1. Legend that would become reality
Queen Aurora, the ruler of the Crystal Empire, stumbled away, unable to believe what she was seeing.
In front of her, among the dead bodies of her elite guards, stood unicorn pony that she always thought to be nothing more than a monster from an old ponies’ tale.
King Sombra.
Aurora gulped as she felt her tail brush the wall. She couldn’t escape, and even if she could, what next? King Sombra has already proven to be much more powerful than her. She wanted to cry as she recalled how effortlessly he bounced her magic back at her. She wanted to weep at the memory of how her guards, who were about to attack him, started to scream and scratch their own eyes, as if seeing things of unimaginable terror.
The Queen knew that it was over. Having failed her Empire, she tried to at least die like a queen. She straightened up, ignoring the pain, and looked into the unsympathetic glowing eyes of approaching her King Sombra.
“Why... why are you doing this?” she asked the dark unicorn, who appeared out of nowhere and without any explanation, other that he’s King Sombra, and he came to take over the Crystal Empire.
She didn’t expect him to stop. Nor did she expect him to answer. But he did both of those things. He stopped, barely two steps away from here, and while his expression didn’t change, he appeared to ponder her question.
“Why am I doing this?” he repeated her question in raspy voice. “I guess it doesn’t really matter anymore... But of course, if I had to chose...” King Sombra said as he lowered his strange horn. “... it would be because...” the horn began to glow with dark aura. “... you let Via die.”
For a moment, Queen Aurora was sure she misheard.
“But... that would mean...”
“Brother?” she asked him as he fired his magic.
20 years earlier...
“Their battle lasted for days, and in its wake, the south-west end of Haysead Swamps was completely destroyed.” the elderly crystal pony, whose coat was gray, like her mane and tail, and her cutie mark was a symbol of a pony holding a foal in her fronthooves, told her three charges, who stared at her with wide eyes as the story was coming to the end. “The two unicorns magic, as it clashed, tore apart the very ground, creating a valley, called now ‘Badlands’, with newly created ‘Macintosh Hills’ surrounding it.”
“Why is it called ‘Badlands?” the small crystal alicorn, whose coat was gold like the sun, and mane and tail changed colors constantly, like the northern lights.
“Because, Princess Aurora, it’s an empty desert, like...
“... Like the San Palamino Desert?” the other filly asked, eager to show her knowledge.
“Yes, Via.” the mare told her granddaughter, not upset by the interruption from the lavender crystal pony, who had mane and tail dark, save for few silver streaks. “But unlike the San Palamino Desert, Badlands are made out of rocks, not sand, and nothing lives there. Even in the depths of San Palamino, there are always some critters that manage to live there, but no animal, nor pony, enters Badlands and comes back.”
The three foals shook a bit out of fear. Their foalsitter, Granny Rags, wondered briefly if she wasn’t pushing it a bit too far, but was quickly proven to be mistaken on that matter, as Princess Aurora spoke up, no longer shaking.
“So what happened to Star Swirl and King Sombra?”
Granny Rags suppressed a chuckle. Out of her three charges, Aurora was the boldest one. She wished she would live long enough to see her grow up into queen, but with her age, it was unlikely.
“Like I said, their battled lasted for days.” Granny Rags replied, continuing the story. “The magical energies they unleashed at each other could be seen by ponies for miles. In the end, Star Swirl was victorious. He defeated his brother, ending his reign of terror across the Earth.”
“Wooow!” the three foals exclaimed.
“What happened to Star Swirls after that?” Aurora asked.
“He went on studying the mysteries of magic, becoming the wisest scholar ponykind ever known. His knowledge, combined with his vast powers that made even the alicorns bow to him, gave him ability to do almost everything. He would probably be still alive, if he ever became interested in immortality, like his brother.”
“So...” Via Lattea asked, unsure. “... did all of that really happen?”
“Actually, nopony knows for sure for what’s fact and what’s fiction.” Granny Rags answered. “It is assumed by ponies that Star Swirl, later known as ‘the Bearded’, as age caught up with him, really existed. He left many of his notes regarding spells and nature of magic. But some stories of his exploits, like the battle with King Sombra, are considered to be nothing more than legends. King Sombra himself is considered to be a legend, as there are no proofs of his existence, or records that Star Swirl ever had a brother for that matter.”
“I don’t understand it...” the third foal, who kept quiet until know, muttered.
“What was that, Prince Astraeus?” the elderly mare, whose hearing wasn’t as sharp as it was barely ten years ago, asked.
