//------------------------------// // Dignity // Story: How my Little Brother Became an Alicorn // by WiseFireCracker //------------------------------// My head was against the most comfortable pillow in the universe. Its fluffiness would be forever registered as unequaled and I might one day dedicate a poem to it. Elders, this was a comfortable place for my head to rest. “Sam… wake up!” Not yet. Strange voice, just let me rest. Luna’s visit just drained me. “Saaaaam!” Well, there was no mistaking that kind of whining. “Yeah, yeah, waking up, squirt,” I grunted, batting a hoof in the air and not moving an inch. “You just said you’d-” He cut himself short, probably in indignation. My theory proved itself more likely when two hooves started pushing against my shoulders. “Stand up!” I was too comfortable to be pushed away, so my body mostly went through a forward-backward movement with each push. “Come on, you big dummy! It’s morning already.” “I’m not feeling up to it, Tom,” I muttered again, which was followed by a yawn I couldn’t keep in. “Just… come back later.” “We’re gonna miss breakfast! Celestia said my lessons were supposed to start right after it was over!” Surprised, I crept open one eye… My brain exploded with pain from the bright sunny weather. Hastily, I blinked and flinched, which Tom took as a good sign and had him sit down. He was still a little blurry to me though. “Did you just say you wanted to go to a lesson?” “Buck no!” He protested with a disdainful sneer. Regretfully, my heart lingering to that patch of grass that had made my morning so divine, I finally got around to sitting up. That, however, did not mean that my mind was fully operational at the moment. Things were a little hazy. “Right, so what’s the big emergency this morning?” I asked, halfway focused on our little exchange here. Another alicorn’s words were very much at the front of my mind. “Oh come on!” Tom looked about ready to sulk now. “I just said we’re gonna miss breakfast if we don’t hurry up!” Okay, small normal issues. I can deal with that… My expression slipped toward the usual mask, alarmingly easily. “Right, let’s go then.” My words being the only cue, I forced myself to stand on my hooves and just accompany him to the dining hall where any number of nobles might try to get my head for my attitude at the party yesterday. It certainly wasn’t a situation I was looking forward to, but I didn’t have much of a choice. We’d be there soon enough. Except Tom wasn’t following me. Not understanding this moodswing, I turned around and came face to face with him. I… wasn’t ready for this… His crimson irises were focused on me, and they shone with worry. “What’s wrong?” “H-huh…” I hadn’t expected him to notice anything. Clearly, I wasn’t putting enough effort into this. “Nothing’s wrong, bro.” “You have that face. You keep making it here and you always look really unhappy!” My face…? L-like me trying to just look calm and happy? Granted, this wasn’t even close to how I acted back on Earth… or even in the Astral Planes themselves, but for Tom to notice and realize what it meant… Alright, I’ll admit it. I just underestimated you, bro. “I… I’m not, Tom. Promise.” I tried a reassuring smile, the kind that usually worked with him. But he was surprisingly tenacious on top of being perceptive this morning. He just narrowed his eyes at me and pressed on. “Pinkie Promise?” “Err…” I certainly don’t want to risk that. I don’t need any angry mare breathing down my neck at the moment. Unfortunately, my hesitation had been revealing. “Sam!” Tom shouted. “What’s wrong?! Tell me!” “H-hum… I…” What do I say? I can’t tell him about how grim things look for us! Nor that I don’t believe there’s a way for us to get back home! My thoughts stopped. The buzzing activity caused by my panic had ceased, when the fear I had buried was brought into light. I don’t believe we’ll make it to Earth again… A twitch put a dent in my mask. “Sam!” He was flying to my eye level, his wings flapping quickly to maintain him in place. “You always tell me it’s okay to say when I don’t feel okay, so tell me why you’re not okay!” I looked away. “It’s complicated…” Tiny hooves stomped the ground angrily, childish frustration fueling them. “Explain it then! I’m not twenty anymore, I can understand!” “Do you not shield your brother so?” Luna said… She asked me the same question I asked of her. A-and… Tom’s right… He at least has the right to know I’m trying to get us back on Earth… Even if he might figure out from my mood… I closed my eyes for a second, needing a moment to build up the courage, a moment away from the steel resolve behind the crimson irises. The sea beneath the surface just moved in violent torrent. I-it was so… hard… to just tell the truth… But for him, I could. “I’ve been trying to find a way