Reflection Plus One

Several weeks had passed since Adrian first arrived in Canterlot and things could not have been better. After breaking up the princesses water balloon fight with an unexpected display of magical talent Adrian had been working to improve his mastery of the mystic arts. In addition to training with Celestia Adrian had been spending large amounts of time with Luna. After the success of their first date Luna and Adrian had been going out on a regular basis. Adrian had also made certain to maintain contact with Twilight and his Ponyville friends via letters. Twilight was particularly excited by Adrian's developing magic. If Adrian wasn't training, writing or spending time with Luna he could be found in the Canterlot library studying Equestrian history, philosophy, science, geography, and every other subject that he felt could be useful.

Life in Canterlot was definitely pleasant but Adrian had started noticing Celestia acting oddly around him. He would catch her giving him strange looks when she thought he wasn't paying attention, and she often would find excuses to get close to him during training. Celestia would flick Adrian with her tail or gently rub against him, once she even lay her head on his shoulder while he was casting a spell and he heard her give what he swore sounded like a suppressed moan of enjoyment. Adrian also could swear that whenever she saw him with Luna Celestia looked almost depressed. Adrian tried to confront her about it but whenever he attempted to get answers Celestia found a way to dodge the conversation, often by saying she had to attend to some royal errand or another.

As happy as Adrian was in recent days he had begun to think about his his home back on earth. Now that Adrian had gotten used to his new home he found his mind wandering back to his old life. Previously all this had seemed like a dream or a vacation, now that the initial excitement had passed it was starting to sink in that he would likely never see earth again. Adrian didn't regret coming to Equestria, and he was far happier than he had been on earth. But even so he found himself wishing that he could at least have said goodbye to his family and friends. Adrian wondered if they thought he was dead or if they might still be trying to find him. Adrian felt a twinge of guilt as he considered how this was just starting to occur to him. "I hope everyone back home is doing alright, I wonder if much has changed?", Adrian sighed as he looked out at Ponyville from his bedroom window. In two day's Adrian would be returning there, he would have gone sooner but he had wanted to get a better handle on his magic before going back. Adrian had made great strides under Celestias tutelage, he had mastered mana summoning and shaping with ease and now could perform a wide variety of spells. Adrian had also begun to develop his own spells, though on one occasion he almost blew himself up.

Adrian's daydreaming was interrupted by somepony clearing their throat, "May I come in?" asked his visitor. Turning from the window Adrian beheld Celestia staring at him from the open door wearing a concerned expression.

"Oh Celestia of course, come in." he said distractedly.

"Adrian you haven't been yourself recently, you seem upset and distant lately. Is something wrong?".

Adrian considered the question for a moment before responding.

"I guess I'm a little homesick I do like it here, I mean, I have everything I ever wanted and then some. But I guess I never really considered what leaving earth ment till recently.". Celestia nodded in understanding as Adrian continued. "I mean I never really liked my people as a whole but I still had people who I liked on an individual level. And I always loved the planet earth itself, the plants, the animals, even the weather. I know I typically act like nothing's bothering me but that's just a mask.".

Celestia nodded in understanding.

"Not to offend but I kind of wondered how you were able to accept all these sudden changes so easily."

Adrian gave a sad smile.

"Yeah well now you know I just kept my mind distracted so I wouldn't think about it. I guess I was so enamoured with leaving all the things I hated behind, it kept me from considering the good things I was losing. Still if I had the option to go back right now I wouldn't, this is my home now and I wouldn't change that for anything.".

Celestia nodded.

"You know if you ever want to talk to me I am happy to listen"

"Thanks but right now I just need to be alone for awhile."

"I understand, just let me know if you change your mind."

Turning around Celestia left Adrian to his thoughts. Adrian turned back to looking out the window only to pause halfway and get to his feet. He waited till Celestia was gone before heading for the lower levels of the castle. Under Canterlot castle was a number of large rooms that served as training areas for mages and the royal guard. Adrian had been using these chambers as testing grounds for the spells he was creating. He found that practicing his spellcraft was an excellent way to clear his head. Adrian had already created three spells original to him, the first was called "Sons of Sand", the second was "Soul Sword", and last was "Diamond Aura". The Sons of Sand spell was inspired by a book, it created almost invulnerable autonomous constructs out of sand, dirt, stone, ect each one bearing Adrians appearance. The Soul Sword spell was modeled after a sword from a game he liked known as the "Spirit Reaver". It conjured a blade made of pure energy to his hand, and he could alter the blades power and sharpness. He could make it only knock somepony out or he could make it sharp enough to cut dragonhide. As for the last spell it surrounded Adrian in a field of invisible force, it acted like armour but he also could adjust it to do a number of surprising things. After creating the three spells it occurred to Adrian that in all likelihood he would never need to use any of them. But he figured better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it, besides they looked awesome. "Still kinda hypocritical for me to create something like that after I said I hate how humans embrace conflict. But then I now live in a world with real dragons and other creatures that, based on my research don't exactly seem to play well with others. At least this new spell has a better use than conflict, assuming it works.". If anypony asked Adrian what his new spell was he would have told them it was a memory spell, but the truth was far more complicated. The spell worked on giving Adrian a sort of retroactive photographic memory, letting him recall with perfect clarity anything he ever experienced. It also allowed him to process information faster and more efficiently. However he had to make the spell work independently of his actual thought process otherwise it would risk making him experience every sensation and memory from his life all at once. It was analogous to adjusting the lenses for a pair of glasses, both lines of thought had to synch just right.

