Chapters My Little Pony: The Millennium Battle of the Demons
私の小さな子馬：魔物の千年紀戦
Preread by reflective vagrant and Commissar-Rarity . Go give them a virtual high-five!
“Baou, wake up already! You’re sleeping in again!” a lone Pegasus mare yelled to the large, white Alicorn as she opened a the door.
Baou sighed at this, rising from his bedside. A yawn escaped his mouth as he looked over to her.
“It’s my day to sleep in, though!” he fakely whined. “Who burnt down a tower this time?” he joked out, his moderate tenor voice resonating all throughout the room. The mare gave a forced laugh, putting a smile on the Alicorn’s worn-out face.
“Nopony burnt down a tower, you ditz,” she responded, rolling her eyes at the prince’s terrible attempts at making jokes. “We need you to look at a new law that’s being pushed by the citizens of Manehattan.”
“Alright. What do they want, Lightning Dust?” he questioned, walking towards her. As he passed by the door, he pressed a small kiss on the mare’s snout, making her smile brightly.
“They want you to work harder on fixing the damage from the great battle,” she answered, causing him to sigh, this time out of disappointment. He always liked to see what kinds of things that his citizens were thinking of in terms of ordinances and requests, but this one particular request always made him shake his head.
“How many times do I have to tell them that we’re working as hard as we can to repair the rest of the damage from the battle?” he complained, walking past Lightning Dust. She followed him down a long set of stairs. “We’ve been working nonstop for the past three months to replace all of the dirt, fix all the bridges, rebuild the buildings, etc. They just need to calm themselves and wait their turn like the rest of Equestria.”
“Well, they want to pass another bill.”
The two finally trotted to the bottom of the thin stairwell, turning left into a hallway that lead to the main foyer of the castle. Baou used his special ability—the “Answer-Speaker”—to obtain the answer to any question he wanted.
“Will the Manehattanites ever stop asking for extra assistance?” he asked. His eyes glowed frost-blue, and he stopped trotting, if just for a single moment.
“Not until the damage is fixed, ” was the answer he received. He figured as such.
He continued his trek to the foyer and rolled his eyes, thinking to how utterly snobby the ponies from Manehattan were. It put the ponies to Britmane to shame. Most were, anyways, as he thought about his precious Lightning Dust. She was one of the few exceptions.
The two arrived at the large room, Luna and Celestia both nodding at their arrival.
“Good morning, Prince Baou and Princess Lightning Dust. I assume that you slept well?” Luna greeted, eliciting nods from the two. “We have another issue from Manehattan—they would like more assistance.”
“So I have heard. Please, give me the document,” he requested.
Celestia levitated the scroll over to him, and he did a quick read-over of it. Much to his expectance, it was just another plea for more workers. He didn’t even have to think about writing dejections on the document before giving it back to Celestia. He shook his head.
“We’ve been doing all that we can to help them, but they just don’t understand,” Baou said. “Ever since the battle ended, they’ve been trying to receive more help than we are able to give.” He sounded like he had rehearsed this speech a hundred times.
“I agree. They realize not the sheer scale of the damage caused. We are still rebuilding Ponyville!” Luna exclaimed.
“Where is Hitan? I have a question for him.”
Simply at the mention of that name, Celestia and Luna both cringed and shook, looks of discomfort crawling on their faces. He could see an inkling of fear in their eyes, but they did excellent jobs at hiding it.
“He’s downstairs. The Manehattan ponies will be outraged at this repeated denial,” Celestia informed, sounding quick to change the subject.
“Thank you, Princess Celestia. I shall return within the hour,” he said, receiving a nod from the solar princess. He turned towards Lightning Dust, planting another kiss on her muzzle. “And I will see you later tonight, sweetheart. May the day treat you well,” he said with a smile. She pressed her head into his chest for a second, to which she received a loving nuzzle, before flying out the front doors of the castle.
As he walked down the stony hill leading down into the caverns below the main castle, Baou suddenly had an intense migraine—a nasty side effect of using the Answer-Speaker. He had a vision back to the great battle, and every single time it was as vivid a memory as the tail feathers of a peacock.
Out on a huge, grassy meadow, the Mane Six had gathered under the sun, partaking in a delicious picnic feast, of which Applejack prepared from her own kitchen. Smoked apple jelly and daffodil sandwiches, juices of various types, fritters, cakes—any kind of sweet food you could think of, it was probably there.
“Applejack, I simply do not know how you make such marvelous cuisine! It is absolutely wonderful !” Rarity praised, a smile flashing on her face as she chewed on a slice of old-fashioned apple pie.
“Aw, shucks, Rarity, ye’r too kind t’ me,” Applejack humbly said, lowering her trademark hat down slightly.
“Yah… Mmm… It’s sho good, though,” Rainbow Dash approved, stuffing her mouth with a sandwich. Rarity looked at her with disgust, setting her slice of pie on a saucer.
“Ugh, Rainbow Dash! How unmarely of you—talking with your mouth full!” Rarity scoffed as Rainbow Dash flew up into the air and crossed her forehooves.
“Really, who cares? I’m too awesome for-“ she started, but was stopped when a bolt of lightning struck her on the head, causing her to convulse slightly. “What the heck?“
A flurry of lightning bolts crashed upon the field, but strangely enough, there were no clouds to be seen. The sky was still shining bluely, as usual. As Rainbow Dash was in the air, she was struck multiple times. She lost control of her wings, causing her to drop down, face first, into the ground.
“What’s happening!?” Twilight Sparkle yelled as everypony ducked and covered.
Before anypony could react, one giant bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, causing the entirety of the ground beneath it to explode in a massive, electrified blast, sending all six of the mares out far away. Minutes passed before all six of the mares regained consciousness.
Rainbow Dash was the first to regain enough strength to make her way back to the massive crater that had been left in the ground. Burn marks streaked across dead grass that spread out from the hole in the soil.
Within the depression, yellow and blue sparks of electricity surged as red flames surrounded and covered a small, burnt, tattered body that laid bloodied and torn. Rainbow Dash tried to dive in to see what it was that lay there, but the static kept her from going further.
Soon enough, all five of her friends regained consciousness and came back over to her their now destroyed picnicking spot.
“What in tarnation is that !?” Applejack exclaimed, staring down into the pit. The figure shimmered, an eerie light surrounding it.
“I don’t know in the slightest! It’s shining like a diamond!” Rarity said.
“Girls…” Fluttershy mumbled, noticing that it appeared to have the shape of some sort of monkey-like creature.
“Is-it-a-zombie-who-will-completely-eat-our-brains-and-douse-Equestria-in-chocolate-fudge!?”
“Girls, ” Fluttershy repeated, becoming slightly annoyed.
“I don’t know what it could be, but I highly doubt that it’s a zombie, Pinkie. It’s probably some sort of-“
“Girls! ” she shouted. All of the other Mane Six stopped talking and looked at Fluttershy, who was hovering flutteringly over the divot.
“There’s something down in there!” she yelled, pointing down to the shape, of which slowly began to show itself. When the body was finally visible, her eyes widened as she saw how terribly the figure looked. It was really a horrific sight, unlike anything that she had ever seen—and being an animal caretaker who had healed thousands of bruised, broken rodents, cats, bears and all sorts of other animals, that was saying something.
