Chapter 1: Ties That Bind
Weapon: Conduit Of Magic
Chapter One: Ties That Bind
Written By: Fluttashift
Darkness filled the room, the only light illuminating it coming from an odd green slime. Wires ran across the floor, spider-webbing their way to a strange contraption. A thick glass tube contained this strange slime-like liquid glowing with an odd, unnerving light. Two red circular tops covered the unusual machine, one on the top, the other on the bottom. A beautiful girl floated ever slowly up and down within the liquid, wearing nothing, her hair a mixture of red and yellow to resemble the sun. A breathing apparatus was connected from her mouth to the machine, making sure she didn’t drown.
A large silver bar extending a few feet from the front of the machine, connected a moonlight silver chair to the entire thing. A control console with all sorts of blinking buttons connected an extending horizontal bar built into the middle of the other bar, placing the console a few inches from the seat, to allow someone easy access to said console. Two levers sat on the right and left while a single button sat to the side of the flashing buttons.
Sitting in the chair, was an old, bald, disfigured man. His face was full of pacs and wrinkles, his ears pointed and wrinkly with small strands of white hair protruding out of them. The man had long, sharp, unnatural fingernails along with monstrously sharp fangs, a maniacal grin spread across his hideous mug. He was draped in a long velvet robe complete with a hood to hide his face. His eyes were fixed on the girl filled with a mix of intrigue and sinestry, while stroking his long, scraggly santa-sized beard.
“So, Ms. Shimmer, you’re the one I’ve been searching for all this time. To think the Conduit was not hiding in Equestria, but a mirror world,” He said to himself, continuing to stroke his beard, “No matter. The Conduit is mine!” He let out a menacingly evil laugh which emanated throughout the room.
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Cigarette smoke filled his lungs as Weapon stood in front of a building extending almost as tall as the Empire State Building. Large gold letters were facined in the center spelling the acronym: H.E.R.O. It stood for Heroic Enforcement and Registration Organization and it just so happened to Weapon’s place of employment. It was a place where superpowers were governed and policed, but also a place that symbolized hope and heroism. Various superheroes worked with Agents to stop supervillains and help in other affairs like terrorism and law enforcement. Some agents despised the partnership, but it was mostly accepted. Even though most people dream of being a superhero, Weapon loathed his job, and with good reason.
Weapon also known as Jason Jetts used to be a soldier who was recruited straight out of High School. However, after four years of active duty, he couldn’t live with the horrors of war and went to work at Bragha Labs, where a new project known as The Weapon Project was being developed. Looking into it, his conscious spoke to him as it during his service to the military, and he tried to stop the program. His colleague betrayed him, using him as a test subject, but it was successful, making him the first Weapon soldier. He escaped the lab and defeated the evil colleague who planned to use the program as a means to profit, selling to other countries. Shortly after, he joined H.E.R.O and had many adventures and stopped many villains.
However, Warlock or William Argon, an old, disfigured mage, planned to use his cover as CEO of Argon Corps, to betray H.E.R.O, using his minion The Virus to turn heroes into villains and against the very organization they worked for. By sacrificing enough of the super-powered, he could revive his race of mages who he believed were wronged long ago. Weapon lost his fiance Sarah Prescott or Phase that day along with a few other members of his team, The Rebellious Hearts. After luckily defeating the mad mage, he went on leave to grieve over his losses. Today, however, he was back on duty and how he wished it wasn’t so.
Sarah. I could’ve done more. I could’ve saved you. Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes, thinking about his lost love. He blew out a cloud of smoke, proceeding to take another drag. I could've saved you all. He threw the cigarette to the ground, stomping on it in frustration, and wiping the tears from his eyes. Weapon spun around, letting out a sigh, reluctantly pulling the door open to enter.