“Why did he, King Sombra, done all those things?” the dark blue crystal alicorn asked. His mane was and tail were dark as a starless night, and yet, when a pony looked closely at it, could see that it also changed colors, like Aurora’s, although his changed only in few places at a time, not the entire mane or tail. “How could he hurt other ponies, or fight his sibling in a battle to the death?” glancing at his sister, he added: “I don’t think I could ever fight Aurora.”
That caused her to giggle.
“That’s because you know you would lose.”
“I would not!” Astraeus argued weakly, blushing.
Granny Rags rolled her eyes, as Aurora burst into laughter, making her brother blush even more. She was proud of her granddaughter for not joining in, to spare the Prince embarrassment. Aurora and Astraeus, despite being twins, were very different from each. Where Aurora was outspoken, bold and liked to first act, then think, Astraeus was quiet, shy, and always overthought things. They also started to develop different talents, tied to them being crystal alicorns, and being blessed with gifts of all kind of ponies. Aurora was becoming very adept in using magic, despite still being such young filly, where Astraeus started to became quite a pro in terms of flying. The elderly mare, while had no doubt that the gold filly would be a great queen in the future, couldn’t help but wonder what kind of king would dark-blue colt have made had he been born few minutes earlier.
“Don’t argue, little ones.” she calmed them, and at once, they listened, although she could see that Aurora was prepared to continue. “Like I said, Prince Astraeus, this story is considered to be just a legend, meaning it didn’t really happen. Somepony thought it up, as a warning.”
“A warning?” the three asked.
“Yes, a warning.” Granny Rags repeated, becoming more serious. ”It warns that everypony can fall prey to allure of power. King Sombra was as powerful and smart as his brother, and continued to expand his power and knowledge, and soon, he stopped minding if he hurt other ponies in the process. By the time Star Swirl finally decided he had to stop him, Sombra was no longer a pony, but a monster.”
The three foals nodded, thoughtfully.
“Oh my, look at the time.” the elderly mare said, glancing through the window at the night. “It’s about time you three went to sleep.”
“But...”
“No ‘buts’, Princess. Via Lattea, tell your friends good night, I will lead you back to your chamber.”
“Alright...” the Hoof of the King’s daughter murmured. “Good night, Aurora, Astraeus.”
“Good night, Via.” the two royal ponies answered, also unhappy that they had to separate so soon, despite that they would see each other as soon as they woke up.
Granny Rags looked at the foals as they hugged each other, and couldn’t be happier. She had a long life, and helped raise many foals, including the current King of Crystal Empire, his Queen, and few of his most trusted advisers. Not to mention that out of her three sons, one was the Hoof of the King, his chief adviser; the younger one was the Captain of the Crystal Guard, and the youngest one married the current Queen of Equestria, and fathered two alicorn princesses, Celestia and Luna.
“Life can be so good.” she thought to herself. “Why somepony did bother to think off such silly legend?”
2. Fate that couldn't be changed
As she and her sister flew towards the Crystal Castle, Princess Celestia gazed at what was under them with eyes wide with fear.
Everywhere she looked, she saw dark crystal, instead of the white ones she remembered, and the internment camps instead of houses. But the worst was the sight of the crystal ponies, their coats somehow no longer crystallize, all chained together and moved into the camps by a strange constructs, which appeared to be made out of crystals and shadows.
“I didn’t want to believe what the scout said to be true,” Celestia thought, feeling tears in her eyes, “but it is.”
She shook her head. They would save them all, as soon as they found out who did all of this.
“We need to find Aurora first.” she told Luna, as they approached the castle. “She will tell us what happened, and together, we should be able to deal with this.”
Her younger sister nodded, her gaze still lingering on the poor ponies.
“Pity Ragged Star isn’t here with us.” she said.
“Or Astraeus...” Celestia thought and fought back the urge to cry, as always when she thought of him. She wondered if she would be able to think about him without feeling this pain. “Don’t worry; I will protect your sister and your subject for you.”
At that moment, when they were so close their destination, as huge shadow formed in front of them like a gigantic wave, and it hit them before they had a chance to react. Celestia cried in pain and could hear Luna give a similar cry as they were thrown away, all the way to the border of the Crystal Empire. The two alicorns fell down, the snow minimizing the pain of the impact, but still ached from the unusual attack.
“What kind of magic was that?” Celestia heard Luna ask as they rose, and she had to shake her head.