Adrian was quite certain that the worst case scenario would be the same as when a computer crashed. At best he would be a vegetable, at worst he could turn into a homicidal maniac. So he set up a failsafe, he summoned four of his sons of sand and hard coded them with orders to kill him if he raised his hand against any sentient lifeform. That done he set up another precaution that would knock him unconscious if he tried to leave the room without giving a passphrase. Now Adrian began to prepare the new spell, in truth he was going to test it days ago but never worked up enough courage. Adrian took a deep breath as he put the finishing touches on the new spell. Holding the energy within his body he mentally began to lock down parts of his mind. This last precaution would give him a much better chance of coming out of this unscathed if things went wrong, finally Adrian was ready. "Well anything worth doing requires risk." Adrian closed his eyes, he could hear the erratic beating of his heart as he allowed the spell to wash over him.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Luna glanced at the clock for the twelfth time tapping her hoof nervously on the castle dining room floor. "Where is he? Adrian is never late for us going out.", tonight was Adrian's last night in Canterlot. He had suggested they invite Twilight to join them for dinner saying he had something amazing to demonstrate and he wanted to share it with them. So she caught the train to Canterlot and arrived a few hours earlier with Spike. But Adrian had not been seen since the previous morning and Luna was starting to worry. Twilight noticed Luna's strained expression.

"Is everything ok Princess Luna?"

Luna jumped slightly at Twilight's voice, having been so busy worrying that she forgot her companion.

"It's just I've never known Adrian to be late, he is fanatical about never making ponies he cares about wait."

Twilight who was no stranger to the idea of keeping appointments on time at all costs, nodded her own concern growing, but still tried to reassure the princess.

"I'm sure he's on his way, it's only been fifteen minutes."

Luna nodded but still felt uneasy.

"It's just he's been distracted, lately he acts like he has some kind of burden but he won't tell me what it is. I don't suppose he told you?"

Twilight shook her head.

"No but when I got the invitation for dinner his letter did seem a little curt. Usually he writes long detailed letters that can run for pages, but this time it was barely a few sentences."

The conversation ended with the door to the throne room opened, but instead of Adrian it opened to reveal Celestia and Spike.

"Ok everything is ready" Spike stated proudly, much to the confusion of Twilight and Luna.

"Spike? Princess? What are you doing here? And what do you mean 'everything's ready'?"

"We aren't entirely certain, but that's what Adrian told us to tell you." Celestia answered.

"Wait! Sister, are you saying Adrians been with you two this whole time?!" Luna cut in, her voice taking a distinct edge.

Celestia looked surprised.

"Didn't you get his message to meet us all in the throne room?"

The two mares both shook their heads.

"That's odd but no matter, come with us Adrian said this would be something you will never forget."

Luna and Twilight gave each other a puzzled look but shrugged and followed Celestia and spike. Upon entering the throne room Luna and Twilight immediately saw Adrian. He was sitting crosslegged in the center of the room his eyes were closed and he seemed to be meditating. Luna and Twilight were about to run over to him but stopped when Adrian spoke.

"Girls stop, I am in the middle of a spell and I need as few distractions as possible. I promise you will understand in a moment, but for now just find a spot to sit where you can see me clearly."

Luna and Twilight wanted to yell at Adrian that they had been worried but held their tongue's deciding to wait and see what he had planned. Seeing Spike and Celestia had already chosen seats they took their place next to them.

"Good, now before we begin I need you to remember that everything you're about to see is an illusion, so none of us can be harmed by what you see. The performance is of three parts. The first is meant to reflect Twilight, the second reflects Luna, and last but not least is a reflection of Celestia. Also these songs are not original to me, they are all from various musicians on earth that I like but the visual effects are mine, I hope you enjoy them."

Adrian smiled as he completed his spell.

"The first song is 'Lift' by a group called 'Poets of the fall'."

