• Published 24th Feb 2013
  • 10,959 Views, 676 Comments

My Mortal Big Brother - Dash Attack



Shining Armor goes on a quest to become an alicorn in order to save his love ones from mourning his eventual death. To do this, he must prove him self worthy of the spirits of harmony, as villains plot in the shadows.

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Entropy

Cadance sat across from Blueblood in one of the more quaint lounge areas the castle had to offer. They were each separated by a square crystal table and some delicious crystal tea.

“I do apologize for the unexpected visit," Blueblood said humbly. “But when I heard of your husband's untimely death in Appaloosa, I knew I had to visit you. You are the only pony I’ve ever put before my luxurious self after all."

Cadance puffed her cheeks. Thanks to Twilight’s letter, she knew her husband was alive. A part of her debated whether she should break to news to her brother or not. Instead, she decided that now would be a good time to question him on his actions.

The princess glared at her brother. “Blueblood, why did you order a warrant for Shining arrest? Word of the your accusations has reached me. I know you and he have never really gotten along because you see him as a commoner, but you can’t forget that you used to be one as well."

“Yes, I suppose I was," he casually replied.

Cadance blinked. “Odd. Your response was a lot calmer than what I imagined it would be,"

This is so unlike him. She thought. Blueblood has always hates it whenever I remind him that our family wasn’t always considered royalty.

“Perhaps I’ve changed since we’ve been apart,” he said, as he lifted up the sapphire tea pot and filled two cups. “By the way, would you like some sugar in your drink? I know you love your tea with a bit of sugar."

“That’s very kind of you,” Cadance said, letting out a slightly nervous chuckle. “Just pour open one of the packs on the tray."

“That won’t be necessary,” he assured her. “I bought this.” he said, taking a pack from his bag. “This new brand of sugar is all the rage amongst the elite. Trust me, you haven’t lived until you tried some , sis."

“But it’s just sugar,” Cadance pointed out. “I don’t think there’s much of difference when it comes to brands."

Au contraire, dear sister," protested Blueblood. “I think you’ll notice that this brand will add quite a kick. I know old Fancy Pants can’t get enough of this stuff.”

“You don’t say," Cadance said as she curiously examined her brother. For a brief moment Cadance swore she could see a grin on his face, but she chalked it up to her imagination. Still, she couldn’t take her eyes off of him for some reason. Was she just being overly cautious again, or was there genuinely something off about Blueblood? She couldn’t tell, and that in and of itself was enough to drive her crazy.

As Blueblood lifted up her cup and poured in his sugar, she made a conscious effort to examine him. As she suspected, there wasn’t anything physical off about him. However, she did notice some slightly red pigmentation, which could easily just be allergies. Still, the back of her mind kept nagging her that something was off.

Just push it into the back of your mind Cadance. She told herself. It’s been practically a year and a half since your wedding. I can’t let what happened affect me like this.

Ever since her abduction at the hooves of the Queen, Cadance had become slightly paranoid. While her condition had gotten better with time she could still recall the days she was in a constant state of paranoia. It took a while, but with Shining and Twilight had helped her recover. However, every so often she did find herself performing secret quizzes and tests on other ponies to see if they weren’t secretly changelings.

It’s probably nothing, she told herself. He’s probably just putting on an act because he’s trying to hide his true feeling behind Shining’s death. This is nothing new. He always putting on acts for everypony, especially to me.

“Here you go, sis," he said, as he levitated the tea cup and placed it beside her. “I recommend you drink it while it’s warm.”

“That’s quite alright," she replied, as her eyes started darting around the room. “I prefer my tea to cool off a bit first."

“We can call one of your slaves to get us some ice."

Cadance’s eyes shot open. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?"

Blueblood chuckled. “I said we could get one of your servants to get you some ice. I swear, you look so frightened all of a sudden."

