Stout made her way through the streets, walking on three legs as she levitated Sideralis beside her. Sideralis watched everything, his vision much sharper now, improving a little more as each day passed, the improvement most noticeable at night.

He heard music coming from a cafe, the sound of drums, woodwinds, and brass. A pair of stallions stood beneath a streetlamp kissing one another and whispering sweet nothings into one another’s ears. Watching them made Sideralis blush, he had no idea that such behaviour even existed. He saw nothing wrong with it; his gut told him that two ponies had a right to be happy and to be free.

More ponies stared as he and Stout passed. Or perhaps they’d been staring and he was just now noticing, really noticing. They passed a store that sold musical instruments and for whatever reason, it was still open. This section of town seemed vibrant, alive, something about it electrified Sideralis.

Another Saddle Arabian was spotted, this one a stallion. He walked beside a pretty earth pony mare and both of them chatted as they trotted down the sidewalk side by side, the taller Saddle Arabian shortening his stride so the earth pony mare could keep pace with him.

Stout rounded a corner and that was when Sideralis saw it. Ahead was a building, large, made of sandstone. It had large double doors in the front. Above the doors was a painting, and the painting made Sideralis gasp. It was a mushroom shaped cloud and it had all the garish colours of the rainbow.

“Ready for this?” Stout asked.

“Ready for what, exactly?” Sideralis replied.

“I dunno what is going to happen when we go in there.” Stout’s face became an impassive mask. “Sideralis, you can’t hear it, but ponies are talking about you. They know you are here. Some are starting to get curious.”

“Put me down,” Sideralis said to Stout, “it feels important that I walk inside.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Stout, hesitant, allowed Sideralis’ hooves to touch the ground and she waited until he appeared to be steady. “Sid, stay close to me. We don’t know what might happen.”

“These are ponies, I have nothing to fear from them,” Sideralis replied.

Scowling, Stout bit her lip but had nothing to say in return.

Sideralis made his way through the doors and stepped inside. There were ponies here, even at this hour, which sort of surprised him. His wings fluttered at his sides, moving without him thinking about it or willing them to move. His tail flicked once, slapping up against his hind leg. Ponies were staring.

Sideralis was staring back.

He did not notice the single step up in front of the doorway to the elevated wooden floor. His hoof hit and he took a tumble. Alicorns; majestic, noble, magnificent, graceful, these are the things that the common pony thinks of when the word alicorn is mentioned.

Sideralis was none of these things as he tumbled down to the floor with a terrific thump. He lay on the floor, sprawled, his wings out, his long, graceful neck turned to the point where it ached a little, causing his muscles to twinge, and his legs splayed out in all different directions.

Worst of all, he heard snickering. At him. They were having a giggle at the alicorn that had just done a faceplant. He felt Stout against his side and her hoof was on his withers, trying to see if he was okay.

Snickering at a fallen alicorn was just not okay. Snickering, snortling, and little half hearted chuckles; that was not how one responded to an alicorn taking a tumble. Sideralis took a deep breath, he would show them, he would teach them a lesson. As an alicorn, it was his purpose to teach, to instruct, it was his purpose, his place, his duty to correct. His purpose sang within his blood.

Sideralis let out a bugling whinny and then began to guffaw with laughter to show the little ponies how it was done. Braying with laughter, Sideralis gave them all a lesson in the appropriate response to seeing an alicorn take a dive and kiss the floorboards.

Most of the crowd started laughing, the snickers and the giggling turning into peals of laughter. Several ponies hooted and something of a cheer rang out. Sideralis smiled, feeling better, and realised that taking a tumble was worth it. He felt Stout trying to pick him up using her hoof, trying to guide him back to his own hooves.

He struggled to his hooves, his legs wobbling, his knees knocking, and when he managed to stand up straight, he bowed his head, all while still laughing.

“You’re a big goof,” Stout said, muttering her words in a low voice.

As Sideralis lifted his head, feeling dizzy from laughing so hard, he lost his balance once more and took a tumble.

“Just sit down and try to stay still,” Stout commanded, glancing around. She had to fight to hold back her own laughter and she wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding her smile. Her face, which was mechanical perfection, betrayed her. The corners of her mouth kept twitching upwards. “You really are a big goof.”

“We have another alicorn,” a mare said in a mirth filled voice.

“And he is not what we expected,” a stallion added.

There was more laughter, something about it made Sideralis feel good. He had made the little ponies laugh, he had brightened their night, improved their lives, lifted their spirits, and had made them feel better.

“Is he even a real alicorn though?” a voice asked.

Stout whirled around, baring her teeth. “He’s as real as I am!” She felt hot anger boiling up from inside of her, so much anger that it shocked her, she had gone from trying not to laugh to trying not to boil over with rage.

“I heard he’s a clone!”

“So what if he is, he was made from Princess Luna! He is her offspring! She is both his mother and his father, making him genetically identical to Princess Luna!” Stout, trembling, fought to hold her anger back.