As the music began the room suddenly vanished becoming a world of endless blue sky in all directions, an image of Adrian appeared flying through the air. As the four watched Adrian motioned them to follow him then shot forward at an impossible speed, clouds rushed passed and through them as the scene changed. Now under a star filled sky they rushed over an eternal lake filled with white lotus blossoms, the illusionary Adrian snached one from the lake surface then shot backward. As the lake continued to rush past Adrian's doppelganger hovered in front of Twilight presenting her with the flower levitating it from his hand to rest in her mane. Twilight blushed as the figment smiled at her before it exploded into thousands of star like motes of energy. As the audience watched the stars arranged themselves into an image of Twilight and Adrian. The Adrian image seemed to be sitting alone in the dark hugging it's knees to it's chest. The Twilight image walked over to the one of Adrian and seemed to say something to him whereupon he rose slowly to his feet. The faux Twilight held out her hoof to the faux Adrian who slowly and hesitantly placed his hand on it. The instant the star image of Adrian touched Twilights hoof the scene changed again. Now Adrian and Twilight where solid images hovering over Ponyville. Twilight gave a sweeping gesture towards the horizon and the two shot into the air stopping when they reached the clouds. The Adrian image smiled as he released Twilight's hoof his eyes beginning to glow. Stretching out his hand Adrian began to gather the clouds together with tendrils of lightning arcing from his hands. When he had enough clouds Adrian began using the lightning to shape them into a fantastic castle. The clouds then changed as he finished, now the castle seemed made of gold and silver. The castle was like nothing anypony had ever seen, it didn't look so much built as molded into artful shapes that looked almost organic. The song ended with the castle shrinking down till it fit in Adrians hand, whereupon he presented it to Twilight as if he was swearing loyalty to her.

With the song's end the illusion vanished to show that they were all still in the throne room. Twilight could think of nothing to say, nopony had ever done anything like this for her before.

Spike summed it up best.

"Wow."

Luna and Celestia just stared at Adrian in open mouthed amazement, they had never seen illusions used so elaborately or with such skill. In addition to controlling the illusions Adrian was also able to sing, and replay the music from memory, how was that even possible?

"So did you enjoy the performance?" Adrian asked.

"That was incredible!" cried Celestia.

"Beautiful." breathed Luna.

"Awsome!" yelled Spike.

Still unable to speak Twilight just nodded.

"Good, then I will begin the next one, it's called 'Whispers in the dark" from a group called 'Skillet'."

This time when the music began the setting was of a nighttime desert landscape. As they watched a figure wearing a large cloak that partially obscured his features stepped out from the shadows. Up to this point the music had been very quiet with few instruments, now it exploded with sound. At the change in the music the figure's "cloak" instantly unfolded into two massive bat wings. When the wings unfolded a cloud of ruby red rose petals billowed out from the figure. The figure within the cloud was made fully visible by the rose petals parting to create a sort of tunnel from him to the audience. The figure had Adrian's face but was pale as the moon his expression was predatory as he raised one arm directing the constantly moving rose petals to circle Luna. As Luna watched a glowing mist spilled from her mouth forming a sphere. The rose petals stopped circling Luna and began to orbit the sphere as it was pulled to the odd looking copy of Adrian. As the orb floated forward it changed becoming a ghostly clone of Luna. When the ghostly apparition reached Adrian he brought his wings to encircle it, blocking it from view. A moment later Adrian parted his wings to reveal a perfect copy of Luna. Next a number of shadowy figures emerged from behind the dunes of pale sand and began advancing on Luna and Adrian. With a smirk Adrian bowed to Luna before using his wings to blast himself into the air while the rose petals created a shield around her blocking her from view again. Whirling around in place Adrian snapped his wings propelling himself at the lead shadow who, now that it was closer, was revealed to have cruelly curved claws. The bat winged Adrian struck the lead shadow with the force of a battering ram. Causing it to burst into a small cloud of black mist. Now flaring his wings Adrian conjured a sword darker than the night sky and launched himself at the remaining shadows. With his every move in sync with the music Adrian destroyed shadow after shadow in an elegant and lethal dance. As the song drew to a close a single shadow was able to get passed Adrian. Just as the music ended Adrian threw his sword into the last shadow's back before recalling the sword back to his hand with a dramatic flourish. As the desert scene faded the rose petals fell away to reveal Luna with Adrian bowing to her on one knee his sword plunged into the ground before him.

Now back in the throne room again Luna blushed as she and the others applauded. Luna had to admit seeing the pony she loved fighting for her was very exciting.

Adrian smiled.

"Thank you ladies and dragons now the last act, this song is called 'Runaway' by the band '3 Doors Down'."

