Chapters Within the Everfree Forest things were relatively peaceful until a silver veil form out of nowhere and from it a young boy was launching out. His hair was short and black but his eyes were hectochromatic and were red and gold. The boy had blood dripping from his body, from wounds made by large poles blades sticking out of various parts of his body, as he struggled to stand. He turned back to the veil as it vanished. After he began walking struggling to stay concious. Often he was forced to use trees to keep himself from falling but even as he walked he was shedding tears. He was unable to walk for long before he collapsed and a puddle of blood began to form.
Near the edge of the Everfree Forest Fluttershy had finished feeding all of her animal friends when a blue jay flew towards her.
"Is something wrong?" she asked noticing the bird seemed to be in a panicked state. The blue jay chirped rapidly but Fluttershy was able to make out enough to understand something about an injured creature in the Everfree. "Oh my. Can you take me to this creature?" The blue jay nodded before Fluttershy went to get her first aid kit. Afterwards she was led into the forest, the prospect of helping an injured creature overwhelming her natural fear of the forest but upon laying eyes on the fallen child her eyes widened in absolute terror and tears began flowing. She ran up to the creature uncertain of what to do when she heard something. She moved her ears closer to his face and found that despite his injuries and blood loss he was still breathing. This gave her some relief but it didn't change the problem at hand. Whatever this creature was had been heavily injured so she was uncertain of what to do. If she moved it or tried removing the metal bars that were sticking out of it there's a chance she'd put its life at risk.
"Mister Blue Jay I want you to go to the castle and bring Twilight while I watch over this creature." instructed Fluttershy. The blue jay nodded and flew off. Luckily it wasn't long after that the rest of her friends showed up which was kinda lucky.
"Fluttershy, what's the big emergency?" asked Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy moved to the side allowing the others to see the creature which caused the same reaction she'd had.
"What happened?" asked Twilight.
"I-I'm not sure. Mister Blue Jay told me there was a creature injured in the forest and he brought me to this creature. Normally I'd take it home to treat it but I've never treated injuries this severe." said Fluttershy trying to keep her emotions in check. "I didn't move him because I was afraid that if I did I might make it worse." Twilight couldn't help but smile at her friend's concern but quickly regained her composure.
"We'll need to get....whatever this is to the hospital. They'll have a better chance of saving it." said Twilight as she began levitating the creature as softly as she could.
The hospital, while having patients, wasn't terribly busy so when the Mane 6 arrived with an injured and heavily bleeding creature a good portion of the staff went to work immediately taking him to the operating room.
While concerned for the injured creature's well being Twilight knew she'd have to send Celestia a letter about so she and Luna could meet the creature and assess whether or not the creature was a threat. She told her friends she'd return and headed to the castle where she had Spike send the letter before the two went to the hospital. It was around two hours before the Princess showed up asking about the creature's state. They hadn't heard any news since they took it into the operating room. It was another hour and a half before the doctor approached them.
"Doctor how is it?" asked Fluttershy.
"For now we've done all we can but from what I can tell it has as accelerating healing rate. Not a lot faster but I believe it'll be able awaken in a few days." said the doctor causing them to sigh. "There is one thing though." he added causing them to turn to him. "The metal bars that were in his body seemed to be made for capture."
"Wh-What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy.
"The bars were more like spears. Each one had a blade but they were serrated." explained the Doctor. "This means that they were meant to cause more damage if they'd been pulled out."
"Who would do such a thing to such a young little creature?" asked Pinkie Pie outraged.
"I wish I knew." said the doctor. "There is something else though. I believe this creature is sentient like us because it was wearing clothes but we were forced to cut them off."
"So his kind wear clothes." said Twilight.
"Yes and that's not all." said the doctor taking something out of his pocket. "We found this in one of his pockets." he said handing it to Twilight revealing it was a locket. She opened it and inside they saw a picture of the creature with three older creatures. Two were much older making it obvious they were its parents. The other creature was older but it didn't look a whole lot older than the one they saved.
"They must be its family." said Twilight.
"How could its family let this happen to it?" asked Rainbow Dash angrily.
"Please calm yourself Rainbow Dash." said Celestia. "We do not know anything about it or how it ended up here."
"Doctor can we see it?" asked Twilight.
"Of course." said the doctor. He led them to the room where the creature was heavily bandaged and attached to a few machines. Fluttershy noticed something and approached the bed.
"Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow. Fluttershy just kept walking before removing a band-aid on the creature's cheek.
"What are you...?" asked Twilight approaching but stopped when she saw the creature's cheek and became shocked to see the gash that had been there had fire at the edges and was very slowly closing. The others approached and became surprised when they saw this. Twilight also noticed something else. The regeneration hadn't been that fast at first but when the Princesses got closer it became faster. "That's strange."
"What is it Twilight?" asked Celestia.
"I could be wrong but when you got closer to him the wound started closing faster." said Twilight. They looked and noticed the wound on its cheek closing faster until it was completely healed.
"So what do we do?" asked Rainbow.
"We'll have to let it rest for now." said Celestia.
"Um Princess." said Fluttershy getting her attention. Then she signaled towards the creature which seem to be eminating smoke from its body before parts of the bandages starting catching on fire.
"What do we do? What do we do?" asked Pinkie in a state of panic right before it was engulfed in fire shocking them. The others were about to panic when Twilight raised her hoof.
"I don't think the flames are hurting it." explained Twilight. The others looked closely and noticed the creature's form was still visible through the fire.
"Hopefully it isn't hostile." said Luna.
"I don't believe it is." said Celestia as she approached the flames noticing that they weren't as hot as one would expect. For a moment she closed her eyes as her horn began to glow lightly.
"Sister?" asked Luna.
"It's okay Luna." said Celestia with a smile. "This creature is a child. A child in pain."
"I'd imagine so with the injuries he sustained." said Rarity.
"That is not what I mean." said Celestia. "I'm not sure how but I can sense the child's in pain emotionally." It was then Luna's horn began glowing as well and she closed her eyes.
"I feel it as well." said Luna as she flames dissipated revealing the child but with only his hospital gown. The bandages had essentially been incinerated.
"Okay....that was weird." said Rainbow. Fluttershy flew above the creature's head and placed a hoof on its forehead.
"He's not hot."
"So whatever this thing is has the power to control fire?" asked Rainbow not liking the idea.
"That seems to be the case." said Twilight as she looked at the child sleeping soundly causing her to smile. "We should probably go. He'll need his rest."
"How can you tell its a colt?" asked Applejack.
"This is what I turned into when I went to the other world to get my crown back." replied Twilight. "Although he's much younger."
"So this is what a human looks like." said Luna as she looked at the boy who turned over and fell off the bed lending face first on the floor without waking which caused them some surprise but also a few giggles when they noticed he was still soundly sleeping. Twilight lifted him and placed him back on the bed with her magic.
"We shall returned tomorrow to check on him." said Celestia. "For now we should be getting back to Canterlot." Luna nodded before the two returned.
"I'll stay here tonight and watch over him." said Fluttershy.
"Alright. We'll come visit tomorrow." said Twilight.
"Just be careful Fluttershy. We don't know of that thing's dangerous." said Rainbow Dash.
"I will." said Fluttershy, not particularly happy at how her friend had refered to the young boy. Once the others left Fluttershy moved a chair that had been in the corner of the room near the bad and sat looking sadly at the boy.
Author's Note
There's something in this that I kinda forgot about until near the end of the chapter. Try to see if you can see what it was.
A Lost Child
Chapter 2
It was fairly early in the morning as the boy's eyes opened slowly. He looked around and figured he was in a hospital. For a moment he wondered what had happened to him but quickly recalled everything. He looked at his hands for a moment before hearing someone's breathing. He turned to see a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. He could hear her mumbling in her sleep causing him to smile softly.
'I should go. I'll only cause them pain.' he thought to himself as he examined that he was attached to a machine. He softly got out of bed and unplugged the machine before removing everything and realizing he was in a hospital gown. 'Well....crap.' he thought to himself. 'Fantastic. I'm an eight year old with nothing on but his only pair of boxers and a hospital gown.'
