The Crystal Staff

by TheCurioCat

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Shining Armor, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Flurry Heart, Death, Drama, Original Character, Princess Cadance, King Sombra
Length: 7035

Affinity Heart knows she’s not her sister Flurry and she’s determined not to hate her for it. Yet, when she’s presented with a chance to even the playing field, Affinity must figure out how far is too far, as well as who it is she wants to be.

Affinity Heart knows she’s not her sister.

Flurry is better at magic, better at making friends, better at having fun and she’s even an alicorn. Affinity doesn’t hate her for it, in fact, she refuses to let herself feel that way. Has that led to her being a little more reserved then her sister? Maybe. But as long as Affinity can call herself a good pony, she’ll bottle up all the feelings she can.

But then, strange things start to happen. A disguised monster attacks Affinity while in the library. Figures are seen creeping around the edges of the Crystal Empire. Cadence is attacked by warriors who melt away into nothing before they can be captured. Top all of that off with the Empire hosting the Festival of the Two Sisters for the first time and the royal family have quite the summer ahead of them.

Affinity is determined to help, even if she knows she won’t be as useful as the rest of her family.

But what if she could? What if she could claim the power that should be hers by birthright? When a shadow from the empire’s past offers to help her, Affinity sets out to create an instrument capable of all this and more: The Crystal Staff

Published 2023-05-07 00:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-05-07 00:30:00 UTC

Prologue - Past Feelings

Affinity Heart did NOT hate Flurry Heart.

Yet, over the years, there had been a few times when something horrible had welled up inside her, something that might have been a cousin of hatred. A sibling maybe?

The earliest memory of this feeling was the incident with the painting.

Affinity had been sitting in her mother’s study, surrounded by crystalline walls, eagerly flipping through a simple picture book she’d been given. Scrolls upon scrolls lay on the desk that, to a child, seemed unreasonably big. Affinity couldn’t even see her mother from where she was sitting, a scroll floating where a face should’ve been, held by a cyan aura.

With the sound of a scribbling quill at her back, Affinity flipped through the book, laughing at the odd page here and there. The way the changeling’s page showed so many different colors, the silly face the dragon was making as he blew a gout of flame, and she even spotted a yak drawn with a hat that sent her into a fit of giggles. Affinity wanted one instantly.

“Mommy?” She asked the glowing scroll behind the desk. “Have you ever met a yak before?”

There was an affirmative mumble, the quill slowing for only a second. Affinity’s mind burst with possibilities. Yaks didn’t just live in books, they were real! That meant that their hats were too.

“The next time you meet a yak, can you ask them for a hat for me? Please?” Affinity asked, expecting a yes. She’d been taught early on that saying please was polite but had learned it wasn't really necessary. Usually, she'd get what she wanted anyway.

The scroll gave another affirmative noise, followed by a small, “Ah!” The quill lurking behind it began to scribble furiously. Affinity decided it was writing a letter that would get a yak to come to the castle so Affinity could be given her hat.

Returning to the book, she wondered about the quality of the hats that other creatures possessed. Best to start with the basics. What sort of hats did ponies wear?

Flipping through a few pages, she caught sight of a happy orange pony. Yet, all she had was a horn, like Affinity herself. A horn was sort of like a hat, but she supposed it made sense it would affect one’s range of choices. Unfortunate.

Next to the picture of the pony was the word, UNICORN. Affinity smirked. She knew that word already. The stupid book was trying to teach her things she already knew. What a slow poke.

The following page had two more ponies, a green stallion with wings and a yellow mare lacking any noticeable trait. How awful! Affinity resolved to get the PEGASUS and the EARTH PONY something nice to wear. She’d ask her mother about it later. She was too busy with the letter right now.

Smiling at the thought, she turned the page and her eyes widened. She recognized the next pony too! Gosh, she was showing this book what for! Her aunt Twilight was going to be so proud of her when Affinity told her she had beaten several books since they’d last met.

ALICORN. Yes, that was the word next to the pretty mare with a mane like a rainbow. And what a lucky mare she was! Not only did she have a lovely hat (a crown was a hat, right?) but she also had a horn, wings and her hair was HUGE! Affinity wondered why her mother and sister's hair was so small and not wavey. Maybe the mare in the book could help them?

Staring down at the picture for a few moments, an odd thought occurred to her. A thought that made her frown in confusion. She had the pieces to a puzzle in front of her, but they didn’t fit together.

Affinity raised a hoof to her head, feeling about. Alright, her horn was still there, that made sense. Yet, when she looked to her body, she didn’t find a pair of wings. She hadn’t really expected to but…

Her mother and sister had both a horn and wings. So why did Affinity not?

