Redux: Lineage

I sat cross-legged on the floor with Voleur de Vie resting in front of me. Since Lot and I had returned, I'd done nothing but look at the sword. It was difficult to explain how the memories I had, I'd gained, worked. Like most memories, they didn't appear until you thought about them and they were never as vivid as when they actually happened... but they were still there and they still weren't mine. More memories regarding the sword appeared, or I recalled more memories, the longer I 'remembered'. Like any memory, it lead into others, and I followed along with that chain of memories, wondering where it'd lead me to.

I remember standing outside the gate of that huge castle, the torch sconces flickering and waving as an enormous downpour covered the land in rain. I could smell drenched grass and wet bark, hear the clinking of chainmail as I shifted my position, crossing my arms and sighing in an impatient manner. I looked up at the giant soaked drawbridge, squinting to prevent the rain hitting me in the eyes, before turning to my companion... a black Direwolf dressed in steel armour.

"You'd have thought they'd roll out the red carpet for such esteemed guests, would you not?" I'd asked him... he'd asked him.

"Sounds like the opinion of a man who thinks too highly of himself," the Direwolf said in a low tone as he sat down. "Are you too good for the rain and cold of your own land?"

"Not at all," I shrugged, turning back to the drawbridge. "I'm too good to have my toes rot off thanks to the rain and cold of my own land. Your paws can't be faring much better, can they?"

"They're built for terrain much worse than this," the Direwolf chuckled. "A little rain isn't going to kill me."

"Think I should teleport inside?" I asked him with a smirk. "Open the drawbridge for you?"

"If you wish to raise a castle-wide panic and ruin your reputation, then go right ahead," the Direwolf nodded.

I looked between him and the drawbridge for a brief moment before smiling wide and powering up a teleportation spell with an open palm.

"Arragaithel, you'll do no such thing," the Direwolf snapped in a harsh tone. "Drop that hand right now before I bite your fingers off."

"Ugh... yes, father," I sighed, powering down the spell and crossing my arms once more, tucking my fingers underneath the oiled cloak I was wearing and returning to being patient. "I hate waiting."

"A king must always be patient," the Direwolf added.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not a king then, isn't it?" I shrugged, leaning against a wooden railing and listening to the rain hitting the outside of my hood. "Big sister gets that soul-sucking experience."

"There are benefits to ruling," the Direwolf said, positioning himself next to my legs and laying down. "Power and respect."

"Gold-diggers, assassination, conspiracies, corruption, bullshit politics, back-stabbing politicians, ungrateful children, needy partners-" I listed off.

"You've made your point," the Direwolf interrupted. "All I ask is that you present yourself as a somewhat-educated Prince when around others and then you can return home and be your usual self behind closed doors. Can you do that?"

"Is the food here good?" I asked, looking over the moat and spotting a guard standing by the crank for the bridge. "Son of a bitch..."

"What?" the Direwolf asked, getting up to his paws.

"Hey!" I called out to the guard, getting his attention. "Mind letting us in?"

"State your business!" he called back.

"Crown Prince Arragaithel and Royal Familiar Leiter here to attend the coronation of Crown Princess Merveil," I answered.

"The convoy carrying the Royal Family of Dantessa arrived three days ago and the prince was not present," he answered.

"Probably because I'm here right now," I said with a smirk. "I don't like travelling with the convoys. Packed to the brim with rich pricks and suck-ups. Mind letting me in now?"

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," the guard said. "Wait here and I shall return with your 'family'."

The guard then walked off, shaking his head in a dismissing manner, leaving the two of us sitting out in the cold once more.

"If he doesn't come back within the next five minutes I'm blowing the fucking bridge up and walking in there myself," I growled.

"No, you aren't," Leiter snarled. "You'll wait for mother to arrive and validate your claims herself. Either her, or your older sister."

"Father would've told them I'd be arriving like this..." I said in a dejected manner. "Why the fuck didn't they tell them I was arriving outside the convoy?"

Several more minutes went by, my boredom growing more and more before, out of the darkness, an iron arrow lodged itself in the ground several feet away from my own.

"The Crown Princess has informed us that her brother will not be present for this coronation!" a guard called from atop a tower. "Leave now or we will execute you for impersonation!"

I rolled my eyes in an annoyed manner, walking towards the area where the guards could see me and waving.

