inFAMOUS Dragons part one (edited)
Author's Note
My writing partner for this crossover wanted to add something he forgot so here's the edited version of the chapter. Enjoy!
inFAMOUS Dragons part one (edited)
(Kija’s POV)
Today was just not my day. First I find myself in a strange forest and much different than I was before. Then while I was freaking out, the universe decides to tell me to shut up by opening a void in from of me and launching a phone at my face. As I was nursing my stinging cheek (that's definitely going to leave a bruise) a second void opened up.
Instantly I went to shield myself and out floated a red and blue feather. Despite the situation, some part of me couldn't help but see the humour in this. Tentatively I reached out and grabbed the feather and instantly I heard a voice in my head.
“I am Delsin Rowe, the Equestrian Eagle. Should you need aid, or someone to talk to or spar with, call me up.”
For a time, I just sat there trying to wrap my head around what the heck was going on. It felt like the entire world had just been turned upside down then thrown out the window. None of this made sense! How did I go from attending a con to being dumped in a forest as Kija?! I needed answers, but I wasn't sure where to get them.
A tickle in my hand reminded me of the feather I was currently holding. Did I dare? Hard to say. On one hand this was all probably a dream or a hallucination yet it didn't feel like I dream. I could feel the grass beneath me and the clothes on my body like they were actually there. They actually felt nice and soft.
Eventually I reached the conclusion that I may as well try. I had nothing to lose and a lot to gain. I needed answers and this Delsin sounded like he had a few. Plus I could really use some aid and someone to talk to.
“Um, I'm not sure how this is supposed to work but I could really use some answers right now.” I spoke as though I was addressing the feather and instantly felt stupid. How was a feather supposed to help me?
Suddenly, another void opened up and a young man tumbled out. He was dressed like some sort of punk and seemed somewhat disoriented. “Ugh, I just needed five more seconds,” he complained to no one in particular. “Is that too much to ask?”
I stood there gaping until the young man noticed me.
“Oh, sorry. Were you the one that summoned me?” He asked me.
“Um...I guess.” I said uneasily.
“You guess?” He said before facepalming. “Great. Just great. Once again, I have to be the one to teach someone about what they're now a part of.”
“What I'm a part of?” I asked. Lost couldn't even begin to describe how I felt at this moment.
“Let me know if I have my facts correct. You were at a convention and bought something for a discount price from a vendor there. Am I correct?”
“Almost.” I said almost absently. “Me and my friends bought something from a vendor at a convention.”
“Okay,” he said before his arms suddenly started smoking. “Welcome to being a Displaced.”
“Displaced?”
“Basically, you now have the power of the person you dressed as at the convention and you are no longer on Earth.” He tossed a ball of condensed smoke around in the air as he spoke.
I took that in for a total of two minutes before responding. “Okay, so if I'm not on Earth then where am I?”
“Unless I’m wrong, you are now in Equestria.”
Equestria. I rolled that name around my head just to make sense of it all. I had of course heard of MLP thanks to one of my co workers who had a near obsession with it and would often talk about it with her friends while on break. Sometimes I'd overhear their discussion but I didn't really know much about the show or fandom. The only things I could say for sure was that it was about magical ponies in the land of Equestria.
“You've got to be kidding me.” I said incredulously.
“I’m not. Every Displaced or group of Displaced gets placed in their own version of Equestria. A close friend of mine is in an anthro version of Equestria. Another few friends has keyblades and things from Kingdom Hearts in his.”
“Great.” I sighed. “So basically the multiverse, right?”
“Correct,” he answered. “Infinite worlds, infinite possibilities. Speaking of what you dressed as, who are you dressed as?”
“Kija from Akatsuki no Yona otherwise known as Hakuryu or The White Dragon and one of the Dragon Warriors.” I answered a little boldly.
“Huh. Sounds like an anime that I haven’t seen,” he said in a combination of curiosity and confusion. “Care to elaborate on your abilities, Kija?”
“Well in the anime slash manga, there are four dragon warriors that gained their powers from the blood of dragons.” I started to explain. “In the birth myth of Kouka, there was this red dragon god that came down to earth earth as a human and ended up in danger so his friends gave their blood to mortals so they could protect them. The white dragon possesses the dragon claw that can tear through anything.”
I then raised my right hand so he could see the claw in question.
“What about the other three dragon warriors?”
“The Ryokuryu or green dragon has the dragon's foot and can fly through the air by jumping.” I said. “Seiryuu, the blue dragon, has eyes that can see long distances and all around him. And if he uses his power he could paralyze everything in sight. Even the heart. The downside to this ability is that it paralyzes the Seiryuu. I'm not sure exactly how it works. And then there's Ouryuu, the yellow dragon. His ability is an immortal body.”
“Wow...so you and three friends got Displaced?”
“Yes. I was dressed as Kija. The others were dressed as one of the other three Dragon Warriors.” I confirmed.
“Okay. Where are they currently? Or did you get separated?”
“It seems we have. I woke up here alone.”
“Okay then. I’ll see about helping you find your friends and I’ll stick around until I banish my doppelganger.”
“I think I might be able to at least narrow it down.” I said. “Another ability the Dragon Warriors have is the ability to sense each other. They generally know where the others are.”
“Sounds a lot more accurate than my radar pulse,” he said. “Lead the way.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated as hard as I could. For a bit, it seemed like nothing was happening. Then slowly, like an image fading in, I got something. It took me a minute to figure out and identify what I was feeling before I finally opened my eyes.
“I can sense the Ryokuryu and the Seiryuu in close proximity to each other.” I said then pointed in the direction I'd sensed them. “That way.”
“Okay, let’s go.” He began to walk in that direction but stopped and turned to me. “If you see or feel anything off, inform me. I’m not sure when or where my doppelganger will attack.”
“Is your doppelganger evil or something like that?” I asked with concern.
“I have an eagle on my back; he has a vulture on his. I aim to do good; he is just...ugh…” He massaged his forehead. “If you see him, just decapitate him.”
I flinched lightly. “Just like that?” I asked.
“He’s resistant to death, so he’ll laugh it off and pull himself together.”
“It sounds like an evil version of Ouryuu.” I commented. “I wasn't kidding when I said the Ouryuu’s power was an immortal body. Not only does he not age, but he can basically take whatever you throw at him, regenerate then come back at you. And when he regenerates, his body becomes hard as steel and he's as strong as the Hakuryu and Ryokuryu. The idea is that the Ouryuu is an eternal shield to protect. In the manga, he generally stays on the sidelines in a battle but he's willing to throw himself in front of an oncoming blade. And he's probably the only Dragon Warrior that can take on an army on his own with just a sword, partially because of his regeneration abilities and partly because his abilities tend to scare the crap out of the survivors.”
