Celestia's Brothersby CaptainSanchezChaptersPrologue: Of The Land and SeaThe ArrivalA Family ReunitedOkay, For Real This TimeWorse?!Luna's BrothersPrologue: Of The Land and SeaCelestia's Brothers Prologue: Of The Land and Sea Edited by Rain-M24 Long ago, before the rise of Nightmare Moon or the Rule of Discord, Two Alicorns were born. They were not the Sisters that rule the sky, for they would come later. Yes, odd as it seems, the Alicorn brothers that would rule the land and sea came along before Celestia and Luna. Their names were Terrestrion and Aquinus, the Great Alicorn Twins. You will not read of them in any early Equestrian literature; for they chose to keep themselves isolated from the world, each for a different reason. Aquinus thought his work would be too demanding, as he would have to rule all of the planet's water continuously. Terrestrion's reasons were quite different, as he feared that he would inadvertently use his powers to kill thousands. Each of the siblings had this Fear on some level. However, due to Terrestrion's overly-caring nature, it was a much greater influence on him than his siblings. What little can still be found on them is either highly degraded or vague myths. Celestia and Luna remember them well, though, despite not having seen them in two millennia. From what they remember, Terrestrion is extremely kind and loving; Aquinus is playful, fun-loving, and loyal. Celestia recently sent her brothers invitations to Luna's birthday party, as a means of both sharing a happy occasion with them, but reuniting the siblings after millennia apart. Little did she know that the Princes have changed greatly in their isolation. **(In a Zebrican Cave)*** Prince Terrestrion awoke on a day much like every other: dark, lonely, and dry. He had spent the last 2,000 years in his Zebrican cave, making sure to stay away from everypony else. He ruled over the planet's rock and dirt; really, that didn't entail very much. An earthquake here, a new volcano there, he had almost nothing to do but dream. He knew he could probably go back to Equestria, and even stay there without accidentally injuring anypony. He just didn't really have a reason. Lulu was still on the moon, last he heard. He'd grown more than a little bit out of touch with his sister. Besides, he hadn't interacted with anypony in two millennia; he was'nt even sure if he could still talk! What was that? He got up, surprised by the knocking on the bowlder that blocked the entrance to his cave. Who in Mother's Mane could that be? he wondered. The Zebras are terrified of these caves, and only Tia knows that I went to Zebrica. He used his magic to shove the bowlder downwards, opening the closest thing he had to a front door. What he saw there was quite a surprise; a slate grey pegasus with golden eyes and a black tail in dark blue armor, which was emblazoned with a crescent moon. It's one of Lulu's Night Guards, he thought, but she's supposed to be on the moon! The Guard looked at Terrestrion's unkempt, dirty form and said, "Prince Terrestrion?" Terrestrion looked a bit worried; after a few minutes of obvious effort, he finally managed to answer to the guard in a dry, strained voice. "Yes?' "I am Nightshade, of Princess Luna's Night Guard. I have been sent to deliver you an invitation to Her Majesty's Birthday Party." Terrestrion looked a bit surprised, and after searching for the right words he asked, "But I thought she was still on the moon, when did she get back?" Nightshade almost laughed, but was too well trained to laugh at this long-secluded Prince. He dutifully replied, "Last Summer, Your Highness." Terrestrion wasn't too shocked to hear this, knowing that he was speaking to a member of the Royal Guard for the Night. After searching for the necessary words, he said, "I'd love to come, but could you please lead me there? I haven't left this cave for anything but food in centuries; I don't think I remember where to go. Also, I can barely remember how to talk. Could you reteach me the modern form of Equestrian?" Nightshade, despite his cool demeanor, was rather embarrassed to respond. "Actually, Your Highness, the Princess ordered me to do that; as soon as you're ready to leave, we will." Terrestrion decided it best to invite the Guard into his cave while he prepared for the journey. The Guard did as instructed and entered the dirty, barren cave. It was mostly empty, aside from the bed composed of solid rock; which the alicorn made soft with his ability to manipulate rock, along with a chest and a very tarnished silver chest plate hidden in the corner. After several minutes, Terrestrion returned to Nightshade. As Terrestrion moved about the room, Nightshade took the opportunity to get a good look at the Prince. He was a fairly tall stallion; standing two hooves taller than Princess Celestia, with a coat as black as a moonless night and trimmed fetlocks, revealing his blood red hooves. His mane and tail are very jagged, and alternate color between bright red and pitch black. His eyes are an even deeper shade of red than his hooves, and his cutie mark was a stylized boulder in front of a red triangle. He was wearing a very worn-looking red robe and the tarnished breastplate from the corner. *** Aquinus was just as tall as his brother, but more lean than bulky; so as to be more hydrodynamic whilst swimming. His tenure alone on his small island had left him feeling very alone, in desperate need of a close family. This is why he had his foals, Cadenza and Tydallion. However, Cadenza left him to be able to get to know her aunt. He wasn't feeling very well-rested; but then, he hadn't slept in 500 years. He looked to the sky, as he often did when feeling lonesome, and saw something unusual: a member of his sister's Royal Guard. "Tydall!" he called out, "prepare food, we have company!" Tydallion; an adolescent cyan Alicorn, obeyed his father hurriedly. After all, they very rarely had guests. The Guard landed, and introduced himself. "Prince Aquinus. I am Silver Wind, of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard. Her Majesty has requested your presence at Princess Luna's birthday party." Aquinus looked at Wind, surprised. "Do you mean to tell me that my sister insists I leave my post, and allow the tides to cease while I go to a party?," he asked, clearly upset by the idea. Silver Wind Looked at him and said, "No, Your Highness, The Princess told me that she believed your son was old enough to keep the tides in control while you relax and catch up with your siblings." Now Aquinus was confused, which prompted him to ask, "Don't you mean my sisters? After all, my brother has been in hiding for 2,000 years." Silver Wind shook his head and replied, "No, Sir. Your brother has agreed to come to the party already." Aquinus sighed. "Fine, come with me and have some of my son's food, before we leave," he said. As Silver Wind followed Aquinus to the Dining Room, he noticed some interesting features; Aquinus had a black mane and tail, each with a blue stripe. His coat was a shade of blue that would put the seas themselves to shame. His eyes were the same red as Terrestrion's. Like his brother, Aquinus's fetlocks were trimmed; revealing hooves so white that it almost hurt to look at them. He was wearing a black breastplate and a cape that matched his hooves, his cutie mark being a single droplet of water falling into a ripple. TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 1: THE ARRIVAL The ArrivalCelestia's Brothers Part 1: The Arrival Celestia's heart was aflutter, she hadn't seen her brothers in so long… she almost couldn't believe that they had both accepted! She could hardly wait to see her brothers' bright red eyes again. Terrie was always so caring, and Nuss was always so incredibly happy! She couldn't decide if she was happy that she'd see them again, or depressed that it had been so long. She knew that they'd probably spend more time with Luna, both because they could relate to her better, what with her having been on the moon for 1,000 years, and because it was Luna's birthday, after all. She just hoped that they'd all have time to catch up. "Oh well," she thought, "I'd best get ready, they should be here in a few hours." Celestia left the tower (she had just finished raising the Sun) and trotted through the castle, heading towards her room. When she arrived, she went immediately to her wardrobe, thoughtfully considering what was appropriate for greeting Princes that had been in seclusion for two millennia. After twenty minutes of intense indecision, she realized that her brothers would probably like it more if she just dressed as she normally did: a crown, some shoes, and a necklace. Well, she thought, What should I do until Tessie and Nuss get here? *** Nightshade still had trouble believing that this was the stallion the Princess had described. She had told him that her brother was a kind, considerate individual with a short