Eventually, the static and fire cleared out, showing the mangled body in full. Fluttershy’s eyes became as wide as the sun, before gasping from her gaping mouth, “Oh, my goodness!”
She flew down as quickly as possible, picking the little body up as gently as possible, flying back out of the hole. The creature’s clothes were burnt away and left in tatters. While there were wounds all over his body, there was one huge scar running down its face. Blood dripped everywhere from the small being, like water from a recently turned off shower head.
She pressed her ear against its upper chest, hearing a faint thumping within. She was relieved to know that it was alive, and in the same moment, one of the knots in her stomach untied itself. Saying the first thing on her mind, she blurted out, “It has a heartbeat! Twilight, we need to get it to the hospital right now !”
Quick to act, Twilight lit her horn up, shooting a wave of purple energy over the beaten child. “That should tide it over until we get it to the hospital!” she exclaimed, some of the lesser wounds starting to heal. “Rainbow Dash, you can get it to the hospital quickly, right?”
“I’m on it!” the speedy Pegasus accepted. Fluttershy placed the child on Rainbow’s back and secured him. In an instant, she blasted off towards Ponyville, the draft she made blowing the grass. Twilight took another brief look down in the crater and saw a red book laying in there, lightly buried under the dirt.
‘What’s that?’ she thought, using her magic to levitate the book up. It was glowing mystically, lighting up a line of foreign characters on the top and a strange hourglass marking in the middle that adorned it. It was otherworldly, but she could’ve sworn that she’d seen a book like this somewhere else.
“What’s that, darling?” Rarity asked, cocking her head.
“It’s a book of some sort,” Twilight responded, flipping through the pages. Page after page, there was nothing but characters in a foreign language. She eventually flipped to the last page and found that it was glowing. She couldn’t read the crimson-shaded characters, but she once again knew that she had seen them before. “This isn’t what’s important right now, though. We all need to get to get to the hospital!”
“Twilight’s right, y’all. We need t’ get going!” Applejack agreed. The five mares all shared a brief nod before galloping off to in the direction of the hospital.
Twilight Sparkle figured that because the child had five mares in escort to get him to the hospital, it would be able to get there safely and stably, so she went straight to the library. She slammed open the door, shaking the books in the shelves.
“Spike! ”
Hearing her yell, Spike looked down from the top of the stairs and saw her, with a duster in claw and wearing a black butler’s apron. “Hey, Twilight. That was a fast picnic!”
“Yes, it was, because something… rather strange happened. I need you to take a letter to Princess Celestia immediately !”
“Really? Okay,” he responded, walking down the stairs, grabbing a scroll and quill out of a drawer. “Ready!”
“Dear Princess Celestia,
Just a few minutes ago, as my friends and I were having a picnic, a flurry of lightning bolts caused by an unknown weather anomaly struck the meadows outside of Ponyville. One of the bolts of lightning revealed some sort of small primate-like creature, as well as a red book of sorts that he was carrying. None of us have seen any creature, nor a book, like this before. Based off its size, I am assuming that it is adolescent.
The child is heavily wounded, with scars, wounds and bruises all over its body, but has a heartbeat. It is being transported to the hospital currently. As we do not know what this creature is, we would like you to come to the Ponyville Hospital in case it becomes hostile upon waking up.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle”
Spike’s face was contorted in horror as he finished writing the message. He had never heard of anything like this either. Any mention of blood made him feel squeamish, and the “gruesome description” that Twilight provided caused his stomach to churn, even causing him to scribble some lines.
“Are you okay, Spike?” she asked as he put a claw over his mouth.
“…Yeah, I’ve got it.”
“Alright. Send it off.”
Spike blew his emerald flame over the manifest, making it disappear in a puff of smoke that went out through a window. “Is that everything?”
“That is for now. Climb on my back—we’re going to the hospital!” Twilight said. Spike jumped up onto her back, and instantly they blasted through the door again.
About two minutes later, Twilight arrived at the hospital. All five of her friends sat there in the waiting room, awaiting news of the child’s fate.
“We’re here,” she huffed, walking into the lobby. Spike looked over her head to see her friends.
“Finally,” Rainbow Dash impatiently muttered, her forelegs crossed. A nurse trotted into the room with a faint smile.
“Well, I have good news. The child is in stable condition for now.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Fluttershy sighed. Everypony in the room smiled at this wonderful news.
“However , we do not know the scale of the injuries. We will have to get a doctor who has been trained to find internal injuries to see if he has any more major damage.”
“Oh…” Fluttershy mouthed inaudibly. Nopony had anything else to say to this, and the room remained silent for a few moments until Twilight spoke up.
“I believe that Princess Celestia may be coming to analyze this situation, so if you can’t get a doctor soon enough, she may be able to help.”
“Oh? Well, I’ll still call for a more highly trained doctor in case the princess doesn’t come.”
“That would probably be for the best.”
‘I hope that he makes it out okay, ’ Fluttershy thought very hopefully.
Baou shook his head as his headache began to dwindle slightly. He didn’t have a clue as to why this child reoccurred in his visions—they always seemed to revolve around or have something to do with the adolescent. He had a feeling that Hitan would hold the answer, though.
Hopefully.
The Answer-Speaker was no stranger to Hitan, nor was Hitan a stranger to the Answer-Speaker, after all.
Author's Note
Alright! Finally have this up and running. Tell me what you think of the idea!
I have acquired a prereader! Make sure to thank user 'reflective vagrant' for helping me to fix some of the issues with this!
I have included Japanese in the heading of this chapter because I wanted to pay homage to the story of Konjiki no Gash Bell, the story that influenced this one.
If you like it, why not show some support and let me know why, and if not, why didn't you like it? It's the ideas and critiques of you guys that help make writing stories a billion times better!
My Little Pony: The Millennium Battle of the Demons
私の小さな子馬：魔物の千年紀戦
Preread by reflective vagrant , who deserves a digital high-five for his hard work!
As Baou finally reached the bottom of the shaft, his headache quelled, leaving him with only the feeling of his head pulsing slightly. The huge, purple caverns of crystal gleamed when he lit his horn, reflecting the swirling combination of the yellow of sparking electricity, green of the grass blown by solemn winds, white of a flurry of snowflakes pummeling the earth, and the cerulean of the raging sea. The colors dissipated all into a single, pale-white as he continued to walk into the cavern.
He had traveled these massive caverns often in search of Hitan. Hitan was the type that couldn’t just stay in one place. Lots of things had happened to this large grotto since the wedding of Shining Armor and Cadence. Instead of being normal, like a labyrinth with jagged rocks adorning its surfaces, they were now uniform hallways, with incredibly smooth, rounded walls and floors.
“Hitan? Where are you?” he called out, his voice carrying far across the cave. He received no answer, and after a minute, he began searching the halls.
After looking around for ten minutes and not finding Hitan, he decided that he would just use the Answer-Speaker again. He knew that he’d be cursing himself five minutes after using it, but the building craving to know why he kept having these continuous visions was like heroin—he just couldn’t stop it.
For some reason that baffled him, Baou couldn’t use the Answer-Speaker to learn why this creature that appeared in his visions actually appeared.
