After a quick apology to Twilight and a hearty attempt at lighting Discord on fire, who Twilight quickly dismisses, the two of us sit down to talk. Before we can even begin to exchange pleasantries though a scroll forces itself into existence in a flash of green fire. The scroll bearing the mark of Celestia is quickly snatched from the air by Twilights magic her face falling as she reads.
"What's wrong Twilight?" I ask with concern watching her face drop.
"Its a letter from the Princess. She has requested me and the other elements in Canterlot immediately. She has even requested that you be brought along." She says as she quickly gets up and starts to run around her castle gathering things in her magic.
"Did she say why?" I ask her as I follow her around doing my best to keep up.
"Only that something has happened and that she wants all of us in Canterlot right away" With that declaration from Twilight. I offer to go and grab the others which she gratefully accepts. It takes me only about an hour to gather the other elements and take them to the train station finding Twilight waiting for us. Pleasantries are exchanged and that's about it as the train arrives only moments later.
CANTERLOT A FEW HOURS LATER
As we step off the train we are immediately met by several of Celestia's royal guards who usher us quickly to the castle. Upon arriving we are then taken by a completely different set of guards this time being from Luna's elite units. We are taken not to the throne room but into one of the off limits parts of the castle where not even the staff are allowed only the Celestial sisters having stepped hoof in this part in hundreds of years. The guards lead us to a large set of heavily magic reinforced solid steel double doors depictions of what almost appears to be a creature like myself carved deep into the metal, before quickly galloping away and out of this wing of the castle like frightened foals.
I find myself drawn to it like a moth to a flame but before my hand can make contact with the metal of the door I am stopped by a voice.
"Do not touch that or thy shall find thyself in a world of great discomfort" my head whips around along with the rest of the elements to see Luna and Celestia walking up the hallway.
"My sister is correct. You would not want to touch that Prism." Celestia says to me in a soft voice.
"And why is that?" I say nonchalantly looking at Luna.
"Because service to Equestria or not. I would tear thy arms off" comes Luna's rather aggressive reply
Celestia quickly gives Luna a tap with her wing. "My sister's comments aside, this room holds some importance for us both. It is our brothers room, painstakingly moved from the castle of the two sisters during the construction of Canterlot castle."
"Or it was before he became a monster" Luna adds in, tears doting at her eyes as ancient memories play behind them.
"I..I didn't know you had any other siblings" Twilights says completely flabbergasted once her jaw starts to work.
"Ney I doubt anypony would. Just as they did not remember me only the nightmare I had become" once again Luna's voice is sad, distant like she is thousands of years away.
Celestia's wing finds its way to her sisters back stroking it comfortingly. "It is not your fault sister. We both failed him"
"Okay okay what is going on here" Dash says rather irately.
Luna flashes her a glare of death but Celestia is quick to cut her anger off by saying "Come let me show you" her horn begins to glow before her magic swings the door open. The lot of us go in, Luna hesitating last before entering herself.
What we see cannot properly be described in words. If the room was brought over perfectly...then the slash marks in the walls must be from its former occupant. There is almost no furniture only a few paintings of Celestia, Luna their parents and a small creature covered from head to toe in crimson red scales, a crimson red mane and tail attached to its body and two crimson red eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that it was crimson and had no wings it would be me. Dash being the first to make this feature known.
"Hey that thing looks a lot like Prism doesn't it....." she begins to say only to be cut off when a midnight blue aura latches itself around her throat squeezing down.
"OUR BROTHER IS NOT A THING" Luna practically screams with the full power of the Royal Canterlot voice right in Dash's face nearly de-feathering and de-furring her with its power.
'Luna let Rainbow Dash go! She did not mean anything by her comment" Celestia quickly snaps off the order her sister following it before she can even think Dash dropping to the floor gasping for air.
"Sister she called our brother a thing" Luna snaps back keeping her attention upon the poor cyan pegasus. I move quickly myself now putting my body directly between the irate Princess of the night and my Dash. I let out a deep growl my eyes actually flashing red for a single moment the beast within rattling at its cage to get out and gut this pony.
"Now now let us all calm down please. We would not want anything unpleasant happening" Celestia is once again quick to be the voice of reason. It is a few tense moments though before Luna backs down first, it taking another few and Dash herself to help me reel the beast in. After apologies all round Celestia begins her tale of the dark family secret.
