I'm going through my collection and dumping whatever interesting things I find in this fic. Because why not. Chapter names are direct copies of how I named the docs unless stated otherwise.
Note: these are all unedited, unfinished ideas I just have lying around. Do not expect quality.
T, probably for swearing, innuendo and... that should cover it, I think?
Crossovers: Lion King (1st movie) Equestria at War A Song of Ice and Fire Equestria Girls
Rarity walked out of the university together with the rest of the students. She had a determined look on her face; she had someone she needed to talk to. More correctly, to be angry at. And she found her query easily enough, near the university’s stadium.
Diamond Tiara, leaning against the frame of a support beam, and smoking a cigarette. She looked as if she didn’t have a care in the world, which she probably didn’t, all things considered.
‘’You!’’ Rarity said angrily as she approached her fellow student. ‘’You stupid, arrogant… you!’’
Diamond looked at her with a bored expression. ‘’Why so angry?’’ she asked.
‘’Are you seriously asking me that!?’’ Rarity yelled. ‘’You embarrassed me in front of everyone!’’
Diamond inclined her head in acknowledgement. ‘’Let me make it up to you.’’ She took a long tug from her cigarette, then leaned forward with her eyes closed…
And kissed Rarity on the lips.
Rarity stilled, frozen in shock. She had never kissed another girl before, and Diamond’s lips felt softer than the few boys she had kissed. The other girl opened her mouth slightly, letting the smoke she’d just drawn from her cigarette into Rarity’s mouth. She could feel Diamond’s empty hand in her neck.
Then she drew her mouth away, and gave a confident smile. Rarity, meanwhile, was blushing as she blew the smoke she’d just inhaled back out of her mouth. It hadn’t tasted half as bad as she had been led to believe.
‘’Happy?’’ Diamond asked.
Rarity slowly nodded. ‘’Y-yeah…’’
Diamond’s confident smile gave Rarity some quiet reassurance. ‘’You want one as well?’’ the girl offered as she pulled a small pack of cigarettes out of a pocket inside her jacket.
Rarity’s first instinct was to say no, but she was feeling a bit rebellious lately, and the surprise kiss hadn’t helped against that. So she nodded, and accepted the cigarette pack. She picked one out and lit it, then handed the pack back to Diamond, who put it back in her pocket.
Slowly, Rarity brought the cigarette to her lips and took a long drag. Her first instinct upon feeling the smoke inside her mouth was to blow it out, but she stopped herself from doing that. There was nothing wrong with the taste, she supposed.
‘’You like it?’’ She looked up at Diamond. Tentatively, she nodded.
‘’Why did you kiss me?’’ she asked the girl.
Diamond glanced around to see if no one was near enough to hear them, then leaned towards her. ‘’I like you,’’ she answered simply. ‘’You’re cute, especially when you’re flustered.’’
‘’You did that because you wanted to see like that!?’’ Rarity yelled.
‘’It’s a compliment,’’ Diamond said. ‘’And I am sorry for embarrassing you in public.’’
Rarity sighed, only to remember she’d just taken another drag from the cigarette. She coughed as the smoke shot out of her.
Diamond chuckled. ‘’Yeah, that tends to happen. Be more careful next time,’’ she admonished.
Rarity raised an eyebrow. ‘’What are you implying?’’
‘’Well,’’ Diamond replied, ‘’I like you, Rares. And from the way you’ve been looking at me, it would appear you like me as well.’’ She stuck her empty hand out. ‘’Wanna give it a go?’’
Rarity was dumbfounded, floored. She had a few little flings in the past, so she was not totally inexperienced when it came to romance and dating, but she’d also held out a hope that the ‘true one’ would one day appear to her.
That did not mean she did not look around; she wasn’t blind. And Diamond Tiara had caught her eye. Despite appearances, the rich heiress was brilliant in her own field - Business Management - and just going to the university when she could have lived comfortably without working a day in her life proved she had at least some sort of character.
Of course, she was beautiful as well. Her purple hair, a lighter shade than her own, fell elegantly down her shoulders and neck. Her face was without blemishes or scars and her blue eyes were seductive with their long lashes. And her body, with a tight ass, slim figure and D-cup breasts, could of course not be ignored.
All those things had culminated in Rarity developing a bit of a crush on her. She’d thought she had been subtle, only taking a few glances every day, but evidently Diamond had noticed. And now she wanted to try and have a relationship with her?
As she thought this over, she realized something. ‘’This was all just an elaborate plan to speak with me, wasn’t it?’’
Diamond smiled, and tipped her head. ‘’Congratulations on figuring it out.’’
‘’Why? You could have just asked me,’’ Rarity reasoned.
‘’Forgive a girl for her amusements,’’ Diamond replied as she squished her cigarette against the support beam and lit a new one. ‘’I love making plans like this, but I can understand it if you don’t like it.’’
Rarity sighed. ‘’Fine,’’ she said, ‘’I guess I can’t complain about the result.’’
Diamond’s eyes lit up. ‘’You’re willing to give it a go?’’
‘’You just said yourself that you planned all of this,’’ Rarity pointed out. ‘’I don’t think you would spend time on it if it wasn’t worth doing.’’
‘’True,’’ Diamond agreed.
‘’But!’’ Rarity held up a finger. ‘’If we’re doing this, I want you to discuss it with me if you want to do something like this again. Relationships are built on trust, and I don’t appreciate being embarrassed publicly when it could have been done more private.’’
‘’I can agree to that,’’ Diamond said, ‘’and again, I’m sorry for embarrassing you. I really do like you, you know.’’
‘’What precisely do you like about me?’’ Rarity was curious to see what she would answer.
‘’Lots of things,’’ was Diamond’s vague answer. ‘’I guess, if I had to pick one… your generosity.’’
‘’Oh?’’ Rarity raised an eyebrow.
‘’I’ve seen you share money, food and even your jacket once because someone else needed it more than you, and you never asked a single thing in return,’’ Diamond explained. ‘’I find that admirable.’’
‘’Darling, you’re sharing your cigarettes with me. I recognize the brand; they’re not cheap,’’ Rarity argued.
‘’Yeah,’’ Diamond agreed, ‘’but I have, no offense, a lot more money than you do. Everything you shared cost you more than these cigarettes cost me.’’
She had a point, Rarity admitted to herself. But still, she couldn’t help but say, ‘’You’re still sharing something that belongs to you without asking for something back. I agree that the cost for you is negligent, but that doesn’t change the sentiment.’’
‘’Perhaps,’’ Diamond allowed, before taking another long drag from her cigarette. Rarity’s own had long since gone out. ‘’But enough discussion about semantics, literally,’’ she continued. ‘’I was planning on seeing the newest Marevel movie this evening. Do you have anything planned?’’
‘’No,’’ Rarity replied, ‘’and it would be my pleasure to go to it with you, darling.’’
Diamond nodded. ‘’It’s a date.’’
|-x-X-x-|
‘’That was a thrilling movie,’’ Rarity commented as the two walked away from the cinema.
‘’I liked it,’’ Diamond agreed. ‘’Say, do you want to grab a drink, or…?’’
Rarity pulled out her phone and looked at the time. ‘’I’m sorry darling, but my sister is coming over in the morning, so I’m afraid I must be up early tomorrow.’’
‘’Then at least allow me to drive you home,’’ Diamond offered as they approached the parking garage. ‘’I don’t know how close your home is, but the streets can be pretty unsafe at night.’’
Rarity wanted to retort something about how she could handle herself, but Diamond was trying to be nice, and a car ride did sound better than walking. It would certainly be faster and more comfortable.
‘’Very well, darling,’’ she relented with a nod, and couldn’t help but smile as Diamond’s face lit up.
Her date practically dragged her through the parking garage, until they stood in front of a sleek Lamborghini.
‘’This is yours?’’ Rarity asked in astonishment.
Diamond nodded with pride. ‘’Yup. You’ll be home in 10 seconds.’’
Rarity chuckled. ‘’Now you sound like Rainbow Dash.’’
Diamond snorted. ‘’Friend of yours?’’
‘’Indeed.’’ Rarity nodded.
‘’Well, climb in and let’s go.’’ Diamond opened the car and got into the driver’s seat, Rarity next to her. The drive to Rarity’s home was uneventful.
‘’This is it?’’ Diamond asked as she pulled into the street.
‘’It is,’’ Rarity confirmed, before hesitating. ‘’Do you… want a drink?’’
‘’Sure,’’ Diamond replied as she parked the car, ‘’but not too much, of course. I still have to drive home.’’
An excited Twilight Sparkle bounced down the hallway of Canterlot Palace. On her flanks were twin saddlebags, filled to the brim with books and other materials necessary for her lessons.
The filly arrived in front of the door to the Princess' quarters. Two guards flanked at it, and smiled as they spotted.
‘’Good morning, Miss Twilight,’’ one of them said as the other opened the door for her.
‘’Good morning sirs,’’ Twilight replied with a bow of her head as she walked through the door into the Princess’ quarters.
‘’Princess? I'm here!’’ she called out as the door closed behind her.
‘’In here, Twilight,’’ the Princess said from inside her study. Swiftly, the filly walked up to the door of the study and pushed it open.
‘’Good morning Princess…’’ Twilight trailed off as she saw the room.
The Princess was laying next to the hearth on the carpet. Her regalia lay on the desk, but that wasn't what drew Twilight's attention.
What did draw her attention was the other being currently in the room. It was seated on the carpet as well, with crossed legs. It's face was pale and hairless, and it had a dark brown mane that fell down to his shoulders. Two other limbs hung from his shoulders, covered by blue robes. However, they ended in strange appendages, which bore a resemblance to those of the minotaurs.
Both the Princess and the other had turned their heads towards Twilight. The being’s eyes were as blue as the Princess’ were purple, a deep entrancing colour that you could easily get lost in.
Then it spoke, with the voice of a stallion. ‘’Your student, Tia?’’
The Princess nodded. ‘’Indeed, Ruilael.’’
‘’Uhm, Princess? Who is this?’’ Twilight asked.
‘’I am Ruilael Firsir,’’ the being answered before Celestia could. ‘’God of Water and King of Elfris. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Sparkle.’’ He stuck out his hand to her.
Blinking, Twilight gently shook it. ‘’Pleasure,’’ she said in a stunned voice. Her mind was racing at a thousand miles a minute. Who was this stallion? God of Water? Where did he come from? What was he?
The sound of the Princess’ voice broke her train of thought. ‘’Lay next to me, Twilight, and we’ll begin our lessons for the day.’’
‘’Of course, Princess,’’ Twilight said, laying down on the soft carpet. She took off her saddlebags with her magic and placed them next to her. ‘’What will we be covering today?’’
‘’It probably has something to do with why I’m here,’’ Ruilael remarked. ‘’After all, this isn’t a social visit.’’ He leaned forward. ‘’So spill the beans, Tia dear.’’
Twilight resisted the urge to frown. The casual way that Ruilael addressed the Princess indicated a level of familiarity between them, and also partially supported his claim of divinity. Even the most powerful leaders from other nations addressed the Princess with respect; that Ruilael did not probably meant they were good friends or he wasn’t afraid of her. Or perhaps it was both.
‘’Very well,’’ the Princess said. ‘’Today, my faithful student, we will be discussing other worlds.’’
‘’Ah.’’ Ruilael leaned back again with a smile. ‘’So that’s why I’m here.’’
‘’Other worlds?’’ Twilight repeated. ‘’Forgive me Princess, but I thought that was just a theory.’’
‘’There is a portal to a mirror world to ours in this very Palace,’’ the Princess said. ‘’And there are other ways to travel between them, such as the one Ruilael uses to get here.’’
‘’To be fair,’’ Ruilael took over, ‘’My way is unique, as are most others. Generally, these portals have very specific instructions and limits, and messing with them can go catastrophically wrong very fast.’’
‘’You’re from another world?’’ Twilight asked with wide eyes. That would explain why she didn’t recognize what he was.
‘’It is not obvious?’’ Ruilael asked rhetorically. ‘’I would hope that none of the Elfsir have managed to find their way here. It would be most… problematic.’’
Twilight’s mind was swimming with questions, but the Princess raised her hoof to stifle them. ‘’Patience, my dear student,’’ she said with a warm smile. ‘’Hold your questions for now; I think I have a book Ruilael wrote with answers to most of them somewhere around here.’’
‘’I did write such a book,’’ Ruilael acknowledged with a chuckle.
‘’I have so many questions,’’ Twilight interrupted.
The Princess’ horn lit up, and a blue book flew from one of the bookcases towards her. Laying in front of Twilight, she noticed that the cover seemed to be made of water, but that couldn’t possibly be true, right?
‘’While you read this,’’ the Princess’ voice once again brought her out of her musings, ‘’Ruilael and I will discuss old memories. Feel free to listen in and ask any questions you can’t find answers to in the book.’’
‘’Now then,’’ the Princess stood up, turned sideways, and dumped herself in Ruilael’s lap, head angled towards Twilight. ‘’I demand backrubs.’’
Ruilael laughed. ‘’As my lady commands.’’ He brought up his hands and gently began to rub the alicorn’s back, while Twilight stared in shock as the Princess let out a content sigh.
‘’I love it when you do that,’’ she commented idly.
‘’You like my fingers administrating your body?’’ Ruilael quipped, a small smirk forming on his lips.
‘’There are children in the room,’’ the Princess observed, and Twilight saw she was blushing?
‘’Only one, and that’s your student,’’ Ruilael countered. ‘’Who, I trust, can keep a secret?’’
‘’Of course,’’ Twilight said hastily. ‘’I wouldn’t even dream of betraying the Princess’ trust!’’
Ruilael smiled at her. ‘’Good.’’
Then he leant in and kissed the Princess.
Twilight’s brain shut down as she watched the Princess respond with vigor. She flipped around, laying on her back and wrapping her forelegs around Ruilael’s neck, holding him.
‘’What?’’ Twilight finally managed to whisper. If the other two noticed, they didn’t show it, too busy kissing each other.
Finally they broke apart, both panting and smiling widely. ‘’What?’’ Ruilael asked, seeing Twilight’s increasingly shocked face. ‘’Can’t an engaged couple kiss each other?’’
Twilight’s body finally caught up with her brain, and with a thud the mare fainted, head dropping onto the carpet.
|-x-X-x-|
When Twilight finally came to, the first thing she noticed was that she was lying on and under something soft. She tried to sit up and lift her hooves, and wondered when she had fallen asleep.
‘’Hey, you. You’re finally awake,’’ a stallion’s voice said.
Twilight opened her eyes to see Ruilael and the Princess sitting next to the bed she was apparently in. Looking around, she blanched when she recognized it as the Princess’ own bedroom. ‘’What happened?’’ she asked with a parched throat.
A glass of water floated over to her, held in the Princess’ magic. ‘’Drink,’’ she ordered. ‘’You’ve been out for a few hours.’’
‘’What?’’ Twilight said. ‘’Why didn’t you wake me?’’
‘’Because Tia didn’t want me dumping a bucket of ice-cold water over your head,’’ Ruilael answered with a dry chuckle. Twilight noticed he was playing with some sort of green crystal in his hand, twirling it around on his finger.
‘’Also because it probably wouldn’t have worked,’’ the Princess added. ‘’How are you feeling, Twilight?’’
‘’I can’t seem to remember what happened before I blacked out,’’ Twilight replied. ‘’I remember entering the room and talking with you, and you did something together, but after that…’’ she shrugged helplessly.
