//------------------------------// // Indignation // Story: How my Little Brother Became an Alicorn // by WiseFireCracker //------------------------------// Very swiftly, I had affected a bothered, slightly angry demeanor. Showing a blank face or exuding calm would simply be unrealistic for them and bring more suspicions on me. Besides, it was easier to show only a little of what I was feeling rather than hiding it completely. There were too many risks that I would slip up for me to stay to eat though. In my current state of mind, any slip-up would be dramatic in consequences. “Miss Tea Leaves?” My hoof gently stopped a maid in her track. Showing admirable composure, especially if she had any idea about the nature of the article I had read, the pale purple mare gave a quick respectful bow before looking at me calmly. “Yes, Prince Ventus?” “I will not be eating in the hall this morning. Will it be possible to bring breakfast to my suite for my brother and myself?” “Of course, my prince. I will inform the kitchen immediately,” she said, being as neutral as possible. I appreciated that. “Thank you.” I gave an appreciative nod, actually feeling some gratitude at not being judged silently or under a breath. As soon as I had left the hall, I felt their collective sighs of relief rippling through me. I usually had the good sense to tune their voices out, to forget their conversations and give them that bit of privacy. But not today. I couldn’t. What they were discussing was striking me at the center of my chest, again and again and again! It… it actually stung! It felt as if the world was rejecting us, looking down on us both for the sake of their petty gossip! Mocking tones and faked shock run abound, but in their hearts there was only joy and twisted satisfaction. Moreover, the emotion that shone the most was righteous indignation. I was ridiculously offended by this! They were using… they were using my own self to convey their disgust with me? To insult my family?! I felt personally betrayed by their actions. Thoughts went through my mind, of how to give those bastards their just desserts. How would they like it, if I suddenly refused them right to communicate verbally, all of them?! What would they DO, once they realized they had been rendered mute?! Maybe THEN, they’d think twice about what they were saying! My own laughter echoed in my mind, unhappy, rather bitter and cynical. It was such naivety! When did a populace, in a frantic panic no less, ever turned out toward itself for the cause of its misery? No, there’d be a witch’s hunt and hooves pointing. Toward me, obviously, how could anypony with half a brain not realize who would be behind it. It left an awfully bitter taste in my mouth. How could I ever think there was a place for us in Equestria?! In that veil of anger, there was an imperfection; a sudden wave of dread that hit me at the heart. And it was my own thoughts that brought it about. Y-yeah… how did I come to? I… I was trying to find a way to go back home, wasn’t I? My heart seemed to be moved only by inner turmoil. T-there had been time when going back had been… had been even less than an afterthought. What am I doing? WHAT AM I DOING?! AM I EVEN TRYING ANYMORE?! The ground seemed to have gotten unsteady beneath my limbs. My balance was shot… Slowly, the stone walls and the painted windows started spinning around me. “Prince Ventus?” A hoof pressed gently against my shoulder. Taken aback, I blinked, before glancing toward the owner of that limb. Her coat was a strong orange color, very eye grabbing. Perhaps my own fur had a similar effect, but I probably wouldn’t know simply from an encounter with this mare. She was looking at me with wide eyes, a slight frown lowering her brows into a concerned expression. “Are you not feeling well?” She asked. Her voice was soft, but lower than that of an average mare. It had a certain charm on its own, but more importantly, I was not familiar with it. Not from this morning, nor before. “…Sunlight, is that right?” If she was surprised by my words, she did not show it. Remarkably composed, the mare only nodded and waited patiently for me to go on. “Have you read this morning’s newspaper?” My voice was shaking; there were screams in my ears, some much more violent than the average pony could tolerate. “…I think it was in the Canterlot Daily. That alone should tell you how I am feeling.” For the longest time, the maid’s face remained a completely neutral mask. There had been nothing, not even a twitch of a facial muscle, while she gathered her thought, or so I suspected. And then, she asked the most unexpected question. “Is it true?” It baffled me that she even bothered with asking for my words on the matter. Bitterly, I bit back the acidic remark on how it seemed she was the first to do so. My answer came out more dry and threatening than I would have liked. “No.” “Then I think that neither you nor your brother are Princess Celestia’s sons,” she said