After he slowly made his way out avoiding the hospital staff.
A few hours later Fluttershy began to awaken. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before turning to see how the boy was doing only to see the bed empty. She rubbed her eyes again before realizing the child was in fact gone which caused her eyes to widen. Immediately she ran out and spotted Nurse Redheart.
"Nurse Redheart have you seen the boy we brought in yesterday?" asked Fluttershy frantically.
"No." replied Nurse Redheart immediately looking into the room before going to up the doctor who had just come in. "Doctor we have a problem."
"What's wrong?"
"The patient in room 207 is gone!"
"What?!" he asked in shock. He went to the com mic on at the desk. "All nurses we have a runaway patient. The patient resembles a hairless monkey with no tail but some hair on the top of the head." At that several nurses started searching around.
After almost an hour of searching the doctor turned to Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy I'm sorry to say this but the creature's gone. It must've left the hospital."
"Oh dear." said Fluttershy concerned. "I'll go tell Twilight." she said before leaving.
In the castle Twilight and Spike had just finished breakfast when they heard frantic knocking. The two went to the door wondering who could be knocking so early and became surprised when they saw Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy? What are you doing here?"
"Twilight the boy's gone!" said Fluttershy frantically.
"What?!" yelled Twilight. "What happened?"
"I don't know. I fell asleep on a chair I moved next to the bed but when I woke up this morning he was gone." explained Fluttershy. "I asked Nurse Redheart if she'd seen him and she asked the doctor. He called all the nurses to look but he wasn't in the hospital." she added almost matching Pinkie's speed.
"Fluttershy calm down. You're starting to sound like Pinkie Pie." said Spike.
"Although I don't agree with that Spike's right. Breathe and tell us what happened." said Twilight. Fluttershy breathed in slowly before repeating what she'd said slow enough for them to understand. "We'd better get the others."
"Do you have an idea of where he might've gone?" asked Fluttershy.
"I have an idea." replied Twilight before they went off to gather their friends.
Not long after they were in front of the Everfree Forest.
"Why are we here?" asked Rainbow.
"Think about it." said Twilight. "He's in a place that he doesn't know so it makes sense that he'd go to the place that he most likely remembers seeing before losing conciousness."
"Well what are we waiting for?" asked Pinkie excited. "I can't wait to meet him. I wonder if he likes parties." she said as they walked in, minus Pinkie who bounced.
They carefully made their way through until they arrived at the spot where they'd found the boy which was now more of a dry blood stain on the ground. Twilight approached the stain and examined it.
"It doesn't look like he's here darling." said Rarity.
"No but he was." said Twilight looking at a footprint near the dried blood. "From the looks of things he went this way." she said as they began following the footprints.
"What's wrong Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I'm just worried." she replied. "That young colt ran away but I don't understand why."
"He was probably scared or somethin'." said Applejack.
"I'm not so sure." said Fluttershy.
"I have to agree with Fluttershy." said Twilight causing the others to look at her. "If he had been afraid someone would've noticed him leave the hospital but he was quiet enough to sneak out completely unnoticed."
"It certaintly is strange." said Rarity as Pinkie suddenly stopped.
"Is something wrong Pinkie?" asked Applejack. It was then when they were surrounded by a pack of Timber Wolves which snarled at them. The seven became uncertain of what to do as the wolves began circling them.
"HEY!" called out a voice. The wolves and their targets turned to see the boy in the hospital gown. "I'm only gonna say this once. You can either walk away or we're gonna have us a little bonfire. So what'll it be?" The wolves turned to the boy and slowly walked towards him.
"What are you doing? Get out of here!" yelled out Rainbow Dash.
"They always pick the hard way." he said to himself as he held out his hands causing his nails to extend becoming claws. After he ran straight at the Timber Wolves before seemingly disappearing which surprised the others. Especially when they saw the wolves getting thrown around like rag dolls. Afterwards he reappeared in front of them. "Embrace the cinders of eternity." he said as all the wolves suddenly burst into flames and were reduced to ashes. The others stood in shock until the boy collapsed onto his stomach. They ran up to him to see if he was okay and heard something muffled. Pinkie turned him around onto his back.
"Thanks."
"What did you just do?" asked Twilight.
"I incinerated them." replied the boy.
"You might wanna stand up." said Rainbow Dash.
"It'd be great if I could." said the boy.
"Why can't ya?" asked Applejack.
"The move I just used burned a lot of my energy because of my age so in order to replenish it my body will be paralyzed for an hour." he replied simply.
"So you won't be able to move?" asked Fluttershy concerned.
"I'd nod my head but...well you know." he said causing Pinkie to giggle.
"I'll make sure to throw you a super special Welcome to Ponyville party." she declared.
"Don't." said the boy causing Pinkie to look at him surprised.
"You...don't want a party?" asked Pinkie.
"I don't deserve a party." said the boy. They could hear the anger in his voice which made them curious.
"Why not sugarcube?" asked Applejack.
"My family. They died because the ones who killed them were looking for me." he said with hatred in his voice. "If I'd been stronger I could've saved them but I was too worthless. Too weak to protect them and now they're gone." Hearing this made the eyes of the others widened. "I was too weak. I don't deserve a party."
"Darling correct me if I'm wrong but it almost sounds you hate yourself." said Rarity concerned.
"I do." said the boy.
"Listen here Sugarcube. It's understandable that you're angry about what happened to your parents but that don't mean you gotta hate yourself for it." said Applejack.
"Applejack's right." said Fluttershy. "You're still just a colt."
"Regardless of my age I know I could've done something if I'd been stronger." said the boy.
"Perhaps we should continue this conversation in the castle." suggested Twilight.
"Sounds great but there's still the tiny matter of me being paralyzed." said the boy. It was then Twilight lifted him with her magic. "Thanks but I think I have a bug in my hair."
"Perhaps we should stop by my boutique so I can make you some new clothes. I imagine you're not very comfortable in nothing more than a hospital gown." said Rarity.
"Would you like that?" asked Twilight.
"I don't believe my opinion matters since I can't move." said the boy.
"You may not be able to move but we'd never do something without someone's consent." said Rarity matter of factly.
"Then I suppose it would be preferable since I'm assuming there aren't many who make clothes around here." said the boy.
"Alrighty then. Let's go." said Pinkie happily. They headed to Ponyville with Twilight holding him.
"Would it be okay if I asked you some questions?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
"What's your name?" asked Twilight.
"Shawn Xander Garrett."
"That's a weird name." said Rainbow Dash.
"I don't know if this place has the same traditions but where I'm from its considered rude to ask someone else's name before giving your own." said Shawn.
"Oh my. Well then allow me introduce myself. My name is Rarity."
"I'm Rainbow Dash. Fastest flyer in all Equestria."
"I'm Pinkie Pie."
"Name's Applejack."
"I-I'm Fluttershy." she said in almost a whisper.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"And I'm Spike."
"It's a pleasure." said Shawn.
"So how did you end up here?" asked Twilight. Shawn sighed.
"I was being hunted back in my world. Wound up like a pin cushion after about an hour. I guess in desperation I opened a dimensional veil and I wound up here." explained Shawn.
"If you don't mind my asking darling, what happened to your parents?" asked Rarity.
"Someone came looking for me. They trapped my family and destroyed our home." replied Shawn. "Since then I've been living as a street rat."
"Street rat?" asked Rainbow.
"It's a term we use in my world because rats are scavengers." replied Shawn. Rainbow just looked at him. "I've been living on the streets having to steal to survive."
"That's horrible." said Pinkie as she pulled a cupcake out of nowhere. "Here."
"Paralyzed, remember?" asked Shawn. "I can move my mouth but I can't swallow."
"Oh. Well I'll give it to you when you can move again." said Pinkie with a somewhat sad smile.
"So uh....How long have you been on your own?" asked Applejack trying to be delicate.
"Two years." replied Shawn.
