through her sister’s head.
“So, Annette,” Lysithea said not long after they entered town. “You gonna tell me who is also here?”
Annette laughed. “Come on, Lysi, where is your sense of mystery? Wouldn’t you rather them tell you then myself?”
“Need I remind you what happened literally an hour or so earlier?” Lysithea reminded the mare, only getting more giggles in response. “What is so funny about it all? You scared me half to death.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Annette replied, cutting back the laughter but unable to hide a smile. “It’s just, you made this very goofy face before fainting and I can’t get it out of my head,” Noticing that Lysithea was still not amused, the earth pony changed the subject. “A-anyways, I think it is more important they re-introduce themselves instead of me. It would just be better in case anything uncomfortable comes up.”
Lysithea sighed at Annette’s less than willing nature to reveal anything, instead looking back to the list Celestia had created. One thing that caught her eyes now more than ever was the listing of the so-called Dash sisters. While she only had herself and Annette to go off of, she was starting to theorize a pattern. All it came to was if said sisters were twins, or that one twin was actually a former human.
“Annette, do you have any idea where we might find somepony here named Dash?” Luminous asked, the fields fading away as Ponyville once again started to surround them. “Apparently they are supposed to have a weather team helping around here.”
“Yeah, though are you sure you’re reading it correctly?” Annette asked in reply. Lysithea hooved the letter over to her old friend allowing her to take a look. “Ah, both of them are working together, it makes more sense then. If it was just Rainbow, you can bet she would be doing it on her own, but with her sister there…”
“Wait, are you saying one of these sisters would try and clear the whole sky by herself?” Spike asked, getting a nod from the earth pony in response. “Though she isn’t saying it, I’m pretty sure mom would say how impossible that sounds.”
Twilight nodded, but didn’t notice as she seemingly took the lead in front of everypony else. Annette had held her hoof in front of Lysithea and Spike, ears perked at something she was clearly hearing that nopony else was. She watched the sky, hearing what sounded like somepony screaming in the distance. It wasn’t pain or help, but something else, and by the time she realized, it was already too late.
Unbeknown to Twilight, who hadn’t stopped with those behind her, a pegasus was currently on a collision course straight for her. The pony, finally hearing something resembling a voice, looked up and felt her heart skip a beat. She didn’t care for what the voice was telling her, the first thing in her eyes being that of a rainbow blur heading straight toward her. In her mind she saw the end, but that would turn to confusion in a matter of seconds.
Before the blur hit her, she found herself suddenly blocked from it by a mass of white and yellow. A pegasus, she quickly realized, was shielding her, but that shielding meant absolutely nothing as the blur steamrolled the white pegasus. That was followed by the blur tackling her, and then proceeding to carrier into a nearby bush with the white pegasus in tow. Lysithea, Annette, and Spike simply watched as it all played out in stun and shock, the first of them only sprinting once everything had happened.
“Twilight!” Lysithea called out in worry, rushing over to help her sister out of the bushes. Twilight wrapped her in a hug the moment her sister was in reach. “You okay?”
“I-I don’t know, is there anything sticking out of me?” She asked, looking her body up and down. She heard someone laughing, but didn’t pay attention to it. “Nope, still purple. Thank Celestia.”
“Rainbow, what did I say about reckless flying!” Lysithea shuddered as she recognized one of the voices from behind the brush. Parting the way, she was greeted to the sight of a white pegasus with a blond mane and tail scolding another pegasus with a rainbow mane. “Perhaps, if you had even been the slightest bit cautious, you wouldn’t have, I don’t know, rainchecked a unicorn!”
“Ah, come on Ingrid, don’t be like that,” Rainbow said, the name confirming what Lysithea had figured out just from Ingrid’s voice alone. Rainbow looked to her with a smile. “Besides, it looks to me like they’re pretty fine.”
“Just because they are doesn’t mean you can just go charging into ponies!” Ingrid said, ending it all off with a sigh. “Ah, who am I kidding? It’s not gonna get through. My apologies for what my sister did Ms…”
The look that Ingrid gave Lysithea as the two locked eyes was nearly enough to make Lysithea giggle, just enough for Twilight, and more than enough for Rainbow Dash. Lysithea waved to the pegasus, though they seemed to be frozen in stone. She knew exactly what was going through Ingrid’s head right now, considering how Lysithea had remembered her dying during the battle on Gronder Field.
“Hey Ingrid, long time no see,” Lysithea said. The two groups of sisters sat there in silence, Annette joining them mere moments later. “So, sorry about Ignatz?”
