> The Elder Brother
>  by Yoni
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was night time in Equestria. One of the best nights in a long time, actually. The air was cool and crisp, not too cold, nor too damp, but just right. The darkness wrapped everything in a blanket of calm and serenity, a sense of tranquility that a mother would show to her foals by hugging them tightly. The stars shone brighter than ever, only bested by the bright white moon that hung in the sky, ever vigil in its duty to watch over the world.

It was in that cool air, in that soft embrace, in that soothing dim light, that an alicorn strode between the different varieties of foliage that dotted the gardens of Canterlot. Every step of her hooves was carefully executed, every sway of her body radiated calmness but also supremacy, every breath was even. Yes, she was truly and utterly the very definition of 'Divine'. 

At first glance, one would think she was attending some sort of event that her composure was so beautifully planned, but she was actually quite content and relaxed.

She strode through the rose garden near the lake, basking in the moonlight and enjoying the stillness of nature. Her day, as usual, was quite tiring, and what better way to unwind than a stroll across the royal gardens during her favorite time of day.

She was known throughout the land as Queen Gaia, mistress of the night and guardian of dreams. Together with her husband, Solaris, they ruled all over Equestria and uplifted the pony civilization into a near utopia, though the two will never claim to do anything but keep the harmony.

Speaking about harmony, something was disrupting it that very moment. It sounded like… crying? Gaia quickly snapped out of her near euphoric bliss and followed the source of the crying with all the gracefulness and poise a queen could carry whilst following the frantic and unmistakable noise of a pained cry.

Her search led Gaia to one of the lakes deep inside the castle garden. There, near the water bank, inside a cocoon of blankets, lie the most bizarre creature Gaia had ever met. And it wasn't just any creature, it was you. Yes, you.

Gaia ever so slowly neared you in order to get a better view. She cringed backwards when your crying intensified in volume.

At that very moment, something fluttered inside Gaia's chest. It made her heart go soft, her lips to bend upwards, and maternal instincts she never knew she had to awaken. A soft glow enveloped your tiny form and you felt something warm and soft press against your body as a single forehoof supported your backside and head. You stopped crying almost instantly, your requests for love and affection had been answered, and you returned the favor with the only thing you knew; a small, high pitched hum…

You shifted closer towards the source of your contentment and closed your eyes, ready to sleep. Gaia, for her part, was almost on the verge of tears. She was so moved by your affection that she almost dropped you from overstimulation. Those tears however were also tears of grief, for how can somepony just leave a defenseless creature such as you out in the open, exposed to the elements? Even with a few moments of interaction, Gaia knew there was intelligence to you, she saw it in your eyes, and she knew she could not leave you alone.

At that moment, Gaia knew exactly what to do. So, without missing a beat, the queen trotted back to the castle with you safely secured inside her magical grasp. She paid little attention to the questioning glances from the maids and servants; her mind was focused on one thing and one thing only.  

She reached a fancy-looking set of doors; the smooth mahogany surface reflected the flicker of torches ever so slightly. Gaia took a deep breath, hid you behind her back, and stepped inside.It was a study of sorts, with a few bookshelves dotting the walls and a lone wooden desk in the middle.

On the opposite side of said desk, sat the second ruler of Equestria, King Solaris. He looked up from his paperwork and smiled fondly at the sight of his beloved wife "Ahh, Gaia, aren't you usually at the gardens by this time? I take it that something happened…" Solaris's voice was gentle and kind, but it also carried discipline and authority, it was one of the many traits that caused Gaia to fall in love with Solaris.

"You are very observant, love. And yes, you could say that something… happened…" Gaia's smile faltered for but a second, but it was the only sign Solaris needed.

He frowned and said, "Is something wrong Gaia, are you being threatened? Who is it, I shall make sure-"

"Relax, Solaris. It is not a problem of that nature. In fact, I don't think it a problem at all." Gaia interjected. She loved her husband dearly, but he could be overprotective at times. With a flick of her horn, the small piles of blankets that enveloped you levitated from behind Gaia and into Solaris’s view.

"Gaia," he said in shock "What is that?!"

Solaris had a perfect view of your sleeping form and for the first time in his life, words failed him. Gaia let out a small chuckle and moved to sit beside him. She levitated you into her embrace and started to cradle you.

"Isn't he something else," Gaia cooed, looking at you with a faint smile.

"He? How do you know it is a 'he'? And more importantly, what are we going to do with him?" Solaris shifted in his seat to get a better look at you, he could not hide the smile on his face, but he quickly shot a concerned glance towards Gaia.

Gaia, however, knew exactly what to do; "We adopt him, of course. I found him inside the castle's garden; therefore, he is under our supervision, for better or worse."

Solaris eyes almost popped out of their sockets "You cannot be serious, are you? I mean, do not get me wrong, he does look rather charming, but we know nothing of his species. For all we know, he could grow into a beast."

Gaia frowned and levitated you so you were now right in front of Solaris's muzzle, making him take a step back "Is that a face of a beast to you?"

"N-No, but-"

"He is alone, Solaris, why can't you see what I see. He is just a baby, he won't make it alone out there. He needs a family."

Solaris closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Is he the one who needs a family, or you?"

Gaia cringed as if she just got a punch in the face "I-I…"

"I know you want foals of your own, Gaia. It WILL happen someday, I promise you, but do you really want to protect that baby, or do you simply want a baby?"

Solaris's words were harsh. Harsh, but true. They had been trying for a baby for a long time, but each time ended with the same result. Solaris suggested that they both should undergo a fertility test, but Gaia was terrified of the truth and preferred to just keep trying. But this baby, this little, delicate, fragile angel needed a family, and she wanted- no, needed a baby. It was a win-win situation.

"I do want a baby, Solaris, I will not deny that. But is it that bad for me to help this poor soul to find a life of peace? All I am asking for you is a chance."

Solaris sighed, he was treading on a very sensitive subject. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt something being pressed against his neck. You began to hum contently as you were gently pressed against Solaris's neck while he was still thinking. It was warm and nice, and once again, you returned the feelings of affection with the only way you knew how.

Solaris felt every valid argument he was about to express melt away with your hums. He took you with his own magic and levitated you so you were now at eye level with him. He smiled fondly at you and turned his attention to his dear wife, who smiled warmly as  she nuzzled his side as well "W-Well, he is cute. And no harm will come if we raise him, right?"

At these words, Gaia squealed in delight and pressed her lips against Solaris, careful not to crush you in the process.

When the two broke the kiss they looked down at you with the warmest of smiles.

"It is going to be difficult to explain…" Solaris mentioned.

"It is…"

"It will cause trouble, no doubt…"

"It will…"

"Wow… I am going to be a father…"

"You are…"

Gaia nuzzled Solaris once again "What should we call him?" she asked.

"… I think I know…"
> Growing up (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lot of things happened in the last couple of months for the royal couple. The most noticeable was the public declaration of your existence and your adoption by the rulers of the land. The public was… shocked, to put it bluntly, and reactions were diverse as well. Some outright dejected you, and claimed that you are an animal at the very least. Some nobles already offered their daughters for future marriage with you, hoping to increase their political prowess as a result.

It was… hectic, and slightly amusing, at least for you. The one you acknowledged as your mother was less than thrilled about the remarks some of the nobles said, and she was not afraid of showing it. Needless to say… few were the nobles who still openly denounced you.

It has been two months since Gaia found you and took you as her own. By this time you could distinguish between voices, and looked at the ponies who were talking to you. You also liked music and preferred female voices over male voices.

When you were six months old, you could tell if somebody was angry or happy and you started to respond to your own name. You also started babbling different syllables, trying different combinations and seeing which ones elicit the most affection out of your parents. You discovered that ma-ma makes your mother very giddy, which often means a lot of affection. Da-da was harder to find, you tried saying ma-ma to your father as well, but he seemed to try to correct you, you tried different combinations for days until you discovered that da-da was the magic word.

At nine months, you could understand a few basic words like "no" and "bye-bye.",you also began to use a wider range of consonant sounds and tones of voice.

When you were twelve months old, you knew your parents were 'mamma' and 'papa', you could also understand what they were saying and responded – if not obeyed – to one step requests like; 'Put that down' or “do not eat that” that particular sentence was used a lot.

By the age of two, you constructed together a few words in short phrases of two to four words, such as 'Mommy bye-bye' or 'me milk.' you learned that words mean more than objects like 'cup', but also mean abstract ideas like 'mine.'

By the time you became three, your vocabulary expanded rapidly, and "make-believe" play spurred an understanding of symbolic and abstract language like 'now', feelings like 'sad', and spatial concepts like 'in'.

Of course, not everything was rainbows and sunshine all the time. For instance, when you started eating solid food, your parents noticed your dwindling energy. You cried a lot more and got sick often. Trying to discover what was wrong; your parents took you to the royal infirmary, and also summoned the chief scientist to study you for your own good.

You remember being comforted by your mother as the various doctors prodded and studied you; it was a horrible experience, one that you prayed not to experience again. In the end, the doctors found what was 'wrong' with you; you were an omnivore, and the lack of meat in your diet proved to play a vital role in your weak condition. So, with haste, your parents shipped large quantities of meat from the griffons and fed you with meat often.

Another glaring problem was your lack of fur or any other means to insulate your body heat during the colder months. Your parents were especially perplexed by that lack of adaptability, further increasing their curiosity about the nature of your being. Fortunately, a simple chlamys seemed to stave off the cold from your tiny form.






It was early in the morning when you wake up to the warm feeling of your mother's coat. Normally she would let you sleep until you wanted to eat or needed a good rinse, but today is your first day in daycare. Apparently, this castle has an exclusive daycare for the foals whose parents work within the premises. Your mother seems very excited for you to meet the foals and befriend them. But with great feelings of joy, also came a slight sadness. She loves you to bits and she wants to spend all her time with you, which, as a queen of an entire country, is a rather task.

The walk to the daycare is not very long, but for you, every time your are being led through the vast halls of the castle is an adventure. you are sitting on your mother's back, being led through the castle and soaking the grandeur of the place, your inquisitive eyes constantly whip about in a vain effort to inspect every piece of decor and ornaments. Every now and then you let out a squeal or a cry, finding great joy in the echoes as they reach your ears. The maids practically melt at the sight of you and often caress your exposed, furless face, with your mother's permission of course. Not that either of you minded, though. You like the extra attention, and the maids are very nice.

You remember one day in particular in which you got lost in the castle and started to cry and panic. A passing maid saw you and carried you herself to the throne room, delivering you to an equally distraught Gaia, who thanked the nice maid for retrieving you.

Mommy makes a sudden turn, snapping you out of your thoughts. She enters a brightly colored room with at least two dozen fillies and colts. A young looking unicorn mare approaches the two of you and bows before your mother.

"Your highness," she speaks gently, keeping her gaze to the floor.

"Rise!" commands mommy with the voice you love so much. The mare cranes her neck backwards and turns to face you.

"Ohh~ you’re so adorable…" she comes closer to you and looks back to mommy "May I?"

She laughs softly and says, "Of course, I would not be here if I wasn't gonna let you take care of him."

The mare smiles and lifts you from your mommy’s back. She sits you down in front of her and examines your form. You are just above thirty eight inches, which means you are a head and a half shorter than a grown pony, but still taller than a foal.

The mare smiles at you and says "Hey there little fella, my name is Butter Cup, what's yours?"

You shy away and hide behind your mother's leg, not looking up to meet her gaze as your fingers play with your chlamys. She smiles at you and moves away until you no longer have to crane your neck upwards to meet Butter Cup’s gaze. You feel something gently pressing against your back, forcing you to step closer towards the mare.

"Come now, sweetie. Do not be rude, say hello," your mother's soft tone whispers into your ear. With a final nudge, you are now looking straight into Butter Cup's eyes.

"H-hello…" you stutter. It's true that you like the maids, but other ponies aren't as nice. They weren't rude, but not as nice as the maids, and that makes you slightly nervous around other ponies, especially since you look nothing like them.

Butter Cup simply smiles and brushes your hair to the side, clearing your view and letting her see your brightly colored eyes that seem almost to shift colors in different lightings. She slightly nudges you towards the other foals before addressing your mother.

“I never had a chance to work with a bipedal toddler before, I wonder how he compares to minotaur toddlers…”

“We tried looking at other races for comparisons but he’s nothing like any of the other races, we discover new things about him all the time,” mommy explains.

“You know, I am conducting a research on the possible benefits of raising toddlers of different races together although I never had the chance to work with anything other than ponies so this should prove-”

You drone out the rest of the conversation, no really understanding what the pony mare was saying, although mommy seems more interested than usual. Somewhere during the conversation mommy looks at you and gives you an encouraging smile, seeing her smiling and silently cheering you on makes you feel slightly better, though the odd glances you receive from the other foals isn’t helping.

You stay next to mommy and Butter Cup, too nervous to go and play with the building blocks you eyed since the start of the conversation. A slight nudge on your shoulder makes you turn around to see mommy standing before you.

“This is it, Sweetie. I need to go now.”

“No!” you cry, lunging towards mommy’s foreleg and hugging it for dear life. You can already feel the sting in your eyes. 

Mommy ever so gently pries you from her leg and crouches down until her eyes are leveled with yours, you close the gap between the two of you once again as you hug her snout. You can feel the hot air on your neck as she chuckles.

“Do not fret, Sweetie. I will be back, I promise.”

“Promise?” you implore, looking into her deep magenta eyes.

Mommy coos. “I promise,” she whispers.

You do not say anything, instead you nod and take a step back, making sure to wipe a stray tear from your eye.

“That’s my brave little prince. I am sure you will like it here.”

Mommy gives you one last squeeze before finally leaving the room, entrusting you in the capable hooves of Butter Cup. As it turns out, being in a daycare isn't so bad. After the other foals got used to you, they were surprisingly nice. You played with the colts and their building blocks, and then later on you played some with the fillies. It was the most fun you ever remember having.

It was shortly after launch time that mommy came to pick you up. You thanked Butter Cup and rushed to mommy, hugging her foreleg tightly.

"I-I missed you…" you stutter.

Your mother chuckles and says, "It has only been a few hours sweetie, and by the looks of things, you enjoyed your time here greatly."

She moves her free foreleg and slowly caresses your back, bringing you closer to her, oh so warm, coat.

"But it was without with you…" you reason, or as much reason a toddler can, which makes your mother's heart to be caught in her throat. She smiles at you and gives you a kiss directly on your forehead. She then picks you up and places you on her back. She thanks Butter Cup as well before leaving the room.

On your way back to your room, you tell mommy all about the fun you had, and all the new friends you have made. She seems very happy for you and says that the next time she'll have a day off, you, her, and your daddy will do something together.






You spend the rest of the day in the throne room, sitting on daddy's throne and playing king. The guards are nice enough to play along. It all stops, however, when a maid rushes inside the throne room and whispers something to a guard next to the throne. The guard nods once and turns to face you.

"Your highness, come with me please."

You look confused but comply nonetheless. The guard escorts you into a familiar – and totally unwelcome – part of the castle; the infirmary.

You immediately start to panic when you see your mother on the patient's bed and your father next to her. You rush to her side and ask for her well-being.

"I'm fine sweetie. In fact, I'm more then fine."

"I don't understand," you say. How can someone be fine if they're inside the infirmary?

Your father tugs your shoulder until you face him, he has a broad smile on his face "Son," he says, "You are going to have a little sister."
> A little sister named Celestia (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…"

That is the only thing you kept shouting as you discovered you are gonna have a little sister. You keep running down the hallways, expressing your opinion on the matter by repeatedly crying 'no' over and over again. Your daddy comes running after you, trying to calm you down.

"Son, please! Slow down and let me explain."

"No!" you respond.

You keep running as fast as your tiny legs can carry you. Unfortunately, you are not fast enough and your dad catches you with his magic. You pout and squirm in his magical grasp to no avail.

"Son, you must calm down."
"No!" you cross your arms over your chest and turn your head.

“Son, I implore of you, do not act in this manner. Your mother was very upset…" daddy says, causing you to stop your futile attempts at escaping and turning your head to face him.

"Mommy is sad?" you ask, no longer sounding angered.

Daddy nods "Yes, she is very excited about the foal and she thought you might too."

You now feel something in you, something that you have never felt before. You do not like it one bit. It’s as if something is slowly draining you.

It is guilt. And it gnaws inside you, tearing your little heart.

"I want to see mommy," you finally say. Daddy smiles and slowly levitates you to his back.

The walk to the infirmary is silent. You feel bad, bad for making mommy upset, bad that you, her son, caused her grief.

The moment you pass the infirmary doors, you immediately rush to mommy's bed and crawl onto her barrel.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," you cry over and over again. Squeezing mommy's neck as hard as your tiny arms allow, letting her know how truly sorry you are.

You feel two forelegs squeezing you closer to mommy. Taking a glance upwards, you see mommy smiling at you, her cheeks are moist, which makes you feel even worse as you bury yourself into her soft neck, trying to express just how badly you regret what you did.

"Now, now sweetie. No need for crying, I was just a little emotional is all."

Mommy then begins to sing your favorite lullaby, making you sleepier and sleepier. You do not remember when you fell asleep. All you remember was mommy’s gentle voice, her soft fur, and the tiny little peck on top of your tiny little head.






The eleven months of pregnancy were hard not only for mommy, but also for daddy and you as well. Mommy would sometimes get mood swings seemingly at random, lashing out on any poor soul unfortunate enough to be around her. Sadly, you were on the receiving end of those a couple of times. Of course mommy would then cry and beg for your forgiveness, which, of course, you did. Seeing mommy cry was weird, and not a good weird.

Thankfully, daddy was there to help you through it, trying to calm you down when mommy had one of her mood swings and being a metaphorical shoulder to cry on. Yes, these eleven months were hard and laborious, but you endured…

Today is the big day. Mommy started screaming all of a sudden during lunch time and got rushed to the infirmary. The baby was finally coming!

You and your dad wait outside the room. Daddy is pacing back and forth, obviously nervous, while you simply sit on the floor, trying to occupy yourself with some building blocks. All actions cease when a single nurse pokes her head from within the room. She gives both of you a gentle smile and ushers you to come in.

Inside lays mommy, looking completely exhausted and drenched in sweat. Tucked safely between her forelegs, nestled inside a cocoon of blankets, rests a white filly with a pink mane. She looks so peaceful as she curls closer to mommy.

Daddy levitates you so you are on the bed as well, allowing you a better look at the baby. You curl next to mommy, concerned for her well-being and curious about this new addition to the family.

The filly opens her eyes; two pools of pale magenta stares into your own eyes. The filly cocks her head to the side as she ever so slowly reaches towards you with her tiny hoof. You do not know what to think or what to do. You look back at mommy, staring at her hopelessly.

"Go on sweetie, she won't bite," she whispers.

You nod and look back at the filly besides you, her hoof still stretched. You quietly gulp as you reach with your own hand and gently closing it around your new sister. You swear you can see your little sister smile as she lets out a small coo, similar to the sounds you were making when you were a baby.

"What's her name?" you ask, looking at your parents as they both look at you with loving smiles.

"Her name is Celestia," mommy replies, nuzzling the both of you.

You look back at your little sister, Celestia. She is already asleep. A quick glance towards your mother, you realize just how taxing is to deliver a child, for she was fast asleep as well. And then you realize something more.
You are kinda sleepy as well.

"Well, I'll come visit you tomorrow," daddy says, he then turns to face you "Keep an eye on them, kay?"

"O- yawn -kay…" you manage to say before succumbing to sleep as well.

On that very moment, you vowed to become the best big brother and son you could. You vowed to always help your parents with raising Celestia, and always watch over her and protect her as a big brother.






The following years you dedicated all your free time to help your parents raise Celestia. You didn't mind, though. She always enjoys your company, and you hers. You always watched over her when your parents could not, of course, other adult ponies were also present, but it did not matter.

You remember a certain day. Celestia was crying her eyes out and none of the maids managed to calm her down. Your parents had their duties to perform so they weren't available. It all came to you. You stayed with Celestia all evening, lying next to her on your bed and slowly brushing your hand through her mane in the way she always liked. By the time your parents came rushing into your room, both you and Celestia were fast asleep, with her curled into your chest and your hand still brushing her mane in your slumber.

