Chap 1 - A Star in the Sky

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The tour of the castle was long and boring for both me and Sapphire. Our auntie Twilight talked and talked about the many rules that Sapphire was sure to break. She even said that she wasn’t going to follow any of them “flat out”, whatever that means.

Trying to follow some of the rules would be hard for anypony. One rule was to remain within a 5 yard radius of the castle. I don’t do well indoors all the time so going for a long walk is a must at times.

A week at the Canterlot Castle took a lot out of us. After settling in, we sat in my room, talking, giggling and whispering like two little fillies. It didn’t matter what we said. Everything was funny to us.

"Can you believe we're princesses?" Sapphire squealed.

"I know right," I smiled.

"Just wait 'til they give us our crowns! Then we can make our own rules and screw the ones they gave us!"

“Rude much,” I murmured. Sapphire shrugged and I sighed. “If you say so.” Sapphire smiled, trying to be even more annoying. She scooted closer and hugged me.

"Think of it this way, little sis," she said, "We don't have to do any heavy lifting anymore.” I gave her a look that said it all. Between the tour and not having a life anymore, it was hell. She corrected herself quickly. “I mean, besides this week." She then stood up and looked me in the eyes. "It'll all run smoothly soon enough."

"I guess," I shrugged.

Sapphire stretched and yawn. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she turned to walk out the door. "I'm going to bed," she said, "I'll see you in the morning. Good night, little sis."

"Night.”

"And may the little demons under your bed eat you alive as you scream in fright," Sapphire mumbled loudly. She looked back to see if I heard her, which I did. I glared at her as she stuck her tongue out.

"I'm gonna kill you in the morning," I shouted as she walked away.

"Love you, too," she said, walking out the door.

I sat there for a moment thinking of ways to get her back in the morning. ”I'll think about it later,” I thought. I stood up off the floor and closed the door. I then walked over to the window and watched the stars twinkle in the night sky.

Every star looked gorgeous in its own way. I turned my attention to the moon which was always full and bright. I stared at the moon for a good long minute until something much brighter caught my eye.

Rising slowly was a single star burning brighter than the moon and the other stars put together. The star seemed to be the biggest and brightest star out of all the others. Its twinkle was more vivid than the one right next to it. I sat there gazing at it in awe while it came to a stop right next to the moon. It seemed to burn even brighter after it stopped moving. I felt its energy burst within me. It was calling me. It was calling my spirit. It was calling my name.

“Hi,” I said to it.

It twinkled back at me.

The next morning, I woke up and went straight to my desk where paper and quill sat, waiting to be used. I skipped breakfast to draw my heart out and with quill to parchment, every 5 minutes, I finished a sketch for editing later. I was in the zone, until Sapphire knocked at my door.

"Hey, Ruby?!” she called from behind the door, “Were you gonna cook breakfast or were we gonna have someone else do it?” I slowed my pace a bit and tried to continue, but she knocked again. “Ruby?”

I sighed and magically opened the door. “What did you want?” I murmured.

“Food.”

I rolled my eyes, already knowing she wanted food. “Besides that.”

There was a long pause before Sapphire spoke louder. “Food!” she exploded. I turned to glare at her. Then I took a deep breath and cleared my head of the remarks I was close to saying.

"I’m a little busy," I sighed and returned to my drawings. Sapphire knew I was the type to turn cruel over something I’m passionate about. From the start, she could tell I was drawing.

She stood closer to get a better look. I hate ponies who do this. My granny Mac was a nosey old mare who loved to know about other’s business. With me, it was no different.

"Wha’cha drawin’?" Sapphire asked. Her hot breath tickled the back of my neck making me angrier.

I sighed…. Again. “Isn’t it obvious?” I said, bring the paper closer to her. Every parchment of paper had a star, either with or without my face, cutie mark, or any representation of me in it. All of them had the same big brilliant shape a saw before and in my eyes, it looked perfect.

As we stared at my work I felt happy about myself. But then… “What’s with all the damn stars?” Sapphire rudely asked. I groaned, stood up and walked into the kitchen. I just walked away and left her alone.

She followed me with a sorry look as if she knew she upset me. I quickly made myself breakfast and just to be nice, I made Sapphire something as well. She sat on the other side of the room, watching me as my pink magic worked quickly to make two sandwiches.

When I was finished, I pondered on sitting in my room or eating in the dining room. I wanted to finish my art in peace, but sitting in a room drawing for too long sent me to the hospital before.

I grabbed my food and walked out of the kitchen, into my room. Inside, I started packing my saddlebags with paper, quills, and flower to eat for later. My plans were set for the day already.

My favorite flower is a rose without its thorns. For some reason they taste good to me. However, Sapphire hates roses. The sight of them. The taste of them. Even their smell. This is because of a bad experience with them that she’s told me several times. Red was never her taste in color anyways, but that wasn’t the reason why.

While I packed my bag, Sapphire came into my room again and stood at the door raising an eyebrow. I didn't notice until I turned around.

We stared at each other for a moment. "What are you doing?" she finally asked, smiling.

"Nothing you’d be interested in, Sapphire," I pouted. Her ears flopped down in sadness. Quickly, I changed the topic. "Did you see your breakfast?"

Her face scrunched up and she rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah…” Sapphire moaned, “About that..." She reached behind her and turned back holding a plate in her mouth. She then place it in one hoof and smiled smugly at me. Crumbs cluttered the plate.

My jaw fell to the floor. “What did you do!?” I screamed, “Suck the damn thing up in one bite!?”

“It was good!” Sapphire barked, “I wanted to thank you!” She then looked at the floor, blushing. “And I wanted another one….”

I laughed in my throat a bit. "Your welcome, but I can’t right now." With that, I skipped out my room but stopped for a second to tell Sapphire about the secret sauce. “The secret ingredient is in the cabinet.”

She looked lost.

Outside in the garden, I laid on the warm grass and drew the same star, along with some flowers until it was time for lunch. Then, I went right back the the garden until dinner and came right back out. It was getting a little chilly out, but I could stand the cold better than my sister.

A guard came outside to check on me. “Is everything OK, Princess?” he asked it a deep voice.

“Oh, of course,” I smiled, “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You’ve been outside all day, Princess. The captain was just worried about you as all.”

Dad… “I’m perfectly fine, sir guard,” I pouted. He nodded and walked away. But before he could get inside, I called him back.

“Yes, Princess?” I started to shiver and asked for a blanket. He ran back inside and grabbed one for me. “Here you are, Princess.”

That word started to bug me. “And can you not call me ‘Princess’ all the time?” I asked, “Just Ruby is fine.” He nodded and apologized. One guard down… 299 more to go.

As the guard left, I looked up at the stars and smiled. The night sky looked even better than last night. The moon even seems to be brighter and more in tone with it's followers; the stars. It reminded me of a book about Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon. It was quite a good story, however, it made Luna seem more evil than she is now, even before she turned into Nightmare Moon.

Just the sight of the sky made me feel sleepy. I didn’t want to fall asleep outside. But the sound of the crickets chirping and the light of fireflies buzzing by, I blinked once, then twice, and on the third blink, I passed out.

The night sky twinkled around me as I sat on a cloud. I hummed to myself a little song my granny use to sing to me. The moon above sang along in harmony. It's voice sounded just like her. It nearly made me cry.

I stood up and looked down over the edge. “Wait a minute,” I said, “Where’s the Earth?!” Below the clouds, there was no ground. No end to the sky. In fact, the ground was the sky. And yes, I noticed the fact that I was on a cloud as well. It's a dream of course.

I wanted to step out and fall into it all. The sky was calling me from below. But if I fell, could I come back?

My dreams were always like this. Ever since she left…

“Hello?” a voice echoed.

I looked up from the starry abyss below me. “H-Hello?” I called.

“Are you alright?” I turned this way and that to look for the voice that called. “You seem to be tired.”

“Well, I’m tired in some type of ways,” I answered back. I then looked left, then right, but still no sign of the pony who was talking to me. This dream was weirder than the last one. At least I was talking to something…. Why did it have to be toads?

“A little thing like you shouldn’t be out at night like this.”

I’M ALMOST 16!

“Hey! Where are you?! I’m not a little kid! We can fight all the way!” I kneeled down with a smirk on my face and hoofed at the cloud in a fighting stands. I continued to turn around and look for my challenger until I saw a light out of the corner of my eye. A thought hit me like a party cannon. I looked up. “Are you the… Star!?”

That star I saw looked back down at me and seemed closer than any star should be, but again, it was a dream. “Come now,” it said, getting even more closer, taking the form of a pony, “I got ya.”

My entire world tilted and I fell off the cloud I was standing on. As the stars flew past me, a familiar feeling of fear washed over me and I wanted to scream. But then, the star swooped down and snatched me from my fall, zipping right back up. It laid me back on the cloud and smiled at me. Its hoof extended to my mane as it brushed it out of my face and caressed my cheek. I could feel its warm embrace hugging me.

Then, the star took me by both hooves and guided me up into the night sky with it. I stood on nothing as it let go and prevented me from looking down by lifting my head to gaze into it's bright, burning, fiery eyes. It then twirled me, pulling me closer into a ballroom dance position and dancing with me among the other stars.

It started to hum a song that I remember hearing as a little foal. It was the first song my caregiver sang to me before a was adopted. I still remember it to this day: Hush Little Baby.

The star danced steady and gracefully. It's humming made my dream-self sleepy with it’s gentle swaying and it calming lullaby. Soon, I laid my head on it’s shoulder, smiling and nuzzling it’s warm neck. It flew me back to the cloud I first stood on and laid me back down. It ended the song and kissed my forehead.

When I woke up, I was in my bed somehow.

Home schooling was a bitch in this castle. Auntie Twily sat in front of us talking on and on about books and the history of spells as if we never went over this years ago. Sapphire was a little uneducated with magic, but I personally had no choice but to be with Twily at a young age. She seemed more passionate than my substitute teacher, Ms. Powers.