Glowering at the book, she slammed it shut. It had beaten her. The book had given her a mystery to solve, and she wasn’t going to rest until she got to the bottom of it. Her mother was busy sending off for a Yak though. However, Affinity’s father was also missing his wings. Maybe they’d be able to look for them together?

“Mooooom,” Affinity called, unsteadily getting to her hooves. “I’m going to Dad now.”

A third affirmative noise sounded through the study, and Affinity wandered out of the room of scrolls, bookcases and strange maps. Her mother spent a lot of time in the room, but Affinity didn’t really understand why. Couldn’t she write to her friends somewhere nicer? Like the park? Affinity liked the park.

She focused up a bit. Park later, wings now.

Using her strength to push open the door of the study, Affinity made her way down the hall, hooves tipping and tapping against the crystal floor. She liked the noise herself, but for some reason her parents didn’t. They usually covered the floor up with a carpet, however, said carpet was being cleaned by somepony because Affinity and Flurry had been playing the ketchup game with it earlier that morning.

Their parents didn’t like that game. The sisters loved it.

In the main chamber, Affinity found her sister and father sitting at the dining table, both working away beneath the magnificent, gem-adorned chandelier that dominated the room. Her sister had her paint-set out and was swiping away at a paper with conviction. Dad was a little ways away, painting one of those statues he wouldn’t let them play with because they weren’t toys. It was a shame. He’d only ever play with them when his friends were over, which Affinity thought was a little sad. She’d happily help her Dad play with them, even if some of them were scary.

Not that Affinity thought they were scary. Some fillies might have been scared of monsters with too many heads, but she was way braver than them.

Her father looked up as she entered the room, stopping mid-paint-stroke. “Heya, Fifi. Mommy still working away?”

Affinity nodded. “Yeah. She’s asking the yaks for a hat.”

“Sounds important. You wanna join me and Flurry? I dunno about a hat but I thiiiiink I might be able to get the fridge to hand over a drink or two,” her father offered, deeply considering the negotiation. She could tell because he scratched his chin with his hoof.

Affinity decided that she’d have a drink first, then she’d ask Dad if he wanted to look for wings with her.

“Yes. Can I have some apple juice?”

He rolled a hoof through the air, “Can you have some apple juice…?”

“Now?”

The white hoof kept rolling.

“Oh! May I have some apple juice now, please?” Affinity corrected herself.

“Of course you can,” Dad said proudly, for some reason. “What about you Flurry? Do you want a drink?”

When the busy alicorn merely shook her head, Dad thought to say something, but sided against it when his eyes darted to her work. With a smile, he gave Affinity a shrug. “Artists.”

He left the table, and Affinity’s mind began whirring. An artist? Was Flurry an artist? Sure, she painted a lot, but that didn’t make her an artist, did it? With another, easier to solve mystery presented to her, Affinity hurried to the table sitting down on the cushion beside her sister.

“Are you an artist?” Affinity asked.

“Yes,” Flurry answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Affinity was VERY impressed. Looking down at the artwork, she spotted a pink thing with four legs, flying through some very fluffy clouds. “Hey! That’s Mom!”

Flurry nodded, so happy with the appreciation that she even put her paintbrush down. “Yes, it is. I’m painting a portrait of us except we’re from the future and really, really old,” she pointed at another shape. “That’s me when I’m twenty and that’s Mom when she’s…” she thought for a moment. “REALLY old.”

Affinity absorbed the information, deciding to scratch her chin to show she was thinking about what her sister had said very carefully. “Do you know how old she is?”

Flurry nodded again. “Yes, but I can’t tell you. It would take forever for me to say the number. There’s a lot of zeroes in it.”

Deciding that she didn’t want to be at the table forever, Affinity simply said, "Oh. Okay."

Her sister seemed thrilled to have a captive audience. “When I’m done with it, I’m gonna do one of you and Dad waving up at us. I couldn’t find a big enough paper, so I’m going to stick them together with tape.”

Frowning a little, Affinity pointed at an empty space in the painted sky. “You should add me and Dad to this one.”

Flurry just gave her an odd look, before giggling. “But you don’t have wings! You’d fall!”

“No!” Affinity blushed, before looking back at the painting. “Just give us wings. It wouldn’t be that hard.”

“Yeah it would. Auntie Twilight once told me about a spell she cast to give her friend wings and it’s REALLY hard, and doesn’t even last!” Flurry explained to her little sister. “You can’t have wings, you’re not like me and Mom.”