You are now a little over eight years old, with Celestia being five years old. The two of you became inseparable; you spent almost every day together. Be it playing, fighting or sleeping, you did everything together.

"Come on Tia, it'll be fun." You hold a small wooden box in your arms as you approach the throne room with your little sister in tow.

"I don't know big brother, it feels kinda… wrong."

"But the good kinda wrong…" you reason, opening the doors to the throne room in the process. The room itself is completely empty; the day court will only start in a few minutes. You quickly make your way towards the thrones, stopping in front of them and opening the box.

You smile deviously as you take two whoopee cushions and toss one to Celestia. You proceed to hide one under the pillow on the throne while Celestia is doing the same to the other one. You both chuckle madly as you hide behind the thrones and wait for the sounds of trumpets, signaling the start of the day court.

You immediately close your mouths as the unmistakable sounds of trumpets reach your ears. You can already hear your parents talking to a few subjects who came beforehoof to discuss their problems.

Soon enough, the sounds of two whoopee cushions being squeezed are resonating throughout the entire area. Unable to contain yourselves, both you and Celestia started to laugh uncontrollably.

Of course that little prank earned you a one way ticket straight to your rooms without dinner, which arguably, isn’t that bad, considering the more… devious pranks the two of you have been pulling.

All-in-all, you were content. Even now, as you are grounded to your room, you cannot help but feel giddy and happy as the day went by.

You check your clock, finding it to be eight in the evening, you start preparing for sleep.

You took a nice long bath, with the help of a maid of course, put on your favorite pajamas, and jumped into the bed, bouncing a few times as a result. But just as you are about to pull the covers above your sleepy little head, a knock came from the door.

Grumbling loudly, you unwillingly stand from bed and make your way towards the doors to your room. Upon opening the doors, you see Celestia looking back at you, panic evident in her eyes.

"What is it Tia?" you ask your sister, only for her to tackle you into a crushing hug.

"M-My night light is broken and I'm afraid of the dark. Can I sleep with you?" She emphasized her statement with a few terrified sobs and whimpers.

You quickly kneel down, brushing your fingers against Tia's mane and gently picking her up. You move back into your bed and place Tia next to you.

"Here, take this." You give her one of your plushies. It is a small phoenix plushie, and it is one of your favorites.
Tia takes the plushie from your hands and holds it close to her barrel while simultaneously nudging a bit closer to you. You stay like this for a couple of minutes, idly talking about past events and plans for future pranks.

The moon was high in the sky when Tia finally fell asleep. You glance one last time towards you little sister before succumbing to sleep as well, thinking how lucky you are...
> Going out (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You wake up to the feeling of something soft pressed against your chest. You groggily open your eyes, only for your vision to be completely obscured by an unkempt pink mane. You shift a bit, letting your head rise above the pink jungle to see Tia. Safely tucked between your arms with the phoenix plushie pressed firmly against her barrel, a content smile adorns her little face, with just the right amount of baby fat so she looks downright adorable.

You feel the sides of your lips curve upwards as you lay back gently into your amazingly soft pillow, closing your eyes.

Not a few minutes later, you hear the door to your room being violently open as Feather Curls, your personal unicorn maid, barge inside, looking terrified. She catches a glimpse of the two forms lying in bed and immediately exhales.

"Oh thank goodness the two of you are here." She approaches the bed and gently caressing your cheek "I thought something terrible had happened when I found princess Celestia's bed empty."

She lets out another sigh of relief and starts cleaning your room like she always does "You better get up, though. Breakfast is nearly upon us and I can only guess how hungry the two of you must be."

It is true, you are starving. Last day's prank on your parents resolved in both you and Tia being grounded without dinner.

You reluctantly get off the bed and slowly nudge Tia too.

"Come on Tia, get up."

"Five more minutes…" she turns away to the other side and lifts the covers over her head.

"But there won't be any food left in five minutes," Feather Curls chimes in. The moment these words leaves her mouth, Tia's ears perk up from under the covers. She shifts for a bit and then gets up herself, standing next to you.

"Come on you two, time for a bath." Feather Curls leads the two of you into the bathroom. She starts filling the tub with hot water until it is almost full to the brim and adds different mixes of scented oils and weird liquid stuff that makes lots of bubbles, and then instructs you two inside.

You shed your clothes into the laundry basket and step inside the hot, bubbly water, letting yourself lean against the smooth marble edge of the bath as you felt all the sweat and grime wash away from you.

Another splash of water sends a wave of bubbles in your direction as Tia enters the bath herself. The two of you have a few splashing fights before Feather Curls starts cleaning your bodies with a levitated sponge.

A few minutes into the scrubbing you begin to collect a large amount of bubbles and sticking them over your face.

"Look Tia, I'm dad!" you show your magnificent bubble beard to your little sister, who starts to laugh uncontrollably.

After a few more minutes of scrubbing and washing, the two of you step out of the bath, smelling like a rose. No, really…

Tia and Feather Curls wait for you outside while you put on a clean chlamys and step out of your room. The walk to the dining hall was rather silent, something very un-Tia like.

"Hey Tia, feeling okay?"

Tia wasn't responding, she had a distant look on her face.

"Your highness…" Feather Curls nudges Tia on the shoulder, snapping her out of her daydreaming "Is everything okay?"

"Who, me? Y-Yeah sure…" she responds, snapping her gaze forward once more.

"Are you sure, sis? Maybe you're coming down with something." You place your hand atop Tia's forehead and feel for any peculiar sense of heat, finding nothing, you return your hand to your side as a look of concern flashed across your face.

Sensing your concern, Tia turns to you and smiles "I'm fine big brother, I really am."

You're not convinced, not one second. But forcing Tia to talk about it is not going to help either of you so you drop the matter in hopes that Tia will open up about what's bothering her.

Finally, you arrive to the dining hall, mouths watering and stomachs gurgling at the sight in front of you. Fruits, cereals, eggs, bread and a grand variety of beverages are arranged on the dining table. Your parents are already there, motioning you to sit beside them. Once seated, the four of you start filling your plates with all the different assortments on the table.

"I hope you slept well last night," mommy says, sounding a tad excited than usual.
You took your time to swallow your bland piece of dry meat before answering, table manners after all.

"Why..."

"Because-" Mommy lifts a mouthful of salad and carefully chews on it, completely ignoring your annoyed face for stopping "-We're going out today."

"Really!" Both you and Tia exclaim. The two of you never left the castle grounds once. You were told countless times that it is not safe for foals to venture into the city alone, doubly so for foals of royalty. So when mommy said what she just said, well, let's just say that your plates have never been cleaner in such a short time.

Feeling full, you and your sister bounce around mommy, urging her to finish her food faster. She only decides to eat even slower, making you squirm in excitement.

Once finished, mommy tells you to make yourselves look presentable and meet her in the throne room. You and Tia go each to your respectable rooms and prepare for the trip. You decide to wear your best chlamys, a purple one with a golden rim. Purple is, after all, the color of royalty. You step out of your room just as Tia steps out from hers. Her mane and tail are brushed and had a few red ribbons on it; she even wears her special golden horseshoes.

The two of you rush to the throne room; mommy is already there, with saddlebags at her sides and a few carefully chosen guards surrounding her. She smiles at the sight of your excited faces and moves to give each of you a hug and a peck on the forehead before trotting outside.





Canterlot. Is. Amazing! It was like a dream inside a dream, so many ponies, and so many shops. Not once you found yourself gazing through all the different windows of various toy stores, admiring the craftsmanship of countless wooden toys. Of course there was the occasional trip to some seamstresses, it wasn't as exciting like the toy stores but you aren't complaining, this trip is probably a one-time thing for the foreseeable future, so you want to make the best of it.

A lot of ponies stop what they are doing when mommy, Tia and you pass by. Most of them lower their heads in deep bows, some actually wave at your direction while others scoff when they make eye contact with you. It is confusing, to say the least, but you are not going to let it ruin your fun.

After a bit of a walk, the three of you decide to grab something to eat. Mommy leads you into a modest looking tavern next to the gryphon district. It is run by ponies but supposedly has a meat menu. You sit on a table overlooking the street while the guards patrol the premises. Tia orders roasted vegetables while you order a skewered fish and a side of mashed potatoes out from the gryphon menu. Mommy simply orders a salad. Once the very ecstatic looking waiter hands you the food, you dig in.

As expected, the fish is not that great, like most meats you have eaten throughout your life. You do not understand why your parents make you eat meat, other ponies do not eat meat. They claim you need it as part of your diet, but honestly, it is not that great.

"Mommy, I need to pee," whines Tia.

"Alright Celly, I'll show you where the fillies' room is."  She then turns to you "You just stay here, alright, sweetie?"

You nod and take a sip from your tankard of apple juice. Tia and mommy leave you alone as you continue to watch the busy streets of Canterlot.

You start to squirm in your place as a small tingly sensation makes itself known between your legs; you need to pee as well.

You rise from your seat and search for the colts' room. You see a door and step through it, only to find yourself in a smelly alleyway, instead. You are about to turn around to step back inside when something catches your eyes.

It was faint, and it disappeared as soon as you looked at it directly. And, against your better judgment, you follow it.

You walk for a while now, no apparent sign to where the mysterious anomaly went, you sigh in disappointment and turn around to head back when you realize something.

You have no idea where you are.

"Mommy? Where are you?"
> Alone (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are lying deep inside a dark alleyway. It is dark out as you huddle closer against the wall. You stopped crying a long time ago, not because you had no reason not to, but because there were no more tears to shed. 

As you crawl deeper into one of the corners, you think back to how this horrible turn of events started…

	~Six hours prior~

You stand in the middle of the bustling street as a small panic finds its way into your heart. Where is mommy, and Tia? You couldn't have gone that far, could you?

You start walking, then jogging, and before long, running. Now in full panic mode, you dash around buildings, looking at every passing window and checking everypony in the hopes of finding a familiar face.

You are so concerned and afraid that you do not notice a passing stallion as the two of you bump into each other.

"Agh, watch where you’re going you little runt!" the stallion says, looking at you with evident disgust.

"I-I'm lost…" you sob, hoping that the stallion might help you in search for your lost family.

The stallion snorted once "You? Lost? You're exactly where you are supposed to be."

"B-But I need to get back to the castle."

The stallion squints his eyes at you, making you feel uncomfortable under his judging gaze "Wait a minute, I know you! You're that freak the queen found all those years ago. What a disgrace."

You take a single step back "W-What...?"

"Don't play coy, freak! Do you really think that you are the son of Gaia and Solaris? Everything about you screams abomination! You should be living in some filthy ditch surrounded by rats and refuse!"

You take another step back. Why weren't you a pony? Your mother is a pony, your father is a pony. Tartarus, even your sister is a pony. Then why aren't you a pony? When you asked mommy what you are she always told you that you were special. But now, now you're completely lost, in more ways than one.

Your thoughts, however, are cut short when a deafening thunder-like boom is heard in the distance.

"WHERE IS HE!" 

This shout, it makes your blood chill and your hairs stand on end. It feels familiar somehow, but it terrifies you so badly that you run away from the source and hide in one of the alleyways.

Your vision is starting to get blurry as more tears are shed. You are so scared to be alone. You only want to be back in your bed, sleeping soundly, knowing that you have a family to call for your own. But it all shattered within seconds. You are not a pony, there is no way you are the real son of Gaia and Solaris. 

The sun is already kissing the edge of the horizon, bathing the world in colors of orange and purple as you try to find sense in where you are. Little do you know that you unintentionally entered the noble district, where ponies shoot you angry glances of hatred and disgust.

“What is that?!”

“It’s that freak the queen took as a pet...”

“What’s wrong with his face…?”

“Disgusting…”

“Freak…”

“Monster...”

You run aimlessly, covering your ears as you do so. Tears start to pour freely from your eyes, obscuring your vision. You openly cry now, just wishing for it to end, for their taunts to stop. You barely feel any pain as you stumble and fall face first into the cold, stone ground. Instead, you pull yourself upright and keep running. You try to be brave, but everytime a little piece of courage grows inside you, it is immediately crushed when the booming voice returns.

It seems bent on finding something, though you pay it no heed. A sense of uncomfortable hotness creeps across your forehead as the blurriness intensifies. Your head is aching and you feel yourself weaken with every passing minute. Something isn't right, you can feel it throughout your body. It was a sort of hot aching that pounded on the back of your head.    

Retreating to a nearby ally, you grab your head tightly in a vain attempt to quell the throbbing pain. Every fiber in your body screams at you to find help, but you know that now that ponies are cruel. You do not have a family, you are lost. And now, sick.

You crawl to one corner and try to find the warmest spot on the cold stone floor whilst trying to remain conscious as the pain makes it almost unbearable…

~Now~ 

The booming voice returns! It sounds angrier and closer than ever. But also… desperate, in a sense. It takes all your willpower to crawl under a smelly wooden box as the clip-clop of many ponies is drawing ever closer.  

You stay inside the box, shivering, praying to whoever might listen that you won't get caught. You are tired. Tired of being sick, tired of being alone, but mostly, tired of being revered as a freak. Once the clopping of ponies dies down, you step out of your box and huddle in the corner in a similar fashion as before.

You cannot go back, not now that you know you do not belong. Your entire life is a lie. You are not royalty, or even a commoner. You do not know where your place is, but you know for sure it ain't here. Not where you are hated, and the only kindness you knew was probably pity.

You try to stay awake. The heat you felt moments ago was now replaced with cold. So tired… everything now is but a blur, each twitch of your muscles sends waves of pure pain throughout your body. Even breathing becomes somewhat taxing.

"…found… over… here…" you hear something, but you cannot say for certain if it's real or your mind simply playing tricks on you.

You see blurs coming towards you, and then you feel something against your skin, something soft and soothing. And then, you hear a voice, a voice that you love and cherish as the epicenter of your happiness, a voice that now falls on bitter ears.

You can feel yourself being lifted and placed somewhere warm, but the cold won't loosen its grip on you, if anything, it only grows stronger.

You try desperately to cling to the last bits of consciousness with pitiful attempts as your arms clings to something warm and soft, like a blanket but alive.

But you are too weak. You can see the darkness in the corners of your eyes start to overwhelm the rest of your vision as you fall asleep to a familiar lullaby…





You wake up in a familiar bed. The excessive hotness and coldness left your body in favor for a minor headache. It wasn’t the best feeling, but still better than before. You feel something cold and damp on your forehead and try to lift your arm to take it off, but as soon as you try to lift your arm, something soft is pressing against it, pining it back to your side. You do not have the power to resist even if you wanted to.

You open your eyes with some difficulty and turn your gaze to the pony-shaped silhouette besides you.

"You shouldn't move, sweetie. Just lie down and rest."

You recognize that voice anywhere. 

Mommy. 

Feelings start to flood your entire body at the sight and sound of mommy, you feel the corners of your eyes are starting to moisten and a wave of relief washes your entire body.

You squirm in your place, desperately trying to reach her, to touch her, to feel her warmth on your skin. She inches closer until her head rests near yours, your cheeks rubbing with each other as the both of you shed a few tears.

"I'm s-sorry…" you choke, burying your face into mommy’s fur "I'm sorry…"

"Shhhh… everything is okay now, sweetie. You are safe once more."

Despite the pain, you lift your arms and wrap them around mommy's neck, bringing her closer to you, almost desperately. Her mere presence is causing your entire body to shake. Not from the cold, but from the fear, the fear that she might fade if you so much as relax your grip. You need to hold onto her, to confirm that she is indeed there, that it isn't a cruel dream conjured by your deprived mind.  

Another warm feeling creeps onto your back. You turn around and see Tia, silently sobbing into your neck. You turn around completely and wrap her in a tight hug. You didn’t know this, but Tia took your disappearance just as hard as mommy, if not moreso. She was worried sick as she waited for mommy's return. When she saw her with you on her back, she immediately rushed to your side and stayed with you the whole night, barely sleeping, watching over you so you may not disappear again.

But there is something in the back of your head, something you knew it was there. 

It was doubt. You doubted your whole life now, where do you belong? Who's your real family? What will you do now? Will you accept your fate, or will you run away in search of the truth?

But think as hard as you might, you are still a child. 






Bonus(do not take seriously) - 

> Soup and ice cream (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today is just a living nightmare. You are sick and limited to your bed for the rest of the week, it isn't contagious, but it keeps you bedridden for the time being. You have tried on numerous times to get up but you were stopped by either Tia, your parents, or Feather Curls, who took it upon herself to personally nurse you back to health.

"You know, if you stay in bed like you're supposed to, then you wouldn't have to suffer longer." Feather curls replaces the warm and damp towel on your forehead with a cleaner, cooler one.

"It doesn't even make sense. How by staying longer in bed, I'm actually staying less on it." You pout. Grown-ups have a weird sense of logic that you simply do not understand.

Feather Curls chuckles and say, "Just promise me that you stay in bed until this evening. If you behave yourself and stay nice, I might give you a treat."

Your eyes widen at that "R-Really! You promise?" 

"Yes. But you must promise me that you behave yourself, okay young colt."

You nod your head fast, excitement over the promise of treats overrides your massive headache by the sudden motions "Yes, ma'am!"

"That's a good colt, now stay in bed. Princess Celestia said she wants to see you after school."

Ah yes, you almost forgot that Tia started attending school but a few days ago. You too should have started to learn alongside her, but your illness prevented you that luxury. Instead, you are stuck to your bed with a private tutor for six hours a day.

Learning isn't that bad, but it was sooooo boring, especially math.

It is about four and a half in the afternoon when Tia finally comes to visit you. A small cart is tied to her barrel as she pulls it behind her, humming contently.

"I made you some soup, big bro!" she chirps excitedly.

You smile sleepily as Tia uses her tiny hooves to pull a bowl from under the cart and places it on your lap. She then opens a tray, revealing a large kettle filled with steaming soup and dips a silver ladle into it using her mouth. She carefully fills your bowl and hands you a spoon, looking expectedly at you.

"Thanks Tia, this looks amazing."

Tia’s eyes practically sparkle at the compliment, smiling from ear to ear. You shrug and carefully scoop a spoonful of soup, gently blowing on it and slurping. Your eyes become pin-like as a foul taste takes over your mouth and assaults your taste buds with the promise of eternal damnation. You fight the urge to gag and vomit in front of Tia as you force the horrid substance down your gullet.

"How is it! How is it!" Tia jumps up and down excitedly, her eyes shimmer as she looks at you for an answer.

You give her a weak smile and say "It's… really good. In fact, it was so filling I literally could not eat another bite."

Tia stops her jumping and looks at you with a serious expression "No you don't, you must eat all of it. How else do you expect to get any better if you don't?"

"By not eating this and risking dying," You mumble under your breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"Well, good. Now eat!" 

The entire ordeal was horrible. It wasn't the soup that made it as bad as it was; it was how excited and happy Tia was for making you soup all by her own. You didn't want to hurt her feelings so you steeled your nerves, apologized to your stomach, and gulped the entire soup in one go.

Once finished, you turn to Tia. Her expression in one of pure joy "Feel better?"

"Y-Yes, thanks Tia."        

Tia's smile goes from one side of her face to the other as she jumps on the bed to give you a loving hug, despite your illness.

"I'm glad you liked it, but I can't stay, I invited some of my friends over and we're having a slumber party."

You return the hug and squeeze a little, not too hard but enough to elicit a small squeak from Tia "it's fine Tia, go and be with your friends."

Tia nods and trots back towards her room across yours, probably to prepare for the slumber party. She leaves the soup in your room, not that you're hungry anymore. If anything, you feel the need to go to your private bathroom and empty the contents of your stomach.

A lone, painful grumble from your stomach confirms your fears. You rush towards your toilet and… relief your stomach. You pull away from the toilet seat, feeling a vile taste in your mouth.

"My, my, you really are sick, aren't you?" you hear Feather Curls' voice from the entrance to your room.