‘’Yes, that was when we started kissing and then told you we’re engaged,’’ Ruilael said.
Twilight blinked, resisting the urge to faint again. ‘’Let me get this straight.’’ She pointed her hoof at the Princess. ‘’You, the immortal Princess of the Sun,’’ she moved her hoof to Ruilael, ‘’are engaged for who knows how long to him, a god from another world.’’
‘’That is correct,’’ the Princess said serenely, and Ruilael nodded along with her.
‘’Why?’’ Twilight finally asked.
‘’Rather a long story, that,’’ Ruilael replied. ‘’We’ve been engaged for… what, the better part of three-hundred years?’’
The Princess nodded. ‘’Indeed. It all started when…’’
|-x-X-x-|
690 ALB
Celestia stood in front of the mirror, decked out in her armour. Her spear, Brightflame, hung on her flank, ready to be used at a moment’s notice.
‘’Your majesty, are you sure about this?’’ her steward asked with a nervous voice.
‘’Yes, I am,’’ Celestia resolutely replied. ‘’Equestria can survive for a decade without me. The Sun will raise and lower itself while I am away.’’
The steward sighed. ‘’Then all I can do is wish you good luck, Princess.’’
Celestia inclined her head. ‘’No pressure,’’ she quipped, before activating the portal and jumping in.
|-x-X-x-|
2000 B.G
‘’Have fun,’’ Eltirion said as he and Ruilael stood in front of the Emerald Throne.
‘’That I will,’’ Ruilael promised. He was wearing his armour, and Idosor hung from his belt.
The two elves shook hands, then Ruilael jumped into the swirling emerald portal.
|-x-X-x-|
Celestia landed on the ground, and immediately prepared her spear. A noise behind her alerted her, and she swirled around to see a tall creature.
Both moved at incredible speeds, and it’s sword met the tip of Celestia’s spear with a metal clang.
‘’Good morning,’’ the creature said with a male voice. ‘’Before we beat the shit out of each other, I’d prefer to know your name.’’
‘’Celestia, Alicorn of the Sun,’’ Celestia replied as her horn lit up.
‘’Ruilael Firsir, God of Water,’’ the creature introduced himself. Speaking of water, an orb of it appeared in his other hand.
‘’Dimensional travel?’’ Celestia suggested after a short silence.
‘’Quite,’’ Ruilael agreed. He pulled his sword away and the spell in his other hand disappeared as he offered it to her. ‘’Allies?’’
‘’Sure,’’ Celestia said, as she shook his hand with her hoof. ‘’I don’t suppose you have any idea where we are?’’
‘’Nope,’’ Ruilael responded. ‘’Shall we discover it together then?’’
‘’That seems acceptable.’’ Celestia nodded as she put Brightflame away.
Just then, a bolt of lightning soared over their heads, followed by a loud roar. ‘’I do suggest we check that out,’’ Ruilael suggested.
‘’Let’s go then.’’ Celestia spread her wings and flew up. Ruilael eyed her for a moment, then began to walk along with her.
‘’So,’’ he began, ‘’why did you decide to hop dimensions? From your appearance and title, I assume you’re at least some sort of god-like being.’’
‘’I got bored ruling a country alone while my sister is stuck in her time-out,’’ Celestia replied with a scowl. ‘’You?’’
‘’Got bored ruling my country as well,’’ Ruilael said. ‘’All the fucking paperwork really gets to you after a century or so.’’
‘’Tell me about it,’’ Celestia chuckled.
‘’Especially since everyone is fucking immortal,’’ Ruilael went on. ‘’Anyhow, what even are you?’’
‘’An alicorn,’’ Celestia answered. ‘’The mix of all three pony races, immortal and with powerful magic.’’
‘’Huh.’’ Ruilael didn’t seem fazed in the least. ‘’Well, I am an elfsir; to be more precise, I am an a firsir, the only one remaining because my family decided incest was a small price to pay for pure blood.’’
‘’Some traditional unicorn families are like that too,’’ Celestia remarked. ‘’Keep the blood pure, like you said.’’ She sniffed. ‘’It’s quite disgusting.’’
‘’Indeed,’’ Ruilael agreed. ‘’Say, it appears we’ve reached our destination.’’
They had. They stood on a cliff, and below them a dragon fought with several mages, who were shooting lightning at it.
‘’Who do you think we should help?” Ruilael wondered aloud as he overlooked the scene.
‘’The dragon is usually the aggressor,’’ Celestia pointed out, ‘’but we have no clue how this world even works. I say we simply stride in, ask what in Tartarus is going on, and then knock out whoever gives the answer we like the least.’’
‘’Sounds like a plan,’’ Ruilael said. ‘’Let’s do it.’’
He kicked himself off into the air, floating there without a care for gravity. Then he dove off the cliff, Celestia following behind him.
No one noticed them landing on the ground, a few meters away from the fight. ‘’After you,’’ Ruilael said.
Celestia gave him a stink eye, then marched onto the battlefield. ‘’WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?’’ she bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice. Ruilael winced, and the fighting parties both turned towards them.
‘’A talking horse…’’ one of them muttered.
‘’And an elven god,’’ Ruilael added as he walked up next to Celestia. ‘’Like my companion said, do explain what in Auri-Len’s name is going on here before we decide that just kicking both of your asses is the easier solution.’’
After a few seconds of shocked staring, one of the mages spoke. ‘’This dragon has been terrorizing the nearby village!’’
‘’I have not,’’ the dragon rumbled. ‘’I have told you this, but you will not listen.’’ He shook his head. ‘’I have no desire or want to interfere in your mortal lives, as long as the favour is returned.’’
‘’Then how come all the villagers were talking about you stealing their livestock?’’ the mage countered.
‘’That was not me, imbeciles,’’ the dragon said. ‘’That was a rival of mine. In fact, I was on my way to smack some sense into him when you,’’ he poked at them with a claw, ‘’decided to shoot at me.’’
‘’I feel ignored,’’ Ruilael muttered to Celestia as the mages and the dragon continued to bicker.
‘’So do I,’’ Celestia agreed. ‘’Not a bad thing, actually.’’
‘’Never said it was,’’ Ruilael pointed out.
The mages and the dragon were still discussing who was wrong and who was right. ‘’Right, time to go,’’ Ruilael said. ‘’I’ve had enough.’’ He spun around and walked away.
Celestia followed behind him as they disappeared into the forest. ‘’What now?’’ she asked.
‘’No idea,’’ Ruilael replied honestly. ‘’Find civilization? There’s supposedly a village nearby.’’
‘’Well, I don’t know about you, but I can survive on sunlight alone,’’ Celestia informed him.
Ruilael nodded. ‘’It’s water for me.’’
Silence fell between them. Celestia’s armour was silenced by enchantments on it, and from the looks of it so was Ruilael’s.
‘’I think I see the village,’’ Ruilael said after they had walked for some time. Indeed, smoke was billowing above the trees.
Celestia frowned. ‘’I’m hearing some sound of battle,’’ she said cautiously.
‘’I hear it too.’’ Ruilael’s hand went to his sword. ‘’Oh well, at least a fight will be great stress relief.’’
As they continued on, the sounds got louder and louder, until they broke through the trees. The village was in front of them, and what appeared to be bandits were slaughtering the civilians.
Ruilael and Celestia shared a look, then drew their weapons and sped forward.
Celestia was slightly faster, and her spear slammed into the side of a bandit. He was launched backwards and landed with a sickening crack. As Celestia whirled around to block a strike from the bandit’s friend, her horn lit up and missiles of light shot out, heading towards other bandits.
Ruilael’s sword cut a bandit clean in half, and with a flick of his wrist he sent the pieces flying into nearby bandits, who stumbled back. He jumped forward, and his speed was dazzling. The bandits stood no chance.
|-x-X-x-|
‘’So why haven’t you married yet?’’ Twilight asked when the story was finally over.
‘’Oh, that’s because my sister is still in her thousand year time-out on the moon, and I’m not getting married unless she can attend,’’ Celestia said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
‘’Your sister is on the moon? The Mare in the Moon is real?!’’ Twilight exclaimed.
‘’Yup,’’ Celestia replied. ‘’She threw a tantrum that blew up half the Everfree, and so I gave her a thousand year time-out. She’ll be released in a few months time.’’
Canterlot was a city of legend. Built on the side of Mount Canterhorn, it was the capital of the Solar Empire, the seat of Empress Daybreaker herself. It was a centre of trade, a centre of religion, and the main base of the Solar Army and the Solar Imperial Guard.
And sitting in a massive, lavishly decorated solar, was the aforementioned Empress Daybreaker.
The mare had discarded her regalia already, allowing herself to relax as she lounged on a couch which had been a gift from Saddle Arabia’s Emir, some three hundred years ago.
Or was it two hundred? Hard to tell, with how alike they all look. Then again, I suppose that’s the point.
‘’Your majesty!’’
Daybreaker lifted her head, glaring at the guard that had dared to disturb her rest without even announcing himself. ‘’What?” she snarled.
The guard rapidly saluted, then said, ‘’The Captain-General has been murdered!’’
I hate everything.
Five minutes later, Daybreaker stood outside the house of her Captain-General of the Imperial Guard. A cordon of her Solar Guard’s best and brightest surrounded her, keeping any onlookers well away from the scene.
Despite his status, the Captain-General had decided to remain in his old, two-story house, even though Daybreaker had offered him a house far more suited to his stature. He had rejected her offer because he 'liked this neighbourhood more'.
One of her guards emerged from the house, looking stricken and shocked. ‘’Your majesty.’’ He bowed as he stopped in front of her.
‘’Report,’’ Daybreaker ordered.
The stallion raised his head. ‘’Your majesty, the Captain-General, his wife and his eldest daughter all appear to have been murdered. We found them with their throats slit in the living room. There are no signs of a struggle.’’
Daybreaker raised one of her eyebrows. She found that hard to believe. What being could sneak up on her Captain-General and kill him so easily? ‘’Go on.’’
The soldier swallowed. ‘’We found the Captain-General’s youngest daughter asleep in her crib, untouched and unharmed. Nothing else in the house is out of place.’’
Daybreaker considered the very unlikely turn of events. Someone had gotten into the house of her Captain-General, which she had warded herself - said wards were still present and showed no signs of being tampered with - killed him, his wife and his eldest daughter, and then left without doing anything else.
It seemed almost impossible. But, apparently these were the facts.
‘’Bring the child to me,’’ Daybreaker commanded.
The stallion bowed again. ‘’As you wish, your majesty.’’ With a dismissive nod from Daybreaker, he turned around and went back into the house, coming out a minute later with a sleeping foal, carried in his magic.
The foal could not be more than five months old. Daybreaker hadn’t seen her before, but she was immediately affected by how cute she looked. Foals were by definition cute, but this one was even more so, with her fluffy white coat and her pink and purple curls.
Cute now, a beauty later, and stately in her old age. I can see it already.
‘’Thank you, soldier,’’ she said as she took the foal from him with her own telekinesis.
‘’Of course, your majesty.’’ The stallion hesitated. ‘’If I may… what will happen to her?”
Daybreaker looked at her guard. Her Captain-General had been close with all of his soldiers, and this one was no exception. Likely he knew more about the foal than Daybreaker did.
‘’I do not yet know,’’ she admitted after a moment. ‘’For the time being, she will stay with me.’’
The guard looked visibly relieved at that, before schooling his face into the neutrality they were all trained to have. ‘’As you wish, your majesty.’’
Daybreaker hummed noncommittally as she placed the foal on her back. ‘’I will return to the Palace and put the foal to bed,’’ she informed the guard. ‘’Begin an investigation immediately.’’
‘’By your command, your majesty.’’
Daybreaker gave a single nod to him, then teleported herself back to her rooms. There, she lifted the foal off her back and laid her on her massive bed. With a click of her tongue, two servants entered. ‘’Get a crib for the foal and prepare a room for her, as close to mine as you can manage. She will be staying here for the coming time.’’
‘’As you command, your majesty,’’ the two servants said as one, bowing before leaving the room.
Daybreaker turned back to the somehow-still-asleep foal. ‘’Poor dear,’’ she whispered. ‘’Don’t worry. You’re safe here.’’
Or she ought to be. But first, a new captain of the guard. And then some revisions of the guard. She was going to insist on some better protection this time.
|-x-X-x-|
Daybreaker looked over the initial conclusion of a rapport concerning investment into the Navy’s new fleet of submarines. The main issue was sacrificing range for firepower, and deciding what the better of the two choices was was a headache and a half. In the end, the rapport had settled on deciding that another rapport needed to be made, because of course it had.
Fucking bureacracy.
‘’Ga!’’
Daybreaker lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at the foal, seated in her high chair. Food was smeared on her face and on the chair. Some of it had even gotten onto her horn.
Chuckling, Daybreaker used her magic to wipe Sweetie’s face clean. ‘’Now then,’’ she said, lifting up a spoon filled with the food in her telekinesis, ‘’open up, my dear.’’
Sweetie stared at the spoon for a moment, before banging her hooves on the little table of her chair. Green sparks flew from her horn, and Daybreaker felt a very, very weak force try to wrest the spoon from her control. She had more power in her sleep, but it was still impressive that the foal could manage even that.
‘’Aren’t you an interesting cutie?’’ she mused aloud.
‘’Ga!’’ Sweetie confirmed.
‘’Quite.’’ Daybreaker prodded her with the spoon, and Sweetie finally opened her mouth to eat it. ‘’There you go. That wasn’t so hard, was it?’’
‘’Ga!’’ Sweetie pounded her foreleg on the stool. ‘’Ga! Ga!’’
‘’I have no idea what you’re saying,’’ Daybreaker deadpanned, ‘’but I agree. A as long as you eat your food, that is.’’
Laughing and giggling, Simba and Nala finished their impromptu song as they landed back on the ground.
‘’Wow, that was really cool!’’ Nala said.
‘’Yeah, it was,’’ Simba agreed. ‘’Hey, does the sun look brighter to you?’’
Indeed, the sun was brighter, and larger too. Then it suddenly turned black. Nala and Simba both gasped in shock as the rest of the animals around them started to panic.
Then the light returned, and Simba breathed a sigh of relief. However, he saw something fall down from the sun. ‘’What’s that?’’
Whatever it was, it seemed to be heading towards the ground at an unhealthy speed. Then, just as it was about to hit the ground, it spread its wings and flapped them, landing softly on the ground.
Simba and Nala ran over to the creature. ‘’Are you alright? Who are you?’’ Nala asked.
The creature turned towards them. It had purple eyes, and a white fur with a long strange mane that blew in some sort of wind and that was coloured like a lighter version of a rainbow, without the red and orange. A single horn stuck out from it’s head, long and with rims in it, and the aforementioned feathered wings were spread wide on her sides. A tail that was identical to her mane in appearance flowed from her behind, and the image of a sun was on both her flanks. But most noticeably of all, she was tall, almost as tall as a gazelle, without including her horn.
‘’Hello,’’ she - for the voice was female - greeted them as she looked at them with curiosity. ‘’I am Celestia. Who are you, little ones?’’
‘’I’m Simba, and I’m not little!’’ Simba declared, ignoring the fact that he had just sung an entire song about how he was still little and couldn’t wait to grow up.
Nala giggled at Simba’s actions, then answered, ‘’I’m Nala.’’
Celestia smiled at them. ‘’It is a pleasure to meet you, Nala and Simba,’’ she said. ‘’I’m afraid I already know the answer, but you wouldn’t happen to know of a place called Equestria, would you?’’