Cadance gave her brother a fake smile as a shiver ran down her spine. “Yeah… heee. I guess I was just being silly." She gradually lifted herself off the couch and looked down at her brother. “Forgive me. I know we it’s been way too long since we’ve seen each other, but this whole ordeal with my husband has really got me on edge.

Blueblood gave Cadance a wide grin. “I understand. I’ll admit that I did frame him out of spite, and that I did issue the stallion hunt, but I’ve never wished for anything like this to happen to him. I’ve done some very awful things in my life Cadance, but you have to believe me I never wished for any of this to happen.”

The prince got off of his seat and and wrapped his legs around Cadance. At the same time, he carefully levitated the tea cup and brought it towards her.

“Please drink this,” he encouraged. “I swear it will make you feel better."

Cadance pushed away from him and started to back away from him.

“I told you I like it cold!” she snapped. “I’m really on edge right now, and your pestering is not helping me."

Blueblood smiled, as the whites of his eyes started to shine green “Have I ever told you how beautiful you look when your angry, or how sexy you become when you're afraid?"

“What!?” Cadance shouted, appalled by his comment. “You need to leave now! You’re not my brother!”

Blueblood chuckled sinisterly, as he looked at Cadance with a look of pure evil. “Your Prince. I’m afraid your mortal big brother is no more. His body is mine, and with it his unawakened claim to alicornhood. And now sweet Cadance, I’ve come to take back that which you have stolen from me.”

Cadance watched in horror as her brother’s coat started turning black, and black wings sprouted from his back. As the mad stallion cackled, purple smoke poured from his eyes. All the while his horn grew longer, and the tip became the colour of blood. Even his cutie mark changed from golden and blue, to green and purple. When the change was complete, only his blond mane and tail stayed unaltered.

“Impossible!” She yelled with a horsey shrieked. “We killed you, Sombra! The hope and love of the Empire eradicated every piece of you."

“It missed a spot," he said smugly. “Also, I must say I’m really disappointed you didn't drink your tea." A massive ball of purple and green energy formed at the the tip of his horn. He jerked his head forward and let out a mighty roar “Because what I’m about to do to you is going to hurt like hell!”

A beam shot from the ball of energy, striking her too fast for to either dodge or counter the attack. Cadance cried out in pain as dark metal chains rose from the ground and bound her to the blackening crystal floor.

Sombra casually walked over to Cadance as he were about to walk right past her. Instead, he smeared his front hooves against her face then began to senselessly beat her. The princess jerked in pain as her face felt each and every blow Sombra dished out. Upon hearing her cries of pain, a squadron of six soldiers rushed in to rescue her, and for a moment she thought she was saved.

That was, before she remembered exactly who was attacking her.

“Fall back!” Cadance cried out in a desperate attempt to save them, but it was too late. Moments after Sombra’s horn lit up, black shadow emerged from the ground and latched onto the poor crystal soldiers. They each cried out in agony and terror as dark gooey liquid consumed their bodies. They thrashed desperately, afraid of what was about happen to them, as the goo all but consumed their bodies.

“I thought we instructed them not to disrupt our tea?” Sombra joked. “No matter. Once I’m done with them, they will only adhere to me.”

Cadance screamed as a pale white hoof emerged from one of the black blobs, followed by a face. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Where once stood a purple soldier with a crystal sheen and hazel eyes, there was now a plain mannequin-like creature. It had the shape and appearance of a pony, but had neither eyes, mouth, nostrils, or even a mane.

Cadance stared at the appalling creature. She cringed at the mere sight of it. She could feel her spine shivered as more of its kind emerged from the blobs. The ponies that had once been her protectors were now nothing more than abominations.

“You seem frightened,” Sombra said softly as he began to stroke Cadance’s mane, who was too far paralysed with fear to protest. “Don’t be, sweet Cadance. All I did was drain the life out of their bodies. You’ll find that as emotionless thralls, they will make for much better soldiers.”

Seeing a tear fall from her eyes, Sombra’s smile only grew wider. “You seem disappointed with the change. You really should be more grateful.”