back home…” Tom quietly sat down, looking down, causing a pang of painful guilt to sear through my chest. “I knew that…” My eyes opened wide. …W-w-what? “That’s just like you, Sam,” he explained slowly, with a kind of maturity I wasn’t expecting of him. “When I have a problem, you always do your best to solve it, right?” There were a couple of occurrences floating in my mind in how I had such things on a semi-regular basis. It was the truth, of course, but I had never done something on such a base before. T-this one might be beyond me. “Yeah…” I sighed. But my little brother certainly didn’t share my weariness. In lieu of a grimace, he offered me a shining grin. “That’s why you’re awesome, Sam.” “T-Tom…” Don’t you dare say that! You don’t know what I’ve been thinking about! “What?” He stood, insolent and bashful, knowing the kind of stuff I wanted to tell him, and daring me to go ahead and contradict him. It would forever follow me; to deny my own awesomeness would subject me to years of stupid taunting. “Come on, I wanna get breakfast for real now.” Breakfast. Oh dear, everything would go wrong, right? -- I was wrong. Nothing worth noting happened. A scroll had been left at my intention, but beyond that… Well, nopony had much of a heart to make game-changing talk when the Princess of the Sun herself had been absent all morning. Her seat had been shockingly empty when we had entered and a quick glance at the nobles gathered the table had all but confirmed she had not simply left early. Thus, we could eat in peace, without the pressure of her gaze on me, judging silently. It made it easier for me to relax. Cherry on top, the princess wasn’t even the only missing figure of importance, if one had a loose definition of importance. Blueblood was nowhere to be seen. The most popular theory was that he was nursing his bruised ego, his hangover or yet another dispute on whether or not he fathered a child. Strangely though, I had a feeling it wasn’t even close to the actual truth… Still, there was nothing I really wanted to do about it at the given moment. Perhaps later, if the mood struck me… The instructions left by Celestia were opened just after we finished our meals, or rather, I had finished mine and Tom was still asking for seconds. Let’s see… she gave me… two assignments today? For real? It did irk me that she would do that, but I wasn’t about to defy her will, certainly not again and definitely not after Luna had bothered reaching me in my dreams about it. Alright, first off… the archives of Equestria laws...? Now that is just blunt, Cousin. Then again, it was nothing compared to the rest. Wait, she wants Tom and I to go talk to the Mane Six before they… oh buck… OH BUCK! -- Sunlight would not pierce through the cover of the leaves. The density of the forest was much too great, sometimes too erratic, for the light of Celestia’s sun to shine over the cold and unwelcoming atmosphere of the Everfree. Shadows cast by the trees were bigger than they had the right to be, in many visitors’ mind. As the day signaled its beginning with the dawn and the song of roosters however, a seasoned and perceptive being might have noticed, before an untimely demise, that the shadows were also far too numerous. -- It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that we crashed into the Elements of Harmony’s private dining room in a panicked blur. At least, from my point of view it wasn’t. After a very unprincely and ungracious stumble that had me splayed against the cold hard floor, I could accept that description. I didn’t have much going in the way of sensation. My heart was beating like a maniac in my chest and created that deafening pulse in my ears. My vision jumped with every beat. Disheveled, I had to put away my mane from my eyes to see them. “Hey Bladey. Hey Sammy!” A flashy pink mare jumped from her seat, being the first to greet me – and thus the first to help me up. “Did you like the party? Are you feeling better? Or maybe even a better stallion? Hint, hint!” I blinked. Well, at least, she’s not trying to be subtle. “I… I do feel as if the party helped me sorted some repressed feelings,” I said slowly, glancing at Twilight. My chest contracted painfully when she averted her gaze immediately. The signs are multiplying. “Great! I’m really happy it helped you then!” Pinkie cheered, taking my hoof into her own and shaking it up and down. “Likewise…” I ignored the numbness spreading in that leg, up to my shoulder, making the comment a little robotic-like. “It was a nice party…” Fortunately, a pony or two in this room were not that great at reading the mood. “You can bet it was! We played so many games!” Calx jumped in between us, wearing a wide grin and shaking with excitement. “Rising Gold was so jealous of me! He kept saying he wanted a big