The two lion cubs shook their heads. Such a place had never come up during Zazu’s lessons.
Celestia sighed, and drew her wings close to her. ‘’As I thought.’’ She was silent for a few seconds, then looked up at the sun. Her horn lit up in a golden aura, which disappeared again after a few seconds, then reappeared. The two lions stared in shock as a large boulder was lifted up, surrounded by the same colour as Celestia’s horn.
Celestia sighed again, then turned back to the two shocked lions. ‘’My apologies, I just had to try something. Do you have any parents you could take me to?’’
As Simba was about to answer, he heard Zazu’s concerned voice behind him. ‘’Simba!’’
The bird landed on a rock close to them, looking between the lions and Celestia. ‘’Don’t ever do that again!’’ Zazu scolded the two cubs, before turning his attention to Celestia. ‘’And who might you be?’’
Celestia drew herself up. ‘’My name is Celestia. I was just banished here by my sister, and I do believe I will not be able to return for quite some time.’’ She looked down at the bird, quite literally in this case. ‘’Would you be able to refer to me the ruler of these lands?’’
Zazu’s chest puffed out as he replied. ‘’King Mufasa rules these lands, and I am his chief advisor. But I see no reason why you should speak to him.’’
‘’I am the reason the sun just went black,’’ Celestia deadpanned.
Zazu snorted. ‘’Yes, I’m sure.’’
Celestia raised an eyebrow, and her horn lit up again.
To the shock of everyone present that was not Celestia, the sun started to move down the horizon at a frightening pace.
‘’Cool,’’ Simba said, awed.
‘’Put it back!’’ Zazu demanded after he had gotten over his initial shock.
‘’As you wish,’’ Celestia agreed, and the sun returned to its previous position. ‘’Will you take me to the King now?’’
‘’I do believe I will,’’ was Zazu’s shaken reply, before flying off.
Celestia followed behind him, and the two lion cubs hastened to follow her. Her long legs meant the young ones had some trouble keeping up, but they managed.
‘’What are you?’’ Simba asked, looking up at Celestia curiously.
‘’I am an alicorn,’’ Celestia replied, looking down at the cub.
‘’Alicorn?’’ Nala repeated. ‘’I’ve never heard of those.’’
Celestia smiled sadly. ‘’I am afraid we’re rather rare.’’
Their conversation was interrupted by Zazu. ‘’Ah, your majesty! Just who I was looking for.’’
‘’Dad!’’ Simba said, sprinting over to his father.
‘’Hello son, Nala,’’ the older lion greeted, bending down to nuzzle Simba. Then, he noticed Celestia, and he righted himself again.
‘’I am Mufasa,’’ he introduced himself. ‘’Who are you?’’
‘’I am Celestia, King Mufasa,’’ Celestia introduced herself in return. ‘’I was banished by my sister, though I do not think she intended for me to end up here.’’
‘’My Queen.’’ The vampony bowed his head. ‘’Visitors have arrived from the lands of the living.’’
‘’And why, pray tell, did you think I should be informed of that?’’ Rosa Maledicta regarded the stallion with a cool gaze.
The vampony nervously licked his fangs. ‘’They are from Equestria.’’ He paused for a moment. ‘’One of them is an alicorn.’’
Rosa blinked in surprise. ‘’Celestia is here?’’ she asked, alarmed. What reason would the Princess of the Sun have for coming so far from Equestria?
The vampony shook his head. ‘’No, the alicorn is not Celestia. Based on her appearance, we believe it is Twilight Sparkle, together with the other Elements of Harmony.’’
Well, that wasn’t quite as bad as Celestia. Or perhaps it was; the Elements had defeated beings like Discord, after all. ‘’Where are they currently?”
‘’They are approaching Magehold,’’ the vampony answered. ‘’Shall we have them imprisoned?”
Rosa shook her head. ‘’No. Escort them to me. I wish to know what they are doing so far from their home.’’ A gesture of her hoof dismissed the vampony, who bowed before leaving the room.
Once the door fell closed, Rosa looked around her room. It was filled to the brim with ancient tomes of powerful magic, stored in bookshelves that lined the walls or stacked upon piles on her desk. A high window showed the storming waters of the Sea of the Dead, high waves slamming against the rock and stones.
A queen-sized bed stood against the wall, untouched. She had not used it ever since she turned into a vampony. Next to it stood a large wardrobe, inside of which hung various robes and dresses for all manner of occasions.
Rosa walked over to the wardrobe and pulled it open. Her eyes roamed over the clothes. Too dark, too magical, too vampiric.
Her eyes stopped at the second-to-last dress on the right side. A smirk slowly crept upon her face. Yes, that one would do nicely.
-x-X-x-
‘’How far, darling?” Rarity asked.
Twilight resisted the urge to facehoof. Honestly, she loved her friend, but Rarity had been asking the same question ever since the boat had dropped them off half an hour ago. ‘’We’re almost there, Rarity,’’ she replied.
‘’I can see towers!’’ Rainbow called out as she flew down. She had flown forward to scout the path ahead. ‘’Half an hour tops.’’
‘’Good,’’ Applejack said. ‘’Ah don’t want to stay here any longer than needed.’’ The earth pony mare was carrying most of their camping supplies, with Pinkie carrying the rest.
Speaking of, the pink pony was currently talking animatedly with Fluttershy, quite literally bouncing from excitement, as she was wont to do. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was nervously glancing around, even as she was talking with Pinkie.
Suddenly, several dark shapes appeared in front of them. Immediately, Twilight and her friends drew together.
‘’Greetings,’’ one of the shapes said, as it moved forward revealing it’s identity; a vampony. ‘’We are to escort you to Magehold.’’
Twilight frowned. ‘’On whose orders?’’ she asked.
The vampony’s blood-red eyes bored into her for a moment, before he answered: ‘’Queen Rosa Maledicta.’’
-x-X-x-
Rosa sat at the head of the Dread Council. She was wearing a blood-red dress with black tinges, and on her head was an obsidian crown with spikes and an amethyst embedded in the centre. The masters of the Coven of Blood sat in the other chairs, with one representative from the Uu’t U’kra Voodoo Cabal and one from the Ghoul workforce.
The doors opened, and the vampony that had informed Rosa earlier entered first, followed by the Equestrians.
Even in the Dread Peninsula, tales of the Elements of Harmony had reached, and Rosa had listened to them better than most. She knew well how each Bearer looked, what their Element was, and to a lesser extent about their personalities.
‘’Welcome,’’ she greeted them, once the doors had closed again. ‘’I am Rosa Maledicta. You stand in front of the Dread Council.’’
Twilight Sparkle moved to the front, and bowed her head. ‘’Greetings, Queen Rosa. It is an honour to be received here,’’ she said. ‘’I am Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.’’
‘’A pleasure, I’m sure,’’ Rosa said dryly. ‘’But you did not come here for idle chit-chat.’’ She leaned forward and flared her vampiric aura. ‘’Do tell what reason you have.’’
To her credit, Twilight Sparkle appeared unfazed by the aura, even as the rest of her friends reacted in their own ways. Rosa had to suppress a frown; never before had she encountered mortals that could so readily resist her allure. Perhaps it was a side-effect of the Elements of Harmony?
‘’In my castle in Ponyville,’’ Twilight began, ‘’there is a map, called the Cutie Map. It is a magical artifact of great power, made by Harmony itself. It shows me, my friends and on occasion others where a Friendship Problem exists, and which pony is needed to solve it.’’
‘’And you believe such a ‘Friendship Problem’ exists here?” one of the Coven members asked with a sneer. ‘’Please, do not insult us so.’’
Rosa held up her hoof to silence him. ‘’For now, they are our guests,’’ she reminded the Council, before lowering her hoof again. ‘’Please, continue,’’ she said with a nod to Twilight.
Who cleared her throat, before continuing, ‘’My friends and I would like permission to stay in Magehold for a week or so, to determine the nature of the problem.’’
‘’Preposterous!’’ the same Coven member from earlier shouted. ‘’The living do not belong here!’’
Rosa glared at him. ‘’They are our guests. Or do you really wish to antagonize an alicorn?’’
The Coven member sputtered, then hmph-ed and settled down, glaring at everyone else in the room.
Rosa turned back to the living ponies and gave them a smile. ‘’You shall be permitted to stay one week,’’ she announced. ‘’After that week has passed, you will have to leave if you have not found this problem.’’
Twilight bowed, as did the other Bearers. ‘’My thanks, your majesty,’’ Twilight said.
Rosa nodded, before gesturing for them to leave. They were escorted out by the guards again.
‘’My lady, where should we send them?” the leader of the guards asked.
‘’To the visitor rooms,’’ Rosa replied. ‘’But make sure there is nothing in there that will kill them. I’d hate to have to resurrect them.’’
The vampony bowed. ‘’As you command.’’ He turned around and left.
-x-X-x-
Twilight and her friends were led through the hallways of Magehold by the guards. While no one was fool enough to stand in their way, more than a few eyes watched from the shadows.
‘’Where are we going?” Twilight asked no-one in particular.
Without turning around, the lead vampony replied, ‘’We are headed to the visitor’s quarters, where you will stay.’’
-x-X-x-
‘’Have a seat, please,’’ Rosa said, gesturing towards one of the chairs. She sat down in another, and Twilight sat down opposite her.
‘’So,’’ Rosa began, ‘’have you found the ‘Friendship Problem’?’’
Twilight nodded. ‘’We have.’’ She shifted nervously.
‘’Oh?” Rosa leaned forward. ‘’Do tell.’’
Twilight gulped. ‘’You.’’
Rosa raised her eyebrow ever so slightly as silence filled the room. ‘’I’m afraid I don’t follow.’’
Those two things are what all of the multiverse is built on. They are the foundation for everything.
But there is a third force, more powerful than both of them.
Harmony. Perfect balance between all things.
And right now, there were a lot of places out of balance.
Every world, somewhere, had a portal that any of the three forces could exploit for their own use. Harmony was going to do just that, with the two magical powerhouses now at its disposal.
Twilight Sparkle and Flurry Heart, if properly trained and without restrictions, could be two of the most powerful beings in any Equestria, easily capable of challenging Discord on their own. And these in specific were extremely powerful and skilled.
But they were still just two mares.
Against an entire world, that should be enough.
Right?
-x-X-x-
Unlike the previous times she had used the mirror, all that Twilight saw was a blinding white flash, and then she lay sprawled on the ground.
Next to her, Flurry groaned. Twilight silently thanked fate for that. She wasn’t sure either of them would have survived being apart for long.
‘’Oh… was it always that bad?” Flurry japed weakly as she got up to her hooves.
‘’No,’’ Twilight replied, before looking around. This was not CHS, unless it had really changed. They were in some sort of cave. Looking behind her, Twilight saw the portal was a glowing door, nestled in a rocky archway. However, it disappeared a second later.
‘’Well, so much for going back,’’ Flurry quipped as she brandished her spear. ‘’Let’s shed some light on where we are.’’
Both mares blinked once, and when they opened their eyes again their pupils had turned slitted. Alicorns, as a godly race that had the qualities of every pony tribe, also had the perfect night vision of thestrals. Something that both alicorns had used to their advantage many times before, and it served them just as well now.
‘’Right, wind’s blowing that way, so it’ll probably lead to the exit,’’ Flurry reasoned aloud.
Twilight nodded. ‘’Let’s go. I’m eager to see where we’ve ended up.’’
‘’So am I,’’ Flurry replied.
They walked together through the cave, following the path that steadily led upwards. A few turns later, they stood at the exit. Bright sunlight shone outside.
‘’After you,’’ Flurry said.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, before walking out of the cave and looking out over the land.
And groaning.
Desert, as far as the eye could see, with a massive mountain range that they had just emerged from being the only thing apart from sand.
Flurry stepped outside as well and let out a similar groan. ‘’I swear, if this entire planet is desert…’’ she growled.
It wasn’t the heat that bothered them; they had gone diving in white stars. Nor would it be the lack of food or water; while unpleasant, alicorns could survive indefinitely without food, water or even oxygen.
Mostly, it was just the bother of having to cross a large desert or a high mountain range. More specifically, how boring flying over such a landscape was.
‘’Let’s hope it’s not,’’ Twilight said. ‘’Shall we check what’s on the other side of these mountains first?’’
Flurry nodded, already spreading her wings. Together, they took off into the dry, hot sky. The mountains rose high into the sky, almost touching the clouds. Not that it mattered; Twilight and Flurry flew between the peaks.
After half an hour with no end to the mountains in sight, Flurry called out to Twilight, ‘’We should go higher!’’
Twilight shouted back, ‘’Good plan!’’
They climbed up, beyond the clouds and into the upper atmosphere. From up there, the mountain range seemed so very small.
‘’Is it me, or are those continents weirdly rectangular?’’ Flurry asked Twilight.
‘’That has to be magic,’’ Twilight said. ‘’The chance of the continental plates naturally forming together like that is nigh-zero. Something formed them like that. See those isles there?’’ She pointed her hoof at a collection of brown specks between the two largest landmasses. ‘’I can feel the residual magic from here. In fact, the entire world is coated in all sorts of various magics.’’
Flurry nodded. She might have more power, but Twilight was still the foremost expert on magic, and Flurry had never been very good at separating different types of ambient magic from another. But even she could feel the difference between the various places.
‘’What are we studying first?’’ she asked.
Without looking away from it, Twilight pointed her hoof at a peninsula that looked like it had been shattered by some cataclysmic event. ‘’There. It’s saturated with blood magic.’’ She involuntarily shuddered. ‘’I want to find out what caused it.’’
‘’Then let’s go,’’ Flurry said, before diving forward in a burst of speed, leaving a pink-purple and turquoise trail behind. A few moments later, Twilight followed behind her, chuckling.
Within ten minutes, they were roughly above the peninsula. They fluidly dove down, going even faster.
Now, alicorns could travel well beyond the speed of light if they wanted to, so the speed they had as they dove to the ground was nothing impressive to the two ancient mares.
But to the inhabitants of this world, more specifically two people in a rowboat, the speed was unbelievable.
Jorah Mormont and Tyrion Lannister both stared in astonishment at the twin streaks of light that were falling from the sky at a speed they had never seen anything move before. ‘’What in the Seven Hells is that?” Tyrion asked.
The streaks of light disappeared into the mist. After a few seconds, Jorah slowly began to paddle again, though Tyrion kept on staring at the air the lights had passed through. Then he turned to Jorah. ‘’Do you know what that was?’’
‘’No idea,’’ Jorah replied, ‘’and given where we are, I don’t want to know.’’
‘’I do,’’ Tyrion said brightly. ‘’Just imagine what it could be? A falling star? A dragonling?’’
‘’Dragons can’t move that fast,’’ Jorah stated softly.
Tyrion opened his mouth for a witty retort, only to squeak in fright at the twin flashes of light above the boat.
There, floating in the air by way of flapping wings, were two tall, colourful horses, wearing armour and with what appeared to be weapons on their sides, but no saddle or rider.
Flurry and Twilight looked at the two humans with equal parts curiosity and excitement. ‘’Greetings,’’ Twilight greeted them, ‘’we come in peace.’’
‘’You can talk?” the taller of the two humans exclaimed, almost dropping his paddle before remembering it was the only weapon he had.
‘’Obviously,’’ Flurry replied with a roll of her eyes. ‘’What are you two doing here? This place is positively crawling with monsters.’’
