//------------------------------// // The Nameless // Story: How my Little Brother Became an Alicorn // by WiseFireCracker //------------------------------// They floated down to the ground softly, carried by the last of the Elements' powers. The powerful light faded, and on the beach, the rays of dawn bathed them with what should be hope. As her hooves settled in the sand however, Twilight felt struck by the sensation of emptiness around her. A presence she hadn't known existed until then had left a void around her. Frantic, she twisted around, glancing at her friends who had just reached the ground. And they noticed how things had turned terribly wrong. Their lips were moving, but she heard nothing. Their hooves stomped against the ground, her breaths came out ragged and short, her heartbeat still so strong she would have thought it deafening, but she heard nothing. She tried to shout, as loudly as she could. Nothing came, but the rising panic submerging her. Right where she was, surrounded by her friends, the only true thought to emerge was the oppressive, dominating, all-compassing fear of being alone. The silence was putting a world between them. When her hoof brushed against Applejack's shoulder to hug her, half her mind revolted against the hole where she should have heard fur stroked. The warmth, she clung to, a lifesaver. She could not hear her own heartbeat. The only thing around them was an oppressing silence, and the realization left her breathless. “I hear them, Twilight.” The words she had heard had been silly, just a bout of gossip between Roseluck and Daisy. But she had marveled at the sounds she heard simmering under the skin of her lover. And Ve-… he had been embarrassed, so amusingly red in the face, tail twitching. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. And a shadow fell across her fur and the sand. It should have been over, she thought. All of it. Everything was over. Her thoughts almost fractured in that instant of panic. It should have been over. They had used the Elements and protected Equestria from another threat. But the mare she was refused, and the horn on her head came alight with strength to rival the sun. Sand came crashing down into a shimmering pink wall, the shockwave running across its whole surface as it poured back into the beach. Tremors climbed up her legs, and her friends, she realized, felt it. Fluttershy and Rarity jolted and turned around in shock, only just now realizing the danger that had nearly befallen them. Twilight stared as the grains slid on her shield. Something in her broke. Another spellcaster, she would have tried, instinctively, to feel through the magical signature the strength and weaknesses. But this one, her heart refused. She already knew. “I'm sorry,” she said, unable to even hear it. Sand pulled back from them, a faint blue light washing over it, and twisted limbs emerged covered in claws. Eyes that were hole and shadows fixed them with a hateful glare. The monster in the sand seemed to roar, its jaw pulling back so low it reach the ground, its fangs curved to bite. It lunged. Twilight flinched as it struck her barrier. Mute pain spread from her horn to her head, each hit pulling further into her reserves. Her friends gathered closer, their fur coming into sight, their hooves trying to support her. Hovering, Dash shouted futilely, her hoof pointing at the sea, and the tingling at the base of Twilight's neck told her as much as she needed to know. Pulling power from further within, she shot a swift beam of magic to her shield, its shape curving into a bubble like her brother had done so many times before. She braced herself. For the worse. For the mourning in the spell. Torrents washed over their heads, casting them in shadows as had the clouds and the sand. Yet the darkness cleared and the light returned without a harm on them. They saw the liquid overhead swirl and pulse and swallow the sand monster. “Huh?” she meant to say. Wet, the creature moved in jerky motions, its sand lumped in muddy balls that fell off its main body. It gave off one final cry, one last fruitless strike, and crumbled in the silence. Twilight first of them stared in shock. Calx was struggling in Thadal's grip, his wings beating, his horn spewing sparks and bolts. The stallion bit on the colt's horn and the sand finally stilled. Calx bucked stronger, no longer attempting spells or curses. He half-lunged at them, still held too firmly to escape, and he spouted every silent accusation with the very tremble of the ground beneath them. His tear stricken eyes glared at them all, crimson in fury and sadness. He fought back as a demon possessed. He fought as nothing else mattered than hurt them as they had hurt... Ventus. The name came with a sense of startling clarity. O-oh Celesta, had they killed him?! The thought struck her with horror so deep, and she recoiled. The Elements… the Elements wouldn't kill him, could they? They had spared everypony else, they wouldn't strike Ventus down so callously! But if he asked… And the horror sent her mind spiraling. For that split moment, he had grinned with eyes like Nightmare Moon's, he had taunted and provoked them, and every restraint they might have had shattered in the face of disaster. She could almost feel her crown tilt on her head, a thick red liquid oozing into her mane, her eyes. Ventus had stopped. Near the edge of the spellcircle, he had stopped and talked with his brother yelling for him. She'd want to take it back, but the power of the Elements had already filled her body, had already flung itself forward. Eager. Ventus' fate had been sealed the moment the light touched his back. There would be nothing to save him from the Harmony. Still he had seemed at peace. Content to be stopped. Content that his wrongs could be righted by those he harmed. And his mouth had moved in so familiar a shape she had read what she could not hear. “I'm sorry.” Her knees buckled. It was too much. She had done her duty. Wouldn't they all be so proud of her? She had done what a princess do and struck down whomever stood against Equestria! She had done it, were they proud?! She nearly slung the crown into the sea. Damn them, damn him. He'd been content! And too suddenly, with a noise like a bubble popping, her senses opened again to sounds. The world span. She could notice once more the cool breeze drafting over the ocean, and the cries of her friends, bursting forth as half-formed statements. From the half-shouts, she heard shock, sternness, relief and joy. Sadness seeping and horror pending. The noises around her brought life rising and she marveled, marveled for just the feeling of grains of sand ground together by their weight. And there felt the brush of a gentle wing against her cheek. Something she remembered, something she had loved. Her head snapped right to the downward slope of the beach, and she saw him as her friends did. They trotted closer to the alicorn splayed over the sand, whose coat had returned to a shining golden color. His eyes were closed. “SAM!” A small blue cannonball dove into said alicorn’s sides, crying without restraints. The bearers of the Elements of Harmony, on the other hand, dared not move. The presence of the colt at his sides pushed them back. His weak pounding on his brother's shoulder felt like stabs to them. They'd done the right thing, they could not have done anything else, but for that young