attention span, but the Alicorn he was traveling with was an incredibly focused individual that seemed to harbor an intense hatred for other ponies. "But this has to be the him! I mean, how many black and red Alicorns named Terrestrion can there be in Zebrica?" he said without realizing it. Terrestrion looked at him, snorted a little, and said, "Only one, Nightshade. I realize that I must seem quite different from how my sister described me, spending a couple of thousand years alone in a cave will do that to you, but I can assure you, I am still the Prince of the Land." At this, Nightshade laughed. He noticed something in the distance, and pointed at it. "Your Highness," he said, "Do you see the big castle protruding from that mountain?" Terrestrion nodded "That's Equestria's capital, Canterlot." *** Aquinus and Silver Wind were much closer to Canterlot than Terrestrion, since Aquinus's island was much closer to Equestria than Terrestrion's Cave was. Aquinus looked at Silver and said, "So, why you?" Silver looked back at him quizzically. "What do you mean, Your Highness?" he said. Aquinus looked at him, and said, "Out of all the guards, my sister chose you. She's never done anything without a reason. So why you?" Silver laughed a little, and said, "Because I'm the guard whose personality is the most like yours, Your Highness!" Aquinus was puzzled, so he replied with, "But you've done nothing but crack jokes the entire trip!" Silver laughed even harder, saying, "And you haven't laughed once! Either the Princess doesn't remember you too well, or you've changed a whole lot!" At this, Aquinus rolled his eyes. Tia had a magnificent memory, but he couldn't have changed that much, could he? Silver noticed their location, and said, "Prince Aquinus, we're almost there." *** Celestia was worried. For the first time in almost 900 years, she was genuinely worried. What if Ness is in a bad mood? He can be so irritable when he's in a bad mood. What if he doesn't recognize me? Wait, I'm the only white Alicorn he knows, why wouldn't he recognize me? She heard a loud noise, one she hadn't heard in a very long time. Could it be? She looked up. She saw two of the reddest circles on the planet, surrounded by a field of blue. It is! She heard her brother speak, "Tia, be honest, I was never that silly, was I?" Celestia was so thrilled, her face lit up like, uh, a Hearth's Warming tree? She even squee'd, and Princesses don't squee. Not. Ever. She wrapped her forelegs around Ness, in a hug that would put even the strongest of bears to shame. "Tia… stop… can't… breathe…" Oh, right, I forgot about breathing. "Sorry, Ness. It's just, you never visit, you know?" she said, her face turning from alabaster to cherry in less than a millisecond. *** Nightshade looked at Terrestrion, clearly exhausted. "Your Highness?" he said, "I'm afraid we'll have to walk the rest of the way to the castle." Terrestrion was puzzled. Now why would we have to do that? thought Terrestrion, "Is there some kind of restriction over the town's airspace due to Lulu's upcoming party?" the crimson- and-pitch royal asked. "Your Highness, My wings are much smaller than yours, and we've been flying for seven hours straight. You're clearly not tired in the slightest, but my wings can barely hold me anymore," said (well… panted) Nightshade. "Ah, yes," said Terrestrion, finally getting it, "Well, this would be a good chance to meet some citizens, then, would it not?" I'd really like to me et the parents of that guard that Nightshade said Cadenza married. What was his name, Shiney Shield or something like that? To Be Continued in Chapter 2: A Family Reunited A Family ReunitedCelestia's Brothers Chapter 2: A Family Reunited Terrestrion and Nightshade strolled along the streets of Canterlot, their presence met with equal shock, awe, and puzzlement. Many had difficulty believing what they saw, since they didn't know of the Alicorn Twins, and few ever seen a Night Guard during the day. "Nightshade, is it normal for the citizens to stare like that?" Terrestrion asked, scorn dripping from his voice, as he trotted through the streets. Nightshade chuckled a little before replying. "Normal? What's normal about a Prince nopony's ever heard of walking down the city streets alongside a Night Guard in broad daylight?" Terrestrion groaned. I hate to admit it, but he's right. I need to reconnect with the public if I want them to stop looking at me like that. Well, only one thing I can do now. "Nightshade, we're getting donuts!", he said, in as heroic a manner as possible. "Your Highness, shouldn't we be heading to the castle?", asked Nightshade. "Surely your sisters are expecting you to arrive as soon as is possible. Besides, Donut Joe's is closed on Thursdays." Nightshade was still struggling to keep pace with the Prince. Hey, you try keeping up with somepony whose legs are longer than your torso. Terrestrion looked at Nightshade, surprised. It's Thursday? Hm, interesting. "What do you mean? Why Thursdays?", he asked. "Well Your Highness, to be honest, I've never really thought about it before," he said. "Anyhoof, it would seem that we have nearly reached the Castle." Nightshade was getting ever more curious about things he hadn't noticed before, but traveling with Terrestrion does that to you. "Really?", Terrestrion asked. "That seems remarkably quick. I had thought that we'd have time to socialize a bit, but we haven't. I could've sworn we just landed on the outskirts of town a few minutes ago." Terrestrion was amazed at how odd Canterlot was. It looked so big, but it had taken them a remarkably small amount of time to cross the city. "Hm, you're right, Your Highness. I've never thought about it before either, but It's incredibly easy to reach destinations in this city." Nightshade spoke, his head reeling from all of the unusual observations that the Prince had made over the past few minutes. Then he noticed something. "Oh, look, it's Captain Armor and Princess Cadence! I wonder if they'd like to meet you." Terrestrion look din the direction that Nightshade was pointing. "Don't you mean Princess Cadenza? I was under the impression that that was her name." he asked. "Well Your Highness, she actually prefers to be called Cadence, and seems to dislike being called by her full name," Nightshade said. "Though I suppose you can call her whatever you want, being her uncle and all." Terrestrion noticed that Cadenza was staring at him. Now why would she be doing that? He wondered. "Excuse me!" Terrestrion called to his niece, "I would like to meet you, Cadenza!" He began trotting towards Cadence with a serious look on his face, which always seems scary on him. Cadence was terrified. She knew she had an uncle, but she had never met him, and didn't really know what he was like. In fact, she didn't even know if this tall stallion was her uncle. "Oh? And why would that be, sir?" She asked, trying desperately not to appear as though she was terrified of him. Please be my uncle, please be my uncle, please be my uncle… she thought. He glared at her, then he did the last thing any of them had expected from him. He chuckled. "Why, because I'm your uncle Terrestrion!", he said, almost angrily. Cadence stared at him, dumbfounded. Can this stallion really be my uncle? She thought, unsure of whether or not she could trust him. Nightshade and Shining Armor noticed her internal distress, and glanced at each other, silently agreeing that Nightshade should reassure her. "Princess, if I may," Nightshade began. "I can assure you that he is indeed your uncle. I had similar doubts myself, but he is most definitely the Prince." Nightshade then decided that he had done a sufficient job of convincing her of Terrestrion's identity. Cadence slowly grew a smile so large that it didn't seem like it stayed on her face. She was clearly far beyond overjoyed at meeting her uncle for the first time. She then hugged him. Not a big deal, you think? Well, you try being the Princess of Love and hugging an uncle that you never met without squeezing too hard. Not easy, is it? "Uncle Terrie! I'm SOOO happy to finally meet you!" Cadence said, squeezing even harder. "You're gonna have so much fun catching up with everypony! Auntie Tia's going to be so happy you made it, and Auntie Lulu is gonna be even happier that her favorite brother made it home, and--" She stopped to gasp for breath and continued. "You haven't met my husband, have you?" Cadence released her uncle, and before he could catch his breath, shoved him closer to Shining Armor. "Shining Armor, Uncle Terrie. Uncle Terrie, Shining Armor! So Uncle Terrie, how long will you be staying at the Castle? I hope you stay for a while, Auntie Lulu would be just SOOOO happy!" said Cadence, with so much joy that it would probably make a Teletubby vomit. Yes, I went there. "Um... Cadenza, please let me go, so that I may go and see my sisters," Terrestrion said, trying his best not to