My eyes then widened as I remembered another aspect of Zeno. Because the Ouryuu was the only warrior that had an immortal body, he stuck around while the people around him aged and died. The powers of the white, blue and green dragons were passed down through generations, but the yellow dragon was immortal. And in the manga Zeno had a hard time with his power to say the least. It was even said as much that he would have these fits of despair where he'd tear his own body. Jack had been dressed as Zeno which meant that he'd either have to deal with this....or he'd already gone through it.
“You have the general idea of Nisled, but he’s resistant to death. He can be killed, but it would have to take a lot to do so.” He then began walking again.
Shaken from my thoughts I just nodded. As I walked forward, my foot kicked the phone that hit me in the first place. Considering how it had been shot out at me from the void, it was a safe bet that this phone was a token too. Crouching down, I grabbed the token and instantly heard a voice in my head.
“Hello, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and I'm a Soul Reaper. If you're a good guy looking for a helping hand, just give me a call and tell me what you need.”
I blinked. “Huh. It seems as though there's a Bleach Displaced out there somewhere.” I said as I pocketed the cell phone.
“There is a lot of different Displaced that are around,” he explained. “And just in case you are wondering, tokens, like my feather and that phone allow you to summon or be summoned.”
“Good to know. Shall we go?”
“Yep, let’s go.” He continued walking. And without another word, the two set off in their chosen direction.
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The Mane Six were all doing great impressions of fish out of water. The stranger just stood there confidently as he observed their wide eyed, open mouthed expressions. Pretty soon however, someone was going to need to break the silence and that someone ended up being Rarity.
“Um, hello there strange...creature. My name is Rarity. What's yours?” She tried to push the unsteady tone from her voice and seemed to have succeeded as the creature responded in kind.
“My my, how rude of me to not introduce myself.” He then gave them a sweeping bow with a flourish. “My name is Jea-ha, the beautiful Ryokuryu. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Oh well the pleasure is all ours.” Rarity said, the strange creature’s manners setting her at ease as her friends recovered. The next pony to speak was Rainbow Dash.
“How did you get in here?!” She burst out. “And don't say you knocked, we would've noticed.”
The was a mischievous glint in the male's eye as he answered. “I jumped onto the balcony and let myself in.” He said as though he were sharing some sort of trade secret like a secret ingredient in a special recipe.
“Impossible!” Twilight instantly denied. “The balcony is hundreds of feet high, nothing could possibly jump that high and I don't see any wings.”
Jea-ha just smirked teasingly at the bewildered alicorn. “Believe what you wish, it is the truth.” He said before his face suddenly lost much of it's mirth. “Now I'd like to hear more about this 'strange creature', I got here a little late and didn't hear as much as I'd like. Just enough to know that I need to know more. So spill.”
The girls looked between each other not sure if they should or shouldn't trust this being. However before they could think too much on the subject, Fluttershy stepped forward.
“What would you like to know?” She asked bravely.
Jea-ha smiled gently. “Whatever you can tell me.”
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After Fluttershy explained her story, Jea-ha simply sat quietly with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, he spoke.
“Shin-ah.” He murmured to himself then looked up at the ponies gathered around him. After Fluttershy explained her encounter, she then asked if Jea-ha was a friend of her savior. Her reasoning behind this conclusion was mostly the fact that they were very similar. While it wasn't a bad assumption given the circumstances, in any other situation such reasons were faulty. In this case however, she was correct.
“Miss Fluttershy, you are correct in assuming that your hero is a friend of mine.” Jea-ha began. “Our group has not only been separated, but we've also found ourselves in an unusual situation in unfamiliar territory.”
'Severely unfamiliar territory.’ Jea-ha added to himself.
Fluttershy cocked her head. “You said group. Does that mean that there are others besides you and the person who helped me?”
“At this current moment there are two others that are unaccounted for.” Jea-ha said. “Hakuryu and Ouryuu are too far from me and can take care of themselves so at this moment I'm a little focused on Seiryuu.”
“Hakuryu, Ouryuu, Seiryuu and Ryokuryu.” Applejack listed off, the obviously Neighponese names sounding strange with her Southern accent. “All those names sound a lot alike. Are y'all siblings or somethin’?”
A smirk tugged at Jea-ha's lips. “In a sense yes, you could say that we are brothers in all but blood and even then there's a blood bond. So yes, we are brothers. Bonded by blood and brotherly love.”
“That sounded a little sappy.” Dash commented with a frown.
“Perhaps.” Jea-ha answered with a dismissive shrug before standing from his seat. “And speaking of brothers, I should get going.”
“Wait what?!” Twilight exclaimed, looking up from the notes she'd been taking. “Where are you going?”
“To find my brother.” Jea-ha answered with a nonchalant wave as he exited the room. “See ya!”
“Hey wait a minute!” Twilight called as she jumped up and followed after Jea-ha, her friends hot on her heels. “You can't just waltz in just like that then leave! I still have so many questions, like what are you?”
“I'm the Ryokuryu.” Jea-ha answered with a cheeky grin and Twilight huffed in frustration.
“What does that even mean?” The alicorn demanded. “It sounds Neighponese, but I'm not as fluent in the language to translate.”
“Neighponese eh?” Jea-ha said with an amused chuckle. “Well you're not wrong. It means dragon. Specifically green dragon.” As he spoke, a wide grin spread across his face, displaying large canines that made the ponies flinch back instinctively.
Twilight almost immediately went into scientist mode, producing a scroll and quill to make notes. “So you're a green dragon or Ryokuryu.”
“Not a Ryokuryu.” Jea-ha broke in with a finger waggle. “The Ryokuryu. There is only one person with the power of Ryokuryu and that is me.”
“Power of Ryokuryu?” Twilight asked in interest, her friends equally interested.
“The power of the green dragon.” Jea-ha clarified.
“Does that mean you can breath fire?” Rainbow asked and Jea-ha laughed.
“Nope! No fire here!” He said cheerfully. “I can just fly across the sky.”
“What about your brothers?” Pinkie piped up. “You know, Hakuryu, Seiryuu and Ouryuu. Are they dragons like you too?”
“They are.” Jea-ha confirmed with a nod. “Hakuryu is the white dragon, Seiryuu the blue dragon and Ouryuu is the yellow dragon.”
“And are they like you?” Twilight immediately jumped in with an almost hungry expression and quill at the ready.
“No, they have their own strengths and talents. But that'sthat's for them to tell not me.” By this point they'd reached the balcony doors which were wide open, not closed like Twilight expected. Jea-ha casually strolled out onto the balcony then turned back towards the assembled ponies.
“Well, see you around.” He said with a grin then then crouched down and lept. The ponies once again gaped as they saw how high he flew into the air.
“Land sakes! He wasn't kidding when he said he jumped.” Applejack exclaimed.
Twilight didn't respond immediately, she just stood there and watched as the dot that was Jea-ha descended in the direction of the Everfree forest. She then whirled around to face Rainbow Dash. Her horn blazed and a light surrounded the prismatic pegasus, sending a slight tingly sensation through her body before both the light and the sensation dissipated.