"You mean to tell me you've been survivin' on your own for two years?" asked Applejack surprised.
"I'd nod but...you know."
"Where do you sleep?" asked Spike.
"Anywhere. An alley, a dumpster, under a bridge. The other day I slept in a tree in a park." Fluttershy looked at him in concern.
"Well what about food?" asked Spike.
"I did mention I had to steal it didn't I?"
"If you don't mind my asking, when's the last time you ate?" asked Twilight.
"Two days ago." replied Shawn.
"Ya haven't eaten in two days?!" asked Applejack in shock.
"I couldn't go to the market because the ones hunting me were there and I didn't get lucky enough for any of the restaurants to throw out their leftovers."
"That settles it then. After Rarity makes ya some new duds we'll take you to Sweet Apple Acres so you can have a good meal." declared Applejack.
"You really don't have to." said Shawn. "I don't want to impose."
"I ain't taken no for an answer." said Applejack as Rainbow Dash flew around him.
"So you're a human." she said.
"What makes you think that?" asked Shawn as they entered Ponyville.
"Twi said you were."
"I suppose do look human." said Shawn.
"If you're not human just what are ya?" asked Rainbow.
"Officially I'm classified as a Chimera." replied Shawn causing Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy to stiffen surprising the others.
"Did you just say Chimera?" asked Twilight still in shock.
"Yes."
"Uh...what's a chimera?" asked Rainbow.
"Essentially any creature composed of multiple others." replied Shawn.
"But you don't look like you're more than one thing." said Rainbow examining him.
"Physically I don't." he said as Rarity opened the door to the boutique allowing them to enter.
"Now then, come with me." she told Shawn.
"Again, paralyzed."
"Right. Right. Twilight, do you mind if I...?"
"Not at all." said Twilight releasing her grip on him allowing Rarity to take hold. After she took him to get his measurements but unfortunately moved him a bit high causing him to hit his head on the top of doorway.
"Oh. Terribly sorry."
"It's fine. I can feel physical pain but it takes a lot to bother me." said Shawn as Rarity as she lowered him enough to fit through the doorway. Once inside she spread his arms and began taking his measurements.
"Is there a color you'd prefer them to be?" asked Rarity.
"Black but I'd like to make an extra request if that's okay."
"Alright." said Rarity.
"I'd like the overall design to be simple. If it's okay I'd like the top to be sleeveless and maybe with a trench coat."
"A trench coat?" asked Rarity.
"That's right."
"That's quite an unusual request but alright." said Rarity with a smile. "Is there anything else?"
"If it's okay I'd like it to have stitching in one sleeve to be shaped like a scorpion and a flame on the other."
"That's...interesting. May I asked why?"
"The scorpion is the symbol of my mother's family and the flame is the symbol I walk with."
"So what about your father's family?"
"There's a rule that one must prove themselves worthy to bear the mark of the house of Garrett before they can wear it." said Shawn.
"You family certaintly sounds...."
"Weird?" he offered with a smile.
"I was gonna say...interesting."
"Just be glad you never met my grandfather. He's lived in his castle way too long and freaks out most people."
"That's...very nice. Well um...I'll hand you back to Twilight so I can get to work." said Rarity.
"Alright." Rarity took him outside and levitated him towards Twilight who took hold of him.
"So what do we do while we wait?" asked Rainbow.
"Let's get to know our new friend." said Pinkie excited which kind of surprised Shawn.
"What do you wanna know?" asked Shawn.
"If it's okay there something I'd like to know." said Twilight. "What exactly makes you a chimera?"
"I was born half human for one thing."
"Half human?" asked Rainbow.
"Then what was the other half?" asked Pinkie curiously.
"Promise not to freak?" The six looked at each other confused but nodded. "The other half is vampiric."
"Vampiric?" asked Twilight. "Y-You're half vampire?"
"Like a vampire fruit bat?" asked Applejack suspiciously.
"A what?" asked Shawn completely confused. "I don't know what the deal with vampires is here but no. Vampires don't feed off fruits they feed off the blood of living creatures. Most commonly humans." He noticed how they were looking at him. "Don't worry. Since I was born part vampire it means I don't have to drink as much blood as a full blood. It also means I can feed off of full bloods if I want to."
"That's....interesting." said Twilight.
"So why do you have to drink blood?" asked Rainbow cringing a little at the word blood.
"Because vampires don't produce red blood cells." replied Shawn. "Because of this they have to take blood of humans. Luckily my people kind of evolved enough so we don't have as many weaknesses as we used to."
"Like what?" asked Twilight.
"Well for one normal full blooded vampires can't be out in the sun or they risk being reduced to ash or even bursting into flames." explaned Shawn.
"That's terrible." said Fluttershy.
"They also have a severe allergy to garlic."
"Garlic?" asked Twilight.
"Yeah. If a vampire gets garlic in their mouth they'll go into anaphylectic shock."
"Anawhat?" asked Rainbow looking around receiving multiple shrugs.
"Anaphylectic shock." replied Shawn. "Basically if they got garlic in their mouth their throats swell shut and if its concetrated enough.....well"
"Well what?" asked Twilight. Shawn smiled.
"All around the mulberry bush..." he began to sing. "...the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought twas all in good fun..." he continued weirding the others out.
"POP GOES THE WEASEL!" yelled out Pinkie suddenly surprising her friends.
"What was the point of that?" asked Applejack.
"She asked, I answered." replied Shawn.
"So if a vampire eats garlic..." began Applejack.
"Their head would pop." finished Shawn. "It's never pretty. Blood and brains all over the place." Hearing this caused them to almost hurl.
"Alright. You've mentioned you're part human and part vampire. What else are you?" asked Twilight regaining her composure.
"I'm part human, part monster, and part demon."
"D-d-d-demon?" asked Fluttershy unable to control her fear.
"Touch the top of my head." said Shawn. Pinkie went up to him and felt the top of his head noticing his hair was a mess but also noticed something strange. Almost like two bumps that were a little pointed.
"Did you hit your head on something?" asked Pinkie.
"What are you talking about Pinkie?" asked Rainbow as she felt his head feeling the same thing. "That's weird. What are they?"
"My horns." replied Shawn.
"You have horns?" asked Twilight surprised.
"It's part of the demonic DNA in me." replied Shawn.
"So I take it this means you weren't born part demon." said Twilight.
"In my world a few years ago a lot of new born babies were kidnapped and experimented on. I was one of them." said Shawn.
"Someone....experimented on you as a baby?" asked Twilight horrified.
"Yeah. A demon in my world wanted to make an army of mindless killers so he had many children kidnapped and they experimented on us."
"What....what kind of experiments?" asked Fluttershy.
"Well...you see how my eyes are two different colors?" They nodded. "They put a device called a computer inside our heads."
"A computer?" asked Twilight.
"I'd nod but...."
"What's a computer?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"They're these strange objects that they had in Canterlot High. Somehow you could look things up on something that looked like a window and images would appear on it." explained Twilight.
"There's more to them than that." said Shawn. "There's two types of computer. Desktop and Laptop. A desktop computer has three parts. A screen, or monitor, the keyboard to type which is like writing, and the Central Processor which is activates it and acts like the computer's brain."
"How do you have something with that many parts in your head?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"The one they put in my head was actually smaller that my finger. It was made in a way that it would actually grow with me."
"What do you mean?" asked Twilight.
"As I've grown it's become wired to me allowing me to do a few other things."
"Like what?" asked Pinkie.
"Well my left eye can can scan things the same way a camera would. It alters my vision to things such as night vision, thermal vision, and a few other things. My right eye is able to scan just about anything magical to the point I can see magical residue and find the source of a spell."
"That's amazing." said Twilight.
"Yep. The computer also gives me absolute control of my body."
"What do you mean?" asked Rainbow.
"Well for example I can turn off my nerve endings so that I don't feel my body. In other words I won't feel physical things. I can also turn off my eyes and my ears to be blind or deaf."
"Why would you want to do that?" asked Applejack. "Seems kinda crazy."