Without warning the wicked alicorn bent down and yanked Cadance’s mane, relishing her cries of pain as he tore a chunk of it off with his fangs. He waited for her to finish wailing before spitting the clumps of hair into her face.

“Your brother was a fool to leave you unprotected,” he gloated. “All of this wouldn’t have been possible if not for him."

“He’ll stop you," she said, as tears poured down her face. “When he learns what you’ve done, you’ll be the one begging. Shining would cross paths with a moving train if meant saving others, and that’s just his sense of duty. When he finds out what you’re doing to me, not even the Creator will be able to save you.”

Enraged by her insolence, Sombra slapped her across the face. “Be grateful for the child in your miserable belly," he scowled. “He’s the only reason you're still breathing. Once he’s born, I will make you my personal bit… Oh wait,” he continued sarcastically. “That wouldn’t be very moral seeing how this body did once belong to your brother. I knew there was a reason why I made Shining my top candidate for a host. Well, good thing there is no shortage of mares in Equestria. I guess I’ll just have to settle with seeing what you look like when I impale you."

Cadance heard a tap on the widow. The two of them turned and saw a familiar pink maned pegasus floating out the window.

“Fluttershy!” Cadance called out, as a feeling of relief swept over her. She had no idea what she was doing here, but that really didn’t matter considering her dire circumstances. “Please, go find a purple crystal pony named Platinum Lance. Tell him King Sombra has…”

Candace stopped as she saw both sides of the window become enveloped by dark magic and open. The yellow pegasus fluttered in through the window, and Cadance got a good look of the smoke that was pouring from her eyes. Not only that, she was holding a large heart-shaped crystal in between her two hooves.

No! She thought.

Sombra walked over to Fluttershy and levitated the heart from her.

“Excellent work my servant!” he shouted. “I can’t imagine this was easy to acquire without magic, but I assume your hick friends strength was enough to pry the heart from the pillars.”

Fluttershy nodded silently with a wicked grin on her face.

“Very good. I’ll make to put extra protection so that it may never be used against me again.” With the crystal still floating in his grasp, Cadance watched helplessly as Sombra zapped the heart with dark magic and made it disappear from sight.

“What have you done to her you monster!” Cadance roared. “Fluttershy, you need to fight him! He’s controlling you with magic!”

“I don’t think she can quite hear you princess,” Sombra chuckled. “She’s been instructed to only respond to me. Everypony else I told her to tune out, especially those she considers friends.”

The dark alicorn turned to the door. With a quick zap, four black crystal bars sprouted from the ground and barricaded the door. “I believe this where I say farewell, dear sister. The tea was lovely by the way. Reminds me of the stuff I drank a thousand years ago."

The king casually walked towards the open window. Like a demon rising into the heavens, Sombra flapped his wings and soared out the window, leaving the poor princess to suffer. She struggled to break free of her changes, but to no avail. It seems once again, her kingdom’s greatest oppressor was going to submerge her city into darkness.

---------

After Twilight had calmed down a bit, the Sparkle siblings made their way into the demolished dining room where the changeling captives were once held. Still very distraught about the loss of his magic and the pain he brought into Twilight's life, the stallion was not in the mood for smiling. However, when the duo entered the dining hall, the stallion’s ears rose up a bit. In the center of the room in front of the debris, eight familiar faces were conversing with one another. Upon hearing their footsteps, everypony in the room turned to acknowledge them.

“Whoo-whee” hollered Braeburn. “I knew you were gonna pull through. Thank you for saving my town before. I’m starting to lose count of how many times you’ve helped me."

“We were so awfully worried," said Rarity, making a dramatic pose with her hooves.

“I think this calls for a get well party!” declared Pinkie as she jumped up and down with glee.

“Glad to see that you really are as tough as Twilight," Dash said. “Not that I ever doubted you could pull through or anything."