Affinity thought about that for a few moments. Long enough that her sister picked her brush back up, and got back to work. A few moments later their father came by with a small glass of apple juice.

“Remember to take it to the sink when you’re done, alright?” Her father instructed, getting back to his toys. Affinity was too busy staring at the painting.

That’s when ithad sparked in her chest.

Affinity didn’t like the feeling. Heck, at that moment, Affinity didn’t like Flurry much either. In fact, she REALLY didn’t like Flurry. She also realized that her painting wasn’t very good.

So, Affinity picked up the glass of apple juice, and poured the whole thing over dumb Flurry and her dumb painting. There was a small gasp as both were drenched in the sweet-smelling liquid, and the nasty spark disappeared from her chest. Affinity smiled.

“Affinity!” She heard her Dad’s voice from beside her. “What are you-”

His question was blurred out by Flurry Heart bursting into tears. Suddenly, Affinity wasn’t happy anymore. Her sister was crying and that was BAD! In the only logical course of action, she too, burst into tears.

It took a few minutes, but their father and mother (who had come tearing down the hallway seconds after the waterworks had began) managed to calm the two down. Once they did, all they could get from the two was that Flurry had said something to upset Affinity, who had then ruined both her sister’s coat and the painting. That ‘something’ was a mystery, however.

Affinity didn't want to tell her parents about it. If there was no way for Dad and her to get real wings, she didn’t want to bring it up. It would just make him sad. She was sure that he thought about it a lot.

She certainly did, from that day on.

Another clear memory of the feeling sparking to life inside her happened in the exact same room, albeit with a wildly different atmosphere.

The dining table had been moved against the wall and blessed with desert after desert. A cavalry of cakes, numerous different jellos and entire trays of pastries that Affinity had never heard of before decorated them. She'd spend most of the party by the table, sneaking just the icing in when she could.

Luckily, she had a fantastic view to enjoy while mixing and matching different icing. Outside the window, far below, the Crystal Empire was blanketed in a veil of snow, and from the looks of things, a particularly strong storm had been planned for that year. She remembered her mother mentioning something about “testing the waters” about how the crystal ponies would deal with a proper storm.

From the looks of things, quite well. Affinity could make out a few ponies skating across the frozen lake at Spike Park. They were all bundled up in scarves and hats, though she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the guards keeping an eye on them. Of course they had to be there in case something happened, but surely there was something better for them to wear then simple metal armor?

Popping some chocolate icing in her mouth, Affinity wondered if the armor had some sort of enchantment on it to make sure they didn’t get too cold.

“Affinity! Could you come here a second?” Her father's voice tore her from her thoughts, managing to penetrate the loud crowd of invading ponies. She wasn’t used to seeing the chamber so full.

She hurried around legs and past conversations, hearing mostly boring chatter, though she did almost stop when she recognized Miss Pinkie Pie’s voice telling some sort of joke. Still, she persisted through the crowd until she found her father sitting beside Auntie Twilight.

He gave her a warm smile with a tinge of mischief twirled in. “You finished reading a book about Twi last week, right? Didn’t you have a question for your Auntie?”

Ah, Shining Armour had told her he’d be doing this.

“Oh, right. See the book was a really wordy one, but, uh, there were a few pictures in it that I thought were cool. The best one was a picture of your castle in Ponyville, the colors were amazing! B-But I was wondering if you took all the books out before you blew it up? The story didn’t say if you did.”

The smile that had been on Twilight’s face slowly died the longer Affinity spoke. “If I….what?”

“The story didn’t say why you blew it up either, instead of just building it somewhere else…” Affinity looked over at her father. “Did we blow up a building for our castle?”

Shining Armour considered the question seriously.“Hmm…not a building, but we did blow up King Sombra.”

“Dad, that was different. He was evil!”

Twilight placed her glass of grown-pony juice down. “Wait, wait, wait. Affinity, are you sure that’s how the story went?” She smiled a little and put on that voice she used when she was teaching something. “Think back. Was there anyone else who might’ve destroyed the library?”

Before she answered, Affinity’s eyes darted to her dad, who gave a tiny shake of his head. “…maybe Tirek? But you had already beaten him when you blew it up, so…”

The dam burst and Shining Armour began laughing, drawing a few of the guests’ eyes to trio. Understanding dawned on Twilight and she huffed.

“Oh, ha ha. Very funny, Shining. Maybe I should ask Cadence what other misinformation you’ve been feeding the future of the Crystal Empire,” Her gaze softened as it lowered to her niece. “Affinity, you know that’s not what really happened, right?”

