I could hardly think. My mind was foggy, boiling with naught but righteous fury. With each maddeningly strong heartbeat, my vision would jump. It was hard to focus, on anything but Tom.
My chest should be light and my hope, flaring. I should be unable to put one thought in front of the other with just the joy of seeing him in the flesh.
But he was in danger. There was Pinkie, holding a tied up Tom. He was trying to get free.
A cheerful voice echoed in my head. “We twist the hooves!”
I would not let her hurt him.
“I told you to let him go!” I snarled, lowering my head, horn pointed toward them.
Them. The Mane Six.
They were all looking at me, a mix of shock and defiance on their features. Fluttershy and Pinkie were the only two not assuming an aggressive stance.
The pink mare was just tilting her head in confusion, but not letting go of Tom. He looked uncomfortable, but worse, scared. His eyes had widened, but the iris had shrunken to dots. He had stopped squirming. He was curling on himself.
“Who do you think you are?!” Rainbow challenged, flying a few feet in front of her friends.
I saw her body, broken in half. I felt an urge. I wanted.
“Let go of my brother!” I shouted.
“S-Sam?” Tom’s jaw dropped.
“Brother?!” The other six exclaimed at the top of their lungs. Pinkie even dropped him to the ground.
Instantly, the world blurred, as an impulse went through my legs and made me dash forward. I was by Tom’s side in the second.
O-oh God… it was him. T-the little colt was looking at me with total shock, but even behind that pony’s face, I could recognize the Tom I had grown up with. I took in his features, his blue fur, his black mane, which incidentally was just like Tom’s haircut back on Earth, heck, his red eyes weren’t the same, obviously, but they looked at me the same way they did before.
The way my heart swelled with joy, I thought it would explode. It made me so dizzy I almost fell over. Relief came crashing down on me with the weight of the ocean.
“I…It’s really you…” I whispered, my voice hitching and cracking.
At the sound of my voice, something changed in his expression. The shock turned into doubt. “Y-you really came after me?”
It was as if he had hit me with one of his magical boulders. No… probably harder than that. My eyes stung with the creation of tears.
“Tom… of course I did. I’d never abandon you,” I whispered, nuzzling him.
Tom leaned against me, searching reassurance and truth. In response, I could only drop down and brought him closer with my hooves. Warmth seeped through the contact. It just felt so right that when my tears fell they carried no sadness or bitterness.
“I missed you…”
I felt a surge of heat go through my horn and the restraints around Tom expanded harmlessly. At their breaking point, they simply broke down into confetti.
Now free, Tom jumped further into my embrace. “I missed you too, Sam.”
My heart squeezed. Now that we were back together, the things I hadn’t allowed myself to think came surging back to me. I had done it. I had actually travelled to another world, dimension, whatever… to find my little brother.
And had I been slightly off about it… we would have never been reunited ever again.
My muscles contracted a bit harder, reaffirming the truth that Tom was here, that this wasn’t a dream I’d wake up from. I will never let this happen to us again, Tom. I swear. No one will hurt you. I swear.
“Is anypony else here confused?” The unmistakable Rainbow Dash asked, exchanging glances with the rest of her friends. “Anypony?”
That second one was completely unnecessary too, if only by the height at which Twilight’s jaw was hanging and that was without mentioning the size her iris had shrunken down to.
Her eyes twitched.
Fascinated, still in the other’s hooves, Tom and I stared at the poor gal whose face seemed to undergo a wide range of emotions.
“IS THERE A SALE ON HORNS AND WINGS GOING ON?!” She shouted at the top of her longs, her horn discharging a bolt of purple lightning. The stray magical bolt exploded into the sky, harmlessly, sure, but not without making noise comparable to that of a firework.
Holy crap…
“Huh…Twi?” Applejack poked her side with a timid hoof, eyes shining with worry. “You okay there, sugarcube?”
Said alicorn’s tensed expression slid off her face quickly, with her dropping her head a little. With a groan, she closed her eyes. “Sorry, girls. It’s just that this whole ‘New-Alicorn-in-Town’ business really got on my nerves and now there’s another one coming out of nowhere!”
“Oh, no worries, Twilight dear.” Rarity aimed an understanding smile at her. “Everypony can be subjected to a little stress now and then. There’s no need to apologize, really.”
“Well…” Rainbow Dash cut in, looking pensive.
Her friend’s glare stopped her rather quickly.
“What? It’s true.” She shrugged.
“Yes, perhaps,” Rarity replied with a cautious glance at Twilight. “However, the real point is that Twilight is right. We know virtually nothing of Blade and even less of this newcomer.”
Hearing these words were all the mares needed to truly focus their attentions on me, on us.
Shrugging off six pairs of eyes staring intently in our general direction, I stood up as if it had been a perfectly natural course of actions for me. Tom seemed the most confused at my actions, as I placed myself between him and the rest of the Mane Six.