Shadow removed his helmet and smiled back at him. “Thank Luna you're alright! For a while, I was starting to think I had failed. Yet after all we’ve been through in such a short time, I knew you would come out on top. Also I should mention..." the batpony had finished speaking, and as he put his helmet back on he pointed to the three dorky stallions beside him.

“These fine gentlecolts have been very eager to thank you. While you were out, they told of your high school days, as well as your heroic exploits in Oubliettes and Ogres. No doubt they had an influence on you before you joined the guard.”

Shining scratched the back of his neck and let out a sheepish chuckle. “Well, can’t say the game didn’t have some influence on me." He started to gaze around the room, then turned towards the three familiar stallions, only to turn back to his sister.

“Come on over here guys!” he shouted before turning back to Shadow Wing. “We’ll talk about our next course of action after I’ve rested and caught up with these guys. This the first time I’ve seen any of them in person in many years."

The batpony nodded. “I’ll be ready when you're done Captain. But before you do, there’s something I need to say.”

Shining curiously watched as Shadow glided towards him. As the lunar captain fluttered towards him, the young prince pondered what the thestral was planning. When the batpony was about a foot away, he watched in amazement as he gracefully landed with wings spread out and kneeled.

“Shadow!” Shining whispered, astonished by his friends actions. “What in Equestria are you doing?!”

Shadow tilted his head up to Shining and smiled. “I felt like you deserve more than a salute. I am commending you for that gambit you made with that spell. You’ve showed me that you are truly willing to lay down your own life if it means protecting others.”

“I don’t deserve this,” Shining protested. “What I did could have gotten us all killed had Wasp not gotten involved.”

I’d also still have my magic, he frustratingly reminded himself.

“You're a Prince,” Shadow said. “Quit being so damn modest. Look, what could have happened isn’t what I’m commending you for. It’s your ability to put the safety of others before yourself. I saw a bit of it back in Dodge City, and I clearly saw it here it again in this crumbling wreck of a castle. Sure what you did was reckless, suicidal, and downright idiotic, but Luna be damned if it wasn’t the most heroic thing I’ve ever seen in my entire military career.”

Shining smiled as his companion lifted himself back up. The two captains stared at each other in utter silence, each one thinking about the other. Finally Shadow let out a sigh.

“I’m keeping you from your friends,” he said. “Braeburn agreed to come with us. We’ll be waiting for you when you're ready.”

Shining turned his head as he saw his sister waving to get his attention

“I need to talk to the girls about some things,” she called out. “Just promise me you won’t take off without me. We came all this way to make sure you were safe. I don’t wanna lose you again.”

Shining let out a silent groan that was just soft enough to evade Twilight's ears. It was times like this when he wasn’t so sure which one of them was really the older sibling.
“We'll all meet up in a bit," Shining assured her. He watched Twilight trot towards the other side of the room. However, by doing so, he had unintentionally left his guard down. The three ponies ran swiftly towards the distracted older brother and tackled him. Moments later, the four friends were tanged into slightly awkward but very much needed group hug that had certainly been well overdue. Afterwards, when everypony had gotten back on their legs, the earth pony, Poindexter, walked up to Shining and offered him his hoof.

“Thank you for saving us," Poindexter said graciously.

Shining gave him a quick hoof bump in response. “It was not a problem man. Gosh, I’m so sorry I keep forgetting to write to you guys. Back in the guard I at least had some free time on my hooves to write. Now that I’m the co-ruler of an Empire, I find all I do is write."

“I know what you mean,” said Gaffer the unicorn. “Last year, I published my fourth book in my Song of Air and Water series, and I still can’t seem to put my quill down. Meanwhile ponies keep asking me about book six.”

“Sounds rough,” Shining nodded. “I’m still on book three. I got so mad when one of the new recruits, Flash Sentry, spoiled one of the major deaths in number four. I made him clean all the barracks as punishment."

“Sounds a bit harsh,” commented 8-bit, who was hovering a few inches off the ground.

Shining shrugged and rolled his eyes “What? I’m really into the story.”

“Well it is based off of our own O&O captain from high school,” replied Gaffer. “You should already know how it ends.”