--------
“Ow! Jeez Ingrid, I said I’m sorry!” Lysithea said, who was currently busy getting smacked on the head with a newspaper. When the horn broke through the middle of it, Ingrid tossed it into a pile of other newspapers that had also seen their lives ended the exact same way. Each time Rainbow would fetch her another one. “Also, that’s a lot of wasted paper.”
“It’s all from a propaganda paper, no pony will miss it,” Ingrid said, wapping the unicorn another time. “Also, Ignatz’s arrow is not the reason I’m angry at you. The arrow was his after all. What I’m angry about–” She whacked Lysithea again. “–is the fact you gave a heart attack by warping him literally five inches away from me. Five! If you were going to let him kill me the least you could have done was not give me a heart attack!”
Lysithea rubbed her head, feeling quite sore from her old friend’s beating. “Hey, at least it wasn’t Claude, right?”
Any amount of holding back Ingrid had been using was lost in that moment as she unleashed the power of the newspaper onto the poor unicorn's skull.
“I… feel like I’m missing something here,” Twilight said from a distance as Spike, Rainbow Dash, Annette, and herself watched the scene play out before them. “So, this Ingrid pony is also from this Fodlan place, right?” Rainbow and Annette nodded. “Why is she so angry at Thea then? Aren’t you all good friends.”
“Twilight, right?” Rainbow asked, getting a nod. “First off, I’m Rainbow Dash, the most awesome pony in Ponyville. Nice to meet you. Second off, this is pretty par for the course with Ingrid around here.”
Twilight looked to Ingrid, before looking back to Rainbow Dash. “Is there are reason for why she is like this or…”
“Nope she was pretty much the same back in Fodlan as well,” Annette explained. “Though, she’s gotten at least a little better in the time we’ve all been here. She’s still pretty open about who she feels about ponies, but she isn’t all serious now. Heck, RD here got her into Ogres and Oubliettes some years back. She took to it surprisingly well.”
“Wait, you two play O&O?” Spike asked.’
“Yep, started playing when I was, I don’t know, eleven or so,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Got Inny into it a few years later. Oh, don’t tell her that I still call her Inny, she would kick my flank to Las Pegasus if she heard.”
“Two ponies other than mom and Aunt Lysithea to play O&O with?” Spike said, a rather sinister grin on his face. “Finally, ponies who can possibly match me.”
Twilight shivered as she heard that, knowing exactly what was going through her son’s head. She looked to the sky, seeing pegasi were currently at work taking care of the clouds above them. Through it, she also saw the sun at around midday. Her heart rate picked up, knowing that the more time they spent idle talking was the less time until Nightmare Moon returned.
“W-well, it was nice to meet you, Rainbow, but we have to get going,” Twilight said. “Besides, you got work to do, right?”
Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, though it would already be done if Ingrid just let me go all out,” She shook her head. “Ah whatever, better than getting scolded again. See ya at the library tonight Annette!”
Annette waved goodbye as Rainbow Dash took to the air, quickly stopping over her sister to remind her of the work that still needed to be done. Ingrid looked away, embarrassed that she had gotten so wrapped up in scolding Lysithea that she had forgotten about work. As they left, Twilight, Annette, and Spike all walked back up to Lysithea, who was currently covering her head with her hooves.
“You okay Thea?” Twilight asked.
“I… I think I’ve had enough Ingrid for one day,” Lysithea whimpered in reply. “In fact, I think I’ve had enough of it for the rest of my stay.”
After much help and waiting for Lysithea’s head to stop pounding, which Twilight found worrying considering the only thing that hit her was a bunch of newspapers, they got back to work. Annette took the letter that Lysithea had been carrying around, announcing herself as the unofficial navigator as she was the only one who knew where to go. As such, Annette was now the one leading them through town, allowing Lysithea to do the one thing she hadn’t really been able to do since arriving in Ponyville, enjoy it.
She knew she wasn’t the only pony who seemed to be taking to the small town atmosphere a lot better as well. Twilight, though she still hugged her sister and refused to meet the gaze of any pony passing by, was easily less tense than she had been for the past few months. It was the open atmosphere, it had to be. Nowhere near as many ponies around, all of which she had interacted with being far more kind than any she knew in Canterlot. All that led to a Twilight who was smiling more than she had ever had in a single day in eight whole years.
“Enjoy yourself Twilight?” Lysithea asked, her sister let out a silent gasp and looked away. “Twilight?”
