It had been about a month since the vacation weekend. To Covet, it honestly felt as if all the good that happened during that time was but a distant memory once more. After losing access to flying thanks to the spell that had hit him, his emotions had reached a high several times. This, in tandem with the fact that he was told to keep his condition between his brother and his father meant that many arguments had occurred. He'd often be shouting at his father or brother, and there would always be a reaction. It was stressing to say the least.
However, today would be a big day. Specifically, his big day. He’d waited many months for this, and it was finally going to happen. It was the day of his coronation. A day all about him- And nothing but him. Even if Stardew was angry or upset with him, he couldn’t do anything to Covet without angering their father. Covet found this to be a somewhat acceptable trade off to the fact that this coronation was something that he couldn’t refuse (considering he didn’t want this to even happen). He took what he could get given the circumstances.
The day started as any normal day, waking up and very slowly getting himself together. About a week earlier he had been fitted for some armour and a cloak that he was supposed to wear on this day. The cloak being made of a very luxurious fur whilst the armour was made of what appeared to be completely pure gold. The armour covering his chest and legs. It didn’t feel complete to him, but he knew that, soon, the crown would be the finishing touch of it all. The cherry on the top of this, already highly anticipated day.
Over the course of ten minutes, he put it on to try it out. He had obviously tried it beforehand, but just wanted to see if the perspective of time would have changed his viewpoint; given that last time he thought he looked slightly ridiculous. To his delight, the perspective of time had fully managed to allow him to see the full set from a different and more positive view. The only issue that kept popping up in his head from that point onward was the crown being absent. He didn’t like it. But again, he had to reassure himself that, yes, everything would be great by the end of the day. That’s when he put the armour and cloak back where it was before heading outside of his room.
The castle, once he stepped out of his room, was fully operational. He’d noticed an increase of security measures after him, Stardew and his father had gotten back to Coltney Castle, but today was exceptionally annoying. Everywhere he went, he saw guards trying to escort him off to his father. It irked him to know that they were so keeping such an annoyingly close distance to him. He tried many times to just fly up and down the stairs, but to his unfortunate reminding, his wings were still locked by the spell that had hit him. So, every time he almost fell off the stairs many times, the unicorn guards would always have to rescue him. No matter how many times this happened though, he would never get used to it.
It had been about another good twenty minutes before Covet managed to get peace when he tricked the guards, using his magic very slightly to produce a sound that replicated his fathers voice in their heads. Once they had all galloped away, he slipped into one of the other corridors and managed to find himself outside of his brother’s room. He almost banged his head on the door out of keeping watch for the eventual time that the guards would have been fooled, but he figured it was worth it for his own peace.
With a flicker of his magic, he opened the door. Even though his brother had told him many times that he was absolutely forbidden to enter, he proceeded to do it regardless. It’s not as if he would find out, he was busy planning things with his father as far as he knew. When the door turned, he saw a neat room. One with a cozier atmosphere than his. Infact, as he walked around, he noticed it was the stark contrast of his room. Whereas he kept his curtains mostly closed all the time, his brother seemed to embrace the sunlight and it was clear from the breeze that he also embraced the cool ocean air.
He also, however, happened to notice an open box. Inside the box, was something he didn’t quite expect. It was the posters they designed for the Alifests they had planned together. All in near mint condition too. The Apples versus Oranges poster. The Pegasus versus Unicorns poster. The first festival they hosted which was the Early Morning versus Late Night poster. Then, of course, he saw the final festival they hosted which was the Covet versus Stardew poster. There were four others as well, but before he could reminisce on the memories he held from those festivals, he felt a rather harsh smack to his head. Something rather big and heavy had hit his head. Not hard of course, but enough to cause him to turn around in an instant.
When he turned around, he was met with a very angered Stardew. He knew why Stardew was angry of course, entering his room was something Covet shouldn’t have been doing in the first place. However, what happened next was something Covet didn’t expect. Instead of shouting at him, Stardew used his magic and pushed Covet out of the room, with the simple words of “Get. Out.” Coming from Stardew’s mouth. Then following a slam of his door. “Well that was polite” Covet said to himself sarcastically as he slowly got up. He shook his head slightly as he turned to leave the corridor; and that’s when he let out a slight groan of annoyance.
“Ah, there you are”.
Covet looked at his approaching father. When he got closer, Covet could see that his father wasn’t too happy to say the least. “You know, I’ve just heard from the guards that they swore they heard my voice calling them. Strange, considering I never said any such thing. Makes me wonder who’d do something like that” Crimson said, with a very big hint in his voice that he knew it was him. Covet however tried to play into the conversation. “Oh yes, it was very strange when they suddenly ran off. Obviously it’d make you wonder when we think about who decided to increase security”.