"It was very long ago now. Me and Luna were still only fillies just having only recently gotten our cutie marks. While I decided to stay within the castle Luna had decided to go out among the ponies of the small village that had grown up around the Castle of the Two Sisters. She found him huddled in a dark alley between two houses. He was nearly dead barely skin, bones and scales. She brought him back to the castle and somehow convinced our parents to let him stay. It didn't take long for Crimson to become part of our family even being officially adopted by our parents into the royal family." at this all of the ponies jaws drop to the floor including mine
"Yes I know it is hard to imagine. Everything went well, he came to be accepted by the villagers, made himself as helpful as he could to the ponies. As a young stallion he even found himself a mare that he fell deeply in love with. She became his entire world, they did everything together. Until the day they went out into the plains that used to surround the old castle. They were attacked by a manticore and she was seriously injured. She...she didn't survive and he ended up blaming himself for being to weak to protect her...at first. After that he became somepony else, Obssesed with becoming stronger and stronger. He joined the Military, climbed up its ranks. He must have fought in every war during the next 200 years. It changed him though, he became merciless, cruel. Eventually coming to delight in the suffering of others."
After giving the elements a few moments to process this she continues on. "Eventually his mind became twisted, somehow he got it into his head that his marefriend had died because she had been the weak one not him and so he raised an army and brought war directly to Equestrian soil in an attempt to make us strong once again. The war raged for nearly 300 years costing the lives of our mother and father" its at this point that Celestia's usually stoic mask breaks, tears slowly running down her face as the memories break the armour she has built up. Luna is the first to move putting both of her wings around her sister as they both begin to cry together. The rest of the elements eventually joining in for a large group hug. It takes them all a short bit to calm themselves including the older Alicorns.
Eventually they manage to get themselves under control and Celestia finishes her tale. "After the war was over he was banished to the very pits of Tarturus itself in hopes of never being seen upon Equestrian soil."
I speak up first before any of the others can asking the most obvious of questions. "And what does this have to do with why you brought us here?"
"We fear that our brother hath returned somehow to seek revenge once more" Luna says with quite a bit of fire in her voice.
"Yes it is as my sister said. We fear that somehow our brother has returned from his banishment. Already a town in the far south has been razed. Not a single soul was left living. The carnage that was found is indescribable, truly horrendous acts of brutality were visited upon those poor helpless ponies." Celestia hangs her head at this feeling great shame over the loss.
Despite myself I actually go over placing my hand upon Celestia's back comfortingly. "Do not worry Celestia. I will not let him hurt any more of your ponies. I have worked hard to earn their trust. Just being the same species as him they may see me as the monster I have tried so hard to not be"
Celestia's head raises slowly, her eyes locking with mine almost seeming to peer right down into my soul. She holds her gaze for a single moment before smiling "While I thank you for your offer Prism. I cannot ask that of you. You are not part of either my or Luna's guard-"
I cut her off there with a single deep growl. "If you think that will stop me then you are sorely mistaken. If it is your brother just by what you have said he will eventually threaten my friends and then I would be forced to face him anyways. I would rather go after him first." I finish with a huff and a flick of my mane.
Celestia goes to rebuke me but Luna speaks up first. 'He is right dear sister. If it is our brother then all ponies would be in danger. Glitter would be a great ally against him" With that said to her sister she turns her stoic gaze upon me. "Prism our sister is right though as you are not part of the guard or a recognized defender of the land you have no real authority to go and fight. Yet we are almost sure your services will be needed by Equestria again as such I have an offer for you"
I look at the lunar Princess tilting my head to the side. "An offer Princess."
"Yes Prism. since you lack the authority to do anything officially but we see your particular abilities being needed we are willing to have you join our Lunar Guard" Luna's tone and gaze betray nothing of what she is truly thinking as I gaze at her trying to figure out why. finding nothing in her stone like gaze I decide I have no other choice.
I drop down to one knee placing a scaled fist against my heart "I will take your offer Princess and become on of your Night Guard"
"Then rise Prism your training shall begin immediately" Luna then leads me off leaving Celestia to talk with the others about how to handle this.