The smaller man seemed to have recovered himself, as he answered, ‘’We are but simple travelers, making our way through Valyria so we can visit family in Elyria.’’
‘’You’re a good liar,’’ Twilight complimented absently, mentally reviewing the information she’d glanced from their unprotected minds. She hadn’t actively gone rooting around in their heads, but she’d picked up their surface thoughts and picked extra information from their minds to help complete the picture.
The small man - a dwarf - was Tyrion Lannister, a scion of a great house in Westeros, the vertical continent. He’d been exiled after a show trial for murdering his cousin, which he hadn’t done.
The other man was Jorah Mormont, an exile multiple times over. He was trying to get back to the woman that had exiled him, hoping that bringing Tyrion to her would bring him back in her good graces.
‘’But not good enough,’’ Twilight finished her own sentence, ignoring Flurry’s small smirk or the two men’s incredulous looks. ‘’Flurry,’’ she addressed the mare, ‘’this world is more interesting than we thought.’’
‘’I know,’’ Flurry said, having done some mental sight-seeing of her own. ‘’So, what’s the game plan?’’
‘’Get these two to Meereen, study the dragons, fly to the Wall and see what’s happening there, clean up Westeros and Essos in the process,’’ Twilight listed off.
‘’I beg your pardon?’’ Tyrion guffawed.
‘’Granted,’’ Flurry quipped. ‘’And that lines up with my ideas,’’ she said to Twilight.
‘’Good,’’ Twilight said. She turned to address the two lost-looking men. ‘’I suggest you hold on tight.’’
‘’What do you-’’ Jorah began, but it was already too late.
A wind that would have otherwise blown the boat and both men in it to shreds kicked up around then, and instead of instantaneous destruction the boat began to move forward at an incredible pace, pushed by Twilight’s magic. The two alicorns lazily floated after them, not visibly doing anything to move the boat, yet moved it was.
Fifteen minutes later, and the boat stopped inside of Meereen’s port. Jorah and Tyrion managed to climb out of it onto the docks and promptly started throwing up onto the ground as the two alicorns serenely landed.
‘’Pardon me, sir,’’ Twilight addressed the nearest man in fluid Low Valyrian, ‘’can you tell me where I might find Queen Daenerys?’’
The man stared at her for a few seconds, before hesitantly raising his arm and pointing at the Great Pyramid.
Twilight smiled and inclined her head. ‘’Thank you.’’
She picked up the still-retching humans in her magenta aura, levitating them behind her as she and Flurry walked through the docks.
Two armoured guards stood at the gate into the city proper, but before they could stop Twilight and her hang-ons, Flurry spoke up, just like Twilight, in perfect Low Valyrian. ‘’Gentlemen, be a couple of dears and let us through, please?’’
One of the Unsullied replied by pointing the tip of his spear at Jorah and saying, ‘’He is banished on pain of death.’’
‘’We know that,’’ Flurry replied without missing a beat. ‘’But this is Tyrion Lannister, the son of one of the families that played a major role in throwing the Targaryens out of Westeros. I bet the Queen will be very interested in that, if nothing else.’’
Tyrion, who had finally stopped throwing up, was now staring at Flurry with wide eyes.
The Unsullied stared at her for a few more seconds, before one of the two turned around and began to march away towards the Great Pyramid. The other remained behind, watching the alicorns and their baggage like a hawk.
Eventually, a group of Unsullied appeared, marching towards them. The man at the head of the column came to a halt a few steps away from Twilight. He reached up with his hands and removed his helmet.
‘’What is your business here?’’ he asked.
‘’Good afternoon, Commander Grey Worm,’’ Twilight replied diplomatically, shooting her brightest smile at him. ‘’I’m here to talk to you about the magic of friendship.’’
Flurry smirked. This was going to be fun.
-x-X-x-
Tommen and Margaery sat together in the gardens of the Red Keep. One of the keep’s many cats was playing with a flower in front of the two.
-x-X-x-
‘’Are you sure this will work?’’ Jon Snow asked the little horse doubtfully.
‘’Of course,’’ the purple creature replied. ‘’I triple-checked the calculations!’’
This was proven moments later when, as the horde of undead surged forward, the clouds suddenly broke apart and allowed the sun through.
The horse disappeared in a purple flash, and Jon looked up to see it appear next to the white horse. They had spread their wings, with their backs towards the sun.
Then Jon had to look away as a blinding beam of light shot down. When he could look again, the army of the dead was gone.
He blinked, and it was still gone. Just… gone. Turned to dust.
At first, rumours were all that came to Celestia from Zebrica. Fantastic tales of a tall stallion, dressed in dark golden armour with his face masked, his mane and tail the only unarmoured parts of his body. A stallion that did all manner of impossible things.
A warrior so mighty, he took on the Storm King’s elite, warriors feared across the world even more than any other yeti warrior, in a fight to the death and came out with nary a scratch on his armour, and then killed the Storm King, breaking his army and shattering his empire in a single day.
That was a feat worthy of note, if it hadn’t been shrouded in mystery. Exactly what weapons had been used in the fight was unknown, and the Storm King’s exact fate was just as uncertain. Celestia only knew that he was dead.
More exploits of his made their way to Equestria. How this stallion had entered Chiropterra, a stain on Equestria’s history, and slain it’s commanders and leaders, paving the way for an invasion by Hippogriffia. At that point, Celestia had begun to use her few informants in Zebrica to try and find out anything they could about this stallion. The only thing they could reliably do was track his movements.
After Chiropterra, he headed east for a time, vanishing in Zaranthia’s deserts. Then he reappeared on the other side of the continent, in Roam, where he broke the back of the despots that ruled that backwards ‘Imperium’.
After that, he disappeared for three years, not a single word of knowledge to be found on him. Celestia almost forgot he existed.
Until she picked up the morning paper.
‘’Coup in Griffonian Empire prevented by mysterious stallion; life of the Emperor saved!’’
With growing incredulity she read about how one General Ferdinand Dawnclaw, as a result of discreet purges in the Empire’s military, gathered men loyal to him and stormed the Imperial Palace. They managed to get all the way into the Emperor’s chambers, but then ‘a mysterious stallion’ intervened, and saved the child’s life.
By blowing up the hallway.
But that was all well and good. Celestia could accept that the mysterious warrior that had destroyed several governments had saved the life of the Emperor of Griffonia, though it was more Herzland now.
What she couldn’t accept was the picture that dominated the front page: the young emperor standing under the wing of a stallion who looked to be even taller than herself, clad in armour that hid his entire body. A spear hung in the stallion’s magic.
The mysterious warrior was an alicorn.
In hindsight, that explained a lot, she reflected. How he had survived all those battles, where he got his power from. What she couldn’t understand was how no one had ever mentioned this before.
There were only four alicorns in the world, for crying out loud! How could no one have told anyone else of this? It wasn’t like there weren’t any witnesses.
She glanced back at the article, quickly dismissing it. She didn’t need to know the details; at least, not now. And the speculation the paper went into, wondering if this was the same stallion that had wandered around Zebrica a few years; well, she already knew the answer to that question.
There would be panic by Twilight and her advisors both soon enough, Celestia noted. They would demand her time to discuss this development and what she knew of it.
But for now, there was no such demand, only a very nice breakfast in front of her.
-x-X-x-
Twilight’s mane was frazzling as she put the paper down. ‘’Spike!’’ she shouted. ‘’Take a letter to the Princess, please! And get my friends here!’’
The dragon grumbled, ‘’Twilight, what’s the issue?’’
Twilight thrust the paper under his nose. Spike quickly glanced through it, eyebrows raised. Then he clawed it back to her. ‘’I’ll get that letter and the girls,’’ he said, before standing up from the table, taking his breakfast with him as he went.
Twilight barely acknowledged him, mind alight with possibilities. Who was this alicorn? Why hadn’t the Princess ever mentioned him? Did she not know of him? How did they know it was even a he?
-x-X-x-
‘’Bitte, erbarme dich- Uf.’’
The griffon collapsed to the ground as the curved tip of the spear pulled out of his chest. The stallion looked at the body for a moment to make sure it was dead, then looked around him.
Twelve Black-Cloaks lay dead on the ground, felled by his spear in less than a minute. Their weapons might have given them the illusion of advantage at a longer distance, but said distance wasn’t there, as the stallion could bridge any gap between him and his opponents in seconds.
And the Black-Cloaks deserved it, no doubt. These in particular had been heading for a pony village, planning to burn and pillage it. Well, they wouldn’t anymore.
And the stallion had his next target.
Saving the young Grover had been a spur-of-the-moment, lucky happening. It was chance that had made the stallion be in Griffinheim on the same day that Dawnclaw attempted his coup, and his sense of morality that had steered him to protect the child from the traitor and his ilk.
The stallion might be a creature to not flinch at the sight of torture and death, but he held a soft spot for children in his heart. They were the future, and it would not do to stop that future from potentially achieving greatness.
But enough musing. He had a destination, and another one after that, a date with a mare on the other side of the world.
But first, purging some racist griffons.
A smirk crept onto the stallion’s masked face.
What fun.
-x-X-x-
The stallion vanished again after overthrowing the Reformisten governments of Hellquil and Longsword, and exposing their crimes for all the world to see.
The next time he turned up, it was in front of Canterlot Palace.
Celestia was having afternoon tea with Raven when a scared-out-of-his-mind guard entered the pavilion they were using.
‘’Your pardon, Princess, but there is a visitor demanding to see you,’’ he said.
Celestia put her cup down. ‘’And who might that be?’’
The guard gulped. ‘’It’s the stallion, Princess.’’
Celestia nodded. ‘’I see. Send him to me, please.’’
A few minutes later, the stallion entered the pavilion, following behind the guard. ‘’Princess,’’ he greeted, not bowing his head or otherwise showing respect. His black wings and horn and his dark green mane and tail were the only un-armoured body parts. His spear hung on his side.
‘’I don’t know what to call you,’’ Celestia admitted after a moment.
‘’Glaive will suffice,’’ the stallion said succinctly.
‘’Very well, Glaive. Please, have a seat. Tea?’’
‘’No, thank you.’’ The stallion sat down in the empty chair.
A moment of silence ensued. Then Celestia cleared her throat. ‘’What brings you here?’’
The stallion didn’t reply at first. He shifted slightly, adjusting his wings. Then he answered, ‘’Information.’’
‘’Information?’’ Celestia repeated, raising her eyebrow ever so slightly.
‘’I know you’ve been following me,’’ the stallion said bluntly. ‘’You want to know who I am, where I come from, and why I do what I do.’’
A little startled, Celestia nonetheless said, ‘’Yes.’’
The stallion inclined his head, then lifted a teacup in yellow magic - without his horn lighting up - and put it to his masked lips, sipping from it.
When he was finished, he put the cup down. ‘’Well, I’m afraid you will have to wait a while longer. I’ve got a couple of things to do before we finish this conversation.’’
‘’What do you-’’ Celestia was cut off as the stallion vanished in the flash.
She stared at the empty air he had just been. And then started to swear.
-x-X-x-
The stallion returned to Canterlot a month later, once again meeting with Celestia in the garden pavilion.
‘’A couple of things?’’ Celestia asked as soon as they sat down.
The stallion shrugged as he picked up his cup of tea. ‘’Perhaps.’’
‘’You killed Chrysalis,’’ Celestia continued.
‘’Perhaps,’’ the stallion repeated. The mask and voice gave away no emotion.
The chariot of the two sisters landed on the edge of Ponyville, where Twilight Sparkle and Spike, having been forewarned by a letter from Celestia, waited on them.
‘’Princess Celestia!’’ Twilight greeted the alicorn. ‘’Princess Luna! It’s so good to see you again!’’
‘’The feeling is mutual, Twilight,’’ Luna replied. ‘’How are you and your friends recovering from Discord?’’
Luna nodded. ‘’Very well. We have firsthoof experience with how damaging Discord can be.’’
‘’Not helping, Luna,’’ Celestia spoke up, before offering Twilight a smile. ‘’It’s good to see you again too, Twilight, Spike.’’
The dragon waved. ‘’’Lo, Princesses.’’
‘’Spike!’’ Twilight guffawed. ‘’Show some respect!’’
Luna waved her hoof dismissively. ‘’Nay, ‘tis fine, Twilight. We know young Spike thinks highly of us both.’’
‘’If I speak out against that,’’ Spike asked with a grin, ‘’do I get nightmares?’’
Luna adopted a look of faux-hurt. ‘’How dare you insinuate such a thing!” she said over-dramatically.
Twilight giggled and Celestia couldn’t quite contain a snort of amusement. Then she composed herself again. ‘’Twilight, this is not a pleasure visit.’’
Twilight turned serious as well. ‘’Why are you here then? I can’t think of anything.’’
‘’Before you say it,’’ Luna cut in, ‘’no, the Elements will not be required at this time.’’
Twilight sighed. ‘’That’s a relief.’’
‘’We are here because we wish to speak with the three fillies that enabled Discord’s escape,’’ Celestia continued her sister’s explanation. ‘’Do you know where they are?’’
‘’If they’re not in school, they’re probably at their clubhouse,’’ Spike reasoned aloud.
‘’Please lead us to this clubhouse,’’ Luna requested.
‘’Princess, you’re not going to do anything to them, are you?’’ Twilight asked.
‘’Of course not, Twilight,’’ Celestia assured her. ‘’Leaving aside the fact that they are foals, there was no way they could have known the consequences of their actions, and there is no law against releasing Discord anyway.’’
‘’What about the laws against prison break?’’ Twilight pressed.
‘’Discord was never convicted of any crime,’’ Celestia informed the two of them. ‘’His imprisonment was before the institution of Equestria, if you remember.’’
Twilight nodded understandingly. ‘’Yes, of course. Spike, do you know the way to the clubhouse?’’
Rolling his eyes, Spike replied, ‘’Follow me.’’
The two princesses drew some stares from the other ponies as they walked through Ponyville, but by now the inhabitants of the town were so used to strangeness that they went back to their business after a few seconds. For the alicorns, it was a remarkably novel experience, to be able to walk freely without being surrounded by guards and crowds.
After a few minutes, they arrived at the clubhouse. ‘’I’ll go tell them you’re here,’’ Spike said, before walking up to the door and knocking on it.
‘’Guys!’’ he called. ‘’You’ve got visitors!’’
A rumble came from inside, and then the door was opened by Applebloom. ‘’Howdy, Spike,’’ she greeted him. ‘’How are ya?’’
‘’Pretty fine, Applebloom,’’ Spike replied with a smile. ‘’But I’m not the one that’s here for you.’’ And he stepped aside.
‘’Good afternoon, Applebloom,’’ Celestia said as she stepped forward and offered the filly a smile.
‘’Uh- good afternoon, Princess,’’ Applebloom said, obviously shocked. ‘’Err-’’ her eyes widened even further as she saw Luna standing next to Twilight.
‘’May my sister and I come in?’’ Celestia asked kindly.
‘’O-of course, yer highness!’’ Applebloom said, before stepping aside to allow the two alicorns in.
‘’We’ll wait outside,’’ Twilight said to Luna, who nodded, before entering the clubhouse.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both stared at the alicorns as they seated themselves on the floor. ‘’Err, it’s an honour to meet you, your highnesses,’’ Sweetie Belle said, ‘’but why are you here?’’
‘’Been wonderin’ that mahself,’’ Applebloom admitted as she sat down on the floor next to her friends.
‘’We wish to talk about your part in Discord’s escape,’’ Celestia informed them.