“Where is Hitan at this current moment?” he asked out, his eyes once again glowing.
“Hitan is located 5.634 furlongs to the north-northwest of my location. ”
‘Very well, ’ he thought, knowing that he traveled in the wrong direction. Baou turned around and quickly cantered off towards Hitan’s location.
After about a minute and a half, he finally came across a part of the cave that was more natural than the rest. It was more closed-off than the rest of the cave, with just a small space for him to squeeze through guiding the way.
He came across the young human, who had large, transparent spheres coming out of each hand. Hitan moved swiftly throughout the area, letting his energy spheres annihilate the walls they touched, leaving even, rounded edges in their place. The matter that his mana enveloped was completely destroyed from existence.
“Hitan?” Baou asked, startling Hitan and making him jump. The spheres disappeared from his hands as he turned around.
“Oh, P-Prince Baou, I-I didn’t hear you c-coming,” he said, looking over in Baou’s general direction. He wouldn’t look at Baou—he was as nervous as a lone rat in a fierce, tiger-filled jungle.
A constant stream of tears streamed from his reddened eyes, unstopping as they rolled off of his chin, dripping down onto his raggedy overalls. He seemed to have an indiscernible, underlying sadness, perhaps grief, beneath his lean face. His spiky, white hair shot out in every direction out of his head.
“How are you today, little buddy?” the prince asked softly, walking slowly up to Hitan and sitting down next to him. He rubbed Hitan down his back, smiling down at the young boy. He spread his wing over him.
“I-I’m alright, s-sir. I was j-just continuing my l-labor,” Hitan answered, looking down to the ground. The greatest look of guilt was on his face, unable to change. He looked like he wanted just to break down and sob, but he knew that he shouldn’t have looked weak before his master.
“It’s okay to cry, Hitan. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with displaying what you’re really feeling to me,” he tenderly said, picking Hitan up and giving him a great hug. Hitan pressed his head into Baou’s large, puffy chest as hard as possible, letting out a loud cry.
“I’m so sorry,” he gasped, wrapping his arms around his prince. His tears were now a torrent, a tidal wave relentlessly crashing into Baou’s breast.
“Everything will be all right, young one, I promise,” he said, lifting Hitan so that he was at face level with himself. He pledged as he forced Hitan to look into his eyes, “You no longer have anything that you need to be sorry for. You are doing as much as you can to, uh… reparate the bad things you have done, and for that, you’re in the clear.”
“Y-You tell me that everyday, b-but it doesn’t ever make me feel better! How am I supposed to feel good after everything that I’ve done? I’m nothing but pure evil! ”
“No, you’re not!” Baou cried, patting Hitan on the back. He looked down at the ground in dismay of Hitan’s sadness. “Yes, it’s true that you’ve done some bad things and made some terrible mistakes, but… but…” Baou stammered, unable conceal in his emotions. He felt such sorrow for the set of circumstances this child had endured in his life, and his tears began to flow out. “…But you’re doing so well now to make up for it, and I can't stand to see you like this anymore! I don’t ever want to hear those words coming out of your mouth again!”
Hitan broke away from Baou’s grip, backing away as if threatened.
With a look of utter despair on his face—a deep, rooted pain in his eyes, heavy breathing and a grief-stricken frown—Hitan yelled,“Well, how am I supposed to not be ‘like this? ’ How!? ” He pointed to the deluge coming out of his eyes, which leaked over his chin and onto the floor, creating a small puddle.
“I-I… I…” Baou trailed, not knowing where to go with this. “I don’t know, but I do know that I’ll be here for you every step of the way to help, Hitan. I just… I just want you to be happy, and yes, that will be a long process,” he began, walking back over to Hitan, “but I know that together, we can get you to the happiness that you deserve! Do you believe me, my friend?”
“I… I don’t know what to believe, but… I have faith in you, Prince Baou,” Hitan said in earnest, jumping up and hugging Baou once again. Baou smiled, and as he was about to bring up what he wanted to talk about with Hitan, his stomach grumbled, begging for his eleven o'clock meal.
“Thank you, Hitan. Now, how about we get something to eat?” Baou suggested, giving a wink and chuckle to the child. Hitan couldn’t help but smile at Baou, his tears returning to their normal, small stream.
“U-Un.”
With that, the two exited through the small entrance leading to the cave, going back up to the castle above. Before long, though, Baou’s crippling headache came back, forcing him to the ground, grunting loudly.
“P-Prince Baou! Are you okay?” Hitan cried out, dropping down. In an instant, he could tell that it was a withdrawal from the Answer-Speaker—a clear, massive headache, alongside the stretched look that Baou’s eyes had from being so widely opened, made it immediately clear.
At that moment, the child activated his own Answer-Speaker—with blackened pupils that sucked all the light from around them, darkening the area.
“How do I quell the symptoms from the Answer-Speaker that Prince Baou is suffering from?” he asked hastily.
“I must press down on these spots on his interscutularis and cleidocephalicus simultaneously ,” he received, certain spots on the top and back of the alicorn’s head lighting up as blue dots in his vision. He did exactly as he was told, pressing as hard as he could.
Baou screamed, a blistering pain shooting throughout his entire body. He clenched his teeth and eyes. In an instant, the pain disappeared, and a sigh of relief escaped his lips.
“Oh, dear the gods , that hurt so good. Thank you very much, Hitan,” Baou appreciated, standing back up. He stumbled on his hooves for a moment, but regained his composure quickly.
“It was n-nothing, Prince Baou.” Hitan waved it off without a second thought.
“Yes, it was, child.” He returned to his hooves. “This is exactly what I’ve been talking about. You just did something that greatly helped me, and I believe that you should take it upon yourself to find pride in some of the things that you do.” He walked circularly around Hitan, shaking his head slightly. He rubbed Hitan’s shoulders as a boxing coach would. “Put very bluntly, you must grow a spine. That is a good start to finding happiness. Just be careful not to get overzealous with pride,” Baou tipped, giving a smile to Hitan, who just stared blankly into the caves. “Anyways, shall we continue on?”
“O-Okay.”
The two made their way up into the main chambers of the castle, back where Luna and Celestia were. He tipped them off, but they couldn’t help but turn their heads away from Hitan. The sight of him was still completely ghastly to them—the wounds still hadn’t fully healed. Hitan couldn’t help but throw a distant, sour glare in their direction, as well.
Frowning, Baou ushered Hitan out through the doors, afraid that he would see the utter disgust on their faces caused by his presence. As they reached the front doors of the castle, Baou spoke up.
“Hitan?”
“Un?”
“There are a few things that I wanted to talk with you about once we get to lunch regarding some visions I’ve been having for the last couple of months. Is that okay with you?” he asked, opening the front doors and exiting.
“Of course it is, my prince.”
“Excellent! Where shall we go for lunch?” Baou mumbled, putting a hoof up to his chin. “Do you have any ideas, Hitan?”
“Unu… How about Fine Diner’s shop? They usually have something good to eat,” Hitan suggested, looking out over the city, of which had some giant, barren pits within—more damage from the battle.
“Sure, Fine Diner’s it is!”