"Guys, could you please just go and talk to my mother about this?" I asked. "She'll be able to clear this whole thing up and get my stupid sister to-"

I was cut off by the sound of an arrow being loosed and its super-fast whistling sound coming towards me. Being an Alicorn of a great power, it was not test whatsoever to catch the arrow by its shaft before it struck me in the eye. I proceeded to snap the shaft of the projectile and throw it aside, sighing quietly as I dusted the wood grains off my hands and continued speaking.

"-stop making jokes like this that'll end up getting someone hurt," I finished. "Can you do that please?"

Their response was to completely close the portcullis and close the shutters on the towers as to completely block access to the castle for me. My shoulder slumped as another sigh of disappointment fell from my mouth. I turned back to Leiter with a dejected expression, shrugging my shoulders, before leaning back against the post.

"I guess we'd better find somewhere to lodge for the night," he suggested.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked in a peeved manner. "Everyone knows the Alicorn have talking pets! If you'd spoken up, we could've gotten in!"

"I..." the Direwolf began before pausing briefly, then looking up at me with a sheepish grin. "Eh heh... oops?"

"I hate you," I sighed, sitting down on the cold cobble and leaning against the bridge. "Well... suppose we might as well get comfortable. We're gonna be here for the rest of the night."

"You gents lost?" a female voice asked from down the cobble path.

I lifted my head up from staring at the floor to take a look at our new arrival. It was a young woman with long, emerald-green hair, dressed in black leather. On her hips she carried a longsword and over her shoulder she'd slung a pouch that seemed rather full. Beside her padded a large cat, possibly a Maincoon, that looked us both over with a curious expression.

"They smell familiar," the cat said to the woman. "Alicorn perhaps?"

"Yeah..." I nodded, looking her up and down. "You too?"

"Indeed," she said, offering her hand out to me once she'd walked over. "Valiana. You?"

"Arragaithel," I answered, taking her hand and being hefted up to my feet by her great strength. "Leiter and I were supposed to be going to the coronation, but my darling sister made sure I didn't get in."

"Sibling rivalry, eh?" Valiana asked. "So happy I'm an only child."

"I'm jealous," I smirked, smiling at the cat who then nodded back. "So... you here for the same thing?"

"Indeed I am," she nodded, digging around in her pockets and pulling out a silver whistle in the shape of an owl. "I'll get them to let us in."

With that she blew hard into the whistle, the metal object letting out a loud shriek, much like an owl's, before she took it away from her lips.

"Now, let's see if they let us in," she said, placing a hand on her cocked hips and looking up at the tower.

Strangely enough, the memory seemed to end there. I could tell there was more of it... there had to be more of it. He, Arragaithel, didn't die there and then. He must've gone into the party with Valiana... so why couldn't I remember the rest of what happened? It wasn't even a hazy memory or a lack of a one. There was the mental feeling of running into a brick wall every time I tried to recall what happened after that. There was nothing else I could do to keep going. I scratched the back of my head, wondering what the hell was going on with this sword.

I was then pulled from my thoughts by the sound of a large portal opening up outside the inn, followed by the sound of Luna's, Cadance's, and Celestia's voices talking amongst one another. Perfect timing, I thought to myself. I picked up the sword as gently as I could and headed down the stairs, ready to see if they had any answers for what was happening right now. I hurried down the stairs, locking eyes with Luna she entered the inn, before heading over to the three of them.

"What's this?" I asked them, holding the ruined sword out to let them see it.

Cadance's face was one of puzzlement, clearly not registering anything more about the blade than the fact it was there, while Celestia and Luna looked aghast at the sight of it.

"Where did you get this?" Luna demanded.

"Heimili had it in her cave," I answered. "Is it important?"

"Important?" Celestia asked. "This is one of the few remaining relics of our kind. We thought this was lost forever. Nobody has seen it in over three thousand years."

"Good find, then?" I asked. "Who's Arragaithel?"

"He's... he's the Alicorn we used to help make you," Luna answered. How... how do you know that? Did we tell you that?"

"No, you didn't," I said with a shake of my head. "The sword's giving me visions of his memories. When I looked at it before, in Heimili's cave, I knew its name. Voleur die Vie. The Thief of Life, or Lifestealer."

"Since when could you speak Ardonnais?" Celestia asked. "We never scheduled that for your teachings."

"I can't," I answered. "I just knew the sword's name. Not only that, it showed me a vision of Arragaithel's memories."