simply, seemingly unaffected by my tone. “…Why?” I truly wanted to know that. “S-somehow, I do not think you would lie so easily.” I almost scoffed in her face. Me? Lying, well, there certainly aren’t any examples of that happening since we arrived in Equestria. “You… you are kind to those of lower stations, Prince Ventus.” I wanted to scream at her! My kindness is all a lie! How much would you love me if I told you that?! But I kept my mouth shut and let her leave, after but a brief exchange of formality and an empty word of gratitude. Perhaps in other circumstances, I would have appreciated it, but it was too little, too late. Besides, every passing second was an occasion for me to hear another lovely conversation about ‘how unbelievable’ and ‘shocking’ and ‘scandalous’ and ‘those two surely were defective ponies’ and I WAS GOING TO KILL THEM! -- She had noticed the silence right away. There had been no sound after they had reached a certain distance, which had been really freaky. Even without the occasional roar or howl, there were chirping of birds or buzzing of bugs, but… Silence. It made the shadows longer, projected from above their heads. Branches elongated and twisted, in an effort to reach them, in an effort to trap them into this unnatural state of stillness. Every branch they stepped onto cracked and produced a sound so loud in these dark woods. Applebloom was thanking her lucky star that her brother had insisted on coming with her in the Everfree Forest. Had she been alone, perhaps she would have run back home before ever reaching her friend’s house. It was an immense relief for her to catch sight of the one tree that housed the stripped potion-maker. Finally forgetting her unease at the silence amongst the Everfree, the filly dashed toward Zecora’s house, quickly followed by the sound of Big Mac's thundering hoofsteps. So excited and relieved she was, that she didn’t knock and simply threw the door open. The basket full of apple treats fell to the ground, no longer held by a youthful mouth. Two apples rolled on the uneven floor, sole things moving at all in the house. They continued to roll for an interminable minute, as they met no resistance but the wall opposite to the siblings. Zecora’s hut was empty. Completely. -- The remainder of the morning had seemed to fly right by me. Between my little brother who woke up curious and very savvy about my inner turmoil, those continuous whispers and the measures I had taken to clench at least some of my thirst for revenge, I was well and completely spent. Not even breakfast in bed had been respite, as I had to use Calx’s distraction to eclipse myself briefly and strike my target. Though rewarding in that it allowed me to keep him in the dark about the ugly side of the media coverage, it was one more drain on me. Thus, the corners of my mouth fought hard with my brain to turn downward into a scowl at the sight of a servant at our door. This was going to be even more of a bother, I just knew it. “Yes?” I asked dryly, feeling quite exasperated. The pony, a white coated teenager in a black tuxedo, stumbled a bit at my tone, but quickly regained his composure after coughing once or twice. “The Princess has requested your presence in the audience room, your Highness...” His words died out as he inclined his head in a polite nod, his body shaking slightly. “She wishes for you and your brother to witness the Court’s proceeding this afternoon.” A groan almost came out of my throat, held back only at the last second. Called it… Before I could answer, a certain somepony pushed himself between us, forcing my front legs together to get enough space in the doorframe. “So what’s the deal?” Calx asked, tone dripping with typical childlike curiosity. “Our cousin wants us to assist to the audiences,” I replied, halfway between a sigh and a roll of my eyes. “Sounds pretty cool.” He shrugged, looking up to the ceiling with a bit of a lost gaze. His thoughts weren’t really on either me or the servant. “D’you think Celestia will do a big trial thingy?” Other than on me, you mean? “Maybe if you really start to whine…” I laughed under my breath, poking him teasingly. “HEY!” “I will leave you to your preparations then.” The teenager bowed quickly, then added, with his best comforting tone: “I hope your day will get better.” His smile, albeit I strongly doubted it was meant to, almost had me grimacing. Really. It had almost triggered a knee-jerk reaction of shocked recoil. Through some more efforts however, I kept it under control. “Thank you,” I said warmly. “And please forgive my irritability today. I am… quite torn by the… opinion on my family being spread around Equestria.” “I do not mind, Prince Ventus.” He waved a hoof in front of himself, smiling bashfully, almost as if embarrassed. “I know that a positive attitude is difficult retain while your family is being insulted so. Besides, most of the staff trusts you and knows you’re a good pony.” No, I’m not. A strange