“S-sorry sis, it’s just…” Twilight trailed off, suddenly seeming conflicted in what to say. After a minute, she smiled again and turned to Lysithea. “It’s just something about this town, about how quiet it is. I can’t help but wonder why I’ve never tried to look anywhere else before?”
“Because you were too scared of everyone in Canterlot to even consider stepping out of the house,” Spike reminded the unicorn, earning a glare in return. “What? I’m right!”
“Yes Spike you are. It’s just, I’m finding myself in a weird position,” Twilight looked for something to avoid the thought that had just popped into her head, but after some time she surrendered to the horrible idea that she had. “T-t-thea, I’ve been thinking, what if I decided to move away from Canterlot? Would it make you upset?”
Lysithea opened her mouth to reply, expecting to immediately have an answer to her sister’s question. The truth of it all, however, was that she didn’t know at all how she felt about the idea of her sister leaving her. On the one hoof, she loved that her sister seemed to fit in here in Ponyville, away from everything in the city. On the other, she couldn’t help but feel like something could happen. She had no idea exactly what that something would be, but she had been the protective sister for much of her life in Equestria.
In the end though, it wasn’t about what she wanted but what her sister needed. If Twilight believed it was best for her and Spike to move to Ponyville, she couldn’t stop that out of selfishness.
“It’s your choice, sis,” Lysithea told Twilight, smiling to hide the fear inside of her. “If you think it’s best for you, then go for it.”
Twilight didn’t give much for a response, simply nodding her head before looking back in front of them. Annette had stopped at what Twilight and Lysithea could only assume was the Ponyville community center, which was currently rather well decorated. The earth pony turned back to face the group she had led.
“Alright, this is town hall,” Annette said, looking back over the list. “If I’m correct, we should find Rarity here. Though whether they are here with her is…” Annette shook her head, her choice of words confusing Lysithea. “Whelp, no way we are going to know just standing here.”
Annette opened the door and walked in, Lysithea following just behind with Twilight and Spike to her sides. None of them noticed as Spike stopped mere seconds after entering the building, instantly smitten by what his eyes saw before him. Twilight and Lysithea were more intrigued at the fact only one pony stood waiting for them, putting up decorations at the far end of the room and humming to herself.
Annette stood to the side, motioning for Lysithea to step forward and do what she was supposed to be doing.
“Hello, excuse me?” Lysithea called to the white unicorn in front of her.
“Uh, yes, one second darling, just getting the finishing touches wrapped up,” The unicorn replied, adjusting some of the ribbons and other decorations that she hung up. After a minute or two of waiting, she turned around. “Alright that should do it. Oh, and apologies darling. It’s just that somepony like myself loses the image they have when it’s right there for them.”
The unicorn, Rarity, if Lysithea had read the letter correctly, stopped talking and stared at her. The pony walked up to her, seemingly infatuated not by her, but rather her mane and coat. Then, after minutes of being stared at, Rarity put her hooves on Lysithea’s shoulders.
“Boutique, now!”
With that, Rarity bolted out the door, dragging Lysithea with her out the door. Twilight simply looked on in horror, Spike too blinded by the beauty in his mind's eye to have noticed what happened, and Annette simply sighing.
“Annette, i-i-is this normal for Ponyville?” Twilight asked.
Annette shook her head. “Well, if you’re wondering, she is usually the last pony here to do something like that.”
--------
Lysithea had expected many things from being dragged off by the unicorn who, as she learned, was indeed Rarity. Being measured and asked to stand still in the middle of a clothing store, which she had learned the unicorn did not like it being called, for what she had called “sudden inspiration” wasn’t one of them. The two did at least greet each other finally, but other than mentally checking the decorations off of the list, nothing happened for a good couple of minutes.
“Hello, Rarity?” Annette called from the entrance way. Lysithea didn’t see her enter, but the bells on the door had told her somepony was there.
“Oh, Annette. Apologies for earlier,” Rarity said, picking up some purple fabric from a chest next to a table covered in threads and fabrics. “Needless to say I’ve already apologized to Ms. Velvet here, but nonetheless…”
Annette just laughed at what she was seeing before her. “It’s fine Rar’s, just try and not drag them next time. It would both be nice and save you having to give a bath.”
“Yes, yes, of course. Though thankfully her coat only needed a blowdry,” Rarity nodded with a smile. She heard the door open, and a pony gasp in awe. “Who is it?”