“Hey! What was that?” Rainbow demanded.
“A tracking spell.” Twilight answered. “And a pretty powerful one too. Usually used on prisoners so the authorities can track them if they escape. So long as you have that spell, I'll be able to track you.”
“Okay, so why did you put a tracking spell on me?”
“Because you're the only one of us that can keep up with Jea-ha.” Twilight said still cursing herself for not thinking of this earlier. “You go follow him and we'll try to catch up.”
The cyan pegasus saluted. “Aye aye captain.” She said then launched herself into the air and taking off in the direction Jea-ha went. Twilight nodded in satisfaction then turned to her remaining friends.
“Alright then girls, let's get going!” They didn't need anymore encouragement, within fifteen they were all out in the streets and galloping towards the Everfree forest.
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Shin-ah stumbled through the forest on slightly unsteady feet. Nothing had made a lick of sense since he ended up here. Wherever 'here’ was anyways. First he'd woken in this strange forest to find himself much different than he was before. After coming to terms with his new identity, Shin-ah then went looking for any sign of civilization or even the end of this forest.
Then he heard the screams of young children and when he went to investigate, he almost didn't believe what he was seeing. Ponies surrounded by wolves made of sticks and twigs. Before he could think any further on what he was seeing, he stepped in. It hadn't been easy fighting those wolves. Sure he knew some sword skills from the classes he'd been taking, but he'd hardly call himself a master.
On the bright side, at least the wolves were easily destroyed, Shin-ah guessed that they were only a threat in large enough numbers. Even so, a few managed to get him and at the end when he fought the Alpha, the older wolf managed to bite his shoulder. And then he was headbutt in the the stomach by a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane. Hence his current state.
Shin-ah paused his trek to lean heavily on a tree as he held his stomach, trying to keep his lunch down. Deciding that now was as good a time to rest, he slumped down so he was sitting leaning against the tree. As he rested, the young man's thoughts drifted back to his situation and he touched the mask on his face.
It had no eyes holes, yet he could see through it perfectly as though there were eyeholes. He had the power of the dragon’s eyes which meant a lot of things to him. The dragon's eyes could not only see far distances but they could also make people experience deadly hallucinations. In the manga, it was a power that was feared by an entire village to the point where Shin-ah's mother committed suicide after giving birth to him because of despair. And quite frankly, he didn't blame them for fearing it.
The Shin-ah in the manga didn't have control over the power, instead relying on sword skills to fight. The current Shin-ah doubted that he had control over his power either and the fact that he could end up hurting so many people, or ponies as the case may be, terrified him.
'Perhaps it would be best if I didn't leave the forest,’ He thought.
“Pukyuu!” A cry pulled him from his dark thoughts and he blinked as a squirrel ran up to him with his cheek pouches filled with nuts. Shin-ah smiled as the little squirrel ran up his arm then tried to stuff nuts into his mouth. It was amusing and while that wasn't the intent, it still helped Shin-ah out of his funk.
“Thank you Ao.” He said softly as he lifted the little one up. At least he still had company here. A twig snapped and Shin-ah tensed looking around for who or what was coming. With the ability of the dragon's eyes, it didn't take long to spot what was coming.
A punk with arms that had what looked like chunks of rock swirling around them.
And he was heading straight for him.
As quickly as he could, Shin-ah dodged out of the way. And just in time for a large, yellow glowing rock to go sailing by.
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*BOOM*
Jea-ha almost tumbled in mid air when the explosion suddenly sounded. Only the timely arrival of a certain pegasus kept him from taking a nasty fall.
“What in the name of Celestia was that!?” Dash exclaimed as she lowered him to a rooftop not wanting to risk seeing if he couldn't touch clouds. Jea-ha didn't answer, but his eyes did narrow. That explosion came from the Everfree forest. Where Shin-ah was. Without a single word he lept again, urgency in his flight.
“Hey, wait up!” Rainbow called as she tried to keep up but her cries were ignored.
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*BOOM*
Kija's head shot up at the sudden explosion. “What was that?” He asked.
I looked in the direction of the explosion and focused my radar pulse to see what was in that direction. From the bioelectric signatures, I could sense two presences. One was shaded blue, while the other was blood red. “CRAP! He's here!” I then took off running in that direction.
Kija was confused at first but he wasn't slow. As soon as he saw that his companion was running, he took off after him and tried to put the pieces together.
“Who's here?” He asked once he caught up and was running side by side with the other Displaced. “Is it that doppelganger you told me about?” Kija asked with no small amount of concern.
“I hope and pray that it isn't,” I answered as I crashed through some bushes. I came to a stop in a small clearing, where a figure in a mask was hunched over, his clothing turning crimson from his gut. Standing over him with a cocky smirk was Nisled.
I'm not exactly sure what happened exactly, it all went so fast. A look of rage crossed Kija’s face and his dragon claw swelled in size. Next thing I knew, Nisled had been thrown across the clearing and Kija was standing protectively over the masked figure.
“Stay away from my brother.” He hissed angrily at Nisled.
I smoke dashed to the two and carefully lowered the masked figure to his back on the ground. “Kija, have fun ripping him to shreds. I'll keep your brother stable.”
“Very well. I leave him in your hands.” Kija said then turned back to Nisled. “I'm new to all this. Fighting least of all, but I will tear you apart for what you've done to my brother.”
“Mind if I join in.” An unexpected voice called and the next thing I knew, a flamboyant green haired man descended. He simply glanced around the clearing, quickly assessing the situation then turned to Kija.
“If I recall correctly, I know a bit more about fighting than you do.” He said with a smirk. “Karate, judo and self defense classes have to count for something don't they?”
“Ryokuryu.” Kija responded, not taking his eyes off the enemy.
“You don't have to be so formal.” The man said. “But we can exchange pleasantries later. I doubt our 'guest’ will wait.”
“His name is Nisled and according to Deslin here, he's resistant to death similar to the Ouryuu.” Kija said shortly as he braced himself for an attack.
“Interesting. This should be fun.”
I turned my attention away from the two angry dragons and looked to the one bleeding to death with a squirrel trying to feed him nuts. I focused my smoke to work on healing him and removing the concrete shrapnel from his gut. A gasp erupted from the masked person on the ground, indicating that he was now awake.
“Dude, you okay?” I asked him. The man just nodded. “Okay, good. Stay there, I'll be right back. I turned my attention to the fight between Nisled and the two dragons and saw that Nisled was barely holding his own against the two of them. He had activated his video powers and seemed to focus on redirecting attacks with his claw constructs rather than outright blocking.
I reached out and absorbed Kija's anger in the form of shadow. I then activated my dark suit and summoned Karmic Gear. I then charged in and tackled Nisled and tossed him into a tree. He swiped at me but I parried and slashed an ‘X’ on his chest. He staggered, giving me the opportunity to kick him down. I then removed my helmet and sunk my fangs into his neck.