feeling was tying up a knot in my throat. It had come again, something akin to bitterness, yet far removed as well. I… didn’t appreciate their gratitude, not toward fake acts of respect. Truly, I hadn’t cared before; it was just a façade and an easy one to maintain to boot. However, the more I heard the castle’s staff react with kindness and understanding to my anger, the more annoyed I grew. They claimed to know me, yet had no idea how little I cared for… for their opinions… for their feelings… I-I did not deserve… -- The voices coming out from the kitchen felt distant to him. They formed something of a blur, words mashed together with nothing recognizable but their owners. One of them was his wife’s, still filled with pain, but also fainter. The second, bless her, was his sister Diana, visiting to offer some measure of support after the terrible news. It had been no secret… In fact, once Sam had been reported missing as well, no one could get enough of this strange story, of both siblings disappearing one after the other. Rampant speculations, the most painful ones being the accusation aimed at them and the idea that it had been planned by their eldest son. It had taken all his self-control not to ensure the one that had told him that went back home in an ambulance. The nerves! But the viper tongues really were a trivial pinch in their sides. What did it matter what others had to say about it? They were not getting their sons back. James’ hands gripped against the sink with crushing strength. His knuckles turning white, his grip turning painful quickly, all the father could feel was the same vertigo that assaulted him every time, oh every time, the reality of his missing children hit him. If he had been honest with himself, the father would have admitted that he wasn’t certain he might make it through this in the end. There just wasn’t… He couldn’t imagine his life without his sons. Yet the Universe had promptly decided he needed not imagine. All he had to do was watch, powerless to do anything but search fruitlessly and try to ignore both his guilt and his wife’s slow descent into depression. Slowly, his fingers traced the healing cut across his cheek. The flesh underneath had gone from a bloody red to a soft pink, and the borders of the injury made a small bump against his hand. It was healing decently, but it wasn’t gone yet… His sister had given him an odd look when she had first seen it. From the way her eyebrows had gone down, it was almost as if- A high pitched noise brought him out of his contemplation. The doorbell. “You want me to go?” Diana asked from the kitchen. “No, it’s alright! I’ll get it.” He shouted back, rationalizing that he probably needed the distraction anyway. Anything to distract him from this perpetual grief they were stuck in… Quickly enough, he had reached the door and he opened it wide. James stared for a few seconds at the young man trying to appear bashful, feeling that the connection was there but eluded him. “Mr. Miller?” He asked politely, but with a note of uncertainty. The question made him shake his head, trying to gather his thoughts a bit more efficiently. “Yes?” And it came back to him, the owner of that face. “…Eric?” -- As I fought a very powerful urge to yawn, I wondered if, perhaps, Celestia hadn’t already realized what I had done. This kind of boredom, mind-blowingly deep boredom, couldn’t be wished upon somepony else without at least a good reason for revenge. Hay, this would have been a rather exotic way for me to get even with him. More amazingly, except for a select few, foals included, most of the nobility assembled around the court room appeared interested in the situations presented to them. For example, a couple of superbly clothed ponies, both barely in their adulthood, had constantly focused on the complainants that had come before Celestia. Not that every time a noble whispered to the ears of a companion, the comment had been respectful, or even on topic. The worst were the ones followed by smug smirks and glances. Some had been aimed toward my form or Calx’s, bored out of his mind and standing on my back. For those, a death glare was more than enough to make them realize their mistake. Often, their pupils shrunk to tiny dots and they desperately tried to avoid eye contact for the rest of the audience. Aside from these minor distractions, the whole thing was so boring I could have fallen asleep right there. I had sat through Magister’s lectures, with blood and sweat, and for pity’s sake, this was a close second. It did not help that most of the problems were very mundane. A fair share of the ponies came straight from Canterlot, and those tended to have the least interesting problems, as they did not have to waste much time coming to the Castle. From around Fillydelphia, it was a legal dispute between three parties that had degenerated. Now, only the wisdom of the Princess would do. And more often than not, Celestia did have an answer for