You say nothing, for you fear if you try and talk, you’d risk another bout of toilet hugging. Instead, you simply grown. Feather Curls coos gently, she trots next to you and rubs your back gently. You almost flinch at the contact, but relax almost immediately. Feather Curls always knows how to make you feel better.  

"Well then… wash your mouth and come over here. I brought you a treat."

You immediately beam as you pretty much drive the faucet into your mouth and wash your teeth, tongue and everything else. Once done, you rush to your bedroom, where Feather Curls is already waiting on your bed. You hop up the mattress and scootch closer to her.

"I snuck this from the kitchen just for the two of us," Feather Curls says as she levitates a small plastic tub of ice cream, and not just any ice cream, your all-time favorite ice cream; Strawberries. Your eyes widen as Feather Curls takes off the lid and presents you with the pink, creamy goodness you love so much, your mouth practically overflowing by the time Feather Curls levitates two small spoons and drives them through the ice cream. She then brings the spoons to both of your mouths as you savor the sweet, and just a tad tangy, flavor and amazing texture in your mouth.

Feather Curls giggles some more as she notices your euphoric expression, you feel a tingling sensation on your cheeks as your heartbeat quickens. You stare into Feather Curls' sapphire blue eyes, feeling the same burning sensation on your cheeks before you quickly look away.

"What's wrong little guy? Are you feeling okay?" Feather Curls asks, only worsening your blush as she runs a hoof up your cheek and onto your forehead "Oh my, it seems you need to cool off some more. I'll leave the ice cream for you. Just remember, don't eat it too fast, or you might get a brain freeze."

Feather Curls raises from your bed, gives you a warm hug, and leaves your room, taking the soup tray with her, probably to return it to the depths of Tartarus. 

Meanwhile, your entire face is as red as a tomato. You bury your face into your pillow and try to make sense with all these new and foreign feelings you have.

Once you relax a bit, you let your body some much deserved rest… after finishing the ice cream, of course. Never forget about the ice cream.

It was about ten in the evening when you woke up. The moon was high in the sky and your room was spotless. Feather Curls must have came here while you were sleeping and cleaned your room. You feel your cheeks heat up at the thought of Feather Curls as you slowly rise from your bed. One downside of waking up so late is that now you can't go back to sleep.

You are about to jump off from your bed when you hear the door to your room opens abruptly and a young filly you do not recognize rushes past you and into your bathroom. 

…

You stand there, unable to process what just happened. Who was she? Why she entered your room? You hear the sound of the water being flushed as the door to your bathroom slowly opens to reveal the filly from before. She stops dead in her tracks when she finally notices you. Now that you have enough time to process what is happening, you actually have enough time to properly get a good look at the strange filly. She is a pink earth pony with a tri-colored mane of violet, rose and gold streaks and light purple eyes.

"W-Who are you?" she asks, surprisingly enough. Considering she's the one barging into your room. Quite rudely you might add.

"Who are you, this is my room you know," you retort, not quite sure what is going on yourself.

As you say it, the filly looks around as she finally understands her mistake "Oh I'm so sorry. I'm one of Celestia's friends and we just exited the pool a-and I needed to go to the bathroom so I ran back to Celestia's room… only, it wasn't Celestia's room. Sorry." She looks down once she finished with the explanation.

"It's okay, I forgive you," you say with a smile "So you and Tia are friend huh?"

"Yes, I met her a few days ago at school. She's really nice and fun to be with, you should totally meet her."

You smile as you nod and sit on your bed "Is she now? What about her family, did you meet her parents?"

"Yes. They're really nice. She also has a big brother that she talks about all the time but he's sick and can't leave his room."

"That's too bad. I heard he's nice." You smile inwardly; let's see how long you can keep this up.

"Yes! Celestia told us so much about him. How nice he is, how he always by her side and how close the two of them are. I wish I had brothers or sisters."

"Oh, r-really…" you stamper. Boy, Tia sure know how to exaggerate things. It almost makes you sound like the perfect brother or something.

"Yes. In fact, Celestia Told us that he got lost in the city a few days back and that she was really sad and afraid that he might get lost forever…"

You feel a bit bitter as the filly mentions that dreadful day. You must have looked pretty upset.

“Are you alright?” the filly asks.

You snap out of your thoughts "Who, me? Y-Yeah, something just popped into my mind."

Before the filly could say no more, the door to your room opens once more and in comes Tia.

"Here you are, Honey Aurora. We were looking for you around the entire castle."

Honey Aurora blushes and looks away from Tia "Sorry, you can say that I kinda got lost." She chuckles nervously. Tia rolls her eyes and urges Honey out of the door.

"Well, good thing big brother found you."

Honey's eyes widen when the implication of what dawns upon her "You?" she exclaims before Tia shuts the door.

You let out a lone chuckle as you lay down on your bed. Today was sure something…  
> confessions (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today is a new day and with it, a new feeling that burns ever brighter in your chest. You finally recovered from the nasty cold that plagued your poor body for the past week and a half. By this time, you would have been mumbling and chewing on your tongue were it not for Tia and her friends spending their time with you and banishing the boredom away with games and stories.

In addition to Honey Aurora, there were also Chrysalis, Daring Blitz, and Star Swirl. A changeling, a pegasus, and a unicorn, respectively.

Chrissy was a midnight black changeling with a dark cerulean mane and green eyes. Daring Blitz was a light gold, almost brown pegasus with a rough, greyscale mane and moderate rose eyes. Star Swirl was a light grey unicorn with a simple brown mane and brilliant gold eyes.

The six of you had a lot of time to bond in the past week. In this brief time, not only you warmed up to them, but you also saw Tia in a whole new light. Usually, when she is with you, she's relying on every word you say. But around her friends, she was much more assertive and expressive with her ideas, in a good way. In fact, it kinda reminds you of mommy.

Today though is special. You told your friends about your crush with Feather Curls and they all agreed to help you set the perfect moment for you to ask her out.

"That's so romantic…" Chrysalis swooned as she looked over you with half lidded eyes "I can already imagine the two of you, looking over the setting sun on the beach, holding hooves- err, I mean… limbs together. And then, you lean closer to her and give her a big kiss…"

"Eww…" the guys cried, you included.

"Chrissy, really? That's disgusting, mares have cooties." You declare, finishing your statement with a fake gagging sound.

Chrysalis simply rolls her eyes and then looks at Daring Blitz "You don't think it's disgusting, right Blitz?"

Daring Blitz shakes his head "No way! You'd never catch me kissing a mare!"

Chrissy frowns a bit but quickly recovers, changing her attention to Star Swirl, looking expectedly "And what about you, Swirly?"

"I believe that I lack enough knowledge on the subject to form a valid point at the moment." Star Swirl finishes his sentence by shooting a smirk towards Chrysalis, who looks more annoyed than anything.

"Colts…" she says, exasperated.

"Tell me about it," says Tia as the three fillies roll their eyes at the same time.

"They just don't understand romance and the matters of the heart as well as we do," Honey explains with playful tone.

You smile nervously as the fillies talk with themselves about stuff for dates, romantic dinners and marriage! Freaking marriage! You only want Feather Curls as your special somepony, but obviously, it wasn't enough, apparently.

You quickly interject when the talking reaches names for the babies "Guys, guys, relax. I just need you to help me so I can ask Feather Curls out. Not all… this."

The three fillies look at you for a moment and then shake their heads at the same time. Tia approaches you slowly "Brother, brother, brother. You really don't have a clue, do you."

"Apparently not…" you hesitate.

"Don't worry big bro, we'll help you. Chrysalis, Daring Blitz, you two take care of the clothing, we need something fancy but not overwhelming. Aurora, Star Swirl, you're in charge of the settings, pick a good place and make it as romantic as possible. I'll make sure to turn big brother into a mares wooing machine by tonight. Are you ready!"

"Yeah!" you all shout together, though you have a bad feeling about it.





A few minutes later you sit on your rump in your room, Tia is standing in front of you near a blackboard with a crude drawing of yourself and a pony surrounded by a heart.

"So, first lesson will be; how to greet a mare."

You raise your hand.

Tia groans, "Yes, brother…"

"Remind me again why I need to do this."

"I already told you… In order to impress your mare you must first act like a gentlecolt. You can't just go running around like a brute and expect her to fall in love with you instantly."

"Fine, fine, continue…"

"Okay… so the first step is how to properly greet a mare. You start by giving her a compliment. You must flatter her, but you also must be sincere. Compliment on either her appearance or her personality. Some mares prefer one over the other…"

Oh boy, that's going to be a looooooong day indeed… 





Next stop, outfit… It took all your brain space to memorize everything Tia told you. The sheer amount of things to remember almost made your brain go haywire. Luckily, that part of the day was behind you, however, it is only going downhill from now.

Chrissy and Daring Blitz are arguing over the toga pattern as you and Tia enter the room. The two stop their yelling match and turn to look directly at you.

"Let's let him to decide, then." Daring Blitz takes both togas, presenting them to you. The first one was An off-white toga with a purple border, the second one was deep purple with gold embroidery across the entire thing. 

"Well…" Chrissy urges you.

You feel something nudge at your side and turn to see Tia, looking at you with a warm smile. You smile back and point your finger.

"That one." Your finger lands on the off-white toga. Daring Blitz frowns while Chrissy shoots him a smug grin.

"There must be more than this, right?” Tia asks. “We still need a tunic to go underneath the toga"

"Sure, sure, follow us…" Daring Blitz turns around and trots towards a closet of some sorts. He opens it and steps inside, coming out with a tunic carefully carried in his teeth.

"Wow, Daring! It's… beautiful, where did you find this!" Tia exclaims as she examines the tunic. You must admit, it sure was fancy looking. The entire tunic was made out of deep red silk, not a single loose thread or a wrinkle could be seen, it was in exquisite condition, but most importantly, it was made with your body shape in mind, not ponies.

"I made it myself," Chrissy says proudly, "Daring brought me some silk and other accessories and I made it especially for you." 

"But how did you have my measurements?" you ask, truly bewildered.

Chrissy rolls her eyes "I'm a changeling dummy, I simply transformed to look exactly like you." she bopped your nose with her hoof and smiled.

"I… That's… This… Wow…" You look at the tunic and try to find your words. After a few failed attempts at forming coherent sentences you let your body speak for itself as you wrap Chrissy and Blitz in a bear hug "Thank you such you guys."

The three of you remain together as Tia looks over a watch and gasps "Brother, we need to hurry, put the tunic and toga on, quickly!" 

Without missing a beat, you dress up quickly and run with the other three towards the dining hall, where Aurora and Star said they would be preparing something. You, being faster than the rest, reach first to the door and are about to open it. Unfortunately, the others couldn't stop in time and all three of them crash into you, sending all of you sprawling into the hall.

You all gasp as your eyes finally open. The entire hall was almost completely dark, the curtains block the sunlight from outside and the only means of lighting are a few candles on the dining table and a chandelier full of lit candles, draping the room in a gentle glow.

Aurora and Star Swirl were in the process of spreading a few rose petals around the table when you came crashing and tumbling.

"Guys… you need some help?" Star Swirl asks as he notices your dazed faces.

"This is amazing!" Tia whispers.

"It is, isn't it," Aurora says as she hops down from the table and trots towards you. You finally untangle yourself from the rest and stand up by the time Aurora reaches you.

"Wow, you look amazing." Aurora circling you, examining every detail with admiration.

"Thanks, I like what you did with the dining hall."

Aurora blushes "Thanks, but it was Star Swirl's idea to use candle light."

"That was nothing, really. I simply remembered a book about courting. It stats clearly that candle light is the best source of light for romantic situations."  Star Swirl smiles as he levitates a few more candles and place them around the room.

Tia looks out into the hallway and quickly turns around "She's coming! Everypony, out!" within seconds, everypony in the vicinity slips away through a back door, leaving you alone as you start to sweat.

'What am I doing?! She's going to reject me, or laugh at my face or-' your inner monologue is cut short when the door to the dining hall opens, revealing Feather Curls in all her beautiful glory.

She looks around in surprise before her eyes suddenly fall onto you "Umm, what is going on here, your highness? And what's with the outfit?" she giggles.

You take it as a good sign and step forward "I- uhh, I… I really like your eyes…" you blurt out, silently cursing yourself.

Feather Curls looks at you curiously, one eyebrow raised "Are you sure you are well?" she comes closer and puts her hoof on your forehead "My goodness, you're burning up!"

"N-No, I'm fine, really…"

"Then what is this about?"

"I… Oh shoot, Tia said it would be easy…"

Feather Curls looks at you even more deeply. Suddenly, her mind forms all the pieces together as she darts her eyes from you to your surroundings.

"Oh, sweetie…" she sits in front of you "I know what you are trying to do."

Your eyes lit up as you look straight into Feather Curls' eyes "You do?! So that means that-"

"We cannot do this…" she interrupts you.

"W-What…"

"We cannot do this your highness… You are way too young, not to mention that I am a commoner. And besides, I'm a married mare." She points at a small ring necklace around her neck.

"But I… But you…" You try to find words, but your mind fails you. After all what the others did for you, after all you did.

"Sweetie I’m so sorry." Feather curls sigh. “I am sure you will find a special somepony, but your feelings towards me are not true love. Believe me, you would understand when you grow older.”

Your face falls as you look downwards, a few tears threatening to fall from your eyes "You're right, I don't understand…"

"Ohh… sweetie…" Feather Curls comes closer to give you a comforting hug, but you simply pushed her away and run back to your room. You don’t stop for a second, not even when Feather Curls shouts your name.

As you reach your room, you immediately slump in your bed and grab one of your pillows closely to your chest, you can feel tears leaking from your eyes. It wasn't until that you feel something rubbing your back that you dare turn around.

Around you, all your friends are sitting on your bed, offering comforting smiles. Aurora stands next to you, rubbing your back in a comforting matter while Tia gently wipes away your tears with her hoof.

"You guys…" you stutter before you pull them all to a hug…
> Godly intervention (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Depressed

There is no better word to describe your feelings. You simply stay in your room, completely ignoring the outside world as you constantly beating yourself up, blaming yourself for your stupidity and naivety.

Every day is as hollow and grey as the next. You go to school, say a few words when you are forced to answer a question, go back home, and stay in your room until the next day. 

Tia and the rest come to visit you every day, trying to lift your spirits up. Sometimes it works, but most of the time you sulk in your own sadness.

You remember one day in particular, just two days after the rejection; you were staring at the wall, doing nothing but breathing, when suddenly, there was a single knock on the door. You opened it to reveal no one, only a small muffin lying on a letter. You picked up the letter and read…



For no reason, aside from the reason of it being reasonless

A friend







To this day you are unsure who’s the muffin was from, maybe one of the maids. Of course, it wasn't enough to completely cheer you up, but it was a start.

You look at yourself in the mirror and try not to cringe. Your hair is all messy and you have bags under your misty eyes. All your clothes are wrinkled and you're pretty sure that you haven't taken a decent shower for a while now.

You take a quick glance at a nearby watch, it reads four and a half in the afternoon.

"Three, two, one…"

As you finish the countdown, you hear the door to your room being flung open. You let out a halfhearted chuckle, your sister becomes predictable.

"Tia, can we please skip todays cheering session, I'd rather be alone…"

"No."

"Tia, that wasn't a-"

"No!"

"Tia, I-"

You stop your rambling as a golden aura envelopes your entire form and lifts you a few inches off the ground. You magically turn around to see Tia and the rest all look at you with looks of utter annoyance.

You chuckle nervously at all the angry faces "Ahh, hey guys. What's up…"

"Brother…" Tia says in a low growl "You know we're all your friends, right?"

"Right."

"And that we care about you, a lot."

"I guess so."

"And that this is a safe circle, where you can tell us everything."

"Where are you going with this Tia?" You ask dreadfully.

"This is an intervention, Brother. We're all here because we are worried about you and we're sick of seeing you like this."

You scowl but otherwise remain still, not that you have much choice in the matter "This is horseapples, I just need some time for me. Let me go!" you demand, receiving some angry huffs from aurora.

The others nod and you can see Chrissy using her own magic to open the door to your bathroom, stepping inside. A few moments later you feel yourself being levitated towards the bathroom, the sound of running water reaches your ears as your eyes widen in realization.

"Oh no! Oh no, no, no, no, no. Tia! Put me down. NOW!" You yell. Tia flinches at first. Never in her entire life had you screamed at her like that. Not even when she accidently turned your hair pink. But she quickly pulls herself together; she was doing this for you, even if you don't know it yet.  

"Sorry big brother, but you stink, and we can't talk with you smelling like that." 

Chrissy pokes her head from inside the steamy bathroom "The water's ready." She disappears into the bathroom again.

As you unwantedly enter the bathroom, you can see your impending doom. A bath full of hot water and soap.

You try to wiggle yourself free to no avail as you hover above the bath. It takes all but one second to completely strip and plunge you into the hot wanters.

You can no longer feel Tia's magical grasp on you as you give all your friends the mother of all death glares.

You can feel a few trickles of water from above and see Daring Blitz sitting on a mini cloud with a smug look on his face.

"Is this really necessary?" you give him a deadpan look.

"Yes, it's so you won't leave," he says, kicking the cloud beneath him and shocking you with a mini lightning.

You rub your head where the lightning struck you "That was uncalled for," you complain.

"Oh shush you big wimp," says Chrissy as she squeezes a hooful of shampoo onto your hair and using her hooves to rub. Star Swirl makes sure that the water temperature stays just above warm as Tia pours more scented salts into the water, bathing the room in a calming smell. Meanwhile, Aurora holds you down gently so you wouldn't get soap into your eyes while Chrissy scrubs your hair. You occasionally locking eyes with each other as you both blush and look away.

You try to wiggle yourself towards the edge of the bath a few times in order to make a run for it, but Daring Blitz is more observant than you give him credit for, if zapping you everytime isn't proof enough.

Once you are as clean as one can possibly be, your friends allow you to exit the tub and dry yourself. You step out from the bathroom sparkling clean before moving to your wardrobe, picking a tunic at random and slipping it on. You take a seat on your bed as your friends take seats all around you. You can’t help but feel slightly annoyed at their intrusion, but you forgive them nonetheless.

"And now, talk."

"Tia… I really don't feel like talking about this."

"Well lucky you, it wasn't a request," says Chrissy. She hisses at you in what you guess is supposed to be a threatening manner, but it was more cute than anything.

You sigh and lower your head, no easy way out of this one, it seems "Fine, you want to know how I feel? I feel like an idiot, like a complete and utter idiot. I’m sick of this, I’m sick of being me. I just want to be a pony like you guys, instead of this misshapen… whatever I am. I should've known that nopony can love me."

As the words leave your mouth, you feel something colliding with your cheek and sending you tumbling to the floor. You look up while holding your cheek, Aurora is next to where you sat moments ago, her hoof locked in an incriminating posture.

"That's was the stupidest thing you've ever said to us, and you've said a lot of stupid things."

There are a few murmurs of agreement from the rest. Tia was the only one not looking at your eyes, she never liked seeing you in pain. Wait, is that blood!

You move your hand from your cheek and into your field of view and sure enough, your hand is ever so slightly bloodied.

You hear a few gasps of shock as you look up to meet the frightened looks on your friends' faces. By the look of utter shock on Aurora's face, you guess it wasn't deliberate.

"I… I'm…" she stutters, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. She didn't mean to land such a powerful hit on you, but when you said all those awful things about yourself, she just lost control.

You lift yourself off the floor and make your way silently towards your bathroom. You wince slightly as you wipe the wound with a damp towel, but the cut itself isn't too serious, it'll heal in time. You know Aurora will never hit you out of spite, but ponies' hooves are tough and your skin is much more delicate.

You walk back into your room to see Aurora crying her eyes out on your bad. You smile sadly and move to comfort her, taking her in your arms and letting her cry into your shoulder. Funny, your friends came here to help you, but instead you are the one doing the comforting.

In that moment you realize something. When you distanced yourself from your friends, you did not only hurt yourself, but them also. They need you just as much as you need them, and they were having none of that. Realizing your mistake, you tighten your arms around Aurora until her crying is reduced to a few sobs here and there.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," she apologize profusely. 