She has never seen, heard, or read of anything like this. Celestia gazed at the lingering shadows, trying to figure out the best way to deal with them, as well as whenever it was an actual attack or a barrier spell, and simply reacted to their approach. If the latter, then perhaps...
Her train of thoughts was interrupted as she and Luna watched, astonished, as the shadows descended down, concentrating just outside of the Empire, getting smaller and smaller finally, and taking a shape of a pony.
Few meters in front of them stood a dark gray unicorn, with a black spiky mane and tail. His horn was curved, smooth, and while at the bottom it started dark gray, like his coat, it became red a little further away. Even from where Celestia stood, she could see two sharp fangs jutting from his upper jaw. The eyes of the unicorn, full of contempt, were green, with red irises, and had a strange purple mist emanating from them. He wore silver armor on his legs and neck, and a red cape, which besides his back covered also his flank, hiding his cutie mark. But what scared Celestia the most out if this terrifying pony was what he was wearing on his head.
It was a crown, a metal crown with horn-like points. It scared Celestia, because she recognized it. She read its description in the books about legends and myth of ponies. That, coupled with the strange shadow-like power this unicorn was emanating (not to mention that his attack was strong enough to push two alicorn all the way from the center of the Crystal Empire to its outskirt) made her realize who it was standing before her and her sister.
“King Sombra.”
Luna gasped and looked at her and back at the unicorn, recognizing that name. King Sombra, on the other hoof, seemed genuinely impressed.
“Well, you’re most certainly smarter than that other alicorn.” he said in a deep, raspy voice.
At first, Celestia thought he meant Luna, but his next words made it clear who he meant:
“She not only didn’t recognize me, but didn’t believe me when I said who I am, as well.” he chuckled briefly.
“I suppose that’s why she so foolishly attacked me.”
“He’s must be talking about Aurora!” Celestia realized with a jolt. “But, that could mean...”
“What have you done to Aurora?!” her sister demanded from King Sombra before Celestia could. “What happened to her?!?”
The dark unicorn crooked his head, either wondering of what to say, or who was Aurora. It was hard to tell.
“I’m asking what you did to her!!!?” Luna screamed again, her horn shining threateningly.
“I wonder...” King Sombra replied, shifting his eyes to the side, so he could glance behind at the far away caste. “I guess you could say that she’s not doing so well.”
Sensing that Luna was about to attack him in her rage, Celestia quickly hold her back with her wing.
“Calm yourself, little sister! This isn’t an enemy we can attack recklessly!” she warned her sister, despite being as worried about their friend as Luna was. “We will save Aurora…”
“You can revive dead, then?” King Sombra cut her off.
Celestia’s jaw dropped as she glanced at the evil unicorn. His dark gaze told her he was not bluffing.
“No...” she thought, feeling tears forming in her eyes. “Not Aurora, too... I’m sorry, Astraeus. I couldn’t protect your sister, just like none of us could save Via.”
Distracted by her grieve, she completely forgot about Luna. As a result, Celestia didn’t react in time to stop her sister from launching a magical attack at King Sombra, screeching in her wrath.
Before the bolt of magic hit him, King Sombra glow his horn, and it stopped right before him. Celestia eyes widened as she saw her sister attack being bounced right back at her. Knowing she had to forget about Aurora for now, she casted her own spell, managing to change its course.
“Impressive.” King Sombra commented. “You...
Celestia didn’t bother to hear the end of his praise. She fired an attack at him, much faster that Luna did. As the bolt within a blink of an eye came upon the dark unicorn, Celestia thought this would be it, since he didn’t have time to block it with his magic.
There was a short flash of light as her spell collided with him, but after it disappeared, much to their shock Celestia and Luna saw that King Sombra still stood his ground with his foreleg outstretched.
There wasn’t a single scratch on him.
“That’s a bit too much...” he murmured as he lowered his hoof.
“He... absorbed it?!” Celestia thought, but refused to fall into despair.
Even if straight magical attacks wouldn’t work, the two of them should still be able to defeat him somehow. Celestia wished the legend about the battle between King Sombra and Star Swirl the Bearded could have been more specific as to how Star Swirl defeated him. She could still hardly belief that one of the two legendary unicorn brothers stood before her. Even if he survived somehow the battle in the Badlands, it was thousands of years ago. A unicorn like him should be long dead.
“Then again, this is the King Sombra. Attaining immortality wouldn’t be too much of a problem for him. This was what he was researching before his brother finally put the end to his tyranny. But... why did he appear now, after such long time?