colt, that answer would be an insult. So they stood back and watched, one of them with tremors in her wings and her guts. Quickly enough, as if awakened by the sound of his brother’s voice, Ventus Vinco opened his eyes, their azure green color reflecting a great confusion. A flicker of light within flashed, and with it, his entire features seemed that of a stranger. His right front leg moved from underneath him. He brought it to eye level, and he stared at the tip of his hoof, flexing it in little movements, as if to reach for something he did not find. His lips formed a word, a name, all in silence. His expression collapsed, tears gathered near the corner of his eyes. Then, she noticed the strangest thing, on the twist of his mouth. It almost looked as if… he wanted to smile. But if he meant to, Twilight would never know, for his shoulder shook from another of his brother's hit and Ventus looked down. His wing closed over Calx's back. Only then did her lover come back to life. “It's okay, Tom. I'm here. I'm okay.” “I thought… I thought you were...” the colt sobbed. "...gone." -- Gone. I had been. For the longest and the shortest time, truly. I had never even moved, it seemed, except maybe to collapse. But here and now, Calx cried out the fear of losing me. At least this wrong I could correct. “I'd never leave you alone, squirt. Come on, you know that,” I whispered into his mane. “T-they hit you with the Elements...” he buried his face deeper against my chest, still so shaken. “Why'd you…? You let them!” His hoof struck again, hard enough to make me wince. I deserved that. I deserved that and a good deal more, but not now. “I'd gone too far, lil' brother. It was better that way.” I lifted his chin with the tip of my wing, and smiled, sheepish. “Hey, I'm not too hurt. It's fine. The Elements… the Elements do as they need. I'm okay.” “Need what?” Calx sniffled, his gaze intense. He trailed after lines in my fur, almost as if he could see the difference newly made. “What did they have to do?” “Teach me something,” – seal something – “...important. Really, really important.” A lesson about fear. A lesson about doubt. The Elements forced themselves in and cracked open the darkest recesses of my mind, the part parasited by the visions conjured by Sombra. What I had seen and refused to acknowledged. What came back in moments of anxiety. What told me happiness here was unacceptable. Two bodies… one male, one female… both were slightly above the ground… a rope… Strangled noises… a little twitch, but no struggling… a willing choice… one last wheeze… But this darkness, this… this nameless horror, it couldn’t affect me anymore. Not now, not ever. I knew. The light had chased all fears out of my heart. My mind was finally at peace. The last words we ever spoke to one another were the ones that mattered the most. Next goal: finding out how to perform the memory spell and giving that to Tom, I thought, gently stroking his mane. That doesn't involve the Elements. It's not a power to tempt. Struggling, wincing in pain, I leaned forward, bringing my mouth closer to my little brother’s ears, and, from the deepest part of my soul, summoned what little strength I had left to speak. I whispered four little words, the most precious words in the world, with two voices not mine, and saw the tears pool under his eyes once more. Softly, my hoof brushed against the top of his head, my wing held him as Father would have. Calx recoiled, staring with wide eyes and mouthing their names without even realizing. It dawned on him, through the shock and the disbelief, what such words would mean, spoken so. “We…” he choked. “We're not going back, are we?” The lie jumped at the front of my mind. I turned to that, first and foremost, faced with the sadness seizing my little brother. But I promised. I promised I'd raise him myself into a good stallion. And good stallions don't lie. Without a word, I shook my head. Calx fell on his rump. He seemed so small then. Just a little boy. Not the kid that tried to play it tough all the time, the one that stood before everypony else, ready to take charge and make the most of it. Just… a little colt that understood he wasn't going to see his parents again. His wail pierced my heart. “I’m sorry! I’m sorryyyyyyy!” I hugged him close. I brought him against me so the swelling in my throat would not overwhelm me. His pain I felt with such ease, a bleeding wound in my chest and his. He cried, louder, without any restraint or shame. The sadness was so much deeper than that. “I-I-I didn’t w-want thaaaat!” He sobbed and choked as he held me as strong as he could. “Just… just wanted to have fun here! N-not… forever...” “It's not your fault.” I told him, and I willed him to believe it. If Harmony was good, it'd let my little brother live without a guilt like my own. “Squirt, it's not your fault.” He threw back his head to scream. “Mom! Dad!” “We love you too,” I said again, the exact same tones, the voices distinct. They were the only words I could give him. He would remember them, he would know them so well the memory would never leave him, not once throughout the centuries. He was loved. By them and by me. Tom would always know. Again I told him, with their voices, then mine. “It will be okay, I promise.” Again, with soothing strokes on his back, with the most precious words, I told him. “We'll make them proud.” Again. Again until his sobs became weak hiccups, and he sagged against my shoulder, spent. I wanted nothing more than to do the same. To curl up and forget. I would, once this was over, when we were no longer in the aftermath of a Fall and a purification. They had kept a distance, out of respect, or guilt, but it would not last forever. I risked a glance at Thadal, whose presence felt the closest. I could have asked him, if I hadn't been able to stand. Too loyal. What did it get him? And, my voice thick with emotions, I offered him as private an apology I could give. “I'm sorry it was all for nothing.” Thadal's lips twitched, and became like a small subdued smile. It wasn't happy, nor sad. Just… a smile for me. He nodded, and with that relieved me of half my chains. At least he wasn't lost to me yet. But others… I thought as I heard a mare take a deep breath and step forward. It was, of course, the one I felt the least ready to face. “Twilight...” She frowned at me, her expression carefully guarded, wary of what I might read of it. She was not wrong to do so, but it made my chest heavier and my mood plummet deeper. Time to face the music, I suppose. But my heart skipped a beat as a burning wind ran across my fur. I only had time to understand, to see how the few stray clouds that remained in the sky held immobile. My instincts screamed. He appeared between two blinks, clad in his immaculate white, looking less a battle-hardened warrior than a prim and proper judge. A sudden breeze pushed Tom behind me, hiding him as best as possible. Really? He had to come back so soon?! Shouldn't a clash between Elders be a bit more catastrophic and long-lasting than that? Then again, Discord. As if sensing my puzzlement, Judicium spoke with the hints of a frown. “The Lord of Chaos escaped the moment he sensed the Harmony's power at work.” My ears ticked at that. Perhaps I had imagined that, but through his tone, through the singular vibration of the words he spoke, I sensed disappointment. “D-Discord?” risked Fluttershy to my