Inside was even more lavish, beautiful shining gold paint covering the walls from top to bottom, the floor entirely covered in a crimson rug. An extravagant crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, filling the room with warm, bright light. Portraits of heroes and framed medals lined the walls. To his left was a small waiting area, complete with lush, fancy couches, toys for the kids, and two small stands on both sides of the couch which held magazines ranging from fashion to gaming for the adults. To his left was a small memorial stand that listed the fallen agents and heroes. A few feet in front of him was a reception desk that looked more like the control console to the Millennium Falcon than a place where you simply ask questions and sign in for appointments. Two pretty girls sat, clacking away on a keyboard, wearing headsets that allowed them to answer and reroute calls, one to the left, the other to the right. Lastly, a set of stairs on both sides of the desk lined with glass and a gold railing led up to a set of grey elevators.
The lobby was bustling with activity. Masked heroes, suit and tie wearing agents, and average everyday people made up the crowd walking to and fro, carrying on with their daily activities. Weapon pushed through the crowd, annoyed with how busy it was. He didn’t miss this place, not one bit. It was a bitter reminder of the past, of what could’ve been.
“Hey Weapon!” Came a happy-go-lucky voice from behind. He turned to see it was his old friend and ex-teammate Renegade. The eight foot tall, musclebound, red haired hero, sporting his usual black, bulletproof suit which resembled an oversized wifebeater, black khakis, and black Nikes was walking towards his friend. He wore a large smile, overly joyed to see his friend he hadn’t seen a six months.
Weapon had hoped to avoid any of his remaining ex-teammates, but managed to feign a smile, and said, “Hey Renegade. Long time no see.”
“Tell me about it, man.” He slapped Weapon on the back, causing the hero to nearly lose his balance. “Sorry, forget my own strength sometimes. You back on duty?”
Weapon nodded, “Yeah, Elliott couldn’t breathe without me around.” They both let out a chuckle at that.
“Oh!” He exclaimed, playfully smacking his noggin, “Almost forgot, Elliott wants to see you asap.”
“What’s the boss man want now? A kidney?” Weapon joked, partially annoyed that Elliott, his boss, already had a job for him lined up. He doesn’t even care about what happened. It’s business as usual with that guy as always.
Renegade threw himself into a fit of laughter at Weapon’s joke. While he was distracted, the hero slipped away, saying, “Sorry Renegade, gotta go, it was uhh… good catching up.”
Guilt clouded his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to face any of his ex-teammates, not with the bigger guilt of failing his friends constantly nagging at him. It was like an incurable parasite that kept leaching at him. Sorry, Renegade. I’ll make it up to you.
Weapon continued his trek through the ocean of people. Gazing to his right, he noticed a gas-mask wearing villain, chained up in handcuffs with a small bolt of electricity connecting them instead of a chain. The villain, presumably under arrest, wore a hazmat suit minus the headpiece and the only feature of his face visible through his mask was two glowing, yellow eyes.
Virus! What’s he doing here! It was the villain who aided Warlock, and turned some heroes against the Hearts. Anger welled up inside him, he wanted to kill the bastard here and now. Quickly Weapon turned his head away, and continued to the stairs. I’m already on the boss’s bad side. I better leave it alone for now. One day though, one day.
The hero rushed up the stairs and approached the elevators. Slamming his finger on the triangular up button, he clicked it a few times as if the elevator would come faster by doing so. When it finally arrived, he waited for the remaining passengers to exit and got in, shuffling to the back, relaxing on a wooden bar that lined the back.
Even though the building was like a beautifully crafted work of art the inside of the elevators were incredibly mundane, no different from any other elevator. He gazed up and caught his reflection in the mirror. However, he couldn’t bring himself to meet his own eyes. How could I look at myself. After what happened.
Weapon was a skinny fellow with mop-like black hair, contacts, hazel eyes, wearing a Star Wars shirt, bright red shorts, and beaten old blue Adidas sneaks. He wasn’t your average hero, but he didn’t have to be. Much like Iron Man, he wore a suit, allowing his physical build to not impact his strength while fighting.
With a loud ding, the elevator doors signaled Weapon’s stop on the thirtieth floor. All the other passengers had gotten off on lower floors. A hallway stretched out before him, plants placed for decoration near the doors. Every few feet was a small couch almost equally as gorgeous as the ones in the lobby. The hero stopped at the eight door on the left, a sign posted on that which read: Briefing Room 3. With a twist of the know, he entered the room.