Both of the stallions in the hallway stared at each other as neither spoke past that point for a good and solid moment. That was, until Crimson spoke. “I did that to ensure you were safe. Attacks like that don’t just happen out of nowhere. I have a very bad feeling about what’s to come. Can’t you understand that at least?” he asked. There was a tinge of concern hidden in his voice, as well as some anger at the fact that Covet was ignoring his words, increasing as the question ended. Covet didn’t respond to the question as he rolled his eyes and tried to change the topic.
“So, in terms of the coronation, it starts around three, right?” Covet asked his father in a louder tone than previously. Crimson responded with equal loudness. “Yes, It does. Now if you’ll be so kind as to follow me to the throne room so we could get through the rehearsals I’d appreciate it”. It seemed as if Crimson’s patience was wearing thin at this point. Before anything bad happened between the two of them, Covet decided to trot onward. “Well come on then, this coronation isn’t going to perform itself now is it?” he said as he passed his father; and so the two found themselves trotting off to the throne room. No words exchanged for the entirety of their walk.
About an hour later, both Crimson and Covet were inside the throne room rehearsing. The throne room being decorated in gorgeous and vivid scarlet banners; that hung with the outline of gold. The emblem on the banners resembled that of a sword in front of a shield, with a simple fire outline. This, too, was covered in lovely golden colouring. On the floor, a perfectly laid red rug was spread out; reaching from the entrance of the room to the throne itself. As for the throne, it was of a lovely golden hue in the outline of the plush red fur that inhabited the back and the sitting area of the throne. Above that, the sword and the shield in the banner hung. Almost as a symbol of great achievement. Covet however, didn’t think it was such. How could a rusted sword and shield be so momentous? It was baffling to him.
As he was thinking about this, Stardew entered. He seemed to have calmed down from his initial anger when he saw Covet in his room and proceeded to trot past Covet to their father. “Alright, so what do I have teh’ do?” Stardew asked their father. “Oh honestly Stardew, yer getting as bad as he is!” Crimson replied with some semblance of joke in his tone. “Just stand to the side, that’s it” Crimson then added as Stardew did just that. “Now, let’s go over this once again Covet. I’ll start speaking and one of the guards will escort you from the room down the hall. From there, you’ll walk up. I’ll do my speech and then the crown will be placed on your head. That sinkin’ in boyo?” Crimson then asked Covet.
“Got it”
“Good. I don’t want you ruinin’ this for yerself or us!” Crimson responded to the two worded sentence that Covet had formed in response to Crimson. Stardew however, looked slightly lost, but spoke nonetheless. However, it wasn’t about what had just been spoken about. Instead, it was about something else.
“Father, there’s been reports”
“Ey’? Reports of what? The guests drinking Apple Cider already? It’s only two in the afternoon!” Crimson jokingly said.
“No, not about something like that. About ponies seeing what they could only describe as a blue alicorn in the shadows of the streets of Coltney. Specifically over the last few days. I… I’m worried” Stardew responded. The last word he said was specifically quiet. Whilst he wouldn’t admit it, he did care for Covet. He just couldn’t, in his mind, get rid of the lurching feeling that something would go wrong today for his brother.
“A blue Alicorn?” Covet asked with intrigue. Stardew rolled his eyes. “Yes Covet. A blue Alicorn. Like the oceans. Like the sky. Like you when you lose. Blue” he then smartly shot as he held heavy degrading tones in his words. Meanwhile, Crimson was dead silent. It was all adding up now. A blue alicorn suddenly appearing. His son hit with a spell that locked his wings. It couldn’t have been anyone but him.
“Dad… You look like you’ve just seen a ghost. You alright?” Is what Covet then asked their father, who did indeed look like he had seen a spirit or a ghost of some kind. Crimson, snapping back to reality after being lost in his thoughts, simply muttered “I’m… Fine” before properly replying. “Covet, you and Stardew go to your room. Get yourself ready for the coronation. The guards are going to start letting guests in soon and I want you to be as good as you can look” he added, then using his magic to move Stardew next to Covet. “Father, you alright?” Stardew then asked with some concern. However, before an answer was given, they were moved outside the throne room and the doors then proceeded to slam shut.
“Well, THAT went well” Covet spoke as he began trotting in the direction of his room. “Come on, you heard the stallion” Covet then added on. Stardew soon thereafter following. It took them about twenty-five minutes for them to walk to Covets room. The time seeming to get longer the farther they traveled. The walk was quiet for the most part given they were far away from the entrance by the time the guests started rolling in. When they reached Covets door, Stardew used his magic to open in. “Get in. Get in that getup. Get out.” He spoke as he had a look of slight concern.