"That's okay, Aurora. I needed that."

Aurora chuckles halfheartedly as the rest of your friends huddle closer, letting you know what you mean to them through their actions.

Meanwhile	

Gaia and Solaris were at the doctor's office. Gaia was feeling weak in the past couple of months. It was worsening when her son was lost in the city and subsided only a little when he returned.

But the last few days were the hardest so far.

"I do not understand, doctor. I have been eating regularly for years now, but I cannot seem to lose all this extra weight," Gaia says. She isn't self-conscious, by any chance, but her growing weight is a source of concern.

The doctor instructs Gaia to lay down as he examined her, his horn flaring for a few seconds before talking "Seems like you might have a parasite." He concludes.

"Like a tapeworm or something?" Solaris asks worriedly.

"Can you do anything about it?" Gaia interjects, dread creeping over her.

"Only for about a month or so. After that it becomes illegal to remove, except in a couple states.

"But don't worry. Many mares learn to embrace this parasite. They name it, dress it up in tiny clothes and arrange playdates with other parasites."

The couple looks at the doctor as if he is mad before he speaks again, "Congrats! It has your eyes."
> A little sister named Luna (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ahh, what a peaceful night you had.

After the laborious events of yesterday, the gang and you decided to have a slumber party at your room. Of course you asked your parents' permission first and then sent guards to inform the families so they wouldn't worry.

 Things got a little out of hoof when a seamlessly harmless pillow fight turned into a WW1 (Water war one). Your bed was the only dry spot left in your room by the time peace treaties were signed and lands were returned. With nowhere else to sleep, all of you decided to form a cuddle pile on your bed. Needless to say, it was one of the best slumbers you had in awhile. 

You sigh contently as you bury your face in your pillow, enjoying the post-sleep rest to the best of your ability. Said rest is sadly disturbed as you feel something shaking and prodding you, evidently trying to rouse you awake.

"Five more minutes…" you grumble, trying to hide yourself under the covers.

"Come on, big brother. Wake. Up." 

You see a golden glow behind your eyelids and mentally sigh as you feel the covers being yanked off your body.

"Come on slowpoke." You see Aurora's hoof prodding your chest again. You turn your head to look at the others. Daring Blitz was sleeping on one corner of the bed and Star Swirl on the other. You try to find where Chrissy has gone off to when you feel your pillow slowly rise and fall. You turn your head until you came face to face with the sleeping changeling that you've been using as a pillow for the night.

Your turn back towards Tia and Aurora and says, "Why can they sleep and I can't?"

The two fillies roll their eyes and move to wake up the others, you were kinda hoping they would just let you sleep but alas, sleep is a luxury you cannot have at the moment, whether you like it or not.

Luckily, it is Saturday today, which means all your friends could stay for breakfast and not worry about school. You walk down the halls only half awake, dragging behind the others. Everypony except Tia and Aurora are as tired as you, though they are less vocal about it..

Every so often, Tia and Aurora would look back at you specifically, and giggle. Stupid fillies. Finally, after about ten minutes' walk(and a stab in the toe) you reach the dining hall. Your parents are already there, waiting for you to have a seat. 

By the time the last pony sat, you already inhaled half a pancake, not even caring for syrup. Your parents look at you disapprovingly as you give them a sheepish smile.

"Sorry…"

Satisfied by your answer, mommy starts a conversation "So, how was last night?"

"Oh it was so much fun mommy!" Tia begins, and once she starts, she cannot be stopped. You groan inwardly as Tia mentions every single detail to your parents, who seem rather interested.

"…So we all slept on big bro's bed." 

Finally… she stops. Now, it's not that you do not like Tia or anything like that, but mornings are not your favorite time of day.

"Sounds like fun. Oh to be young again…" Mommy drifts off again, she likes doing that sometimes. Daddy carefully nudges her, snapping her out of her fantasies.

"Should we tell them, dear?" He asked.

"I think we should."

Okay, now you are intrigued. Not enough to prod at the information, but enough to keep your eyes from dropping every few seconds..

"What is it?" Asks Tia.

Mommy shoots her a mischievous grin before speaking again.

"My little ponies…" she begins, looking at you lovingly to assure you that you are included "Mommy has a parasite…"





It took two whole hours to calm Tia down, the poor filly is still struggling with the concept of jokes sometimes and she almost had a panic attack. It did not help that daddy howled with laughter, however.

Luckily for her, you, alongside with your friends, helped her out and calmed her down to manageable levels. Mommy apologized for Tia and explained to her what she actually meant. Almost instantly, Tia cheered at the news of having a little brother or sister.

"I hope I didn't frighten you too much. Please forgive my childish behavior," Mommy says, trying her hardest not to giggle.

"Who cares, I'm having a little baby brother or sister!" Tia jumps up and down before rushing to mommy’s side and giving her a hug. You smile and give mommy a hug as well, following Tia.

"Don't worry mom, me and Tia will help you," You promise sincerely.

"Yeah, us too!" You hear Aurora from behind you, followed by the positive remarks of your friends.

Gaia looks up from Tia and you to look at your friends "That is very sweet of you, I'm sure your families would be delighted to know they raised such fine fillies and colts, but I cannot force you to help me through my pregnancy, it is unbefitting a royalty."

"We don't mind, right guys," says Daring Blitz, the rest nods in agreement.

And so, the eight of you raise a toast for another eleven months or so of pregnancy…





Sod those eleven months, you hate them, you hate them with a burning passion. 

Yes, it was hard. No, not as hard as mommy's pregnancy with Tia. Yes, there were a lot of rough times. No, you did not get a mental break down and yes, you are happy. But mommy is a volatile mommy, and although it wasn’t nearly as bad as her pregnancy with Tia, there were a few slip ups here and there. You thank your lucky stars that mommy did not have any outbursts around Tia, noting how sensitive your little sister can be. 

"You are doing it again…" you remark, staring at daddy, who's doing the exact same thing when Tia was born, pacing around the waiting room, and anticipating the worst possible outcomes. Like, what if the baby won't make it? What if Gaia won't make it? Or even worse, what if the baby won't resemble him. All those possible and totally legitimate questions circled inside the king's mind and clouded his rational thinking.

Tia isn't faring much better, the baby decided to come when mommy was tucking Tia to bed. Suffice to say, Tia was a bit startled, to put it bluntly. Luckily for her, your friends were sleeping with you on that particular night, so they all came with you to the waiting room.

You on the other hand, are much calmer. Half because you already went through this and half because you are still a child and you don't know any better. The nurse – the same one who delivered Tia – pokes her head out from the room and looks at the sheer number of ponies.

"I'm sorry but we can't let you all in. Family members only."

Your friends grumble in protest as you smirk and walk into the room with daddy and Tia in tow. There, on the bed, lays mommy in a familiar situation, holding a dark blue bundle of blankets. You help Tia up on the bed before climbing up yourself. You are a lot taller now than back when Tia was born so it isn't that hard.

Mommy smiles broadly and rotates the bundle of blankets so you are now face to face with your new addition to the family. A little alicorn filly with grayish blue mane, slightly darker grayish blue coat and the most beautiful, piercing cyan eyes you have ever seen.

"What's her name?" Tia asks from behind you, her front hooves wrapped around your stomach and her head rests on your left shoulder, glancing at her new baby sister.

"Luna, her name is Luna." Daddy says, he smiles gently and moves closer to nuzzle mommy and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"You did great honey," he whispers gently as to not disturb Luna.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" you ask, seeing your mommy shed a tear.

"I'm just- so happy…"

She levitates you and Tia so you now rest near mommy's neck, right next to Luna and wrap her hooves around you three gently, letting a few tears mat her fur.

You then move closer to have a better look at your new sister. As you do it, Luna looks at you with evident confusion in her eyes. She moves a single hoof forward and bops you on the nose; you smile and do the same with your finger. She lets out a laugh and tries to grab your cheeks. 

You decide to help her by moving your face closer, but as you do, Luna suddenly comes even closer and bites you on the nose.

You yelp in shock and move your head backwards, but her latch is stronger than you thought as she simply dangles from your nose.

"I think she's hungry," Tia snickers from behind you.

"You think…" you grumble, unable to move your head.

Tia and daddy laugh as mommy gently pries Luna off of your nose.

"Come everypony, let's give mommy some time to rest," daddy says as he levitates you and Tia on his back and exit the room, where you friends wait patiently.

At that moment, you feel like the luckiest person in the world…    
> Step and Slide (Redone)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Son? Do you mind if the two of us can exchange a few words in private?"

You lift your head from the book you are reading and look at your daddy. He is standing by the entrance to your room, his face unreadable. 

You nod and hop off the bed. You place a bookmark, close the book, and place it on the desk. A quick scan across the rooms affirms that the room is in a, mostly, presentable state. You motion daddy inside.

He shakes his head. "Not here. Come. Let us walk for a bit. Your mom keeps nagging me about my weight anyway, it would do us both good."

You chuckle and walk up to meet daddy at the entrance to your room. You share a brief hug before he sets off to an unknown destination.

"Son, I have been thinking- well, your mom and I have been thinking together to be more precise. We believe that being you, you are susceptible to the public's view. I did not wish to tell you this, I had hoped that the guard would be enough, but after that day so long ago when you got lost in the city, your mother and I discussed this and we both think it would be best if you can defend yourself."

"What do you mean, I don't understand," you ask. It’s weird hearing daddy talking about that day. It makes you feel uneasy, like a weight on your heart. Daddy sighs as he uses his magic to lift you off your feet and place you on his back. It is always fun when mommy and daddy let you ride them. They don’t do it much lately though.

"Listen, son, there are some bad ponies out there, ponies that do not agree with our rule and are willing to go to absurd lengths to convince others with their points of view. Those ponies often cannot be reasoned with and they will do atrocious acts against us."

"But can't we just imprison them?" you reason.

"I wish it was that simple, son. But there is no way of knowing who the enemy is until they do something. The best thing we can do is prepare ourselves, and that's what we are doing right now." 

Daddy takes a sharp turn and exits the castle proper and towards the outside, but unlike your initial thought, he does not walk towards the gardens. You remain silent as daddy travels further into an unexplored part of the castle. You do not understand what the commotion is all about, can't your daddy just ask ponies for their opinions, and if they are wrong throw them to jail? It seems adults make everything unnecessarily complicated. And you unfortunately are caught in the middle.

Still, the memories of that dreadful day are lingering in the back of your mind. The feelings of utter helplessness and fear are constantly beating in your heart every time you leave the castle, even even though mommy kept an eye on you each time. So maybe learning how to defend yourself is a good thing.

A large intake of air snaps you out of your thoughts and you are suddenly aware of a large number of guards around you. You look past your father's neck and see two guards standing still in front of a gate that leads to a camp of some sort. The two guards are surprised, but they manage to bow down in respect.

"Your highness!" calls the one to the right. It never stops to amuse you how the guards recoil in your parents' presence. It also annoys you just a tad bit. Your parents are the nicest ponies in the whole wide world. You know, you live with them. So seeing others tremble either in awe or even fear irks you a little.

They have no reason to fear them.

"At ease, soldier. I merely wish to use the sparring arena for a bit, please carry on," daddy says. He seems excited, almost anxious to begin. Not a minute after you enter the strange camp, daddy finds that 'sparring arena' and trots directly to the middle.

He gently cranes his head down, a sign that means you need to get off. Once you do, he moves in front of you. "Now son, I'm not going to teach you anything too advanced or dangerous so soon, so we'll start with something simple. Hoof to hoof combat."

You raise your hand.

"Umm, yes?"

"How are you going to teach me if I don't have any hooves?" you flex your fingers in emphasis. Daddy chuckles.

"Before I became king, my dad taught me how to fight. We must know how to defend our families. My dad taught me how to fight against every creature known to this day. Say, son, do you know what a minotaur is?"

You shake your head.

"Minotaurs are bipedal creatures with horns on top of their head and fur all over their bodies. The minotaur clans are strong and noble. Their fight styles are some of the oldest fighting techniques in the known world. I learned how to fight with, and against minotaurs, so I can teach you fairly well."

You raise your hand again.

"Yes, son?"

"What is 'bipedal'?"

You cannot restrain the chuckle from your lips seeing the face daddy pulls.

"Never mind that. Just do as I tell you, understand?"

You nod.

"Okay, let's start with a fighting stance. It is imperative that you get that part right. Now I'm going to teach you the 'boxing stance'. Among minotaurs, this is a very basic but very effective stance that will enable you to go forward, backward, left or right, and circular. Now I want you to put your left leg forward and your right leg a little bit backward while the right foot faces away from your body, understand?"

You nod and assume the position. Daddy comes closer and adjusts your stance where it is needed. When he is satisfied he returns to his place in front of you. You can see guards are moving around the arena, looking at you. You suddenly feel very self-conscious.

"Good, now clench your right fist and place it in a way that your right hand is protecting your chin while your right elbow protects your rib cage."

Again, you follow daddy's orders.

"Chin down."           

You comply.

"Now do the same with your left hand, but only this time make sure your hand is slightly tilted and forty-five degrees and is slightly further away from your body."

You don't know what forty-five degrees mean, but you do as you are told. Daddy comes closer yet again and readjusts your left hand, tilting it and pulling slightly so it’s a bit further away from your body."

"Good, good. Now, remember, your right heel should be off the ground so you can act faster."

"Like a spring?" you ask.

"Sort of…"

You smile. This is actually fun, you don't usually spend a lot of time with daddy.

"Now I'm going to teach you how to step and slide. This is simple, all you have to do, as the name suggests, is to step and slide. What that means is if you want to go forward, you place your left foot forward and slide your right foot immediately after. You can apply the same thing when moving backwards or to the sides. You just need to remember that your legs must stay symmetrical. For instance, you cannot move your rear leg backward say… ten paces, and your front leg sixteen paces, you will lose your structure if you do.

"This is important because when fighting, you can step and slide forward, deliver a blow, and then immediately step and slide backwards. You can also apply this in reverse, going backwards to avoid a hit and moving back into the fight. You can also fake going forward and instead, going backward, throwing your enemy off guard. Remember, your rear leg is like a spring."

You nod your head in confirmation and make a few steps and slides in each direction. It's actually pretty easy, and you can see why it's so effective when fighting. You can’t help but be overcome with happiness when you see that impressed look on daddy when you start performing circular motions.

"Very impressive, son. You are a natural!"

You enjoy the compliment, but you much prefer to keep training. There's something about it that feels...oddly familiar. Like playing a new game, yet knowing all the rules.
> Time to strike
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"I give up! I give up!" shouts the stallion beneath you. You smirk slightly as you let the stallion go from your death grip before standing up yourself.

It was an interesting experience to spar with living ponies rather than practicing on straw and wooden dummies, but just as equally rewarding. Dad saw the potential in your hands and helped you develop your fighting skills even further. That, combined with your seemingly natural instincts in the ways of combat, made you the best fighter among the newly recruited guards, who were pitted against you to help both you and them train.

To say that your father was surprised when you almost won against your first, living opponent would be an understatement. And you have only improved since then.

Dad still does not let you train with weapons, but you are okay with this. Fighting like this did not only help you physically, but also mentally. Finally, there was a way to vent out all the frustration. Being around Tia and your friends is always fun, but they can sometimes be so annoying. Not to mention Lulu was not being helpful by constantly crying and demanding your parents' attention. That is the life of a teenager; you start to realize things about yourself and your body. A few fights break between your parents and you, but nothing too serious.

You move to the edge of the sparring arena and reach for a towel lying on the fence. You wipe your bare chest from sweat and dirt before moving to wipe your drenched head. The beaten guard does the same, moving to the opposite side of the arena and refreshes himself. He waves to you and bows before trotting back to camp, where a dozen or so guards are exchanging bits. 

"My, my. My little colt is growing so fast."

"Mom," you groan. Removing the now filthy towel from your face and stare at your mother, who has just arrived at the scene.

"What? Can't a mom be proud of her children?" she asks with mock hurt, placing a hoof across her chest. "You- you hurt me, son."

You roll your eyes at the pathetic, yet entertaining display. Your mouth suddenly forms a wicked smile when a devious plan is formed in your head. "You're right, mom."

Your mom stops acting like she is physically hurt and instead opts to look at you with suspicion. That is usually not the kind of sentence parents hear their children say, and you are not an exception of that rule.

But there are always special occasions.

"You know, mom. I think you truly deserve to be proud in your children. In fact-" you vault over the fence with ease before turning fully towards Mom. Your head is literally dripping with sweat. "-I think you deserve a big, tight, warm, loving hug."  

You laugh internally when you see just how quickly Mom's expression turned from mild curiosity to extreme horror. "N-now, now, sweetie. Let's not do anything rash now."

You crouch down to the ground, hips and knees bent, opposite leg and arm forward.  

Mom knows that position. Dad taught you this a few months back. Mom stands still for a moment, exchanging glances between your legs and your face. A single trail of sweat runs from your forehead to your nose. As it reaches there it starts dangling from the very tip.

'Three…'

The drop of sweat starts to build.

'Two…' 

The drop leaves your nose.

'One…'

The drop hits the ground.

"Now!"

With a primitive roar, you launch yourself at Mom. She responds by quickly turning around and starts galloping at top speed. In her enthusiasm to get away from you, she does the mistake and enters the eastern rock gardens. You smirk to yourself as you shoot across rocks and dodge through boulders. Mom might be faster than you, but you are far more agile.

Slowly, you close the gap between you two. You use the smaller rocks on the ground as launching pads, increasing your speed. Your muscles flex beneath your skin, your sweat dripping from your hair, and your eyes focused on the target.

You quickly zig-zag between rocks, doing your best to keep up with Mom. Your feet, thankfully protected by specially tailored sandals, pound across the ground. Your heart beats faster as faster at the thrill of the hunt. Your feel another rush of adrenalin course through you, spurring you even further.

You feel a slight pang of worry when you two are about to exit the rock garden. In the narrow environment the rock garden offers, Mom cannot use her wings to escape. You see her unfurls her wings, preparing to take to the air as soon as she is able to do it. In a bout of desperation, you quickly change course, instead aiming for a downed log. The log rests of a boulder just to the edge of the garden. Pure instincts take over you as you ran across the log and jump from the other side.

Time seems to slow as you spread your arms apart. The feeling of the wind rushing across your body is both refreshing and exciting. You can just barely see Mom dashing beneath you, foolishly unaware of your antics. But by the time she notices a peculiar shadow looming over her, it is already over.

Two strong arms wrap around Mom's barrel and hold them there. Your weight on her back puts her off balance and, with a yelp, the two of you fall to the ground.

You laugh in victory and you snuggle into Mom's back, covering her in a smelly layer of sweat. 

Mom groans as the pungent smell infiltrates her nose. "Oh come on! I just came from the shower room." Mom, however, cannot hide the small smile on her muzzle. "Well, since I'm already dirty… come here!"

You squeal as you feel yourself being turned around. Mom now stands over you, smiling evilly. You shudder in fear when her muzzle drops to your stomach and delivers the mother of all raspberries.

Almost immediately, your whole body tenses as you laugh hysterically. You try to crawl away from Mom, but she is far stronger than you. Tears start to pool from your eyes as you start you hiccup.

Finally, Mom's fierce attack stops. You let your head drop to the ground while swallowing huge gasps of air. A few chuckles escape your mouth still, a lazy smile on your face. You are not even trying to move as you feel yourself being magically lifted. Mom gently places you on her back and turns towards the castle.

"Come dear, we both need a long shower," says Mom.

You say nothing. Instead you simply nod.





You exit the royal washroom, feeling quite refreshed. Taking a shower has always been your favorite past time. Not a lot of kids can say that, but then again, not a lot of children have their washroom built around natural hot springs. 

One towel is wrapped across your waist while you use another to dry your hair. The cold air soon hits your body as you shiver slightly. A cozy blanket of feathers soon drapes across you, bringing you closer to the warm body of your mother, who was exiting the washroom as well.

"Be careful, you don't have a coat like we do." She looks down at your feet. "Or hooves, for that matter."