Sapphire started nodding off as Auntie Twily came to her conclusion. “And so, the study of magic really started to take off after the first unicorn sparked their horn!” she smiled, “Any questions?”

I quickly poked Sapphire before our kind yet crazy teacher of an aunt repeated her whole speech for the third time in a row. She snorted and snapped her neck at me with a startled look. I smiled and shook my head slowly, hoping we didn’t have to sit there for another 2 hours.

Sapphire followed along and grinned at our aunt. “That was a enough history on magic for today, auntie,” I said.

“Yeah,” Sapphire added, “I feel educated!” She smiled even wider. Not a second later, the timer rang and Sapphire jumped up and ran out the room to probably go to her own. I sat there for a second, blinking.

“Well….” I sighed, standing up and leaving the room, “I’m… gonna just-” I ran out with another word.

As I ran down the halls of the maze like castle, I grew lost. Looking this way and that, it was hard to recognize that place that well. I started to question. Where was my chamber? Should I slow down? Where are the guards?

Suddenly, I turned a corner and bumped head first into a large pony. I fell to the ground, rubbing my forehead. “Ow!” we both said. His voice sounded… familiar.

I continued to massage the bruise on my head and opened my eyes to see that I ran into a guard. “Oops!” I cried, “I’m so sorry, sir guard.”

He looked at me confused and mumbled something before looking down at himself and gasping. “Not again,” he murdered.

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked.

The guard scrambled to his hoofs and helped me up in the process. “Nothing!” he shouted nervously. His voice echoed down the hall. He then rubbed his chin with a hoof and gave me a look that asked ‘Have we met?’ He opened his mouth to speak. “I’m kinda new here. I’ve literally bumped into ponies all day trying to find my way around.”

”Not what I was expecting,” I thought. He smiled at me nervously as beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. I felt like he was lying to me, but I had no time to stop and play 20 Questions with a guard. “Um… Do you know where the throne room is? My chamber is in that area.”

The guard smiled, nodded, and began walking towards (what I was hoping to be) the throne room. He seemed to be more mellow and less stone cold. He looked just like the other guards but he acted like a childish trainee. Even his eyes looked different from the others even though they had those same colors. Any minute, I expected him to hop around and sing some type of random song. It's not uncommon so why not.

We both walked, turning left and right in silence. Every so often, I sensed the guard looking at me. I felt like he was being a bit rude and looked up at him. He looked away quickly every time I did. It was a little weird but thankfully we were coming up to the last corner.

When we made it to the throne room, I thanked the guard with a smile and he smirked at me. "No need to thank me, little thing," he said. I gave him a blank look and groaned in irritation. He chuckled at me, grinning devilishly as I stepped into my quarters. Weirdo...

When I closed the door, I stood there for a minute, thinking about his voice. “Why does he sound like that star from my dream?” I thought.

Suddenly, Sapphire ran out of her room screaming bloody murder. Something about “The darkness is coming! The darkness is coming!” Another nightmare, I bet. My sister needs sleep therapy.

Later in the week, I decided to take a walk around the castle at 9 o'clock every so often. Sapphire was in her room half asleep doing something in the dark. Whatever she was doing, it was really loud and probably harmful. I wanted to go in there and make sure she was alright, but the last time I did that, I saw something that I dare not describe.

I walked out our 'chambers' - as the royals call it - and took a left. Then a right. As I walked around in the dark, I grew scared. It was a bit too quiet. The smallest of sounds seemed to echo through the halls, making the castle come to life. I jumped from the sound of what might have been a door closing. My back immediately glued itself to the wall next to me and it's cold touch made my already shivering back vibrate harder in fear.

“I hate the dark,” I whispered to no pony. Even my quiet voice echoed in the cold, still halls. It made me even more unsettled.

I continued to try and walk through the halls and find a door to the outside garden. My hoofsteps clopped loudly. Even at a crawl, my hooves sounded like tap shoes on the castle floors. I stopped to think and they still echoed on and on and…. Wait…. Those aren’t my hoofsteps!

I quivered in my boots that I don’t have. The hoofsteps were coming right towards me. My back glued to another wall and I shook again. Just around the corner, I saw where the steps came from. A light blurred the figure that held it. In fact, there were two lights.

“Should I call out to them?” I thought, “Not like it’s a bad guy just walkin’ around the castle like it's their Sunday stroll!” Instead, I walked towards the lights…. “Because doing this is MUCH more safer!”

As my instincts told me “no” and my curiosity told me “yes”, I followed the two flickering lights down the hall. I tried not to make a sound and step with their steps. It worked a bit. They don’t suspect a thing. But then, they stopped. I stopped…. ah-CHOO! They sneezed… and I sighed in relief as they continue into a stairwell.

I remember from the tour that the stairwell they were going up was the way to the “Raising Balcony”. My first thought was that two guard were going up there to scoop out the place because Luna had already raised the moon that night. However, I noticed that there was only one set of hoofsteps and two different lights.

“That can’t be right…” I whispered to myself. I continued to follow the pony up the stairs. However, I started losing my mind at the top of the steps. The pony wasn’t a guard, nor were they one of the princesses. But his race… “Is he an…. ALICORN!?”

To my surprise, it was the first time I had even seen a male Alicorn. He was tall, brown, and had fire for hair. He looked about 17 years old.

I sat and watched as his horn glowed a soft red. He began humming a song that I remember hearing as a little… Wait… That song from my dream!?

“What is going on here!?” I whisper yelled. He couldn’t hear me over his humming. I tried to get a closer look at what he was doing. Quickly and quietly, I crept closer to him and hid under a nearby table.

I looked up at the starry night sky then back at the Alicorn. I didn’t understand what he was doing. I just watched and waited until he did something. The sky behind him was beautiful and his humming was even more magical. Then, in the sky, the brightest star I saw long ago, the other day, and in my dreams, rose up in a fiery flare.

The Alicorn chuckled. “He must be having fun,” he said in his deep yet soothing voice… His voice… My dream… Is he the one who helped me to bed while I was sleep?

I stepped closer, quiet and slow. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t want to startle him or get hurt somehow. The closer I got, the slower I walked and the more quiet I became. Then, he started to sing.

Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird.

The song from my dream…

And if that mockingbird won't sing, Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring…

I stepped closer, eyes widened, trying not to hum along to his beautiful singing. I didn’t even know him, but his voice melted my brain and put me in a trance. He had so much heart in his singing, I didn’t even try to walk slow and carefully anymore. There was no need to. And as he finished his song, a question came to mind.

… And if that horse and cart fall down, you'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

“Who are you?” I asked in a hushed tone.

“AHHHH!!!” he screamed, extending his wings and…. changing into a guard? I froze cold as ice at what I just saw. He turned to look at me. It was that guard I bumped into earlier that day.

“Y-you…” was all I could get out… for now.

He looked at me with a certain gaze. “You?” he said back, turning back into the Alicorn I was drooling over. He took a step towards me and I screamed.

“CHANGELING!!!!” Unfortunately, if it wasn’t for my phobia of dying and the fact that I was having a heart attack, I would have ran. Even more scary, the thing put a bubble around us both and continued to come closer.

He looked at me funny as if he was about to laugh. “Why yes, I am one of those,” he smiled.

“Stay back!” I demanded, “I know laser spells and how to teleport!” He stopped where he was. “Yeah! You better-”

“Hehe,” he snickered.

I glared at him. “You think this is a game!?” I said, trying to intimidate him.

“Oh, no,” he answered, laughing all the while, “I think you’re cute when you try to act tough.”

My mind drew a blank. “Cute...?” He laughed again and destructed the bubble around us. My legs were still too shaky to move.

“Sorry for trapping against your will like that,” he said, bowing, “A young mare like you shouldn’t be put through that.”

I glared daggers at him and demanded answers. “Who are you and why are you so polite, Changeling!?”

He put on a firm face. “My name is Prince Kasper Outland Blaze," he said, "Not many ponies know me because I haven't left outside these castle walls that much.” He paused and frowned. “My mother felt like it was best to keep us here…”

“Who is this ‘us’ you speak of?” I asked, “And who’s your mother!? Is it Chrysalis!?”

The Changeling gave me a look of disgust. “My mother is Princess Celestia!"

I froze again. "PRINCESS CELESTIA!?" I exploded. He nodded. “But… you… and… WHAT!?”

He chuckled again. “My father was a Changeling,” he said with a weak look, “He tricked my mother by destracking her from a surprise war with that wicked witch, Queen Chrysalis.”

He slammed a hoof to the ground, gritting his teeth and angrily walking to the balcony. With my legs gaining strength again, I pondered on leaving or asking more questions. What if he’s lying?

Slowly, I took a quiet step back towards the steps. As I tried to escape, he sat down and made a sniffing sound. I paused. He’s not crying is he? I take another step in the opposite direction and saw a tear fall from his face. He’s crying…

I sighed as my big heart told me to help him. “Are you OK?” I asked as I came and sat with him.

He turned away from me and brushed his foreleg across his face. “Yeah,” he sniffed, “It's nothing.” I didn’t believe him. “Besides, it's not like you can do anything about it.”

I couldn’t tell what he was upset about, but whatever it was he didn’t seem to want to talk about it. “What were you doing up here by the balcony?” I asked. He gave me a look of question and sadness. I gave him a look of stillness.

He then glanced at the sky and pointed to that same star that haunted me. “You see that star?” he asked. Before I could answer, he groaned. “Well, I mean, of course you can. It's the brightest star up there.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Right~” I said, “Yes, I can see it.” He stared at it, intensely. “What about it?”

A small smile lined his lips. "Lovely, isn't He?" he said in a hushed tone.

"He?" I said, confused.

"Yeah. My star is a boy."

I looked at him, puzzled. "How can you tell it's a boy?" I asked.

He chuckled at me. "It's my star," he answered, "I should know what gender it is. And He is a boy."