hurt her feelings. Cadence nodded, and Terrestrion motioned to Nightshade that it was time to go. "I'll see you later, Cadenza," he said as he went forward. "It was nice to meet you, Shining Armor." That filly is just a bit too happy to see me. What could have gotten into her? he thought. "Your Highness," Nightshade informed. "We've arrived, and I was told to report to Princess Celestia as soon as we did, so we should probably be heading to the Throne Room." Terrestrion nodded, thinking it best to see Tia as soon as he could. "Alright, then," he said. "Lead the way, Nightshade." Terrestrion decided to let the Guard lead. Nightshade knew where the throne room was, after all. *** Celestia had noticed the change in Aquinus almost immediately. There was a whole different air about him now. She didn't realize the extent of his personality change, however, as being around her awoke the flicker of joy he still had. "Ness," Celestia said, staring at her brother. "Why didn't you write me? You promised that you would, and for a while I even sent a mail carrier to your island. You never replied to my letters, so after a few hundred years, I just stopped." Aquinus was dumbfounded by her question, he hadn't even thought about that promise in centuries, since his work required his full attention, almost continuously. The last time he'd had a chance for a break, he'd fallen asleep just about immediately. Realization of this mistake hit him like a ton of bricks. How could I have been so stupid? thought the stallion. Prince of the Seas or not, I still have to pay my sisters some attention. After all, I've been manipulating the seas for so long, I barely have to put in any effort these days. "You're right, Tia," he said, "I was-" he stopped himself when he heard the distant sound of heavy hoofsteps. Very heavy hoofsteps. Familiar ones, too. *** Nightshade entered the Great Hall, followed by the mighty Prince whom he'd come to know rather well. Indirectly, since Terrestrion hated talking about himself, through observing the Prince's mannerisms, attitude, and overall behavior during their long journey. He trotted in front of the throne at which Celestia sat, and began reporting in. "Princess Celestia! Nightshade, returning with Prince Terrestrion!" He said, making sure to maintain his military bearing. Not an easy task, considering that it required him to mask his pride at having found, travelled with, and returned a long-secluded Prince. "At ease, Nightshade. Now, you should be getting to your Captain, so please leave me with my brothers, now," said the Princess, in her usual calm, caring manner. "Yes, Ma'am!" The Night Guard responded before exiting the room. Terrestrion was rather excited, having not seen any of his siblings in far longer than most ponies live. Then he saw his brother. Any nervousness he had previously felt was gone now, replaced by unbridled rage. You see, the twins hadn't parted on the best of terms... *** The brothers were preparing to leave. Neither had been acting much like themselves recently, but nopony had really given it much thought, attributing it to the stress of their life-altering decisions. They didn't even consider that their actions were influenced by a desire to prove superiority. Each brother had long been eager to prove his worth. Terrie did so through his kind deeds, and Ness through his tidal manipulations. Following a rather heated argument, the Twins decided to prove themselves in the greatest manner they could. Ness would keep the oceans under his complete control. Terrie had decided to do the ultimate good deed: preventing the eventual destruction of thousands. Chronos was worried for his sons, since as the Time King he already knew the outcomes of this journey. He looked at his eldest foals with worry deep in his golden eyes, his white mane flowing in a subexistant breeze. "My sons," he said in his deep, caramel voice. "Are you certain that I cannot persuade you to cease this course of action? It will not end well." To all who knew Chronos, this was an extremely powerful sentence. He was very careful to never warn anypony, especially his foals, and he almost never showed even the faintest hint of emotion. The Twins knew this, but refused to acknowledge his warning. Each sincerely believing that he would be the victor of this battle of the wills. Celestia and Luna were shocked at their brothers' recent actions. Cosmia, however, knew that her sons were too intent on their actions that absolutely nothing could convince them to abandon their present course. Chronos knew as well, but he had insisted on changing their minds. Even the young Luna knew how unusual this was. Her father was constantly reminding them that even though he knew everything that would ever happen, he must under no circumstances interfere. To see him try desperately to do just that was, and still is, the most unexpected sight of Luna's entire life. "Chronos, my love," Cosmia said, her Crimson mane flowing in the same breeze as her husband's. "You know that they won't change their minds, you always have, so why are you trying?" She was hoping that his answer wasn't what she thought it would be, as that would confirm her fears. The slate grey King looked at his ivory bride, his golden eyes heavy with sorrow. "Because, my dear, if they go into this Seclusion, it will begin a chain of events that together will bring about the single worst event in Equestrian history," he said to the Space Queen, a tear rolling down his cheek. Cosmia couldn't believe this, Chronos had once told her that there was an upside to every event in history. Every event, except one. One single event that was so horrible, nothing even remotely good would ever come from it. He can't mean It, can he? The silver mare thought to herself, he can't be serious. How can it be a bad thing that our sons are honing their skills? The King, already knowing what she was about to ask, sighed. "Cosmia, our sons are not simply honing their skills," he began, "one will be harboring a hatred so pure that even he will not be aware of it until it is too late. This was the last point before it was too late. Their minds have been made up, the Event is inevitable now." Once he finished his statement, Cosmia looked out towards her sons' paths. They diverged almost immediately after exiting the palace gates, and both rulers knew they wouldn't join again for many centuries. **Back to the Grand Hall** Terrestrion had been standing still for a several minutes now. From the moment his eyes locked with those of Aquinus, he had been unable to think. The same was true for his brother, whose newly rare laughter had stopped at that very instant. Celestia was beyond worried for her elder siblings, and any thought of Luna's party had been shoved into the back of her mind. Are they broken? she thought, terrified for her brothers' health. She had already tried everything she could think of to get to snap them back into reality. Then she heard something that made her shiver. A sound that could make even her Father flinch, and had on many occasions. Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice. "SISTER! HOW GOES THINE SUN LOWERING, AND--" Luna stopped, astonished at a sight she didn't think she'd ever see again. "... Terrie?" To Be Continued in Chapter 3: Luna's Brothers Okay, For Real This TimeCelestia's Brothers Chapter 4: Okay, for Real This Time… "… Terrie?" Luna asked, stunned at her brothers' presence. This did what all of her sister's efforts could not: divert Terrestrion's attention. As the pitch-black Land Prince turned, his eyes lit up. No, they literally got many times brighter than they had been so far. "Lulu!" Terrestrion exclaimed. He ran to his youngest sister, thrilled to see her after so much time had passed. The ensuing hug was capable of turning mountains into playground sand, but did little more than restrict the night princess's breathing. A lot. After a few minutes of intense huggitude, Terrestrion released his sister form what would later become known as The Millennium Vice. As Luna desperately attempted to catch her breath, Aquinus trotted up to his twin. Celestia saw this, but made no mention of it to Terrestrion, assuming that Aquinus was gearing up for one of his legendary impromptu pranks. The Sea Prince patted his grumpy twin on the back. That was a really, really bad idea. You see, over time, the Twins had become… different. The changes that they'd undergone in their Seclusion were not just psychological. Their bodies had changed on a molecular level, physical contact between the two could now endanger all life. That's no exaggeration, Terrestrion and Aquinus had somehow become composed of opposite forms of matter. Terrestrion had become composed of Dark-Positive Matter, and Aquinus had become composed of Light-Antimatter. Luckily, the contact had been brief and obscured, which resulted in the Twins becoming catatonic. They fell to the ground, faces