"Well it works pretty well in some situations. For example did you know that if there's a noise in a high enough frequency it can cause a disruption of your neural network? In other words the signals your brain sends to your body to move are interupted and you'd pass out. If I make myself deaf when someone releases such a wave I'd be unaffected by it."
"This is astounding." said Twilight.
"We've been here a while, haven't we?" asked Shawn.
"Yeah. I wonder what's takin' Rarity so long." said Applejack.
"That's not what I meant." said Shawn. They turned to him and saw as he slowly moved his fingers before getting his hand up. Then he moved his right hand before getting up and then stretching. "Much better."
"So how did you catch on fire without getting hurt?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"I what now?" asked Shawn surprised.
"We found you yesterday very badly hurt." said Fluttershy. "When you were in the hospital you kind of burst into flames. It burned your bandages but after you were completely healed."
"I see." he said looking at his hands.
"So how'd you do it?" asked Pinkie. Shawn sighed.
"I'm....I'm earth's Elemental of Fire."
"Elemental of fire?" asked Twilight. Shawn nodded.
"In my world there exist a few of us born of the elements of nature. The most well known of us are earth, air, water, and...well me."
"So you can control fire?" asked Spike.
"I don't control it. I am fire." said Shawn. "My body is actually partially composed of fire which allows me to withstand high temperature environments like volcanoes."
"So can you, like, swim in lava?" asked Pinkie.
"Yeah but it's not as fun as it sounds. You can't see a thing in it and it's hard to get out of your hair." replied Shawn.
"What about magic?" asked Twilight.
"What about it?" asked Shawn.
"Can you use magic?"
"Yeah." replied Shawn. "And because of the demonic power they put in me I can use dark magic without losing myself to it. Would've been nice if my parents had allowed me to study any kind of magic but right now all I have access to is the magic from my past lives which I have to relearn."
"What do you mean Sugarcube?" asked Applejack.
"As the embodiment of one of the Elements of Nature I was able to become incarnate."
"Incarnate?" asked Fluttershy.
"It means...well to become alive. Before I was technically a spirit but my allies and I decided to become incarnate. We're reborn once every century and have been doing so for several thousand years."
"This is amazing!" Twilight almost shouted.
"I don't get it." said Rainbow.
"It means that he could actually be older than Celestia and Luna." said Twilight.
"What do you mean he's just a..."
"Just call me a kid. It feels weird to be called a colt." Rainbow nodded.
"He's just a kid."
"Yes. Physically he's just a child but his spirit's been around for quite possibly long before Celestia and Luna were born and it seems that he can gain access to the memories from his past lives." said Twilight excited.
"And along with it I can gain the skills I gained or developed in those past lives."
"Like what?" asked Pinkie.
"Combat for the most part but there's also strategy, investigation, and a number of other skills that at the moment I can't remember."
"Alright. They're ready!" called out Rarity as she came down the stairs with the clothes which were neatly folded and floating above. Then she placed them in his hands. "The bathroom's up stairs."
"Does it really matter? All I'm wearing under this are my underwear."
"Underwear?" asked Rainbow.
"I guess it stands to reason that if you don't wear clothes in day to day life you probably don't have need for undergarments." Shawn said to himself as he unfolded the pants and put them on. Once he did he removed the hospital gown, allowing them to see some of the scars that remained from his stay at the hospital, and put on the shirt.
"How are they?" asked Rarity.
"I'm gonna guess you're the best you are at what you do because I don't think I've ever worn something like this." he said touching the material before putting on the trenchcoat.
"Well I don't like to brag." said Rarity with a smile causing Applejack and Rainbow Dash to roll their eyes.
"Is that a scorpion?" Rainbow asked going looked at the left sleeve.
"Yes. He requested it." said Rarity.
"Why?" asked Rainbow.
"It's the symbol of my mother's family." replied Shawn.
"What about the flame?" asked Fluttershy looking at the right sleeve.
"My symbol."
"So your dad's family doesn't have a symbol?" asked Pinkie.
"They do but we're not allowed to wear it until we've proven ourselves worthy of being members of the House of Garrett." replied Shawn.
"That's harsh." said Twilight.
"Not as much as you'd think considering what my great grandfather had to do."
"What did he have to do?" asked Pinkie.
"Well when my great grandfather was young there was a war was still going on." replied Shawn. "He earned the right after saving a family from a squad of bad guys. He took out around forty of them on his own."
"He took forty on his own?" asked Rainbow Dash surprised.
"That's how the story goes at least." said Shawn. "I only ever met the old man once and it wasn't a story he wanted to share." he added just before they heard screams. "That's not normal, is it?" he asked as they ran outside where they saw as several ponies ran away from bipedal creatures which seemed to be partially armored allowing them to see the creature looked somewhat dead and demonic.
"What in tarnation are those things?" asked Applejack surprised.
"I don't know, but..." began Twilight.
"Hey wait! Stop!" said Fluttershy. They turned to see Shawn running straight at the group of creatures and then stopping in front of them.
"Why are you here?" he asked with a serious expression. The creatures looked at him for a moment before holding out their hands causing them to extend into some dark vine looking things. "Dark tendrils, eh." he said with a smirk. When they got close to him he was surrounded by a sphere of fire which destroyed the tendrils but when the sphere dissipated he was gone.
"Where'd he go?" asked Rainbow. The creatures looked confused before they started dissolving from the back of the group. None of the creature noticed this until the last one turned to see Shawn as he grabbed its neck before he slashed it with his claws causing it to dissolve like the rest.
"Here comes ten tons of **** you!" said a voice as Shawn turned only to be struck by a large metal ball twice his size which threw him back. The Mane 6 and Spike were about to go to him when he held up his hand.
"Don't come any closer!" yelled out Shawn.
"But...." began Fluttershy.
"I'll take care of this. Trust me." said Shawn with a smile which looked a little awkward because he had blood at the edge of his mouth.
"And just what do you think you can do?" asked the new creature which wore a cloak. The removed its cloak revealing a large dark blue demon who had a chain around its left arm which connected to the large wrecking ball that he pulled back.
"You're the one who hunted me." said Shawn.
"You recognize me?"
"I recognize your putrid scent." said Shawn as flames began moving from his feet upwards forming a pair of shoes. As the flame moved the entire outfit became red before his hair did the same and became spiked.
"My word. That looks amazing." said Rarity.
"What's your name?" asked Shawn.
"They call me Diastros. And what of you boy?"
"Shawn Garrett. But in this form..." he began as he whipped back the lower half of his now crimson trenchcoat revealing a sword at his left side and two strange objects at his lower back. "...you can call me Inferno." he said drawing his sword as he charged. Diastros swung his weapon at Inferno who jumped over and then ran on the chain before jumping and trying to slash the demon who held up part of the chain to block causing sparks from the clash of metals. Taking advantage of the proximity Diastros headbutted Inferno throwing him back. "Not bad."
"You're not bad yourself. For an insect."
Inferno smirked.
"Then let me show you what this insect can do!" he declared before biting his finger tip drawing a bit a blood surprising the others.
"Why the heck did he do that?" asked Spike in shock as Inferno began drawing in the air with his blood which remained in the forms he made as if it was ink on paper. He made a few characters before a circle with several more symbols appeared around the blood which began glowing. Then it vanished before four circles appeared around Diastros shooting crimson chains which he tried to stop only for them to restrain him. After the circles all began glowing brightly before exploding forcing him to his knees.
"So...you can use blood magic."
"More than just that." said Inferno as his hands began glowing. He began walking towards the demon who stood back up and threw his weapon once more. This time Inferno focused the magic in his hands into his weapon thrusting forward which shattered the wrecking ball but much to everyone's surprise Diastros smiled.
"I guess this means I can finally be free."
"Free?" asked Inferno as he lowered his weapon.
"You think I wanted to work for them?" asked Diastros. "None of us did. We were pulled out of hell and made into demons to serve."
"Serve who?" asked Inferno.
