At some point, things had gone oh so horribly wrong for him. It had been a normal, if slightly boring Mother’s Day for him at that point. Usually, they just went to a restaurant at noon, then he took his mother shopping. Not exceptionally fancy, but it was just about spending time with one another.
So, how in Tartarus had he come to be recruited to play in a game of hoofball out of nowhere? He barely knew either of those mares, though, of course, everypony in Ponyville knew Rarity by sight, national hero and darn hot mare.
Hay, of the two, he would have been more logically playing for her rather than that Fine Stitch. Alas, Caramel had had no choice in the matter and had been recruited to face Rarity’s team.
Which somehow included Big Mac and Applejack.
Cold sweat had gone down his spine at the realization. Both were dangerous foes, the eldest sibling being a veritable juggernaut and the younger being able to regularly wrestle with bulls and cows in rodeos.
Yet, as the game had progressed, the poor stallion had also been made to see that, for all their strength, they paled in comparison to the absolutely vicious ferocity of their frailer unicorn friend.
She was a beast. Literally and metaphorically.
Fine Stitch’s team of misfits had had no chance. Still, this was hoofball and, traumatized as he may be, Caramel still had enough of a competitive streak to do his best to win.
“Pass it!” He shouted to Doctor Whooves, the second random pony to have been brought into this.
The brown earth pony asked no question and simply threw the ball to his teammate, under the cheers of his friend, a well-know mailpony.
Caramel jumped, dodging the intimidating charge from an orange mare, and placed his front hooves onto her back. With another powerful push, he used her as a springboard and caught his prize in his mouth.
Yes! He thought. This isn’t over ye-
His world started spinning, pain suddenly filling his entire left side. In a single moment of distraction and hope, he had been viciously tackled into the ground, with the force of a thousand parasprites. His vision blurred momentarily, letting him only see a white form running in the opposite direction, a hoofball in her mouth.
“That’s my daughter!” Magnum cheered loudly, clapping and jumping in his seat.
Rarity swiftly dodged her rival’s desperate attempt at stopping her, but the fashionista was not one to be denied victory. Pushing forward savagely, she threw herself forward, scoring the victory for her team and sealing the deal over Fine Stitch’s fashion death.
She roared, making the nearby ponies out of the loop cower at the sudden eruption of what appeared to be a predator’s voice. “Victory is MINE!”
“Forgetting somepony, SugarCube?” Applejack interjected, walking up to her with her brother in tow, looking slightly incredulous.
The voice of reason snapped Rarity out of her bloodthirsty trance, rendering her aware that she was standing on her hind legs in the middle of a playing field, surrounded by various ponies eying her with various levels of fear and amusement.
“T-that is to say, a lady never loses,” she chuckled meekly, trying to ignore the burning heat running across her face.
Perhaps with a bit of panic putting springs in her legs, the unicorn quickly ran to her family standing on the side.
“Yay! You did it, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement and admiration.
By her side, their mother chuckled at her elder daughter’s behavior. It was always quite funny to witness her prim’s side be overshadowed by the brutal playing style Rarity had inherited from her father.
A bashful smile graced the fashionista’s features. “Your honor is safe, Mother.”
--
Usually, some of her animal friends would grace her tea parties with their ballads and their melodies. However, even if Celestia’s sun was high in the sky and shining upon them a bright and cheerful day devoid of any lingering darkness, even if this day seemed similar in all points with every other day, the hill her picnicking towel had been spread on remained eerily silent.
The reason for this oddity was simple, and currently sitting on a washing machine.
“Delicious,” Discord said, sipping some of his tea on top of the magically powered appliance. “I especially like the artificial dragon scale flavor.”
Meekly, she looked away. “Hum… that’s your doing…”
The draconequus only gave a little nod of acknowledgment, the corner of his lips inching upward ever so slightly. “I do have a taste for great tea, don’t I?”
“You do…” She paid no real attention to the flying glove that patted him in the back, adding to the smug image. Such small events were actually easy to ignore once their meetings had grown in numbers. No, truthfully, Fluttershy only had interest in her friend’s well-being.
He had been surprised, very surprised, at her invitation. That wasn’t something common. The being of Chaos had always done his best to appear unflappable, which she had speculated could have been an armor of some sort against what had been a friendless world for him. Yet…
It had caused a little pinch in her chest to see Discord shocked by a simple display of compassion. To her shame, it had also created curiosity within her mind. The best behavior would have been to offer a quiet support and listen if he wanted to reveal it to her.
Sometimes, Fluttershy feared that she was a horrible pony.
“Y-you know... I didn't mean to imply anything when I invited you... I just... didn't know if you had...” She stopped, letting out a high pitched squeal of pure shyness as her cheeks colored red.
“Oh, no, that is quite alright Fluttershy. As it turns out, I do not have a mother. Hence my surprise at your proposition.” The draconequus drank more tea from his cup, which had the result to fill the teacup with more steaming purple liquid. His friend’s nose picked up the scent as somewhat bitter, but with a touch of spice. Coffee, perhaps? “But I do have an older sister.”
“O-oh?” She perked up, interested in that surprisingly direct confession.