Though I affected to project a calm aura, my inner self was all but. Oh crap, oh crap, ooooooh crap. What do I say? What do I do? This wasn’t part of the plan, which, by the way, wasn’t very well thought-out either. All right, plan? Grab Tom and run to the nearest portal. Why is there a portal in that scenario? Arrrrrrh, I have to choose something now! Something against the hate. Something to take away the hatred of Tom’s character.
“My apologies, my ladies,” I bowed my head, speaking with a more collected and respectful voice.
“What in tarnation?” Applejack blinked, confused by this turn of event.
“I suppose you mean the contrast between my earlier attitude and that I have adopted right now?” Great, I defaulted to noble speak! Now I’m stuck with that! Still, as before, I let nothing of my inner turmoil filter through this new façade. “Well, I will admit to overreacting when I saw my baby brother tied up and obviously trying to get out of strangers’ hooves.”
They all grimaced. The way I had painted the scenario, they did come out as kidnappers.
“Right… Sorry about that.” Twilight looked away, a very uneasy smile on her lips.
“No, no.” I waved a hoof nonchalantly. “It was a misunderstanding… I hope?” I added and put a great emphasis on this.
“Oh, yes.” Fluttershy nodded. “The Princess has asked that we bring him to her, but he was not very cooperative. We really meant no harm to Blade.”
Here’s one chance to do some damage control.
“Blade? Who is that?” I asked, tilting my head.
The atmosphere shifted drastically. I felt it in the air. Rarity was the one that expressed her dismay the most openly though, and she did so by biting her bottom lips gently.
Heck, I had really confused everyone, because I hear a bit of ruffling and shuffling behind me. I could guess without looking that Tom was dancing on his fe- hooves…
“Did you not say he was your brother?” Applejack narrowed her eyes at me.
I feigned recognition and let out a laugh. “Oh, he used that name again?”
Crap, I hope that laugher sounds real! My eyes went from one mare to the other, trying to gauge if any of them would call me out on my obviously badly strung story.
“What are you talking about?” Twilight tilted her head, not amused by the situation.
I turned around to Tom, who was trying and hilariously failing at an innocent, angel-like whistle. Really, the shifty eyes were all but giving up.
Doing my best to sell it, I ruffled Tom’s mane, briefly savoring the reassurance that I had indeed been reunited with my little brother.
“You’ve lied again, haven’t you?” I sounded more amused than displeased, mostly because I had no negative feeling whatsoever aimed at him for the moment.
Sheepishly, my brother turned colt crouched down to the ground, making himself appear as small and vulnerable as possible. In his eyes though, I could see the light of incomprehension.
In a moment of weakness, heart tugged by the sight, I leaned close enough to whisper for his ears alone. “Just play along, Tom.”
“We’re still waiting for you to start making sense.” Rainbow’s voice sounded as if she was rolling her eyes.
When I looked back to them, she was indeed the one with the biggest frown and the only one with her arms crossed over her chest.
“My baby brother does not think his name is cool enough, so he came up with an alias.”
“But Saaaaaaam!” Now you find your voice, eh, bro?
“You have lost your coolness privilege the moment you ran away like that without telling anyone first, baby brother.” I chuckled, which was actually sincere this time.
“No fair!” Music to my ears, Tom.
“Right.” Dash gave us a flat look. “So his name is Tom and yours is Sam? Mares, alicorns have the strangest names.”
While I pretended to appear mildly bemused by her remark, inside I was sweating. Right? Human names? The bronies will rip us apart if I let this go. “Oh, those? No, those are nicknames.”
“Nicknames?” Twilight repeated, clearly doubting my words.
“Yes, it is a rather long story, one that involves a few extra-dimensional beasts and I wouldn’t want to bore you.” Casual and smooth, keep talking like a stuffed up noble, don’t break character. And I really shouldn’t say things like that around Pinkie Pie. Better continue before I start a disaster. “I am Ventus Vinco and this is my little brother Calx Iugum.”
“Come again, Sugarcube?” Applejack tilted her head, very confused.
I chuckled softly as if I was amused, though I felt none of it. I was much closer to panic. WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? “Yes, that is indeed how most ponies react, hence the nicknames.”
A sharp pain erupted in my right hind leg, making me flinch and grit my teeth together.
“Sam!” A force hit me again, though this time, it wasn’t as strong. If anything, that felt like something bumping into me.
A blue bundle of fur ran past me. With a brief moment of panic, I recognized the sniffing noise. Tom was scowling, tears of frustration starting to gather in his eyes. He was already trying to zigzag between the girls.
That is SO not the time to throw a tantrum, buddy, I thought. However, in my chest, a bubbling fear had already replaced the annoyance. Every inches of distance he managed to put between us was an inch toward another separation. And through the panic, something else pierced. Anger. “Oh no, you DON’T!”
Again, without a true control of my body, I moved. My legs pushed at the ground with more strength than I thought I had and lifted me in the air. The images of the Mane Six briefly scrolled past me, as I jumped past them, pinning Tom to the ground on my very first try.
“LET ME GO!” He screamed, flailing his limbs uselessly, but that plea fell in the wrong ears.
I would have none of this crap. Not now! “No, I am not letting go!” I snarled, pressing down on his hooves hard enough for him to be completely stuck.