“I never thought stars could have genders. A boy star? A girl star? It's just a star to me.” I was really curious to know how this was possible, but I had other questions to ask besides how stars have genders.

I looked down below the balcony trying to muster up the courage to ask him my question. I thought for as long as I could in the short time I had. When I was ready, I took a deep breath. But before I could talk, Kasper started singing the same song again.

As he sang, a different question came to mind. “Why do you sing that song so much?” I asked. He stopped and glanced at me. I waited for an answer, but he looked away with a sad expression on his face. I tilted my head and didn’t ask again. I just started singing.

Hush, little baby, don't say a word… Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird… And if that mockingbird won't sing…

“Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring…” Kasper finished. He looked surprised. “You have an amazing voice.”

“Thank you,” I smiled, “I think yours is magnificent.” In the dim glow of the moonlight, I could see his ears blushing as he looked away from me. I giggled at him.

Kasper looked back at me and smiled. He pulled me into a hug. It was sudden, but I hugged him back. As he squeezed me in our embrace, I could hear him start to purr. I never knew Changelings purred until I met this half pony and Changeling prince.

Then, I realized something. "Ruby," I said, pulling away from the hug.

"Ruby?" he said back.

"It's my name. Ruby."

"Ruby. That's a beautiful name."

I blushed. "Actually, it's Ruby-Anna Hearts," I corrected, "I'm from Ponyville, but me and my sister were sent here because, fortunately, our mother is Princess Cadence."

"Oh, OK," he said, looking below the balcony. Then, his ears stood up on end and he did a double take. "You're one of the lost daughters of Princess Cadence?!"

"The lost what of who now?"

He stood up, bouncing on the tip of his hooves. "I thought you were a delegate!" he practically screamed.

“Is that what they call me?" I asked.

“Well, uh…” he started. His expression was oddly confused and shy. “I mean, that's what I would think they call you.”

We were getting nowhere with these ridiculous statements. I shook my head and walked away from the railing of the balcony. Turning to look at him, I noticed he was still looking at the sky. It was as if that star gave him comfort.

I called out to get his attention. "Well, thanks for complimenting my name!” I chimed, “Whenever you need me, I'll be down the hall from the Throne Room on the right.”

“I know where you stay,” he said with a smile, “Remember?” He then changed into one of the guards. It was the same copycat guard I met the other day, and he was probably the same “guard” who helped me get to my room.

I cringed at his transformation. He snickered at me and changed back apologizing for the sudden change. I laughed at his pun.

“You're funny!” I grinned. He gave me a warm smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. I cleared my throat. “ Well… I think I should go… And remember, my name is Ruby-Anna."

"I like just Ruby better," Kasper smiled, "Ruby-Anna is pretty too, but Ruby is the sweetest name I've ever heard."

I blushed at his compliment. "Since you're shortening names, what's yours?"

"Don't have one," he said, as he stepped to my side, "Not unless you count Light Hooves. It's my nickname."

"Light Hooves, huh," I giggled, "I like that name." He rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck again. I started to walk towards the stairs. "Well, I hope to see you again really soon."

"Wait," he shouted. I stopped and looked back at him. He smiled nervously and cleared his throat. "Let me walk you to your chambers."

I smiled and nodded. He led me back down the dark stairwell. I talked about my trip from Ponyvile on the way back. When we made it to my chambers, he said good night and gave me a hug. He opened the double doors for me and I stopped at the door, glancing back at him.

He smiled and turned away. I think he was blushing. “Thanks again," I said, softly.

"No problem," he whispered. I walked inside, closed the door, and sighed.

I suddenly felt sleepy and went to my room. I took sometime to get settled into bed. I laid awake for awhile, thinking about Kasper. I couldn’t help but think of the same question ringing in the back of my head. Would he even be available to talk tomorrow? Will I even see him?

“Only time will tell…” I said to myself.

The next morning, I woke up and thought about going back outside to the garden. I didn't feel like drawing, however. I just wanted to take in the fresh air and look at all the pretty flowers and butterflies and birds and clouds! I felt so warm and happy, I could sing!

But I didn't… It's was too early in the morning for that crap!

As I threw the covers off myself, I cheerfully trotted into the kitchen, humming as I made breakfast. And then I started singing...

The most important meal of the day~! Servin’ it up… Toooday! Pop!

In the joyful chimes of my singing, the sound of a door closing caused me to turn around and see Sapphire standing in the doorway. “Damn, I need food," she said with a groggy yawn.

"Glad to see you're up," I said smiling.

"Yeah, yeah." Sapphire hissed. She stepped into the kitchen and levitated an apple to her mouth. She looked so tired.

I tried to get her attention. “I made pancakes!” I grinned. She gave me a blank look and stared back into the apple's soul. I coughed trying to play off my sadness and ignorance.

Suddenly, she took a violent bite out of the apple with a loud, juicy crunch. It scared the snot out of me! From the way she bit into it, the apple’s juice poured down her lips like blood and the apple cried for help. She took another vicious bite, prying the flesh off the apple like a savage animal. She only did this ate like this when she's either angry or distressed.

"Uhh… is it good?" I asked, trying to lighten the air in the kitchen. Sapphire sharply turned her head towards me and glared. She then threw the rest of the uneaten apple behind her. It bounced on the floor with a squish. Stepping towards the refrigerator and opening the door, Sapphire gave the food an ugly look. I could hear the veggie salad trembling. "I guess not…?”

"Shut up, Ruby," she groaned. She was definitely upset.

"Somepony’s grouchy this morning," I mumbled under my breath.

"Buck off…” she retaliated. She then slammed the refrigerator door, making some of the items fall inside and break. I stepped back to give her space. Without another word, she went back to her room and slammed the door shut.

I frowned. “What is wrong with her?” I thought. I sighed and unfroze from the sudden interaction with my emotional sister. She wasn’t a bad pony and no pony understood that but me. She was just confused about her purpose. After all, she was still a blank flank.

I didn’t know what was wrong today. She just had her moments of lashing out. It's how she coped with her problems. I couldn’t help her now. I decided to let it go and eat something.

Once I finished eating, I went to my room, brushed my mane and walked around the castle. I made it to the door that led to the garden. Three castle guards stood by the door. They were wearing three colors; red, blue, and green. They bowed and greeted me as I walked pass. More guards to teach my name to! Yay!

After I told taught them how to drop the ‘Princess’ title, the guards stood understanding. “We understand, Ruby,” the one in red said. The other two nodded in agreement. “You are not the only one who wishes to be called by name.”

“Oh," I said, raising an eyebrow, “Well who else requests to be called by their name?” They looked at each other like I spoke another language. I was confused, but just walked away and continued on into the garden.

There were so many flowers of different hues and varieties. I never knew cherry blossoms could be purple, or daisies could be teal! This garden had the most rarest orchids in Equestria! So many of them that I’ve never heard of! And to top it off; a ladybug landed on me!

“Well hello there little ladybug,” I said to it. The ladybug smiled at me. “Do you wanna be my new friend?”

“... We’re already friends, Ruby.”

I screamed at my hoof and stumbled backwards as the scared little ladybug flew away, scarred for life. I bumped into something… or someone. “Oops…” Kasper’s voice whispered. My mane laid in front of my face and my tail was in between my legs.

I looked up to see his different colored eyes. The right one was red and the left was sky blue. I didn’t notice them last night, but now that I got a closer look at them in the daylight, they looked pretty.

“W-Why did you do that?!” I shouted with a quiver in my legs.

“I’m sorry,” he smirked, “Didn’t know you’d jump.” He stepped back as I picked myself up, glaring at him.

“You didn’t think I’d jump?!” I repeated. He shrugged. I then stammered on with weird tongue twisted words trying to understand what the hell was going through his head. “You! Ah! Pah-ja! Grrr!”

“Are you done?” he said dryly with an annoyed, blank face. I paused, blushing at the stupidity of my actions and nodded.

“Yeah…” I said sheepishly. My eyes stayed glued to the greenest grass I’ve ever seem. “Im done…”

“Good!” he cheered suddenly. I picked up my head. His face was ecstatic. He smiled and stood playfully. “Now smile!” He them lightly poked me in the side with his horn. It tickled.

“Hey! Stop that!” I cried.

“Nope.” Using his wings, he feathered my neck and under my belly. I tried to back away from him, but instead I got caught in a shrub. He grinned devilishly and extended both of his large wings.

I wasn’t ready!! “NO! NO! NO! NO!” I screamed and belted out an uncontrollable laugh. He tickled me so hard that I fell on the greener than green grass, kicking, screaming, and crying. I sounded like I was getting murdered. I couldn’t breathe.

Kasper finally stopped tickling me so I could catch my breath. “Had enough?” he asked. I tried to say yes, but before I could, a feather brushed across my spine. My laughter continued and then embarrassingly ended in a snort. Though the blur of my tears streaming down my face, I could see him staring at me.

I realized why he was staring and my face glew red. “Uhhhh…” He still stared with that blank expression on his face. I pulled my tail between my back legs and hid behind it. I’ve never been so embarrassed over snorting around somepony. As least I didn’t pee myself.

I kept my tail to my face and waited for something. Anything. Then, he laughed. It was a soft snicker that grew into a belly busting explosion. I peeked from behind my tail.

“Oh my mother!” he cried, “You’re a nerd!”

Nerd… “What!?”

“That snort tho!” he bellowed, “IT WAS PRICELESS!! HAHA!!”

I sat there contemplating life…

Suddenly, the guards that stood at the door from earlier ran up to us. “Kasper! Is everything alright?” the one in red asked.

Kasper looked up at the guards breathing heavily. “Hell yeah!” he cheered, “Just fooling around with my friend.”

I still sat there questioning life...

“Ah yes, Ruby,” the guard in blue said, “Nice to see you two are-”

“Wait, you know her?” Kasper interrupted. All the guards nodded. “How do you know her?”