brother now!” Adorableness levels, increasing… increasing… critical level reached. “Aw, ain’t ya lucky ya do have one, eh?” Applejack chuckled, joined in her laugher by Fluttershy and Twilight. Tom puffed his chest and spread his wings proudly. “Duh! My big brother is the best one there is!” Had I wanted to be stoic, I would have failed miserably. My gaze was directed toward him and I could not look away. I-I just… Elders, it felt like I was going to cry. After having it beaten in my head that I was a bad stallion, it felt really nice to have at least one pony on my side. A loud crash had us all jolt in shock. As one pony, we turned around, violently to cause enough whiplash to anypony BUT Pinkie Pie. The scene we were treated in for was strangely worth the pain… Two easily recognizable mares had ran into each other, trying to enter the room unnoticed. No, that wasn’t quite true. Two usually recognizable mares had collided and sent a ridiculously pompous vase to its demise. Then again, Rainbow Dash and Rarity probably envied that untimely destruction the inanimate had been subject to, if only by the blush spreading to their whole heads. Rainbow Dash’s was strategically hidden by a royal guard’s helmet that had tainted her coat and mane a darker shade of blue, which was quite trendy to be honest. Striking me as the oddest detail had to be the attire Rarity was covered in though. It was just so… so tastelessly overwhelming. From her horn to her hooves, she seemed to have used every piece of fabric possible to cover herself. Fashionable giant hat, epic sunglasses, silky scarf, hips-covering coat… one would be hard pressed to recognize the unicorn under all those clo- The reason flashed in my mind, making me fight a snort. Somepony doesn’t want to be seen this morning. Not after yesterday night… Yes, she had been somewhat lucid after her session of mouth sucking with Blueblood, so that’s to be expected. Oh, I do not want to be in her horseshoes right now. Thank the Elders my conversation with Twilight had gone on unnoticed outside the ballroom. For a brief moment, nopony really said anything, preferring to stare at the two strangely behaving mares that had pretty much intruded into our cutesy moment. For once, neither of them could summon their self-confidence and their sense of worth, probably still reeling from last night’s party. “Soooo…” Twilight said awkwardly, looking away from her dreadfully embarrassed friends. “W-what brings you here so early?” Aw crap, I hadn’t thought of that. Last night was probably safe, but this is sure to be an episode scene or something! The whole Mane Six is leaving Canterlot! T-th-they probably haven’t caught up on the shipping yet… The idea of a void to be trapped in forever made my blood freeze. “W-well…” I coughed, fighting a nervous laugh. “Cousin Celly told me you wished to speak to me before taking part in any task I had in mind. Might I ask what you wanted of me this morning?” They seemed surprised at my question. It probably wasn’t the right thing to say… Nonetheless, eyes slightly wider than usual, Twilight was the one to step forward. Good… if she was still willing to talk to me, then things weren’t lost yet. “We… hum… wanted to talk to you before we left. According to the princesses, we’re not needed at the moment, so it’s best if we go back to Ponyville.” “You’re leaving!?” Calx shouted, lips threatening to form a pout. “Awwww, come on!” “I’m very sorry, Calx…” Fluttershy took a step forward, hiding halfway behind her mane. “Most… of us had to take an impromptu break from our jobs a-and…” “Eh, that was fine by me.” “Oh, I’m sure Rainbow, dear, but some of us have a reputation of hard work and diligence to maintain.” She gave a pointed glare to her airborne friend, sliding the sunglasses on her muzzle so the emotion could be appropriately conveyed. It was an impressive display of resentment and anger. “I can only pull the ‘Celestia needed me’ card for so long before some of my clients look for another designer!” Dash’ eyes narrowed. “Hey! I do have a reputation too. It’s awesome, if you didn’t know.” Yeah… you do have a reputation, especially ‘cause of your mane, Rainbow… and unjustified if I judge by last night’s events. “Knock it off, y’all.” Applejack walked in between them. “This ain’t the time for yer lil’ cat fights. Y’all been bickering all night and morning. We’re just sick of it now!” “R-right…” Twilight spoke up again, sending uneasy looks between her friends. They exchanged glares and silent threats of fashionable or unfashionable horrors. “A-as I was saying… w-we’ll be… taking the train back to Ponyville today…” In the corner of my eyes, I saw Tom’s ears droop with disappointment and I had to painfully fight my first instinct not to do the same. Through some effort, I affected a hesitant, quiet