Before she could answer, Shining shook his head. “You should be checking that publisher out, not me. I gave the book a look after Fifi told me about it and that IS what was written,” a hint of smugness entered his voice. “It was brought in from Equestria, by the way. Maybe worry about your own land before ours?”

“Ugh, don’t say that. You know, there’s STILL some nobles saying that I banished Celestia and Luna. The sooner they get back from their tour, the better. I dunno how they dealt with all those-” Twilight seemed to remember that there was a filly present. “-loud ponies.”

“I know you wouldn’t do that, Auntie. I stopped at that bit and asked Dad about it. He was a primary source!” Affinity had remembered the phrase from one of her tutors, specifically for this conversation. “You wouldn’t do that to books. Books are nice.”

She was thrilled to see Twilight nod approvingly. “They are, aren’t they? You’ve been reading a lot then, Affinity?”

“Yep! Mom and Dad got scared once cause they couldn’t find me anywhere in the palace but I had fallen asleep in the library,” she answered proudly.

“Found her dozing off under a desk. She’s definitely got some Twilight in her.” Shining laughed as she dodged out of the way of his attempted mane-ruffling. “Maybe we should get you a dragon egg and see what happens.”

Sure her hair was safe, Affinity’s eyes lit up. “Can we? I could make it hatch like Aunt Twilight and-”

Unfortunately, she failed to foresee a ruffling from her aunt. “Maybe wait until you’re a little older before giving that a try. Still, it’s good to hear somepony around here is going to keep those books company. Though do try and find somewhere comfier to nap instead of a desk. Maybe a book fort?”

“What’s a book fort?” Affinity asked, tilting her head.

A shadow fell across the ruler of Equestria’s face. “…Shining Armour. I’m taking your daughter.”

It fell away quickly and the two started laughing. Affinity really liked her Aunt Twilight! She’d been around for as long as she could remember, but Affinity wished she was around more. Sure, running a country sounded like a very important job, but her parents did that too and they still found time to play with her.

“Oh!” An idea lit up in her mind. “Twilight, Twilight! I’ve been practicing my magic lots and lots and Sunburst taught me a really cool spell. Do you wanna see?”

Twilight made the same face Cadence did when Flurry called the knight in the book they’d been reading handsome. “Of course!”

Calming down, Affinity let the chatter and cheer of the party fade away, closing her eyes. Trying to envision the well of magic that flowed through her, just as she'd been taught, she dove into it, searching for the right feeling. Her magic pool felt smaller then it should have been but her tutors assured her that it was normal for a unicorn her age. It took a little for her to gather enough of the flow together, but a few seconds later, she had it.

Affinity forced it through her horn, and with a cyan glow, a white ball of light sparked into existence, floating in the air. She pushed down the dizziness that drifted over her. It always came when she cast a spell.

Though the two adults mouths shaped into the incoming praise that Affinity needed, she knew she could get more. “Wait! I’m not done,” drawing upon the same power, she commanded the ball. “Blue! Green! Yellow! Purple!”

With each command, the ball changed to appropriate color. It had the desired affect of attracting the attention of the crowd around them. There were a few approving calls and even the sound of a few hooves clapping.

“Very impressive,” Twilight said, squinting at the ball of light with a smile. “You know, jokes aside you should come to Canterlot again some time. We’ve had another wing added to the city’s library.”

The ball flashed a brilliant yellow as Affinity gasped. “Can I?”

“Sounds good to me,” Shining said, shielding his eyes. “We’re overdue a trip to Canterlot anyway. Just promise me you two won’t spend the whole day in there. You’ve got some sights to see and Twily can't fall back into bad habits. She has a country to run.”

Possibilities thundered through Affinity’s mind. Maybe she’d be able to find some books on how to stop getting dizzy whenever you cast a spell! Maybe she’d find a tome that had some more flashy spells inside. Heck! Maybe if she impressed her aunt enough-

“Oh! Are we doing magic?” An excited voice broke through the crowd.

Flurry Heart came racing to the table, mouth covered in chocolate. “Hey, you showed them the light ball spell! Did you-”

“Make it change color? Yep,” Affinity said quickly, very aware that her sister too could cast the spell. But she had learned something Flurry hadn’t. “Here, watch, I think I figured out how to make the ball-”

“Aunt Twilight, Aunt Twilight! Watch this!” Flurry began to lift off the ground, wings flapping.

“Sweetie, h-hang on a second-” Shining tried, but it was too late.

In an instant, Flurry's horn was ablaze with unstable magical energy. It covered her entire body before expanding and brightening. A few voices went from impressed to worried as a flash consumed the room.

