Introduction
Kingdom of Unicornia, 200 Years Before Unification
In the capital city of Ivoryspire, there lived two rival families of great reputation. The Auroras, who controlled the commerce of the city, and the Sleights, who were advisers to the crown. These two families had been at each other’s throats for generations, each getting in the other’s way at every opportunity. They relished every little victory, and ruminated on every loss. The heads of each house had various plans to tear down his rival’s house and take their position, but never had any of them ever come to fruition. Over the centuries of their rivalry, the cityfolk came to expect the two houses bickering at least once or twice a week, if not more often. The two current heads, Brilliant Aurora and Turmoil Sleight, had been the most vicious thus far. Their spats sometimes threatened to bring down the entire city! They’d even instilled a strong rivalry between their two eldest, as was tradition. However, little did they realize the grand wall of hate between the two families would soon come crashing down…
Part One
Arpeggio Aurora & Misdirea Sleight
A Chance Meeting
It was a typical afternoon for Arpeggio, the youngest of the Aurora children. He was a rather handsome young stallion, just barely out of his teen years. He’d been sent on an “errand”- read as: mission to find a wife- by his father, as per usual. However, Arpeggio was a tad rebellious, so he often took detours along his path. Today would be no exception. He took one of his favorite detours, stopping by the sweets shop for one of his favorite snacks: a strawberry cake slice with chocolate frosting. However, the powers that be had other plans for the young turquoise unicorn. For just as he was about to enjoy the snack of his choice, his confection was thrust into his pristine brown mane by a magenta blur. He heard a feminine voice speak as he tried to get the cake off his blue eyes. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you. Are you okay?”
Arpeggio chuckled slightly. “I’m fine, miss. A little bruised pride, but otherwise fine.” After he managed to clear his vision, he finally had the chance to see who’d run him down. But, the instant his eyes met her orange pools, suddenly, everything seemed to slow around them. He knew who this mare was. How could he not? His father had rammed into his skull the names of all the Sleight children, and what they looked like. Judging by the blonde mane, as well as the Nebula Cutie Mark, this mare was the youngest, Misdirea. But, why of all ponies did he run into her? Judging by the look in her eyes, she knew who he was as well- probably got it from his Cutie Mark, a Conductor’s baton that swirled an aurora around it. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. She seemed to have a similar problem with prying her eyes away from him. But why? Their families were rivals, and hated each other to the core, yet… what was this feeling in their chests? This odd sense of… longing? The moment passed, and the world around them returned to normal. The world at large didn’t notice, until the moment was over. Then, the eyes of the crowd found them, and whispers of expectations went around. What would these two, youngest of the rival houses, do to show hate?
Arpeggio noticed this, as did Misdirea. They were unsure what that was, exactly, but they both knew one thing: the masses expected a show, and they would give them one. Putting on a mask of disgust, Arpeggio went first. “Well. A dirty little Sleight has crossed my path. You nearly ran me over with your incompetence! I knew your house thought themselves self-important, but this just takes the cake, Misdirea!”
Noticing his subtle wink, Misdirea knew where to pick things up. “Hmph! Well, excuse me for ruining your meal, you worthless Aurora! I had somewhere important to be, unlike you, Arpeggio!” The crowd was eating this up, they knew. They knew what came next, too.
Snorting in “rage”, Arpeggio continued. “Shows what you know! I’ll have you know that I indeed had important business to attend to for my father! Speaking of, I best get back to that.”
Rolling her eyes for effect, Misdirea rebutted. “Important business, my hoof! No matter. I have other things to worry about. I hope I don’t have the displeasure of meeting you again.”
They “glared” at each other, before Arpeggio replied. “Same here.” The two went their separate ways, storming off in opposite directions for effect. Yet, once the crowd had dispersed, they came back into the square, and went somewhere discreet. Lighting her horn, Misdirea produced an illusion field, to make them look different to onlookers. Arpeggio nodded his thanks, and addressed the concern on both their minds. “So… that moment earlier, when we saw each other for the first time… That wasn’t a dream, was it? It really happened?”
Nodding slightly, Misdirea spoke up. “Yes, I felt it too. Like something had connected us somehow, in a moment that seemed to last forever.” She looked Arpeggio in the eyes. “Was that love at first sight? Is that what that was?”
At hearing the l-word, Arpeggio blushed slightly. “Maybe? It could be, but… If it is, what would our families think? They would keep us apart, if that was what you claim.”
Thinking for a bit, Misdirea mumbled. Then, she had an idea. “What if we could keep it secret? Rendezvous in secret, just to see if this is love? They’d never have to know!”
Shaking his head a little, Arpeggio voiced his doubts. “It’d never work! They’d be bound to piece it together if we kept sneaking out! How could we possibly…” He then smacked a hoof to his forehead. “...I’m stupid. We just use your illusions to make it look like at least one of us is a different pony, and we’d be in the clear!”
Smiling, Misdirea held out her hoof. “So, Arpeggio Aurora, are you in? Are you willing to give this a shot?”
Taking the offered hoof, Arpeggio shook it. “Yeah. Let’s meet up soon. How about you choose the place and time?”
Nodding, Misdirea decided. “How about tomorrow at noon? The Pastry Palace. After all, I’ve got to replace that cake I ruined…”
The time and place was agreed, and the two went their separate ways, for the moment.