“What are you doing here?” Celestia asked King Sombra, partly because she wanted to know the answer, but mostly to buy them time to plan some strategy. “Why did you killed Aurora and enslaved the crystal ponies?”
“You alicorns all think alike.” he replied, distaste clear in his tone. “Very well, I will tell you few things. I have time.”
“That’s what you think.” Celestia thought, although it pained her that the suffering of crystal ponies would be prolonged, even if only for few moments.
She spared her sister a quick glance, to ensure that she wasn’t going to do anything reckless. Thankfully, while Luna was still furious, she retained her composure... even if her eyes were wet.
Celestia glanced back at King Sombra, as he gave them a very brief explanation:
“I needed to come to the Crystal Empire to cast a certain spell. I killed Aurora, because she was in my way. As for the crystal ponies, I’m using their fear to power up my spell.”
“It will need something more than that, you fiend!!!” Celestia thought, but aloud, she simply asked calmly:
“You needed to come here to cast this spell, and you need the crystal ponies fear to power it up? I would have thought that with your power, you could accomplish anything you want.”
He glared at her, sensing the subtle mocking in her tone.
“The wounds from my battle with my brother, Star Swirl, were too deep...” King Sombra said quietly. “I am merely a shadow of my former self.”
“Is this some jest?!” Celestia frowned in her mind, while on the outside she kept a neutral appearance. “He made nothing out of our attacks, and claims that he is weak compared to his old self?!”
“So...” Luna asked, her eyes still gleaming with hatred. ”... is this spell supposed to restore you to your former self?”
“I am not interested in that.” King Sombra said, and glancing back at the castle, he added: “Soon, the spell will be casted... it will soon engulf the Crystal Empire first, and if it works correctly, I will cast it across Equestria, as well.”
Celestia’s eyes shot wide as she realized that it wasn’t just crystal ponies that had to be saved. If her sister and she wouldn’t stop King Sombra, their subjects would be in danger as well.
“Just what is this spell you want to cast?” she asked him.
“There is no need for you to know.” King Sombra replied, turning back to her. His horn glowed as he prepared himself for battle. “The world is coming to a stop... so let’s enjoy ourselves.”
“What do you mean, ‘the world is coming to a stop’?!” Luna asked him, confused.
“As if an alicorn could understand...” King Sombra replied, the purple mist that emanated from his eyes growing bigger.
17 years earlier...
Prince Astraeus trotted through the halls of Crystal Castle, tired and his wings aching from the long day of flight practice.
“You’re getting better and better, Prince Astraeus.” his coach, Ragged Star, commented as he walked beside him. “I’m surprised you didn’t have your cutie mark from it yet.”
The crystal alicorn was pleased at the pegasi remark, and not at all worried about his cutie mark. If his special talent wasn’t flying, it didn’t mean that he shouldn’t keep practicing his flying skill. Besides, he was still young. He would earn his cutie mark when the time was right, as Granny Rags always said.
Astraeus grow sadder as he remembered his old foalsitter. It has been two months since her funeral, and some pain has dispersed, but she was still missed by everypony. The young Prince almost smiled as he thought back to her funeral, and how many important ponies attended it. Even Via’s cousins, the two princesses of their neighbor country, Equestria, came and were still here.
Their father, who was the son of Granny Rags, thought that would be good for them to learn some things about crystal ponies, even if they didn’t inherit his crystal coat. They were, however, alicorns, like him and Aurora, and despite them being slightly younger than him, his sister and Via (Celestia by one year and Luna by three), who all were ten, they were quite fun to hang around. Celestia even asked Ragged Star, who was one of The Royal Guard her parents left with them and the only pegasi among them, to teach Astraeus some flying tricks.
The crystal alicorn glanced at the royal guard. He was young, older than him by barely six years. His coat was naturally pure white (unlike the other royal guards, who all had to dye it), and so was his mane and tail, which were currently ragged, as always after flying. The Prince suspected that this was the reason he was named as such. His cutie mark is a shooting star. He wasn’t wearing his armor right now, but Astraeus could easily picture him in it. It was much sturdier and heavier that the one the crystal guard used. It made sense, considering that their coats were made of crystals, so further protection was hardly necessary.
Thinking about it, Astraeus once again noticed how strangely those non-crystal ponies looked.
“Doesn’t it bother them that their coats don’t sparkle?”
Pushing that thought away, he said:
“Thanks again for agreeing to teach me, Ragged Star.”