When it faded, the first thing Affinity noticed was that her sister had vanished. The second was that every pony at the party had fallen silent, eyes looking at the spot where Flurry had just been. The third thing was that the magical wave Flurry had let loose had dispelled Affinity's own ball of light.

Twilight opened and closed her mouth a few times. “D-Did Flurry Heart just choose to teleport?”

“Flurry? FLURRY?” Her father’s voice was filled with desperation. “CADENCE! SHE DID IT AGAIN!”

“She can TELEPORT WHEN SHE WANTS? SINCE WHEN COULD SHE-”

Voices broke out from there, calling to the missing princess, all memory of the super cool ball of light gone from their minds.

And just like that, the feeling ignited to life in Affinity, and she frowned.

From there the night descended into the frenzied chaos of searching for a missing princess in the middle of a blizzard. When Flurry Heart couldn’t be found in the palace, the ponies braved the snow outside, having to trade whatever fancy clothing they’d brought for scarves and boots. In the end, Uncle Spike found her in a store named “Candy’s Candied Candy”.

That night, Flurry earned a stern talking to from their parents but her punishment was pushed forward till sometime after the Hearth’s Warming season, and eventually forgotten entirely.

When they had returned to the castle however, another, shorter search had begun for their other daughter, though it was quickly ended when a guard found Affinity in one of the spare dining halls, having passed out.

The cause revealed itself quickly. During a check-up to ensure her health, the doctor informed Affinity’s parents that she had a 'mana-pool-deficiency'. In short, this meant that she would never be able to cast quite as many spells as your average unicorn without growing tired. It also meant that some spells would be beyond her reach. Forever. Permanently.

Affinity told her parents that she’d snuck off after they left to practice her light-ball spell a little more, but that was a lie. She’d collapsed attempting to teleport, just as Flurry had done, spark inside pushing her further and further until the world had gone dark.

Now she knew the spell was beyond her.

"Don't worry!" Flurry Heart had said, upon being told about Affinity's condition. "If you find a cool spell that summons sweets or something, tell me and I'll cast it for us! Promise."

The feeling stayed with her awhile after that, leading to Affinity ignoring her sister for a few days. This ended when her parents practically ordered her to stop, due to Flurry confiding in them that she missed her little sister.

Then, of course, the day came when Affinity had settled on what to do with the feeling, years later.

“You get in trouble with Mom and Dad a lot,” Affinity mused from her desk, rereading a page of the spell book in front of her for what must have been the third time.

“…iiiiis that the end of the sentence?” Flurry asked from atop the bunk-bed, having long since grown board of drawing on the ceiling. Shifting her body so that she was looking to her sister from across the room, she shrugged. “I wouldn’t say it happens a lot.”

“You are grounded at this exact moment,” Affinity reminded her, closing the book. She wanted to keep her sister company but there was only so long she could ignore the glorious day outside their window. Especially with the sun reflecting off some of the city’s structures.

Flurry scoffed and leapt from the top-bunk, gracefully landing in the middle of the room. Rearing up onto her hind-legs, she began to shadow-box. “This is different, that colt had it coming. If some Canterlot snob thinks he can make fun of your glasses, then I'll show em how we do things in the empire!”

“Captain Steel called it a diplomatic incident.”

“Steel calls everythinga diplomatic incident,” Flurry snorted, trotting over to her. “Ya know, if you’re gonna read, you could at least do it outside.”

Affinity turned round to give her sister a mockingly pouting face. “But then you’d be wonewy.”

“I’d feel a lot less lonely if we were doing something together.”

“Alright,” Affinity said, turning back to her book. “Why don’t you go get your own copy of A Guide To Magic Strings and Tangles and we’ll study it together then?”

She could almost feel Flurry cringe. “Ugh. You are such a nerd. I dunno how you’re gonna survive Crystal Prep once you end up fusing with your desk due to sheer nerdiness.”

“And I’m going to enjoy not being in the same classes as you every day,” Affinity replied. “I don’t know how you’re going to survive our teachers not being hoof-picked by Mom and Dad to deal with your nonsense.”

“Hey! They’re gonna love my nonsense AND they’ll probably love your nerdiness,” Flurry fluttered her wings, ending back up on the bunk bed, as if surveying an empire. “Give it a month and we’ll be running the place. You and your brain and me with my charming everything.”

Realizing that it she wasn’t going to get any study done, Affinity seized the book in her magic and placed it beside her bed. She’d give it another go at night, when Flurry was asleep.