astonishment. Her whole body shook, but she had still stepped forward. Her. Before an Elder. I wished I could see Judicium's gaze then, but he had turned. Something about the stillness of his person though… Every inch of him remained unmoving, if not immediately ordered, yet, this time, I could not help look at those limbs and wonder why they seemed stiff with more than simple Order. “He is relatively unharmed,” Judicium replied with a rumbling tone. “You may pick the pieces of his bodies near the Griffon Peak later, if you so desire. He'll stop playing dead eventually.” The mares turned quite green at that, with the sole exception of Fluttershy herself, who nodded. My eyebrows shot upward near my mane. That wasn't quite what I expected of her. She glanced back to the others, and the Mane Six tensed, still uncertain about this alicorn. “Do not fear, bearers. I have no ill will towards any of you,” he said in a calm monotone. This, I could believe of him, and the tilt of his head showed deep respect that made my eyes widen. “You are deserving of great rewards for your actions. There are many who owes you more than can be given, by all except me.” His head turned to each of them in turn, barely a moment stopping to take in each of their images, and his feathers shivered. “May you find great fulfillment in this, heroines.” What words of protest they had died out, and my own refused to be formed at the sight of Twilight and the others. For all of them seemed different. Not in what or whom they appeared to be, but the most startling impression gripped my guts. None of them stood in the way they had when Judicium first looked at them. They had changed before my eyes, without me noticing. The mares looked… stunned. Surprised, shocked, bewildered. Clearly, I was not the only one confused. For in that split moment, they looked at one another, their eyes asking 'did he also give you…?', and the unease was plain on their faces. Applejack even called out, “Hey, wait a minute, yeh didn't nee–” Judicium's head turned, and the rest of Applejack's words cut short. Though, not through any natural means, nor even her will. I'd gotten all the experience I could ever need at telling, and those weren't words she had cut herself off. People's breath went on nonetheless, sometimes a hint of a wheeze as the vocal chords still vibrate. This… this was a stillness so like Judicium, so much as if time itself stopped. “Alicorn of Wind,” he said, deliberately avoiding the names I had lost. “The time has come for your judgment.” I forced my breathing to slow down. This'd make it the third time an Elder judged me. A quick glance around gave me little hope that I could dodge this bullet. The sea itself had frozen as surely as Thadal and the others. Waves stood standing, splashes of seafoam suspended in midair. The time for my judgment indeed. “Get it over with.” Judicium took a single step toward me, and the power that radiated off his skin made my fur stand straight. “You have deliberately tried to leave this world through means that would be catastrophic for every other creature left behind. You did this by stealing an artifact of power in the middle of a delicate political situation. You were stopped, in truth, by the arrival of the bearers of Harmony.” What could I say to that? It was the truth. That was it. The whole truth. What made me claim evil as my nature. They should not have been needed. It should not have taken me remembrance of ponies I liked to have stopped in a project that could threaten so many innocents. But it had. I lowered my head in penance. “You were not alone in this,” Judicium continued, and my blood chilled. “You will not,” I ground out. “I am the one you are after.” Judicium's voice did not change. “His sins are his to bear and his reasons, just as well, unless he chooses to share them with you.” I shot up to my hooves and glared. “I don't care what you think, Judicium, I will not let you!” Hot air shifted around him, and the impression that shone from his fiery eyes were a warning. “It was my idea! I did it. I got him to help me, not the other way around. I'm the one that thought of this plan. I am the one that wanted to use the spell.” For a moment, the alicorn said nothing. Then... “You lie.” Cold settled in my stomach. Could he… could he really know? Judicium closed the distance between us, looking down at me from his full height. He must have been a head taller than Celestia. And his gaze felt like twice her sun and her anger. “You did not want to use the spell in the end. You wanted them to use the Elements of Harmony on you. You wanted it to be over, one way or another. If your bluff had not worked, you would have stood in that circle and waited, until your brother looked at you and the time to choose tore you further apart. You think perhaps now that you would not have done it, but Chaos is everchanging.” “I knew the girls would use the Elements! They're heroines! They would know what to do when it came down to the right thing! I trusted them!” “And if Thadal Fragor had followed your cue and activated the spell for you?” I staggered. The idea of it, how arrogant not to consider… the… What if he had done it? The words clawed at my mind, whispered with a voice like Caelum's. What if Thadal had seen me unable to take that weight, and tried to help me? “I...” “You considered every life worth the risk of ending this pain you bore. You reduced them to nothings in the name of your Emotions,” and Judicium spat the word, spat on Pandora and her touch, his wings coming ablaze and his eyes clouding over with a dark blue swirl. For a split second, on the spread of his wings, I saw things as they were meant to be. No alicorns, no spirits demanding answers in Canterlot's ballroom, no threat of the Fallens reborn. I saw… I saw mortals live, and it was beautiful. Beautiful, and threatened. Threatened by the impulse of one pony, going to speak to another and declare love. Threatened by anger in royalty, when logic dictates calm. Threatened and tainted by the power of an Elder most despised. “You hate her,” I whispered, and some part of me that had listened to Caelum grinned savagely at the pause it gave an Elder of Order. “You hate that Pandora left her mark on you. She gifted you with righteous anger. There is Chaos in you and you kn-” The tip of the blade pushed against the skin of my neck. Its metal red, its touch searing, the sword promised an excruciating agony if I dared move. Whatever else I meant to say I bit back. The weight of Judicium's gaze made my body heavy. But the blade faded away, a single feather on his wings sprouting back. I looked up, sweat rolling on my spine. “Why?” Not that I am not grateful, but. “You do not lie,” he forced out in chopped words. For the first time, I could read on his blank muzzle traces of a sneer. “Honesty was my gift to Harmony and I will not harm you for that act itself. Never.” “If not for this, then for the rest. You've accused me and I don't think I can deny it in the slightest. The cape was on my back, the spell was written with my hooves and my horn. So what do you intend to do with me now?” “Tartarus,” he said, and with that made the ground beneath me threaten to swallow me whole. “The Prison of Immortals will welcome you, once a year.” Just as my mind near buckled from the shock and horror, it caught on to the last of his words. “O-once a year?” “You will not forget.” His glare