Once more the room vanished under the illusion this time showing a train track and slow moving train surrounded by thick woods. After letting the song play for a few seconds an illusionary Adrian ran smiling from the woods. After glancing around he waved somepony in the woods to follow, a moment later he was joined by a laughing Celestia. Running alongside the train they jumped into an open train car smiling the whole time. Next the scene shifted to Adrian and Celestia lying in a sunny field as the clouds passed overhead. Keeping in time with the music the scene continued to shift. In one scene Adrian and Celestia shared dinner while looking out at a cityscape, in another they swam in a lake splashing each other . Scene after scene showed Celestia and Adrian doing everything from running from the royal guard in an amusement park to sharing a drink on a yacht in the middle of the ocean. The last scene was of them finally returning to Canterlot escorted by the royal guard, only to escape onto another train while making faces at the furious guardponys.

As the final act ended Celestia stood frozen as Luna and Twilight looked at her questioningly.

"You and Adrian seemed on quite familiar terms in that last performance, is there something you two aren't telling us sister?"

Luna asked suspiciously as Celestia began to look extremely nervous.

"Yeah, is there something were not telling them?" Adrian asked, while simultaneously praying in his head that his guess about Celestia's odd attitude toward him was right. If he had guessed wrong he was certain she would at least break his legs and at worst turn him into a smoldering pile of ash. Worse still he would completely deserve it.

"I-I-I" Celestia stuttered.

"Ok, before Celestia can weasel out of this, I am just going to be direct. I think Celestia has a crush on me, and want's to join our herd but she's indecisive because of Luna and Twilight. Am I correct or do I need to start apologising?"

Celestia looked nervously from Luna, to Twilight, to Adrian.

"How did you figure it out?" she asked softly.

"Oh right like you weren't broadcasting it in the most obvious way possible. The only way you could have made it more obvious would be if you made a giant neon sign. I kept trying to ask you in private but you always found a way to avoid the question. I finally decided to try going for broke and hope I was right, I also figured you wouldn't lie to my face if I cornered you."

Luna and Twilight looked at each other, Twilight nodded.

"You know sister if you wanted to join us you should have just asked."

Celestia's expression became hopeful.

"So none of you mind?"

Luna, Adrian, And Twilight smiled and shook there heads. Celestia let out an enthusiastic "Thank You!".

Deep in the everfree it was silent, as if the world was holding it's breath. There was something in the air that felt wrong, and unnatural. A solitary squirrel cautiously picked it's way through the underbrush but stopped as the air in front of it began to shimmer. As the small rodent watched frozen in fear something emerged from the shimmer. The thing was not very big only about the size of a tennis ball, as it emerged it emitted a soft humm. The thing was a sphere of liquid metal like living mercury, as the air ceased shimmering it slowly hovered in place. The squirrel began to slowly back away hoping that the thing had not seen it. Two paces, no reaction, three paces no reaction, four, five, the squirrel prepared to run. The squirrel had turned around and started it's first step when it felt a sharp sting in it's back. A tendril of liquid metal as thin as a sewing needle connected the squirrel to the humming orb. Almost immediately the squirrel began screeching and thrashing in pain, the agony was too much for the poor animals heart, the shock causing it to to fail. This did not matter to the orb as it began modifying the creature's blood and its body. After another few seconds the orb withdrew it's tendril and the dead squirrel rose to its feet it's eyes now made of the same liquid metal as the sphere. This was only for a moment then it looked like any other squirrel but it stood stock still as it's mind linked with it's creator. Immediately the orb began to program it's new drone.

Priority one: assimilate.

Priority two: learn.

Priority three: test.

Priority four: evolve.

Priority five: perfection.

Query: what is perfection?

Response: perfection is survival.

Query: what are we?

Response: we are all.

This was the core of the drones programing the drone now existed to aid its creator in achieving the five priorities. The sphere would carry on with priority one, while the drone was tasked with starting priority two. The drone knew where to start, the only place the original squirrel had ever been besides the forest. Images from the former squirrel's mind showed a yellow winged quadruped, a small artificial structure, and. . . . a town.

Author's Note

This chapter is a little lackluster but I did manage to introduce the villain "or villains". I know my story telling skills need a lot of work, but I take great pride in showcasing this enemy. I created them for a friend who originally dreamed of putting them in a video game. I know some of you will think "oh goody killer machines like we haven't seen that in every other sci fi game and/or movie.". Well just to clarify:

1. They aren't exactly machines "It's complicated I'll explain later.".

2. I am someone who looks at a Megaladon and thinks "Nice, but it needs to be more deadly.".

3. This new enemy will let me shape all those monsters in the MLP universe into something that will make a nuclear holocaust seem pleasant.

4. There is no 4

5. I love imagining new spells, weapons, and so on.

6. You won't hear much more about this enemy until I manage to figure out how character development works. "At the rate I'm going I estimate 5000 or so years for this.".

7. There is no seven either, "also I have no idea what this list is for any longer.".