This room was painted differently than the rest of the establishment. A dark red, with blue and white tile replacing the carpeting on the floor. The front of the room had a large television-esque blackboard, quite futuristic in design. In the center of the room was a long glass table that took up most of the available space. Ten or so chairs lined all around the table and a single window stood to the back, which revealed an interrogation area.
Weapon took a seat and noticed an unlabeled manila envelope sitting upon the table. The hero snatched it up and emptied its contents. It was a detailed file on a girl named Sunset Shimmer. He figured she wasn’t from around here with an odd name like that. Weapon began skimming through the file taking in every bit of detail he could. It wasn’t long before the door opened and his boss came in.
Elliott Hanson, director of H.E.R.O, wore the same black suit and tie, beige khakis, and brown dress shoes as always. He was a blonde haired, blue-eyed, pretty boy who was well known for being sarcastic and strict. “I see you’ve taken the liberty to read the briefing packet before we get started.” He said, checking his watch, “And you’re early. What a surprise.”
“Yeah, I figured you’d lie to me anyways, so I started without you,” Weapon retorted, not taking his eyes off the file.
“I don’t lie, I withhold Jason,” Elliott answered with a chuckle.
The hero slammed his fits on the table, gritting his teeth, “I told never to call me that again! It’s Weapon!”
“Right, shall we get started?” Elliott asked rhetorically as he dimmed the lights. A picture of Sunset Shimmer appeared on the briefing screen, surrounded by a collection of other six girls, Weapon could only assume were her friends. “This is Sunset Shimmer.”
The hero rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I got that much from the briefing packet. And?”
“And she’s been kidnapped by none other than…” Elliott paused as he clicked on his remote control, changing the image. What appeared next was an old, bald, disfigured man Weapon knew all too well.
“Warlock! How? H-He’s dead,” His muscles tensed at the sight, the memories of that day flooding back into his mind hitting him with the force of a tidal wave.
“H.E.R.O thought so as well, until we brought Virus in this morning. He had a message,” Elliott pointed to Weapon with his index finger, “for you.”
Weapon pointed to himself, “Me?! That creep! What did he say?”
“Mages will rule once more and realms will fall when the Conduit awakens to its full potential. Mean anything?” Elliott cocked a brow.
“No, but if Warlock wants it, it ain’t a cuddly puppy, that’s for sure.”
The boss nodded, “We know little about this Conduit. All we discovered was that it is in fact an Equestrian legend, but that’s all I could get out of Princess Celestia.”
The hero looked at Elliott puzzled at what he had said, “Equestria? Princess Celestia? You a rapper now?”
“Ha ha. Very funny.” Elliott shook his head, “No, Equestria is a land in another dimension were sentient ponies live and coexist with the magic of friendship. Celestia is one of its rulers and the highest ranking ruler in the land.” He explained.
“No! No! And no!” Weapon shook his head, “Send Swan there, I’m not going to magical happy rainbow sparkle pony land.”
The boss smirked, “Don’t worry, you’ll be going to it’s mirror world. Magical happy rainbow sparkle human land.”
Weapon groaned, slouching into his chair, and burying himself back in the file. “So, what’s the mission, boss?”
Elliott rolled his eyes, “Find Sunset, learn what she has to do with this Conduit, and stop Warlock before he rains hell upon multiple realms.” Then, he got a little quiet, rubbing the back of his neck, looking rather uneasy, “Are you sure you’re up for this? I mean because of… well… you know.”
“My dead fiance? Yeah, I get it. I don’t got all day for you to play psychiatrist.” Weapon growled in anger.
“Do you accept or not Weapon?”
The hero grinned, fantasizing his revenge on the one who took his love from him. I’m coming for you Warlock. You bastard! He simply answered, “You bet your ass I accept.”
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Green lockers lined the hallways with a gap in between twenty or so where classroom doors sat ranging from Science, Math, History, English, Music, Art, etc. The walls were filled with posters for events, flyers, and top-graded projects. Music filled the hallways as students practiced their instruments. The hallways were filled with students conversing or rushing to get to class.