Kija and Ryokuryu staggered back as well. Clearly this had been their first fight though the Ryokuryu seemed to be faring better than Kija. I pulled myself off of Nisled, dismissed the suit and keyblade and pulled out the Banishing Key. It and Nisled glowed a red color before a red beam hit him, causing him to sink into the ground as if it was quicksand.
With the banishment done, I then turned back to the others. Kija had moved to the side of the masked man looking over him while the one I knew as Ryokuryu gave me an impressed look.
“Well, that was over fairly quickly.” He said then stuck out a hand to me. “I'm Jea-ha, the beautiful Ryokuryu.”
I did a quick ray sphere pulse to check his DNA and found it clean. I took the offered hand and shook it. “Delsin Rowe, the Equestrian Eagle,” I introduced myself.
“Good to meet you Delsin.” Jea-ha said before pulling his hand away. “So, evil twin?”
“Doppelganger,” I corrected. “An alternate version of myself that is pure evil.”
“Really? How does that even work?” He asked.
“We are part of the Multiverse. There are practically infinite possibilities. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Mr. Mxyzptlk that replaces Discord.”
“Huh. Multiverse eh?” Jea-ha hummed thoughtfully. “That explains a lot. So does that mean you're from a different universe?”
“Yep. The Mane Six there are conduits and Akomish like me, but they have different powers.”
“Do they have vampiric abilities too?” Jea-ha asked then pointed to his face as though indicating that I had something on my face.
I moved my hand to the spot indicated and felt a bit of blood. “Crap! No, I just had an issue with a vampire a little bit ago,” I answered as I pulled out a crimson handkerchief and started to clean my face.
As if on cue, Rainbow Dash dropped into the clearing panting like she'd just run a marathon without a break.
“Jeez, for a guy that flies by jumping, you're hard to keep up with,” She gasped once she caught her breath. At this point she noticed the scene that she'd dropped in and the number of other beings alongside evidence of a fight.
“Um, did I miss something?” She asked.
I shook my head and chuckled lightly as I finished wiping the blood off of my face. “For somepony who's fast, you are a bit slow.”
Instantly, Rainbow Dash tensed. “Excuse me?!” She demanded angrily. “I'm the fastest pony in Equestria, I've saved Equestria a dozen times at least and I'm the only one who's ever been able to perform a Sonic Rainboom! A Sonic Rainboom!! Can you say as much?” She finished her bragging with a confident smirk and shot me a challenging look.
“I've fought in a war; took concrete shrapnel and crossbow bolts to the chest and gut and survived; I'm an uncle to a Pokémon; I'm part vampire; and I was poking fun at your IQ and situational awareness, not your speed,” I countered in almost one breath.
Rainbow's eyes narrowed but before she could retort, the rest of the Mane Six burst from the undergrowth and entered the clearing. They had to take a breather before surveying the scene around them. As expected, Fluttershy was immediately at Kija and his brother's side surveying the damage and soothing the wounded man which reminded me, I had a patient to take care of.
I turned to Rainbow and said, “Could you do me a favor and get a thundercloud and electrocute me?”
Rainbow and Twilight gave me a strange look then the pegasus grinned and took off. She returned quickly with the cloud and gave me a smirk that suggested she was going to have a little too much fun doing this.
She gave the cloud a good buck, causing lightning to strike me. I absorbed the electricity, and approached the still wounded man. “Stand back,” I told Jea-ha and Kija. They backed up and I charged my hands with electricity. I then sent a small pulse of electricity into the man's chest, speeding up his healing and causing him to jump a bit.
“Shin-ah, you're okay!” Kija gleefully said as he went in for a hug. I stopped him short.
“I may have healed him, but I would recommend professional medical care,” I told him. “Most of what I did was sealing up the wounds, but there could be some damage on the inside that I can't heal.”
“Well then let's get back ta town before the timberwolves pick up on the scent of blood.” Applejack announced. “I'll get ta work on a sled fer him.”
I could see that Twilight had a thousand questions for me, but I agreed. The Everfree isn't exactly a safe place to be especially if you're injured. With surprising speed, Applejack fashioned a sled from some strong branches and rope (something the farmpony apparently always carried with her) and hitched herself to it. Kija and Jea-ha with the help of Fluttershy, helped Shin-ah onto the sled and then we were off. Twilight walked beside, shooting me a look that suggested that she was in science mode and I could expect a million questions.
Once we had gotten into Ponyville and got Shin-ah to the hospital, I thought that I could take a few minutes to rest, but...that was when Twilight pounced.
“Okay, first things first, name, age, gender and species.” At that last part, her voice took on a hungry tone.
I answered her questions in a similar rapid-fire manner. “Delsin Rowe, a little over a thousand years, male, and I'm a human conduit/vampire.”
Twilight was already writing down my answers. “Human huh? So is that what Jea-ha and his brothers are as well?”
“I believe that they are human, or mostly human. And they're not conduits.”
“Okay. So what's a conduit and what's the difference between a conduit and a human?” She asked next.
“A conduit is someone, something, or somepony that has a unique gene that allows them control over a form of matter or energy.” I held up my hand and let some electricity flow around it.
“Fascinating. And are there other conduits?”
I sent out a brief ray sphere pulse and couldn't see anyone with the gene. “As far as I can tell, not here or at least in this hospital. There are conduits in other worlds that I've met.”
Twilight looked like she was going to have an aneurysm. “Other worlds?!?!” She almost shouted in my face.
“Ever heard of the Multiverse?” I asked her. Twilight nodded.
“Starswirl the Bearded wrote several papers on the theory of infinite worlds with equally infinite possibilities.” She said. “And he wasn't the only one, there are hundreds of scholars who've written on the theory of the multiverse and it's even become a popular subject of fiction.”
“Well, that fiction is now, more than likely, fact and I can at least say that you have things better than two other versions of you have things.”
Twilight squealed. “Other versions of me!?” She cried in delight. “Of course there are other versions. Infinite possibilities and all that. So does that mean that you are from another world?”
“Yes, one where you and your friends are conduits and Akomish.”
Twilight looked about ready to faint and at that point Pinkie Pie entered my line of sight. “Oh oh, what about me? Does that mean that there's lots of me all over the multiverse?” She asked.
“Not entirely,” I informed her. “In one world, she’s dead.”
Pinkie instantly deflated, hair and all. “Dead? Me? How?” She whimpered.
“Long version or short version?”
“Short.” She answered. “I'll hear the long one later.”
“Brutally murdered by my Doppelganger,” I summed up.
Pinkie Pie whimpered. “I don't think I want to hear the long version anymore. Just tell me this, did it mean something?” She asked. “Did she go down helping her friends or did she at least go out with a bang?”
“After she helped save Equestria, she was exhausted and was struck down at her weakest. As were most of the rest of the Bearers.” I then growled, clenching my fists and causing red electricity to spark from my hands. “The only one who survived was Twilight’s alternate. But she didn't get away unscathed. She's practically a cyborg now and refuses to be known by her old name.”