“Think nothing of it, Prince Astraeus.” the pegasi replied with slight bow. “It’s not everyday a pony is offered a chance to coach a prince. Besides,” he added with a chuckle, “Princess Celestia could have ordered me to teach you if I had something against it.”
“I wouldn’t have allowed that.” Astraeus protested. “I wouldn’t want you to do something against your will.”
“You are far more compassionate than most nobly born ponies I know, Your Highness.” Ragged Star said.
“You don’t have to call me that. Astraeus would be just fine.” the young prince told him, preferring to think of him as a friend rather than a guard. He kept a neutral expression on his face as he decided to make a joke at his expense. “After all, you kissed Aurora, and in Crystal Empire when you kiss somebody that means you two are engaged, so we are practically a family.”
“WHAT!?!” the royal guard exclaimed as he stopped and stared at him with wide eyes.
Seeing this, Astraeus burst into laughter.
“That wasn’t funny.” Ragged Star murmured, but despite what he said, he chuckled. “How do you know that I kissed her, anyway?”
“She told me.” the Prince replied with a shrug. “And before you ask, yes, she mentioned that she ordered you to do so.”
“Well, it’s not that I don’t think your sister is cute,” Ragged Star explained, half-amused, half-embarrassed, “but she is a bit young for me. You’re not going to mention it to King and Queen, right?”
“Don’t worry. I would have been hard for you to coach me in flying if my father would have ripped your wings and fed them to you.”
This time he didn’t managed to fool him. It was too unbelievable.
“Anyway...” Astraeus said after he coughed. “... It’s nice to hang around with you. I mean, my sister and Via are awesome, and so are Celestia and Luna, but it’s nice to spend some time with other colt for a change.”
“I hear you.” Ragged Star chuckled. “That’s part of the reason I became a royal guard.”
“What do you mean?” he perked his ears, curious.
“So I wouldn’t have to stay at home with my mare constantly bugging me.”
“You’re... married?” Astraeus asked, surprised. “Then why did you kissed my sister?”
“Sure, let’s go with that.” the pegasi replied, rolling his eyes. “As for your sister, she gave me an order. She might not be my princess, but she’s still a princess of the Empire I am in.”
“If you told her you’re married, she would have understood.”
Ragged glanced at him with raised eyebrow.
“Probably.” the crystal alicorn murmured.
The royal guard chuckled, and reluctantly Astraeus joined in.
“I need to get back to the barracks.” Ragged said soon afterwards. “I want to catch some Z’s before I have to take my post.”
“Of course, see you later.” he told him as they parted.
Prince Astraeus trotted afterwards by himself towards his chambers. He passed few crystal guards on his way there, and by the door, stood a royal guard as well. Astraeus wasn’t surprised. Celestia and Luna were probably there, along with his sister and Via, most likely about to pull some prank on him.
He rolled his eyes, resigned. Aurora always tried to pull pranks on him, but since Celestia and Luna arrived, he had to deal with this almost on daily basis. Apparently, having others to help her was even more fun, but Via was never interested in pulling pranks on him.
“That’s probably why I like her so much...” he thought, before he realized he blushed.
Shaking his head, he opened the door and walked in. Almost at once, he felt his sister magic grab him, lift him into the air, and closed his eyelids.
The complete lack of reaction from the guards spoke of something about how often did this sort of thing happened.
“What it will be this time?” Astraeus asked as he heard the doors close behind him, not even trying to escape. Aurora was much better in magic than he was, and besides, he wouldn’t get far. “It’s hardly your usual method of...”
“Urgh, I recall you being so quiet few years ago.” his sister groaned as he heard her circle around him, and the other fillies all giggled. “You were much less annoying back then.”
Astraeus would have rolled his eyes again, despite that nopony would saw that, if he wasn’t wondering what was going on. The few times the prank started this way, he was usually quickly moved towards the bathroom and strait under the cold shower, or something along those lines. Never before could he hover in one place for so long.
“What kind of prank is this?” he asked, beginning to be a little afraid.
“Who said this is going to be a prank?” Aurora asked from behind him, and the other fillies giggled even louder.
“Okay, now I am really worried.” he thought as his twin sister hugged him and patted him on the head.
“The other girls just wanted to kiss with you a bit.”
“Wait, what?!?” Astraeus asked, blushing and trying to escape.
“Told you this would be necessary...” he heard Aurora murmur to the others. “You see little brother...”
“You’re older by five minutes...”
“... the girls, after hearing from me about kissing with Ragged, wanted to experience a real kiss with a colt as well, so I volunteered you. You’re welcome! Consider this your early birthday gift.”