bore into me as a thousand deaths made one. “Harmony gifted you with peace, as is its purpose. Mine differs. You have committed wrongs that must not go unpunished. You have acted out of love and selfishness together, and both still lingers behind your eyes. When Charon and Styx challenge your brother, how low will you fall?” I averted my eyes, else he would know. I suspected he already did. Indeed, Pandora had. “Haven't I suffered enough?” “Pain is not a license for wrongdoing. Had your friend Thunderlane claimed Calx Iugum's life in defense of Rumble's, you would not permit it, nor would you claim it enough that he suffered beforehand. You would call for my cruelest punishments to befell him, rightly so.” I flinched back, curling my wings against my sides more tightly. The air around the beach felt colder, through no dark powers other than the single image in my mind of a grey stallion and his own little brother. Thunderlane would call for my blood. I'd call for his if our positions were reversed. Some things… Some things could not be forgiven. “You will not forget. You are immortal, Alicorn of Wind, and for as long as one who was threatened by you on this day lives, your punishment will continue.” His last word rang like a chime, and throughout the air, I felt the shiver of nature itself. I stood alone in front of Judicium. I stood on a frozen land amidst frozen ponies, waiting for what I knew was inevitable. Those were my last instants of freedom, if they could be called that. How long would my punishment even last? The disasters might have struck anywhere in this world. Dragons were amongst the longest living mortals. The eldest had lasted ten thousand years. Spike will live ten thousand years. Spike... Spike will live ten thousand years. A choked noise flew past my lips. Horror clawed deep inside my chest and struck my straight at the heart. For a second, I thought I would throw up, the sheer monstrosity of it turning my stomach over. Spike, the cool little guy, Twilight's brother, Tom's friend, will live ten thousands years, and I would have taken that away! “Kindness is a virtue of Harmony. You and I are not kind,” Judicium said, and I knew myself an open book. “Every year, you will be called by the chains of the underworld, and you will answer from the rise of the sun to the fall of the moon. Every year, you will understand further what you sought to destroy, in the name of Love no less. Remember, child, remember and let the Truth dawn onto you. Only then will you conquer your torment.” His hoof struck the sand, and I knew my sentence given. Cold slithered up my legs, caressing as the coils of a serpent, digging into my muscles and reaching for my bones. I fought my rising panic as the light crawled up my barrel, around my neck, and every muscle in my body had tensed, waiting. The frigid chill sliced into me. Parts of me seemed to break, to fall to the ground while a grotesque mannequin stood. The world flashed red and black, and dark and damp. I saw fire freezing and ice burning, fangs of stone biting into my flesh and a pale grey light sicken my sight until all naught of beauty could be found. Cries I had never heard before shattered my eardrums, raw and rasping of agony untold. Barks rose to silence them, and those that weren't fell short under a noise of flesh torn apart. Three heads loomed, and an acre liquid dripped from three mouths snapping at me. I saw Death that never came. I stumbled forward into a fur that was white and unmoving. Cold sweat slid the curve of my brows, my breath too short to inhale anything. Despite my blurred sight, I let my eyes travel skyward toward a stallion's burning blue eyes. “It is done.” His wings pushed me back, though without roughness. One feather that was blindness for the voyeur forced my muzzle down, and with that, I noticed lines of silver cutting through the gold of my fur. “Oh...” I said with a voice that sounded muffled to my own ears. The patterns in my fur were of chains. From the tip of my horn, to the sole of my hooves, links of silver-white fur spiraled over my body, as if my bindings had discolored parts my coat. No part of me had been left unmarked, and my steps might drag into the ground to lift the chains and weight off the underside of the land. Ponies would be puzzled. Spirits would understand on sight. “--ed to do that!” said Applejack's voice. With a startle, I remembered the others, and they did me, following Judicium's presence. Blinking, they stared, doubtlessly taken aback by the sudden change of esthetic of my coat patterns. From behind me came a voice younger than most. “Sam?” Tom asked, sniffling and rubbing at his eyes still. “What's with the fur?” “It… that's…” The words would not come. How could I even tell him that? Here? In front of Twilight and Eric? My mind caught up with that, and I remembered I had looked away from Judicium. Too slowly, I turned to warn him, to get him to leave or to shield him myself. Thadal was staring back, his eyes wide in shock. Fear weighted in his gaze, understanding, regretting. His hoof, outstretched, fell back to the ground quietly, while he offered an awkward smile. It was so much like him… And I caught sight of a tuft of darker fur on his cheek. The line cut through his fur, up to his ears and his eyes. Not a chain, but a mark all the same. Guilt spread through me, fully, so fully I nearly looked away. Judicium had passed his sentence on Eric too. And I hadn't been able to do a thing to help him either. This was just another one of my failings. If I hadn't gotten involved, he wouldn't… Elders, they wouldn't force him into Tartarus as well, would they?! I… I did this to him... “Are you a monster?” Judicium cut in, and I felt my heartbeat quicken. “I care not for labels and words you choose for yourself. I know what you are.” The chains around me seemed to tighten. And then, Judicium paused midstride, as if struck by a thought, startingly alive in that single gesture, “So do you, for that matter.” I had no answer to that. May he leave now, I thought. Justice had been served. I could look forward to a life as a stallion, and put all the rest behind me. He only needed to leave. In that last moment, Judicium seemed to glance toward Tom, but my wings flared and obscured my brother from that fiery sight. That justice was not for him, not for a foal. Discord's words had struck true, it was the caretaker that was to blame when a child injured themselves on something dangerous. And Tom was already punished far more than the crime warranted. Judicium's blank gaze stared, unyielding. Rage poured into my veins as Father's power had before, burning, agonizing, and with strength to make my sight turn red. In that moment, I saw with clarity myself, unafraid of yet another Elder, standing before him and daring him to even hint at it. “No living creature will ever say your name again if you try to harm my brother, Judicium Frigus. Be certain of that.” I pointed my hoof straight at his face, fear broken down by the surges of protectiveness curling around my heart. “Your business here is over. Leave. You may be Justice, but I can teach you vengeance.” Nothing in Judicium's prudent expression changed. Not the line of his brows, not the pull of his lips or the target of his glares. But my chains rattled, and the cries of the damned were like whispers in the back of my mind. Knots tied my guts well-together. And every ounce