“Yes, an older sister. Older, by a measure of time so vast you cannot process it…” For a frightful moment, she feared that he would stop at this part of his explanation. Quickly though, his yellow eyes fell on her, and the way his smirk grew gave her the impression he had seen through her. “Her name is Pandora, at the moment, at least.”
“That’s a nice name.” She nodded, happy that her kind words were genuine.
“Yes, my dear, and quite ironic when one knows of multiple realities. For example, in one culture, that very same name defines the one being that unleashed all the evils in their world.”
“That’s terrible…”
“Well,” he sighed, shrugging and rolling his eyes. “I suppose some of it can be true, as, from your point of view, Fluttershy, my sister is the Elder being of Emotions.”
The quiet pegasus almost gasped, honestly not expecting this revelation from her peculiar friend.
“Every little tear you have shed, every fear that grounded you, every bit of anger that made you think horrible things…” Discord listed off, with a strange tone, devoid of any mischief or playfulness. “Shame, awkwardness, inadequate…”
Her chest felt heavy and she looked down. She didn’t want to be reminded of that. It had made her so… helpless. There had been no fighting back at the time, only more soul crushing experiences after the others.
It wasn’t like that anymore however. She had friends, incredibly good friends that offered their hooves and the sweat of their brows whenever she needed it. She knew that.
Suddenly, the weight disappeared, and it became so easy to look back at Discord with a simple, satisfied expression.
“Every smile I gave, no matter how small, every laugh, every compassionate gesture, everything about my friends…” And as her tone grew stronger, so did her confidence, in herself and in the good of Pandora.
The draconequus nodded with approval and perhaps a bit of a smirk.
“Congratulation, my dear. You have proven yourself smarter than at least one stick in the mud eons old.”
Eons? Fluttershy thought. It’s a unit of time, right? Twilight said it was very, very, very long…
Her expression fell, as much as she tried to keep it neutral, her inner sadness prevailed. It must be lonely to be that old…
“Is she your only sibling?” She asked quietly.
“Oh, there are a few others that could be called that, but it doesn't matter much anyway. There are also my older half siblings, but they think I butt in too often. Then, there's that little brat, Harmony.”
The way his claws ensnarled the teacup suggested many things about his opinion of the being. In fact, the delicate porcelain emitted a mute sound, before cracking up from top to bottom.
Such an event could not escape the pegasus’ notice.
“That’s not a very nice thing to say, Discord,” Fluttershy chastised him, frowning slightly.
“Oh, but it is the honest truth. The youngest of the Old Ones and yet it gets to call all the shots. I would say that’s parental favoritism by some senile parents, but there’s no one older than us anyway.”
At this, her mind felt torn, as if trying to follow too many focuses at once. Part of her heart shattered at the revelation of his entire lack of parent, while her conscience wanted to scold him for the obvious disdain he showed toward a younger being.
As such, her mouth pronounced words she had not expected. “Wait… you were there before there was Harmony?”
“Of course, my dear.” Discord took her question in stride. “Chaos is what disrupts the balance first. What happens afterward is an attempt to fix it and bring things back to Order or Harmony.”
“T-then th-”
“Hey, Fluttershy!” A familiar voice called, coming from above.
The poor pegasus mare jumped, taken completely by surprise. Oh… oh please, please, please, Dashie… I love you, b-but now is not the ideal time for…
Unfortunately, if any cosmic power heard her pleas, they didn’t bother to answer. With the strong push of a gust of wind, Rainbow Dash landed a few pony lengths away from Fluttershy, almost sending her to the ground.
“’Sup?” She asked, deliberately not looking at anypony or anyone else that might or might not have been in the vicinity. “I was wondering what you were doing today. Nopony had seen you, so I figured I’d look around, see if you’re alright.”
Had she been a slightly less introverted pony, Fluttershy might have winced at the thinly veiled accusation. Her brash friend certainly had strong opinions that she never hesitated to communicate…
Rearranging her mane quickly, moving all that pink away from her face, the mare rapidly got back on her hooves. Boldly, she reduced the distance between herself and Rainbow Dash, then spoke, her soft voice coming out slightly louder than a whisper. “Y-yes, I am quite fine.”
Lowering her head and leaning closer, Rainbow Dash sent a very unsubtle look toward the still sitting draconequus. “You sure?”
“Yes,” Fluttershy said, and a little spark of pride ignited in her chest at how certain it had come out.
Eyes widening in the slightest, the cyan pegasus seemed a little taken aback by that very same certitude. “Oh, okay then.”
“So, how is… y-your day going so far?” Fluttershy asked bashfully, slowly feeling her natural timidity return.
“Oh, you know, flew over Ponyville, had a good daisy sandwich for lunch, saw Rares play hoofball, did a Sonic Rainboom, tri-”
“W-wait…” The shier mare cut in, surprisingly, blinking in shock. “What was that?”
“Come on, Fluttershy! A Sonic Rainboom!” Rainbow Dash’s wings fluttered with disbelief. “My signature move.”
“N-no, not that. I meant befo-”
And once more, she was cut off by somepony she knew quite well.