frozen in the shared instant of the realization that they shouldn't have touched. Needless to say, the Sisters were beyond freaked out over this. Seriously, Celestia was in the fetal position, and Luna was having a mild stroke. Once they had regained some semblance of their composure, the Princesses set to work on helping their elder brothers. *** Several days later, the feeble strands of hope they'd had were nearly gone. Luna saw only one possible solution. Well, not really a solution, more like an option with a chance of success. They had to contact… their Parents. What of you mean, "That's not so bad?" their Parents were omnipresent beings which together controlled all of reality. As a result, they weren't exactly easy to contact. Well, I suppose that they would already know when and where they'd be needed, what with Chronos being the Time King and all. You know what? Never mind, I've gotten off track. See, now you've made me lose my train of thought. Ugh, I bet Freckles Freemane (this universe's equivalent of Morgan Freeman) never has to put up with this kind of thing. Okay, where was I? Oh, right; contacting their Parents. That seems kind of pointless now that I've pointed out the fact that Chronos already knows (has always known, and will always know) that he and Cosmia were needed there, doesn't it? Now that I mention it, they could've shown up immediately before the Twins touched. Well, they suck. Seriously, just think of all the needless psychological torment they put their children through. Well, when you're raised by the Grand Fausticorn, you do tend to be relatively tweaked (parenting skills having not yet been invented). Okay, Luna decided to needlessly send a message to her parents, telling them things they already knew, about a problem that they knew about before her birth. Yep, sounds about right. *** Chronos, already knowing of the issue at hand, was in his usual state of melancholy. It was too late, he couldn't do anything for his children now. He hadn't been able to help them back when this could've been avoided, and even then he'd known that he would fail to stop The Event. It's almost upon them, now. Nothing to do but wait until i can help rebuild… Wait. That wasn't supposed to happen! Thought the Time King. "Cosmia, something's wrong!" he called to his Queen, "The Chain has been altered, the Event might be--" he stopped mid-sentence. He was now seeing something he'd never seen before. "No… that's not possible!" he shouted, panicked for the first time in his life, "It can't get WORSE! TO BE CONTINUED IN CH. 5: Worse?![/]b Worse?!Celestia's Brothers Ch. 5: Worse?! Cosmia was aghast at her husband's outburst. The unknown had never been an issue for him before, so his entire reality had just been thrown into question. The Event; THE. EVENT. Had gotten worse. She wasn't sure how that was possible, and clearly he was even more befuddled. This was apparent through the fact that he was curled up in the fetal position, mumbling the words to "Rubber Ducky" over and over again. Eventually, he regained enough of his composure to stand, and beg his wife that they intervene. "Cosmia, if we don't stop the Event, ALL life in the universe will cease to exist. Not even Mother would be able to bring life back to the universe! We must do something!" Needless to say, the Time King's words troubled Cosmia beyond comprehension. Quite the feat, if I say so myself. "But Chro, we can't!" "We have to, Cosmia, we have to! I don't care what you say, I need to save our children!" **(MEANWHILE, AT THE LEGION OF D-- I mean, Canterlot Castle)** Luna and Celestia were understandably worried. Okay, that's a lie. They were out-of-their-minds-grief-stricken. Luna couldn't eat, Celestia couldn't stop, and their worry was sending out tsunami-esque waves of depression across the city. Even the Sun seemed duller. Needless to say, the Elements of Harmony were called in, but failed. Twilight would've found some way to correct the issue... had she not succumbed to shock. She spent the next four weeks curled up in the library, mumbling incoherently. The Event was already in progress, nothing could be done. Yet, even now, there was a silver lining. It hadn't gotten worse. Unfortunately, even that was bad. If it hadn't gotten worse yet, Chronos knew that it wasn't over. "Sister, I am worried," said Luna, now far frailer than she had been just two chapters ago, "Father always warned us of an Event from which nothing good came... could this be it? Is that why he hasn't arrived to assist us yet?" Celestia, unfortunately, was too busy trying to bury her sorrows to answer, though she shared her younger sibling's fears. "Sister? 'Tia? WILL YOU STOP STUFFING YOUR FACE? OUR BROTHERS MIGHT BE DYING!!" Luna then fainted. Her malnourished state had greatly reduced her capacity for exertion. Wow. These two really take stuff to the extreme, don't they? A guard turned his head toward nothing in particular, and spoke. "Yes, it would seem that they do." Uh-oh. He heard me. Wait... I'm self-aware? That can't be a good thing. It would seem that the walls of reality are breaking apart, causing third-pony- omniscient narrators to become self-aware, and the average pony to be able to hear them. This must've affected Pinkie Pie more adversely than others at first. Yes, it would seem that she gets her powers from an advanced sensitivity to cracks in reality. Wait, what was this about again? Ugh, it's getting difficult to focus. I... must... AAARRRGH!!! Great. It would seem that I'm becoming nonexistent. I'm more than just a bit worried that the story may never conclude. Without a narrator for a third-pony fic, wha-- *** "Well, what happened next?" A grey stallion looks at the filly to his right. A look of both worry and great sadness overtakes his face. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It just ends there." The white filly looks at her brother with confusion. "What do you mean? It can't end like that! What about the princesses? Did Chronos convince Cosmia to let him intervene? What about Luna's birthday party?" "It never happened, Sunny. The story just stops, mid-word. If I didn't know better, I'd say that it was the author's way of messing with the reader." Sunny looked at her older brother in confusion, her pink mane drooping to cover one eye. "But Rocky--" "No buts, Sunny. I shouldn't even be reading this to you; Do you know what Mom and Dad would do to us if they found out I'd been reading from this book?" And with that, Rocky left the room, making sure to bring the book and turn out his sister's light. Nopony knew where the book had come from, only that it was all that remained of a lost world. THE END... I THINK Luna's BrothersCelestia's Brothers Chapter 3: Luna's Brothers Edited by Rain-M24 Luna was conflicted. She wanted to be worried for her brothers' health, but she was too happy to see them. She had long known that had the Nightmare Moon incident was as much more due to her anger at never being able to see Terrie again than it was ponies not appreciating the night. Celestia had known as well, but she hid that from the public in an attempt to save Luna any unnecessary embarrassment. Terrestrion and Aquinus were both quite aware of their inability to move, as well as the fact that nopony could move them. The Twins had both long forgotten about the Curse. That is, until their eyes met. When they were young, a traveling sister of Cosmia's had put a Curse on them as a punishment for interrupting her writ ing. In her defense, they had "interrupted" her writing by destroying her home. The Curse had prevented them from ever looking into each others' eyes, at risk of being unable to move or be moved. Celestia and Luna didn't know about the curse, however, since it happened before they were born. As a result, they were under the impression that the Twins' eyes had always been red. This was not the case, however, as their eye color was an effect of the curse. Terrestrion and Aquinus's eyes had once been orange and gold, respectively. "Sister, there is only one thing we can do about this," said Luna, worry oozing from her voice, "I know that you probably do not wish to, but we must contact Mother and Father." Celestia knew that her sister was correct, but the King and Queen weren't exactly easy to contact. *** Chronos was upset. His wife would've asked him what was wrong, but she already knew. Ever since their sons had been contacted by the Guards, he'd been getting more and more worried. He knew what had happened even before the Twins had left, all those centuries ago. It's not far off now, thought the Time King, The Event will happen soon, and there's nothing I can do about it. Ending: And then everything died. Pinkie Pie smashed Mare-iam Webster, then gave Sombra a death-Threat. Odd, considering that they had all died already, but then the Grand Duchess Fausticorn descended from the heavens, lifted the curse, and un-wrote this whole chapter. To Be Continued in Chapter 4: Okay, For Real This Time...