of magic that remained in me prepared to unleash my curse. Elders, my plot! I'd stop him if it killed me. But the first move… it wasn't Judicium's. It came with a flurry of deep, earthy brown and a wingbeat that carried the scent of the sea. Thadal landed a hoof's length away, the mark upon his face twitching while he looked at the Elder of Order. “Don't!” I shouted, anger flaring at what that idiot was thinking! Thadal grinned back, shrugged off the weak push of air I could muster after the Elements drain, and bumped shoulders with me. “You still haven't gotten it, have you? Gee, Sam.” To make matters truly explosive, I felt Tom's breath jump behind me, just as he tried to dart forward. “Get back!” I hissed while I attempted to push him back with my hind leg. “Bucking hell, this ain't the time for you guys to be morons!” The little squirt, of course, circled around my legs, trying despite my best efforts to get in front of us. “You're not letting him hit you again!” I would have been touched – hay, proud even – if this wasn't bucking Judicium. My jaw snapped and closed over his tail. Ignoring his startled yelp, I pulled back and lifted him in the air, well intent on forcing him away from the trigger-happy Judge-of-Everything. “Back,” I grunted between my teeth. “Hey!” rose another voice, this one raspy and harsh. As one, us alicorns turned back to those almost forgotten and saw a mare with a ruby-incrusted necklace and a pair of cyan hooves crossed over her chest. “We might not know the whole thing between you guys, but we're not okay with you going after the little guy either.” Rainbow Dash, I could kiss you! Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack and Flutershy stood firm behind Rainbow, their stare aimed at Judicium, their Elements' gem glimmering in the dawn's light. A silent challenge radiated from the mares, and the sight of them united without a hint of doubt left me nearly gaping in awe. Something in Judicium's posture shifted. A hint beneath the cold and unmoving exterior. The air around his knees trembled, as if he wanted to kneel. Slowly, his head dipped down in acknowledgment of their wills. The gaze of blue flames flickered to me. Not to Calx, not to Thadal. Me. “You are right, my business has ended. Yours, however, begins,” were the last words I ever heard of Judicium before he faded. And yet, despite the immense relief, I stared at the spot he had stood upon. Had that been a smirk pulling at the Elder of Justice's lips? I still pondered the thought when Applejack came by and got me to follow them back the way they came. Calx fell to the ground with an indignant yelp. Twilight's magic flashed pink. The Wind and the Sea later washed away the circle of runes, as if nopony had ever set hooves there. – The heat was suffocating. It tainted the room with a faint red veil, truly fitting with the finery hanging from its stony walls, bouncing off the leather covers of the massive tomes that fitted the shelves. An unlit candle on the chest in the corner of the office wobbled, unstable. In such circumstances, truly, I could wonder who in the Lands Below had seen fit to gift this room with a chimney. I shifted in my seat, the cup of tea before untouched, my hooves rubbing against the pale markings on my fur. Only half of it due to my unease towards them. Quite frankly, my stomach turned at the simple thought of my presence here, in the rays of her sky-lit mane, and the beads of sweat that rolled on the back of my neck did not help at all. “It seems to me as if we are destined to keep having these meetings in my office, Ventus.” Celly took a sip of her steaming hot tea, and her features seemed serene, if only for a small time. Despite myself, I smiled at her words. “You know, I was about to make a quip about that myself.” I held back an awkward chuckle, though my tail flicked to the side before I could stop it. Buck me, this is like being in front of Mother again. “W-well, enough of that, go on, when is the public lynching going to happen?” She raised a delicate eyebrow at this, utterly unimpressed. “You have caused a great deal of chaos, Ventus, that much is the absolute truth. Some of our more powerful guests noticed, indeed, the troubles you were up to last night. In fact, most of the spirits you met hours before came straight to us.” And there came back the absurd sensation of smallness that came by being scolded by her. At some point, sometime, Celly had to have been a mother. She isn't wrong though. What an impression that must have left on Coyote and Raven... “They did not know any of the details, though they speculated you wished to make a display of your power after they had bruised your ego. Luna and I managed to calm their tempers in due time, but I know for a fact Minos still believes you a hot-headed youth.” The knot in my guts untied and a genuine grin showed on my face. “You don't say? Me? Hot-headed? What, did he say stubborn too?” Celly. Choked. In her cups. Glorious. Blueblood had been right, I could indeed get Celestia to snort in her tea and other such undignified reactions. Hot damn, I would abuse the crap out of this power! ...If I ever got to speak so casually with her again. That thought crashed the valiant good mood that had tried moving me, and I let my smile fall as Celly composed herself. It might be the last time. For all I knew, one of those folded scrolls held a decree of my exile to the Griffon Kingdom. My heart ached in my chest. If… if at all possible, I would want for my relation to Celly to survive. It did not seem very likely, but that childish little wish felt a soothing balm on my heart. After a moment of silence, I said, biting my lips, “you didn't answer me though. Those are only the powers behind the foreign dignitaries. What of the rest? What do the ponies of Equestria think of me and Thadal now?” Celestia lifted an asinine magazine from under the pile on her desk and slid it over to me. “You've been voted First on the Teen Hearthrob top ten list for two of Equestria's Letters publications.” My mouth clamped shut loudly. ...What? When had ponies taken that picture of me pouting?! A-and that other one, that was at the ball, and… okay, yeah, I'd been wandering the gardens after Celly had made her request. That would explain the melancholy. Still, there is shallow and then SHALLOW! How could anypony ever focus on my looks instead of… of... In the corner of my eye, I caught hints of her magic's golden shine as it lifted her teapot and tilted it. My mind so blanked, I could not help but focus on the sound of liquid swishing and swirling in the porcelain receptacle. So… so relaxing, and… What the buck? “Unfortunately,” and Celestia spoke with much mirth, “you have only placed fourth in Cosmare's rankings. Their demographic is, of course, slightly older than your average fans. They think you too young.” No. A strangled noise came out of my throat, stopped short by the realization. And I could not believe her. She… she... “You haven't told anypony yet.” Did she want me to announce my Fall myself? Nothing else made sense. Was I to stand on the balcony overlooking the courtyard and say 'almost killed you all, sorry, kaythanksbye!'