“She talked to us at the garden gate, sir,” the guard in red stated. Kasper rubbed his chin. “We are sorry for speaking to an unassigned royal.”

What is life...?

“Well why are you all here?!” Kasper asked, “You’re not all assigned to me. Go check on my brothers or something.”

“As you wish, Kasper,” they all said together. They then left the area leaving me and Kasper alone again. Kasper turned to me.

I was still dazed…

“Uhh… Hellooo?” he called, waving his hoof in my face. I didn’t budge. “Welp… I think I broke her…”

Later that evening, I stepped in the shower to wash the greeny green grass off my ass. The bathroom was almost like a spa. Instead of a shower head like back at home, a waterfall was it's substitute. The whole tub was like a pool. It was just the right height for me and Sapphire. It was cleaned daily by the maids and waxed every week.

I dipped my front legs into the warm water and instantly felt bliss. “This is the life,” I sighed. I closed my eyes and plunged below the water. I reserfested and took a deep breath.

I then moved to the waterfall. The water ran gently down my back. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. The water felt so nice. So spectacular! There was no other words I could think of. My brain melted under the water.

I sat in there for an hour and the water never got cold. I didn’t wanna get out. But sadly, I had to.

“RUBY!!!” Sapphire shouted. I splashed around in fright.

I then calmed down long enough to looked up and see my older blue haired sister. “Phire!? You scared the magic out of me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she huffed, completely ignoring me, “Either get out or get ready. I’m getting in.” Sapphire was known for her bluntness and when a ‘My way or the Flyway’ option is dropped, it's either get hurt staying or leave now safe.

I started to make my way out the tub while Sapphire was disrobing. “Have fun,” I said.

My sister gave me a smug smirk. “Oh, I will,” she purred, “Please don’t disturb little sis.” I knew the water felt good, but I didn’t need my sister to sexualize it. I quickly grabbed a towel and stepped out the bath house.

I wrapped my mane in one towel and rubbed my coat dry as I when into my room. When I stepped in, my window was wide open. I couldn’t remember opening the window before I last left my room. I figured Sapphire was in my room messing with my stuff.

“Sapphire, stay outta my room!” I shouted. I then shut my window and finished drying myself off. I brushed my mane and tail, trying not to let it tangle before I go to bed. But before I could get under the covers, I noticed a letter on my pillow.

It read:

Ruby,
Please meet me on the balcony at 10.
Kasper

I looked at the clock. It was already 9:50. I looked back at the letter to see if there was more. In a smaller print, Kasper asked me to come alone. It sent a weird chill up my spine. Why would he want me alone?

I folded the letter back and peaked out into the hall. I could hear Sapphire still in the bath. I took the opportunity to come out my room and run to the raising balcony.

Once I made it to the top of the stairs, it was 10 on the dot. I was out of breath. “Damn…” I puffed, “I thought I was in shape.” As I caught my breath, I glanced up to see no one standing on the balcony. The ticking clock on the wall said 10:03. Was I late?

“Kasper?” I called out, “I’m here.”

No answer.

“Did I miss him?” I thought. I walked out onto the balcony and tried to find his star. It was already raised. “I missed him…”

I plopped down to the floor cursing myself. I didn’t know why, but it just felt like it was my fault. I wasn’t going to cry about it, but my eyes felt heavy like I was about to. I felt awful, but why?

Then I saw a large shadow hovering above me. It was Kasper. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, “I had to raise my star early tonight. I knew I’d be late.” His hooves gently settled on the railing of the balcony and his large wings folded to his body like an angel.

I stood to my hooves in excitement. “Kasper!” I cried out with a smile. He smiled back. “I thought I was late.”

“Nope,” he said, “I just had to take care of some family matters.”

“Oh. With your mother?” I asked.

“No.”

I was confused. “What do you me-”

“Listen,” Kasper rushed, “There’s something I wanna tell you.” As he talked, he came closer to me. I stepped back a bit. “I’ve never really told anyone this before.” He placed his hooves on the floor and stepped closer. I stepped back further into the room.

“W-What is it?” I quivered. I backed myself into a corner. The edge of the cold table nipped me on the plot. Kasper trapped me between a wall, a table, and himself. I had no room to move.

“Well,” he whispered. His face came just inches from mines. My face flushed bright red as I glanced at his lips. His lips looked so soft up close…. OK that was a creepy thing to say… But those eyes. I had to close mine so they wouldn’t blind me. I felt… weird.

“Go on,” I whispered. He brought his mouth to my ear. I could feel his warm breath tickling my fur. My ears blushed as well. I felt so embarrassed.

Then, he took a breath. “You’re a nerd,” he whispered.

I felt stupid… “What!?” I snapped. Kasper chuckled at me and tried to give me a hug. “No! What would you buck with my emotions like that you son of a b-Mmph!” The room fell silent. The whole world stopped. There was no sound. No movement. No nothing.

My legs felt weak and I fell to the floor, touching my lips with my hoof. “You didn’t let me finish,” Kasper said. He gently pulled my face closer to his again. Our eyes met each other. “You’re a nerd and I like that about you.”

“Wha… What?” I stammered. His eyes glued to mine.

“You’re strong, understanding, cute, and intelligent,” he continued, “I know we’ve only spoken few words to each other over the past three days, but…” He looked away and stared at the ground. “I noticed you when you got here. I watched you move into your chambers and I disguised myself as a guard to do so. You gave me side glances here and there, but you never approached me.”

I was baffled and slightly confused. “You’ve been stalking me this whole time?” I asked.

He shook his head spastically. “Hell no! I’m not like that!” He had a serious tone behind his voice. I looked deep into his eyes and he calmed down. “Like I said, I thought you were a delegate. I pay attention to them so I don’t get caught.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why can’t you get caught?” I asked.

“Mom doesn’t want anyone to know about us.”

I was even more confused. “Who’s us?”

Kasper rolled his eyes. “Not trying to be rude,” he said softly, “But can you not ask all these questions right now?” .

“But,” I said. Kasper sighed and put a hoof to my mouth. He then stared deep into my soul making me shiver.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, OK?” he said. I nodded and slowly, Kasper lowered his hoof from my mouth. “I promise you, Princess.”

I gave him an irritated look. “Don’t call me princess,” I huffed. He chuckled at me. “I’m not kidding.”

“Whatever, Princess.” Before I could say anything else, Kasper’s muzzle interlaced with mine once more. This time, I could still hear the crickets chirping and the Earth kept turning.

I’ve been kissed and so I kissed back.

Chap 2 - I Meet My Family

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It's almost New Years in the most coldest, snowy Winter I've ever seen. My sister Sapphire and new boyfriend, Kasper, are standing with me at the front of the castle door where we wait for our other triplet sister, Emerald. It's hard to believe that I'm a triplet. Me and Sapphire wore our best dress coats. Kasper tried to see if his brothers wanted to meet me and my sisters all at once, but his brother, Flare, said no and Solar, his more nicer brother, said he had work to do with Princess Celestia. I learned to pay no mind to his brother Flare. I haven't met neither of them and yet I know Flare is no good. But you never know. He could be nice... To some point.

"Where are they?" Sapphire cried, "It's cold as plots out here!"

"Stop your whining," I yelled.

My father, Prince Shining Armor, was with Emerald the whole flight just like he was with us. It wasn't a long flight. For us, we had to fly for two hours. It seems like for Emerald, it's four hours. The wait was killing me. Sapphire looked like she was about to slap me and Kasper tried not to look at her. He thinks that if he looks her in the eyes then he'll turn to stone. It's kinda funny, but not true.

"Shut up, Ruby," Sapphire barked, "I'm just a little worry. They're not here yet and it feels like ten million hours have gone by. It's a blizzard out there."

"And I thought I was the lazy one," I smirked.

Kasper just stood there. He was quietly snickering at us. I paid no mind to him.

"What the buck are you talking about?" Sapphire yelled.

"You can't stand for ten minutes without whining," I snorted, "Yes, it's cold, but still. Just stop bitching about it!"

"They're here!" She pointed to the sky as a flying carriage flew down. Two Pegasus guards landed gracefully with the carriage strapped to them. "FINALLY, SHE'S HERE!!! WE CAN GO INSIDE SOON!!!!"

I rolled her eyes as we all stood there watching the carriage door open. I bounced lightly as a hoof poked out. A really light grey unicorn with green hair and purple glasses stepped out the carriage. Her coat looked like one of the coats I saw in Manehatten. She looked like she just woke up and never brushed her mane or tail this morning. Lots of ponies have this style of hair. Its pretty common.

"Hi," I said happily, "I'm Ruby and this is Sapphire. We're your sisters."

Emerald lifted her hoof half way off the ground. She waved slightly and looked away. Her mane covered her face as she frowned lightly. She looked like Ms. Fluttershy when I first met her.

Sapphire stepped forward. "Hey, what's up," she said, "You Emerald, right?" Emerald nodded as she continued to looked at the ground. Me and Sapphire looked at each other. "Umm..."

"Can you talk?" I asked in a worried voice. She nodded, but didn't say anything.

"She talks," our father said, stepping out the carriage with purple saddle bags, "She's just shy. I could barely get her to talk to me, but she did tell me her favorite hobby and color." He dropped the purple bags at Emerald's side. One bag unzipped and a ton of books spilled out into the snow. "Which isn't hard to guess."

Emerald smiled and blushed. Kasper stepped up at last. "And I'm Kasper," he smiled.

Emerald looked up at him with wide eyes and her mouth to the floor. It was like she never saw an alicorn before. "Are you my brother?" she asked.

"SHE TALKED!!" I cheered. Everypony stared at me like I was crazy. I sheepishly blushed and cleared my throat. "Um...I mean she talk."

"She's not mute, Ruby," Sapphire said, "Dad just said she can talk."

"Well...whatever," I groaned.

Emerald looked at Kasper waiting for an answer to her question. "Are you?" she asked again.

"No," he said, "Not yet anyways." He looked me and smiled warmly. I smiled back.