At her locker was Applejack, listening to her friend Sunset’s ring back tone as she attempted to get a hold of her for the hundredth time. It had been a few days since she saw her friend, as a matter of fact, since most of the school had seen her. This was starting to worry AJ.
Rarity approached her friend, “Any luck AJ, darling?”
Getting Sunset’s voicemail, she hung up the phone and sighed, “Nope. I hope she’s alright. Ya reckon we should call the police or somethin’?”
“Oh no no no, we don’t want anyone digging into Sunset’s private life. Whatever would we do if they found out who she really was? It could be the Friendship Games all over again, but without one of the key Elements.” Rarity answered.
Applejack didn’t like this, Rarity had a point. How would the police or the world react to finding out about Equestria? Sunset lived alone and in an abandoned garage, what if she got into serious trouble? It was simply out of the question, even if it was the logical, correct thing to do.
“Yer right, Rarity. I’m just worried about her. It’s not like her to miss this many days o’ school.” AJ placed her phone back into her pocket.
“As am I. Why don’t we and the others go looking for her today? It would give us a chance to try out these adorable investigation outfits I made us all.” Rarity was mesmerized, her eyes shimmering, as she talked about her newest wardrobe creations.
Applejack face palmed, “This here is serious business, Rarity! We can’t dilly dally around playin’ dress up, but we should look for her.”
“Agreed. I’ll tell the others at lunchtime.” With that the two parted ways, walking to their respective classes.
A nagging feeling could be felt in the pit of Applejack’s stomach. She knew something had happened to Sunset. The country girl was just too scared to find out what it was. What if something horrible had happened to her friend. AJ tried to push those thoughts from her mind, but they persisted. Ah hope yer alright Sunset.
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Green grass draped in dew drops stretched as far as the eye could see. Dandelions and various other grew in small patches around the field. The sun shone down brightly, birds chirping in the distance. Squirrels ran to and fro collecting nuts and playing with each other. Straight ahead was a single oak tree where a long blonde haired girl sat. She had beautiful emerald eyes, a large bust, magnificent long legs. The girl wore blue jeans, a brown belt, and a pink tank top with a sparkling purple butterfly in the center.
Weapon couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Sarah. He walked up the small hill towards her. He took notice of the white and red checkered picnic blanket and picnic basket sitting atop it near Sarah. How is this possible?
Sarah noticed him, leaping to her feet, standing a few feet taller than the 5’ 6’ Weapon. “Jason!” She squealed in excitement, hugging her love. “I packed us a picnic lunch.” She pulled away to give him an intimate kiss.
“S-Sarah?” He asked, not believing his own eyes.
The girl giggled, ‘Yeah, expecting someone else?” She then took notice of his outfit. “Why are you in your Weapon suit? Cosplaying for me, baby?”
“My Weapon suit?” The hero questioned, still quite dumbfounded at who he was talking to. The hero looked down to see the dark grey suit that made up his superhero suit. A single yellow stripe came up both sides of the suits legs, the visor colored all black. However, the hero could still see as it was a HUD. It illuminated a blueish light against his face, two bars located in the top right and top left respectively. One was a dark red and displayed the energy for his suit’s shapeshifting capabilities whilst the other was a shade of cerulean that displayed his shield energy. A black belt wrapped around his waist with a large yellow W in the center finished the ensemble.
“You ready for our date, hero?” Sarah asked with a smile.
“S-sarah, how is this possible? Y-You’re dead, honey,” Weapon managed to get out, his eyes wide in disbelief.
The girl smiled, leaning in closer, whispering seductively into his ear, “And you killed me.”
“W-What?!” Weapon was taken aback, slowly moving backwards.
In a split second, the sunny sky was darkened by unearthly, thick, black clouds. Thunder cackled in the distance, lightning streaking close to the tree. It lit the tree on fire, burning it along with the picnic blanket and basket. Rain began to pour down from the clouds, but it wasn’t your average rain, it was blood! Weapon couldn’t believe what was unfolding before him.