? “No,” Celestia confirmed rather casually. “Besides the obvious few, your actions were kept a secret from everypony.” “I don't deserve to just–!” A booming burst of light snapped the words in half. My mind screeched as heat washed over my fur, and it took everything I had not to run. Shades of fires seemed to dance in Celestia's mane and the look she cast upon me seared through my flesh as surely as Judicium's had. “I care little about what you believe you deserve, Ventus!” she snipped, and I flinched. Her tone grew gentler. Patient, enough to calm my maddened heartbeat. “I have spent a thousand years ruling this country, and some principles of Order I find… counterproductive. Some things must be kept hidden for the greater good. Do they deserve to know? Certainly, but that alone does not justify the very dangerous political upheavals that would push onto my country, Ventus. We claimed you as our close relation and if your actions were made public, they would demand more than we could afford to give. Thus, the truth shall be kept quiet for their sake.” I… I could begin to understand better. Yet my gaze darted to the silver chains embedded into my flesh. Celestia's eyes followed mine, and she nodded. “Spirits will understand these marks upon your fur, but mortals won't, not so easily. You have already been punished by Judgment and healed by Harmony. Do you believe me a vindictive mare to add to that?” Once, the question would have stung. I knew her better than that, and I believed she knew me. Her purpose was different. Let it be quiet. Let the evils lay to rest and no longer torment the days. And she was right, my guilt did not warrant endangering anypony else. But what I saw was the anguish behind the fires, the sorrow in the light, and such suffering sprang from my doing. No, no I did not believe her a vindictive mare, but I believed her a mare, not just this distant figure on a throne. “I… I hurt you, Celly!” I struck the ground, feeling the throes of this familiar and foreign anger. “I spat on the chances you gave me. I abused your goodwill, and you sweep it under the rug! How?! How can you let yourself be hurt with impunity?! That's not right!” Celestia reached for my hoof and grasped it within hers. Her sweet and gentle touch brushed upon the markings on my fur, and yet that little sent jolts of electricity up my limbs. She seemed sorry for that, her mouth forming a small, saddened smile. “I believe you have already shown your willingness to atone.” “Why?” I repeated, a weak whisper. “I rejected everything you did for us.” “You did. And I understand why you did it.” It broke my rage, splintered it with a strength that left me wavering. Scorn, anger, hatred, I'd take them instead of this… this kindness, this generosity. Why? Why was it that everypony I wronged showed themselves so understanding? We had fought mere hours ago! I tried to strangle her! “Celly...” “Mayhaps I wish I could have done the same, so long ago.” My eyes widened at the confession. Celestia's banishment of her sister had been praised for centuries as the epitome of her duty. Magister would have had a seizure hearing this. And judging by the suddenly knowing light in her magenta eyes, she had guessed my thought. The hint of a smile lingered briefly, and disappeared in a sigh. “No, do not worry for the Teacher. It would ultimately be a lie, but I have dreamed of it, dreamed of being put on trial for trying to protect Luna. I did my duty, but for a long time, I regretted it. The first few years… I was a bitter mare.” I laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. That was one thing I could not picture her as. “Obviously, you got better.” She smiled with the inkling of amusement in her eyes. “So will you, Ventus.” I blinked. She got me there. I wanted to laugh. Short and to the point, with words I could not deny so easily. Whelp. She could still run circles around me in our conversations. And such familiarity brought back a warmth in my chest. “I'll work on it.” It should be scary, but a mute feeling at the back of my mind didn't allow me to delve too deep. The future was the future. I would worry of it when it came to pass. “So, if not a public execution, what am I to do?” The corners of her mouth tightened at my jape. Quite as far as I could remember, there hadn't been one in quite a few centuries. But, well, first time for everypony. Celestia however did not rise to the occasion, not this once, and instead glanced to the opened skies outside. “It is a great shame, but you have been fired from your job on the weather patrol.” She slid a scroll on the desk toward me, and I unfolded it with my telekinesis. “There was an emergency summon for weather ponies all across Equestria, to fight the storm that blanketed the land.” I blinked back in shock. The thought of my job had stayed so far in the back of my mind that I had quite forgotten it might have been on the line. To be fair, the possibility of my head rolling on the floor or just being given as an offering to a couple of power-hungry foreign authorities to do as they will… well, it may have overtaken my concerns of showing up on time at work. Taken my shock for a need for explanation, Celestia spoke with a neutral tone, “Cloud Circle failed to report for duty, failed to answer any summon and was nowhere to be seen during the whole crisis. It was compounded when you didn't show up the following morning for some disaster relief.” My eyebrow rose in suspicion. “There wasn't any property destruction, Celly.” A small smile tugged at Celestia's lips, and I found myself wondering what thought danced behind her eyes. She leaned back into her seat, one of her wing flicking toward the sole window of her office. The clear blue sky contrasted well with the memories I had of mere hours before. “That is the amusing thing about mortals, you will find, Ventus.” Her magenta gaze darted toward a tapestry depicting ponies and griffons warring. “In the time it takes you to blink, they will have grown used to the kindest luxuries. And you will find yourself doing everything in your power to keep it that way.” “So, it's more hysterics than anything?” I laughed, because well, I could actually imagine my now ex-boss' face at the mere thought of uncontrolled weather. Hay, now I felt even worse for Thunderlane and the others. What a shitty night that must have been... “The exact words, as you can see yourself,” she pointed out half with humor, “were that you couldn't be relied on during crisis time despite it being a staple of your contract. Nopony were hurt in Ponyville, except a few pegasi that got sprained wings it seems.” “Alright, I see why he'd do that,” I sighed. No use to fighting the point. Who would come to my defense knowing I had created the weather disaster in the first place? “Where does that leave me?” “It leaves you with something of a fresh start.” To my puzzled frown, she answered, “There will likely be an announcement that you have publicly renounced your claim as a prince of Equestria, letting you take the status of normal citizen in exchange for all the privileges and responsibilities it entails.” I recoiled in shock. Had… had Twilight talked to her? She must have. This… the way she said it, I could only see the truth of it. Celestia knew what that meant to me. She knew, and she kept her face carefully neutral. “In the eyes of the foreign powers, you will become equal to Thadal Fragor, meaning that they will seek to gain your allegiance, and if not that, then your neutrality. I trust that you will not plot against your country.” Twice, remained unsaid. I could not begrudge that. I could not even be annoyed, as