My Mortal Big Brother

by Dash Attack


Goodbye Cadence - The Journey Begins

What I’m about to tell you is an ancient legend that intertwines with another. Long ago, there were three tribes of ponies who utterly despised one another. Their hatred created an everlasting winter that devastated the land. However, three delegates from each race were able to put aside their differences and bask in the warmth of friendship. They unified the tribes, put aside their hatred, and founded Equestria. This is the tale that is told every Hearth’s Warming Eve. What many forget is that this only a small part of the tale, for there is another portion to that is often overlooked.

To reward ponykind for coming together in harmony, the creator rewarded them with three gifts. For the first gift, he sent his three daughters to guide and protect Equestria and the ponies living there. Their names were Celestia, Luna, and Gaia. The second gift was the Elements of Harmony, so that those worthy enough to wield them could maintain peace in the world. The final gift was called the Scepter of Harmony.

Unlike the last two gifts, which were meant for all of ponykind, the scepter was meant only for one pony who could prove themselves worthy of true inner harmony. Whoever wields the scepter at its full power shall be granted one wish of their heart’s desire.

To power the staff, six stones representing Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Magic must be collected. Only after all six have been obtained, and their power tamed, can the power of the scepter be awoken.

According to legend, both the gems and the scepter were scattered all across Equestria, so that only somepony truly worthy could obtain them. However, nopony knows where all the gems are located. While some of the gems have been discovered, many of them have never been found. In addition, the scepter itself has been missing for centuries.

All who have searched for the gems have met terrible fates. They say that in order to unlock the power within them, one must pass trials created by the elements themselves. The trials seem to be extreme version of the elements they represent. There is one legend that states in order to pass the trial of Generosity, a pony must first offer their soul as tribute.

To think a pony would sacrifice their soul just for one wish...

It’s just a legend. You still have so much to live for, Shining. Please, don’t waste the short time we have together. I promise that even if I live to be twelve billion years old, you will always be in my heart. Remember that I married you knowing that our time together wouldn't last. I knew that the time we would spend together would be the happiest years of my existence, and I can say that so far they have been just that.

Everything Cadence had said ran through Shining Armor’s mind has he stood beside the now-sleeping princess. He gently kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear:

“Goodbye, Cadence. I’ll make sure that you’ll be happy for the rest of your life, no matter how long that may be.” He stood there for about a minute, debating whether or not he should go through with trying to find the magical scepter.

What the hell am I doing? he thought to himself. I can’t just leave Cadence. I’m going to be a father in about four or five months. I can’t just abandon her and my kingdom to go off and find some magical stick that may not even exist. Plus, I’d be leaving was leaving without a plan or sense of direction. Can I really do that?

He thought back to his dream, and just how vivid it was. He could even remember what the others in his dream had been thinking and feeling. Cadence was wrong. In the end, they would all be miserable when his time finally came, all because he wasn’t special enough to have a stupid pair of wings.

His mind made up, Shining Armor put on a black cloak to cover his face and cutie mark so that nopony would recognise him. He took one last look at Cadence, then silently trotted out of the room and closed the door behind him.

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After carefully packing bits and food for his journey, Shining Armor set off silently towards the Crystal Library. His dark cloak completely concealed his presence under the moonlight. It was still very early in the morning, which meant he couldn’t check out books. That left only one other option, one that greatly bothered his conscience. He would have to break in and steal them. Eventually, he trotted up to the large crystal doors of the library, and carefully picked the lock with his magic. Upon hearing a firm click, he gently opened the door and crept inside.

I can’t believe I’m actually breaking into a library. I must be losing my mind. No, I need to focus. Get in, get the books, and get out. Twily always says that studying is the key to success. If I want to be successful, I’m going to need all the help I can get.

He cantered over to the directory as he tried to remember everything his sister had taught him about the Mulely Decimal System. Shining was surprised at how easy it was, as it only took him a few minutes to find several books of interest, and there were quite a few, The Three Gifts of Hearth's Warmth, The Curse of the Harmony Gems, Daring Do: Crusaders of the Lost Scepter, Royal Treasures, and The History of Gaia: The Crystal Queen and Princess of Nature.

“Sweet.” he whispered to himself. “Now, all I have to do is find them.”

He turned his neck and looked at the huge shelves of books before him.

It’s a good thing this place is not nearly as big as the one from my dream.
       

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He gazed out the window of the train as he saw his kingdom disappear in the distance.

After “borrowing” a few books from the Crystal Library in the dead of night, Shining Armor took the late night train to Canterlot. While skimming through Royal Treasures, he found a section about the Honesty Gem. Apparently, it was in one of the display cases in Canterlot Castle.

He sat on the moving train with the dark cloak still covering his face and cutie mark. Beside him were five stolen library books. The library had recently been working on updating their collection to make up for the thousand-year time gap. Because of this, many of the books he stole were extremely out of date, but he did manage to get some more recently published works.

He tried reading one of the books, but eventually started to drift off.

"Come on Shining, just a little bit...more. Just... a..."

He closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them  then opened them the lights in the car had changed into a light blue. He saw the car door open before him  to reveal none other than Princess Luna. Shining smirked inwardly. Of course, I’m dreaming. Slowly, the Princess walked over to Shining Armor’s seat and glared angrily at him.