“Mmhm,” Affinity agreed, putting on an exaggerated swagger as she strut over to the pile of cushions in the corner of the room. Two crowns lay there, having been discarded days prior after a court meeting.

With a flicker of magic, Affinity placed the platinum crown with dazzling pink gems on her head. “And then we finally rebel against Mom and Dad, taking the Empire for ourselves.”

“Emphasis on finally!” Flurry grinned, hopping down to flick her own crown onto her head. “Then, we invade Equestria and absorb it. We’ll have to keep Aunt Twilight in a different prison then Mom and Dad though, otherwise they’ll hatch an escape plan. Maybe we should have them executed..."

Affinity frowned. “Oh, shame. I like Aunt Twilight.”

“Well, we can’t execute one without the other. That’s familial discrimination.”

“But Mom and Dad locked you up after you oh so heroically punched a colt for insulting me. They have it coming.”

“Oh, good point! Alright, we’ll spare Twilight. She can be our court mage or something.”

“Great. Let it be known that our parents folly was grounding you. It spelled disaster for the Empire and its neighbors for a thousand years,” giving her sister’s crown a flick with her hoof, Affinity shrugged. “On second thought, let’s give them a couple years. See if they can get their act together.”

It was a dumb, not-at-all real plan, so of course the two teens snickered a bit, before quickly discarding the crowns. Even if either of them wanted to rule the Crystal Empire, it would be a long time before any sort of opportunity would present itself.

Affinity watched her sister laughing, her tinted wings fluttering happily in the sun that snuck through the window. Besides. There was a chance that Affinity wouldn’t even live to see-

Suddenly, a joyous squeal interrupted their the laughter. Muffled, hurried voices suddenly sounded through the semi-open door. The two looked to each other.

“You didn’t punch anyone else today, did you?” Affinity asked as she moved to the door, opening it fully with her magic.

“No, I managed to restrain myself. What’s the word? Worth showing our faces for?”

Poking her head through the doorway, Affinity's ears flickered as she listened carefully.

“…gosh…long…Celestia…”

Her eyes widened. She’d heard her mother use the name before but that had almost sounded like she was using it to address someone.

“I think Princess Celestia is downstairs?” Affinity phrased it like a question, as if Flurry would know the answer.

A wild grin spread across her sister's face in an instant. “WH-”

Before she could even finish her own question, Flurry’s horn had blazed with power, and in a flash of cyan, she’d disappeared, leaving Affinity alone in the room.

Affinity sprinted from the room, galloping down the stairs. The voices grew louder, Flurry’s excited squeaks mixed in with some surprised greetings and minor scoldings.

Sure enough, pushing the door to the main chamber opened revealed two ponies who Affinity had only seen in drawings and photos. One with a mane of dazzling colors and the other with who’s endless blue Affinity was quite sure she saw a comet streaking through. Rarely in her life had she ever felt intimidated when meeting another pony, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling at that moment that she was staring down two Gods. So many books had assured her many a time that alicorns were not deities, but that memory didn’t stop Affinity’s nerves from spiking as Celestia and Luna turned to her.

Admittedly, they did calm a bit when the massive ivory alicorn’s face broke into a massive smile “And who might this little one be?”

Affinity's mouth still felt as if it had been filled with cement. However, she spotted her mother giving an encouraging nod from behind the two.

“I-I-I’m Affinity H-Heart,” was the best she could manage, having to push her glasses up her nose as she spoke.

“What a wonderful name,” the PERSONIFICATION OF THE SUN said as if she was a completely normal pony. “Do you know who we are, Affinity?”

For a terrifying moment, her mind went completely blank, before drawing up the obvious answer. But before Affinity could deliver that answer, she stopped.

Princess Luna's eyes had flickered from Affinity, to Flurry Heart and then back again with almost unnoticeable speed. Something in the dark alicorn’s face instantly became softer.

Needless to say, Affinity's mind went wild with the horrible implications of such an expression. This resulted in her answer becoming, “Y-You’re Princess Luna.” Her face set ablaze. “I-I-I mean, y-you’re P-Princess Celestia a-and-and you’re L-Luna. Princess Luna.”

“Your first attempt at my name was correct, niece,” THE PERSONIFICATION OF THE MOON said calmly. “The title of Princess no longer sits with my sister and I,” her expression softened even more. “However, even if it did, we would ask that you use our unadorned names.”

And Affinity did just that.

It took an extraordinarily short amount of time for her to feel at ease in the alicorn sister’s presence, but after a day of wandering the Empire’s streets with them, Affinity felt quite comfortable with the two. Somehow, having them around even lessened the feeling of judgement that she usually felt when in public, probably owing to the citizens being more interested in the two missing alicorns than their ever-present princesses.