Another blue pegasus with a rainbow mane landed abruptly, though his color scheme had a slightly darker shade. However, his landing was also punctuated by him striking an athletic pose and rolling his muscles.
“Hey there!” He trotted over to them, grinning. “What a lucky stallion I am. My two favorite mares, in one place.”
“Urgh, Dad!” Rainbow Dash groaned, facehoofing.
“Mr. Spectrum.” Her friend nodded and smiled shyly, feeling herself blushing at the compliment. It became a burning sensation as his strong legs enlaced her neck in a hug.
“Oh, Fluttershy, young mare, you have grown leaps and bound since I last saw you.” He smiled, stroking her mane gently, like a father would. “I still remember the first time my little Dashie brought you home.”
“M-me too…” She admitted quietly.
To her left, she could hear loud coughs, accompanied by frogs chirping. Turning, she saw the draconequus, standing and sending an unimpressed look to Rainbow Dash’s father.
“Oh, yes. Mister Spectrum, this is my friend Discord.”
“We’ve met before,” the stallion said icily. “I still have flashbacks of the diaper and the heart-like bow.”
Recognition flashed in the spirit of Chaos’s gaze. Quickly, his expression turned amused. “Oh, yes, Mister Spectrum Blitz, I do remember you. I loved that part where you screamed after random ponies to get them to love each other. It was quite frankly very funny to watch.”
“Glad to know my messy break-up could entertain somepony…” Spectrum’s grimace intensified, and that was to say nothing of the growing snarl on Rainbow Dash’s face.
The blue mare seemed about ready to come to blows with him.
For a second, the idea of the bearer of the Element of Loyalty fighting him crudely seemed quite entertaining. Petty, perhaps, but he was not one to appreciate suspicions and threats of petrification. In fact, he prepared a scathing reply disguised under a light filter of civility, but caught sight of Fluttershy in the corner of his eye.
She was Staring. In itself, that had no effect on him, but the simple thought she was that disappointed in his behavior did sting a bit. Oh, Pandora, I liked it better when you didn’t sneak up on me like this. Why did you have to make me care?
“Ah, yes, in retrospect, perhaps an apology is warranted?”
“You think?” Father and daughter replied in unison.
--
“And that is why Mom’s the best!” The little dragon’s proudly finished reading his homage to Twilight Velvet.
“Aw, thank you, Spike.” Said mare lifted her adopted son to put him into a hug, under the sound of hooves hitting the ground and agreements. “That was so nice of you.”
Normally, public displays of affection embarrassed him to no end, something he had inherited from his older brother, but on this day, Spike decided to make an exception when she kissed him on the cheek.
Still, he did blush at being showered with praises over his poem. His father, his sister, his brother and his sister-in-law all had acclaimed his work and placed their own supplementary comments about Twilight Velvet. Feeling a little overwhelmed by the attention, Spike quickly jumped down from his spot on the table and sat down on his cushion, next to his big sis.
Stealing a glance her way, the little dragon quickly saw how relaxed and happy she seemed to be, which had, unfortunately, become something of a rarity ever since her ascension into alicornhood.
Not even the grandeur of the Crystal Empire’s dining hall, glistening and shimmering with opulence like nothing else but the treasure room of Canterlot Castle, its vault stretching higher than the eye could see, not even this supreme display of royalty could make her happiness dim. Not on this special day, not with her family all gathered.
“I think it’s time for the shower of praises to calm down a little, I might get an inflated ego from this.” Their mother joked, waving a hoof next to her eyes, with the hopes of avoiding to shed tears.
“Oh, Honey, I’m sure that will never happen to you.” Orion stepped closer, nuzzling her neck. “You’re much too modest to let this get to your head.”
“What did I just tell you?!” Twilight Velvet shouted and snorted, laughing at her husband’s silliness while fighting the urge to punch his shoulder.
Shining Armor and Spike chuckled at their parents’ ‘quarrel’, amused and comforted by the love obviously still present between the two older ponies.
With most of the attention diverted from them, Cadence inconspicuously leaned closer to Twilight. Their respective duties keeping them away from each other, the Alicorn of Love had been devoured by curiosity.
Coyly, the pink mare looked away, before asking, out of the blue: “Do you think he’s cute?”
“W-what?” Twilight turned around and blinked, startled. “Who is?”
“Now, now, don’t be shy, Twilight.” Cadence waved her hoof in front of her sister-in-law, smiling smugly. “Even here we get newspaper, you know? Is he a good kisser?”
The poor new princess let out a moan of squeaky despair. “Can we not talk about him? My friends wouldn’t let me hear the end of it back in Ponyville.”
“Why?” Cadence’s innocent demeanor certainly didn’t fool Twilight. The smile she was wearing would have looked appropriate in the mouth of a timberwolf. “Did something happen while you guys were alone?”
Feeling herself blush at the implication, the younger mare was almost glad to be interrupted by her big brother’s voice. “What are you two whispering about over there?”
“Nothing!” Twilight was quick to shout.
Her family exchanged skeptical glances between each other, which was immediately noticed by the poor princess trying to calm her beating heart and cool her burning cheeks. For a few seconds, nopony said a thing, instead opting to prolong the silent torture of Twilight Sparkle.