them. Not always pleasant for everypony involved, but undoubtedly fair and well thought-out. Meaning, no drama to capture one’s attention, only meaningless talking. And talking. And talking. However, things were soon about to change. From outside the court room, beyond the walls and the painted windows, another pony had just informed the guards outside of his predicament, and for the first time since this had started, I managed a discreet grin. This is going to be fun. Right as I thought those words, the massive doors opening into the Royal Pony Sisters’ throne room produced an unnerving rattling noise, two ponies pushing each side to widen the entrance. Under the eyes of a curious court, a single stallion, dressed from head to hooves in a golden armor, entered. His gaze was solely on the Princess, his stance suggesting nothing toward the attention he was bathed in at the moment. When he was close enough to talk to Celly without screaming, the guard bowed. “Your Highness, a Canterlot citizen has requested an emergency audience. Their claims include an unbreakable curse.” The Royal Guard was full of stoic brick walls, no doubt about it. How unusual it was for the gray one speaking to his ruler to have sounded almost amused. Celestia noted the anomaly as well, if a slight raise in her left eyebrow was any indication. “The Court will receive them,” she said with a nod, with a hint of caution in her tone. “Bring that pony before me.” Quickly, the guard bowed and turned around to go back to the door. Protocol dictated that only the biggest emergencies warranted more than a brisk pace. While certainly no faster than a trot, the guard didn’t walk nearly as mechanically as he could have. Not like the pony that entered the room next. His coat was beige and his mane, grey. On his rump, there was a quill in front of a camera. It was the first time I had seen the pony in person… in the flesh, one might say. I certainly had paid him a visit in a more… invisible form. I fought a smirk, feeling a savage satisfaction at the stallion’s discomfort. Obviously, there hadn’t been a way to deal with his new problem in private. Why else would he be here otherwise? From the way he advanced, each step painstakingly slow and causing a ripple of unease through his whole being, some nobles began to whisper. The guard had spoken of a curse, but truly the pony seemed in no hurry to get it removed. In the center of it all, Celestia appeared unfazed, patiently waiting for her subject to reach an acceptable distance with an inscrutable expression on her face. Another alicorn though had no such patience. Blue hooves shifted on my back and against the back of my head, as his voice dropped down to an almost undetectable level, hiding a lot of frustration. “Sam?” “Just look, little brother,” I whispered with a grin. “You’re going to love this.” Looking back to the paparazzi, I saw that he was at the base of the stairs leading to my cousin’s throne. “Speak, my little pony,” she said gently, in a tone not unlike a mother’s. “How may I be of assistance to you?” For a second, it seemed as if the stallion did not know what to do with himself, looking around at the ponies surrounding him with apprehension. Flashes of recognition danced in his gaze as it fell upon the members of the court. And from the widening eyes on the face of so many nobles, the identification had been mutual. Now there was a buzzing source of excitement in my chest making my wings flutter. The set-up was almost perfect! Sensing my good mood, Calx shifted again, to get a better view of the scene, in time for him to see Celestia give the bastard an encouraging nod. His cheeks growing redder, he sat down, breathing more deeply and closing his eyes. Then, his lips moved and a sound came out, but… not of his mouth. Incredulous whispers spread to the crowd assembled in the throne room as it slowly dawned upon them what this stallion’s predicament was. Her expression never wavering, Celestia imperceptibly leaned forward, her eyes never leaving that poor pony. By my estimation, she was fascinated by the elaborate spell he was under. I was fairly certain she had never seen or heard anything like this before. “Please…” She hesitated, pausing for a few seconds, glancing at her scribe and shaking her head when the mare put her quill against the scroll again. Instantly, the grey unicorn lowered her scroll and stopped transcribing. Almost with regret, Celestia continued. “You must state your name and occupation before the audience can proceed as planned.” The stallion squirmed uncomfortably, a look of incredible embarrassment painted all over his traits, but he obeyed. The sound came out muffled, again. From underneath him. “…Stand up, please.” Celestia asked, her expression slowly morphing into one of incredulity. “Yes, Princess Celestia,” he said dutifully as he scramble to stand up on all four. And this time, there was no doubt. Appropriately, that darn paparazzi was literally