Celestia and Luna had gone venturing across neighboring nations and beyond shortly after passing Twilight their crowns. The former spoke of the wonders not seen in Equestria, waterfalls that fell upwards, volcanoes that bubbled with golden lava and even meetings with creatures which the ancient alicorns had never encountered before. They’d kept details of these journey’s vague in their letters, but were now preparing to deliver a full account to Twilight. Celestia said she was looking forward it lasting the two many a tea-time.

Luna, on the other hoof, spoke of less fantastical things.

“The speed at which some creatures are advancing is almost worrying,” Luna explained to Affinity as they sat, feeding the ducks in Spike Park. “We used an illusion while traveling, of course, adopting false names. Yet, in the land of the Diamond Dogs, we encountered a strange crystal they utilized to capture an image. It revealed our true selves to the small pack we'd decided to camp with and some…explanations were required.”

Scattering breadcrumbs to the wind, Affinity watched the ducks bounty fall into the lake. Across it she could see Flurry and Celestia in a game of deadly tag, one that Flurry was dominating.

Luna followed her gaze and then sighed. “Well, Tia felt like we owed them an explanation. I myself would have been perfectly fine with smashing the gem in question and then fleeing the scene. I doubt anyone they spoke to would have believed the story.”

“…you don’t talk like I thought you would,” Affinity wondered aloud.

This earned her a raised eyebrow. “Does my manner of speaking disappoint you?”

“N-No! Of course not!” Affinity almost fell off of the park-bench they’d been sitting on. “It’s just…well…I dunno, I kinda liked it, I guess. I’d always try and talk like that whenever me and Flurry pretended we were in one of the stories we read about you.”

“I see…and pray tell, which part did you play? That of Celestia, or myself?”

Affinity tried to figure out how to answer the question. “…if I told you the truth, you’d think I was trying to flatter you.”

“I am your great-aunt. It is your job to butter me up, as it is mine to lavish you with gifts. You fulfill your end of the bargain, and I shall mine,” Luna threw in a wink. “Weshall trust that you had good taste.”

Affinity smiled shyly.

After a day of delight with her family, she and Flurry were sent to bed earlier than usual, despite their utter insistence that they were not sleepy. It was only when their great-aunts had promised they’d stay an extra day in the Crystal Empire that the two gave in to their tyrant mother's command and retreated to their bedroom.

Yet, that night, Affinity couldn’t sleep. It was a mixture of fantasies of adventure dancing about in her head and Flurry Heart’s snoring that kept her awake. Even attempting to read her book from the beginning of the day proved to be a fruitless endeavor. Her mind was racing.

And so, with moonlight leaking through the curtained windows, Affinity swiped her glasses from her beside table, and snuck down the stairs towards the main chamber. She was confidant that Celestia or Luna would be able to convince her parents to allow her to stay up for a cup of hot coco.

Yet, her excited hoof steps slowed as she neared the door, hearing voices slipping through into the hall.

“-decided that it was a one-in-a-hundred chance. Me and Shining liked our odds and, well, we decided to go for it. Thankfully, we didn’t perform a miracle. I don’t know what we would have done if Affinity was also an alicorn.” She heard her mother’s voice sighing in relief.

A melodious chuckle drifted through the air, easily recognizable as Celestia’s. “Understandable. I imagine the crystal heart would prefer not to be shattered a second time, but it is a missed opportunity. If you had ended up with a pair of alicorn sisters, then Twilight would have been presented with the chance to perform the funniest passing of power history has ever seen.”

“Your once-student is very fond of routines,” Luna mused. “Regardless, I am proud to say I see quite a bit of myself in young Affinity. She too requested an extra serving of chocolate. The ice cream parlor was a bonding experience for the two of us.”

“If you mean to that imply Flurry and I’s little spat over banana and rocky-road did not bring the two of us closer together, you are surely mistaken. Battle has a way of bringing ponies closer, dear sister.”

“Battle will bring one closer to one’s allies. It should end with one’s opponent thoroughly beaten. Like with Flurry’s utter domination over your pathetic opinion,” Luna scoffed. “Banana flavor. Honestly, Tia, try something new.”

Affinity had sat by the wall near the door, happily eavesdropping on the conversation. Removing her glasses by hoof as so not to alert the three with the sound of her magic, she looked at her barely perceptible reflection. Luna really thought that she was like her?