There was silence as they all took that in. Then Twilight decided that a change in subject was in order.
“Sooo, Delsin you mentioned that you were also a vampire. Care to elaborate?” She asked almost hurriedly.
“A vampire in Trottingham around Nightmare Night, named Bloody Marey, bit me after my blood was used to resurrect her. I managed to end her, but I was a few seconds too late. After the Elements of Harmony were used on me to try to heal me, I became different from most vampires.”
Twilight immediately began taking notes. “Interesting. Exactly how different are you?”
“Unlike most of them, I can stand in the sun and not burn up. It's irritating to my blood and skin, but I can survive that. I can also resist my lust for blood.” I then licked my lips when I looked at Twilight’s neck. I shook my head and added, “Mostly.” I pulled out a small canteen from my pocket and took a small drink. (Go, have her ask about the canteen)
“What's in the canteen?” Twilight asked curiously as she took down more notes.
“A mixture of apple juice and manticore blood.”
A number of the ponies looked disgusted or ill. Surprisingly, Fluttershy was not one of them. I expected her to be more upset about the manticore blood part considering her love of animals.
“Any further questions, comments, or concerns?” I asked.
Twilight looked like she was going to ask more questions, but she was cut off by Rainbow Dash.
“I've got a question.” The pegasus piped up. “If you're from another dimension then how did you get here?”
“Well, Kija, the white dragon, found my token and summoned me.”
“Token?” Twilight asked with a head cock.
I pulled out a red and blue feather to show her. “Basically, among those sent to different parts of the Multiverse, they can take certain items and infuse enough of their power into them to be used as a means to summon or be summoned.”
“That reminds me, now that you've banished you're doppelganger, what are you going to do now?” Kija asked.
“I'll stay here until you find your yellow brother…” I paused and laughed at myself. “That sounded too much as if I called your brother a coward.”
“I doubt Zeno is a coward.” Kija said drily then closed his eyes to try and focus on the yellow dragon. Eventually he opened his eyes.
“I was referring to the Yellow Lanterns from the DC universe,” I told him before fully realizing that the subject was dropped. “You find him?”
“The presence of the Ouryuu is in that direction.” He pointed, his arm raised a little as though he was pointing up. I looked out the window in the direction he was pointing. He was pointing to Canterlot.
“Twilight?” I asked, “How much will it cost to get to Canterlot and get an audience with the Princesses?”
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
In Princess Luna's private chambers, the Lunar monarch sighed in contentment and relaxed into the lap of the being stroking her mane. It always soothed and relaxed her for as long as she could remember. These days it was a rare occurrence as the being in question traveled far and wide, but when he was in Canterlot, she took full advantage of that and would frequently ask for this.
Unfortunately the glorious bliss ended when the being stood from his spot and moved towards the window. Initially a little miffed, Luna paused once she noticed how fidgety he was.
“Zeno, is something wrong?” She asked with concern and he shook his head.
“Not at all. Zeno's just very excited.” He said cheerfully.
“Why?”
“Because it looks like Zeno’s brothers are finally here.” Was his answer.
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
(Kija POV)
In the end, we decided to go in a small group. Jea-ha, Delsin and I would take the train to Canterlot with Twilight and Rarity. Applejack had work on the farm, Rainbow Dash had weather duties, Pinkie returned to Sugarcube Corner to bake away her sadness and Fluttershy volunteered to stay with Shin-ah. With that settled, we bought our tickets and boarded the train to Canterlot. My stomach was a flurry of mixed emotions.
Two in particular were at the forefront. Excitement to see Zeno and apprehension on the rulers of this land. I knew little to nothing about the rulers of the court that we were visiting and I couldn't help but wonder what they were like. So I turned to my closest source of information, Delsin, for answers.
“So, what are the princesses like?” I asked.
“It varies from world to world,” he answered. “Like, I'm engaged to be married to my Celestia."
Twilight did a spit take (we'd ordered some snacks and drinks from the trolley when it came through).
“What?!” She screamed and Delsin laughed.
“No matter how many times I see a reaction like that, it's still funny.” He paused his laughter briefly before it started back up again. “Now that I think about it, it's ironic. A creature that hates being in the sun is marrying the Princess of the Sun.”
“And what about my Celestia and Luna?” I jumped in before Twilight could react further. “Certain traits are universal, right? So in general, what are they like?”
“Celestia tends to have a mischievous side and a cake addiction. Luna is a bit of prankster as well, but she is rather more violently inclined.”
“How violently inclined?”
“Well...in my world, Luna had a split personality problem, so when the Elements were used on her, the other personality split into another alicorn. Said alicorn pranked Luna and Luna then chased her through the castle, ramming just about everyone in the warpath.”
I considered this for a bit. “I'm not sure whether or not I'm nervous anymore.” I confessed.
“I just need to make sure I'm not thinking of Tia when talking to her.”
“I'm not sure I follow and I'm more or less sure that I don't want to know.” Thus I declared the matter closed.
Delsin looked back to Twilight, who still had a shocked look on her face. “So, any other questions?”
“I have one.” Jea-ha piped up with a raised hand. “What is Canterlot like? What sort of things can we expect when we get there?”
Rarity instantly jumped at that. “Canterlot is the capital of Equestria and is a hub of culture and sophistication. I've always wanted to live there, ever since I was just a filly.”
“Your alternate hated it after three gang attacks on her in one hour when she first arrived there,” Delsin stated.
A nervous look past her face before she relaxed. “Well perhaps it isn't a perfect place. I am very well aware of the darker side of Canterlot, not to mention the nobles aren't exactly the best of the best as far as I'm concerned. But you come from an alternate world do you not? Who's to say that every Canterlot is exactly the same?”
Despite what she said, she still edged closer to Jea-ha and I could tell that she was going to be sticking close for the duration of our stay.
“So basically we should stay on guard?” Jea-ha asked.
“That's one way to look at what I said,” Delsin commented. “The point I was trying to make was that looks can be deceiving. Canterlot may look and sound glorious, but the ponies can be stuck up or corrupt in one way or another.”
“I'll keep that in mind.” I said and conversation lapsed into silence for the rest of the train ride.
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
The hospital room was quiet as neither being spoke. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence as either party was comfortable in the silence. But as the time passed, Fluttershy found herself wanting to say something more and more. Slowly, she turned to the being lying on the bed.
Due to how tall he was in comparison to a pony, he wasn't in a standard pony sized hospital bed. Instead he lay on a bed sized for a minotaur and even then it was clearly much too big for the young being and made Shin-ah look weaker than he actually was. His clothes and mask had been removed long ago but because he was so reluctant to part with his mask the doctors compromised by giving him a blindfold.
As a result, Fluttershy couldn't tell if Shin-ah was awake or asleep. After fidgeting for a minute, she finally decided to just get it over with.