Prologue: Of The Land and SeaCelestia's Brothers Prologue: Of The Land and Sea Edited by Rain-M24 Long ago, before the rise of Nightmare Moon or the Rule of Discord, Two Alicorns were born. They were not the Sisters that rule the sky, for they would come later. Yes, odd as it seems, the Alicorn brothers that would rule the land and sea came along before Celestia and Luna. Their names were Terrestrion and Aquinus, the Great Alicorn Twins. You will not read of them in any early Equestrian literature; for they chose to keep themselves isolated from the world, each for a different reason. Aquinus thought his work would be too demanding, as he would have to rule all of the planet's water continuously. Terrestrion's reasons were quite different, as he feared that he would inadvertently use his powers to kill thousands. Each of the siblings had this Fear on some level. However, due to Terrestrion's overly-caring nature, it was a much greater influence on him than his siblings. What little can still be found on them is either highly degraded or vague myths. Celestia and Luna remember them well, though, despite not having seen them in two millennia. From what they remember, Terrestrion is extremely kind and loving; Aquinus is playful, fun-loving, and loyal. Celestia recently sent her brothers invitations to Luna's birthday party, as a means of both sharing a happy occasion with them, but reuniting the siblings after millennia apart. Little did she know that the Princes have changed greatly in their isolation. **(In a Zebrican Cave)*** Prince Terrestrion awoke on a day much like every other: dark, lonely, and dry. He had spent the last 2,000 years in his Zebrican cave, making sure to stay away from everypony else. He ruled over the planet's rock and dirt; really, that didn't entail very much. An earthquake here, a new volcano there, he had almost nothing to do but dream. He knew he could probably go back to Equestria, and even stay there without accidentally injuring anypony. He just didn't really have a reason. Lulu was still on the moon, last he heard. He'd grown more than a little bit out of touch with his sister. Besides, he hadn't interacted with anypony in two millennia; he was'nt even sure if he could still talk! What was that? He got up, surprised by the knocking on the bowlder that blocked the entrance to his cave. Who in Mother's Mane could that be? he wondered. The Zebras are terrified of these caves, and only Tia knows that I went to Zebrica. He used his magic to shove the bowlder downwards, opening the closest thing he had to a front door. What he saw there was quite a surprise; a slate grey pegasus with golden eyes and a black tail in dark blue armor, which was emblazoned with a crescent moon. It's one of Lulu's Night Guards, he thought, but she's supposed to be on the moon! The Guard looked at Terrestrion's unkempt, dirty form and said, "Prince Terrestrion?" Terrestrion looked a bit worried; after a few minutes of obvious effort, he finally managed to answer to the guard in a dry, strained voice. "Yes?' "I am Nightshade, of Princess Luna's Night Guard. I have been sent to deliver you an invitation to Her Majesty's Birthday Party." Terrestrion looked a bit surprised, and after searching for the right words he asked, "But I thought she was still on the moon, when did she get back?" Nightshade almost laughed, but was too well trained to laugh at this long-secluded Prince. He dutifully replied, "Last Summer, Your Highness." Terrestrion wasn't too shocked to hear this, knowing that he was speaking to a member of the Royal Guard for the Night. After searching for the necessary words, he said, "I'd love to come, but could you please lead me there? I haven't left this cave for anything but food in centuries; I don't think I remember where to go. Also, I can barely remember how to talk. Could you reteach me the modern form of Equestrian?" Nightshade, despite his cool demeanor, was rather embarrassed to respond. "Actually, Your Highness, the Princess ordered me to do that; as soon as you're ready to leave, we will." Terrestrion decided it best to invite the Guard into his cave while he prepared for the journey. The Guard did as instructed and entered the dirty, barren cave. It was mostly empty, aside from the bed composed of solid rock; which the alicorn made soft with his ability to manipulate rock, along with a chest and a very tarnished silver chest plate hidden in the corner. After several minutes, Terrestrion returned to Nightshade. As Terrestrion moved about the room, Nightshade took the opportunity to get a good look at the Prince. He was a fairly tall stallion; standing two hooves taller than Princess Celestia, with a coat as black as a moonless night and trimmed fetlocks, revealing his blood red hooves. His mane and tail are very jagged, and alternate color between bright red and pitch black. His eyes are an even deeper shade of red than his hooves, and his cutie mark was a stylized boulder in front of a red triangle. He was wearing a very worn-looking red robe and the tarnished breastplate from the corner. *** Aquinus was just as tall as his brother, but more lean than bulky; so as to be more hydrodynamic whilst swimming. His tenure alone on his small island had left him feeling very alone, in desperate need of a close family. This is why he had his foals, Cadenza and Tydallion. However, Cadenza left him to be able to get to know her aunt. He wasn't feeling very well-rested; but then, he hadn't slept in 500 years. He looked to the sky, as he often did when feeling lonesome, and saw something unusual: a member of his sister's Royal Guard. "Tydall!" he called out, "prepare food, we have company!" Tydallion; an adolescent cyan Alicorn, obeyed his father hurriedly. After all, they very rarely had guests. The Guard landed, and introduced himself. "Prince Aquinus. I am Silver Wind, of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard. Her Majesty has requested your presence at Princess Luna's birthday party." Aquinus looked at Wind, surprised. "Do you mean to tell me that my sister insists I leave my post, and allow the tides to cease while I go to a party?," he asked, clearly upset by the idea. Silver Wind Looked at him and said, "No, Your Highness, The Princess told me that she believed your son was old enough to keep the tides in control while you relax and catch up with your siblings." Now Aquinus was confused, which prompted him to ask, "Don't you mean my sisters? After all, my brother has been in hiding for 2,000 years." Silver Wind shook his head and replied, "No, Sir. Your brother has agreed to come to the party already." Aquinus sighed. "Fine, come with me and have some of my son's food, before we leave," he said. As Silver Wind followed Aquinus to the Dining Room, he noticed some interesting features; Aquinus had a black mane and tail, each with a blue stripe. His coat was a shade of blue that would put the seas themselves to shame. His eyes were the same red as Terrestrion's. Like his brother, Aquinus's fetlocks were trimmed; revealing hooves so white that it almost hurt to look at them. He was wearing a black breastplate and a cape that matched his hooves, his cutie mark being a single droplet of water falling into a ripple. TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 1: THE ARRIVAL
The ArrivalCelestia's Brothers Part 1: The Arrival Celestia's heart was aflutter, she hadn't seen her brothers in so long… she almost couldn't believe that they had both accepted! She could hardly wait to see her brothers' bright red eyes again. Terrie was always so caring, and Nuss was always so incredibly happy! She couldn't decide if she was happy that she'd see them again, or depressed that it had been so long. She knew that they'd probably spend more time with Luna, both because they could relate to her better, what with her having been on the moon for 1,000 years, and because it was Luna's birthday, after all. She just hoped that they'd all have time to catch up. "Oh well," she thought, "I'd best get ready, they should be here in a few hours." Celestia left the tower (she had just finished raising the Sun) and trotted through the castle, heading towards her room. When she arrived, she went immediately to her wardrobe, thoughtfully considering what was appropriate for greeting Princes that had been in seclusion for two millennia. After twenty minutes of intense indecision, she realized that her brothers would probably like it more if she just dressed as she normally did: a crown, some shoes, and a necklace. Well, she thought, What should I do until Tessie and Nuss get here? *** Nightshade still had trouble believing that this was the stallion the Princess had described. She had told him that her brother was a kind, considerate individual with a short attention span, but the Alicorn he was traveling with was an incredibly