Pyros stared at the page in front of him, by now barely paying attention to what was written. He had been at this for well over an hour, yet his mind was still racing, trying to process all of the events of the previous day. While he had expected Equestria to be a very different place from when he left, he still didn’t expect that he would be back in the saddle of his duties so quickly. One thing was clear - he would have to face her much sooner than expected. Maybe the event with the dragons would give him some leverage, make her more amicable, but he thought along the same lines when he left all those years ago.
The crimson alicorn stallion sighed and stepped away from the desk, his back to the door, eyes closed and calmly meditating. A breeze ran through the room from an open window, but that wasn’t the cause of the back of his blood-red mane prickling. “Ah… Celestia." he said, not bothering to look behind him. "It has been some time, has it not?”
Wings unfurled, eyes slanted in suspicion, the white mare glared at the back of his head. “You've returned.”
Pyros chuckled mirthlessly. “Come now; is that the best you can come up with? What has it been? A millennium?”
Celestia remained abstinent. “Why have you returned?”
He turned to her, tilting his head slightly out of curiosity. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes; you’re not supposed to be here," she said flatly. "You were exiled.”
“I did not know you made it official," he responded, mirroring his sister's dry tone. "I felt that I could at least pass though as I needed. Not to mention I just saved your nation from burning under dragonflame. Show a little gratitude, would you?”
Celestia sighed. “After all that had happened, I cannot believe that you've come back."
“I saw the signs. It was time to return.”
“You left us with such conviction, such anger. I need to know that it is not still plaguing your mind and heart.”
“Worry not; such wrath left me long ago," he said with sincerity. "I hold no designs for destruction. But I trust that you do not believe me.”
Celestia kept her look of diplomatic reservation. “As always, the good of my subjects must take precedence.”
Pyros wanted to scoff at her words, but he had the sense not to. “To the point where you cannot even trust your family? Your own brother?”
“BROTHER?!” came the voice of Twilight Sparkle as she stood staring in disbelief at the top of the stairs.
Both alicorns looked up in surprise; they had forgotten that Twilight was not ten feet away in the other room. Pyros beckoned her down. “Why, yes Twilight. Did I forget to mention that the Princess is my sister? I thought being an alicorn gave it away.”
Celestia placed herself between her former student and brother. “This is none of your concern Twilight." she said sharply. "He is a danger to us all.”
Pyros rolled his eyes. “In both the old days and my very short return, I have not even once threatened Equestria, in any way! This is my homeland, sister; these were once equally my subjects. I never wished them harm. Never.”
“No, you simply abandoned us over something that could not be undone.” Celestia shot back, her facade of calm slipping.
An accusing hoof was raised at her. “I know my temper as well as yours. It was not difficult to know how events would have unfolded if I had stayed. I had to walk away while there was still a chance.”
Twilight walked around Celestia and stood perplexed between the two. A long-lost royal brother, exiled from Equestria? “I… I don’t get it." she finally uttered. "How are you a male alicorn anyway? I’ve never read anything about them, or that the Princesses had a brother…”
“Four of them, actually,” corrected Celestia.
Twilight did a double-take. “Four?!”
“Aye,” said Pyros. “Six alicorns sat on the Royal Council.”
The purple alicorn was stammering. “But, w- What council?”
Pyros glanced from Twilight to Celestia, perplexed. “Do they seriously not know? Have you covered our history?”
“I have done no such thing!" she protested. "The stories are simply forgotten.”
He bowed his head, sighing. “I was afraid something like this would happen. Sit down, Twilight. Let me tell you a story…”