“Um, I just wanted to thank you for saving me and the Crusaders.” She said quietly. There was a moment of silence and just when she began to think he was asleep, he spoke.
“It's okay.” He said, his voice soft, quiet and young. Fluttershy looked up to see Shin-ah turned towards her and she could feel his eyes looking over her like they were scanning her.
“Why do you wear that blindfold or the mask?” She asked without thinking. “Can't you see?”
There was silence for a beat before he answered. “I can see.”
Emboldened by the answer, she asked her next question. “Then why do you wear them?”
The silence dragged on longer and just as Fluttershy was beginning to feel like she'd said something wrong, he answered.
“Because I'm dangerous.” His voice much softer than before.
“How?”
Shin-ah gently touched his blindfold. “My eyes can hurt and kill ponies.” He answered. “I don't have control over them and I could end up killing people I care about.”
Fluttershy glanced to the side at a small reddish brown ball curled up at Shin-ah’s side. “What's her name?” She asked and Shin-ah looked surprised at the sudden change in subject.
“Ao.” He answered eventually.
“Ao.” Fluttershy repeated, rolling the strange name around her tongue. “It's quite an unusual name. I don't think I've ever heard it before.” Shin-ah didn't respond, but Fluttershy continued. “Listen Shin-ah, I live around animals regularly and I can communicate with them. It's my special talent. And one thing I've learned over the years is that animals are excellent judges of character. If you were truely dangerous, then I doubt you'd have such a kind and devoted companion.”
Shin-ah didn't say anything, but he stiffened ever so slightly so Fluttershy pressed on. “And as for not being able to control your power, I'm sure you can learn.” She said softly as she held his hand. “Twilight wasn't born a master of magic, she trained and studied until eventually she became the Princess that she is today. I'm sure that you can learn how to control your power.”
There were several beats of silence before she received and answer. “What if I can't?” He asked as he held her hoof. Fluttershy could feel the minute trembles from his hands and knew that he was afraid. She slowly removed her hoof from his hand and pulled him into a gentle embrace, careful not to cause him pain.
“I'll help you.” She whispered. “We'll all help you. And I won't let that happen to you.”
Shin-ah hesitated then relaxed into her grasp. For a moment there was quiet until Fluttershy broke the silence.
“Shin-ah, would you let me see your eyes?”
Shin-ah jerked back then winced when a jolt of pain shot through his body at the sudden motion. Fluttershy gently took his head in her hooves.
“Shin-ah, you aren't dangerous.” She said firmly. “And neither are your eyes. I promise, I'll be fine.” Shin-ah still hesitated. “If it helps, you can just look down at the blankets and it'll only be for a moment. I trust you.”
Shin-ah didn't respond verbally, but he did bow his head and after a moment Fluttershy decided to take it as his nod of ascent. She grasped both side of the blindfold gently and slowly lifted so as not to spook him. When it was removed completely, he tensed dramatically as Fluttershy gasped softly.
“Shin-ah, your eyes are beautiful.”
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
The train pulled into the station at Canterlot and we all disembarked. As we did, for some reason, I felt as though something would go wrong, but I dismissed those thoughts. I was helping some new Displaced get settled into their new home.
“Kija, Jea-ha, can you feel where the Ouryuu is?” Twilight asked. Kija closed his eyes to focus then opened them again and pointed in a direction. Towards Canterlot castle.
I scaled a building and then drained a chimney of its smoke. “Let’s not waste time then,” I said as I dropped back down. “Let’s get going.”
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
Unbeknownst to them however, dark shadows were plotting and would soon make their move.
Consciousness brought with it a headache that made me moan and curl up to wait out the throbbing pain. As the headache began to diminish, I was able to take better stock of my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was how hard the ground was beneath me which was confusing. I fainted, right? And not in the privacy of my home, in public. Surely someone would've called for an ambulance or something. And even if I'd only been out for a minute or less I should be hearing people crowding around me, but I heard nothing.
Deciding that nothing was going to get done just laying here, I slowly eased my eyes open. At first my sight was blurry and the only thing I could perceive was the color green. As my vision cleared, the reason for all the green was revealed. I was in a forest. As I climbed up from the forest floor, it quickly became apparent that something was off. My initial examination revealed that I was still a human and still dressed in my costum, though the fabric felt different.
It wasn't until I tried to remove my dragon claw 'glove' that I started to figure out that something was very wrong.
Instead of slipping off my hand, it stayed put and even started to hurt as I tugged at it. Worse still, it no longer felt like rubber. Now it was smooth and felt scaled like I was holding a snake. A cold feeling began to settle in the pit of my stomach and before I could start panicking, I reached up to my head with the intent to pull off the wig I'd used to cover my real hair. I was rewarded with the sensation of my hair being pulled as I tugged my now white locks.
Silence permeated the air as the full implications of my situation sank in. Then in a completely understandable reaction, I started screaming.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH-!"
*SMACK!*
"OOOWWW!"
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
It was a pretty normal day in Ponyville. Sun was shining, birds were chirping and everypony was going about their business. The Apples were busy working the farm while Rainbow was napping in the trees. And like clockwork the pegasus was given one heck of a wake up call when she found herself bucked from her perch. As the pegasus and earthpony were arguing, Fluttershy was making her way to town to pick up supplies. In her shop Rarity was busy working and in her castle a certain alicorn princess was busy with her own duties.
Berry Punch was getting ready to open her bar while Time Turner had already opened his place of business and was busy selling and repairing clocks of all sizes and makes. The children had already returned home from school, quickly finished their homework and we're now out playing.
"CUTIEMARK CRUSADERS!! YAY!!"
Which meant that the CMC were also out of school and currently out Crusading. Now that's not to say that anyone hated the Crusaders, but some businesses were somewhat wary of letting the three fillies try to earn their cutiemarks in their establishments. They were eager enough, but they were also a little young and tended to make a mess of things. Mostly to themselves but there were some times when there shenanigans would effect certain businesses.
Like for example the Candied Flower incident. It all started when Bon Bon had more on her plate than usual and the Crusaders offered to help. Not seeing the harm in a few extra hooves, Bon Bon accepted and set them to work making candied flowers. The result was an event almost on the level of the Baked Bads incident and a drop in business for almost two month. Bon Bon's candy shop did eventually recover and in hind sight she probably shouldn't have left the Crusaders alone or have made sure she was stocked up on the proper flowers, but since then she absolutely refused any assistance the trio of fillies offered.
A number of business ponies in Ponyville agreed and there were very few establishments that would allow the Crusaders to Crusade for their marks. Of course they understood that the Flower incident was an accident (after all, how were they supposed to know those flowers were poisonous) they still weren't taking any chances. These facts however weren't much of a factor when the Crusaders approached Berry Punch asking if they could try earning their cutiemarks at her bar. The mare flat out refused for obvious reasons.