Astraeus shifted uncomfortably, as best he could. This wasn’t exactly so bad... except for the fact that he was immobilized and had his eyes closed.
“And my eyes closed because...?”
“So you won’t know who you are kissing.” his sister answered, and added: “It’s more fun this way. Now then, since my brother seemed to calm down, let’s get this thing going.” Aurora said as she lowered him back on the ground and letting go of him. “Who’s first?”
Unable to see what was going on, Astraeus perked his ears. One of the fillies was approaching him. Guessing by the light hoofsteps he heard, this was the smallest one, Luna. The young Prince easily pictured even younger Princess. Like him, she had a dark blue coat, but her mane was and tail, which was waving as if on the wind, looked like a sky during a night full of stars, although if she became tired from, for example, overusing magic, it changed into an azure blue. Astraeus tried to flap his wings out of nervousness as he realized she was right in front of him, but he was still held by Aurora magic.
Luna must have been nervous, if not more than him, since she stood like this for some time, before she finally pressed his lips against his, and then immediately pulled back.
“No, no, no, that is not how you kiss a colt!” Aurora coached. ”Here, let me show you...”
“What?!?” he exclaimed, terrified by the thought of his sister kissing him.
He was answered by a burst of laughter.
“Oh, your face was just priceless!” the golden crystal alicorn told him throughout the laugh attack. ”Don’t worry, you big baby, I’m not going to kiss you.” more quietly, she added: “I would probably find it grosser than you, anyway.” coughing, she returned to her coaching voice: “Now then ...”
“Wha-aaa!!!” Astraeus heard Luna scream (and so, the purpose of him having closed eyes was thrown out of the window), and she again pressed her lips against his, but this time she also wrapped her hooves around his neck, and opened her mouth wider.
“Oh, for pony sake...” he thought annoyed as he realized what his sister did. “This is almost a foal abuse.”
He could tell that Luna was shaking, but, as she stay like this for a while, Astraeus realized that she was no longer being held by Aurora’s magic, and that his sister limited her hold on him, letting him move a bit. So, since at this point he no longer cared about being embarrassed, he gently stroke Luna’s side with his hooves, both taking pleasure out of it and trying to calm her. It seemed to work, because the dark blue alicorn relaxed and ‘melted’ in their embrace, as she shyly stroke his tongue with hers. She even quietly moaned.
Some part of the young Prince’s mind realized that his wings spread, and almost at once:
“Aaand they both have a wingboner.” his sister said, causing the remaining fillies to giggle and Luna to back away, embarrassed. “Okay, who’s next?”
Again, Astraeus heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching him, but this time he had no clue as to how figure out who it was. Via and Celestia where to similar in size, and despite the coats of crystal ponies being made of crystals, they felt the same in touch as the other ponies’.
This filly didn’t need Aurora’s help, with her wrapping her hooves around him and kissing him deeply. As they tongues mingled together, the Prince also wrapped his hooves around her and felt her wings spread.
“So this is Celestia...” he thought as cocked his head so that their horns were pressed against each other, causing the white alicorn with waving four-colored mane and tail to moan in pleasure.
Some part of his mind (he had no idea why) was wondering why her mane, similar to Luna’s, changed color into pink after a great exertion, while his and Aurora’s didn’t change, but it quickly stopped.
After some time (too soon for his liking) Celestia pulled back, giggling. Now the only one left was...
… Via.
He barely stopped himself from showing his excitement at the thought of kissing his long-time friend.
“Contestant number two is in the lead.” his sister said. “Now, contestant number three, step forward.”
“This is a contest?” Astraeus asked, confused.
“Of course it is!” all four fillies replied.
“... I’m probably going to regret this question, but what’s the reward?”
His answer was four giggles.
“Well, I will have to deal with it when it gets around.” he thought, resigned.
He perked his ears towards the approaching filly. As soon as he felt her lips on his own, he wrapped his hooves around her, not waiting for her, and having now some practice, delicately deepened the kiss. At first, Via seem startled, but she quickly kissed him back and also embraced him, humming happily at the back of her throat.
“Aaand we have our winner!” he heard his sister say snicker.
Few hours later, after nightfall, Aurora twisted in her bed, unable to fall asleep. Finally with a grunt, she rose from her bed and conjured herself a glass of water. As she drunk some of it, she tried to figure out why she didn’t feel like sleeping.
She quickly realized that there were two reasons for that. With an annoyed grunt, she teleported herself to her twin brother private chambers.