"So you two are dating?" she asked softly.

"There ya go," I chimed.

Sapphire gagged as me and Kasper hugged. I paid no mind to her.

"Can we go inside now?" Sapphire bellowed, "It's cold!"

"Looks who's complaining now," I said.

"You can always go inside, Fire Stone," our father said, "It's your home for now."

"FOR NOW?!" she yelled.

"Your mom will be here in a few months."

"Why doesn't that bitch just come and get us now?!"

"SAPPHIRE!!" We all stared at Sapphire. Emerald looked like she wasn't surprised at her. Dad, on the other hoof, we never heard him yell at any of us. He's raised his voice before, but not at us. Or Sapphire.

"And this is where I leave," Kasper said, running away. "I'll be at the party later on, Ru-Ru. Bye."

"I love you, Kasper," I smiled.

"Love you, too."

I watched as he left and was completely in the castle. When he was gone, I turned to Emerald. "I'm so sorry you had to see this," I frowned, "Sapphire can be this way. It's what makes her, her."

"I've heard worse," Emerald said quietly, "Trust me."

In the royal ball, Princess Celestia let us have our small party complete with balloons and cake. How they got a real rainbow in the ballroom is beyond me. The cake had a red layer, blue layer, and green layer. The balloons were all our favorite colors. My red, Sapphire's dark blues and blacks, and Emerald's purple. It was beautiful.

"Wow," we all said.

"You three have fun," dad said, "And make sure you clean up after."

"OK, dad," I said.

"Yeah... No," Sapphire mumbled.

Emerald just nodded. As dad left, Sapphire laid on the wax floor and watched a ladybug walk across her front leg. She groaned as she turned over on her back. She was obviously bored. Me and Emerald watched her as she looked up at us and glared.

"WHAT?!" she yelled.

Emerald backed away and hid behind me. "N-nothing," she whispered.

"Stop scaring her, Sapphire," I shouted. Sapphire sat up and gave me a death glare. She looked ready to kill me. I didn't flinch and run. I'm not scared of her at all, and Emerald will get use to Sapphire just like I did. "Do something! I dare you!"

"No need," Sapphire smirked, "You seem too busy being Emerald's shield."

"Because I know you sure as hell won't be hers."

Sapphire stood up quickly. I pushed Emerald back behind me when out of nowhere Kasper ran in.

"I'M HERE!!" he yelled from down the hall. "I'm here, Ru-Ru! Did I miss anything?"

"Not really..." I muttered quietly.

He stood at the door and turned his back to us, shouting down the hall. Sapphire laughed at him at if he was talking to himself. I held myself back from bucking her in the face. Kasper then turned back to us and ran on to the dance floor. Two very large figures ran in with him. The figures were two other alicorn colts who also had fire for hair.

Kasper stopped in front of me. "Hey," he said, "I told you I'd be here. I got my brothers to finally come with me too."

The two alicorns came up behind Kasper and tackled him to the floor. I stepped back a bit and looked at Sapphire and Emerald in delight and fear. Sapphire stared at the blue haired alicorn. Her eyes sparkled. Great, I thought, Sapphire likes a new colt. This won't end well.

Kasper and his brothers stood up brushed themselves off. "Ruby, this is Solar and Flare," Kasper smiled.

"Sup," Flare said. He then looked at Sapphire. "Oh... Hey, Sapphire... W-what's up...?" Flare started to blush.

"You two know each other?" I asked.

"Yeah... We met two weeks ago..." Flare said, choking on his words.

"We bumped into each other that night you so VIOLENTLY SLAMMED THAT DAMN DOOR IN MY FACE!!!" Sapphire yelled.

Flare smiled. "I love it when she's mad," Flare growled.

We all just stared at them as they looked into each other’s eyes. Awkward silence filled the room for a minute or two. In an attempt to break the silence, I walked up to Solar with Emerald by my side.

"Hi," I smiled. Solar stepped back a bit with a surprised look on his face. He waved shyly, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. The same reaction as Emerald's when I met her. "Did I startle you?" He nodded. He then glanced up at me with shy eyes. He made eye contact while answering my questions, but he just stood there silently. I then noticed he looked past my shoulder and his eyes went wide.

Before I could ask what he was looking at, a voice whispered creepily in my ear. "He doesn't talk much," Flare said behind me. Me and Emerald both jumped and fell to the floor. Emerald, however, fell in Solar's arms. "Ha! I scared you!"

"You OK?" Solar asked. Emerald looked up into his eyes and nodded. Her glasses were half off her face. Solar pushed them up with his magic.

"Thanks," she said, standing.

"Sure thing," he said blushing lightly.

"Your voice," I said. "It's so deep." Flare burst out laughing. I looked the there way in confusion. "Anyways. Your voice is deeper than Kasper's."

Flare stopped laughing long enough to say the dumbest thing I have ever heard. "That's why he doesn't like to talk," Flare said, "That's not his real voice. He actually has a little baby filly's voice." Solar glared at him and walked away mumbling something. "I'm the one with the deepest voice."

"That's a lie," Kasper snickered under his breath.

"I heard that!" Me and Emerald giggled. Sapphire walked over to Flare and stood tall trying to look pretty next to him. I can see how these two are already in love. "Why can't you just except that I have the deeper voice than the both of yours?!"

"Because it's not true," Solar said.

"Whatever, Solar."

"Well it's not. I was born with the deepest voice and you know it."

Flare's fire mane started glowing brighter and the whole room got hot all of a sudden. "Take... That... Back...!" Flare groaned under his breath.

"Flare, stop it," Kasper said, "You're making the room hot." The whole room felt like it went from 0 to 60 in ten seconds flat. As great as it felt to be warm in the winter, this heat was too much to take. Already, me and my sisters were sweating. "And you're also making the girls hot."

"That's not hard for the green haired beauty standing next to your marefriend," Solar muttered to Kasper.

"Huh," Emerald squeaked.

Solar looked away fast and blushed hard. "Help..." he whispered to Kasper.

"Flare, stop before you cook your the girls alive," Kasper pleaded.

"TAKE EVERYTHING BACK AND I'LL STOP!!" Flare demanded.

"Don't stop," Sapphire said calmly. A little too calmly. "Whatever he's doing is making me feel a lot better."

"But he's making us hot," I explained.

"Well too bad. I feel better in this castle now than I did two months ago."

I rolled my eyes turned to Emerald who was panting heavily. She magically carried her saddlebags over to her and grabbed a scrunchy from the pouch. She tied her mane in a ponytail leaving some hair in the front to make a bang. She smile to herself and noticed I was looking at her. She looked away shyly and frowned.

Why is she so shy? Was it something we did or said? Maybe she's just home sick or was sick of home. Whatever it is, we might need to get use to it and she needs to get use to us.

"If Blue Eyes can take the heat then I'm not stoppin' for no pony," Flare said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Blue Eyes...?" Solar said in a confused tone.

"That her pet name," Flare cooed, nuzzling Sapphire's neck.

"Stop nuzzling me," Sapphire sigh. She pulled away from Flare's embrace, blushing.

I groaned in aggravation. "Stop whatever it is you're doing and turn the damn heat down!" I yelled.

"No a chance," Flare hissed.

"Why not?" Emerald asked shyly.

"Because I think my poor brother, Solar, likes to see you sweaty and panting," Flare smirked. Emerald's eyes widened and she looked at the floor, blushing.

"FLARE, SHUT UP!!" Solar yelled.

"Just look at him. He's just dying over there." Emerald glanced up quickly and looked back to the floor, blushing even harder.

"SHUT UP!!!!!" Solar screamed. His face turned bright red and he couldn't look at Emerald.

Flare made things worse and tried to get Outcast in on the teasing, but instead of engage, he looked away and stood next to me. I put my hoof to my face and blushed with every word Flare utter. Sapphire was blushing as well, but I don't think she was blushing for Emerald's embarrassment. I couldn't stand to listen to another word so I stepped up and walked towards Flare, but before could even touch him, Solar spread his wings and ordered Flare to stop once more.

"Aww, doesn't the poor baby feel threatened," Flare teased in a whiny voice, "Should I kiss it for you?"

"Prepare to die!" Solar hissed. His eyes sparked with anger like two forest fires in two different parts of Equestria.

At that moment, I was just now noticing his eyes were two different colors just like Kasper's eyes. Only his right eye was green and the other was blue. In fact, I noticed Flare's eyes, although they were both blue, were two different colors as well. Light blue and normal blue. I gazed into each of their eyes and noticed only their right eye was blue. I wondered why.

I looked over at Kasper and whispered in his ear. "Shouldn't you do something," I asked. He nodded in response and walked towards them both. As he walked, his horn glowed in the brightest shade of red. To me, it looked a bit like a dark pink. The magical ore covered Solar and Flare from horn to hooves and they floated off the floor.

"That's enough you two," he said, "The both of you need to calm down and chill out." I giggled as his horn glowed brighter. In a flash, they all teleported to places unknown. Me and my sister looked at each other, confused. The temperature dropped in seconds and Sapphire started whining about the cold. I rolled my eyes and looked at Emerald again, making sure she was OK, but before I could, Kasper, Solar and Flare returned out of nowhere. Kasper looked fine, but Flare and Solar were covered in ice cycles.

My sisters and I stared blankly at all of them. "Oh," I said, "You weren't kidding."

After the big welcoming party for Emerald, Princess Celestia's New Year’s party was about to start. You would think being at Canterlot Ball would be the most amazing thing in Equestria next to the Grand Galloping Gala. I think Emerald's welcoming party was way better. First off, when the New Years party started, everypony entered like zombies, but then the alcoholic cider came out and everypony got drunk. You would also think the a Canterlot party of any kind would sophisticated. Well, at a New Year’s party, nothing is sophisticated at all.