"It's fine mom, I'll hurry back to my chambers and find something to wear." You give Mom a kiss on the cheek before navigating through the castle back to your chambers. She says something to you but you cannot hear it anymore.

It takes you little over a minute to get back to your chambers, where you change to your favorite toga.

A knock on the door causes you to tear your gaze from your mirror, where you tried to get your hair combed, though with little success. The door opens and in comes the gang.

Chrissy and Aurora immediately tackle you to a hug, while Daring, Starswirl and Tia laugh at your expense.

"For all the training daddy is putting you through I expected you could at least handle two mares half your size, bro," Tia says, earning a glare from you. 

The frown, however, quickly turns into a smile as you hug Chrissy and Honey back, earning a squeak from the both of them. You place the two fillies down before giving Starswirl and Daring a brohoof.

"It's been way too long guys, sorry for not seeing you more often. Father is adamant about my training," you apologize.

Tia quirks an eyebrow. "Father? Since when you call Daddy, Father?"

You shrug your shoulders. "I don't know. I didn't even notice until your said it just now." 

"You certainly have changed big fella," Aurora says as she circles around you. "You're… bigger."

"Gee, thanks Aurora."

"I didn't mean it like this. I mean-" Honey's cheeks turn rosy red. "You're bulkier..." 

"Hmm… you can say that again," you think you hear Chrissy say.

"What was that, Chrissy?"

"Nothing!" she replies way too quickly.

You shrug your shoulders before addressing all of your friends. "So, I don't want to sound like a jerk, but why did you all come in here? Not that I'm complaining."

"We came here for you, dude," Daring answers, flaring his wings and flying next to your head. "Being stuck in that big ol' castle every day 
must suck. We were planning on going out this evening to the carnival and you're going with us." Daring landed in front of you, his face determined. "And we're not taking 'no' for an answer."

You look down at your friends. They look ready to pounce you should you dare even think of the word 'no'. You smile broadly and move to your dresser, where you fish a small bag of coins.

"In that case-" you strap the bag to your belt and turn towards your friends. "-then what are we waiting for."





You all laugh as you step from your last ride. You must admit, getting out from the castle sure was a refreshing change of pace, though convincing mom and dad to let you go was the hard part. They insisted that you must have at least three guards watching you at all times, but you convinced them that it was redundant, and that father trained you especially for such an occasion.

But enough of that. You are here now, and that is what important.

"Hey, I'm hungry, let's eat!" Tia exclaims.

"I just bought you a piece of cake, Tia. How in Tartarus are you STILL hungry?!" you say.  At this point you honestly believe that Tia's stomach is capable of storing three times her weight.

Tia puffs out her cheeks and squints her eyes. "So what, I'm still hungry."

You shake your head but smile nonetheless as you turn to your friends. "What do you say guys. Wanna eat? I'll pay."

A round of nods emanates from your friends and you move towards the food area. On your way there, you can't help but stare at all the different species. The carnival draws more than just ponies, and you can see some gryphons, minotaurs and even the occasional dragon.

You quickly reach the food area, where your friends debate over what to get. While they banter between themselves, you are drawn to a peculiar smell. You break from the group and move towards a small stand amidst all the other, flashier, food stands. It was rather small, metallic cart with a striped red and white umbrella coming out of it. The gryphon on the other side of the stand was handing another gryphon a bun with steam rising from it. By this point, you are intrigued beyond belief as you quickly fall in line. When it is your turn, the gryphon's cheery smile turns into confusion.

"Umm… can I help you?" he asks, not sure how to address a creature so bizarre such as you. 

"Yeah," you answer. "I was wondering what it is that you're selling here."

"You mean hotdogs?" the gryphon inquires before quickly fishing from the cart a most peculiar thing. It is an orange cylinder and it has the most amazing smell you have ever smelled in your life.

"Are these real dogs?" you ask, though the way you look at the hotdog shows how little you care.

"No, it's usually made out of chicken, pig, or cow. Or in this case, all three. Don't worry though; they are imported from the Gryphon Empire, so there's not a shred of intelligence in them. Say, is this your first time seeing a hotdog? It's quite the hit back in the Empire."

"Yeah," you answer. "I've never seen something like THAT before."

"Well then," the gryphon chuckles. "Can't have you NOT knowing what a hotdog is. Here you go." The gryphon quickly and professionally slides the hotdog into a bun and squirts ketchup and mustard on it. He takes a napkin and gives the now steaming meal to you.

"Thanks," you say. "How much?"

"For your first time… on the house. Consider it your first taste of heaven."

"Wha- really?! You mean it?!"

"Yep, don't forget to tell your friends about Don's Hotdogs!"

"I will, thank you sir!"

You quickly move back to the group, where your friends were still arguing over what to eat. Tia was the first to notice the hotdog in your hand.

"Hey big bro, what're you having there?"

"It's called a hotdog," you answer. "The nice gryphon over there sells them. He said it was made out of imported chicken, pig, and cow."

As soon as you tell your friends about this, they all make fake retching sounds.

"All you can enjoy-" Tia shudders. "-meat."

"Hey, it's not my fault I can't digest grass. And besides-" you take a bite from the bun. Your eyes go wide. "-this is the best damn thing I've eaten in my life!"

You quickly and savagely eat your hotdog, making your friends look at you mortified. They knew of your eating habits for a time now, but to actually see you eat something that was once alive was a completely different story."

"So," you start, chewing on your last bite before swallowing. "did you decide already what do you want to eat?"

You look down at your friends and notice the slight green tinge across their cheeks.

"I think I'm good for now," Tia says.

The rest of the gang murmurs something similar while avoiding your stare. You don't mind though, it was one heck of a hotdog.

You gave your friends enough time to recover before urging them to try some of the attractions you have yet to visit. Some were okay, others were great, though it was only thanks to your friends.

After a few more hours of pure fun, the sun began to set and the moon started to rise. It was then that you decided to invite your friends to a sleepover at your room. They all accepted and you were on your way back to the castle.

"Today sure was great," you say, idly scratching behind Chrissy's ears once she got closer to you.

"I second that," Tia agrees, leaning slightly against Starswirl, who was as red as a tomato.

Daring yawns and looks expectedly at the castle. If he could, he would have carried all of you all the way to the castle, just so he could crash on the soft sofa you have in your room.

Aurora also looks expectedly, only her look was directed at your hand that you currently use to scratch behind Chrissy's ears. Speaking of which, the changeling was slightly purring as your hand trances across her head and behind her ears, hitting all the good spot. Ponies and changelings have rough hooves, and they cannot deliver the same amount of precision your fingers can.

You are about to say something witty about how Chrissy acts like a cat when suddenly a shadow emerges from an ally before you. You stop in your tracks and notice two more shadows appear behind you. Your friends huddle closer to you as the shadows reveal themselves to be three gruff looking ponies.

"Looks like we hit a gold mine, boys," says the pony in front of you. "We just found the royal pet monkey going on a walk with his bratty owner... and it appears she also brought her little servants, how cute."

"Beg your pardon," you say through gritted teeth. If there is one thing that gets under your skin, are ponies that refer to you as an animal. You clench your fists almost to a point of drawing blood. "I'm gonna let it slide that you just referred to me as an animal. But if you insult my sister one more time and I will send you to a deep, dark place, and I will have FUN doing it!" 

The stallion before you growls and pulls a knife seemingly out of nowhere. He grips it tightly in his mouth and moves closer to you. The other two stallions behind you do the same as they carry crowbars in their mouths.

"Big bro, I'm scared," squeaks Tia. She shuffles close to you and hides behind your legs. You put your hand reassuringly on her head, flashing a quick smile in her direction before glaring at the stallion in front of you. 

"Picking fights with a bunch of foals. Is this what our society has fallen to?" a new voice emerges from the street and another stallion appears. He, unlike the other stallion, wears a hooded cape that covers everything except his muzzle. On his barrel is strapped a belt with a hoofful of knives. His eyes occasionally flash in yellow whenever he moves directly against the moonlight. He flaps his leathery wings once, leaping into the air and landing between your group and the two stallions behind you.

"Who… are you?" you ask, quickly looking at the new stallion before locking eyes with the one in front of you.

"My name is Moon Beacon. I was tasked by the king and queen to silently follow you, and defend you should such a need arise."

You growl to yourself, silently brooding over the fact that your parents did something like that behind your back. But considering your current predicament, you are truly thankful. The safety of your friends will always come first over your pride.

"Your highnesses, I must implore of you that you and your friends must stay behind me. I cannot defend you if you are not near me," Moon Beacons says as he pulls a knife out of his belt and grabs it with his mouth.

"Hmph, like Tartarus I'm letting you fight those clowns alone," you say as you pull a metallic looking pole from your belt, barely ten inches in length. 

Moon Beacon growls and glances towards you before setting his sights back on the two stallions. "That is not a request your highness. Forgive me but I was given strict order by the king and queen. Not even you can override their orders."

"It doesn't look like you have much of a choice, now do you?" you shoot back.

"Enough!" the stallion in front of you shouts around the knife in his mouth. "You have the gall you bicker in front of us?! We'll show you what happens when ponies ignore us!"

In one swoop movement, the three stallion attack.

You quickly assume the boxing position your dad taught you so long ago, only this time your hands are spread slightly more apart and you hold the metallic pole in your right hand and let it rest on your shoulder. The stallion comes with a horizontal strike from your right. You quickly step and slide backwards, just barely avoiding the attack. The stallion, surprised by your quick reaction, loses his balance. You smirk as you step forwards and bring down the metallic pole in a downward swipe. The momentum causes the pole to stretch, revealing that it is actually twice the original length.

The pole hits the stallion's head with all your strength behind the attack. The stallion howls in pain, dropping the knife to the ground and holding his head with both of his forelegs. You take advantage of the stunned stallion and deliver another swipe directly to the lower jaw. The strike topples the stallion over and he falls to the ground. You quickly used your foot to roll the stallion on his back and lay on his abdomen. You bring the pole behind your head and deliver two powerful strikes directly to the stallion's ribs.

Once you are sure he is done for, you turn around to assess the situation. Moon Beacon just barely manages to hold the two stallions at bay, but you know he needs help if he is going to make it through. You waste no time as you sprint towards the stallions. You swing your pole behind your head again and use the momentum from the sprint to bash one of the stallions' head. He immediately falls unconscious, leaving only one stallion against both you and Moon Beacon.

Realizing his chances are below zero, the remaining stallion drops his weapon and run away. Moon Beacon growls and take to the air, overtaking the retreating stallion and landing in front of him. Moon Beacon gives him no time to react as he spins in place and buck the stallion straight in the chest, knocking him out.

And just as fast as it started, the fight ended.

You twirl the pole once in your hand before returning it to its collapsed form, putting it back on your belt. You turn back to your friends, who are huddled together and shiver. You kneel down next to Tia and smile. 

"See, little sis. Everything turned out for the better."

Poor Tia is still shivering, but now she's looking down at your left hand. She gasps. 

You follow her gaze down to your arm and see that there is a thin cut going all the way across your left palm. Blood is dripping freely from the wound.

Heh, guess you did not completely dodged the attack.

Moon Beacon quickly arrives at your side, looking down at your bleeding wound.

"Damn it!" he silently swears before fishing something from his cloak. A few moments later, he stares at you with a first aid kit in his mouth. He places it on the ground and carefully pull with his hooves a cotton wool. He gently uses it to clean your wound before applying some unknown liquid on it. It burns like Tartarus but you manage to grit your teeth and take it like a man.

While Moon Beacon bandages your hand, your friends decide to snap out of their awe-filled expressions.

"Wow, you were brutal dude. Total annihilation," Daring remarks. "That. Was. AWESOME!"

"I must admit-" Starswirl says. "-it was rather… cool."

"When did you learn to fight like that?!" Chrissy exclaims, getting really closely to your face. 

Your cheeks heat up at the close proximity but you manage to stay cool.

"Hey, mind keeping your hand from shaking? I can't bandage it properly," Moon Beacon says.

Well… almost cool.

"I don't know guys." Aurora shuffles closer to you and looks intently as Moon Beacon wraps your injured palm before your eyes lock. She quickly averts her gaze from yours, her cheeks burning. "You were kinda scary…" 

Hearing that, you cannot help but feel like a jerk. Is this how you handle when somepony says you are an animal? By proving them right and scaring your friends?

"I'm… sorry Aurora…" Aurora snaps her gaze back to you, her eyes asking what her mind is too afraid to voice. "I… didn't mean to scare you, any of you. It's just… when that stallion called me a pet, I was mad. But when he called Tia a brat, and you servants… I just snapped." You clench your good hand into a fist. "Nopony is allowed to talk to you like that guys!"

"Aaaaand done." Moon Beacon gets up and motions to you, ruining the moment in the process. "Come, I'll escort you the rest of the way to the castle. I'll also tell the royal currier to send letters to your families explaining what just happened."

Everypony looks at you in slight fear, a fear that you feel too. You just hope mom would take the news well...





"HE DID WHAT?!"

Well… it was nice knowing you all…

Mom stands up from her throne and walks at a brisk pace towards you. Her eyes narrow dangerously towards you. Father is sitting on his throne as well, looking worriedly at mom. Once she reaches you she exhales a wave of hot air that hits you in the face.

"Let me see."

"Mom, it's not a big deal, really-"

"Let. Me. See!"

You gulp hard as you show her your bandaged palm. Mom takes no time to unwrap your hand and examining your injury. You winch slightly. Both because mom looks like she is about to burn something and also because the wound does look worse than in feels.

Mom rewraps your palm and looks over at Moon Beacon.

"You! To the barracks! You-" she points at your friends. "-go to Celestia's room for now! And you-" she points at father. "-take your son back to his room and give him a stern talking to!"

"Sweetie, don't you think you are a bit over-"

"Now!"

"Yes ma'am," everyone says, including father, before going to their separate ways.

You wait until father reaches you before going back to your room. Your head hung low. The walk back to your room is silent, with dad walking closely behind you. You cannot help but feel slightly angry. It is not your fault. None of it is. You did what father taught you to do for that exact reason. Is it wrong to defend your friends? Your family?

You sign. There is no reason getting all mad. Its just mom getting a bit worked up because you got hurt.

You enter your room, and turn in place just as father closes the door, leaving the two of you alone.

He inhales deeply and you look away, mentally preparing yourself for a lashing.

"How was it?"

Confused, you look at father. He stands there, a grin plastered across his face as he leans close to you.

"What?"

"How was it? The fight I mean. How did you do?" father clarifies.

"Umm… good… I guess?"

Father smirks. His horn starts to shimmer white for a second and the same aura engulfs the door. He turns his attention back to you.

"It's okay, son. Your mother can't hear us now."

Your façade drops as you too begin to smile.

"It was awesome father! This stallion didn't know what hit him!"

"And the baton? How was it? Did it serve you well?"

"Don't get me started on the baton! It was a beast!"

"Ha! That’s my son! Kicking flanks left and right. You make your old geezer proud!"

Father comes and give you a strong pat on the shoulder.

"Now listen son, your mom would be expecting some kind of a lashing, so don't take it to heart if I glare at you when I'm next to her, got it?"

"Yes father. And thank you…"

"For what?"

"For teaching me to defend those I care about."

Father smiles gently this time.

"It wasn't me son. It was your willingness to put yourself in harm's way that gave you the motivation to fight. I merely helped you hone it. You truly make me proud son. Every day I am reminded of that."

The two of you share a brief hug before father lifts the silencing spell on your door and exits. He turns again to look directly in your eyes.

"And if you think that's the last you heard of me, then you're dead wrong! You hear me mister?!" he shouts, but before he leaves he smirks and winks at you.

A few moments later and you can hear the door to Tia's chambers opening and a second later she and the gang all peak into your room.

"Are you alright, big bro? It sounded like mom and dad are a little mad at you."

You smile and move towards Tia. You kneel down next to her and scratch behind her ears, looking at the direction father has left to.

"Don't worry, Tia," you say, looking down at her. "I'm sure everything will turn out just right…" 
> Negotiations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	You wake up to a weird feeling as you stir in your bed. First off, you feel almost uncomfortably tight, like something is squeezing you. Secondly, a constant drift of sweet, warm air is blowing against your face. But that's not the weirdest sensation, on no. Because you also feel something soft and plush pressed against your lips.

As your eyes flutter open, you hiss once the sun rays hit you. The action causes you to slightly part your lips, causing something to invade into your mouth almost instantly. 

Your eyes shoot open immediately, revealing none other than Chrissy before you! Her eyes are closed and your lips are tightly interlocked with each other. Her tongue starts to move inside your mouth and you instinctively react by moving your own. This results in a spontaneous Prench kiss as Chrissy pushes her tongue more aggressively against yours.

As your mind finally decides to follow your body and wake up, you promptly pull away from the kiss, panting heavily and blushing like crazy. A trail of saliva is still connecting you two. You look at Chrissy with wide eyes as she smacks her lips, yawns, and snuggle deeper into your pillow, sleeping soundly.

As you lay in your bed, silently freaking out over the fact that one of your best friends Prench kissed you in her sleep, you cannot help but feel extremely aroused as certain tightness in your pants slowly makes itself known. 

The ministrations of the previous night start to bubble up in your mind and you remember that all your friends plus Tia decided to do a slumber party in your room. At first they have been worried, afraid of what father might have said to you after your little scuffle yesterday, so after you assured them that it was fine, you invited all the gang to hangout in your bedroom. 

You look around the room, smiling fondly once you detect Starswirl and Daring sleeping on the couch. The thing was big enough for each stallion to comfortably sleep at each end of the couch. A glance to the right reveals Tia as she snores cutely on a few giant pillows in front of the fireplace. You awkwardly smile once your eyes lay on Chrissy, though. It is not like you did not like the kiss -In fact, if you are honest with yourself, you kind of liked it- but it is the fact that it was Chrissy, of all ponies, that kissed you. Now, you do not say that Chrissy is ugly by any chance. She was pretty, beautiful even. But she was also your friend, and you do not know if such a relationship can happen. 

Anything else you might have thought was slowly slipping away as you discover that you cannot see Aurora anywhere. As if on cue, you feel something snuggle into your abdomen. Raising your blanket reveals none other than Aurora herself! Her hooves are wrapped firmly around your torso and her tail was draped across you bare thighs.

You internally scream in your head as you realize how closely Aurora is to the tent in your underwear. As if fate was not cruel enough, Aurora starts to wiggle in her sleep, her rump rubbing your raging boner. And to add salt on wound, Chrissy's body slowly turns to you. Too shocked to do anything, you cannot react fast enough as Chrissy slams her lips against yours a second time.

By this time, you are far too shaken to even attempt to stop what is happening. Two of your friends, both of whom you care dearly, are assaulting your body, in the most arousing ways possible.

You lift a shaky hand and slowly use it to pat behind Chrissy's ear. She moans into the kiss, enjoying the feeling hand. Slowly, you move your hand away from Chrissy. To your relief, she breaks the kiss and moves her head into your palm again. You gently guide her head back to the pillow, where she rests her head and begins to snore cutely through her nose.

Not to take care of the other… 'problem'.

You grab Aurora by the waist and try to lift her off of you. Aurora growls and warps her hooves even tighter around your abdomen. The suddenness empties your lung in a one big exhale. Meanwhile, Lil' you fare no better.

Thinking fast, you once again wrap your arms around Aurora and roll in your bed until Aurora rests next to you on the pillow. You gently remove your arms around you and start tickling her along her barrel.

Aurora responds by giggling and moving her hooves to try and stop your attack. The moment Aurora releases you, you jump from your bed and rush to your bathroom.

You briskly walk up to your sink and splash a generous amount of water onto your face. The water drips off of you as the light from the tiny window to your right makes them appear like diamonds. You look up at the mirror, your reflection in looking quite on the horrified side. Your eyes are big as saucers despite only waking up a few minutes prior.

"What… was that," you quietly whisper to yourself.

You suddenly yelp when your hand suddenly stings. You look down at your bandaged hand and slowly unwrap it. The cut beneath it looks like it healed quite nicely over the night, but the stinging sensation came from the back of your hand. 