‘’We didn’t know!’’ Sweetie Belle immediately defended herself and the others, jumping up from the floor. ‘’Please don’t send us to jail!’’
‘’Calm down; you will not be punished,’’ Celestia assured the three fillies. ‘’We simply wish to ask you three some questions.’’
‘’Oh…’’ Sweetie Belle’s cheeks flared red. ‘’Okay.’’ She sat down again.
‘’What do you want to know?’’ Scootaloo asked the alicorns.
‘’Before we start,’’ Luna said, ‘’you should know that we want honest answers. No lies.’’ Her dark blue eyes swept over the three fillies, and they all nodded timidly.
‘’First question,’’ Celestia took over, ‘’do you prefer the day or the night?’’
The three fillies’ faces all scrunched up as they thought about this. Sweetie Belle was the first to answer, ‘’I prefer the day.’’
‘’Why?’’ Celestia inquired.
‘’I don’t know…’’ Sweetie admitted. ‘’It’s just a feeling of niceness, y’know?’’
‘’Strange,’’ Applebloom spoke up, ‘’Ah was about ta say the same thing ‘bout the night.’’
‘’Really?’’ Sweetie asked Applebloom.
‘’Really,’’ Applebloom affirmed.
Luna and Celestia shot each other a look.
‘’Well, I don’t care,’’ Scootaloo said, ‘’I like ‘em both equally.’’
‘’Thank you for your honest answers,’’ Celestia said. ‘’Next question: what do you want your cutie mark to be?’’
This time, the silence lasted much longer, stretching across several minutes. But again, it was Sweetie Belle who had her answer first. ‘’I want it to be something with singing.’’
‘’I want something cool, just like Rainbow Dash!’’ was Scootaloo’s answer.
‘’Ah’m thinkin’ of somethin’ with potions, like Zecora,’’ Applebloom answered.
‘’Zecora?’’ Luna questioned.
‘’She’s a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest,’’ Sweetie explained. ‘’We all used to think she was a evil witch, but then Twilight went and proved that she was just a nice lady.’’
Mentally, Celestia made a note to congratulate her student on this, even as she nodded. ‘’I see. Those are all very good talents to aspire for.’’
‘’Our third and final question,’’ Luna continued, ‘’is not a question at all, but rather a request. There is a spell we would like to cast on you, that might help explain how the three of you affected Discord’s escape. May we?’’
The fillies’ shared looks with each other, before nodding their assent.
‘’Thank you.’’ Luna smiled even as her horn began to glow, just like her sister’s. ‘’This’ll be just a moment.’’
The two alicorns released their spell, and the world turned white.
-x-X-x-
‘’What do you think?’’ Luna asked Celestia.
‘’I think that they might be it,’’ Celestia replied. ‘’Just like us three back in the old days, the three of them share a connection that goes deeper than any of them realise.’’
‘’That might be so,’’ Luna agreed, ‘’but can we really force others to take our burden?’’
Celestia frowned. ‘’Luna, we are not forcing them to do anything. We’ll give them the offer, and if they refuse, so be it.’’
‘’Do you really think they’ll refuse?’’ Luna asked sarcastically.
‘’They just might,’’ Celestia retorted. ‘’They’re smart for their age. They might not understand the full consequences, but if we explain it to them, they’ll understand enough to make an informed decision.’’
‘’And then what?’’ Luna asked.
‘’We’ll both take one of them,’’ Celestia said. ‘’As for the third…’’
‘’Do you think he would behave?’’ Luna wondered aloud.
‘’He might, if we play it right,’’ Celestia mused, before shaking herself. ‘’But first, we need to talk to these three.’’
-x-X-x-
‘’Wow!’’ Applebloom said.
‘’What happened?’’ Scootaloo asked, tilting her head.
The two alicorns opened their eyes and smiled at the fillies. ‘’It seems we were right,’’ Luna said.
‘’Right about what?’’ Applebloom asked.
‘’Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo,’’ Celestia began, ‘’the three of you share a bond. A very unique bond: there has only been one before in all of history.’’
‘’The bond my sister means existed between Celestia, Discord, and myself,’’ Luna continued. ‘’You see, Celestia is not my sibling by birth. But we knew each other from a young age, and over time we grew as close as sisters. The same goes for Discord, before he turned evil.’’
‘’Even now, we still don’t know very much about the bond,’’ Celestia admitted, ‘’but we do know this. The reason Discord was able to break free of his prison is related to Scootaloo. More specifically, her magic.’’
‘’What?’’ Scootaloo squeaked.
‘’You have inside the same magic as Discord: Chaos magic,’’ Luna explained. ‘’Sweetie Belle, you have the same magic as Celestia, that of the Sun. And Applebloom, you have the same magic as me, the Moon and Stars.’’
‘’This is a powerful gift,’’ Celestia went on, ‘’one that needs to be taught control of, lest you risk harm to those around you. Therefore, we offer for you three to come to Canterlot, and study under the three of us.’’
All three fillies stared at the princesses. Finally, Sweetie raised her hoof.
‘’Ask,’’ Luna commanded with a smile.
‘’What do you mean, three?’’
Celestia coughed. ‘’Neither Luna nor myself can teach Scootaloo to wield her Chaos magic. Only Discord can.’’
‘’You’re gonna release him again!?’’ Applebloom cried.
‘’He will behave himself,’’ Luna promised. ‘’For Scootaloo and for our bond, if nothing else.’’
Speaking of, Scootaloo hadn’t spoken at all, merely staring at the alicorns.
Sweetie kicked her side softly. ‘’Scoots?’’
‘’So that’s why I can’t fly,’’ Scootaloo muttered.
Luna’s ears caught Scootaloo’s words, and she nodded regally. ‘’We believe so, yes. Chaos magic rejects the nature of things: like pegasi using their wings to fly.’’
‘’We can’t solve it,’’ Celestia added. ‘’Not even the Elements of Harmony can. Only control of your Chaos magic will be able to.’’
Scootaloo nodded once, and took a deep breath. ‘’Okay,’’ she said, ‘’when are we leaving?’’
Celestia blinked. ‘’You should talk with your parents about this.’’
All three fillies looked at her. ‘’We’re all orphans,’’ Applebloom said after half a minute of uncomfortable silence.
Celestia wilted back, as if struck. ‘’My sincerest apologies, I didn’t know.’’
Scootaloo waved her hoof dismissively. ‘’No problem, your highness.’’ A moment later, she added in a softer voice, ‘’Will we be living in Canterlot?’’
‘’In the castle, yes,’’ Luna said. ‘’It would require you to move away from your caretakers though.’’
‘’You can still visit them, of course,’’ Celestia clarified, ‘’but you would be spending the majority of your time in Canterlot Castle.’’
The last thing she remembered was a bright flash, and then a fleeting sensation of floating in nothingness. Anything before that was blank, gone.
How had she gotten here? She tried to remember what she’d been doing, but came up blank. Then she tried to remember her parents, and also came up blank. Why couldn’t she remember her parents?! She scrunched her face up as she thought as hard as she could, but nothing came to mind, not even the slightest inkling. Only her name, Twilight Sparkle.
She groaned at her headache, and stood up, legs shaking slightly as she looked around. She was in a cave of some sort, judging by the look of the rocky walls that surrounded her. Behind her was a path that disappeared into darkness, but in front of her shone a bright light, though she couldn’t see the source.
Curious, and with no better plan, Twilight began to walk towards the light, careful to not step on any pointy stones that might hurt her. As she came closer to the light, it naturally became brighter, and when Twilight walked past a large stone, the source came into view.
Twilight gasped softly at the sight of the crystal tree, glowing brightly. On its bark were a sun and a moon, and on it’s five branches hung symbols as well, a pink butterfly, blue balloon, red lightning bolt, purple diamond and orange apple. Finally, a magenta star hung in the centre.
Suddenly, a melodious voice, neither male nor female, spoke. ‘’Greetings, Twilight Sparkle.’’
Twilight yelped. ‘’Who’s there!?’’ she asked as she looked around.
‘’Do not be afraid. I am the Tree you stand in front of,’’ the voice said. Twilight stared at the tree, and noticing it was pulsing with light as it continued, ‘’I am sorry this happened to you, Twilight Sparkle.’’
‘’Who are you? How do you know my name?’’ Twilight asked. ‘’And why can’t I remember anything?’’
‘’Your memories were wiped by Princess Celestia after you had a massive surge of magical power,’’ the tree explained, sounding sorrowful. ‘’I managed to teleport you here, but I cannot restore your memories.’’
Twilight’s face flickered through a variety of emotions as she thought about this. How dare this Princess wipe her memories! No matter the reason, Twilight knew memories should not be tampered with. She didn’t know how she knew this, she just did.
Twilight looked at the tree. ‘’Can you tell me about what I did that made this Princess wipe my mind?’’
‘’I can answer that,’’ a voice that was definitely female said. Twilight turned around to see a silver-grey unicorn enter. Her diamond-blue and golden mane was tied back in a ponytail that swayed slightly with every step she took, and her horn was curved backwards slightly. She wore a fine white cloak, with the hood drawn back.
Twilight instinctively took a step back as the mare’s emerald eyes bored into Twilight. ‘’Who are you?’’
‘’My name is Moonflower,’’ the mare said as she approached Twilight. ‘’I have tended to the Tree for a long time now. It sent me to your home after it rescued you from Celestia.’’
Moonflower reached into her cloak, and pulled out a small basket. In it lay a small, purple-green creature, sleeping softly.
‘’This is the dragonling you hatched that caused your magic to spike,’’ Moonflower explained as she put the basket down. ‘’I rescued it from Celestia. She was planning to kill it off.’’
Twilight gasped. "Why?" The idea of killing an innocent baby…
Moonflower sighed. "Celestia's insane."
-x-X-x-
Star Tower's life was both easy and hard at the same time.
On one hoof, he had more money than he could spend in a lifetime. Not really, but it was close. He had a mansion - several, actually - and even servants to keep them clean. The businesses his family was shareholder in ensured he would never have to work in his life.
On the other hoof, he was a twenty-year old tasked with raising his foal sister, Crystal Star, alone, following their parents' death on the same day that Crystal was born. He also had an extremely tasking study in magical frequencies to work on.
Fortunately, there was one source of stress relief in his life: the mare currently snuggled against him in bed, sleeping with a content smile on her face.
Star glanced at the clock. 03:59, it read. Luckily it was a Sunday, and he could stay asleep again, together with his marefriend.
A very, very soft knock on the door reached Star's ears. That could only be one pony.
"Come in, Crystal," Star said softly.
The door opened, and the four-year old unicorn trotted in her. The only thing Crystal and Star shared in appearance were their emerald-green eyes; Star had a deep blue coat and a darker blue mane with golden streaks, while Crystal's coat was light blue and her mane was white.
Crystal held a stuffed toy close to her chest. The adorable white dove was aptly named Whitey.
"Brother," Crystal whispered as she approached the bed, "I had a nightmare."
Star nodded, then turned his head around to his marefriend. "Sunset," he whispered into her ear.
Sunset stirred. "Five more minutes," she mumbled.
"Crystal had a nightmare," Star informed the mare. "Can you make some room?"
Sunset hmm-ed, and slid away from Star, who silently mourned this fact even as he turned back to Crystal and said, "You can lie between us."
Crystal nodded, and crawled into the bed. Star moved his pillow so she could rest her head as well. Crystal laid her head in the pillow and clutched Whitey as Star pulled the covers over them both again.
"Sleep well, brother," Crystal whispered, before snuggling up against him.
Star smiled, and kissed her on the forehead. "Night, Crystal."
He laid back down and closed his eyes.
-x-X-x-
Several months after Twilight had first arrived in the Cave, three more ponies appeared. Moonflower accompanied them. There was a dark blue unicorn stallion with a darker blue mane with golden streaks and an ancient rune as a cutie mark; a orange unicorn mare with a red mane with yellow streaks and a red and yellow sun as a cutie mark; and a filly even younger than Twilight was, with a light blue coat and a white mane.
"The Tree of Harmony…" the stallion whispered as he and the mare stared in awe at the Tree.
‘’Who are you?’’ Twilight was getting tired of asking this question to every new person she met, and it might have shown in her tone of voice.
The mare answered, as the stallion was still staring transfixed at the Tree, ‘’I’m Sunset Shimmer. This is Star Tower, and this is Crystal Star,’’ she gestured at the filly, who remained huddled to Sunset’s side. Then Sunset tilted her head at Twilight. ‘’I recognize you. Aren’t you supposed to be dead?’’
Twilight resolutely looked back into Sunset’s teal eyes. ‘’And?’’
‘’And nothing,’’ Sunset said simply. ‘’I’m just surprised, is all.’’
Star Tower finally tore his eyes away from the Tree to look at Moonflower. ‘’I am in your debt,’’ he said as he bowed his head. ‘’What can I do to repay it?’’
Sunset turned around to goggle at Star, while Moonflower smiled. ‘’You can help Twilight with her magic. I’m afraid I’m not skilled enough for that.’’
Star Tower raised an eyebrow at Moonflower. ‘’You’re powerful enough to get us out of Canterlot,’’ he argued.
‘’That was simple,’’ Moonflower replied. ‘’But Twilight needs to learn about the more arcane areas of magic, and I don’t have the knowledge or skill for that.’’
‘’Very well,’’ Star Tower acquiesced, before looking at Twilight. ‘’I can see that you’re one powerful filly. Of course, to survive that surge of magic, you’d have to be…’’ he mused.
-x-X-x-
Star looked around the room the Tree had created for him. Crystal-like branches seeped through the stone walls, giving off a soft light. A comfortable bed stood in the corner, next to a desk with a chair, and a chest stood under the desk, but the room was otherwise bare.
Star was just about to test out the bed when he felt a mare’s body press against him. ‘’Good evening,’’ Sunset breathed into his ear.
Star shivered. ‘’Evening,’’ he replied.
Sunset kissed him and he kissed her back, tongues twisting together as she dragged him to the bed. They fell back onto it, Sunset pinned down under Star.
‘’Hmm,’’ Sunset purred as she broke her lips away from Star’s. ‘’Have I told you that you taste good?’’
‘’Every day, love,’’ Star replied, before beginning to cover her face and neck in kisses. Not to be outdone, Sunset’s horn lit up as she wrapped a corona of magic around Star’s cock -which was already out of it’s shaft - and created a magical fleshlight.
‘’Fuckk…’’ Sunset moaned as Star continued his relentless kissing assault.
-x-X-x-
Celestia couldn’t resist smiling as she looked out over her nation. Her ponies were safe and protected from all the horrors that feared the Sun’s righteous touch. Equestria, the land where winter meant a cool breeze and some clouds. Equestria, where ponies from all walks of life lived in perfect order. Equestria, where Celestia had ultimate power.
KA-BOOM!
Celestia recoiled back, then stared in shock. The Everfree Forest, the one place inside of Equestria’s borders that wasn’t under her control, was rapidly expanding.
In a flash, she appeared above it, high in the air. Her armour gleamed in the light of her Sun. Celestia gathered her power, then sent a massive ball of flame down at the forest.
Only for it to splash harmlessly against a purple shield.
The sound of metal horseshoes walking on the stone floor echoed through the hallway. These were the rarely-used dungeons of Canterlot Palace, and as far as the public knew, they were empty.
Then again, as far as the public knew this hallway didn’t exist.