She heard Cadence hold back a laugh. “Alright, before you two get into this debate, there was…” her voice grew cautious. “…something I wanted to ask you about. It’s a bit of a sensitive topic…”

“Well, we’ve about finished off this bottle. What better time then now?” Celestia joke sounded quieter then before.

“…it’s a very sensitive topic.”

Luna groaned. “Niece. If you decide not to speak of the topic now, I shall take it as a personal offense. For goodness sake, the two of us just spent the day taking care of your children. I’d like to think that speaks to the bond we share.”

“…you’re right. It’s about Affinity.”

The unicorn in question, blinked.

She listened intently as her mother continued, “How muchof yourself do you see in her, Luna?”

For a moment, Affinity wondered if the three had left for another room, but Luna’s voice sounded a second later. “Elaborate.”

“It’s just…having a sister who’s an alicorn, we’re wondering if it’s having an effect on her. Shining can speak to the experience of course, but even he admits that Affinity and Flurry are an entirely different case, growing up together and all. There’s been a few moments over the years where it’s seemed like Affinity almost…tried to hurt Flurry.”

“Once when they were young, around three or four. Flurry had been painting me and her flying. I was working at the time, but Shining said that the two had some sort of discussion about wings. He was about to step in, but Affinity had seemed alright. Then, a moment later, she poured apple juice all over Flurry and her painting.”

“She was three, Cadence. That’s hardly a sign of any bad blood between the two,” Celestia chuckled.

Yet, Affinity heard her mother continue. “A few years later, when we had Sunburst over for magic lessons, Flurry ended up figuring out how to teleport on command. Not really choose a destination per say but she began being to teleport right here.” The tink of hoof against crystal sounded. “A week later, I found Affinity covering that exact spot with tacks. When she saw me watching her, she just began crying and I couldn’t get her to tell me what she’d been doing but….”

Affinity blinked again. She didn’t remember doing that. Sure, it was stupid that Flurry had figured out teleporting at her age, considering it was suppose to be a REALLY complex spell. Besides, she hadn’t even mastered it yet, she could only appear in spots where-

“There hasn’t been anything that…bad for awhile now, but just last month, when Flurry won a medal in an athletics day down in the park, the look that I saw Affinity giving her, it was-” Cadence paused. “I know emotions. I almost thought she was going to lunge at Flurry right then and there. But when I asked her if she was feeling okay, it was like blowing out a candle. She looked at me as if she hadn’t known what I was talking about.”

Now THAT, Affinity did remember. Yes, she had felt a little…peeved that her sister had won a medal and she hadn’t but she had thought she’d hid the feeling well. How much did her mother watch her for stuff like this? Did her parents talk about this a lot? Did Aunt Twilight know? Sunburst? Was that why they-

“You’re asking…” Luna’s voice was slow and drawn out, as if deciding whether it should come with a warning, “...if I see any of my other-self in her. Nightmare Moon.”

Affinity needed to stop herself from squeaking. Nightmare Moon. The monster that Luna had turned into when her jealously had overtaken her, putting all of Equestria in danger. She had never liked those parts when she read about them. It made her feel bad for the lunar monarch. Her mother wasn’t really asking if-

Celestia was the one who took the step. “…do you?”

There was a sigh. “Honestly, ponies must learn to speak of such events with less…reverence. That time has long since passed and I have no problem discussing such things now.”

“Luna…”

“I’m not saying that it wasn’t me, sister. I’ve accepted that part of me fully, and I’ve become a better pony because of it. Because of you,” There was a pause. “Cadence, I shall answer your question."

“I see a young girl who’s desperate to not have her sister outshine her. Both Affinity and Flurry were born with talent, but if what you've told me is true, Flurry was simply born with more. She is an alicorn, capable of feats of magic some unicorns never manage to master, yet Affinity herself doesn't have the magic to even try. She is aware of this, and compares herself to her sister. I believe she does so in many ways, not just in matters of magic. You ask me if I see myself in her? I do. Too much, in fact. She-”

Affinity didn’t want to hear any more.

As quietly and with as much speed as she could muster, she fled back up the stairs, threw her glasses aside and dove under her bed’s covers. She was absolutely positive that she wasn’t crying. She was just breathing a little heavily from running so fast.

She wasn’t going to be like Luna. Ever. She wouldn’t let herself be jealous of Flurry, she wouldn’t let herself try and beat Flurry and above all, she would never let herself hurt Flurry. Any time she'd feel that horrible, horrible spark in her chest, she'd hide it somewhere away where it would never see the light of day.

Affinity Heart, second-in-line to the Crystal Empire decided. She’d never fight her sister.

Ever.