voice. “So that’s what you choose?” It came out as a whisper, forcing most ponies in the room to strain their hearing to get it. This isn’t good! There’s got to be something… Softly, I leaned forward and nuzzled her neck. Warmth crept up to my cheeks and hers, especially with so many witnesses, but I couldn’t risk not doing anything. So I took another step forward and extended a wing to enlace her. Wordless gasps came out from the mares surrounding us, while one little colt snorted in amusement and pretended to gag. However, Twilight’s reaction was the strongest, at least in terms on impact on me. She squeaked, freezing at the sudden contact. She seriously had no idea how to react to romance. This was just painful to do. “I-I’m sorry…” I whispered under my breath. “What I did last night was not appropriate… b-but it did… it did mean something important to me…” Did it? “I… I need you here.” My embrace involuntarily strengthened, the emotion starting to mess with my restraint. “Will you not stay with me at least a little longer?” There was a flash of light and suddenly I wasn’t hugging anypony. Just a meter away from me, the purple of her fur was like a beacon, gathering my attention after she had made herself deliberately inaccessible. Seeing her apprehensions, I felt fear crawling at the back of my head. “Twilight…” “This is not… this is too fast, Ventus. I need time to think!” My mouth twisted into a pained grimace. I wasn’t faking that, at least. I truly was pleading for her to stay. “You know that’s not something I can give you…” “Whoa there, lovercolt, ya might want to give Twi space for her to breath.” To my own surprise, my heart squeezed in my chest when the cowpony pushed us further away from each other. It got worse when Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “Yes… of course…” I said, trying to sound regal again, but my heart just wasn’t up to it. I had been so blatant – so freaking moronic and impulsive –, that an uncomfortable silence had installed itself between us. Nopony really said anything, nor dared to try. I did shoot a few glances at Twilight, hoping to get her to react, but she pointedly avoided my gaze. The only pony in the room that didn't look like he wanted to leave was because he only felt vaguely concerned by this turn of events. Yes, Calx was just waiting, examining his hooves impatiently with the hopes that somepony would just step up already. Applejack did. “So, huh… we’ll... take our leave. Lots of work to do. See ya, princes.” And like that, they hurried out of the room, on the verge of running to get their own baggages for the trip back to Ponyville. -- Six mares were boarding the train from Canterlot to Ponyville that morning. Of them, two were simply taking naps, being confident in the stability of their lives, especially when they were going back home. Three others were thinking ahead on the workload they had doubtlessly accumulated over the passing days. The very notion of such a thing left one mare guilty at leaving her tasks to the rest of her family, but a princess’ summoning wasn’t something anypony could refuse like that. And one very much hangover unicorn felt her face burn up every time she repeated the prince’s words in her mind. ‘What I did last night was not appropriate…’ Something not appropriate…?! With Twilight?! -- Where did it all go to Tartarus so quickly? One minute it seemed like… like maybe there was something between us… at least coming from HER! S-she did not seem to be resenting me, but she… she just left. Like that! There was so little ceremony in a princess like her leaving the capital of Equestria that it HAD to have been on purpose. I was giving myself a headache trying to figure out how to properly woo Twilight and convince her to come back, help me and Calx and keep it a secret, preferably without getting flamed to death by either a certain fandom or another, the second being a group of ponies that didn’t like their Element of Magic being screwed over. Of course, since I was trying to focus, Tom being a little brat meant there was this brotherly tradition he couldn’t ignore at the moment. Thus, he was jumping up and down, chanting. “Sam’s got a crush on Twilight, Sam’s got a crush on Twi-” The nerve destroying sound abruptly disappeared. Noticing that, he stopped, staring at his muzzle with shock, trying to speak but with nothing coming out. With a glare in my direction, he got to know the source of that strange event. My horn was glowing. “Ah, there’s nothing quite like abusing the laws of nature to shut you up in the morning, squirt.” His expression turned into a sour pout. It was the typical kind that showed up whenever he didn’t feel like doing something or he was denied what he wanted to be doing. That little pout had zero effect on me. It didn’t tug at