A shape began forming close to them, first it was nothing more than a spreading black mass. Soon, it became an all too familiar figure. It was Warlock. “Mages will rule once more and destruction will engulf three realms when the Conduit realizes it’s full potential. You have no hope of stopping me hero.” He said, laughing menacingly.
“Like hell!” Weapon shouted, ready to fight him. However he couldn’t move. No matter how hard he thrashed, he remained in place as if frozen by some unseen force. “No!” His eyes went wide. “No! Not again!”
Warlock grabbed Sarah who was screaming for Weapon to save her. A large grin spread across Warlock’s face. He drove his razor sharp fingernails through the struggling girl’s heart. She screamed as life left her eyes. Blood dripped to the ground from her body and the murder weapon.
The hero tried with all his might to move, but his endeavors proved fruitless. “Sarah! No!” He screamed. Her body went limp and Warlock tossed it to the ground. Blood pooled around the corpse as Weapon stared at it with a dropped jaw, his mind in disbelief.
“You couldn’t save her,” Warlock taunted, disappearing and reappearing behind Weapon. “And you’ll fail again.” With that the villain drove his fingernails through Weapon’s heart.
Weapon shot up, sweat dripping down his face. He was breathing heavily, sitting up in his bed, terrified of the dream he had just witnessed. It was just a dream? Damn you Warlock! Damn you! He took a few deep breaths, calming himself as he settled back into bed. Nestling into his pillow and pulling his blanket over him, sleep began encompassing the hero. The sinking feeling that this was not over stuck with him until he drifted off into the realm of dreams once more.
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Rain pitter-pattered against the window Weapon was gazing out of. He was sitting on a couch awaiting the arrival of Swan, another ex-teammate. She handled the inter-dimensional traveling and missions, which puzzled him. Why was Elliott sending him there and not her? He pushed that out of his mind, focusing on the rain. The hero’s mind wandered to the dream he had last night, pondering if it had anything to do with the rain today.
“Something interesting out there?” A sugary sweet voice came from behind him.
He turned his head to see Swan. The girl had short black hair, wore a blue sparkling masquerade mask, a matching blue leotard with an S in the shape of a Swan located in the center. She wasn’t to well endowed and normally Weapon would playfully joke with her about it, but today he was in no joking mood.
“No, just noticed the rain today.” Weapon answered, getting up, ready to go to this strange new world.
“Yeah, weird, right? The weatherman said nothing but clear skies today, go figure,” She shrugged as the two began walking towards their destination.
Weapon remained silent, his mind unable to wander from the dream. He had watched it happen all over again. He turned it over in his head again and again. How could he live with himself? Thoughts raced through his head like they were running a marathon.
His train of thought was broken by Swan, “So how’ve ya been?”
“How do you think?” He answered coldly, not looking at his old friend.
“Still upset, huh? Have you talked to anyone about your loss?” Her voice sounded concerned.
“No! And I don’t need too! I’m fine on my own!” He shouted, balling his fist in anger.
“Right, you sound so fine,” she muttered under her breath sarcastically.
Weapon sighed, lowering his tone, “I’m sorry, Swan. Maybe I haven’t been dealing with my loss. I wanted to quit this heroism gig, but Sarah wouldn’t want that. She loved this place, she loved helping people.” His head dropped, meeting the ground.
Swan smiled, trying to cheer him up, “You shouldn’t do this is your heart isn’t in it though, sugar.”
“Ties that bind.” Weapon shrugged. What was he supposed to do? “How’ve you been?”
“Good. Dealing with political stuff in Metania.” Swan answered. Metania was a small island paradise located in the Bermuda Triangle. Not long ago, it was unknown to the rest of the world, but when Swan became a representative for her country, she ventured out, making friends with humanity. Now, she was trying to get her country recognized by the rest of the world.
The rest of the way was silence. The two reached a set of large steel doors. Swan pulled them open to reveal the inter dimensional travel room. It was like any old room, except the device used for inter dimensional travel shocked Weapon. It was a simple glass mirror, framed in hot pink, diamonds lining in an even pattern from the bottom left to the bottom right. Two wires extended out of the back of it connecting to a nearby control panel where two workers in lab coats were clacking away on their keyboards, readying the device for travel.