"I don't know the name of the head honcho. Just that he likes to be called Krypt. The group itself is known as League of the Fallen and they want something here. I don't know what though."
"Alright. Why did you tell me all this?" asked Inferno.
"I've been forced to serve under threat of anhilation. At least this way I know there'll be some pay back."
"So vengeance. How quaint." said Inferno as he looked at the demon. "Are you ready?" Diastros nodded. "Will you tell me your name before I free you? Your human name."
"A long time ago I went by the name Jesse. Jesse Wyatt."
"Alright then Sting. It's time for you to be free." Hearing this caused Diastros' eyes to widen as Inferno sheathed his weapon. Then he stretched upwards and moved his hands back causing a pair of red wings to seemingly sprout from his back surprising everyone. After he extended his wings as they began absorbing ambient solar energy for a few second causing him to glow. "Ichi, Jyu, Hyaku, Sen, Man." he said as the blade began glowing in its sheath. "Watashitachiha odosshiyou... Eien'no owarini!" Then he took hold of the handle of his blade before disappearing for a second and reappearing behind Diastro who stiffened as black blood began running out of his mouth. "Maybe we'll meet again Inspector."
"Maybe we will. I truly hope next time we can friends." said Inferno as he slowly sheathed his sword.
"I-I'd like that." said Diastros as the sword made a sound at the guard hitting the edge of the sheath causing Diastros' body to crack before dissolving into dark energy releasing what looked to be a single sphere of light which flew off. Inferno's wings retracted as he was engulfed in flames once more which upon dissipating revealed him as Shawn. The others looked at him in shock as he knelt down and placed his hands together before closing his eyes and bowing his head. "Embrace the cinders of Eternity."
Author's Note
Ichi, Jyu, Hyaku, Sen, Man - 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000
Watashitachiha odosshiyou... Eien'no owarini - Let us Dance... To The End of Eternity!
"Are you okay?" asked Fluttershy as they went up to him.
"Well....I'm alive. Or about as alive as I can be." said Shawn as a small bit of blood trickled down from his forehead just above his left eye.
"Did you know that...thing?" asked Spike.
"You could say that." replied Shawn. "For now I'll only say we have history."
"Did you...use blood magic?" asked Twilight with some hesitation.
"Yes. Yes I did." he replied simply.
"What's wrong Twilight?" asked Fluttershy.
"Blood magic is a kind of dark magic." said Twilight.
"No it's not." replied Shawn. "Blood magic, like pretty much every other kind of magic, is fueled by emotion. The only reason it gets classified that way is because most of the beings who use it are a bunch of corrupted jackasses."
"Language!" scolded Fluttershy causing Shawn to raise an eyebrow.
"In any case my basic blood magic really only focuses on defense." he explained as he felt Rainbow Dash poking his back. "Can I...help you with something?"
"What happened to your wings?"
"Oh that. They're retractable." replied Shawn.
"Retractable?" asked Rainbow. Shawn nodded. "Twilight what does retractable mean?" Twilight facehoofed.
"It means that I can have them inside my body when I don't need them just like the claws of a cat." explained Shawn.
"I guess with the size of your wings you'd probably need to conceal them." said Twilight.
"Oh that's got nothing to do with it. Those of us with wings all have retractable wings."
"And how many of you is that?" asked Twilight.
"Well I know Angel's a winged tiger, Shadow's a winged wolf, Zephyr's a pegasus, and I'm a phoenix." he counted looking at his fingers as he counted. Afterwards he noticed the others were staring at him. "What?"
"You're a....a phoenix?" asked Fluttershy.
"Yeah. What about it?" he asked wondering what that had to do with anything.
"It seems there's a lot we need to know about you." said Twilight. "We should head to Canterlot. The Princesses will want to know about you."
"Alright." shrugged Shawn.
"You don't mind?" asked Fluttershy.
"I honestly don't care." replied Shawn.
"What do you mean you don't care?" asked Rainbow.
"Miss Dash I've been living on the streets for two years basically surviving off anything I could find because the sense of honor my parents instilled in me keeps me from using any of my skills or weapons to get anything. I've pretty much been dead inside for a good while so at this point your rulers could choose to have me executed and I wouldn't care. I'd probably see it as a mercy if anything." The others looked at him in shock. Even Pinkie's mane and tail deflated.
"So...you don't care what happens to you?" asked Fluttershy.
"No." It was then Fluttershy hugged him causing him to look around with an eyebrow raised as Pinkie joined in followed by the others. "Sooo...does this mean you want me to fly everyone?" At that they stepped back.
"You can fly?" asked Rainbow.
"Where I'm from any magician worth their mettle knows how to fly." replied Shawn. "It's a pretty basic skill." he said as he began floating. "So are we flying there?"
"No. We'll take a train since not all of us can fly."
"Wouldn't it be a lot faster if you just made a magic construct that could fit everyone?"
"A construct?" asked Spike.
"Yeah. You know. Something made of solidafied magic energy." said Shawn as some red energy formed in his hand which expanded taking on the form of a sword. "Actually now that I think about it wouldn't it be better use a spell?"
"Unfortunately I don't know any spells which could take us to Canterlot faster other than teleportation and I'm not skilled enough to teleport us all yet." explained Twilight.
"Alright. Give me a sec." said Shawn as his hands began glowing. "Alright everyone come close." The other approached him before a large bubble formed around them which shot into the sky. "Alright, which way?"
"Um...that way." pointed Twilight towards the castle in the mountain.
"Alrighty. Hang on. I haven't driven one of these in a little over six hundred years." said Shawn as the bubble moved almost as fast as Rainbow Dash causing most of them to be pushed to the back of the bubble.
"So you want me to land in the castle?" asked Shawn.
"No!" replied Twilight. "Land in front of Canterlot. We need to avoid causing a panic."
"Alright." he replied as the bubble abruptly changed course enough to stop in front of the gate causing them to be thrown around before the bubble disappeared. "Uh....sorry about that." he said sheepishly.
"Again! Again!" yelled Pinkie as she jumped.
"Halt! Who goes there?" asked the guard at the gate.
"We're here to...." began Twilight before running behind a rock and retching.
"uh...." said Shawn looking to the other noticing most of them seemed to have motion sickness. The only exceptions being Rainbow and Pinkie.
"Sorry about that." said Twilight as she went up to the guard. "We're here to see the Princesses."
"And is it with you?" asked the guard looking at Shawn.
"I'm a guy." said Shawn angrily. "Asshole." he muttered.
"Yes. He is." said Twilight.
"Very well." said the guard as he opened the gate.
"This might just be me but aren't there usually two guards set for this kind of thing?" asked Shawn as they entered.
"Maybe one's on break or something." replied Rainbow Dash. Shawn looked around somewhat curiously which the others noticed.
"Welcome to Canterlot." said Twilight.
"You guys really don't have any real tech, do you?"
"You mean technology?" asked Twilight. "We do have some technology but most of what we have is based on magic."
"I can tell. A lot of things here are extremely antiquated."
"Extremely what?" asked Rainbow confused.
"Obsolete." clarified Shawn. Rainbow stared at him.
"It's a way of saying old and useless." clarified Twilight.
"Oh."
"So your world has a lot of technology?" asked Twilight.
"You tell me. You've been to a world similar to my own."
"Right." said Twilight. "I guess all in all the technology is more advanced there than here."
"So I'm guessing we're going to the castle?"
"That's right."
'On the bright side this can't go any worse than when I asked for Alisa's hand in marriage in the dark ages.' he thought to himself. Once they got to the castle he stayed silent as the others led him towards the throne room. As they entered Shawn noticed a white unicorn stallion who's presence instantly pissed him off. As he followed the unicorn bumped into.
"Watch where you're going whelp." said the unicorn.
"Atrego maxis praecordia." Shawn whispered causing a mark to appear under the stallions hoof as his eyes flashed for a second. He turned back towards the others and saw Princess Celestia. Something inside him burned brighter than normal.