You rotate your arm and check the back of your hand.

"What the…"

It was… burnt. Well, not exactly burnt, but the back of your hand was red with a bit of skin peeling off of it. That's weird. You do not remember even getting close to a fire.

Deciding it was nothing important, you decide to take a morning shower and get yourself presentable.  

With a towel wrapped around your waist, you exit your bathroom. All your friends are wide awake, as well as Tia. They seemed to be idly talking on your bed before you stepped out from the bathroom.

"Morning everypony," you say, moving towards your dresser and pulling a deep purple toga with white cloth woven in between the fabric.

Tia seems to recognize the ceremonial toga and groans in response. "Please don't tell today we must attend court and I somehow forgot…"

"We must attend court today and you somehow forgot," you respond with a smirk, earning another groan from Tia.

"Why you must attend court? Sounds like a major bore," Daring asks.

"The empress of the Gryphon Empire is visiting is to discuss a defensive pact between the gryphons and the ponies," you explain. "It is rumored that the diamond dogs are growing bolder and restless, and the gryphons fear they might try to invade their country, especially since they're still recovering from the great blizzard, so they turned to us for help because Equestria is more resourceful. If everything goes smoothly today, then we'll make a public statement. That way, the diamond dogs won't dare to attack neither country."  

"How do you know all of that?" asks Tia.

"Because I listen to what father and mother say during meals, instead of stuffing my face with as much food and the smallest amount of time."

Tia puffs her red cheeks and glares at you. "At least I'm not as boring as you," she retaliates. You chuckle before ruffling her mane.

"Go make yourself presentable Tia."

Tia mumbles to herself, by otherwise complies and exits your room. You turn back to your friends and smile at them apologetically. "Sorry guys, but it also means that you must leave as well."

There are a series of groans as your friend's faces fall. You cannot help but frown a little yourself, but you know that once the meeting with the empress is concluded, you could invite your friends again, it is not like they are leaving for good.

As your friends made their way out from the castle, you set a course to the meeting room. Half-way there Tia catches up to you, so you pick her up and tuck her under your armpit. She squirms for the rest of the walk, but you do not care. She is cute like that.

Eventually, you reach the meeting room, where two stallions stood vigilant. Upon seeing you they step aside and open the doors for you. You let Tia down before walking into the room itself.

"Ahh! And here are my wonderful children!" exclaims mother as she sees you. With her you can see your father sitting next to her, as well as whom you assume to be the gryphon empress.

She is very beautiful, you have to admit. Her feathers were white, ending with a light blue tip, and her fur down her lower body was deep azure.  She wore a modest amount of jewelry, only a few rings and a little bit of glowing powder on her wings, but it was done very tastefully.

Her deep rosy eyes scan you with curiosity before a gentle, reserved smile adorned her beak. "So this is the elder son I heard so much about," she purrs. "The king and queen told me a lot about you."

"It is an honor to finally meet you, ma'am," you reply, bowing your head respectfully.

The empress puts a talon on her beak, concealing her gentle chuckling. "My, my, and a gentelcolt at that. You sure raised him well." she directs the last part towards mother, who smiles proudly at you. "As a matter of fact, I brought my daughter as well. Is it too much if you show her around the castle?"

As the empress finishes her sentence, a pair of eyes poke from behind the empress, then a body emerges. The young gryphoness was a spitting image of the empress, minus her eyes. Hers was a light shade of pink.

Unlike the empress, the gryphoness had no jewelry on her, but she still had a natural beauty that rivaled her own mother.

"Her name is Silver Rose," the empress says, pushing the younger gryphon towards you. She resist for only a moment before your eyes lock.

Her eyes widen for a moment, probably surprised. It is not like there are many like you in the entire world.

Eventually though, she finds the courage to speak. "Hey, nice to meet you." she approaches you and raises one of her talons towards her.

"Please," you reply, taking her talon in your hand and kneeling down. "The pleasure is all mine." You gently kiss her talon.

You allow yourself to smirk as you let Silver Rose's talon go and see how she's looking at you with wide eyes. Her cheeks explode with heat as she rubs the place you have kissed her.

The empress chuckles. "I see you also taught the young chick how to properly greet a lady as well!"

"Actually," your mother speaks, shooting you a knowing smirk. "This was entirely him."

The empress chuckles even louder, but still somewhat retaining self-control. "Now I know my daughter is in safe talons. Take care of her."

"Yes ma'am." You bow again as you direct Silver Rose and Tia out from the meeting room. 

Once back outside the meeting room, you turn to face Rose and Tia. "So, where would you like to visit first?"

"Well…" Rose started, only to be interrupted by her growling stomach. She grabbed her tummy with one talon and blushed. "I guess I'm a little bit hungry after the long trip."

"To the kitchen then!" you declare, turning around and marching towards your designated target. Along the way, you asked Rose about herself.

"So Rose, you must have some pretty cool stories about the Empire."

"I guess… life in the castle back home can be pretty boring, and my mother keeps pestering about finding a mate."

"What's a mate?" Tia asks.

"It's basically a couple joined in matrimony," you explain, looking at Rose for confirmation. She nods.

"What?! How old are you, even?!" Tia exclaims.

"Sixteen," Rose answered.

"B-but that's super young! Big bro is sixteen as well, and he's not looking for a bride!"

"Things are a bit different where I come from. Marriage is less about love and more about status."

You frown to yourself. Rose does not sound overly excited about this. To spend the rest of your life with someone you do not even love, it sounds quite depressing.  Then a thought enters your head. 

'Will I ever end up with somepony?' you think to yourself. You are vastly different than anything that ever walked this land, and only a fool would question it. What if you are alone out there?

"Are you okay, big bro?" Tia asks, bursting your thinking bubble. "You look kinda sad."

You look down at Tia, your sister, and a flood of memories rush your mind.  You are reminded of your parents, Gaia and Solaris, who raised you as their own flesh and blood, your sisters, Tia and Lulu, who look up to you as adore you as much as a hero, and your friends, who stood there by your side from the day you met them.

You have family, you have friends, is it this hard to believe that one day you might also have love? 

You smile gently at Tia, taking in her in your arms by surprise and squeezing her close to your chest. "Everything is fine, Tia. I just needed to be reminded of that…"

"That's, good I guess?" Tia says uncertainly before succumbing to the hug.

Rose watches you two from the side, looking quite surprise. In all her life she was taught that gryphons must always live side by side with other gryphons. She was taught that gryphons were the strongest only when together, and that other species weight them down. Yet here she was, watching two completely different beings act like family. No, not 'like'. They ARE a family.

After you release Tia from the hug, the three of you arrive to the kitchen and grab something to eat. The rest of the day was spent showing rose the castle and the gardens. At some point Lulu showed up and she and Rose connected almost instantly. Apparently, Rose is a chicksitter, and she simply adores chicks, foals, and everything that can be classified as a child. 

As the sun was about to finish its course across the Equestrian skies, so did Rose's visit. You return to the meeting room, where Rose tells her mom about her time with you and Tia.

You stand next to mother on the other side of the room, watching as Rose's mom whisper something into her ear. Rose's cheeks immediately flare red and she looks at you for the briefest of moments before she averts her gaze from you.

As the empress and her daughter hop onto the carriage to carry the two back to the capital, you stand next to your mother and wave a hand at them. The two wave back before the carriage is lifted by a pair of gryphon guards, and disappears across the clouds.

"That sure was a productive day, was it not, my son?" Mother says as she trots back to the castle with you in tow.

You shrug. "I guess. It didn't feel that way on my end. All I did was showing Rose around the castle and making sure I was a good host."

Mother chuckles before draping a wing across your shoulder, bringing you closer to her. "That you did, my son. And I can safely say that you played a larger part in the negotiations than I did." Before you get a chance to question mother, she beats you to it. "You see, sweetie. I needed you to befriend the empress' daughter. Having the future rulers of the two kingdoms befriend each other ensures the alliance of Equestria and the Gryphon Empire, and I needed the empress to see that."

"So, was this all a trick?" you ask, feeling slightly irritated.

"Did you enjoy Rose's company?" Mother asks back.

"Yes," you answer. "But how that answers my question."

Mother looks at you with a grin. "I believe you just answered your own question, sweetie. Friendship is a powerful thing, never forget that."

You sigh. You are already used to mother being so cryptic. Instead you ponder about her words.

'Friendship is a powerful thing, never forget that.'    
> Memories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ow! Dammit Luna, not again!" you yelp as you pry Lulu off of you. 

"Wha- what?" she asks sleepily.

It's the third time this month Lulu has been dream walking into your room and bites your nose.

You rub the sore organ as you glare at your little sister. She looks back at you with a look of shame plastered across her face.

"S-Sorry, I can't help it," she says quietly, trying to hold back a few tears with little success.

You sigh and wrap your arms around her. She was always a tad bit sensitive. The biting wasn't that bad at first. In fact, it was cute and you didn't mind that, but as soon as Lulu started growing teeth, things quickly changed from cute and innocent to painful and annoying. 

~Flashback~

The wailing kept you awake all night. It was because of Lulu, the small filly usually cries herself to sleep and your parents are clueless as to why this was happening. The fact that the royal family's chambers are so close to each other doesn't help with muting the sounds of Lulu's pained cries, and it's keeping you from having proper sleep.

You stand up from your bed and rub your eyes, checking the clock. It was two in the morning. You decide to have a little trip to the kitchen and fix yourself something to eat, seeing as you're already awake and probably won't be heading to sleep anytime soon. At this time, you envy Tia for being a heavy sleeper.

You slowly make your way towards the kitchens, mommy's moon lighting the halls with a dim silver-ish blue color that you grew to love and adore so much. Ten minutes later, you have a ham sandwich in your hand as you chew slowly.

Lulu's cries were getting stronger; signaling one of your parents is approaching with the wailing menace.

"Oh! Morning son, I thought you were asleep." comes the voice of your beloved father. He was carrying Lulu on his back, still crying.

"I couldn't. Too much noise," you say absent mindlessly, biting a big chunk from your sandwich and chewing.

"I'm sorry for that. Little Luna is crying again, your mother and I can't figure out what's wrong with her. We suspect that she may be ill."

Daddy sighs as he levitates a bottle of milk towards your wailing sister while simultaneously filling two glasses of orange juice, one for you and one for him.

Unfortunately, little Luna doesn't want the bottle, and pretty much smacking it out from her mouth. But instead of continue crying, she's looking at you.

Daddy looks at you, then at Luna, and then back at you "I think she wants you."

Now it was your turn to look between daddy and Luna, her eyes never lost that mesmerizing glint that pierced your very soul. You nod sleepily and open your arms. Daddy levitates Luna towards you; the small filly extends her hooves towards you mid-way.

You safely secure your arms around Luna before daddy lets her go from his magic grasp. Surprisingly enough, Luna simply looks at you. She's not smiling nor crying, simply staring at you.

Then, without any warning, she pounces on your face and latches on your nose. You fall back on your bum out of surprise, but Luna doesn't let go.

"Hahaha. I think she likes you, son." Your dad takes a sigh of relief.

Luna stayed like this until she fell asleep…
---------------------------        

"Come on Lulu. Stop crying, today is special after all." You smile at her, ruffling her mane in a way you know she hates. Suddenly, her eyes go wide and so does her mouth.

"Oh right! Happy birthday, bro!" She jumps up and down on your bed excitedly. You shake your head from side to side and smile, catching your little sister mid jump and tucking her beneath your armpit upside down.

Lulu doesn't seem to notice or mind as she keeps rambling about all the cool stuff your family could do on your birthday. 

The walk to the dining hall was far from silent but you don't mind. In fact, you enjoy the small talk, even if it is one sided, mostly.

You let Lulu go mid-way and tell her to go ahead of you. You know your entire family is probably waiting for you in the dining hall to surprise you, so you decide to let Lulu be part of it.

By the time you round a corner, Lulu is already gone, she sure can ran fast. You chuckle inwardly when you think back at all the times you spent together with Tia and Lulu.

The two were truly a blessing, even when you fought with each other. As of now, you can only think about the good things you experienced with them, lifting your spirits and adding a small, albeit a bit silly, skip to your walk.

You approach a set of double doors that led to the dining hall. As you come closer, you deliberately make your steps louder so everypony could hear you coming. Surely enough, as soon as you rest your hand on the polished handle, you hear a lot of 'shhhh' from the inside.

You shake your head slowly while smiling "Silly ponies," you mutter as you open the doors.

"SURPRISE!"

You jump back from the sheer volume of the shout. Even when you knew about the upcoming surprise party, your heart had other plans, such as missing a few beats and scaring the shit out of you.

Your family, friends and almost all of the castle's stuff members are inside the dining hall, which was decorated with colorful streamers, balloons and a giant banner with your name on it in big, colorful letters.

Mom and Dad approach you and give you a hug. Mom then proceeds to kiss you on the cheek. You smile when your parents step back, only to be immediately assaulted by your two sisters. Tia gives you a hug of her own while Lulu jumps onto your head slumps against it.

You chuckle and walk towards the table, still with the living hat on your head. There, you can see your friends, all four of them. Mom was a little upset that you didn't even try on making more but you preferred it this way.

As you get closer, you can't help but think of how they all grew from when you were younger. Chrissy became much taller for a mare her age, almost double the size. She also supported some kind of hormone glands at the top of her head that highly resembled a crown.

Daring Blitz turned to be a bulky pegasus. He had a tendency to get himself into trouble and always sought something exciting to do.

Star Swirl became more practiced and skilled in the arts of magic, though he still had a tiny puberty hair on his chin and above his upper lip. You always liked to tease him about it.

Honey Aurora developed as well. She is slightly taller with much more curves, you notice. Now that you think about it, she's in the forefront of your mind ever since that day.

~Flashback~

You write frantically the answers to the question as fast as you can. Stupid tests, you hate them, and you hate your teacher for surprising you with one. History was hard enough as it is, but this, this is just being cruel.

Luckily, you are a good student, not as good as Tia, though. Even if she is a few grades lower than you. You hand over your finished test and get out of class. The test was during the final hours of school and the teacher said that whoever finishes early may leave.

You move down the halls when you hear grunting, followed by a yelp. Curious, as well as concerned, you turn toward the source of the sound and what you see boils your blood.

It was Chrissy. She was being cornered by two colts. You know these two, they're the hall monitors, they abused their power, threatened to beat up colts for their lunch money and even going as far as antagonizing little fillies.

As to why Chrissy was inside the school parameter, it was because she wanted to learn as well. Seeing as her home didn't offer the same level of education, she decided to morph into a filly and attended school every day. How she got busted was beyond you, not that you pay it much attention, from obvious reasons.

When you see the look of utter terror on Chrissy's face, something ignites inside you.

"Hey! Leave her alone!"

The two colts turn around and their glare becomes harder.

"So, this bug is a friend of yours? Figures, you freaks," Says one of the colts.

You see Chrissy cringe at the word 'Freaks' as a few stray tears land on the floor under her, her head low in shame.

"Say that again, I dare you, I double dare you!" you demanded. To see Chrissy like that, hurt and dejected, it makes you clench your fists and grind your teeth.

"Or what? You call your monkey friends and throw bananas at us." The two colts snicker.

At that moment, Chrissy felt a twinge of anger rising inside of her. She was always got picked on, whether somepony saw her in her changeling form, but you were still the number one most hated being, just for being so different.

"Take that back or I'll make you eat those words!" Exclaimed Chrissy.

The two colts turn around and Chrissy immediately regret saying anything. The look of utter hatred in their eyes burns ever brighter.

"Shut your mouth, Bug!" The colt to her left raised his hoof and struck Chrissy in her eye.

Then, without a warning, all hell breaks loose. You could contain yourself no longer when you hear the cry of pain from your friend as you interject the colt to the ground, punching furiously.

You only managed to land a few good hits before you felt immense pain on your side and fell to the ground, clutching the sides of your chest.

The other colt struck you with his hooves directly to your ribs, breaking few of them. The punch wasn't lethal, but ponies' hooves, combined with your tender skin, equals broken bones.

"You bucking ape! You broke my muzzle!" the downed colt roared. Even through the pain, you manage a small smirk.

The two colts approach you, one bloodied, and one flaring his nostrils. You prepare yourself to more pain when you hear someone shout, then, the world goes black.

When you wake up, you find yourself back in the royal infirmary. You try to stand up when you feel something soft press against your head and gently forces you back to the soft and inviting pillow.

"You shouldn't stand yet, just rest." You hear a gentle voice; it belonged to none other than Aurora herself.

"Huh? What happened?" You ask.

Aurora smiles gently and speaks slowly and quietly "You got hurt pretty badly when you confronted against these jerks. I saw what happened and confronted the colts myself. After that I called one of the teachers and they rushed you to the hospital, after they stabilized your condition they sent you to here."

Now that you think about it, she does have a black eye and a few bruises on her barrel.

"You got hurt."

Aurora smiles and says "You mean, just like you got hurt when you defended Chrysalis?"

Your eyes widen at the mention of Chrysalis' name.

"Is she alright? She didn’t got hurt too badly, is she?" You asked frantically.

Aurora shakes her head "Don't worry, she only got a small bruise on her left eye, but other than that, she's fine."

You take a small sigh of relief and relax your posture.

"You were really brave, you know," Says Aurora "You stood up for a friend and even got hurt doing so. I only regret not coming 
sooner; I could've stopped all this."

You smile and place your hand on top Aurora's head "Don't feel bad Aurora. You couldn't have stopped this no matter what you did, if anything, it was my fault for not being strong enough to protect you."

The two of you lock your eyes on each other; a small blush appears on the both of you.

"You probably should go back to sleep."

"Yeah, I should."

"I-I should go, bye."

"Bye."
---------------------------        

You smile at all the good memories you shared with your friends and family. You don't care about being different anymore, you don't care that a lot of ponies resent you for being you. The only ponies you care about are the two ponies that raised you as their own, the two fillies that shared your good and bad times with you, and your friends that stood by your side until this very day.

Unknown to you, two mares developed feelings for you. Chrissy and Aurora both see you in a completely different way after that fateful day. Though you're too innocent to notice the gentle signs the two often dropped.

You move closer to your birthday cake. Your name is spelled with frosting and below that, two numbers shaped candles stood lit. The number eighteen…
> Play night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Eighteen, you just can't believe that you're eighteen. The royal coronation happened a week after your initial birthday party, and with it, your new responsibilities as a member of the royal family.

Since back when you were just thirteen, your parents taught you politics. You know everything, from simple gestures and ranks, to managing an entire city. Of course, your parents didn't give you a city or anything, but your role isn't less important.

You became the royal overseer. Your job focused on helping the three tribes with their problems, and also coordinates between the noble houses so there won't be a situation in which a noble house gets too much power or a monopoly on certain resources.

Your first order of business was to make each of the three tribes to send a representative that will speak in their name. By doing that, not only you saved yourself a lot of time on checking each request individually, but efficiency jumped by twenty seven percent. Not to mention the access to the treasury…

Today was rather hectic then usual but you survive through it. You yawn as you walk out of your office and towards the gardens; it became your favorite relaxing spot. On your way there, you are being stopped by your mother.

"Afternoon, Sweetie. How was today." She ruffles your hair.

You gently swat her hoof from your head "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore. And today was fine, a little frantic to my taste but nothing I couldn't handle.

Mom smiles and comes closer to give you a hug which you happily accept "I just want you to know how proud I am. You're such a talented colt and you deserve better treatment from the rest of the populace."

Ahh yes, the public. Just like back when mom and dad announced you as their child, your coronation was just as hysterical. Noble ponies outright detested the idea that the 'beast' is the new overseer. Even though you don't care anymore, mom is still upset that her little child is seen as an animal and not as the sweet angel you are, if they just gave you a chance…

"Where are you going now?" She asks.

"The gardens, I think I might take a nap there and then meet with my friends. We're planning to see a play together."      

Mom smiles and steps aside "Then don't let me stop you, sweetie. Is little Tia coming along with you?"