“God you and father have gotten so concerned about me lately. I highly doubt that blue alicorn is real and even if they were-“ but before Covet could finish his long monologue, he was magically moved by Stardew into his room, before Stardew closed the door. Behind the, now closed door, Stardew shouted “JUST GET READY!” before an air of silence fell around Covet. He used his magic to lift the armour and cloak off of the stand it was on, before putting it on again. When he got out of his room five minutes later however, he was shocked when he saw Stardew now in his own formal attire.
“How did you manage to get from your room to here AND put that on in FIVE minutes?” Covet asked, with a legitimate sounding surprise to his voice. Stardew rolled his eyes however, responding. “Oh really Covet, you should know what I did. I used a spell to transport what I wanted and then I put it on. If you paid attention in magic class back in college, you’d know that spell!”. Covet frowned. “Oh come on now, that class was boring! Just like Magical Theory, Potionology and the other one! Egh… What was that one called?”
“If you mean our math class-“
“No, no I actually enjoyed that one. I mean the other one… The one-“
“Oh, so you mean our Magical History class?”
Yeah, that one. Anything with magic bores me” Covet then finished the back and forth off with. It was true, Covet hated unnecessary magic. To him, a simple levitation spell is all he needed. Although, it never stopped him from being surprised by more advanced spells. Nevertheless, the theory behind the spells and the vast history was what bored him. The techniques were something he found to be hard, and too complex for his brain to comprehend. So, instead of confronting the task, he’d often skip the classes back in his college days. It just wasn’t for him.
“You were always better with the physical stuff. But I do think yeh should practice some of the other spells we learned in college” Stardew added on. “It’s not like you’d have to write about ‘em like you hated doing. Just learn them. For your own sake”. “I don’t need to learn what won’t help me. I don’t need to know how to turn a cup of tea into a cup of coffee. We have a readily available source of that. I don’t need to turn a mouse into a crystal flask. I don’t need to-“ but before Covet got carried away with his rant about the magic he hated, Stardew cut him off.
“Alright, alright I get it! Let’s just… Go” Stardew responded. Covet took a sigh before trotting ahead. “Right…” he added before the pair of them trotted off to the throne room. Covet hearing guests as they got closer and closer. By the time they reached the throne room hall, Stardew stopped him. “Did yeh forget what dad told us? Get in there, the guards’ll fetch yeh” Stardew said, almost forgetting that he needed to be in that room. Covet used his magic to turn the doorknob, and then proceeded to wait in silence; sitting in the chair and taking the last few moments of peace before the big event to think.
When he was sitting down, thoughts started cropping up. From the small ones that simply made him think of the food that would be served at the feast after the coronation, to the larger ones. Ones that screamed in his head that he was going to fail. That his decisions would be flawed once he started to rule the kingdom. That he would end up dooming the kingdom. All the self-doubting of himself coming into full-effect as he heard the words practically screaming at him at this point. He tried to ignore the voices, focusing on breathing and nothing else. But it had no effect or success.
The voices overriding any senses he had, he could practically see the words now. His mind jumping from failed outcome to failed outcome. He felt like he was about to faint until he was tapped on the shoulder. His head jolted in the direction of who had tapped him and, to his fortune, he was able to distract himself. It was the guards. Two of them. One a Pegasus and one a unicorn. The Pegasus being a lavender colour, whilst the unicorn radiated a pale dark-blue colour. Both their manes were also a shade of the coat that they had. For the blue unicorn, he had a darker, more vivid and vibrant blue. For the purple, a more saturated purple. “It’s time, Prince” the blue unicorn said. Covet could’ve sworn that he heard a slight taste of resentment toward him, but he didn’t have time to focus on that.
He followed the two guards, both in unison regarding their speed. Covet trotted with the speed after realizing he was slowly being left behind, and with that the three of them were at the throne room door. The unicorn opened the door with their magic, and suddenly about fifty unknown faces had hit him; staring. Some excitedly, some curiously, some concerned. The unicorn and the Pegasus then stayed on either side of the door as Covet started trotting in.
With each step Covet took, he felt more and more eyes beaming at him and shunning him all in unison. He didn’t expect everything to be as silent as it was either. No noise except the hoof-steps he was taking and the sound of light breathing from the crowd. It was as if you could hear the pins dropping on the floor; if there were any of course. Every step he took, he felt like an hour had passed. Was he really as slow as he was realizing he was? At the point of him asking that question in his head, he had reached his father.
When he looked up at his father, he saw what could only be described as some doubt in his face. Covet could see it. It was written all over his face. To his right, he saw Stardew with an expression of both boredom and concern. He didn’t know what to make of this, but that’s when he heard his father speak. With the clearing of his throat, he gave his speech.