"You must be the one who was found by the Elements of Harmony." said Celestia. Shawn nodded. "Twilight I believe a letter would have been sufficient to tell me that the young one awakened."
"Actually your highness..." Shawn spoke up. "...I believe the reason she felt we should come here is so you might assess whether or not I'm a threat to you and your....ponies." Twilight turned to him surprised.
"Is this true?" asked Celestia.
"W-Well a lot happened...you see..." began Twilight before Celestia raised a hoof and turned to the guard to her left.
"Honor Guard please bring my sister."
"Yes ma'am." said the pegasus before leaving.
"In the meantime I do apologize for my nephew's behavior towards you young one."
"I've dealt with douche bags like that before." replied Shawn.
"So it seems you can use magic." said Celestia.
"You took notice of what I did to him." said Shawn.
"Indeed. Is it something I need to be worried about?"
"It's a curse a student of mine made a few hundred years ago to deal with egotistical morons. It'll give him the nastiest nightmares he'll ever experience until he becomes humble."
"Oh?" said Celestia with a slight smile. "I have been meaning to punish him but this form of punishment sounds like it might serve much better." The ponies and dragon looked at her surprised.
"I guess what they say is true. Anyone connected to the sun has some level of mischief to them." said Shawn.
"You're connected to the sun?" asked Celestia curiously.
"Kinda. More than anything I'm connected to the sun in the same way plants are. I draw power from it. It's where my primary regeneration stems from." replied Shawn as Honor Guard returned with Princess Luna.
"Is there something you needed sister?" asked Luna not noticing their arrivals.
"The young one whom Fluttershy found injured has awakened." replied Celestia as Luna reached the thrones. She turned and looked at him. However in her presence Shawn felt something strange within him.
"It is good to see you well young one." said Luna as she sat at her throne.
"Thank you your highness."
"Please. You needn't be formal." said Luna.
"Alrighty then." he said. "I suppose before we start some introduction are in order. My name is Shawn Xander Garrett. Also known as Inferno. Earth's elemental of fire."
"Very well. I am Princess Celestia and this is my younger sister Princess Luna."
"It's a pleasure."
"Likewise." said Shawn. "Now what would you like to know?"
"I suppose we should start with the basic of matters." said Luna. "What are you?"
"Officially I'm classified as a Chimera." replied Shawn.
"A chimera?" asked Luna surprised.
"That's right." replied Shawn. "You see most people with an appearance like this would be refered to as human. I however was born to very unique parents. My mother was human but my father was...a vampire."
"A vampire?" asked Luna. Shawn nodded. "Fascinating."
"I noticed you used past tense." said Celestia. "What happened to your parents?"
"They...died."
"Oh. I'm..." began Celestia.
"Please. Don't." interupted Shawn. "It's been two years since it happened so I've mostly gotten over it."
"If you don't mind my asking what have you been doing with no parents for two years?" asked Celestia concerned.
"I've been a street rat."
"A street rat?" asked Luna surprised.
"Yes. For the most part I've had to steal to eat each day. Occasionally I'd scam someone for some money to get something to eat." explained Shawn.
"When was the last time you ate?" asked Celestia.
"Two days ago because the ones who were hunting me began looking for me at the market."
"Honor Guard please have the cooks prepare a meal immediately." ordered Celestia.
"Right away." said Honor Guard before leaving.
"So can you tell us how you arrived here in Equestria?" asked Luna.
"Well the ones who were hunting me expanded their search and found me in a park. They chased me down and they got me with these weird spear things. After I was impaled the fifth or sixth time I don't remember what happened other than I found myself in a forest. I tried to walk but I didn't make it far before collapsing. After that I remember waking up in a hospital bed."
"That's something I've been wondering." said Twilight. "Why did you run away?"
"My family died because of me. The ones who wanted me killed them because they were looking for me. I wanted to avoid causing anyone else trouble." said Shawn looking down.
"You have suffered a lot. If I may ask how old are you?" asked Celestia.
"Eight." replied Shawn. "At least physically."
"What do you mean?" asked Celestia.
"Well..." he began looking to the side. "In truth as an Elemental I wasn't born like most living creatures. My team and I came into existence before there was life on our world. For some time we watched until animals began roaming the earth. Then some time later after humans began to roam the earth we watched them and eventually we decided we wanted to live so we became incarnate."
"So you've lived multiple life times?" asked Luna.
"Yes." replied Shawn.
"How many?" asked Celestia curiously.
"I'm actually not sure. I stopped counting after a while. All I can really say is we've been incarnate for a few thousand years at least."
"There's more." said Twilight causing the two elder Princesses to look at her. "He also said he was a phoenix." Upon hearing this the two looked surprised.
"A phoenix?" asked Celestia.
"Why is that such a surprise?" asked Shawn confused.
"Are Phoenix common where you come from?" asked Celestia.
"Not really. Other than myself there's only nine others and only three a few others who keep in hiding and as far as I know I'm the only one who's become incarnate." replied Shawn. "It's part of why I have these." he added as he arched his back causing his wings to sprout out of his back surprising them.
"Where do you keep your wings?" asked Luna.
"They stay inside my body for the most part." replied Shawn as he retracted them. "There's also another detail that I should mention."
"Which is?" asked Luna.
"A few years ago several newborn children, most no older than a week old, were kidnapped by demons and experimented on by another demon. I was one of these children."
"They experimented on you?" asked Princess Celestia horrified.
"That's right." replied Shawn. "Their objective was to make the ultimate army. An army of mindless killers so they put devices into our heads called computer which would allow them to not only monitor our actions but also to control us like puppets. The only good thing is that to do so they had to seal off parts of our minds piece by piece and they only got as far as the first."
"So what part of your minds did they seal?" asked Twilight.
"The part that controls fear."
"So what does that mean?" asked Rainbow.
"It means none of us have the ability to feel fear." The Princesses looked concerned.
"So you're brave?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"No." replied Shawn. "Bravery is the ability to overcome fear. The difference is that being brave gives one the ability to think about the bad possibilities to something. But those who can't are....a little more dead inside. They lose a little bit of what makes them living creatures and it's because of this that I feel more demonic than anything."
"Demonic?" asked Celestia.
"Part of what they did was infuse us with demonic DNA though some ritual. It was interupted but not in time so all of us are part demon." explained Shawn. "As a hybrid even my own people looked down on me but as a chimera I'm seen as an abomination."
"Though you have lived many lives you're still a child." said Celestia with a sad smile as she turned to Luna who nodded. "I do not believe you will be a threat so if you wish it you can remain in Ponyville until we find a way to send you home."
"I appreciate the gesture but it'd be a waste of time." replied Shawn. "As far as I can tell I was brought here by a dimensional veil and I don't have the ability to distinguish one universe from another so trying to use a spell to find the one I came from would take too long and I don't know how long, if ever, it would take for me to figure out how to use them at will."
"Then perhaps you could be come a citizen of Equestria." suggested Luna.
"I'd like that but I don't want to be any trouble."
"It'll be no trouble at all but you will need someone to look after you." said Celestia.
Fluttershy who'd been thinking about how much pain this boy had been in from the moment she laid eyes on him made a decision.
"I'll adopt him." she said with determination surprising everyone.
"Come again?" asked Shawn as Fluttershy walked towards the throne.
"If it's okay I'd like to adopt Shawn." repeated Fluttershy turning towards the boy. "He's been through a lot and is still in pain even now. I'd like the chance to give him a loving home." Shawn was completely shocked. This pegasus wanted to give him a chance to have another family. He didn't realize it at first but tears began flowing from his eyes.
"Hey....are you okay?" asked Rainbow concerned. The others turned and noticed the same thing.
"Just shocked. Why?"
"You're crying." replied Rainbow.
"I'm...what?" he asked surprised placing a hand on his cheek feeling the wet stream. For a moment he stared at his hand as if it was something completely foreign to him. Celestia and Luna smiled and nodded.
"I believe you are qualified to take in this young one." said Celestia.