speaking out of his ass. How do you like them apples! In a silence shattering thunder, the crowd erupted with laugher. It had taken less than a few seconds, but the hilarity had spread to everypony like wildfire. “S-stop!” He had yelled, making his tail swing back and forth. Oh, it’s really the details that count, I thought, before a thud next to me caused me to jump. Tom had fallen off my back, rolling on the floor in tears, the situation all too funny to a young colt like him. The sight had me grinning, pushing me to give him a few pokes in the ribs just to rile him up even more. From a foal, it was understandable. Hay, the good ol’ childish jokes still worked on him with proper timing. From adult ponies, the reaction was much more… vindictive… vengeful. Contempt. All I could feel toward those laughing ponies… Just cold contempt. How refined that they laugh so easily at the misfortune of another. I eyed them, taking in their features and their barely hidden snickers. How very much like I had anticipated. A little flame ignited in my chest, though twisted and far from warm. I was… I was almost proud of how well I had read them. This court… it wished to see those beneath them packed in good obedient locations and never question their divine blood. To see this paparazzi, one who could always attack their image so easily, this one pony, humiliated so badly; it was a primal revenge for them. They probably didn’t even find the irony all that funny, they just wanted a bit of payback. And they were getting it. The stallion held his head low, his tail curling up under him as he tried to disappear out of view, his whole face red with shame. He gave the impression of wishing to disappear, to sink into the ground and never come out again. I was the first to hear choked sobs. Bitter tears of humiliation started rolling down his cheeks. The sight of something so… pathetic actually ignited sparks of guilt in my chest. I tried to squash them… unsuccessfully. H-he DESERVES it! I thought with indignation toward my apparent empathy. Humiliated as he humiliated us! He gets what he threw around… Feeble excuses. They didn’t do a damn thing to loosen this tightness around my throat. Why?! Why couldn’t I even enjoy payback against somepony that had just destroyed our reputations for no reason?! It made me angrier, focusing this new feeling onto the paparazzi. It was his fault! I hated him for that! This was supposed to help, not make me feel hollow. To my complete shock, a white unicorn tried to push forward, out of the crowd and toward the victim of my spell. Blueblood was moving upfront, a stern look on his face. He wasn’t laughing. Not even close. But it was not him that intervened. “ENOUGH!” The shout stopped everything dead in its track. It rang loud, it rang strong, and more importantly, it rang of anger. For the first time in my life, I got to see Princess Celestia truly angry. Laws of statistics be damned, it might have been the first time it had happened to everypony else in the room as well. It was difficult to take in the sight, as her throne seemed to have gotten brighter. Rays of light shone through the throne room, illuminating it to an almost painful degree. Heat rolled off her in waves, causing me to step back and shield my brother as best as I could. Tom had gone completely silent. “FOALS! ALL OF YOU!” Some ponies around us whimpered, and parts of me understood for the Royal Canterlot Voice seemed a pale comparison to this. Celestia’s anger was burned into her words, as her voice boomed in what could only evoke fiery explosions. “IS THE MOCKING OF A PONY CURSED SO TRIVIAL OF A THING FOR YOU?!” An old mare to my right fainted. “I AM DISAPPOINTED IN ALL OF YOU! THIS SESSION OF THE DAY COURT IS OVER.” Quickly, she raised one hoof, then brought it down with enough force to shake the ground. The shockwave vibrated into my bones, clattering my teeth together. “LEAVE, SO I MIGHT HELP THIS POOR STALLION!” Rapidly, I threw my magic around my little brother to lift him up. Curling on himself, he buried his face into my back, which then started to feel damp… Nopony questioned Celestia’s order. As one, the nobles started leaving the room, heads hung low in shame, ears flattened against their skulls. Some were even fighting their tears, quietly sniffing and wiping their eyes. For the most part, they tried to make themselves forgettable enough that their ruler’s anger wouldn’t fall onto them. I alone dared glance back toward Celestia and the paparazzi. At first, her focus was too much on the cursed stallion to notice. As I was about to pass by the guards at the door however, she turned toward the fleeing elite of Canterlot, her purple irises scanning the crowd. Alarms setting off in my mind, I ducked my head not to make eye contact. Brief as that occurrence had been, nothing could disperse the impression of a fire burning against the back of my head. -- In our room, there was the slightest scent of sulfur lingering. The