“Just Dorothea… oh hey Annette,” Lysithea felt her body tense up as she heard the name and accompanying voice from the other side of the door. “Oh, and who are you two?”
“Tw-tw-tw-tw,” Twilight stuttered. Lysithea heard Spike’s claw make contact with her head, which seemed to get the unicorn working again. “Twilight Sparkle, hey, hi, how are you? Who are you? EEP!”
Twilight swung the door open and closed it behind her, leaving everypony rather confused at exactly what happened. That wasn’t a standard Twilight freak out, Lysithea and Spike could attest to that, but it didn’t get rid of the fact of who had caused Twilight to act like that.
“Is she okay?” Dorothea asked. “Did I do something or…”
“No, I’ve been told that’s pretty normal,” Annette replied. “Oh, almost forgot to tell you, another of our old friends are here! Rar’s has them in the other room.”
If any words were exchanged after that, Lysithea felt too panicked to hear them as she watched Dorothea walk into the room with Spike and Annette following. The first thing she noticed other than the fact she was a unicorn was that Dorothea was easily the tallest of anypony in the room with them, and looked like a fashion model compared to everyone around her. Her hair was the same long, wavy brown that Lysithea remembered, while her coat was a crimson red. If it wasn’t for how nervous Lysithea felt at seeing the unicorn, she would have gawked in jealousy at Dorothea’s form.
“No, Lysithea?” Dorothea called, the cheer in her voice causing Lysithea’s panic to stop, being replaced instantly by confusion. “I got it right, didn’t I? The mane style gave it away, not to mention that sweet sweet childish innocence you never seemed to get rid of.”
Lysithea, not sure if Dorothea was hiding her anger or was being genuine about how happy she sounded, faked a smile to hide her fear. “Yep. Hi Dorothea, didn’t expect to see you.”
“Trust me, after the second pony from Fodlan, and living in Ponyville, stuff like this is expected,” Dorothea replied. “What are you doing here in Ponyville?”
“Oh, just uh… checking on the festival with my sister is all,” Lysithea replied, running up and shaking her old classmates hoof. “Anyway, sorry, can’t stay, got work to do. Bye!”
Dorothea watched as Lysithea grabbed the young drake and carried him outside, slamming the door shut. Annette and Rarity looked between each other, not sure what was going on or why Lysithea had acted so oddly. Looking to Dorothea for any answer as to what happened, they were greeted by a sigh and the earlier cheer from before being replaced with a much more somber tone.
“Don’t feel upset darling,” Rarity said, coming over and giving her assistant a pat on the back. “Whatever happened, I don’t feel like there is any way you could have known.”
“No, Rarity, not this time,” Dorothea looked to the door. “Annette, make sure she is okay, please? I want her to know that I don’t hate her for what happened.”
“I… I don’t think I understand what happened though,” Annette replied. “Did something happen between you two last time you were together?”
“Not directly, no,” Dorothea said with a shake. She opened her mouth to continue, but fonud herself conflicted. Part of her remembered what they had said about talking about the war, how no one wanted to think about it. Yet, Dorothea knew the time for that had passed, and as such, keeping things a secret wouldn’t help. “She… she thinks I’m angry at her. She thinks I’m angry because she killed my Ferdie.”
Lysithea felt a wave of comfort creeping itself along her body the farther she got away from the boutique. Perhaps she had over reacted, perhaps Dorothea hadn’t been angry at her, but all of that rationality didn’t amount to much when it was based on a single conversation. There was no way she could stand there and stay calm, not after what she had done. Not after she had murdered the man the Dorothea had planned to marry after the war.
“Thea, please wait,” Twilight called from behind. The sound of her sister being the first thing to truly get her to stop in her tracks. “Sis, are you okay?”
“Do I look okay?” Lysithea asked, shouting at the top of her lungs and scaring Twilight slightly. “I just… I thought everything would be fine here in Ponyville. I thought I was the only one, but I was wrong! I had to tell my friend a friend of theirs is truly dead, met a pony whose death I feel some slight responsibility for, and a mare whose groom to be died by my hooves! How do you-”
She stopped as she looked at her sister, who had taken several steps back as Lysithea ranted in the middle of the street about what she had done. She thought how lucky it was that nopony seemed to be around right now.
“Sorry, sis. You wouldn’t understand,” Lysithea said, her voice quiet and almost weak sounding. “It’s just… for all the good memories, all the friends I made, all the things I achieved, Fodlan wasn’t in a good place when I lived there.”