"You do your element proud Fluttershy." added Luna causing Fluttershy to blush before she hugged the boy who was still surprised. It was then something odd happened. Strange lines formed in his eyes though no one actually noticed. All the while Shawn was trying to figure out what he was feeling.
"Are....Are you sure you want to adopt something like me?" asked Shawn. Before he could say anything else Fluttershy covered his mouth with her hoof and smiled.
"You've been through too much pain by yourself and I can't stand to see anyone in pain." said Fluttershy. "If it's okay with you I'd like the chance to at least give you a loving home." she said as she nuzzled him. For a moment he remained still but then slowly placed his hands around Fluttershy's neck.
"Arigatou Ka-chan." he said confusing everyone, Fluttershy included as she pulled back and looked at him with a confused look. "Sorry. I've been living in Japan a long time."
"Japan?" asked Fluttershy. Shawn nodded.
"It's a different country in my world. I was born in a country called the United States my father thought it'd be a good idea for us to live in Japan. I think we were gonna live there for six months but...well you know."
"So in your world every country has a different language?" asked Twilight.
"Well not Every country has it's own language. Some just have different dialects of the same language." replied Shawn. "For example in the U.S. speak english like this...." he began. "....but in England the language is spoken with a bit of an accent like this." he said speaking with an accent similar to Rarity's.
"Fascinating." said Twilight. "But before I forget there's another reason we came to see you." she said looking at the Elder Princesses. "Something attacked Ponyville."
"Is everypony okay?" asked Celestia.
"Yes but the creatures that attacked were strange."
"Those are called Cardis." said Shawn surprising them.
"You knew them?" asked Twilight.
"They work for the demon who made me what I am." replied Shawn. "They're basically mindless drones that attack what they're ordered to."
"What happened?" asked Luna.
"Far as I can tell the one hunting somehow tracked me here and decided to draw my attention." replied Shawn with a hand on his chin.
"There's more though." said Twilight. "It seems that the creature who was leading was from Shawn's past."
"Is this true?" asked Celestia. Shawn sighed.
"He was from one of my past lives."
"A former friend?" asked Luna.
"We were about as far from that as one could be." replied Shawn. "Long story short he was a criminal who worked for a crime boss. Under his order he attacked my wife and I. Neither of us survived but then something happened."
"What?" asked Rainbow.
"I don't know how or why but something brought me back in my same body." replied Shawn. "It took a bit of time but it became clear that the reason I had been brought back to exact vengeance upon them and it's what I did. Once everything was over I was released."
"Released?" asked Applejack.
"In other words I was allowed to die." replied Shawn.
"It seems strange that you'd show him mercy." said Luna.
"He killed me and I killed him. Both of us saw it as even." replied Shawn.
"Is this something we will need to be concerned about?" asked Celestia.
"Odds are they won't come looking for me here but from what Wyatt told me they've been planning to send others here to search for something here."
"I see." said Luna. "Do you know what they're searching for?"
"No but considering these megalomaniacs are pretty much all the same they're probably looking for something of great power. Possibly something that's known or maybe something that's been long forgotten." explained Shawn with a hand on his chin. "Is there anything you can think of that holds great power?"
"Right now only the Elements of Harmony but they no longer exist." replied Celestia.
"So I'm guessing they were either destroyed or they became one with something...or someone." he said. "They may not know about this it's possible that may be what they're looking for but there's also the possibility they're looking for something else."
"Then we'll have to remain vigilant." said Celestia.
"There's one thing." said Shawn causing them to turn to him. "Do you have a map of your world here?"
"Yes. Why?" asked Luna.
"If they're searching for something then they'll be attacking a specific area if the area in question is populated so it'd be in our best interest to keep track of where the attacks are focused." explained Shawn.
"You're an egghead, aren't ya?" asked Rainbow Dash playfully.
"I've lived through many wars so something like this is nothing more than basic strategy." replied Shawn with a shrug.
"Your highness the meal is ready." said a chef who'd just entered.
"Thank you. We will be there shortly." said Celestia. The chef nodded and left. Celestia turned to Shawn who was looking to the side with an odd expression. "Is anything the matter?" Shawn turned and sighed.
"There is one thing I neglected to mention about one of my....darker parts." replied Shawn. "Vampires drink blood but my people are an evolved kind of vampire. Because of this we need more than blood."
"What is it you need?" asked Luna.
"Darkness." replied Shawn surprising everyone. "We're vampires of light. This means that our own light sides slowly burn away our dark sides."
"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Rainbow. Shawn shook his head.
"Light and darkness have to have a balance or bad things happen." he said. "In our case we have to feed off the darkness of humans such as criminals or else our darkness becomes weaker and we slowly lose the things that come with it."
"Like what?" asked Fluttershy concerned.
"The will to fight for one." said Shawn.
"Isn't that good?" asked Rainbow.
"Think about it." said Shawn. "If I hadn't had the will to fight I wouldn't have been able to fight earlier. Light controls our ability to make certain decisions but darkness gives us the conviction to do what we must in those situations."
"That may be a problem." said Luna.
"Maybe not as much as I'm assuming."
"What do you mean?" asked Luna.
"Well the human part of me helps keep a certain balance but I think the demonic part of me should help with the darkness." explained Shawn. "Of course everything I'm saying here is speculation."
"We can discuss this later. For now I believe you are in need of a good meal." said Celestia with a smile. It was at that point they heard a strange growl. For a moment the others looked around before looking at Shawn who scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah." he said awkwardly causing the others to laugh. "So is the one watching us gonna join us?" Everyone stopped laughing and looked at him confused.
"Who do you mean?" asked Rainbow.
"There's someone right there." replied Shawn pointing at the wall.
"Well that certaintly spoiled the surprise." said a voice. They turned to see what looked like two balls which upon opening revealed they were eyes as Discord's body formed itself. "How exactly did you find me?"
"My left can detect any kind of magic and in a place with so much abundance of magic your magic stands out like a fire in a forest." replied Shawn. "Considering how long you've been here you've probably heard my name so would it be okay to ask yours?"
"Well what polite young...chimera, I suppose." said Discord. "My name is Discord. The God and master of chaos."
"It's a pleasure." said Shawn with a small smile. "I suppose you're this world's equivalant to Loki."
"Loki?" asked Discord.
"My world's god of mischief." replied Shawn.
"Well then perhaps I am." said Discord with a smile.
"Let's get going. The young one has not eaten in some time." said Luna. The group made their way to the dining room where they saw a feast. Shawn gulped at all the food. They saw down and the other began to eat but Shawn placed his hands together.
"Itadakimasu." he said before he started eating.
"What was that?" asked Spike. Shawn turned to him with some salad in his mouth before swallowing.
"What was what?"
"That thing you just said."
"Oh. It's kinda like a prayer." replied Shawn. "It means thank you for the food." he said as he went back to eating but after a few minutes stopped. "Princess Celestia?"
"Yes?"
"In my culture whether or not one is of a high social standing or a commoner we value respect above all and to earn it." said Shawn. "It's due to this that duels are common for us. If someone of a high social standing insults a commoner they are allowed to challenge the one who insulted them to a duel."
"You wish to challenge Blueblood to a duel?" asked Celestia.
"Yes." replied Shawn.
"It may be just the thing to teach him a lesson but would you be able to face an adult?" asked Celestia.
"I'm more than capable." replied Shawn.
"Very well. So what are the rules to these duels? I hope this won't be to the death."
"Of course not. To be honest we do have those kinds of duels but they're only done for extremely personal issues." replied Shawn. "The rules are simple." he said as he held out his hands causing what looked like a deck of cards to appear in them. "First someone selects a location from a deck like this. The chosen card becomes what we refer to as a Reality Marble."
"A Reality Marble?" asked Twilight interested. Shawn nodded.
"The chosen card will create a barrier and within that barrier the setting will change to whatever card is chosen so the setting can range from a small arena to a city." explained Shawn. "Once the setting is chosen the battle begins and only ends when one combatant can no longer continue. Which basically means until one of the fighters either loses consiousness or is unable to fight. However if either fighter surrenders they not only lose the match but pretty much all respect and in the case of those with titles such as a king or anything like that are automatically stripped of their title." Upon hearing this Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Rarity smiled.