Then, Shining Armor turned to his wife. “Cadence?”
“Oh, we were talking about her love life.”
Instantly, new life was brought into the discussion, to the ever growing dismay of the poor mare put into the grinder. She couldn’t understand why everypony was so interested in her maybe, perhaps, not even certain, possible crush on Prince Ventus.
“C-can we please not talk about this?”
“Ah, as if!” Shining Armor chuckled. “My little sister, the very same one that always used to say that interponies relationships were a loss of time in comparison to her studies, is apparently falling for a stallion I don’t even know. It’s my job to be very curious about it and possibly hurt him.”
“Now, now, Shining, just because Twilight has a very strong history of ignoring every sign members of the opposite sex send her way doesn’t mean…” Cadence’s words slowly trailed off, as the alicorn failed to justify her point through more than a gut feeling. “Well… maybe it does…”
“Okay, now that’s unfair. I’ve changed since that time.” She frowned, her wings fluttering in response. “I wouldn’t be a princess if I hadn’t discarded that perspective a while ago.”
“Eh.” He shrugged. “Still worried about you.”
At that, Cadence nodded, then added, with a small hint of concern in her voice. “And I’m still very interested in hearing this from you rather than from second-hoofed gossips.”
“Likewise,” her parents said simultaneously.
All heads turned to Spike, who had remained quite silent since the unexpected turn in the conversation. Put on the spot, the little dragon’s eyes widened and he nervously fiddled with his own scales. “Huh… well, I don’t really care much about romance, you know? That’s stuff a little gross…”
For the shortest of moment, Twilight’s facial muscles all twitched with the incredibly strong urge to form a very indignant scowl that included every bit of incredulity at his guts. As if he wasn’t fawning over Rarity at every possible occasion!
But he was still a child, and prone to some myopia about certain issues. She managed to let it slide. For the most part. That line he dared pronounced would be used by her at some unspecified time in the near or late future against him.
Plus, a nudging pink hoof was demanding her attention. “Well?”
Momentarily, she forgot everything Spike had said in favor of quickly scanning the room for expectations.
Every eye were on her, everypony wanted to know and… well, she was a little afraid of disappointing her mother if she was so hardheaded about this…
“I might like-like him…”
Her family quietly stared at her admittance, halfway between stunned shock and pleasantly surprised.
It was her big brother that broke the silence first. Looking deadly serious, he uttered some words that had her look at him with a slackened jaw. “So… want me to punch him in the face, Twiley?”
“Shining!” Both alicorns stood up at the same time, with the exact same look of indignation on their faces and the exact same tone of warning dripping from their voices.
“Can I help?” Spike chipped in eagerly, but shrank down when the mares turned their synchronized disapproval in his direction.
For his part, Orion’s only reaction to this was to snort behind his hoof, earning a glare from his wife.
“What?” The white unicorn looked suspiciously innocent. “Would you prefer I buck his teeth in? Or maybe a magic blast to the face? I’m not picky about which way to protect my little sister.”
“You’re not going to try to hurt him!”
“Why not? Afraid I’ll mess up his pretty face?” He grinned, chuckling in silence.
“Because he’s Princess Celestia’s cousin!” It seemed as if mentioning her idol had revived some more preachy habits in the purple mare. “You could get in serious trouble if you touched him!”
“Hey, I’m a prince too, you know? That has got to count for something!”
At his reply, Twilight started to grind her teeth against each other, simply unable to pronounce words in her state of mind. To even suggest a heresy like that against anything remotely relating to her idol, mentor, beloved teacher, certainly had her on edge.
Worse yet, her rage was quite visible for everypony else, causing them to exchange hesitating and awkward glances. The relaxed and peaceful atmosphere had evaporated with the way the teasing had evolved; now, they were trying to find a solution on how to defuse this.
“Okay, now, children, this has been fun and games, but I think it’s high time we change the subject,” Twilight Velvet declared solemnly, and wasn’t opposed.
“Sure thing, Honey, but what should we discuss about then?” Orion asked.
“W-well, we… we could always tell them about…” Shining Armor leaned closer to his wife, his voice barely above a whisper and his eyes going down to her belly. “Y-you know…”
“W-what?” Cadence squeaked in surprise, obviously not prepared for his suggestion. “Y-you mean, now?”
His expression set in stone and giving the impression that he wished for anything but that, Shining Armor nodded swiftly.
Now prey to the same anxiety as her soul mate, Cadence bit on her lips before alternatively looking at him and at the rest of his family. “Alright…” She whispered.
“Mom, Dad, Twiley, Spike…” The young stallion took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. “We have something very important to tell you…”
“Shining Armor and I wanted to tell you that… ” She paused, seemingly to steady herself as well, before smiling tenderly at her husband. “I am pregnant.”
Jaw dropped. Eyes almost flew out of their eye sockets.
And only then did the excited cheers and questions start pouring in! How wonderful that there would be a new child in their family!
Observing the scene with a strange sense of otherworldliness, as her parents were congratulating Cadence and celebrating this great news, Twilight couldn’t help but question herself. Was this what she wanted? For someday to be sitting in that chair with her family and announce to them that she was expecting a foal, a handsome alicorn stallion by her side, just like her old foalsitter was doing?