On the way to Fine Diner’s, Baou received many bows, nods and smiles from the ponies of Canterlot, which he found unnecessary, but they were still welcomed. Hitan, on the other hand, was an entirely different story. Much like with the princesses, looks of utmost disgust were thrown his way, making him feel weak and powerless once again. He hid behind his massive shield that was Baou, begging him to protect them from their glares.
“They’re staring at me, Prince…” he whispered, holding onto Baou’s front leg.
“I know, Hitan. The most we can do right now is to just ignore all of the ones who dislike you-“
“Hey, Baou! ” an energetic, light pitched voice called out. A black, insectoid, slender form approached him, a clear bounce in her step.
“Oh, hello, Chrysalis! How are you today?” he asked out, elated to see his friend. She came right up to him, jumping up to her hind hooves and hugging him, giggling like a schoolfilly.
“I’m really good today! How about you?” she returned, dropping back to the ground.
“I’m also doing well.”
“What are you up to?”
“Well, Hitan and me are going to get some food over at Fine Diner’s shop and discuss some things.”
Hitan peeked out from behind him. “Hey, Chryssy…”
“Oh, hi, Hitan!” she responded, smiling when she saw him. She went around Baou and gave him a hug also. The young queen nuzzled him, licking his face vigorously and flirtatiously..
“Ha ha, that tickles! Chrysalis, stop! ” he cried out, falling to his backside. He smiled as she pressed her face against his.
“Okay, Hitan. I’ll stop,” she relented, stepping off of him. She offered her hoof to him, and giving grace, he grabbed it and lifted himself up, both of them blushing a bit. “So, you two are headed off to get some eats? Can I join?”
“Well, we plan on having a conversation that only us need to have, so unfortunately, I don’t think that would work this time. Sorry,” he explained with a small, bittersweet smile, causing Chrysalis to frown.
“Oh. Well, that’s okay. I have some things to do, so I’ll just get started on those. I’ll see you later!” she yelled, flying off towards the castle. They both waved her good-bye before continuing off to Fine Diner’s.
Canterlot was bustling with activity, with ponies all over doing repairs to property, and gryphons flying and changelings buzzing all over the place, carrying giant bags of dirt to fill the giant holes in the city. Baou smiled as he saw the works of his subjects and allies.
The two eventually arrived at Fine Diner’s Mom and Pop Pizza Shop, where the most gourmet pizzas, calzones and strombolis in all of Equestria were held.
They entered the door of the establishment, and the aromas of all types of fresh pizzas filled their nostrils. The rustic, plaid interior, filled with warm fireplaces, made it feel like an old, yet cozy log cabin, being served only the finest of foods after a long day’s work.
The host immediately noticed them and perked up from a couple of notes he was taking. “Why, hello, Prince Baou and Hitan!” he greeted with a friendly smile. “Table for two?”
Baou nodded. “Yes, that would be nice.”
“Right this way, sires.”
The host brought the two to a booth in the back of house—the one of the only open spots for a patron at this time of day. The two sat down, and the host gave them both a menu. “May I start you off with drinks today?”
“Yes, that would be nice. I would like a blue margarita to start off. Hitan, what would you like?”
“Unu… I think that I want a… cherry cola.” He looked distantly out the window.
“Very well. Your waiter will return with your drinks as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.”
Hitan listened to the host’s hooves clicking against the floor as he walked away, and he couldn’t help but sense the feeling that he didn’t belong. He rested his chin on one of his hands. He didn’t see anypony staring directly at him, as the other customers were busy with their own conversations, but he noticed their uneasy shifting. All in all, he felt that he didn’t deserve to be there with such sophisticated ponies. He was wearing damn overalls—practically rags!
The stream of tears under his eyes intensified once again; he didn’t seem to realize this.
“Is something bothering you, Hitan?” Baou asked, noticing that Hitan had spaced out. “Hitan? ” He tapped his hoof on the table, catching the boy’s attention.
“Wha-?” he asked, looking back over to Baou.
“Are you okay?”
“Un, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You look unsettled.” Baou put a hoof on Hitan’s shoulder in worry. He could tell that something was wrong.
“No, it’s nothing,” he declined, waving his hand. He hid it as best he could, not wanting to disturb his prince with such petty issues. “I promise.”
“…Very well,” Baou responded, pulling his hoof back hesitantly. “Just know that you can talk to me about anything, at any time.” Hitan nodded.
“Un. I know.”
“Good. So, I did want to talk to you about these visions I’ve been having.”
“Un? What about them?”
“’What about them?’ Am I supposed to be getting these visions?”
“Un. It’s a normal part of using the Answer-Speaker. Part of the… setbacks? Is that the right word? Anyway, anything that you’re experiencing is pretty normal for how long you’ve had the ability. Don’t worry.” Hitan offered a small smile of assurance.
“Whew! That makes me feel better about it, for sure . That leads me to another question, though: Why aren’t you suffering from these side effects?” Baou asked, curiosity looming in his eyes.
“It’s time. I’ve had the ability for longer and used it many more times than you, so the symptoms are more of a tolerance for me. You can’t skip past them, unfortunately. You can do things to lessen them, but they’ll still end up happening no matter what.”
“Is that so?”
“Un. There’s no-“
Before Hitan could finish, their waitress came with their drinks. She gave them their respective beverages, taking a straw and putting it in Hitan’s drink.
“Thank you, miss,” Baou said.
“You’re very welcome, Prince. ” There was a twinge of disrespect towards him, but he didn’t care. Baou figured that if any of his citizens had any major complaints, they would leave them on his door. “Have you decided on what you would like?”
“I would like a slice of everything and a slice of plain cheese, extra parmesan on both of those.”
“…Very well,” she said, finishing writing down his order. “And you ?” A great deal of apprehension and anger lined her voice, scaring Hitan and making to flinch greatly.
“U-Unu… I-I-I’d l-like th-the meat lover’s c-calzone.” The mare didn’t respond to him, but just gave him a scowl, which just said, “You are terrible. ” It made him feel so horrible that he wanted to crawl into a corner and die.
“Your meals will be here presently.” She walked away.
‘Wow, she was bitchy. ’ Baou thought. He looked back to Hitan, who was now about to sob again. Baou’s eyes widened as he put his hoof on Hitan’s head.
“Hitan, is everything all right?” He started to rub Hitan on the top of his head.
“I’m j-just int-timidat-ted. She had such soulless eyes, like I was staring into Tartarus itself,” he whispered, looking down at his lap. “She hates me…”
“I’ll go and address her-“ Baou started, beginning to get up.
“N-No, P-Prince Baou," Hitan pleaded, grasping at Baou's foreleg. D-Don’t cause a s-scene—it’s not worth it. P-Please…”
“But, Hitan, she looked down at you, as if you’re some peasant! I can’t let that go!”
“Baou, stop. Sit down.” Hitan’s voice suddenly lost all tone. There were no accents or emotions. It was empty of everything that gave ponies’ words meaning and expression. He displayed no emotions on his face.
It scared Baou, making him shake where he stood. He felt the air around him thicken. It became hard to breath. A horrified stare lay in his gray eyes. He did as he was told with no objections.