"So what you're saying is that if he chooses to surrender Blueblood would automatically be stripped of his title?" asked Rarity.
"Well that's the way it works for us." shrugged Shawn. "You can change that rule if you want. There's also a rule that basically says that once one is challenged they must accept or...well the same thing happens."
"Interesting." said Celestia as a slight smile made its way to her muzzle. "Then perhaps we should enforce these duels." she added as Shawn continued eating.
"I'm not sure that would work since it seems your subjects are mostly pacifists." said Shawn.
"I suppose that is true." said Celestia.
It was then he sniffed the air.
"Is something wrong?" asked Twilight.
"It smells like...brimstone." he said before his eyes widened. Then he took off followed by the others. Not long after they arrived at the vault that was once used for the Elements of Harmony. They saw as something invisible struck the vault door with enough force to make very large dents before some holes formed on it and the door was pulled off its hinges.
"What do you want?" asked Shawn. At that the door was thrown at them. Shawn held up his hands as the Princesses' horns began glowing forming a multicolored barrier in front of them which stopped the door creating several large cracks just before they dropped the barrier.
"Switching to thermal." said Shawn as his left eye became violet. "Gotcha." The creature then turned and took off. "Oh no you don't!" he said as he ran after it followed by the others. When they got close to a window the creature jumped through it and took off through the air. "Oh hell no." he said as his fangs and claws extended before he jumped out and grabbed something. The Princesses, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash flew after him as he started slashing causing sparks to fly until they saw what looked like lightning surrounding a figure before they saw a large demon appear with a strange armor and a large device on its back that had fire coming out of it. The demon started kicking in an attempt to get Shawn off as he used his claws to climb onto its back and bit off pieces of the armor until the object on its back started malfunctioning sending the two of them in a nose dive, which was luckily away from Canterlot. They crashed pretty close to the railroad tracks and once they hit the demon charged at Shawn and grabbed his head before slamming him multiple times. Twilight saw this and fire a beam of magic which caused the demon to turn to her. Shawn transformed causing the demon to release him from the sudden heat. It looked at him enraged and punched him throwing him back.
"Are you okay?" asked Fluttershy as she went up to him but to her surprise his his eyes became almost catlike, and the white part of his eyes became black before he let out a feral growl and jumped at the armored creature biting down on the armor forcing the creature to try to throw him. The others became surprised.
"Did he turn into a dog or something?" asked Rainbow as they saw him rip off the armor revealing the entire arm was mechanical.
"What is that?" asked Luna surprised.
"I think it might be mechanical." said Twilight.
"Mechanical?" asked Rainbow.
"It's a robot." said Inferno as the machine looked at its damage. "A machine made to look like something alive." he added as he spit out some oil that had gotten in his mouth.
"What is your purpose here?" said Celestia as she landed. The machine looked around before its eyes started glowing rapidly. Shawn saw this and tackled it down before throwing it away from the others.
"Why did you...?" began Luna right before it exploded.
"If that thing had a self destruct function then..." he began before his eyes widened. "We've gotta go back!" he said as he had flames burst from his hands and feet to fly back followed by the others shortly after they got over their shock. They went back through the same window. When they got back to the vault they spotted what appeared to be something similar to Inferno wearing a cloak just as it disappeared.
"What was that?" asked Spike. Inferno reverted and checked the vault. Shawn walked into the vault and sniffed.
"Is somethin' wrong?" asked Applejack.
"This scent..."
"Is something wrong?" asked Fluttershy.
"This isn't possible unless....." Shawn's eyes widened.
"Hey kid." said Rainbow tapping his shoulder.
"One of them was here." he said.
"One of what?" asked Pinkie.
"As I've mentioned I was experimented on along with several others." began Shawn. "They wanted us to be able to work in small squads. Groups of four. To do this they used a blood magic ritual to link the four members of each group by blood."
"So the four members of each group are siblings?" asked Twilight. Shawn nodded. "But then..."
"The one who was here has my blood in their body. I can smell it." said Shawn.
"Then...."
"My siblings are enemies of Equestria." said Shawn.
"We could use the Rainbow Power to help them." suggested Pinkie Pie.
"I don't think that'd work." said Shawn.
"How come?" asked Pinkie.
"In the few seconds I saw her I was able to tell one thing. She wasn't just corrupted. They tapped into her computer to make her willing do what they say. In other words someone's gonna have to deprogram them and I'm the only one who can."
"Then we can probably immobilize them when the time comes." said Twilight.
"Won't work either. If they're awake they'll resist and odds are they'll be protect with a demonic armor which means you can't hold them with magic unless you're willing to risk your soul being devoured." relied Shawn.
"You seem to know an awful lot about this." said Applejack.
"It's not my first time dealing with demons and I can vaguely remember things from some of my past lives." replied Shawn. "Didn't think I'd be dealing with them so soon in this life." he said with a sigh.
"Will you need any kind of tool?" asked Celestia. Shawn turned to her and then looked up.
"Well, I'm gonna need a more diverse arsenal." said Shawn. "Is there a blacksmith anywhere in the area?"
"We do have a royal blacksmith who makes the armor and weapons for the royal guards." replied Celestia.
"Do you have some paper and something to write with?" asked Shawn. Celestia turned to a guard who left and returned with a some paper, a quill, and a container of ink. Shawn dipped the quill in the ink and began drawing something. It surprised the because he seemed to be moving abornormally fast to the point that they swore he seemed to be dividing. After he finished with one paper he moved on with another and then another. Within a minute he'd drawn on seven sheets of paper. "Can you give these to him?"
Twilight went up to look at the drawings and became surprised.
"Just what is this?" she asked looking at one sheet and the another.
"A weapon." replied Shawn. "I think they intended for us to each have a unique weapon and for us to be able to take care of them they placed the plans for the weapons inside our computers." he explained.
"So how did you move so fast just now?" asked Twilight.
"I'm guessing it's a subfunction of the printing." shrugged Shawn confusing them. "It only happens when I draw something that's already in my head."
"Oh."
"So do you think your blacksmith'll be able to make it?" Shawn asked Celestia. She used her magic to look at the design.
"Though it will take time I believe he'll be more than capable making this weapon."
"Thank you." said Shawn.
"Is there anything else?" asked Celestia.
"Yes. Regardless of what happens tell any military and/or police force you have not to engage any of them. The demons they might be able to handle but if they face either of my sisters or my brother they'll be dead before they can really do anything."
"Just how dangerous did those jerks want to make you?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"The weakest of us were altered in such a way that they could take on a squad of armed soldiers single handedly." replied Shawn.
"What purpose could they have had to make children so dangerous?" wondered Luna out loud.
"If I had to guess they most likely figured adults would have a harder time fighting children." replied Shawn as he looked at his hand as his claws extended.
"Are you okay?" asked Fluttershy concerned.
"I'm going to save them." he said clenching his fist. Fluttershy smiled at him and then nuzzled him softly catching him by surprise.
"Remember that you're not alone anymore." Shawn's eyes became two shades of violet as he smiled.
"Thank you....mom." Shawn said as he lost conciousness. The others became surprised but Fluttershy snapped out of her stupor just in time to keep him from hitting the floor.
"What happened?" asked Rainbow.
"He's had a very busy day." replied Fluttershy as Twilight used her magic to place him on Fluttershy' back. "The poor dear is exhausted."
"Fluttershy." said Celestia causing her to turn. "While I do understand the spirit of kindness that makes you who you are you should remain cautious. I have no doubt whoever has attacked Equestria may also intend to attack young Shawn."
"I will Princess." said Fluttershy with a smile.
"I will send the adoption papers to you once they are ready." said Celestia.
"Thank you so much Princess." said Fluttershy. None of them noticed as a girl looked on from outside. For a moment she looked at him and then smiled.
"Very soon brother." she said with a giggle before vanishing.