odor was strong enough that Calx momentarily forgot his lack of energy to investigate. With one jump and a few revolutions of his wings, he made it to the center of our suite. Glancing everywhere, nostrils flaring a few times, it didn’t take him long to find the source of the scent. “Ooooooooooh, got it!” “What is it?” I asked, trying to peek a look at the thing he was holding. “You got a letter.” He grinned, trying to look both smug and innocent, which he strangely succeeded at. “From Twiiiiiiiiiilight.” A letter? This could be the key to our return home! Acting like his usual self, my little brother gave the scroll a tentative sniff, only to appear wounded the next second. “It’s not perfumed, but I’m sure she sent most sincere sentiments in it!” At that, he dropped on the bed, making fake smooching sounds and snickering under his breath. “Give me that, you little squirt!” I yelled, grabbing him by his tail with my mouth and throwing him off the bed. “Whoa!” He yelped, before colliding with the ground and finding himself splayed, with me looming over him. Instantly, his smugness vanished, replaced by the most adorable, sheepish, innocent pair of puppy eyes. As always though, I was completely immune to his way of weaseling himself out of a bad situation. I taught him that, after all. “Give me the letter.” He handed it to me without a fuss. “Now go read your school books or something.” “But-!” “Calx…” I said with a warning tone. He scrammed, not grabbing a book as I told him, but nonetheless going on the balcony. With so much on my mind, I let it slide, instead choosing to break the wax seal on Twilight’s scroll. Dear Prince Ventus, I have received your letter and chosen a course of action concerning any possible relationship between us. I believe that your suggestion is an intelligent one and do express the desire to keep communicating with you. If I may… I would like to start this with a question of my own. Have you ever… felt overwhelmed by the idea of being royalty? I do not know if you have ever encountered this problem, you always seem so composed and sure of yourself, but I do not know… if this status is really something I deserve, or even if I desire it. Princess Celestia believes it – which was made even more apparent by some of the information you have revealed to me – and I have always believed in her wisdom… I… please do not repeat this to anypony… but I am scared Princess Celestia made the wrong choice when she helped me become an alicorn! N-no, please forget I ever wrote that!! If my friends knew-! …I’m sorry. There was always an inherent pressure to being her personal student. Other ponies would always look at me with some expectations. They were always scrutinizing my every actions, my every words, as if they were trying to find a flaw somewhere! And it’s gotten worse with my new princesshood! I… Sometimes… I feel their eyes on me, judging me, as if it was natural. That’s an acute sign of paranoia, I think I should get diagnosed. Sometimes, I hate them. You must think I’m a horrible pony… …I am sorry if this was so sudden. I do not know what come over me. If this has weirded you away from me, I would understand. Perhaps I should scrap this letter and start over! Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle. I… I didn’t know what to do with that letter. Strangely, the ink started to botch up in spots, darkening the paper and dampening it. Realizing this, I quickly shoved the letter into a drawer and wiped out my eyes. I… I really was acting insane. Obviously, Twilight had shared a part of herself with me that she had hid from the others. But… why? Why had she felt comfortable, even with some self-censoring going on, to write to me about these things? Was she… was she hoping that I would relate? My heart went to her, as I could see her. I just felt like I could and did understand some of what she was going through. She was a frightened mare, hoping to live up to the standards everyone had of her, lest she be abandoned by them. Standards, might I add, that existed only because of something outside her own control. As caught up in my thoughts as I was, I failed to notice the knocks on our door until my brother decided to dart through the room to answer it. With his usual level of subtlety and language. “Yeah? What’s up?” That’s my brother alright. I rolled my eyes. My mind going to Twilight again, perhaps evoking her curves with more vivacity than necessary, I only noticed the exchange was over when the door was slammed close. Shifting from one hoof to another, Calx was still sending glances in the direction the pony had left. His mouth opened, but no sound coming out, it seemed as if he was trying to formulate the right interpretation of whatever he heard. He was clearly confused, perhaps a bit worried too. “Calx?” I asked, getting worried. “Who was at the door?” “Some maid…” He frowned, looking up to me with curiosity. “Princess Celestia wants to see you, said it was urgent.”