The two sisters looked between each other for a brief moment with a worried expression before turning to Cadance.

"Sorry, honey," Celestia said. "But you're gonna need to wait to have him again. This needs to be seen to."

"Just... don't fry his brain, please?" she asked. "It barely works as is."

"Hey," I said in an offended manner.

"Right, upstairs, you," Celestia said, turning me by the shoulders and marching me upstairs. "Which room is yours?"

"That one," I answered, pointing to the correct door.

"Luna, you go and see the others," Celestia said to her sister. "This might take a while."

Once inside, Celestia closed the door and sat me down on the edge of the bed, pressing her fingers to my temples and lighting her fingertips up with bright yellow magic. A glowing haze erupted from her eyes, flaring like a fire in the wind as she used her magic to filter through my memories.

"How are you doing that?" I asked her.

"Soul memory," she answered in a quick tone.

"What?"

"The brain isn't the only thing that records memories," Celestia answered as she gently massaged my skull. "The soul of a person records all of their lifetime events as well. Nobody's really sure why, but it does... and I think I've figured out where these visions are coming from."

"Where?"

"Arragaithel seems to have fused a part of his soul to yours," she answered.

"Isn't he dead?" I asked.

"Oh yes. Has been for over four thousand years. His death circulated the world when I was thirteen years old," she explained. "And that's what makes this so interesting. He must've enchanted his corpse before dying to pass his soul on to whoever fused themselves with his body or DNA."

"Wait... were there still other Alicorn alive when he died?"

"In the high hundreds."

"So why would he think to do that when the method you use wasn't the intended way for Alicorn to reproduce?" I asked. "For all he should know, his DNA would never be used to make a new Alicorn."

"Right you are," Celestia nodded, still digging through my... soul memory.

"Oh," she said in a surprised tone, her mouth soon curving into a rather sultry smile.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Nothing, just laughing about a memory you have in here that I wasn't aware of," she said, chuckling quietly. "You've fallen into a puddle of mud as a child and are having Grael drag you out of it."

She was right about that description, that did happen to me once... but something about the look on her face, the sexual desire in the smile she'd had for only a brief moment, told me she was lying to me. Celestia wouldn't find the image of me being dug out of a mud puddle by a Direwolf arousing, would she? I'd hope not. I figured that she was being quite the letch and digging through a few of my more sexual memories with other women... though I'd be rather inclined to make a few with her, should she give me the offer.

"You flatter me," she said out of the blue. "But I'm not in the mood at the moment. Maybe some other time."

"What?" I asked in a surprised manner.

"Luna's talking to me telepathically," she answered, still fidgeting with my soul memory. "She's asking if we all want to go for drinks later to celebrate a job well done."

Wait... how was her asking for us all to go drinking flattery? Was she lying to me again?

"You'll find out soon enough, don't worry," she said aloud.

"What?" I asked, squinting suspiciously at her as she continued to work.

"She asked me what I'd rather do instead," she responded. "I've got something in mind that we'll all enjoy."

She seemed to be giving me responses a little too specific to what I was thinking. Was... was she reading my mind while doing this? If she was, does that mean that she'd been able to see my thoughts about fucki-

"Possibly," she said with a nod. "But we'll talk more about that another time."

"Right, Aunt Celestia, are you poking around in places you shouldn't be?" I asked in an annoyed manner.

"Sorry, Luna just guessed what I had in mind," Celestia chuckled. "She knows I wanted to go for a big meal. Can you repeat what you said, dear?"

"Are you reading my mind?" I asked her, plain and simple.

"No, I'm focusing on the part of Arragaithel's soul that's bonded to yours," she answered. "Oddly enough, despite being magically bonded to you, you have two separate souls in one body right now, but his is just dormant... this is truly amazing."

"How so?" I asked, wanting to get off my thoughts of... other things.

"I can tell that Arragaithel's entire life is recorded in his soul fragment, but it's all blocked off by some kind of magical seal," she explained.

"Can you break it?" I asked.

"No... the seal's too strong for even me to make so much as a dent in," she said, removing her fingers and scratching her head. "This is rather odd, isn't it?"

"So how do I unlock more of it?" I asked, leaning forward on the bed.

"Well, the memory you have unlocked right now correlates to Voleur de Vie, the sword," Celestia explained. "Maybe there are specific items or artefacts you need to look at to unlock more memories?"