You half nod half shrug "I… don't know really. Aurora invited me to see a play. She said she wants to hang out with me and the guys for a while."

"Oh… I see…" mom gives you a knowing smirk as she starts trotting away "Please tell Aurora I said hi…"

That was weird. Mom acted very peculiarly, more than usual. You shrug and make your way towards the gardens. Upon reaching there, you take a sit on a stone bench near the pond. Your mom said it was her favorite, which you find odd, considering it's the smallest pond inside the castle's grounds, and not that impressive. Of course there're the ponds inside your family's summer castle near the Everfree grove, but still, she prefers this one. You once asked her why, but she always said that when the time comes, she'll tell you.

You close your eyes and let the peace and quiet calm your mind. The gentle rustle of the leaves, combined with the flow the small stream that fed the pond creates the perfect moment of serenity.

You slowly tap your legs on the ground, letting the little thumps echo seemingly loudly across the gardens. You smile, and then chuckle, it just feels good. You feel happy, content, relaxed even.

Finally, you decide to open your eyes and scan your surroundings. You silently curse yourself when you see the position of the sun in the sky. You're going to be late!

You dash back to your room and scan your closet for something more appropriate to wear. Luckily, you find a nice looking toga with golden stitching and a large golden badge with the royal insignia to hold the entire thing together. You put on your attire and make a mad dash towards the fountain at the city's center, where you agreed to meet with Aurora for the play.

You reach the fountain panting and heaving, looking around and praying that she didn't-

"Glad to see you could make it." You hear a voice from behind you and promptly jump out of shock.

You heave a sigh of relief when you see none other than Honey Aurora herself, supporting a cheeky smile "And here I thought you ditched me."

"Yeah, sorry about that…" You rub the back of your head stupidly "I took a nap and woke up rather late, I hope we're not late for the play."

Aurora chuckles and steps besides you, slightly closer than you'd like "Don't worry, I know you well enough, the play starts in half an hour, actually. I told you to arrive earlier because I knew you were going to be late."

You chuckle as well "Well then, shall we?" you bow slightly and wave towards the sky district, were you can find all the entertainment buildings.

Aurora bows her head in the same fashion "We shall." She giggles and starts walking with you in tow. About halfway to the theater you notice something.

"Hey, Aurora, where's the rest of the gang?" you ask, finally noticing that you are walking with Aurora all alone… together, very closely, under the orange sky. You cheeks redden as a stray thought enters your mind.

"Oh… I forgot to tell you, didn't I. Swirly said he was working on a spell and Daring was off to another hike far into the mountains. As for Tia, she said she had other plans for tonight." Truth to be told, Aurora never told the gang about the movie night. She planned it in a way that looks like the others couldn't make it, simple, yet effective.

You nod in understanding "And what about Chrissy?"

"Well, I think she's-"

"Hey guys!" comes the unmistakable voice of your favorite changeling, disguised as a normal unicorn mare.

"Hey Chrissy, over here," you call, waving your hands and gesturing Chrissy to come closer. Once she's within normal speaking distance she says, "Where are you guys going?" at the same time giving Aurora the stink eye, it was fast and you don't notice.

"We're just going to see a play, Aurora didn't tell-"

"Why don't you come with us?" utters Aurora before you can catch her on her lie. It's not like she's proud of it, but she simply wants to be alone with you without it looking suspicious, is it that big of a request? Of course now her plan is all but ruined, if Chrissy's ferocious nodding was any indication.

"Sure, I don't have any plans anyway."

This time, it was Aurora's turn to give Chrissy the stink eye, and once again, you are completely unaware of the building tension.

The three of you walk together towards the theater while making some small talk. For a moment, Aurora forgets the unexpected and annoying intruder and simply enjoys talking to you. You tell the two mares about your new responsibilities as the royal overseer and the upcoming improvements you plan for the good of the country. They, in turn, tell you what's new about their lives. Aurora plans to go on a trip with her family to the crystal empire, one of Equestria's biggest trade partners. Chrissy tells you about the situation in her hive, and the fact that she might become a royalty herself if her family plays their cards right.

For a moment, Aurora forgets her anger towards Chrissy and listens closely. She might not have liked the extra company as of now, but the changeling did have pretty interesting stories to tell.

            The trio almost didn't even notice when they finally arrived at the theater.

"Come on guys, there's a play I'm absolutely dying to see." Aurora urges you to come inside. You quickly pay for yourself as well as Chrissy and Aurora –much to the dismay of the two- and proceed into the darkened hall and sit together in the middle row. Aurora to your right, and Chrissy to your left.

You didn't pay much attention to the play, and not because it was a romantic drama. It was because of the two mares that somehow became uncomfortably close to you during the play. You are not sure if they're doing it on purpose, or simply not noticing. Either way, you decide not to comment about it, and save the three of you a possible embarrassing moment.

During a particularly romantic scene, you hear Aurora sigh very closely to your ear, as if expecting you to do something. At the same time, you can feel Chrissy's hoof –that somehow wrapped itself around your arm inconspicuously- tighten her grip around you.

Your face turns fiery red as every muscle in your body tenses at the constant contact. Feelings and thoughts that you never knew you have suddenly fills your mind.
It scares you…

"I'll be right back…" you blurt out as you suddenly stand up and dash towards the exit. You make your way towards the restrooms and turn on the faucet, letting the water cool your heated face.

Your knees are shaking, and so does your arms. Your face, although cool, produces a few droplets of sweat. Your breath is quickened and your heart is beating ever faster. What's wrong with your body? Why are you feeling that way? What in Tartarus is wrong with you!?

You suddenly flinch when you feel something soft pressed against your side, making you slip and fall on your ass. You turn quickly and look forward, seeing Aurora with a worried expression across her face.

"Oh, it's just you…" you breathe a sigh of relief.

"What happened to you back there?" Aurora immediately jumps to the subject at hand/hoof "I mean, one moment you're perfectly fine and in the next, you run away like you're being chased by a manticore.

"It's nothing, really. I just felt unwell for a moment, I think I'm okay though."

Aurora gives you a look that says she's not buying it "Oh really. Then why are you all shaky?" she points at your hands, which are still shaking profusely.

"I- I don't know…" you admit "It's just- everything became so weird there. I can't put it into words… I just feel like something is welling in my chest. It makes me feel tight in my own skin."

Aurora steps closer to you, which only serves to worsen your shaking.

"Does your breath quicken, and you feel heated all over your face?" she asks. Her face shows a look of genuine concern and also… expectation?

"Y-Yes… h-how do you know?"

Aurora tears her gaze away from you, looking down on the floor "Because I feel the same way when I'm with you."

She suddenly looks back at you. Her face is one of determination. She steps even closer to you, closer than ever before. So close in fact, that you can feel her hot breath wash across your face, filling your nose with the faint smell of Jasmines.

She closes her eyes, still moving closer. On instinct, you do the same. Your lips almost touch when you hear someone calling your names.

"Hey guys… where did you two run out to?" Chrissy calls.

Aurora quickly moves backwards and looks away, her face even redder then you. You decide to stand up and straighten your toga just in time for Chrissy to open the door to the restroom. "Oh, here you are…" she smiles at you and then looks at Aurora "And what you are doing in the stallion's room, silly?"

You and Aurora chuckle nervously and move towards the door.

"Maybe we should call in a night, the play wasn't that great in all honesty," Says Aurora.

You and Chrissy agree and move back to the outside. But even when you walk down the streets of Canterlot, your mind still wanders back to the moment when you and Aurora almost… kissed.

Now you're even more confused…
> The ugly face of reality - part one
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Another sleepless night, it's beginning to annoy the living Tartarus out of you. You toss the sheets to the side and place both feet on the carpeted floor. You flex your toes a bit, letting the threads tickle the underside of your feet.

With a bit of reluctance, you stand up and make your way across the dark room towards your balcony. You pull the silken curtains wide open and grab the doors handle, twisting it and stepping out.

You shiver immensely as the cold night air hits your bare form, with your boxers as the only type of covering, but you don't mind. You take a sit in one of the chairs and let your mind drift to a certain reoccurring dream you’ve had for the past few days.

            The dream the keeps you awake at night.

It always starts the same; you walk down the hallways of the castle, idly talking with some dignitaries and nobles until you reach an intersection. At first, everything seems fine, just a plain old boring dream, but that's where the ordinary ends.

It starts off when the ponies who accompany you vanish into nothing. Then, the walls lose their color and become cold and dull to the point of peeling. The walls break apart, with nothing but empty space behind them. The walls continue to peel until nothing is left but empty space. The only thing that stays is the floor of the intersection. You look both ways. Two silhouettes appear, one on each side. At this point, your vision begins to blur and you can't see them clearly, but you can hear them calling your name, compelling you to go after them, and you stand there alone, confused as to which side to choose.

Until you wake up.
It's now 4:45 according to the clock on your night dresser. You already know you're not going to fall asleep now so you decide to take a stroll down the castle's halls.

You step out of room. The bat ponies outside the door bow their heads towards you as one of them speaks up.

"Your majesty, is there anything you require?"

You shake your head "No, thank you, just taking a stroll. Mind to join me?"

The two night guards look at each other as then back at you; they both nod and take positions to your sides. You pick a random direction and start walking while idly chatting with your companions.

"Beautiful night, is in not?" you remark.

"Yes your highness, spectacular even. Queen Gaia sure outdid herself tonight," The guard to your right said.

You nod and turn around a corner towards one of the many hallways leading towards the gardens.

On your way there, you walk past your parents' room and you can hear the distinct sound of their voices in some sort of argument, surprisingly, there were no guards there. Curiosity gets the better of you as you move closer, dismissing the guards and sending back to watch over your room. You place your ear on the surface of the door and listen carefully.

"…not fair." You hear mother's voice cry out, accompanied by a few sobs.

"I know love, I know. We knew he's not an immortal, though I must confess the news is… disheartening." Your father speaks up.

"Isn't there anything we can do? Anything? I don't want it to end like this."

"Gaia, look at me. One way or another we must tell him. He deserves to know that his very existence is killing him."

Kill? Kill who? What are they talking about? A small sense of dread creeps along across your spine, afraid of what you just heard and may hear.

And then, your mother speaks up.

"But he's our son! How can we tell him that he is indefinitely going to fade away…"

You stand there, shocked.

You're dying?

How is that even possible? You feel fine, you've always felt fine.

You step away from the doors, slowly backing away.

"No…" you whisper "No, no no no! I don't believe that."

You turn around and start running. You run all the way to your room, ignoring the worried looks on your guards' faces. You ran to your bathroom and stop in front of the sink. You take a good look at yourself. Nothing seems wrong, you're not undernourished, or pale, or… anything that hints something about being ill.

You move back to your bedroom, lying on the bed, eyes wide open in disbelieve.

"I'm not dying, there's just no way…"

Slowly, your eye lids become heavier and heavier until sleep claims you again, this time thankfully a calming dreamless slumber.

Morning comes faster than you'd like. You rub your eyes before moving out of bed and towards the bathroom. The carpeted floor muffles your heavy steps as you groggily make your way towards the bathtub.

Once inside the bathroom, you flick the faucets and let the bath fill. It takes the bath about a minute or so, but the amazing feeling of hot water on your body is certainly worth it. You mess around with the different soaps, making sure you clean any filth.

Steam quickly rises from the bath as you lay back against a specially crafted place to rest your head and let your mind wonder. It didn't take you long to recall the events of last night. Thinking about it completely ruined your relaxing time in the bath. You grumble something unbefitting a prince and open the cork to let the water drain. You step out of the bath and grab a towel.

You dry yourself with a soft towel and step out of the bathroom, butt naked, and towards your closet. You open it up and contemplate on what to wear today. You can go classy with a nice outfit. Or you could put something simple and loose.

Your thoughts are prematurely interrupted when the door to your room is suddenly opened.

And in comes Chrysalis.

"Gooooood morning sunshine, I hope you're ready for break-" Chrissy stops mid-sentence when her eyes lay upon the scene in front of her, you, with nothing on but your birthday suit, staring straight at her with wide eyes and mouth agape "-fast…"

You can just barely catch her eyes venturing downwards when you suddenly hop behind the door to your closet.

Thank goodness the door swings outwards.

"C-Chrissy, hey good m-morning. Mind waiting outside for a few seconds?"

Chrissy stared wide eyed at you, your head poking from the opened door as you stared back at her with a pleading look. Both of your faces were bright red, and you swear you could hear Chrissy moan something before the door to your room closed. You poke your head again, just to make sue the Chrissy got out.

You heave a sigh of relief when you see nopony.

You quickly put some clothes on and step out from your room. Chrissy is waiting outside with the guards, both look at the changeling with various levels of amused glares.

You dismiss the two guards and turn to face Chrissy.

"Hey, look…" Chrissy lowers her head "Let's… Let's just pretend that never happened."

Chrissy snaps her eyes towards you and nods feverishly.

"Okay, so… how about that breakfast, hmm?" You suggest, smiling.

Chrissy, in turn, smiles as well and you both make your way towards the dining hall.

What was supposed to be a nice and calming walk with a friend was instead awkward and silent. None of you uttered a word, none of you could.

"Umm… Chrissy?"

"Hmm, what?" she asks, shying away from your gaze.

"Don't take it the wrong way, but what are you doing here at this hour? Tia and Lulu are probably at school."

Chrissy lifts her face to look at you for exactly 1.2 seconds and snaps her gaze to the floor again "I came to see… you." the last word came barely as a whisper, but you heard it.

"Ahh, thanks… I guess. In fact, I really need somepony right now." You confess.

"Why? What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing… at least, I think it's nothing."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, Chrissy, I'm not sure what's going on with my life right now, so I'd really appreciate it if we could just be together as friends, without all the burdens of reality."

"Oh… I see…" Chrissy looks down again, completing the heart-aching act with downed ears and somber look. You can't help but feel like a jerk, but you don't say anything, instead, you increase your pace just enough to overtake Chrissy and stop right in front of her. You kneel down to her eye level and give her a hug.

"I'm sorry. It's just- I'm a little bothered with something right now. I can't tell you what, and I'm sorry if I acted a little cold. Can you please forgive me?"

If you would've paid closer attention, you could've felt the speeding beating of Chrissy's heart, or seen the deep blush on her face. But you remain ignorant throughout the whole ordeal.

The two of you finally arrive to the dining hall. Surprisingly enough, your mother is there, smiling at the both of you.

"Good morning you two, I hope you slept well?"

"Sure mom… Wait-"

Mother chuckles and switches her gaze between you and Chrissy. Your eyes widen at the implications of what she said and the answer you gave her.

"N-no! That came out wrong! I didn't mean it like that!"

Mother's laughter grows even louder. You squirm in your place in embarrassment, risking a glance towards Chrissy and seeing her in the same awkward situation.

Finally, mother stops her laughing and ushers you to take a sit next to her. You and Chrissy comply and silently take your seats. You sit to your mother's right and Chrissy sits to your right.

A few moments later, a servant comes and takes your orders then leaves. Mother was still slightly giggling under her breath; it was subtle but not unnoticed.

"Luna was looking for you earlier, hun." mother speaks up "She was disappointed to know that you were still in bed by the time she had to go to school."

"What did she need?" you ask.

"Does a sister need a reason to see her older brother; she barely sees you as it is now that you have responsibilities to the country."    

You lower your head and grimace "She's old enough to know that I can't be with her all the time." You respond, the events of last night jump to the forefront of your mind.

"Still, you should spend some more time with her. You know she adores you, right?" interrupts Chrissy.

"See, even dear Chrysalis agrees with me, how's your parents by the way sweetheart?"

"They're good thanks, things are a little tense back home but overall everything's fine."

"Well you're always welcome in the castle."

"Look…" you butt in the conversation before it's too late "If it's that important to you, then I'll spend some more time with Lulu, mom."

You sit in silence as the food arrived. Mother and Chrissy eat away their meals though you simply stare at yours, not even lifting a fork.

"Is something wrong?" asks Chrissy, sensing your discomfort as well as seeing it in your face.

"You haven't touched your food sweetie, is everything okay? You're not sick or anything, are you?" mother asks as well.

"No…" you shake your head "I'm not feeling hungry." You stand up from your sit and walk towards the doors "I think I'll head to my office now, thanks for visiting Chrissy."

Before anypony could voice their opinion, you left the dining hall and made your way towards your office at a brisk pace, trying to avoid as much ponies as you can.

You arrive at your office rather quickly and sit down on the cushioned chair, letting a small sigh escape your mouth.

You shake your head and rummage through the cabinets, moving papers and documents out of the way until you finally find what you're looking for. You let out another sigh, this time of relief, and look fondly at the drawing.

It was made by Lulu, and it had you, her, Tia and your parents together. It had that distinctive crude cartoonish quality you can expect from foals, but it was beautiful in your eyes nonetheless.

You snap out of your thoughts when you hear a gentle tap. You look down and see a wet smudge right where the smiling sun is and you realize that you’re tearing. You neatly fold the drawing and put it back in your cabinet, before resting your head onto the desk and weep.
> The ugly face of reality - part two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        You finish your paperwork in record time before you go back into your room and slump on your bed. You felt exhausted. Not physically but emotionally, everything just seems so pointless and dull, nothing is the same anymore.

        And all of that because one little conversation you overheard.

        You stand up and move to your sink, splashing some cold water onto your face and looking up in the mirror, still looking exactly the same, not a single sign of your apparent demise.

        You walk back to your room and towards your dresser; inside you find a small golden crown, a gift from your father for your eighteenth birthday and a symbol of your future rule. Once you gazed upon the crown with joy and pride, but now it feels like a lie and a spit in the face, a symbol for something that'll never happen.

        You close the door and pace back and forth around your room, desperately trying to find anything that could lift this heavy cloud of uselessness. It wasn't until later that evening that something did happen.

        And as if your prayers are answered, there's a knock on the door followed by a sweet little voice.

        "Big bro, are you in there?" calls Lulu with innocence and cuteness laced into each of her words. A ghost of a smile appears on your features as you move towards the doors and open them wide, revealing the dark blue alicorn you love so much with her star themed light purple pajamas on.

        Lulu lets out a squeal of excitement as she pounces your chest, using her small wings for support. For the past few weeks Lulu tried to gain your attention, which you unintentionally ignored. The various workloads kept you occupied most of the days and the only time Lulu could actually see you was during dinner, which was usually spent talking about the country with your parents.

        Needless to say, Lulu was very happy to have that moment with you, and you couldn't help but smile broadly to see her happy.

        "I missed you, big bro…" she shoves her face into your chest and nuzzles you wholeheartedly, letting you know how much she loves you through this simple action.

        You return the gesture as you nuzzle the top of her head, mindful of her horn of course, and careful not to mess her mane too much.

        "And I missed you too, Lulu," you respond, taking your time by sitting on your bed and let Lulu settle on your lap. She pulls her head up and gazes upon you with big, sparkly eyes.

        "Why are you sad, big bro?"

        You blink a few times.

        "Me? Sad?"

        "Well… yeah…" she mumbles and tears her gaze away from you, looking to the side and pawing your leg with her hoof "You have some tears and you look… you know… sad…"

        Dammit! You probably weren't hiding your emotions as well as you thought. You wipe the stray tears away from your cheeks and give Lulu a bear hug, complete with blowing air into Lulu's ears, causing her to laugh profusely.

        Finally, she breaks from your hold and latches your neck, hanging from your back and nuzzling your cheek.

        "Promise me you'll never leave me, okay?"

        You stop immediately at the foal's words. You can feel a spike of coldness in your heart and a lump in your throat. You know Lulu is an alicorn, and so does Tia and your parents. They're immortals, they'll live forever. And apparently,

        You aren't.

        You grab Lulu and pull her to your chest, hugging her again.

        "Sure Lulu, I promise…"

        "Can we play a game?" she says suddenly.

        Well… that moment was short lived.

        "Err… Sure. What did you have in mind?"

        "Hmm… can we paint?"

        "Painting isn’t a game, silly."

        "Sure it is. It's fun; therefore, it's a game."

        You can't help but smile.

        "Fine, let's paint."

