Misplaced For Redemption

Shard and Eclipse were sleeping soundly while Flame was reconnecting to the magical leylines.

I forgot how complicated this could be

Suddenly a bright light appeared at the corner of the room, when the light died down the figure of a young woman was standing there with her hands joined.

Who are you?

Relax, I am a friend, I am here to give you a message

What is the message?

When the darkness becomes too great for Shard to handle, my son will appear to help restore the balance. Remember these words. their meaning will become clear in time

I will, thank you

With that the girl transformed into a ball of light and flew through a wall. Flame was questioning the meaning behind the girls words, having no choice but to trust her, he put the thought to the back of his subconscious. He then returned to trying to reconnect to the leylines, only to find the energy no naturally flowing into him.

Just who was that girl?

A few hours later Shards eyes creeped open, he sat up and stretched his arms out while yawning. He looked to Eclipse who was starting to waken up, he then looked to Flame who was leaned against the wall.

Good evening you two, I trust you had a pleasant sleep

"Yeah, I haven't slept that good in years, this mattress is super comfortable." He swung his legs to dangle off the edge of the bed. "Wait, did you say evening?"

Yes, you slept for a good sixteen hours, Eclipse needed some rest after he was attacked and your body was drained of most of its energy when we crossed the portal

"I...guess that makes sense." He turned his attention to Eclipse. "How you feeling?"

"Better, I should be back to normal by morning, for now let's get something to eat." Both of their stomachs grumbled in agreement. "Come on, I'll have the chefs make you something." Shard picked up Flame and strapped him to his back. They exited the lab to see Luna heading towards them. She smiled and waved.

"Good evening you three."

"Hey Luna."

"Hey sis."

Hello again princess

"I trust you all slept well?" Shard and Eclipse nodded.

Yes, it was very pleasant

"Well then, let's get you something to eat, Celestia is waiting in the dining hall." Luna was about to lead them to the dining room when she remembered what Flame told them yesterday. "Flame, I think you should stay silent during our meals."

I understand Luna

She nodded her head and started walking down the unnecessarily long hallway and they all eventually reached their destination. The guards looked unsure about Shard but let him pass, after being assured by Luna of course. When they entered the saw Celestia looking at them with a relaxed smile.

"Sister, you seem...happier since last night. Did something happen?" Celestia chuckled.

"Yes, I visited ponyville earlier this morning and had a lovely chat with someone new." She motioned for them to sit down, she turned her attention to Shard. "I don't believe we've met, I am princess Celestia, but you can call me Celestia." She extended a hoof which Shard took in his hand.

"My name is Shard Storm, it is a pleasure to meet you prin...er, Celestia." Celestia giggled at his mistake and retreated her hoof, when he turned to take his seat she spotted the blade on his back.

"Is that the Flames of Disaster?" They all froze in place, all to scared to say anything. "It's alright, I had known that it would show up eventually, I just hope that you can wield it properly." Shard thought for a moment, he was about to say something when Flame suddenly spoke up.

It has been a long time Celestia

Celestia froze at the sound of the extra voice. "Who said that?" Shard unstrapped Flame from his back and placed him in front of her. "The sword has a consciousness?"

Indeed I do, the Elements of Harmony work in mysterious ways, when you sent me to Shards world I gained a soul. I am now able to communicate with anyone who has held me in any way

Celestia was surprised by these turn of events, she hadn't taken into account that Flame would gain a mind of its own. "If that is the case, I hope there is no hard feelings."

It's alright, you had your reasons and were just looking out for your subjects. I was dangerous and uncontrollable, you did what you had to do. Besides, now I have a worthy user

Celestia looked at Shard and he chuckled nervously. "Are you sure he can handle your power?"

Yes, he has already shown promise and is a master swordsman

"Very well. Shard, please be careful with him." He nodded and returned Flame to his back. He sat down and looked over the menu that was in front of him. "So, what would you like to eat?" He spotted something that he had not eaten in years.

"I'll have some waffles with the chocolate syrup." Celestia smiled and looked to her siblings.

"Same." The said in unison, Celestia chuckled.

"Alright, I guess it's four orders of chocolate waffles." They all shared a quick laugh. A few minutes later the chefs brought their meals, while the looked unsure about Shard, they have had to serve strange new creatures before.

"So Tia, you said you met someone new in ponyville, who was it?" Eclipse asked with curiosity.

"It was someone who was pulled by the star."

"Really, what was his name?" She swallowed her mouthful and placed her hoof to her chin.