Secondly, at Emerald's party, she really started to open up to us. She talked a lot more than when she just got her. She was smiling and laughing. We learned a lot about her and how she got her. She likes almost everything me and Sapphire like. From music and art to cake and ice cream.

But the New Years party changed our whole view on Emerald. Let me set the seine.

It was 10 at night. Princess Luna had just raised the moon and stars. Everypony was just starting to come into the castle. All is quiet for about 30 minutes. Then... The cider comes out.

"Awww, hell yeah!" Flare bursts. Princess Celestia, who was standing right next to Flare, gave him a hard glare of disgust. "I mean... Ummm..."

"No way out of this one, brother," Kasper said.

"Shut up, Kasper," Flare groaned under his breath.

Kasper glanced up at the staircase and saw my hot pink heels in the shadows. "By the way, the girls are ready." he said. Solar looked up and saw the three of our shadows. "Get ready, boys."

We all stood at the top of the steps, waiting to be noticed by all three of the boys. "Get ready, girls," I said.

I took the first step down with my sisters following second step. A gentle smile grazed across my face as well as a blush. I took another step and took a deep breath. Half way done the steps and already I felt like everything was going just perfect. We gracefully walked down the stairs. The second I saw Kasper, my heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw me.

"Wow," he whispered to himself. My smile widened and felt so happy to see him again. "Just wow."

Sapphire was the next the come out the shadows. Although, when she stepped into the light her grey coat and black dress made her like she was still in the dark. If it wasn't for the sparkly sequence in the dress, she wouldn't even seem to be coming down the stairs. She walked down the steps with a serious look on her face. She looked so serious that she didn't look in the slightest happy at all.

When Flare looked at her for the first time, he nearly died. "Damn..." he said. His mother gave him another glare, but he didn't care. Sapphire looked amazing. Her black dress looked perfect and her blue eyes gleamed in the like of the ballroom. "She looks sexy as hell."

Sapphire's serious look washed off her face in a flash. She blushed hard and covered her face. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she stood next to me and looked behind her. Emerald was still at the top and didn't seem to want to come down. We all looked up at her shadow and smiled, waiting kindly for her to come down.

"Come on down, Emma," I said. She took a small shift backwards and then looked down at the stairs. She stepped forward and slowly walked down the stairs. "That a girl."

All eyes were on her, except for Solar who was trying to fix his tie and shirt. Emerald's purple slipper was the first thing to come out the shadows. She took another step. And then another. When her face was visible in the light, we all gasped in awe. At that moment, Solar glanced up from his tie for a second and then, looked back down, not noticing Emerald. It wasn't until it hit him the next second that he did a double-take and stared at her beauty.

"You have great taste in mares, little bro," Kasper whispered to Solar.

When Emerald made it all the way down the steps, Solar stepped forward dragging his jaw across the floor. "Wow," he said, "You look... Gorgeous!"

"Awww," me and Sapphire cooed.

Emerald looked at the floor. "Thanks..." she said quietly.

A frown spread across her face. We looked at her, a little confused. Solar turned to us and looked confused as well. We all shrugged, unable to help. Solar turned back to Emerald and frowned as well.

"You OK, Emma," I asked. She nodded in response, keeping her head down. "Well OK... I guess."

"HEY," Sapphire yelled, looking down at the ballroom, "There's liquor down there! Who wants to get drunk?!"

We all stared at her like she was crazy, but knowing she was trying to lighten the mood, I snickered a bit. Flare started cracking up and hugged Sapphire. Then Sapphire started laughter. The rest of us looked at them like they were insane.

"I love this mare," Flare exploded, "Damn, you're funny." I could see that Princess Celestia had enough of Flare's ignorant remarks. Her eyes were shooting daggers at him so hard that if they were real then Flare would be dead. "Come on guys."

We all started walking down the steps side by side. Sapphire next to Flare and me next to Kasper. Solar tried to reach out to Emerald by being a gentlecolt, but oddly she backed away. Solar's kind gestures seem not to work. Nothing did. It wasn't until the party really started that we all saw a side of Emerald that we'll all never forget.

Me and Kasper were sitting with next to each other with Sapphire and Flare to my right and Solar and Emerald on his left. Like expected, Sapphire was already drinking before midnight. Flare apparently does the same thing and Kasper was always sick of it. Although he couldn't get drunk faster than Sapphire, he always burped after every sip, slurp and gulp. Even Sapphire didn't do it like that.

"So them I run out the door yelling, I'M LATE!!" Sapphire said drunkenly, "And EVERYPONY on the block took me to shut the buck up..." She paused to take a sip of her cider. "But I kept running."

"How interesting, Sapphire," I said sarcastically, "That story gets best every time you tell it." I turned to Kasper and murmured in his ear. "Mostly because it never happened."

He snickered and whispered back to me. "It's kinda interesting to me. Flare never tells drunk stories and even though it’s not real, I still think it's pretty funny the way she talks." I nodded in agreement and turned back to Sapphire and Flare.

"Ha, that's crazy," Flare said. I rolled my eyes and thought about telling him it wasn't real. The way I knew was because I was there.

First off, Sapphire wasn't last, she was a whole hour early because she didn't set her clock an hour forwards. Daylight savings time messes with me too, but that's no reason to run around in circles screaming at the top of your lungs, "I'M LATE!!!!"

"And then I jump in an air balloon and squished away the pig goats," Sapphire said. At that moment, me and Kasper busted out laughing. We nearly fell to the floor cracking up so hard. For Celestia's sake, I never knew my sister was so damn lightweight. "W'AT IS SO DAMN FUNKY!?"

"I'm sorry Phire, but you're just so drunk," I laughed, "All you had was a cup and a half of that cider and already you're sliding off your chair."

"I'M NOT DUCK!!" Me and Kasper exploded with laughter. If other ponies saw us, I bet they'd say we were the drunk ones. "IT NOT FUNNY!!"

Eventually, Flare started laughing with us, but it was a very little snicker. "It's kinda funny," he said. Sapphire glared drunkenly at him. Flare stuck his tongue out at her and laughed again. "Lighten up, babe. We're not trying to be mean."

"I don't give a sh..."

Then out of nowhere, Emerald screamed. "THEY'RE PLAYING MY SONG!!!!!"

"Wait... What?" Kasper said with an extra confused look on his face. Emerald grabbed Solar's by the hoof and dragged him to the dance floor. We all look at her like she lost it. Kasper was the most confused. "Wait..... WHAT!?!?!?"

They were playing The Spectacle by Countess Coloratura. I love the song too, but the way Emerald reacted was just outrageous. She was literally cleaning the floor with Solar's face. It would be funny if his face looked like an abstract picture, but instead he looked like the inside of a trash can. Sapphire laughed at his face though. She was just that drunk.

Me and Kasper ran over to them and picked Solar off the floor. "You OK, little bro," Kasper asked. Solar dusted himself off and looked at Emerald who shoot a look at the floor, blushing in embarrassment. Solar didn't look angry at her. In fact, he looked bewitched at her strength, and quite frankly, so were we.

"You... Are STRONG!!" Solar exploded. Emerald hid her face behind her mane and frowned. "I'm impressed."

Emerald looked up, shocked. "Really...?" she said softly. Solar nodded and smiled brightly. Emerald blushed and looked at the floor again. "Nopony has ever been... Impressed with me."

"Well, I think...."

"HEEYYY YOU GUYS!!!!" Sapphire exploded from across the room, "I WON!!!!"

"Sure you did, Blue Eyes," Flare said with a devilish smile. Sapphire giggled and kissed Flare. We all rolled our eyes and they joined us on the dance floor.

"Next time she get drunk is the day of my wedding night," I said firmly. Kasper snickered a little and Flare obviously didn't like my remark. "I'm telling you for a reason. Sapphire is way too drunk for my liking."

"Whatever," Flare puffed.

"LET'S PARTY!!!!!!!!!!" Sapphire screamed. I slapped my hoof to my face and groaned. When I looked up for a split second, Kasper and Solar shrugged and started dancing. Then Flare. Before I knew it, Emerald grabbed my foreleg and spun me so fast that I felt just as drunk as Sapphire. I went with it evenly and danced alongside Kasper.

"I can get use to this," I thought out loud. We danced to five song, but to me they seemed like ten or even twenty. Each was upbeat and made everypony dance like they were straight up fools. Some ponies danced like they had sense and others danced like their life depended on it. Everypony looked stupid, but nevertheless, I didn't judge.

In the last 30 minutes of the old year, Emerald got her wish: Starting a dance competition. The crazy thing is, she won her own dance off. It started with her watching everypony else and somehow she won after words. Then she got a hold of the DJ siston and rocked the hell out of the dance floor. Famous ponies everywhere wanted her autograph and even wanted to sign her up for a record deal. Sadly, she turned them all down. If I were her I would've signed everyponies hoof, horn, wings, back legs, front legs, foreheads, mane, tail, and flanks if they wanted me to. Aside from what I would do, I think Emerald made the right decision because in the final five minutes of the old year, it was what happened after that counts.

Five minutes until the new year and both Drunk Sapphire and Happy Hooves Emerald wore us out with their hard partying, but to my surprise, Sapphire was ready to pass out. Well.... Not really.

"Isn't she just cute when she's sleeping?" Flare cooed. I turned to look at Sapphire and like a lion's roar, she snored loudly with her mouth hung open and drool pouring out in large gushes. Flare's passionate and timid smile wiped off his face and he blushed in embarrassment. "Umm.... Wow...."

"Not so sexy now, is she?" Kasper teased.

"She has her moments," Flare chuckled, "I still think she's the most beautiful mare I've ever seen." Sapphire took another big snort of air. I couldn't help but laugh at her. "Like I said... Beautiful."

"She's also the only mare you've met outside the family."

"What-bucking-ever!"

While Flare and Kasper yelled at each other, I glanced over at Solar and Emerald, who were on the dance floor slow dancing to a song. They are so cute, I thought. I then looked back at Kasper and motioned to him.

"Yes, beautiful?" he said.