"What doth thou have to say for thy betrayal, Prince Armor?"

He groaned audibly. Why can't I even go to sleep without some pony invading my dreams?

Shining Armor looked up at Luna and returned an angry look of his own.

"How did you know? I thought you only looked into the dreams of troubled ponies?"

"Maybe it hath to do with the fact that thou art a troubled pony, Shining Armor. And you are about to be in even more trouble when my guards arrest you at the station tomorrow morning.”

“But I’ve done nothing illegal!” he said, voice raised.

“YOU HAVE ABANDONED MY NIECE!” Luna shouted in her Royal Canterlot voice. “YOU HAVE ABANDONED YOUR KINGDOM! ALL FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH ENDEAVORS! YOU WILL KILL YOURSELF TRYING TO ACHIEVE WHAT HUNDREDS HAVE TRIED TO DO AND FAILED! I SHALL TELL THEE ONCE, AND ONLY ONCE! RETURN TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE AND FORGET ABOUT THE SCEPTER!”

"You don't understand, Princess! I can't get the images of them crying out of my head! I'm guessing you saw my dream last night, which means you saw everything that she showed me. How can I live my life knowing that none of them will ever grow old with me?! Worst of all, once they get over their grief, they'll forget all about me! It’s not like I wanted them to mourn me for the rest of my life, but I don’t want my existence to mean nothing to them either!”

Luna paused for a moment before speaking.

"I know of your dream, Shining Armor, at least parts of it. Whoever entered your dreams was trying to suppress me. If that really was my sister, I doubt she would try and block me, unless she didn’t want me to intervene.”

“What do you mean ‘if’, she’s your sister?  Am I to believe that you can’t recognise your own sister, or have you just forgotten her, just like Twilight and Cadence will forget me thousands of years form now?”

“I MEAN I’M NOT SURE!” Luna boomed. “It looked like her and it sounded like her, but the pony I saw didn’t act like the sister I remember from my past. Need I remind you that I just spent the last thousand years stuck on the very rock I was given dominion over by my father himself? While my thoughts were clouded by darkness, the good in me held on to her memory. Her death played a big part in my turn to the dark side. That fact that you even suggested I have forgotten her is an insult!”

Shining was left utterly speechless at how Luna was able to transition from angry to downright furious, then straight to calm.

She began to speak softly.

"You left my niece in search of your own selfish desires. You can justify it any way you want, but in the end your quest is nothing but a greedy crusade. Pray tell, what will happen to Cadence and Twilight if you die right here, right now? I'm pretty sure that your untimely and preventable death will be more heartbreaking than any possible future that was shown to you.”

Shining Armor glared at Luna with scorn in his eyes.

“Maybe you're right, but I can’t turn back now. I want to be with Cadence and Twilight forever. If neither of them can die from old age, then I’ll never see them again in the afterlife unless something bad happens to them, and I don’t want that to happen. Becoming an alicorn is the only way I can ever find peace again.”

Luna’s expression changed from one of anger to sympathy, but the fire in her eyes did not leave her. Although she could understand his pain, she knew that his task wasn’t any less foolish.

“Celestia and I have often debated our father's true purpose for bringing the scepter into this world. He told us it was a ‘gift’, but For two thousand years, it has caused nothing but pain and suffering for this land. Everypony who's ever sought out the staff has met a terrible end.”

“Each of the Harmony Gems are protected by a spirit. These spirits are what give the Elements of Harmony and it’s bearers their power. By calling upon a gem’s power, you call upon the spirit of the element it represents. Once summoned, they will evaluate your to find all the times you showed kindness to others or demonstrated acts of loyalty. They will also evaluate all the times you were greedy, or were bitter towards other ponies. Then they will teleport your soul to their realm, where you must pass a trial of their own design. No pony has ever returned from that realm once brought there.

“This is why your efforts will only cause more pain. Even if you managed to find all gems and locate the scepter, you will never be able to power it unless you are proven worthy of all six attributes of harmony. Now, Shining Armor, I must ask, do you still feel confident in your goal knowing that you might end up bringing your family more pain should you fail?”

Shining Armor sat in his chair and thought for a while. Everything Luna said made sense, but at the same time he felt like he at least had to try. Then, he thought of an idea.

“I’ll prove to you that I’m the one.”

Luna’s poker face betrayed her slightly, as a hint of surprise befell her at the stallion's confidence.

“Please tell us how thou intends to do that.”

“I read in one of these books that the Gem of Honesty is locked in Canterlot Castle. If you bring the gem to me in Canterlot, I could take the trial in a controlled setting. That way, if anything bad starts to happen to my body, you can pull me out. If I return from the spirit world with the gem’s power, that will prove that I’m the one destined to wield the scepter.”

Luna thought about this for a moment. “As a former Bearer of Honesty, I think I could convince the spirit to return your soul to the realm of the living should you fail. If, in fact, you do fail the first trial, promise me you will give up this quest and go back to Cadance.

Shining Armor nodded. “I promise, Princess, but could you promise me one more thing?”

“What is that?”

“Please don’t let Twilly or Celestia find out what I’m doing.”

The Lunar Princess closed her eyes and let out a loud sigh.

“I promise.” she said. “I will meet you tomorrow nigh, along with the gem.”

“But how will I find you?” Shining asked.

She smirked.

“You won’t. I’ll find you.”