"His name was Cybe Catcher." Shard spat out the water he was currently drinking.

"Did you just say Cybe Catcher!?"

"Y-yes, is something wrong?" Shard got up from his seat.

"Cybe Catcher saved my life once, he's a hero on my world!" He sat down with shock. "I can't believe he got dragged here as well."

"You know he's not proud of that battle?" Shard looked at Celestia with a raised eyebrow. "Do you think he feels like a hero?"

"He saved thousands of lives, he should feel like a hero." Celestia shook her head in sadness.

"During our chat, he told me that he regrets not being able to save all of those cyborgs, he may have saved many lives, but he also had to take many as well." This information was sinking in, and Celestia could tell. "Cybe and I have something in common, we both have had to make tough decisions for the greater good." She looked to Luna who was now saddened by the conversation, Eclipse was listening with great interest. "He is now haunted by the souls of those people, he holds onto the pain of the fallen, now wishing only to protect his sister." He thought for a moment, taking everything in, realisation hit him like a drunk driver.

How the hell could I be so blind, I saw the look in his eyes when he was facing that cyborg. Who in their right mind would ever want to do something like that?

It appears that he has learned not to rush to conclusions

Wait, you can read my thoughts?

"We all can." Eclipse stated casually after taking another bite of his waffles.

"That's...kind of creepy."

"Perhaps, just wanted to make sure you learned something."

Shard groaned, feeling like his mind was being violated. Celestia giggled and finished her meal. She told them that she had some more duties to attend to and after she would retire to her bedroom. They bid her goodnight and she left the room.

Um...can I ask you something Shard?

"Sure."

Could I...have a bite of your waffles?

The three of them stared at the sword and blinked at the same time.

"Uh...you can't eat anything, you're a sword." Luna stated with confusion.

Just set a piece beside me

Shard obliged, deciding to humour the blade. When he set Flame on the table he tore a piece of his waffle and placed it beside Flame. The piece then burst into flames and the flame was absorbed by the sword.

Ah, it's been so long since I've tasted anything

The three of them had eyes the size of dinner plates. "I...don't know what to think anymore." Shard stated in a tired voice. After everything that has happened in the past twenty four hours, he was ready to throw away his sanity. "I can tell that this is only the calm before the storm." He mumbled to himself.

Over the course of the evening, Luna and Eclipse showed Shard around the castle. He seemed interested in the Canterlot gardens, specifically the statues. He noticed one of the pillars had a vacant spot. "Hey, were is the statue that's meant to be there?" Eclipse looked to the empty pillar and sighed.

"The statue that was here was a stone prison to the spirit of chaos, Discord." Shard looked at him then to the pillar. "He was sealed in stone by the elements of harmony, he was released a few months ago and reformed by the element of kindness. He currently lives in ponyville. I suspect he might have already met that Cybe fellow." Shard nodded, deciding just to accept what this world threw at him.

"Shard, are you alright?" Asked Luna, noticing the troubled look on his face.

"I'm find Luna, it's just, all of this is a little hard to take in."

"How so?"

"I know that creatures like griffins, hydras and minotuars are a part of daily life here, but back on my world, we have no such creatures. We don't have magic, we don't have enchanted candles and we don't have spirits of chaos. All of those things are mythology on my world, and now I'm standing in a world surrounded by mythical creatures." Eclipse and Luna looked at each other, suddenly realising what Shard was talking about.

That is a lot to take in over the course of one day

"It is, I just need some time to recompose myself. You two go on ahead, we'll meet you back at the lab." Both ponies nodded and walking off. When they were out of ear-shot Shard let out a loud sigh, he slumped back against the empty pillar and put his hands to his face.

How is it that when you were being told all of this yesterday you were fine but now you're getting frustrated?

"I was probably too tired to react properly." That was the only explanation that Shard could come up with, but hey, it's better than saying he thought he was tripping out the entire time. With another sigh he straightened himself and began exploring the gardens. After passing a few rose bushes and greeting a few birds that flew by, he came across a clearing of grass. He sat down under a tree and unsheathed Flame, he set the scabbard on the ground and examined the blade. "You have an interesting design Flame, you don't get many custom blades these days."

What do you mean?

"I doubt that anyone has ever seen an orange blade before, and you seem to have a gem on the bottom of your grip. You look like you came straight out of an anime."

A what?

"An animated series created in Japan. Can be weird and goofy most of the time, but there are loads that are just pure and utter awesomeness."