Shining tilted his head. “Huh. I knew I got a sense of deja vu when I read it.”

“Well if you need help jogging your memory,” 8-bit said while giving Shining a quick nudge, “you’ll be thrilled to hear that the game company I work for is developing an RPG based on Gaffer’s story. As lead designer, I’ve taken the liberty to make sure it accurately portrays our campaign the way I remember it."

“If I ever get a vacation I’ll check it out," Shining said, laughing. “I don’t even play video games anymore. Gave that luxury up a long time ago sorry to say. Still, this sounds like something worth checking out. Send me a copy when it’s done, okay?"

“It’s funny," Poindexter blurted out. “The two of you are making adventure games and books, while our old friend is practically living an adventure right now. Look at us. Out of everypony, he’s the only one who resembles our old characters. We all saw it at the wedding, and we all witnessed it a few nights ago in this very hallway. I mean, look at how far he’s come."

Shining giggled and gave Poindexter a modest smile. “I think you might be exaggerating a bit. If you see me on a normal day, you’ll find not much has changed since high school. Just ask Twily or Cadance."

“I must say Shining," Gaffer added, “looking at who you were then and who you are now, it’s hard to tell. Still, we’ll take your word for…”

Shining waited for his friend to finish his sentence, but his mouth remained motionless. In fact, it hadn’t even closed. Moments passed, and Gaffer’s mouth still hung open, as if about to speak.

“Gaffer," Shining muttered as he blinked bewilderedly at his motionless friend. Cautiously, he turned his head to take a quick look at his other friends, only to find that they too were as still as statues. What was even more concerning was that at some point during the conversation, it seems that 8-bit had decided to hover a few inches off the ground, yet his wings were not flapping.

“What... the...hell?” was all Shining could mumble, too confused to make sense of what had happened.

“Pinkie Pie, say something!” his sister's voice cried out. Shining broke away from his friends and ran towards the end of the room. As he suspected, whatever happened to his friends had also happened to the remaining element bearers, each frozen and looking as if they were about to break out into laughter.

“Twilight!” the stallion yelled. “What’s happened to everypony?”

The alicorn turned to face her brother with a grave expression on her face, one that Shining knew all too well. It was the face Twilight made whenever she was asked a question she had no clue how to answer.

“Let’s see if there’s anypony else not affected?” she suggested

After a quick scan of the room, they both observed that they were the only ones in the room who had not been affected.

“What could have done this?” Shining asked. “Is there anything from that old monster tracking book that could freeze ponies like this...?"

Twilight shook her head. “It’s so strange. It’s as if time has just… like it just..."

“Paused itself!” echoed a grim, dreary voice that cut Shining off without warning.

“Who said that!?” Shining scowled, desperately looking for the the source of the voice. “Show yourself coward!"

“I’ve heard this voice before!” Twilight stated. “And just recently too. I can’t recall who it belongs to though."

Shining heard the doors to the dining room swing open as they slammed against the wall. “Perhaps a face will jog your memory miss.”

The two siblings turned around to see a tall but slender draconequus. At first glance, Shining mistook the the creature for Discord. Upon further inspection, he noticed the creature’s beard was thicker and darker than that of the creature he once saw during a visit to Canterlot. Meanwhile, his sister’s eyes were focused more so on the long scar that ran across the creature’s right eye.

“You're the draconequus from the film!” Twilight blurted. “Discord’s brother. Entropy I think it was. Discord showed us your movie right before…”

“Before you failed to meet your duties as the bearer of magic," chimed the creature. “If you’ve realised who I am Mrs.Sparkle, you should know it’s trivial to lecture me on past events. I tamper with time do I not? I know everything that has and will happen, at least until you and your brother damned this existence."

“What the hell are you blabbing about?!” Shining clamored, slamming his hoof down on the stone floor to emphasise his frustration. “Whether pony or draconian, none have the right to make such accusations."