"Ah don't know why we thought that would work." Applebloom said as the Crusaders trotted away. "Mah sister is always telling me that Berry's place is fer grown up ponies only."
"Mine too." Sweetie Belle chimed in. "Remind me why we thought that was a good idea."
"Because it's one of the few places that we've tried, there was a slight chance we would find our cutiemarks there." Scootaloo replied.
"Oh yeah, that's right. But if our cutiemarks are there, it looks like we'll have to wait till we're twenty or twenty one." Applebloom commented.
Scootaloo sighed. "Which means our Crusading plans are shot." She said glumly. "That's the only place I could think of that could possibly work. Everyone else is either too busy or they refuse. And I can't get any sort of spell or potion book from Twilight."
"After what happened with Big Mac, I'm surprised we're even allowed the basic spell books." Sweetie countered. "Even then we have to have adult supervision."
"We've already looked through the basics anyways." Scootaloo said glumly. "Point is we are now at a dead end."
"Hmm, maybe not." Applebloom said. "There's at least one pony, or should I say zebra, who might help us."
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath as she fluffed a cloud to nap on. There wasn't much planned for the weather today which meant that Dash had a lot of time to herself. So after completing what weather duties she did have and her training, the pegasus decided to just relax in her favorite apple tree and catch up on some Zs.
Unfortunately, AJ and her brother were harvesting that particular part of the field and not even an hour after settling in and closing her eyes, Dash found herself thrown to the ground courtesy of her friend's buck. Rainbow just knew that AJ did that on purpose, after all she didn't exactly blend into the foliage and her cyan coat with a rainbow mane and tail were rather hard to miss amongst green leaves. And when she confronted her friend, the farmpony didn't deny it.
Ultimately, Dash ended up relocating to a cloud she situated over Whitetail woods not far from the Everfree. However it seemed as though the universe seemed determined to keep her awake because no sooner had she lay down on the soft, comfy cloud than she was jolted awake by piercing screams. Dash's first thought was 'oh c'mon!' Her second was 'that sounds like the Crusaders followed closely by her third thought, 'and it's coming from the Everfree.'
The next second, the only evidence that she'd been there were a few dissolving pieces of a cloud and a prismatic trail.
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
'How do I get into these sorts of situations?' Fluttershy whimpered mentally as she attempted to shield the Crusaders from their impending doom. After picking up some groceries, Fluttershy had been returning home when she ran into the Crusaders. When she asked where they were going in such a hurry, they explained to her that they were going to see Zecora for Crusading ideas.
Her first reaction was to try and convince them to not go into the Everfree and the Crusaders in turn of only refused but also somehow managed to convince her to come along. Although in their defense, they did make some very good points. Point number one, Zecora didn't live very deep in the forest so they wouldn't have to go too far. Point number two, ever since the Tree of Harmony had been saved, the Everfree had been pretty quiet. Nopony had even seen the timberwolves. And point number three, Fluttershy was pretty much a friend to almost every animal in the vicinity even a manticore! And even if she wasn't a friend, she was the Stare Master. Thus they had convinced the most shy pony they knew to accompany them into the Everfree forest.
At first it wasn't all that bad. In fact, it was actually kinda nice in the Everfree and Fluttershy didn't feel as scared as she usually would in the forest. Of course that was when things went horribly wrong. About halfway to Zecora's but, the group was suddenly attacked by a pack of timberwolves that drove them off the path and ultimately cornered them. If they'd been attacked by any other animal, Fluttershy would've been able to get them out of the situation by reasoning with them. But these were timberwolves, one of the most vicious, feral and basically unreasonable creatures known to ponykind. Not even Fluttershy's Stare could cow the wood wolves surrounding them.
By this point, Fluttershy was shielding the Crusaders, doing her best to protect them. Hopefully their screams got someone's attention (like maybe Zecora) and a rescue wouldn't be too far away. The timberwolves were closing in and Fluttershy was seriously doubting that rescue would come in time. The best she could do at this point was protect the girls with her body.
"Close your eyes girls and stay low." She whispered to them. The three very frightened fillies only nodded and did as instructed, closing their eyes and pressing as close to the ground as possible. Fluttershy, who'd been standing over them, pulled them as far underneath her as she could and spread her wings for further protection. While one might say 'you're a pegasus, just fly', flight was just not something Fluttershy was capable of at this time. First of all, this particular part of the forest was too dense for flying and secondly, there's a limit to how much weight a pegasus can carry.
Fluttershy couldn't fly with a full grown mare and her limit for passengers was two fillies and she wasn't about to abandon one filly to such a horrible fate. If Rainbow Dash was here, she definitely would've been able to take three fillies, but she wasn't here. It was just Fluttershy and an entire pack of timberwolves. As they drew closer and closer, Fluttershy's heart thudded in her chest but she stood her ground. She wasn't going to let these fillies get hurt if it cost her her life.
As the pack circled, they drew closer and closer until they were so close that they could smell their breath. Fluttershy let out a whimper and one leaned forward with its mouth open, intention clear. Fluttershy closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain that would come when the bite connected. A pain that never came. Instead she was greeted by the sounds of growls and snarls. Carefully, the pegasus opened her eyes to see what was going on.
The timberwolf that had been about to bite her had turned it's attention from her to the newcomer that now had a grip on its tail. This new creature was bipedel like a minotaur but it definitely wasn't a minotaur. It was smaller than the average minotaur and wore clothes that she'd never seen before. But what was the strangest about this creature was it's face. This particular part of the Everfree was dark so she couldn't see clearly, but what she could see from her vantage point was a white with horns that jutted to the sides and a long mane of white fur.
Fluttershy only had a second to look this creature over however as the timberwolf that it had a hold on jumped and snapped at it. The creature quickly released the wooden tail and lept back out of range. The pack now had its attention on the newcomer but did not move away from the ponies. They remained in a circle around their prey while the wolf that the creature stopped stalked towards it. The creature edged backwards and reached over it's shoulder. Then in one motion it unsheathed a sword and took a stance.
At first nothing happened as the timberwolf stalked it's prey from a distance and the creature held it's sword out in front of itself. The timberwolf made the first move by leaping at the creature who responded by slashing downward on the timberwolf's, reducing it to a pile of logs and sticks. In response, the pack's growls increased and a second timberwolf jumped at the creature, ultimately meeting the same fate as the first.
On the third attack, two timberwolves broke away and jumped towards the creature. One attacked from the front and met the same fate as wolf one and wolf two while the other jumped from behind. Fluttershy almost screamed out a warning but to her surprise she didn't have to. After dispatching the the third timberwolf, the creature dodged it's partner, causing it to stumble before it could get, it dispatched that timberwolf too. By this point the rest of the pack was getting uneasy, but they weren't going down without a fight.