I think you need to watch your grammar Shard, that made sense but at the same time it didn't

"Ok, I'll try, I'm not exactly the best when it comes to speech." After laying there for around 10 minutes they heard a high pitched scream. Shard jumped to his feet. "What in the hell was that?!"

It came from inside the woods, to the north of here

"I can't tell which way is north right now, just tell me which direction!"

To the right

Shard sheathed Flame and bolted towards the source of the screaming.

They came across a clearing where they saw a young mare with purple fur and a black mane backing away from three incect looking ponies.

Changelings! Quick, get them away from that little girl!

Shard didn't respond, he only unsheathed Flame and charged at the bug-like-ponies. He swung at the first one and it was sent flying back by a massive wave of fire. The other two stared in shock, one of them made a buzzing sound and multiple changelings appeared. The young mare hid behind a large tree. Once Shard knew she was safe he turned his attention to the hoard in front of him. There was easily one hundred changelings. "Looks like they recognise me as a threat." He spun Flame around with his hand and motioned the bugs to come at him. Five of the changelings at the front of the group charged at him, Shard positioned Flame over his head and struck the ground, causing a ring of fire to block the advance. "What the, how'd I know how to do that?"

I placed the move in your muscle memory, don't ask how, there should be many more that will activate on reflex

This time ten bugs charged him from multiple directions. Another reflex kicked in and Shard tilted his sword on the ground and shot the tip to the sky, causing a pillar of fire to shoot up and burn the bugs to ashes.

Point me towards the crowd while focusing on the pillar of fire

Shard followed the order and pointed at the crowd with Flame. The pillar of fire swirled in the air before plummeting to the ground, taking out 30 changelings. "Whoa." He looked at Flame and smiled. "I think this will be a good way to blow off some steam." He charged at the remaining changelings, once he was close enough he used the fire created by Flame to blast into the air. Once he started to descend he started spinning, he gathered enough momentum to create a tornado of fire.

That was...new

The burning twister sucked up half of the bugs and burned them to ashes. When he landed on the ground, Shard faced the last fifteen changelings. "Now that their numbers are down, let's finish them off with some good old fashioned swordplay."

Good, use skill and not brute force

Shard dashed at two of the bugs and sliced of their horns then slit their necks with a 360 spin. After dealing with the rest of the changelings, Shard looked to a nearby dust cloud, where a larger changeling stood. He was holding two cyrstalic blades and smirking. "I take it your their leader?"

The bug dashed right into Shard and Shard blocked his blades with Flame. They both smirked and traded blow for blow, perfectly dodging attacks and blocking when dodging wasn't an option. Shard noticed a pattern in his opponents form. Taking advantage of this he managed to stager his opponent, he then preformed a sword breaking move and shattered the changelings blades. He held his sword at the tip of the changelings throat. The bug sighed.

"I admit defeat, you were more observant and I let my confidence blind me." Shard saw the sincerity in his eyes and lowered his sword, he knew that if he struck down an opponent after they admitted defeat it would damage his honour.

"What's your name?"

"Incectia III." Shard sheathed Flame.

"Well, I'm glad to have met a worthy opponent. My name is Shard Storm. You are free to go, you are no longer a threat." He began to walk away.

"We will be seeing each other again Shard, remember that." Shard continued walking.

"I will." The changeling disappeared. Shard walked over to where the mare was hiding. He found her cowering behind a log. "Hey, it's ok, I won't hurt you." The mare looked at him unsure. "Don't worry, I only hurt bad guys like changelings." She looked back at him and walked over. She stood directly in front of him and rubbed her hoof nervously.

"Um, thank you for saving me..." She quickly planted a kiss on his cheek and speed of towards the castle. Shard just sat there, shocked by the sudden action and a slight blush on his face.

Equus to Shard, you in there?

Shard shook his head and chuckled. "This has been the craziest day of my life." He began the trek back to the lab, unaware that Celestia and Eclipse had been watching from a nearby cloud.

"Well, that happened." Eclipse placed his hoof to his muzzle. "To think he would spare a changeling after butchering so many."

"Indeed brother, it seems that his honour as a swordsman was at risk, something you should be familiar with." Eclipse nodded.

"We should probably set the guards on alert. It would seem that Chrysalis is planning something."

"That would be wise." They both flew towards the castle. Both unaware that their youngest sibling was watching from the shadows.

"Such power, to think that he can keep a healthy state of mind after that much bloodshed." She thought for a moment. "I think I found my knight."