For almost a minute, the two just sat there in utter silence. Baou had never heard Hitan speak with such… terrifying apathy before. He couldn’t help but feel like a familiar, deathly breeze had blown over them.
“…So , Hitan, what were you saying?” he asked again.
“Huh?” Hitan snapped out of his daze.
“…I don’t even remember what we were talking about at this point,” Baou admitted, a chuckle arising from his belly, trying to make the situation less tense. It seemed to work, as the gravity around them seemed to lessen; Baou could once again breathe well.
“Something about the Answer-Speaker… I don’t—now I remember! There’s nothing you can really do to stop the symptoms. You just need to let them pass.” Baou lifted a hoof to interject, but Hitan got to it first. “The reason that I could get rid of the pain is because I massaged the pain receptors in your brain, causing them to stop.” He gave a smile.
“Sounds simple enough, I guess.”
“I used the Answer-Speaker myself to figure out how to do it.”
“And you aren’t feeling any of the withdrawals because you’re used to them?”
“Exactly! Now you’re getting it.” Both of them let out small snorts of laughter. “I could probably induce a vision by pressing similar places on your brain, as well.”
“That’s interesting. You’ll have to show me later.”
‘Man, Twilight Sparkle would have a field day with everything that this kid knows. ’ Baou smirked at Hitan as he thought this, and received a smile in return.
“Sure. Is there anything else that you wanted to know?”
“Yes, actually. How does one get this ability? Like, obtain it?” For some reason, Baou couldn’t receive answers to questions revolving around the Answer-Speaker. It was a strange little quirk, but he figured that Hitan would understand why.
Baou suddenly realized how tense he still was, how tight his back was as he felt a strain in his side. He let himself hunch slightly and relax, and the pain went away.
“Well… I guess that it comes after a heavily traumatic experience of some sort. I was betrayed by the friends that I loved and cared for the most, and I got it after that. A popular saying in old religious texts is that ‘if one dies and comes back to life, they are granted a miraculous power.’ Maybe that’s referring to the Answer-Speaker?”
“Perhaps. There’s a lot more to this ability than I know, isn’t there?”
“I could give you an eight-hour lecture on it and you still wouldn’t know a thousandth of what really happens behind this ability.”
“Well, when you put it like that, it makes me even more curious. I-” He noticed a tired look on Hitan’s face, more tired than he normally looked. “Are you okay? I don’t want to force the information out of you. I can stop, if you want that.”
“I’m just really tired. I haven’t slept in days, and I’m running low on energy.”
His eyes narrowed at this. ‘He hasn’t slept in days? That’s a conversation I’m going to have to have with Celestia and Luna. ’ Baou was getting sick of this near-constant mistreatment of Hitan at this point.
“…Well, it’s a good thing that you’re getting something filling to eat now, isn’t it?”
“Un.”
“Anyways, I’ll stop asking you questions now. Thanks for telling me everything that you’ve told me today. I really appreciate it.” Baou smiled again, reassuring Hitan’s fragile emotional state into one of temporary happiness.
“No proble-“ he started, but changed his mind on what to say. “Don’t worry about it.”
For about ten more minutes, the two just sat there in silence, taking in the view outside the window. One could see for miles, miles and miles out, all the way to Appleloosa.
Eventually, the time came for their food to arrive, and once again, the waitress gave a nasty look to Hitan. Baou saw this, and he was about to give this mare a verbal bitch slap, but realized that he needed to retain his composure, and didn’t say anything.
Baou put his hooves together and bowed his head down to the food, giving his grace to the gods and goddesses. “Itadakimasu. ”
The two ate their delicious food in silence, with a few “mmm’s ” and “so good’s ” on the way, sipping their drinks periodically. Baou felt slightly buzzed by the liquor, as he got four extra margaritas. They found themselves finishing pretty quickly. The waitress came soon after with the check, and for the third time, she shot that look at Hitan.
That was too much for Baou—he wouldn’t let this abuse of Hitan go on any longer.
“Excuse me?” he asked, holding in his contempt.
“Yes, sir?”
“I’m not sure whether you’ve had a bad day or not, nor do I care . Can you please drop the attitude, though?”
“Attitude? I’m not sure what it is you are referencing.” Baou saw right through this lie.
“You think that I didn’t notice the little glares that you’ve been giving my little buddy here?” He narrowed his eyes, feeling insulted.
“I don’t-“
“Stop insulting my intelligence. It’s rather annoying.”
“…I-I apologize,” She set the check down, feeling ashamed of herself. Baou opened the check, looking at his total: Sixty-seven bits.
“It’s okay, this time. If it happens again, though, I may not be as nice.” He put his signature on the check and handed it back.
“Well, uh… thank you very much. Have a nice day.” A hint of awkwardness lined her voice as she took the bill back, beginning to walk away.
“Wait,” he requested.
“Y-Yes?”
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Silver Rose, Prince Baou.” That name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place where he’d heard it before.
“Hmm… okay. Well, Hitan, let’s get going.”
“The two got out of their seats and headed for the front door. The host gave a smile to them, asking, “How were your meals today, sires?”
“They were good, Bell Hopper. Just like always.” Baou offered a smile, looking down at Hitan, who gave a nod. “We can always depend on you for good food.”
“I’m glad that you had a pleasurable experience today. Have a good day!”
“Same as you, my friend.”
The two walked out of the restaurant, feeling full and a bit sleepy. Baou remembered how Hitan mentioned that he could induce a vision, so he briefly brought it up. “Hitan?” He stopped walking.
“Unu?” Hitan muttered, stopping in front of Baou and looking back at him.
“You mentioned that you could make a vision happen?”
“What about it?”
“Is there anything particularly dangerous about it?” Baou asked, a glint of curiosity in his eyes.
“No, not really.” He shook his head. “It’s just a very temporary change in the state of your mind, of which makes memories more vivid. That’s it. If I can question you, why do you ask?”
“Well, I’m a bit interested, you know, to see what it’s like?”
“Do you want me to do it to you?”
“Is that possible?” A smidgen of hope lined his voice.
“Un. Sure.”
Baou lowered himself to the ground, saying, “Let’s do it, then.” Once Hitan had climbed onto Baou’s back and was firmly seated, he stood back up.
“I guess that I should say that, even though the amount of time that passes in a vision may seem like weeks, or even months, it actually only lasts a small fraction of a second, so you don’t need to worry about being unconscious for a long time.” Baou turned his head around to look at Hitan. He gave a smile that told Hitan, “I trust you. ”
“How can I induce a vision in Baou?” he asked out, his Answer-Speaker turning on. No word-answer came, but instead, a few places once again glowed on Baou’s head. Hitan thrust his fingers into the spots, making Baou’s eyeballs nearly pop out of his head. His eyes immediately flashed, and another vision ensued.
Author's Note
I have included Japanese in the heading of this chapter because I wanted to pay homage to the story of Konjiki no Gash Bell (Zatch Bell!), the story that influenced this one.
私の小さな子馬：魔物の千年紀戦: Literally "My Little Pony: The Demon's Millennium Battle
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My Little Pony: The Millennium Battle of the Demons
Chapter Two: A Rude Awakening
私の小さな馬：魔物の千年紀戦
Preread by reflective vagrant , who deserves a digital high-five for his hard work!