Everypony was treating her possible crush as such a big deal that it was hard not to wonder. Was it something she wanted?
She… she didn’t know. At all.
Maybe… M-maybe… not.
--
We stayed until the twilight had come over the horizon and Luna had to perform her royal duties. Only then did most of the foals start to show signs of exhaustion. Their day had been a most exciting one, and parts of me had rejoiced when my cousin had shown not even a trace of resentment or sadness at them going to bed instead of enjoying her nights.
Somepony else did complain at lengths about it, though.
“Saaaaaam,” Calx whined. “I don’t wanna leave yet.”
“Come on, bro.” I tried to nudge him. “They’re going to bed anyway.”
“But it was so fun! I want to stay longer!”
My brain was slow to make connections at the moment and my limbs had started to drag about, so heavy to carry. I had been the one to put Violet to bed. It had been her request and, while I couldn’t find it in me to deny her that small comfort, it became harder and harder to speak as I read the tales of a foal’s storybook. A few others had inched closer, while my little brother had sat directly in my lap, perhaps with a bit of possessiveness.
When most had succumbed to their desire to sleep, I had lifted Calx up and brought him downstairs, into the entrance of the orphanage. Despite his lack of energy and his falling eyelids, the little colt still desired more games.
I didn’t have it in me to go on like this much longer.
“Please… don’t be difficult tonight…” I whispered, almost as a plea.
My tone shocked him, making me instantly regret my weakness. His eyes had widened and his mouth had opened, without a sound coming out, as if he couldn’t believe it.
Quietly, he settled down, a strange look passing over his gaze and he accepted to leave without another protest.
That hurdle overcome much faster than I anticipated, we gathered just before the gate of the orphanage. “All that is left for us is to go back to the castle, Ventus. Are you ready to face Canterlot once more?”
Wise to my cousins’ games now, I offered them a devious smile. “I think I have a better idea.”
After a gust of wind, we had left the orphanage. The sensation of becoming weightless shocked my mind out of its lethargy, perhaps with this closer contact with my concept of existence. It… gave me at least some more time to go on without collapsing.
It was slightly harder than usual to let go of the wind and become solid again. After a second of hesitation however, all four of us had reappeared within the Castle’s gardens.
The cool air of the evening hit us first.
“This is not our suite…” I muttered, closing my eyes in frustration. “And here I just wanted to drop down in bed…”
“Oh, a little pride would do us good.” Celestia joked, earning a baffled grimace from me. “Alicorns should be the strongest of ponykind. A few minutes of trotting shall not kill us.”
My legs are saying otherwise…
Now was not the time to protest though, so I complied.
After a few seconds of silent walking, Luna started speaking, to my annoyance. Couldn’t she just…? No?
“We must say, Prince Ventus, that we were most proud of your behavior today. It showed the makings of a great prince.”
Though a part of me was ticked by her words, it still didn’t stop my face from burning with pleased modesty. Without thinking, I just scratched the back of my head shyly. “I… you shouldn’t say that. I’m really not that good of a stallion.”
“Nonsense!” Luna replied strongly. “We have seen your attitude and your words with that filly!”
“I just did what… what came naturally.” If it had been Calx, I wo- no, it wasn’t and it will NEVER be!
“You helped her.” Celestia added, seemingly very pleased with the results of our little visit to the orphanage. “No matter how many years pass, there are always foals that need support. And I knew, Ventus, that you could give it to them.”
Her words made me blink. Huh, she… she trusted me?
“I… well, this… wasn’t something I had ever noticed before…” I couldn’t phrase my thoughts properly, this wasn’t… ARGH! Just the first thing that comes to mind! “You really do this every year?”
“As regularly as possible. There are a few other orphanages through our kingdom and it would be a great relief to see their number dwindle, but until it has been reduced to nothingness...”
“D-doesn’t it hurt?” The Elders knew how much this one torn my heart in half.
At that, Celestia’s eyes went to the ground. All of a sudden, she wasn’t a kind and strong ruler for her people, but just another mare, who had had a long life. “It does. Every time, it opens old wounds and new ones.”
Dark blue wings fell on her back, making a gentle and empathic touch. The Princess of the Sun reacted in little way, other than straightening up a bit. Her sister, on the other hand, seemed to avoid looking at anypony at all cost, her gaze suddenly shifty.
“But it is the right thing to do,” Celestia said softly, slowly looking up to me. “It is what Mother taught us. A good ruler should be just. A great ruler can afford to be kind.”
And a certain somepony we had pegged down as drifting into the world of dreams interrupted.
“Who’s your mom?” Calx asked, shifting on my back and rubbing his eyes.
“Our mother, young colt,” Luna said, a certain flair for the dramatic in her tone, “is Renascentia Ignis, the World-Shaper.”
“The last time we saw her was over a thousand years ago, hours before we departed the Astral Planes for our mission in Equestria.” The white alicorn’s eyes became distant, looking past us and into reminiscences of times long gone. “Since then… I heard nothing of her, though words reached my ears about her whereabouts. Perhaps you have met her?”