the emotions threatened to choke me. Elders, that mare, she… she still cared. The chains on my fur felt lighter as the weight they had asked me to shoulder waned. I looked at her, truly looked at her for the first time since this conversation had started, and she nodded. Do you always forgive so freely, Celly? Truly? “Since you are now free to do so, I am pleased to inform you that the Royal Guard is always looking for new recruits. They have already accepted your candidacy, and expect you to show up by the end of the week.” The scroll unfolded before me, and I saw in plain ink my name signed on the bottom of the contract. The rest of the terms merged together in a somewhat shambled mess. Terms and agreements, conditions, salaries. I had a few years ahead of me to fulfill it without possibilities of promotion, then stay on reserve. I snorted, grinned and rubbed my eyes, because there was the cousin I knew. Everything so neat. So elegant. Tidied up for all ponies to just jump into place and do their part. I wasn't out of her grip so easily. Only a fool of a ruler would let an alicorn slip past them. Well-played… And yet, my amusement was not hers. Something of sadness flashed in her gaze. It must have been a tiring game to play. Mine had been, and it was so much smaller than hers. Why did she seemed to ask for forgiveness with that silent look? Didn't she get it? I understood her reasons! I hated them, I never wanted to follow them, but honestly, I could see the weight of a kingdom on Celly. “Celly, it's fine.” She did not meet my gaze. “Calx Iugum will be allowed to keep studying in Ponyville. I understand he has made friends over there, including with dear Spike.” The room suddenly became icy. I forced the words out of me, at great efforts, as if to delay a reply that would shatter what little remained of my world. “...Will we be separated?” “Ventus...” Panic seized my heart, and I stumbled forward, one hoof on her desk, every inch of me shaking, to better plead. “Please, Celestia, I can't leave him. I promised I would–” I flinched at the taste of scented soap pushed against my lips. She looked over me with a serene smile, her wing extended and her feather tip almost tickling my mouth. “You will only be as separated as you will allow yourselves to become. Our training regiments may start at the break of dawn, they do not extend till dusk. For cadets, at least. If you wish to make the trip every single day, there will be nothing to stop you.” I almost burst out laughing. She had that much right, of course. Canterlot wasn't very far from Ponyville. It'd take me perhaps ten minutes to make the trip, tired. That simple thought sent relief washing over my every limbs. I breathed out a sigh. The royal guard. I could work with that. My temper probably would get me in trouble once in a while, but that'd be on me. And if by some miracle I learned how to keep it in check, then all the better. Elders knew it got me into troubles an awful number of times. I can live with that… I thought, with a strange sense of marvel to it. I could live with it. I could actually look toward the future and see something free of the fear of failure and the constant threat of corruption. My mind supplied me with an image of a bunch of chitin-covered equines, and a bunch of guards tied by lumps of goo. Alright, so maybe a little corruption and failure, but those don't really compare. Sensing that our purpose here had been mostly accomplished, I gave Celestia one last look. “What about Thadal?” She sighed. “I cannot quite make the same offers to him than to you, seeing as I would like to preserve his image of a non-affiliated alicorn. He has received some strong suggestions, but I cannot force his hooves. You may advise him on what to do. I believe he might need some help grasping the influence our species inherently possess.” Solemn, I nodded. We would figure something out. He had many paths opened to him, a good deal more than I did. His involvement had been hidden far better, as it was not his power that clouded Equestria's skies. Between the two of us, we'd find something he could appreciate. “I'll take my leave.” I rose from my cushion, and hiding the amusement a thought brought me, “You probably have a whole lot to deal with today.” Her eyes widened, if only at the sheer audacity. Coincidentally, one of the cushions collided with the back of my head. The efforts it took me to restrain that childish cackle… It'd be fine. I would serve my time, here and in Tartarus, and it'd work out. Tom would keep his friends, have fun around Ponyville and the rest of Equestria, grow up a fine stallion that would make everypony proud. I gave my words. The door to Celestia's office closed behind me with a heavy turn of metal. Colder air filled the antechambers, likely from the lack of Celestia radiating heat all around. And yet, a chill climbed up my hooves at the sight of one dark blue mare rather. Luna glared. The blue of her eyes had darkened to shades of the late night. Hints of magic swirled near the end of her horn, but no spark ignited it. Her lips trembled. In indignation? In regrets? What things she had to say she wouldn't share with me. And the part of me that remembered the lance of ice sinking in my shoulder to the sound of howled accusations kept my mouth shut. So silence remained between us, awkward and thick on our coats till Luna had enough. She huffed and smacked me in the face with her tail when she left. That, at the very least, had the merit of telling me where I stood neatly. Rubbing the tip of my muzzle, I tried to ignore the trace scents of blackberries. That detail struck me as quite silly, and yet my mind lingered on it. That wasn't something I expected to learn about her, or anything at all. Luna and I had never attempted to get closer. Indeed, our only interactions had been forced. But we were cousins too, our blood relation the same as between Celestia and me. Maybe there could have been something… With a sigh, I made my way out of the antechambers, nodding as I passed by the two stationed guards. Likely aware of the changes, the two returned the acknowledgment, but without quite the fervor they had toward royals. Strangely, that did made a little claw pinch at my heart. “Good day, sirs.” They grunted a reply, and I was off into the hallways with the painted windows' light for sole guide. The Castle felt quite empty for this time of the day. Of course, the number of voices I could hear in its sheer vicinity contradicted that feeling pretty thoroughly. With so many ambassadors visiting, the serving staff had devolved into a well-oiled, hysterical machine. I had been part of it, in a way. Being shoved at the top hadn't done great favors for my sense of self-importance, it seemed. At the very least, I had treated them well. I could only hope Blueblood would… For a moment, I stayed silent, my ears twitching. Then, I walked at a slightly faster pace, grinning. “You will sit down and take the ten minutes I requested to rest. As my personal attendant, your obvious fatigue is unacceptable. And I tire of those imported Swish cheese crackers, eat them.” So that hadn't been a complete waste. It would probably be smart not to be in his line of sight for some time. He did have some measure of control over the guards, and I did not fancy kissing his hooves all that much. Not for the first time, I surprised myself with a pang of regret at losing