The Mane Six and Spike sat in the lobby of the hospital silently, waiting for updates on the child’s condition. It had been fifteen minutes since the news that the boy had stabilized came, and relatively little had happened since. The seven sat there, and there was tense, awkward quiet in the room.
Everypony stared at the floor, all in deep worry for the creature that had just arrived in their world. Especially for Fluttershy, this was a difficult, emotional trial to face. She was biting at her hooves, almost in tears. Everypony had given her hope that everything would be okay, reassuring her that the child would be fine and the clouds of this ordeal would pass.
Fluttershy looked in the infirmary ward’s direction, a cold sweat dripping down her face. Despite her friends’ hopeful words, she still worried.
Suddenly the hospital doors slammed open, a ferocious voice behind it blowing a huge wave of wind into the hospital.
“Twilight Sparkle! Where art thou!? ” a newcomer shouted, stamping into the room. Her eyes glowed a bright white, and a fury raged within.
“Princess Luna, you’re here!” Twilight said back, standing up. Everypony soon followed as they bowed to her.
“We hast heard of the letter sent, from our sister! Whence is it!? ” Luna stomped a hoof against the floor, cracking it. Neither Twilight nor her friends had ever seen this blistering rage from Luna before.
“Princess, please calm yourse-”
“I’m sorry, but could you all please-” a nurse who trotted into the room started. Upon seeing Luna, she gaped and gasped. “N-Nightmare Moon!” She immediately dropped to a shivering bow, backing away towards the door she emerged from slowly. Luna deadpanned, releasing an angry sigh.
Finally calming enough to focus, she shook her head. She took momentary flight, lifting one hoof above her head. “We art nay longer that… monster everypony knew us as before! We art anon Luna, the princess of the night! ”
After a few moments of quiet, she dropped back to the ground. A merely sad look appeared on her face when she saw that the nurse had escaped back into the back room of the hospital. She looked at the ground, frowning.
“Princess, are you okay?” Rainbow Dash questioned, flying toward the lunar sovereign and landing in front of her.
“Yes, We art… fine.” She let out another sigh, this time of sadness. She looked back to Rainbow Dash before returning to her normal, regal posture. Her voice lowered as she turned back to Twilight. “Whence is this child thou wrote of?”
“He’s in the medical ward. When we found him, he was horribly injured, so we checked him in here.”
“We must see this child, for this couldst be a situation dire,” Luna informed, a stern look on her face.
“You would have to ask the nurse.”
Twilight called out for the nurse, who came back with a sweat dripping down her face. She peered around the corner, slowly edging around the door frame and coming back into the room. She gave another bow before stating, “I apologize for my r-rude behavior earlier. I did not expect to see you, Princess Luna.”
“‘Tis all right. We shouldst not hast pronounc’d ourselves so brashly,” she apologized, her voice still sounding loud and forceful. The nurse once again began to retreat as the princess stepped towards her, more aggressively than she intended. “I request access to the child recently admitt’d.” She lowered the volume of her voice further, perhaps too much, as her voice became nearly a whisper.
The nurse took a moment to think about it: Whether to allow her to see the boy or not. In the end, she knew that Luna was her princess, and that it’d probably be best to allow her to do so.
“Yes.” She nodded her head.
“Thank thou.”
The nurse guided Luna into the hallway and then into the room the child inhabited. Upon laying eyes on him, a wave of the most intense fear washed over her, and in her mind’s eye, she had a recollection of horrible memories.
‘Just like him...’ she thought, a cold sweat dripping down her face.
The child was wrapped all over in bandages, from head to toe, with only a few slits in the red-stained tape feeding in fluids from an IV. Luna had never seen any of this technology before, but that was besides the point. What mattered to her was the simple existence of the boy.
Next to the child’s bed was a solitary table, where the red book lay.
“This cannot be possible,” she mouthed, shifting her eyes to the book. “He really is one of them…” It was now a one-hundred percent certainty in her eyes as to what he was, and it horrified her.
She slowly and carefully approached, eyeing him slowly. She extended a hoof and touched the child, the soggy bandages squeezing out blood. Another round of traumatized memories flashed, and she jerked her hoof back.
“Why hath another one of thou foul cretin appear’d in this world!? ” she screamed, taking a step back. Her eyes turned to pinpricks, and her breathing staggered.
In a sudden moment, the child awoke, the loudness of Luna’s voice ringing in his ears. He could only barely make a faint moaning noise as his eyes opened. There were two small slits in the bandages for his eyes to see through, and he immediately clenched his eyes and tried to raise his hands to his face, but couldn’t.
Luna’s and the child’s eyes met, and a tense silence fell upon the room. Neither of them blinked, nor did they make a noise.
“Princess Luna, is everything all right?” Twilight shouted, galloping into the room.
“This creature hath nay purpose to be in this world! F’r all We know, this beast is merely a beshrew on Equestria! ”
In an instant, Luna used her magic and lifted him off the bed, detaching him from all of his IV units. The fluids all leaked onto the floor as she threw him into the nearest wall. His bandages tore on fragments of the wall, which fell on top of him.
“Princess Luna, what are you doing? Stop!” Twilight shouted. It was all in vain, as she once again lifted him up. In Luna’s magical grasp, the child writhed and squirmed, trying to break out from it. At this point, the other five of Twilight’s friends arrived in the room.
“Nani, okotte iru no ka? ” the child asked out, panicking.
(A/N: What’s going on?)
“Silence, thou impudent worm! ” Luna screamed, slamming him back down into the ground. The child’s face wrappings fell off, revealing a huge scar running down his face, from his forehead, down the left of his nose and ending at his upper lip.
Fluttershy, eyebrows furled and teeth bared, was about to step up and say something, but the child grasped at the fallen debris. He lifted himself up holding his right hip and scrunching his face. He opened his eyes, looking at his opponent. The look of bitter disgust and hatred towards Luna in his eyes scared Fluttershy out of her maternal rage.
He scowled at her, baring his teeth at her. His body glowed faintly red, as did the book on the table.
“Ore to onore ga atta no ga nakatta no ga, kisama, boku ni fuzakete mo ii to omou no ka!? ”
(A/N: I’ve never even seen you before, but you think you can just mess with me!?)
He leapt towards her, his body glowing bright red at this point. A deep fire burned in his eyes, and he knew that he would put this insignificant weakling in her place. To think that she would show such disrespect toward him!
The book also shimmered violently, to which Twilight noticed. Her attention was immediately brought back to the boy, though, as he landed and took one more stride towards Luna.
“Fu zakeru na! ”
(A/N: Screw off!)
In an instant, a blinding yellow light surged around his left hand, coating it in electricity. He slammed his fist into Luna’s cheek, shocking her and coating her body in painful lightning. She flew back into the wall behind her, causing it, too, to crumble and fall on her. The child, suddenly going unconscious, collapsed to the ground, slamming his head against the hard marble.
All of the Mane Six, including Spike, gasped at this horrible display between the lunar princess and the human, and Fluttershy screamed, running out of the room; this violence was too much for her to handle.
“How ghastly!” Rarity whispered, taking a step back. “Fluttershy!” She ran out after her friend.