Thankfully, they were right next to hers. Despite her talent with magic, she was still just a filly, for teleporting over greater distance was taxing. As she appeared within his chambers, her annoyance grew as she noticed he was sleeping. Luckily, she brought her glass with water still in it with her.
Astraeus woke up with the jolt after the cold shower she had founded him. He gasped and looked around in alarm, lightening his horn. He quickly calmed himself when he noticed it was her, and then grows with annoyance and resigned.
“What now?” he asked, as he’s not surprised that his sister chose to wake him up in such manner.
“Couple things.” Aurora told her brother. “Move over.”
As Astraeus made a room for her on his bed, she jumped on it and lay next to him.
“What’s up?” the dark blue crystal unicorn asked the golden one.
“Kiss me.”
Astraeus backed his head away and looked at her with wide eyes.
“You’re joking again.” he said after a moment.
“No, I’m not.” Aurora said bluntly. “I want you to kiss me.”
“But... we’re siblings!” the Prince protested.
“So? We shared the same womb, I’m sure we can share some saliva.” the Princess replied lightly.
“But...”
Aurora glared at her brother, knowing that he wouldn’t dare to challenge her.
Judging by the way Astraeus shrank away, she was right.
“Good thing I’m the older one.” the Princess thought. “And that he doesn’t have a backbone.”
“Okay...” the Prince replied, clearly not happy with the idea.
He snuggles up closer to his sister, embraced her with his hooves, and brought his face to hers. For a moment he just stared at Aurora, most likely hoping she would change her mind. When the golden Princess started to get impatient and was about to shoot him another glare he finally kissed her.
She deepened the kiss as she wrapped both her hooves and wings around him, which was hard, considering that they wanted to spread themselves. Aurora moaned as their tongues mingled and their horns rubbed against each other. Despite his initial withhold, Astraeus now had also gotten into it, hugging her closer.
They separated some time later. There was a trace of saliva joining their mouths as they pulled away, and looked into each other eyes.
“His better than Ragged.” she thought as she broke the eye contact and nuzzled her way into his neck, with both of the still hugging each other.
It wasn’t just that this was more forbidden, and therefore exciting, that made her twin brother better than the handsome royal guard. When she was kissing with Ragged Star, it felt as if... he was taking something from her, but when she was doing this with Astraeus, it was more like they were both giving something to each other.
“Why there can’t be more colts like you?” Aurora asked aloud.
“I’m pretty sure there are plenty of colts that you can force to do everything you like.” her brother retorted.
The royal twins both laughed at that.
“You ruined my compliment for you.” the golden filly said with a pretense in her voice.
“Sorry.” her brother replied, and he shyly kissed her on her cheek. “I love you, sis.”
“Not as much as Via, right?” she asked with a smirk.
“Wha...!” Astraeus began to protest, blushing, but she stopped him.
“You were so red that I began to wonder if you had a fever when you kissed her. Not to mention how enthusiastic you were about this.”
She glanced amused as her brother shifted, embarrassed.
“Well...”
“You should talk with father.” Aurora once again interrupted him. “And her father as well.”
“Wait, what?” he asked confused.
The golden alicorn rolled her eyes. And he was supposed to be the one who overthink things.
“You are a prince, even if you’re not the heir, and she is the daughter of King’s Hoof. Who the foals of noble families usually marry?” she explained.
Astraeus eyes widened as the apprehension dawned on him.
“The pony their parents chose.” he whispered sadly.
“Don’t worry.” his sister kissed him on the cheek. “I’m sure if you talk with father, he will agree. He is stern sometimes, but he does love us.”
“I know.” the dark blue Prince sighed, and hugged her tighter. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. As a reward, I expect to be both best mare and the maid of honor at your wedding.”
Finally solving the two problems that prevented her from sleep, she once again nuzzled her brother’s neck and tried to fall asleep; ignoring his chuckle caused by what he probably assumed was a joke.
She wondered why it didn’t bothered her that Astraeus was in love in Via. Aurora knew she wasn’t in love in him in that way, she kissed him just because of a twisted fascination, but she always assumed she wanted to have him for herself only. However, as she imagined their wedding, she realized that she was happy. Her twin brother and her best friend would be together, and that was because she talked some sense into her surprisingly dumb brother.
“Well, Granny, looks like I’m learning to think first, and be more considering of others, huh?”
If any of the two ponies now looked at her flank, they would have noticed a picture of a crystal heart within gold lace appears.
