Twilight Sparkle, Princess-Regent of the Crystal Empire

by Eltirions

Chapter 2: Dance of magic

Star Tower considered Ponyville as he watched it come closer. A town that had played such a pivotal role in these past years; impressive, especially when Canterlot was a stone’s throw away.

Next to him, his sister stirred. Star Tower still wasn’t sure why Celestia had requested she come with him, but he’d obliged her.

But for Sun’s sake, she was seventeen. She could handle herself, even if she didn’t have the insane magical power he possessed.

‘’Crystal,’’ he whispered, not wishing to wake her but also at the same time doing just that. ‘’We’re almost there.’’

Crystal’s eyes fluttered open, and the only thing they shared in terms of physical characteristics glared back at him. Star had never seen the appeal of his intense green eyes until they had looked back at him.

‘’Brother,’’ she whined. ‘’Why did you have to disturb my sleep?’’

Star shot her a smirk. Some people said that the smirk was the most attractive thing about him. He kept his own opinions on that. His blue coat, for example, he considered to be pretty attractive as well.

‘’We’re almost there,’’ he repeated. Crystal muttered something; Star had probably muttered it himself before, when he thought she couldn’t hear him. ‘’I’m hurt,’’ he said faux-pained.

‘’Fuck off,’’ Crystal replied as she slipped up in the seat of the train. She glanced out the window at Ponyville, idly brushing a lock of her silver-white mane out of her face. ‘’Why are we even here?’’

Star gave a serene shrug. ‘’Ask Celestia.’’

‘’Oh, I will,’’ Crystal said vaguely-threatening, eyes narrowed at the sun. ‘’I definitely will.’’

The thing was, Star mused as the train slowed down to pull into the station, that Crystal probably would march into Celestia’s throne room and demand answers, if he had given her the opportunity to do so while they were still in Canterlot. Crystal might not have had the magic he had, but she did have opinions on things, and more than enough stubbornness to force them through.

Stars, he had raised his sister well. ‘’Right, we’re here.’’

‘’No shit,’’ Crystal mumbled.

‘’Twilight’s band of friends is already waiting on us,’’ Star continued as if Crystal hadn’t said anything.

‘’I still don’t know why I’m here,’’ Crystal groused as she pulled her suitcase from under the seat.

‘’Neither do I,’’ Star said for at least the fifth time. ‘’I’m sure the Princess has it all figured out.’’

Another thing people commented on. Star’s sentences consisted of three parts: what he said, what it sounded like, and what he meant.

A stupid person would hear him compliment the Princess. A person with some inkling of sense would hear the supposed mockery in his voice. A person who knew how Star thought would know he was being sarcastic.

Sometimes, Star thought dryly, he impressed himself with his unnecessary complicatedness.

The train stopped, and Crystal and him easily got past the other ponies filing out of the carriages.

Star eyed Twilight’s friends. With the exception of the lilac unicorn - his distant-but-still-too-close cousin Starlight - he had met them all before, in passing at the Gala.

‘’Good afternoon,’’ he greeted as he approached them. ‘’Bearers. Cousin.’’

Starlight’s eyes widened. ‘’Cousin!?’’ she exclaimed.

‘’Look up your maternal grandfather’s side of the family,’’ Star smoothly supplied. Next to him, Crystal was grinning. ‘’Your maternal grandmother was his second marriage, which is what estranged him from my maternal grandmother.’’

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the white unicorn coughed. ‘’Yes, well. It’s good to see you again, Royal Magician Spellweaver.’’

Star resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ‘’Star, please. We’re not in Canterlot.’’

‘’Star, then,’’ Rarity relented gracefully.

‘’So why did the Princess send you here?’’ Rainbow Dash asked. Of course she was distrusting him. Loyalty and all that.

‘’Officially, to take over Twilight’s Princess of Friendship duties here in Ponyville,’’ Star answered, before offhoofedly adding, ‘’Tia also said I should try to keep you six from being harmed.’’

‘’Aw, doesn’t Sunny trust me?’’

Discord. Star looked up at the draconequus, who had suddenly appeared between Fluttershy and Applejack.

‘’Apparently,’’ Crystal quipped before Star could, and he brushed his tail against her as a silent sign of approval. She brushed back and briefly tapped his hoof with her own.

Discord clutched his chest. ‘’I’m hurt,’’ he proclaimed.

‘’Discord, I’m sure the Princess trusts you,’’ Fluttershy assured him quietly.

‘’Well, there’s-’’

‘’A lot of things we should do before we can whine about Tia,’’ Star cut in. ‘’Like move into the castle.’’

‘’Allow me,’’ Discord purred, and before Star could reply to that their suitcases had disappeared.

‘’If you broke anything I’m telling Twilight,’’ Star deadpanned. ‘’She’ll write you a strongly-worded letter.’’