Pinkie Pie gasped loudly, also taking a step back. “Ooh, sparkly!” she said, looking to the table and beginning to walk over toward it.
Immediately Luna stood up, shaking off the pain of the blast. She became irate. Her eyes glowed brightly and whitely. She stamped the ground, cracking it. “Anon, can thou seeth wherefore this creature is a beast!? 'Tis a blight on ponykind!” She charged her magic again, surrounding him in her blue aura.
“Princess Luna, stop!” Twilight demanded, using her own mana to envelop Luna’s horn, cancelling her magic. Doing so proved to be taxing on her mana reserves after but a moment, making her feel like a limp slice of bread.. Rainbow Dash flew in front of Luna, between her and the boy, and Applejack ran beside her. She set her hooves hardly on the stone defensively.
“All of you, wherefore doth thou side with that... cretin?” Luna gaped, her eye twitching. She looked betrayed as she glanced over to the face-down boy.
“Princess, I don’t know what you’ve got against him, but you need to knock it off!” Rainbow Dash shouted, lowering herself to the ground, though not touching down. Applejack nodded in agreement.
“B-But… He’s a-”
“Yeah, he’s a ‘bad guy,’ or whatever. I’m sorry, but you should pipe down, princess,” Rainbow Dash cut off.
Inwardly, the child smiled, knowing that he was getting his way.
Luna’s mouth dropped to the floor, unable to comprehend what was happening. How could they support this monster? It was blasphemy!
“You dare to defy me!? We are your princess, and We say that he is unwelcome here! ” Luna shouted, growling deeply and throatily. She stood back up, and her eyes both twitched. “You know not of what he is! We don’t comprehend why you defend him so!”
“You can’t just make that judgement like that! You have no reason to be so hostile towards him!” Twilight stood, feeling the pressure in the room starting to rise. It became more difficult to breathe suddenly.
“We have exactly the evidence We need to say so about him! We have-” Luna began, but was surprised when Twilight cut her off for the third time.
“Prove it,” she snarked.
“W-What?”
“Prove it. Show me what’s so bad about him.”
Did thou not just seeth what he did to us? He attack'd us!”
“You instigated, Princess. You had no excuse to hurt him first! I mean, I don’t think that it needed to escalate the way it did, but still, you started it.” Twilight knew that she had checkmated Luna, who look a step back.
“B-B-But…” Luna stammered, not believing that she had been outsmarted.
“Please, Princess Luna, stop arguing,” Rainbow Dash commented while rolling her eyes. “It’s pointless.”
Luna blanked, taking a deep breath. “Fine. Be that way. Stay in with thine stubbornness.” Luna looked away with an exaggerated “hmph. ”
When he saw the look of defeat on his opponent’s face, the child had to refrain from laughing. He could tell that she had been trumped in their little argument, and it joyed him so.
Carefully making sure the child did not object, Twilight lifted the boy up from the ground and put him back on the bed. He sported a new bruise on his forehead, but it didn’t look too bad.
“Has everything settled out in there, darlings?” Rarity asked from outside the door, peeking her head in. She jerked her head back when she saw how destroyed the room was.
“Oh, my! What happened?” she asked out, walking in. Fluttershy followed behind her, hiding meekly.
Meanwhile, Twilight was reconnecting the boy to his IVs and changed some of his bandages. She made sure that everything was tight enough around him, though she did loosen slightly if he groaned.
“There was a bit of a… mishap in here that we needed to take a moment to sort out, but everything’s okay now. Right, Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, gazing over to Luna.
All she gave was a cold glare. “We shalt see.” She had no regret on her face.
“...I’ll take that as a ‘maybe.’ Anyways, yes, everything is fine. We’ve settled everything for now.”
Both Fluttershy and Rarity gave sighs of relief. At the same time, a nurse trotted back in whose mouth dropped when she saw the damage. She blinked a couple of times before asking, “What happened here?” Her eyes gazed to Luna, and she screamed, “Nightmare Moon!” before running back out. Luna growled loudly, gritting her fangs.
“P-Princess Luna, p-please, c-c-calm down…” Fluttershy mumbled, then looked away shyly as Luna gave her attention.
Luna took a deep breath, trying to cool her head after that incident. It was just… all so much for her to hold in. Disbelief, really.
“Very well. We apologise f’r our rash portance. We had too much emotion to control ourselves.”
“...It’s o-okay, Princess,” Fluttershy responded slightly despondently, looking lowly at the floor. “C-Can we please move on…” She shied away slightly. “If that’s okay with you.”
Before Luna could react, the child gave a garbled moan from his bed, attracting everypony’s attention. Luna took a few step back, turning her head away, so as not to make eye contact. Fluttershy walked up to his right side, looking anxiously at him.
He opened his eyes, and for a moment, the two’s eyes locked together. Her eyes quickly turned to those of kindness, giving a small sense of security to the child. She stroked the top of his bandage-covered head.
“Are you okay?” she softly asked, picking his head up slightly from the bed.
“Kimi ga wakarenain da yo. ”
(A/N: I can’t understand you, you know.)
“Fluttershy, I don’t think that he knows what we’re saying to him. I wonder how we can make him…” Twilight trailed, thinking of the spells that she knew.
A little lightbulb went off in her head as she remembered an old spell that she learned while still in Canterlot.
“Fluttershy, can you please put him down? I have an idea.”
Fluttershy hesitated, glancing between the boy and Twilight. She slightly tightened her grip on him for a moment, but ultimately set him down a moment later and stepped back. Twilight’s horn began to charge up; she strained for magical energy as her horn glowed magnificently. She began to feel weary from the spell’s extreme requirements, but she continued nevertheless.
In an instant, she lowered her head down to the child’s, releasing her massive blast of light-red energy into his head. It funneled in through his nose and ears, and for a moment, his eyes lit up like a star as the knowledge of the Equestrian language filled his mind.
The instant the spell wore off, the child went unconscious. Fluttershy gasped, immediately rushing to his side, abruptly knocking Twilight, who was recovering, off her hooves.
“Oh, my goodness! Are you okay?” she cried, lifting his head up immediately.
“Fluttershy…” Twilight gasped a few times, catching her breath. “The spell made him go unconscious for a moment. He’s fine; trust me,” Twilight assured, standing back up and putting a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. Fluttershy sighed gratefully, and when she looked at Twilight expectantly, Twilight added, “It’ll only take him a few moments for his brain to work out all of the information. After all, he does seem to be sentient and smart enough to handle it.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” she squeezed out, putting her hoof on her chest.
“Un… Hnngh…”
Twilight stood back up onto her hooves, a little less shakily, looking over to the child. For a split second, his body had a magical glow, almost aethereal, as he opened his eyes up.
“F-Fuu…” he attempted to say, failing. “Fnn…” He had a hard time making sounds, as if his voice box was ejected from his throat. “Nuuf…”
“Uh, he-llo?” Twilight slowly asked, trying to make sure that he could get what she was saying. “Can you understand me?” She pronounced every syllable with extra care and annunciation.
“Ee… H-H… Hi…?” he pronounced, leaving his mouth hanging wide open as he crooked his neck. “Kyuu ni wak -stand you?” he shifted, blinking rapidly. “Suddenl...ly I can under-er-stand-d...you?”