“Hey, sis?” her brother’s voice pulled her away from slumber. “What was the reward of that competition?”
“Oh, that?” Aurora yawned. “Losing virginity with you.”
She didn’t need to open her eyes to know he was again blushing.
Prince Astraeus gulped nervously as he looked at his father, the King of the Crystal Empire.
He was a powerfully build crystal pony, with his crystal coat violet, and his mane and tail silver. His cutie mark was the same symbol as the royal crest of Crystal Empire. Astraeus was always proud to call this pony his father, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t slightly intimidated by him.
The young Prince had asked the King to talk to alone, and he surprisingly agreed. Now they stood in within one of the private chambers of the royal family.
“What is it that you wanted to talk to me, son?” he asked in a deep voice.
Astraeus gathered his courage and looked up.
“Do you remember, Father, how at breakfast Aurora explained how she earned her cutie mark? By helping somepony realize that he was in love?” when his father nodded, his son said “Well, that pony was me.”
There was no surprise in the King’s eyes, but there was... something.
“I wanted to ask that you would allow me to choose that pony as my wife, when we will both be of age.” Astraeus asked before the courage left him.
For a long moment his father simply stared at him, before he sighed.
“It’s Via Lattea that you love, isn’t it?” he asked.
The alicorn Prince fought back the urge to roll his eyes around. Was it really that obvious?
“Yes, Father.”
The King sighed again.
“Son...” he started and Astraeus was surprised to hear such sadness and see such compassion in his father’s voice and eyes. “... you cannot marry her.”
Suddenly, the whole world seemed black to the Prince.
Blacker than his mane.
Dark.
Empty.
“Your mother and I already decided that Princess Celestia would be the best wife for you.” the King went on. “We will talk with her family, and if they...”
“But I don’t love Celestia, I love Via!” he interrupted his father, for the first time rage creeping into his voice. “Tell me one good reason why I can marry her!”
He knew he shouldn’t raise his voice on his own father, but he didn’t care. Via was everything to him. He might have not realized it until last night, but he always felt that deep inside. Astraeus knew that if he will have to, he will marry her even without his or hers parents approval agreement.
He would have expected his father to be angry. Maybe even furious. The crystal alicorn could even expect that the King would simply tell him this discussion was over and send him to his chambers. He most certainly didn’t expect his father to lower his head to his level, so that they would look each other straight in the eyes. Nor did he expect to see so much sympathy in his.
“Son, do you know what make the alicorns so special?” the King asked gently. “Do you know what makes them so unique?”
Astraeus snorted. His father was dodging the subject.
“We are blessed with gifts of all kinds of ponies.” he replied, remembering Granny Rags words. “We have horns that give as ability to use magic, wings that let us fly, and we have great strength and stamina due to our bond with the earth we live on. And crystal alicorns also have coats hard as crystal. What does any of this have to do with Via?!?”
“There is more than that.” his father said, and the Prince perked his ears. That was the first time he heard about being anything more to being an alicorn. “What truly makes alicorns unique is their immortality.”
“Immortality?”
“That means that you can’t die.” the King explained. “The passage of time will not affect you, son. Once you reach maturity, you will stop aging. You, your sister, Celestia, and Luna are going to live forever.”
Astraeus mind whirled as he tried to comprehend this. The alicorns are immortal. He, Aurora, Celestia, and Luna were going to live forever. But Via...
… wasn’t an alicorn.
His father nodded, guessing from the dark expression on his face that he figured it out.
“She will continue to age, and get old, then finally, she would die, like Granny Rags.” he said, hugging his son in a rare for him display of emotion. ”That’s why your mother and I won’t allow you to marry her. We don’t want you to suffer.”
We don’t want you to suffer.
To suffer.
Suffer...
“Are you kidding me!?!”
He broke free from his father embrace and flew away through the window, and then he turned straight up, into the sky.
Astraeus flew fast and high. He didn’t know if he was doing this because he just wanted to be alone, or to try forgotten what his father told him through a physical exercise, or maybe because some part of his mind thought that maybe if he flew fast enough or high enough, he would escape this cruel reality.
His wounded mind barely noticed the loud noise he created as he speeded up, as well as the vibrantly-colored ring that expended itself above the Crystal Empire, and the rainbow trail being left in his wake.
Author's Note
It came out a bit more disturbing that I intended. In my defense, I read to much of "Game of Thrones", and it affected me. Also, this is based on medieval times, so... yeah, that shit was pretty common.