my status in Canterlot. Things were changing. It was fine, things were changing, as was natural after a botch attempt to get everything back the wrong way. Still… I came to a spiraling flight of stairs. Without missing a beat, I entered it, letting its shadows wash over my fur and the chains. The slivers of light that filtered through the few windows made every line of silver so much more obvious, made every one of them whisper a day just to my ears. And yet, that distraction did not affect my balance. How easy this trot was. Had I tried this on my first day, I would have fallen face first against the stone every two steps. The simple motion made quick work of the stairs themselves, but pulled a few stray thoughts further from the back of my mind. I almost wasn't allowed to peek there, but the truth was that it did not move my heart. I had yet to admit it to the others. I only remembered the light. In my mind, the small kitchen deployed from my memories, everything in place, both of them looking back to me, to my outstretched hand. And the words, the precious words again. But… beyond that? I knew of my past with Tom and Eric. Calx. Thadal. The names still shambled. I was careful to keep to the human ones, even if they evoked far less to me than them. No part of me at war, but I had yet to claim a name for myself. I… I could do that later... “Little corny.” My legs froze. Elders' sake... where did he come from?! The beginning of a snarl pulled at my mouth, and I pushed it down at great efforts. Yet that spark of fire waited, an illusion of calm ready to take over at any second. Discord's mouth crushed a handful of popcorn. “I really do look forward to your groveling.” I rounded on him, the fiery impulse pushing words out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I will not grovel before you!” He stared nonplussed, hovering above the ground, his back against a window. The halo of light gave him a shadowed silhouette. Discord chuckled, snorting behind one hand, lifting the other high above my head. The guard's helmet shone in the midday light. He tilted it just so, and I flinched back when the golden reflection blinded me. “I never said you would grovel before me, little corny.” He shoved the helmet onto my skull, making me flinch. “I foresee a great deal of groveling through the muck in your future. Whether it be before a big musclebound stallion or a sweet librarian, you better find protective gear for your underside.” He blinked out of reach as my horn swung right where his paw had been. “Testy.” He snickered. “Aren't you going to say 'thank you' after I distracted dear old Judy?” My mind buckled on the sheer audacity. The idea was so outrageous! I sputtered, “Y-y-you did it so I could not hate you!” But even to my ears, that sounded a feeble excuse. The words were a golden plate intended to shield my pride, what little righteous anger I knew I had access to. And yet, gold was a soft and unsteady metal. Discord's grin stretched even wider. He ran his claw along the underside of my chin, the sharp tip pulling a minute droplet of blood. “No, I did it so you could not hate me without feeling guilty about it. The girls would not have had a chance to use the Elements if not for me.” My heart skipped a beat, images of the rainbow coming down again, and Pandora and… and h-home… My hooves dug into the stone, as the guilt and the anger warred inside me. “You're infuriating! You're just twisting the truth around to manipulate me!” A flash of white light blinded me. The weight of the helmet on my head disappeared. But, blinking back dots of blindness, I noticed that Discord was holding a black pot. Okay, I saw where that was going. No need to conjure a kettle from nothingness to illustrate the point. “Oh buck you to Friday and back...” I waved a hoof in the hope he would get the hint. He could just up and leave and get eaten by a bugbear for all I cared. But no. He was Discord. Oh, he relished in my anger. The troll. “I did say I would pay you back.” My legs stilled. He was staring at my back. I could feel his gaze on me. Curious, wondering what I'd do. He loved to be surprised. Wasn't it the whole point of the spell? To create delicious chaos he would only be distantly responsible for? Well, on that level, I could admit I delivered. “Point taken...” I patted his shoulder as I passed him by. He had no words to that. And even less so when I added, “Thank you for your help.” Anger was overrated anyway. It didn't change a thing in the long run. “Huh,” he muttered. His paw stroke his chest, where, presumably, his heart might be. For good measure, he pulled out something lumpy and black, which then pulsed with a slightly stronger red light. “That's odd.” “Just take it, Discord!” I called back as I left him to his miniature existential crisis. Could I just be left alone? Tom and Eric probably were worried sick right now, waiting to see if I would get the proverbial banhammer in the muzzle. Only the thought of being mistaken from an escape attempt prevented me from leaving at a full gallop. And perhaps, the hope that they would have left by the time I arrived. My ears ticked with the presences of their whispered words, ones that I wished I could ignore, but they were straight in my path and… “You forgave Discord, didn't you? You forgave Luna. Why can't you forgive him?!” My pulse beat against my temples. You don't need to do that! A door slammed. I turned around the corner. Six mares stood right in front of the chambers that had been assigned us. I very nearly made my way back to Celestia's office. I could not do this. Pandora's laugh, I could not! But Pinkie's swiftness knew no equal, and she pointed straight at me before my legs could move. “There he is!” she said, and the others snapped to attention. Though Rainbow Dash and Applejack seemed ready to give me a piece of their minds – and the others' eyes held much the same accusation –, Rarity, on cue from Twilight, led them away from the hallway. Not that far though, I noticed with a small grin as their hoofsteps stopped abruptly after taking the first corner. Quickly enough, that bout of joy shriveled up, as one glance toward Twilight's face made me wince. “Twilight...?” Her gaze pinned me in place, looked at me as little more than a stranger. There were so many things that came to mind. So many things to tell her, in the span of so little, I could not get my mouth to open, not my tongue to move. From the treachery to the manipulation, how much had I twisted what she held dear? What was there to say then? In truth, perhaps there could only be one. “I'm sorry.” Twilight stared. Just a moment, the depth of her eyes seemed like a sky of stars with the very spark of magic. And her hoof came down on the ground hard. She trembled, and flinched back when I hesitantly reached for her. Then, in the linger of her eyes, in the shards of steel that appeared, it became a truth of crystal clarity. “I forgive you,” she said, quickly, almost ashamed. Other words wanted to come out. Berating, perhaps, for the fire that seemed to take hold of her. Anger, anguish, something so troubled, and she only said “I forgive you” without warmth. My heart sunk. She turned her back to me, but not without a tear. And I… I could not chase after her. I could not force her to wait. The last of her dark purple tail disappeared around a corner, my eyes trailing after her. I stood alone. “Fair enough.”