Empress Daybreaker, formerly the Princess Celestia, walked down the hallway. Each step was perfectly measured, perfectly controlled by the centuries-old alicorn, even when there was no one else to witness it.
Well, there was someone else. Walking behind Daybreaker was Star Tower, dressed in a fine robe of fire-red that contrasted with his deep blue coat and even deeper blue and golden mane.
The two arrived at a simple metal door. The only thing that stuck out from it’s smooth surface was the symbol of the sun branded onto the centre, glowing with magic.
Daybreaker placed her hoof against the sun sigil, and a moment later the door opened of its own accord, allowing the two ponies in.
The door led to a large circular room, with glowing runes etched into its walls. In the centre, above a well of solar fire, hung a metal cage, kept suspended by a single chain.
‘’You,’’ a female voice sneered from inside the cage. ‘’Finally here to finish the job?’’
Daybreaker sighed. Whether she was truly irritated or just faking it, neither of the other two persons in the room could tell.
‘’Say your piece and begone,’’ the caged mare spat at the alicorn.
‘’This will be the last time I visit you,’’ Daybreaker said, any emotion she felt carefully repressed in favour of a neutral tone.
‘’Good,’’ the mare said. ‘’At least I can die in peace.’’
Daybreaker said nothing, but merely turned around and, with a single nod to Star, walked to the door. There she turned back to face the cage and watched in silence.
Star stepped forward. ‘’Twilight Sparkle, do you continue to resist Her Imperial Majesty’ rightful reign?’’
Twilight glared hatefully at him and Daybreaker. ‘’Always.’’
Star sighed, then his horn lit up golden.
Twilight shifted slightly as magic began to surround her. ‘’What are you doing?’’ she asked.
Star gave no answer, merely closing his eyes in concentration.
Twilight gave a squeak as she began to shrink. ‘’What are you doing!?’’ she asked again, now with more urgency.
Still no answer from Star.
Twilight’s carefully-maintained mane, kept so by the enchantments on her cage, began to change. The purple-red streak began to grow and turned more fiery red as the blue-purple hair around it turned bright yellow. Her mane then tied itself into a short bun at the back of her head.
‘’Ah!’’ Twilight cried as her eyes stung. She blinked rapidly, and when she finally opened her eyes fully again, they had turned the same colour as Daybreaker’s, without the slitted pupil or red iris.
All the while, she continued to shrink until she was the size of a filly. She felt a tingling run through her, and raised her hoof to see the hoof was turning from purple to yellow, while her coat turned lavender to yellow-white.
Another tingling, this time focused on her flank, and she stared in horror as her cutie mark vanished and was replaced by a rising sun. ‘’You…’’ she stopped as a sudden headache came on.
‘’NO!” she shouted, raising her hooves to her head and trying in vain to use her magic as her memories were replaced. She began to repeat her name to herself.
‘’Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle,’’ she chanted. ‘’Twilight Sunrise? T-twilight Sparkle,’’ she quickly corrected the slip up. ‘’Twilight Sparkshine, NO! Twilight Dayshine! Twilight Sparkle, my name is…’’
She trailed off as her memories vanished completely, and stared in front of her with a blank expression on her face.
With a click, Daybreaker’s magic unlocked the cage and floated the filly over to her. ‘’You are Sunrise Dayshine, my little adopted daughter.’’
Twilight blinked once, and then Sunrise smiled happily. ‘’Of course, momma!’’ the nine-year old alicorn said. Then her face scrunched up in confusion. ‘’Where are we?’’
‘’Never you mind,’’ Daybreaker said as she placed the filly on her back. ‘’Come, Star,’’ she said to the unicorn, who was looking at the two of them.
‘’Yes, Empress.’’ He bowed his head at her, and then followed her out of the dungeons.
|-x-X-x-|
‘’Hmm…’’ Rarity contently purred as she snuggled into Star’s chest. ‘’That was delightful.’’
Star didn’t answer her, instead looking up at the enchanted ceiling of their room, which showed the night sky. Rarity frowned at her husband’s unresponsiveness. ‘’What’s wrong, darling?’’ she asked him.
Star let out a sigh. ‘’Nothing,’’ he answered.
‘’Don’t ‘nothing’ me, Mr,’’ Rarity said accusingly. ‘’Something happened, and you’re wrung up about it. Spill.’’
Star sighed again. ‘’You know that alicorn filly the Empress found in the Canterlot Caverns a few weeks back?’’
‘’Yes?’’ Rarity hesitantly answered.
‘’That was Twilight,’’ Star said flatly.
Rarity sat up in bed and stared at her husband. ‘’Oh,’’ she softly said.
‘’Yeah.’’ Star uncomfortably rubbed his hooves together. ‘’I helped with the spells for that.’’
Rarity reflected on this. Twilight had been one of her best friends, of course, but she and Rarity had grown distant ever since Rarity moved to Canterlot and started dating Star. And then Twilight had begun leading a resistance against the newly-ascended Empress.
Rarity could understand that Twilight was uncomfortable with the new government. She was too, to an extent. But she would never dream of trying to rebel against the Empress!
‘’I see,’’ she said finally. ‘’I don’t need to know anymore.’’
‘’Okay,’’ Star gratefully agreed. After a short silence, he asked, ‘’Shall we go again?’’
Rarity shook her head. ‘’I’m… just hold me, alright?’’
‘’Of course, love.’’ Star gave her a quick kiss, then she sat down and snuggled against him again. Together, they drifted off to sleep.
|-x-X-x-|
‘’Mommy! Daddy!’’
‘’Urgh…’’ Star groaned. Why did he want children again?
Still, he couldn’t deny them anything. So he opened his eyes to see Diamond Tower standing next to the bed.
‘’What’s the time?’’ Star asked no-one in particular as he glanced at the clock. 07:55, it read. On a Saturday, that was far too early for his tastes.
‘’Daddy,’’ Diamond said, ‘’Fali, Amy and Pert are awake already! And Auntie Crystal made pancakes!’’
‘’Really now?’’ Star asked with a raised eyebrow. ‘’Well, I can’t miss those.’’ He turned around to see Rarity was stirring as well.
‘’Love,’’ he whispered into her ear, ‘’pancakes.’’
‘’Five more minutes,’’ Rarity whined.
‘’Pancakes or tickles,’’ Star declared.
‘’Tickles!’’ Diamond added excitedly.
‘’Alright,’’ Rarity good-naturedly grumbled as she threw the covers away. ‘’Pancakes it is.’’
Once they were in the dining room, they saw Crystal sitting together with their triplets, Falisiousa, Amethyst and Pertorica. Neither Rarity nor Star had counted having triplets the second time, but neither of them minded in the slightest.
‘’Morning, big bro, Rares,’’ Crystal greeted them both with a grin. ‘’I woke your kids up for ya.’’
‘’No problem.’’ Crystal dumped another pancake onto her plate.
‘’You always make the better pancakes of us two,’’ Star remarked as he placed one on his plate.
‘’Someone had to feed you,’’ Crystal quipped playfully.
The playground quieted for a moment as Star teleported in with his wife and son.
‘’Have a good day, Diamond,’’ he said cordially. Rarity bent down and gave him a peck on his forehead.
‘’Bye, Mom and Dad!’’ Diamond gave them both a quick hug, then joined his friends. Star and Rarity watched until the bell rang and they filed inside. Then Star teleported them back home again.
‘’They grow up so fast,’’ Rarity whispered.
‘’He’s six,’’ Star couldn’t help but point out. ‘’We have twelve more years with him.’’
‘’That’s only twice the time we’ve had so far,’’ Rarity retorted, ‘’and it feels like yesterday that I was feeding him from my teats!’’
Star silenced her further dramatics with a dazzling kiss. ‘’You need some stress relief, Mrs Spellweaver,’’ he declared once they broke.
Rarity smirked. ‘’I think I do.’’ And she all but dragged him to the bedroom.
|-x-X-x-|
Afterwards, Rarity and Star snuggled with each other. ‘’You really know how to make me unwind, Mr Spellweaver,’’ Rarity remarked.
The four major powers of the griffon nations promised to combine their alliances into one, effectively bringing all of western Griffonian under their banner, as well as the vast majority of the griffon population. Only the Evi Valley didn’t participate, as well as Skyfall and Rumare.
‘’They’re afraid,’’ Star realized aloud. ‘’Afraid of Daybreaker.’’
‘’Why are they afraid of the Empress, Dad?’’ Amy asked him.
‘’They’re scared the Empress will invade them,’’ he answered after a moment, ‘’even though there’s no reason she would.’’
|-x-X-x-|
‘’We don’t want more children, no,’’ Star said to the Empress with a shake of his head.
‘’I see.’’ The Empress inclined her head at him. ‘’That is not the reason I called you here, of course.’’
Star nodded, waiting patiently for Daybreaker to get to her point. Instead of speaking, she slid over a file to him.
He opened it, and his eyes widened. ‘’Uh…’’
‘’I assure you, it is genuine,’’ the Empress said amicably.
Star looked up at her. ‘’Why me?’’ he asked.
‘’You’ve got more experience than anyone else in my court with the land and it’s ponies,’’ Daybreaker said bluntly. ‘’More importantly, I know you won’t fuck it up.’’
Star looked back at the file.
By order of Her Solar Majesty Empress Daybreaker,
Star Tower of House Spellweaver, Royal Magician of Canterlot, is hereby appointed as Lord-Protector of the Austral Territories, defined as the provinces of Coltjun, Baltimare, the kingdom of Aztlan, the colony of the Spa Islands and the Badlands Territory, answerable directly to Her Solar Majesty the Empress.
His duties shall be to ensure peace, justice and stability are brought to these territories, and for this he shall be granted the power and authority to exercise his mission in whatever ways he perceives necessary.
|-x-X-x-|
‘’So. That,’’ Star finished his recounting of his meeting with Daybreaker.
Rarity remained frozen for a moment, before bursting forward and wrapping her husband in a powerful hug.
‘’... wow,’’ Crystal said.
Rarity broke her hug, and pulled out a pen and paper. ‘’I have to pack!’’ she exclaimed. ‘’Clothes, materials- the children! I need-’’
Star cut off her incoming panic attack with a long kiss. Rarity’s eyes widened in surprise, then they fluttered as she leaned into the kiss.
Crystal politely looked away. After a minute, she looked back and coughed pointedly.
‘’Hmm…’’ Rarity purred as the pair finally broke their kiss. ‘’Thank you, love.’’
‘’No problem, love,’’ Star replied.
Crystal made a faux-retching noise. ‘’If you’re quite done?’’
Star rolled his eyes at Crystal.
|-x-X-x-|
Star Tower stepped out of the train and breathed in the air. The fumes of the trains in the station mixed with salt from the sea created an aroma.
He turned around and offered his hoof to Rarity, who took it as she stepped out of the train as well, followed by their four bleary-eyed but excited children.
‘’My Lord-Protector!’’ Baltimare’s mayor - a short earth pony in a business suit - beamed at them. ‘’It is an honour and a privilege to meet you. Welcome to Baltimare!’’
‘’Thank you, Mayor Salt,’’ Star said kindly. ‘’It is my pleasure to be here.’’
‘’The pleasure is ours, my lord,’’ Mayor Salt replied. ‘’I have taken the liberty of having a car prepared for you and your family. It will take you to the Horseshoe Tower, the city’s tallest skyscraper.’’
‘’Thank you,’’ Star said again, inclining his head in acknowledgement.
The Horseshoe Building was a tall, forty-five story building, more than twice as tall as the second tallest building in the city. It was built in the typical art deco style of Manehattanite skyscrapers, contrasting sharply with the more industrial and rough architecture of the surrounding city and standing out a shining light above it.
‘’Our apartment is on the fortieth floor,’’ Star explained to Rarity and the children as he pressed the appropriate number in the elevator. ‘’The entire floor is ours. Just like in the manor, you will all have separate rooms.’’
With a ding, the elevator announced that it had arrived, and the doors slid apart to reveal a long hallway. Immediately the children rushed out past their parents and guards.
"This is magnificent!" Rarity gushed as she stepped out of the lift.
Star smiled at his wife's enthusiasm. "I'd hoped you would like it."
|-x-X-x-|
‘’Greetings, citizens of the Austral Territories and beyond. My name is Star Tower of House Spellweaver, Lord-Protector of the Austral Territories per command of Her Solar Majesty Empress Daybreaker.
Already before I arrived in Baltimare, from where I am speaking to you now, rumours and tall tales have been spread about me. I will not waste time by individually addressing these rumours, but I will say this: rumours are just rumours, and I would ask all of you to judge a person not on their words but on their actions.
My duties are these: restore harmony and peace to the Austral Territories, using whatever means necessary. I am willing to be civilized about this all. I understand the past years have been a hard and trying time for everyone, but only by working together can we achieve harmony.
As I said, I will spend the foreseeable time in Baltimare, however I plan to visit the major cities and towns of the Territories in the coming months to see for myself the situation in these places and determine what might be done to aid in them.
I am not your enemy. The Solar Empire is not your enemy. I am willing to offer anyone who wants it a chance to start anew for themselves. But make no mistake: there will be no third chances.
Thank you for listening.’’
The microphone turned off.
Star let out a sigh as he stepped away from it. ‘’That’s that,’’ he muttered under his breath.
He walked out of the recording booth and into the studio, where Golden Note and Summer Sky waited on him.
‘’That was an impressive speech, sir,’’ Summer Sky said respectfully. ‘’My compliments.’’
‘’Impressive?’’ Golden Note guffawed at the mare. ‘’My lady, it was magnifique! I myself felt compelled to… to start anew! Just like you said, my Lord.’’
‘’Thank you, both of you.’’ Star inclined his head at them. ‘’I’m glad to hear it.’’
Summer Sky nodded, before clearing her throat. ‘’Sir, you’re free for the day. Shall we?’’
‘’Let’s.’’ Star turned to Golden Note and shook hoofs with the stallion. ‘’It’s been a pleasure.’’
‘’The pleasure was mine, my Lord,’’ Golden Note shot back as he bowed his head.
Star nodded, before leaving together with Summer Sky. They got into the car, and Star’s mind wandered to his family as he looked out the window. Diamond Tower seemed to be integrating well with the other foals at the school he went to, and the girls had had a blast ever since Star had permitted the staff to bring their children with them to work. As long as an adult watched over them, the children were free to play amongst themselves.
|-x-X-x-|
Baltimare was no Manehattan or Canterlot, but it had its charms. Or it had had them, until the violent anarchist uprising and the following military intervention into the region two years later. The city had been rebuilding ever since, a gradual process that consumed a lot of effort, time and money.
Rarity stepped out of the car and looked around. The entrance to Baltimare’s largest shopping centre was obviously still under construction, but the centre itself was mostly working again, with most shops having opened their doors again.
Rarity suppressed a sigh as the dozen Solar Guard closed ranks around her, glaring at anyone that looked funny. Most of the guards were mares; two were stallions.
The crowd split apart for them, obviously afraid of the imposing golden-armoured soldiers and their magi-tek rifles.
‘’Where do you wish to go, ma’am?’’ one of the guards asked.
‘’The nearest clothing store, if you please,’’ Rarity replied. The guard nodded, and with the flick of a hoof she sent another guard forward through the crowd.
Two minutes later, the guard arrived back. ‘’’Third shop on the right.’’
‘’Then let us go!’’ Rarity declared.
The guards moved forward with her, not breaking their protective cordon as they entered the mall. The shop the guard had mentioned was already empty of customers.