focused individual that seemed to harbor an intense hatred for other ponies. "But this has to be the him! I mean, how many black and red Alicorns named Terrestrion can there be in Zebrica?" he said without realizing it. Terrestrion looked at him, snorted a little, and said, "Only one, Nightshade. I realize that I must seem quite different from how my sister described me, spending a couple of thousand years alone in a cave will do that to you, but I can assure you, I am still the Prince of the Land." At this, Nightshade laughed. He noticed something in the distance, and pointed at it. "Your Highness," he said, "Do you see the big castle protruding from that mountain?" Terrestrion nodded "That's Equestria's capital, Canterlot." *** Aquinus and Silver Wind were much closer to Canterlot than Terrestrion, since Aquinus's island was much closer to Equestria than Terrestrion's Cave was. Aquinus looked at Silver and said, "So, why you?" Silver looked back at him quizzically. "What do you mean, Your Highness?" he said. Aquinus looked at him, and said, "Out of all the guards, my sister chose you. She's never done anything without a reason. So why you?" Silver laughed a little, and said, "Because I'm the guard whose personality is the most like yours, Your Highness!" Aquinus was puzzled, so he replied with, "But you've done nothing but crack jokes the entire trip!" Silver laughed even harder, saying, "And you haven't laughed once! Either the Princess doesn't remember you too well, or you've changed a whole lot!" At this, Aquinus rolled his eyes. Tia had a magnificent memory, but he couldn't have changed that much, could he? Silver noticed their location, and said, "Prince Aquinus, we're almost there." *** Celestia was worried. For the first time in almost 900 years, she was genuinely worried. What if Ness is in a bad mood? He can be so irritable when he's in a bad mood. What if he doesn't recognize me? Wait, I'm the only white Alicorn he knows, why wouldn't he recognize me? She heard a loud noise, one she hadn't heard in a very long time. Could it be? She looked up. She saw two of the reddest circles on the planet, surrounded by a field of blue. It is! She heard her brother speak, "Tia, be honest, I was never that silly, was I?" Celestia was so thrilled, her face lit up like, uh, a Hearth's Warming tree? She even squee'd, and Princesses don't squee. Not. Ever. She wrapped her forelegs around Ness, in a hug that would put even the strongest of bears to shame. "Tia… stop… can't… breathe…" Oh, right, I forgot about breathing. "Sorry, Ness. It's just, you never visit, you know?" she said, her face turning from alabaster to cherry in less than a millisecond. *** Nightshade looked at Terrestrion, clearly exhausted. "Your Highness?" he said, "I'm afraid we'll have to walk the rest of the way to the castle." Terrestrion was puzzled. Now why would we have to do that? thought Terrestrion, "Is there some kind of restriction over the town's airspace due to Lulu's upcoming party?" the crimson- and-pitch royal asked. "Your Highness, My wings are much smaller than yours, and we've been flying for seven hours straight. You're clearly not tired in the slightest, but my wings can barely hold me anymore," said (well… panted) Nightshade. "Ah, yes," said Terrestrion, finally getting it, "Well, this would be a good chance to meet some citizens, then, would it not?" I'd really like to me et the parents of that guard that Nightshade said Cadenza married. What was his name, Shiney Shield or something like that? To Be Continued in Chapter 2: A Family Reunited
A Family ReunitedCelestia's Brothers Chapter 2: A Family Reunited Terrestrion and Nightshade strolled along the streets of Canterlot, their presence met with equal shock, awe, and puzzlement. Many had difficulty believing what they saw, since they didn't know of the Alicorn Twins, and few ever seen a Night Guard during the day. "Nightshade, is it normal for the citizens to stare like that?" Terrestrion asked, scorn dripping from his voice, as he trotted through the streets. Nightshade chuckled a little before replying. "Normal? What's normal about a Prince nopony's ever heard of walking down the city streets alongside a Night Guard in broad daylight?" Terrestrion groaned. I hate to admit it, but he's right. I need to reconnect with the public if I want them to stop looking at me like that. Well, only one thing I can do now. "Nightshade, we're getting donuts!", he said, in as heroic a manner as possible. "Your Highness, shouldn't we be heading to the castle?", asked Nightshade. "Surely your sisters are expecting you to arrive as soon as is possible. Besides, Donut Joe's is closed on Thursdays." Nightshade was still struggling to keep pace with the Prince. Hey, you try keeping up with somepony whose legs are longer than your torso. Terrestrion looked at Nightshade, surprised. It's Thursday? Hm, interesting. "What do you mean? Why Thursdays?", he asked. "Well Your Highness, to be honest, I've never really thought about it before," he said. "Anyhoof, it would seem that we have nearly reached the Castle." Nightshade was getting ever more curious about things he hadn't noticed before, but traveling with Terrestrion does that to you. "Really?", Terrestrion asked. "That seems remarkably quick. I had thought that we'd have time to socialize a bit, but we haven't. I could've sworn we just landed on the outskirts of town a few minutes ago." Terrestrion was amazed at how odd Canterlot was. It looked so big, but it had taken them a remarkably small amount of time to cross the city. "Hm, you're right, Your Highness. I've never thought about it before either, but It's incredibly easy to reach destinations in this city." Nightshade spoke, his head reeling from all of the unusual observations that the Prince had made over the past few minutes. Then he noticed something. "Oh, look, it's Captain Armor and Princess Cadence! I wonder if they'd like to meet you." Terrestrion look din the direction that Nightshade was pointing. "Don't you mean Princess Cadenza? I was under the impression that that was her name." he asked. "Well Your Highness, she actually prefers to be called Cadence, and seems to dislike being called by her full name," Nightshade said. "Though I suppose you can call her whatever you want, being her uncle and all." Terrestrion noticed that Cadenza was staring at him. Now why would she be doing that? He wondered. "Excuse me!" Terrestrion called to his niece, "I would like to meet you, Cadenza!" He began trotting towards Cadence with a serious look on his face, which always seems scary on him. Cadence was terrified. She knew she had an uncle, but she had never met him, and didn't really know what he was like. In fact, she didn't even know if this tall stallion was her uncle. "Oh? And why would that be, sir?" She asked, trying desperately not to appear as though she was terrified of him. Please be my uncle, please be my uncle, please be my uncle… she thought. He glared at her, then he did the last thing any of them had expected from him. He chuckled. "Why, because I'm your uncle Terrestrion!", he said, almost angrily. Cadence stared at him, dumbfounded. Can this stallion really be my uncle? She thought, unsure of whether or not she could trust him. Nightshade and Shining Armor noticed her internal distress, and glanced at each other, silently agreeing that Nightshade should reassure her. "Princess, if I may," Nightshade began. "I can assure you that he is indeed your uncle. I had similar doubts myself, but he is most definitely the Prince." Nightshade then decided that he had done a sufficient job of convincing her of Terrestrion's identity. Cadence slowly grew a smile so large that it didn't seem like it stayed on her face. She was clearly far beyond overjoyed at meeting her uncle for the first time. She then hugged him. Not a big deal, you think? Well, you try being the Princess of Love and hugging an uncle that you never met without squeezing too hard. Not easy, is it? "Uncle Terrie! I'm SOOO happy to finally meet you!" Cadence said, squeezing even harder. "You're gonna have so much fun catching up with everypony! Auntie Tia's going to be so happy you made it, and Auntie Lulu is gonna be even happier that her favorite brother made it home, and--" She stopped to gasp for breath and continued. "You haven't met my husband, have you?" Cadence released her uncle, and before he could catch his breath, shoved him closer to Shining Armor. "Shining Armor, Uncle Terrie. Uncle Terrie, Shining Armor! So Uncle Terrie, how long will you be staying at the Castle? I hope you stay for a while, Auntie Lulu would be just SOOOO happy!" said Cadence, with so much joy that it would probably make a Teletubby vomit. Yes, I went there. "Um... Cadenza, please let me go, so that I may go and see my sisters," Terrestrion said, trying his best not to hurt her feelings. Cadence nodded, and Terrestrion motioned to Nightshade