“Was there something in there that reminded you of it?” Twilight asked, taking a few steps forward. “I’m willing to hear it, I am your sister after all,” A sudden fear grasps her, those last words flowing out without her even realizing it. “B-b-but I also understand if you don’t want to?”
Lysithea silently thanked her sister for not pushing it too hard. It wasn’t something Equestria would understand, and she didn’t want to scare her sister more than she already was. The very memory of Ferdinand’s death would sometimes come back to mind, and she had to remind herself that it was the past. There was nothing she could do, whether it be keeping Dorothea from hating her, or erasing what she did that day. The less she had to think about it, the better.
“Not right now, we have stuff we need to do,” Lysithea replied, not exactly lying but not being truthful either. “We can cross the decorations off the list, which means the last thing we need to do is talk to Fluttershy, who is in charge of music. I think it would be best if we get moving right now.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Annette?” Twilight replied. It stopped Lysithea before she had the chance to turn around. “She was the one showing us around after all.”
Lysithea didn’t just hesitate to answer, but couldn’t speak at all. Knowing how gung ho and cheery the mare was and has always been, she would likely invite Dorothea just out of good faith. The scenario that played out in her head only further played into what Dorothea might do. She knew that, for as nice as the opera star had been, she had a way of holding grudges that only seemed to grow in time. With all her might, she tried to tell Twilight they should leave without her, but she couldn’t.
Instead, Twilight, in one of the biggest acts of bravery she had mustered in years, walked up and hugged her. It wasn’t a flawless hug or walk by any means, the mare acting like she had just gotten out of freezing cold water. Even when the hug landed, her hooves were shaking, eyes darted back and forth as if she was worried about being judged. Nonetheless, the feeling of her sister’s hooves around her sent a calming sensation through Lysithea.
“Lysithea, you’re the strong one here. You’re the one who scared the ponies of when I was young, and since then I know your magic has only gotten stronger,” Twilight said, her voice quiet and calm. “I don’t know what you’re scared of. You’re not somepony to run away when the world wants to kill you. You’re not somepony like me. So, please, don’t be scared.”
Lysithea looked away, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid and immature, which she very much was not. Her sister was right, this wasn’t who she was. When she only had days to live she kept on fighting. When enemies saw her as weak and fragile she stuck a Hades in their mouth and made them regret ever thinking it. Yet, now, she was afraid of somepony who might not have actually been angry at her?
“You’re right, sis,” Lysithea replied. “I’ll confront Dorothea about it later. I would now… but we have stuff to do.”
Twilight sighed, feeling like a small part of her sister was still trying to get out of it all. Despite that, she knew she couldn’t do anything else at that particular moment.
“I’ll hold you to it,” Twilight told her. The two stayed silent for a second, neither sure what else to say. “Um… you wouldn’t happen to know where Spike is, do you?”
--------
“Of all the ways to be left in the middle of town, this has to be the most confusing,” Spike said, completely baffled at how he had managed to get seperated from Lysithea. “Well… perhaps I can at least get back to the Boutique. If that Rarity pony lives there, that wouldn’t be a bad place to wait.”
As Spike chose and directed and started to walk, he didn’t notice the pony watching him from the nearby bush. It was the pink pony from earlier, writing on a note pad with her hair while her front hooves rubbed against each other. A smile was on her face, one that felt overly fake and wide. It didn’t mask anything, she was genuinely in a good mood, but the look had caused most ponies and the surrounding area to keep their distance.
“Now, lets see here,” The pony said, looking away from the dragon and back to the notepad, which her hair had placed gently in her hooves. She flipped through pages and pages of what to most would seem utter nonsense, but was more sensible than could be imagined. “Yes, yes! With this information, I shall not only be able to make tonight even better, but the best that it could ever be! Tonight, I shall be crowned as the greatest party planner in all of Ponyville!”
The pink pony then proceeded to laugh a laugh so over the top, that nopony could tell if she was evil or insane. Most of them would end up agreeing about the latter.
--------
“Spike goes out by himself all the time, as long as we find him in the end it should all be fine,” Lysithea replied. “Now come on, we have a Fluttershy to go find.”
As Lysithea pointed in the direction she believed their next location to be in, Twilight couldn’t help but feel that Lysithea had just done something she would come to regret later. She shook her head of those thoughts, believing them crazy. Unaware of either of them, however, they were also currently being watched from the forest far to their right. What creature it was remained unknown, though it no doubt was vicious. That much was easy given it’s predatory eyes, which no doubt led to it having jagged teeth and fangs. As the sisters walked off, it followed them, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Snap!