"Shut up, Kasper!!" Flare bellowed. I hushed Flare and pointed to his 'Sleeping Beauty', Sapphire. "He started it."

"Argh, you two are so childish," I groaned.

"Anyways," Kasper said turning to me, "Did you need something, Ru-Ru?" I grabbed Kasper's hoof and pulled him from his chair and guided him to the dance floor. "Where are we going?"

I dragged him to the floor and we stood next to Solar and Emerald. "Hey, guys," I said cheerfully, "Mind if we join?"

"Sh..." Solar hushed softly. I looked at him a bit confused and mad. I don't know why I was mad though. Then Kasper stood on the other side of Solar and motioned to me to come over to him. Before our eyes was a sleepy light grey mare. "I think she's sleeping."

"Awww," I cooed, "Ain't that cute?!"

"Yeah," Kasper sigh, "How long has she been like this?"

"Ever since we stopped rave dancing," Solar explained quietly, "After that last song she just laid her head on my shoulder. Then this slow song came on and we slow danced until she passed out in my arms."

"Wow," I said.

"Wow, indeed," Kasper added, "You've never talked that much before. You barely say a word per day." I glared at Kasper and hit on the shoulder. "Ouch... It's true!"

"Shh...." Emerald shifted in Solar's arms and he held completely still so he wouldn't wake her. She yawned and nuzzled his neck as she drifted back to sleep. Solar bit his lip and blushed so hard that I could tell he wanted to squeal with glee.

"Hm... I think she likes your warm coat there, little bro," Kasper snickered. Solar just blushed harder and covered his face with his giant wing. "And I know you like hers."

"So!" Solar said loudly. Emerald shifted again and Solar stopped moving. When Emerald was settled, Solar sighed in relief. "If I like her then what?"

"Then you like her. I'm not trying to say it's a bad thing." Solar's ears flopped down and he seem embarrassed. "No need to be defensive."

"Sorry."

"No problem." They then bumped hooves and did this weird hoof shake. I just smiled like nothing happened. I felt so out of place like I always do.

Then I spoke up. "Hey, Kasper," I said cheerfully, "We got one more minute!"

He looked at the clock. "Oh, crap!" he exploded. He then levitated his glass and mine to our sides. Solar did the same with his and Emerald's. "Are we ready?"

"Yeah," I smiled, "But don't you think we should wake Emerald and get Flare and..."

"HEEEEYYYYYYYY, YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!" Sapphire screamed from across the room. We all looked at her with wide eyes and extended wings. "IT'S ALMOST 12!!!!!!"

"SSHHHHHHHH!!!" we hissed all at once. Emerald shifted in Solar's arms again but this time she woke up. "Damn it, Sapphire!!"

"Hm... What's happening?" Emerald yawn.

"It's almost midnight, my Queen," Solar said, "New Years is here." Emerald stretched and rubbed her eyes with another yawn. She then looked up at us with sleepy eyes and smiled at Solar. Solar smiled back and blushed a bit. "Emerald...?"

"Yes, Solar," Emerald said cheerfully.

Solar took a breath and looked right in too Emerald's eyes. Kasper and I looked at each other with proud eyes and happy smiles. I motioned to Kasper to give them space. After we backed up, Solar turned to us and thanked us with a nod. He turned back to Emerald and opened his mouth.

"Emerald..."

"IT'S TIME!!!!!!" Sapphire screamed as she hopped onto the dance floor like a nut, "HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!!"

Flare ran after her give two glasses of cider. "Wait, Blue Eyes!" he yelled. Sapphire ran up to everyone screaming like a fool. The most shocking thing is that she ran up to each of us and kissed us on the cheek. The even more shocking thing is that Emerald turned her head to Sapphire not sure what was going on and got kissed on the lips.

Sweet Celestia, I thought. Emerald's face froze like ice. We all lookwd at her and Sapphire like they were fillyfooler. Kasper, Solar, Flare and my mouth dropped to the floor. When Sapphire broke the kiss, she danced around the floor and within seconds, she passed out in front of us.

"Oh jeez," Kasper said, slapping his hoof on his forehead.

We all looked at Emerald with worried faces. "Umm... Emma?" I asked, "Are you OK?" She said nothing and stiffly stood there. She then took a step. Then another. Then another.

"Emerald?" Solar called worriedly. Emerald started walking faster. It was long until she ran up the stairs. Solar sigh and ran after her with me, Kasper and Flare who carried Sapphire up to her room with his magic.

Up stairs, Emerald's room was cracked up with no light peering out at all. I was a bit worried to her reaction. We knocked on her door. No answer. Solar looked at the door then directed his attention to me. He then looked back at the door and entered without permission.

“Emerald…?” he called out with a sigh, “Are you OK?”

“She kissed me….” Emerald said in a whisper.

“Emerald, it was an accident.” Emerald looked up with sorrow eyes. Solar sat on the bed next to her and smiled weakly. “What’s so wrong with her kissing you…? I mean, other than her being your sister.”

Emerald looked back at the ground and touched her lips with a hoof. “It was my…. First….” she said with a chock in her throat. I looked at Sapphire’s sleeping, lifeless body and glared for some reason. She snored loudly. I just rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"I see," Solar said, drooping his ears.

"My sister... Was my first kiss..." I could tell Emerald was traumatized. If Sapphire was my first kiss, I'd be flipping tables like it was my job. Emerald's head dropped to the floor and she seemed to be crying. Or at least that's what it sounded like. I walked other to her and stood in front of her.

"It's OK," I said. She just kept crying though, but I couldn't see tears. That's when I noticed She wasn't crying. She was laughing.

"Oh, Celestia," she cried out in laughter, "I had my first kiss with my sister! What a night I had!" I backed away from her and looked up at Kasper, confused. He shrugged at me, unsure of what to make of this. I looked back at her. Then at Solar, who looked up at me. He then looked at Kasper and Flare. They looked at each other and then we all looked at Emerald. She laughed and laughed until she couldn't anymore.

After she stopped, Solar started laughing. They were little snickers, but somehow they made Emerald start up again. Emerald's laughing made Solar laugh harder. Then their laughter made me laugh. All three of us dropped to the floor like idiots. Kasper and Flare joined in and we all laid on the floor laughing. All but Sapphire, who was completely knocked out on Emerald's bed. Soon we all finally stopped laughing. That's the last thing I remember that night.

It was 8:37am when we all woke up in sets of one or two. Sapphire rolled off the bed in the middle of the night. I could tell because she was laying on the floor next to the bed with her ass in the air. Kasper slept next to the window and somehow I was sleeping with Flare. I don't EVEN want to say what happened after I woke up. I'll be scrubbing my mouth out for years without end. I will say that my and him both screamed and woke Kasper and Sapphire.

"Argh... Damn," Sapphire groaned, "I was having the best dream ever." She opened an eye and noticed me and Flare scooting away from each other. I looked her way then looked back Flare. "What just..."

"NOTHING!!" me and Flare exploded at once.

"Shhh..." Kasper hissed as he stood. He pointed to the bed where Emerald laid on top of Solar, snuggled up, both asleep.

Chap 3 - Sweet and Sour 16

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The raindrops of yesterday still stick to the windows like clear glue on a clear sheet on paper. Birds sung beautifully in the cool Winter sky. It was almost Spring time.

When I woke up I could smell pancakes and muffins. The aroma filled my nose with happiness. I shifted my body to the edge of my bed and moaned from the intoxicating smell. I opened my eyes slowly and yawned a little before tossing the covers off my body, sitting up and walking out my room to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, a plate with buttercup muffins and hazelnut pancakes sat on the table. “Ooo, yummy,” I said to myself. I sat down at the table and looked around to see who’s breakfast it was. Maybe Kasper cooked it for me. A day early birthday breakfast perhaps? “I love that colt.”

I cut into the cakes and brought the fork to my mouth when all of a sudden… “NOOOOOO!!!!!!” a colts voice screamed. Before I could turn my head, I was tackled.

A brown hoof stepped on my back legs and pinned me uncomfortably to the ground. “Ow!” I cried, “Hey, what gives?!”

The large brown colt stepped off of me and to my surprise, it was Flare. “That was for Sapphire, you numb skull,” he yelled.

“Hey! I’m not the numb skull!” I yelled back, “Next time leave a note, dumb ass!”

“You can’t just assume it’s for you, Princess!”

“I thought Kasper made it for me, Prince!” Flare groaned into his hooves in anger and walked away from me mumbling to himself.

Sometimes I wished Sapphire was born on the same day as me and Emerald. It's a long story as to how she's our triplet, but was born a day before us. According to our birth certificates, Sapphire was born at 11:55 pm in February on a 13th of Friday. Me and Emerald were born on Valentine's Day shortly after. I was born at midnight and Emerald, five minutes later. We were all supposed to be born on Valentine's Day but some how Sapphire came just a bit earlier.

Speaking of Sapphire. "Argh... What is going on in here?" Sapphire groaned as she rubbed her eyes in the hallway.

"Oh, Blue Eyes," Flare blushed nervously. I could see him sweating buckets. "Happy Birthday!" He then ran up to Sapphire and kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh, thanks," Sapphire said blankly. She looked at me and mouthed out the words, "Should I tell him?"

I shook my head 'no.' "I made you pancakes," Flare said shyly. He levitated the plate of pancakes to her and bowed at her hooves like he was a servant. He was shaking hard. Even his magic made the plate quiver in fear.

Sapphire giggled. "Did you get hungry?" She joked.

"Yes... I MEAN NO!! IT WAS RUBY THAT ATE THEM!!" Flare suddenly got mad at me and shot a quick glare my way. I just crossed my legs and leaned up against the wall, smirking. Flare looked back at Sapphire and prayed for forgives. "Please."

Sapphire laughed, breaking character. "Flare, you crazy colt, why are you so scared of me?"

"What do you mean? I'm celebrating your birth! Didn't you want everything to do completely perfect?!"