Discord huff-snorted, then vanished.

‘’Right!’’ Crystal chirped when it seemed the Bearers and his dear cousin had frozen. ‘’Let’s get to the castle.’’

|-x-X-x-|

Admittedly, Twilight’s castle was nice.

Star just wasn’t a fan of crystals.

He lounged in Twilight’s throne. Crystal had taken a chair next to him, and the Bearers and Starlight sat in their usual seats. Discord was draped over the edges of Fluttershy’s chair, because of course he was.

‘’Right,’’ Star began. ‘’Paperwork.’’ He had managed to avoid it for the most part as the Royal Magician, but now his job was paperwork. Sun and Moon fuck it all.

‘’I said that last part out loud, didn’t I?’’

Crystal’s stifled giggles were all the answer he needed. Applejack looked neutral, Rarity was carefully maintaining her Canterlot mask, Pinkie was giggling, Fluttershy looked like she wanted to slink away into nothingness, Rainbow was amused and Starlight was staring at him like he was insane. Fair, he probably deserved it.

‘’I think,’’ Discord drawled, ‘’that the paperwork can fix itself.’’

‘’No.’’ Star fixed him with a glare. ‘’I’m not letting you fix the paperwork.’’

Discord pouted. If he thought that would actually help his cause, he really didn’t understand Star. Or how he looked.

‘’Where to start?’’ he muttered to himself.

‘’At the top?’’ Crystal innocently suggested.

‘’You’re helping,’’ Star declared immediately. He was not going to do this alone.

Crystal blinked. ‘’Pardon?’’

Star smirked at her. ‘’Twilight has her little brother. I have my little sister.’’ It was totally reasonable. And if Star could get some amusement out of the moment, well that was just an added bonus.

Crystal’s glare could melt a crystal. Star sincerely hoped it wouldn't; he needed the castle to be livable.

‘’What the hay,’’ Applejack finally managed. ‘’This ain’t mah job. Ah’m done here.’’ She slipped off her chair, gave Star a tip of her hat and trotted out of the room.

‘’I’m with AJ,’’ Rainbow said, before zipping off. Star eyed the rainbow trail, and considered running some experiments on it. Twilight probably already had. He would have to check.

‘’She has,’’ Pinkie’s voice confirmed next to him.

‘’Fucking Tartarus,’’ he cursed even as he turned to her. ‘’I don’t think I want to know how you did that.’’

‘’You’re right!’’ Pinkie chirped, and then she bounced out of the room.

He definitely did not want to know how she did that.

‘’It was nice meeting you again, Star,’’ Fluttershy said in her usual tone.

‘’The pleasure was all mine,’’ he replied, because while he was undoubtedly a cunt, he was also a nice cunt.

And speaking of cunts that were nice…

‘’Darling,’’ Rarity all but purred as she gracefully rose from her chair. ‘’Would you like my assistance?’’

‘’If it’s no bother.’’

‘’My schedule has been very empty lately,’’ she dryly replied. Star made a note to have someone in Canterlot organise a party for the nobles; spin it as a charity ball and give Rarity some work. Yes, that would work nicely.

‘’Well, then let us tread this mountain.’’ And if this afternoon turned out to be filled with flirting, Star wasn’t about to complain.

|-x-X-x-|

Dinner that night was take-out and late. If he saw one more fucking document, Star would burn the entire pile with Soul-Fire. And then proceed to hope the castle could survive that.

Probably. Harmony could most likely afford a good construction company.

‘’Thank you, darling. For take-out, this is excellent.’’

Star tipped his head at Rarity, lying on the couch opposite his. Crystal had taken her part of the food, muttered something that Star hadn’t caught but could guess at and promptly vanished to her rooms. She’d always been good at seeing what was about to happen.

‘’It’s the least I could do,’’ he replied truthfully.

‘’And yet you didn’t have to,’’ Rarity pointed out. She really should tie her mane back more often, Star mused. It brought out her face more than her usual style did.

‘’I didn’t have to,’’ he allowed. But I wanted to, went unsaid.

Star really did like Rarity. If he left aside her physique - and what physique it was - he was still left with a mare that was generous, noble, perhaps not the most magically powerful but still skilled at it, and above all, just nice to be around. At least Star found so.

As for what she found of him… well, he hoped it was positive.

He caught her eye just as he looked back from the chandelier.

Definitely positive, then. Brilliant.

‘’Darling,’’ Rarity said in that delightful way of hers. Before he had noticed it, she’d slipped off her couch and stood next to his. ‘’Darling, has anyone ever told you…’’

Star raised an eyebrow. ‘’Yes?’’

And then her muzzle was against his as she crawled onto the couch.

Bloody brilliant.