“Hey Bebe!” The pink pony said appearing out of nowhere.
The very sight of the pony sent the creature running in the opposite direction.
At her sister’s question, Lysithea peaked out of the bush she and Twilight had hid in. A look to the left showed only trees, while to the right there were even more trees. There were no signs of the pink menace that had burst forth and confronted them from out of nowhere. Before that changed, Lysithea became one with the bush again and turned back to her sister. She gave a nod, and then both left its safety in hopes that they were truly free from the horrid creature that had tried to attack them.
“What was that? Was that a pony?” Twilight asked.
“I think it was that pony that we met at the station,” Lysithea replied, taking deep breaths to calm her heart. “You know, the one that bulldozed that mare after mentioning us being new.”
“I’ve never seen an earth pony move that fast,” Her sister said, she eyed the road that was not too far away. She pointed with her hoof to it, Lysithea letting out a sigh as she saw they hadn’t run too far away from civilization. She tried to start walking, only to feel Twilight’s hooves suddenly wrap around her neck. “Wait, she bulldozed someone?! Is she perhaps with those ponies who attacked me all those years back.”
“I think she would have bulldozed you if that was the case, Twilight,” Lysithea replied as she started walking towards the road, rolling her eyes. “Anyways, we got one last thing to check up on. If I remember from the list, Fluttershy lives outside of town anyways. I guess this worked out somehow.”
“So we go that way?” Twilight said as they reached the road, stretching a hoof in the direction not leading back to town.
Lysithea nodded, and the two started working their way to the final stop of this wacky and rather strange journey. Lysithea couldn’t believe how many of her old classmates from back at the Officer’s Academy were in this one town. Annette had been great to reunite with, Dorothea she would have to talk with later, and Ingrid was… Ingrid. She had had to deal with such a wide variety of emotions in the span of half a day that she wasn’t quite sure what to expect next. From shock, to fear, to slight embarrassment and joy, it made it impossible to tell what emotion the next familiar individual would give her.
Suddenly, some ways down the road, her ears caught something. Both her and Twilight stopped at the same time, telling her that she wasn’t the only one who had heard it. A chorus of tweets was coming from off the road, which normally wouldn’t have been odd. Except it quickly became clear that it wasn’t just the birdsong of various avians trying to impress mates, but organized. More music than a simple group of bird calls.
Lysithea turned to Twilight who looked to her at nearly the exact same time. Both knew exactly what was going on. They had found the music for the celebration. Heading off the road and towards the bushes, they peaked through the top to see what lay beyond. They watched as a yellow pegasus with pink mane and tail, triple butterflies for a cutie mark, acting as a conductor for a group of small birds before her. They all watched as the birds suddenly stopped, the mare seeming to talk to one in a whispered tone.
“So that is the music for the festival?” Lysithea asked in a hush, hoping to not disturb what they were eavesdropping on. Neither of them noticed the figure that was quickly approaching from behind. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think birds could be used as instruments.”
“They aren’t instruments, Thea. They’re just a choir group,” Twilight corrected in an equally quiet tone. “Though, I would admit it, the idea of someone trying to use an avian creature as an instrument would be… quite strange and unethical.”
“Right. It is very pretty though,” Lysithea stated, resting her head on her hooves, which had firmly matted down the part of the branch she had been watching from. “So do we go and introduce ourselves? Technically we’ve learned all we needed to for the checklist but we’ve introduced ourselves to every other individual working on the Summer Sun Celebration so far.”
Twilight let out a nervous chuckle at her sister’s words, waving her hooves in front of her.“Y-y-you can if you want, but personally I’ve dealt with enough ponies today. I’ll just wait here if you want to–”
“My my, what do we have here?”
Lysithea and Twilight froze at the low, slithery voice that had cut through the peaceful air. At the speed of a snail, both sisters turned their heads behind them to see exactly where the voice was coming from. It was a unicorn stallion whose coat, mane, and tail were all pure black. The only two things with any color on his body being his greenish-blue eyes and his cutie mark, which showed a dagger. He had a smirk on his face befitting a villain, neither mare able to see the hint of amusement it held as the stallion watched Twilight try and make herself as small as possible.
“A group of mares that I’ve never seen in town decided to peep on my marefriend,” The stallion replied. The sentence solidified who they truly were, Lysithea’s face going from fear to unfiltered disappointment. “Honestly I don’t know what I should do with the two of you, though perhaps I should start by reintroducing myself to the one who has seen me,” His eyes flicked from Twilight to Lysithea. “Strange seeing you in this odd new world, Lysithea.”