Sapphire looked over Flare shoulder and asked me, "Should I tell him?" I nodded to her and she giggled a bit more. She looked back and Flare. "Babe, me and Ruby started a tradition were we don't celebrate until the exact second we were born. We started it when I first moved into with her."

"I started it with Honey when she got older," I added with a bright smile, "Smart little filly, am I right Sapphire?"

"Damn straight," Sapphire smiled, "And even though I like the idea of birthday breakfast, maybe you can do it some other time, Flare. Besides, who needs food when..." Sapphire pulled Flare closer and finished whispering the rest in his ear.

As she spoke, Flare's ears twitched and blushed bright red. "Oh, really," he smirked. Sapphire nodded. "Well, why not now?"

Sapphire took Flare's hoof and walked away, leaving me in the kitchen confused. "What about her pancakes?" I asked.

"You can have them!" Sapphire answered as they walked away. I heard her door slam shut and alone I was. Sometimes I wonder about them..... Mostly Sapphire.

I looked at the pancakes and took a bite from off the fork, but the second it touched my tongue, I spit it out. "Ewww!!" I cried. I turned to the hallway and screamed, "You needs to join a cooking class!"

To me, it seems like an every two months thing. Here we were, in the ballroom for yet another party. Does Princess Celestia just approve of everything we do as long as we don't burn the place down? It's weird to have free rein like this. I don't really like it. I need rules in my life. At least Sapphire seemed to like the power even if she can just do something silly like stay up all night. She was finally happy and that's all I needed.

At 11 o'clock at night, the sun was down and Celestia was asleep. The moon was out and Luna was awake. Our dad had guard duty and couldn't stay long, but at least Princess Twilight... I mean, auntie Twilight could stay with us. I had no doubt that she would too busy in between friendship problems to stay. She shouldn't have had to leave even thought I expects there wouldn't be one that late at night. Besides the fact that me and Sapphire get to see our favourite princess again - only as our aunt - our new boyfriends are giving us all the gold in the world... Probably.

When Kasper raised our star, he came straight to the party. "Hey, I'm not late, am I?" he asked.

"Not at all," I said smiling, "Sapphire just went to get Emma."

"Great!" I guided him to the cake table where Solar and Flare stood eyeing the cake. I said nothing until I saw Flare's horn glow. That's when I slapped him. He turned to me then to Kasper then back at me.

He then stretched him hoof out towards me and looked at Kasper with a 'control yo girl' look. "Dude!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Kasper said.

"You ain't gon' do nothin' 'bout that?!"

Kasper looked at me and smiled. "Oh, right." Before I could react, Kasper swept me off my hooves and kissed me.

"Really?" Flare said annoyed at us.

Kasper broke the kiss and looked up at his brother. "What!?" he said again.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Kasper looked back down at me with a smile. My face was bright red which is probably what he was smiling as.

"Now I get it." He then dipped me and kissed me again.

"Oh, come on!" Flare exclaimed. When Kasper let me back up, my entire face was as red as his right eye.

Solar was just standing there laughing at Flare's disappointment and my red confused face. "That's what you get," he said.

Flare glared at him. "You can't talk 'cause that's why Emerald still isn't your mare friend," he smirked. Solar's ears drooped. "Yeah, so shut up."

"No," I said, "You shut up." Flare turned to me as his mane flared up again. I took a step back until I bumped into somepony tall. I turned, bowed and apologized thinking that it was one of the princesses. I was kind of right.

"No need for that, my niece," the pony said. To my surprise, I looked up to see my auntie Twilight. "Next time, just look where you walk, Ruby."

"Princess Twilight!" I squealed. She spread her hooves to me and hugged me tight.

I feel like I failed to mention that me and Sapphire lived right next door to her. She was our auntie before she was our auntie. Me and Sapphire loved her and never wanted to leave her. After we found out we were Princess Cadence's daughters, however, we knew we would see her again.

At the same time she got to the party, Sapphire and Emerald walked in. "Where da alcohol at!?" Sapphire exploded, raising her hooves to the sky. Emerald slammed her hoof to her face and, quite frankly, so did I.

"Sapphire....!" Twilight said, "How happy to... See you again...?"

"TWILY!!" Sapphire screamed as she jumped on top of Twilight, tackling her to the ground, "I knew we'd meet again!"

"So did I, my little hot stone." I giggled at Sapphire who blushed in embarrassment.

"Twily, don't call me th-..." she started to say.

"And THAT'S another thing!" Twilight shouted. The room around her and Sapphire took a pause. "You call me aunt, auntie, or sister mama Twilight!" Instantly, Flare busted out laughing.

"Sister mama Twilight! HA!" he cried.

Twilight talked over his laugher. "You can't just call me Twi, or Twily, or Twilight for that matter anymore. I gave you enough leeway." I snickered at my sister causing Twilight to turn to me. "That goes for you too, Ruby. Respect me, damn it!"

I froze dead in my tracks. "Yes, auntie," I said. I then walked away and thought to myself, "Even though I always respected you, aunt or not...."

"Good," she said. She then turned to Emerald and smiled. "But I don't expect anything bad from you."

Emerald hid behind Solar and murmured, "Sure.... I guess...." Twilight turned to me and Sapphire. Sticking her nose in the air, she walked away. I have never been so jealous in all my life, but I'm pretty sure Sapphire has.

Sadly, I was wrong about auntie Twilight not having to leave. The second Sapphire was turning 16 her ass started glowing out of nowhere and she was like, "Oh... Sorry girls. I have to go fix a friendship problem." Then me and Sapphire were like, "YES!!" Twilight sneered at us but we didn't really care because when she left the party was 'jumping' as Sapphire calls it.

"I'm sorry I have to go, Ruby," our aunt said, "But I'll be back tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah," Sapphire said carelessly, "Go help ponies and all that. Stay safe and don't forget to write." I slapped the back of her head as hard as I could. She let out a loud 'Ow!' and growled at me.

"What Sapphire means is please get home safe and thanks for coming," I said angrily gritting my teeth. Auntie Twilight giggled at us, hugged us all and left with a big smile on her face. This is where things got crazy.... For Sapphire that is.

With only six ponies and a gender ratio of one to one, we slowly started splitting apart into groups of two. Me and Kasper trailed off to the pouch table, Sapphire and Flare made out in a corner, and Emma and Solar were dancing on the dance floor. We all were having our little fun until Sapphire got drunk again.

"RUBY!!!" she screamed from across the room. I groaned in irritation and turned to her. "Get me another cider! I'm thirsty!" The cup she had wasn't even finished. She looked into it like I magically Poofed it into her cup, brought the cup to her lips and tilted it upward about to drink it.

"I think you've had enough," Flare said, taking the cup away from her. It was the first smart thing I've ever seen him do. Sapphire reached for the cup like a foal desperately reaching for it's bottle. She even started cry.

"WAAHHHH!!! I WANT IT!!!" she wined.

"No, Sapphire," I said walking up to her. She glared at me and I stuck my tongue out at her. When I turned my back to her she throw the cup at me with her magic. To bad she missed. I turned my head back at her and shot daggers with my eyes.

Flare grabbed Sapphire and moved her to a different corner. "We'll just...." he said with a pause, "... Be over here, OK?" He moved her to a different corner. If it wasn't for them moving, I probably would have slapped Sapphire twice in one night.

I groaned as walked back to the punch table. "Don't get upset, Ru-Ru," Kasper said giving me a cup, "Your birthday starts in a minute." He was right. It was almost midnight. "Come on. Let's get some cake."

I smiled. "I'd like that," I said, "I'd like that a lot." At midnight, everypony gather around to sing me Happy Birthday. Then five minutes later we sang to Emerald.

That night, I felt like we all were family.... Me and my sisters I mean. I've only known Emerald for two mouths and Sapphire for about two years. But I felt like we knew each other since we were born. I guess when you first meet your real family you feel that way. Why? You just do and life is like that. Except it and move on!

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," mommy said as she gave me a present wrapped in red and pink wrapping paper. I took it into hooves and shook it a little. Could it be?

"No way!" I screamed. I had no doubt it was the present I had been begging for. I ripped through the wrapping paper like it was my job. When I saw what was inside, I screamed louder. "YES!!!!! YEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!"

I hugged my mommy and kissed her on the cheek. "Your quite welcome," she said. My mommy and daddy bought me a new art kit. I was so happy that when daddy came home, I ran up to him and thanked him for my present. He sneered at me and pushed me off of himself. I step back and looked up at him, sad. He looked like he didn't care.

As he walked away from me, he asked mommy about dinner. "It's in the kitchen, baby," mommy said to him. Without thanking her, he walked into the kitchen. "Um, Short Cut?"

"What!" daddy answered rudely.

"Well, its just that you haven't said anything to Ruby today." He poked his head into the living room and looked at me blankly. I smiled, waiting for a big 'Happy birthday Ruby!' Sadly, that's not what he said.

"Why is there bits of wrapping paper all over the floor?!" he asked angrily. I looked down at the floor in front of me. "Clean that up!"

At that moment, I had some weird feeling of some sort. He did wrap my present, right? "It's from the present you..." I started to say.

"Now!" he interrupted, demandingly. I frowned but slowly started picking up the paper. "And don't you dare use magic! You know what happened the last time you disobeyed me!"

Mommy looked confused. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Nothing. After I eat, I'm going to bed." Daddy went back in the kitchen again and fixed him some food.

That night, my mommy wanted to ask me what I did, but I refused to say. If only she knew how scared I was. If only she knew what daddy did when I was bad. This all started when she came into their lives. I was not jealous. I did not hate her! I just wanted things to go back to the way it was. Just me and mommy and my nicer daddy. But know its me, mommy, somepony who looks like my daddy, and..... Honey.

Ruby

by TheHeartsSisters

Prologue

Chap 1 - A Star in the Sky

Chap 2 - I Meet My Family

Chap 3 - Sweet and Sour 16