More timberwolves attacked the creature, but they were all as unsuccessful as the first few. One did manage to get on the creature's back, but that on was swiftly delt with. Pretty soon the pack had dwindled dramatically and they were beginning to have second thoughts about this creature. Then a large older timberwolf stepped forward, it's posture and the way the others interacted with it screamed 'Alpha'. With a low rumbling growl, the Alpha stepped forward to the challenge. Instead of jumping forward like it's predecessors, it began to circle the strange creature.
In response, the strange creature tensed, ready for battle but it didn't turn around as the timber wolf circled it. Instead it stood it's ground and slightly tilted it's head towards the wolf. All was quiet as timberwolf and pony alike watched the stand off. Finally the Alpha made it's move in the form of a jump from behind and like before, the creature dodged before the pounce could connect. The Alpha quickly recovered and began stalking the creature again. The Alpha jumped again, this time from the front.
However this time, the creature couldn't dodge and the Alpha managed to knock it down. Fluttershy gasped when the two hit the and all was silent for a beat. Then amazingly, the Alpha fell apart, revealing a sword where the Alpha's chest was before. The creature began to sit up and the other timberwolves, thoroughly spooked, decided to cut their losses and fled. The creature pulled itself up and looked around. Seeing no wolves, it relaxed and sheathed it's blade before turning to the ponies. Now that their lives weren't in danger, Fluttershy was able to make a better examination of the creature.
Fluttershy could see that it's skin was actually pretty pale and it was dressed it a black robe with white fur trim with a blue turtleneck underneath, two necklaces and fingerless gloves with wrappings. As it drew closer, Fluttershy's sense of smell told her that this was a male and now that she was looking at his face more closely, she could see that what she initially thought was his face was actually a white skull mask with a fur piece that covered his head, hair and back.
"So cool." Fluttershy was startled when one of the Crusaders, Scootaloo, whispered in awe and she looked down to see all three fillies staring wide eyed at the creature.
"Girls, how long have you been watching?" She asked.
"Roughly around when the second wolf was beat." Applebloom said. Fluttershy had no answer to that and instead turned back to the strange creature. By this point, he had stopped a few feet away and was staring at the group. Before anything could happen however, the sound of branches breaking and a thud heralded the arrival of a fifth pony.
Rainbow Dash first turned to her friend and the Crusaders and seeing they were unscathed turned to the threat. The pegasus flared her wings threateningly and shot a glare at the creature that from her point of view was a threat to her friends. Before either party could say a word, Rainbow rammed the creature, knocking it down then flew back to take up a defensive position.
"I don't know what the heck you are, but stay away from my friends!" The cyan pegasus snorted. The strange creature stared for a bit then quickly got up and disappeared into the forest. Feeling very satisfied with herself, Rainbow turned back to her damsels in distress.....only to find herself on the receiving end of Fluttershy's disapproving scowl. The cyan pegasus shifted uncomfortably.
"So uh...what'd I miss?"
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
".....and that's when Rainbow Dash arrived and scared off this creature." Twilight said, recapping the story her friends had told her. After dropping off the Crusaders at their respective homes, Fluttershy and Dash went around picking up the rest of their friends so they could share what happened. After RD's rescue, Fluttershy refused to speak to her friend about what happened until they were all gather so she wouldn't have to repeat herself.
At Twilight's recap, Fluttershy nodded. "Although technically, Dash attacked the poor thing unprovoked." She said, sending a look at said pegasus.
"How was I supposed to know he saved you!" Rainbow burst out. "Besides, you don't know what he would've done if I hadn't been there. For all you know, he could've eaten you!"
"True, but I doubt he would've done anything." Fluttershy responded.
"How would you know that?" AJ asked curiously.
"I saw a squirrel follow him and jump up onto his shoulder." Fluttershy said simply. "Animals are excellent judges of character and always notice things a pony wouldn't see. And squirrels are especially skittish around other creatures so the fact that a squirrel has bonded with him like that must mean that he's very kind and gentle, maybe even a bit shy."
Fluttershy then shot a glare at Rainbow Dash. "And you attacked him!" She said as 'loudly' as she could. "He'd just saved us and you went and attacked him without a second thought! If you just waited a bit or asked before jumping to conclusions, you would've known that!"
"I agree." Twilight offered her two bits. "While I can see how the situation could be misinterpreted, asking about what was going on would've been a large boon. Even if he wasn't friendly, Fluttershy and the Crusaders could've had important information about the opponent. Charging in without knowing what you were up against could've ended with you getting seriously hurt."
"Okay fine! I messed up!" Rainbow exploded, her ears flat against her head. "I acted before thinking and hurt someone innocent! Happy!? Now can we please move on to something else?"
"Dash's got a point. Ain't no use in bucking a dead tree." AJ stepped. "Right now, we've got other things we need ta figure out."
"Yeah! Like where are we going to find guy?" Pinkie piped up. "I can't throw him a Welcome to Ponyville party if I don't know where the guest of honor is. And that's not counting the Thank You for Saving our Friends and the Sorry Dashie Jumped to Conclusions parties I'll have to throw. Actually, maybe I could combine all three into one big super party!"
"Pinkie Pie's right, in her own Pinkie way." Twilight agreed. "I personally would love to study this new creature."
"And I for one would like to thank this gentleman for saving my sister." Rarity announced and Applejack nodded.
"Yeah, me too." She said simply.
"I want to thank him too." Fluttershy said softly. "And make sure he's okay."
Rainbow sighed. "Yeah and I suppose I should apologize for how I acted. So how do we start?"
"Perhaps I maybe able to help." A new male voice made all the assembled mares jump and spin around towards the door. There standing casually in the entrance was a strange creature just like the one that Fluttershy described only he was taller and looked older. He wore a robe with yellow hemlines and his long green hair was tied back with an orange ribbon. His bangs were styled to cover the right side of his face and as they looked at him in shock, mirth twinkled in his left eye which was purple in color and matched his stud earrings.
As they all gawked at him, the stranger push himself up and approached slowly. "Hello, my name is Jea-ha." He introduced himself with a flourish and Rarity practically swooned. "Now tell me about this strange creature."
Author's Note
I finally got one out! Woo hoo!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you're curious about the Flower incident, I'll tell you. When Bon Bon had the girls make candied flowers, she completely forgot that she hadn't restocked (yes people can forget things on accident. It happens).
As a result, the Crusaders decided to go get more flowers and since they didn't have the bits for flowers, they decided to go pick some themselves. Unfortunately not all the flowers they picked were 'healthy' for ponies. The result you can already guess. Nopony died of course, there were just a lot of sick ponies. Some avoided eating the flowers because they recognized the danger of course.
Anyways, that my story and I'm sticking to it. Again, I hope you're enjoying this story (or the original manga) as much as I do. Next chapter will be a crossover. This is a Displaced fic and I hope to crossover with a bunch of people in this story. If I manage to crossover with Gilgamesh, I'll be over the moon. Nudge nudge hint hint. Of course he'll have to wait till I get my token out.