Lysithea opened her mouth to give the stallion before her a snarky reply, but her sister beat her. Twilight slowly backed up, terrified and wanting to be as far away from the individual before her as possible.
“I-I-I swear, we didn’t mean anything by it!” Twilight said in pure fear, no one but the yellow pegasus they had been watching, noticing as the volume she spoke with scared the birds into flight. “W-w-we just heard the music and wanted to listen. Please don’t hurt me, I wasn’t interested in her or– wah!”
Having not been looking where she was going, Twilight suddenly found herself falling through the bush and into view of the pegasus they had been watching. The stallion let out a chuckle as Lysithea applied her hoof directly to her face. Brushing to the side how predictable this was considering who was responsible for it, Lysithea trotted around the bush and to her sister. The yellow pegasus watched from a distance, the twin sisters blissfully unaware of the fact they were shaking her head. A goofy smile was on their face.
“Twilight, you okay?” Lysithea asked.
“No. How could I ever be okay when I’m about to be put to death by some stallion thinking I meant to steal his mare?” Twilight questioned back in drama and fright. Any worry Lysithea had for her disappeared, expression turning stoic as she rolled eyes. “The end is up for me. Save yourself, Thea! Live free and find the mare of your dreams like I was unable to.”
“He isn’t actually gonna kill you, Twilight. This is how he always was,” Lysithea replied, her voice devoid of any emotion as she spoke. It went from emotionless to filled with annoyance as she turned her attention to the stallion resting his hooves on the same bush she had before. “Seriously Hubert? First time we see each other on good terms in how long and this is how you act?”
“Pardon me if, through watching you two and your little dragon companion move through Ponyville, I found this too good an opportunity to not pass up,” Hubert replied, refusing to let the smirk fall from his face. Lysithea’s raised brow seemed to only make him grow even more smug. “I don’t blame you for not noticing me. After all, it was once my job to blend in, make sure my Empress is safe. Speaking of which…”
Hubert made his way past Lysithea and Twilight, the latter still shaking in fear at the stallion. As if she hadn’t clearly heard his words earlier, Lysithea allowed her jaw to drop as the former empereal retainer made his way to the yellow pegasus and kissed her. No, not only did Hubert kiss her but the pegasus leaned into it instead of away. Lysithea wasn’t entirely sure how to grasp the situation, realizing something horrid that she never had thought would happen.
Hubert had found a special somepony before she had.
“Are you okay, my empress? These young fillies didn’t hurt you, did they?” Hubert asked. He quickly glanced at Lysithea, inwardly chuckling as he saw her twitching eyes.
“O-oh no, they did nothing wrong,” The pegasus said, cheeks turning bright red at the pet name. Her voice was still soft, but due to the decrease in distance the sisters could actually hear her. “Do you know them? Are they from Fodlan?”
“Yes, or one of them is at any rate,” Hubert explained. He turned so that he could see all three of the mares in his vision, a chuckle escaping as he saw Twilight untangle herself from the bush and Lysithea grit her teeth. He could tell the latter was taking his teasing well. “Miss Lysithea Velvet and Twilight Sparkle, this is my Fluttershy. We’ve been dating for… three years now I believe?”
That last bit was what finally broke Lysithea, the mare letting out a scream of anger and agony. Fluttershy flinched, watching as Lysithea tried to rush her coltfriend in rage only for Twilight to grab her tail with her magic to keep her still. Hubert was completely calm, contemplating exactly what it was he had said that could cause such a reaction. Surely him having an SO wasn’t that much of a shock to her system, right?
“So, you two were on the opposite sides of the war, with you being the retainer to Empress Edelgard,” Twilight said, repeating all she had just learned from Hubert as the four ponies sat down.
Lysithea refused to return eye contact with anyone around her, mumbling under her breath about something incomprehensible to those around her. As a contrast, Fluttershy was currently surrounded by birds, squirrels, otters, and the most pissed off bunny Twilight had ever seen. Twilight only hoped that the target of the anger wasn’t her, though it could also have just been due to lack of patience due to how long it had taken to calm down her sister. Add on the amount of info about the war her sister had been a part of before becoming a pony, all told by Hubert in more detail then made her comfortable.
Didn’t stop her scholarly self from continuing on, even after learning how her sister had become the bane of one general’s entire being. She actually felt a small tinge of sympathy for those ponies who had attacked her all those years ago, knowing exactly how deadly that dark spikes spell was now.