‘’Two may follow me inside,’’ Rarity said to her guards. ‘’The rest, stand outside and make sure no one else enters.’’
The commander of her guards didn’t appear to like that idea, but she nodded anyway. ‘’Yes, ma’am.’’ She and nine others spread out in front of the doorway, facing the crowd. One of the two stallions and a mare were all that followed Rarity inside.
The shop’s owner stood in the centre of the shop, her two assistants behind her. All three ponies had anxious looks on their faces, and all three bowed to Rarity.
‘’My Lady,’’ the owner greeted reverently. ‘’What can we do for you?’’
Rarity took a look around the room. The clothes were less high-quality than she was accustomed to, but practical and with a certain rustic style to them. A sudden bout of inspiration struck her, and a smile crept onto her face as she reviewed the idea.
‘’How much does this all,’’ she waved her hoof around, ‘’cost?’’
The shopowner’s eyes widened, but he answered, ‘’It is free for you, my Lady.’’
‘’I was not asking for the price, but for how much they cost to make, miss,’’ Rarity said gently.
‘’O-of course, let me see…’’ the shopowner looked around as well, and made some quick calculations in her head. ‘’Some twenty-three thousand bits.’’
Rarity nodded, having reached more or less the same number. ‘’Very well. I have an offer for you: you might have noticed that there are many refugees living on the outskirts of the city. I am offering to buy your entire supply of clothes, at the price of their fabric, and supply you with a contract to make more clothes to be sent to the refugees and other people in need. All costs will be met, of course.’’
The other five ponies in the room all stared at her. Finally, the shopowner managed to get out, ‘’I-I’d be honoured, my Lady!’’
‘’Good.’’ Rarity smiled kindly at the other mare. ‘’I will have ponies come by and collect the clothes from you, in exchange for those twenty-three thousand bits. And I will send other ponies to help you with making new clothes.’’
‘’That is most generous of you, my Lady,’’ the shopowner complimented. ‘’I will be sure to put the money and the workers to good use. Thank you.’’
‘’It was no problem, my good mare,’’ Rarity dismissed. ‘’I am merely doing my job.’’
Technically, it wasn’t Flash’s property. But ever since he’d found two years ago, he’d never seen anyone else there. Sure, some people probably used the spot when he wasn’t there; it was, after all, a very nice place to view Canterlot City, especially at dawn or dusk, like it was now.
Slowly, as soundlessly as possible, Flash approached the bench.
A branch cracked under his shoes. Fuck.
The head of the girl sitting on the bench spun around so fast that it couldn’t be healthy. ‘’Who’s- Flash!’’
He smiled a little. ‘’Good evening, Rarity.’’
It took her a moment, but she smiled back at him. ‘’Good evening to you too, darling. And sorry for my reaction earlier, you just startled me.’’
‘’No problem,’’ Flash assured. ‘’Mind if I sit?’’
‘’Of course not.’’
Flash sat down on the edge of the bench, about as far away from Rarity as he could manage. The sunset was painting the sky violet and orange, the last rays of sunlight dying as their source vanished behind the horizon. It did some very flattering things to Rarity’s face.
It also reminded Flash of the past weeks.
‘’Flash?’’
‘’Hmm?’’
Rarity shifted, sitting slightly closer to him. ‘’Are you alright, darling? I’ve never known you to be so… silent.’’
Should he tell her?
Might as well, Flash reasoned. By the end of tomorrow, the news would be all over the school anyway.
‘’I broke up with Sunset,’’ he confessed.
Rarity gasped. ‘’Oh my!’’
‘’Yeah.’’ Flash kept his look anywhere but on Rarity. ‘’It was just… she was too much.’’
‘’I’m sorry,’’ Rarity said softly. ‘’I knew you liked her.’’
Had he? Maybe once, Flash had liked her. Sunset was certainly attractive. But she was also a bully, a sadist. Flash had liked her, but he had never loved her.
‘’She was- is a bitch.’’ The words were out of his mouth before he knew it. ‘’I don’t know how I ever convinced myself she was worth it.’’ He balled his fist.
Rarity slid closer to him again. Now they were almost touching. ‘’What happened?’’
‘’Nothing,’’ he lied. ‘’I just… said no.’’ Technically true, and Flash wasn’t in the mood for explaining more.
‘’I see.’’ Rarity’s lips pursed, and she sighed.
‘’So why are you here?’’ Flash after a minute of uncomfortable silence.
‘’Oh,’’ Rarity sighed, ‘’I just like it here.’’ She looked at the green hills. ‘’It keeps from thinking about him.’’
‘’Him?’’
‘’My crush,’’ Rarity supplied, before blinking. ‘’I don’t know why I’m telling you this.’’
Flash didn’t either, but he didn’t mind it. ‘’Go on, if you want to.’’
Rarity leaned back against the bench. ‘’He’s the nicest guy I know. He’s handsome, gentle and kind. Everything a girl could want.’’
‘’He sounds like a good guy,’’ Flash offered after a moment.
‘’Oh, he is,’’ Rarity agreed. ‘’I’d even say he’s perfect.’’
‘’Who is he?’’ Flash asked.
Rarity’s eyes met his. ‘’He’s you.’’
What.
Flash’s mouth was suddenly very dry. ‘’Uhh…’’
‘’I don’t know why I said that,’’ Rarity said, suddenly sounding like she was panicking.
‘’It’s okay,’’ Flash rushed to say. ‘’I just…’’
And he kissed her.
Hmm… Rarity’s lips were so much softer than Sunset’s. Her entire being was softer than Sunset. So fragile.
‘’Wow…’’ Rarity breathed when their lips parted. ‘’Extraordinary, darling.’’
‘’Thanks.’’ He hesitated for a moment, then slipped his arm around her waist. So frail.
Rarity leaned into his shoulder. She was cold.
‘’You’re cold,’’ he stated. ‘’Want my jacket?’’
‘’Darling, I’m fine-’’ but Flash had already taken off his jacket. He placed it over her shoulders.
‘’Miss Spoon, this is your new foster parent, Mr Star Tower,’’ the woman said.
Silver looked up at the man. He was tall, with blue skin and dark blue hair that had golden streaks in it. He looked somewhere in his thirties, and he was wearing a light blue t-shirt with a golden rim around the neckline, black jeans and blue and white sneakers.
‘’Good morning Miss Spoon, Mrs Jewel,’’ he said, offering his hand to Silver, who shyly shook it.
‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,’’ Silver softly said.
He smiled at her. ‘’Call me Star, please.’’ Then he looked to Mrs Jewel. ‘’Is there anything else that needs to be done?’’
The woman shook her head. ‘’You’re free to go, sir. Have a nice day.’’
‘’And you as well, madam,’’ Star replied with a slight nod, then looked back at Silver. ‘’Do you have everything?’’ Silver nodded. ‘’Good. Come on, let’s go.’’
Together, they walked out of the office. Diamond and her father were waiting in the reception area.
‘’Filthy! Good to see you again,’’ Star greeted them.
Filthy stood up and the two men shook hands. ‘’It’s good to see you as well, Star. And good on you for taking care of Silver. We would have it done ourselves, but we just don’t have the time, sadly.’’
Star nodded. ‘’Understandable. I’ve got to go; Crystal’s waiting.’’
Filthy chuckled. ‘’I know what you mean.’’
Meanwhile, Silver and Diamond were talking. ‘’Your father knows him?’’ Silver asked.
Diamond nodded. ‘’They went to Crystal Prep together, and stayed in contact ever since.’’
‘’I didn’t know your dad went to Crystal Prep,’’ Silver said. ‘’How come you’re going to CHS then?’’
Diamond shrugged. ‘’Mother wanted me to go to Crystal, but dad refused. I don’t know why, but here I am.’’
Silver nodded. ‘’Do you know what he does for work?’’
‘’He’s the Prep’s History Teacher,’’ Diamond replied. ‘’and also a tutor. He gave me a few tips and pointers for that test we had after my birthday.’’
Silver frowned. She couldn’t remember seeing him at the party, but she hadn’t really been looking around, so she could have missed him.
‘’Silver? I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’ve got to go. My sister’s waiting on us at home,’’ Star said as he walked over to them.
‘’Give me a call after dinner, okay?’’ Diamond asked. Silver nodded, and the two girls shared a quick hug, before separating.
‘’Until next time, Filthy! Say hi to Spoiled for me!’’ Star said to the man.
Filthy nodded. ‘’And tell Crystal the same as well.’’
‘’Will do!’’ Star replied, before turning around. Silver followed behind him. They strolled across the parking lot, before stopping in front of a dark blue sports car. Star fished a set of keys out of his pocket, and with a click he unlocked the car. ‘’Make yourself comfortable. You can sit in front, if you want to,’’ he said as he opened the door.
Silver gently put her coffer in the back seat, then sat down in the shotgun seat, storing her backpack on the floor in front of her legs. She clicked on the seatbelt and sat back.
With a vroom, the engine started, and Star pulled out of the parking spot. ‘’So, Silver. Do you want to tell me about yourself, or do you want to wait until we’ve arrived?’’ Star asked.
Silver shook her head. ‘’I’ll wait. I wouldn’t want to distract you from driving, sir.’’
‘’As you wish,’’ Star said. ‘’Do you want to listen to the radio? If not, I have a collection of CD’s in the storage there, or we can just enjoy the silence.’’
‘’Silence is alright,’’ Silver softly replied, almost whispering.
Star nodded. ‘’As you wish,’’ he said again.
The rest of the trip continued in silence. With nothing better to do, Silver began to look outside. She saw they were moving away from the city centre, where the foster office had been, to one of the suburbs. Indeed, slowly the concrete and steel skyscrapers were replaced by long lawns and large, stately homes. These could easily be called small mansions, and they had all been built around the same time in the late 1800’s, though every building was distinct, to set it apart from the rest.
Eventually, Star slowed down, and pulled up to a drive-way. He pulled another key out of his pocket and pressed a button, which opened the garage door. Once inside, he closed the door again, before shutting down the car.
‘’Welcome to my home,’’ he said as he stepped out.
There was the sound of a door opening, and then a white-blue blur tackling Star. ‘’Brother, you’re back!’’
Star chuckled. ‘’That I am, Crystal,’’ he said. ‘’I wasn’t gone that long, was I?”
The girl - for it was a girl, about twelve years old - looked at him with a raised eyebrow. ‘’You went straight to the foster office after getting out of school. I haven’t seen you since third period in the morning.’’
Star chuckled again. ‘’Fine, fine.’’
He turned to Silver, who was staring at them. ‘’Silver, meet Crystal Star, my sister. Crystal, this is Silver Spoon.’’
‘’Hi! Call me Crystal!’’ the girl said with a bright smile. ‘’It’s nice to meet you!’’
Silver was a bit taken aback, both by the large age difference between the two and Crystal’s excitedness. ‘’Pleasure,’’ she replied.
‘’Crystal, could you please show Silver the house? I have to call the company responsible for moving Silver’s items here,’’ Star said.
‘’No problem, big bro!’’ Crystal said with a mock-salute and a wink. Silver smiled slightly at the display, while Star’s smile was wider.
‘’Great!’’ he said. ‘’Oh, and dinner’s at seven-thirty. Pasta with sauce.’’ He looked at Silver. ‘’Do you have any allergies or dislikes I should know about?”
Silver shook her head. Star gave a nod, then left the room, dialling up a number on his phone.
Crystal turned to Silver and offered her hand. ‘’Come on!’’
Silver took it, then was almost dragged away. One tour of the mansion later, they were sitting in the dining room.
‘’So, any questions?’’ Crystal asked, before taking a sip of her drink.
‘’Just one,’’ Silver replied. ‘’How are you and Star related?’’
Crystal sighed. ‘’It’s a bit of a long story, but I’ll try to keep it short. After Star graduated, he left to travel the world for a bit. He went to all sorts of places: Mexicolt, Scandineighvia, Saddle Arabia, et cetera. He was nineteen when he left, and thirty-six now. Then, five years after he left, my mother unexpectedly became pregnant.’’
‘’With you,’’ Silver guessed.
Crystal nodded. ‘’They were overjoyed, of course, and Star promised to come back a few weeks before I was scheduled to appear. But… an accident happened. I came a week early. My dad wasn’t prepared, and he wasn’t focussing when he was driving from work to the hospital. He missed a sign, and was hit by another car. He didn’t make it. Meanwhile, my mom was giving birth to me, but something went wrong, and she died only a few minutes after I’d been delivered.’’
Silver stared in shock. ‘’I’m sorry,’’ was all she could say.
Crystal waved her hand dismissively. ‘’When my brother heard the news, he moved heaven and earth to get to me. In 24 hours, he got from Shanghay back here to pick me up. With no other family members alive, he took it upon himself to raise me, and here I am.’’
‘’Does it bother you?’’ Silver asked after a short silence. ‘’Never knowing your parents?’’
‘’Eh.’’ Crystal shrugged. ‘’I guess? I mean, I would have liked to know them, but I really can’t complain about my childhood. If anything I had it even better because Star had more money to spend on me, and spend it he did, believe me. But I don’t really miss them, not in the way I imagine you do.’’
Silver sighed. ‘’I do miss them, terribly.’’ she paused. ‘’But what happened to you is more terrible.’’
‘’What? No it’s not!’’ Crystal replied.
‘’At least I got to grow up with my parents,’’ Silver pointed out.
‘’And now you must miss them for the rest of your life,’’ Crystal retorted. ‘’I’d say that’s the more cruel thing to happen.’’
‘’Both are equally cruel, in different ways.’’
Both girls jumped at the sound of Star’s voice as he walked into the room and pulled out a chair for himself. ‘’On one hand, not knowing means you’ll never be able to know what they thought of you, but you also won’t miss them, since there’s nothing to miss. On the other hand, at least you have memories of them after their death, but if you hadn’t met them you wouldn’t miss them in the first place.’’
Crystal blinked. ‘’How long were you listening?’’
‘’Long enough,’’ Star replied.
‘’How did we not notice you?’’ Silver wondered.
‘’I’m a teacher,’’ Star answered. ‘’I’ve perfected the art of listening in on youngsters like yourselves. Comes with the territory.’’
-x-X-x-
Twelve years ago
Star’s phone rang. ‘’This is Star Tower, who am I speaking to?’’
‘’Mr Tower, I am Doctor Heart, from the Canterlot General Hospital.’’
‘’Doctor, why are you calling me?’’
‘’Your mother has just given birth, sir, to a beautiful baby girl. Her name is Crystal Star.’’
‘’WHAT! That’s wonderful! Can you give me my mom?’’
‘’I’m sorry sir… your mother died a few minutes after giving birth.’’
‘’What? No… how is my father?’’
‘’I don’t know how to say this… he died in a car crash on his way to the hospital.’’
‘’... Doctor. Who’s caring for my sister now?’’
‘’One of the nurses, sir.’’
‘’Right. Who’s her guardian at the moment?’’
‘’You are, sir.’’
‘’For fuck’s sakes… listen, doctor, I’m currently in Shanghay. My flight is scheduled for next week. I’ll do my best to get back to Canterlot as quickly as I can, but until then, I need the hospital to take care of Crystal.’’
‘’Of course, sir. We shall do whatever is necessary.’’
‘’Good. Can I use this number to contact you again?’’
‘’You can, sir. I’ll have it reserved for you.’’
‘’Thank you, doctor. I’ll pass you the contact information of my lawyer, and those of my parents as well.’’
‘’Actually sir, they’ve already been here. They’re the reason you’re already her legal guardian.’’