that it was time to go. "I'll see you later, Cadenza," he said as he went forward. "It was nice to meet you, Shining Armor." That filly is just a bit too happy to see me. What could have gotten into her? he thought. "Your Highness," Nightshade informed. "We've arrived, and I was told to report to Princess Celestia as soon as we did, so we should probably be heading to the Throne Room." Terrestrion nodded, thinking it best to see Tia as soon as he could. "Alright, then," he said. "Lead the way, Nightshade." Terrestrion decided to let the Guard lead. Nightshade knew where the throne room was, after all. *** Celestia had noticed the change in Aquinus almost immediately. There was a whole different air about him now. She didn't realize the extent of his personality change, however, as being around her awoke the flicker of joy he still had. "Ness," Celestia said, staring at her brother. "Why didn't you write me? You promised that you would, and for a while I even sent a mail carrier to your island. You never replied to my letters, so after a few hundred years, I just stopped." Aquinus was dumbfounded by her question, he hadn't even thought about that promise in centuries, since his work required his full attention, almost continuously. The last time he'd had a chance for a break, he'd fallen asleep just about immediately. Realization of this mistake hit him like a ton of bricks. How could I have been so stupid? thought the stallion. Prince of the Seas or not, I still have to pay my sisters some attention. After all, I've been manipulating the seas for so long, I barely have to put in any effort these days. "You're right, Tia," he said, "I was-" he stopped himself when he heard the distant sound of heavy hoofsteps. Very heavy hoofsteps. Familiar ones, too. *** Nightshade entered the Great Hall, followed by the mighty Prince whom he'd come to know rather well. Indirectly, since Terrestrion hated talking about himself, through observing the Prince's mannerisms, attitude, and overall behavior during their long journey. He trotted in front of the throne at which Celestia sat, and began reporting in. "Princess Celestia! Nightshade, returning with Prince Terrestrion!" He said, making sure to maintain his military bearing. Not an easy task, considering that it required him to mask his pride at having found, travelled with, and returned a long-secluded Prince. "At ease, Nightshade. Now, you should be getting to your Captain, so please leave me with my brothers, now," said the Princess, in her usual calm, caring manner. "Yes, Ma'am!" The Night Guard responded before exiting the room. Terrestrion was rather excited, having not seen any of his siblings in far longer than most ponies live. Then he saw his brother. Any nervousness he had previously felt was gone now, replaced by unbridled rage. You see, the twins hadn't parted on the best of terms... *** The brothers were preparing to leave. Neither had been acting much like themselves recently, but nopony had really given it much thought, attributing it to the stress of their life-altering decisions. They didn't even consider that their actions were influenced by a desire to prove superiority. Each brother had long been eager to prove his worth. Terrie did so through his kind deeds, and Ness through his tidal manipulations. Following a rather heated argument, the Twins decided to prove themselves in the greatest manner they could. Ness would keep the oceans under his complete control. Terrie had decided to do the ultimate good deed: preventing the eventual destruction of thousands. Chronos was worried for his sons, since as the Time King he already knew the outcomes of this journey. He looked at his eldest foals with worry deep in his golden eyes, his white mane flowing in a subexistant breeze. "My sons," he said in his deep, caramel voice. "Are you certain that I cannot persuade you to cease this course of action? It will not end well." To all who knew Chronos, this was an extremely powerful sentence. He was very careful to never warn anypony, especially his foals, and he almost never showed even the faintest hint of emotion. The Twins knew this, but refused to acknowledge his warning. Each sincerely believing that he would be the victor of this battle of the wills. Celestia and Luna were shocked at their brothers' recent actions. Cosmia, however, knew that her sons were too intent on their actions that absolutely nothing could convince them to abandon their present course. Chronos knew as well, but he had insisted on changing their minds. Even the young Luna knew how unusual this was. Her father was constantly reminding them that even though he knew everything that would ever happen, he must under no circumstances interfere. To see him try desperately to do just that was, and still is, the most unexpected sight of Luna's entire life. "Chronos, my love," Cosmia said, her Crimson mane flowing in the same breeze as her husband's. "You know that they won't change their minds, you always have, so why are you trying?" She was hoping that his answer wasn't what she thought it would be, as that would confirm her fears. The slate grey King looked at his ivory bride, his golden eyes heavy with sorrow. "Because, my dear, if they go into this Seclusion, it will begin a chain of events that together will bring about the single worst event in Equestrian history," he said to the Space Queen, a tear rolling down his cheek. Cosmia couldn't believe this, Chronos had once told her that there was an upside to every event in history. Every event, except one. One single event that was so horrible, nothing even remotely good would ever come from it. He can't mean It, can he? The silver mare thought to herself, he can't be serious. How can it be a bad thing that our sons are honing their skills? The King, already knowing what she was about to ask, sighed. "Cosmia, our sons are not simply honing their skills," he began, "one will be harboring a hatred so pure that even he will not be aware of it until it is too late. This was the last point before it was too late. Their minds have been made up, the Event is inevitable now." Once he finished his statement, Cosmia looked out towards her sons' paths. They diverged almost immediately after exiting the palace gates, and both rulers knew they wouldn't join again for many centuries. **Back to the Grand Hall** Terrestrion had been standing still for a several minutes now. From the moment his eyes locked with those of Aquinus, he had been unable to think. The same was true for his brother, whose newly rare laughter had stopped at that very instant. Celestia was beyond worried for her elder siblings, and any thought of Luna's party had been shoved into the back of her mind. Are they broken? she thought, terrified for her brothers' health. She had already tried everything she could think of to get to snap them back into reality. Then she heard something that made her shiver. A sound that could make even her Father flinch, and had on many occasions. Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice. "SISTER! HOW GOES THINE SUN LOWERING, AND--" Luna stopped, astonished at a sight she didn't think she'd ever see again. "... Terrie?" To Be Continued in Chapter 3: Luna's Brothers
Okay, For Real This TimeCelestia's Brothers Chapter 4: Okay, for Real This Time… "… Terrie?" Luna asked, stunned at her brothers' presence. This did what all of her sister's efforts could not: divert Terrestrion's attention. As the pitch-black Land Prince turned, his eyes lit up. No, they literally got many times brighter than they had been so far. "Lulu!" Terrestrion exclaimed. He ran to his youngest sister, thrilled to see her after so much time had passed. The ensuing hug was capable of turning mountains into playground sand, but did little more than restrict the night princess's breathing. A lot. After a few minutes of intense huggitude, Terrestrion released his sister form what would later become known as The Millennium Vice. As Luna desperately attempted to catch her breath, Aquinus trotted up to his twin. Celestia saw this, but made no mention of it to Terrestrion, assuming that Aquinus was gearing up for one of his legendary impromptu pranks. The Sea Prince patted his grumpy twin on the back. That was a really, really bad idea. You see, over time, the Twins had become… different. The changes that they'd undergone in their Seclusion were not just psychological. Their bodies had changed on a molecular level, physical contact between the two could now endanger all life. That's no exaggeration, Terrestrion and Aquinus had somehow become composed of opposite forms of matter. Terrestrion had become composed of Dark-Positive Matter, and Aquinus had become composed of Light-Antimatter. Luckily, the contact had been brief and obscured, which resulted in the Twins becoming catatonic. They fell to the ground, faces frozen in the shared instant of the realization that they shouldn't