Amazingly, Rainbow Dash had the guts to move toward us, mouth pressed into a thin line. “H-hey! That’s a little much, don’t you think?”
“The last time I let go of him in that state of mind, he traveled to another dimension!”
I heard them gasp; I did not care. My attention was entirely focused on my little brother who seemed to really need a good scolding.
“LET GO! I DON’T WANT TO LISTEN TO YOU!” Tom screamed louder, growling now that he was not in any position to do more.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard a dam break. This was one of those straws, the ones that break the camel’s back in half and put him in the hospital for surgery, only for the medics not to find any anesthetic before the operation.
Things blurred. The edges of my vision were not very clear cut anymore. A fog of rage was stretching and distorting those limits. Heat spread from my horn to my mouth and sparks danced into my throat. When I spoke, the volume was deafening.
“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF HELL YOU PUT US THROUGH?! DO YOU EVER STOP TO THINK HOW IT MIGHT MAKE ME, MOM OR DAD FEEL?! WE’VE JUST SPENT A WEEK LOOKING FOR YOU EVERYWHERE AND YOU’RE STILL TRYING TO PULL THAT KIND OF STUNT THE SECOND YOU DON’T GET YOUR WAY?! YOU ARE A SELFISH, SPOILED BRAT! GROW UP!”
Silence fell after that last bout of yelling. It wasn’t a pleasant silence either.
Heavy.
Dark.
Uneasy.
Internally, I felt my inner demons fall asleep, appeased by this outburst. My fury faded away with them, melting and leaving just an empty lifeless void in its place.
My breath was short and fatigue seemed to have mad my legs heavier, but I could not focus on that. Underneath me, a colt was looking at me with wide eyes shining with tears. His body had started shaking, with a little sob escaping his mouth the next moment.
The sound clawed its way to my heart. It tore apart that veil of indifference. It filled it with horrified dismay. What have I done?
“T-Tom…” I whispered, voice cracking with the overwhelming guilt.
I did not get to see or hear his reaction though, as something suddenly barreled into me. My eyes never leaving Tom, glimpses of pink nonetheless flashed before me, mainly from the general area of this new pain. “You big meanie!”
Urgh… Pinkie Pie?
Hooves grabbed each side of my face and forced to my left. Blue irises stared back at me and there was no joy in them. “How could you say such awful things to your own brother?”
“That was mean.” The words had been soft spoken, but there was mistake in the sternness behind them. The simple fact that a pale yellow pegasus was hovering over Tom, protectively, was enough to kick up my guilt another notch.
I knew who she was protecting him from. I heartily approved.
My little brother, however, decided he needed no pony’s protection and ran off, the Mane Six hesitant to follow suit.
“TOM!” I screamed, calling desperately for him to stop. He ignored it completely. Not that I would blame him…
I… I think I’m going to be sick.
No words left my lips, even as I choked on my breath after many unfruitful attempts. It was pointless, my throat had already constricted too painfully under the weight of my guilt.
What am I doing here? What am I doing?!
Prickles of pain spread in my eyes. It stung. It hurt to feel them water.
My shoulders hitched as I closed my eyes in shame. Bitter tears fell down from my cheeks, splashing the ground monotonously.
How could I…?
I felt as if the world had started to crash down and burn. I had spent so much time and energy focusing every aspect of my person toward protecting Tom that I could not even understand my own actions now. I had hurt him, in the worst possible way.
What am I doing? I stared at my hooves, held in front of me. What kind of monster…?
Applejack sighed. “Come on, gals, we have a foal to catch. Again.”
The rest of them nodded, with the exception of Twilight. She, of them all, seemed the most hesitant. “…Go. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Seconds later, stampeding hooves indicated the departure of the other five.
Hers steps were much more light, making me wonder how calm she was. I did not look up to satisfy this curiosity.
“Ventus, right?”
That required no answer.
“I am sorry for what you went through, sincerely.” She took another step closer and her voice seemed incredibly humble. I could not understand. “It must have been horrible.”
I wished I could have ignored her words, but they rang true. This was not a fake display of sympathy. Those words carried weight.
“I do know what it is like to almost lose your little brother because of a fight. I remember the anger I felt when I found him back, buried beneath the endless relief toward his safety.”
“W-where are you going with this, Princess Twilight?” I asked, miraculously able to call forth enough decorum to keep up the accent. But really, who cared at this point? I was fairly certain I had blown it in my rant anyway.
“I want you to know that it is not the end of the world. There are still plenty of chances for you to mend those broken pieces.”
You have no idea how much I want to believe you, Twilight. Even then though, the words were enough of a soothing force to lift my mood a little. Just a little.
“I… thank you for your kind words, Princess.” The words came off as chopped and anguished. Hopefully, she could grasp my own sincerity. “Especially since you took time off your mission to tell me this.”
“Well, that is not totally true.” She looked away, smiling sheepishly. “My mission probably changed by now anyway.”
I did not see that coming. “I beg you pardon?”
“…I really think you should accompany us to see Princess Celestia too.”
Oh dear…