‘’I’ll have to give them a raise then. Was there anything else, doctor?’’
‘’Not the moment, sir.’’
‘’Then I wish you a pleasant… it’s afternoon, right?”
‘’Almost dusk, sir.’’
‘’Yes, well it’s night-time here.’’
‘’In that case, have a good night sir, and my condolences on your loss.’’
‘’Thank you, and good afternoon.’’
Fuck.
-x-X-x-
‘’What is this about, Abacus?’’
‘’You know that very well, Star.’’
‘’Look, Abacus. I’m not going to force her to move schools. Silver still hasn’t fully come to terms with her parents’ death, and she is just starting to warm up to Crystal and me. To take her away from her friends now would destroy what little trust exists between us, and it would be detrimental for her mental health as well. Unless she asks for the transfer herself, she won’t be going there.’’
‘’And there is nothing I can do to change your mind?”
‘’No.’’
‘’Fine. Then I expect your resignation in seven days.’’
‘’Really? And for what reason?’’
‘’It is in the charter. Article 23: ‘All staff members that have children eligible shall send their children to Crystal Prep.’ Didn’t you know this?’’
‘’As a matter of fact, I did not. But if that is the rule, then I shall follow it. I’ll empty my office tomorrow.’’
‘’Good.’’
-x-X-x-
‘’I got fired,’’ Star announced as he sat down at the table. Crystal almost choked on her food.
‘’What?!’’ she shouted.
Star gave her a warning glance. ‘’I’ll explain in a minute. But first, how was your day, both of you?’’
‘’Oh, it was perfectly alright,’’ Crystal snarked, ‘’until you just told me you don’t have a job anymore.’’
Star’s face flickered into anger for a moment, then it settled in a serene expression. ‘’Crystal, please calm down, and I’ll tell you what happened.’’
After a few seconds of silent glaring, Crystal huffed. ‘’Fine, but you better have a very good explanation, or I’m going to be very cross with you.’’
Star nodded. ‘’Abacus called me and told me I had two choices: Either Silver Spoon goes to Crystal Prep, or I will be fired.’’ His tone was cold. ‘’I chose the latter.’’
Silver gasped. ‘’You did that for me?’’
‘’Yes. Unless I’m very mistaken, you don’t want to go to Crystal Prep?” Star asked. Silver shook her head. ‘’So I thought, and I told Abacus as much. Then she informed me there was apparently a rule against children of staff members going to other schools besides Crystal Prep.’’
‘’Why would they do that?’’ Crystal inquired.
Star shrugged. ‘’Probably to keep the reputation up. Anyway, that’ll be the official reason I’m fired.’’
‘’And the unofficial, actual reason?” Silver asked.
‘’Reputation,’’ Star replied. ‘’It doesn’t look good when the ward of a teacher goes to another school. Makes parents wonder if they made the right decision, enlisting their child at Crystal Prep.’’
‘’That fits Cinch perfectly,’’ Crystal said with a snarl.
‘’Also, Abacus has been looking to get rid of me for some time,’’ Star continued. ‘’Never mind that I’m one of the best history teachers in the county, if not the state. To her, I represent an obstacle to total control over the school, and as such I must be removed. Until now, she never had a legitimate reason.’’
There was a short silence, during which Star began to eat.
‘’I’m sorry you lost your job because of me,’’ Silver said, eyes downcast.
Star looked up at her. ‘’Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault. Cinch brought up the rule first. If she hadn’t, there wouldn’t have been any problems.’’
‘’Still,’’ Silver pressed, ‘’because of me she could fire you. If I-’’
‘’If you what? Hadn’t been taken in by me? I did that myself,’’ Star cut her off. ‘’Silver, don’t beat yourself up over this. I don’t even really need a job to sustain us. My family has always been rich.’’
‘’If you didn’t need the money, why did you work?’’ Silver asked with a frown.
Star shrugged. ‘’I like history, and teaching. And I might not need the money, but it’s always nice to have a reliable source of income that’s not dependent on investments. Plus, I get to keep an eye on Crystal, and I don’t have to sit around on my ass all day.’’
‘’I can take care of myself, y’know,’’ Crystal said.
‘’True,’’ Star agreed, ‘’but not when you were eight.’’
Crystal thought about that for a moment, then shrugged. ‘’Eh, fair enough.’’
The rest of the dinner continued like this, with the three of them talking and joking. Then, at the end, Crystal turned to her brother.
‘’So… are you going to look for a new job?’’ she asked.
Star shrugged. ‘’Don’t know yet. I’ll have to see what there’s available.’’
-x-X-x-
‘’Hi mom and dad,’’ Silver softly whispered. A few meters away stood Star and Crystal, silently watching.
Silver knelt next to the two gravestones. ‘’Been a while.’’
She sighed. ‘’Sorry I couldn’t visit before. I had tests to catch up on.’’
Another sigh. ‘’Things have been… nice. Star and Crystal treat me as if I’m family. I guess I am now.’’
‘’I miss you, every day. And I wish things could have been different. I wish that, when I graduate, I would see your faces, hopefully smiling proudly at me. And knowing that won’t happen… *sniff* it hurts.’’
‘’It *sniff* hurts so *sniff* much.’’
Silver felt a strong grip on her shoulder. She turned to see Star and Crystal were sitting down on the ground with her. There was a look of pity and understanding in their eyes.
After a few seconds, the dam broke. Tears began to trail down Silver’s face. She buried her face in her hands, and after a few seconds two pairs of arms wrapped around her. Sobs racked her body as she crawled up against Star.
He and Crystal didn’t say anything, they just held her as she let out her grief.
‘’Silver…’’ Star said eventually. ‘’I know what it is like to lose your parents. And we will never try to replace them. But we will treat as one of our own, if you’ll have us.’’
It was a stormy evening in Canterlot. Ponies were sitting in their homes, huddling close to the fireplace or the heating. Thick raindrops fell from the sky, tracing over the windows in a way that some loved and some found utterly boring.
In the city's upper-class district, as close to the castle as possible, one house stuck out for a couple of reasons.
One: there was not a single light to be seen, and the curtains were all closed. Unusual, but a casual observer would say that the owner(s) had simply turned in early for the night because of the storm.
Those who knew the sole inhabitant better would disagree, of course.
And the second reason, and likely the first thing anypony would notice, was the large group of Royal Guards that had surrounded the house.
Because of the weather, nopony dared to go outside, but many were watching through the windows.
With a purple flash of light, six mares and one dragon appeared next to the Captain. The Captain saluted at the sight of them. "Your Majesty, My lord, My ladies," he greeted them, "we have surrounded the house and sealed off all avenues of escape."
With a sigh, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and sole Monarch of Equestria, nodded to the Captain. "Thank you, Gallus."
The griffon saluted again, before turning back to the soldiers.
"Are ya sure all of this is necessary, Twi?" Applejack asked, gesturing at the Guards.
Again, Twilight sighed. "I am afraid so, AJ. I do not want to risk anyp- anycreature's lives," she replied.
Rainbow Dash glared at the house. "And you’re certain Rarity hasn't been possessed or something?" she asked.
Twilight shook her head, causing her mane to wave and sparkle even more than usual. "Truth be told Rainbow, I have no idea what exactly is going on inside that house. I only know that it's magical in nature, and extremely dangerous."
Rainbow frowned. "How dangerous are we talking?"
"If it… whatever it is, goes wrong, it could blow up the whole mountain, including the city," Twilight replied.
Any further conversation was cut off as Gallus approached them again. "We are ready to commence assault at your command, Princess."
Twilight slowly nodded. "Do it."
Gallus saluted, before barking a set of orders at the Guards. They stacked up in rows of three, unicorns at the front, earth ponies behind them and pegasi and griffons above them.
Together, the three unicorns cast a shield spell, before walking towards the door. They stopped exactly three meters away from it. Two pegasi flanked a griffon as they flew towards the door. The griffon stopped in front of it, readied himself, and then gave an almighty kick.
The door shattered into a dozen pieces, and the three fliers immediately cleared the space for the unicorns and earth ponies, who followed through.
"Royal Guards! By command of the Princess, show yourselves!" the unicorn in the middle said loudly as the group entered the hallway.
When no reply came, the group marched forward. At the feet of the stairs, the unicorn repeated his proclamation.
Twilight and her friends were still waiting outside with Gallus when a pegasus flew over. "Captain, Princess, we've swept the upper floors and found no one. The rest of the team is collecting items of interest."
Gallus nodded. "And the ground floor and the basement?"
Just then, an earth pony mare trotted up. "Ground floor is clear, but the door to the basement is locked by several locks and spells, sir," she reported.
"Well done. Prepare to breach the basement," Gallus said, before dismissing them and turning to his superiors.
"Come on…" one of the unicorns muttered as he tried to dismantle the spells.
"Can't we just buck it open?" an earth pony asked.
Another unicorn shook his head. "The door's magically reinforced, and there's a spell on it that sends physical force back to its owner. In other words, you'd only hurt yourself."
"Damnit, I can't get it!" the unicorn shouted.
Twilight and her friends walked in on the scene.
"Allow me," Twilight said, her horn glowing purple. With a click, the door opened.
The unicorn bowed to Twilight. "My thanks, Princess."
"Don't mention it," said princess replied, before walking into the basement.
A long narrow staircase led to another door. This one had a sign on it: "Keep out!"
Twilight gently pushed it open with her magic, then gasped as she saw the basement.
The basement was completely empty. Deep purple runes were carved in a circle on the floor, illuminating the room in an eerie glow. Inside the circle was a second circle, and this one was coloured diamond-blue. Inside this circle stood a mare.
The mare was slightly taller than normal, with a purple mane that was perfectly styled and a white coat that contained no imperfection. A cutie mark of three diamonds adorned her flanks, and a golden necklace with a blue diamond at the centre hung from her neck. Her eyes were closed and her brow was furrowed in concentration as grey light illuminated her horn.
Twilight slowly stepped into the room, taking care to not come too close to the runic circle. Behind her, her friends and the Guards slowly entered as well, all staring at the sight before them.
"Rarity!" Twilight called out. After a few long seconds, the mare's eyes opened, and her head turned towards the Princess.
"Twilight! Can't you seem I'm a little busy, darling?" Rarity replied, as if discussing the weather.
Twilight cringed. Understatement of the century. "What are you doing?" she asked, her horn lighting up with diagnostic spells as she looked over the runes and compared them to her knowledge.
Rarity blinked, as if surprised. "Why, darling," she said, "surely such a mind as knowledgeable and wise as yourself can figure this out?"
After a few seconds of intense thinking and cross-referencing, Twilight reached her conclusion. "Are you insane?!" she asked with wide eyes.
Rarity lifted a hoof to her chin and rubbed it. "At the moment?" She looked around the room, then shrugged. "I'm feeling mildly tired, but that's likely because of the ritual I'm doing that you so rudely interrupted. But no, I don't think I'm insane."
"Rarity! Don't do this!" Starlight called. A glance at her showed she had reached the same conclusion as Twilight.
"Darling, even if I wanted to, I couldn't stop this anymore," Rarity said, pulling her hoof from her chin to gesture at the room.
The mare looked at them all with a pitying smile. "I must do this. The ritual is nearing its completion."
"Twi, what is she doing?" Rainbow asked.
"Rarity!" Spike lunged forward, only to bounce off a deep purple shield that sprung up from the runes.
"Goodbye, friends. It was my pleasure to have known you," Rarity said softly, before closing her eyes.
Rainbow and Applejack both jumped at the shield, trying to break it to no avail.
The grey light around Rarity's horn turned brighter, and the runes lit up even more.
"Farewell, darlings." It was barely a whisper, yet Twilight could hear it clear as day.
"RARITY!" she cried.
Then the world turned grey.
When the world returned to normal, Twilight saw only thin air where her friend had been, and the runes on the floor had been blown away like ash on the wind.
"She's gone," Twilight whispered, before sinking onto the floor and beginning to cry.
The world turned grey, then exploded into a rainbow of colours. Rarity felt like she was falling, and suddenly the colours turned into visions. Scenes from the past, and the future. She saw herself at Twilight’s coronation, in the Everfree Forest on the way to stop Nightmare Moon, and as a young filly in school.
The visions changed, now showing things that she was certain hadn’t happened. Canterlot in ruins, a black swarm of Changelings above it. A grinning Sombra as Celestia and Luna were executed in front of him. Discord, smirking evilly, a Equestria marred by chaos behind him. Nightmare Moon standing over the broken corpse of her sister. Flurry Heart crying as she hugged Twilight’s dead body.
Then, all the visions vanished, and the Tree of Harmony appeared. The Element of Generosity in it was pulsing brightly, and Rarity felt as if she was being watched and judged for her actions.
A sense of silent approval came from the Tree, along with humour?
Before Rarity could think on that, the Tree disappeared and darkness took its place.
Suddenly, her hooves touched solid ground. She let out a yelp in surprise, which echoed around her. That, combined with the darkness, made her conclude that she was in a cave.
She tried to use her horn, and let out a sigh of relief when diamond-blue light spilled from the top.
‘’You could have just asked me,’’ a voice said.
Rarity whipped her head around, trying to see if anyone else was there.
‘’Down here,’’ the voice said, amusement clear.
Rarity looked down to see her Element gleaming brightly, emitting a faint light. ‘’You’re my Element?’’
‘’Right in one,’’ the voice, now identified as her Element, replied. ‘’That little stunt of yours gave me the ability to speak, as well as be more than something you have to use in tandem with your friends.’’
‘’How?’’ Rarity asked.
‘’No idea, but it works.’’ Her Element gave her the distinct feeling of shrugging.
‘’Right,’’ Rarity muttered. ‘’Let’s see what else there is.’’
A quick glance over her back showed her two saddlebags were still there, which made her sigh in relief again. At least she wasn’t completely out of resources.
‘’You might want to check your appearance,’’ her Element suggested. ‘’Just a hunch.’’
Rarity frowned, before increasing the brightness of her horn’s light. The rough walls of the cave appeared around her. Rarity rummaged in her saddlebags with her telekinesis, before a small mirror floated out. She held it in front of herself and gasped.
Her mane looked like it had when her friends and her had unlocked the Rainbow Power to defeat Tirek. Her face was smoother, her horn had grown longer and curved backwards and her ears had lengthened as well, making her look like a young Mistmane. Looking down, she saw that she was taller as well, and looking at her back, she saw a pair of wings nestled against their signs, while her tail had grown longer and was flowing behind her, same as her mane.
‘’Told you,’’ her Element joked.
‘’Did you have anything to do with this?’’ Rarity asked after a few seconds.
‘’No, I did not,’’ her Element replied. ‘’But if I had to guess, I’d say the Tree was responsible.’’
‘’Why would she do this?’’ Rarity looked down at her Element.
‘’Because she thought it was necessary?’’ her Element suggested. ‘’At least you won’t be mistaken for yourself now.’’
Rarity had to admit that was true. She still had the same eye colour and cutie mark, but if she hid her mark, no one in their right minds would think she was the Rarity of this world. If she even existed.
‘’Alright,’’ she mused aloud, ‘’I need to get out of this cave.’’
‘’That you do.’’
Rarity ignored her Element’s comments. She looked around, searching for any way to determine where an exit could be found.
‘’You could always blast your way out.’’
‘’I’m not-’’ Rarity cut herself off. She was more than powerful enough to blow her way through the rocks up to the surface. Possibly. It depended on how far underground she was.