Near the door was a large clothes rack where many superhero costumes sat. Weapon’s was a singular yellow W symbol and a black belt. His suit was stored in this symbol which was still hard for him to grasp. How such a big piece of machinery could fit in that little symbol baffled him, but after all the crazy things he had seen, he learned not to question the little things.
“A mirror! That’s it!” Weapon exclaimed in disbelief.
Swan simply giggled, “Yup, sugar. Not every technological marvel is made by humans, you know. This was made and given to H.E.R.O by Equestrians.” She explained. “Well, I better get a move on. See you later, Weapon,” Swan gave him a wave and walked away before he could apologize for ignoring her attempts to contact him while he was on leave.
Shrugging off the missed opportunity, he turned back to the room when Swan disappeared down the hallway. The hero walked towards the rack and grabbed his belt and symbol, along with a travel backpack. Next to his stuff, hung Sarah’s old suit. A pink motorcycle outfit complete with a matching helmet. He smiled reminiscing on how she loved pink and the biker girl look. A small single tear dropped down his cheek.
Weapon’s fist balled in anger, his teeth gritted as he swung around and asked, “Don’t you think that’s in poor taste?” His index finger pointed at the suit.
A worker with a beard and glasses looked at his coworker in confusion before turning back to the angry hero, “What Phase’s suit? We keep it as a memento. We knew the girl. She was a great hero.”
“Well, I want it removed immediately!” The hero shouted, storming over to the mirror. “Is this thing ready to go or what?”
“Yup, it’s all set.” The worker responded still quite unsure what made Weapon so upset.
Without looking back, he stepped into the portal. It rippled like when a rock is thrown into a lake. After his body was entirely in, he felt as if his molecules were being ripped apart. The sensation of falling gripped him as he tumbled into a swirling green, orange, and black vortex. The sensation felt like it lasted for hours, however, it had only been a few minutes. A bright white light engulfed him, the hero’s molecules began to reform. He shot out of a white horse statue and slid across the lawn. Weapon smacked his head into the front steps of what he assumed was some kind of high school.
“Ya okay there?” Said a girl with a southern accent.
“Ow!” He shouted, rubbing his head. Weapon stood up and brushed himself off, taking a look at the girl. “You’re… from… that picture.”
“Picture? What the hay are you goin’ on about?” The girl asked, cocking an eyebrow, and folding her arms.
“Never mind. You know Sunset Shimmer though don’t you?” He answered with a question of his own.
“Yeah! Have ya seen er?” She asked, praying that her friend was safe. maybe she just visited Equestria or something.
“Wish I had. Would make my job a lot easier.” Weapon chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, I have reason to believe she’s been kidnapped, miss.”
“Applejack, ya can call me AJ if ya like.” Then, his words hit her like a ton of bricks, “Kidnapped?!” How in the world do you know that? Just who are ya anyway?”
“Name’s Weapon, and I’ve come along way to find Ms. Shimmer. She’s in grave danger, Applejack. We need to help her before a villain from my realm uses her to do something terrible.” The hero emphasized this with concerned eyes.
“How do ah know yer telling the truth?” AJ asked.
Weapon sighed, “You don’t, but if you want to find her, I’m here to help. Honest. And I may be your only shot.”
Applejack wasn’t sure if she could trust this person who flew out of the portal to Equestria, but she and her friends always tried to see the best in people. They even forgave Sunset after all the horrible things she did before Twilight came to there world. “Fine. But ah got mah eyes on ya.” She began walking up the steps of the school, motioning her hand for him to follow. “Come on, ah’ll letcha talk to the others and we’ll decide from there.”
He nodded and followed, not sure what to expect from this group of friends. Maybe they could help him find a lead, but after that he’d be working alone.
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“So you came out of a portal that leads to Equestria from a different world and are here to help save Sunset from an evil magician?” A rainbow haired tom girl asked, coking a brow, and sounding rather unconvinced.
“Magician is putting it lightly. Try evil Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme psychopath,” Weapon responded, trying to convince her friends of what had happened.