“Renascentia?” I whispered, summoning a memory over three hundred years old.
She was tall, at least as much as Celestia. Perhaps slightly taller, but I could not tell for sure. I had been only a little older at the time than Calx was now.
I grinned, feeling a flicker of joy at the images brought back. “Yes, I do remember her.”
“Well, I don’t!” Calx pouted, unpleased at being out of the loop.
“She is rarely seen, even amongst our kind, little brother. Renascentia’s goals and motivations are unknown to most. I have only seen her thrice in all my life, and even then, only once did she talk to me.”
Now, as I spoke, my own gaze lost focus of my surroundings, rather turning toward the memories that started to play before me.
The first time had been… strange. It had only been a glimpse of her essence amongst so many others. Yet, in the mind of the colt I had been, it seared a few impressions in me. Warmth. Peaceful light. The smell of ink. The roughness of wooden planks under my hooves. Notes on a harp intertwining with a soothing voice reciting verses.
My parents had had to call for me multiple times afterward. They told me I had started staring into empty space and simply wouldn’t respond to them.
The third time was almost insignificant, as it had been but a fleeting moment during which our gazes had met over a crowd of alicorns.
Our second meeting had been much more interesting.
“I had been feeling a little down, after some disappointing matters, the exact nature of which I cannot seem to recall clearly.” Lies…
It was so easy to remember tasting the salt in my own tears. And the innocent curiosity at this peculiar alicorn towering over me. Had she been like… others… I might have been scared, but her face held nothing but benevolence.
There had been words, though exchanged differently. For her, it was not a matter of air as it was for mortals… it had been a few chapters of a nice story.
“She spoke something of a comforting tales for young foals, as this was the form I had back then.” The weight on my back moved slightly and I could tell, just from the way he stilled, that he was fascinated. He was naturally a curious kid, but this little story invoked the impossible image of an older figure in one’s life being just a kid once too. “It was quite simple, really. Her wings were blazing feathers with an ethereal softness, almost cool to the touch. With a mighty flare, they sprung into life and made a blanket to shield me from the world. When I asked why help me, when she didn’t even know me, well, she just said she could never stand to hear a foal crying.”
There was a flash of recognition in the Princesses' eyes. They understood the parallel.
I went on, speaking slowly, with a deep voice and a rhythm that translated impressions and emotions. Like a storyteller. There was no other way to speak of Her. “Then, she told me more, revealed old secrets from ancients civilizations, just to keep my mind off painful memories. But it came to an end… and I apologized to her, that I must have been really annoying and made her lose so much time.”
They all inched closer to me, captivated by my story. They seemed to be eating my every word, which had me quite thrilled and made me wear quite the smug grin. What she had said…
“After a moment of silence, Renascentia leaned forward and confessed that she missed even the sound of your childish whining, Princess Luna.”
“Whining?!” Said alicorn stood up, blinking with indignation. “I was never whining! I was complaining!”
Tom started chuckling and Celestia hid her smile behind her hoof. In response to that, the Princess of the Night huffed and puffed, rather childishly if I could comment on it. She looked, alternatively, between all three of us, trying to find support or, Tartarus forbid, opposition.
Luckily for the sake of our ears, and especially mine, Luna faced no such reactions, only welcoming smiles and quiet sighs of relief, once their laughter had faded away.
Slowly, however, the relaxed atmosphere started to fade and the weight of this day still couldn’t be completely overshadowed.
“I… I miss her, Tia.”
Sadness seeping through her usually regal mask, the elder sister gently hugged the younger. “I miss her too, Lulu.”
A small shaking hoof gripped my shoulder. “…Sam…”
“I know, Tom,” I whispered with some difficulty. “I know…”
He buried his head into my shoulders, in silence, but I could feel him fighting some shaking.
“It’s okay, buddy.” My heart was rapidly sinking in my chest. “We’ll see them soon…”
The silence of the night naturally claimed its right over us. Through the echoes of our steps and the darkness covering the halls, there was only the reflection of our thoughts.
We barely noticed that we had reached our destination already. To me, it had felt as if time had not moved since our arrival in the castle. The searing pain in my legs protested otherwise though…
With a depressed foal to take care of, the goodbyes were quick, especially since Luna’s duties were only starting at this point. After some encouragement and wishes of good will, she left, taking off into the sky.
Right then, it was only Celestia and me, Calx having finally succumbed to his fatigue.
“Good night, Ventus,” the princess said.
Then, to my shock, she moved forward to nuzzle me, offering me a bit of affection. I was almost ashamed of how much I gobbled every drop of it. “Good night, Celly.”
Before it ended however, I… heard something.
Just a click. Not especially memorable either, but… this one stirred something from my memory. Granted, it was all over the place at the moment, but still!
Celestia, neither blind nor insensitive, detected my tension in an instant. Her brows furrowed as she detached herself from me. “Is something wrong, Ventus?”
“N-no… I don’t think so…”
I had a bad feeling about this.
--
Only the barest light filtered in the otherwise dark room. Long after the sun had disappeared under the horizon, he still had stayed up, relying on nothing but the artificial light coming from his screen to keep him up. It had been a few days already, but the words would not leave his mind.