“I don’t make accusations fool," Entropy snarled, as he gradually made his way towards the two siblings until he was about a foot and half away from them. “This branch in Equestrian history has strayed too far from what was intended. What is happening is an anomaly that if not corrected, will result in a world without chaos."

“How is that a bad thing exactly?” Shining said sarcastically.

“I’ve seen his documentary on what that means," Twilight said. “By a world without chaos, he means a world without freedom. A world of built upon sumption."

Entropy smirked and clutched Twilight’s chin with his eagle claw. “So the Princess got something from my video after all. Too bad it only took you till now to understand, perhaps my brother and your friends wouldn’t be suffering at the moment."

“What did you do with them?!” Twilight snarled.

Entropy shook his head. “I didn’t do it Miss Sparkle, you did. Of course you are not the only one at fault.” The draconequus released his grasp of the alicon and turned his attention towards Shining. A devilish smirk came across his face. “Those gems were never meant for you. You were never supposed to succeed any of them. For every outcome, there is a branch that ties one reality to another. This is one that was never meant to be."

“I don’t believe I follow," Shining said in confusion.

“Then let me tell you what was supposed to happen." Entropy snapped his fingers. A large chalk board appeared behind him, along with a pointing stick in his hands.

“See this diagram right here," he said conceitedly as he tapped part of a diagram with the letters ‘A, B,C,D, and X’.

“Imagine the A is the exact point in time you had your nightmare," the draconequus stated as he moved the pointer from letter to letter. “In most realites, Sombra remains dead and you remain content with your life until the bitter end. Sure, you do learn about the legend of the Staff and the gems later on in your life, but you make no effort in seeking them out.”

Entropy then pointed to the diagram at level C. “In realties in which Sombra does survive, you would go on your quest and ultimately fail your first trial, allowing him to possess your vessel. However, every time this outcome has occurred, the Elements of Harmony and Luna have always prevailed. You die, your son succeeds you, and the land is still at peace.”

As Entropy brought his pointer down to C, he glowered at the unicorn with an intense hatred in his eyes. “This outcome has never occurred before. No matter how many times I’ve altered history, no matter how many parallel worlds I’ve created, branch B and cautiously C are the only outcomes. The only way any of this could have happened was if I were to intervene, but I gave up this sort of tampering long ago."

“So you're saying it’s all my fault?!" Shining yelled. “Because I managed to succeed, this somehow caused Sombra to return?!"

“In a way, it’s also partially Luna’s fault," said Entropy. “This was the first time in this scenario where she decided to visit you in her sleep. Still, it wasn’t her that passed the trial. Sure, she may have had a hand in calming your frantic mind, but it was still your destiny to fail."

“Just because you can travel through time and see all these different outcomes," roared Shining, “doesn’t mean you know what is and isn’t supposed to happen. The Creator put the Staff and the Gems on this planet for a reason. They were meant for somepony who could demonstrate all the qualities that make up the elements. I’m not going to stand here and pretend like I know how this whole multiverse mumbo jumbo works, and you're certainly not going to blame my sister.”

Entropy sighed and rub his paw against his face. “When I sent Discord over to Twilight, I gave this world a lifeline. Since time has been so distorted, I can’t predict what’s going to happen. I figure if I could bring the elements to stop Sombra’s rebirth, I could sap the chaos energy from this alternate timeline and be on my merry way. But her disposition with my brother, and her overprotectiveness of her perilous B.B.B.F.F has allowed Sombra to find a far greater host."

“He was in danger!” Twilight protested. “He would have done the same for me. Plus, your brother isn’t the most trustworthy creature around.”

“I guess that’s understandable. Both Chrysalis and Sombra got the better of you in the past. Plus, depending how much the future has been altered, a certain centaur pal I know of mine is going to devour his magic as if his body were a straw. It’s comical really. Your brother has the name and looks of a hero. Hell, he may have had some cool hero moments. However, when compared to you Twilight, your brother is nothing more than a damsel in distress. It must be tiresome to constantly save somepony who supposed be wiser and more experienced,"

“Watch it pal," Shining clench his teeth and pointed his horn at the Entropy. Entropy turned him with a straight face.