        Time seemed non-existent as the two of you drew paintings left and right. At some point you ordered a few waffles for you and Lulu to enjoy while fooling around. She even showed you how much she honed her magic abilities by controlling the brush with telekinesis and drawing a picture of Tia, .

        "Lulu? I don't believe Tia's mane have so many colors in it."

        "I know, but I ran out of pink."

        That lazy foal…

        Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and that includes you and Lulu's play-time. It was late at night and Lulu almost dozed off to sleep in your room, so, being to loving brother that you are, you lifted Lulu to your arms and carried her to her bedroom, which was located across Tia's bedroom, right next to yours.

        You tuck the little filly in bed and bid her good night. You barely make it out of her room before she falls asleep. You smile one last time and close the door as quietly as you can. But instead of going back to your room, you take a small detour across the gardens.

      Listen to this while reading the rest

        There, under the blue moon's glow, you sit down under a weeping willow near mom's favorite pond and muse over recent events.

        A soft thud behind you snaps you out of your thoughts, but you don't turn around. After all, eighteen years is a long time, enough to know exactly who's behind you.

        "Evening mom, is everything alright?"

        "I can't say it is," she says as she takes a sit next to you.

        You raise an eyebrow.

        "Oh? And why is that?" you ask with closed eyes as your head rests against the tree bark.

        "I'm worried about you sweetie, you seemed… distant this morning, like you weren't actually there."

        You heave a small sigh.

        "You know me too well, mom."

        She doesn't say anything but rather extends her wing and wraps it around your body, bringing you closer to her chest. The slow rhythm of her heart beat combined with the continuous rise and fall of her chest proves to be the most soothing sensation you've ever felt. Not to mention the super soft feathers of her wing, covering you like a warm blanket.

        You feel secure.

        You feel content.

        "What's bothering you?" she brings her muzzle closer to your face and looks straight into your, now fully open, eyes.

        You hesitate, and it didn't go unnoticed by your mom.

        "You can tell me, you know you can." She urges you.

        Finally, you open your mouth and say,

        "I… I heard your conversation with dad last night."

        For a moment, mom stops breathing. The wind stops as well. All the critters that usually play their songs at this hour also quiet down. The only thing that increases its tempo is mom's heart beat.

        "How… How much did you hear?" she almost choke over her words.

        "Enough to know something's wrong with me." You answer, but before mom could say another word, you speak again "I want to know mom, I want to know what dad said and I quote 'his very existence is killing him'."

        "I… I…"

        You can feel something moistening your hair, and when you look up, you see mom's teary eyes.

        "I want to know the truth." You insist.

        Mom takes a long inhale before releasing it; her breath smells lightly of pine trees with a faint hint of mint.

        "What do you know about magic, sweetie?"

        You cock your head to the side, confused. But you answer nonetheless.

        "It's the moving force of the world, every living being draws from the natural magic in the environment and releases it in different ways. Magic helps pegasi fly, walk on clouds and manipulate the weather. Unicorns use magic in its raw form. And earth ponies use it to farm the land. But I don't understand where you’re going with this."

        "Sweetie, every creature draws from this magic, even… even you. But, unlike other creatures that are native to this land, you have no conceivable way of releasing it. You're just going to absorb more and more magic until… until… until it rips you apart."

        Mom barely finishes her sentence before she starts sobbing again.

        "It's not fair…" you whisper, tears of your own drop down from your cheeks "I did everything for this country. I lived my life as best I could, despite knowing I'm hated."

        "Sweetie-"

        "Almost everypony hates me for being me, and now… now I know that's it's not only them but also this entire BUCKING WORLD!" you all but scream the last part. Tears of sadness and fury stream down your face.

        You bring both of your arms to rest on your knees and curl down into a ball. Mom brings you closer to her barrel as she cries as well, not noticing the white teen filly, looking at you with a horrified expression.

        "You're going to die?" Tia's voice reaches your ears barely as a whisper.

        You look up to see Tia standing in front of you with misty eyes and trembling hooves.

        "Tia, how long have you stood there?" you whisper back.

        "Long enough…" she replies, a single tear drop from her eye.

        "Tia I-"

        "No! You're not dying, it's just some sick joke right? Mom?" Tia turns her attention to mom "It's not true right? Tell me this isn't true."

        Mom doesn't respond. Instead, she simply looks away as more tears mat her coat.

Tia looks between the two of you, tears now spill freely from her eyes. She doesn't say anything as she collapses to the ground and crys openly.

None of you dare to move.

None of you can.

For the pain, is too much.        
> Moving on
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You sit on your chair in your office, looking intently at the journal before you. You started documenting your thoughts, but no matter how hard you try to clear your head, it was all for naught. There was one thing that was clear, though:

You will die.

It is weird how much these words can effect on a person.

It was currently seven AM. You snuck out of your bed to start your duties early. Why sneaking out of bed? Since Tia discovered that you lived on borrowed time she decided to sleep next to you. Everyday. You tried to reason with her, telling her that you two were starting to get too old for that, but she insisted that you needed the company. Though you are pretty sure she was doing it for her sake more than you. Not that you did not appreciate it. 

You twiddle the quill between your fingers before dipping the tip in the inkwell besides you and start to scribble inside the journal:



	How many years has it been already? I cannot tell. But the more time passes, the more distant I became from my family and friends. But there is another reason why I kept to myself, something that might be just as disturbing as my demise. 

It all started a few weeks after mother revealed the truth to me. I dreamt of a land filled with others like me. Their technology far surpassed that of modern ponies.

I saw cities twenty times the size of Canterlot. Flying machines soar high above the clouds faster than any pegasus. I saw things that defy all logic.

But with visions of peace, came also visions of war.

And what I saw both terrified and amazed me.

These strangers like me had weapons capable of razing entire cities. Metal beasts that spewed lightning and smoke. Tornadoes made of fire. Entire armies decimated. 

I saw their rise, I saw decades in a blink of an eye. I saw almost everything, but just when 'they' reached the peak, the visions ended and I would wake up with burnt hands and feet.

I do not know why, but as the years passed I started getting these burns. They would always appear when I wake up. I had to convince my parents that they were training accidents, but one can wear bandages all over their hands and feet for so long.

Soon, my parents confronted me about it and I confessed all that I knew about it, leaving the vision from my explanation. 

I can still remember the look of horror on my parents. 

It appears that these burns were the result of magic seeping out from my body. Without a natural way to dispose of the arcane energy it will literally burn away my body until I will be reduced to nothing but ashes. And if the burns were any indication, the process will be far from quick and painless.

For months now I tried to come up with a cure, a way to siphon my ever building magic inside me. But the answer still eludes me, and I am no closer to the answer than I was a few years ago. I've stopped almost all interactions with my family and friends, devoting all my time to research and experiments.



You stop writing when you hear a knock on the door.

"Come in," you say automatically, your eyes scanning what you just wrote. The door creaks open and you can hear the soft clip-clop of the pony entering the office. "What is it?" you ask without looking up.
.
"Big bro?"

You winch internally. Out of all the ponies that could be visiting you…

You look up from the journal and force a smile. "Yes, Lulu? Did you need something?"

Lulu looks down on the floor, making circular patterns on it with her hoof. She has grown into a fine mare, beautiful and elegant. "Umm… not really…"

You adopt a forlorn expression as you stare at Lulu. When she discovered the truth about you, she had locked herself inside her room and refused to step out for almost a week. It did not help that you became more reserved and distant from everypony.

You sigh, trying to shake away the guilt with no success "Lulu, I-"

"Why are you ignoring us?!" she cries suddenly, looking up at you with a trembling lip and watery eyes. 

"Lulu…"

"You stopped coming to eat with us, you never answer when I knock on your bedroom's door and when you see me in the halls you walk the other way and disappear before I can get to you!" Lulu sniffed a few times, tears spilling freely from her eyes. "I-I don't know what I d-did but I-I'm sorry. P-Please tell me why you hate me."

"Damn it Luna!" You yell, slamming your fist at the table. "Everything I did, everything, was so I can live, so I can be with you! How do you expect me to find a cure when you keep crying into my ear!" You immediately regret saying that when you see Lulu's frightened expression as more tears build in her eyes. In all of her life you have never raised your voice against her, not even once. You do not know what came over you. Perhaps it was because Lulu thought you hated her that snapped you. 

But none of that was important right now. You rise from the chair and try to give Lulu a hug, only to have your heart wrenched from your chest when she flinches from you like a scared kitten, moving out to the hallway.

"This is an obsession, brother," she whispers. "I never understood it…"

Before you get the chance to apologize, Lulu bolts out of the room, crying her eyes out. You slowly stand up from your crouching position, looking down at your hand.  You want to go after Lulu, you want to apologize, but something stops you.

You move back to your seat and try to get the recent events out from your head. 

Why bad stuff always happens to you? Why can't you just live your life normally? Why do you have to die?!

You sigh, both internally and physically, and decide that the best course of action would be to completely drown yourself with work, because everyone knows that the best way to solve a problem is by completely ignoring it.

You look down back on the document and actually read it this time, this continuous for a good amount of time before another knock is heard.

"Who is it?" you call this time. You do not want another incident.

"It's Daring. Who else can it be you big monkey."

A ghost of a smile appears on your face. "Come it." Daring opens the door flies straight into your face. 

"Dude, it's been ages since we last saw you, what's the deal?"

Of course that would be the first thing that Daring would say. He is not exactly known for his subtlety.

You take a moment to gather your thoughts. Just like Lulu, you have been avoiding your friends, recently. At first you tried to put on a brave face and hang out with them regardless, but the lack of any significant progress with finding a cure has really depressed you as of late.

"I uhh… had a lot of things to do! Yes, that's it, you know how it is, work, work, work!"

Daring raised an eyebrow, looking at you suspiciously while you don the biggest fake smile you can muster.

'Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it…'

"Well, you are the royal overseer. It would be weird if you didn't get too busy from time to time," Daring reasons.

You release a breath you did not know you were holding.

"So tell me Daring, what are you doing here?"

Daring suddenly smiles wickedly as he starts to giggle, a combination that always means trouble. "Dude *snicker* you are never gonna believe this…" Daring snickers some more.

"What is it this time Daring?" you ask worryingly. "What did you do?"

"Me? I didn't do anything. But dude, you should totally come and see this."

You shift uneasily in your chair for a moment. "I can't Daring. I've got work to do."

"What work?" Daring asks.

"The one right… here?" You look down at your desk, only to find that your 'in' bin was empty. You have actually finished work at record time?! Wait, what time is it?

You glance at the clock above the door and your eyes almost bulge out of your sockets. You have been working nonstop for eight hours!

You look up at Daring, who looks back at you with his trademark smirk. You sigh internally before standing up.

"Alright Daring, you win. Now what's got you giggling like breezie?"

"You just got to see it for yourself dude, now come on!" Daring declares as he flies behind you and push you out of the door and down the hallway.

As you are being led to… somewhere, you are inevitably start to drift off. 

You wonder about your future. How much time will you have? Will you suffer a lot before eventually die? How would other ponies react when they will hear their unwanted prince just died? You know, just casually morbid things that every dying person asks himself at one point or another.   

Sure, you are depressed about the whole 'dying by magic' thing, but you are not nearly as devastated about yourself as you are about your friends and family. You do not want to leave them.

"Here we are!" declares Daring. You snap out of your thoughts and gaze at the building in front of you.

"Why are with at the school for gifted unicorns?" you ask.

"To see our good friend Starswirl, what else?"

"Okay… why?"

Daring rolls his eyes and continues pushing you forwards. "You ask way too much dude. You should focus more on the 'now', understand?"

"I'm going to pretend I do," you answer, deciding that the best way to handle Daring is to simply go with the flow. And besides, you have never been inside the school before. It was truly a magnificent place. Everything was brand new and shining, as expected from a newly built structure. It was constructed only a few months prior, and already it was paying off. The unicorns attending the school are some of the brightest minds of your generation.

You even heard about this one unicorn that works on a contraption that uses steam to pull a cart across rails, though you are pretty sure that such a thing is way too ambitious to become a reality. What's next, flying machines using hot air? Simply ridiculous.

But you are not here to criticize others. You are here to meet Starswirl, probably the brightest stallion in this school. It was more often than not that you can find Starswirl inside the school. Since unicorns from all corners of Equestria come to the school to learn, the castle funded dorms nearby to allow student to stay close, completely tuition free.

You slowly approach Starswirl's dorm room as Daring's snickers become louder and louder. Finally, the two of you stop right next to Starswirl's door. Daring approaches it and knocks three times.

"W-Who is it?" you hear Starswirl's voice call out.

"It's me Starswirl, and also Daring," you call. "Can we come in?"

"No! You can't!" Starswirl shouts, sounding slightly panicky. "I'm in the middle of some very delicate experiment, I cannot be interrupted!"

"Come on Swirly, don't be such a party pooper," Daring calls out.

"Buck you Daring! This is your entire fault!"

You start to feel slightly worried. Daring obviously knows what happened and it seems Starswirl was not happy with it.

"Are you sure you're okay Starswirl? You're not hurt, are you?" You ask.

There is a slight pause from the closed door before Starswirl replies. "N-No, it’s not like this… *sigh* well, I guess I can show you. But you must promise not to laugh, okay?!"

"I promise on my good name that I will not laugh," you swear. You look down at Daring.

"What?" He asks. "I know what's behind that door already. And besides, you just ruined your good name."

You roll your eyes before grasping the door handle. "Okay Starswirl, we're coming in."  

You twist the door handle and push the door inwards, mentally preparing yourself for the worst. The room was dark with only the light from the hallway to illuminate a small part of it. The room itself was a mess. Books littered the floor and vials of questionable liquids were laid all over the bed and desk. A shadowy figure stood at the center of the room, its back faces you and Daring and was the only part of the figure that was visible.

"Starswirl?" you call.    

"I made a huge mistake…" Starswirl whispered.

"Is everything alright, Starswirl?"

"I will become the laughing stock of the century…"

"Starswirl you're really creeping me out."

Starswirl slowly turned around. You expect to see something hideous as you mentally prepared yourself. 

However, no amount of time could prepare you to what you saw next.

It was subtle at first, a small bit of air escaping your mouth as your lips curve upwards. Then, it turned into a very gentle giggle. You feel something nudge your side and you look down at Daring, who looks up at you with a shit-eating grin. And that is when you lost it.

"Buahahahahahahahah! Starswirl, what the actual buck!" you laugh.

"You promised!" Starswirl cried, his muzzle twisted into a snarl under a curtain of facial hair that reached all the way to the floor. "Daring I bucking hate you! This is your fault!"

Starswirl glares at Daring as you literally fall on the floor, laughing your flank off. After a few moments of intense laughing you regain your composure enough to stand up, still giggling.

"Starswirl *giggle* what's the deal with this magnificent muzzle you've cultivated?" you ask, still very much amused.

Starswirl glares at you before returning his glare at Daring. "It was all because of his fault!" He thrusts a hoof in Daring's direction. "I was testing a theory about magic amplification via the use of short bursts of electricity, so I asked Daring to help me since he can manipulate storm clouds. Everything went well until that bucker decided it would be funny to zap me in the middle of a spell, resulting in this!" Starswirl gestures to his overly long beard. "I tried to shave it, but it simply grows back!"

Once you get your giggling under control you say, "I don't know Starswirl, it looks kinda good with this beard. It's certainly better than the uneven patch of facial hair you had before."

"I look ridiculous!" Starswirl argues.

"I think it makes you look professional," Daring says, adding his two bits to the conversation. Starswirl's eye twitches as a lock on his new beard suddenly pops. 

You slowly back away from the malfunctioning Starswirl, Daring following suit. Starswirl's horn suddenly lights up.

You exchange looks with Daring, and with a subtle nod, you bolt out of the room.

"Dariiiiiiiiing!" you hear Starswirl roar as he chases after you. You yelp when a stray bolt of magic hits you on the ass, causing you to double your efforts as Daring laughs hysterically besides you.

"What are you laughing at?!" you yell, rounding a corner, almost running over a passing pony.

"Isn't this fun?!" Daring yells in response, dodging another projectile.

"You and I have a very different definitions of fun, Daring!"

"A short life and a happy one, that's my motto!" Daring declares. You almost stumble at these words. 

"How can Daring be so carefree?" you ask, still running for dear life.

"Simple." Daring rounds a corner and you follow after him. Before you can continue running however, Daring grabs you by the toga and shoves you into a supply closet. Daring closes the door behind you two and listens closely. You can hear Starswirl rush past you.

Daring lets out a sigh before looking at you. "I don't want to survive. I want to live! Live everyday like it was your last!"

You gawk at Daring in surprise. Words simply failed you as you try to come up with an answer. To what question? You do not know.

You chuckle dryly as you run a hand down your face.

"I've been such a jerk," you whisper to nopony in particular.

You feel something touch your shoulder and you look up to see Daring smiling at you. 

"I don't know what happened that caused you to ignore us," he started. You are about to speak up when Daring stops you. "But that doesn't matter. Whatever it is, just know that we still care about you, the girls especially. So here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna pull that stick from your flank, and you're going to fix this. You hear me!"

You are absolutely speechless. That was certainly a new side of Daring you have never seen before.

"I- thank you Daring. I promise I'll do my best," you say, smiling.

Daring pats you on your shoulder. "That's my friend. Now go, I'll entertain Starswirl for now."





You run down the halls of the castle with reckless abandon, muttering apologies to guards and maids as you almost ran them over. You do not know what possessed you, but you simply had to see her as fast as you can.

You round a corner and almost come crashing head first into Tia. She yelps and jumps to the side, avoiding you by mere seconds.

"Sorry Tia!" you yell over your shoulder as you dash down the corridor. Tia yells something back but you are too far away to actually hear what she says.

After about a minute of intense running you have reached your destination. Bringing your fist up to the door, you pound on it before calling, "Lulu! Lulu open up!"

You hear a few sniffs emanating from beyond the door to Lulu's room. "G-Go away…"

"Luna open the door this instance!" you demand.

"No!" she retaliates.

"Luna open the door now before I huff and I puff and I'll break the door off its hinges. One… two…"

You hear a small click as the door mechanism unlocks. The door then glows soft blue before it swings inwards, revealing the tear-stained face of Lulu.

"W-What do you wan- eep!"

You barge into Lulu's room, fall onto your knees, and embrace her in a tight hug. You slowly run your hand through Lulu's mane as you hear her start sobbing again. 

"I have been a fool, Lulu," you whisper. "I have been a fool and a jerk. I do not deserve the tears that you shed for me."

You can feel Lulu wrap her own hooves around you, squeezing you tightly as if afraid that you will disappear.

"I missed you, big bro," she utters, her voice hoarse.

"Shhhh… none of that now…" you coo. "I'm here now."

At some point during your exchange of affection, Tia enters the room, looking worried. "What happened, brother? Is everything okay?"

You move your face away from Lulu's mane, looking lovingly at Tia. "It is now, Tia," you answer. "I realized that life is too short to spend it moping around. From now on I promise that I won't neglect any of you for as long as I live."

Tia smiles sadly as tears start to build in her eyes as well. You gesture her to come as well as she lunges at you. You hug both of your sisters tightly as they cry into your chest while you coo and whisper words of encouragement for the both of them.

No matter what happens next. You will always remain their big brother.





"Who was that creature? He's unlike anything I have seen before," a figure asks as he was given a cup of tea.

"Oh, you mean 'his highness'?" Starswirl replied in a teasing manner. After he chased down and punished Daring (he dyed his coat color pink) he decided that he would rather enjoy the company of his newly acquired buddy.

"He's royalty?! How come you never told me?"

"You've never asked." Starswirl sips from his own tea. "Why? Do you want me to introduce you two?"

The figure pondered a bit. "Yes, it is imperative that I'll speak to the ruling bodies of this country posthaste." 

Starswirl raises an eyebrow at that. "Why? Is something the matter?"

"N-No, it's nothing like that!" The figure hurried to say. "By the way, how come you grew a beard all of a sudden?"

Starswirl sighs explosively. "Don't you start, Scorpan…"