“You understand us? That’s wonderful news! The spell worked!” Twilight exclaimed, ecstatic that her spell worked after all. Suddenly, a sneer could be heard from behind them as Luna stomped out of the room.
“You…” the child loudly growled, a poison traveling on his voice. It was clear that his accent hadn’t yet left him.
Luna shot the poison right back with her eyes. “Thou are not one to speaketh to Us in such a rude manner, thy cretin.” A darkness unlike any depths of the Earth and Tartarus lined her voice, barely noticeable, but strong enough to intimidate him.
“You l-littl-le-”
“Okay, let’s not start again, please.”
Luna didn’t give any reply as she exited the room, a small, dark aura surrounding her.
The child’s eyes were darting uneasily back and forth from his main opponent to the six other potential irritations in the room, and his stance shifted to accommodate the drop in pressure from the lunar princess leaving. “Uh… So… Whe-wher-re am I?”
“You’re in a hospital.”
“I do not know what th-that is,” he remarked, getting an eyebrow raise from Twilight and Rainbow Dash.
“Really?” Twilight retorted, throwing him an odd look.
"Did I not just tell-ll you that I do not know?” he asked irritably. He couldn’t roll his eyes harder, and with a scoff, he added, “You ar-re pr-retty dumb , ar-ren’t you?”
“Huh?” Twilight asked, with jaw-slacking dumbfoundedness on her face.
“I th-think it is quite id-diotic that you do not under-rstand what I said.”
“B-But-”
“Do not,” he snapped, heat rising in his head, “make me r-repeat mysel-lf.”
“Okay, okay! Cool it!” Rainbow Dash commanded. The child’s eyes rolled like marbles.
‘Like she could do anything to me anyway, ’ he thought, taking no credence to the threat.
Suddenly, the child realized an odd sense around him, barely even noticeable, like some sort of primitive sixth sense in the back of his mind, but brushed it off with a quick shake of the head, like the dislodging of a fly.
Applejack felt the heat in the room escalating, especially around the child, like a volcano waiting to erupt violently. “Alright. Everypony, mosey on down now—there’s no need t’ get up n’ antsy about this, now is there? We’re all tryin’ t’ figure out what’s goin’ on ‘ere, so why don’t we all take a breather?”
Twilight turned her head towards Applejack, with the occasional shift in her eyes back and forth from the child. “That… That’s probably a good idea, Applejack.”
Fluttershy poked her head out from behind Rarity, and Rainbow Dash came down to the floor as Twilight took a small step back. The child, however, only eased up from his fighting stance. His face still seemed to show no sign of respect or real trust.
Silence filled the air for an uneasy moment. Applejack looked around at the child and everypony in the room. “There’s probably a heap ‘f questions ya need answered, but maybe we should start with introductions, now that you’re awake n’ all.
The child’s eyes became a bit uncertain for a moment, but kept their distrust.
After a few moments, Applejack broke the silence. “Here, let me start. My name’s Applejack, and I work at Sweet Apple Acres on the edge ‘f town. Can I ask for yer name, hun?”’
His answer came in the form of darting of his eyes between them. He motioned back into a fighting stance.
“Okay, then...” Twilight said as she saw this. “I guess that’s a pass. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m the librarian, as well as Princess Celestia’s personal protege. Can we ask for your name now ?”
He blinked rapidly for a few seconds as his face fell into a state of disbelief. This mare being the underling of a princess? He couldn't take her seriously.
He found himself getting frustrated at the repeated name-asking, too. His face showed it, too, as his glare to her increased.
Before he could speak his mind, though, Rainbow Dash stepped in. “Twilight, how about we all tell him our names first?”
The child snorted loudly, causing them both to shift their views to him.
“What?” Twilight asked.
“She, ” he started, pointing to Rainbow Dash arrogantly, “is smarter than you ,” he finished, pointing at Twilight.
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
A vein throbbed in Twilight’s head, nearly bursting, as the child finished his interruption.
“Why, I never…” She had to resist completely freaking out on him with information on everything she’d accomplished—it wasn’t the occasion.
“Okay, that's not cool! You’re just a-”
“Rainbow Dash, please, just… don’t, please,” Twilight stepped up, taking the deepest breath her lungs would offer. “I think that I should leave for now and come back later, or tomorrow even. This entire time, it’s just been a conflict between me and him, and I think it’s because of the stress that he has right now from his injuries.”
She turned toward the boy. “I’m sorry for all the stress you have been put through until now, and for any that I might’ve added.”
The boy couldn’t help but revert to a slightly more calm state when she said that, but it sounded like pandering at that point. He had appreciation for the gesture itself, but what he didn’t like was that she was trying to appeal at his emotions.
“I’ll come back tomorrow, and maybe we can just start fresh. Is that okay?”
“Okay, f-fine.”
She then took her leave, and the room felt awkward, like those moments where someone else tries to hug you and you have absolutely no clue what to do, so you just sit there and take it.
“...Would you like to be by yourself, darling?” Rarity asked, to break the galactic tension that was utterly crushing the child inside.
“...F-For now, y-yes.”
Rarity left the room as well, and the rest of them got the notion that he was seeking solitary comfort and trotted out after her, except for Fluttershy. He raised his brow as she walked up to him with a smile.
“Can I hel-lp you?”
“If it makes you feel any better, sweetheart, I want you to know that my thoughts are with you to get better as soon as possible,” she softly said, kissing him on the forehead with love.
“Ah… Uh…” he mumbled, not understanding what was going on, or what she was talking about. He felt fairly okay, with a few places that ached here and there. He didn’t question it, though, as she was showing a great show of respect to him. He grinned as she nuzzled against him.
She pulled her head back, and looking into his eyes, said, “My name’s Fluttershy. What’s yours?”
He gave her an empty stare, his answer to a question he didn’t know how to respond to. His mouth hung open, as he tried to think of something to put in its place.
“My name… My name is…" He took a good few seconds to think, before the golden idea popped into his head. "Gash."
The lie slid right past her. She looked at him for a moment, unsure what to think about that name. “Gash… that’s a… nice name.”
“Th-Thanks.” She smiled at him.
“Well, I think that it’s time for me to go back home for today, so I’ll come back and visit tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure, pl-lease do.”
“Good-bye!”
She walked out of the room happily, and he felt a strong feeling inside his heart that made him feel really good.
With these feelings in tow, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, looking forward to their meeting the next day.
Author's Note
This takes place after Discord gets turned back into stone in Return of Harmony, but before the events of Luna Eclipsed, so that's why she's talking using old English/Equestrian.
The reason that "Gash" stutters so much is that because in the Japanese language various sounds, such as "th" or "we," don't exist, so he has to get used to his tongue doing things it hasn't before. Also, in Japanese, there are no English "l" or "r" sounds on their own. The Japanese "r" is like a combination of the English "l" and "r," so he also has to learn how to make those sounds properly.
I have included Japanese in the heading of this chapter because I wanted to pay homage to the story of Konjiki no Gash Bell (Zatch Bell!), the story that influenced this one.
私の小さな子馬：魔物の千年紀戦: Literally "My Little Pony: The Demon's Millennium Battle
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