A Brother All My Own

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Cadance hummed a quiet tune to herself as she meandered down the hall, her mind abuzz with the day's excitement.

For all of his talk and bravado, the Zebrican ambassador really could be a pushover; all it took was a couple of pouted lips and puppy dog eyes and he seemingly forgot all about his irritation with the slowed trade caravans. She grinned a little, the flustered Zebra's face fresh in her mind. How anypony could go from incredibly crotchety to a mewling kitten baffled her, and it reminded her a bit of her Shiny.

Of course, she hadn't seen him for a while – in all likelihood the stallion was working himself to death, meaning she'd be lucky to hear him say much of anything that night before collapsing into bed. Cadance's grin faded a bit, but she refused to let her good mood be swayed. She continued down the empty hall, thinking. It took her a minute to realize just what was so off, but it finally occurred to her.

The hall was empty.

Where were all the guards...?

Cadance blinked, stopping mid-step. There were usually guards posted, however lax, on the Royalty floor, it was something that took her a long time to adjust to. The sudden lack of them threw her off. Then again, perhaps they were simply taking a break. Still, it didn't sit too well with her.

Cadance carried on, her wings a little tighter to her side. She pushed it to the back of her mind with her bedroom doors swinging open, the long day behind her at last.

She gave a small sigh of relief as she was left alone; although her pristine four poster bed awaited her, Cadance felt no urge to sleep.

You know what...? No.

“No,” she said aloud with determination, beginning to pace. “You know what? No.”

No, she wasn't going to let Shining lock himself up in that office of his again – she was more important than paperwork, she was his wife for crying out loud.

A plan already forming, Cadance magically grabbed the brush by her vanity mirror, making sure that she had no stray hairs from her mane. She gave a practice look to herself, gauging Shining's reaction; there was simply no way he'd be able to resist her, even if that meant she had to carry him back.

She gave a contented smile, throwing a small nod to her reflection.

Now, go get him.

Cadance's thoughts stopped right at that, too confused by Twilight's appearance behind her in the mirror to be startled. The mare froze dead in her tracks, their eyes meeting in the vanity mirror.

“Tw-” Cadance started, her words losing steam. A sharp stinging sensation burned at her throat, beginning almost like a very bad paper cut and growing more intense with each passing moment. Nothing came from her except a confused, pained gurgle, her body suddenly feeling very heavy as her knees buckled, sending her crashing to the floor.

The visage of Twilight in the mirror had been real. The pain in her throat felt real. The blood leaking down her throat must have been real. But the entire scenario refused to seem real at all, the empty faced mare standing over her with the levitating knife feeling much more like a dream, like it were happening to somepony else. It had to have been a dream, this entire situation was ridiculous, of course it was.

Twilight stared down at the confused, almost concerned look on Princess Cadance's face. She watched the mare that used to foalsit her struggle to speak again and again, the disbelief on her face overtaking all else.

And then she plunged the knife down again, and again, until Cadance stopped looking back.

Now he's mine.

Now he's mine.

Everything will be perfect, now he's mine.

Twilight repeated the mantra to herself over and over again, her trembling hooves shaking in the hot water. She watched the steam rise and fog the mirror before her, she felt it on her hooves, but she still felt cold – so cold that ice could have been running in her veins, like she was barely a pony at all. Her mind was feverish though, and the feeling would soon leave, just as soon as her brother warmed her up. He would be glad to, after she saved him.

It had to be done.

She was in the right, it had to be done to save her brother from her. Cadance would have kept him locked up all the time, would have kept him all to herself, but Shining was so much more than some mare's plaything; she wouldn't let him go to waste.

Now he's mine.

Twilight watched the rest of the blood circle down the drain, her head still feeling oddly woozy. The guards were out of the way on their 'early break', nopony would touch the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the Princess's door, and Shining was still in that stuffy office where Cadance kept him locked up. But now she could free him and they would be together and everything would be perfect.

“Twilight?”

She paused, lips pursed so tightly that they had gone white, and she noted the colorless in her face before splashing more water on to ensure that no trace of Cadance remained on her. She didn't have time for interruptions, she needed to act quickly to save Shining and flee from the Crystal Empire before-

“Twi?”

Twilight flinched hard, forcing a quivering smile back at Spike, who stood stock still in the doorway.

“Yes, Spike?” she asked quickly. “I was just about to go looking for you, you need to pack up; something's come up and we're needed back at Ponyville, pronto.”