“They’re Humans in Equestria.” That’s a joke! E-even if some of the coincidences – because that’s all they were, coincidences – could, maybe, hint at that, t-there is no WAY in HELL that the two new alicorn bros are Sam and Tom!
EXCEPT THEY’RE ALSO CALLED SAM AND TOM!
Eric almost screamed out in frustration. Only the barest of consideration for his sleeping mother had stopped him. His current posture might have muffled it out a little, but not perfectly.
His face was hidden in his hands, feeling burning to the touch, against his forehead whom he could only admit was the façade concealing too many conflicting emotions. H-he couldn’t just… How was he supposed to accept that?! His friend and his little brother had jumped dimension?! That was just beyond unreal!
I mean, even if the theory turned out to be real and that those two were really humans in Equestria, that would mean nothing about Sam and Tom. That would still be two very fictional characters. NOT missing people!
Slowly, his hands slid off his face, letting the cool air of his fan hit him square in the face. He didn’t hate the feeling. Besides, he couldn’t just stop looking forever…
On his computer’s screen, there were some more images, and a paused video.
Ventus’ voice is way too deep to be Sam’s anyway. And they don’t act alike.
For a moment, Eric allowed himself a small smile, coming to terms with the rational and solid facts. The names were a coincidence. What mattered was the personalities and the interactions, right? And Ventus didn’t act the way Sam did.
Except on how they interact with their younger siblings.
That one had been a complete bull’s eye. Granted, their relationship was a pretty healthy and not uncommon one, but it had resonated with a fiber in Eric’s body.
Why? He thought furiously. Why is it that every single little detail burns into my mind and sways me so easily?! The rational thing is just so much simpler!
The most obvious example was the very concept. Ever since he had read about the theory from LoveCupcakes, he hadn’t been able to shake off that stupid thought. It just gnawed at his mind, even when there were solutions that made infinitely more sense.
He just couldn’t stop himself from clinging at the hope he had indeed found his friend…
Perhaps, it was time to do something he hadn’t had the courage to do since Sam had disappeared: browse through the anti-Blade Darkblaze group, the very same his friend had apparently took over with a massive shitstorm…
The forums were all pretty active at the moment, as there had been a certain amount of alicorn in the last few episodes. He knew that much at least.
You’ll have to look at them sooner or later, Eric told himself, but it was useless. He couldn’t gather the courage to do that so easily.
He really felt like a coward when he hastily clicked on the first thread he could see. “Alright, let’s… look at this one.”
His heart almost stopped beating when he read the opening statement. It was a Cupcake reprise’s promotion thread, with the target of the Internet monster being none other than the titular alicorn colt.
Quickly scrolling past down the few posts of approval, Eric felt the unsettling fear shaking his guts. It got worse when he recognized one username.
ScatteredWinds? That’s… that’s his…
Then, he started reading the comment.
“Haha, good one. You’ve shattered my faith in humanity. Great recreation of a fucking character assassination for the sake of torturing A CHILD, YOU MOTHERF-”
He felt himself become… nauseous. The words were just flowing through his mind, barely registering as one long sick nightmare.
“-WILL FIND YOU, FIND WHERE YOU LIVE AND CUT YOUR THROAT IN YOUR SLEEP, THEN FILL IT WITH ACID AND DRAG YOUR BODY OUTSIDE TO FEED THE CROWS! I’LL BASH YOUR HEAD IN WITH A SHOVEL AND-”
His blood was cold as ice in his veins. It was not simply bafflement, or even horror, he felt. It was fear. He could see his friend’s expression, the murderous intent glistening in the blue eyes when he had spoken up against the mini-Stu, but… but this couldn’t be real. This was a joke, right?
The death threat continued for at least half a page. Literally half a page.
The members of the forum weren’t treating it like a simple troll or a flamer. At first they had, but with the degeneration of the posts… Well, one could easily infer that they were very cautious about their replies, the few that did have the guts to make themselves a target.
The words were repulsive and the malice in them was making him shake in his seat.
W-wait… He looked closer.
Midway through the conversation, the speaker had changed, but he hadn’t noticed right away. It had been the exact same tone. Until the story’s writer had been called out on it, then there had been a reply to chill his bones.
“Eh, that’s right, bitches. It’s meeeee, ScatteredWinds. I’ve hacked his account, looked up his personal info. Don’t believe me? Here they are.”
As the numbers and words appeared on the screen, Eric’s visage progressively lost all colors. In a matter of seconds, he was pale as a corpse and his head felt so heavy he was off-balanced.
It just didn’t seem possible that one of his friends could react like… like a psychopath. It felt like reading about a murderer stalking his victims!
Realization hit him like a bolt of lightning.
…It is… possible. It occurred to him that his friend had started seeing a psychiatrist not long before this event had transpired.
N-no, he had gone seen the very same professional and he wasn’t going to kill anyone either. More importantly, what could possibly motivate him to act this way?! It was just a character from ‘My Little Pony’ in a bad fanfic! It wasn’t even a very likeable character to boot. Heck, he was surprised Sam cared at all, seeing as the kind of overhyped character Calx Iugum was usually rubbed him the wrong way!