“Yes, and after their old professor reappeared out of nowhere, the war that had been going in Adrestia’s favor for the past five years swiftly changed,” Hubert said. He couldn’t deny a part of him enjoyed indulging in the history of his world, even if it wasn’t usually his thing. Especially since the unicorn he was telling it to had at some point grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill to write it all down with. “By the time they had marched on the capital I already knew how things would end. Speaking of which, might I inquire about a certain unicorn in our midst if Claude and the professor got my letter?”
All eyes turned to Lysithea, who stayed silent for a couple more seconds. When she finally did speak up, she still kept her eyes off the unicorn stallion before her.
“Yes, and you will be happy to know that Those Who Slither in the Dark have been dealt with,” Lysithea replied. “As someone whose life was greatly affected by them back on Fodlan, thanks for giving us the chance to see to it they never harmed anyone again.”
Twilight looked at her sister, mouth ajar as she heard what her sister said. She decided it was best to not broach the topic, especially considering they still seemed rather upset at Hubert for reasons she didn’t know.
“I’m glad that such mean ponies are no longer troubling your world,” Fluttershy said, petting an otter that had found itself wrapped up in her front hooves. “When Hubie told me about it all, I couldn’t believe it. To think that such horrid individuals could exist out there, even if they aren’t here in Equestria.”
“Those Who Slither in the Dark may not be here, at least as far as I’m aware, but this world has just as many shadows as Fodlan did,” Hubert said, turning his head away from the group and looking at the depths of the forest that his marefriend lived near. “Just like how I had a reason to try and protect Edelgard from it back then, those shadows give me just as many reasons to keep my Fluttershy safe now.”
Hubert took one of his marefriend’s hooves and kissed it, Fluttershy giggling and looking away in embarrassment at the action. While Twilight merely tilted her head in confusion at the way the couple before her acted, Lysithea’s face scrunched up in anger and jealousy. Letting out a sound that was some mix between a sigh and groan, she finally let her eyes fall on the former retainer. The odd sound she had made was more than enough to grab the attention of those around her.
“Okay, I can’t hold back asking anymore,” Lysithea said, pointing a hoof at Hubert. “How did you, the ‘Edelgard-sexual’, manage to get a marefriend while I’ve been single so far for the entirety of both my lives!”
“Edelgard-sexual?!” Hubert asked, a rare bit of genuine surprise leaving his voice as he repeated the phrase. “I’m sorry, where in Sothis’ name did such a term come to be coined for…” He stopped speaking, the surprise falling away to annoyance as he facehooved. “Nevermind, I know exactly who it is that would feel safe enough to call me that.”
“What? Claude wasn’t exactly wrong,” Lysithea said, crossing her forehooves and allowing a small amount of smugness to grace her face. “We all saw it. Can’t deny how you felt for her, can you?”
“I’m not gonna even bother answering that,” Hubert replied, his refusal making Lysithea feel just the tiniest bit better about herself.
“Anyways, you two actually came this way in regards to the music for the Summer Sun Celebration, correct?” Fluttershy asked, looking between both unicorn sisters timidly. They nodded at her in reply. “I hope that what you heard earlier was okay. I’ve been working really hard to make sure all the birds are ready for tonight.”
“It was beautiful. I’m sure Celestia will be very happy with what she heard,” Twilight said, Lysithea giving yet another nod to show she agreed with the assessment. Fluttershy seemed to relax a bit at the reassurance. “Anyways, thank you both for the… interesting time, we should probably get to Golden Oak’s Library and rest up before tonight. Especially if I’m correct about something big happening tonight.”
Lysithea rolled her eyes, knowing well what her sister was hinting at. Hubert’s smile became more devious again as Twilight finished talking, something the former member of the Alliance hadn’t missed. She raised an eyebrow at it, wondering what her sister had said that could make him react in such a manner. With a shake of her head, Lysithea decided it was best to ignore it. She stood up, followed by her sister, giving the couple an envious but true smile.
“Well, it was… nice seeing you again, Hubert, and wonderful to meet you Fluttershy,” Lysithea said. “See you at the proceedings.”
After a quick wave to each other, Lysithea and Twilight made their way back around the bushes and towards town. As soon as they were out of sight, both Hubert and Fluttershy let out a giggle. They both knew what awaited the sisters at the library, the stallion especially curious as to how the more jumpy of the two sisters would react to what was awaiting them.