my heartstrings. Good, or else I would really feel bad about my next words. “Time for you to go to class…” In retrospect, the silencing spell was even more of a genius idea that I first figured. None of his whining and groaning reached my ears. Oh glorious magic, how I love your usefulness. -- “Look, I think I got it. This season does have a big plot twist.” His jaw closed down on the snack and spicy flavors filled his mouth. The sensation was nice and comforting, after yet another day that just didn’t work out for him. He appreciated the simple fun of having a taste of his favorite chips. The only downside was the fine film of seasoning sticking to his fingers. He couldn’t use his keyboard like that. Oh well, he wasn’t actively typing anyway. Plus, he’d be crazy to jump in between those two when they were arguing about ponies. “Oh, get off it, Love. The writers just screwed it up, the whole season.” There we go again. Those two were literally on opposite side of the 'mlp' spectrum, though LoveCupcake was on the much scarcely spread side of the fandom. BestDerp, on the other hand, was vehemently calling every new episode with prominent focus on any of the new characters complete garbage. He wasn’t the only one either. Eric was hard pressed to fight that opinion. ‘My Little Pony’ wasn’t actually that bad, just… not up to its usual level of quality. “Season four is officially non-existent, except for the real episodes.” “Oh, BestDerp, {obligatory comment about that river in Egypt}!” That one brought a smile to Eric’s lips. It was so predictable, but, for some reason, he still found it funny. The same couldn’t be said of his fellow brony. “Whatever, Love, it didn’t capture the usual feeling of MLP at all! It’s like one big train wreck and we’re forced to watch.” Some of the young man’s chips seemed to form a ball in his throat. He had had the same impression BestDerp had described, but not toward the show. No, it was aimed more closely toward his relationship with… well, everyone… His psychiatrist had deemed him fit for the cessation of their weekly meetings. The last one had left him feeling somewhat adequate. He had worked through his guilt complex, understanding that no, he wasn’t responsible for his friends’ departures, Sam even less so. Bad luck, she had said. Still, her encouragements had been nice. It was only after his friends had mostly left his life that he noticed how empty it was. It wasn’t the first time he lost some friends, but he would have preferred it never happened nonetheless. Being alone sucks. Though n-not as much as… He thought back on Mr. and Mrs. Miller. His attempt at participating in the searches had turned sour rapidly, when the two parents had started arguing just as he approached them. Eric had judged wise to slip away unnoticed at that moment, but the image was burned in his brain. With a sigh, he swallowed again, hoping to make the uncomfortable sensation go down and fade away. On the screen, the conversation had gone on, culminating on some virtual screaming. Caps lock had been thrown, bold fonts and even one or two memes. “I’m telling you, Derp! You’re not looking at the signs from the right perspective!” “It’s just bad writing!” “No, it’s not! They’ve planted plenty of hints throughout the season! Heck, Rarity herself made notes of inconsistencies in their behavior. It’s not a fault, the conflicting information are just the sign of a conflict within the show! You were the one to say they give a different vibe from the rest of the ponies. Heck, they even use nicknames appropriate for their true nature!” The angry came fast and angry, in the middle of Love’s explanation. “DON’T YOU DARE HINT THAT!” “They’re humans in Equestria!” Breaking noises echoed in the small room, deafening, as the cup of coffee slipped between Eric’s fingers and fell to the ground. The furious succession of alerts from his chatroom’s browser flew right over his head. The brony was staring blankly at his screen. -- Equestrian laws could be extraordinarily weird. A few hours of reading dull enough to make me fall asleep had at least thought me that. While a few seemed to be remnants of an ancient time, some sounded foreign to the Sam part of me. For example, shunning somepony was held a more severe offense than physically assault them. Opposing that was this ancient text saying that any insult to honor of one’s family could be legally retaliated by one such assault of equal weight, though this only applied to noble recipients. THAT explained so much, yet so little… For starters, my previous onslaught against a certain white stallion daintily taunted me. Not fear, but puzzlement grew within me, a taint of shame also breaking through at the implications. If BLUEBLOOD was legally entitled to revenge against me, why hadn’t he done anything yet?