“Princess Luna was graceful,” a pony quipped and then began to laugh.

Stout felt her anger flare, but then she heard Sideralis laughing at the pony’s remark behind her. She ground her ceramic composite teeth together and swallowed a heated retort. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, wondering why she was so full of rage. Was she becoming like her sister, Mustang Salvation?

“If that is the case it really is no different than in vitro fertilisation,” a mare said in a loud voice standing up and rising out of her seat, “that was how my colt was conceived. He’s a real pony and I have a faceful of hoof for anypony that says otherwise!”

“Why are you here tonight?” a stallion asked.

“Same reason as any of you,” Stout replied, sounding a little calmer.

“Have you come to save us?” a little filly asked.

Stout felt something cold pierce through her heart, it was a feeling that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Her anger melted away, becoming sadness. She turned her head, looking back over her shoulder at Sideralis, expecting to see a pained expression.

What she saw surprised her.

He was still smiling.

The majestic bastard was smiling.

“I’m still having trouble with the whole making an entrance thing,” Sideralis replied, a chuckle in his voice. “I just woke up one day after I was found inside of a changeling pod. Twilight Sparkle rescued me. I’ve had some very confusing dreams and there are a lot of expectations that so many have for me. To be honest, I don’t even know where to begin.”

The chapel was now silent.

“I have no magic that I know of, no talent, no cutie mark, I’m still struggling with the idea of whether I am real or not. I’m confused, scared, and I don’t know what is going to happen. But everypony seems to want something from me. And I want to do what I can to give whatever I can to them. I grew up… wait, that’s complicated, I have a false set of memories of growing up as an earth pony. I’m still not used to seeing this horn or these wings. I was a colt, a young colt, and I was just entering my adolescence. That’s right. I was just starting to get funny feelings, my voice was changing, and I was starting to have wet dreams.”

The crowd stared, stunned, silent, if a pin were to drop, it would be deafening.

“Now I find myself here, right now, in this moment, and I’m just as confused, frightened, and scared about the future as the rest of you. I’m still learning about the past and the future. Everything is confusing and strange to me. Am I an alicorn? Maybe. I guess I am. Am I real? I don’t know how to convince you of that, one way or the other.”

Sideralis cleared his throat.

“But I am a pony. I’m not so different than any of you.”

A lone unicorn mare wearing a woven shawl stood up and moved to the front of the chapel where the rows of candles were. She moved slowly, limping, her movements suggested that she was in pain. When she reached the candle rack, she turned, revealing a face that had only one eye. She wore no eyepatch, the gaping socket had been sewn shut at some point. She held out a rainbow coloured candle, pointing it in Sideralis’ direction, and then, with a flick of her magic, she lit it. Bowing her head, she turned and placed the candle into a holder.

“I hope that you find your way, I have lit a candle for you with the hope that it will guide you. You will need to know where you are going and what you are doing if you are to lead us. I still believe… I once saw a rainboom… it changed my life… I was so awestruck... I felt like I could do anything… anything… anything at all. I found the stallion that I loved and I got him to propose to me. We were happy… the rainboom gave me hope.” The old mare closed her surviving eye and bowed her head. “Help Twilight give us hope again.”

The old mare opened her eye, gave Sideralis a feeble smile, and then wobbled back to her seat on swollen, knobby knees. The cheek below her remaining eye was slick and shiny with tears.

“Thank you,” Sideralis said, his voice an emotional croak.

“Once, a long time ago, the world was thrown into chaos. It took two alicorns to put the world back together again… Princess Celestia and Princess Luna brought order, law, and light to the world, they gave us a nation. Now we have Princess Celestia’s student and Princess Luna’s son… we have two alicorns again… two… with two alicorns, anything is possible, history shows us that!” When he was done speaking, the old earth pony stallion peered around the room, his eyes narrowed, daring somepony to challenge him or his words.

A sitting pegasus filly that was soon to be a mare looked over at Sideralis, she rose, standing up, a candle held in her teeth, and approached the candle rack. She held the candle out to the others, lit it, and then with quick, well practiced movements, she popped the candle into a holder before the wax could dribble down and burn her lips. She turned, bowed her head in Sideralis’ direction, and then hurried off to her seat.

The little filly that said something earlier, the little filly who was up late, her bedtime should have been hours ago, went to her mother, said a few soft words, dove into her mother’s saddlebag, and then emerged a moment later with a candle held in her mouth.

With a bashful smile, she approached Sideralis, and looked up at him. She stood before him, staring upwards. She was small, a unicorn, pale pink, and had a yellow mane that was tied up with a ribbon.

“Sid, I think she’s trying to give you something,” Stout said in a solemn voice.

Lowering his head, Sideralis took the candle into his own mouth, tasting wax, and right away, almost dropped it. He was aware of the fact that every eye in the place was staring at him, and this was no laughing matter. He gave Stout a look that begged for help.

In a moment, he felt her at his side, moving with him, propping him up on his own aching legs that had done far too much today. The little filly was walking near him, looking up with wide-eyed adoration and affection. He stumbled and for a moment, Sideralis worried that he was about to go face first into the candles.