“Friends and continent-wide subjects, we are gathered here as mentioned prior, to crown the next of our royal line. The one who stands before me known as Prince Covet Dawndrop, is about to embark on a momentous journey with both himself and this continent. By accepting the crown of the crimson dawn, he will hereby be crowned the official heir to my throne, and when the time is right he will ascend to becoming ruler” was the huge speech Crimson had prepared for this moment. With the flick of his magic, he grabbed the crown from his own head, and simply said one sentence.
“I now pronounce you, Crowned Ruler of Manestralia”
Covet took in the moment. It was finally happening. The thoughts he had were building, but he looked towards the floor as he lowered his head. Then…
ZAP
A strange bolt of what felt to be ice cold magic hit the crown, enough so that it fell out of Crimsons control and became nothing more than a block of ice. Covet turned around and looked at who had cast the spell. To his shock, there wasn’t just an Alicorn where the blue Unicorn had stood, but an Alicorn where the Pegasus stood. Both now in slightly different forms. The purple Alicorn looked like an exact replica of him, but in purple hues. His eyes being a piercing turquoise colour. Whereas the blue Alicorn held green eyes. Piercing, vivid, green. Before another word was uttered, the blue unicorn cast a spell and before anyone could stop it, a ring of ice cold around the pair of them had formed.
Screamed erupted from the room, guests were fleeing as the two Alicorns entered further. They seemed to have no regard, nor care for any of the guests. Instead, focusing on both Covet and Stardew. The purple alicorn, like his blue friend, had cast a spell that kept him and Stardew in an arena together; surrounded by fire. Two fights were about to begin, and before Crimson had the misfortune of finding out what happened if somepony tried fighting past the barriers of fire and ice, two guards paid that price.
One guard, who’s instinct was to break into the ice arena, froze solid, shattering on impact after he fell. Whereas another was eaten up by flames before he could enter. Crimson sat, horrified. He couldn’t do anything to help his two children. He tried teleporting within the confines, but magic threw him back outside the arena.
“Scared, Bounded? You should be” the blue alicorn asked. Covet had no idea who this Bounded was. “What in the-“ but before Covet could ask, a spell was shot at him. He dodged barely, and the blue Alicorn spoke again. “It’s not your fault, after all him sending us is like giving you mercy. Your last moments will be with those of us who actually care!” he then shouted with obvious madness and twisted joy in his voice as more than five spells were shot at Covet at once. He avoided the first four, once again barely. But the fifth caught him. Within a second he was paralyzed. His body falling and becoming numb. The only thing that worked were his eyes, that looked up as he desperately tried to get up.
Meanwhile, in the fire arena, the purple Alicorn seemed enraged. Not uttering a word, but spewing mass amounts of fire toward the other brother. Stardew, being more skilled and adept than Covet, reacted with equal firepower. His spells being a blinding blue light. Fierce clashes of red and blue hitting one another, until the purple alicorn uttered one single incantation.
“Tormentius Totallio”
Without warning, a stream of magenta hit Stardew, and before he could comprehend what had hit him, his mind and body fell into immense amount of pain. He’d never heard of this spell before, yet already knew what it was for. He writhed on the floor as the spell took total control of his body with almost unbearable pain. By the time the spell had concluded, he could barely breath. That’s when the purple alicorn wandered over, his gaze and eyes looking as if they were filled with the hateful fires of Tartarus themselves, uttered another sentence.
“You and that father of yours… Took him from us…”
Stardew, being confused at this, responded with the rightfully justified question of “W-what…?”. Before he got his response however, the purple Alicorn uttered another spell; at least Stardew assumed it was a spell given what happened afterwards.
“Tepalethium Undermensia”
Just like that, another spell hit him. This one, an aqua coloured spell. Before Stardew could comprehend what had hit him next, his vision went black and all traces of his existence in the room vanished. The purple Alicorn, seeing that what he had clearly set out to do was done, used his magic to combine both arenas and had their arenas open and then close around Crimson; trapping him in with them. “And then there were two” the purple Alicorn then said, still holding fury.
“Bounded is down. That leaves him” Arcane said as the blue and purple pair turned towards the King. Crimson, with his magic, had gathered the sword and shield from above the throne. The two shot at the King, but when he put up the shield the spells started rebounding. “Dallasite, take care of him, I’ll deal with Bounded” the blue Alicorn then said as he noticed the shield glimmering with a strange light. Crimson swung the sword once, as a golden beam of light slashed at the purple Alicorn.
Before Covet knew what was happening, he had felt something. The blue Alicorn seemed to be performing some kind of spell. His body felt as if it was falling apart and as if his very existence was being… Broken. That’s the only way he could describe it. He saw two lots of everything, and then three. Then, before he could even see what had happened, everything went black for him. The blue Alicorn simply muttering “can’t kill him here, let’s have some fun then” before Covet’s conscious faded from the waking world. Fading into fleeting dreams and starry mind-made skies.