have touched. Needless to say, the Sisters were beyond freaked out over this. Seriously, Celestia was in the fetal position, and Luna was having a mild stroke. Once they had regained some semblance of their composure, the Princesses set to work on helping their elder brothers. *** Several days later, the feeble strands of hope they'd had were nearly gone. Luna saw only one possible solution. Well, not really a solution, more like an option with a chance of success. They had to contact… their Parents. What of you mean, "That's not so bad?" their Parents were omnipresent beings which together controlled all of reality. As a result, they weren't exactly easy to contact. Well, I suppose that they would already know when and where they'd be needed, what with Chronos being the Time King and all. You know what? Never mind, I've gotten off track. See, now you've made me lose my train of thought. Ugh, I bet Freckles Freemane (this universe's equivalent of Morgan Freeman) never has to put up with this kind of thing. Okay, where was I? Oh, right; contacting their Parents. That seems kind of pointless now that I've pointed out the fact that Chronos already knows (has always known, and will always know) that he and Cosmia were needed there, doesn't it? Now that I mention it, they could've shown up immediately before the Twins touched. Well, they suck. Seriously, just think of all the needless psychological torment they put their children through. Well, when you're raised by the Grand Fausticorn, you do tend to be relatively tweaked (parenting skills having not yet been invented). Okay, Luna decided to needlessly send a message to her parents, telling them things they already knew, about a problem that they knew about before her birth. Yep, sounds about right. *** Chronos, already knowing of the issue at hand, was in his usual state of melancholy. It was too late, he couldn't do anything for his children now. He hadn't been able to help them back when this could've been avoided, and even then he'd known that he would fail to stop The Event. It's almost upon them, now. Nothing to do but wait until i can help rebuild… Wait. That wasn't supposed to happen! Thought the Time King. "Cosmia, something's wrong!" he called to his Queen, "The Chain has been altered, the Event might be--" he stopped mid-sentence. He was now seeing something he'd never seen before. "No… that's not possible!" he shouted, panicked for the first time in his life, "It can't get WORSE! TO BE CONTINUED IN CH. 5: Worse?![/]b
Worse?!Celestia's Brothers Ch. 5: Worse?! Cosmia was aghast at her husband's outburst. The unknown had never been an issue for him before, so his entire reality had just been thrown into question. The Event; THE. EVENT. Had gotten worse. She wasn't sure how that was possible, and clearly he was even more befuddled. This was apparent through the fact that he was curled up in the fetal position, mumbling the words to "Rubber Ducky" over and over again. Eventually, he regained enough of his composure to stand, and beg his wife that they intervene. "Cosmia, if we don't stop the Event, ALL life in the universe will cease to exist. Not even Mother would be able to bring life back to the universe! We must do something!" Needless to say, the Time King's words troubled Cosmia beyond comprehension. Quite the feat, if I say so myself. "But Chro, we can't!" "We have to, Cosmia, we have to! I don't care what you say, I need to save our children!" **(MEANWHILE, AT THE LEGION OF D-- I mean, Canterlot Castle)** Luna and Celestia were understandably worried. Okay, that's a lie. They were out-of-their-minds-grief-stricken. Luna couldn't eat, Celestia couldn't stop, and their worry was sending out tsunami-esque waves of depression across the city. Even the Sun seemed duller. Needless to say, the Elements of Harmony were called in, but failed. Twilight would've found some way to correct the issue... had she not succumbed to shock. She spent the next four weeks curled up in the library, mumbling incoherently. The Event was already in progress, nothing could be done. Yet, even now, there was a silver lining. It hadn't gotten worse. Unfortunately, even that was bad. If it hadn't gotten worse yet, Chronos knew that it wasn't over. "Sister, I am worried," said Luna, now far frailer than she had been just two chapters ago, "Father always warned us of an Event from which nothing good came... could this be it? Is that why he hasn't arrived to assist us yet?" Celestia, unfortunately, was too busy trying to bury her sorrows to answer, though she shared her younger sibling's fears. "Sister? 'Tia? WILL YOU STOP STUFFING YOUR FACE? OUR BROTHERS MIGHT BE DYING!!" Luna then fainted. Her malnourished state had greatly reduced her capacity for exertion. Wow. These two really take stuff to the extreme, don't they? A guard turned his head toward nothing in particular, and spoke. "Yes, it would seem that they do." Uh-oh. He heard me. Wait... I'm self-aware? That can't be a good thing. It would seem that the walls of reality are breaking apart, causing third-pony- omniscient narrators to become self-aware, and the average pony to be able to hear them. This must've affected Pinkie Pie more adversely than others at first. Yes, it would seem that she gets her powers from an advanced sensitivity to cracks in reality. Wait, what was this about again? Ugh, it's getting difficult to focus. I... must... AAARRRGH!!! Great. It would seem that I'm becoming nonexistent. I'm more than just a bit worried that the story may never conclude. Without a narrator for a third-pony fic, wha-- *** "Well, what happened next?" A grey stallion looks at the filly to his right. A look of both worry and great sadness overtakes his face. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It just ends there." The white filly looks at her brother with confusion. "What do you mean? It can't end like that! What about the princesses? Did Chronos convince Cosmia to let him intervene? What about Luna's birthday party?" "It never happened, Sunny. The story just stops, mid-word. If I didn't know better, I'd say that it was the author's way of messing with the reader." Sunny looked at her older brother in confusion, her pink mane drooping to cover one eye. "But Rocky--" "No buts, Sunny. I shouldn't even be reading this to you; Do you know what Mom and Dad would do to us if they found out I'd been reading from this book?" And with that, Rocky left the room, making sure to bring the book and turn out his sister's light. Nopony knew where the book had come from, only that it was all that remained of a lost world. THE END... I THINK
Luna's BrothersCelestia's Brothers Chapter 3: Luna's Brothers Edited by Rain-M24 Luna was conflicted. She wanted to be worried for her brothers' health, but she was too happy to see them. She had long known that had the Nightmare Moon incident was as much more due to her anger at never being able to see Terrie again than it was ponies not appreciating the night. Celestia had known as well, but she hid that from the public in an attempt to save Luna any unnecessary embarrassment. Terrestrion and Aquinus were both quite aware of their inability to move, as well as the fact that nopony could move them. The Twins had both long forgotten about the Curse. That is, until their eyes met. When they were young, a traveling sister of Cosmia's had put a Curse on them as a punishment for interrupting her writ ing. In her defense, they had "interrupted" her writing by destroying her home. The Curse had prevented them from ever looking into each others' eyes, at risk of being unable to move or be moved. Celestia and Luna didn't know about the curse, however, since it happened before they were born. As a result, they were under the impression that the Twins' eyes had always been red. This was not the case, however, as their eye color was an effect of the curse. Terrestrion and Aquinus's eyes had once been orange and gold, respectively. "Sister, there is only one thing we can do about this," said Luna, worry oozing from her voice, "I know that you probably do not wish to, but we must contact Mother and Father." Celestia knew that her sister was correct, but the King and Queen weren't exactly easy to contact. *** Chronos was upset. His wife would've asked him what was wrong, but she already knew. Ever since their sons had been contacted by the Guards, he'd been getting more and more worried. He knew what had happened even before the Twins had left, all those centuries ago. It's not far off now, thought the Time King, The Event will happen soon, and there's nothing I can do about it. Ending: And then everything died. Pinkie Pie smashed Mare-iam Webster, then gave Sombra a death-Threat. Odd, considering that they had all died already, but then the Grand Duchess Fausticorn descended from the heavens, lifted the curse, and un-wrote this whole chapter. To Be Continued in Chapter 4: Okay, For Real This Time...