“Oh no," he said with little to no emotion. “Your non-magic has hastened me. Thou hast slain the time god. Oh woe is me." He bent down and stared straight at the glaring stallion. “It’s too bad your wife’s being held captive by Sombra because of your sister’s lack of faith. I bet chucking her at me would prove to be more effective.”

“You're bluffing!” Shining yelled, clenching his teeth. “All your kind ever does is mess with ponies heads!”

“Are you really going to make the same mistake as your sister?" Entropy tsked, shaking his index claw at him. “Here, let me show you what ordeals poor Cadance is going through thanks to the two of you."

Entropy snapped his fingers, and they all found themselves in a room made of black crystal. Shining looked around, and from the furniture he recognised it as one of the lounge areas he and Cadance used to speak with dignitaries. To the wall on the right stood Fluttershy, much to Twilight's surprise. Twilight tried to get her attention, only to realise that her friend couldn’t see them. However, Shining paid no mind to this, as he stared down at the floor. Curious as to why her brother was being so silent, Twilight turned her head to check up on him. What she saw made her gasp.

“No!” she whimpered under her breath. “Mother and Father of Celestia, not this."

Pinned to the ground rested Cadance, her legs, neck and wings bound by chains. Her horn had been sawed clean off, and her wings had been clipped. Blood dripped from her mouth, as if she somepony had repeatedly beat her with their hooves.

Clenching his teeth, Shining was overwhelmed by a sense of anger and loathing. He couldn’t tell whether what he was seeing was a trick or not, and that made the sight all the more painful. The uncertainty, and the idea that he might have caused this for her. He felt like lashing out at Entropy, but with no weapons or magic at his disposal, he was useless. All this time, the idea of living in eternal harmony with his family had driven him forward. A noble goal, but it wasn’t the only one. He couldn’t deny that secret, he too wished to have a set of wings on his own, be considered his wife and sisters equal. The idea his quest being motivated more by jealously than by loved had haunted him since the very beginning. Now, seeing Cadance like this, he wished he never even went to Canterlot.

Shining ran to the floor and stretched out a hoof towards his wife, only to watch phase through her like ghost

“Cadance!” he muttered softly. Tears steaming down as he desperately tried to find a way to hold her. “Cadance what have I done," Desperately he tried to grab hold of her, but to no avail.


“This was her ten minutes ago before I put time on pause," Entropy blurted. “Though you’ll find not much has changed since then. If I were to show you the chaos outside, you’d see she’s the lucky one. Everypony else is either hiding, begging, or being turned into a faceless thralls to serve in his big scary zombie army.”

“Bring me to her!” Shining demanded. “Send me back in time. If you're not going to undo this mess, than at least let me!"

Entropy shook his head. “I’m afraid this is all the meddling I’m willing to do. Plus, there are rules and limitations. To make a change in history requires precious calculations on cause and effect. Besides, changing history won't undo this this branch in the thread. It would only create an alternate outcome, but this reality will remain. And if we do make the change and the outcome isn’t to your our liking, you’ll only creating more demand universes, and make it harder for me to leave this one."

“Then are you saying it’s hopeless?!" Shining shouted. “First you blame me for everything bad that’s happening, and now you're saying there’s no way to fix it."

Entropy shook his head. “Now you're just putting words in my mouth." He lifted his lower body into the air and floated towards Shining. He then put a claw on his shoulders. “You know I was just exaggerating when I called you a damsel, even if you do have a history of getting defeated, duped, and captured. Just look at how far you’ve come, it would be criminal to end it all now. Find the gems, finish your adventure, and stop that shadowy bastard once and for all. That’s how you put everything right. With the Crystal Heart and the Elements gone, The Staff of Harmony is the only salvation of this world. You must complete the trials, and pray that what you desire most is the king’s destruction.”