"So why haven't I unlocked the full memories of Arrageithel's time with Valiana?" I asked. "If the sword is all I need, then why is it all still blocked?"

"I'm guessing its due to the sword's condition," Celestia said. "The sword is so badly damaged you can barely recognise it, so that might be why the memory that unlocked was the one where Arragaithel can barely see the sword, where he can't properly make it out. Perhaps if we repair it, it'll unlock all the memories he has of that sword being used?"

"Can you repair it?" I asked her.

"Easily. All Alicorn weapons before the discovery of Kairosteel were sung from metal by the High Elves," she nodded. "As soon as I'm able, I'll take the sword to the Elven capital and ask them to sing it back to its pristine state. Are you willing to wait a while?"

"I'm in no rush," I said with a shake of my head.

"That's good to know. Now..." she said, another smirk coming back onto her lips as she wrapped her arms around me, squeezing my head into her soft and pudgy stomach. "It's so good to see you again, My Brave Little Prince."

"Thanks, Aunt Celestia," I said with a smile.

"And as my first act towards you in your princehood, I shall inform you of this," she said, kneeling down to get eye-level with me. "It's Grandma Celestia, not Aunt Celestia."

"Wait... what?" I asked.

"I'm Cadance's mother, not her Aunt," she said with a giggle. "I'm sorry we never told you this before."

"Why keep it a secret?" I asked. "Why keep it a secret from me?"

"Not that we don't trust you, but we felt that, as a child, you would be more prone to spout off that knowledge either accidentally or without realising how much of a problem it would be if anyone else found out," she said.

"Is it a problem?" I asked. "People knowing that?"

"Yes, and I'll tell you why," she said. "A very long time ago, Luna and I signed a deal with a foreign country for an eternal pact, so long as the terms were kept. It was part of a peace treaty that signed away a very large amount of each country's resources to one another as a token of respect and, well, peace. But since the monarch from that treaty died off and we're several generations later, the current rulers aren't very happy with our deal, but they can't cancel it. If they were to do that, we'd be at war once again, and that's not something they want."

"What's in the deal?"

"What isn't is a better question... gold, jewellery, soldiers, weapons, livestocks, fabrics, spices, wines, you name it," Celestia listed. "Now while we're going through a near-golden age now, the things we're getting and giving are nothing more than icing on the cake. But for Atarnya, the country the deal is with, they're going through an extremely rough period, and are trying to find any way they can to cancel the treaty and get those resources back and built up to sell and prosper from."

"And how is you being Cadance's mother involved in this?"

"I'm getting there," she said with a raised finger. "Now, the peace treaty was signed to 'The Monarchy of Equestria and current immediate family'. A extremely weird way to word that, yes, but it was designed to make sure that we'd never bear children if we wished to keep the deal going... and I kind of broke that deal by having Cadance with a soldier in the Equestrian army."

"And how did you fix that?" I asked.

"I managed to wrangle up false documents including lands deeds and purchases of a brother that doesn't exist, who was hiding his Alicorn blood and title from the rest of the world, who settled down with a farmer's daughter and birthed Cadance there. Now since the term of the treaty was 'immediate family' and our country's definition of 'immediate family' is parental and sibling only, meaning mother, father, sister, brother, son, and daughter; , aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, cousins, nephews, and nieces don't count as immediate family, thus not breaking the treaty."

"That's genius," I said in an amazed manner.

"So I got to raise my daughter, rub the fact she existed in their smug faces, and all I had to do was call her my niece in public," Celestia said with a wide smile, clearly proud of herself as she spoke. "So the reason we didn't tell you is because it would run the risk of you accidentally spilling the beans, getting the treaty rescinded, and make me look like a dirty liar. Which I am, but nobody needs to know that."

"Right... okay..." I said, letting my brain process this information. "So... who is Cadance's father?"

"He... he was a general named Alexander who pulled this country through many a gruelling battle," she said in a sombre tone. "He died shortly before Cadance was born, crushed by rubble whilst defending a tower under siege. I was working on something to prevent him from ageing any further and was going to give it to him when he returned to me."

"Oh..." I said in a guilty manner. "I'm so sorry... I didn't-"

"-you didn't know, I know, dear," she said in a gentle manner, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Now enough of the political jargon and tragic backstories. We need to take you and your gang out for a nice big dinner. That sound like fun?"

"That sounds awesome," I nodded, smiling wide as my stomach gurgled loudly at the thought of well-cooked, expensive food.