//------------------------------// // The Two // Story: Fraternal // by Melody Song //------------------------------// Daring opened the door to Rainbow's room, then stifled a laugh. Spitfire and Fleetfoot stepped up next to her and giggled. Rainbow was sleeping on her bed, and sprawled next to her was Soarin. The stallion was asleep too, but had a wing over her body, forelegs positioned as though he'd been holding her hooves in his. "Wake up lovebirds, Daring has something to tell us." Spitfire said, raising her voice. Rainbow stirred, saw them, then looked down at Soarin. Rainbow scrambled up, her hoof banging into Soarin's muzzle. He woke up with a yelp of pain, sitting up as well. "OW." Soarin groaned, rubbing his chin. Rainbow mumbled a quick apology, blushing hard. "What did you want?" Rainbow asked "I think I know why you knew that the Sphere was falling." Daring said, holding out the paper. It was the scrap of paper she'd written the translated riddle on. "The foretold two." "What? It's a part of the riddle, right?" "Yes, but Rainbow, the foretold two are supposedly the only ones who can lift the sphere without harm. We lifted it up easily, remember? It was like the sphere was helping us." "You mean with the weird magic that helped us lift up the beams? I remember that." "Remember how the magic turned gold when it touched me? And then it went into us." Daring said. She then turned and yanked a feather out of her wing. "What are you doing? Doesn't that hurt?" Spitfire asked "Extremely." Daring spat her feather onto the floor, then held out her hoof. "Rainbow, take my hoof, I want to try something." Rainbow now shared the confused looks of Spitfire, Soarin, and Fleetfoot. She reached out anyway and took Daring's hoof. A strange blue light shone from her hoof, onto Daring's. It weaved up to her chest and onto her wing. Rainbow yanked back her hoof in surprise, and Daring showed them her wing, flexing it. The feather had been replaced. "What in the name of Celestia-?" Rainbow gasped. Daring began pacing. "The magic of the Sphere is that it can heal any ailment. These 'foretold two' are the only ones who can remove it from it's pedestal without being injured. We lifted it and the magic turned the color of my coat when it touched me. Of course the magic didn't change colors when it touched you, your coat is blue, like the magic. I wonder if the color changing is a sign that the magic is responding to the pony's touch." Daring looked at Soarin. "Rainbow accidentally kicked you when she sat up, right?" "Yes." Soarin said, rubbing his jaw. "Rainbow, try to heal him like you did me. Touch his hoof." Daring ordered. Rainbow reached and took Soarin's hoof gently. There was no glow. "What happened? Why didn't it work?" Spitfire asked. Daring closed her eyes, then gasped. "Because he isn't one of the foretold two." Daring ran out of the room and came back with her machete. "What are you going to do with that thing?" Fleetfoot asked "Relax, I'm just going to make a small cut on Rainbow's hoof. I'd do cheek but I don't want to hurt her eye." Daring said. Rainbow held out her hoof and Daring pricked her hoof gently with the blade. "And what was the point of that?" Spitfire asked. Daring grabbed Rainbow's hoof. A golden light the exact color of Daring's coat shone off her hoof and moved to Rainbow's. The light surrounded the cut and sealed it up. When Daring pulled back, it was as though the machete had never come into contact with Rainbow. "Just as I thought. The magic only works for us because we were the only ones to remove the Sphere from it's place." Daring realized. "So you're saying that when we lifted up the Sphere, we became the 'foretold two'?" Rainbow asked "No, we never became the foretold two, we are the foretold two." Daring replied. There was a long silence. "But...why us?" Rainbow asked "Maybe because you two are practically identical." Spitfire suggested "We are?" Rainbow and Daring said at the same time. They looked at each other. "Yeah. Apart from coat and mane color you two look the same. Well, your cutie marks are obviously different, but still." Spitfire explained "Now that you mention it, they both have magenta eyes, and their manes have the exact same pattern, Daring's is just gray and black." Soarin added "That's not something the Sphere did, my mane's always looked like this." Rainbow and Daring said together, once more. "That'th a little creepy." Fleetfoot whispered, stepping closer to Spitfire. She blushed when the mare grazed her flank with her own. "Are we stuck this way?" both Rainbow and Daring asked each other. "Okay, stop talking." Both mares fell silent. "Did it work?" Spitfire asked "Yes." they said together. "Stop it!" "Sonic Rainboom!" Rainbow suddenly blurted out, "There. I knew you wouldn't say that." "Thank you." Daring sighed. "But why did that just happen?" "No idea." Rainbow answered truthfully. "Maybe we were right. It's got to be more than just a coincidence that you're so alike." Spitfire said "But how do we know for sure that it's more than that?" Rainbow asked "Well, you clearly look similar. You also get along with each other and yet still fight...which reminds me of the relationship between siblings more than friends." Spitfire listed. Daring and Rainbow's eyes widened. "But I'm an only child." Daring objected "Yeah, you've met my parents before guys, you know I am too." Rainbow added "True, we've met your parents before. But why would your parents tell you you had a sibling if there was no point?" Spitfire asked "If they knew that you'd probably never meet your sibling then they might not tell you so you wouldn't have to stress about it." "But my parents-" Daring began "Aren't Pegasi. You said it yourself. It's probably highly unlikely that they would have a Pegasus for a daughter unless one of them had an immediate relative who was one. Yes, Rainbow, I'm aware that the Cake twins are an exception to that. But Mr and Mrs Cake at least were aware that they had Pegasi and Unicorn relatives. If Daring has never met or heard of any Pegasi relatives, then it still works." Spitfire explained "That...actually makes sense." Daring said "Yeah. But how do we prove it?" Rainbow asked. Daring looked to her. "Easy. We ask them."