“If that what’s required to end this madness," Shining cried, “I’ll wish for Sombra death.”

Entropy shook his head. “That’s very noble of you. Unfortunately, the wish is tied to the heart. If there's something else you desire, that wish will be granted instead. If a part of you wants those pretty little wings more, than that’s what you’ll get. While having another alicorn would even the odds, it’s not guarantee for victory. With your wife out of the picture there are only three alicorn that stand a chance against him. While two of them may be the biological children of this world’s God and Goddess, Sombra has already proven that even they aren’t immune to death. My only advice is when the time comes, you better make sure you know damn well what you want.”

Twilight flew in front of Entropy’s face. “You can’t seriously be encouraging him to continue with all that’s happening.”

The draconequus patted Twilight on the head. “You're going to need to let your brother do this. Go to Equestria when you're needed, but if you're worried about it, said one or two of your friends to watch out for him. Events have changed so drastically that even I can’t predict what will happen next. My only hope is that you will all prevail. Now if you excuse me, I must depart from this timeline before I’m trapped here forever.

The two siblings watched as Entropy prepared to vanish and restore everything to normal. However, just as he was about to snap his talon he paused. “Before I go I have one last request for each of you. Find my brother and make sure he is safe. Should anything bad happen, the two of you will be erased from any and all realities and timelines. The rest is up to you." Then with a snap, Entropy and the room vanished.

------

“Still we’ll take your word for it," finished Gaffer.

Shining blinked. He was back at the exact moment before Entropy had paused time.

“You ok Shining?" 8-bit asked. “I didn’t notice before, but it looks like you’ve been crying. Is something the matter?"

Shining shook his head and ran straight past his friends. “I’m sorry guys,” he said. “But something’s come up.”

His friends stared at him like he had suddenly gone insane. He paid them no attention. Instead he ran up to Shadow. “Find our weapons and the gems,” he ordered. “I have the third stuffed inside my ear. Don’t ask.”

Shadow blinked. “I have your sword and the gems in my saddle bag. I found them the night you blanked...”

Shadow gasped as Shining violently ripped pulled the bag right off of him.

“What in Equestria has gotten into you!” Shining shouted. “I’m leaving now. That’s all you need to know. Your either coming or you're not.”

“Shining you're not making any sense," cried Shadow. “Plus Wasp warned us that you might have lost your ability to use magic. Have your even tried casting any spell?”

“Gah!” moaned Shining. “None of that matters. Every second I waste is another second Cadance suffers.”

“Wait! Cadance? What's going...”

“Oh and by the way,” Shining yelled, gritting his teeth as tears poured down his eyes “You were wrong about me. I’m not selfless, and I’m certainly not a hero. I recommend finding yourself a new idol.”

Before the bat pony could even respond, the prince bolted towards the door, not wanting to be delayed anymore. He could hear a series of hoofsteps in pursuit of him, as well as several voices screaming his name. Although their voices were muffled, there was one he could make out from the rest.

“Shining, stop!” Twilight yelled. “You're not thinking clearly!”

Despite his sister’s plea, he made no effort to slow down. How could he knowing what his wife was going through, and that he had nopony but himself to blame for it?

Author's Note:

Big thanks to LifeWulf (formaly BronyFurChirst) for editing. Please PM any mistakes you find to me instead of posting them in the comments.

Alos, I'm happy to annoyance that I am dedicating all my creative power to into My Mortal Big Brother, instead of focusing on 4 or 5 series at a time. I may update a few of my other fics when inspiration kicks in, but for now, this story will be my main focus.

And to those of you who have read kalash93 requested - (Zero Punctuation Review) and agree with the points he made, know that I've taken what I can out of his critique. However, there one part of the review I will not take into consideration. That is giving up. I may have gotten feautured out of dumb luck, but my dedication to make this story an epic will never die. Writing this tale has been one of the greatest been one greatest experiences in my life, and a great learning experience.

I hope you are pumped for the new arch.