“What in the wide wide world is a Doctor Strange, darling?” A purple haired beauty talking quite fancy asked.
“He’s a comic book character… wait,” The hero shook his head, “Never mind that! We need to find Sunset! How long has she been missing? When’s the last time you all saw her?”
“Um… three days ago, I think,” Said a shy girl in a low, almost inaudible voice.
“Three days! It might already be too late, we need to get a move on!” Weapon exclaimed, trying to make them understand the gravity of the situation.
“He’s telling the truth, Pinkie sense doesn’t lie,” said a girl with poofy pink haired girl, smiling, with a voice that sounded happier than can be.
The other looked at her puzzled at how she came to this conclusion. “And how do know that Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Duh! Because, if he was lying and he was the kidnapper, why would he come tell us he kidnapped her? Plus, if we don’t do something about Sunset’s missingness soon, who knows what could happen.” Pinkie responded, continuing to smile big.
“I don’t even want to guess,” Fluttershy said, sliding down in her seat, her eyes filled with fear.
“Pinkie has a point. We need ta do something. Ah say this guy might be our best bet, ah know lying when ah see it, and he doesn’t seem to be so far.” AJ said trying to get her friends motivated about finding Sunset. Sitting around and debating wouldn’t do her any good.
“Finally! Someone with some sense!” Weapon shouted causing the entire lunchroom to turn and look at the group. “Hehehe… don’t worry about us. Turn around and eat your damn lunches!” He gave a glare to reiterate his words. The kids just obeyed and turned around, resuming their meals.
“Alright, Weapon, what’s the plan?” Twilight asked, adjusting her glasses which always seemed to be falling down the brim of her nose.
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Sunset opened her eyes slowly, her vision blurry. Her head felt fuzzy as she sat up. As her vision became clearer she noticed that she was sitting on a hospital bed. Somehow, she was dressed in a hospital gown, no clothes underneath. Sunset jumped when she saw a man sitting next to her in a steel grey chair. He was repulsive looking, wearing a velvet robe with a hood which was down at the moment, giving her a good view of his sickly old, deformed face.
“Who are you? What do you want with me?” Sunset asked, grabbing her blankets in fear.
The man sat there staring at her. His lips didn’t move. The room was permeated in an awkward silence. Sunset’s muscles tightened, her heart beating faster and faster with every waking second. She was growing impatient and more fearful of this strange old mad.
“Answer me!”
“No need to be alarmed my dear,” He spoke in a raspy voice, a creepy smile forming across his face, “I am Warlock, and I have some news you will be quite happy to hear.”
“News?” Sunset shook her head, “I don’t care. I need to call my friends, they’re probably worried about me.” Pain welled up in her head, “Ow, my head.” She put a hand on her head as if it would stop the pain.
“Your friends have been alerted as to where you are. The pain is from the machine you were in. It’s a side effect of the slime. I had to make sure of your identity, I apologize for my brutish methods, my girl.”
Sunset knew there was something off with this guy, but something about the way he talked made you want to listen. No, she felt as if she needed to listen. A strange feeling was washing over her, like he was putting her under some sort of spell. But how’s that possible? The Siren’s couldn’t put me or my friends under their spell. Unless, this guy isn’t from Equestria.
“Ms. Shimmer, I need to tell you something. Something that will change your life forever. Something your friend Twilight would want to keep a secret.” He said interrupting her thoughts.
“How do you know about Twilight? How do you know my name?” Her eyes went wide, she wanted to run, but she couldn’t. Something was making her stay, a will in her head that she tried to ignore. Sunset couldn’t no matter how hard she tried to fight it.
“I’m a Mage, my dear. We have vast knowledge of many a worlds. Our knowledge could rival both humans and ponies combines.”
“A mage?”
“Mages are beings born from magical energy who contain the knowledge and power to grow stronger with strict training and discipline. We can also travel dimensions and do all sorts of other things.”
“What do you need to tell me?” Sunset asked, fully under his strange spell.
“You’re the Conduit of Magic, Ms. Shimmer,” A wicked grin spread across his face.