“No!” the filly squealed in panic, her voice fearful.

Sideralis felt magic, some of it strong magic, holding his body. He had no doubt that several unicorn horns were glowing right now. He closed his eyes for a moment, grateful, thankful that they had helped him. His tail flicked as he regained his balance and he opened his eyes.

“Sid, I’m gonna help you move your head with my telekinesis, okay?”

Stout’s voice was soft, steady, it gave Sideralis confidence. He nodded, waiting, and heard the faint hum of Stout’s projector activating. He moved his head, turning it sideways, and tried to stuff the candle into the holder. He had made no attempt to light it, that could be done afterwards, he didn’t want to burn himself.

The first attempt failed, missing completely. The second attempt almost bumped the candle out of his mouth. The third attempt, the candle was crooked and did not enter because it did not fit in the holder.

On the fourth attempt, Sideralis felt it go in, sliding home. He gasped, overcome with relief, thankful that he didn’t look too much like an incompetent boob. He pulled his head away and looked down at his work.

“Hold me up, please,” the pink filly said, “I can’t reach.”

Stout, always dutiful, always willing to help her fellow ponies, lifted the filly up with her telekinesis projector. She held the filly up to the candle and watched as the little pink filly screwed her face up in concentration.

Grunting, straining, the little pale pink filly ground her teeth together as her horn began to glow. Her whole body trembled and her legs shook as her nostrils flared. A wisp of smoke rose from her horn as she touched it to the candle, and after a moment, a flame flickered to life on the wick.

Seeing that the candle was lit, Stout lowered the filly down to the floor. She saw the filly look up at Sideralis, and Sideralis looked down at the filly. Stout felt something in her barrel swelling and could not help but wonder if she needed to run a maintenance diagnostic.

“I helped you… what’s your name again? My mother knows it but I can’t remember it,” the filly said.

“My name is Sideralis.” The tall blue alicorn lowered his head as much as he could so he could look the filly in the eye.

“My name is Pinkie Puff… and my mama taught me that anything can be done if we all work together.” The filly gave Sideralis a dazzling smile, her bright citrine eyes glittering with gleeful happiness.

“I can work with you,” Sideralis said to Pinkie Puff. “I’m gonna need a lot of help.”

“Princess Luna keeps her promises.” Pinkie Puff’s face became as serious as a little filly’s face can become.

Feeling a powerful weakness in his legs, Sideralis realised that the only thing keeping him up was Stout’s magical levitation. His whole body trembled. He looked down at the filly, confused, wondering what she knew, wondering what she had been promised. He felt afraid. Standing there, he could feel the heat coming off of the candle rack.

“Princess Luna promised that the pony that would save us would be humble enough to ask for our help,” Pinkie Puff to Sideralis, her voice holding the sort of wisdom that only foals had. “She didn’t say anything about you falling on your face though.”

Sideralis gave the filly a watery smile and blinked back a few tears.

Lifting his head a little, the candlelight dazzled him, hundreds of points of light filled his vision, for a moment, everything went dark around Sideralis and the candle flames were all that he could see. It was like drifting among the burning stars. He felt something inside of his head, it was like his brain was about to be ripped in half. The pain was unlike anything else he had experienced.

Sideralis saw his own horn light up, glowing with a brilliant blue glittery light. For a moment, he feared that his head would explode, but then the pain subsided, becoming almost tolerable. He heard gasping from all around him.

Before him was a tall white alicorn, equal to his size. She turned her head, her supple neck extended, and her eyes were somehow both sad and joyous. She was a phantom, a ghost, a projected image. Her pastel rainbow mane whipped about on unseen currents.

“My little ponies,” Princess Celestia’s projection said in a serene, loving, but commanding voice, “it is taking all of my power to appear to you now. I still love you, and I am working very hard to save you.”

The phantom white alicorn looked around the room, meeting as many eyes as possible, her eyes narrowing, her ears perking forwards. After studying every pony that was present, she turned and looked at Sideralis. “Nephew, it is wonderful to see you. It is with deep regret that I must tell you that I do not have much time for this reunion. Nephew, guard my little ponies. I am entrusting you with their care, just as I have done with Twilight Sparkle, who speaks in my stead.”

The white alicorn flickered, her image becoming fainter. The sounds of sobbing filled the room, mostly from older ponies, those who had actually seen and known Princess Celestia in what now felt like an age ago.

“I love all of you so much… just seeing you gathered together in fellowship gives me strength and restores my flagging spirit. I would have shown myself sooner, but were I to channel myself through Twilight’s horn, the consequences of such an act would be dire. Some of you I can touch minds with… I am still with you, do not give up hope, my little ponies.”

And then, with a fizzle and a crackle, Princess Celestia vanished and Sideralis went completely limp in Stout’s telekinetic field, his eyes rolling back into his head and his long orange tongue slipping free of his mouth.

Author's Notes:

Much majesty!