“Oh!” his little eyes widened, and he lowered the envelope he'd been holding onto. “Uh, okay. I was wondering-”

“Mail?” Twilight turned to face him at last, magically drying herself with one of the luxurious towels they were provided with.

“Twi?” Spike frowned, his voice tinged with worry. “Are you okay? You look like you're gonna be sick or-”

“Everything's fine, Spike!” she replied a little too quickly, her forced smile feeling plastic on her lips. “Now go pack up and make it quick, okay?”

“Alright, alright!” he held up his claws defensively as she took the letter from him. “Jeez, take it easy.”

Twilight ensured that he was well and busy before turning her attention to the unopened envelope, her befuddlement growing.

The white envelope was decorated with the Crystal Empire's seal, and felt very light – upon opening she discovered that it held only a small, slightly crumpled sheet of paper, bearing Shining Armor's writing.

I love you very much. I'm sorry.

There was nothing else aside from Shining's signature on the apology at all.

Twilight's heart raced even faster, her hooves beginning to tremble again.

It was about time he'd come to his senses!

She almost felt like giggling, striding out with purpose and leaving the grumbling Spike behind. Shining's 'office' wasn't too far away, just up the hall; he would understand when she explained everything to him, she'd been over the scene a hundred times in her head. The letter from her brother was just more proof that he needed her now more than ever, that everything was going to be perfect now.

Don't you worry a bit, Shining, I'm coming to save you.

Twilight rounded the corner, smile vanishing instantly from her lips.

The same crystalline guards from before were trotting slowly ahead, right in her direction – in the same direction as Princess Cadance's and her brother's bedroom.

The room with the body.

The situation came crashing down on Twilight's head, a sudden sickness violently thrashing in her belly.

She was going to be found out.

They were going to find her before she could get away with Shining and then everything would be for nothing...!

“Er, excuse me!” Twilight dashed ahead to the chatting guards, cutting off their access by throwing her wings out to the side.

“Your highness!” one of the guards saluted. “Returning for duty, we-”

“No, no!” she cut him off with a horribly false feeling laugh. “That's not necessary!”

“But-” he started again, only to be interrupted.

“Princess Cadance has specifically requested that this floor be, er, vacated!” she lied swiftly, sweat beading on her brow. She could feel her heartbeat in her ears, the sudden feat that they could hear it too and detect her lies rumbling up. “Vacated, at once! No guards, nopony, royal order!”

For a painfully long moment, Twilight was so afraid that she felt she were going to be ill; neither of the guards responded, each horribly stretching milisecond feeling like an hour.

“R-right away, your highness!” they bowed out at last, an intense feeling of relief overwhelming Twilight as they promptly turned back to the enormous stairway. Twilight had to fight back to keep the sigh from being heard, as well as a sudden urge to giggle.

Back to business.

Twilight made straight for Shining Armor, the clopping of her hooves sounding like miniature cannons in the deserted hall.

“Shiny?” she rapped quietly at the polished oak door. “Shiny, it's me, I'm back!”

There was no answer, but she was certain he was there – she had watched him from the shadows behind the hall's pillars only a bit ago, and there was no way he'd abandon the stack of paperwork on his desk unless it was especially for her.

“Shining!” she knocked again, jiggling the doorknob only to find it locked. “Hey! It's me, I got your letter! There's – there's something I need to tell you, it's really important. Open up!”

Still no answer.

A chill began to creep up Twilight's spine, the uneasy feeling in her gut rising again. It took only a moment to magically unlock the door from within, only a moment longer to adjust to the darkness of his tidy little office.

For what she witnessed would likely take her the rest of her life.

The office itself was small, barely large enough for a single stallion – how Cadance had the guts to keep him locked up here was beyond Twilight. The mahogany desk took up most of the space, the file cabinet blocking out the rays of the setting sun before the window. Even the ceiling fan above was painfully still, just the same as Twilight, as stiff and frozen as her heart and body.

Just the same as her brother, still swinging in complete and utter silence.

Her hoof clapped noiselessly to her mouth in horror, the ever so faint scent of blood still stuck to her body. She could hear the guards returning, but even then she couldn't bring herself to move. The ice in her veins has frozen her solid to the spot in the doorway, and even her tears felt chilled as they rolled down her cheeks.

In all her life, she'd never felt so cold.

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