It just wasn’t possible for him to care so much about a fictional character to send serious DEATH THREATS!
But if he had believed this was endorsing torture of Tom…
“Sam…” The name felt wrong, rolling off his tongue. He hadn’t known that guy, not the one that he saw today. This was wrong.
“You’ve shattered my faith in humanity.” It wasn’t one of those jokes or those angsty statements nobody could take seriously. T-this one resonated with him; he felt it in his guts.
Sam was sick. Very sick. He needed help! And fast!
Before it was too late.
Eric rarely felt such sentiment of urgency before, but he knew why. The responsibility had never fallen on his shoulders, not such an important one at least. Lives were at stakes here.
--
I knew before I even woke up. How could I not? So many voices called for my attention, involuntarily for the most part, for had they known I could hear them all, their words wouldn’t have been so blunt. Or perhaps the smarter ones would have communicated with written messages rather than spoken words.
The flow of blood in my veins started to create a strangely pulsing sensation in my mind. I could hear every one of them, as the Alicorn of Wind… of air and sky… I could hear everything.
I didn’t wake Tom up. It didn’t feel appropriate for me to do it, not with what I feared loomed over us. And really, the honest side of me knew that I was afraid of what side of me I might show him in the event I was right.
Without a word or sound, my body dissolved into thin air, sending my consciousness away, only for it to rematerialize right behind my seat in the dining hall. Predictably, most nobles were back, with a few scarce exceptions, such as Celestia herself.
Without the opening of the great doors, which I had slowly realized was noisy for the sole purpose of allowing ponies to hear newcomers, very few noticed me right away. It was that same fact that caused a minor incident.
As I took a few steps forward, still shaking with apprehension and rage, I didn’t notice the maid carrying a tray of pastries and fruits. I only felt a bump against my side and a cry of distress.
Following my reflexes alone, I span, only to see half a dozen meals falling to the ground. As naturally as breathing, I allowed my magic to glow through my horn and it shot up, grabbing each items before they hit the stone marbles.
One, two, three, four, five… six. That’s everything, I thought, levitating the tray onto a nearby spot on the table. With that done, I could hopefully get the answer I needed.
Unfortunately, my actions had brought attention to my presence.
The hall immediately fell silent. So many ponies were frozen with the expression of somepony caught like a deer in headlight. There was guilt written all over their faces.
Instantly, there were dark thoughts pushing me to violence, to retribution. They were so unbelievably naïve! I already know, you idiots!
“P-prince Ventus! I am s-s-s-so SORRY!” The green mare looked at me with fearful, teary eyes. “I didn’t see you a-and, that t-that was completely involuntary! I deeply apologize!”
As the maid dropped to the ground, I could only blink. My mind was so far off from this thing… I just didn’t…
The mask, just remember the mask.
“No, stand up, please.” The tip of my wing gently raised her head up. “It was only an accident. I understand. I shouldn’t have appeared so suddenly in your path.”
“I… I…”
Even though my throat had started burning with loathing, I managed a benevolent chuckle. “If anything, I must apologize. You almost had to run back to the kitchen to grab another tray.”
“I… thank you, my prince,” she stuttered before hurriedly running off.
Now the center of the attention, I sighed, trying to reign in more destructive urges before they could explode in my face. Slowly, I made it to my seat, next to the same old unicorn.
“Blueblood,” I said, with a semblance of civility.
He nodded in return, a weary look in his eyes. There was… fear, yes, it was the appropriate word for the slight shaking in his hooves and the twitches at the corner of his mouth.
“May I see this morning’s journal?”
I didn’t even need to look at him. The ponies around us basically reflected his own thoughts. Some flinched, some winced and others looked in a hurry to leave.
“Prince Ventus,” Blueblood said weakly. “T-this… you shouldn’t look at this.”
My telekinesis yanked the newspaper out of his grip without more than token protest. In the times we had indeed spent together, he had come to understand certain things about me. I could not tell how far he had seen behind the mask, but some things, he had indeed caught a glimpse of.
He just went quiet when I dropped the paper open, widespread in front of me.
The title grabbed the attention quite quickly, but the pictures emblazed one’s imagination. Four royals were sitting together in the castle’s garden, each of them sporting wings and horn, the younger ones leaning slightly against their elders, who had them held in a maternal embrace.
‘World exclusive! The Princess’ dirtiest secret revealed! The fruits of her forbidden love!’
I didn’t need to read further, but I could not simply look away. I already knew, I had known before I was even aware there had been yet another article related to me. It had been said enough for me to pick it up. This was just confirmation.
‘The two bastard sons.’ T-the…
It cut right through my composure, like a burning blade into flesh. The pain it left seemed comparable too. T-this was just so ridiculously offensive… It made my head spin. And their whispers of contempt would just not STOP!
Something inside me snapped.
In my ears, there was a howl. Of Darkness. Of Cold. Of Hate.
The windigoes were calling for me, as I was, for them.
I looked down, searching for a name, and I found one. Despite the ice spreading into my veins, a part of me wanted to smile. The kind of smile a hydra showed its prey.
I had a target.